Late Pleistocene-Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Makgadikgadi Basin, central Kalahari, Botswana: new evidence from shallow sediments and ostracod fauna

The Makgadikgadi Basin in Botswana hosts a system of salt lakes, which developed from the Upper Pleistocene onwards due to gradual shrinking of the giant Lake Palaeo-Makgadikgadi. Stratigraphic and palaeoclimatic studies of this area are complicated by influence of several factors, such as a complex history of regional tectonic activities, as well as climatic changes coupled with dryland diagenetic processes. This lake, in the central Kalahari is the key to understand the climatic variability in the southern Africa in the Quaternary and holds important role for the evolution of numerous taxa, including our own. Here, detailed sedimentological analyses (grain size and major elements distribution) of shallow sediments from the Makgadikgadi Pans were combined with the first comprehensive study of the encountered ostracod fauna in order to establish trends in the environmental changes in the area from the Late Quaternary. Ostracod fossil assemblages from the cores of the Makgadikgadi Pans are dominated by the Limnocythere ssp., an opportunistic taxa commonly colonizing the littoral areas of shallow evaporative, ephemeral lakes, together with the subordinate occurrences of Sarcypridopsis ochracea, Sclerocypris cf. bicornis, Candonopsis spp. and Ilyocypris spp. The sediments from the pans show fluctuations in the Cl/K and Ca/Cl ratios, often in phase with the relative abundance of Limnocythere suggesting a cyclicity induced by changes of salinity and alkalinity in the water. This multi-proxy study of the cores collected from the pans suggests a Late Pleistocene shallow, playa lake environment with strongly alkaline water, interrupted by a prolonged drought with sustained aeolian conditions between ~16 and 2 ka BP. An increasing diversity of ostracod fauna in the top 20-30 cm of the cores indicates that a temporary shift toward higher humidity occurred around 2 – 1.5 ka BP and lasted through the Medieval Warm Period. This humid period was followed by an overall desiccation trend that started with the Little Ice Age and continues until the present day

Energy performance progress of the Dutch non-profit housing stock: a longitudinal assessment

Worldwide, buildings consume a large part of the total energy delivered. In the context of all the end-use sectors, buildings represent the largest sector with 39% of the total final energy consumption, followed by transport in the EU (European Union ). Policy targets and regulations are in force at the EU level to ensure the energy efficiency improvement of the building stock. This research seeks to provide insight into the energy performance progress, of the existing non-profit housing stock in the Netherlands, through the application of energy renovations. The non-profit housing stock comprises 30% of the housing market in the Netherlands and a large part of the policies towards a more efficient housing stock rely on the non-profit housing sector. To that end, we determine the energy renovation rate of the stock and the impact of the applied renovations on both the predicted and actual energy consumption. The difference of predicted and actual energy savings is analysed through longitudinal statistical modelling in renovated and non-renovated dwellings. Based on the knowledge gained on the renovation rates of the non-profit housing stock we compare and evaluate future renovation rates through dynamic building stock modelling and empirical data validation. In essence, we examine the effect that the improvement of thermo-physical characteristics of dwellings has on efforts to make the existing housing stock almost emission-neutral by 2050, as advocated by the European Commission since 2011. The renovation activity is expected to be greater than the construction and demolition activity in the future and as such we need to bring awareness to the actual impact and effectiveness of energy renovations.A+BE | Architecture and the Built Environment No 14 (2018)OLD Housing Quality and Process Innovatio

Molecular mechanisms involved in the response of brain tissue to trauma molecular mechanisms involved in the response of brain tissue to trauma

OBJECTIVE: Brain trauma is a major medical problem. It is a primary cause of death, and in the event of survival it leads to long-term ill-health, as well as social and economic problems. The elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in the destruction of brain tissue after trauma and in the induction of permanent changes in brain function is necessary for the development of rational therapeutic approaches. METHOD: A model of focal, mechanical, penetrating injury was employed in adult rats. In this model the expression of certain proteins was studied in order to investigate the response of the brain tissue to trauma. The expression of Heat-shock protein-70 (Hsp-70), Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), the astrocytic marker Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) and Insulin-like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) were studied immunohistochemically. The occurrence of apoptotic cell death was investigated by the TUNEL reaction. In addition, IGF-I was administered to the injured rats and its neuroprotective properties were determined. RESULTS: 4 and 12 hours after the injury, an increase in Hsp-70 expression, limited induction of IGF-I and activation of astroglia around the core of the injury were observed. Neurotrophin expression was severely reduced in a restricted peritraumatic zone and scattered apoptotic cells were detected, mainly in the injured hemisphere but to a lesser degree in the contralateral hemisphere. One week later, an astroglial scar had been formed at the site of the injury and Hsp-70 expression was limited. BDNF levels remained low, while the reduction in NT-3 was no longer visible. IGF-I expression as well as the number of apoptotic cells were further increased. The local administration of IGF-I following the injury restored the normal tissue patterns to a significant degree, as evidenced by the maintenance of normal neurotrophin expression and the reduction of the apoptosis in the injured hemisphere. CONCLUSIONS: Focal mechanical injury of the brain induces significant local changes in BDNF, NT-3 and IGF-I expression, which remain detectable at least one week after the injury. With time, degenerative cellular phenomena, as reflected by Hsp-70 expression and apoptotic cell death, spread beyond the site of tissue damage. Administration of IGF-I after the injury reverses some of these phenomena and is able to help maintain homeostasis of the brain tissue

Energetische verbeteringsmaatregelen in de sociale-huursector: Eindrapport

OTBArchitecture and The Built Environmen

Inclusion of Different Energy Performance Levels for New Buildings in National Residential Building Typologies: Chapter 3.14 The Netherlands

OTBArchitecture and The Built Environmen

Effectiveness of energy renovations: a reassessment based on actual consumption savings

Energy renovations offer unique opportunities to increase the energy efficiency of the built environment and for the existing housing stock; they are the most important solution. Usually, energy savings are based on modeling calculations. However, recent research has shown that the predicted energy consumption differs largely from the actual consumption. In this paper, the effectiveness of energy measures is re-assessed based on actual consumption data. We use a monitoring system, which contains information about the energy performance of around 60% of the Dutch non-profit housing sector (circa 1.2 million dwellings). We connect the data from this monitoring system to actual energy consumption data from Statistics Netherlands on a dwelling level. Using longitudinal analysis methods, from 2010 to 2014, we are able to identify the energy efficiency improvements of the stock and determine the effectiveness of different measures in terms of actual energy savings. The results reveal the actual energy savings of different efficiency measures and highlight the significance of the actual energy consumption when a renovation is planned or realized.OLD Housing Quality and Process Innovatio