BackgroundTo complete their lifecycle, diadromous fish often need to pass anthropogenic barriers in regulated rivers and estuaries (e.g., pumping stations, weirs, hydropower facilities). The safe and timely passage of the endangered catadromous European eel (Anguilla anguilla), through pumping stations is a major concern and European legislation stipulates that safe downstream passage must be provided at hazardous intakes. To implement effective mitigation measures, specific knowledge on eel passage behaviour at barriers is needed.Methods We used acoustic telemetry with acceleration sensors tags, to understand eel movement and activity, migration routes, escapement success, and delay at a tidal pumping station. Tri-axes accelerometers measured eelacceleration in three directions and provide a root-mean-square (RMS) value over the measurement period, providing a proxy for eel activity. A network of 10 receivers was placed along the migration route to track 40 tagged individuals. Telemetry data were analysed using visual investigation of eel detections and Generalised Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) for analysing acceleration data.Results We found that 75% of the tagged eels migrated to the estuary via the pumping station (PS), 5% used other routes, and 20% did not migrate seaward that season. Acceleration data showed that eels significantly increased theiractivity up until the moment of PS passage, from an overall mean RMS acceleration of 1.04 m/s2 (95% CI=0.93–1.18) when the pumping station started pumping (between 1 up to 4 h before eel passage), to 1.14 m/s2 (95% CI=1.04–1.26) at 10 min before the eels passed through the pumps, and 1.66 m/s2 (95% CI=1.32–2.08) 1 min before passage. Most eels passed the pumping station at night, and we found that eels had the highest movement activity between15:00 and 00:00 with a peak around 19:00, which coincided with the moment of PS passage.Conclusions Acceleration provides a proxy for fish movement activity and our study demonstrates how including accelerometer sensors with telemetry can help understand movement of endangered species at migration barriers. This information is vital for implementing strategies to improve outward migration success, towards the spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea, and thus the conservation and restoration of eel populations.
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The purpose of the study was to assess the accuracy of estimates of step frequency from trunk acceleration data analyzed with commonly used algorithms and time window lengths, at a wide range of gait speeds. Twenty healthy young subjects performed an incremental treadmill protocol from 1 km/h up to 6 km/h, with steps of 1 km/h. Each speed condition was maintained for two minutes. A waist worn accelerometer recorded trunk accelerations, while video analysis provided the correct number of steps taken during each gait speed condition. Accuracy of two commonly used signal analysis methods was examined with several different time windows.
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De conceptuation methode maakt gebruik van technieken die het creatief denken van ondernemers stimuleert en benut. Deze technieken zijn afgeleid uit de “theorie van creatief problemen oplossen” (CPS) en de “theorie van inventief denken” (TRIZ). De conceptuation methode maakt gebruik van de creatieve denkkracht van multidisciplinaire teams samengebracht in een “versnellingskamer” waarbij een creatieve uitdager en een creatieve begeleider de verschillende denkvermogens van de deelnemers aanspreken en benutten.
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To accelerate differentiation between Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CNS), this study aimed to compare six different DNA extraction methods from 2 commonly used blood culture materials, i.e. BACTEC and Bact/ALERT. Furthermore, we analyzed the effect of reduced blood culture times for detection of Staphylococci directly from blood culture material. A real-time PCR duplex assay was used to compare 6 different DNA isolation protocols on two different blood culture systems. Negative blood culture material was spiked with MRSA. Bacterial DNA was isolated with: automated extractor EasyMAG (3 protocols), automated extractor MagNA Pure LC (LC Microbiology Kit MGrade), a manual kit MolYsis Plus, and a combination between MolYsis Plus and the EasyMAG. The most optimal isolation method was used to evaluate reduced bacterial culture times. Bacterial DNA isolation with the MolYsis Plus kit in combination with the specific B protocol on the EasyMAG resulted in the most sensitive detection of S.aureus, with a detection limit of 10 CFU/ml, in Bact/ALERT material, whereas using BACTEC resulted in a detection limit of 100 CFU/ml. An initial S.aureus load of 1 CFU/ml blood can be detected after 5 hours of culture in Bact/ALERT3D by combining the sensitive isolation method and the tuf LightCycler assay.
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Verslag van een verkenning naar de mogelijkheden voor publieke organisaties om aan de slag te gaan met het ‘strategy acceleration network’ van Kotter wanneer de flexibilisering van de traditionele organisatie tegen haar grenzen aanloopt.
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An important performance determinant in wheelchair sports is the power exchanged between the athletewheelchair combination and the environment, in short, mechanical power. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) might be used to estimate the exchanged mechanical power during wheelchair sports practice. However, to validly apply IMUs for mechanical power assessment in wheelchair sports, a well-founded and unambiguous theoretical framework is required that follows the dynamics of manual wheelchair propulsion. Therefore, this research has two goals. First, to present a theoretical framework that supports the use of IMUs to estimate power output via power balance equations. Second, to demonstrate the use of the IMU-based power estimates during wheelchair propulsion based on experimental data. Mechanical power during straight-line wheelchair propulsion on a treadmill was estimated using a wheel mounted IMU and was subsequently compared to optical motion capture data serving as a reference. IMU-based power was calculated from rolling resistance (estimated from drag tests) and change in kinetic energy (estimated using wheelchair velocity and wheelchair acceleration). The results reveal no significant difference between reference power values and the proposed IMU-based power (1.8% mean difference, N.S.). As the estimated rolling resistance shows a 0.9–1.7% underestimation, over time, IMU-based power will be slightly underestimated as well. To conclude, the theoretical framework and the resulting IMU model seems to provide acceptable estimates of mechanical power during straight-line wheelchair propulsion in wheelchair (sports) practice, and it is an important first step towards feasible power estimations in all wheelchair sports situations.
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Increasing flexibilisation and personalisation of education creates challenges in terms ofstudents’ social connectedness with each other, with the programme and with lecturers.For this reason, a team of researchers and professors from four universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands carried out research into how a sense of community can be created in learning communities. On the basis of a literature review and design-oriented research, we conducted experiments aimed at fostering social connectedness in eight learning communities. These learning communities were in the domains of Nursing, Healthcare and Welfare Teacher Training, Management in Care, Teacher Training, and Nutrition and Dietetics (part-time, full-time and dual programme variants).
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