State of the art review on climate change impacts on natural ecosystems and adaptation

Climate change has become unavoidable and the Netherlands has started to adapt the water systems and coastal defense to reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change. These strategies to make the Netherlands climate-proof will also have its impact on nature and ecosystem functioning, in addition to the direct impacts of climate change. This report provides a state-of-the-art review of national and international research with respect to climate change impacts and adaptation, relevant to natural ecosystems in the Netherlands. This review is intended to serve as a reference of current available knowledge and will assist in programming new research required for climate-proofing the Netherland

Examination of the macroeconomic implicit tax rate on labour derived by the European Commission

All tax indicator estimates, whether based on aggregate- or micro data, need to be corroborated by other information and preferably also other tax indicators before policy conclusions can reasonably be drawn. The purpose of this paper is to describe the way the (macroeconomic implicit tax rate on labour income is calculated in the European Commission Structures of the Taxation Systems in the EU? publication, to show its relationship to the widely recognised (microeconomic) tax wedge indicator for an average production worker from the "Taxing Wages" approach of the OECD, and to illustrate its use. It appears from the European Commission report that evidence from the implicit tax ratio at the macro level in a single year cannot simply be projected to observations for an average worker at the micro level, and conversely. With a few exemptions, however, both the macroeconomic and the microeconomic indicator appear to have comparable informative content as regards to general increasing or decreasing trends over time. It should be noted that the changes in the macroeconomic implicit tax rate may reflect structural changes in the entire economy, such as changes in the distribution of wage income. The implicit tax rate relates to actual tax revenue data and it could be, for example, that the revenue effect of targeted reductions in personal income tax, at say, the lower end of the income scale, has been offset by increases in wage income at the top of the wage scale. The two indicators could then be considered complementary instruments for evaluating tax policy.European Union, Tax indicators, Effective tax rates, Taxes on labour, Non-wage labour costs

Field Simulation of Global Change: Transplanting Northern Bog Mesocosms Southward

A large proportion of northern peatlands consists of Sphagnum-dominated ombrotrophic bogs. In these bogs, peat mosses (Sphagnum) and vascular plants occur in an apparent stable equilibrium, thereby sustaining the carbon sink function of the bog ecosystem. How global warming and increased nitrogen (N) deposition will affect the species composition in bog vegetation is still unclear. We performed a transplantation experiment in which mesocosms with intact vegetation were transplanted southward from north Sweden to north-east Germany along a transect of four bog sites, in which both temperature and N deposition increased. In addition, we monitored undisturbed vegetation in control plots at the four sites of the latitudinal gradient. Four growing seasons after transplantation, ericaceous dwarf shrubs had become much more abundant when transplanted to the warmest site which also had highest N deposition. As a result ericoid aboveground biomass in the transplanted mesocosms increased most at the southernmost site, this site also had highest ericoid biomass in the undisturbed vegetation. The two dominant Sphagnum species showed opposing responses when transplanted southward; Sphagnum balticum height increment decreased, whereas S. fuscum height increment increased when transplanted southward. Sphagnum production did not differ significantly among the transplanted mesocosms, but was lowest in the southernmost control plots. The dwarf shrub expansion and increased N concentrations in plant tissues we observed, point in the direction of a positive feedback toward vascular plant-dominance suppressing peat-forming Sphagnum in the long term. However, our data also indicate that precipitation and phosphorus availability influence the competitive balance between Sphagnum, dwarf shrubs and graminoids

Disruptions in large value payment systems: an experimental approach

This experimental study investigates the behaviour of banks in a large value payment system. More specifically,we look at 1) the reactions of banks to disruptions in the payment system, 2) the way in which the history of disruptions affects the behaviour of banks (path dependency) and 3) the effect of more concentration in the payment system (heterogeneous market versus a homogeneous market). The game used in this experiment is a stylized version of a model of Bech and Garrett (2006) in which each bank can choose between paying in the morning (efficient) or in the afternoon (inefficient). The results show that there is significant path dependency in terms of disruption history. Also the chance of disruption influences the behaviour of the participants. Once the system is moving towards the inefficient equilibrium, it does not easily move back to the efficient one. Furthermore, there is a clear leadership effect in the heterogeneous market

FFF Printing of Dual Material Molds

A new method for investment casting using additive manufacturing (AM) is proposed. The method can be performed using an FFF printing device having dual nozzles. One of the nozzle deposits a first material while the second nozzle prints a second material different from the first material. Both materials are used to create molds for casting so as to manufacture an end product. The proposed method allows for printing of complex mold geometries

A close-up of colon cancer

Understanding development of colorectal cancer requires knowledge on homeostasis of the normal intestinal epithelium as well as intestinal tumorigenesis. In the current thesis, a number of aspects of these two intricately connected subjects are further discussed

A novel high temperature and flame resistant Twaron aramid foam

Para-aramid fibers (e.g. Twaron) are well known for their high strength, high heat and flame resistance. The newly developed aramid syntactic foam consists of a Twaron para-aramid matrix and hollow glass spheres. It shows an excellent heat stability up to 450 °C. In heat resistance tests at 1200 °C there was virtually no smoke development and a good form retention. Fire protection tests showed that aramid foam is nearly non-combustible and that even a non-combustible grade can be made. The density of the foam ranges typically from 200 to 300 kg/m3, depending on the aramid-glass ratio. It also has a low moisture absorption of only 1.5% at 70 °C and 85% relative humidity. The high temperature resistance and good form retention of the aramid foam makes it a suitable candidate to use as a core for sandwich structures with thermoplastic facings, e.g. PEEK/carbon. The foam can also be applied for fire protection, e.g. in fire retardant doors, bulkheads or hatches in naval or industrial applications

Adjustable emissions caps and the price of pollution

Cap and trade schemes often use a policy of adjustable allowance supply with the intention to stabilize the market for allowances. We investigate whether these policies deliver with a focus on allowance prices. Motivated by existing policies, we study schemes that rely on either the allowance price (price measures) or the surplus of unused allowances (quantity measures) to adjust supply in a dynamic cap and trade market. Compared to emissions trading under a fixed cap, we find that price measures stabilize allowance prices. Quantity measures can be destabilizing. Though phrased in the context of changing interest rates, our results warn more generally against the belief that quantity measures are a suitable instrument to promote a stable cap and trade market

Paresthesia free spinal cord stimulation in experimental chronic neuropathic pain

Chronic neuropathic pain is a great burden for patients, often leading to disability and reduced quality of life. Conventional pharmaceutical treatment often does not result in sufficient pain relief or is accompanied by unacceptable side effects. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an advanced treatment option for these patients that do not respond to pharmaceutical treatments. However, conventional SCS is not perfect and the SCS-field is ever evolving, resulting in more recently developed paresthesia free (PF-) SCS paradigms. These PF-paradigms still require optimization to potentially increase treatment efficacy. This thesis describes the effects of various types of PF-SCS paradigms on mechanical hypersensitivity in rodent models of chronic neuropathic pain. In addition, the involvement of spinal serotonergic and GABAergic systems in the analgesic mechanisms of PF-SCS is characterized. The findings in this thesis provide an important fundament for the (mechanism-based) optimization of PF-SCS-induced analgesia in patients suffering from chronic neuropathic pain