Netherlands Enterprise Agency

The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of choline-containing compounds (Cho), creatine and phosphocreatine (Cre), N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), lactate, and water was measured in normal rat brain, and in the ischemic and contralateral region of rat brain approximately 3 and 24 h after induction of focal cerebral ischemia. After 3 h of ischemia, the ADC of Cre and NAA in the ischemic region had significantly decreased by 29% and 19%, respectively (P < 0.05). Lactate ADC was also obtained in the ischemic region. After 24 h of focal ischemia, no ADC values could be measured for NAA, Cre and Cho in the ischemic region because their concentrations had become too low. The ADCs of lactate and water in the ischemic volume were virtually identical at 3 and 24 h after occlusion. The experiments suggest that the ADC decrease of water after induction of ischemia is partly caused by changes in the diffusion characteristics of the intracellular compartment.

Bioenergy aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to meeting global climate change mitigation targets. Nevertheless, several sustainability concerns are associated with bioenergy, especially related to the impacts of using land for dedicated energy crop production. Cultivating energy crops can result in synergies or trade-offs between GHG emission reductions and other sustainability effects depending on context-specific conditions. Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, the main synergies and trade-offs associated with land use for dedicated energy crop production were identified. Furthermore, the context-specific conditions (i.e., biomass feedstock, previous land use, climate, soil type and agricultural management) which affect those synergies and trade-offs were also identified. The most recent literature was reviewed and a pairwise comparison between GHG emission reduction (SDG 13) and other SDGs was carried out. A total of 427 observations were classified as either synergy (170), trade-off (176), or no effect (81). Most synergies with environmentally-related SDGs, such as water quality and biodiversity conservation, were observed when perennial crops were produced on arable land, pasture or marginal land in the ‘cool temperate moist’ climate zone and ‘high activity clay’ soils. Most trade-offs were related to food security and water availability. Previous land use and feedstock type are more impactful in determining synergies and trade-offs than climatic zone and soil type. This study highlights the importance of considering context-specific conditions in evaluating synergies and trade-offs and their relevance for developing appropriate policies and practices to meet worldwide demand for bioenergy in a sustainable manner.

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that the treatment of juvenile offenders is most effective when it takes into account the possible risk factors for re-offending. It may be asked whether juvenile offenders can be treated as one homogeneous group, or, if they are divisible into subgroups, whether different risk factors are predictive of recidivism. AIMS AND HYPOTHESES: Our aims were to find out whether serious juvenile offenders may be subdivided into clearly defined subgroups and whether such subgroups might differ in terms of the risk factors that predict recidivism. METHODS: In a sample of 1111 serious juvenile offenders, latent class analysis was used to identify subgroups. For each juvenile offender, 70 risk factors were registered. Severity of recidivism was measured on a 12-point scale. Analysis was then conducted to identify the risk factors that best predicted the different patterns of recidivism. RESULTS: Four distinct subgroups of juvenile offenders were identified: serious violent offenders, violent property offenders, property offenders, and sex offenders. Violent property offenders were the most serious recidivists and had the highest number of risk factors. Serious violent offenders and property offenders were characterised by overt and covert behaviour, respectively. Sex offenders differed from the other three groups in the rarity of their recidivism and in the risk factors that are present. For each of these four subgroups, a different set of risk factors was found to predict severity of recidivism. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in recidivism rates occurred in spite of the fact that most of these youngsters had been in the standard treatment programme offered to serious juvenile offenders in the Netherlands. This was not a treatment outcome study, but the indication that two of the groups identified in our study appeared to be worse after going through this programme, whereas the other two did quite well in terms of recidivism lends weight to our idea that such classification of juvenile offenders may lead to more targeted treatment programmes that would better serve both the general public and the youths concerned.

We assessed the academic performance and behavior of 121 nondisabled elementary boys and 107 boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), ages 7.4 through 14.5 years. Students completed computer-generated tasks of reading, computation, and math problem solving, and we recorded two performance measures (accuracy and speed) and three behavioral measures (vocalizations, head movements, and bottom movements). Our purpose was to determine the effects of ADHD on conceptual and computational math. For greater precision than has been available in past math research, we held reading and problem structure constant, while recording speed of processing, number recognition, and motor response. Our analysis yielded significantly lower problem-solving scores in specific math concepts and slower computational performance for the boys with ADHD. These findings demonstrated the educational implications of attention deficit disorders for mathematical skill and the need for interventions that are geared more specifically to these deficits, and that also provide accommodations for reading complexity and length, visual-motor skill, feedback, and self-pacing.

Abstract Current biomass production and trade volumes for energy and new materials and bio‐chemicals are only a small fraction to achieve the bioenergy levels suggested by many global energy and climate change mitigation scenarios for 2050. However, comprehensive sustainability of large scale biomass production and trading has yet to be secured, and governance of developing biomass markets is a critical issue. Fundamental choices need to be made on how to develop sustainable biomass supply chains and govern sustainable international biomass markets. The aim of this paper is to provide a vision of how widespread trade and deployment of biomass for energy purposes can be integrated with the wider (bio)economy. It provides an overview of past and current trade flows of the main bioenergy products, and discusses the most important drivers and barriers for bioenergy in general, and more specifically the further development of bioenergy trade over the coming years. It discusses the role of bioenergy as part of the bioeconomy and other potential roles; and how it can help to achieve the sustainable development goals. The paper concludes that it is critical to demonstrate innovative and integrated value chains for biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower that can respond with agility to market factors while providing economic, environmental, and societal benefits to international trade and market. Furthermore, flexible biogenic carbon supply nets based on broad feedstock portfolios and multiple energy and material utilization pathways will reduce risks for involved stakeholder and foster the market entry and uptake of various densified biogenic carbon carriers. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd

Sustainability transitions are commonly considered impossible without regime change. Theoretical work on regime change has mainly focused on niches and landscapes and less on change ‘from within’. Empirical analysis helps theorising endogenous regime change. Conceptualising regimes as semi-coherent entities composed of multiple ‘institutional logics’, we analyse the endogenous regime change in Dutch dairy farming. Practices in this sector have become more and more market-driven. This dominant logic however was increasingly challenged by institutional logics centring round cultural identity and sustainability. Tensions particularly centred round the increased indoor housing of cows. The contestation of this practice eventually led to a first ‘crack’ in the regime, as it weakened the dominance of the market logic and enabled opportunities for more sustainability. Our case study shows that the presence of alternative institutional logics is necessary to crack the regime, but opportunities to patch it back together are similarly crucial to enable sustainability transitions.

The authors describe a new method for aligning high resolution radar (HRR) range profiles for classification purposes. They describe the effects of translational range migration on the phase of the Fourier transformed profiles, and show how the problem of finding an absolute alignment of HRR profiles can be described as a problem in phase estimation. Using this description, they propose a new alignment method, the time-smoothed zero phase representation, which they compare to existing alignment methods in terms of classification performance. Classification is performed using a training set of simulated profiles to classify both simulated and measured test profiles. The proposed method has two main advantages compared to those described in the known literature. Since translation invariance is achieved early on in the classification process, it becomes possible to use more advanced feature extraction methods. Furthermore, the computational cost of classification is considerably lower compared to traditional alignment methods based on cross-correlation.

Technological diversity is important to achieve long-term technological progress as diversity fosters recombinant innovation and renders undesirable lock-ins less likely. Many government policies influence the diversity of a technology, in particular by subsidizing collaborative innovation projects. This study investigates the influence of network position and the composition of innovation projects on the creation diversity of an emerging technology at a system level. We first conceptualize technological diversity and formulate hypotheses using a combination of innovation system and social network arguments. Empirically, we study the Dutch innovation system in relation to biogas energy technology. Our results show that the more projects are related to each other through shared actors, the less likely they are to contribute to technological diversity. This supports the arguments that diffusion of knowledge and sharing knowledge bases lead to less diversity. With regard to composition, we found that including more partners in a project is negatively related to diversity, while a greater diversity of actors in a project contributes to technological diversity. Overall, we conclude that a combination of innovation system and social network arguments provides a credible micro-level explanation for how the diversity of an emerging technology is created within an innovation system. These insights can be used to design “smart” innovation policy instruments that influence the level of technological diversity.

Localized proton spectroscopy was used to monitor changes in metabolism and the biophysical status of tissue water in cat brain induced by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Changes in the intensity of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), total creatine (tCr), and lactate (Lac) signals in localized volumes of interest in the ischemic hemisphere were quantified relative to the preischemic signal. Changes in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), T1- and T2-relaxation times of water in those volumes were also quantified. Lactate was shown to increase rapidly in the first 0.5-2.0 h of ischemia and stabilized afterwards. The ADC of water started to decrease from 0.64 x 10(-9) m2/s to 0.54 x 10(-9) m2/s in the first minutes following occlusion, as was shown in two cases where ADC was measured with high temporal resolution, and stabilized after approximately 3 h at 0.38 x 10(-9) m2/s (n = 6). NAA and tCr decreased by 35% (P < 0.0001) and 30% (P < 0.005), respectively, in the first 8 h of ischemia in comparison with the preischemic control levels. T1 and T2 gradually increased with 0.3 s (P < 0.0001) and 5.2 ms (P < 0.0001), respectively, during the same time span.

A new method for B1-insensitive water suppression using adiabatic RF pulses is described. The transition zone of the inversion profile of adiabatic full passage (AFP) pulses is used for frequency-selective excitation followed by dephasing of the excited water with magnetic field gradients. Several improvements of AFP pulses, which also have implications for other applications, are described. The technique was evaluated by simulations based on the Bloch equations (including relaxation), in vitro experiments and an in vivo verification on neonatal and adult rat brain.

India has emerged as a key player with a high potential to develop a biomass and biobased economy due to its large geographic size and the massive amounts of agricultural and non agricultural biomass produced. India has joined hands with Europe to synchronize its efforts to create and facilitate the development of a biobased economy in this country. This paper aims to examine common research and development actions between the European Union (EU) and India to facilitate the development of these biobased economies. As a base, a thorough study has been performed considering the biomass potential and current status of the bioeconomy in both the EU and India based on the distillation of a series of 80 potential recommendations. The recommendations were grouped into four major categories: (1) biomass production, (2) by-products/waste, (3) biorefineries and (4) policy, market, and value-added products. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to key stakeholders belonging to: academia, industry, and policymakers in both India and the EU. A total of 231 responses were received and analyzed, based on the key recommendations made for the essential research and development topics that are of prime importance to develop biobased economies in both the EU and India. The findings of this study suggest recognizing the value-added contributions made by biobased products such as: food, feed, valuable materials and chemicals in both regions. It is important to reduce the overall process costs and minimize the environmental impacts of such a biobased economy.

The effects of dietary nitrate and of Propionibacterium acidipropionici (PA) on methane and nitrous oxide emissions, methaemoglobinaemia, volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration and productivity of sheep were studied. It was hypothesised that PA supplementation would increase the rate of nitrite reduction to ammonia in the rumen and therefore reduce risks of methaemoglobinaemia. Fine-wool Merino wethers (n = 28; 31.8 ± 3.7 kg; 11 months of age) were acclimated to four isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets based on oaten chaff (1.0 kg/day) supplemented with either urea (1.1% of DM; T1 and T2) or a nitrate source (2.0% of DM; T3 and T4) while T2 and T4 were also supplemented with PA (11.5 × 1010 CFU/day). Replacing urea with nitrate lowered methane production (g/day) by 19% and methane yield (g/kg DMI) by 15%, improved clean wool growth by 12% (P &amp;lt; 0.001) and tended to increase skin temperature (P &amp;lt; 0.1). Nitrate increased ruminal acetate to propionate ratio by 27%, increased plasma nitrite and nitrate concentrations and blood methaemoglobin (MetHb) level up to 45% of total haemoglobin. Nitrous oxide emission from sheep confined in respiration chambers was higher (P &amp;lt; 0.001) when nitrate was fed, lowering the net benefit of methane mitigation on global warming potential (CO2 equivalents/kg DMI) by 18%. In contrast, PA had little effect, decreasing total VFA concentration (P &amp;lt; 0.05), increasing rumen pH (P &amp;lt; 0.05) and clean wool growth (P &amp;lt; 0.05) of urea-fed sheep. This study confirmed the beneficial effects of nitrate on net greenhouse gas reduction and wool growth, but showed that methaemoglobinaemia risks may be higher when diets are fed at a restricted level and contain only low levels of readily fermented carbohydrate. PA supplementation was not effective in reducing methaemoglobinaemia, but did increase clean wool growth of urea-fed sheep.

Snail transcription factor induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in which the epithelial cells downregulate cell-cell adhesion genes such as E-Cadherin and upregulate mesenchymal genes such as vimentin, leading to increased invasion and migration. Very little is known about the role of Snail in cellular adhesion to the extracellular matrix. We hypothesized that Snail will lead to decreased cellular adhesion to fibronectin and collagen I matrix through integrin regulation, concomitant with increased cell migration. Androgen-independent C4-2 cells, an aggressive subline of androgen-dependent LNCaP cells, exhibited decreased cell adhesion and increased cell migration on fibronectin and collagen I as compared to LNCaP cells, which was reversed by Snail knock down in C4-2 cells. ARCaP and LNCaP prostate cancer cells stably transfected with Snail displayed decreased adhesion and increased cell migration on fibronectin and collagen I as compared to control Neo-transfected cells, which was reversed by Snail knockdown. Flow cytometry analysis revealed a decrease in a5, a2 and b1 integrin expression in ARCaP Snail-transfected cells that was reversed in Snail knock down cells. We also observed an increase in ERK phosphorylation in ARCaP Snail-transfected cells as compared to control ARCaP-Neo cells, and inhibition of the MAPK pathway with UO126 inhibitor in ARCaP Snail-transfected cells abrogated Snail-mediated decrease in cell adhesion and reinduced a5, a2 and b1 integrin expression. Collectively, these studies define a new role for Snail transcription factor in cell adhesion to the ECM, which may be mediated by MAPK signaling, and may be crucial for cell detachment and subsequent metastasis.

-The ability of endothelin receptor blockade to prevent and to treat established cerebral and renal injury was explored in salt-loaded stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) with the endothelin receptor subtype-A antagonist A127722. SHRSP were subjected to 1% NaCl intake. The start of treatment with A127722 (35 and 70 mg. kg-1. d-1, respectively) was either synchronized with salt loading or initiated after the first observation of cerebral edema with T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. In untreated control animals median survival was 54 days (range, 32 to 80 days) after the start of salt loading. Early-onset A127722 treatment increased median survival to 233 days (range, 92 to 407 days; P<0.05 versus controls) with 35 mg/kg and to 124 days (range, 97 to 169 days; P<0.05 versus control) with 70 mg/kg. The development of cerebral edema was prevented, and systolic blood pressure and proteinuria were dose-dependently reduced. However, all rats in the 70-mg/kg treatment group developed hemorrhages in the basal ganglia shortly before death. Late-onset A127722 treatment failed to affect survival, systolic blood pressure, or proteinuria. Nevertheless, cerebral edema was reduced but not as well as in early-onset treatment. Development of hypertension, cerebral edema, and proteinuria was prevented in SHRSP when A127722 treatment was initiated at the start of salt-loading. However, A127722 treatment did not prolong survival in SHRSP with cerebral edema. This suggests that in SHRSP the endothelin A receptor participates actively in the development of increased blood pressure and initiation of organ damage but participates minimally in established malignant hypertension and progression of target-organ damage.

In context of diminishing housing affordability, shared renting has acquired new salience in recent years, especially for single young-adults. Public discourses often pose shared renting as a potential solution to the ‘housing crisis’, with new regulation and investment stimulating conversions to multiple-occupancy and growth in co-living developments. This paper addresses how Amsterdam, a deeply regulated market, has approached affordability concerns through transformations in the shared rental sector. Drawing on secondary data and stakeholder interviews we analyze developments in the institutional features of shared housing, focusing on the regulatory context under neo-liberal pressures. We identify shifts from ‘traditional’, relatively informalized sharing arrangements towards a more complex and institutionalized sector featuring growth and diversification in co-living provision. Beyond illustrating interaction between changing real-estate investment practices and Amsterdam’s socioeconomic and regulatory context, our analysis innovates a rough typology of sharing and co-living and seeks to contribute to understanding of emerging forms of housing and precarity characteristic to the experiences of young urbanites.

Some say that world science has become more 'applied', or at least more 'application-oriented', in recent years. Replacing the ill-defined distinction between 'basic research' and 'applied research', we introduce 'research application orientation' domains as an alternative conceptual and analytical framework for examining research output growth patterns. To distinguish possible developmental trajectories we define three institutional domains: 'university', 'industry', 'hospitals'. Our macro-level bibliometric analysis takes a closer look at general trends within and across some 750 of the world's largest research-intensive universities. To correct for database changes, our time-series analysis was applied to both a fixed journal set (same research journals and conference proceedings over time) and a dynamic journal set (changing set of publication outlets). We find that output growth in the 'hospital research orientation' has significantly outpaced the other two application domains, especially since 2006/2007. This happened mainly because of the introduction of new publication outlets in the WoS, but also partially because some universities-especially in China-seem to have become more visible in this domain. Our analytical approach needs further broadening and deepening to provide a more definitive answer whether hospitals and the medical sector are becoming increasingly dominant as a domain of scientific knowledge production and an environment for research applications.

Science and technology-based entrepreneurship education (SBEE) is crucial for the valorisation of newly developed fundamental knowledge and innovative technology in science faculties. This is an important factor in enabling science to respond to societal challenges related to sustainability. However, its didactics are currently underdeveloped. Experiential learning plays an important role in SBEE. Against this background, the current study addresses the following research question: What are the specifications of experiential learning for further developing the didactics of SBEE, as identified through systematic assessment? The study reveals that significant improvement is possible when systematic attention is paid to the implementation of four core activities of experiential learning: bringing real-worldness into the learning setting, recognising the ill-defined nature of management problems and entrepreneurial challenges, encouraging involvement in the execution of management interventions, and highlighting the importance of reflection. Furthermore, we draw upon the literature stating that for a transformative experiential learning effect, the sole focus on a business logic in current SBEE needs to be transcended to enable such entrepreneurship and sustainability education to contribute to the kind of out-of-the-box technological innovation solutions required for the current, pressing sustainability challenges that society faces. This study provides the first evidence that dedicated attention to critical reflection is a crucial component in the design of the experiential learning process for science- and technology-based entrepreneurship and sustainability education.

Rural areas in Poland are inhabited by 39.8 % of the country’s population (GUS (Statistics Poland), 2018a). These areas face various challenges related to the development of efficient and competitive agriculture and forest management, while also strengthening their structures as viable living spaces for rural citizens that enable independent life and varied economic activity. Another important challenge arising in this context is preservation of the cultural landscape and natural environment of these areas. Measures to improve rural development instruments have been pursued in Poland for more than a decade. Rural Development Programme for 2014-2020, setting a framework for the development of rural areas in Poland, highlights the need to activate their residents, and to use endogenic potentials to foster local development. The process of spatial planning within rural areas in Poland requires measures promoting creativity among rural residents and enabling their involvement in joint projects. One of the objectives of current rural development projects is to incorporate citizen perspectives within the process of local development. This research aims to identify potential measures that local governments can implement to develop local identity and the sense of belonging. The emergence of Web 2.0 and the release of public application programming interfaces (APIs) for online mapping tools and sites that enable uploading georeferenced content, along with the introduction of mobile location tagging devices, brought a wide range of new possibilities, challenges, and perspectives for rural development. Crowdsourcing - a type of participative online activity - is one of them. It allows effective targeting of relevant social groups, benefitting from their knowledge of the area, their opinions and ideas, and then involving them in the implementation of the planning works, thus enabling exchange of reflections and views among authorities, experts, and the public (“crowd”). Crowdsourcing entails a combination of top-down, traditional, hierarchical process, and a bottom-up, open process engaging an online community. The analysis of trends observed in European policies (such as Collective Awareness Platforms for Sustainability and Social Innovation [CAPs] projects) has revealed that the mobilization of public engagement in land use planning is both desirable and important. The article presents possibilities to introduce the crowdsourcing concept into rural development programmes in Poland, particularly in planning works related to the implementation of land consolidation. A dedicated application LC-CApp (Land Consolidation-Crowdsourcing Application) was created in the GIS environment specifically for this purpose.

Abstract As the use of computers increases, the cost of educating computer users rises. Therefore the need for extensive education of users should be avoided as much as possible. Instead computer systems should be adapted to the requirements and characteristics of computer users. Hereby the need to identify user characteristics arises. The less computer educated the users, the more their requirements of the systems will differ. Where user characteristics are difficult to change, it will be worthwhile to attend to user differences in the design of systems. The implications of user differences may vary depending upon the type of task to be performed. The present paper presents an analysis of different user characteristics and their possible interactions with different task requirements. Hereby some recommendations regarding the need to educate users or adapt systems to the user were derived.

Due to rapid depletion of wild stocks, the necessity to cultivate fish is eminent. Current fish farming practices seek to improve flesh quality. The notion that white muscles are the main target of the fishing industry is emphasized. A novel approach is suggested based on the development of white muscles in wild fish from eggs to adults. A compilation of facts about white muscle structure, function and ontogeny is followed by an account of the changes in swimming behaviour and performance related to the use of white muscle during growth from larva to adult. Ecological data narrate early swimming performance with white muscle development and growth, unveiling some of the important natural selection factors eliminating weak swimmers and poor growers from the breeding stock. A comparison between fish culture practise and natural conditions reveals fundamental differences. New approaches following wild breeding processes promise several important advantages regarding the quality of white muscle.