Planning the Nation: the sanatorium movement in Germany

With the nineteenth-century conviction that cities were true breeding grounds for disease, in particular tuberculosis, also came the theory that there were places of health outside of the city. The medical theory of the ‘immune place’, developed by Hermann Brehmer in the 1850s, would serve as the impetus for the development and justification of the tuberculosis sanatorium, which, as the ‘place of health’, was to be situated in natural surroundings, ideally in the dry air of an unspoilt mountain region. The first sanatorium dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis was Görbersdorf in Silesia. It prompted a great number of successors and, by the end of the nineteenth century a veritable sanatorium or ‘Heilstätten-movement’ had taken place in Germany. However, the treatment did not prove as successful as initially hoped and, during the 1899 Conference on TB in Berlin, alternatives in the fight against the disease were considered, among them the ‘home sanatorium’, proposed by the military surgeon Dr von Unterberger. He attempted to bring the place of health back into the city, and therefore to ignore the demand for a particular site, the precondition of the original sanatorium cure. This paper will discuss the way in which the renunciation of site specificity, which led the sanatorium idea itself ad absurdum, provided new opportunities for the strategic governing of the young German Nation. The idea of a sanatorium network would now come to be associated with the idea of an evenly distributed grid determined by its distance from certain cities, their population density and other statistical or measurable indicators, which had become important in political decision-making processes. Less dependent on regional characteristics and on the necessity to acquire a particular location, centralised planning became feasible, which enabled the government in Berlin to project and advance a close-meshed institutional network and therefore stabilise its power

Transport of adsorbing metal ions between stream water and sediment bed in a laboratory flume

The transport of adsorbing metal ions (copper, zinc, calcium and magnesium) between the water column and the sand bed in a 5 meter long recirculating laboratory flume with bottom bedforms has been investigated. A non-adsorbing tracer, lithium, was used simultaneously to observe the exchange of water between bed and water column. The presence of bedforms and associated pumping increases the exchange rate by several orders of magnitude over molecular processes. The concentrations of initially added metal ions were monitored both in the circulating overlying water and in the pore-water of the sediment bed. The sand used for the bed was composed of over 99% silica, with geometric means of 500 [microns] and 195 [microns]. Before each run, the sand was acid-washed at pH 3.5 to provide reproducible experimental conditions. The chemical composition of the recirculating water was controlled and steady flow conditions were maintained in the experiments. Batch experiments were performed to investigate the chemical partitioning of the selected metal ions to the sand grain surfaces. The adsorption of zinc onto silica was modeled in detail and binding constants were determined. The observed adsorption of the metal ions in the flume experiments compared well with batch adsorption data. The transfer of metal ions into and out of a bed covered with stationary bedforms is dominated by advective pumping caused by pressure fluctuations over the bed. A residence-time model based on pressure-driven advective flow and linear equilibrium partitioning of the pollutant to the sediment was developed and describes the observed metal ion exchange between sediment and water column well. Increased partitioning of the metal ion onto the sediment leads to an increase of the amount of tracer stored within the sediment bed. Furthermore, the concentrations of metal ions released from the bed after passing of an initial pulse in the overlying water will be lower, but longer lasting for stronger partitioning, leading to tailing in the water column for long times. For a bed with moving bedforms, the main mechanism for mass exchange is the trapping and release of overlying water by the traveling bedform. The transport of metal ions can be approximately described for the initial phase of the experiment, but large deviations from the model occur for long times. The models do not require calibration since the parameters for transport into and out of the bed can be derived from flow conditions, sediment parameters, bedform dimensions and adsorption characteristics of the tracer on the sand. Criteria for the applicability of the models and appropriate scaling variables are identified. The experimental results are presented in nondimensional form

Preserving frozen stallion sperm on dry ice using polymers that modulate ice crystalization kinetics

Cryopreserved semen is routinely shipped in liquid nitrogen. Dry ice could serve as an alternative coolant, however, frozen storage above liquid nitrogen temperatures (LN2, −196 °C) may negatively affect shelf-life and cryosurvival. In this study, we determined critical temperatures for storage of cryopreserved stallion sperm. We evaluated: (i) effects of cooling samples to different subzero temperatures (−10 °C to −80 °C) prior to storing in LN2, (ii) stability at different storage temperatures (i.e., in LN2, dry ice, −80 °C and −20 °C freezers, 5 °C refrigerator), and (iii) sperm cryosurvival during storage on dry ice (i.e., when kept below −70 °C and during warming). Furthermore, (iv) we analyzed if addition of synthetic polymers (PVP-40, Ficoll-70) modulates ice crystallization kinetics and improves stability of cryopreserved specimens. Sperm motility and membrane intactness were taken as measures of cryosurvival, and an artificial insemination trial was performed to confirm fertilizing capacity. We found that adding PVP-40 or Ficoll-70 to formulations containing glycerol reduced ice crystal sizes and growth during annealing. Post-thaw sperm viability data indicated that samples need to be cooled below −40 °C before they can be safely plunged and stored in LN2. No negative effects of relocating specimens from dry ice to LN2 and vice versa became apparent. However, sample warming above −50 °C during transport in dry ice should be avoided to ensure preservation of viability and fertility. Moreover, addition of PVP-40 or Ficoll-70 was found to increase sperm cryosurvival, especially under non-ideal storage conditions where ice recrystallization may occur

Local growth of CuInSe2 micro solar cells for concentrator application

A procedure to fabricate CuInSe2 CISe micro absorbers and solar cells for concentrator applications is presented. The micro absorbers are developed from indium precursor islands, which are deposited on a molybdenum coated glass substrate back contact , followed by deposition of copper on top and subsequent selenization as well as selective etching of copper selenides. In order to compare the properties of the locally grown absorbers to those of conventional large area CISe films, we systematically examine the compositional and morphological homogeneity of the micro absorbers and carry out photoluminescence measurements. Preliminary devices for micro concentrator solar cell applications are fabricated by optimizing the copper to indium ratio and the size of the indium precursor islands. The resulting micro solar cells provide a characteristic I V curve under standard illumination conditions 1 su

Growth and shape of indium islands on molybdenum at micro-roughened spots created by femtosecond laser pulses

Indium islands on molybdenum coated glass can be grown in ordered arrays by surface structuring using a femtosecond laser. The effect of varying the molybdenum coated glass substrate temperature and the indium deposition rate on island areal density, volume and geometry is investigated and evaluated in a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process. The joined impact of growth conditions and spacing of the femtosecond laser structured spots on the arrangement and morphology of indium islands is demonstrated. The results yield a deeper understanding of the island growth and its precise adjustment to industrial requirements, which is indispensable for a technological application of such structures at a high throughput, for instance as precursors for the preparation of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 micro concentrator solar cells

Local growth of CuInSe2 micro solar cells for concentrator application

A procedure to fabricate CuInSe2 (CISe) micro-absorbers and solar cells for concentrator applications is presented. The micro-absorbers are developed from indium precursor islands, which are deposited on a molybdenum coated glass substrate (back contact), followed by deposition of copper on top and subsequent selenization as well as selective etching of copper selenides. In order to compare the properties of the locally grown absorbers to those of conventional large area CISe films, we systematically examine the compositional and morphological homogeneity of the micro absorbers and carry out photoluminescence measurements. Preliminary devices for micro-concentrator solar cell applications are fabricated by optimizing the copper to indium ratio and the size of the indium precursor islands. The resulting micro solar cells provide a characteristic I–V curve under standard illumination conditions (1 sun)

Regularly arranged indium islands on glass/molybdenum substrates upon femtosecond laser and physical vapor deposition processing

A bottom-up approach is presented for the production of arrays of indium islands on a molybdenum layer on glass, which can serve as micro-sized precursors for indium compounds such as copper-indium-gallium-diselenide used in photovoltaics. Femtosecond laser ablation of glass and a subsequent deposition of a molybdenumfilm or direct laser processing of the molybdenumfilm both allow the preferential nucleation and growth of indium islands at the predefined locations in a following indium-based physical vapor deposition(PVD) process. A proper choice of laser and deposition parameters ensures the controlled growth of indium islands exclusively at the laser ablated spots. Based on a statistical analysis, these results are compared to the non-structured molybdenumsurface, leading to randomly grown indium islands after PVD

Micro Concentrator Concept for Cost Reduction and Efficiency Enhancement of Thin Film Chalcopyrite Photovoltaics Results from EU Joint Research Program CHEETAH

Results for research on chalcopyrite micro concentrator solar cells obtained within the framework of CHEETAH joint program are shown. A top down proof of concept study reveals close to 30 relative efficiency increase under light concentration using inkjet printed CIGSSe. A novel bottom up approach for local chalcopyrite absorbers grown from indium islands demonstrates working CISe micro cells. Millimeter sized lenses are fabricated from PMMA by a casting process to be applied as concentrator optics. For a combined exploitation of direct and diffuse light components an angular splitting concentrator based on chalcopyrite and kesterite absorber material is proposed. The scientific innovation brought will enrich further development of CIGSe solar cells and contribute to their relevance in photovoltaic energy productio

Body wall structure in the starfish Asterias rubens

Queen Mary University of London; Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council. Grant Number: EP/J501360/1; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. Grant Number: BBSRC;BB/M001644/1; Royal Society through the Equipment Grant scheme. Grant Number: SEMF1A6

Identification of an autoantibody panel to separate lung cancer from smokers and nonsmokers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sera from lung cancer patients contain autoantibodies that react with tumor associated antigens (TAAs) that reflect genetic over-expression, mutation, or other anomalies of cell cycle, growth, signaling, and metabolism pathways.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed immunoassays to detect autoantibodies to ten tumor associated antigens (TAAs) selected on the basis of previous studies showing that they had preferential specificity for certain cancers. Sera examined were from lung cancer patients (22); smokers with ground-glass opacities (GGOs) (46), benign solid nodules (55), or normal CTs (35); and normal non-smokers (36). Logistic regression models based on the antibody biomarker levels among the high risk and lung cancer groups were developed to identify the combinations of biomarkers that predict lung cancer in these cohorts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Statistically significant differences in the distributions of each of the biomarkers were identified among all five groups. Using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves based on age, c-myc, Cyclin A, Cyclin B1, Cyclin D1, CDK2, and survivin, we obtained a sensitivity = 81% and specificity = 97% for the classification of cancer vs smokers(no nodules, solid nodules, or GGO) and correctly predicted 31/36 healthy controls as noncancer.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A pattern of autoantibody reactivity to TAAs may distinguish patients with lung cancer versus smokers with normal CTs, stable solid nodules, ground glass opacities, or normal healthy never smokers.</p