Climate research Netherlands : research highlights

In the Netherlands the temperature has risen, on average, by 1.6°C since 1900. Regional climate scenarios for the 21st century developed by the Dutch Royal Meteorological Institute [1] show that temperature in the Netherlands will continue to rise and mild winters and hot summers will become more common. On average winters will become wetter and extreme precipitation amounts will increase. The intensity of extreme rain showers in summer will increase and the sea level will continue to rise. Changing climate will affect all segments and sectors of the society and the economy of the Netherlands, but it also brings new opportunities for major innovation

Microwave-induced nonequilibrium temperature in a suspended carbon nanotube

Antenna-coupled suspended single carbon nanotubes exposed to 108 GHz microwave radiation are shown to be selectively heated with respect to their metal contacts. This leads to an increase in the conductance as well as to the development of a power-dependent DC voltage. The increased conductance stems from the temperature dependence of tunneling into a one-dimensional electron system. The DC voltage is interpreted as a thermovoltage, due to the increased temperature of the electron liquid compared to the equilibrium temperature in the leads

Метаморфози терміна "ідентичність" у західній філософській традиції

Стаття присвячена інтерпретації категорії «ідентичність» у європейській філософській традиції від Парменіда до П. Рікера. Авторка виокремлює головні чотири парадигми її тлумачення: космологічну, теоцентричну, новоєвропейську та сучасну. У статті також простежується еволюція змістовних значень слова «ідентичність» у західній та вітчизняній філософії та інших галузях гуманітарного знання.Статья посвящена интерпретации категории «идентичность» в европейской философской традиции от Парменида до П. Рикера. Автор выделяет четыре главные парадигмы её толкования: космологическую, теоцентрическую, новоевропейскую и современную. В статье также прослеживается эволюция содержательных значений слова «идентичность» в западной и отечественной философии и других областях гуманитарного знания

Recurrent governance challenges in the implementation and alignment of flood risk management strategies: a review

In Europe increasing flood risks challenge societies to diversify their Flood Risk Management Strategies (FRMSs). Such a diversification implies that actors not only focus on flood defence, but also and simultaneously on flood risk prevention, mitigation, preparation and recovery. There is much literature on the implementation of specific strategies and measures as well as on flood risk governance more generally. What is lacking, though, is a clear overview of the complex set of governance challenges which may result from a diversification and alignment of FRM strategies. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap. It elaborates on potential processes and mechanisms for coordinating the activities and capacities of actors that are involved on different levels and in different sectors of flood risk governance, both concerning the implementation of individual strategies and the coordination of the overall set of strategies. It identifies eight overall coordination mechanisms that have proven to be useful in this respect

Anomalous response of superconducting titanium nitride resonators to terahertz radiation

We present an experimental study of KIDs fabricated of atomic layer deposited TiN films, and characterized at radiation frequencies of $350$~GHz. The responsivity to radiation is measured and found to increase with increasing radiation powers, opposite to what is expected from theory and observed for hybrid niobium titanium nitride / aluminium (NbTiN/Al) and all-aluminium (all-Al) KIDs. The noise is found to be independent of the level of the radiation power. The noise equivalent power (NEP) improves with higher radiation powers, also opposite to what is observed and well understood for hybrid NbTiN/Al and all-Al KIDs. We suggest that an inhomogeneous state of these disordered superconductors should be used to explain these observations

CART - a chemical annotation retrieval toolkit

MOTIVATION: Data on bioactivities of drug-like chemicals is rapidly accumulating in public repositories, creating new opportunities for research in computational systems pharmacology. However, integrative analysis of these data sets is difficult due to prevailing ambiguity between chemical names and identifiers and a lack of cross-references between databases. RESULTS: To address this challenge, we have developed CART, a Chemical Annotation Retrieval Toolkit. As a key functionality, it matches an input list of chemical names into a comprehensive reference space to assign unambiguous chemical identifiers. In this unified space, bioactivity annotations can be easily retrieved from databases covering a wide variety of chemical effects on biological systems. Subsequently, CART can determine annotations enriched in the input set of chemicals and display these in tabular format and interactive network visualizations, thereby facilitating integrative analysis of chemical bioactivity data

F1F0 ATP synthase subunit c is a substrate of the novel YidC pathway for membrane protein biogenesis

The Escherichia coli YidC protein belongs to the Oxa1 family of membrane proteins that have been suggested to facilitate the insertion and assembly of membrane proteins either in cooperation with the Sec translocase or as a separate entity. Recently, we have shown that depletion of YidC causes a specific defect in the functional assembly of F(1)F(0) ATP synthase and cytochrome o oxidase. We now demonstrate that the insertion of in vitro–synthesized F(1)F(0) ATP synthase subunit c (F(0)c) into inner membrane vesicles requires YidC. Insertion is independent of the proton motive force, and proteoliposomes containing only YidC catalyze the membrane insertion of F(0)c in its native transmembrane topology whereupon it assembles into large oligomers. Co-reconstituted SecYEG has no significant effect on the insertion efficiency. Remarkably, signal recognition particle and its membrane-bound receptor FtsY are not required for the membrane insertion of F(0)c. In conclusion, a novel membrane protein insertion pathway in E. coli is described in which YidC plays an exclusive role

Terrestrial mammals of a sheep-grazing property on Bruny Island, Tasmania

Land-based mammals were surveyed in a mosaic of dry sclerophyll forests and pasture on a sheep-grazing property on Bruny Island, Tasmania, using a range of methods in August 2010. 'This is the first mammal survey of a sheep-grazing property in Tasmania and the first large-scale survey of mammals on Bruny Island. Ten species were recorded comprising seven native and three introduced species. The Little Forest Bat, Vespadelus vulturnus, and the Black Rat, Rattus rattus, were recorded for the first time on Bruny Island, although both are probably long-term residents. No mammal species listed as rare or threatened under Tasmanian or Australian legislation were found on the property. Large numbers of Eastern Quolls, Dasyurus viverrinus, Brushtail Possums, Trichosurus vulpecula, Tasmanian Pademelons, Thylogale billardierii, and Bennetts Wallabies, Macropus rufogriseus, were recorded in a range of dry sclerophyll forests and in pasture. Longnosed Potoroos, Potorous tridactylus, were recorded widely on the property in native vegetation with relatively thick ground cover. Eastern Quoll capture rates were highest in pasture areas and in Eucalyptus ovata forest. Brushtail Possums, Long-nosed Potoroos, Tasmanian Pademelons and Bennetts Wallabies were virtually unrecorded from E. tenuiramis forest and woodlands. Given the level of survey effort and their potential to occur on the property it was remarkable that no Tasmanian Bettong, Bettongia gaimardi, Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Perameles gunnii, Southern Brown Bandicoot, lsoodon obesulus, or introduced House Mouse, Mus musculus, were recorded. We found that camera trapping was more cost-efficient than cage trapping for detecting the presence of mammals on "Murrayfield". Recommendations for ongoing management and monitoring of mammals are provided

One- and two-photon spectroscopy of a flux qubit coupled to a microscopic defect

We observed the dynamics of a superconducting flux qubit coupled to an extrinsic quantum system (EQS). The presence of the EQS is revealed by an anticrossing in the spectroscopy of the qubit. The excitation of a two-photon transition to the third excited state of the qubit-EQS system allows us to extract detailed information about the energy level structure and the coupling of the EQS. We deduce that the EQS is a two-level system, with a transverse coupling to the qubit. The transition frequency and the coupling of the EQS changed during experiments, which supports the idea that the EQS is a two-level system of microscopic origin.Comment: accepted in Physical Review