Zoekresultaten

Comparison of climate and production in closed, semi-closed and open greenhouses

A (semi-)closed greenhouse is a novel greenhouse with an active cooling system and temporary heat storage in an aquifer. Air is cooled, heated and dehumidified by air treatment units. Climate in (semi-)closed greenhouses differs from that of conventional open greenhouses. The aims of our research were first, to analyze the effect of active cooling on greenhouse climate, in terms of stability, gradient and average levels; second, to determine crop growth and production in closed and semi-closed greenhouses. An experiment with tomato crop was conducted from December 2007 until November 2008 in a closed greenhouse with 700 W m-2 cooling capacity, two semi-closed greenhouses with 350 and 150 W m-2 cooling capacity, respectively, and an open greenhouse. The higher the cooling capacity, the more independent the greenhouse climate was of the outside climate. As the cooling ducts were placed underneath the plants, cooling led to a remarkable vertical temperature gradient. Under sunny conditions temperature could be 5°C higher at the top than at the bottom of the canopy in the closed greenhouse. Cumulative production in the semi-closed greenhouses with 350 and 150 W m-2 cooling capacity were 10% (61 kg m-2) and 6% (59 kg m-2) higher than that in the open greenhouse (55 kg m-2), respectively. Cumulative production in the closed greenhouse was 14% higher than in the open greenhouse in week 29 after planting but at the end of the experiment the cumulative increase was only 4% due to botrytis. Model calculations showed that the production increase in the closed and semi-closed greenhouses was explained by higher CO2 concentration.

Accuracy of an MR‑only workflow for prostate radiotherapy using semi‑automatically burned‑in fiducial markers

Abstract Background: The benefit of MR-only workflow compared to current CT-based workflow for prostate radiotherapy is reduction of systematic errors in the radiotherapy chain by 2–3 mm. Nowadays, MRI is used for target delineation while CT is needed for position verification. In MR-only workflows, MRI based synthetic CT (sCT) replaces CT. Intraprostatic fiducial markers (FMs) are used as a surrogate for the position of the prostate improving targeting. However, FMs are not visible on sCT. Therefore, a semi-automatic method for burning-in FMs on sCT was developed. Accuracy of MR-only workflow using semi-automatically burned-in FMs was assessed and compared to CT/MR workflow. Methods: Thirty-one prostate cancer patients receiving radiotherapy, underwent an additional MR sequence (mDIXON) to create an sCT for MR-only workflow simulation. Three sources of accuracy in the CT/MR- and MR-only workflow were investigated. To compare image registrations for target delineation, the inter-observer error (IOE) of FM-based CT-to-MR image registrations and soft-tissue-based MR-to-MR image registrations were determined on twenty patients. Secondly, the inter-observer variation of the resulting FM positions was determined on twenty patients. Thirdly, on 26 patients CBCTs were retrospectively registered on sCT with burned-in FMs and compared to CT-CBCT registrations. Results: Image registration for target delineation shows a three times smaller IOE for MR-only workflow compared to CT/MR workflow. All observers agreed in correctly identifying all FMs for 18 out of 20 patients (90%). The IOE in CC direction of the center of mass (COM) position of the markers was within the CT slice thickness (2.5 mm), the IOE in AP and RL direction were below 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm, respectively. Registrations for IGRT position verification in MR-only workflow compared to CT/MR workflow were equivalent in RL-, CC- and AP-direction, except for a significant difference for random error in rotation. Conclusions: MR-only workflow using sCT with burned-in FMs is an improvement compared to the current CT/ MR workflow, with a three times smaller inter observer error in CT-MR registration and comparable CBCT registration results between CT and sCT reference scans. Trial registry Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) does apply to this study and was approved by the Medical Ethics review Committee of the Academic Medical Center. Registration number: NL65414.018.18. Date of registration: 21–08-2018.

Counter-mapping for critical emancipatory awareness and affective engagement with urban semi-periphery

Short abstract:With our case study ‘Researching the City: Mapping Imaginaries’ of Amsterdam Zuidoost, we explore grass-root, collaborative knowledge practices through mixed methods of counter-mapping that fosters critical emancipatory awareness and affective engagement with areas in the urban semi-periphery.Long abstract:Urban transformations often result in ‘affective displacement’ and have consequences for the health and well-being of residents (Butcher & Dickens, 2016; Brummet and Reed, 2019). Displacement is a form of violence, that includes processes of ‘cultural appropriation’ (Elliott-Cooper et al., 2020) and its impacts need to be better ‘documented and resisted’ (ibid). Responding to this call, with our case study of ‘Researching the City: Mapping Imaginaries’ of Amsterdam Southeast (Zuidoost), we turned to medium specific, embodied, non-representational (Thrift, 2008) counter-mapping to better engage (in terms of cultural sensitivity and inclusivity) with the urban ‘semi-periphery’ (Blagojevic, 2009).We used digital methods (Rogers, 2013) to explore how Amsterdam Southeast is ‘seen’ through search engine results (stakeholders networks). We intervened in the mapping with local expert knowledge of activists, artists, and researchers. We also used affect as an intervention and collaboratively collected sensory data (recording with images, sounds, videos) with students and local communities. In this process we created a counter-archive, bringing to the forefront imaginaries, senses, emotions, and memories -- a repository of local affective knowledge.Our case study shows that "counter-mapping" can be a meditative and reflective practice that fosters critical and emancipatory awareness in students, partners, and local communities. It opens space for reimagining and productive affective engagement with areas in the urban periphery. It also enables various themes of consideration: ‘body as an archive’, and archiving 'imaginaries' practices such as performance, memory, and digital objects.

Sustainability evaluation of plant-based beverages and semi-skimmed milk incorporating nutrients, market prices, and environmental costs

Developing a reliable method to compare food sustainability is gaining traction, with efforts like those by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This research aims to contribute to a comprehensive scientific comparison of food categories based on CO2 emissions linked not to weight but to their primary function: nutrient availability and uptake in the consumer’s body. The study utilizes a multi-criteria evaluation for sustainability, incorporating the Nutrient Rich Food (NRF) score, protein digestibility, and essential amino acid content. A case study compares one serving of semi-skimmed milk (SSM) with various plant-based beverages (oat, soy, rice, coconut, and almond), considering their carbon footprints in relation to nutrient content and environmental costs. The analysis integrates protein quality through essential amino acid proportion and digestibility. Findings reveal that achieving an NRF11.3 score of 50 requires more servings of unfortified plant-based beverages than semi-skimmed milk, resulting in higher carbon footprints, except for soy drink. However, when considering emerging farm management measures, semi-skimmed and soy drinks show comparable carbon footprints for a given NRF score. Fortified plant-based beverages (soy, oat, and almond) exhibit lower footprints relative to the calculated NRF scores. Yet, when converting carbon footprints to euros using the European Union Emissions Trading System and adding them to retail prices per kilogram, semi-skimmed milk emerges as the option with the lowest “societal costs” (environment and consumer costs). The research underscores that understanding a food product’s nutritional value requires more than knowledge of its composition; uptake into the body maintenance and potential synergistic effects of other components in the food matrix play crucial roles.

Reclassering

Verkenning van het domein ‘Reclassering’: Een beschrijving van enkele kenmerken van de sector ‘Reclassering’, ten behoeve van het onderzoek ‘Meerwaarde gebruik alliantiemonitor in (semi) gedwongen kader’. Het Kenniscentrum voor Sociale Innovatie van Hogeschool Utrecht ontwikkelde voor verschillende domeinen binnen het werkveld gedwongen kader de ‘alliantiemonitor in (semi)gedwongen kader’. Dit instrument biedt professionals en cliënten een handvat om te spreken over hun beleving van de onderlinge doelgerichte samenwerking, met als doel deze samenwerking te verbeteren. In het vervolgonderzoek ‘Meerwaarde gebruik alliantiemonitor in (semi) gedwongen kader’ wordt bij cliënten en professionals nagegaan hoe zij het werken met de Alliantiemonitor Gedwongen Kader ervaren en of het gebruik hiervan bij kan dragen aan een beter verloop van het traject. Het gebruik van de monitor wordt getoetst bij cliënten en professionals in de reclassering, de jeugdbescherming, de arbeidstoeleiding en de woonbegeleiding. Om de verschillen en overeenkomsten in de verschillende contexten beter te begrijpen is eerst een beknopte verkenning gedaan van de domeinen waarin het onderzoek plaatsvindt. Dit zijn: reclassering, jeugdbescherming, arbeidsintegratie, maatschappelijke opvang, schuldhulpverlening en reclassering België – Vlaamse Justitiehuizen. De opbouw van de tekst per sector is als volgt. Eerst is er een algemene beschrijving van de sector, waarin onder meer de omvang en de grootste opgaven aan bod komen. Daarna volgt een beschrijving van de organisaties binnen de sector waar de ontwikkeling van de alliantiemonitor zal plaatsvinden, hoe deze organisaties werken, en wat de kenmerken zijn van de huidige samenwerking tussen professional en cliënt. Bijvoorbeeld: hoe vaak zien ze elkaar, welke regels zijn van toepassing op de samenwerking en welke discretionaire ruimte heeft de professional in de begeleiding?

Visual Culture on the Semi-Periphery: Reading the Global/Local in Google Image Results