Waterplanten als maat voor de biologische kwaliteit van oppervlaktewateren : biotoets met 15 plantensoorten in de Noardlike Fryske Wâlden

Voor: matig voedselarme wateren; gemiddeld voedselrijke wateren; en zeer voedselrijke wateren zijn de gidssoorten beschreven. Vervolgens zijn de vijftien belangrijkste planten in deze gids geselecteerd op basis van twee criteria, die elk voor zich heel verschillende selecties zouden opleveren. Enerzijds moet de gids gemakkelijk hanteerbaar zijn. Daardoor moet het aantal soorten beperkt zijn, ze moeten zonder hulp van specialisten op naam te brengen zijn en hun aanwezigheid moet zonder moeite vast te stellen zijn

Maximizing throughput in some simple time-constrained scheduling situations

This contribution focuses on some interesting phenomena occurring in scheduling capacity constrained resources in time-constrained situations. The scheduling situations considered form part of a simulation game developed to assist in teaching the scheduling philosophy of Optimized Production Technology (OPT) to production managers. It is shown that under certain conditions on set-up and processing times, advanced examples may be constructed combining three of the four complicating conditions mentioned m the OPT-literature. In addition, some interesting properties of process batches yielding a maximum throughput in such cases is considered

Above- and belowground herbivory jointly impact defense and seed dispersal traits in Taraxacum officinale

Plants are able to cope with herbivores by inducing defensive traits or growth responses that allow them to reduce or avoid the impact of herbivores. Since above- and belowground herbivores differ substantially in life-history traits, for example feeding types, and their spatial distribution, it is likely that they induce different responses in plants. Moreover, strong interactive effects on defense and plant growth are expected when above- and belowground herbivores are jointly present. The strengths and directions of these responses have been scarcely addressed in the literature. Using Taraxacum officinale, the root-feeding nematode Meloidogyne hapla and the locust Schistocerca gregaria as a model species, we examined to what degree above- and belowground herbivory affect (1) plant growth responses, (2) the induction of plant defensive traits, that is, leaf trichomes, and (3) changes in dispersal-related seed traits and seed germination. We compared the performance of plants originating from different populations to address whether plant responses are conserved across putative different genotypes. Overall, aboveground herbivory resulted in increased plant biomass. Root herbivory had no effect on plant growth. Plants exposed to the two herbivores showed fewer leaf trichomes than plants challenged only by one herbivore and consequently experienced greater aboveground herbivory. In addition, herbivory had effects that reached beyond the individual plant by modifying seed morphology, producing seeds with longer pappus, and germination success

arf3DS4: An Integrated Framework for Localization and Connectivity Analysis of fMRI Data

In standard fMRI analysis all voxels are tested in a massive univariate approach, that is, each voxel is tested independently. This requires stringent corrections for multiple comparisons to control the number of false positive tests (i.e., marking voxels as active while they are actually not). As a result, fMRI analyses may suffer from low power to detect activation, especially in studies with high levels of noise in the data, for example developmental or single-subject studies. Activated region fitting (ARF) yields a solution by modeling fMRI data by multiple Gaussian shaped regions. ARF only requires a small number of parameters and therefore has increased power to detect activation. If required, the estimated regions can be directly used as regions of interest in a functional connectivity analysis. ARF is implemented in the R package arf3DS4. In this paper ARF and its implementation are described and illustrated with an example

A stochastic model for forecast consumption in master scheduling

This paper describes a stochastic model for the reduction of the initial forecast in the Master Schedule (MS) of an MRP system during progress of time by the acceptance of customer orders. Results are given for the expectation and variance of the number of yet unknown deliveries as a function of futurity within the planning horizon. The expectation will be a measure for the forecast. The result for the variance is a measure for the forecasting error and may act as a basis for the amount of safety stock or available to promise, to project in the MS

Multiple batch structures in throughput scheduling

Throughput scheduling deals with maximizing time-constrained throughput in batch production. Previous investigations have shown that time-constrained throughput increases by processing successive batch cycles in simple process configurations consisting of three processes and two facilities, even if set-up times are positive. This paper explores the extension of these results to more complex process configurations

Kartering terrestrische Natura 2000 habitattypen; Botshol 2009

Momenteel worden voor de Nederlandse Natura 2000 gebieden beheerplannen opgesteld. Voor het formuleren van richtlijnen en maatregelen, alsmede om de ontwikkelingen rond de habitattypen en doelsoorten in de toekomst te kunnen evalueren, is het noodzakelijk om de uitgangssituatie ten aanzien van de habitattypen en doelsoorten goed te beschrijven. Ook de terrestrische vegetatie wordt door de grootste eigenaar in het gebied, de Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, met regelmaat beschreven, maar een eerdere analyse leerde dat de hiervoor gebruikte typologie niet eenduidig valt te vertalen naar Natura 2000 habitattypen. Daarom is in juni en juli 2009 een kartering van de terrestrische habitattypen uitgevoerd. De resultaten van deze kartering worden in dit rapport beschreven

Arabidopsis Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Key Roles of Melatonin in Plant Defense Systems

Melatonin is a ubiquitous molecule and exists across kingdoms including plant species. Studies on melatonin in plants have mainly focused on its physiological influence on growth and development, and on its biosynthesis. Much less attention has been drawn to its affect on genome-wide gene expression. To comprehensively investigate the role(s) of melatonin at the genomics level, we utilized mRNA-seq technology to analyze Arabidopsis plants subjected to a 16-hour 100 pM (low) and 1 mM (high) melatonin treatment. The expression profiles were analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes. 100 pM melatonin treatment significantly affected the expression of only 81 genes with 51 down-regulated and 30 up-regulated. However, 1 mM melatonin significantly altered 1308 genes with 566 up-regulated and 742 down-regulated. Not all genes altered by low melatonin were affected by high melatonin, indicating different roles of melatonin in regulation of plant growth and development under low and high concentrations. Furthermore, a large number of genes altered by melatonin were involved in plant stress defense. Transcript levels for many stress receptors, kinases, and stress-associated calcium signals were up-regulated. The majority of transcription factors identified were also involved in plant stress defense. Additionally, most identified genes in ABA, ET, SA and JA pathways were up-regulated, while genes pertaining to auxin responses and signaling, peroxidases, and those associated with cell wall synthesis and modifications were mostly down-regulated. Our results indicate critical roles of melatonin in plant defense against various environmental stresses, and provide a framework for functional analysis of genes in melatonin-mediated signaling pathways