De Lijn announces it is rolling out the first new generation electric buses by VDL into service from its Destelbergen depot on 1 July The first 5 of 24 e-buses from VDL will strengthen the Flemish Transport Company’s electric fleet in the Ghent region De Lijn announces it is rolling out the first new generation electric buses by VDL into service from its Destelbergen depot on 1 July. The first 5 of 24 e-buses from VDL will strengthen the Flemish Transport Company’s electric fleet in the Ghent region. Order dates back to late 2021 where battery packs are installed in the floor and motors are integrated into the wheels there is room for up to 92 passengers on board with the kWh exceeding 306 put on the roof Battery modules are assembled in-house by the VDL group What is interesting is passenger capacity: 110 people can be welcomed on the version with standard battery capacity “The first five e-buses from VDL will be put into service from 1 July from the Destelbergen depot This depot expects five more e-buses in the coming weeks and months the remaining 14 vehicles of this order from VDL will be deployed from the Sint-Niklaas depot we effectively initiated the greening of the bus fleet at De Lijn The additional investment funds that were provided enabled the transport company to place several orders E-buses consume no fossil fuel and emit nothing at all This is a great advantage both for the climate and for the health of those in or around the bus so there are no emissions when the energy is produced either It is necessary to continue this transition and provide the necessary resources for it,” said outgoing Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters “We are particularly pleased that we can also let our customers enjoy the new generation of e-buses in the Ghent region,” says Ann Schoubs they have many assets that increase passenger comfort such as USB charging points for smartphones extra-wide info screens with stop information electrically operated ramps for less mobile travellers wood-look flooring and improved ventilation But the safety and comfort of our drivers has also been considered The e-buses are equipped with safety features that would not be out of place in the most modern cars such as cameras instead of mirrors and multiple detection systems to notice pedestrians and cyclists Special attention has been paid to the driver’s position which has its own air conditioning and a heated and ventilated seat.” added: “The fact that public transport is taking a sustainable path and opting for electrification fits in perfectly with the objectives of the Covenant of Mayors and the Local Energy and Climate Pact namely that the first VDL e-buses will serve the region from here © Copyright 2012 - 2025 | Vado e Torno Edizioni | All rights reserved | P.I China’s EGPN Bulk Carrier has done what it does best: flipping ships quickly This time it is pocketing around $8m on a bulker transaction sealed six months ago Towards the end of last year EGPN fattened its cape arm, adding a trio of New Times Shipbuilding-built capes built between 2010 and 2011 from Bocimar the 13-year-old Eastern Windflower formerly called Mineral Destelbergen Previously reported flips by the speculative private owner involve both deals in wet and dry the outfit has pocketed around $14m on flipping two tankers and one bulker. Each individual sale follows a similar pattern After buying the ships the owner toyed with the ships for some six months before selling them.  EGPN Bulk Carrier first became a shipowner in 2017 initially focusing on bulk carriers before entering the tanker trades IMO is bound by the membership of its Flag.. This aspiration could only be achieved whe.. Don't have an account? Elderly man detained on suspicion of killing fellow resident in Destelbergen Belgian authorities have detained an elderly man on suspicion of killing a fellow resident of the retirement home where he lived No details of the fatal assault which took place on Monday were immediately available but the Ghent prosecutor’s office confirmed in a statement that a resident of the home was in custody He is a resident of the nursing home,” prosecutors said Belga reported on Wednesday that the suspect is “99 or 100 years old”, making him likely to be the oldest detainee in Belgium The last known case of a murder in a retirement home in Belgium dates back to the 1990s a leading federation of elderly care providers was one day seized by a moment of madness and had killed his mother before trying to kill himself,” he told AFP Flemish public transport company De Lijn has taken delivery of the first five of 24 electric buses from VDL The vehicles are new-generation Citeas and will be used in the Ghent region The five new electric buses are stationed at De Lijn’s Destelbergen depot Another five of VDL electric buses will arrive there in the coming weeks and months.The remaining 14 electric vehicles will be deployed from the Sint-Niklaas depot De Lijn has not given any details about the expected delivery date The order for the electric Citea buses dates back to the end of 2021 when De Lijn ordered 60 electric buses – 36 from Van Hool and 24 from VDL the company ordered the necessary charging infrastructure in equal parts from the providers Spie-Ekoenergetyka and Heliox sustainable-bus.com, delijn.prezly.com I agree with the Privacy policy electrive has been following the development of electric mobility with journalistic passion and expertise since 2013 we offer comprehensive coverage of the highest quality — as a central platform for the rapid development of this technology Metrics details The high temperatures reached during cremation lead to the destruction of organic matter preventing the use of traditional isotopic methods for dietary reconstructions strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) and concentration ([Sr]) analyses of cremated human remains offer a novel way to assess changing consumption patterns in past populations that practiced cremation as evidenced by a large amount of new data obtained from Metal Ages and Gallo-Roman human remains from Destelbergen The Gallo-Roman results show significantly higher [Sr] and a narrower interquartile range in 87Sr/86Sr (0.7093–0.7095) close to the value of modern-day seawater (0.7092) This contrasts with the Metal Ages results which display lower concentrations and a wider range in 87Sr/86Sr (0.7094–0.7098) This typical Sr signature is also reflected in other sites and is most likely related to an introduction of marine Sr in the form of salt as a food preservative (e.g this study highlights caution is needed when using 87Sr/86Sr for palaeomobility studies in populations with high salt consumption Location of the Destelbergen, Blicquy, Fize-le-Marsal and Herstal sites within Belgium on the inset map and the six new plant sampling locations around Destelbergen with median 87Sr/86Sr superimposed on a geological map (map created using QGIS version 3.12.0-București, https://qgis.org/) but rather that there was a dynamic trade network but are usually covered by similar quaternary sediments of varying thickness potentially affecting the bioavailable strontium it is difficult to predict the local bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr range without proper sampling of modern plants The final Sr signature measured in the bone thus has to be seen as a mixture of Sr resources rather than a direct reflection of one food source The Metal Ages group in Destelbergen shows four statistical outliers on 89 individuals Both Blicquy groups show very little variability and give the impression of sites without clear mobility which suggests an absence of mobility in this group In a region with variable bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr it is difficult to distinguish non-local individuals since many non-local signals can overlap with the locally occurring values no such outliers are present and the 87Sr/86Sr homogeneity is exceptional (IQR 0.0002) Gallo-Roman Fize-le-Marsal contains a single outlier (burial 17 Three more individuals exhibit higher 87Sr/86Sr than the majority of this group (< 0.7102) While 87Sr/86Sr clearly shows a contraction towards seawater values in Roman times Statistically significant differences in the [Sr] between the Metal Ages and Roman group in Destelbergen can be confirmed using the Mann–Whitney U test (U = 191.5 in which the Roman individuals contain higher [Sr] (IQR 144–205 61 ppm) than their Metal Ages counterparts (IQR 87–130 In Blicquy a similar shift from lower [Sr] in the Metal Ages individuals (IQR 67–92; 25) to higher [Sr] in the Roman individuals (IQR 118–160; 42) can be observed Both sites in the Meuse valley show the same trend Significantly higher [Sr] can be seen in the Gallo-Roman group of Fize-le-Marsal (IQR 139–176 but not in the Metal Ages group of Herstal (IQR 89–110 Cross-period testing of all the data with the Pairwise Wilcoxon Signed Rank test leads to a p-score < 0.0001 acknowledging them as statistically different Three scatterplots of the data (Suppl. Fig. 3) investigate the correlation between 87Sr/86Sr and [Sr] and clearly visualise a clustering of the Gallo-Roman individuals compared to the more dispersed Metal Ages individuals This difference is most clear with regards to the [Sr] than for the 87Sr/86Sr taking into account the local bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr variation The 87Sr/86Sr and [Sr] obtained from cremated individuals from the Metal Ages and the Roman period in Destelbergen, especially when compared to the sites of Blicquy, Herstal and Fize-le-Marsal (Fig. 2) considerably changed from one period to the next As the two cemeteries in Destelbergen were found only 120 m apart and the Roman settlement was situated on top of the Metal Ages cemetery the underlying bedrock does not cause the differences where the same underlying bedrock did not offer different bio-available 87Sr/86Sr and [Sr] to the Metal Ages and Roman groups The local baseline can be expected to be in the range of 0.7100–0.7104 (IQR Eocene formation Destelbergen) The Blicquy Metal Ages group exactly matches this expected baseline The much higher 87Sr/86Sr of the Herstal group than the locally underlying value of 0.7090–0.7099 (IQR) seems to be influenced by the close proximity of the Meuse alluvion (IQR 0.7134–0.7141) A mixed use of alluvion and river terrace would lead to a population with a variable 87Sr/86Sr in between both geological formations the large diversity in 87Sr/86Sr is not in the first place connected to the timespan of the cemetery which is with maximum 400 years shorter than in Destelbergen but rather to the large geological diversity present locally one had to resort to the higher and drier soils While a slightly changed and more stable agricultural land use for staple food might have been the case there is still the established idea that in the Roman period more consumer goods were transported than ever before Although staple foods must have mostly been provided locally this diversified supply nevertheless contributed to the individual’s 87Sr/86Sr and [Sr] a drop in isotopic variability contrasts expectations prove that the use of animal manure was an established practice in the Roman period It therefore seems unlikely that seaweed as a fertilizer would have played an important role in the available Sr budget in Destelbergen and even less so in Fize-le-Marsal considering its location further inland have come from a change in diet with a marine component or specific landscape use this would indeed lead to lower 87Sr/86Sr in the human individuals the settlement itself covered both geological formations and to sustain larger groups of inhabitants one would expect that much of the surrounding landscape it is possible that there was indeed a selective land use that could lead to lowered contracted 87Sr/86Sr results for the Gallo-Roman group this is not sufficient to explain the elevated [Sr] seen in this group the singular Orlaya grandiflora seed likely results from an occasional introduction and not from structural grain imports which nonetheless ties the site to a larger trade network structural grain imports would not necessarily explain elevated [Sr] in both Gallo-Roman rural groups This diet was in both periods supplemented with meat from domesticated cattle some newly introduced vegetables and herbs are entirely new additions marine resources are of particular interest to explain the Sr signature shift towards more marine values in Gallo-Roman individuals it must be stressed that added salt could alter but never completely erase the Sr signature of other In regions with high bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr individuals with a diet of local produce combined with a high salt consumption would still display high 87Sr/86Sr but somewhat lower than the bioavailable signal Comparing Sr signatures over time makes it possible to examine salt distribution and consumption patterns This offers a very interesting addition to the study of salt production based on material remains from production sites Future research should aim at exploring this shifting effect to elevated [Sr] and warped 87Sr/86Sr range on a wider scale pinpointing when and locating where sites seem to conform to this pattern and in this way determine how trends in diet and food preservation changed this study confirms that in the absence of C isotopic and elemental Sr analysis can detect dietary variations even in cremated human remains and [Sr] can be more revealing than is often assumed where locality/mobility of the individuals is often obscured due to the impact of salty sea spray and/or a marine diet this study demonstrates that in populations with high salt use caution is required when interpreting mobility based on 87Sr/86Sr alone Nine Metal Ages graves of Blicquy were analysed (eight diaphyseal and one cranial fragment) Five of Blicquy’s Roman graves (diaphysis fragments) were analysed and also 14C dated for this study only one sample per grave was (randomly) selected This ensures that every individual is only accounted for once Herstal delivered twenty-one samples (all diaphysis fragments) for this study The selection of these previously published results is listed in Suppl Eighteen cremated fragments from Fize-le-Marsal were analysed. All were diaphysis fragments, except for grave 14, for which a cranial fragment was selected in the absence of diaphyseal remains. For reference, four Sr samples from Fize-le-Marsal have been radiocarbon dated (Suppl. Table 3b) Columns filled with Sr-specific resin (Eichrom Sr Spec) separated the Sr from the sample The calculated Sr column recovery rate yields more than 95% of total Sr As a reference for testing the accuracy of the subsequent analytical measurements a sample of the standard ‘bone ash SRM1400’ underwent the same extraction process Procedural blanks were considered negligible (total Sr (V) of max 0.02 versus 7–10 V for analyses The 87Sr/86Sr is reported with a 2SE for each sample (absolute error of the individual sample analysis—internal error) All data are available in the main text or the supplementary materials Oudheidkundige opgravingen en vondsten in Oost-Vlaanderen V 1969 Les fouilles du séminaire d’archéologie de la Rijksuniversiteit te Gent à Destelbergen Eenbeekeinde (1960–1984) et l’histoire la plus ancienne de la région de Gent (Gand) Het Gallo-romeins grafveld van destelbergen-eenbeekeinde Een studie van 60 brandrestengraven en 4 ustrina uit de opgravingscampagne van 1998 Destelbergen – Panhuisstraat archeologisch onderzoek – 2011 (Ename Expertisecentrum voor Erfgoedontsluiting vzw Calcined bone provides a reliable substrate for strontium isotope ratios as shown by an enrichment experiment 14C dates and spatial statistics: Modeling intrasite spatial dynamics of urnfield cemeteries in Belgium using case study of Destelbergen cemetery Perspectives on a ‘non-villa’ landscape in extrema Galliarum Multi-proxy analyses reveal regional cremation practices and social status at the Late Bronze Age site of Herstal Stable isotope analysis reveals variations in human diet at the Poundbury Camp Cemetery site British iron age diet: Stable isotopes and other evidence Bronze Age innovations and impact on human diet: A multi-isotopic and multi-proxy study of western Switzerland evidence for the possible avoidance of fish consumption during the iron age around the North Sea In The Later Iron Age in Britain and Beyond (eds Haselgrove What Romans ate and how much they ate of it Old and new research on eating habits and dietary proportions in classical antiquity Élevage et agriculture dans le Nord de la Gaule durant l’époque gallo-romaine: Une confrontation des données archéologiques et carpologiques Archeobotanisch onderzoek aan Romeinse en vroegmiddeleeuwse waterputten in Destelbergen (B) Borderland Farming: Possibilities and Limitations of Farming in the Roman Period and Early Middle Ages Between the Rhine and Meuse (Van Gorcum New plant foods in roman britain — dispersal and social access Radiocarbon dating of calcined bones: Insights from combustion experiments under natural conditions Experimental study on the origin of cremated bone apatite carbon A Burning Question: Structural and Isotopic Analysis of Cremated Bone in Archaeological Contexts (University of Oxford Stable isotopes and diet: Their contribution to Romano-British research Temporal changes in diet: A stable isotope analysis of late Iron Age and Roman Dorset The anthropological evidence for change through Romanisation of the Poundbury population Cummings, C. Meat consumption in roman Britain: The evidence from stable isotopes. Theor. Rom. Archaeol. J. https://doi.org/10.16995/TRAC2008_73_83 (2009) New archaeozoological evidence for the consumption of locally-produced fish sauce in the Northern Provinces of the Roman Empire Fish bones and amphorae: Evidence for the production and consumption of salted fish products outside the Mediterranean region Roman amphorae in the Civitas Nerviorum: from the late La Tène period to the Flavians distribution and use in the British Iron Age Distribution and Use in the British Iron Age (University of Oxford Salt and animal products: Linking production and use in iron age Britain In Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the International Council of Archaeozoology Approaching an Invisible Past (eds Brigand Nehalennia: Römische Steindenkmäler aus der Oosterschelde bei Colijnsplaat (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden Lokale gemeenschappen in het Imperium Romanum Transformaties in rurale bewoningsstructuur en materiële cultuur in de landschappen van het noordelijk deel van de civitas Menapiorum A reconnaissance into the land of the Morini In Archaeological and Historical Aspects of West-European Societies Acta Archaeologica Lovaniensia Monographiae 8 (eds Lodewijckx Romeinse zoutproductie langs de Menapische kust: Een ingenieus technologische proces Salinatores and sigillata: The coastal areas of North-Holland and Flanders and their economic differences in the 1st century AD Iron Age sea salt trade in the Lower Rhine area In Different Iron Ages: Studies on the Iron Age in temperate Europe (eds Hill Revisiting the strontium contribution of sea salt in the human diet Passports from the past: Investigating human dispersals using strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel Een overzicht van veertig jaar nederzettingsonderzoek in de Lage Landen In Nederzettingen uit de bronstijd en de vroege ijzertijd in de Lage Landen (eds N.) 1–19 (Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek The End of Roman Britain (Cornell University Press ancestors and the land in the Lower Rhine Region Cultural dynamics in the Urnfield period and the Middle Ages in the Southern Netherlands (eds Shifting centres of power and changing elite symbolism in the scheldt fluvial basin during the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age In Atlantic Europe in the First Millennium BC Crossing the Divide (eds Moore Zwervende Erven: Bewoningssporen in Oss-Ussen uit Bronstijd Ijzertijd en Romeinse tijd: Opgravingen 1976–1986 (Universiteit Leiden Funeraire Rituelen in Het Scheldebekken Tijdens de Late Bronstijd en de Vroege Ijzertijd De Grafvelden in Hun Maatschappelijke en Sociale Context (Ghent University Mobility of cattle in the iron age and Roman Netherlands Sourcing the Stone in Roman Northern Gaul On the Provenance and Socio-Economics of Stone Tools in a Stoneless Landscape: The Case of the Northern Civitas Menapiorum (Universiteit Gent Carbon exchanges between bone apatite and fuels during cremation: Impact on radiocarbon dates Stamataki, E. et al. Is it hot enough? A multi-proxy approach shows variations in cremation conditions during the Metal Ages in Belgium. J. Archaeol. Sci. 136, 105509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2021.105509 (2021) Research potential and limitations of trace analyses of cremated remains Strontium isotopes from the earth to the archaeological skeleton: A review Databank Ondergrond Vlaanderen. https://www.dov.vlaanderen.be/portaal/?module=verkenner Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition (Elsevier Evaluation of bone strontium as a measure of seafood consumption The fundamental relationship between ancient diet and the organic consituents of bone as derived from feeding experiments Lahtinen, M., Arppe, L. & Nowell, G. Source of strontium in archaeological mobility studies—marine diet contribution to the isotopic composition. Archaeol. Anthropol. Sci. 13, 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01240-w (2021) Fernández-Crespo, T. et al. Multi-isotope evidence for the emergence of cultural alterity in Late Neolithic Europe. Sci. Adv. 6(4), eaay2169. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay2169 (2020) Evolution of the ratio of strontium-87 to strontium-86 in seawater from cretaceous to present 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio and multielemental signatures as indicators of origin of European cured hams: The role of salt The trace element content of indigenous salts compared with commercially refined substitutes In Reconstruction of Life from the Skeleton (eds Iscan Strontium and paleodietary research: A review The biogeochemistry of strontium: A review of H.T The effect of dietary sodium on calcium metabolism in premenopausal and postmenopausal women Sodium and bone health: Impact of moderately high and low salt intakes on calcium metabolism in postmenopausal women Excessive salt consumption causes systemic calcium mishandling and worsens microarchitecture and strength of long bones in rats Guideline: Sodium intake for adults and children regional and national sodium intakes in 1990 and 2010: A systematic analysis of 24 h urinary sodium excretion and dietary surveys worldwide Preliminary results in the collecting of protohistoric cremation samples for the CRUMBEL project and disease: The identification of group identity and mobility in the fifth- to sixth-century AD burial community of Echt Towards a biologically available strontium isotope baseline for Ireland de Soto, P. Network analysis to model and analyse roman transport and mobility. Comput. Soc. Sci. Simul. Past (2019). doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04576-0_13 Resolving archaeological populations with Sr-isotope mixing models A summary of strontium and oxygen isotope variation in archaeological human tooth enamel excavated from Britain Spatial variations in biosphere 87Sr/86Sr in Britain New understandings of the sea spray effect and its impact on bioavailable radiogenic strontium isotope ratios in coastal environments Mapping of bioavailable strontium isotope ratios in France for archaeological provenance studies De dubbele waterput uit het laat-Romeinse castellum van Oudenburg (prov Nonlinearity in the relationship between bone Sr/Ca and diet: Paleodietary implications Guatemala: Defining local variability in strontium isotope ratios of human tooth enamel Een voorlopig overzicht van de 14C-resultaten op gecremeerd bot en houtskool van het urnengrafveld te Destelbergen (provincie Oost-Vlaanderen Weis, D. et al. High-precision isotopic characterization of USGS reference materials by TIMS and MC-ICP-MS. Geochemistry, Geophys. Geosystems 7, Q08006. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GC001283 (2006) Pretreatment protocols performed at the royal institute for cultural heritage (RICH) prior to AMS 14C measurements Methods for summarizing radiocarbon datasets The IntCal20 northern hemisphere radiocarbon age calibration curve (0–55 cal kBP) IsoArcH.eu: An open-access and collaborative isotope database for bioarchaeological samples from the Graeco-Roman world and its margins Download references Patrick Monsieur of the Ghent University Museum for access to the Destelbergen and Roman Blicquy samples Thank you to the Musée Communal d’Archéologie Hesbignonne for the Fize-le-Marsal samples and to the Archéosite et Musée d’Aubechies-Beloeil asbl for the Metal Ages Blicquy samples We thank our funding sources: Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) & Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS-FRS) Excellence of Science (EOS) grant 30999782 (CS Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS-FRS) doctoral grants 11F1120N and 11A6221N (resp Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Hercules program) (HERC19) This research is supported by the ERC Starting Grant LUMIERE (Landscape Use and Mobility In EuRope – Bridging the gap between cremation and inhumation) funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 948913 Department of Art Sciences and Archaeology Department of Biology of Organisms and Ecology Elisavet Stamataki & Martine Vercauteren Centre de Recherches en Archéologie Et Patrimoine S.G.; Visualisation: S.D.; Supervision: C.S. G.D.M.; Writing—review & editing: S.G. The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12880-4 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science The underground rapid transit lines have been under construction for almost two decades due to various project delays The cross pinnacle on the Tower of Jesus Christ will be ready to receive visitors in 2026 on the centennial of Gaudi’s death Now you can get your wine in Talence by paying directly in Bitcoin That’s because the state has to spend money on updating the railway infrastructure rather than subsidizing the cost of the popular pass Steffen Romstöck said that he would respect the residents’ choice and would take over the helm of the municipality which will come into force from 1 January 2025 Rethinking renewable energy sources for the urban landscape But operating them is still illegal under the country’s legislation can inform and inspire communities and entrepreneurs that still feel trepidation at the prospect of energy transition it has a unique modular design that allows it to be shortened and lengthened like a train that’s the promise made by the mayor of Paris the district has long been known as the hangout spot for the artsy crowds Hostal de Pinós is located in the geographical centre of the autonomous region the ranking considers several distinct but essential factors these quiet areas will now be available on all main routes in the country The academic institution shows a deeper understanding of the well-being of its students She has been mayor of the Flemish municipality of Destelbergen since 2019 an alderman between 2017 and 2018 and a city councillor from 2012-2017 she talks about the challenges facing a full-time mayor the major local projects and how the municipality designed their post-coronavirus recovery Destelbergen is a beautiful municipality not far from the historic city of Ghent Our municipality is characterised by its green surroundings I am fully dedicated to this function as a full-time mayor am available and can easily consult our municipal services Some projects have been delayed for a short time but so far This crisis also gave us the opportunity to add value to our organisation we have added extra actions to overcome this crisis and to give extra oxygen to those in need The main projects in progress are a new school in the centre of Destelbergen and a new recreation area in Heusden (a sub municipality of Destelbergen) We think it is important to know what people think about the crisis and where they feel needs we launched a survey (#Watbeliefteru9070helpt which translates to “we want to help you") We questioned several categories and were happy with the results We were surprised and happy to find out that people were most in need of connection the federal government decided to ban fireworks throughout the country Our council decided to ban fireworks during the period of New Year’s Eve for private individuals the fire department advises us to ban fireworks we do not want any victims in the hospital there is also the aspect of animal cruelty I think we have brought citizen participation to a higher level the reduction of CO2 emissions is high on the agenda The 10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns (ESCT) sets the stage for stronger cooperation between the EU national and local level to fast track Europe's transition to climate neutrality Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces An interview with the Mayor of a Polish city that seeks to reinvent itself An interview with the newly elected ICLEI President and Mayor of Malmö A conversation with the Mayor of Lisbon about the spirit and dimensions of innovation present in the Portuguese capital Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks The signatures were recently placed for the takeover of Phyto-IT by sensor producer 2Grow 2Grow will have the entire chain in its own hands The takeover means that the sensor producer from Destelbergen can now grow faster and can more easily anticipate the wishes of growers from the market Dirk De Pauw (Phyto-IT) and Wouter De Bruyker (2Grow) seal the deal with a handshake Phyto-IT is the older of the two companies but also the lesser known of the two in the market we saw that the plant sensors used in laboratories were extremely valuable we decided to set up a company to bring the sensors into practice." Along that path Phyto-IT came across the young company 2Grow "It was then decided that they would take care of sales and support." the two businesses started talking about combining the companies the first intentions for a takeover were expressed." When asked if it is a 'maturing step' for 2Grow "Our main goal is to make growers more efficient We want to do our bit to feed the world's population by helping growers produce more in the same area." Sales manager Olivier Begerem is enthusiastic: "We can now start growing exponentially." Phyto-IT and 2Grow will remain two separate entities 2Grow offers plant sensors that measure the plant in real time the grower can quantify the effect of all actions in the crop and thus better anticipate and respond to the climate and all external circumstances they can monitor plant vitality and stress resulting in higher quality and fewer losses Responding faster to the grower's needsFor the customer the takeover means that information from the grower can be converted into product development even faster Wouter: "We have always had a lot of direct contact with the grower and therefore hear what they need Now that we have the production and R&D in-house we can switch faster." Dirk adds: "The efficiency of the flow of information improves enormously through this step." it is not the case that 2Grow will be shooting off in all directions in terms of product development from now on due to the strongly divergent wishes of the growers Phyto-IT and 2Grow both had their own roadmap This is because we are in direct contact with the grower "Phyto-IT has always focused on effective measuring on the plant with both a sap flow and a stem diameter sensor Sensors that are also very valuable for growers they increasingly asked 2Grow to also be able to measure other things in the greenhouse 2Grow wants to bring such sensors onto the market in the coming years Extra people will be deployed for this in production and sales and service The first new sensors are expected this year These sensors go further than measuring directly on the plant 2Grow is going to present the data that this produces on its own data platform Wouter: "We started developing this platform even before the actual takeover there is a clear difference between the two companies Dirk: "Because the university is an important customer for us the data platform is also designed for that purpose To also serve growers who have very different needs we have kept our platform quite general so that it is usable for everyone this means that the platform is not always specific enough for growers these days." 2Grow itself can choose which way to go in order to meet the grower's requirements We want to focus our new products on those growers We see that it is still a challenge for growers to interpret data easily," says Wouter "The platform is the first big step in a series of improvements that the customer will experience in the coming months and years We want to make it possible for the grower to observe the status of the crop at a glance and thus be able to react even faster The platform will offer more bite-sized information we are going to move more and more towards further automation of the advice in order to be able to offer even more information in real time." 2Grow can be found at HortiContact in Gorinchem from 10-12 May at stand C203 For more information:2Grow bvba Aelmeerstraat 59070 Destelbergen, Belgium[email protected]  www.2grow.earth   FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 HortiDaily.com Lina Lemaire from Destelbergen (East Flanders) lives in London together with her family She tells a tale of a deserted English capital Brexit talks that are going nowhere and a new coronavirus variant that is even more contagious Despite all this bad luck Lina still loves living in London The travel ban and restrictions here mean that Lina’s parents and in-laws won’t be able to cuddle their grandchildren holiday means a trip to Belgium for Lina and her family “We hadn’t made plans to travel this Christmas because real gatherings aren’t permitted and we’d have to quarantine on our return.” But Lina says it’s not easy: “I’ve got kids the parents and in-laws are really suffering” but because new travel restrictions were introduced the holiday was cut short That heaving city that loves Christmas hasn’t been very lively since the lockdown who can’t share Christmas pud with their relatives They are frustrated and have mixed feelings about Christmas.” “The government maintained Christmas could go ahead like usual for quite a while Last week we noticed the increase in corona figures but there was little information It’s only several days later that the UK government confirms things we now know this more contagious variant has arrived!” “Brits can only talk about two things: corona and the Brexit talks” says Lina Despite all the bad news Lina insists she still loves living in London You’re allowed to add one single to your bubble China’s EGPN Bulk Carrier has gone back to its roots adding ships in the bulk segment securing three capes at a time when spot rates are stabilising at healthy levels who earlier this year splashed out some $320m on a string of chemical tanker newbuildings has decided it’s time to fatten its cape arm adding a trio of New Times Shipbuilding-built capes built between 2010 and 2011 from Bocimar Sources tell Splash EGPN Bulk Carrier has tabled some $59m for the 175,000 dwt sister ships initially focusing on bulk carriers before entering the tanker trades two years ago.