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Wearables that acquire relevant vital and contextual parameters improve work safety as well as quality of life of elderly citizens or patients with chronic diseases. A scalable architecture connects wearables via a hub to the cloud and combines edge with cloud computing to provide optimal user interaction and allow analytics on multi-stream data. The functionality was expanded to enable demonstrations of physiological and psychological stress classification in firemen and mobile health interventions in patients with lung diseases. Following an initial table-top edge demonstrator a hemi-spherical display improves emotional contact to users. A first use case tested an integrated acquisition and inference system that was trained to differentiate physical and emotional stress. The system measured stress in firemen during training in a cage maze and in hot training locations and provided functions to acquire expert labels. A second use case focused on mobile-health intervention for patients suffering from Chronic-Obstructive-Pulmonary-Disease (COPD), to improve their quality-of-life. Patient-physician conversations are extended through a communication channel and a virtual assistant provides disease related information, reminders, and alerts.

Since the 1990s, the Dutch equivalent for “heritage,” erfgoed, has become a buzzword in the Netherlands. Often presented as a neologism, little attention is paid to the term’s longer history. Th is article traces the history through a survey of digitized newspapers from 1700 to 1975, revealing elements of erfgoed’s current meaning well before the twentieth-century heritage mania. In the eighteenth century a synonym of “freedom,” in the latter nineteenth century frequently carrying the prefix nationaal, and in the 1930s associated with genetics and folk culture, erfgoed can be regarded as a speculum vitae, taking on different meanings depending on the era. As elsewhere in Europe, the second half of the nineteenth century was the most decisive moment in the evolution of the term.  Show Less Contributions to the History of Concepts Contributions to the History of Concepts Print ISSN:18079326Online ISSN:1874656X  eTOC Alerts Get Latest Issue TOC RSS  Journal Table of Contents Access brought to you by: Universiteit Van Amsterdam Universiteit Van Amsterdam Customer Support Email Log out © 2017 Berghahn Books Powered by PubFactory  Sign in to annotate

We test an innovative approach to beneficially re-use dredged sediment to enhance salt marsh development. A Mud Motor is a dredged sediment disposal in the form of a semi-continuous source of mud in a shallow tidal channel allowing natural processes to disperse the sediment to nearby mudflats and salt marshes. We describe the various steps in the design of a Mud Motor pilot: numerical simulations with a sediment transport model to explore suitable disposal locations, a tracer experiment to measure the transport fate of disposed mud, assessment of the legal requirements, and detailing the planning and technical feasibility. An extensive monitoring and research programme was designed to measure sediment transport rates and the response of intertidal mudflats and salt marshes to an increased sediment load. Measurements include the sediment transport in the tidal channel and on the shallow mudflats, the vertical accretion of intertidal mudflats and salt marsh, and the salt marsh vegetation cover and composition. In the Mud Motor pilot a total of 470,516 m3 of fine grained sediment (D50 of ∼10 μm) was disposed over two winter seasons, with an average of 22 sediment disposals per week of operation. Ship-based measurements revealed a periodic vertical salinity stratification that is inverted compared to a classical estuary and that is working against the asymmetric flood-dominated transport direction. Field measurements on the intertidal mudflats showed that the functioning of the Mud Motor, i.e. the successful increased mud transport toward the salt marsh, is significantly dependent on wind and wave forcing. Accretion measurements showed relatively large changes in surface elevation due to deposition and erosion of layers of watery mud with a thickness of up to 10 cm on a time scale of days. The measurements indicate notably higher sediment dynamics during periods of Mud Motor disposal. The salt marsh demonstrated significant vertical accretion though this has not yet led to horizontal expansion because there was more hydrodynamic stress than foreseen. In carrying out the pilot we learned that the feasibility of a Mud Motor depends on an assessment of additional travel time for the dredger, the effectiveness on salt marsh growth, reduced dredging volumes in a port, and many other practical issues. Our improved understanding on the transport processes in the channel and on the mudflats and salt marsh yields design lessons and guiding principles for future applications of sediment management in salt marsh development that include a Mud Motor approach.

In this paper, we introduce a home-based COPD management system to objectively track the disease progress during the daily-living of patients. The selection of the devices is performed to map the COPD assessment test questions and the patients lung function at home. A CAir Desk was developed to improve the usability of the many connected devices. We explain the IT architecture, data flow, as well as the data aggregation and visualization concept of our solution. Details on the usage during the trial is provided as well.

This paper presents a new model, using existing consolidation theory, suitable for long-term morphodynamic simulations; we refer to the dynamic equilibrium consolidation (DECON) model. This...

Wearables that continuously acquire vital and other medically relevant parameters facilitate treatment optimizations for individual patients and reduce the duration of hospitalizations — thus improving the patients' quality of life. To accomplish this, we demonstrate a scalable architecture that connects wearables through a hub to the cloud, combines edge and cloud computing to provide optimal user interaction, and allows analytics on multi-stream data from those connected devices.

In this paper, we report on a mobile-health intervention study for COPD patients. Mobile devices are used to continuously record relevant patient symptoms, such as lung function, cough intensity, sputum color, vital-signs and activity. Furthermore, behavioral support is provided by a bi-directional communication channel and virtual assistant communication. The goal is to train a predictive algorithm to prevent exacerbations and to provide personalized virtual coaching to improve medication adherence and activity level.

Wearables that continuously acquire medically relevant parameters can reduce duration of hospitalizations and derive treatment optimizations for individual patients thus improving the quality of medical treatments. We demonstrate an architecture that includes wearables, edge and cloud computing to provide optimal user interaction and analytics of multi-parameter wearable data to accomplish this goal. We also explore the trade-offs of on-wearable processing versus raw data transmission and the use of commercial location monitors to acquire indoor location data.

Modelling fine sediment dynamics, including transport, deposition and re-suspension, is very complex. This led to studies that validate the modelled suspended particulate matter (SPM) based on in-situ measurements. While in-situ measurements are often sparse in time and space, satellite measurements provide us with higher spatial and temporal resolution. This information can be used to validate and enhance the model's capability of predicting the spatial and temporal distribution of SPM. In this paper, the SPM retrieved from the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on board European Space Agency's ENVISAT spacecraft is used to carry out a thorough calibration and validation of the SPM description provided by the Delft3DWAQ model of the Southern North Sea for the year 2007. In an uncertainty analysis framework, the key model parameters affecting the SPM distributions were first identified in predefined physical regions. The sensitivity of the model to slight changes in those parameters is tested and the spatial and temporal errors compared to remote sensing images were identified and a new set of parameters has been suggested and further subjected to uncertainty to define prediction intervals of the SPM distribution at a number of locations. The so-called adapted model has been validated against independent data and has shown a decrease in errors, particularly along the Dutch coast.

A problem of predicting suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration on the basis of wind and wave measurements and estimates of bed shear stress done by a numerical model is considered. Data at a location at 10 km offshore from Noordwijk in the Dutch coastal area is used. The time series data have been filtered with a low pass filter to remove short-term fluctuations due to noise and tides and the resulting time series have been used to build an artificial neural network (ANN) model. The accuracy of the ANN model during both storm and calm periods was found to be high. The possibilities to apply the trained ANN model at other locations, where the model is assisted by the correctors based on the ratio of long-term average SPM values for the considered location to that for Noordwijk (for which the model was trained), have been investigated. These experiments demonstrated that the ANN model's accuracy at the other locations was acceptable, which shows the potential of the considered approach.

This paper presents a study to determine the impact of gas production in dredging sludge on the storage capacity of artificial sludge depots. Gas is produced as a result of the decomposition of organic material present in dredging spoil. This process, in which methane and carbon dioxide are formed, may lead to expansion of sludge layers, partly or even completely counterbalancing consolidation. The study shows that, even with a very conservative estimation of the rate of gas production, accumulation of gas occurs as convective and diffusive transport proceed very slowly. Nucleation of gas bubbles occurs already at a limited oversaturation of pore water. During their growth, bubbles push aside the surrounding grain matrix. Resulting stresses may initiate cracks around bubbles. If these cracks join, they may form channels stretching out to the depot surface and along which gas may escape. However, channels are only stable to a limited depth below which bubble accumulation may continue. The gas content at which sufficient cracks and channels are formed to balance the rate of gas production with the rate of outflow strongly depends on the constitutive properties of the dredging sludge considered. In sludge with a high shear strength (>10 kPa), stable channels are created already at low deformations. However, a large expansion may occur in sludge with a low strength. The present study shows that accumulation of gas may continue until a bulk density less than that of water is attained. This is equivalent to a gas fraction of about 25–37%, depending on the initial water content of the sludge. Only then can gas escape as a result of instabilities in the sediment matrix. This should be well taken into account during the design and management of artificial depots.

Knowledge of the yield strength of subaqueous sediment beds is essential to calculate their sensitivity to erosion and failure. Yield strength is a parameter of the utmost importance in dredging operations. This paper describes measurements of the yield strength profiles of soft cohesive sediment samples with a miniature sounding instrument capable of measuring bed strengths of only a few pascals. Strength profiles are calculated from the forces acting on a small pile slowly penetrating into a sediment sample. During some experiments, pore and total pressures were measured. The influence of the geometry of the penetration probes used and the penetration speed is discussed. The method is shown to be suitable for measuring bed strength profiles fairly accurately. Several sediment types with varying consolidation times were tested.

Markermeer is a large and shallow fresh water lake in The Netherlands. It has a 680 km2 surface and a 3.6 m mean water depth. Markermeer is characterized by its high turbidity, which affects the lake ecosystem seriously. As part of a study that aims to mitigate this high turbidity, we studied the water bed exchange processes of the lake’s muddy bed. The upper cm’s – dm’s of the lake bed sediments mainly consist of soft anoxic mud. Recent measurements have proved the existence of a thin oxic layer on top of the soft anoxic mud. This oxic layer is believed to be responsible for Markermeer high turbidity levels. Our hypothesis is that the oxic layer develops from the anoxic mud, and due to bioturbation. In particular we will refer to bioturbation caused by meiobenthos. The objective of this study is to determine the influence of the development of the oxic layer on the water-bed exchange processes, as well as the role of bioturbation in this processes. This is done by quantifying the erosion rate as a function of bed shear stresses, and at different stages of the development of the oxic layer. Our experiments show that bioturbation increases the erosion rate of Markermeer sediments, and therefore affects the fine sediment dynamics of the lake.

Here we present a novel, measurement-based method for characterizing and improving the energy efficiency of a data center (DC). The technique not only yields a clear set of measurement-based best practices metrics, but also provides clear guidance to a DC manager to substantially improve the DC energy efficiency. We describe a technology which exploits the superiority of fast and massive parallel data collection using the Mobile Measurement Technology (MMT) [1] to drive towards quantitative, measurement-driven DC best practices implementation. A large representative raised-floor DC is mapped by the MMT methodology readily yielding the DC layout, very detailed 3D temperature distributions, flows and other relevant physical parameters of the specific facility. The data is used to calculate key metrics (horizontal and vertical hotspots, targeted air flow, plenum temperature, air conditioning unit utilization and flow levels). These metrics provide insights into the sources of energy inefficiencies of the current DC setup, and systematically guide DC managers to improve various best practice aspects in the specific DC. It is shown that significant energy reductions can be achieved utilizing the above described best practices methodology.

Sediments in Stryker Bay, Minnesota are heavily polluted with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a former coal tar production site. Pollution is transported towards the surface water through ebullition and pore water flow. The gas bubbles result from decay of organic material. This study investigates if the placement of a sand cap is sufficient to contain the pollution. It is shown that a sand cap with a thickness of 0.9 m is indeed sufficient to prevent the transport of PAHs towards the water column, through either bubble or pore water transport. Removal of contaminated sediment is therefore not required in this specific case. Bubble transport is controlled firstly by the insulating effect of the cap, thereby keeping the underlying sediment at a temperature below the threshold for biogenic gas production, and secondly by densification and strengthening of sediment via consolidation, making channel formation more difficult.

Coastline evolution is often modelled adopting single line theory, i.e. the active part of the cross-shore profiles moves back and forth with erosion and accretion without a change in the profile shape. The advantage of these single line models is that they are easy to use, run fast and their results are easy to interpret. However, because of the limitations of single- line theory, these models are less suited to simulate the local coastline evolution around engineering constructions like breakwaters accurately. To calculate the effect of constructions on nearshore wave climate and sediment transport (e.g. the bypass function of breakwaters), local 2D models on hydrodynamics and wave propagation are often required. The approach adopted in the present study is to couple 1D and 2D models to determine the bypass rate of breakwaters more accurately.

This paper discusses the effects of a change in discharge regime of the River Rhine on the cohesive sediment transport in the Dutch coastal zone and towards the Wadden Sea. Two 3D numerical models are used to quantify these effects in a comparative study. It is shown that a different discharge regime may influence the sediment concentration in the Wadden Sea. INTRODUCTION Large amounts of fine-grained, cohesive sediments are transported in the Dutch coastal waters, estimated at 10 to 60x106 ton/year. This transport is confined to a nearshore coastal zone of 10 to 20 km width, the so-called coastal river, as a result of a balance between Coriolis effects and a cross-shore gravitational circulation, induced by the outflow of the River Rhine. A proper estimate of the total flux of fine-grained sediments, their pathways for transport and fate is important, as 9 these sediments cause large siltation, hence require costly maintenance operations, in the harbour basins and navigational channels in the coastal zone (e.g. the Port of Rotterdam); and 9 these sediments have a key contribution to the ecological functioning of the Wadden Sea in the northern part of The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. The present paper describes a three-dimensional numerical model to calculate the transport and fate of these sediments, with emphasis to the effects on the Wadden Sea. The numerical model (hereafter SNS-model) covers the entire southern part of the North Sea, including the Strait of Dover, the Wadden Sea and the German Bight, on a 1) WLIdelft hydraulics, PO Box 177, 2600 MH Delft, The Netherlands, tel: 31-15-2858839, fax: 31-15-2858582, email: Thijs.vanKessel@wldelft.nl, 2) Expert Centre for Project Mainport development Rotterdam 3) also Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

An autopsy study was performed on temporal lobe samples from 20 non-demented patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 17 age-matched non-demented controls and 4 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded sections from the hippocampus with adjacent parahippocampal gyrus and from the superior temporal gyrus were stained with conventional and immunohistochemical stains. Immunohistochemical staining for the A4 protein was enhanced by pretreatment with 0.25% pepsin before 100% formic acid. The incidence and severity of AD-like pathological changes were similar in ALS patients and non-demented controls. In both groups, pathological changes increased with age. This study does not support the hypothesis that ALS and AD share an etiopathogenetic background.

The combination of rapidly increasing energy use of data centers (DCs), which is triggered by dramatic increases in IT (information technology) demands, and increases in energy costs and limited energy supplies has made the energy efficiency of DCs a central concern from both a cost and a sustainability perspective. This paper describes three important technology components that address the energy consumption in DCs. First, we present a mobile measurement technology (MMT) for optimizing the space and energy efficiency of DCs. The technology encompasses the interworking of an advanced metrology technique for rapid data collection at high spatial resolution and measurement-driven modeling techniques, enabling optimal adjustments of a DC environment within a target thermal envelope. Specific example data demonstrating the effectiveness of MMT is shown. Second, the static MMT measurements obtained at high spatial resolution are complemented by and integrated with a real-time sensor network. The requirements and suitable architectures for wired and wireless sensor solutions are discussed. Third, an energy and thermal model analysis for a DC is presented that exploits both the high-spatial-resolution (but static) MMT data and the high-timeresolved (but sparse) sensor data. The combination of these two data types (static and dynamic), in conjunction with innovative modeling techniques, provides the basis for extending the MMT concept toward an interactive energy management solution.

Measurement and control of high-aspect-ratio structures such as dynamic random-access memory trenches is an important step in the manufacture of modern memory devices. We present a novel technique based on infrared interferometry that has been implemented in manufacturing and is capable of measuring sub- 0.25-mum -wide and 10-mum -deep trenches nondestructively and with an accuracy of better than 0.1mum .

This study examines two parameters describing the electromagnetic properties of superconductors: the upper critical field Hc2 and the low-field penetration depth lambda . The current state of the theory for Hc2 is summarised and some new results for lambda are derived to focus on the dominant role of the Fermi surface topology and resultant anisotropies. These properties are evaluated for Nb and Nb3Sn as specific cases. Global parameters are found to be in good agreement with experimental data but other properties exhibit some scatter. The anisotropic deviations of the electromagnetic response are given to about 10%. An estimate is obtained for the dependence of the penetration depth on the direction of the shielding current.

Many estuaries worldwide are becoming more urbanised with heavier traffic in the waterways, requiring continuous channel deepening and larger ports, and increasing suspended sediment concentration (SSC). An example of a heavily impacted estuary where SSC levels are rising is the Ems Estuary, located between the Netherlands and Germany. In order to provide larger and larger ships access to three ports and a shipyard, the tidal channels in the Ems Estuary have been substantially deepened by dredging over the past decades. This has led to tidal amplification and hyper concentrated sediment conditions in the upstream tidal river. In the middle and outer reaches of the Ems Estuary, the tidal amplification is limited, and mechanisms responsible for increasing SSC are poorly understood. Most likely, channel and port deepening lead to larger SSC levels because of resulting enhanced siltation rates and therefore an increase in maintenance dredging. Additionally, channel deepening may increase up-estuary suspended sediment transport due to enhanced salinity-induced estuarine circulation. The effect of channel deepening and port construction on SSC levels is investigated using a numerical model of suspended sediment transport forced by tides, waves and salinity. The model satisfactorily reproduces observed water levels, velocity, sediment concentration and port deposition in the estuary, and therefore is subsequently applied to test the impact of channel deepening, historical dredging strategy and port construction on SSCs in the Estuary. These model scenarios suggest that: (1) channel deepening appears to be a main factor for enhancing the transport of sediments up-estuary, due to increased salinity-driven estuarine circulation; (2) sediment extraction strategies from the ports have a large impact on estuarine SSC; and (3) maintenance dredging and disposal influences the spatial distribution of SSC but has a limited effect on average SSC levels.