A novel method to determine buffer strip effectiveness on deep soils

Unfertilized buffer strips (BS) generally improve surface water quality. High buffer strip effectiveness (BSE) has been reported for sloping shallow aquifers, but experimental data for plain landscapes with deeply permeable soils is lacking. We tested a novel method to determine BSE on a 20-m-deep, permeable sandy soil. Discharge from soil to ditch was temporarily collected in an in-stream reservoir to measure its quantity and quality, both for a BS and a reference (REF) treatment. Treatments were replicated once for the first, and three times for the next three leaching seasons. No significant BSE was obtained for nitrogen and phosphorus species in the reservoirs. Additionally, water samples were taken from the upper groundwater below the treatments. The effect of BS for nitrate was much bigger in upper groundwater than in the reservoirs that also collected groundwater from greater depths that were not influenced by the treatments. We conclude that measuring changes in upper groundwater to assess BSE is only valid under specific hydrogeological conditions. We propose an alternative experimental set-up for future research, including extra measurements before installing the BS and REF treatments to deal with spatial and temporal variability. The use of such data as covariates will increase the power of statistical tests by decreasing between-reservoir variability

"Linguistic landscape studies" and archaeology: a reevaluation of the Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses II

This paper analyses the Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses II (ca. 1279-1213 BC) through the sociolinguistic concept “Linguistic Landscapes”. The inscriptions contain an account of the battle of Kadesh (located in modern-day Syria), which, despite the negative long-term consequences it had for the Egyptians, was used as the inspiration for the decoration of five temples. Previous studies have focused little on their purpose, and often interpreted them as being either propagandistic or apotropaic (i.e. meant to ward of evil). This study uses the location of the texts within the temple to reinterpret their possible function. It shows that the inscriptions were placed in different locations within the temples, including on the inside. This influences the potential audience for the texts, since only a limited amount of individuals were allowed within the temple.The spatial distribution brings about a new interpretation of the function of the Kadesh inscriptions: the worshipped god was thought of as being present in the temple, and would have been able to read the text. This leads to the hypothesis that the texts served as a reaffirmation of the bond between the pharaoh and the gods, who worked together to maintain order in Egypt

GC/MS and the chromatographic challenge

no abstrac

BedrijfsWaterWijzer gaat testfase in

De BedrijfsWaterWijzer maakt het monitoren van het watermanagement op melkveebedrijven mogelijk. De Wijzer biedt aanknopingspunten voor verbetering van het watermanagement. Het is een webapplicatie die opgebouwd is uit zeven modules. De afgelopen maanden zijn alle modules inhoudelijk uitgewerkt en grotendeels in de software verwerkt. Inmiddels is een eerste test met de BedrijfsWaterWijzer gestart op vijf melkveebedrijven

Selective removal of water in purge and cold-trap capillary gas chromatographic analysis of volatile organic traces in aqueous samples

The design and features of an on-line purge and cold-trap pre-concentration device for rapid analysis of volatile organic compounds in aqueous samples are discussed. Excessive water is removed from the purge gas by a condenser or a water permeable membrane in order to avoid blocking of the capillary cold-trap. Synthetic mixtures covering concentrations ranging from tenths to tens of ppb's and different chemical classes are used to study the effect of various process factors on the efficiency and selectivity of water removal as well as on the purging recovery. The importance of the concentration of the solutes, the flow rate in conjunction with the volume of the purge gas, and the temperature of the condenser, the cold-trap and the sample is emphasized. Theoretical models describing the purge process and the blocking of the cold-trap agree fairly well with the highly reproducible experimental results ( = 2-4%). Both the condenser and the Nafion membrane successfully remove water, although some compounds, dependent on volatility and polarity, are partly or completely lost. It is shown that non-polar volatile organic compounds are efficiently enriched so that recoveries between 80-100% and a detection limit of 1 ppt can be obtained. The applicability of the system is illustrated on some examples

Relapse primary central nervous system lymphoma successfully consolidated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation with thiotepa/busulfan/fludarabine conditioning

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is generally characterized by a poor prognosis and frequent relapsing disease. Consolidation therapy in the upfront setting usually consists of an autologous stem cell transplantation. We report the case of a 19-year-old Caucasian male who had previously undergone an allogeneic stem cell transplantation with complete engraftment for the treatment of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia when he was 1 year old. He presented with two episodes of (donor-derived) PCNSL from allogeneic stem cells; however, after induction chemotherapy, he failed to harvest stem cells for the consolidation with autologous stem cell transplantation. He was consolidated successfully with a second allogeneic stem cell transplantation with another donor after conditioning with thiotepa, busulfan, and fludarabine