Awkward objects: relics, the making of religious meaning, and the limits of control in the information age.

The thesis aims to recover relics - i.e. the bodily remains of the saints in the Roman-Catholic tradition - as a neglected object category within the study of material religion. In doing so, it seeks to widen the understanding of the materiality of religious practice, complementing more traditional approaches that have focused on religion as primarily a phenomenon of belief, ritual or written discourse. To achieve this aim the thesis examines the continuing conditions of the production, authentification, circulation and function of relics at the intersection of institutional and private contexts. Special emphasis is laid on the modes of abduction and appropriation that mediate between these contexts, in particular their more controversial aspects involving the use of modern electronic media such as commercial websites like eBay, the Internet auction house The first section of the thesis charts how relics are produced within the institutional setting of ecclesiastical authorities and how they derive potency, authority, in short: significance, from the inscription within these settings, localized at Rome and the Vatican as both, objective and imaginary spaces and how, often against the resistance of Church authorities, relics are alienated from these settings through more or less legitimate channels such as street markets, the trade in antiques and especially eBay, the Internet auction site, which appears as an arena on constructing and contesting religious significance through sacred objects. The second section then looks in more detail at the specific meanings that individual faithful invest in relics, especially when seen before a backdrop of larger controversies about popular and official piety, Catholic tradition(alism) and innovation following the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), a discussion that, within the social sciences, also involves debates on the understanding of religion and modernity, on memory, value and values, materiality and spirituality

Trouble for cluster parameter estimation from blind SZ surveys?

(Abriged version) The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect of galaxy clusters is a tool to measure three quantities: Compton parameter, electron temperature, and cluster peculiar velocity. However, a major problem is non-removed contamination by astrophysical sources that emit in the SZ frequencies. This includes interstellar dust emission, infra-red (IR) galaxies, and radio sources in addition to primary Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies. The three former contaminations induce systematic shifts in the three SZ parameters. In this study, we carefully estimated, both for a large beam experiment (namely Planck Surveyor) and a small beam experiment (ACT-like), the systematic errors that result if a fraction of the expected levels of emission from dust, IR galaxies, and radio sources remains non-removed. ...Comment: Accepted version (09/03/2005) in press in A&A. Modified content and title, SPT section remove

Towards real-time cardiovascular magnetic resonance guided transarterial CoreValve implantation: in vivo evaluation in swine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Real-time cardiovascular magnetic resonance (rtCMR) is considered attractive for guiding TAVI. Owing to an unlimited scan plane orientation and an unsurpassed soft-tissue contrast with simultaneous device visualization, rtCMR is presumed to allow safe device navigation and to offer optimal orientation for precise axial positioning. We sought to evaluate the preclinical feasibility of rtCMR-guided transarterial aortic valve implatation (TAVI) using the nitinol-based Medtronic CoreValve bioprosthesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>rtCMR-guided transfemoral (n = 2) and transsubclavian (n = 6) TAVI was performed in 8 swine using the original CoreValve prosthesis and a modified, CMR-compatible delivery catheter without ferromagnetic components.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>rtCMR using TrueFISP sequences provided reliable imaging guidance during TAVI, which was successful in 6 swine. One transfemoral attempt failed due to unsuccessful aortic arch passage and one pericardial tamponade with subsequent death occurred as a result of ventricular perforation by the device tip due to an operating error, this complication being detected without delay by rtCMR. rtCMR allowed for a detailed, simultaneous visualization of the delivery system with the mounted stent-valve and the surrounding anatomy, resulting in improved visualization during navigation through the vasculature, passage of the aortic valve, and during placement and deployment of the stent-valve. Post-interventional success could be confirmed using ECG-triggered time-resolved cine-TrueFISP and flow-sensitive phase-contrast sequences. Intended valve position was confirmed by ex-vivo histology.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study shows that rtCMR-guided TAVI using the commercial CoreValve prosthesis in conjunction with a modified delivery system is feasible in swine, allowing improved procedural guidance including immediate detection of complications and direct functional assessment with reduction of radiation and omission of contrast media.</p

Computational method and sampling-based measurement techniques for the determination of interference RF fields and their related interference voltages on wire harnesses

Ein wichtiger Aspekt der EMV ist die Einstrahlung hochfrequenter elektromagnetischer Felder in Leitersysteme. Zur Quantisierung derartiger Verkopplungen entwickelt die vorliegende Arbeit sowohl messtechnische als auch numerische Verfahren. Für die Berechnung der Störeinkopplung in Herzschrittmacher-Systeme wird ein hybrides Berechnungsverfahren, zusammengesetzt aus der Mehrfach-Multipol-Methode und der Methode der Momente, weiterentwickelt und es wird seine Anwendbarkeit verbessert. Neben dem Berechnungsverfahren wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit ein neues Feldsensor-Verfahren zur Betrags- und Phasenmessung hochfrequenter elektrischer Felder entwickelt. Dieses Verfahren macht sich das subharmonische Abtasten zunutze, indem ein schneller Abtaster in eine elektrisch kurze Dipolantenne untergebracht wird. Die Triggerung des Abtasters erfolgt über einen optischen Leiter, welcher Verzerrungen des zu messenden Feldes vermeidet. Es wird eine sehr hohe Messgeschwindigkeit erreicht, so dass auch Feldverteilungen innerhalb kurzer Zeit gemessen werden können. Neben dem Feldsensor wird ein hierzu abgewandeltes Sensorsystem zur Messung von Störspannungen entwickelt, welches z.B. die Messung von Einkoppelspannungen an Herzschrittmacherelektroden erlaubt. Die Arbeit schließt zum einen mit der Untersuchung der Störeinkopplung in Herzschrittmachersysteme und zum anderen mit experimentellen Arbeiten zur Feldverteilung im Kraftfahrzeug bei Mobilfunkbetrieb ab.A major topic in the field of EMC is the interference of electromagnetic waves and electric wire systems. In order to quantize the occurring coupling effects this thesis covers measurement systems as well as numeric computation methods. For the calculation of disturbing voltages inside of cardiac pacemaker systems a hybrid field calculation program, consisting of the multiple multipole method and the method of moments, is optimized and its applicability is enhanced. In a large experiment a novel field probe is developed for measurements of both magnitude and phase of electromagnetic fields at radio frequencies. This measurement system is based on the principle of subharmonic sampling by integrating a sampling circuit inside a short electric dipole. The probe is connected with its data acquisition unit via an optical fiber which prevents disturbance of the electric field to be measured. Consequently, the fiber line is also used for triggering the sampler inside the probe. The sampling approach enables a very high measurement rate which makes the system well suited for recording field distributions. In addition to the field probe a voltage probe based on the same principle is presented. The voltage sensor is placed inside a cardiac pacemaker housing so that measurements of interference voltages on pacemaker electrodes can be performed. In addition, coupling mechanisms between cardiac pacemaker electrodes and cellular phones are investigated. An experimental work on field distributions inside an automobile in the presence of different types of operating mobile phones concludes the work