Achieving accurate FTIR measurements on high performance bandpass filters

The sources of ordinate error in FTIR spectrometers are reviewed with reference to measuring small out-of-band features in the spectra of bandpass filters. Procedures for identifying instrumental artefacts are described. It is shown that features well below 0.01%T can be measured reliably

Evaluating store location and department composition based on spatial heterogeneity in sales potential

In this paper, we extend a retail location evaluation model with the possibility to include the effect of department size adaptation at the store level. We relate department-level store sales to a store's competitive and demographic environment, thereby providing richer insights into the drivers of department sales than a model of just aggregate sales. Further, we accommodate heterogeneity in consumer characteristics over space by using zip code level data and unobserved spatial effects in department sales by including spatially autocorrelated error terms. Using spatial panel data for 30 clothing stores belonging to one Dutch retail chain, we demonstrate how to use the modeling approach to analyze and predict sales performance of new and existing stores. We show that the predictive performance of our model is superior to that of a benchmark model that does not include spatial autocorrelation.</p

The impact of hard discounter presence on store satisfaction and store loyalty

Hard discounters, such as Aldi and Lidl, have become more important in the last decade. Recent research suggests that the presence of a hard discounter (HD) decreases customers' share of wallet. In this study, we aim to understand why this occurs, by considering how HD presence affects store attributes and store satisfaction. In particular, we investigate whether HD presence affects store satisfaction formation as well as the effect of store satisfaction on share of wallet. We analyze Dutch data on store attribute evaluations, store satisfaction and share of wallet. Our results show that HD presence decreases convenience evaluations of a store, satisfaction and share of wallet. Moreover, we show that the relationship between convenience and store satisfaction becomes more important when a HD is present, while we then also find a stronger positive relationship between satisfaction and share of wallet. Simulations based on our model estimations show that especially price-oriented retailers should fear decreases in share of wallet when a HD is present

Inleiding symposium 'Silent Spring, 50 jaar later'

Een halve eeuw geleden publiceerde Rachel Carson het boek Silent Spring, dat de aandacht vestigde op milieuproblemen en het begin betekende van de milieubeweging. Op zaterdag 17 november 2012 vond in Leiden het symposium ‘Silent Spring, 50 jaar later’ plaats. De Nederlandse Entomologische Vereniging (NEV) organiseerde deze dag met medewerking van de Uyttenboogaart-Eliasen Stichting, De Vlinderstichting, Stichting Natuur en Milieu, Vereniging Natuurmonumenten en de Faunabescherming. Het was een groot succes met tien gezaghebbende sprekers en circa 130 bezoeker

Infrared optical coatings for the EarthCARE Multispectral Imager

The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer mission (EarthCARE) Multispectral Imager (MSI) is a radiometric instrument designed to provide the imaging of the atmospheric cloud cover and the cloud top surface temperature from a sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. The MSI forms part of a suite of four instruments destined to support the European Space Agency Living Planet mission on-board the EarthCARE satellite payload to be launched in 2016, whose synergy will be used to construct three-dimensional scenes, textures and temperatures of atmospheric clouds and aerosols. The MSI instrument contains seven channels: four solar channels to measure visible and short-wave infrared wavelengths, and three channels to measure infrared thermal emission. In this paper, we describe the optical layout of the infrared instrument channels, thin-film multilayer designs, the coating deposition method and the spectral system throughput for the bandpass interference filters, dichroic beam splitters, lenses and mirror coatings to discriminate wavelengths at 8.8, 10.8, & 12.0 µm. The rationale for the selection of thin-film materials, spectral measurement technique, and environmental testing performance are also presented

Species-specific metabolic reprogramming in human and mouse microglia during inflammatory pathway induction

Metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of the immune cells in response to inflammatory stimuli. This metabolic process involves a switch from oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to glycolysis or alterations in other metabolic pathways. However, most of the experimental findings have been acquired in murine immune cells, and little is known about the metabolic reprogramming of human microglia. In this study, we investigate the transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolic profiles of mouse and iPSC-derived human microglia challenged with the TLR4 agonist LPS. We demonstrate that both species display a metabolic shift and an overall increased glycolytic gene signature in response to LPS treatment. The metabolic reprogramming is characterized by the upregulation of hexokinases in mouse microglia and phosphofructokinases in human microglia. This study provides a direct comparison of metabolism between mouse and human microglia, highlighting the species-specific pathways involved in immunometabolism and the importance of considering these differences in translational research.</p

Study plan and preliminary results of the intervention in the Salmonella status of finishing herds by adding organic acids to the drinking water of finishers

Risk factor analysis of Salmonella infections in The Netherlands showed that feeding acidified or fermented byproducts to finishers gave a strong protection against Salmonella infections. This protective effect can be explained by bactericidal effect of the organic acids present in these feeds and the low pH (pH=4). In this study we investigated the hypothesis that the same result could be obtained by adding organic acids to the drinkingwater of finishers on farms that feed their finishers compound feed

Uitroeiing van schurft op varkensbedrijven

De Projectgroep “Vrijwaring Schurft” heeft van het Programmateam “Diergezondheid in Beweging” de opdracht gekregen om, indien mogelijk, een haalbaar en controleerbaar schurftvrij-programma voor de Nederlandse varkenshouderij te ontwikkelen. De volgende onderzoeksvragen zijn hierbij beantwoord: 1 - Is het mogelijk een ELISA te ontwikkelen voor het aantonen van antilichamen in het bloed tegen de schurftmijt van het varken (Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis), die op het laboratorium routinematig kan worden toegepast? 2- Is het mogelijk om met schurft besmette varkensbedrijven door middel van een tweemalige ivermectine-behandeling van alle aanwezige varkens, aangevuld met hygiënische maatregelen maar zonder ontschurfting van de omgeving, vrij te krijgen van schurft? 3 - Kan een bedrijf dat eenmaal schurftvrij is door middel van uitsluitend hygiënische maatregelen gedurende tenminste één jaar schurftvrij blijven? 4 - Wat is het ingeschatte economische effect van uitroeiing van schurft op praktijkbedrijven