Verkennend onderzoek langs de Witte Nete (provincie Antwerpen): een geomorfologische benadering van archeologisch-landschappelijk diagnostisch onderzoek in de Kempen

The valley of the Kleine Nete river is archaeologically a poorly documented region, primarily due to lack of archaeological surveys. This lack of knowledge stands in the way of developing efficient archaeological management strategies in light of planning- or development schemes. When an advice was asked for drawing up a basin management plan for the Nete basin, we decided for a period from end 2004 to march 2005 to focus attention within the department of the Central Archaeological Inventory (CAI) of the Flemish Heritage Institute on this region. For this purpose the data in the CAI was revised, a number of amateur archaeologists active in the region were contacted and thus some new findspots were recorded, and a sample fieldwalking survey was executed with the main upper course of the Kleine Nete (the Witte Nete) as central focuspoint. This survey is the subject of this article. Our aims were to 1) collect primary archaeological data, and 2) develop a methodology for regional diagnostic research and evaluation mapping taking into account the unknown archaeological heritage, without using the classic predictive modelling strategies. For this purpose the following steps were undertaken: 1) Creation of a basic geomorphological map of the area 2) Archaeological fieldwalking survey, aiming to equally sample all geomorphological units (if possible) 3) Comparing the results from steps 1 & 2 and identification of patterns 4) Augering survey to test the geomorphological model and assess the physical preservation of landscape elements 5) Interpretation and modelling preservation- and research potential. To develop the basic geomorphological map a number of sources were used: quaternary geological maps, soil maps, recent and historical topographical maps, aerial photographs, and the digital terrain model of Flanders. This last instrument was developed very recently (2004), and is a dtm covering the whole of Flanders. The basic notion behind the research was to integrate and interpret the landscape and archaeological data in one matrix, as a result of intertwined depositional and post-depositional processes. The result is a model of preservation potential and research possibilities. Rare landscape elements such as late glacial dune ridges, palaeochannels, etc. were identified and mapped, and it was possible to assess the historical and subrecent erosion processes in developing a general preservation model with the identification of strongly physically degraded areas. This approach also identified a number of important gaps in our geomorphological knowledge: primarily the phasing in the evolution and stratigraphy of the Holocene valleys, and the internal morphology of the Holocene dune areas. The archaeological artefacts collected during the fieldwalking survey were interpreted and assessed in light of the identified post-depositional processes and geomorphological units. In this interpretation distributional patterns could be distinguished which can be ascribed on the one hand to preferences in landuse patterns in different periods, on the other hand resulting from post- depositional processes, finally to the data collection strategy (fieldwalking). When comparing the patterns discovered during this study with archaeological prediction models used in the region, we had come to the conclusions that: 1) The available sources for the creation of good prediction models (in the classic, processual meaning of the term) are insufficient and lack detail 2) The classic prediction models are strongly simplified documents, taking into account only a minor number of parameters 3) The predicted patterns in these models, when applied to our study, are very unaccurate. On the basis of the resulting model pro-active strategies can be developed which include research strategies to fill in our gaps in the knowledge, and further evaluation and preservation strategies for the identified well preserved areas. Zones of rare preservation potential can be detected and in a next phase evaluated. In light of development schemes appropriate preventive measures can be formulated for each geomorphological unit. The research here described had mainly a methodological focus. Despite the small scale of the research we succeeded in creating a basic model for archaeological regional diagnostics for the Campine area, which is mainly based on geo-archaeological approaches. This model will be further refined in the future, attempting to fill in the gaps in the geomorphological knowledge, and gathering more basic data with additional surveys in the Campine area

Decomposition of a multiscale entropy tensor for sleep stage identification in preterm infants

Established sleep cycling is one of the main hallmarks of early brain development in preterm infants, therefore, automated classification of the sleep stages in preterm infants can be used to assess the neonate's cerebral maturation. Tensor algebra is a powerful tool to analyze multidimensional data and has proven successful in many applications. In this paper, a novel unsupervised algorithm to identify neonatal sleep stages based on the decomposition of a multiscale entropy tensor is presented. The method relies on the difference in electroencephalography(EEG) complexity between the neonatal sleep stages and is evaluated on a dataset of 97 EEG recordings. An average sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80, 0.79, 0.79 and 0.87 was obtained if the rank of the tensor decomposition is selected based on the age of the infant. © 2019 by the authors

Reading projects

"By reading only six hours a day", says Marianne Dashwood, outlining her plan of future application to her sister Elinor in Sense and Sensibility, "I shall gain in the course of a twelve-month a great deal of instruction which I now feel myself to want." She adds: "Our own library is too well known to me, to be resorted to for any thing beyond mere amusement. But there are many works well worth reading at the Park; and there are others of more modern production which I know I can borrow of Colonel Brandon" (301). We know, to some extent, what was in the Dashwoods' own library – volumes of Cowper, Scott and Thomson are mentioned. But what might Marianne have borrowed at Barton Park and Delaford? Which publications would Colonel Brandon have considered most appropriate for her project of self-improvement? Elinor considers Marianne's plan excessive, but what would have been a more realistic amount of time for her to spend reading each day, and where might she have done it

Measurement of Neurovascular Coupling in Neonates

Neurovascular coupling refers to the mechanism that links the transient neural activity to the subsequent change in cerebral blood flow, which is regulated by both chemical signals and mechanical effects. Recent studies suggest that neurovascular coupling in neonates and preterm born infants is different compared to adults. The hemodynamic response after a stimulus is later and less pronounced and the stimulus might even result in a negative (hypoxic) signal. In addition, studies both in animals and neonates confirm the presence of a short hypoxic period after a stimulus in preterm infants. In clinical practice, different methodologies exist to study neurovascular coupling. The combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional near-infrared spectroscopy (brain hemodynamics) with EEG (brain function) is most commonly used in neonates. Especially near-infrared spectroscopy is of interest, since it is a non-invasive method that can be integrated easily in clinical care and is able to provide results concerning longer periods of time. Therefore, near-infrared spectroscopy can be used to develop a continuous non-invasive measurement system, that could be used to study neonates in different clinical settings, or neonates with different pathologies. The main challenge for the development of a continuous marker for neurovascular coupling is how the coupling between the signals can be described. In practice, a wide range of signal interaction measures exist. Moreover, biomedical signals often operate on different time scales. In a more general setting, other variables also have to be taken into account, such as oxygen saturation, carbon dioxide and blood pressure in order to describe neurovascular coupling in a concise manner. Recently, new mathematical techniques were developed to give an answer to these questions. This review discusses these recent developments

Measurement of neurovascular coupling in neonates

Neurovascular coupling refers to the mechanism that links the transient neural activity to the subsequent change in cerebral blood flow, which is regulated by both chemical signals and mechanical effects. Recent studies suggest that neurovascular coupling in neonates and preterm born infants is different compared to adults. The hemodynamic response after a stimulus is later and less pronounced and the stimulus might even result in a negative (hypoxic) signal. In addition, studies both in animals and neonates confirm the presence of a short hypoxic period after a stimulus in preterm infants. In clinical practice, different methodologies exist to study neurovascular coupling. The combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional near-infrared spectroscopy (brain hemodynamics) with EEG (brain function) is most commonly used in neonates. Especially near-infrared spectroscopy is of interest, since it is a non-invasive method that can be integrated easily in clinical care and is able to provide results concerning longer periods of time. Therefore, near-infrared spectroscopy can be used to develop a continuous non-invasive measurement system, that could be used to study neonates in different clinical settings, or neonates with different pathologies. The main challenge for the development of a continuous marker for neurovascular coupling is how the coupling between the signals can be described. In practice, a wide range of signal interaction measures exist. Moreover, biomedical signals often operate on different time scales. In a more general setting, other variables also have to be taken into account, such as oxygen saturation, carbon dioxide and blood pressure in order to describe neurovascular coupling in a concise manner. Recently, new mathematical techniques were developed to give an answer to these questions. This review discusses these recent developments. © 2019 Hendrikx, Smits, Lavanga, De Wel, Thewissen, Jansen, Caicedo, Van Huffel and Naulaers. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms

Vermist in de Ypres Salient. Duitse gesneuvelde in de s Graventafelstraat in Passendale (W.-Vl.). Eindverslag van een toevalsvondst

Tijdens infrastructuurwerken in de s Graventafelstraat ter hoogte van nummer 30 werd menselijk botmateriaal aangetroffen. Op basis van de locatie vermoedde men dat het een oorlogsslachtoffer betrof. Op basis van zijn uniformresten en persoonlijke bezittingen kan de nationaliteit van de soldaat als Duits bestempeld worden. Een verdere identificatie was onmogelijk

Interhemispheric synchrony in the neonatal EEG revisited : activation synchrony index as a promising classifier

Peer reviewe