29 research outputs found
Erratum to: Monitoring antigenic protein integrity during glycoconjugate vaccine synthesis using capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, (2016), 408, 22, (6123-6132), 10.1007/s00216-016-9723-5)
No full textUnfortunately the name of Luciano Piubelli was missing as co-author of this contribution. The correct list of authors is: Sara Tengattini, Elena Domínguez-Vega, Luciano Piubelli, Caterina Temporini, Marco Terreni, Govert W. Somse
Atlas of Astronomical Discoveries
No full textFour hundred years ago in Middelburg, in the Netherlands, the telescope was invented. The invention unleashed a revolution in the exploration of the universe. Galileo Galilei discovered mountains on the Moon, spots on the Sun, and moons around Jupiter. Christiaan Huygens saw details on Mars and rings around Saturn. William Herschel discovered a new planet and mapped binary stars and nebulae. Other astronomers determined the distances to stars, unraveled the structure of the Milky Way, and discovered the expansion of the universe. And, as telescopes became bigger and more powerful, astronomers delved deeper into the mysteries of the cosmos. In his Atlas of Astronomical Discoveries, astronomy journalist Govert Schilling tells the story of 400 years of telescopic astronomy. He looks at the 100 most important discoveries since the invention of the telescope. In his direct and accessible style, the author takes his readers on an exciting journey encompassing the highlights of four centuries of astronomy. Spectacular photographs, taken with the largest telescopes on Earth and in space, portray the most distant corners of the universe. "Selecting and describing the hundred most impressive and important astronomical discoveries is no easy task, but no one can master this feat as well as Govert Schilling, a veritable master of science communication. With captivating words and breathtaking images, the Atlas of Astronomical Discoveries is a tour-de-force of humankind’s almost unbelievable progress in understanding the cosmos over the past 400 years." Lars Lindberg Christensen, Head of ESO’s Education and Public Outreach Department and author of Cosmic Collisions (Springer 2009) "A hyper modern concept, aimed at the multimedia generation." Sjaak Priester, science reporter in Dutch newspaper "De Volkskrant" "A non plus ultra of astronomical history with breathtaking photography." Peter Reinhard, practical astronomer in Austrian magazine "Die Sternenrundschau
The Hunt for Planet X: New Worlds and the Fate of Pluto
No full text"The Hunt for Planet X is a fascinating tale by one of the world's premier astronomy writers. Govert Schilling is not only scrupulously accurate, he writes beautifully as well." Stephen P. Maran, Author of "Astronomy for Dummies" and Press Officer, American Astronomical Society "The Hunt for Planet X is an adventure story or, more accurately, a series of adventure stories. Schilling tells them well, capturing both the science and the people involved. It starts with the classics: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto; and moves all over the solar system as ground-based astronomers and space scientists pour over measurements and observations to try to understand the worlds around us. Current debates about the Pioneer Anomaly and the definition of what is a planet make the book current as well as a good history." Dr. Louis Friedman, Executive Director, The Planetary Society "This exciting tale of the centuries-old search for new planets in the solar system reads like a thriller. It is an adventure packed with fierce competition, brilliant discoveries, dumb errors, lucky coincidences and artful intrigue – in short, the full spectrum of the human drama. The story reaches an exciting climax in 2006, when we lost Pluto as a planet but gained a number of ice dwarfs in return. This colorful account chock-full of fascinating details is an excellent metaphor for the great adventure of science." Robbert Dijkgraaf, Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Amsterdam The Hunt for Planet X: New Worlds and the Fate of Pluto goes beyond a standard scientific read, encompassing who, and what, is involved in the pursuit of planetary endeavors. Touching on over three-hundred years of debates, debacles and discoveries, this book offers the reader insight into the minds and motives of planetary astronomers and their findings. The "hunt" continues to the outer-most regions of the solar system, and Govert Schilling states this search will not cease: "Astronomy is an adventurous science," he writes, and without adventure and those who seek it out the universe would otherwise remain mysterious. The real-life characters presented in The Hunt for Planet X look for glimpses of light in the dark, from icy Kuiper Belt objects to full-fledged planets, in the process challenging how such worlds should be defined and ultimately describing the Universe
Govert den Hartogh, What Kind of Death: The Ethics of Determining One’s Own Death
No full textPhysician-assisted death is a highly debated topic in medical law. ‘What Kind of Death: The Ethics of Determining One’s Own Death’ by Govert den Hartogh is part of the Routledge Research in Applied Ethics Series, examining physician-assisted death and end-of-life decisions. It is divided into four parts1 and contains sixteen chapters in total, exploring topics such as ‘suicide’ (Part 1), ‘palliative care and palliative sedation’ (Part 2), ‘euthanasia’ (Part 3), and an analysis of ‘hard cases’ (Part 4). The author has a commendable aim: to examine both fundamental and practical aspects of physician-assisted death, including related legal regulation based on new evidence.
One of this book’s strengths is its ability to evaluate technical and complex areas. It offers a valuable resource for exploring end-of-life choices from a personal and moral standpoint. It also provides an insightful examination of what constitutes a ‘good death’ and how to facilitate it. It will appeal to anyone researching bioethics, applied ethics, law, or simply curious about death, particularly assisted death. The book is well-structured, establishing a right to suicide before connecting this with more complicated issues such as ‘euthanasia’ and ‘hard cases’. Care is also generally taken to explain technical terms thoroughly. For example, ‘euthanasia’ is defined at the outset of the discussion as ending someone’s life upon their request (p. 4). By explaining such terms, the author bridges knowledge gaps among readers, as some may not be familiar with technical terms, thus making this book more accessible to a broader audience
Improving flood fatality risk assessment for river flooding in the Netherlands: Implications of alternative functions and model resolution variations on mortality and fatalities in the Bommelerwaard
No full textThe number of fatalities due to a potential flood event is traditionally determined utilizing 'mortality functions’. Data of recent large-scale flooding in the Netherlands are not available since the Netherlands was successful in flood prevention. Therefore, only data from the last coastal flood event in 1953 with 1795 direct fatalities are available. The mortality functions are empirical relationships to provide mortality as a function of three explicit flood characteristics, namely water depth, flow velocity, and water level rise rate. Many more factors are included implicitly since the functions were derived from 1953 data. These underlying factors are thus based on the circumstances of the coastal flooding in 1953 and might not be representative anymore for future flood events elsewhere in the Netherlands. The three flood characteristics in current flood risk assessments are determined by means of coarse flood simulations. Since modern software is becoming more advanced, more detailed flood simulations are becoming possible. Therefore, the applicability of the mortality functions needs to be studied if finer model resolutions are used. This report presents the case study of river area the Bommelerwaard in which the validity of the 1953-based functions, possibilities for alternative functions, and finer model resolutions in hydrodynamic models are tested and analyzed with regards to their impact on flood fatality risk. A hydrodynamic model is developed using the new software program D-Flow Flexible Mesh which is able to apply finer resolutions at locations that require more detail. The different model resolutions that are tested are 100m and 25m, and 5m for the area close to the breach. The flood simulations with these model resolutions resulted in similar outcomes for the number of estimated fatalities in this case study. Overall, the 100m model is preferred because it is sufficiently able to indicate the dangerous locations, provide the order of magnitude of the flood characteristics, while it demands short computation times and matches the level of detail of the data of 1953. However, it is recommended to model the area around the breach (‘breach zone’) with finer model resolutions because the resulting higher local peak velocities are relevant for potential building collapse. For the areas around obstacles and underpasses, it is also recommended to use finer resolutions or to make use of 1D objects or fixed weirs. This study concluded that finer model resolutions at dangerous locations have an impact on the individual risk value of the neighbourhood, and this can have consequences for the maximum individual risk value and thus the overall safety standard of a large dike ring. Furthermore, the case study illustrated that compartment dikes have a significant impact on the local mortality because of the high water level rise rates just upstream. It is recommended to look into possibilities to reduce this high local mortality rate and hence, individual risk, for example by optimizing the location and number of compartment dikes or exploring the effects of openings in the dikes. Moreover, this study identified the discussion points in the current Dutch loss of life approach by a literature study, knowledge of recent flood events abroad, and loss of life approaches internationally. Alternative mortality functions are proposed based on the literature and analyzed through sensitivity analyses in the case study. It is recommended to substantiate and take into account the factors water arrival time, improved building characteristics, and age in the loss of life approach. Preventive evacuation is already taken into account in this approach, but in addition, water arrival time can be included by means of fleeing. This study shows that water arrival time has a great effect on the number of fatalities because some areas have relatively large arrival times and this enables inhabitants to flee the area. Emergency response is thereby of crucial importance. Also in 1953 this factor proved to be relevant. The improved building characteristics compared to 1953 are shown to have a limited impact on the absolute number of fatalities in this case study but it reduced the maximum value of the individual risk and is thus of relevance, especially for dike ring areas with large water depths (>2.1m) and high rise rates (>0.5m/h). Moreover, this study underlines the vulnerability of the elderly during flood events. Since the age distribution has shifted since 1953 and significantly more elderly are present in society nowadays, it is relevant to take this explicitly into account. This case study shows that correcting for age can have a significant impact on the number of fatalities. The impact on the individual risk is limited, but this depends on the spatial distribution of the elderly and should be further analyzed. Finally, the individual risk is sensitive to the configuration of the neighbourhoods. It is therefore also recommended to look into more robust approaches to determine the individual risk.Civil Engineering | Hydraulic Engineering | Hydraulic Structures and Flood Ris
Community mapping for flood modelling: A case study of the Ramani Huria community mapping project in Dar es Salaam
No full textThe current intensification of the hydrologic cycle, in combination with expanding settlements in flood prone areas, makes an increasing share of the global population exposed to flood risks. Many parts of the world are, however, still lacking the data needed for flood risk management and risk reduction. The recent development of information and communication technologies has remarkably lowered the costs to collect data for flood resilience, which has accommodated the rise of community mapping projects to fill data gaps in resource-strained environments. This thesis utilises drainage data collected by the Ramani Huria community mapping project in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to investigate if community mapped drainage data can improve flood predictions on neighbourhood scale. A coupled 1D-2D hydrodynamic model is developed of Kijitonyama ward, and is run with and without Ramani Huria’s drainage data implemented in the 1D schematisation. The simulated flood depth for the scenarios is validated with citizen’s observations on flood depth during a rain event on 3 March, 2019. The developed model is then applied to investigate the impact of solid waste accumulation in the drainage system on floods, by closing the drainage segments that were recorded as blocked in Kijitonyama ward by Ramani Huria staff the morning after the simulated event. An experimental scenario is also run, to examine the impact of blocked culverts. The results show that community mapped drainage data indeed can enhance the performance of hydrodynamic models, as the model output corresponds better with the validation data when implementing Ramani Huria’s drainage data in the 1D schematisation, compared with a scenario run with only a 2D schematisation. The scenarios run with solid waste blockages do not influence the model output when comparing with citizen’s observations, but increase the water level in the drainage segments located upstream of the blockages.Civil Engineerin
Een beeld van een kust: Inspiratie voor de Kustnota
No full textDe kust als spiegel / Maurits Groen De levende kust / Govert D. Geldof Integraal beleid : te kust en te keur? / Gerrit Hagelstein en Philip Idenburg De nieuwe kusten van Noordzee en IJsselmeer / Wouter van Dieren De kust als menselijke gradiënt / Reinier Jan Scheele Duinen in een levende kust / Helias Udo de Haas Het verlangen naar de kust : de kust als toeristisch-recreatief domein / Theo Beckers De kust over 25 jaar : een normatief gezichtspunt / Karel Soudijn Een beeld van kust / Anne van der Meidenkustnot
Redevelopment of Industrial Heritage: Transformation of the Landbouwbelang Building in Maastricht
No full textThe Landbouwbelang Building in Maastricht is located on the western banks of the river Maas. As an important part of the cultural heritage of Maastricht, this building shows the historical relation between the city and the river it is named after. The old warehouse has large industrial cranes dominating the riverfront. Graffiti covers the facades and its surroundings, giving the place an uninviting, yet iconic atmosphere. But behind its doors lies a vibrant underground scene of squatters and artists which surprisingly welcomes you inside. It is at this point you realize this place has value. Not just for the preservation of its city's historical architecture, but also for further development of a place which brings people together. There is potential to transform this building to a multifunctional event building for the surrounding neighborhood.Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Heritage & Architectur
Operational excellence by continuous improvement of the integral engine MRO chain
No full textInterfacultaire masteropleiding. De master is een combinatie van TPM, CEG en 3mE. Waarbij de thesis bij de faculteit 3mE is afgerond.Transport, Infrastructure and Logistic
