A Review on Key Performance Indicators for Climate Change

Climate change is one of the biggest threats to humanity in the near future. Almost all different scenarios of climate change involve large-scale disasters and hazards. In order to define goals to cities, regions and countries in regards to mitigating climatic change, we first need to understand which the important key performance indicators (KPIs) are, how they can be measured and which values they take. Then, each country can calculate its performance based on these KPIs, setting realistic goals for better performance in the near future. This paper performs a large survey to identify and list 63 relevant KPIs, together with suggested units and metrics associated with them, divided in eight different thematic areas. It can be considered as an important contribution in the global efforts to understand climatic change, shaping policies and setting goals associated with it

Lasing at the band edges of plasmonic lattices

We report room temperature lasing in two-dimensional diffractive lattices of silver and gold plasmon particle arrays embedded in a dye-doped polymer that acts both as waveguide and gain medium. As compared to conventional dielectric distributed feedback lasers, a central question is how the underlying band structure from which lasing emerges is modified by both the much stronger scattering and the disadvantageous loss of metal. We use spectrally resolved back-focal plane imaging to measure the wavelength- and angle dependence of emission below and above threshold, thereby mapping the band structure. We find that for silver particles, the band structure is strongly modified compared to dielectric reference DFB lasers, since the strong scattering gives large stop gaps. In contrast, gold particles scatter weakly and absorb strongly, so that thresholds are higher, but the band structure is not strongly modified. The experimental findings are supported by finite element and fourier modal method calculations of the single particle scattering strength and lattice extinction.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Patterns and processes in a Pleistocene fluvio-aeolian environment

The 35 m-thick record of fine-grained fluvial and aeolian deposits in the Roer Valley Graben (south-eastern Netherlands) forms an important long-term archive of terrestrial landscape development in a changing climate. Jeroen Schokker explores the sedimentary, paleo-ecological and dating aspects of this sedimentary sequence. He reconstructs the prevailing sedimentary processes, depositional patterns and palaeo-environmental development during the Middle and Late Quaternary. By applying Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating on quartz grains, he is able to present an accurate assessment of the timing of deposition of these sediments

Chicken intestinal development in health and disease : transcriptomic and modeling approaches

Intestinal health is an important condition for sustainable animal production. Since it is known that there is significant variation in intestinal health and functionality, there is much to gain in this respect. However, to fully exploit the biological potential of the animal’s gastro-intestinal tract, the mechanism and regulation of major intestinal processes need to be unraveled first. In addition, identification of key components and processes involved in intestinal adaptation mechanisms may help to identify internal and external factors that influence the health and functioning of the gut. Improved knowledge in this area may contribute in defining rational strategies to improve sustainable animal production. Traditionally research used reductionist approaches and focused on specific components or isolated processes related to intestinal functioning. However, the recent developments in the areas of genomics and computational sciences provide tools and methods that allow studying the system of the gut as a whole. In this thesis we have set first steps in the use of such Systems Biology approaches towards the identification of the key components and processes involved in intestinal functioning and health. We investigated molecular processes associated with gut development in chickens under two extreme contrasting conditions. We used an infection with Salmonella immediately after hatch and control animals to create the two contrasting phenotypic conditions. We used microarray-based genome-wide mRNA profiling to identify patterns of gene expression and cellular processes associated with each conditions. Comparisons between the two conditions and the application of modeling approaches revealed genes, groups of genes, molecular pathways, gene networks, and high level regulators of system behavior. We also used a mathematical modeling approach to describe the dynamics of cellular components of the immune system and their corresponding interactions under the same two contrasting conditions. We identified different temporal gene expression profiles associated with morphological, functional and immunological processes. Several of these processes differed between the two contrasting conditions, whereas others were not affected be the experimental treatments. By inferring gene association networks, we observed that an infection with Salmonella considerably changes the behavior of intestinal tissue as well as the regulation of the underlying molecular processes. For each contrasting condition, we identified a specific set of potential high-level regulator genes (hubs). We hypothesize that these hubs are steering systems behavior. Bioinformatic analysis of the hubs suggested that the disturbance with Salmonella is associated with a shift from transcriptional regulation in the non-disturbed tissue to cell-cell communication in the disturbed tissue. Furthermore, the generated mathematical model describes the dynamics of the cellular components of the immune system as well as the dynamics of the invading pathogen well. The model was able to predict the cellular immune response of the host against an invading pathogen. We developed basic knowledge of (molecular) processes that are associated with different physiological conditions of intestinal tissue and we acquired global views on adaptation mechanisms of the intestine, including the regulation thereof. This information can be used to formulate new hypotheses about behavioral aspects of the gut, for the discovery of new biological mechanisms, and ultimately for the development of tools and rational strategies to improve intestinal functionality and health, either via diet and/or the host genotype. Such developments are urgently required to diminish the incidence and impact of intestinal diseases in farm animal species and to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry. </p

De overleving van onkruidzaden en -knolletjes in rundermengmest en in een snijmaiskuil

Het beschreven onderzoek naar de verspreiding van onkruiden door mengmest had tot doel na te gaan hoe lang zaden van onkruiden een verblijf in drijfmest kunnen overleven en wat het effect is van het ensilageproces op de vitaliteit van onkruidzaden. Op basis van de verkregen resultaten kan geconcludeerd worden dat door opslag van mest gedurende ca. 4 maanden (met name tijdens de zomermaanden) en door maiskuilen ca. 4 weken gesloten te houden een risico voor verspreiding van onkruiden met mest flink gereduceerd word

Electron Cloud Mitigation by Fast Bunch Compression in the CERN PS

A fast transverse instability has been observed with nominal LHC beams in the CERN Proton Synchrotron (PS) in 2006. The instability develops within less than 1 ms, starting when the bunch length decreases below a threshold of 11.5 ns during the RF procedure to shorten the bunches immediately prior to extraction. An alternative longitudinal beam manipulation, double bunch rotation, has been proposed to compress the bunches from 14 ns to the 4 ns required at extraction within 0.9 ms, saving some 4.5 ms with respect to the present compression scheme. The resultant bunch length is found to be equivalent for both schemes. In addition, electron cloud and vacuum measurements confirm that the development of an electron cloud and the onset of an associated fast pressure rise are delayed with the new compression scheme. Beam dynamics simulations and measurements of the double bunch rotation are presented as well as evidence for its beneficial effect from the electron cloud standpoint

Using Data Lake Stack in Animal Sciences

Big Data is a theme that receives a lot of attention, and is often characterised as managing and analysing large datasets to reveal new valuable patterns. In the livestock domain, big data is also becoming more common and is being anchored into the mind-set of researchers, due to, for example, sensors generating ..

Kinetic modelling of enzyme inactivation : kinetics of heat inactivation of the extracellular proteinase from Pseudomonas fluorescens 22F

The kinetics of heat inactivation of the extracellular proteinase from Pseudomonas fluorescens 22F was studied. It was established, by making use of kinetic modelling, that heat inactivation in the temperature range 35 - 70 °C was most likely caused by intermolecular autoproteolysis, where unfolded proteinase molecules are attacked by still active species. Kinetic modelling also showed that sodium caseinate acted as a competitive inhibitor against autoproteolysis. Autoproteolysis experiments gave indications for the dependence of the conformational stability of the proteinase on metal ions and pH.Although some mathematical models could describe the inactivation of the extracellular proteinase from Pseudomonas fluorescens 22F in the temperature range 80 - 120 °C, the mechanism of inactivation could not be precisely elucidated by making use of kinetic modelling. A model consisting of two consecutive irreversible reactions, possibly involving deamidation, where the first reaction would lead to a partially inactivated enzyme molecule with a specific activity of approximately 0.6, appeared to be in best accordance with the mechanism of inactivation. The inactivation behaviour was dependent on the sodium caseinate concentration and the pH, but not on the calcium ion activity.Kinetic modelling appeared to be a powerful method to predict enzyme inactivation as function of temperature and time. In combination with analytical methods, kinetic modelling may be a useful tool in the elucidation of the mechanism of enzyme inactivation

Jejunal gene expression patterns correlate with severity of systemic infection in chicken

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Not much is known about the effect of <it>Salmonella enteritidis</it> on changes in the developmental processes occurring in the intestine of young chicken. Therefore we investigated the correlation of intestinal gene expression patterns with the severity of systemic Salmonella infections.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The number of Salmonella colony forming units (CFUs) in the liver of infected chicken were plotted against the average intestinal expression profiles of previously identified gene expression clusters. The functional properties of all the genes taken together present in 3 clusters exhibiting positive correlation at early time-points were compared with the functional properties of the genes displaying antagonistic correlations in 1 cluster. The top 5 ranking functional groups were analysed in further detail.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three clusters showed gene expression profiles which were positively correlated with the severity of systemic disease as measured by the number of Salmonella colony forming units in the liver. In these clusters, genes involved in morphological processes were predominantly present. One cluster had a profile that was negatively correlated with the severity of systemic disease, as measured by numbers of CFUs in the liver. The genes in the latter cluster were mostly involved in cell turn-over and metabolism.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In the developing jejunum of young chicken, both stimulatory and inhibitory gene expression mechanisms are correlated with the severity of systemic Salmonella infections.</p

Proposal for a Cavity Phase Observation System in the PS Machine

In multi-cavity synchrotrons it is essential to be able to measure the phase difference between RF cavities. Errors in relative phase can have a particularly deleterious effect on the beam during RF gymnastics. Currently, two methods are available to measure the relative phase in the CERN Proton Synchrotron (PS), but neither attains the desired resolution nor covers the full arsenal of cavities. This note describes a system that will measure the relative phase between cavities with high resolution. The system makes use of the digital hardware deployed in the LEIR beam control and of the corresponding DSP and FPGA signal processing. The focus is on beams controlled by the Multi Harmonic Source (MHS) clock. The system described here is also a step towards the deployment of a new generation of digital beam control systems for the PS Complex machines, within the framework of the LHC injector consolidation and following the successful commissioning of the LEIR digital beam control system. Some expected benefits are briefly summarised at the end of this documen