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We present a joint design of sound zone control filters and robust audio coding for wireless low frequency sound zones. The audio signal is filtered using sound zone control filters and encoded using a multiple-description coder. The control filters and the multiple-description coder are combined in a nested loop. The inner loop performs filtering for sound zone control and generates multiple descriptions using oversampling and closed-loop prediction. The outer loop performs noise shaping and guarantees a trade-off between robustness and quality of the descriptions. A closed-form expression for the optimal sound-zone control filters are provided, and a simulation study demonstrates that even at moderate packet loss rates, a significant gain is possible compared to not using multiple descriptions.

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of human resource management (HRM) in mitigating negative effects of Lean management and Six Sigma (LM&SS) on employee well-being in health care. The authors subdivide well-being into three components: happiness, trust and health. Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional, multisite survey study in internal service units of hospitals. Data analyzed using multivariate regression come from a sample of 1,886 survey respondents (42 units, N = 218 supervisors, N = 1,668 employees) in eight Dutch academic hospitals that have implemented LM&SS. Findings The present study findings show no or weak effects of LM&SS on the happiness and health component of employee well-being. In addition, the authors found a significant but weak direct positive effect (ß = 0.07) of the LM&SS bundle on the trusting relationships component of well-being. Therefore, moderating effects of HRM practices on the relationship between LM&SS and employee well-being seem less relevant because an existing relationship between LM&SS and employee well-being is a prerequisite for moderation (Hayes, 2009). There were unexpected side effects. Inspired by research that discusses direct effects of HRM on employee well-being, the authors tested this relationship and found that HRM has a direct positive effect on trust and happiness of employees in health care. For the health component of well-being, the present results show a weak negative effect of HRM. Practical implications This study results in a cautiously optimistic view about LM&SS in health care, provided that it is applied in a targeted manner (to improve the performance of their processes) and that HRM is strategically aligned with the goals of LM&SS to improve employees’ happiness and trusting relationships. Originality/value Unique features of the study are the focus on the consequences for employees’ well-being related to LM&SS in health care, the role of HRM in regard to this relationship and the participation of all eight Dutch academic hospitals in this research.

PurposeThis study examines the theoretical and empirical relationships between LM&SS, human resource management (HRM), climate for LM&SS and outcomes (employee well-being and performance) in hospitals. As part of this research, the authors examine the interplay between “hard” and “soft” practices for LM&SS and “soft” HR practices.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional, multisite survey study covering all internal service units at all eight Dutch university hospitals was conducted (42 units,N = 218 supervisors,N = 1,668 employees), and multivariate multilevel regression analyses were performed.FindingsA systems approach involving “soft” LM&SS practices that are specifically HR-related has a positive effect (βis 0.46) on a climate for LM&SS. A climate for LM&SS is not related to perceived performance or employee health. It is, however, positively related to employee happiness and trusting relationships (bothβs are 0.33). We did not find that a climate for LM&SS had a mediating effect.Research limitations/implicationsThis study shows that a balanced approach involving both “hard” and “soft” factors is crucial to achieving the desired breadth and depth of LM&SS adoption at the macro, meso, and micro levels. The authors found that a climate for LM&SS positively affects employee well-being in hospitals.Practical implicationsIn their attempt to create mutual gains for both their organization and their employees, hospitals that adopt LM&SS should foster a climate for LM&SS by embracing a balanced approach consisting of both “hard” and “soft” practices, thereby internalizing LM&SS at the macro, meso, and micro levels.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to examine in-depth the impact of “hard” and “soft” LM&SS on both employee well-being (subdivided into different components) and performance in healthcare, as well as the role of “soft” HRM in this relationship. Linking LM&SS, HRM and outcomes to a climate for LM&SS is relatively a new approach and has led to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the internalization of LM&SS in healthcare.

The Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach has taken a central role in healthcare quality management, and many studies report positive effects of the method on performance of healthcare organizations. However, LSS in healthcare is also unbalanced because the human side of the method is undervalued. A more balanced application of LSS in healthcare includes an interrelated approach of both “soft” and “hard” LSS practices, broad perspective on employee well-being, “soft” HR approach related to LSS, and “soft” climate for LSS. This leads to a renewed perspective on LSS in healthcare that considers both people and performance and where the interplay between “hard” and “soft” factors is addressed.

Peat soils that are drained to enable productive agriculture result in land subsidence and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These have negative effects on the environment, in particular climate change, and rural infrastructure. This article reviews the EU and Dutch regulatory requirements for reducing GHG emissions and discusses options to reduce the negative effects of peat soils. An optimisation farm model based on Dutch farm data provides estimates of farm income losses for three different changes in water levels in peat soils associated with changes in production methods for three options of NH3 emission reductions and three options for nature conservation areas. Model results suggest that carbon credits are an excellent method of financing the costs that farmers face when adapting to legal requirements for lower emissions, ideally raising water levels to –20 cm below field level. The comparison of scenario results also outlines the need to take account of different policy objectives simultaneously in policy evaluation, as do farmers when they adapt their farm practices to the policy environment. Opportunities to add value from markets could also help reduce the income loss from the adoption of more environmentally-friendly practices.

Tuinderij de Elzenkamp is een biologische tuinderij in Voorthuizen. De tuinders zijn Else Schimmel en Arjen van Slooten. Op 1,4 hectare telen ze zo’n 50 verschillende groenten en kruiden, die ze via groenteabonnementen, een winkel en een marktkraam verkopen.

Op het Landgoed Hemmen in de Overbetuwe ligt de Biologische Tuinderij De Stroom. In deze bosrijke omgeving telen de drie ondernemers Welmoet, Angelien en Linde al zo’n 15 jaar op drie hectare lichte kleigrond tientallen biologische groentes. De meeste van de producten vinden hun weg naar de klant in de vorm van groentepakketten: de Hemmense groentetas. 400 huishoudens hebben een abonnement, en ontvangen elke week weer een tas vol vers geoogste groentes.

Despite packaging sustainability aspects often being embedded in companies’ strategic aims, the structured implementation of such targets is limited at the operational level, where a product’s commercial viability (strategic fit, business case feasibility, and a limitation of commercial risks) and development aspects (timing issues, material use, and supply chain efficiency) are prioritized over desired sustainability goals. Packaging acts not as an isolated entity but as a part of a symbiotic product-packaging combination, of which the development is the shared responsibility of stakeholders with different backgrounds and interests. With the development and design process of product-packaging combinations being a concatenation of decisions made by multidisciplinary teams in various organizations, the structured integration of sustainability-related considerations in product-packaging development can benefit from a synthesized focus on development teams’ efforts, decision-making processes, stakeholder interaction and dynamics, and trade-offs. This research addresses a vision on an approach to explore, understand, and analyze this field, specifically its key characteristics that act as enablers and barriers of product-packaging sustainability. This is targeted by interactively modelling the decision-making processes of product-packaging development, both within multidisciplinary development teams, companies, and product-packaging chains, by means of a collection of interactive tools. Key within these tools is the ability to address the multidisciplinarity of stakeholders, the decision-making processes within and beyond development teams, and the proposed and realized inclusion of sustainability-related considerations, all within a framework of tacit and explicit knowledge.

We present a method to maintain the subjective perception of volume of audio signals and, at the same time, reduce their absolute peak value. We focus on achieving this without compromising the perceived audio quality. This is specially useful, for example, to maximize the perceived reproduction level of loudspeakers where simply amplifying the signal amplitude, and hence their peak value, is limited due to already constrained physical designs. In particular, we minimize the absolute peak value subject to a constraint based on auditory masking. This limits the perceptual difference between the original and the modified signals. Moreover, this constraint can be tuned and allows to control the resulting audio quality. We show results comparing loudness and audio quality as a function of peak reduction. These results suggest that our method presents the best trade-off between loudness and audio quality when compared against classical methods based on compression and clipping.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Safety (LNV) asked Wageningen Economic Research to explore the policy challenges and economic effects of various scenarios regarding the implementation of track 1 'land-dependent cattle farming' and track 2 'manure processing on farms without land-dependent requirements' of the future manure policy as specified in the LNV letter to the Lower House of Parliament dated 13 April 2021. The study shows that the distribution of livestock farms in terms of economic continuity perspective remains virtually the same for almost all livestock sectors in the scenarios calculated and given the assumptions used. This does not apply to pig farming. Here the income effects are larger and the share of farms in the class 'sufficient economic continuity perspective' clearly decreases. Depending on the scenario, this decrease varies from less than 1 to over 5 percentage points. The extent of the policy challenge has been explored in particular with regard to the availability of sufficient land for the realisation of land-based dairy and cattle farming. Het ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselveiligheid (LNV) heeft Wageningen Economic Research verzocht om te verkennen wat de beleidsopgaven en de economische effecten zijn bij verschillende scenario's ten aanzien van de invulling van spoor 1 'grondgebonden rundveehouderij' en spoor 2 'mestverwerking niet-grondgebonden bedrijven' van het toekomstig mestbeleid uit de brief 'Routekaart Toekomstig Mestbeleid' d.d. 13 april 2021 van LNV aan de Tweede Kamer. Uit de verkenning blijkt dat de verdeling van veehouderijbedrijven naar economisch continuïteitsperspectief nagenoeg gelijk blijft voor bijna alle veehouderijsectoren in de doorgerekende scenario's en gegeven de gehanteerde uitgangspunten. Dit geldt niet voor de varkenshouderij. Hier zijn de inkomenseffecten groter en neemt het aandeel bedrijven inde klasse 'voldoende economisch continuiteïtsperspectief' duidelijk af. Afhankelijk van het scenario varieert deze afname van minder dan 1 tot ruim 5 procentpunt. De omvang van de beleidsopgave is met name verkend ten aanzien van de beschikbaarheid van voldoende areaal voor het realiseren van een grondgebonden melk- en rundveehouderij.

Generic risk assessment (RA) tools can be applied to assess the incursion risk of multiple animal diseases, allowing for a rapid response to a variety of newly emerging or re-emerging diseases. To explore the opportunities for cross-validation of generic RA tools, seven tools were used to assess the incursion risk of African swine fever (ASF) for the Netherlands and Finland for the 2017 situation and for two hypothetical scenarios in which ASF cases were reported in wild boar and/or domestic pigs in Germany. The generic tools ranged from qualitative risk assessment tools to stochastic spatial risk models but were all parameterised using the same global databases. The tools had different outputs and endpoints and therefore the cross-validation focused on the relative risks across countries and scenarios. All tools evaluated the risk to the Netherlands to be higher than Finland for the live animal trade pathway. The risk to Finland was the same or higher as the Netherlands for the wild boar pathway, but the tools were inconclusive on the animal products pathway. All tools agreed that the hypothetical presence of ASF in Germany increased the risk for the Netherlands, but not for Finland. The case study illustrated that conclusions on the ASF risk were similar across the generic RA tools, despite differences observed in calculated risks. Hence, it was concluded that the cross-validation contributed to the credibility of their results.

Aim: The aim of this thesis is to elucidate the effects of gender, age, and class in witch hunts in the sixteenth and seventeenth century in Western Europe from a feminist perspective. It also aims to understand the perception of these witch hunts in our present society. It centers poor, old, women who were accused of witchcraft. Methods: a literature review will be performed to collect literature on witch hunts. Secondary analysis of this literature will be performed using an intersectional theoretical framework. Results: the spread of christianity through Europe brought a new political ideology that divided labour into sexes. The role of women was reduced to childbearing and household tasks. Medicine became institutionalised. There was no protection for poor people or aged people in the new political ideology. Conclusion: the new political ideology affected poor, old women most: they were no longer able to fulfil childbearing duties, could no longer practice as healers or midwives, and were not protected by the state. Due to the misogynistic, ageist and classist values at the time, their expressions of frustration could then be interpreted as witchery. Moreover, lookism could have been a factor in witch accusations.

Sustainability is well-established in many companies’ strategic postures. However, executing sustainability-related goals often lags at the operational level. This study analyzes how decision-making processes in packaging development at different hierarchical levels are characterized in achieving a sustainability consensus. This research focuses on the alignment of the strategic and operational levels of packaging development in relation to the integration of sustainability considerations. This materializes in a stakeholder perspective on packaging development, and an analysis of targets aiming for the integration of sustainability considerations in such development processes. The involvement and decision making by internal stakeholders, the involvement of external stakeholders, and sustainability target setting are considered as conditions causing the outcome of interest: levels of sustainability implementation on both the strategic and the operational level of packaging development. By using a set-theoretic method, we address that different compositions of stakeholder involvement and target setting might cause the same level of sustainability priority at the strategic and operational level. For data analysis, we use a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) with empirical data derived from survey responses by packaging experts. This approach is motivated by its ability to address the complexity of the interplay of case characteristics within development processes. The research findings provide several indications of a limited alignment of a company’s strategic sustainability ambition with the operational activities of multidisciplinary packaging development teams. The insights on the sustainability-related configurations of stakeholders and target setting provide guidance for managing projects across the strategic and operational levels in improving sustainable packaging development.

From 2007 through 2010, the Netherlands experienced the largest Q fever epidemic ever reported. This study integrates the outcomes of a multidisciplinary research programme on spatial airborne transmission of Coxiella burnetii and reflects these outcomes in relation to other scientific Q fever studies worldwide. We have identified lessons learned and remaining knowledge gaps. This synthesis was structured according to the four steps of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA): (a) Rapid source identification was improved by newly developed techniques using mathematical disease modelling; (b) source characterization efforts improved knowledge but did not provide accurate C. burnetii emission patterns; (c) ambient air sampling, dispersion and spatial modelling promoted exposure assessment; and (d) risk characterization was enabled by applying refined dose–response analyses. The results may support proper and timely risk assessment and risk management during future outbreaks, provided that accurate and structured data are available and exchanged readily between responsible actors.

The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality has developed a number of possible draftpackages for the implementation of the 7th Nitrate Action Programme (7th AP). It has askedWageningen Economic Research to identify the relevant factors that determine the economic effects ofthese packages on farms. By limiting the analysis to portraying the relevant factors, only thequalitative effects were described. A quantitative analysis was not possible due to the short lead time. Het ministerie van LNV heeft voor de invulling van het 7e Actieprogramma Nitraatrichtlijn (7e AP) eenaantal mogelijke conceptmaatregelpakketten ontwikkeld. Het heeft Wageningen Economic Researchgevraagd om voor deze pakketvarianten de relevante factoren in beeld te brengen die bepalend zijnvoor de economische effecten van deze maatregelpakketten op landbouwbedrijven. Door de analyse tebeperken tot het in beeld brengen van de relevante factoren zijn alleen de kwalitatieve effectenbeschreven. Een kwantitatieve analyse was vanwege de korte doorlooptijd niet mogelijk.

This report describes the implementation and validation of the water quality module in the bioeconomic optimisation model Flame. The module focuses on the calculation of groundwater nitrate concentration in relation to agricultural practices on individual dairy farms on sandy soil. Within the framework of the Minerals Policy Monitoring Programme (LMM), the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) carries out measurements on agricultural farms. The measured nitrate concentration of 55 dairy farms has been compared with FLAME’s calculated nitrate concentration. The average farm-level concentration calculated by FLAME is higher than the measured average concentration. The difference is 2.8 mg/L, which is a deviation of 9%. Averaged over the 55 dairy farms, this difference is not significant. Based on this and on a reliability analysis of the population average, it is concluded that the water quality module is well suited for operational evaluations of the manure policy for groups of farms. In deze rapportage is de implementatie en validatie van de waterkwaliteitsmodule in het bioeconomisch optimalisatiemodel FLAME beschreven. Deze module richt zich op het berekenen van de nitraatconcentratie in het grondwater in relatie tot de landbouwpraktijk op individuele melkveebedrijven op zandgrond. Het RIVM voert, in het kader van het project Landelijk Meetnet effecten Mestbeleid (LMM), metingen uit op landbouwbedrijven. De gemeten nitraatconcentratie van 55 melkveebedrijven op zandgrond is vergeleken met de voor deze bedrijven berekende nitraatconcentratie van FLAME. De gemiddelde concentratie op bedrijfsniveau berekend door FLAME is hoger dan de gemeten gemiddelde concentratie. Het verschil is 2,8 mg/l en dat is een afwijking van 9%. Dit verschil is gemiddeld over de 55 melkveebedrijven niet significant. Op basis hiervan en op basis van een betrouwbaarheidsanalyse van het populatiegemiddelde wordt geconcludeerd dat de waterkwaliteitsmodule goed bruikbaar is bedrijfseconomische evaluaties van het mestbeleid voor groepen bedrijven.

Since 2006, the Netherlands has had a derogation plan that permits the use of extra animal fertiliser from grazing livestock for farms with a high proportion of grassland. This report describes the effects of participating in three crop derogation packages. Crop derogation can serve as an incentive for cultivating crops that contribute to carbon sequestration and thus also minimise the leaching of nitrogen into ground and surface water. The introduction of crop derogation had little to no effect on the cropping plan for the proposed packages. Under these derogation plans, the crop acreage would remain more or less the same as the situation in 2020. Nederland heeft sinds 2006 een derogatie (mogelijkheid voor het gebruik van extra dierlijke mest) voor het gebruik van graasdierenmest voor bedrijven met een hoog aandeel grasland. In dit rapport zijn de effecten van deelname aan 3 opties van pakketten van gewasderogatie beschreven. Gewasderogatie kan een stimulans zijn voor de teelt van gewassen die bijdragen aan koolstofvastlegging en die zo veelal ook de uitspoeling van stikstof naar het grond- en oppervlaktewater beperken. Invoering van gewasderogatie heeft bij de voorgestelde pakketten nauwelijks effect op het bouwplan. Het areaal gewassen dat onder de gewasderogatie zou vallen, blijft hierdoor min of meer gelijk aan de situatie in 2020.

To evaluate and compare the risk of emerging vector-borne diseases (VBDs), a Model for INTegrated RISK assessment, MINTRISK, was developed to assess the introduction risk of VBDs for new regions in an objective, transparent and repeatable manner. MINTRISK is a web-based calculation tool, that provides semi-quantitative risk scores that can be used for prioritization purposes. Input into MINTRISK is entered by answering questions regarding entry, transmission, establishment, spread, persistence and impact of a selected VBD. Answers can be chosen from qualitative answer categories with accompanying quantitative explanation to ensure consistent answering. The quantitative information is subsequently used as input for the model calculations to estimate the risk for each individual step in the model and for the summarizing output values (rate of introduction; epidemic size; overall risk). The risk assessor can indicate his uncertainty on each answer, and this is accounted for by Monte Carlo simulation. MINTRISK was used to assess the risk of four VBDs (African horse sickness, epizootic haemorrhagic disease, Rift Valley fever, and West Nile fever) for the Netherlands with the aim to prioritise these diseases for preparedness. Results indicated that the overall risk estimate was very high for all evaluated diseases but epizootic haemorrhagic disease. Uncertainty intervals were, however, wide limiting the options for ranking of the diseases. Risk profiles of the VBDs differed. Whereas all diseases were estimated to have a very high economic impact once introduced, the estimated introduction rates differed from low for Rift Valley fever and epizootic haemorrhagic disease to moderate for African horse sickness and very high for West Nile fever. Entry of infected mosquitoes on board of aircraft was deemed the most likely route of introduction for West Nile fever into the Netherlands, followed by entry of infected migratory birds.

Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) is a large and flexible demonstration site for post-combustion CO2 capture. It is located next to the Equinor refinery at Mongstad (Norway) which is the source of the flue gases supplied to TCM. It has been used for testing CO2 capture with MEA solvent and a compact design, providing a benchmark for compact CO2 capture technologies.. The absorber was used with its lowest possible packing height of 12m, and only one of two water washes was used (3m height). The plant was operated with a high flue gas flow rate (67,000 Sm3/h) and 35 wt% MEA with a sensitivity down to 30 wt%. The CO2 inlet concentration was 6% mimicking some industrial exhausts, small turbines with exhaust gas recycle or modern turbines with high turbine inlet temperatures. The tests demonstrated that such a low absorber can capture more than 80% of the CO2 with only a slightly higher steam demand than conventional applications with higher packing heights of 18-24m. The low absorber gave 3.9 MJ/kg CO2 for the specific reboiler duty, while previous tests at other conditions and with higher absorbers gave 3.5-3.7. Acceptable emissions were observed, while degradation was higher than earlier TCM campaigns due to the choice of running with 35 w% MEA. Overall, a benchmark has been provided for future improved compact capture technologies.

The CO2 emissions from offshore production of oil and gas are typically less than 5% of the total life cycle emissions of the fossil hydrocarbons, but national reduction targets, CO2 taxes and fees and total value chain decarbonisation are compelling reasons to eliminate them. Reduction is possible through many measures, ranging from well-known like improving energy efficiency to new solutions under development like ammonia fuel cells and compact CO2 capture. The most suitable solution for an installation depends on factors such as platform type, field lifetime, energy demand and CO2 emission profiles, distance of the field from the fuel source, local availability of low carbon energy, whether it is existing or new facility implementation, the degree of CO2 reduction on the facility and the scale of the measure. The measures presented and discussed in this article are efficiency improvement, adding bottoming cycles to open cycles; electrification (from shore, offshore power plants with CCS or offshore wind), hydrogen and ammonia, bio- and synthetic fuels, and onboard CCS. Some measures have no further value when the installations reach end of life, whereas others can facilitate or stimulate further low carbon value chain development. There are still technology gaps that need closing and the abatement cost must be reduced for many of these solutions to come to fruition.

Soils are indispensable for the provision of several functions. Agricultural intensification and its focus on increasing primary productivity (PP) poses a threat to soil quality, due to increases in nutrient loads, greenhouse gas emissions and declining biodiversity. The EU Horizon 2020 Landmark project has developed multi-criteria decision models to assess five soil functions: PP, nutrient cycling (NC), soil biodiversity and habitat provision (B-HP), climate mitigation and water regulation, simultaneously in agricultural fields. Using these algorithms, we evaluated the supply of PP, NC and B-HP of 31 grasslands and 21 croplands as low, medium or high. The multi-criteria decision models showed that 38% of the farms had a medium to high supply of all three soil functions, whereas only one cropland had a high supply for all three. Forty-eight per cent of the farms were characterized by a high supply of PP and NC. We observed a clear trade-off between these two functions and B-HP. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that higher organic inputs combined with a lower mineral fertilization concur with higher biodiversity scores while maintaining a medium delivery of PP and NC. Additionally, we compared the outputs of the model predictions to independent variables that served as proxies for the soil functions and found: (a) croplands (but not grasslands) with high PP had a higher standardized yield than those with medium PP; (b) grasslands (but not croplands) with high NC had a significantly lower fungal to bacterial biomass ratio, suggesting faster decomposition channels; and (c) a positive though non-significant trend between B-HP score and rank according to soil invertebrate biodiversity. These comparisons suggest a successful upscaling of the models from field to farm level. Our study highlights the need for systematic collection of management-related data for the assessment of soil functions. Multifunctionality can be achieved in agricultural soils; however, without specifically managing for it, biodiversity might come at a loss. Highlights: We study how well soils can provide primary productivity, nutrient cycling and biodiversity. We study trade-offs and synergies among soil functions, as well as the drivers of these relationships. Soil biodiversity is largely sacrificed for primary productivity and nutrient cycling Changes in pesticide and fertilizer management can increase soil multifunctionality.

In het kader van het Interbestuurlijk Programma (IBP) dat in opdracht van het ministerie van LNV wordt uitgevoerd, hebben het Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland en het Kadaster samen met de gemeente Kaag en Braassem en de Vereniging Agrarisch Natuurbeheer Ade een pilot uitgewerkt, gericht op het tegengaan van bodemdaling in het gebied rondom de Kagerplassen. Voor de uitwerking van deze pilot heeft het Kadaster aan Wageningen Economic Research gevraagd om een verkenning uit te voeren naar de mogelijke economische effecten van verschillende niveaus van drooglegging op de melkveehouderij in het gebied.

Het Nederlandse mestbeleid probeert de schadelijke milieueffecten van de landbouw te beperken. Dit sluit aan bij internationale afspraken over het mestgebruik, die onder meer zijn vastgelegd in de Europese Nitraatrichtlijn. Die schrijft lidstaten voor om het gebruik van dierlijke mest te beperken tot 170 kg stikstof per hectare. Bedrijven met ten minste 80 procent grasland mogen onder bepaalde voorwaarden meer mest gebruiken, afkomstig van graasdieren zoals koeien en schapen (derogatie). Op deze bedrijven is in de periode 2006 tot en met 2016 de uitspoeling van nitraat uit de mest naar het grondwater gedaald of gelijk gebleven. In 2015 ligt op derogatiebedrijven de concentratie gemiddeld in alle regio's onder de EU-norm van 50 milligram nitraat per liter. Dit blijkt uit de jaarlijkse rapportage van het RIVM en Wageningen Economic Research. Zij volgen op 300 derogatiebedrijven de bedrijfsvoering en de effecten op de waterkwaliteit en zij rapporteren de resultaten hiervan jaarlijks aan de EU. In deze rapportage is de situatie in 2015 beschreven en de ontwikkeling tussen 2006 en 2016 (trend). Bedrijfsvoering . De toegestane hoeveelheid stikstof uit graasdiermest is, afhankelijk van de bodemsoort en regio, 250 kilogram per hectare (in de Kleiregio, Veenregio en het noordelijke deel van de Zandregio) of 230 kg/ha (in de Lössregio en het overige deel van de Zandregio). Gemiddeld hebben derogatiebedrijven in 2015 238 kilogram stikstof uit dierlijke mest per hectare gebruikt. De hoeveelheid stikstof die als nitraat kan uitspoelen naar het grondwater wordt onder andere bepaald door het zogenoemde stikstofbodemoverschot. Dit is het verschil tussen de aanvoer van stikstof (zoals meststoffen) en de afvoer ervan (waaronder via gras en maïs). Het stikstofbodemoverschot is gemiddeld over de regio's tijdens de onderzochte periode gedaald met 16%. Grondwaterkwaliteit. In 2015 was de gemiddelde nitraatconcentratie in het grondwater 26 milligram per liter (mg/l) in Zand 250. De hoogste concentratie wordt gemeten in de Lössregio (42 mg/l) en in Zand 230 (45 mg/l). Bedrijven in de Kleiregio en de Veenregio hadden gemiddeld een lagere nitraatconcentratie (respectievelijk 22 en 13 mg/l). Het verschil tussen de regio's kan verklaard worden door het aandeel uitspoelingsgevoelige gronden. Vooral in Zand 230 en in de Lössregio komen gronden voor waar nitraat in mindere mate in de bodem wordt afgebroken en daardoor meer kan uitspoelen naar het grondwater.

Dutch manure policy tries to limit the harmful environmental impact of agriculture. This is in line with international agreements on fertilizer use. The European Nitrates Directive prescribes Member States to limit the use of animal manure to 170 kg nitrogen per hectare. Farms with at least 80 percent of grassland may, under certain conditions, use more manure from grazing animals such as cows and sheep (derogation). Over the last 10 years, nitrate leaching from the manure to the upper groundwater has decreased or remained the same for these farms. By 2015, on average, the concentration is in all regions below the EU standard of 50 milligrams of nitrate per liter. This is according to the annual report by RIVM and Wageningen Economic Research. They follow agricultural practices and the effects on water quality at 300 derogation farms and report their results to the EU annually. This report describes the situation in 2015 and the development between 2006 and 2016 (trend). Management. The permissible amount of nitrogen from grazing manure is, depending on the soil and region, 250 kilograms per hectare (in the Clay region. Peat region and northern part of the Sand region) or 230 kg/ha (in the Loess region and the rest of the Sand region). On average, derogation companies have used 238 kilograms of nitrogen from animal manure per hectare in 2015. The amount of nitrogen that can leached as nitrate to groundwater is determined, among others, by the so-called nitrogen soil surplus. This is the difference between the input of nitrogen (such as fertilizers) and their output (including through grass and maize). The average nitrogen surplus over the regions has decreased over the period considered. Groundwater quality. By 2015, the average nitrate concentration in the groundwater in Sand 250 was 26 milligrams per liter (mg/l). The highest concentration is measured in the Loess region (42 mg/l) and in Sand 230 (45 mg/l). On the average, farms in the Clay region and the Peat region had lower nitrate concentrations in leaching water (22 and 13 mg/l respectively). The difference between the regions can be explained by the proportion of soils prone to nitrate leaching. Especially in Sand 230 and in the Loess region there are grounds for which nitrate is reduced in a lesser extent, and therefore can leach more to groundwater.

Altres ajuts: CoVetLab/2017-5 Altres ajuts: GP/EFSA/AFSCO/2017/01 Altres ajuts: DMA/KB-21-006-028 In recent years, several generic risk assessment (RA) tools have been developed that can be applied to assess the incursion risk of multiple infectious animal diseases allowing for a rapid response to a variety of newly emerging or re-emerging diseases. Although these tools were originally developed for different purposes, they can be used to answer similar or even identical risk questions. To explore the opportunities for cross-validation, seven generic RA tools were used to assess the incursion risk of African swine fever (ASF) to the Netherlands and Finland for the 2017 situation and for two hypothetical scenarios in which ASF cases were reported in wild boar and/or domestic pigs in Germany. The generic tools ranged from qualitative risk assessment tools to stochastic spatial risk models but were all parameterized using the same global databases for disease occurrence and trade in live animals and animal products. A comparison of absolute results was not possible, because output parameters represented different endpoints, varied from qualitative probability levels to quantitative numbers, and were expressed in different units. Therefore, relative risks across countries and scenarios were calculated for each tool, for the three pathways most in common (trade in live animals, trade in animal products, and wild boar movements) and compared. For the 2017 situation, all tools evaluated the risk to the Netherlands to be higher than Finland for the live animal trade pathway, the risk to Finland the same or higher as the Netherlands for the wild boar pathway, while the tools were inconclusive on the animal products pathway. All tools agreed that the hypothetical presence of ASF in Germany increased the risk to the Netherlands, but not to Finland. The ultimate aim of generic RA tools is to provide risk-based evidence to support risk managers in making informed decisions to mitigate the incursion risk of infectious animal diseases. The case study illustrated that conclusions on the ASF risk were similar across the generic RA tools, despite differences observed in calculated risks. Hence, it was concluded that the cross-validation contributed to the credibility of their results.

Het onderzoeksprogramma NL Next Level Mest Verwaarden betreft een samenwerking tussen Agrifirm, Darling Ingredients International, De Heus Voeders, VanDrie Group, FrieslandCampina en ForFarmers, samen met Wageningen University & Research en het Nederlands Centrum Mestverwaarding (NCM) en het ministerie van LNV. Het onderzoeksprogramma richt zich op het verwaarden van mest in de vorm van marktwaardige, duurzame bemestingsproducten. Om inzicht te krijgen in de producten, technieken en hoeveelheden waarmee mest in de keten maximaal kan worden verwaard, is de inzet van het ketenmodel MERIT noodzakelijk. Het MERIT-model (Model for Economically Robust InvestmenT decisions /Model voor Economisch Robuuste Investeringsbesluiten) is ontwikkeld door Wageningen Economic Research om inzicht te krijgen in de economische haalbaarheid en robuustheid van investeringen in een nieuwe technologie of businesscase bij grote onzekerheden rond de prijzen en kwaliteit van grondstoffen en eindproducten. Om het model te kunnen inzetten, is de input geactualiseerd voor de nieuwste inzichten wat betreft kostprijzen en de stand van de techniek. Deze notitie betreft dus feitelijk een actualisatie van de uitgangspunten en input coëfficiënten zoals beschreven in Van Wagenberg et al. (2019).

Between 2007 and 2010 a Q fever epidemic in Dutch dairy goat farms caused a large Q fever outbreak in human residents in the southern part of the Netherlands. Here we characterize the transmission of Coxiella burnetii, the aetiological agent of Q fever, between infected and susceptible dairy goat farms by estimating a spatial transmission kernel. In addition, we characterize the zoonotic transmission of C. burnetii by estimating the spatial kernel for transmission from infected farms to neighbouring residents. Whereas the range of between-farm transmission is comparable to the scale of the Netherlands, likely due to long-range between-farm contacts such as animal transport, the transmission risk from farms to humans is more localized, although still extending to 10 km and beyond. Within a range of about 10 km, the transmission risk from an infected goat farm to a single resident is of the same order of magnitude as the farm-to-farm transmission risk per animal in a receiving farm. We illustrate how, based on the estimated kernels, spatial patterns of transmission risks between farms and from farms to residents can be calculated and visualized by means of risk maps, offering further insight relevant to policy making in a one-health context.

E-commerce in the grocery market is a new retail environment. Products are picked on base of consumer orders and delivered in cardboard boxes or plastic crates and are transported with special trucks or by use of postal service delivery in special crates. The retailer remains responsible for the products until delivery to the consumer. To become more efficient, inefficiency and damages that occur in the chain have to be known. The insights can be used to optimize the design or the way of packing and handling. Delivery of products of four retailers has been analyzed from fulfillment center up to the last mile. Complaints and broken packages are analyzed, drop tests of filled cartons and crates are executed, and transport loggers are used. The visits to the retailers lead to flow charts of the way of handling. Complaints and broken packages gave insight in the causes of damages. Transport loggers gave insight in the vibrations and shocks that occur during delivery. Drop test results are used as reference.We can conclude that the process of order picking can be optimized by using retail-ready packaging without foil and by placing products in the carton with the barcode to the front. During delivery the filling grade of the cardboard boxes and crates, the combination of type of packs and the way of filling are important causes of failure. Damage also occurs during the last meters, from delivery truck to front door. The existing ISTA 6OB test method for e-commerce is based on parcel sending and is too severe for retailer delivery service as seen in this study. At the researched transport 7.2 G and 0.8 m/s in x-axis direction and 10.4 G and 0.3 m/s in the z-axis direction are measured. The developed packaging design model for e-commerce consists of a checklist which should guide and inform the packaging designer through the new processes and the fillers during packing. In this study, the diffusion coefficients of 13 kinds of small molecules with molecular weights ranging from 32 to 339 g.mol-1 in amorphous PET are calculated based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results suggest that diffusion coefficient of migrant depends not only the molecular weight but also the shape of migrant molecules. Further, the free volume of polymer matrix is calculated using Connolly surface method. The results show that some small free volume cavities conjoin together and form the larger cavities which facilitate the diffusion of migrant molecules in polymer matrix. The diffusion trajectories suggest that the molecules in first class move actively, but the molecules in class third class move limitedly and the movement mobility of molecules in second class is between that of first class and third class. The diffusion trajectories of small molecules strongly depend on the shape and molecular weight of migrant molecules, which is consistent with the diffusion coefficients.

Background: In recent years, ESBL/AmpC-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL/AmpC-EC) have been isolated with increasing frequency from animals, food, environmental sources and humans. With incomplete and scattered evidence, the contribution to the human carriage burden from these reservoirs remains unclear. Objectives: To quantify molecular similarities between different reservoirs as a first step towards risk attribution. Methods: Pooled data on ESBL/AmpC-EC isolates were recovered from 35 studies in the Netherlands comprising >27 000 samples, mostly obtained between 2005 and 2015. Frequency distributions of ESBL/AmpC genes from 5808 isolates and replicons of ESBL/AmpC-carrying plasmids from 812 isolates were compared across 22 reservoirs through proportional similarity indices (PSIs) and principal component analyses (PCAs). Results: Predominant ESBL/AmpC genes were identified in each reservoir. PCAs and PSIs revealed close human-animal ESBL/AmpC gene similarity between human farming communities and their animals (broilers and pigs) (PSIs from 0.8 to 0.9). Isolates from people in the general population had higher similarities to those from human clinical settings, surface and sewage water and wild birds (0.7-0.8), while similarities to livestock or food reservoirs were lower (0.3-0.6). Based on rarefaction curves, people in the general population had more diversity in ESBL/AmpC genes and plasmid replicon types than those in other reservoirs. Conclusions: Our 'One Health' approach provides an integrated evaluation of the molecular relatedness of ESBL/AmpC-EC from numerous sources. The analysis showed distinguishable ESBL/AmpC-EC transmission cycles in different hosts and failed to demonstrate a close epidemiological linkage of ESBL/AmpC genes and plasmid replicon types between livestock farms and people in the general population.

The objective of the G‐RAID project was the mutual exchange of knowledge between the consortium members on the development of generic risk assessment (RA) tools for animal disease incursion. Seven generic RA tools were compared considering objectives, inputs, algorithms and outputs. All tools were designed for rapid risk assessment and could assess the incursion risk for multiple diseases and pathways. Specific objectives of the tools, however, varied from immediate response to new disease events to prioritization of diseases and horizon scanning, resulting in different approaches to evaluate the incursion risk of infectious animal diseases. Cross‐validation was explored as a method to validate the generic RA tools. All tools were applied to a case study for African swine fever (ASF) in which the incursion risk for the Netherlands and Finland was assessed for the 2017 situation and two hypothetical scenarios with ASF cases reported in Germany. The generic RA tools were parameterized using the same global databases for disease occurrence and trade in live animals and animal products. Disease‐related parameters, however, could not be standardized because of the different levels of detail included in the model calculations. A comparison of absolute results of the tools was not possible, because output parameters represented different endpoints, varied from qualitative probability levels to quantitative numbers, and were expressed in different units. Therefore, relative risks across countries and scenarios were calculated for each tool and compared. The risk assessment tools largely agreed upon the ranking of countries and scenarios based on relative risks and would thus indicate similar priorities for risk management As such, the cross‐validation increased the credibility of results obtained with the generic RA tools. The cross‐validation also contributed to the internal validation and further development of the tools. Results from the G‐RAID project were disseminated to risk assessors and risk managers at a one‐day symposium.

Background: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC), plasmid-mediated AmpC-producing E coli (pAmpC-EC), and other bacteria are resistant to important β-lactam antibiotics. ESBL-EC and pAmpC-EC are increasingly reported in animals, food, the environment, and community-acquired and health-care-associated human infections. These infections are usually preceded by asymptomatic carriage, for which attributions to animal, food, environmental, and human sources remain unquantified. Methods: In this population-based modelling study, we collected ESBL and pAmpC gene data on the Netherlands population for 2005–17 from published datasets of gene occurrences in E coli isolates from different sources, and from partners of the ESBL Attribution Consortium and the Dutch National Antimicrobial Surveillance System. Using these data, we applied an established source attribution model based on ESBL-EC and pAmpC-EC prevalence and gene data for humans, including high-risk populations (ie, returning travellers, clinical patients, farmers), farm and companion animals, food, surface freshwater, and wild birds, and human exposure data, to quantify the overall and gene-specific attributable sources of community-acquired ESBL-EC and pAmpC-EC intestinal carriage. We also used a simple transmission model to determine the basic reproduction number (R0) in the open community. Findings: We identified 1220 occurrences of ESBL-EC and pAmpC-EC genes in humans, of which 478 were in clinical patients, 454 were from asymptomatic carriers in the open community, 103 were in poultry and pig farmers, and 185 were in people who had travelled out of the region. We also identified 6275 occurrences in non-human sources, including 479 in companion animals, 4026 in farm animals, 66 in wild birds, 1430 from food products, and 274 from surface freshwater. Most community-acquired ESBL-EC and pAmpC-EC carriage was attributed to human-to-human transmission within or between households in the open community (60·1%, 95% credible interval 40·0–73·5), and to secondary transmission from high-risk groups (6·9%, 4·1–9·2). Food accounted for 18·9% (7·0–38·3) of carriage, companion animals for 7·9% (1·4–19·9), farm animals (non-occupational contact) for 3·6% (0·6–9·9), and swimming in freshwater and wild birds (ie, environmental contact) for 2·6% (0·2–8·7). We derived an R0 of 0·63 (95% CI 0·42–0·77) for intracommunity transmission. Interpretation: Although humans are the main source of community-acquired ESBL-EC and pAmpC-EC carriage, the attributable non-human sources underpin the need for longitudinal studies and continuous monitoring, because intracommunity ESBL-EC and pAmpC-EC spread alone is unlikely to be self-maintaining without transmission to and from non-human sources. Funding: 1Health4Food, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the EU's Horizon-2020 through One-Health European Joint Programme.

From December 2017 to February 2018 the Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM DA), operated a test campaign capturing CO2 by use of monoethanolamine (MEA) in a 80 to 200 ton CO2 per day demonstration unit. The primary objective was to provide experimental evidence for reducing operational as well as capital costs of CO2 capture. For cost assessment a selection of the test cases has been used as a basis for estimating cost of full scale amine based CO2 capture for a large combined cycle gas turbine based (CCGT) power plant. The cost of CO2 avoided is presented for these cases and the case with the lowest cost of CO2 avoided has been furthered investigated by a parameter study. The cost assessment is presented relative to two earlier MEA campaigns at TCM. A reduction in cost of CO2 avoided up to 18% was justified by experiments while further improvements were made plausible theoretically.

Voor u ligt de brochure over het onderzoek Diergeneesmiddelen in het milieu - een synthese van de huidige kennis. In dit onderzoek, gepubliceerd als STOWA rapport 2019-26, zijn de bekende gegevens over diergeneesmiddelen in water, bodem en in mest van grazers samengevat. Op basis daarvan is ingeschat in hoeverre zich risico’s voor mens en milieu kunnen voordoen. Met deze kennisbasis kunnen beleidsmakers en stakeholders verkennen welke risico’s met voorrang nader onderzocht moeten worden en hoe kennisleemten kunnen worden ingevuld.

Het ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit wil het gebruik van kunstmest ontmoedigen ten gunste van dierlijke mest. Deze notitie onderzoekt de verschillende financiële prikkels om te stimuleren dat dierlijke mest gebruikt wordt, zoals een heffing op kunstmest of het verstrekken van subsidies. Uit de analyse blijkt dat in de Nederlandse landbouw het gebruik van fosfaat uit dierlijke mest al vrijwel maximaal is. Het gebruik van stikstofkunstmest daarentegen is aanzienlijk. Een heffing op kunstmest is echter weinig effectief omdat de stikstof uit dierlijke mest samen met het fosfaatoverschot via export en verwerking van mest buiten de Nederlandse landbouw wordt afgezet en daarom onvoldoende beschikbaar is. Om zo veel mogelijk stikstof te behouden voor de Nederlandse landbouw is aanpassing van deze mix van mestproducten nodig. Om dit te stimuleren is een subsidie denkbaar op hoogwaardige verwerking van varkens- en rundveedrijfmest.

During the recent MEA campaign at the Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), a broad range of operational conditions have been explored for the post-combustion amine-based CO2 capture demonstration plant. This paper presents CO2 product composition data from online gas analyzers, originating from CO2 capture of two different flue gas sources available at TCM. Detailed composition data obtained by manual sampling and laboratory analysis, both internally at TCM and by Airborne Labs International Inc. is presented. Among the impurities identified and analyzed for, ammonia, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are the compounds not commonly reported in the literature. The solvent quality, in terms of metal content and amount of degradation products, seemed to be the most influential parameter affecting the concentration of acetaldehyde and ammonia in the CO2 product gas. In addition, ammonia slip was found to be correlated with operating temperature of the overhead stripper system.