A portable diagnostic tool for the absolute determination of photon fluxes in low pressure plasmas down to the VUV region

Plasmas allow a wide range of material modifications in order to optimize material properties for a specific purpose including etching processes in the semiconductor industry, generating functional layers via plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition or sterilizing medical instruments and human skin, respectively. These examples illustrate the great number of plasma treatment processes which all use the different plasma species. Heavy particles (i.e. atoms, molecules, ions or radicals), electrons as well as photons produce a collective flux onto the material. The resulting effect depends both on the particular absolute fluxes and the energy of the impinging particle species. Photons cover a wide energy range from the infrared with energies below 1.8 eV to the vacuum ultraviolet region with a photon energy above 6.2 eV. Due to the high photon energy, VUV/UV photons might have a significant influence on the material. While the supply gas roughly sets the photons’ spectral distribution, the discharge’s operating parameters (e.g. pressure, input power) have an influence on the absolute fluxes as well as on the photon-to-ion flux ratios. Depending on the specific application, the photon-to-ion flux ratio might affect the process performance beneficially or adversely and can serve as tuning knob to optimize or to tailor a specific plasma setup. For this purpose, an energy resolved quantification of VUV/UV photon fluxes with respect to external operating parameters is essential. However, this claim implies great challenges regarding absolute in-situ wavelength resolved measurements down to the vacuum ultraviolet range for which large and expensive VUV spectrometers are commonly used. Due to their size, these instruments cannot be easily transported or applied at different setups. For the required absolute intensity calibration, radiation produced by electron storage rings serves as typical primary standard source below 116 nm which is associated with high efforts. To overcome these difficulties regarding VUV spectrometers, the recent years have shown a growing interest in transferrable VUV detectors. Wavelength resolution can be achieved by inserting spectral filters between the plasma and the detector. In this work, a portable diagnostic tool based on a VUV silicon diode and a set of bandpass and edge filters is developed. Its unique feature is the direct absolute calibration against an absolutely intensity calibrated VUV spectrometer. This calibration is performed both individually for each filter and specifically for a variety of supply gases. It directly includes the wavelength dependency of the filter transmission and the diode’s sensitivity as well as the viewing volume of the device. The absolute intensity calibration of the VUV spectrometer is performed in-house. It extends the standard method based on a deuterium arc lamp and branching ratios in nitrogen by applying a high current hollow cathode. Absolute scaling against an absolutely intensity calibrated optical spectrometer using a helium discharge leads to an absolute intensity calibration in the wavelength range between 46 nm and 300 nm. In order to compile appropriate filter sets for the VUV diode system, emission ranges of gases that are typically applied for process plasmas are investigated in pressure and power scans at the experimental setup PlanICE. These gases include the pure gases argon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen as well as mixtures thereof in a pressure range between 0.3 Pa and 10 Pa. Emission ranges with relevant photon fluxes are identified with respect to the ion flux. The latter is determined using Langmuir probe measurements and an energy resolved mass spectrometer. Having selected appropriate filter sets, the diode system is absolutely calibrated in each gas and for each corresponding filter individually against the VUV spectrometer. Furthermore, a detailed characterization of the diode system is carried out regarding, inter alia, different performance aspects (e.g. reproducibility, linearity) and aging effects due to high energetic VUV radiation. It is complemented by extensive benchmark measurements at PlanICE using the VUV spectrometer and the optical spectrometer as reference. The diode system’s applicability as a portable, flexible and reliable VUV diagnostic tool is demonstrated at three different plasma experiments—the in-house laboratory setup ACCesS, the low pressure sterilization reactor PlasmaDecon at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the ion source of the Batman Upgrade test stand at the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (IPP, Garching)

3PD: Rapid design of optimal primers for chromosome conformation capture assays

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Higher eukaryotes control the expression of their genes by mechanisms that we are just beginning to understand. A complex layer of control is the dynamic spatial organization of the nucleus.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present a bioinformatics solution (3PD) to support the experimentalist in detecting long-ranging <it>intra </it>or <it>inter </it>chromosomal contacts by Chromosome conformation capture (3C) assays. 3C assays take a snapshot of chromosomal contacts by a fixation step and quantify them by PCR. Our contribution is to rapidly design an optimal primer set for the crucial PCR step. Our primer design reduces the level of experimental error as primers are highly similar in terms of physical properties and amplicon length. All 3C primers are compatible with multiplex PCR reactions. Primer uniqueness is checked genome-wide with a suitable index structure.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In summary, our software 3PD facilitates genome-wide primer design for 3C experiments in a matter of seconds. Our software is available as a web server at: <url>http://www.pristionchus.org/3CPrimerDesign/</url>.</p

Empirische Untersuchung zum Stellenwert des Trinkwassers in der Ernährung der erwachsenen Bevölkerung in Österreich

Trinkwasser ist unser Lebensmittel Nummer 1. Es ist in Österreich das am strengsten kontrollierte Lebensmittel. Das Lebensmittelsicherheits- und Verbraucherschutzgesetz (LMSVG), die Trinkwasserverordnung (TWV) und das österreichische Lebensmittelbuch (ÖLMB) regeln die Überwachung von Trinkwasser und dessen Qualitätssicherung. Trinkwasser ist kostengünstig, in ausreichender Menge und in hervorragender Trinkqualität für jeden Österreicher vorhanden. Während in anderen Regionen der Welt die ausreichende Trinkwasserversorgung mit sauberem Trinkwasser ein großes Problem darstellt, gilt Österreich als ausgesprochen wasserreiches Land. Der wahre Wert des Trinkwassers wird in unseren Breiten jedoch nur in beschränktem Maße wahrgenommen. Daher greifen einige Österreicher zu Trinkwasseralternativen wie Mineralwasser. Das Institut für Ernährungswissenschaften der Universität Wien untersuchte, in der repräsentativen Querschnittsstudie ÖSES.aqa07, den Stellenwert des Trinkwassers in der menschlichen Ernährung der österreichischen Erwachsenen (im Alter von 18-65 Jahren). Mittels Fragebogen und einem 1-Tages-Trinkprotokoll wurde das Trinkverhalten der Österreicher, mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Trinkwasser, abgefragt. Der Fragebogen enthielt neben den allgemeinen Fragen zum Trinkwasser auch soziodemographische und anthropometrische (Körpergröße, Körpergewicht) Fragen. Ziel der Studie war es, die Trinkmenge, die Präferenz und die Trinkhäufigkeit von Trinkwasser zu ermitteln und mit den soziodemographischen und anthropometrischen Daten zu vergleichen. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt lag bei der Ermittlung der Zufriedenheit mit der Trinkwasserqualität, der Aversionen gegen Trinkwasser sowie der Beurteilung der Gesundheitsgefährdung durch den Trinkwasserkonsum. Die Studienteilnehmer wurden per Zufallsauswahl aus dem Zentralen Melderegister Österreichs, geschichtet nach Geschlecht, Altergruppe (18-41 Jahre und 42-65 Jahre) und Region (Wien, Ost-, West- und Südösterreich), gezogen. In zwei Feldphasen (September 2007 und Dezember 2007) wurden je 1.000 Fragebögen und Trinkprotokolle in die vier Regionen ausgeschickt. Bei einer Rücklaufquote von 25% konnten die Daten von 459 Erwachsenen (w: n=271, m: n=188) ausgewertet werden. Zur Gewährleistung der Repräsentativität wurde das Studienkollektiv entsprechend der Verteilung der Gesamtpopulation nach Geschlecht, Altersgruppe und Region gewichtet. Das Trinkwasser war mit einer mittleren täglichen Trinkmenge von rund 1 Liter der absolute Spitzenreiter in Sachen Durstlöscher. Kein anderes Getränk war beliebter und wurde mehr getrunken als Trinkwasser. Mehr als die Hälfte der Gesamttrinkmenge wurde durch Wasser aufgenommen, wobei Trinkwasser (37% der Gesamttrinkmenge) eindeutig bevorzugt wurde. 78% der Befragten tranken täglich bis mehrmals täglich Trinkwasser, 91% tranken es gern bis sehr gern. Die anderen Wässer wie Mineralwasser oder Sodawasser konnten dem Trinkwasser hinsichtlich der Trinkmenge und der Beliebtheit nicht „das Wasser reichen“. 23% des Kupfer-, 15% des Jod- und 10% des Zink-Referenzwertes (D-A-CH Referenzwerte für die Nährstoffzufuhr), konnten durch den Konsum von Trinkwasser gedeckt werden. Trinkwasser kann somit einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Nährstoffaufnahme von Kupfer, Jod und Zink liefern. Mineralwasser lieferte höhere Natrium- und Chloridaufnahmen als Trinkwasser. Die Calcium-, Magnesium-, Eisen- und Fluoridaufnahme war durch beide Wässer vergleichbar gering. 75% der Befragten waren mit der Qualität des Trinkwassers völlig zufrieden. 74% befürchteten keine Gesundheitsgefährdung durch den täglichen Trinkwasserkonsum und 73% fanden die Trinkwasserkontrollen in Österreich ausreichend. Etwa 7% der Teilnehmer verwendeten Trinkwasseralternativen zur Zubereitung von Heißgetränken, Speisen oder Babynahrung. 89% der Teilnehmer konnten mehr als die Hälfte der Wissensfragen zum Thema Trinkwasser beantworten. Vor allem bezüglich des Preises von 1 Liter Trinkwasser und dem Begriff Wasserhärte gab es große Wissenslücken. Signifikante Unterschiede bezüglich der Trinkwassermenge konnten bei den Merkmalen Geschlecht, Ernährungsform, Zugehörigkeit zu den Regionen und Kindern festgestellt werden. Die Gründe warum manche Teilnehmer mehr Trinkwasser tranken als Andere, waren sehr vielseitig (unterschiedliche Getränkevorlieben, Vorbildfunktion der Eltern, ungesunde Ernährungsmuster). Die Ostösterreicher waren unzufriedener mit der Trinkwasserqualität als die Teilnehmer der anderen Regionen, aber nicht weil sie eine Gesundheitsgefährdung durch Trinkwasser fürchteten, sondern weil hartes Wasser als Qualitätsmangel angesehen wurde. Trinkwasser Non User hatten eine allgemein subjektiv negative Einstellung zu Trinkwasser, anscheinend aufgrund von fehlendem Wissen zu dem Lebensmittel Trinkwasser.Drinking water is our most important food. It is the most strictly controlled food in Austria. The Food Security and the Consumer Protection Law (LMSVG), the Drinking Water Ordinance (TWV) and the Austrian Food Register (ÖLMB) regulate the monitoring of drinking water and its quality assurance. Drinking water is inexpensive and available in sufficient quantity as well as excellent quality for every Austrian. While in other regions of the world a sufficient water supply with clean drinking water constitutes a major issue, Austria is a very water-rich country. The true value of drinking water is perceived in our latitudes, but only to a limited extend. Therefore some Austrians choose drinking water alternatives such as mineral water. The Institute for Nutritional Sciences at the University of Vienna examined the importance of drinking water in the human diet of Austrian adults (aged 18-65 years) in a representative cross-sectional study ÖSES.aqa07. The drinking behaviour, with a focus on drinking water, was examined, using questionnaire and a 1-day drinking record. Besides general questions about drinking water, the questionnaire also included questions about socio-demographic and anthropometric (height, weight) issues. The aim of the study was to determine the fluid intake, preference and the frequency of drinking water and to compare these with the socio-demographic and anthropometric data. Another focus was the determination of the satisfaction with the quality of drinking water, the aversions to drinking water and the assessment of health risks from drinking water consumption. Study participants were recruited using random selection from the Central Register of Residence of Austria, stratified by gender, age group (18-41 years and 42-65 years) and region (Vienna, East, West and Southern Austria). In two field periods (September 2007 and December 2007) 1.000 questionnaires and drinking records were send out in the four regions. With a response rate of 25%, the data of 459 adults (f: n=271, m: n=188) was analysed. To ensure the representativeness, the study group was weighted according to its distribution of the total population, by sex, age group and region. With a mean daily fluid intake of about 1 litre, drinking water was the absolute market leader of thirst quenchers. No other drink was more popular and was drunk more than drinking water. More than half of the total fluid intake from beverages was recorded by water; drinking water (37% of the total fluid intake) was clearly preferred. 78% of respondents drank water daily or several times a day, 91% like to drink it. The other waters, such as mineral water or soda water, were not able to candle to the drinking water regarding to its drinking quantity and popularity. 23% of copper, 15% of iodine and 10% of the zinc reference value (D-A-CH reference values for nutrient intakes), could be met by the consumption of drinking water. Thus drinking water may provide a significant contribution to nutrient intake of cooper, iodine and zinc. Mineral water delivered higher sodium and chloride intakes than drinking water. The calcium, magnesium, iron and fluoride intake from both waters were comparatively small. 75% of respondents were completely satisfied with the quality of drinking water. 74% did not fear health hazards by the daily use of drinking water and 73% assessed the controls for drinking water as sufficient. About 7% of the participants used water alternatives for the preparation of hot beverages, food or baby food. 89% of the participants were able to answer more than half of the knowledge questions about drinking water. In particular there were large gaps in one’s knowledge regarding to the price of 1 litre of drinking water and the term of water hardness. Significant differences were found between the consumption of drinking water and the regions, sex, eating habits and children. The reasons, why some participants drank more waters than others, were very variable (different beverage preference, role model function of the parents, unhealthy eating patterns). The East Austrians were more dissatisfied with the quality of drinking water than the people in the other regions not because of the health hazard of drinking water, but because water hardness was regarded as a quality defect. Non water drinking people had a general subjective negative perception of drinking water, apparently due to a lack of knowledge about water as a food

The Virtual Propulsion Expert: Application of a Hybrid Surrogate-Based Rubber Engine Model in Aircraft Design

An aircraft is a complex system of systems. The engine, as a subsystem, strongly influences the design of other subsystems in a complex interplay by its performance characteristics, dimensions and mass. The ability to reliably model the overall aircraft and to find optimal designs within a short period of time is critical in the conceptual design phase to provide the basis for sound decision making. However, this is difficult to achieve since simplified engine models may lead to unreasonable results and more sophisticated models usually require the consultation of a propulsion expert. Therefore, a hybrid surrogate-based rubber engine approach is demonstrated that facilitates the exchange of disciplinary knowledge and enables the convenient integration of detailed engine models into multidisciplinary processes for overall aircraft design. A rubberized generic geared turbofan with an entry into service in 2035 is created to equip a long-haul, wide-body aircraft with different suitably sized engines from a multidimensional design space. In order to generate the training data for the surrogate-based rubber engine model, a multidisciplinary process for conceptual engine design is employed, which combines a multi point thermodynamic cycle analysis with flow path sizing, a basic aerodynamic analysis of turbomachinery, mass estimation on the level of single engine parts and a model to predict engine emissions. With the rubber engine model integrated into the aircraft design process, the off-design performance of individual engines is provided on-demand via tabulated maps, which are calculated in-the-loop. For a long-haul aircraft configuration, a bypass ratio of 14 is identified as optimal in terms of mission fuel considering snow ball effects. For growing bypass ratios, the thrust lapse increases leading to higher combustor inlet temperature and pressure at cruise operation. As a result, nitrogen oxide emissions increase with BPR for an assumed rich-burn quick-quench lean-burn (RQL) combustor and counteract savings in carbon dioxide and water emissions leading to minimum climate impact for a bypass ratio of 11. The minimum direct operating costs are realized for a bypass ratio of 12

Oxidação eletroquímica avançada para tratamento de efluentes contaminados com enterococos resistentes

A resistência a antimicrobianos tem despertado preocupações da comunidade científica, visto que novas bactérias resistentes, com novos perfis de resistência, surgem de forma mais acelerada que o descobrimento de novos antibióticos, potencializando os riscos associados a infecções bacterianas. Além disso, o aumento no uso de antibióticos para evitar infecções secundárias durante a pandemia da Covid-19 acelerou o processo de aparecimento de cepas resistentes. Ainda assim, a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), estima que o consumo global de antibióticos aumentará aproximadamente 67% até 2030, reforçando que a resistência bacteriana tende continuar a crescer. Devido a esse cenário, buscou-se avaliar a presença de Enterococos resistentes em efluente hospitalar, em afluente e efluente em estação de tratamento de esgoto (ETE) e propor uma alternativa tecnológica de tratamento que viesse a reduzir a recorrência desses organismos resistentes e contaminantes em efluentes. Assim, esse trabalho avalia o processo de oxidação eletroquímica avançada (OEA) como polimento em ETE, visando a remoção de Enterococos resistentes e antibiótico. Os resultados demonstraram que foi constatada em amostras de efluentes provenientes da saída da ETE a presença de cepas de Enterococos resistentes a Tetraciclina. O tratamento avançado proposto garantiu a remoção completa desses microrganismos com o tempo de operação de 15 min, a uma densidade de corrente de 10 mA/cm2 . Nessa mesma condição, o processo foi capaz de remover 75% do antibiótico Sulfametoxazol (SMX) em 60 min, fatores que atestam a eficácia da tecnologia em inativar microrganismos e degradar fármaco. Portanto, infere-se que a OEA pode ser uma alternativa viável para o polimento de efluentes.Antimicrobial resistance has raised the scientific community’s concerns as new resistant bacteria, with new resistance profiles, appear faster than the discovery of new antibiotics, increasing bacterial infections risks. In addition, the increase usage of antibiotics to prevent secondary infection during Covid19 has accelerated the process of emergence of resistant bacteria. Still, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that global antibiotic consumption will increase by approximately 67% by 2030, reinforcing that bacterial resistance tends to continue to grow. Due to this scenario, an attempt was made to evaluate the presence of resistant Enterococci in hospital effluent, city sewage, and sewage treatment plant (STP) effluent. It was proposed an alternative treatment technology that could reduce the recurrence of these resistant organisms and contaminants in effluents. Thus, this work evaluated the process of advanced electrochemical oxidation (AEO) as a “polishing” method (tertiary treatment), aiming at the removal of antibiotic and resistant Enterococci. Tetracycline-resistant strains of Enterococci was found in effluent samples from the STP outlet. The advanced treatment proposed ensured the complete removal of these microorganisms with an operating time of 15min, at a current density of 10 mA/cm2. In this same condition, the process was able to remove 75% of the antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in 60 min, factors that attests the effectiveness of the technology in inactivating microorganisms and degrading the drug. Therefore, even considering the high implementation cost, AEO may be a viable alternative for the treatment of contaminated effluents

Tarifsozialpolitik im transformierten Sozialstaat: Entwicklung, Stand und Perspektiven

Vor dem Hintergrund des Sozialstaatswandels hat tarifliche Sozialpolitik an Bedeutung gewonnen und zugleich einen Funktionswandel vollzogen: weg von einer rein komplementären, staatliche Sozialpolitik ergänzenden, hin zu einer teilweise substitutiven Funktion. Auf der Grundlage von Tarifvertragsanalysen und Experteninterviews nimmt der Beitrag eine Bestandsaufnahme vor und analysiert die Perspektiven der Tarifakteure auf die Entwicklung der Tarifsozialpolitik. Im Zentrum stehen hierbei vier Branchen mit sehr unterschiedlichen Handlungsbedingungen: Bauhauptgewerbe, chemische Industrie, Einzelhandel und privates Bankgewerbe. Es zeigt sich, dass das Regulierungsniveau feld- und branchenspezifisch erheblich variiert, was v.a. auf differente gewerkschaftliche Machtressourcen und -positionen zurückzuführen ist. Während die Arbeitgeberverbände die Bedeutungszunahme und den Funktionswandel tariflicher Sozialpolitik prinzipiell befürworten, befinden sich die Gewerkschaften diesbezüglich in einem strategischen Dilemma und politischen Dissens. Ungleich verteilten organisationspolitischen Chancen für die Tarifverbände stehen ungleich verteilte sozialpolitische Risiken und Nachteile für die Beschäftigten gegenüber.Against the background of welfare state transformation, collective bargaining of social policy issues has gained in importance. At the same time it has undergone a functional change in relation to governmental social policy by moving away from a purely complementary towards a partially substitutive role. Based on the analysis of collective agreements and expert interviews, this article gives an overview of social policy issues in collective agreements in Germany and analyses the perspectives of collective bargaining actors on their development. The focus here is on four very different sectors: main construction industry, chemical industry, retail sector and private banking sector. We find that the level of regulation of social policy by collective bargaining varies considerably from field to field and from sector to sector. This indicates the importance of different trade union power resources and positions in industrial conflict. While employers' associations favour the increased importance and the functional change of social policy by collective bargaining in general, trade unions find themselves in a strategic dilemma and disagree politically. Unevenly distributed organisational opportunities for the collective bargaining parties meet with unevenly distributed social risks and disadvantages for the employees

Segmentation of pores in carbon fiber reinforced polymers using the U-Net convolutional neural network

This study demonstrates the utilization of deep learning techniques for binary semantic segmentation of pores in carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) using X-ray computed tomography (XCT) datasets. The proposed workflow is designed to generate efficient segmentation models with reasonable execution time, applicable even for users using consumer-grade GPU systems. First, U-Net, a convolutional neural network, is modified to handle the segmentation of XCT datasets. In the second step, suitable hyperparameters are determined through a parameter analysis (hyperparameter tuning), and the parameter set with the best result was used for the final training. In the final step, we report on our efforts of implementing the testing stage in open_iA, which allows users to segment datasets with the fully trained model within reasonable time. The model performs well on datasets with both high and low resolution, and even works reasonably for barely visible pores with different shapes and size. In our experiments, we could show that U-Net is suitable for pore segmentation. Despite being trained on a limited number of datasets, it exhibits a satisfactory level of prediction accuracy

Conceptual Design of Silent Electric Commuter Aircraft

The goal of this paper is to propose and quantitatively assess two fixed wing aircraft concepts with fully electric flight capability and the design focus on reducing take-off and landing noise. The motivation for these concepts is that reducing noise footprint and emissions near airports could be an enabler for commuter aircraft operation near highly populated areas

High-Fidelity-based MDO: A Closer Look at the Selected Sub-Processes Overall Aircraft Design Synthesis, Loads Analysis, and Structural Optimization

Within the DLR project VicToria various high fidelity-based MDO processes were set-up as applicalble methods for aircraft design. Apart from aerodynamic optimization using high fidelity-based CFD analysis, the sub-processes overall aircraft design synthesis, loads analysis, and structural optimization were part of the MDO processes. The presented paper expounds such MDO sub-processes in order to exhibit their contributions and capabilities for the respected MDO process