Rechtvaardigheid: ook iets voor de jurist?

Welk recht is rechtvaardig? Een vraag die onder juristen en in de rechtenopleidingen slechts op weinig aandacht rekenen. Dit terwijl de rechtswetenschap mede tot taak heeft de grondslagen van onze maatschappij te codificeren en – vervolgens – te interpreteren. Dit essay gaat parafraserend en aan de hand van voorbeelden uit het Nederlandse recht in op Jacques Derrida’s Kracht van wet. Dwang is voor Derrida een centraal begrip om recht en rechtvaardigheid met elkaar in verband te brengen. Rechtvaardigheid wordt bepaald door de combinatie van verschillende verschijningsvormen van dwang. Daarnaast maakt Derrida een onderscheid tussen rechtvaardigheid binnen en rechtvaardigheid buiten het rechtssysteem. Omdat deze zo nu en dan op elkaar moeten worden afgestemd, doet de jurist er goed aan om zich met beide soorten bekend te maken

Productivity regime and phytoplankton size structure in the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic in spring 1989

Productivity regime and phytoplankton size structure are described for two different epipelagic systems in the tropical/subtropical Northeast Atlantic Ocean investigated during 9–11 day drift studies in spring 1989 in the JGOFS North Atlantic Bloom Experiment, 18°N, 30°W and 33°N, 20°W. At the 18°N study site, an oligotrophic system was encountered. The water column above the main pycnocline at about 50–60 m depth was nutrient-depleted, and both chlorophyll and primary production displayed subsurface maxima at the nutricline. Picoplankton was the dominant size fraction, accounting for 78–90% of chlorophyll and 83–98% of primary production. Synechococcus-type coccoid cyanobacteria were the dominant picoplankters. The hydrographic situation was characterized by high small-scale variability; the most interesting feature was the intrusion of nutrient-depleted Subtropical Salinity Maximum Water into the euphotic zone, whose impacts on the productivity regime are discussed. At 33°N study site, a post-bloom situation was encountered. Although the euphotic zone was nutrient-depleted, higher amounts of larger phytoplankton were present, the contribution of picoplankton being 42–53% of chlorophyll and 42–86% of primary production. Over the course of the drift study, subsurface maxima of chlorophyll and productivity evolved, the contribution of picoplankton having increased. Picocyanobacteria again were the dominant picoplankters. At both study sites the profiles of abundance ratios of picocyanobacteria to picoeucaryotes cell numbers proved to be a useful tool to characterize water masses

Productivity regime and phytoplankton size structure in the Arabian Sea

The productivity regime and size structure of phytoplankton are described for three different epipelagic systems in the Arabian Sea during the inter-monsoon period in spring 1987: (1) the coast of Oman; (2) the central Arabian Sea; and (3) the shelf off Pakistan. These results are related to the functioning of the specific ecosystem. Off the coast of Oman, the transition from a surface maximum of autotrophic biomass and production to a more oligotrophic system, with a chlorophyll subsurface maximum, was observed. Concomitantly, the size spectrum changed towards a higher significance of picoplankton. In the central Arabian Sea, a typical oligotrophic system with a pronounced subsurface maximum of autotrophic biomass and primary production was encountered. Here, the epipelagic system could be divided into two distinct sub-systems: the surface layer “regenerated” production, the predominance of picophytoplankton and minor losses due to sedimentation, thus a “closed” system; and the subsurface maximum layer at the nutricline characterized by higher sedimentation losses and more diatoms. Both sub-systems showed about the same productivity, the turnover in the surface layer having been much greater than in the subsurface maximum. The system on the shelf off Pakistan is seen as a decay stage of the open ocean system when water from offshore is transported onto the shelf during the onset of monsoon winds

Increased plasma concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with atopic dermatitis and its relation to disease severity and platelet activation

BACKGROUND: Overproduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in atopic dermatitis (AD) lesions has previously been observed. It is also known that platelet is an important source of VEGF and platelet factor 4 (PF-4), a potential marker of AD severity. AIM: To evaluate concentrations of VEGF and its soluble receptors (sVEGF-R1 and sVEGF-R2) in the plasma of AD patients and to examine its possible correlation with disease severity and plasma concentrations of PF-4, a platelet activation marker. METHODS: Plasma concentrations of VEGF and its receptors and levels of PF-4 were measured by an immunoenzymatic assay in 51 AD patients and in 35 healthy non-atopic controls. The severity of the disease was evaluated using the eczema area and severity index. RESULTS: AD patients showed significantly increased VEGF and PF-4 plasma concentrations as compared with the controls. Plasma concentrations of sVEGF-R1 and sVEGF-R2 did not differ between the groups. There were no remarkable correlations between plasma VEGF concentration and disease severity or between VEGF and PF-4 concentration. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that plasma concentration of VEGF may be increased in patients suffering from AD. It seems that plasma VEGF concentration is not a useful marker of disease severity and, apart from platelets, other cells might also release the cytokine

EV market development pathways - An application of System Dynamics for policy simulation

The transport sector, in particular road transport, is a major consumer of energy and a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing to climate change. There is increasing pressure to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars (e.g. in the EU, the Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 sets the limit of CO2 emissions of new passenger cars to 95 g of CO2 from 2020 [1]). Today, the global vehicle stock has more than 1 billion units and relies almost entirely on oil-based energy. According to various projections, the global vehicle fleet could double or even triple by 2050. The energy and environmental implications of such increase would not be negligible. In this context, it is argued that the electrification of the global vehicle fleet emerges as a desirable goal. Electric vehicles (EVs) are expected to help meet key energy and environmental goals, leading to a decrease in oil imports, an increase in energy independency and to a decrease in CO2 emissions. This paper focuses on the EV market penetration in key OECD countries as well as in China and India, considering various vehicle technologies for passenger light-duty vehicles (PLDVs). In particular, the paper investigates the impacts of EVs on oil demand and CO2 emissions in the countries of interest under various scenarios until 2050. For this purpose, a System Dynamics (SD) model is developed and the results of various simulations assessed. The output of the model includes possible future market shares of EVs as well as their specific energy and environmental impacts. Our results show to what extent EVs can potentially contribute to reduce oil dependency andCO2 emissions in the countries analysed beyond 2030

A 40 Gbaud integratedsilicon coherent receiver

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Surface wave control for large arrays of microwave kinetic inductance detectors

Large ultra-sensitive detector arrays are needed for present and future observatories for far infra-red, submillimeter wave (THz), and millimeter wave astronomy. With increasing array size, it is increasingly important to control stray radiation inside the detector chips themselves, the surface wave. We demonstrate this effect with focal plane arrays of 880 lens-antenna coupled Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs). Presented here are near field measurements of the MKID optical response versus the position on the array of a reimaged optical source. We demonstrate that the optical response of a detector in these arrays saturates off-pixel at the $\sim-30$ dB level compared to the peak pixel response. The result is that the power detected from a point source at the pixel position is almost identical to the stray response integrated over the chip area. With such a contribution, it would be impossible to measure extended sources, while the point source sensitivity is degraded due to an increase of the stray loading. However, we show that by incorporating an on-chip stray light absorber, the surface wave contribution is reduced by a factor $>$10. With the on-chip stray light absorber the point source response is close to simulations down to the $\sim-35$ dB level, the simulation based on an ideal Gaussian illumination of the optics. In addition, as a crosscheck we show that the extended source response of a single pixel in the array with the absorbing grid is in agreement with the integral of the point source measurements.Comment: accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technolog