Bruinkoolwinning en landschapsherstel: een landschapskroniek

In de Lausitz, in het oosten van Duitsland, ruim honderd kilometer ten zuiden van Berlijn bevinden zich bruinkoolmijnen. Het integreren van landschapsnarratie met het landschappelijk en ecologisch benaderen van landschapsherstel als uitgangspunt voor het ontwerpen aan voormalige bruinkoolmijnen in de Lausitz. Dat is de inzet van de masterstudie, waarover in dit artikel verslag wordt gedaa

A method to impregnate wet soil samples, producing high-quality thin sections.

[120.031]Mineral soils with different moisture content and texture were impregnated successfully by the method described. The water present in the soil sample is replaced by acetone and the acetone-saturated sample is impregnated by FitzPatrick's method (1970) (using acetone as thinner of the polyester resin Synolith 544). Shrinkage is minimal and the thin sections are of high quality. It should be possible to correlate thin section data obtained by this method with physical data obtained from undisturbed material. Micromorphologically, a better understanding of the plasmic fabrics should be possible. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

Toshisada Nishida (1941–2011): Chimpanzee Rapport

Frans de Waal pays tribute to pioneering primatologist Toshisada Nishida, who transformed our understanding of chimpanzee behavior and culture and galvanized efforts to ensure their conservation

Richtlijnen voor een ontwikkelingsplan voor de Oostkust van Sumatra

Suggestions were made to improve the agricultural situation resulting from the Second World war. The former estate agriculture on the East Coast of Sumatra, established in 1865 by westerners in a sparsely populated and isolated area, occupied 1,000,000 ha in 1940 mainly under tobacco, rubber, oil palms and fibre- plants, but was replaced by foodstuffs during the Japanese occupation, as rice was no longer imported. The Bureau for Land Utilization, established in 1948 in Djakarta, tried to indicate the most efficient integrated use of the land by regional, social, economic and physical planning, in contrast to former incidental actions. An insight was gained into the scope of soil and climate, while some structural defects also came to light of which the chief were the pluralistic structure of society, the legal regulations on tenure, the one-sided production and the presence of cultivated areas as a foreign element, also in a physical sense. The one-sided production appeared from the export of raw materials from estate agriculture and import of manufactured goods and foodstuffs. The area grew only 50 % of its rice. The development plan must increase both individual prosperity and regional economic stability and promote the agricultural industries and service establishments

Розробка нейромережевої інтелектуальної системи для прогнозування енергетичних центрів плямових зображень у процесах профілювання лазерного променя

Здійснено розробку нейромережевої інтелектуальної системи для прогнозування енергетичних центрів (ЕЦ) плямових зображень у процесах профілювання лазерного променя (ЛП). Обґрунтовано актуальність задачі прогнозування координат ЕЦ профілю ЛП. Розглянуто методи прогнозування та обґрунтовано доцільність застосування нейромережевої моделі. Здійснено комп’ютерне моделювання системи прогнозування, а також на основі отриманих результатів сформульовано вимоги та здійснено програмну реалізацію інтелектуальної системи.Выполнено разработку нейросетевой интеллектуальной системы для прогнозирования энергетических центров (ЭЦ) пятенных зображений в процесах профилирования лазерного луча (ЛЛ). Обоснована актуальность задачи прогнозирования координат ЭЦ профиля ЛЛ. Рассмотрены методы прогнозирования и обоснована целесообразность применения нейросетевой модели. Выполнено компьютерное моделирование системы прогнозирования, а также на основе полученных результатов сформулированы требования и выполнено программную реализацию интеллектуальной системы.The development of a neural net intellectual system for energy centers (EC) spot images forecasting in the processes of laser beam profiling (LB) is done. Actuality of the problem of coordinates forecasting of EC of laser beam profile is proved. Methods of forecasting are considered and the appropriateness of usage the neural net model is justified. Computer simulation of forecasting system is carried out and also on the basis of the obtained results the requirements are formulated and software implementation of intelligent system is performed

Research Chimpanzees May Get a Break

A recent report by the Institute of Medicine leaves few urgent reasons standing for the continued use of chimpanzees in biomedical research. It is high time to think about their retirement, Frans de Waal argues, without neglecting prospects for non-invasive research on behavior, cognition, and genetics

Touch-screen-guided task reveals a prosocial choice tendency by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Humans help others even without direct benefit for themselves. However, the nature of altruistic (i.e., only the other benefits) and prosocial (i.e., self and other both benefit) behaviors in our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, remains controversial. To address this further, we developed a touch-screen-guided task that allowed us to increase the number of trials for a thorough test of chimpanzees' prosocial and altruistic tendencies. Mother-offspring dyads were tested in the same compartment; one was the actor while the other was the recipient. In Experiment 1, the actor chose among three options: prosocial, selfish (only the actor benefited) and altruistic. To better understand the nature of the chimpanzees' choices and to improve experimental control, we conducted two additional experiments. Experiment 2 consisted of two-option choices interspersed with three-option choices, and in Experiment 3 the two-option choice were blocked across all trials. The results of Experiment 1 clearly showed that chimpanzees acted prosocially in the touch-screen-guided task, choosing the prosocial option on an average of 79% of choices. Five out of the six chimpanzees showed the preference to act prosocially against chance level. The preference for the prosocial option persisted when conditions were changed in Experiments 2 and 3. When only selfish and altruistic options were available in Experiments 2 and 3, chimpanzees preferred the selfish option. These results suggest that (1) most individuals understood the nature of the task and modified their behavior according to the available options, (2) five out of the six chimpanzees chose to act prosocially when they had the option to, and (3) offspring counterbalanced between altruistic and selfish, when given those two options perhaps to avoid suffering repercussions from the mother.Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan [24000001]; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS); [16H06283]; [22700270