TY - JOUR A1 - Fissabre, Anke A1 - Lohmann, Daniel T1 - Verlust einer „tragenden Wand“ : Das Haus der Jugend von Rudolf Schwarz in Aachen JF - Bauwelt Y1 - 2012 SN - 0005-6855 VL - 103 IS - 45 SP - 6 EP - 7 PB - Bauverlag BV CY - Gütersloh ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fischer, Jan-Thomas A1 - Kowalski, Julia A1 - Pudasaini, Shiva P. T1 - Topographic curvature effects in applied avalanche modelling JF - Cold Regions Science and Technology N2 - This paper describes the implementation of topographic curvature effects within the RApid Mass MovementS (RAMMS) snow avalanche simulation toolbox. RAMMS is based on a model similar to shallow water equations with a Coulomb friction relation and the velocity dependent Voellmy drag. It is used for snow avalanche risk assessment in Switzerland. The snow avalanche simulation relies on back calculation of observed avalanches. The calibration of the friction parameters depends on characteristics of the avalanche track. The topographic curvature terms are not yet included in the above mentioned classical model. Here, we fundamentally improve this model by mathematically and physically including the topographic curvature effects. By decomposing the velocity dependent friction into a topography dependent term that accounts for a curvature enhancement in the Coulomb friction, and a topography independent contribution similar to the classical Voellmy drag, we construct a general curvature dependent frictional resistance, and thus propose new extended model equations. With three site-specific examples, we compare the apparent frictional resistance of the new approach, which includes topographic curvature effects, to the classical one. Our simulation results demonstrate substantial effects of the curvature on the flow dynamics e.g., the dynamic pressure distribution along the slope. The comparison of resistance coefficients between the two models demonstrates that the physically based extension presents an improvement to the classical approach. Furthermore a practical example highlights its influence on the pressure outline in the run out zone of the avalanche. Snow avalanche dynamics modeling natural terrain curvature centrifugal force friction coefficients. KW - Snow KW - Avalanche Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2012.01.005 SN - 1872-7441 VL - 74-75 SP - 21 EP - 30 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Steinbauer, Gerald A1 - Vassos, Stavros T1 - Action-Based Imperative Programming with YAGI N2 - Many tasks for autonomous agents or robots are best described by a specification of the environment and a specification of the available actions the agent or robot can perform. Combining such a specification with the possibility to imperatively program a robot or agent is what we call the actionbased imperative programming. One of the most successful such approaches is Golog. In this paper, we draft a proposal for a new robot programming language YAGI, which is based on the action-based imperative programming paradigm. Our goal is to design a small, portable stand-alone YAGI interpreter. We combine the benefits of a principled domain specification with a clean, small and simple programming language, which does not exploit any side-effects from the implementation language. We discuss general requirements of action-based programming languages and outline YAGI, our action-based language approach which particularly aims at embeddability. Y1 - 2012 N1 - Cognitive Robotics AAAI Technical Report WS-12-06 SP - 24 EP - 31 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Meyer, Thomas T1 - A Brief Overview of Artificial Intelligence in South Africa JF - AI Magazine N2 - South Africa in recent years is the establishment of a number of research hubs involved in AI activities ranging from mobile robotics and computational intelligence, to knowledge representation and reasoning, and human language technologies. In this survey we take the reader through a quick tour of the research being conducted at these hubs, and touch on an initiative to maintain and extend the current level of interest in AI research in the country. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v33i1.2357 SN - 0738-4602 VL - 33 IS - 1 SP - 99 EP - 101 PB - AAAI CY - Menlo Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fateri, Miranda A1 - Hötter, Jan-Steffen A1 - Gebhardt, Andreas T1 - Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Buckling Deformation of Fabricated Objects by Selective Laser Melting JF - Physics Procedia N2 - Although Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process is an innovative manufacturing method, there are challenges such as inferior mechanical properties of fabricated objects. Regarding this, buckling deformation which is caused by thermal stress is one of the undesired mechanical properties which must be alleviated. As buckling deformation is more observable in hard to process materials, silver is selected to be studied theoretically and experimentally for this paper. Different scanning strategies are utilized and a Finite Element Method (FEM) is applied to calculate the temperature gradient in order to determine its effect on the buckling deformation of the objects from experiments. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2012.10.062 SN - 1875-3892 N1 - Part of special issue "Laser Assisted Net shape Engineering 7 (LANE 2012)" VL - 39 SP - 464 EP - 470 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ellrich, Thomas A1 - Lind, Thorsten Patric T1 - Die 'kalte Zwangsverwaltung' durch den Insolvenzverwalter JF - Forderungs-Praktiker : WIKI Y1 - 2012 IS - 1 SP - 16 EP - 21 PB - FCH CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eilmann, Britta A1 - Rigling, Andreas ED - Abrams, Marc T1 - Tree-growth analyses to estimate tree species' drought tolerance JF - Tree Physiology N2 - Climate change is challenging forestry management and practices. Among other things, tree species with the ability to cope with more extreme climate conditions have to be identified. However, while environmental factors may severely limit tree growth or even cause tree death, assessing a tree species' potential for surviving future aggravated environmental conditions is rather demanding. The aim of this study was to find a tree-ring-based method suitable for identifying very drought-tolerant species, particularly potential substitute species for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Valais. In this inner-Alpine valley, Scots pine used to be the dominating species for dry forests, but today it suffers from high drought-induced mortality. We investigate the growth response of two native tree species, Scots pine and European larch (Larix decidua Mill.), and two non-native species, black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Mirb. var. menziesii), to drought. This involved analysing how the radial increment of these species responded to increasing water shortage (abandonment of irrigation) and to increasingly frequent drought years. Black pine and Douglas fir are able to cope with drought better than Scots pine and larch, as they show relatively high radial growth even after irrigation has been stopped and a plastic growth response to drought years. European larch does not seem to be able to cope with these dry conditions as it lacks the ability to recover from drought years. The analysis of trees' short-term response to extreme climate events seems to be the most promising and suitable method for detecting how tolerant a tree species is towards drought. However, combining all the methods used in this study provides a complete picture of how water shortage could limit species. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tps004 SN - 0829-318X (Print) SN - 1758-4469 (Online) VL - 32 IS - 2 SP - 178 EP - 187 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Czarnecki, Christian A1 - Spiliopoulou, Myra T1 - A holistic framework for the implementation of a next generation network JF - International Journal of Business Information Systems N2 - As the potential of a next generation network (NGN) is recognised, telecommunication companies consider switching to it. Although the implementation of an NGN seems to be merely a modification of the network infrastructure, it may trigger or require changes in the whole company, because it builds upon the separation between service and transport, a flexible bundling of services to products and the streamlining of the IT infrastructure. We propose a holistic framework, structured into the layers ‘strategy’, ‘processes’ and ‘information systems’ and incorporate into each layer all concepts necessary for the implementation of an NGN, as well as the alignment of these concepts. As a first proof-of-concept for our framework we have performed a case study on the introduction of NGN in a large telecommunication company; we show that our framework captures all topics that are affected by an NGN implementation. KW - next generation network KW - telecommunication KW - NGN KW - IP-based networks KW - product bundling Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJBIS.2012.046291 SN - 1746-0972 VL - 9 IS - 4 SP - 385 EP - 401 PB - Inderscience Enterprises CY - Olney, Bucks ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chwallek, Constanze A1 - Engelen, Andreas A1 - Oswald, Monika A1 - Brettel, Malte T1 - Die Wir­kung des Füh­rungs­ver­hal­tens des Top-Ma­nage­ments auf die un­ter­neh­me­ri­sche Ori­en­tie­rung – ein 5-Län­der-Ver­gleich JF - Zfbf : Schmalenbachs Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung Y1 - 2012 SN - 0341-2687 IS - 2 SP - 138 EP - 165 PB - Springer Fachmedien CY - Wiesbaden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chludek, Astrid A1 - Tran, Duc Hung T1 - Der Reformvorschlag des IAS 12 gem. ED/2009/2 - Ein Plädoyer für die Einführung der valuation allowance JF - KoR Zeitschrift für kapitalmarktorientierte Rechnungslegung Y1 - 2018 SN - 1617-8084 IS - 1 SP - 4 EP - 8 PB - Fachmedien Otto Schmidt CY - Düsseldorf ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bähr, Brigitte T1 - [Gert Hoepner] im Interview zum Thema ; Verpackungspolitik - mehr als Hülle JF - Packaging journal : Technologie, Logistik, Marketing, Produkte Y1 - 2012 SN - 1610-0336 IS - 5 SP - 78 EP - 80 PB - Ella Verlag CY - Hürth ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bäcker, Matthias A1 - Raue, Markus A1 - Schusser, Sebastian A1 - Jeitner, C. A1 - Breuer, L. A1 - Wagner, P. A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Förster, Arnold A1 - Mang, Thomas A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Microfluidic chip with integrated microvalves based on temperature- and pH-responsive hydrogel thin films JF - Physica Status Solidi (a) N2 - Two types of microvalves based on temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and pH-responsive poly(sodium acrylate) (PSA) hydrogel films have been developed and tested. The PNIPAAm and PSA hydrogel films were prepared by means of in situ photopolymerization directly inside the fluidic channel of a microfluidic chip fabricated by combining Si and SU-8 technologies. The swelling/shrinking properties and height changes of the PNIPAAm and PSA films inside the fluidic channel were studied at temperatures of deionized water from 14 to 36 °C and different pH values (pH 3–12) of Titrisol buffer, respectively. Additionally, in separate experiments, the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the PNIPAAm hydrogel was investigated by means of a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) method. Mass-flow measurements have shown the feasibility of the prepared hydrogel films to work as an on-chip integrated temperature- or pH-responsive microvalve capable to switch the flow channel on/off. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201100763 SN - 1862-6319 VL - 209 IS - 5 SP - 839 EP - 845 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Butenweg, Christoph A1 - Holtschoppen, Britta T1 - Neuer VCI-Leitfaden für die erdbebensichere Auslegung von Industrieanlagen JF - Bauingenieur : die richtungsweisende Zeitschrift im Bauingenieurswesen ; offizielle Zeitschrift der VDI-Gesellschaft Bautechnik Y1 - 2012 SN - 1436-4867 (E-Journal); 0005-6650 (Print) VL - Band 87 SP - S18 PB - VDI Fachmedien CY - Düsseldorf ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Butenweg, Christoph A1 - Gellert, Christoph T1 - Integrale Gebäudeplanung am Beispiel eines Geschossbaus in Ziegelmauerwerk JF - Mauerwerk : European journal of masonry N2 - Moderne Mauerwerksbauten müssen nach heutigen Anforderungen architektonisch, statisch, energetisch sowie schall- und brandschutztechnisch optimal ausgelegt sein. Aufgrund der Komplexität und engen Verzahnung der einzelnen Anforderungen ist eine integrale Gebäudeplanung zur Erzielung einer qualitativ hochwertigen Bauwerkslösung unbedingt notwendig. Diese erfordert von den Fachplanern vertieftes Spezialwissen in den verschiedenen Bereichen, um insbesondere die Schnittstellen und Bauwerksdetails korrekt zu planen und auszuführen. Der Beitrag stellt die integrale Gebäudeplanung am Beispiel eines Geschossbaus in Ziegelbauweise mit Lösungen für wesentliche Detailpunkte vor Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dama.201200550 SN - 1437-1022 (E-Journal); 1432-3427 (Print) VL - Volume 16 IS - 5 SP - 247 EP - 254 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Butenweg, Christoph A1 - Fehling, Ekkehard T1 - Hintergrund für die vereinfachten Regeln bei Mauerwerksgebäuden im Erdbebenfall JF - Mauerwerk : European journal of masonry N2 - Bei der Ausarbeitung des nationalen Anwendungsdokumentes zur DIN EN 1998-1 waren die in der ENV-Fassung enthaltenen vereinfachten Regeln im Lichte aktueller Forschungsergebnisse zu überprüfen und zu überarbeiten. Die gleiche Aufgabe stellte sich auch für die Neufassung der DIN 4149. In beiden Fällen sind neben konstruktiven Regeln für die Art und Anordnung der zur Gebäudeaussteifung heranzuziehenden Wände im Grundriss Tabellen enthalten, die unter bestimmten Bedingungen den Entfall eines rechnerischen Nachweises der Tragwände im Erdbebenfall ermöglichen. Dies ist für Schwachbebengebiete, wie sie in Deutschland und anderen Ländern Mitteleuropas anzutreffen sind, sinnvoll, um unnötigen Rechenaufwand sowie Probleme mit der Führbarkeit von Nachweisen so weit wie möglich auszuschalten. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die Hintergründe der vereinfachten Regeln diskutiert und die Ergebnisse der Anwendung mit verschiedenen Rechenverfahren verglichen und bewertet. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dama.201200537 SN - 1437-1022 (E-Journal); 1432-3427 (Print) VL - Volume 16 IS - Issue 3 SP - 127 EP - 137 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bragard, Michael A1 - van Hoek, H. A1 - De Doncker, R. W. T1 - A major design step in IETO concept realization that allows overcurrent protection and pushes limits of switching performance JF - IEEE transactions on power electronics N2 - This paper presents the latest prototype of the integrated emitter turn-off thyristor concept, which potentially ranks among thyristor high-power devices like the gate turn-off thyristor and the integrated gate-commutated thyristor (IGCT). Due to modifications of the external driver stage and mechanical press-pack design optimization, this prototype allows for full device characterization. The turn-off capability was increased to 1600 A with an active silicon area of 823mm2 . This leads to a transient peak power of 672.1kW/cm² . Within this paper, measurements and concept assessment are presented and a comparison to state-of-the-art IGCT devices is provided. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2012.2189136 SN - 0885-8993 VL - 27 IS - 9 SP - 4163 EP - 4171 PB - IEEE CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bragard, G. A1 - Bragard, Michael T1 - Ein kostengünstiges, universelles Modellbauinterface JF - Der mathematische und naturwissenschaftliche Unterricht : MNU ; Organ des Deutschen Vereins zur Förderung des Mathematischen und Naturwissenschaftlichen Unterrichts e.V. N2 - Wir stellen einen USB-Baustein vor, der eine kostengünstige und universelle Möglichkeit schafft , im Unterricht den Themenkreis Messen-Steuern-Regeln zu behandeln. Die Funktionalität orientiert sich am CVK-Interface der Firma Fischertechnik. Im Gegensatz zu kommerziellen Lösungen erlaubt unser Aufbau auch den preiswerten Einsatz in Gruppen- oder Einzelarbeit. Abschließend berichten wir über ein Beispiel aus dem Unterrichtseinsatz. Y1 - 2012 SN - 0025-5866 VL - 65 IS - 5 SP - 290 EP - 293 PB - Seeberger CY - Neuss ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borgmeier, Claudia A1 - Bongaerts, Johannes A1 - Meinhardt, Friedhelm T1 - Genetic analysis of the Bacillus licheniformis degSU operon and the impact of regulatory mutations on protease production JF - Journal of biotechnology N2 - Disruption experiments targeted at the Bacillus licheniformis degSU operon and GFP-reporter analysis provided evidence for promoter activity immediately upstream of degU. pMutin mediated concomitant introduction of the degU32 allele – known to cause hypersecretion in Bacillus subtilis – resulted in a marked increase in protease activity. Application of 5-fluorouracil based counterselection through establishment of a phosphoribosyltransferase deficient Δupp strain eventually facilitated the marker-free introduction of degU32 leading to further protease enhancement achieving levels as for hypersecreting wild strains in which degU was overexpressed. Surprisingly, deletion of rapG – known to interfere with DegU DNA-binding in B. subtilis – did not enhance protease production neither in the wild type nor in the degU32 strain. The combination of degU32 and Δupp counterselection in the type strain is not only equally effective as in hypersecreting wild strains with respect to protease production but furthermore facilitates genetic strain improvement aiming at biological containment and effectiveness of biotechnological processes. KW - Marker-free mutagenesis KW - Extracellular enzymes KW - Uracil-phosphoribosyltransferase KW - Hypersecretion Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2012.02.011 SN - 1873-4863 (E-Journal); 0168-1656 (Print) VL - 159 IS - 1-2 SP - 12 EP - 20 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bohrn, U. A1 - Stütz, E. A1 - Fuchs, K. A1 - Fleischer, M. A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Wagner, P. T1 - Monitoring of irritant gas using a whole-cell-based sensor system JF - Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical N2 - Cell-based sensors for the detection of gases have long been underrepresented, due to the cellular requirement of being cultured in a liquid environment. In this work we established a cell-based gas biosensor for the detection of toxic substances in air, by adapting a commercial sensor chip (Bionas®), previously used for the measurement of pollutants in liquids. Cells of the respiratory tract (A549, RPMI 2650, V79), which survive at a gas phase in a natural context, are used as biological receptors. The physiological cell parameters acidification, respiration and morphology are continuously monitored in parallel. Ammonia was used as a highly water-soluble model gas to test the feasibility of the sensor system. Infrared measurements confirmed the sufficiency of the medium draining method. This sensor system provides a basis for many sensor applications such as environmental monitoring, building technology and public security. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2012.05.088 SN - 0925-4005 VL - 175 SP - 208 EP - 217 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boettcher, Martin A1 - Haselhuhn, Angelika A1 - Jakse, Gerhard A1 - Brehmer, Bernhard A1 - Kirschner-Hermanns, Ruth T1 - Overactive bladder syndrome: an underestimated long-term problem after treatment of patients with localized prostate cancer? JF - BJU international N2 - In this study we observed courses of micturition symptoms and differentiated degrees of symptoms for each point in time while also considering the impact of bothersomeness. Our data show that not only significantly more patients who have undergone BT suffer from OAB than those who have undergone RP, but also that those affected show significantly higher values for severity of OAB symptoms throughout the whole observation period of 36 months. Our data analysis further shows that variability of OAB symptoms as well as fluctuation of severity of OAB symptoms vary to a significantly higher degree after BT than after RP. Looking only at mean figures at a given point in time clearly underestimates the underlying problem. This fact is not reflected in the literature. KW - quality of life KW - prostate cancer KW - prostatectomy KW - incontinence KW - brachytherapy Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2011.10623.x SN - 1365-2176 (E-Journal); 1464-410X (E-Journal); 0007-1331 (Print); 1464-4096 (Print) VL - 109 IS - 12 SP - 1824 EP - 1830 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Blecken, Udo A1 - Holthaus-Sellheier, Ursula T1 - Quantitative Prognoseverfahren für Mietpreise von Bueroimmobilien am Beispiel Düsseldorf JF - GuG : Grundstücksmarkt und Grundstückswert Y1 - 2012 SN - 0938-0175 VL - 23 IS - 1 SP - 12 EP - 21 PB - Werner CY - Köln ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becker, Jörg A1 - Delfmann, Patrick A1 - Eggert, Mathias A1 - Schwittay, Sebastian T1 - Generalizability and Applicability of Model-Based Business Process Compliance-Checking Approaches — A State-of-the-Art Analysis and Research Roadmap JF - Business Research : BuR N2 - With a steady increase of regulatory requirements for business processes, automation support of compliance management is a field garnering increasing attention in Information Systems research. Several approaches have been developed to support compliance checking of process models. One major challenge for such approaches is their ability to handle different modeling techniques and compliance rules in order to enable widespread adoption and application. Applying a structured literature search strategy, we reflect and discuss compliance-checking approaches in order to provide an insight into their generalizability and evaluation. The results imply that current approaches mainly focus on special modeling techniques and/or a restricted set of types of compliance rules. Most approaches abstain from real-world evaluation which raises the question of their practical applicability. Referring to the search results, we propose a roadmap for further research in model-based business process compliance checking. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF03342739 SN - 1866-8658 VL - 5 IS - 2 SP - 221 EP - 247 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bassam, Rasha A1 - Hescheler, Jürgen A1 - Temiz Artmann, Aysegül A1 - Artmann, Gerhard A1 - Digel, Ilya T1 - Effects of spermine NONOate and ATP on the thermal stability of hemoglobin JF - BMC Biophysics N2 - Background Minor changes in protein structure induced by small organic and inorganic molecules can result in significant metabolic effects. The effects can be even more profound if the molecular players are chemically active and present in the cell in considerable amounts. The aim of our study was to investigate effects of a nitric oxide donor (spermine NONOate), ATP and sodium/potassium environment on the dynamics of thermal unfolding of human hemoglobin (Hb). The effect of these molecules was examined by means of circular dichroism spectrometry (CD) in the temperature range between 25°C and 70°C. The alpha-helical content of buffered hemoglobin samples (0.1 mg/ml) was estimated via ellipticity change measurements at a heating rate of 1°C/min. Results Major results were: 1) spermine NONOate persistently decreased the hemoglobin unfolding temperature T u irrespectively of the Na + /K + environment, 2) ATP instead increased the unfolding temperature by 3°C in both sodium-based and potassium-based buffers and 3) mutual effects of ATP and NO were strongly influenced by particular buffer ionic compositions. Moreover, the presence of potassium facilitated a partial unfolding of alpha-helical structures even at room temperature. Conclusion The obtained data might shed more light on molecular mechanisms and biophysics involved in the regulation of protein activity by small solutes in the cell. KW - Nitric Oxide Donor KW - NONOate KW - Circular Dichroism KW - Nitric Oxide Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/2046-1682-5-16 SN - 2046-1682 VL - 5 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Backes, Klaus A1 - Adam, Mario A1 - Gottschald, Beng Jonas A1 - Faber, Christian A1 - Henneböhl, Friedrich-Gregor A1 - Lanz, Marco A1 - Anthrakidis, Anette T1 - KWKK-Anlagen im Feldtest. Optimaler Betrieb durch Verbesserungen bei Regelung und Hydraulik JF - Die Kälte- und Klimatechnik Y1 - 2012 SN - 0343-2246 IS - 2 PB - Gentner CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Atlas, Glen A1 - Brealey, David A1 - Dhar, Sunil A1 - Dikta, Gerhard A1 - Singer, Meryvn T1 - Additional hemodynamic measurements with an esophageal Doppler monitor: a preliminary report of compliance, force, kinetic energy, and afterload in the clinical setting JF - Journal of clinical monitoring and computing N2 - The esophageal Doppler monitor (EDM) is a minimally-invasive hemodynamic device which evaluates both cardiac output (CO), and fluid status, by estimating stroke volume (SV) and calculating heart rate (HR). The measurement of these parameters is based upon a continuous and accurate approximation of distal thoracic aortic blood flow. Furthermore, the peak velocity (PV) and mean acceleration (MA), of aortic blood flow at this anatomic location, are also determined by the EDM. The purpose of this preliminary report is to examine additional clinical hemodynamic calculations of: compliance (C), kinetic energy (KE), force (F), and afterload (TSVRi). These data were derived using both velocity-based measurements, provided by the EDM, as well as other contemporaneous physiologic parameters. Data were obtained from anesthetized patients undergoing surgery or who were in a critical care unit. A graphical inspection of these measurements is presented and discussed with respect to each patient’s clinical situation. When normalized to each of their initial values, F and KE both consistently demonstrated more discriminative power than either PV or MA. The EDM offers additional applications for hemodynamic monitoring. Further research regarding the accuracy, utility, and limitations of these parameters is therefore indicated. KW - Acceleration KW - Velocity KW - Kinetic energy KW - Force KW - Compliance KW - Afterload KW - Contractility KW - Volume status KW - Esophageal Doppler monitor Y1 - 2012 SN - 1573-2614 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10877-012-9386-5 IS - 26 SP - 473 EP - 482 PB - Springer Nature CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Alexopoulos, Spiros T1 - Biogas systems: basics, biogas multifunction, principle of fermentation and hybrid application with a solar tower for the treatment of waste animal manure JF - Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review N2 - Two of the main environmental problems of today’s society are the continuously increasing production of organic wastes as well as the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the related green house effect. A way to solve these problems is the production of biogas. Biogas is a combustible gas consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and small amounts of other gases and trace elements. Production of biogas through anaerobic digestion of animal manure and slurries as well as of a wide range of digestible organic wastes and agricultural residues, converts these substrates into electricity and heat and offers a natural fertiliser for agriculture. The microbiological process of decomposition of organic matter, in the absence of oxygen takes place in reactors, called digesters. Biogas can be used as a fuel in a gas turbine or burner and can be used in a hybrid solar tower system offering a solution for waste treatment of agricultural and animal residues. A solar tower system consists of a heliostat field, which concentrates direct solar irradiation on an open volumetric central receiver. The receiver heats up ambient air to temperatures of around 700°C. The hot air’s heat energy is transferred to a steam Rankine cycle in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). The steam drives a steam turbine, which in turn drives a generator for producing electricity. In order to increase the operational hours of a solar tower power plant, a heat storage system and/ or hybridization may be considered. The advantage of solar-fossil hybrid power plants, compared to solar-only systems, lies in low additional investment costs due to an adaptable solar share and reduced technical and economical risks. On sunny days the hybrid system operates in a solar-only mode with the central receiver and on cloudy days and at night with the gas turbine only. As an alternative to methane gas, environmentally neutral biogas can be used for operating the gas turbine. Hence, the hybrid system is operated to 100% from renewable energy sources Y1 - 2012 SN - 1791-2377 N1 - Special Issue on Renewable Energy Systems VL - 5 IS - 4 SP - 48 EP - 55 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Aggarwal, P. A1 - Dhiman, S. A1 - Kumar, G. A1 - Scherer, Ulrich W. A1 - Singla, M. L. A1 - Srivastava, A. T1 - Optical study of poly(ethyleneterephthalate) modified by different ionizing radiation dose JF - Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics N2 - Thin films of poly(ethyleneterephthalate) [PET]were exposed to radiation dose ranging from 10 to 30 kGy by using gamma rays in the range 12.8-177.8 MGy using swift light ions of hydrogen. There was no effect of the radiation dose on the optical behaviour of PET as a result of exposure to radiation dose up to 30 kGy brought about by gamma rays but a significant decrease in the optical band gap values was observed when PET was exposed to swift light ions of hydrogen. The data obtained are discussed in terms of optical studies carried out on PET using swift heavy ions. Y1 - 2012 SN - 0019-5596 VL - 50 IS - 2 SP - 129 EP - 132 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abouzar, Maryam H. A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Cherstvy, Andrey G. A1 - Pedraza, Angela M. A1 - Ingebrandt, Sven A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Label-free electrical detection of DNA by means of field-effect nanoplate capacitors: Experiments and modeling JF - Physica Status Solidi (a) N2 - Label-free electrical detection of consecutive deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) hybridization/denaturation by means of an array of individually addressable field-effect-based nanoplate silicon-on-insulator (SOI) capacitors modified with gold nanoparticles (Au-NP) is investigated. The proposed device detects charge changes on Au-NP/DNA hybrids induced by the hybridization or denaturation event. DNA hybridization was performed in a high ionic-strength solution to provide a high hybridization efficiency. On the other hand, to reduce the screening of the DNA charge by counter ions and to achieve a high sensitivity, the sensor signal induced by the hybridization and denaturation events was measured in a low ionic-strength solution. High sensor signals of about 120, 90, and 80 mV were registered after the DNA hybridization, denaturation, and re-hybridization events, respectively. Fluorescence microscopy has been applied as reference method to verify the DNA immobilization, hybridization, and denaturation processes. An electrostatic charge-plane model for potential changes at the gate surface of a nanoplate field-effect sensor induced by the DNA hybridization has been developed taking into account both the Debye length and the distance of the DNA charge from the gate surface. Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201100710 SN - 1862-6319 VL - 209 SP - 925 EP - 934 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER -