Comparison of different sources for laboratory X-ray microscopy

This paper describes the setup of two different solutions for laboratory X-ray microscopy working with geometric magnification. One setup uses thin-film transmission targets with an optimized tungsten-layer thickness and the electron gun and optics of an electron probe micro analyzer to generate a very small X-ray source. The other setup is based on a scanning electron microscope and uses microstructured reflection targets. We also describe the structuring process for these targets. In both cases we show that resolutions of 100 nm can be achieved. Also the possibilities of computed tomography for 3D imaging are explored and we show first imaging examples of high-absorption as well as low-absorption specimens to demonstrate the capabilities of the setups.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, proceedings of the 14th International Workshop on Radiation Imaging Detector

Urban Infrastructures: Criticality, Vulnerability and Protection. Report of the International Conference of the Research Training Group KRITIS at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany

From the 7th to the 8th of February 2019, more than 70 scientists from different disciplines and countries came together for the international Conference “Urban Infrastructure: Criticality, Vulnerability and Protection” which was organised by the Research Training Group KRITIS at Technische Universität Darmstadt. The focus of the conference was on networked critical infrastructures (CI) in cities as socio-technical systems that require special protection strategies due to their vulnerabilities. Five multidisciplinary panels on Governance, Spatiality, Temporality, Safety and Security, and ICT Solutions elucidated urban CI protection. The keynote lectures by Per Högselius (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm), Jon Coaffee (University of Warwick; New York University) and Christoph Lamers (State Fire Service Institute North Rhine Westfalia) highlighted and deepened the aspects relevant to this context. Despite all the diversity of the contributions from many different disciplines, one aspect has always been prominent: the enormous complexity of urban CI. Regardless of the task at hand - governing and planning cities, creating security concepts and making cities more resilient - the complexity of the CI systems must always be considered. On the conference, civil engineers, computer scientists, urban and spatial planners, architects, sociologists, political scientists, historians and philosophers as well as practitioners from public administration, and operators of critical infrastructures made interesting suggestions on how to deal with the uncertainties involved. It also became clear that current challenges require approaches that cannot be found in a single discipline alone

miRNAs in lung cancer - Studying complex fingerprints in patient's blood cells by microarray experiments

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Deregulated miRNAs are found in cancer cells and recently in blood cells of cancer patients. Due to their inherent stability miRNAs may offer themselves for blood based tumor diagnosis. Here we addressed the question whether there is a sufficient number of miRNAs deregulated in blood cells of cancer patients to be able to distinguish between cancer patients and controls.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We synthesized 866 human miRNAs and miRNA star sequences as annotated in the Sanger miRBase onto a microarray designed by febit biomed gmbh. Using the fully automated Geniom Real Time Analyzer platform, we analyzed the miRNA expression in 17 blood cell samples of patients with non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) and in 19 blood samples of healthy controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using t-test, we detected 27 miRNAs significantly deregulated in blood cells of lung cancer patients as compared to the controls. Some of these miRNAs were validated using qRT-PCR. To estimate the value of each deregulated miRNA, we grouped all miRNAs according to their diagnostic information that was measured by Mutual Information. Using a subset of 24 miRNAs, a radial basis function Support Vector Machine allowed for discriminating between blood cellsamples of tumor patients and controls with an accuracy of 95.4% [94.9%-95.9%], a specificity of 98.1% [97.3%-98.8%], and a sensitivity of 92.5% [91.8%-92.5%].</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings support the idea that neoplasia may lead to a deregulation of miRNA expression in blood cells of cancer patients compared to blood cells of healthy individuals. Furthermore, we provide evidence that miRNA patterns can be used to detect human cancers from blood cells.</p

Urban Infrastructures: Criticality, Vulnerability and Protection. Report of the International Conference of the Research Training Group KRITIS at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany

From the 7th to the 8th of February 2019, more than 70 scientists from different disciplines and countries came together for the international Conference “Urban Infrastructure: Criticality, Vulnerability and Protection” which was organised by the Research Training Group KRITIS at Technische Universität Darmstadt. The focus of the conference was on networked critical infrastructures (CI) in cities as socio-technical systems that require special protection strategies due to their vulnerabilities. Five multidisciplinary panels on Governance, Spatiality, Temporality, Safety and Security, and ICT Solutions elucidated urban CI protection. The keynote lectures by Per Högselius (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm), Jon Coaffee (University of Warwick; New York University) and Christoph Lamers (State Fire Service Institute North Rhine Westfalia) highlighted and deepened the aspects relevant to this context. Despite all the diversity of the contributions from many different disciplines, one aspect has always been prominent: the enormous complexity of urban CI. Regardless of the task at hand - governing and planning cities, creating security concepts and making cities more resilient - the complexity of the CI systems must always be considered. On the conference, civil engineers, computer scientists, urban and spatial planners, architects, sociologists, political scientists, historians and philosophers as well as practitioners from public administration, and operators of critical infrastructures made interesting suggestions on how to deal with the uncertainties involved. It also became clear that current challenges require approaches that cannot be found in a single discipline alone