Over 40% of nursing home residents in the Netherlands are estimated to have visual impairments. In this study, light conditions in Dutch nursing homes were assessed in terms of horizontal and vertical illuminances and colour temperature. Results showed that in the seven nursing homes vertical illuminances in common rooms fell significantly below the 750 lx reference value in at least 65% of the measurements. Horizontal illuminance measurements in common rooms showed a similar pattern. At least 55% of the measurements were below the 750 lx threshold. The number of measurements at the window zone was significantly higher than the threshold level of 750 lx. Illuminances in the corridors fell significantly below the 200 lx threshold in at least three quarters of the measurements in six of the seven nursing homes. The colour temperature of light fell significantly below the reference value for daylight of 5000 K with median scores of 3400 to 4500 K. A significant difference in colour temperature was found between recently constructed nursing homes and some older homes. Lighting conditions of the examined nursing homes were poor. With these data, nursing home staff have the means to improve the lighting conditions, for instance, by encouraging residents to be seated next to a window when performing a task or during meals.
Net als in het boek van Dan Brown, de ‘Da Vinci Code’, is de politie altijd op zoek naar aanwijzingen die naar de dader kunnen leiden. Waar in het boek allerlei cryptische symbolen en codes verborgen achtergelaten worden als aanwijzingen, zal in de praktijk bij forensisch onderzoek van de politie of het NFI, sporen gevonden moeten worden op een plaats delict. Het onderwerp van dit projectvoorstel, DaVinciQD, ligt op het dateren van een van dat soort sporen, namelijk vingersporen. Er wordt standaard in forensisch onderzoek naar vingersporen gezocht en indien gedetecteerd en veiliggesteld, worden zij ter plaatse of in het forensisch lab onderzocht en vervolgens vergeleken met een grote databank. Relevant is het om te bepalen of een vingerspoor afkomstig is van de dader en dus relevant voor het forensisch onderzoek. Om dit te bepalen is het niet alleen noodzakelijk om een vingerafdruk zichtbaar te maken en te koppelen aan een persoon, maar ook om deze te kunnen relateren aan het tijdsframe van het gepleegde misdrijf. Daarom de vraag om een methode te ontwikkelen die in staat is om vingerafdrukken te dateren. Het bepalen van het moment van achterlaten van een vingerspoor is cruciaal enerzijds om te bepalen of deze relevant is voor het lopende onderzoek, maar ook in de context van bewijsvoering en een eventuele veroordeling van een dader. Een consortium bestaande uit de onderzoeksgroepen Advanced Forensic Technology en NanoBio van Saxion, het Nederlands Forensisch Instituut, de Nationale Politie, de Universiteit Twente en enkele private bedrijven, zal een methode ontwikkelen om met behulp van quantum dots de datering van vingersporen mogelijk maken. De methode zal niet alleen in het lab, maar ook in de praktijk van de forensisch onderzoeker getest en gevalideerd worden.
Structural colour (SC) is created by light interacting with regular nanostructures in angle-dependent ways resulting in vivid hues. This form of intense colouration offers commercial and industrial benefits over dyes and other pigments. Advantages include durability, efficient use of light, anti-fade properties and the potential to be created from low cost materials (e.g. cellulose fibres). SC is widely found in nature, examples include butterflies, squid, beetles, plants and even bacteria. Flavobacterium IR1 is a Gram-negative, gliding bacterium isolated from Rotterdam harbour. IR1 is able to rapidly self-assemble into a 2D photonic crystal (a form of SC) on hydrated surfaces. Colonies of IR1 are able to display intense, angle-dependent colours when illuminated with white light. The process of assembly from a disordered structure to intense hues, that reflect the ordering of the cells, is possible within 10-20 minutes. This bacterium can be stored long-term by freeze drying and then rapidly activated by hydration. We see these properties as suiting a cellular reporter system quite distinct from those on the market, SC is intended to be “the new Green Fluorescent Protein”. The ability to understand the genomics and genetics of SC is the unique selling point to be exploited in product development. We propose exploiting SC in IR1 to create microbial biosensors to detect, in the first instance, volatile compounds that are damaging to health and the environment over the long term. Examples include petroleum or plastic derivatives that cause cancer, birth defects and allergies, indicate explosives or other insidious hazards. Hoekmine, working with staff and students within the Hogeschool Utrecht and iLab, has developed the tools to do these tasks. We intend to create a freeze-dried disposable product (disposables) that, when rehydrated, allow IR1 strains to sense and report multiple hazardous vapours alerting industries and individuals to threats. The data, visible as brightly coloured patches of bacteria, will be captured and quantified by mobile phone creating a system that can be used in any location by any user without prior training. Access to advice, assay results and other information will be via a custom designed APP. This work will be performed in parallel with the creation of a business plan and market/IP investigation to prepare the ground for seed investment. The vision is to make a widely usable series of tests to allow robust environmental monitoring for all to improve the quality of life. In the future, this technology will be applied to other areas of diagnostics.
Resistance to damage, fracture and failure is critical for high performance polymers, especially so in safety applications where they protect equipment or human life. In this project we investigate the use of molecular mechanochemistry tools for the measurement and analysis of mechanical impact in high performance polymers and their composites. While typically performed in a laboratory setting, these measurements hold promise for studying damage in large scale realistic samples. For this we will to develop fluorescent imaging techniques and chemistry, necessary to produce mechanoresponsive samples. This proposal will also draw correlations between imaging and mechanical testing, which can ultimately allow us to study realistic samples and recover the history of the impact they have sustained during operation.
