Technology Foundation STW

Stem cell therapy is a promising tool to improve outcome after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but needs to be optimized since results from clinical applications remain ambiguous. A potent source of stem cells is the stromal vascular fraction of adipose tissue (SVF), which contains high numbers of adipose derived stem cells (ASC). We hypothesized that: 1) intravenous injection can be used to apply stem cells to the heart. 2) Uncultured SVF cells are easier and safer when cultured ASCs. 3) Transplantation after the acute inflammation period of AMI is favorable over early injection. For this, AMI was induced in rats by 40min of coronary occlusion. One or seven days after AMI, rats were intravenously injected with vehicle, 5×10(6) uncultured rat SVF cells or 1×10(6) rat ASCs. Rats were analyzed 35 days after AMI. Intravenous delivery of both fresh SVF cells and cultured ASCs 7 days after AMI significantly reduced infarct size compared to vehicle. Similar numbers of stem cells were found in the heart, after treatment with fresh SVF cells and cultured ASCs. Importantly, no adverse effects were found after injection of SVF cells. Using cultured ASCs, however, 3 animals had shortness of breath, and one animal died during injection. In contrast to application at 7 days post AMI, injection of SVF cells 1 day post AMI resulted in a small but non-significant infarct reduction (p=0.35). Taken together, intravenous injection of uncultured SVF cells subsequent to the acute inflammation period, is a promising stem cell therapy for AMI.

Abstract BACKGROUND Since available arable land is limited and nitrogen fertilizers pollute the environment, cropping systems ought to be developed that do not rely on them. Here we investigate the rapidly growing, N 2 ‐fixing Azolla / Nostoc symbiosis for its potential productivity and chemical composition to determine its potential as protein feed. RESULTS In a small production system, cultures of Azolla pinnata and Azolla filiculoides were continuously harvested for over 100 days, yielding an average productivity of 90.0–97.2 kg dry weight (DW) ha −1 d −1 . Under ambient CO 2 levels, N 2 fixation by the fern's cyanobacterial symbionts accounted for all nitrogen in the biomass. Proteins made up 176–208 g kg −1 DW (4.9 × total nitrogen), depending on species and CO 2 treatment, and contained more essential amino acids than protein from soybean. Elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations (800 ppm) significantly boosted biomass production by 36–47%, without decreasing protein content. Choice of species and CO 2 concentrations further affected the biomass content of lipids (79–100 g kg −1 DW) and (poly)phenols (21–69 g kg −1 DW). CONCLUSIONS By continuous harvesting, high protein yields can be obtained from Azolla cultures, without the need for nitrogen fertilization. High levels of (poly)phenols likely contribute to limitations in the inclusion rate of Azolla in animal diets and need further investigation. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Reconstructing large loaded bone defects with ceramic bone graft extenders is tempting considering the expected future donor bone shortage. However, whether there are negative effects is unknown. Standardized large defects in the acetabulum of goats were created and subsequently reconstructed with metal mesh and impacted morselized cancellous bone grafts or a 50/50% volume mixture of tricalcium phosphate-hydroxyapatite granules and morselized cancellous bone grafts using the bone impaction grafting technique. Subsequently, a cemented total hip prosthesis was inserted. Clinically, no differences were observed between groups. Most of the morselized cancellous bone graft had been resorbed and incorporated into new bone after 15 weeks. The large tricalcium phosphate-hydroxyapatite granules were integrated, the smaller crushed tricalcium phosphate-hydroxyapatite granules were surrounded by osteoclasts or engulfed by macrophages and giant cells. The cement penetration into the reconstructive layer and the quality of the bone based on a semiquantitative score were similar in both groups. We found no suggestion of tricalcium-hydroxyapatite granule-induced third-body wear in this short-term followup study. No negative effects were observed in this study, and therefore, it seems reasonable to use tricalcium-hydroxyapatite granules in a 50/50% volume mix with morselized cancellous bone graft as a bone graft extender in acetabular revision surgery with the bone impaction grafting technique.

Swing leg retraction reduces touchdown energy losses of running by decreasing foot speed at the moment of ground contact, but does the additional acceleration of the swing leg cost more energy than is saved? To determine whether swing leg retraction can increase the overall energy efficiency of running robots, we find the optimally efficient gaits of a McGeer-like runner over a range of retraction rates. Results show that overall energy usage, including that used to swing the legs, scales with energy loss at touchdown, which is minimized at the retraction rate that zeros foot tangential speed at ground contact. Other benefits of swing leg retraction, such as reduced foot slippage and damaging touchdown forces, are realized simultaneously with optimal energy efficiency.

Process time variability plays a key role in the cycle time of wafers. Several sources of variability can be distinguished. However, identification and measurement of all individual sources is almost impossible. Therefore, in previous work, a new method has been proposed to measure effective process times (EPT) for single-lot machines. The EPT incorporates the various sources of variability. From the measured EPT realizations, the mean and the corresponding coefficient of variation can be computed for queueing performance analysis. This paper follows up on previous work. The EPT quantification approach is generalized toward batching equipment. The batching types of operations are commonly present in the semiconductor industry. The paper proposes a transformation algorithm that transforms lot events into batch events. This enables one to use the previously developed single-lot algorithm also for batch machine workstations. An industry case illustrates the approach using operational data of furnace workstations.

Swing leg retraction reduces touchdown energy losses of running by decreasing foot speed at the moment of ground contact, but does the additional acceleration of the swing leg cost more energy than is saved? To determine whether swing leg retraction can increase the overall energy efficiency of running robots, we find the optimally efficient gaits of a McGeer-like runner over a range of retraction rates. Results show that overall energy usage, including that used to swing the legs, scales with energy loss at touchdown, which is minimized at the retraction rate that zeros foot tangential speed at ground contact. Other benefits of swing leg retraction, such as reduced foot slippage and damaging touchdown forces, are realized simultaneously with optimal energy efficiency.

Two prototypes of fully retractable enclosures with diameters of 7 and 9 m have been built for the high-resolution solar telescopes DOT (Dutch Open Telescope) and GREGOR, both located at the Canary Islands. These enclosures protect the instruments for bad weather and are fully open when the telescopes are in operation. The telescopes and enclosures also operate in hard wind. The prototypes are based on tensioned membrane between movable but stiff bows, which fold together to a ring when opened. The height of the ring is small. The prototypes already survived several storms, with often snow and ice, without any damage, including hurricane Delta with wind speeds up to 68 m/s. The enclosures can still be closed and opened with wind speeds of 20 m/s without any problems or restrictions. The DOT successfully demonstrated the open, wind-flushing concept for astronomical telescopes. It is now widely recognized that also large future telescopes benefit from wind-flushing and retractable enclosures. These telescopes require enclosures with diameters of 30 m until roughly 100 m, the largest sizes for the ELTs (Extreme Large Telescopes), which will be built in the near future. We discuss developments and required technology for the realization of these large sizes.

There is growing interest in measuring seeing at existing and prospective telescope sites. Several methods exist to quantify seeing, one among them is by measuring the scintillation of solar or lunar light using a photodiode. A shadow band ranger (SHABAR) analyses the covariance of the signals from an array of such photodiodes, which allows for the spatial resolution of the index of refraction above the SHABAR device. This allows one to estimate the index of refraction structure parameter as a function of height, <i>C²_n(h)</i>. Although a SHABAR has a limited range compared to a differential image motion monitor (DIMM) or the latest wavefront sensors, the advantage is that it does not need telescope optics to work. A SHABAR device can be made very compact and can operate independent of other instruments. We describe the design of such a SHABAR device with six photodiodes that can operate virtually indefinitely without requiring human intervention. An inversion algorithm is used to convert the raw scintillation signals of the photodiodes to the desired <i>C²_n(h)</i> profile and a value for the Fried parameter <i>r₀</i> at height zero. We show that it is possible to perform inversions of 10 s periods in real time on relatively low-end hardware, such as an Intel Atom based computer, which allows the results to be presented live to astronomers, who can use this information to help make decisions about their observation schedule.

In the near future ELTs (Extreme Large Telescopes) will be built. Preferably these telescopes should operate without obstructions in the near surrounding to reach optimal seeing conditions and avoid large turbulences with wind-gust accelerations around large obstacles. This applies also to future large solar telescopes. At present two foldable dome prototypes have been built on the Canary Islands: the Dutch Open Telescope (DOT, La Palma) and the GREGOR Telescope (Tenerife), having a diameter of 7 and 9 meter, respectively. The domes are usually fully retracted during observations. The research consists of measurements on the two domes. New camera systems are developed and placed inside the domes for precise dome deformation measurements within 0.1 mm over the whole dome size. Simultaneously, a variety of wind-speed and -direction sensors measure the wind field around the dome. In addition, fast sensitive air-pressure sensors placed on the supporting bows measure the wind pressure. The aim is to predict accurately the expected forces and deformations on up-scaled, fully retractable domes to make their construction more economically. The dimensions of 7 and 9 meter are large enough for realistic on-site tests in gusty wind and will give much more information than wind tunnel experiments.

Bibliometrics has become a very important tool in government science policy in nowadays Russia. The paper describes the bibliometric performance by two research communities: the Russian Academy of Science (RAS) and Higher education sector (HES). Sources were the Science Citation Index-Expanded for 2007-2011 and the Journal Citation Reports, 2010. More than 141,600 records and their citation scores were analyzed by broad subject categories, organizations, source of publications and share of internationally collaborative papers. Despite huge financial inflow in HES in the last seven year, RAS performance is still much stronger. The RAS is responsible for 56.3% of the research output, the HES for 42.6%. Research portfolio is focused on “hard sciences”. A significant involvement of RAS in collaboration with HES was observed. Its share of collaborative papers with HES increased from 26.6% in 2007 up to 33.8% in 2011. Federal Universities and National Research demonstrate more strong collaboration with the RAS. A special study was conducted of papers cited at least 30 times (1153 unique records). International collaboration had a significant impact on Russian citation scores. Among 1153 highly cited papers 86.6% were internationally collaborative papers. The RAS contributed 59.4% to number of highly cited papers, twice more than HES. Our data demonstrate a dominannce by Russian Academy of Sciences performance over performance of Higher Education Sector and provide a better empirical basis for science policy.

Weather effects on foldable domes, as used at the DOT and GREGOR, are investigated, in particular the correlation between the wind field and the stresses caused to both metal framework and tent clothing. Camera systems measure contactless the displacement of several dome points. The stresses follow from the measured deformation pattern. The cameras placed near the dome floor do not disturb telescope operations. In the set-ups of DOT and GREGOR, these cameras are up to 8 meters away from the measured points and must be able to detect displacements of less than 0.1 mm. The cameras have a FireWire (IEEE1394) interface to eliminate the need for frame grabbers. Each camera captures 15 images of 640 × 480 pixels per second. All data is processed on-site in real-time. In order to get the best estimate for the displacement within the constraints of available processing power, all image processing is done in Fourier-space, with all convolution operations being pre-computed once. A sub-pixel estimate of the peak of the correlation function is made. This enables to process the images of four cameras using only one commodity PC with a dual-core processor, and achieve an effective sensitivity of up to 0.01 mm. The deformation measurements are well correlated to the simultaneous wind measurements. The results are of high interest to upscaling the dome design (ELTs and solar telescopes).

As part of a larger project for measuring various aspects of foldable domes in the context of EST and with support of the Dutch Technology Foundation STW, we have collected over a year of continuous temperature and humidity measurements, both inside and outside the domes of the Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on La Palma⁵ and the GREGOR telescope on Tenerife.⁶ In addition, we have measured the wind field around each dome. Although the structure of both domes is similar, the DOT dome has a single layer of cloth, and is situated on top of an open tower. In contrast, the GREGOR dome has a double layer of cloth, and is situated on top of a tower-shaped building. These differences result in large differences in temperature and humidity insulation when the dome is closed. We will present the changes in temperature and humidity one can expect for each dome within one day, and the statistics for the variations throughout a year. In addition, we will show that the main advantage of a foldable dome is the near instantaneous equilibration of the air inside the volume originally enclosed by the dome and that of the environment outside the dome. This property allows one to operate a telescope without needing expensive air conditioning and dome skin temperature control in order to limit dome and shell seeing effects. The measurements give also information about the weather fluctuations at the sites of the domes. It was observed that on small time scales the temperature fluctuations are significantly greater during the day than during the night.

To take advantage of the exceptional seeing above the boundary layer on Antarctic sites, a high-resolution telescope must be mounted on a support tower. An open transparent tower of framework minimizes the upward temperature-disturbed airflow. A typical minimum height is 30 m. The tower platform has to be extremely stable against wind-induced rotational motions, which have to be less than fractions of an arc second, unusually small from a mechanical engineering viewpoint. In a traditional structure, structural deflections result in angular deflections of the telescope platform, which introduce tip and tilt motions in the telescope. However, a structure that is designed to deflect with parallel motion relative to the horizontal plane will undergo solely translation deflections in the telescope platform and thus will not degrade the image. The use of a parallel motion structure has been effectively demonstrated in the design of the 15-m tower for the Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on La Palma. Special framework geometries are developed, which make it possible to construct high towers in stories having platforms with extreme stability against wind-induced tilt. These geometric solutions lead to constructions, being no more massive than a normal steel framework carrying the same load. Consequently, these lightweight towers are well suited to difficult sites as on Antarctica. A geometry with 4 stories has been worked out.

Bibliometrics has become a very important tool in government science policy in nowadays Russia. The paper describes the bibliometric performance by two research communities: the Russian Academy of Science (RAS) and Higher education sector (HES). Sources were the Science Citation Index-Expanded for 2007-2011 and the Journal Citation Reports, 2010. More than 141,600 records and their citation scores were analyzed by broad subject categories, organizations, source of publications and share of internationally collaborative papers. Despite huge financial inflow in HES in the last seven year, RAS performance is still much stronger. The RAS is responsible for 56.3% of the research output, the HES for 42.6%. Research portfolio is focused on “hard sciences”. A significant involvement of RAS in collaboration with HES was observed. Its share of collaborative papers with HES increased from 26.6% in 2007 up to 33.8% in 2011. Federal Universities and National Research demonstrate more strong collaboration with the RAS. A special study was conducted of papers cited at least 30 times (1153 unique records). International collaboration had a significant impact on Russian citation scores. Among 1153 highly cited papers 86.6% were internationally collaborative papers. The RAS contributed 59.4% to number of highly cited papers, twice more than HES. Our data demonstrate a dominannce by Russian Academy of Sciences performance over performance of Higher Education Sector and provide a better empirical basis for science policy.

The article examines the process of journal retention over time as the most authoritative sources of scientific papers. Formal concepts of retentivity are introduced, retentivity orders and retentivity directions. The postulates, which are formulated in the article, link the probability of retention to the time interval between the two compared journal lists, to the ratio of the sizes of these lists, as well as to some qualitative characteristics of the journals. A mathematical model of the retentivity process is built on the basis of these postulates. The model is compared with data from the Journal Citation Reports—Science Edition for a 16-year period. The results of this comparison show a high degree of conformity of the model to the real process of retentivity, and reveal important features of this process.

It was in the years around 1970 that during site-test campaigns for JOSO masts were erected up till 30 m height with sensors at several heights for the measurement of temperature fluctuations. Cornelis (Kees) Zwaan discovered that the fluctuations decrease drastically at heights from about 15 m and upward when there is some wind. The conclusion from this experience was the open telescope principle: the telescope should be completely free in the air 15 m or more above the ground. The Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) was the pioneering demonstrator of the open-telescope technology. Now that larger high-resolution telescopes come in view, it is time to analyze again the principle: (i) the essentials for proper working of the open principle; (ii) the differences with nighttime observations particularly concerning the seeing; (iii) the design consequences for the new generation of high-resolution solar telescopes.

Vacuum solar telescopes solve the problem of image deterioration inside the telescope due to refractive index fluctuations of the air heated by the solar light. However, such telescopes have a practical diameter limit somewhat over 1 m. The Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) was the pioneering demonstrator of the open-telescope technology without need of vacuum, now pursued in the German GREGOR. Important ingredients for this technology are primary beam completely open to natural wind flow, stiff but still open design by principal stiff overall geometries in combination with carefully designed joints and completely open-foldable dome constructions based on tensioned strong cloth. Further developments to large sizes are made within the framework of the design study for a European Solar Telescope (EST).

History is a respected branch of learning, as is archaeology. However, although both deal with the past, they approach it from different angles and, thus, see different things. Unfortunately, the interaction between the two disciplines is weak. One of the most famous historians of our times, Lynn White, observed this phenomenon and won renown by integrating archaeological knowledge of mediaeval artefacts with academic knowledge'. Following White other historians rewrote parts of the economic and political history of the Middle Ages. The picture that emerged was quite different from the one that existed before2. Not only did the 'dark ages' become less dark, in some aspects they even seemed to be more enlightened than the early Renaissance. It became apparent that, in these so-called dark ages consistent use was made of ancient knowledge. Gimpel showed, for example, that mediaeval engineers had a fairly good knowledge of the works and writings of their counterparts in ancient Rome. The scholarly writers of the period, who are the main sources for students of history, were not aware of this. The fate of Vitruvius' work illustrates this point. The Ten books on Architecture by this Roman engineer who lived at the time of Emperor Augustus were 'rediscovered' in 1414 by the humanist Poggio. Renaissance scholars believed them to have been lost during the Middle Ages. They were wrong, however, for 55 examples of the book still exist today, which were copied between the 10th and 15th century. In other words, mediaeval engineers knew and used Vitruvius' work, but their scholarly contemporaries were unaware of its existence.

There is an increasing interest in scanning and assessing the science and technology landscape for emerging technologies - such as those based on genomics knowledge - because innovations are beneficial to businesses and nations, and because of the Collingridge dilemma. The latter concerns the uncertainty and manageability of technology in its early development phases versus the more solidified later stages. In this context, the assessment of upcoming scientific and technological (sub)fields or "hot spots" is of interest. In this paper we focus on methods to identify hot spots in pharmacogenomics and nutrigenomics and how this method can contribute to policy strategies. Moreover, the bibliometric results contribute to our understanding of hot spots within these genomics subfields. We answer the following leading research question: What are the main research fields of emerging pharmacogenomics and nutrigenomics technologies and how do these impact policy strategies? First, this paper introduces a novel method for identifying hot spots in emerging technologies. Following this method, pharmacogenomics and nutrigenomics show an above-average growth in patent applications. Patent search also suggests that for pharmacogenomics, countries such as Italy and France, and subfields such as cancer genomics are highly visible. For nutrigenomics, the Netherlands and Austria are important countries, while the dairy subfield proves to be a hot spot. Second, we discuss implications for policy strategies. We argue that it is difficult for policymakers to follow hot spots when they design their policy, because of the inherent tendency to "nurture" winners instead of "picking" fundamental new winners. Policymakers should be aware of this bias and research should address this issue by, for example, complementing the hot spot analysis with more interactive methods.

Recently the Technology Program `Telecommunications-Transmission and Radar' was integrated into the knowledge network of The Netherlands. We describe some features of this network, with focus on the part in which STW is involved. Radar research has a long standing tradition. Its history bears some interesting lessons for students of science policy, e.g. about university-industry collaboration and the ability of industry to guide academic research (astray).