Deliverable 1.3: The economics of technological innovations to mitigate ecosystem effects of fishing: the pulse trawl in the North Sea

In this study we focused on the mitigation of the benthic impacts of the beam trawl fisheries for sole through the use of electricity as a technological innovation (pulse trawls replacing traditional beam trawl) and particularly on the economics of the gear transition. We identify drivers that probably influenced the technological change and got insight in the factors that may promote or hamper the use pulse trawl. The studies show that the pulse trawl is economically more profitable than the traditional beam trawl when targeting sole. This is particularly true when fuel prices are high and also when the landing obligation is implemented (because the catch is more selective). In the Dutch fishery, the wages of the crew operating with pulse are also higher which probably explain the support that the pulse trawl received from the crew. However this is not the case in the Belgian fleet where crew wages are based on value of landings only (as opposed to value of landings minus fuel price in the Dutch fishery). In addition to the good economic performances of the pulse trawl, non-economic factors have played a role in the uptake of the pulse trawl in the sole fishery. In particular, the information sharing amongst fisher through study groups and demonstration days have accelerated the process in the Netherlands. The support of the Dutch government was also influential. In contrast, barriers such as limiting days at sea in the North Sea for Belgian fishers and the controversial image of the pulse in Belgium may have hindered the adoption of pulse in Belgium

PROCESS AND MATERIAL OPTIMISATIONS FOR INTEGRATION OF CHOPPED GLASS FIBRES IN LASER SINTERED POLYMER PARTS

Additively manufactured polymer composites gain popularity in a variety of industries such as aerospace, biomedical and automotive. Laser sintering (LS) is a well-known AM process that typically uses polyamide which can serve as matrix material. Hence LS has the potential to produce reinforced polymers that can meet demanding requirements. In previous research, issues with powder flowability and poor fibre dispersion led to limited increase of mechanical properties. To overcome this, a novel fibre deposition system was recently developed and optimised at KU Leuven to successfully produce fibre reinforced LS samples with random inter- and intralayer fibre orientations. A limited but promising influence of deposited glass fibres on produced LS parts was noted after mechanical testing. In this work, the influence of different (heat) treatments on glass fibres used during LS will be discussed as well as the resulting differences in the fibre/matrix behaviour as analysed through hot stage microscopy.Mechanical Engineerin

A prospective study on rapid exome sequencing as a diagnostic test for multiple congenital anomalies on fetal ultrasound

Objective: Conventional genetic tests (quantitative fluorescent-PCR [QF-PCR] and single nucleotide polymorphism-array) only diagnose ~40% of fetuses showing ultrasound abnormalities. Rapid exome sequencing (rES) may improve this diagnostic yield, but includes challenges such as uncertainties in fetal phenotyping, variant interpretation, incidental unsolicited findings, and rapid turnaround times. In this study, we implemented rES in prenatal care to increase diagnostic yield. Methods: We prospectively studied 55 fetuses. Inclusion criteria were: (a) two or more independent major fetal anomalies, (b) hydrops fetalis or bilateral renal cysts alone, or (c) one major fetal anomaly and a first-degree relative with the same anomaly. In addition to conventional genetic tests, we performed trio rES analysis using a custom virtual gene panel of ~3850 Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) genes. Results: We established a genetic rES-based diagnosis in 8 out of 23 fetuses (35%) without QF-PCR or array abnormalities. Diagnoses included MIRAGE (SAMD9), Zellweger (PEX1), Walker-Warburg (POMGNT1), Noonan (PTNP11), Kabuki (KMT2D), and CHARGE (CHD7) syndrome and two cases of Osteogenesis Imperfecta type 2 (COL1A1). In six cases, rES diagnosis aided perinatal management. The median turnaround time was 14 (range 8-20) days. Conclusion: Implementing rES as a routine test in the prenatal setting is challenging but technically feasible, with a promising diagnostic yield and significant clinical relevance

Abstract

Work on the TILT compiler for Standard ML led us to study a language with singleton kinds: S(A) is the kind of all types provably equivalent tothetype A. Singletons are interesting because they provide a very general form of de nitions for type variables and allow ne-grained control of type computations. Internally, TILT represents programs using a predicative variant of Girard's F! enriched with singleton kinds, dependent product and function kinds ( and), and a sub-kinding relation. An important bene t of using a typed language as the representation of programs is that typechecking can detect many common compiler implementation errors. However, the decidability oftypechecking for our particular representation is not obvious. In order to typecheck aterm,wemust be able to determine whether two type constructors are provably equivalent. But in the presence of singleton kinds, the equivalence of type constructors depends both on the typing context in which they are compared and on the kind at which they are compared. In this paper we concentrate on the key issue for decidability oftypechecking: determining the equivalence of well-formed type constructors. We show this problem decidable by presenting a sound, complete, and terminating decision algorithm. These properties are established by anovel Kripke-style logical relations argument inspired by Coquand's result for type theory

Disentangling relations between the desirability of the thin-ideal, body checking, and worry on college women's weight-loss dieting: A self-regulation perspective

The study used self-regulation theory to elucidate the relationships between the desirability of the thin-ideal goal, dispositional worry, body checking and weight-loss dieting (WLD) in college women. We hypothesized that body checking would mediate the relationship between the desirability of the thin-ideal goal and WLD: the desire to be thin would be associated with more WLD through more frequent body checking. We also hypothesized that dispositional worry would moderate this mediation pathway, such that the mediation pathway would be stronger for those higher in worry. Finally, all effects were expected to occur when controlling for self-reported body size. A paper and pencil survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 237 college women who completed measures of: thin-ideal desirability, dispositional worry, body checking, WLD, as well as providing height and weight. A bootstrap analysis using PROCESS (Hayes, 2013) supported the hypothesized moderated mediation model. Findings add to current knowledge by elucidating the nature and function of body checking, and by so doing may provide insight into the prevention and treatment of disordered eating