HELP-2005, uitbreiding en actualisering van de HELP-tabellen ten behoeve van het Waternood-instrumentarium

Hoofdstuk 1 schetst de aanleiding, de probleem- en doelstelling en de plaats van het onderzoek binnen het onderzoeksprogramma Waternood. In hoofdstuk 2 wordt een kort, historisch overzicht gegeven van het onderzoek naar de relatie tussen grondwaterstand en landbouwkundige oporengsten. De totstandkoming van de tabellen die ten grondslag liggen aan de HELP-2005-tabellen (de HELP-tabel uit 1987 en de zogenoemde HB-tabel) worden in hoofdstuk 3 beschreven. De werkwijze om te komen tot de HELP-2005-tabellen wordt beschreven in hoofdstuk 4. Hoofdstuk 5 geeft enige resultaten weer van de uitbreiding van de HELP-tabellen. In hoofdstuk 6 worden aanwijzingen en beperkingen gegeven voor praktisch gebruik voor de HELP-tabellen in het algemeen en de HELP-2005-tabellen in het bijzonder. Hoofdstuk 7 geeft conclusies en aanbevelinge

Detection of back-scattered signal for optical fibre resonant scanner

We report the development of optical fibre resonant scanner that was developed using two multi-mode optical fibres that are attached side-by-side, producing a cantilevered optical fibre scanner. The optical fibre is mounted on photodiode and a small piezoelectric disk using polymer. The piezoelectric disk is driven with a sinusoidal signal that will then vibrate the mounted optical fibre, producing a single axis scan line. This paper reports on experimental detection of the back-scattered signal through dual-numerical aperture conFigureuration and identification of fibre position from a single scan line with respect to the optical reflections from the apertured reflector. The apertured reflector used was a brass metal with 1 mm of diameter that is placed before the imaging lens as a mechanism to differentiate the position of scan line. The single scan was obtained at its maximum length of 4.8mm with resonant frequency of 2.033kHz. The back-scattered signal from a target object is coupled back into the cladding of the optical fibre. The cladding mode is then stripped and detected by photodiode. The back scattered signal from the aperture is used to differentiate the position of fibre between the aperture and the target object itself. Differences in the position of the slots resulted pulses with different height and width, allowing the two backscattered signals to be distinguished. The experimental result is verified and compared with the theory back-scattered signal produced by such scanner

Low-dose thiamine supplementation of lactating Cambodian mothers improves human milk thiamine concentrations: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Infantile beriberi-related mortality is still common in South and Southeast Asia. Interventions to increase maternal thiamine intakes, and thus human milk thiamine, are warranted; however, the required dose remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: We sought to estimate the dose at which additional maternal intake of oral thiamine no longer meaningfully increased milk thiamine concentrations in infants at 24 wk postpartum, and to investigate the impact of 4 thiamine supplementation doses on milk and blood thiamine status biomarkers. METHODS: In this double-blind, 4-parallel arm randomized controlled dose-response trial, healthy mothers were recruited in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. At 2 wk postpartum, women were randomly assigned to consume 1 capsule, containing 0, 1.2 (estimated average requirement), 2.4, or 10 mg of thiamine daily from 2 through 24 weeks postpartum. Human milk total thiamine concentrations were measured using HPLC. An Emax curve was plotted, which was estimated using a nonlinear least squares model in an intention-to-treat analysis. Linear mixed-effects models were used to test for differences between treatment groups. Maternal and infant blood thiamine biomarkers were also assessed. RESULTS: In total, each of 335 women was randomly assigned to1 of the following thiamine-dose groups: placebo (n = 83), 1.2 mg (n = 86), 2.4 mg (n = 81), and 10 mg (n = 85). The estimated dose required to reach 90% of the maximum average total thiamine concentration in human milk (191 µg/L) is 2.35 (95% CI: 0.58, 7.01) mg/d. The mean ± SD milk thiamine concentrations were significantly higher in all intervention groups (183 ± 91, 190 ± 105, and 206 ± 89 µg/L for 1.2, 2.4, and 10 mg, respectively) compared with the placebo group (153 ± 85 µg/L; P < 0.0001) and did not significantly differ from each other. CONCLUSIONS: A supplemental thiamine dose of 2.35 mg/d was required to achieve a milk total thiamine concentration of 191 µg/L. However, 1.2 mg/d for 22 wk was sufficient to increase milk thiamine concentrations to similar levels achieved by higher supplementation doses (2.4 and 10 mg/d), and comparable to those of healthy mothers in regions without beriberi. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03616288

The decline and rise of neighbourhoods: the importance of neighbourhood governance

There is a substantial literature on the explanation of neighbourhood change. Most of this literature concentrates on identifying factors and developments behind processes of decline. This paper reviews the literature, focusing on the identification of patterns of neighbourhood change, and argues that the concept of neighbourhood governance is a missing link in attempts to explain these patterns. Including neighbourhood governance in the explanations of neighbourhood change and decline will produce better explanatory models and, finally, a better view about what is actually steering neighbourhood change

A reversible phospho-switch mediated by ULK1 regulates the activity of autophagy protease ATG4B

Upon induction of autophagy, the ubiquitin-like protein LC3 is conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) on the inner and outer membrane of autophagosomes to allow cargo selection and autophagosome formation. LC3 undergoes two processing steps, the proteolytic cleavage of pro-LC3 and the de-lipidation of LC3-PE from autophagosomes, both executed by the same cysteine protease ATG4. How ATG4 activity is regulated to co-ordinate these events is currently unknown. Here we find that ULK1, a protein kinase activated at the autophagosome formation site, phosphorylates human ATG4B on serine 316. Phosphorylation at this residue results in inhibition of its catalytic activity in vitro and in vivo. On the other hand, phosphatase PP2A-PP2R3B can remove this inhibitory phosphorylation. We propose that the opposing activities of ULK1-mediated phosphorylation and PP2A-mediated dephosphorylation provide a phospho-switch that regulates the cellular activity of ATG4B to control LC3 processing