The 50 most recently published documents
Immunosorbent turnip vein clearing virus (TVCV) particles displaying the IgG-binding domains D and E of Staphylococcus aureus protein A (PA) on every coat protein (CP) subunit (TVCVPA) were purified from plants via optimized and new protocols. The latter used polyethylene glycol (PEG) raw precipitates, from which virions were selectively re-solubilized in reverse PEG concentration gradients. This procedure improved the integrity of both TVCVPA and the wild-type subgroup 3 tobamovirus. TVCVPA could be loaded with more than 500 IgGs per virion, which mediated the immunocapture of fluorescent dyes, GFP, and active enzymes. Bi-enzyme ensembles of cooperating glucose oxidase and horseradish peroxidase were tethered together on the TVCVPA carriers via a single antibody type, with one enzyme conjugated chemically to its Fc region, and the other one bound as a target, yielding synthetic multi-enzyme complexes. In microtiter plates, the TVCVPA-displayed sugar-sensing system possessed a considerably increased reusability upon repeated testing, compared to the IgG-bound enzyme pair in the absence of the virus. A high coverage of the viral adapters was also achieved on Ta2O5 sensor chip surfaces coated with a polyelectrolyte interlayer, as a prerequisite for durable TVCVPA-assisted electrochemical biosensing via modularly IgG-assembled sensor enzymes.
Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a strong oxidizer, is a commonly used sterilization agent employed during aseptic food processing and medical applications. To assess the sterilization efficiency with H₂O₂, bacterial spores are common microbial systems due to their remarkable robustness against a wide variety of decontamination strategies. Despite their widespread use, there is, however, only little information about the detailed time-resolved mechanism underlying the oxidative spore death by H₂O₂. In this work, we investigate chemical and morphological changes of individual Bacillus atrophaeus spores undergoing oxidative damage using optical sensing with trapping Raman microscopy in real-time. The time-resolved experiments reveal that spore death involves two distinct phases: (i) an initial phase dominated by the fast release of dipicolinic acid (DPA), a major spore biomarker, which indicates the rupture of the spore’s core; and (ii) the oxidation of the remaining spore material resulting in the subsequent fragmentation of the spores’ coat. Simultaneous observation of the spore morphology by optical microscopy corroborates these mechanisms. The dependence of the onset of DPA release and the time constant of spore fragmentation on H₂O₂ shows that the formation of reactive oxygen species from H₂O₂ is the rate-limiting factor of oxidative spore death.
Dieses Lehr- und Fachbuch vermittelt anschaulich die Grundlagen der HF-Technik, gibt konkrete Beschreibungen für den Entwurf von linearen Komponenten aus Bauteilen wie auch Leitungen für High-Speed- und HF-Schaltungen. Dem Leser wird vermittelt, wie Bauteile modelliert und Schaltungen synthetisiert und optimiert werden. Mit Hilfe frei verfügbarer Simulationssoftware können GHz-Schaltungen selbst entwickelt werden. Viele Übungsbeispiele ermöglichen die Eigenkontrolle des Wissensstandes. Weiterhin werden komplexe nichtlineare Komponenten wie Hochfrequenzmischer, Oszillatoren und Synthesegeneratoren in ihrer Funktionalität dargestellt. Die neuen Mixed-Mode-Streuparameter sowie deren Leitungs- und Schaltungstechnik für Anwendungen der schnellen Digital- und der modernen HF-Technik sind ausführlich beschrieben. Es wird auf Systeme für folgende Bereiche eingegangen: Streuparametermesstechnik, verschiedene Funktechniken, UHF-RFID und Lokalisierung- und Ortung. Dem Leser wird somit ermöglicht, komplexe GHz-Schaltungen insbesondere mit Halbleiter-, SMD- und LTCC-Schaltungen zu entwickeln.
Das Forschungsvorhaben Optiox beschäftigt sich mit der Optimierung eines Belüftungsbeckens zur Rauchgasentschwefelung fossil befeuerter Kraftwerke mittels Seewasser. Unter Neutralisierung der entstehenden Hydroniumionen (H3O+) durch die natürliche Alkalität des Seewassers dissoziiert Schwefeldioxid aus dem Rauchgase im vorgeschalteten Absorber beim Phasenübergang von der Gas- in die Flüssigphase zu Sulfiten. Im Belüftungsbecken werden diese Sulfite mittels eingeblasener Luft zu Sulfaten oxidiert, was zu einer geringen Erhöhung der Sulfatfracht vor Einleitung ins Meer führt, die unterhalb der natürlichen Schwankungen liegt. Daneben dient das Belüftungsbecken der Konditionierung des Seewassers hinsichtlich pH-Wert und Sauerstoffgehalt und ist mit hoch effizienten Belüftern ausgestattet, deren Spezifikation den jeweiligen Randbedingungen, wie Abscheideleistung des Absorbers, Beckengeometrie sowie lokalen Gegebenheiten angepasst wird.
Diese Bachelorarbeit befasst sich mit dem Corporate Design des aufstrebenden Startups "CoArea". Seine innovative Plattform vermittelt ungenutzte Flächen im urbanen Raum und bringt Flächenbedarf und -bereitstellung intelligent zusammen. Die Arbeit untersucht, wie das Erscheinungsbild von CoArea das Unternehmen als modern, nachhaltig und ressourcenschonend positioniert. Durch das neu gestaltete Corporate Design wird diese besondere Herangehensweise zur effizienten Nutzung begrenzter Ressourcen unserer Umwelt durch CoArea deutlich und nach außen getragen. CoArea strebt danach, die positive Entwicklung der Städte voranzutreiben und die soziale Nachhaltigkeit durch den Austausch und die Interaktion zwischen verschiedenen Menschen und Gemeinschaften zu fördern.
Spine Sans – Erkundung des generativen Potenzials modularer Typografie. „Spine Sans“ ist eine dekorative Schriftfamilie, die mit modularen Limitationen gestaltet wurde. Kleinbuchstaben sind in eine obere und untere Hälfte unterteilt, zwischen denen Raum für spannende generative Effekte entsteht. Schriftzeichen und Effekte wurden unabhängig voneinander, aber auf dem gleichen Spaltenraster gestaltet und passen daher nahtlos zusammen. Beispielhafte Varianten der „Spines“ können in einem speziell programmierten Web-Interface an selbst geschriebenen Text erkundet werden. Die Galerie an Optionen präsentiert mögliche Resultate für die spielerische Kombination. Die zwei Schriftschnitte „Spine Sans Bold“ und „Spine Sans Double“ können auch gemischt werden. Weiter ergänzbar um maßgeschneiderte Varianten, kann „Spine Sans“ besonders in interaktiven oder animierten Medien effektiv verschiedenste Eindrücke vermitteln.
Dieses multimediale Projekt thematisiert Zensur aus verschiedenen Dimensionen in totalitären, religiös-patriarchalischen Ländern, insbesondere im Iran. Dadurch wird versucht, mit einem denunzierenden Ansatz zu zeigen, wie Bilder zensiert werden und welche Auswirkungen diese zensierten Bilder auf Betrachter:innen haben. Dabei ist es auch wichtig, wie das Unsichtbare analysiert und verstanden wird. Die Opposition zwischen dem Akt des Visualisierens/Sichtbarmachens und Verbergens/Unsichtbarmachens in den meisten Bildern impliziert die Dialektik von Verhüllung und Enthüllung.
Das Projekt »Velum« ermöglicht es den Betrachter:innen, die Zensurpraktiken in totalitär-religiösen Ländern kennenzulernen und zu erfahren, inwieweit die Zensur das tägliche Leben durchdrungen und beeinflusst hat –in der Kunst, der Literatur, den Medien usw. Ein Phänomen, das sogar die Privatsphäre des Individuums beeinträchtigt.
Der Aufbau und die Entstehung unseres Planeten sind untrennbar mit der Bildung von Gesteinen verbunden – diese setzen sich aus verschiedenen Mineralien zusammen. Sie sind in der Natur weit verbreitet und spielen eine entscheidende Rolle in unserem täglichen Leben. Obwohl vielen Menschen der Nutzen von Bodenschätzen bewusst ist, besteht ein geringes Wissen über deren Vorkommen und Relevanz. Für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung des Siegerlandes beispielsweise waren der Abbau und der Handel mit Mineralien von großer Bedeutung. Insbesondere der langjährige Abbau von Eisenerz legte den Grundstein für die gesamte Metallindustrie der Region. Die Publikation visualisiert eine umfangreiche Sammlung Siegerländer Mineralien und vermittelt ein grundlegendes Verständnis von Mineralien.
Clinical assessment of newly developed sensors is important for ensuring their validity. Comparing recordings of emerging electrocardiography (ECG) systems to a reference ECG system requires accurate synchronization of data from both devices. Current methods can be inefficient and prone to errors. To address this issue, three algorithms are presented to synchronize two ECG time series from different recording systems: Binned R-peak Correlation, R-R Interval Correlation, and Average R-peak Distance. These algorithms reduce ECG data to their cyclic features, mitigating inefficiencies and minimizing discrepancies between different recording systems. We evaluate the performance of these algorithms using high-quality data and then assess their robustness after manipulating the R-peaks. Our results show that R-R Interval Correlation was the most efficient, whereas the Average R-peak Distance and Binned R-peak Correlation were more robust against noisy data.
We present first results from a newly developed monitoring station for a closed loop geothermal heat pump test installation at our campus, consisting of helix coils and plate heat exchangers, as well as an ice-store system. There are more than 40 temperature sensors and several soil moisture content sensors distributed around the system, allowing a detailed monitoring under different operating conditions.In the view of the modern development of renewable energies along with the newly concepts known as Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 (high-tech strategy from the German government), we created a user-friendly web application, which will connect the things (sensors) with the open network (www). Besides other advantages, this allows a continuous remote monitoring of the data from the numerous sensors at an arbitrary sampling rate.Based on the recorded data, we will also present first results from numerical simulations, taking into account all relevant heat transport processes.The aim is to improve the understanding of these processes and their influence on the thermal behavior of shallow geothermal systems in the unsaturated zone. This will in turn facilitate the prediction of the performance of these systems and therefore yield an improvement in their dimensioning when designing a specific shallow geothermal installation.
Damit Sie als Moderator effektiv und professionell moderieren können, sollten Sie die entsprechenden Methoden kennen.
Mit den richtigen Methoden können Sie Diskussionen leiten, Konflikte lösen, die Teilnehmer motivieren und dafür sorgen, dass die Ziele der Veranstaltung erreicht werden. Außerdem helfen sie Ihnen, eine positive Atmosphäre zu schaffen und das Interesse der Teilnehmer zu halten.
In diesem zweiten Beitrag der mehrteiligen Serie lernen Sie die grundsätzlichen Methoden kennen, um erfolgreiche Teamsitzungen, Arbeitsgruppentreffen, Kick-offs und Meetings durchzuführen.
Damit Sie als Moderator effektiv und professionell moderieren können, sollten Sie die entsprechenden Methoden kennen.
Mit den richtigen Methoden können Sie Diskussionen leiten, Konflikte lösen, die Teilnehmer motivieren und dafür sorgen, dass die Ziele der Veranstaltung erreicht werden. Außerdem helfen sie Ihnen, eine positive Atmosphäre zu schaffen und das Interesse der Teilnehmer zu halten.
In diesem zweiten Beitrag der mehrteiligen Serie lernen Sie die grundsätzlichen Methoden kennen, um erfolgreiche Teamsitzungen, Arbeitsgruppentreffen, Kick-offs und Meetings durchzuführen.
The first and last mile of a railway journey, in both freight and transit applications, constitutes a high effort and is either non-productive (e.g. in the case of depot operations) or highly inefficient (e.g. in industrial railways). These parts are typically managed on-sight, i.e. with no signalling and train protection systems ensuring the freedom of movement. This is possible due to the rather short braking distances of individual vehicles and shunting consists. The present article analyses the braking behaviour of such shunting units. For this purpose, a dedicated model is developed. It is calibrated on published results of brake tests and validated against a high-definition model for low-speed applications. Based on this model, multiple simulations are executed to obtain a Monte Carlo simulation of the resulting braking distances. Based on the distribution properties and established safety levels, the risk of exceeding certain braking distances is evaluated and maximum braking distances are derived. Together with certain parameters of the system, these can serve in the design and safety assessment of driver assistance systems and automation of these processes.
The problem of fair and privacy-preserving ordered set reconciliation arises in a variety of applications like auctions, e-voting, and appointment reconciliation. While several multi-party protocols have been proposed that solve this problem in the semi-honest model, there are no multi-party protocols that are secure in the malicious model so far. In this paper, we close this gap. Our newly proposed protocols are shown to be secure in the malicious model based on a variety of novel non-interactive zero-knowledge-proofs. We describe the implementation of our protocols and evaluate their performance in comparison to protocols solving the problem in the semi-honest case.
Prioritization is an essential task within requirements engineering to cope with complexity and to establish focus properly. The 3rd Workshop on Requirements Prioritization for customer oriented Software Development (RePriCo’12) focused on requirements prioritization and adjacent themes in the context of customer oriented development of bespoke and standard software. Five submissions have been accepted for the proceedings and for presentation. The report summarizes and points out key findings.
The RoboCup Logistics League (RCLL) is a robotics competition in a production logistics scenario in the context of a Smart Factory. In the competition, a team of three robots needs to assemble products to fulfill various orders that are requested online during the game. This year, the Carologistics team was able to win the competition with a new approach to multi-agent coordination as well as significant changes to the robot’s perception unit and a pragmatic network setup using the cellular network instead of WiFi. In this paper, we describe the major components of our approach with a focus on the changes compared to the last physical competition in 2019.
Nachhaltige Technologien, die Ressourcen schonen und Energie gewinnen, erlangen zunehmend an Bedeutung im urbanen Raum. Diese Bachelorarbeit befasst sich mit der Entwicklung eines Corporate Designs für ein Unternehmen, das sich auf die Fertigung und Planung von Bioenergiefassaden spezialisiert hat. Das Unternehmen sorgt durch seinen Fokus auf nachhaltige Energiegewinnung und effiziente Gebäudeplanung für die Verbesserung der ökologischen Herausforderungen. Das Ziel des neuen Corporate Designs ist es, die komplexe Thematik der Bioenergiefassaden der Zielgruppe effektiv zu vermitteln und ihr Interesse für dieses System zu wecken. Dabei werden Illustrationen und Infografiken eingesetzt, um die Technologie verständlich darzustellen, die positiven Umweltauswirkungen sowie Vorteile der Bioenergiefassaden deutlich hervorzuheben und mehr Umsetzungen zu erzielen.
Due to the increasing complexity of software projects, software development is becoming more and more dependent on teams. The quality of this teamwork can vary depending on the team composition, as teams are always a combination of different skills and personality types. This paper aims to answer the question of how to describe a software development team and what influence the personality of the team members has on the team dynamics. For this purpose, a systematic literature review (n=48) and a literature search with the AI research assistant Elicit (n=20) were conducted. Result: A person’s personality significantly shapes his or her thinking and actions, which in turn influences his or her behavior in software development teams. It has been shown that team performance and satisfaction can be strongly influenced by personality. The quality of communication and the likelihood of conflict can also be attributed to personality.
This paper presents an approach for reducing the cognitive load for humans working in quality control (QC) for production processes that adhere to the 6σ -methodology. While 100% QC requires every part to be inspected, this task can be reduced when a human-in-the-loop QC process gets supported by an anomaly detection system that only presents those parts for manual inspection that have a significant likelihood of being defective. This approach shows good results when applied to image-based QC for metal textile products.
Experimental determination of the cross sections of proton capture on radioactive nuclei is extremely difficult. Therefore, it is of substantial interest for the understanding of the production of the p-nuclei. For the first time, a direct measurement of proton-capture cross sections on stored, radioactive ions became possible in an energy range of interest for nuclear astrophysics. The experiment was performed at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI by making use of a sensitive method to measure (p,γ) and (p,n) reactions in inverse kinematics. These reaction channels are of high relevance for the nucleosyn-thesis processes in supernovae, which are among the most violent explosions in the universe and are not yet well understood. The cross section of the ¹¹⁸Te(p,γ) reaction has been measured at energies of 6 MeV/u and 7 MeV/u. The heavy ions interacted with a hydrogen gas jet target. The radiative recombination process of the fully stripped ¹¹⁸Te ions and electrons from the hydrogen target was used as a luminosity monitor. An overview of the experimental method and preliminary results from the ongoing analysis will be presented.
Digital forensics of smartphones is of utmost importance in many criminal cases. As modern smartphones store chats, photos, videos etc. that can be relevant for investigations and as they can have storage capacities of hundreds of gigabytes, they are a primary target for forensic investigators. However, it is exactly this large amount of data that is causing problems: extracting and examining the data from multiple phones seized in the context of a case is taking more and more time. This bears the risk of wasting a lot of time with irrelevant phones while there is not enough time left to analyze a phone which is worth examination. Forensic triage can help in this case: Such a triage is a preselection step based on a subset of data and is performed before fully extracting all the data from the smartphone. Triage can accelerate subsequent investigations and is especially useful in cases where time is essential. The aim of this paper is to determine which and how much data from an Android smartphone can be made directly accessible to the forensic investigator – without tedious investigations. For this purpose, an app has been developed that can be used with extremely limited storage of data in the handset and which outputs the extracted data immediately to the forensic workstation in a human- and machine-readable format.
Subtilisins from microbial sources, especially from the Bacillaceae family, are of particular interest for biotechnological applications and serve the currently growing enzyme market as efficient and novel biocatalysts. Biotechnological applications include use in detergents, cosmetics, leather processing, wastewater treatment and pharmaceuticals. To identify a possible candidate for the enzyme market, here we cloned the gene of the subtilisin SPFA from Fictibacillus arsenicus DSM 15822ᵀ (obtained through a data mining-based search) and expressed it in Bacillus subtilis DB104. After production and purification, the protease showed a molecular mass of 27.57 kDa and a pI of 5.8. SPFA displayed hydrolytic activity at a temperature optimum of 80 °C and a very broad pH optimum between 8.5 and 11.5, with high activity up to pH 12.5. SPFA displayed no NaCl dependence but a high NaCl tolerance, with decreasing activity up to concentrations of 5 m NaCl. The stability enhanced with increasing NaCl concentration. Based on its substrate preference for 10 synthetic peptide 4-nitroanilide substrates with three or four amino acids and its phylogenetic classification, SPFA can be assigned to the subgroup of true subtilisins. Moreover, SPFA exhibited high tolerance to 5% (w/v) SDS and 5% H₂O₂ (v/v). The biochemical properties of SPFA, especially its tolerance of remarkably high pH, SDS and H₂O₂, suggest it has potential for biotechnological applications.
The worldwide Corona pandemic has severely restricted student projects in the higher semesters of engineering courses. In order not to delay the graduation, a new concept had to be developed for projects under lockdown conditions. Therefore, unused rooms at the university should be digitally recorded in order to develop a new usage concept as laboratory rooms. An inventory of the actual state of the rooms was done first by taking photos and listing up all flaws and peculiarities. After that, a digital site measuring was done with a 360° laser scanner and these recorded scans were linked to a coherent point cloud and transferred to a software for planning technical building services and supporting Building Information Modelling (BIM). In order to better illustrate the difference between the actual and target state, two virtual reality models were created for realistic demonstration. During the project, the students had to go through the entire digital planning phases. Technical specifications had to be complied with, as well as documentation, time planning and cost estimate. This project turned out to be an excellent alternative to on-site practical training under lockdown conditions and increased the students’ motivation to deal with complex technical questions.
In the context of the Corona pandemic and its impact on teaching like digital lectures and exercises a new concept especially for freshmen in demanding courses of Smart Building Engineering became necessary. As there were hardly any face-to-face events at the university, the new teaching concept should enable a good start into engineering studies under pandemic conditions anyway and should also replace the written exam at the end. The students should become active themselves in small teams instead of listening passively to a lecture broadcast online with almost no personal contact. For this purpose, a role play was developed in which the freshmen had to work out a complete solution to the realistic problem of designing, construction planning and implementing a small guesthouse. Each student of the team had to take a certain role like architect, site manager, BIM-manager, electrician and the technitian for HVAC installations. Technical specifications must be complied with, as well as documentation, time planning and cost estimate. The final project folder had to contain technical documents like circuit diagrams for electrical components, circuit diagrams for water and heating, design calculations and components lists. On the other hand construction schedule, construction implementation plan, documentation of the construction progress and minutes of meetings between the various trades had to be submitted as well. In addition to the project folder, a model of the construction project must also be created either as a handmade model or as a digital 3D-model using Computer-aided design (CAD) software. The first steps in the field of Building information modelling (BIM) had also been taken by creating a digital model of the building showing the current planning status in real time as a digital twin. This project turned out to be an excellent training of important student competencies like teamwork, communication skills, and self -organisation and also increased motivation to work on complex technical questions. The aim of giving the student a first impression on the challenges and solutions in building projects with many different technical trades and their points of view was very well achieved and should be continued in the future.
Baukeramik
(1925)
Juli 2021. Durch starke Regenfälle von bis zu 250 l/m² innerhalb von 24h durch das Sturmtief «Bernd» war es dem bereits von vorherigen Niederschlägen übersättigten Boden nicht mehr möglich, weitere Wassermengen aufzunehmen. Die Folge sind schwerwiegende Überflutungen vor allem in Rheinland-Pfalz und NRW. Dass die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels bereits zu Hause angekommen sind, wird mit dieser Arbeit autobiografisch und illustrativ innerhalb eines Graphic Novels «Die Dinge danach – zum Hochwasser 21» be- und verarbeitet. Denn als das Wasser zu Hause wütete, war die Autorin selbst nicht anwesend. Dafür steckte sie die ersten Tage in Euskirchen fest, eine Stadt, die selbst Land unter war und zu einer Insel wurde. Ohne Strom, Netz und stark erschwertem Kontakt nach außen … und dabei sollte sie ursprünglich für eine Woche nur zwei Kater versorgen.
Elektronische Musik umgibt uns alle. Der Einfluss elektronischer Musikproduktion auf moderne Popularmusik ist nicht von der Hand zu weisen und ihre Produktionstechniken für heutige Standards unverzichtbar. Über die Jahre ihrer Entwicklung und den dabei entstandenen Musikrichtungen verschwanden die individuellen Charakteristika der verschiedenen Subgenres allerdings oft einfach unter der Sammelbezeichnung elektronischer Musik.
»Electrovisuals« stellt die auditiven Eigenschaften elektronischer Musik in Form von klaren Infografiken dar und sorgt damit für ein besseres Verständnis von Rhythmus und Struktur der Songs. Die verschiedenen Subgenres werden multimedial inszeniert und einander gegenübergestellt, um Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede zu betonen.
Mithilfe seiner Aufbereitung stellt das Projekt die hohe Diversität elektronischer Musik heraus und bereitet sie eindrucksvoll und greifbar auf.
Das KERAMION beherbergt ein breites Sortiment an historischen Keramikstücken wie auch modernen künstlerischen Keramikarbeiten. Bei der neuen Konzeptionierung des Museums wurde eine Verbindung der historischen Sammlung und der modernen Kunst geschaffen, als Visualisierung dafür steht die eigens für das Museum erstellte Schrift. In dieser Schrift wird eine historische, schwungvolle Kurrentschrift aus dem 16. Jahrhundert mit einer modernen kantigen Serifenschrift verbunden. Daraus entsteht eine Schrift, die die Breite der Keramik widerspiegelt und von Steingut bis Porzellan alle Facetten aufgreift. Gepaart wird die einzigartige Schrift mit einem auf das Zentrum ausgerichteten Layoutprinzip, bei dem 3D Scans der Exponate in den Fokus rücken. Somit können die Besucher*innen auch von zu Hause einen Vorgeschmack auf die einzigartigen Materialien und Keramiktechniken bekommen.
Von Zeichentisch und Letraset zu inhaltsbasierter Füllung und OpenType – wie sich die Werkzeuge des Grafikdesigns entwickelt und die Gestaltungsprozesse beeinflusst haben. Die Bachelorarbeit „Toolbar: Werkzeuge des Grafikdesigns“ setzt sich mit der eigenen Disziplin, dem Grafikdesign, auseinander und geht dabei seinen Wurzeln, den Werkzeugen, nach. Im Rahmen dessen werden in Gesprächen mit verschiedenen Gestalter*innen Tools und Technologien des Grafikdesigns untersucht und verglichen – angefangen vom analogen Paste-Up bis hin zu modernen Designmethoden. Dabei wird diskutiert, wie sich die Werkzeuge im Laufe der Zeit entwickelt haben und welche Auswirkungen dies auf das Grafikdesign und die Positionierung von Designer*innen hatte. Außerdem wird die Bedeutung von Werkzeugen im kreativen Prozess und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Gestaltung hinterfragt und aufgezeigt.
Das Konzerthaus Berlin ist einer der schönsten Orte Berlins für klassische Musik. Dabei steht das Haus auf der Schwelle zwischen langer Tradition und Moderne. Die Qualität an Musik, die dort gespielt wird, soll dabei für alle zugänglich sein. Dies machen die unterschiedlichsten Konzerte möglich. Um diesen modernen Anspruch auch nach außen zu kommunizieren, wurde ein neues Gestaltungskonzept für das Konzerthaus Berlin entwickelt. Im Fokus des neu entwickelten Corporate Designs steht der Rhythmus Gedanke, welcher sich im Headline Prinzip zeigt sowie medienübergreifend in der Layoutgestaltung durch Groß/Klein Kontraste fortsetzt. Das Erscheinungsbild funktioniert dabei sowohl animiert als auch statisch. Musik wird dadurch visuell erfahrbar gemacht und bildet den modernen Fokuspunkt in der Gestaltung.
Die Nutzung des Onlinehandels steigt seit Jahren kontinuierlich an. Für Händler:innen und ganz besonders für kleine Anbieter:innen, die zunehmend von größeren verdrängt werden, ist es wichtiger denn je, ihren Onlineauftritt auf den neuesten Stand zu bringen. Doch stellt dies die kleineren Anbieter:innen oftmals vor große Herausforderungen, denn der digitale Handel muss stets aktualisiert werden und kostet Zeit, Aufwand und Geld. „Localution“ ist eine digitale Plattform, die es lokalen Anbieter:innen möglich macht, mit wenig Aufwand eine Webseite aufzubauen. Zusätzlich sind Angebote buchbar, die den stationären Handel optimieren. Für Konsument:innen bietet „Localution“ die Möglichkeit, lokale Anbieter:innen in der Nähe zu finden und Termine zu buchen.
Selected problems in the field of multivariate statistical analysis are treated. Thereby, one focus is on the paired sample case. Among other things, statistical testing problems of marginal homogeneity are under consideration. In detail, properties of Hotelling‘s T² test in a special parametric situation are obtained. Moreover, the nonparametric problem of marginal homogeneity is discussed on the basis of possibly incomplete data. In the bivariate data case, properties of the Hoeffding-Blum-Kiefer-Rosenblatt independence test statistic on the basis of partly not identically distributed data are investigated. Similar testing problems are treated within the scope of the application of a result for the empirical process of the concomitants for partly categorial data. Furthermore, testing changes in the modeled solvency capital requirement of an insurance company by means of a paired sample from an internal risk model is discussed. Beyond the paired sample case, a new asymptotic relative efficiency concept based on the expected volumes of multidimensional confidence regions is introduced. Besides, a new approach for the treatment of the multi-sample goodness-of-fit problem is presented. Finally, a consistent test for the treatment of the goodness-of-fit problem is developed for the background of huge or infinite dimensional data.
The steel prefabricated family house ›Quelle-Fertighaus‹ designed and constructed by the German company Quelle, is an innovative modular system commercialised in 1962. All aspects of the Quelle-Fertighaus are planned on the principle of minimal effort for maximal flexibility. The clever design of the ground plan based on a 4 m × 7 m module offers the flexibility for either one to three additional modules.
The steel construction is innovative and unique, consisting of load-bearing portal frames acting as braces. The house design is furthermore characterised by a simple metrical grid layout and the practical placement of the foundation and basement, which allowed the very cost-effective production and the lowest price for a prefabricated family house in Germany during the postwar era. Nowadays its portal-frame-construction offers an interesting approach for its renovation and transformation according to present building demands.
The present work aimed to study the mainstream feasibility of the deammonifying sludge of side stream of municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) in Kaster, Germany. For this purpose, the deammonifying sludge available at the side stream was investigated for nitrogen (N) removal with respect to the operational factors temperature (15–30°C), pH value (6.0–8.0) and chemical oxygen demand (COD)/N ratio (≤1.5–6.0). The highest and lowest N-removal rates of 0.13 and 0.045 kg/(m³ d) are achieved at 30 and 15°C, respectively. Different conditions of pH and COD/N ratios in the SBRs of Partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) significantly influenced both the metabolic processes and associated N-removal rates. The scientific insights gained from the current work signifies the possibility of mainstream PN/A at WWTPs. The current study forms a solid basis of operational window for the upcoming semi-technical trails to be conducted prior to the full-scale mainstream PN/A at WWTP Kaster and WWTPs globally.
KNX is a protocol for smart building automation, e.g., for automated heating, air conditioning, or lighting. This paper analyses and evaluates state-of-the-art KNX devices from manufacturers Merten, Gira and Siemens with respect to security. On the one hand, it is investigated if publicly known vulnerabilities like insecure storage of passwords in software, unencrypted communication, or denialof-service attacks, can be reproduced in new devices. On the other hand, the security is analyzed in general, leading to the discovery of a previously unknown and high risk vulnerability related to so-called BCU (authentication) keys.
Nowadays, the most employed devices for recoding videos or capturing images are undoubtedly the smartphones. Our work investigates the application of source camera identification on mobile phones. We present a dataset entirely collected by mobile phones. The dataset contains both still images and videos collected by 67 different smartphones. Part of the images consists in photos of uniform backgrounds, especially collected for the computation of the RSPN. Identifying the source camera given a video is particularly challenging due to the strong video compression. The experiments reported in this paper, show the large variation in performance when testing an highly accurate technique on still images and videos.
Even the shortest flight through unknown, cluttered environments requires reliable local path planning algorithms to avoid unforeseen obstacles. The algorithm must evaluate alternative flight paths and identify the best path if an obstacle blocks its way. Commonly, weighted sums are used here. This work shows that weighted Chebyshev distances and factorial achievement scalarising functions are suitable alternatives to weighted sums if combined with the 3DVFH* local path planning algorithm. Both methods considerably reduce the failure probability of simulated flights in various environments. The standard 3DVFH* uses a weighted sum and has a failure probability of 50% in the test environments. A factorial achievement scalarising function, which minimises the worst combination of two out of four objective functions, reaches a failure probability of 26%; A weighted Chebyshev distance, which optimises the worst objective, has a failure probability of 30%. These results show promise for further enhancements and to support broader applicability.
Ice melting probes
(2023)
The exploration of icy environments in the solar system, such as the poles of Mars and the icy moons (a.k.a. ocean worlds), is a key aspect for understanding their astrobiological potential as well as for extraterrestrial resource inspection. On these worlds, ice melting probes are considered to be well suited for the robotic clean execution of such missions. In this chapter, we describe ice melting probes and their applications, the physics of ice melting and how the melting behavior can be modeled and simulated numerically, the challenges for ice melting, and the required key technologies to deal with those challenges. We also give an overview of existing ice melting probes and report some results and lessons learned from laboratory and field tests.
Lead and nickel, as heavy metals, are still used in industrial processes, and are classified as “environmental health hazards” due to their toxicity and polluting potential. The detection of heavy metals can prevent environmental pollution at toxic levels that are critical to human health. In this sense, the electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor (EIS) field-effect sensor is an attractive sensing platform concerning the fabrication of reusable and robust sensors to detect such substances. This study is aimed to fabricate a sensing unit on an EIS device based on Sn₃O₄ nanobelts embedded in a polyelectrolyte matrix of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. The EIS-Sn₃O₄ sensor exhibited enhanced electrochemical performance for detecting Pb²⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions, revealing a higher affinity for Pb²⁺ ions, with sensitivities of ca. 25.8 mV/decade and 2.4 mV/decade, respectively. Such results indicate that Sn₃O₄ nanobelts can contemplate a feasible proof-of-concept capacitive field-effect sensor for heavy metal detection, envisaging other future studies focusing on environmental monitoring.
The increasing share of renewable electricity in the grid drives the need for sufficient storage capacity. Especially for seasonal storage, power-to-gas can be a promising approach. Biologically produced methane from hydrogen produced from surplus electricity can be used to substitute natural gas in the existing infrastructure. Current reactor types are not or are poorly optimized for flexible methanation. Therefore, this work proposes a new reactor type with a plug flow reactor (PFR) design. Simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics ® showed promising properties for operation in laminar flow. An experiment was conducted to support the simulation results and to determine the gas fraction of the novel reactor, which was measured to be 29%. Based on these simulations and experimental results, the reactor was constructed as a 14 m long, 50 mm diameter tube with a meandering orientation. Data processing was established, and a step experiment was performed. In addition, a kLa of 1 h−1 was determined. The results revealed that the experimental outcomes of the type of flow and gas fractions are in line with the theoretical simulation. The new design shows promising properties for flexible methanation and will be tested.
Automated driving is now possible in diverse road and traffic conditions. However, there are still situations that automated vehicles cannot handle safely and efficiently. In this case, a Transition of Control (ToC) is necessary so that the driver takes control of the driving. Executing a ToC requires the driver to get full situation awareness of the driving environment. If the driver fails to get back the control in a limited time, a Minimum Risk Maneuver (MRM) is executed to bring the vehicle into a safe state (e.g., decelerating to full stop). The execution of ToCs requires some time and can cause traffic disruption and safety risks that increase if several vehicles execute ToCs/MRMs at similar times and in the same area. This study proposes to use novel C-ITS traffic management measures where the infrastructure exploits V2X communications to assist Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) in the execution of ToCs. The infrastructure can suggest a spatial distribution of ToCs, and inform vehicles of the locations where they could execute a safe stop in case of MRM. This paper reports the first field operational tests that validate the feasibility and quantify the benefits of the proposed infrastructure-assisted ToC and MRM management. The paper also presents the CAV and roadside infrastructure prototypes implemented and used in the trials. The conducted field trials demonstrate that infrastructure-assisted traffic management solutions can reduce safety risks and traffic disruptions.
Modern implementations of driver assistance systems are evolving from a pure driver assistance to a independently acting automation system. Still these systems are not covering the full vehicle usage range, also called operational design domain, which require the human driver as fall-back mechanism. Transition of control and potential minimum risk manoeuvres are currently research topics and will bridge the gap until full autonomous vehicles are available. The authors showed in a demonstration that the transition of control mechanisms can be further improved by usage of communication technology. Receiving the incident type and position information by usage of standardised vehicle to everything (V2X) messages can improve the driver safety and comfort level. The connected and automated vehicle’s software framework can take this information to plan areas where the driver should take back control by initiating a transition of control which can be followed by a minimum risk manoeuvre in case of an unresponsive driver. This transition of control has been implemented in a test vehicle and was presented to the public during the IEEE IV2022 (IEEE Intelligent Vehicle Symposium) in Aachen, Germany.
Die Auswahl der passenden Geschäftsprozesse für eine Automatisierung mittels Robotic Process Automation (RPA) ist für den Erfolg von RPA-Projekten entscheidend. Das vorliegende Kapitel liefert dafür Selektionskriterien, die aus einer qualitativen Studie mit elf interviewten RPA-Experten aus dem Versicherungsumfeld resultieren. Das Ergebnis umfasst eine gewichtete Liste von sieben Dimensionen und 51 Prozesskriterien, welche die Automatisierung mit Softwarerobotern begünstigen beziehungsweise deren Nichterfüllung eine Umsetzung erschweren oder sogar verhindern. Die drei wichtigsten Kriterien zur Auswahl von Geschäftsprozessen für die Automatisierung mittels RPA umfassen die Entlastung der an dem Prozess mitwirkenden Mitarbeiter (Arbeitnehmerentlastung), die Ausführbarkeit des Prozesses mittels Regeln (Regelbasierte Prozessteuerung) sowie ein positiver Kosten-Nutzen-Vergleich. Auf diesen Ergebnissen aufbauend wird ein Vergleich mit den bereits bekannten Selektionskriterien aus der Literatur erstellt und diskutiert. Praktiker können die Ergebnisse verwenden, um eine systematische Auswahl von RPA-relevanten Prozessen vorzunehmen. Aus wissenschaftlicher Perspektive stellen die Ergebnisse eine Grundlage zur Erklärung des Erfolgs und Misserfolgs von RPA-Projekten dar.
A method for detecting and approximating fault lines or surfaces, respectively, or decision curves in two and three dimensions with guaranteed accuracy is presented. Reformulated as a classification problem, our method starts from a set of scattered points along with the corresponding classification algorithm to construct a representation of a decision curve by points with prescribed maximal distance to the true decision curve. Hereby, our algorithm ensures that the representing point set covers the decision curve in its entire extent and features local refinement based on the geometric properties of the decision curve. We demonstrate applications of our method to problems related to the detection of faults, to multi-criteria decision aid and, in combination with Kirsch’s factorization method, to solving an inverse acoustic scattering problem. In all applications we considered in this work, our method requires significantly less pointwise classifications than previously employed algorithms.
Deammonification for nitrogen removal in municipal wastewater in temperate and cold climate zones is currently limited to the side stream of municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTP). This study developed a conceptual model of a mainstream deammonification plant, designed for 30,000 P.E., considering possible solutions corresponding to the challenging mainstream conditions in Germany. In addition, the energy-saving potential, nitrogen elimination performance and construction-related costs of mainstream deammonification were compared to a conventional plant model, having a single-stage activated sludge process with upstream denitrification. The results revealed that an additional treatment step by combining chemical precipitation and ultra-fine screening is advantageous prior the mainstream deammonification. Hereby chemical oxygen demand (COD) can be reduced by 80% so that the COD:N ratio can be reduced from 12 to 2.5. Laboratory experiments testing mainstream conditions of temperature (8–20°C), pH (6–9) and COD:N ratio (1–6) showed an achievable volumetric nitrogen removal rate (VNRR) of at least 50 gN/(m3∙d) for various deammonifying sludges from side stream deammonification systems in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, where m3 denotes reactor volume. Assuming a retained Norganic content of 0.0035 kgNorg./(P.E.∙d) from the daily loads of N at carbon removal stage and a VNRR of 50 gN/(m3∙d) under mainstream conditions, a resident-specific reactor volume of 0.115 m3/(P.E.) is required for mainstream deammonification. This is in the same order of magnitude as the conventional activated sludge process, i.e., 0.173 m3/(P.E.) for an MWWTP of size class of 4. The conventional plant model yielded a total specific electricity demand of 35 kWh/(P.E.∙a) for the operation of the whole MWWTP and an energy recovery potential of 15.8 kWh/(P.E.∙a) through anaerobic digestion. In contrast, the developed mainstream deammonification model plant would require only a 21.5 kWh/(P.E.∙a) energy demand and result in 24 kWh/(P.E.∙a) energy recovery potential, enabling the mainstream deammonification model plant to be self-sufficient. The retrofitting costs for the implementation of mainstream deammonification in existing conventional MWWTPs are nearly negligible as the existing units like activated sludge reactors, aerators and monitoring technology are reusable. However, the mainstream deammonification must meet the performance requirement of VNRR of about 50 gN/(m3∙d) in this case.