Kringlopen sluiten naar 100% biologische mest

Is de afvoer van mest van invloed op de bodemkwaliteit van een melkveebedrijf? De biologische sector is op weg naar 100% biologische mest. Dat kan alleen maar als de mest op melkveebedrijven meer dan tot nu toe beschikbaar komt voor akkeren tuinbouw. Wat dit betekent voor de bodemkwaliteit onder grasklaver op een melkveebedrijf, is door het Louis Bolk Instituut onderzocht in een langjarige proef op Aver Heino (2001-2007

Effects of Lorentz invariance violation on cosmic ray photon emission and gamma ray decay processes

In this work, we use Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) introduced as a generic modification to particle dispersion relations to study some consequences of single photon emission, known as vacuum Cherenkov radiation, and photon decay processes in cosmic and gamma rays. These processes are forbidden in a Lorentz invariant theory but allowed under the hypothesis of LIV. We show that the emission rate have a dependency on the cosmic ray primary mass and the electric charge that could modify the UHECR spectrum. Furthermore, LIV dramatically enhances photon decay into an electro-positron pair above certain energy threshold. This last effect can then be used to set limits to the LIV energy scale from the direct observation of very high energy cosmic photon events by telescopes of gamma-rays.Comment: Proceedings of the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2017), Busan, Kore

In Conversation with Mubin Shaikh: From Salafi Jihadist to Undercover Agent inside the "Toronto 18" Terrorist Group

This interview with former undercover agent Mubin Shaikh can help academics and security practitioners understand the key role played and the challenges faced by covert human intelligence sources within domestic terrorist groups. The interview highlights the identity crisis, the personal factors, and the allure of jihadi militancy that initially drove Shaikh to join a Salafi jihadist group. It investigates Shaikh’s process of disengagement from the Salafi jihadist belief system and his rediscovery of a moderate, inclusive, and benevolent form of Islam. It explores his work as an undercover agent for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team responsible for disrupting domestic terrorist groups. The “Toronto 18” terrorist cell, the key role played by undercover agents in preventing terrorist action, and the challenges posed by entrapment are also discussed

Pulsed Magnetic Field Measurements of the Composite Fermion Effective Mass

Magnetotransport measurements of Composite Fermions (CF) are reported in 50 T pulsed magnetic fields. The CF effective mass is found to increase approximately linearly with the effective field $B^*$, in agreement with our earlier work at lower fields. For a $B^*$ of 14 T it reaches $1.6m_e$, over 20 times the band edge electron mass. Data from all fractions are unified by the single parameter $B^*$ for all the samples studied over a wide range of electron densities. The energy gap is found to increase like $\sqrt{B^*}$ at high fields.Comment: Has final table, will LaTeX without error

Enhancement-mode PEDOT:PSS organic electrochemical transistors using molecular de-doping

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) show great promise for flexible, low-cost, and low-voltage sensors for aqueous solutions. The majority of OECT devices are made using the polymer blend poly(ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), in which PEDOT is intrinsically doped due to inclusion of PSS. Because of this intrinsic doping, PEDOT:PSS OECTs generally operate in depletion mode, which results in a higher power consumption and limits stability. Here, a straightforward method to de-dope PEDOT:PSS using commercially available amine-based molecular de-dopants to achieve stable enhancement-mode OECTs is presented. The enhancement-mode OECTs show mobilities near that of pristine PEDOT:PSS (≈2 cm2 V−1 s−1) with stable operation over 1000 on/off cycles. The electron and proton exchange among PEDOT, PSS, and the molecular de-dopants are characterized to reveal the underlying chemical mechanism of the threshold voltage shift to negative voltages. Finally, the effect of the de-doping on the microstructure of the spin-cast PEDOT:PSS films is investigated.</p

Uitbreiding van de Bestrijdingsmiddelenatlas voor de Tweede nota duurzame gewasbescherming 2013-2023

Conservation Biolog

¹⁸F-Sodium fluoride PET-CT visualizes disease activity in chronic nonbacterial osteitis in adults

Chronic nonbacterial osteitis (CNO) is a rare disease spectrum, which lacks biomarkers for disease activity. Sodium fluoride-18 positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F]NaF-PET/CT) is a sensitive imaging tool for bone diseases and yields quantitative data on bone turnover. We evaluated the capacities of [18F]NaF-PET/CT to provide structural and functional assessment in adult CNO. A coss-sectional study was performed including 43 adult patients with CNO and 16 controls (patients referred for suspected, but not diagnosed with CNO) who underwent [18F]NaF-PET/CT at our expert clinic. Structural features were compared between patients and controls, and maximal standardized uptake values (SUVmax [g/mL]) were calculated for bone lesions, soft tissue/joint lesions, and reference bone. SUVmax was correlated with clinical disease activity in patients. Structural assessment revealed manubrial and costal sclerosis/hyperostosis and calcification of the costoclavicular ligament as typical features associated with CNO. SUVmax of CNO lesions was higher compared with in-patient reference bone (mean paired difference: 11.4; 95% CI: 9.4–13.5; p &lt; .001) and controls (mean difference: 12.4; 95%CI: 9.1–15.8; p &lt; .001). The highest SUVmax values were found in soft tissue and joint areas such as the costoclavicular ligament and manubriosternal joint, and these correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate in patients (correlation coefficient: 0.546; p &lt; .002). Our data suggest that [18F]NaF-PET/CT is a promising imaging tool for adult CNO, allowing for detailed structural evaluation of its typical bone, soft-tissue, and joint features. At the same time, [18F]NaF-PET/CT yields quantitative bone remodeling data that represent the pathologically increased bone turnover and the process of new bone formation. Further studies should investigate the application of quantified [18F]NaF uptake as a novel biomarker for disease activity in CNO, and its utility to steer clinical decision making.</p

Tackling bovine TB

On 18 December Defra revealed that during 2018, 32,601 badgers were killed, bringing the total number slaughtered under licence since 2013 to almost 67,000.1 ‘Effectiveness’ claims relate not to the impact on cattle TB, but rather to the ability of the contracted shooters to kill sufficient badgers to satisfy their licence requirements, which they can hardly fail to reach given that target numbers are ‘adjusted’ by Natural England part-way through the culls according to the contractors’ progress. Sixty per cent of the badgers have been killed by ‘controlled shooting’, a method rejected by both the government’s Independent Expert Panel2 and the BVA3 because of animal welfare concerns. During 2018 Natural England directly monitored just 89 (0.43 per cent) of controlled shooting events. It is deplorable that the chief veterinary officer (CVO) continues to support the roll-out of a policy that permits controlled shooting, when veterinary organisations have condemned the method on animal welfare grounds. It is particularly concerning that the CVO appears to have deflected responsibility for humaneness to Natural England’s chief scientist who, as far as we are aware, has no background in animal welfare science. It is also unacceptable for government to attribute reductions in herd bovine TB (bTB) incidents over the first four years of culling in the original ‘pilot’ cull zones to its badger culling policy.4 Independent analysis of this and more recent data from the Gloucestershire pilot cull zone5 indicate that new herd incidence is rising sharply, with 22 herd breakdowns in the 12 months to September 2017 (an increase of 29.4 per cent when compared to the 17 breakdowns reported by APHA for the previous 12 months). Analysis of the 2018 figures indicates that both incidence and prevalence are now rising even faster, with a further 24 herd breakdowns occurring between 1 January and 5 December 2018. To date, the government and its officials cite data that are two years out of date, but have declined to comment on this emerging evidence that, far from resulting in a substantial disease control benefit, badger culls may be leading to a sharp increase in bTB in cattle. Natural England’s chief scientist and the UK’s CVO continue to endorse a failing and inhumane policy, bringing their offices into serious disrepute. We urge them, and the BVA, to reconsider their support for further badger culling, and instead focus on the actual cause of bTB’s epidemic spread – a cattle skin test with a sensitivity of only 50 per cent,6,7 and the ongoing problems associated with cattle movements and on-farm biosecurity