Stop het graven! in 2024 liggen alle kabels en leidingen in goten

In de Nederlandse bodem ligt ongeveer twee miljoen kilometer aan kabels en leidingen. Het grootste deel hiervan ligt in binnenstedelijk gebied, waar de druk op gebruik van publieke ruimte het grootst is. Een spaghetti van gebruikte en ongebruikte kabels, leidingen en buizen maken het niet alleen ingewikkeld om onderhoud te verrichten, maar kunnen ook leiden tot graafschades en uitloop van civieltechnische werken. In dit artikel vragen we ons af hoe lang nutsinfrastructuur nog op deze manier wordt aangelegd. We bespreken hoe kabels en leidinggoten uitkomst zouden kunnen bieden bij het ordenen van ondergrondse netten. Ook inventariseren we enkele aandachtspunten voor deze procesinnovatie en dragen suggesties aan voor het implementeren hiervan

Sources of Klebsiella and Raoultella species on dairy farms: Be careful where you walk

Klebsiella spp. are a common cause of mastitis, milk loss, and culling on dairy farms. Control of Klebsiella mastitis is largely based on prevention of exposure of the udder to the pathogen. To identify critical control points for mastitis prevention, potential Klebsiella sources and transmission cycles in the farm environment were investigated, including oro-fecal transmission, transmission via the indoor environment, and transmission via the outdoor environment. A total of 305 samples was collected from 3 dairy farms in upstate New York in the summer of 2007, and included soil, feed crops, feed, water, rumen content, feces, bedding, and manure from alleyways and holding pens. Klebsiella spp. were detected in 100% of rumen samples, 89% of water samples, and approximately 64% of soil, feces, bedding, alleyway, and holding pen samples. Detection of Klebsiella spp. in feed crops and feed was less common. Genotypic identification of species using rpoB sequence data showed that Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common species in rumen content, feces, and alleyways, whereas Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella variicola, and Raoultella planticola were the most frequent species among isolates from soil and feed crops. Random amplified polymorphic DNA-based strain typing showed heterogeneity of Klebsiella spp. in rumen content and feces, with a median of 4 strains per 5 isolates. Observational and bacteriological data support the existence of an oro-fecal transmission cycle, which is primarily maintained through direct contact with fecal contamination or through ingestion of contaminated drinking water. Fecal shedding of Klebsiella spp. contributes to pathogen loads in the environment, including bedding, alleyways, and holding pens. Hygiene of alleyways and holding pens is an important component of Klebsiella control on dairy farms

EMVI en snellere binnenstedelijke rioleringsprojecten:wat te doen met nutscoordinatie?

Sinds invoering van de nieuwe aanbestedingswet hanteren gemeenten en provincies een ‘EMVI, tenzij-beleid’: in plaats van beoordeling op basis van (louter) laagste prijs, worden werken gegund aan de aanbieder met de ‘economisch meest voordelige inschrijving’. Door deze aanpak kan de opdrachtgever bij het selecteren van een aanbieder ook focussen op waarde en efficiëntie van het bouwproces. Met criteria als risicobeheersing en bereikbaarheid kunnen opdrachtgevers bijvoorbeeld sturen op minimalisatie van de doorlooptijd of voorkoming van hinder. Of toch niet? In dit artikel lichten we toe waarom dit bij projecten die raakvlakken hebben met nutsinfra complexer ligt, vanwege ingewikkelde coördinatie van nutswerkzaamheden door civiele aannemers. Om beoogde effecten van procescriteria in de toekomst te behalen, pleiten we daarom voor een grotere rol van het aspect nutscoördinatie bij EMVI-aanbestedingen van civiele werken. We betogen ten slotte dat civiele werken met een ‘black box’ aan kabels en leidingen zich niet goed lenen voor EMVI-aanbestedingen. Hier is mogelijk een alternatief met elementen van Best Value Procurement (BVP) meer geschikt

Plan van aanpakken; een plan van aanpak voor actie in de Veenkoloniën

Student Repor

No adverse physiological responses to infrared whole body hyperthermia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis compared to healthy subjects

PURPOSE: Since about ten years a new modality for whole body hyperthermia, a compact and userfriendlyinfrared (IR) 'sauna' has become available. Patients with musculoskeletal disorders report positive effects.RELEVANCE: Until now hardly any research was done in this field. Therefore in this study the short-termphysiological and clinical effects in healthy subjects and patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) andAnkylosing Spondylitis (AS) were investigated. SUBJECTS: 17 RA patients (3 male, 14 female), 19 AS patients (12 male, 7 female) and 21 healthy subjects (11 male, 10 female) with a mean age (sd) of 47 (13), 45 (10) and 45 (7) years respectively were included in the study.METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients with RA or AS and healthy subjects were treated with whole-body hyperthermia by means of a 30 minutes stay in a IR sauna cabin at an adjusted temperature of 55°C. Before and directly after the sauna treatment in both RA and AS patient groups pain and stiffness and were measured on a 10 centimetres Visual Analogue Scale. Besides that in all groups body weight was measured before and after treatment. Additionally during the treatment heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, skin surface and core temperature were continuously monitored. Also general wellbeing during and after treatment was investigated. RESULTS: Pain and stiffness improved significantly duringtreatment; mean between 40% and 60%. The mean weight loss during treatment due to transpiration was significant (p<0.001) in all groups, but it was significantly higher (p<0.001) in healthy subjects (-0.5 kg) than in patients (both RA and AS -0.3 kg). During treatment mean heart rate, skin and core temperature increased significantly p<,0.001) in all groups, while blood pressures showed small but significant declines. No significant differences between groups were observed. On average all subjects felt comfortable during and especially after treatment. CONCLUSION: Infra red whole body hyperthermia has statistically significant positive direct effects upon pain and stiffness in RA as well as in AS patients. Looking at the physiological effects, RA and AS patients do not respond differently from age and gender matched healthy controls

Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease in Clinical Practice: An Illustration with 3 Case Reports

Analysis of the brain specific biomarkers amyloid β42 (Aβ42) and total tau (t-tau) protein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has a sensitivity and specificity of more than 85% for differentiating Alzheimer's Disease (AD) from non-demented controls. International guidelines are contradictory in their advice on the use of CSF biomarkers in AD diagnostics, resulting in a lack of consistency in clinical practice. We present three case reports that illustrate clinical practice according to the Dutch and European guidelines and portray the value of CSF biomarker analysis as an add-on diagnostic to the standard diagnostic workup for AD

The effect of an interactive cycling training on cognitive functioning in older adults with mild dementia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Contains fulltext : 168861.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Background: To date there is no cure or an effective disease-modifying drug to treat dementia. Available acetylcholine-esterase inhibiting drugs or memantine only produce small benefits on cognitive and behavioural functioning and their clinical relevance remains controversial. Combined cognitive-aerobic interventions are an appealing alternative or add-on to current pharmacological treatments. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of a combined cognitive-aerobic training and a single aerobic training compared to an active control group in older adults with mild dementia. We expect to find a beneficial effect on executive functioning in both training regimes, compared to the control intervention, with the largest effect in the combined cognitive-aerobic group. Secondary, intervention effects on cognitive functioning in other domains, physical functioning, physical activity levels, activities of daily living, frailty and quality of life are studied. Methods: The design is a single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with three groups: a combined cognitive-aerobic bicycle training (interactive cycling), a single aerobic bicycle training and a control intervention, which consists of stretching and toning exercises. Older adults with mild dementia follow a 12-week training program consisting of three training sessions of 30-40 min per week. The primary study outcome is objective executive functioning measured with a neuropsychological assessment. Secondary measures are objective cognitive functioning in other domains, physical functioning, physical activity levels, activities of daily living, frailty, mood and quality of life. The three groups are compared at baseline, after 6 and 12 weeks of training, and at 24-week follow-up. Discussion: This study will provide novel information on the effects of an interactive cycling training on executive function in older adults with mild dementia. Furthermore, since this study has both a combined cognitive-aerobic training and a single aerobic training group the effectiveness of the different components of the intervention can be identified. The results of this study may be used for physical and mental activity recommendations in older adults with dementia.8 p

Gap-filling carbon dioxide, water, energy, and methane fluxes in challenging ecosystems - Comparing between methods, drivers, and gap-lengths

Eddy covariance serves as one the most effective techniques for long-term monitoring of ecosystem fluxes, however long-term data integrations rely on complete timeseries, meaning that any gaps due to missing data must be reliably filled. To date, many gap-filling approaches have been proposed and extensively evaluated for mature and/or less actively managed ecosystems. Random forest regression (RFR) has been shown to be stable and perform better in these systems than alternative approaches, particularly when filling longer gaps. However, the performance of RFR gap filling remains less certain in more challenging ecosystems, e.g., actively managed agri-ecosystems and following recent land-use change due to management disturbances, ecosystems with relatively low fluxes due to low signal to noise ratios, or for trace gases other than carbon dioxide (e.g., methane). In an extension to earlier work on gap filling global carbon dioxide, water, and energy fluxes, we assess the RFR approach for gap filling methane fluxes globally. We then investigate a range of gap-filling methodologies for carbon dioxide, water, energy, and methane fluxes in challenging ecosystems, including European managed pastures, Southeast Asian converted peatlands, and North American drylands. Our findings indicate that RFR is a competent alternative to existing research standard gap-filling algorithms. The marginal distribution sampling (MDS) is still suggested for filling short ( 30 days) gaps in carbon dioxide fluxes and also for gap filling other fluxes (e.g. sensible heat, latent energy and methane). In addition, using RFR with globally available reanalysis environmental drivers is effective when measured drivers are unavailable. Crucially, RFR was able to reliably fill cumulative fluxes for gaps > 3 moths and, unlike other common approaches, key environment-flux responses were preserved in the gap-filled data