New double indentation technique for measurement of the elasticity modulus of thin objects

In this paper we introduce a new method to determine the Young's modulus of thin (biological) samples. The method is especially suitable for small objects with a thickness of a few hundred micrometers. Such specimens cannot be examined with existing tests: compression and tensile tests need well-known geometry and boundary conditions while classic indentation tests need relatively thick pieces of material. In order to determine the elastic modulus we use the indentation theory as proposed by Sneddon and correct it with a finite element calculated kappa factor to compensate for the small thickness. In order to avoid material deformations at the contact zone between the sample bottom and the sample stage, we replace the sample stage by a second indentation needle. In this way the sample can be clamped between two identical needles and a virtual mirror plane is introduced. The new method was used on four test-materials and results agreed well with the outcome of a standard compression method applied on large samples of the same materials. As an application example the technique was applied on thin biological samples, namely middle ear ossicles of rabbits

The olive oil market of Mainland China : The potentiality of the olive oil market on Mainland China and its accessibility for, in particular small medium, sized olive oil producers.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the potentiality of the Chinese market for olive oil and to assess how accessible China is for in particular small & medium sized companies in order to take the initiative on the market. The research departs from the CAP subsidy reforming European olive oil sector with 2,5 million producers on their way to a less trade distorted and more export minded sector. It continues with the common generalisations about China as a potential export heaven with fruitful business opportunities and prospects for export companies. The practical questions remain: Firstly, if China is an interesting market for olive oil surpluses or not. Secondly, if the market is accessible or not for, in particular, the small-medium producer who are dominating the fragmented EU olive oil sector. By means of two SWOT analysis this research has shown that olive oil in China has limited but significant market potentiality with very good prospects. Nevertheless, in terms of accessibility, the research showed that the bulk of the medium- and small sized companies are not able to take the initiative to enter the market due to Chinese market entry threats and internal weaknesses. The solution this research suggested was to overcome the bulk of these market entry problems by the creation of an olive oil export association for the small-medium sized producers focused on exporting to China. The overall conclusion is that the key for success on the market is good cooperation with a well-connected regional-local importer and distributor

The past, present, and future of the euro area

This thesis contains three chapters that cover the past, present, and future of the euro area. In its first decade, the euro was considered a success. It facilitated European integration by increasing trade and financial linkages and by supporting economic growth. In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis however, its inherent fragility became evident. The build-up of macro-economic imbalances, fiscal vulnerabilities, and systemic financial risks resulted in the near collapse of the euro. The first two chapters of this thesis study causes of the build-up of macro-economic imbalances and fiscal vulnerabilities, namely redistributive effects of the euro and a shortage of public safe assets, and suggest policies to improve the stability and resilience of the common currency. The final chapter studies the implications of a recent euro-development, the potential introduction of a digital euro, for commercial banks and systemic financial risks

Inequality and Financialization

This paper analyzes economic inequality in the United States and makes a connection between rising inequality and “Financialization” since the 1970’s. I provide an overview of how and why income and wealth inequality have changed over time. The increase in inequality since the 1970’s is correlated with an increase in Financialization, measured by a Financialization index that I created. Financialization, defined as the increasing size, power and influence of the financial sector in the economy and politics, has changed the economic and political landscape in the United States in a way that increases economic inequality

Scaling-up vaccine production: implementation aspects of a biomass growth observer and controller

Abstract This study considers two aspects of the implementation of a biomass growth observer and specific growth rate controller in scale-up from small- to pilot-scale bioreactors towards a feasible bulk production process for whole-cell vaccine against whooping cough. The first is the calculation of the oxygen uptake rate, the starting point for online monitoring and control of biomass growth, taking into account the dynamics in the gas-phase. Mixing effects and delays are caused by amongst others the headspace and tubing to the analyzer. These gas phase dynamics are modelled using knowledge of the system in order to reconstruct oxygen consumption. The second aspect is to evaluate performance of the monitoring and control system with the required modifications of the oxygen consumption calculation on pilot-scale. In pilot-scale fed-batch cultivation good monitoring and control performance is obtained enabling a doubled concentration of bulk vaccine compared to standard batch productio

Towards a biologically relevant description of phenotypes based on pathway analysis

In metabolic systems, the cellular network of reactions together with constraints on reversibility of enzymes determine the space of all possible steady-state phenotypes. In actuality, the cell does not invoke the large majority of those in given conditions. We propose a method in two steps to obtain a more precise description of cellular phenotypes through pathway analysis. The first step is based on a modified version of the concept of control effective flux (CEF) [1] and only requires the stoichiometric network. The second step is based on thermodynamic feasibility of reactions and requires measurements of concentrations and thermodynamic properties of the metabolites. CEFs represent the importance of each reaction for efficient and flexible operation of the entire metabolic network. We modified the concept to take into account the reaction directionality within the modes by splitting up the reversible reactions. We observed that directionality of the largest CEF -forward reaction at least two times larger than backward or vice versa- matches well with the measured reaction directions for growth on glucose, glycerol, and acetate as the sole carbon source. We also found that the modified CEFs are good predictors of intra-cellular fluxes for the central carbon metabolism of Escherichia coli and Sacharomyces cerevisiae. The proposed method allows a reduction of up to 51% out of 2706 modes for E. coli and up to 81% out of 191,083 modes for S. cerevisiae, so that only pathways are contained that carry flux matching the measured directions. An alternative reduction can be obtained by assigning reaction directionalities on thermodynamic grounds using anNET [2] and removing the pathways that contain infeasible reactions. The feasibility of the remaining pathways was checked by taking into account irreversibility of the pathways. Depending on the available measurements and its uncertainties, a reduction of up to 31% in the computed pathways was obtained for particular conditions, though no further reduction compared to the CEFs method. Overall, the largest reduction in the number of pathways was obtained using the stiochiometric network as the only input, thus without the requirement for measurements, towards a biologically relevant description of phenotypes