Schoffelen op weg naar electronische toekomst

Een camera kan een plant herkennen en de software verbindt daar conclusies aan: het onkruid wordt weggeslagen en de suikerbiet blijft staan. Dat is de theorie. In de praktijk staan de herkenning en de vertaling nog in de kinderschoenen, maar de ontwikkelingen gaan snel. Elektronisch schoffelen ligt onder handbereik. Voor dit herkenningsonderzoek werkt het PPO in Lelystad met de Franse Sarl Radis als basis. Deze machine werd in 2003 naar Nederland gehaald. Hij bestrijdt het onkruid in de rij en werkt daarvoor met twee schoffels

Transamazonian “Cusp Tectonics” in the Guiana Shield

The applicability of plate tectonic concepts to Precambrian Earth is still contentious. However, from the identification of 2.2-2.0 Ga blueschist facies metamorphism in Eburnean greenstones in the West African craton, temporally and tectonically equivalent to the Transamazonian orogen in the Guiana Shield, Ganne et al. (2019) concluded that modern-style plate tectonics existed in Palaeoproterozoic time (see also Cawood et al., 2018, and Brown et al., 2022). Then, identification of plate tectonic setting of Palaeoproterozoic magmatic suites by ‘chemo-tectonics’ based on present day settings is equally justified. In the Guiana Shield, Fraga et al. (2009) first identified subduction of the high-grade supracrustal Cauarane-Kanuku-Coeroeni belt (Fig. 1) to the north along the southern margin of the western granite-greenstone belt, starting around 2.04 Ga. Mahabier and De Roever (2018) showed that the Caicara-Dalbana felsic metavolcanics, part of the ca. 1700 km long and 1.99-1.95 Ga old volcano-plutonic Orocaima belt between the high-grade belt and the granite-greenstone belts (Fig. 1), have volcanic arc chemistry. McFarlane et al. (2019) concluded similarly for magmatic suites of the 2300-2070 Ma Sefwi greenstone belt of SW Ghana. Cusped lithospheric plate boundaries, also known as ‘syntaxes’, occur in present day Earth where structural arcs are joined end to end (Hoffman, 2021). Beunk et al. (2021) identified a fossil syntax in the Guiana Shield, traceable by the map pattern of the 1.99-1.95 Ga old granites and felsic volcanics (Fig. 1), and posited that the syntax played a crucial role in the exhumation of the Orosirian lower crustal Bakhuis granulite belt in western Surinam amidst the upper crustal greenstone belts (Fig. 1). Here we explore tectonic consequences of this ‘Bakhuis syntax’ in the high-grade, 2.08-2.02 Ga Kanuku migmatites and granulites, which transect southern Guyana from west to east, and extend into northernmost Brazil (west) and Surinam (east), see Fig. 1. We summarize their compositional and structural characteristics from Berrangé (1977) and Fraga et al. (2009): Migmatitic paragneisses form the bulk rock type, with subordinate calc-silicate rocks, dolomitic marbles, amphibolites, metacherts, quartzites, BIFs and metamorphosed mafic and ultramafic rocks. Foliation or gneissic layering is considered to be relic supracrustal stratification. Most of the foliation dips more than 75 ̊. Lineations on the foliation plane are well developed, often better than foliation, and plunge steeply. Axial planar cleavage is absent (note: a common characteristic of migmatite terrains), with foliation-forming biotite flakes and sillimanite needles wrapping around fold hinges. Chaotic (polyclinal) and intrafolial F1 folds, occasionally accompanied by F2 chevron-type folds, considered to be synchronous to F1, have steeply plunging hinges, (sub)parallel to the lineations. Poles to foliation form gently dipping girdles orthogonal to fold axes and lineations.The predominance of vertically plunging folds (‘vertical folds’) over large orogenic stretches is unusual. A common setting for their occurrence are oroclines, curved orogens that originate from tectonic bending of originally straight(er) belts, as for example in the Palaeoproterozoic oroclines in the Svecofennian orogen of Sweden (Beunk and Kuipers, 2012). There, apparently similar to the Kanuku mountains of Guyana, steeply dipping (volcano-)sedimentary stratification was rotated along vertical axes into vertical folds on the scales of the regional map down to thin sections for microscopy. A prerequisite for the development of vertical folds of sedimentary layering is their initial rotation from horizontal into the vertical; commonly a first phase of tight, upright ‘horizontal folding’ (rotation along horizontal axes) is responsible for the steepening. Although crossed girdles of foliation poles in Berrangé’s map (1977) imply the presence of near-horizontal folds, these appear to postdate, not predate the vertical rotations. We expect that initial horizontal folding has steepened the sedimentary protoliths of the Kanuku migmatites and granulites.The map pattern of the high-grade Cauarane-Kanuku-Coeroeni belt forms an broad arch, trending east-west in its western parts, and changing to southeast in its eastern branch in SW Surinam (Fig. 1). Whether such an open oroclinal bend would by itself be sufficient to generate belt-wide (oroclinal) vertical folds is uncertain, but we propose a dominant role for the Bakhuis syntax in the folding of the Kanuku migmatites and granulites. That role is a priori suggested by the map pattern: The axial plane of the bent Kanuku belt strikes right into the center of the syntax. Our proposed model is sketchily illustrated in Fig. 2. A plate subducting from the SW moves directly into the cusp and experiences lateral constriction and folding due to the cusp geometry (see also Hoffman, 2021).Original (D1) steepening of sedimentary stratification in the lower plate, by folding on horizontal axes parallel to the plate boundary prior to syntax-induced vertical folding (D2), would be a logical consequence of the compressional nature of the plate boundary when the incoming plate carries buoyant continental crust. The geometry of Fig. 2 also suggests a transition of Z-type D2-folds to the left of the syntaxial axis, to M-type folds along its axis, to S-type folds on the opposite side.<br/

Empowering young adults on the autistic spectrum:Reframing assistive technology through design

Increasingly, assistive technologies are designed to ‘empower’ people with cognitive and social challenges. But what does it mean to say technology empowers? In a four-year participatory Research-through-Design project we addressed this question. Eleven autistic young adults participated in designing MyDayLight: an IoT system supporting self-management of domestic activities. Contextual inquiry, co-design, design reflection, prototype deployment and embodied interaction theory were woven together in an iterative reflective process. This allowed us to critically address certain background assumptions that typically underly common understanding of assistive technologies. We present three reframings of our evolving concept of ‘empowering technology’: 1) From ‘planned reminder’ to ‘situated attention grabber’ 2) From ‘supporting action’ to ‘scaffolding developing your own supportive environment’ 4) From ‘assistive product’, to ‘co-design tool in a larger transformational process’. Instead of supporting ‘self-sufficiency’, MyDayLight expresses a developmental-experiential interpretation of empowerment. It helps users experiment with reconfiguring their own environment, reflect on their experiences and gradually develop more grip on life. The design artifacts enabled young adults on the spectrum and their care-givers to share, question- and reframe implicitly held understandings and to imagine and explore new ways for assistive technology to play an empowering role in a person’s life-world

Comparing observed and modelled components of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26° N

The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) allows the assessment of the representation of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in climate models. While CMIP Phase 6 models display a large spread in AMOC strength, the multi-model mean strength agrees reasonably well with observed estimates from RAPID1, but this does not hold for the AMOC's various components. In CMIP Phase 6 (CMIP6), the present-day AMOC is characterized by a lack of lower North Atlantic Deep Water (lNADW) due to the small scale of Greenland–Iceland–Scotland Ridge overflow and too much mixing. This is compensated for by increased recirculation in the subtropical gyre and more Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Deep-water circulation is dominated by a distinct deep western boundary current (DWBC) with minor interior recirculation compared with observations. The future decline in the AMOC of 7 Sv by 2100 under a Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5-8.5 (SSP5-8.5) emission scenario is associated with decreased northward western boundary current transport in combination with reduced southward flow of upper North Atlantic Deep Water (uNADW). In CMIP6, wind stress curl decreases with time by 14 % so that wind-driven thermocline recirculation in the subtropical gyre is reduced by 4 Sv (17 %) by 2100. The reduction in western boundary current transport of 11 Sv is more than the decrease in wind-driven gyre transport, indicating a decrease over time in the component of the Gulf Stream originating from the South Atlantic

A novel data management platform to improve image-guided precision preclinical biological research

Objective: Preclinical biological research is mandatory for developing new drugs to investigate the toxicity and efficacy of the drug. In this paper, the focus is on radiobiological research as an example of advanced preclinical biological research. In radiobiology, recent technological advances have produced novel research platforms which can precisely irradiate targets in animals and use advanced onboard image-guidance, mimicking the clinical radiotherapy environment. These platforms greatly facilitate complex research combining several agents simultaneously (in our example, radiation and non-radiation agents). Since these modern platform can produce a large amount of wide-ranging data, one of the main impediments in preclinical research platforms is a proper data management system for preclinical studies. Methods: A preclinical data management system, inspired by current radiotherapy clinical data management systems was designed. The system was designed with InterSystems technology, i.e. a programmable Enterprise Service Bus solution. New DICOM animal imaging standards are used such as DICOM suppl. 187 for storing small animal acquisition context and the DICOM second generation course model. Results: A small animal big data warehouse environment for research is designed to work with modern image-guided precision research platforms. Its modular design includes (1) a study workflow manager, (2) a data manager, and (3) a storage manager. The system provides interfaces to, e.g. preclinical treatment planning systems and data analysis plug-ins, and guides the user efficiently through the many steps involved in preclinical research. The system manages various data source locations, and arranges access to the data centrally. Conclusion: A novel preclinical data management system can be designed to improve preclinical workflow, facilitate data exchange between researchers, and support translation to clinical trials. Advances in knowledge: A preclinical data management system such as the one proposed here would greatly benefit preparation, execution and analysis of biological experiments, and will eventually facilitate translation to clinical trials