Evaluation of the mobility impacts of the Dutch Vinex policy

Mobility reduction and modal shift towards public transport, walking and cycling were important aims of the Dutch spatial policy from the nineties (VINEX). This policy encompassed several criteria for new housing developments, to limit the mobility these generate. This paper reports on a study into the mobility consequences of the developments that were the result of this VINEX policy. It discusses the compliance of these locations with policy criteria and analyses the (car) travel behaviour of their inhabitants. The study focusses on the spatial situation of all newly built housing from the period 1995-2003 and the travel behaviour of their occupants. Part of these are classified as VINEX developments or dwellings, others are not developed as part of the VINEX policy and are referred to as non-VINEX. Results were obtained from detailled analyses of spatial characteristics and regression analyses of individual travel patterns. Differences between sections of the population and their specific characteristics are controlled for. The results show that the situation on the VINEX developments is largely in accordance with policy intentions, both with regard to proximity and accessibility. Many houses have been built within the existing urban area and the location of green field developments in relation to urban centres is favourable. Public transport facilities are on average better for VINEX dwellings, than elsewhere. Policy implementation was less succesful with regard to mixing land uses and the distances to daily amenities. The mobility generated proves to vary strongly between different types of locations. New developments, in general, generate more motorised mobility than average. Locations that were developed as part of the VINEX policy do better than non-VINEX. Especially the innercity VINEX-developments is characterised by low car use, despite the fact that they are inhabited by a relatively mobile section of the population. However, the results also show that innercity developments are most useful when located in the older parts of cities. Car use was high on Vinex-greenfield locations, but that is mainly caused by the composition of the population. The spatial criteria for VINEX developments, proximity and accessibility, have in fact played an important role in the more favourable mobility pattern. Particularly the location near urban centres and the accessibility by public transport have contributed to the lower car use in VINEX developments in comparison to non-VINEX.

COMBINED C-14 ANALYSIS OF CANVAS AND ORGANIC BINDER FOR DATING A PAINTING

The use of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for age determinations of paintings is growing due to decreasing sample size requirements. However, as only the support material is usually dated, the validity of the results may be questioned. This work describes a novel sampling and preparation technique for dating the natural organic binder using radiocarbon (C-14) AMS. In the particular case of oil paintings, the natural oil used has a high probability of being representative of the time of creation, hereby circumventing the problem of the originality of the support material. A multi-technique approach was developed for a detailed characterization of all paint components to identify the binder type as well as pigments and additives present in the sample. The technique was showcased on a painting of the 20th century. The results by C-14 AMS dating show that both the canvas and binding medium predate the signed date by 4-5 yr. This could be the time span for keeping painting material in the atelier. The method developed provides, especially given the low amounts of material needed for analysis, a superior precision and accuracy in dating and has potential to become a standard method for oil painting dating

Uncovering modern paint forgeries by radiocarbon dating

Art forgeries have existed since antiquity, but with the recent rapidly expanding commercialization of art, the approach to art authentication has demanded increasingly sophisticated detection schemes. So far, the most conclusive criterion in the field of counterfeit detection is the scientific proof of material anachronisms. The establishment of the earliest possible date of realization of a painting, called the terminus post quem, is based on the comparison of materials present in an artwork with information on their earliest date of discovery or production. This approach provides relative age information only and thus may fail in proving a forgery. Radiocarbon (C-14) dating is an attractive alternative, as it delivers absolute ages with a definite time frame for the materials used. The method, however, is invasive and in its early days required sampling tens of grams of material. With the advent of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and further development of gas ion sources (GIS), a reduction of sample size down to microgram amounts of carbon became possible, opening the possibility to date individual paint layers in artworks. Here we discuss two microsamples taken from an artwork carrying the date of 1866: a canvas fiber and a paint chip (<200 mu g), each delivering a different radiocarbon response. This discrepancy uncovers the specific strategy of the forger: Dating of the organic binder delivers clear evidence of a post-1950 creation on reused canvas. This microscale C-14 analysis technique is a powerful method to reveal technically complex forgery cases with hard facts at a minimal sampling impact

Versailles project on advanced materials and standards (VAMAS) interlaboratory study on measuring the number concentration of colloidal gold nanoparticles

We describe the outcome of a large international interlaboratory study of the measurement of particle number concentration of colloidal nanoparticles, project 10 of the technical working area 34, "Nanoparticle Populations" of the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS). A total of 50 laboratories delivered results for the number concentration of 30 nm gold colloidal nanoparticles measured using particle tracking analysis (PTA), single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) light spectroscopy, centrifugal liquid sedimentation (CLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The study provides quantitative data to evaluate the repeatability of these methods and their reproducibility in the measurement of number concentration of model nanoparticle systems following a common measurement protocol. We find that the population-averaging methods of SAXS, CLS and UV-Vis have high measurement repeatability and reproducibility, with between-labs variability of 2.6%, 11% and 1.4% respectively. However, results may be significantly biased for reasons including inaccurate material properties whose values are used to compute the number concentration. Particle-counting method results are less reproducibile than population-averaging methods, with measured between-labs variability of 68% and 46% for PTA and spICP-MS respectively. This study provides the stakeholder community with important comparative data to underpin measurement reproducibility and method validation for number concentration of nanoparticles

Versailles project on advanced materials and standards (VAMAS) interlaboratory study on measuring the number concentration of colloidal gold nanoparticles

We describe the outcome of a large international interlaboratory study of the measurement of particle number concentration of colloidal nanoparticles, project 10 of the technical working area 34, "Nanoparticle Populations" of the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS). A total of 50 laboratories delivered results for the number concentration of 30 nm gold colloidal nanoparticles measured using particle tracking analysis (PTA), single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) light spectroscopy, centrifugal liquid sedimentation (CLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The study provides quantitative data to evaluate the repeatability of these methods and their reproducibility in the measurement of number concentration of model nanoparticle systems following a common measurement protocol. We find that the population-averaging methods of SAXS, CLS and UV-Vis have high measurement repeatability and reproducibility, with between-labs variability of 2.6%, 11% and 1.4% respectively. However, results may be significantly biased for reasons including inaccurate material properties whose values are used to compute the number concentration. Particle-counting method results are less reproducibile than population-averaging methods, with measured between-labs variability of 68% and 46% for PTA and spICP-MS respectively. This study provides the stakeholder community with important comparative data to underpin measurement reproducibility and method validation for number concentration of nanoparticles

Versailles project on advanced materials and standards (VAMAS) interlaboratory study on measuring the number concentration of colloidal gold nanoparticles

We describe the outcome of a large international interlaboratory study of the measurement of particle number concentration of colloidal nanoparticles, project 10 of the technical working area 34, "Nanoparticle Populations" of the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS). A total of 50 laboratories delivered results for the number concentration of 30 nm gold colloidal nanoparticles measured using particle tracking analysis (PTA), single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) light spectroscopy, centrifugal liquid sedimentation (CLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The study provides quantitative data to evaluate the repeatability of these methods and their reproducibility in the measurement of number concentration of model nanoparticle systems following a common measurement protocol. We find that the population-averaging methods of SAXS, CLS and UV-Vis have high measurement repeatability and reproducibility, with between-labs variability of 2.6%, 11% and 1.4% respectively. However, results may be significantly biased for reasons including inaccurate material properties whose values are used to compute the number concentration. Particle-counting method results are less reproducibile than population-averaging methods, with measured between-labs variability of 68% and 46% for PTA and spICP-MS respectively. This study provides the stakeholder community with important comparative data to underpin measurement reproducibility and method validation for number concentration of nanoparticles

Prediction of second neurological attack in patients with clinically isolated syndrome using support vector machines

The aim of this study is to predict the conversion from clinically isolated syndrome to clinically definite multiple sclerosis using support vector machines. The two groups of converters and non-converters are classified using features that were calculated from baseline data of 73 patients. The data consists of standard magnetic resonance images, binary lesion masks, and clinical and demographic information. 15 features were calculated and all combinations of them were iteratively tested for their predictive capacity using polynomial kernels and radial basis functions with leave-one-out cross-validation. The accuracy of this prediction is up to 86.4% with a sensitivity and specificity in the same range indicating that this is a feasible approach for the prediction of a second clinical attack in patients with clinically isolated syndromes, and that the chosen features are appropriate. The two features gender and location of onset lesions have been used in all feature combinations leading to a high accuracy suggesting that they are highly predictive. However, it is necessary to add supporting features to maximise the accuracy. © 2013 IEEE

Spotlight op de dirigent: roltransitie in een veranderende blaasmuzieksector

In de jaren tachtig van de vorige eeuw trad de blaasmuziek uit de luwte van het dorpsplein en maakten veel blaasorkesten een stevige groei door. In het nieuwe millennium ziet de blaasmuzieksector er heel anders uit. Evenals in de rest van de cultuursector hebben zich in de wereld van de harmonieorkesten, fanfares en brassbands allerlei verschuivingen voorgedaan. Dirigenten zoeken naar manieren om de blaasmuziek te positioneren als volwaardige vorm van amateurkunst. In het werk van de dirigent zijn muzikale, docerende en meer persoonlijke rollen te onderscheiden. In dit artikel wordt beschreven welke rollen dit zijn en hoe dirigenten door middel van een geïntegreerde inzet van het gehele rollenportfolio een antwoord kunnen geven op veranderingen in de sector. Leiderschap en Lifelong Learning zijn daarbij belangrijke uitgangspunten

Advances and limitations of ¹⁴C dating in the field of heritage sciences

In heritage sciences, the ability to obtain information about the origin and dating of cultural heritage objects is fundamental for placing an object into its historical context. Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating can help to identify the period during which a work of art was created by dating its constitutive materials. Such information can, however, only be obtained by removing a sample from the object, which is critical since art is irreplaceable and demands that the sampling be kept to a minimum. In this context, we propose a novel dating approach, which targets the natural organic binder of the pictorial layer as a new ¹⁴C candidate. In combination with spectroscopic techniques to ensure suitable sample selection, both canvas and paint samples were dated from three oil paintings. While not authenticating the paintings for belonging to a given artist, the ¹⁴C results from the baroque and neoclassical objects tend to align themselves with the purported attribution. The third object, attributed to the beginning of the 20th century’s modern expressionism movements, showcases the challenges in dating the natural organic binder owing to the presence of paraffin wax. The presented case studies showcase, how ¹⁴C dating of the natural organic binder may complement or offer alternate routes of study in assessing an object’s historical context. Moreover, the importance of material studies in the sampling step is enlightened as a prerequisite to access reliable ¹⁴C ages.ISSN:2534-5168ISSN:1254-786

Advances and limitations of 14C dating in the field of heritage sciences

Dans les sciences du patrimoine, la capacité d’obtenir des informations sur l’origine et la datation des objets du patrimoine culturel est fondamentale pour les replacer dans leur contexte historique. La datation par le radiocarbone (carbone 14, noté 14C) peut aider à identifier la période pendant laquelle une œuvre d’art a été créée en datant ses matériaux constitutifs. Une telle information ne peut cependant être obtenue qu’en prélevant un échantillon de l’objet, ce qui est critique car une œuvre d’art est unique et exige que l’échantillonnage soit réduit au minimum. Dans ce contexte, nous proposons une nouvelle approche de datation qui cible le liant organique naturel de la couche picturale. Étayés par les données d’analyses spectroscopiques, permettant une sélection d’échantillons appropriée, des prélèvements de toile et de matière picturale ont été datés sur trois peintures à l’huile. Même si les résultats de datation ne permettent pas d’attribuer les peintures à un artiste donné, ils peuvent cependant confirmer une période de création. Le troisième objet, lié aux débuts des divers mouvements expressionnistes modernes du xxe siècle, met en lumière les enjeux de datation du liant organique naturel du fait de la présence de cire de paraffine. Les études de cas présentées montrent comment la datation par le 14C du liant organique naturel peut compléter ou offrir d’autres voies d’étude pour évaluer le contexte historique d’un objet. Les études de matériaux lors de l’échantillonnage sont également un prérequis indispensable pour accéder à des âges radiocarbone fiables.In heritage sciences, the ability to obtain information about the origin and dating of cultural heritage objects is fundamental for placing an object into its historical context. Radiocarbon (14C) dating can help to identify the period during which a work of art was created by dating its constitutive materials. Such information can, however, only be obtained by removing a sample from the object, which is critical since art is irreplaceable and demands that the sampling be kept to a minimum. In this context, we propose a novel dating approach, which targets the natural organic binder of the pictorial layer as a new 14C candidate. In combination with spectroscopic techniques to ensure suitable sample selection, both canvas and paint samples were dated from three oil paintings. While not authenticating the paintings for belonging to a given artist, the 14C results from the baroque and neoclassical objects tend to align themselves with the purported attribution. The third object, attributed to the beginning of the 20th century’s modern expressionism movements, showcases the challenges in dating the natural organic binder owing to the presence of paraffin wax. The presented case studies showcase, how 14C dating of the natural organic binder may complement or offer alternate routes of study in assessing an object’s historical context. Moreover, the importance of material studies in the sampling step is enlightened as a prerequisite to access reliable 14C ages