Quantum characterization of superconducting photon counters

We address the quantum characterization of photon counters based on transition-edge sensors (TESs) and present the first experimental tomography of the positive operator-valued measure (POVM) of a TES. We provide the reliable tomographic reconstruction of the POVM elements up to 11 detected photons and M=100 incoming photons, demonstrating that it is a linear detector.Comment: 3 figures, NJP (to appear

The psychology of online activism and social movements:Relations between online and offline collective action

We review online activism and its relations with offline collective action. Social media facilitate online activism, particularly by documenting and collating individual experiences, community building, norm formation, and development of shared realities. In theory, online activism could hinder offline protests, but empirical evidence for slacktivism is mixed. In some contexts, online and offline action could be unrelated because people act differently online versus offline, or because people restrict their actions to one domain. However, most empirical evidence suggests that online and offline activism are positively related and intertwined (no digital dualism), because social media posts can mobilise others for offline protest. Notwithstanding this positive relationship, the internet also enhances the visibility of activism and therefore facilitates repression in repressive contexts

"Het Nieuwe Telen" Paprika

In het Nieuwe Telen Paprika met drie schermen en gecontroleerde ventilatie is geteeld met een energie inzet voor warmte van 22.2 m3/m2 en is 30.6 kg/m2 gele paprika’s geoogst. Netto verkocht is er 30 kg/m2 waarvan 26.5 kg/m2 klasse I. De energiebesparing ten opzichte van twee excursie groepen was over het hele jaar steeds ca 0.3 m3/(m2.week). Vooral in de zomer is dit opmerkelij

Ontwikkeling emissiemanagementsysteem grondgebonden teelt; de lysimeter en drainmeter

Het hoofddoel van het project ‘Glastuinbouw Waterproof, grondgebonden’ was het ontwikkelen van een aantal middelen voor telers van grondgebonden teelten, waarmee zij emissiedoelstellingen kunnen halen. De leidende gedachte hierbij is dat een gesloten waterkringloop zoals toegepast bij substraatteelten onhaalbaar is. Emissiereductie zal vooral via het waterspoor behaald moeten worden en daarom is een brongerichte aanpak, de irrigatie afgestemd op de evapotranspiratie, het meest effectief. Het project omvatte in de eerste plaats het ontwikkelen en combineren van een aantal technische hulpmiddelen en in de tweede plaats het installeren en testen in de praktijk. In dit rapport worden de lysimeter en de bijbehorende drainmeter besproken

Apraxia and motor dysfunction in corticobasal syndrome

Background: Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is characterized by multifaceted motor system dysfunction and cognitive disturbance; distinctive clinical features include limb apraxia and visuospatial dysfunction. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to study motor system dysfunction in CBS, but the relationship of TMS parameters to clinical features has not been studied. The present study explored several hypotheses; firstly, that limb apraxia may be partly due to visuospatial impairment in CBS. Secondly, that motor system dysfunction can be demonstrated in CBS, using threshold-tracking TMS, and is linked to limb apraxia. Finally, that atrophy of the primary motor cortex, studied using voxel-based morphometry analysis (VBM), is associated with motor system dysfunction and limb apraxia in CBS.   Methods: Imitation of meaningful and meaningless hand gestures was graded to assess limb apraxia, while cognitive performance was assessed using the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination - Revised (ACE-R), with particular emphasis placed on the visuospatial subtask. Patients underwent TMS, to assess cortical function, and VBM.   Results: In total, 17 patients with CBS (7 male, 10 female; mean age 64.4+/2 6.6 years) were studied and compared to 17 matched control subjects. Of the CBS patients, 23.5% had a relatively inexcitable motor cortex, with evidence of cortical dysfunction in the remaining 76.5% patients. Reduced resting motor threshold, and visuospatial performance, correlated with limb apraxia. Patients with a resting motor threshold <50% performed significantly worse on the visuospatial sub-task of the ACE-R than other CBS patients. Cortical function correlated with atrophy of the primary and pre-motor cortices, and the thalamus, while apraxia correlated with atrophy of the pre-motor and parietal cortices.   Conclusions: Cortical dysfunction appears to underlie the core clinical features of CBS, and is associated with atrophy of the primary motor and pre-motor cortices, as well as the thalamus, while apraxia correlates with pre-motor and parietal atrophy

Serological screening of influenza A virus antibodies in cats and dogs indicates frequent infection with different subtypes

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) infect humans and a variety of other animal species. Infections with some subtypes of IAV were also reported in domestic cats and dogs. Besides animal health implications, close contact between companion animals and humans also poses a potential risk of zoonotic IAV infections. In this study, serum samples from different cat and dog cohorts were analyzed for IAV antibodies against 7 IAV subtypes, using three distinctive IAV-specific assays differing in IAV subtype-specific discriminatory power and sensitivity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays against the complete hemagglutinin (HA) ectodomain or the HA1 domain were used, as well as a novel nanoparticle-based, virus-free hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. Using these three assays, we found cat and dog sera from different cohorts to be positive for antibodies against one or more IAV subtypes/strains. Cat and dog serum samples collected after the 2009 pandemic H1N1 outbreak exhibit much higher seropositivity against H1 compared with samples from before 2009. Cat sera furthermore displayed higher reactivity for avian IAVs than dog sera. Our findings show the added value of using complementary serological assays, which are based on reactivity with different numbers of HA epitopes, to study IAV antibody responses and for improved serosurveillance of IAV infections. We conclude that infection of cats and dogs with both human and avian IAVs of different subtypes is prevalent. These observations highlight the role of cats and dogs in IAV ecology and indicate the potential of these companion animals to give rise to novel (reassorted) viruses with increased zoonotic potential

Ontwikkeling emissiemanagementsysteem grondgebonden teelt; bodemvochtsensoren en modulaire opbouw van het systeem

‘Glastuinbouw Waterproof - Grondgebonden’ heeft een modulair emissiemanagementsysteem opgeleverd waarmee telers hun water en meststoffen gebruik kunnen optimaliseren naar een goed teeltresultaat en een minimale emissie. Kern van dit systeem is de lysimeter, waarmee dagelijks de werkelijke drainhoeveelheid gevolgd kan worden. Door bemonstering en analyse van de drain wordt de emissie van meststoffen inzichtelijk. Het systeem bevat naast de lysimeter, een drainmeter, bodemvochtgehalte sensoren en een beslissingsondersteunend systeem met modellen voor gewasverdamping en watertransport in de bodem. Telers kunnen kiezen welke modules ze naast de lysimeter willen toepassen, en ook hoe ze informatie willen inzien, op hun klimaatcomputer of via een externe dienst zoals Letsgrow.com. Bodemvochtgehalte sensoren zijn toegepast en geëvalueerd bij negen praktijktelers. Op basis van de resultaten is een specifi catie opgesteld voor de beste keus, een marktverkenning uitgevoerd, een handleiding geschreven voor het gebruik, en zijn twee typen robuuste sensoren gekozen en in een pilot experiment getest. Met de lysimeter kunnen telers ervaring opdoen, en zo hun strategie op langere termijn aanpassen. Met sensoren kunnen ze trends in bodemvocht volgen en hun dagelijkse gietbeurten daarop aanpassen. Modellen geven de mogelijk om anticiperend te sturen en water te geven naar behoefte van de plant, gericht op voorkomen van emissies

Institutional difference and outward FDI: Evidence from China

This paper investigates the impact of institutional difference on China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) through a gravity model. Our estimations are based on a large panel of 150 countries over the period 2003-2015. The results show that the institutional differences of government effectiveness and control of corruption between China and a host country have a statistically significant negative effect on China’s OFDI. In addition, our empirical evidence suggests that the ‘One Belt One Road’ policy does not have the expected positive effect on China’s OFDI. Consistent results are obtained from a set of robustness tests. Our findings provide a reasonable guideline for countries aiming to attract Chinese OFDI or seeking factors to boost it