Bewegingsruimte voor mobiliteit : een studie naar de efficiëntie van lokale ruimtelijke inrichtingsvormen in termen van tijd, ruimte en milieubelasting

In deze publicatie zullen de keuzemogelijkheden van een aantal ruimtelijke configuraties op lokaal niveau voor personen afkomstig uit verschillende huishoudenstypen worden vastgesteld en met elkaar worden vergeleken. De huishoudenstypen worden bepaald aan de hand van drie dimensies: arbeidsparticipatie, aanwezigheid van kinderen en levensfase. We hebben drie scenario's geformuleerd aan de hand waarvan de betekenis van ruimtelijke inrichting op de mogelijkheden van personen om verschillende vervoerwijzen to gebruiken, geanalyseerd kunnen worden. We hebben die inrichtingsdimensies geselecteerd waarvan we verwachten dat ze een groot effect op die vervoersmogelijkheden en een grote beleidsrelevantie hebben. De volgende ruimtelijke configuraties staan centraal in deze studie: concentratie-spreiding van consumentenvoorzieningen menging `rode' (verstedelijking) en groene' functies (groenvoorzieningen en water) waarbij gevarieerd wordt in woningdichtheid parkeren op afstand van de woning De scenario's zullen getoetst worden aan de hand van drie criteria: keuzemogelijkheden: in alle scenario's zal vastgesteld worden welke veranderingen, ten opzichte van de huidige situatie, zullen optreden in de keuzemogelijkheden van uiteenlopende huishoudenstypen om van andere vervoerwijzen dan de auto gebruik to maken voor het uitvoeren van gegeven activiteitenprogramma's (dagelijkse activiteiten). Met dit criterium kan beoordeeld worden of verschillende huishoudenstypen hun dagelijkse activiteiten in een bepaald scenario efficienter kunnen uitvoeren of juist in de problemen komen bij her uitvoeren ervan. autokilometrage: de scenario's zullen beoordeeld worden op her aantal afgelegde autokilometers reistijd: de reistijd die benodigd is om activiteiten binnen de alternatieve ruimtelijke configuraties te ontplooie

Measurement of horizontal air showers with the Auger Engineering Radio Array

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA), at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, measures the radio emission of extensive air showers in the 30-80 MHz frequency range. AERA consists of more than 150 antenna stations distributed over 17 km$^2$. Together with the Auger surface detector, the fluorescence detector and the under-ground muon detector (AMIGA), AERA is able to measure cosmic rays with energies above 10$^{17}$ eV in a hybrid detection mode. AERA is optimized for the detection of air showers up to 60$^{\circ}$ zenith angle, however, using the reconstruction of horizontal air showers with the Auger surface array, very inclined showers can also be measured. In this contribution an analysis of the AERA data in the zenith angle range from 62$^{\circ}$ to 80$^{\circ}$ will be presented. CoREAS simulations predict radio emission footprints of several km$^2$ for horizontal air showers, which are now confirmed by AERA measurements. This can lead to radio-based composition measurements and energy determination of horizontal showers in the future and the radio detection of neutrino induced showers is possible.Comment: To be published in the Proceedings of the ARENA2016 conference, Groningen, The Netherland

Progressive damage on high resolution computed tomography despite stable lung function in cystic fibrosis

For effective clinical management of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease it is important to closely monitor the start and progression of lung damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scoring systems and pulmonary function tests (PFT) to detect changes in lung disease. CF children (n=48) had two H

Blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and the incidence of age-related maculopathy: the Rotterdam Study

PURPOSE: To determine whether blood pressure and subclinical atherosclerosis are associated with incident age-related maculopathy (ARM). METHODS: The study was performed within the Rotterdam Study, a population-based, prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. A total of 4822 subjects who at baseline were aged 55 years more, were free of ARM, and participated in at least one of two follow-up examinations after a mean of 2 and 6.5 years, were included in the study. At baseline, blood pressure and the presence of atherosclerosis were determined. ARM was assessed according to the International Classification and Grading System and defined as large, soft drusen with pigmentary changes; indistinct drusen; or atrophic or neovascular age-related macular degeneration. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 5.2 years, incident ARM was diagnosed in 417 subjects. Increased systolic blood pressure or pulse pressure was associated with a higher risk of ARM. Adjusted for age, gender, smoking, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, and diabetes mellitus, odds ratios (OR) per 10-mm Hg increase were 1.08 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.14) and 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04-1.18), respectively. Moreover, different measures of atherosclerosis were associated with the risk of ARM. An increase in carotid wall thickness (OR per 1 SD, 1.15; 95% CI: 1.03-1.28) increased the risk of ARM. The lowest compared with the highest tertile of ankle-arm index had an OR of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.00-1.75). A weak association was found between aortic calcifications and the risk of ARM. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated systolic blood or pulse pressure or the presence of atherosclerosis may increase the risk of development of ARM

The Economics and Politics of Contracting out with the Private Sector: Evidence from the US Transit Industry

The paper studies contracting practices in the US transit industry. It employs the methods of transaction cost economics and public choice theory to develop an empirical model of bus contracting in the US transit industry. The empirical results shed light on why transit services in the US remain largely public, despite many attempts to introduce competition by contracting out services to the private sector. The results show that the decision by transit agencies to contract out with the private sector is constrained by the transaction costs of contracting and the institutional and subsidy arrangements that govern the transit industry in the US. Services that require idiosyncratic investments to provide large densities of passengers are less likely to be contracted out than those services that are provided using standard, small vehicles. Similarly, increases in federal subsidies and dedicated subsidies are found to discourage contracting out with the private sector. On the other hand, increases in state and local subsidies, other things being equal, encourage contracting. Agencies that have high labor costs –– indicating strong labor unions –– are less likely to contract out. In light of these findings, the paper concludes that piecemeal contracting out of services is not likely to increase the role of the private sector in the provision of public transit services. Structures of subsidies and federal arrangements creates intertwined incentives that discourage contracting by transit agencies, thus foiling the attempts to increase efficiencies by establishing competition for transit markets.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

The ExaVolt Antenna: Concept and Development Updates

A flux of ultrahigh energy neutrinos is expected both directly from sources and from interactions between ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and the cosmic microwave background. Using the cost-effective radio Cherenkov technique to search for these neutrinos, the ExaVolt Antenna (EVA) is a mission concept that aims to build on the capabilities of earlier radio-based balloon-borne neutrino detectors and increase the sensitivity to lower energies and fluxes. The novel EVA design exploits the surface of the balloon to provide a focusing reflector that aims to provide a signal gain of ~ 30 dBi (compared to 10 dBi on ANITA). This increase in gain when combined with a large instantaneous viewing angle will yield a 10-fold increase in sensitivity and will allow this balloon-borne experiment to probe the expected low neutrino fluxes even at energies greater than 1019 eV. This contribution will present an overview of the mission concept, recent technology developments, and the results of a hang test of a 1:20-scale model which demonstrates the effectiveness of the design

Modelling Tropical Deforestation: A Comparison of Approaches

International audienceTropical deforestation, as an important factor in global change, is a topic that recently has received considerable attention. GIS-based spatially explicit models that intend to predict the location of land use/cover change (LUCC) can help scientists and policy makers to understand, anticipate and possibly prevent the adverse effects of land-use change. There are many approaches and softwares to model LUCC such as CLUE-S, DINAMICA GEOMOD and IDRISI. This study intends to compare these four modelling approaches. First, a review of methods and tools employed by each software to carry out the simulation was done. Then, the four packages were applied to a "virtual" case which involves a map of deforestation, which comprises two types of deforestation (forest to shifting agriculture and forest to pasture lands), along with several explanatory variables (drivers). Deforestation was modelled using the four approaches and the output maps were compared