Evaluation of the morphology of metal particles in intrinsic conductive polymer dispersions

For the production of smart textiles the resistivity of prints and coatings with intrinsic conductive polymers is often too high and the performance properties not sufficient. The addition of metal components enhances many characteristics, however the choice of type of metal, morphology and application method influence results to great extend

Entwurf und Implementierung eines Administrationssystems zur bibliothekarischen Verwaltung elektronischer Publikationen an einer wissenschaftlichen Großforschungseinrichtung

Ein bibliothekarisches Administrationssystem zur Verwaltung von elektronischen Publikationen. Mit Hilfe dieses Systems wird es dem Bibliothekar möglich gemacht, systematisch die Publikationsdaten nach Fehlern durchzusuchen und diese zu korrigieren

Statistical and experimental analysis of genetic and non-genetic markers associated with risk and progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative disease of the central retina and a leading cause of severe vision impairment in industrialized countries. AMD is a complex disease caused by genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Early stages of the disease usually do not lead to visual impairment. In contrast, the late stage forms of AMD can result in profound vision loss, eventually leading to blindness. Two distinct forms of late stage AMD have been described: geographic atrophy (GA) and neovascular AMD (NV). In this thesis, four main projects were pursued: (i) In the first project, a genetic risk model for AMD should be computed and evaluated. This model was based on a genetic risk score (GRS) calculated from twelve known, common genetic risk factors in a large cohort of late stage AMD cases and AMD-free controls. The computed model presented to have a decent classification accuracy with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) value of 0.82, which is sufficient to classify individuals as having a high or low risk for AMD. Furthermore, we computed absolute risk estimates for several risk groups to develop AMD in the next five years. In addition, we showed that individuals that were affected with AMD before the age of 75 had a statistically significantly higher genetic risk score than those individuals that got AMD after the age of 75. (ii) In order to improve the classification scheme, circulating microRNAs were investigated as potential biomarkers for AMD. We showed that three circulating microRNAs (hsa-mir-301a-3p, hsa-mir-424-5p and hsa-mir-361-5p) as well as a combined profile are significantly associated with neovascular AMD. With pathway enrichment analyses performed on predicted target genes of these microRNAs, inflammatory as well as angiogenc pathways were implicated in AMD. In addition, hsa-mir-361-5p was shown to influence the rate of neovascularization in an in vitro angiogenesis assay. (iii) The third project investigated a potential involvement of the genetic risk score and single genetic variants as well as clinical factors on the growth rate of geographic atrophy lesions. By analyzing the largest dataset available on geographic atrophy lesion growth, we showed that two genetic risk variants (C3_rs2230199 and ARMS2_rs10490924) are significanlty correlated with the growth rate of GA lesions. Furthermore, the presence of GA in the fellow eye (bilateral GA) was shown to be significantly correlated with increased GA growth. We computed multivariate linear regression models and showed that these factors are independently correlated with GA growth and jointly explain around 7% of the disease variability. (iv) In a candidate gene approach, novel genetic risk variants associated with AMD risk were investigated. We found a statistically significant association of two variants in the DAPL1 gene with late stage AMD. Interestingly, the observed associations were confined to females, thus identifying the first gender specific locus associated with AMD. By further functional characterization of these risk variants and DAPL1 transcript levels, we showed that the presence of risk alleles correlated with reduced levels of retinal and RPE specific isoforms of DAPL1. In conclusion, this thesis provided further insights into AMD pathology by: (i) implicating novel genetic factors associated with AMD risk; (ii) computing a genetic risk model, effectively summarizing the genetic risk for AMD of an individual; (iii) implicating factors correlated with geographic atrophy lesion growth and thus disease severity and (iv) identification of a biomarker for neovascular AMD based on circulating microRNAs

Die Rückkehr der hanseatischen Archivalien aus dem Osten vor 20 Jahren

Das Staatsarchiv Hamburg feierte 2010 sein 300-jähriges Bestehen. Sein Vorläufer wurde bereits im Jahre 1293 erstmals erwähnt und somit die Aufbewahrung wichtiger Dokumente der Stadt an zentraler Stelle bezeugt. Doch erst seit dem 11. September 1710, dem Amtsantritt von Nicolaus Stampeel als wissenschaftlicher Archivar bei der Stadt Hamburg, werden Dokumente systematisch ausgewählt, bewahrt und erschlossen. Dieses Jubiläum hat das Staatsarchiv mit einem breit gefächerten Veranstaltungsprogramm begangen, zu dem auch Vorträge und Lesungen gehörten, die in der hier vorliegenden Festschrift abgedruckt sind.In 2010, the Hamburg State Archives celebrated its 300th anniversary. The Archives\u27 forerunner was first mentioned in 1293 and thus testified to the preservation of important documents of the city in a central place. But it was not until September 11th, 1710, when Nicolaus Stampeel took office as a scientific archivist at the City of Hamburg. From then on, documents were systematically selected, preserved and indexed. This anniversary was celebrated by the State Archives with a broad programme of events, which included lectures and readings printed in the commemorative volume available here

Geschichte der evangelisch-lutherischen Rußlanddeutschen in der Sowjetunion, der GUS und in Deutschland in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts

The first main chapter is devoted to the origin and survival of Evangelical Lutheran congregations from 1945 to 1988. Another chapter is about the development of congregations and supra-community structures from 1988 up to the present time. The last chapter is about Evangelical Lutheran emigrants of Russian German origin on their way to Germany.Первая глава работы посвящена возникновению и выживаниию евангелическо-лютеранских общин в период с 1945 по 1988 гг. Следующая глава описывает развитие общин и церковных форм, не ограниченных принадлежностью к определённой общине, с 1988 года вплоть до настоящего времени. Последняя глава прослеживает путь евангелическо-лютеранских групп переселенцев российско-немецкого происхождения в Германию и рассматривает вопросы их положения и интеграции на новой родине в религиозно-церковном аспекте.Das erste Hauptkapitel ist der Entstehung bzw. dem Überleben evangelisch-lutherischer Gemeinden von 1945 bis 1988 gewidmet. Ein weiterer Abschnitt dreht sich um die Entwicklung der Gemeinden und der übergemeindlich-kirchlichen Formen von 1988 bis zur Gegenwart. Das letzte Kapitel begleitet evangelisch-lutherische Aussiedlergruppen rußlanddeutscher Herkunft auf ihrem Weg nach Deutschland und befaßt sich unter religiös-kirchlichen Aspekten mit ihrer Lage bzw. Integration in der neuen Heimat

Structured textile surfaces for easy-to-clean properties towards dry soil

Soiling of (textile) surfaces is a big issue as it reduces the users comfort and may decrease the conservation of value of the product. In automotive, interior parts of head lining and side lining are soiled by airborne dust, brought into the car by the ventilation system. To overcome these problems, textiles can be functionalized with anti-soiling finishes. However, commercial anti-soiling products often are very effective against liquid soil but less effective against dry soil. Repellency of this type of soil (e.g. street dust) can be achieved by (nano) structured surfaces which reduce the contact area between textile and dirt particle. In this research project textile surfaces with easy-to-clean properties for dry soil were prepared. Textile samples were functionalized with mixtures of structuring hydrophilic silica particles (HDK-C10) and binder systems based on silanes. To determine the easy-to-clean effect, samples were soiled with standard soil using a modified filter test rig and were vacuum cleaned afterwards. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze particle size and distribution. The low viscosity of the components of the binder system enabled film formation around each single fiber. Film properties could be adjusted by different functionalities of silanes. Especially, silica particles in combination with a mixture of a vinylsilane (VTEO) and a mercapto silane (MS) showed good cleaning properties. This effect remains for several soiling and cleaning cycles which demonstrates the permanence of the finishing. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Simulation pulsverarbeitender neuronaler Netze : eine ereignisgetriebene und verteilte Simulation pulsverarbeitender neuronaler Netze

In dieser Arbeit werden die Eigenschaften von pulsverarbeitenden Neuronalen Netzen (PVNN) untersucht und eine daraufhin optimierte Lösung in Form des Simulationssystems SPIKELAB vorgestellt. SPIKELAB implementiert eine ereignisgetriebene und verteilte Simulation, welche die Eigenschaften pulsverarbeitender neuronaler Netze, wie z. B. die geringe Aktivität dieser Netzwerke, deren spärliche Vernetzung und die Verzögerung zwischen Neuronen, explizit behandelt und ein dadurch gegebenes Optimierungspotential ausschöpft. Zudem werden die Pulse im Netzwerk alleine durch den Zeitpunkt ihres Auftretens modelliert, wodurch trotz der in SPIKELAB eingesetzten Optimierungen, ohne Eingriff in das Simulationsverfahren, nahezu beliebige Berechnungsmodelle für Neuronen implementiert werden können. Die ereignisgetriebene Simulation wird in dieser Arbeit quantitativ mit einem üblicherweise verwendeten Zeitscheibenverfahren verglichen. Die Beschleunigung durch eine Verteilung der Simulation wird quantitativ an repräsentativen Beispielnetzwerken aufgezeigt. Schließlich zeigt die in dieser Arbeit entwickelte Beschleunigungshardware RACER in welcher Weise eine ereignisgetriebene Simulation durch Hardware beschleunigt und wie analoge und digitale Hardware in die Simulation eingebunden werden kann

Textile based dye-sensitized solar cells with natural dyes

Natural dyes extracted from hibiscus petals, elderberries and mallow flowers were investigated in dye-sensitized solar cells. Two approaches were followed: 1. Hybrid glass/fabric cells with titanium dioxide on glass as working electrode and a textile counter electrode; 2. hybrid fabric/glass cells with zinc oxide as working electrode on textile and a glass counter electrode. The zinc oxide layer on cotton was prepared by electroless deposition whereas the titanium dioxide coated glass electrodes were obtained directly from the manufacturer. In both cases the redox couple consisted of iodine / triiodide and the counter electrode was based on an electrically conductive fabric