R.E.C.M. van der Heijden

The complete coenzyme B12 biosynthesis gene cluster of Lactobacillus reuteri CRL1098

The coenzyme B(12) production pathway in Lactobacillus reuteri has been deduced using a combination of genetic, biochemical and bioinformatics approaches. The coenzyme B(12) gene cluster of Lb. reuteri CRL1098 has the unique feature of clustering together the cbi, cob and hem genes. It consists of 29 ORFs encoding the complete enzymic machinery necessary for de novo biosynthesis. Transcriptional analysis showed it to be expressed as two tandem transcripts of approximately 22 and 4 kb, carrying cobD, cbiABCDETFGHJ, cobA/hemD, cbiKLMNQOP, sirA, hemACBL, and cobUSC, hemD, cobT, respectively. Both transcripts appear to be similarly regulated, and under the conditions assayed are induced in the late-exponential growth phase. Evidence for a regulatory mechanism of negative feedback inhibition by vitamin B(12) itself was observed. Comparative genomics analysis of the coding sequences showed them to be most similar to those coding for the anaerobic coenzyme B(12) pathways previously characterized in a few representatives of the genera Listeria and Salmonella. This contrasts with the trusted species phylogeny and suggests horizontal gene transfer of the B(12) biosynthesis genes. G+C content and codon adaptation index analysis is suggestive that the postulated transfer of these genes was not a recent event. Additional comparative genomics and transcriptional analysis of the sequences acquired during this study suggests a functional link between coenzyme B(12) biosynthesis and reuterin production, which might be implicated in Lb. reuteris success in colonizing the gastrointestinal tract. This information on gene organization, gene transcription and gene acquisition is relevant for the development of (fermented) foods and probiotics enriched in B(12).

POLICY ASPECTS OF DRIVER SUPPORT SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION: RESULTS OF AN INTERNATIONAL DELPHI STUDY

Driver support systems are generally assumed to contribute to public traffic goals. However, much uncertainty exists about their future: technology development, market introduction and impacts on driver and traffic behaviour. An international Delphi study, collecting expert opinions on these issues, is describe this paper. In three rounds opinions were collected from 50 experts from USA, Japan and Europe. The article focuses on market introduction, driver behaviour, general barriers and policy options.

Air cargo transport by multi-agent based planning

Most major airlines decide to take new strategies for the competition in the air cargo industry. They are concerned with assigning cargo over flights in creative ways. The paper considers the multi-agent solution for cargo assignment. First we present cargo control principles and introduce the pipelining assignment concept, then the difficulties of traditional operations research for solving this assignment are pointed out. After explaining the motivations for an agent solution, we propose a robust solution in which the flights are represented as agents and the cargo assignment is viewed as a coalition formation process among these agents. Finally, future perspectives are summarized. The main solution idea is that the agents communicate and cooperate with each other to form the best coalitions of delivering the planned shipments, and coalitions get along with available information so that the control principles can be fully performed and air capacity can be best managed.

ADAS applications for improving traffic safety

Governments in several European countries, and the EU have set challenging targets for the improvement of road traffic safety by the year 2010. In the Netherlands a program for infrastructure measures was launched, to meet the Dutch targets. The ongoing developments in the field of ITS applications seem however to offer viable alternatives for large-scale infrastructure reconstruction. This paper explores the feasibility of five ADAS applications (navigation, speed assistance, collision avoidance, intersection support and lane keeping) to complement or partly substitute infrastructure measures to reach the stated goals. State-of-the-art and the potential of enabling technologies like positioning, radar, laser, video imaging and communication are analysed from a technical perspective. Technical issues relating to large-scale dedicated ADAS implementation for traffic safety, as well as related policy issues are discussed.

Towards governance on noise between municipality and terminal operator by the use of simulation modelling

Abstract The development of multimodal transport terminals in urban areas generates various serious environmental problems. The available tools for the analyses of the use of such terminals offer insufficient support for decision-making on the location and design of these terminals from the sustainability perspective. New approaches are needed. This article contributes to satisfy this need, triggered by the planning of a new Barge Terminal in the Dutch city of Tilburg (BTT). Presently, the existing terminal in Tilburg is operating near full capacity and the construction of a new terminal is considered the best strategy to cope with steady growth. The main question concerns the optimal design of the new barge terminal to offer a high operational performance, however without exceeding the environmental quality standards, in particular noise. The article presents a simulation approach to assist in the process of finding a balance between the operational performance and the noise effects of alternative designs of the new terminal.

Determining the impacts of time-based logistics strategies in the Dutch food industry

The trend towards logistics acceleration and increasing time-sensitivity can be discerned in numerous industry sectors. The associated logistics concepts are called time-based strategies. In this paper, the logistics impacts of these strategies are analysed on the basis of case studies within the Dutch food industry and parts services industry. The aim of these case studies was to make an objective assessment of what actually changed as a consequence of the emergence of time-based strategies. As part of the case study research design, so-called conjoint analyses were carried out to measure and quantify the sensitivity of case study companies for several logistics decision variables. The conjoint analyses showed that time-based companies are generally far more sensitive to reliability of operations than to any other logistics performance criterion.

Negotiation processes in land and property development: an experimental study

Negotiations have always played an important role in urban planning and in land and property development processes. Numerous case study-based researches have been done to demonstrate the significance of negotiation to resolve the divergent interests of stakeholders. In this article, an alternative methodological perspective is applied by analysing the negotiation as a more generic mechanism through a role-playing face-to-face negotiation experiment with experts in the field that resembles – to a certain extent – real-life negotiation processes. A number of important aspects of the outcomes were analysed to get useful insights into stakeholders’ behaviour in the negotiation processes where the negotiation takes place voluntarily and spontaneously. It is shown in this study that within the setting of the experiment, the stakeholders can still be expected to be concerned about the equality of outcome. Moreover, it also confirms that the information availability, especially regarding the financial conditions under which the developments take place, plays an important role in defining the success of the negotiations. Finally, based on the experiment, it is possible to define the urban planning equilibrium satisfying all stakeholders in the negotiation process.

Bargaining for Value Capturing: A Game-Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Approach

Value capturing is considered a promising additional way of funding public infrastructure development. However, its implementation is often problematic because the instruments that can be used for it (ie, taxes, fees, and other types of fiscal regulation) generally face a lack of support. An alternative approach to value capturing might be to stimulate the stakeholders to bargain over the distribution of the increment values. This paper presents an analysis of bargaining processes with respect to the implementation of value capturing based on concepts drawn from cooperative game theory in partition function form. The institutional setting of location development related to infrastructure development in the Netherlands is used to provide an empirical context to the analysis. As a validation, the game is played with experts in Dutch planning and infrastructure development practice. Our study shows that a game-theoretical approach offers a useful method to conceptualise relationships between different stakeholders and analyse the bargaining and negotiation processes to reach an agreement about an efficient and fair allocation of the increment land values.

Intelligent transport systems (ITS) and driving behaviour: setting the agenda

The application of intelligent transportation systems (ITS), in particular advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), is expected to improve the performance of road transportation significantly. Public policy makers, among others, are therefore increasingly interested in the implementation possibilities of these systems. However, current knowledge of these ITS implementation issues is poor with respect to, for example, technological requirements for ITS implementation, the contribution of ITS to general transport policy goals and the willingness of stakeholders to accept and use ITS. This paper gives an overview of recent developments.