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The Unsustainable City
(2014)Sustainability“Make cities more sustainable” is an omnipresent slogan in architecture and urban planning. This article is a discussion on theoretical and practical boundaries of using the expression “sustainability” with respect to the scientific community, therefore avoiding sustainability becoming a euphemism for “doing good”. By definition, it can be concluded, cities developed as counterparts to the hinterland and, therefore, they axiomatically ...Journal Article -
Identification and Evaluation of Improved 4′-O-(Alkyl) 4,5-Disubstituted 2-Deoxystreptamines as Next-Generation Aminoglycoside Antibiotics
(2014)mBioThe emerging epidemic of drug resistance places the development of efficacious and safe antibiotics in the spotlight ofcurrent research. Here, we report the design of next-generation aminoglycosides. Discovery efforts were driven by rational syn-thesis focusing on 4=alkylations of the aminoglycoside paromomycin, with the goal to alleviate the most severe and disablingside effect of aminoglycosides—irreversible hearing loss. Compounds were ...Journal Article -
1980–2008: The Illusion of the Perpetual Money Machine and What It Bodes for the Future
(2014)RisksWe argue that the present crisis and stalling economy that have been ongoing since 2007 are rooted in the delusionary belief in policies based on a “perpetual money machine” type of thinking. We document strong evidence that, since the early 1980s, consumption has been increasingly funded by smaller savings, booming financial profits, wealth extracted from house price appreciation and explosive debt. This is in stark contrast with the ...Journal Article -
Model risk in portfolio optimization
(2014)RisksWe consider a one-period portfolio optimization problem under model uncertainty. For this purpose, we introduce a measure of model risk. We derive analytical results for this measure of model risk in the mean-variance problem assuming we have observations drawn from a normal variance mixture model. This model allows for heavy tails, tail dependence and leptokurtosis of marginals. The results show that mean-variance optimization is seriously ...Journal Article -
Demand of insurance under the cost-of-capital premium calculation principle
(2014)RisksWe study the optimal insurance design problem. This is a risk sharing problem between an insured and an insurer. The main novelty in this paper is that we study this optimization problem under a risk-adjusted premium calculation principle for the insurance cover. This risk-adjusted premium calculation principle uses the cost-of-capital approach as it is suggested (and used) by the regulator and the insurance industry.Journal Article -
Diurnal Variability of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Atmosphere over the Remote Southern Atlantic Ocean
(2014)AtmosphereA diel (24-h) cycle with daytime atmospheric concentrations higher than nighttime concentrations by a factor of 1.5–3 was observed for several low molecular weight polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in remote areas of the tropical South Atlantic during a cruise in October–November 2005. In contrast, high molecular weight PCBs and PAHs did not display diurnal variability. A model which has successfully ...Journal Article -
Inkjet Printing of High Aspect Ratio Superparamagnetic SU-8 Microstructures with Preferential Magnetic Directions
(2014)MicromachinesStructuring SU-8 based superparamagnetic polymer composite (SPMPC) containing Fe3O4 nanoparticles by photolithography is limited in thickness due to light absorption by the nanoparticles. Hence, obtaining thicker structures requires alternative processing techniques. This paper presents a method based on inkjet printing and thermal curing for the fabrication of much thicker hemispherical microstructures of SPMPC. The microstructures are ...Journal Article -
An Academic Response to Basel 3.5
(2014)RisksRecent crises in the financial industry have shown weaknesses in the modeling of Risk-Weighted Assets (RWAs). Relatively minor model changes may lead to substantial changes in the RWA numbers. Similar problems are encountered in the Value-at-Risk (VaR)-aggregation of risks. In this article, we highlight some of the underlying issues, both methodologically, as well as through examples. In particular, we frame this discussion in the context ...Journal Article -
Recommendations for Standardizing Validation Procedures Assessing Physical Activity of Older Persons by Monitoring Body Postures and Movements
(2014)SensorsPhysical activity is an important determinant of health and well-being in older persons and contributes to their social participation and quality of life. Hence, assessment tools are needed to study this physical activity in free-living conditions. Wearable motion sensing technology is used to assess physical activity. However, there is a lack of harmonisation of validation protocols and applied statistics, which make it hard to compare ...Journal Article -
Optimization of Critical Hairpin Features Allows miRNA-based Gene Knockdown Upon Single-copy Transduction
(2014)Molecular Therapy - Nucleic AcidsGene knockdown using micro RNA (miRNA)-based vector constructs is likely to become a prominent gene therapy approach. It was the aim of this study to improve the efficiency of gene knockdown through optimizing the structure of miRNA mimics. Knockdown of two target genes was analyzed: CCR5 and green fluorescent protein. We describe here a novel and optimized miRNA mimic design called mirGE comprising a lower stem length of 13 base pairs ...Journal Article