Nitrogen in current European policies

Europe, and especially the European Union (EU), has many governmental policy measures aimed at decreasing unwanted reactive nitrogen (N_r) emissions from combustion, agriculture and urban wastes. Many of these policy measures have an "effects-based approach", and focus on single N_r compounds, single sectors and either on air or waters. This chapter addresses the origin, objectives and targets of EU policy measures related to N_r emissions, considers which instruments are being used to implement the policies and briefly discusses the effects of the policy measures

Nitrogen footprints: Past, present and future

The human alteration of the nitrogen cycle has evolved from minimal in the mid-19th century to extensive in the present time. The consequences to human and environmental health are significant. While much attention has been given to the extent and impacts of the alteration, little attention has been given to those entities (i.e., consumers, institutions) that use the resources that result in extensive reactive nitrogen (Nr) creation. One strategy for assessment is the use of nitrogen footprint tools. A nitrogen footprint is generally defined as the total amount of Nr released to the environment as a result of an entity's consumption patterns. This paper reviews a number of nitrogen footprint tools (N-Calculator, N-Institution, N-Label, N-Neutrality, N-Indicator) that are designed to provide that attention. It reviews N-footprint tools for consumers as a function of the country that they live in (N-Calculator, N-Indicator) and the products they buy (N-Label), for the institutions that people work in and are educated in (N-Institution), and for events and decision-making regarding offsets (N-Neutrality). N footprint tools provide a framework for people to make decisions about their resource use and show them how offsets can be coupled with behavior change to decrease consumer/institution contributions to N-related problems

Precisie rechtgeleiding werktuig met RTK GPS : een onderzoek naar verschillende stuursystemen op basis van nauwkeurige GPS systemen

Porojectnummer 325003150

Zelfsturing kan niet zonder doelen en monitoring

De leden van de Vereniging ‘Noardlike Fryske Wâlden’, grotendeels melkveehouders, willen graag zelf sturen op milieudoelen in de Noordelijke Friese Wouden. Hierbij willen zij collectief op milieudoelstellingen worden afgerekend, in plaats van individueel te moeten voldoen aan generieke middelvoorschriften. Twee zaken zijn noodzakelijk voor deze vorm van zelfsturing. Ten eerste moeten er heldere doelen voor milieuprestaties en milieukwaliteit zijn waarop gestuurd kan worden. Ten tweede moet er een monitoringsysteem zijn om vast te stellen of de doelen worden gehaald. Dit artikel beschrijft de ontwikkeling van milieumonitoring om de gewenste zelfsturing mogelijk te make

Bleeding complications of thromboprophylaxis with dabigatran, nadroparin or rivaroxaban for 6 weeks after total knee arthroplasty surgery:a randomised pilot study

OBJECTIVES: For the non-vitamin-K oral anticoagulants, data on bleeding when used for 42 days as thromboprophylaxis after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are scarce. This pilot study assessed feasibility of a multicentre randomised clinical trial to evaluate major and clinically relevant non-major bleeding during 42-day use of dabigatran, nadroparin and rivaroxaban after TKA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 70 weeks, between July 2012 and November 2013, 198 TKA patients were screened for eligibility in the Martini Hospital (Groningen, the Netherlands). Patients were randomly assigned to dabigatran (n=45), nadroparin (n=45) or rivaroxaban (n=48). The primary outcome was the combined endpoint of major bleeding and clinically relevant non-major bleeding. Secondary endpoints of this study were the occurrence of clinical venous thromboembolism (VTE) (pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis), compliance, duration of hospital stay, rehospitalisation, adverse events and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). RESULTS: The primary outcome was observed in 33.3% (95% CI 20.0% to 49.0%), 24.4% (95% CI 12.9% to 39.5%) and 27.1% (95% CI 15.3% to 41.8%) of patients who received dabigatran, nadroparin or rivaroxaban, respectively (p=0.67). Major bleeding was found in two patients who received nadroparin (p=0.21). Clinically relevant non-major bleeding was observed in 33.3% (95% CI 20.0% to 49.0%), 22.2% (95% CI 11.2% to 37.1%) and 27.1% (95% CI 15.3% to 41.8%) for dabigatran, nadroparin and rivaroxaban, respectively (p=0.51). Wound haematoma was the most observed bleeding event. VTE was found in one patient who received dabigatran (p=0.65). The presurgery and postsurgery KOOS qQuestionnaires were available for 32 (71%), 35 (77%) and 35 (73%) patients for dabigatran, nadroparin and rivaroxaban, respectively. KOOS was highly variable, and no significant difference between treatment groups in mean improvement was observed. CONCLUSIONS: A multicentre clinical trial may be feasible. However, investments will be substantial. No differences in major and clinically relevant non-major bleeding events were found between dabigatran, nadroparin and rivaroxaban during 42 days after TKA. KOOS may not be suitable to detect functional loss due to bleeding. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01431456

3MG: Meervoudige Milieu Monitoring voor Gebiedssturing; Een case study voor de Noordelijke Friese Wouden

Sinds 2005 is TransForum betrokken bij een praktijkproject in de Noordelijke Friese Wouden (het project NFW) waarin samen met boeren, bestuurders, overheden en maatschappelijke groepen wordt gezocht naar mogelijkheden om de beoogde zelfsturing vorm en inhoud te geven. Om voor milieukwaliteitdoelen een onderbouwd antwoord te kunnen geven heeft TransForum naast het praktijkproject NFW een meer analytisch gericht wetenschappelijk project ondersteund waarin een operationeel meetinstrument is ontwikkeld en getoetst. In deze studie is gebruik gemaakt van gegevens van aanwezige meetnetten in combinatie met geïntegreerde modellen. Het betreft: ammoniakemissie, stikstofdepositie, grondwaterkwaliteit, oppervlaktewaterkwalitei

The elemental abundances in the intracluster medium as observed with XMM-Newton

XMM-Newton observations of 19 galaxy clusters are used to measure the elemental abundances and their spatial distributions in the intracluster medium. The sample mainly consists of X-ray bright and relaxed clusters with a cD galaxy. Along with detailed Si, S and Fe radial abundance distributions within 300-700 kpc in radius, the O abundances are accurately derived in the central region of the clusters. The Fe abundance maxima towards the cluster center, possibly due to the metals from the cD galaxy,are spatially resolved. The Si and S abundances also exhibit central increases in general, resulting in uniform Fe-Si-S ratios within the cluster. In contrast, the O abundances are in general uniform over the cluster. The mean O to Fe ratio within the cluster core is sub-solar, while that of the cluster scale is larger than the solar ratio. These measurements indicate that most of the Fe-Si-S and O in the intracluster medium have different origins, presumably in supernovae Ia and II, respectively. The obtained Fe and O mass are also used to discuss the past star formation history in clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic