Simulating Soil Organic Matter Transformations with the New Implementation of the Daisy Model

Daisy is a well-tested deterministic, dynamic soil-plant-atmosphere model, capable of simulating water balance, nitrogen balance and losses, development in soil organic matter and crop growth and production in crop rotations under alternate management strategies. Originally it was developed as a system of single models describing each process involved, but recently it has been developed into a framework, which can be used for implementation of several different models of each of the different processes. Thus, for example a number of different models for simulating soil water dynamics can be chosen depending on the purpose of the simulation and the availability of data for parameterisation. The sub-model simulating soil organic matter is still a fixed component in the Daisy terminology. This means that there is currently only one model, which can be used to simulate soil organic matter transformations. However this sub-model can be changed considerably. Some examples are given

The set of semidualizing complexes is a nontrivial metric space

We show that the set \s(R) of shift-isomorphism classes of semidualizing complexes over a local ring $R$ admits a nontrivial metric. We investigate the interplay between the metric and several algebraic operations. Motivated by the dagger duality isometry, we prove the following: If $K,L$ are homologically bounded below and degreewise finite $R$-complexes such that K\lotimes_R K\lotimes_R L is semidualizing, then $K$ is shift-isomorphic to $R$. In investigating the existence of nontrivial open balls in \s(R), we prove that \s(R) contains elements that are not comparable in the reflexivity ordering if and only if it contains at least three distinct elements.Comment: Final version (to appear in J. Algebra) has been extensively reorganize

Nonlinear Analysis of Structures: Wind Induced Vibrations

The proceedings at hand are the result of the International Master Course Module: "Nonlinear Analysis of Structures: Wind Induced Vibrations" held at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany in the summer semester 2019 (April - August). This material summarizes the results of the project work done throughout the semester, provides an overview of the topic, as well as impressions from the accompanying programme. Wind Engineering is a particular field of Civil Engineering that evaluates the resistance of structures caused by wind loads. Bridges, high-rise buildings, chimneys and telecommunication towers might be susceptible to wind vibrations due to their increased flexibility, therefore a special design is carried for this aspect. Advancement in technology and scientific studies permit us doing research at small scale for more accurate analyses. Therefore scaled models of real structures are built and tested for various construction scenarios. These models are placed in wind tunnels where experiments are conducted to determine parameters such as: critical wind speeds for bridge decks, static wind coefficients and forces for buildings or bridges. The objective of the course was to offer insight to the students into the assessment of long-span cable-supported bridges and high-rise buildings under wind excitation. The participating students worked in interdisciplinary teams to increase their knowledge in the understanding and influences on the behaviour of wind-sensitive structures

Volumetrische Analyse corticaler Areale bei Blinden und Sehenden im MRT

Angesichts der hohen Evidenz für die Plastizität des Gehirns stellt sich die Frage, ob das Gehirn bei sensorischer Deprivation, die mit dem deafferentierten Sinnessystem assoziierten Gehirnareale, nutzt und welche Auswirkungen die Deprivation auf die Morphologie des Kortex hat. Einerseits konnte in zahlreichen tierexperimentellen Studien gezeigt werden, daß die Makrostruktur des Kortex normal erscheint. Aber die Schichtdicke der grauen Substanz und die Arealgröße, der primär mit der deprivierten Modalität verbundenen Hirnstruktur, vermindert sind. Andererseits fanden sich Hinweise, daß deprivierte Areale durch Reize in den intakten Sinnesmodalitäten aktiviert werden, was als neuronales Korrelat kompensatorischer Leistung diskutiert wird. In der vorliegenden Studie wurden bei zehn geburtsblinden und bei zehn sehenden erwachsenen Menschen hochauflösende MRTs des Gehirns angefertigt und das Volumen der grauen Substanz in den einzelnen anatomischen kortikalen Lappen sowie das Volumen der Seitenventrikel bestimmt. Die Gruppen waren nach Alter, Geschlecht, Gewicht und Händigkeit parallelisiert. Für die Volumenmessung wurde mit dem Programm BRAINVOYAGER eine 3D Rekonstruktion des Gehirns erstellt und das Volumen der grauen Substanz errechnet. Um eine Reliabilitätsschätzung des Meßverfahrens zu erhalten, wurde zusätzlich ein Teil der Probanden in einem zweiten MRT Scanner untersucht. Darüber hinaus wurde überprüft, ob ein Zusammenhang zwischen Gehirnvolumen und Geschlecht, Alter, Körpergröße und Body mass index (BMI) und Geburtsalter besteht. Es zeigte sich, daß die graue Substanz bei den Geburtsblinden im gesamten Kortex signifikant reduziert war. Die Volumina der Seitenventrikel waren bei der geburtsblinden Gruppe tendenziell größer. Es fanden sich keine Korrelationen zwischen Alter, Körpergröße, Geschlecht, BMI mit dem Volumen der kortikalen grauen Substanz. Für den Geburtszeitpunkt / Geburtsalter zeigten sich in der Analyse signifikante Volumenreduktionen in corticalen Arealen bei den frühgeborenen Geburtsblinden im Vergleich mit den termingeborenen Geburtsblinden und der Gruppe der Sehenden. Insofern scheint das Geburtsalter eine wichtige Rolle in der Gehirnreifung zu spielen. Aufgrund von tierexperimentellen Studien hätte man erwarten können, daß der occipitale Kortex, als primärer Sitz des visuellen Systems, bei Geburtsblinden im Vergleich zu Sehenden dünner ist. Interessanterweise fand sich eine generelle pankortikale Volumenreduktion. Es werden verschiedene Faktoren, wie das Geburtsalter und die sensorische Deprivation, als Ursache diskutiert und abschließend wird die Bedeutung der Befunde für die Plastizitätsforschung erörtert

Detection and identification of disturbances by spectral analysis of structure-borne noise during the production of a sealing seam

When sealing, disturbances or errors can occur that impair the quality of the sealing seam and, in the worst case, lead to leaks. It is therefore important to identify and eliminate defective packages during production and to minimize the elimination by readjusting machine parameters. The aim of this article is the clear identification of seam quality problems on a vertical forming, filling and sealing machine SVE2520 by evaluating process parameters during the manufacturing process. For this purpose, the structure-borne noise is measured for each seal in order to identify not-usual curves. These not-usual curves are related to different disturbances or errors. By combining sensors technology, data analysis and step-by-step clustering, most damage images can be clearly differentiated from one another and that only by using the structure-borne noise

Restructuring and Forgiveness in Financial Crises C: The Swedish Banking Crisis of 1990-94

In the Spring of 1992, the Swedish government faced a dilemma. The country was in the midst of an economic downturn stemming from the collapse of asset prices (especially in real estate) that had spiked as a result of a credit boom that followed the deregulation of the Swedish banking system in the mid-1980s. Initially the impact of the downturn on the country’s banks had seemed to be limited to a small number of specific firms that the government moved to assist on an ad hoc basis in 1991. However, evidence was mounting that the banking crisis was reaching a systemic level. Guided by such principles as the need for broad political consensus, prompt action, transparency, and the imposition of strict conditions including shareholder losses in exchange for support, the Swedish government crafted a response centered around a blanket guarantee of all bank liabilities, an immediate recognition of all bank losses, support for banks that was based on each bank’s specific financial condition and prospects, and the use of asset management companies to resolve the troubled assets of struggling banks. This approach, coupled with an improving economy, helped restore the Swedish banking system to profitability by 1995. While the fact that the Swedish banking sector of the early 1990s was much less complex than most major financial systems today cautions against drawing any firm conclusion about the appropriateness of deploying specific Swedish policy responses in new crises, the various principles that guided the Swedish response could well be of interest in addressing future systemic events

Advanced Lining Systems and Sealing Applications on Shotcrete Surface

Shotcrete forms the basis of lining systems for sealing purposes, in tunnel applications as well as on excavated slopes of reservoirs etc. Levelling uneven subsurfaces of rock or gravelly fills, shotcrete provides a surface of a certain quality, meeting static requirements. Nevertheless, depending on the type of construction, hydraulic aspects require additional measures to fulfill the requirements on sealing purposes and thus the long-term performance of the entire structure. Membranes made from polyethylene, which are perfectly suited for long-term performance, are of high sensitivity against puncture stress resulting from uneven surfaces. Besides the improvement of shotcrete surfaces themselves, protection liners are often required to reduce extra costs for grouting and injection as well as for maintenance in the medium and long term. Please download the additional file for full content

Bifunctionality: New Insights into the Class of (6-4)Photolyases and animal-like Cryptochromes

The cryptochrome/photolyase family (CPF) is a huge protein family of blue-light photoreceptors, which occur in all kingdoms of life. All members of this family utilize a flavin chromophore as catalytic cofactor and show high sequence and structural similarity, although they have different functions inside the living organism. Photolyases use the energy of light to repair UV-light induced DNA lesions like the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) or the pyrimidine-(6-4)-pyrimidone photoproduct ((6-4)PP). Cryptochromes, on the other hand, are involved in many different blue-light regulated mechanisms, like the photoperiodic flowering in plants and the entrainment of the circadian rhythm in animals. This study focuses on the characterization of the photoreduction and (6-4) repair mechanism of the subclass of animal cryptochromes and (6-4) photolyases on the basis of the animal-like cryptochrome from the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CraCRY). Through multiple sequence alignment with other CPFs and mutational studies, the specific residues involved in the photoreduction mechanism were successfully identified, leading to the discovery of a tyrosine as distal electron donor at the end of the conserved tryptophan triad. The photoreduction, with regard to the formation and decay of a tyrosyl radical, was extensively studied with several spectroscopic methods. All analyses resulted in the observation of an unusually long-lived tyrosyl radical upon photoreduction. As it turned out, CraCRY is not only a cryptochrome, but also has (6-4) photolyase function, which makes it a bifunctional member of this group. To study structure-function relationships, the 3D structure of CraCRY in complex with its chromophores as well as a (6-4)PP was solved by X-ray crystallography. The structure reveals a new binding mode of the DNA lesion and provides insight into the active site. One of the essential residues for DNA repair (His1) exhibits a different conformation as in the common model, which may indicate an alternative mechanism for (6-4)PP repair. The main knowledge about cryptochrome structures derived from the comparison with photolyases, but cryptochromes contain a highly variable C-terminal extension (CTE), which is missing in photolyases. In CraCRY this CTE is about 100 amino acids long and not shown in the solved crystal structure. For analysis of the CTE, hydrogen-deuterium-exchange coupled with mass spectrometry was used including a comparison of different reduction. Although, the coverage of the CTE was incomplete, there were significant changes between the oxidized and fully reduced state FADH− detectable. It was concluded, that the photoreduction process and the formation of the tyrosyl radical is triggering a structural change in the region between the loop carrying the tyrosyl radical and the C-terminal α22-helix. For further investigation of the intramolecular changes upon photoreduction and DNA repair, time-resolved crystal measurements of a class II CPD photolyase (MmCPDII) and CraCRY were performed within a joint project at the free electron laser SACLA. So far, the different conformations of the flavin cofactor of MmCPDII in its different oxidation states have been successfully derived. In future, it is expected to show the whole repair mechanism for the CPD lesion as well as for the (6 4)PP by time-resolved SFX

Validität durch Agilität: Methodische Implikationen einerpraxistheoretisch fundierten Medieninnovationsforschung

Das Innovationsmanagement von Medienorganisationen unterliegt derzeit erheblichen Veränderungen: Im veränderten Marktumfeld erweisen sich Flexibilität, schnelle Richtungswechsel und Anpassungsfähigkeit als zentral. Darauf muss auch die Medienmanagement-Forschung reagieren: Um die Agilität der gegenwärtigen Unternehmenspraxis valide zu erforschen, ist eine ebenso agile, adaptive Forschung gefordert. Zu diesem Zweck schlägt der Beitrag eine praxistheoretische Perspektive auf das Innovationsmanagement von Medienorganisationen vor. Empirische Forschungsdesigns, die aus einem solchen Zugriff resultieren, werden sowohl hinsichtlich ihrer methodischen Herausforderungen als auch ihres Forschungsprojektmanagements diskutiert. Der Beitrag greift außerdem neue Möglichkeitsräume des wissenschaftlichen Publizierens, des Universitätsmanagements sowie der Forschungsorganisation auf, die praxistheoretisch gegründete, empirische Innovationsforschung in der Medienwirtschaft einfordert