Natuurlijke zuiveringssystemen voor zuivering van drain- en slootwater uit de landbouw. Inhoudelijk eindrapportage voor Innovatieprogramma Kaderrichtlijn Water

In de periode 2005-2010 is onderzoek uitgevoerd naar de technische mogelijkheden en de perspectieven van diverse systemen van zuiveringsmoerassen, als aanvullende mogelijkheid op het verminderen van stikstof- en fosfaatemissies uit de landbouw. Diverse experimenten op kleine schaal zijn gemonitored gedurende een aantal jaren. Naast de effectiviteit en kosten is ook gekeken naar de landbouwkundige inpasbaarheid, het ruimtebeslag en de combineerbaarheid met andere functies in het landelijke gebied van verschillende typen zuiveringsmoerassen, die nitraat en/of fosfaat verwijderen uit landbouwwater

Patients' inability to perform a preoperative cardiopulmonary exercise test or demonstrate an anaerobic threshold is associated with inferior outcomes after major colorectal surgery.

BACKGROUND: Surgical patients with poor functional capacity, determined by oxygen consumption at anaerobic threshold (AT) during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), experience longer hospital stays and worse short- and medium-term survival. However, previous studies excluded patients who were unable to perform a CPET or who failed to demonstrate an AT. We hypothesized that such patients are at risk of inferior outcomes after elective surgery. METHODS: All patients undergoing major colorectal surgery attempted CPET to assist in the planning of care. Patients were stratified by their test results into Fit (AT ≥ 11.0 ml O2 kg(-1) min(-1)), Unfit (AT < 11.0 ml O2 kg(-1) min(-1)), or Unable to CPET groups (failed to pedal or demonstrate an AT). For each group, we determined hospital stay and mortality. RESULTS: Between March 2009 and April 2010, 269 consecutive patients were screened, and proceeded to bowel resection. Median hospital stay was 8 days (IQR 5.1-13.4) and there were 44 deaths (16%) at 2 yr; 26 (9.7%) patients were categorized as Unable to CPET, 69 (25.7%) Unfit and 174 (64.7%) Fit. There were statistically significant differences between the three groups in hospital stay [median (IQR) 14.0 (10.5-23.8) vs 9.9 (5.5-15) vs 7.1 (4.9-10.8) days, P < 0.01] and mortality at 2 yr [11/26 (42%) vs 14/69 (20%) vs 19/174 (11%), respectively (P < 0.01)] although the differences between Unable and Unfit were not statistically different. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' inability to perform CPET is associated with inferior outcomes after major colorectal surgery. Future studies evaluating CPET in risk assessment for major surgery should report outcomes for this subgroup

Stro in de sloot : onderdeel van IP-KRW project ‘Landbouw Centraal’

Hemelwater wat op het erf van melkveebedrijven valt wordt geheel of deels afgevoerd naar het oppervlaktewater. Eventueel aanwezige voerresten en andere verontreinigingen spoelen daarbij mee naar de sloot. Dit leidt tot ongewenste puntbelastingen in het watersysteem. Binnen het project KRW ‘Landbouw Centraal’ is bij een zestal melkveehouders interesse ontstaan voor het toepassen van een strofilter in de sloot om erfwater te zuiveren. Dit rapport beschrijft beknopt de theorie van de werking, de aanleg van de pilot en de meetresultaten van het laatste kwartaal van 2011

Zuivering van sloot- en drainwater in helofytenfilters is kosteneffectief

Speciaal aangelegde moerassen met rietplanten kunnen bij een gecontroleerde watertoevoer ruim 60 procent van de stikstof of 40 procent van het fosfaat verwijderen uit drain- en slootwater. Dat blijkt uit proeven in Limburg door de universiteit van Wageningen. Aanleg van dit soort zuiveringsmoerassen kan voor de landbouw een belangrijke maatregel zijn om aan de Kaderrichtlijn Water te voldoen. Het is een goedkope methode om stikstof of fosfaat uit het water te halen. De kosteneffectiviteit ligt in de orde van vijf tot 40 euro per kilo verwijderd stikstof, afhankelijk van de keuze van schaalgrootte. De kosten-effectiviteit van fosfaat is 115 euro per kilo verwijderd fosfor. Nadeel is de benodigde ruimte. Het koppelen aan andere functies, zoals waterberging, recreatie of biomassaproductie, kan natuurlijke zuiveringssystemen aantrekkelijker make

Human Factors Aspects of the Transfer of Control from the Automated Highway System to the Driver

DTFH61-92-C-00100The first two experiments in a series exploring human factors issues related to the Automated Highway System (AHS) used a generic AHS configuration--the left lane reserved for automated vehicles, the center and right lanes containing unautomated vehicles, no transition lane, and no barriers between the automated and unautomated lanes--that was simulated in the Iowa Driving Simulator (IDS). The IDS has a moving base hexapod platform containing a mid-sized sedan. Imagery was projected onto a 3.35-rad (180 deg) screen in front of the driver, and onto a 1.13-rad (60 deg) screen to the rear. Thirty-six drivers between the ages of 25 and 34 years participated in the first experiment; 24 drivers who were age 65 or older took part in the second. Both experiments explored the transfer of control from the AHS to the driver when the driver's task was to leave the automated lane. The driver, who was traveling under automated control in a string of vehicles in the automated lane, had to take control, drive from the automated lane into the center lane, then leave the freeway. Results were as follows: (1) The mean time to respond to an "Exit" advisory decreased from 13.41 s to 10.16 s as the design velocity increased from 104.7 km/h (65 mi/h) to 153.0 km/h (95 mi/h). (2) After the transfer of control, the driver remained in the automated lane, decelerating until the velocity was slow enough to allow a safe transition into the slower traffic in the unautomated lanes. It took longer to decelerate (13.19 s vs. 10.26 s) and the exit velocity dropped [105.30 km/h (65.40 mi/h) vs. 99.54 km/h (61.83 mi/h)] as the unautomated traffic density decreased from 12.42 v/km/ln (20 v/mi/ln) to 6.21 v/km/ln (10 v/mi/ln). It also took longer to decelerate (15.23 s vs. 8.62 s) and the extent of the deceleration decreased [42.7 km/h (26.49 mi/h) vs. 13.18 km/h (8.16 mi/h)] as the design velocity decreased from 153.0 km/h (95 mi/h) to 104.7 km/h (65 mi/h). (3) Once in the unautomated lanes, the younger drivers were in the center lane 70% longer than the older drivers. (4) The vehicle immediately behind the driver's vehicle in the automated lane was delayed after control was transferred--the delay increased from 1.36 s to 6.70 s as the design velocity increased from 104.7 km/h (65 mi/h) to 153 km/h (95 mi/h). (5) Allowing for the delay times obtained in these experiments, it was determined that the potential capacity of an automated lane should increase from 634.6 v/h to 2087.8 v/h as the design velocity decreases from 153.0 km/h (95 mi/h) to 104.7 km/h (65 mi/h). (6) Collisions and incursions occurred at unacceptably high rates. (7) The responses to the questionnaire suggest that the drivers were receptive to the AHS concept

Human Factors Aspects of the Transfer of Control from the Driver to the Automated Highway System

DTFH-61-92-C-00100The third in a series of experiments exploring human factors issues related to the Automated Highway System (AHS) investigated the transfer of control from the driver of a vehicle entering an automated lane to the AHS. Twenty-four drivers aged between 25 and 34 years drove in the Iowa Driving Simulator--a moving base hexapod platform containing a mid-sized sedan with a 3.35-rad (180 deg) projection screen to the front and a 1.13-rad (60 deg) screen to the rear. The experiment focused on a generic AHS configuration in which the left lane was reserved for automated vehicles, the center and right lanes were reserved for unautomated vehicles, and in which there was no transition lane and no barrier. The driver took the simulator vehicle onto a freeway, moved to the center lane, and then, after receiving an "Enter" command, drove into an automated lane and transferred control to the AHS. Then, the AHS moved the vehicle into the lead position of the string of vehicles approaching it from behind. RESULTS: The entering response time, lane-change time, entering exposure time, and string-joining time data were used to determine the minimum inter-string gap required to enable the driver's vehicle to enter the automated lane without causing a delay to the string it joins. The required minimum inter-string gap varied with the design velocity and the method of transferring control. With the partially automated transfer method, the required minimum inter-string gap time increased from 1.14 s for the 104.7-km/h (65-mi/h) design velocity, through 3.38 s for the 128.8-km/h (80-mi/h) design velocity, to 7.33 s for the 153.0-km/h (95-mi/h) design velocity. The hourly capacity when the design velocity is 104.7 km/h (65 mi/h) is likely to be four times greater than when the design velocity is 153.0 km/h (95 mi/h) (the hourly capacity for the latter would be only slightly more than the traffic flow that could be achieved without an AHS). It is not the design velocity of 104.7 km/h (65 mi/h) per se that produces the higher capacity--it is the relatively low velocity differential between the design velocity and the speed limit in the unautomated lanes. If the transfer of control from the driver to the AHS were to occur before the driver moved into the automated lane, the required minimum inter-string gap times should be reduced--a possibility that is being investigated in the next in the experimental series. No collisions occurred, suggesting that the drivers were able to join the automated lane safely--a suggestion reinforced by the responses to a questionnaire indicating that the drivers felt safe and believed they controlled the vehicle well during the entry maneuver

Neuroligin 1 is dynamically exchanged at postsynaptic sites

Neuroligins are postsynaptic cell adhesion molecules that associate with presynaptic neurexins. Both factors form a transsynaptic connection, mediate signaling across the synapse, specify synaptic functions, and play a role in synapse formation. Neuroligin dysfunction impairs synaptic transmission, disrupts neuronal networks, and is thought to participate in cognitive diseases. Here we report that chemical treatment designed to induce long-term potentiation or long-term depression (LTD) induces neuroligin 1/3 turnover, leading to either increased or decreased surface membrane protein levels, respectively. Despite its structural role at a crucial transsynaptic position, GFP-neuroligin 1 leaves synapses in hippocampal neurons over time with chemical LTD-induced neuroligin internalization depending on an intact microtubule cytoskeleton. Accordingly, neuroligin 1 and its binding partner postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) associate with components of the dynein motor complex and undergo retrograde cotransport with a dynein subunit. Transgenic depletion of dynein function in mice causes postsynaptic NLG1/3 and PSD-95 enrichment. In parallel, PSD lengths and spine head sizes are significantly increased, a phenotype similar to that observed upon transgenic overexpression of NLG1 (Dahlhaus et al., 2010). Moreover, application of a competitive PSD-95 peptide and neuroligin 1 C-terminal mutagenesis each specifically alter neuroligin 1 surface membrane expression and interfere with its internalization. Our data suggest the concept that synaptic plasticity regulates neuroligin turnover through active cytoskeleton transport

Masses of ground and excited-state hadrons

We present the first Dyson-Schwinger equation calculation of the light hadron spectrum that simultaneously correlates the masses of meson and baryon ground- and excited-states within a single framework. At the core of our analysis is a symmetry-preserving treatment of a vector-vector contact interaction. In comparison with relevant quantities the root-mean-square-relative-error/degree-of freedom is 13%. Notable amongst our results is agreement between the computed baryon masses and the bare masses employed in modern dynamical coupled-channels models of pion-nucleon reactions. Our analysis provides insight into numerous aspects of baryon structure; e.g., relationships between the nucleon and Delta masses and those of the dressed-quark and diquark correlations they contain.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, 4 table