Waardering van de site Bergstraat te Oud-Turnhout (Oud-Turnhout, provincie Antwerpen) in het kader van een eventuele toekomstige bescherming

Dit rapport is de neerslag van de archeologische waardering van de site Bergstraat die plaats vond in de zomer van 2008 in het natuurgebied De Liereman te Oud-Turnhout. Naast de waardering van deze oppervlakte site zelf, in functie van een eventuele toekomstige bescherming als archeologische site, behoorde ook het evalueren van de relatie met de site Arendonk Korhaan tot de doelstelling van de studieopdracht. Met het oog op de afbakening van de site werd nagegaan in hoeverre Oud-Turnhout Bergstraat en Arendonk Korhaan beschouwd en beschermd konden worden als één groot sitecomplex. De methode om deze doelstellingen te bereiken omvatte een landschappelijke kartering, een archeologische kartering met behulp van een booronderzoek en het graven van proefputten om de stratigrafische positie en bewaring van de artefacten en hun ruimtelijk verband na te gaan. Alle steekproeven op de rug langs de zuidrand van De Liereman leverden archeologische sites op in goed bewaarde bodems. Meestal is er een podzolbodem aanwezig met hierin artefactconcentraties, maar op verschillende locaties werden bovendien Federmesserartefacten uit een Usselobodem gerecupereerd. Dit is het geval in zone 2, langs de Bergstraat en in zone 4, op de Korhaan. Samen met het feit dat ze zich op dezelfde landschappelijke eenheid bevinden, is de aanwezigheid van artefactconcentraties voldoende continu om deze zones als deel van hetzelfde uitgestrekt sitecomplex te beschouwen. Hiermee loopt het gekende sitescomplex te Arendonk Korhaan tot ver over de site Oud-Turnhout Bergstraat door, waarbij de totale lengte minstens 3km bedraagt. Om naamsverwarring tussen sites en gemeenten te vermijden stellen de auteurs voor om het volledige sitecomplex eenvoudig als De Liereman te benoemen. De bewaring van finaalpaleolithicum in een begraven Usselobodem, en in het bijzonder de gestratifieerde context in zone 4, is momenteel uniek in de regio en biedt uitzonderlijke mogelijkheden voor verder onderzoek. Het hiermee geassocieerde veenpakket vult dit potentieel verder aan wat betreft paleoecologie, terwijl de site ook veel te bieden heeft voor geomorfologisch onderzoek van deze laatglaciale ruggen. Het complex bevindt zich bovendien in een ruimer prehistorisch landschap, waarbij het onderzoek in de noordelijke zone 5 een inzicht in de aanwezigheid van het middenpaleolithicum biedt. Dit uitzonderlijk grote, rijke en goed bewaarde sitecomplex verdient volgens dit rapport niet enkel een bescherming met aangepast beheer, maar ook verder onderzoek. De hier beschreven waarnemingen roepen tal van onderzoeksvragen op die het wetenschappelijke potentieel van de site bevestigen

Evaluation of Microwave Reflection Properties of Cyclically Soaked Mortar Based on a Semiempirical Electromagnetic Model

Detection of chloride ingress and evaluation of its distribution and temporal movement in reinforced concrete structures is an important practical issue. Steel reinforcing bars embedded in good quality concrete are normally protected from corrosion. However, the presence of a sufficient concentration of free chloride ions in the region of the reinforcing steel can initiate the process of corrosion. Therefore, it is important to be able to detect ingress of chloride ions and their distribution in cement-based materials. Moreover, it is important to obtain this information nondestructively. In recent years, near-field microwave nondestructive evaluation methods, using open-ended rectangular waveguide probes, have proven effective for evaluating many important properties of cement-based materials, including the detection of salt, added to the mixing water and when entering these materials through exposure to salt solution. Additionally, successful electromagnetic modeling of the interaction of microwave signals with moist cement-based materials has provided the necessary insight for evaluating the distribution and movement of moisture within these materials, leading to the current study involving ingress of sodium chloride solution. To this end, a mortar cube was subjected to cycles of wetting in a sodium chloride bath with a salinity of 2.8%, followed by episodes of drying. Subsequently, the microwave reflection properties of the cube were measured at 3 and 10 GHz using open-ended rectangular waveguides for several cycles, each lasting about 35 days. A semiempirical electromagnetic model, representing the cube as a stratified structure with a nonuniform dielectric property profile, was then developed to simulate the measured reflection properties. The simulated and the measured results at both frequencies and for all cycles were in good agreement. Subsequently, the effect of ingress of salt solution in terms of the temporal distribution of moisture along with the dissolved salt (i.e., pore solution) within the cube for every cycle was also estimated. This paper presents a brief description of the measurement approach and a detailed description of the model and its results

Chinese Ethics: An Empirical Study of Idealism and Relativism

The purpose of this empirical study is to examine the relationships between ethical views of certain Chinese demographics and to consider different trends that may affect academic and business considerations in the future pertaining to East-West interaction. This study utilizes Forsyth’s Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) to assess the ethical views of 401 Chinese undergraduate students in a rural province of Central China. Regression analyses are applied to investigate the following hypotheses: In a new Chinese context, the EPQ is applicable for assessing the ethical views of Chinese undergraduate students in rural China. Rural Chinese undergraduate student EPQ results are demonstrative of, and, in view of prior studies, are predictive of changes in Chinese ethical considerations. Rural Chinese undergraduate student EPQ results reflect long held Eastern worldview approaches however, in view of prior studies, there is some increasing similarity with Western EPQ outcomes. The findings of this study support the acceptance of the first and third null hypotheses. The practical implications of this study include an understanding that China, though it is rapidly equating with Western levels of market technology and sophistication, continues to resist Western ideals and ethics. Rather, the blending of Western and Eastern principles will continue to evolve and the Chinese worldview will continue to be dominated by the goals and needs of the Chinese State in a reflection of the millennia old culture. The value of this study is that it updates data relating to Chinese ethical approaches in a fast-changing Chinese and global marketplace. Secondly, it clarifies the different considerations and approaches needed when Westerners are dealing with Chinese counterparts in academia and/or business. Lastly, it posits current and future trends likely to affect East-West relationships in these realms

Electromagnetic Modeling of Saltwater Ingress in Mortar at Microwave Frequencies

Corrosion of reinforcing steel is a major cause of damage and deterioration in reinforced concrete structures. Therefore, as the presence of a sufficient concentration of chloride ions can lead to the onset of corrosion in embedded steel, it is of utmost importance to be able to determine the free salt content and its distribution in these materials. Moreover, it is important to obtain this information nondestructively. Previous investigations have shown the capability of near-field microwave nondestructive evaluation methods, using open-ended rectangular waveguide probes, to evaluate many important properties of cement-based materials. In this Investigation, the temporal microwave reflection properties of a mortar cube, subjected to cycles of wetting in a saltwater bath with a salinity of 2.8% and drying were measured at 3 GHz and 10 GHz using open-ended rectangular waveguides for several cycles, each lasting about 35 days. A semi-empirical electromagnetic model was then developed, representing the cube as a stratified structure with a dielectric constant profile to simulate the measured reflection properties. The issue of representing a continuous media as a stratified structure was also explored. The simulated and the measured results at both frequencies, and for all cycles were In good agreement. Subsequently, the volumetric free salt distribution, left In the cube, was also calculated. This paper presents a brief description of the model and its results at 3 GHz for the first cycle

An Electromagnetic Model for Evaluating Temporal Water Content Distribution and Movement in Cyclically Soaked Mortar

Evaluation of water distribution and its temporal movement in cement-based materials is important for assessing cement hydration, curing, and long-term performance. From a practical standpoint, it is also important to obtain this information nondestructively. Near-field microwave nondestructive evaluation methods have proven effective for evaluation of cement-based materials for their various mixture properties, including the detection of salt added to the mixing water and chloride ions entering these materials through exposure to salt water solutions. Electromagnetic modeling of the interaction of microwave signals with moist cement-based materials can provide the necessary insight to evaluate water content distribution and movement in these materials. To this end, the temporal microwave reflection properties of a mortar cube, subjected to cycles of wetting and drying, were measured at 3 and 10 GHz using open-ended rectangular waveguides for several cycles, each lasting about 35 days. A semiempirical electromagnetic model, based on modeling the cube as a layered structure with each layer having a different dielectric constant, was then developed to simulate the measured reflection properties. The simulated and measured results were obtained for both frequencies and, for all cycles, were in good agreement. The most important outcome of the model is the temporal behavior of water content distribution and, hence, its movement in the mortar cube. This paper presents a brief description of the measurement approach and a detailed description of the model. A detailed discussion of the results and its sensitivity to various parameters is also provided

Emotion-Antecedent Appraisal Checks: EEG and EMG datasets for Novelty and Pleasantness [Data set]

This document describes the full details of the first data set (Study 1) used in Coutinho et al., to appear. The Electroencephalography (EEG) and facial Electromyography (EMG) signals included in this dataset, and now made public, were collected in the context of a previous study by Peer, Grandjean, and Scherer, 2014 that addressed three fundamental questions regarding the mechanisms underlying the appraisal process: Whether appraisal criteria are processed (a) in a fixed sequence, (b) independent of each other, and (c) by different neural structures or circuits. In that study, an oddball paradigm with affective pictures was used to experimentally manipulate novelty and intrinsic pleasantness appraisals. EEG was recorded during task performance, together with facial EMG, to measure, respectively, cognitive processing and efferent responses stemming from the appraisal manipulations

A right-handed isotropic medium with a negative refractive index

The sign of the refractive index of any medium is soley determined by the requirement that the propagation of an electromagnetic wave obeys Einstein causality. Our analysis shows that this requirement predicts that the real part of the refractive index may be negative in an isotropic medium even if the electric permittivity and the magnetic permeability are both positive. Such a system may be a route to negative index media at optical frequencies. We also demonstrate that the refractive index may be positive in left-handed media that contain two molecular species where one is in its excited state.Comment: 4.1 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Targeting kidney mesangium by nanoparticles of defined size

Nanoparticles are being investigated for numerous medical applications and are showing potential as an emerging class of carriers for drug delivery. Investigations on how the physicochemical properties (e.g., size, surface charge, shape, and density of targeting ligands) of nanoparticles enable their ability to overcome biological barriers and reach designated cellular destinations in sufficient amounts to elicit biological efficacy are of interest. Despite proven success in nanoparticle accumulation at cellular locations and occurrence of downstream therapeutic effects (e.g., target gene inhibition) in a selected few organs such as tumor and liver, reports on effective delivery of engineered nanoparticles to other organs still remain scarce. Here, we show that nanoparticles of ~75 ± 25-nm diameters target the mesangium of the kidney. These data show the effects of particle diameter on targeting the mesangium of the kidney. Because many diseases originate from this area of the kidney, our findings establish design criteria for constructing nanoparticle-based therapeutics for targeting diseases that involve the mesangium of the kidney

Recombination rates in pigs differ between breeds, sexes and individuals, and are associated with the RNF212, SYCP2, PRDM7, MEI1 and MSH4 loci

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Dette svævende glissando – Sophus Claussens lyrik mellem tradition og modernisme

Peer E. Sørensens foredrag nedenfor blev holdt på Klassikerdagen 22. september 2015 ved et arrangement på Hovedbiblioteket i København.  Peer E. Sørensens foredrag nedenfor blev holdt på Klassikerdagen 22. september 2015 ved et arrangement på Hovedbiblioteket i København