Citizen science versus professional data collection: Comparison of approaches to mosquito monitoring in Germany

Due to the recent emergence of invasive mosquito species and the outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases in Europe, research on the ecology and diversity of the mosquito fauna has returned to scientific agendas. Through a nationwide surveillance programme in Germany, mosquitoes have been monitored actively by systematically operated traps since 2011, and passively by the 'Mückenatlas' (mosquito atlas) citizen science project launched in 2012. To assess the performance of both monitoring methods we compared the two respective datasets with regard to habitat coverage, species composition and the ability to detect invasive mosquitoes. The datasets include observations from the beginning of the project until the end of 2017. We found significant differences in species composition caused by land use types and the participants' recording activity. Active monitoring performed better in mapping mosquito diversity, whereas passive monitoring better detected invasive species, thereby using data from private premises scientists usually cannot access. Synthesis and applications. Active and passive monitoring is complementary. Combining them allows for the determination of mosquito diversity, efficient detection of emerging invasive species and the initiation of rapid-response actions against such invaders. The 'Mückenatlas' sets an example for the usefulness of citizen science when included in a national monitoring programme, an approach that may be worth copying for tackling the global spread of arthropod vectors of disease agents

Velocity distributions of sputtered excited atoms

The first direct measurements are reported of the velocity distributions of sputtered atoms in excited states with electronic configurations completely different from the ground state. In contrast to previous work, the measured distributions for both the singlet and triplet metastable D states of Ba atoms showed no energy thresholds and had most probable energies similar to those of sputtered ground-state atoms.Peer reviewedElectrical and Computer Engineerin

Linking a compartment model for West Nile virus with a flight simulator for vector mosquitoes

Compartmental SIR and SEIR models have become the state of the art tools to study infection cycles of arthropod-borne viruses such as West Nile virus in specific areas. In 2018, the virus was detected for the first time in Germany, and incidents have been reported in humans, birds, and horses. The aim of the work presented here was to provide a tool for estimating West Nile virus infection scenarios, local hotspots and dispersal routes following its introduction into new locations through the movements of mosquitoes. For this purpose, we adapted a SEIR model for West Nile virus to the conditions in Germany (temperatures, geographical latitude, bird and mosquito species densities) and the characteristic transmission and life trait parameter of a possible host bird and vector mosquito species. We further extended it by a spatial component: an agent-based flight simulator for vector mosquitoes. It demonstrates how the female mosquitoes move within the landscape due to habitat structures and wind conditions and about how many of them leave the region in the different cardinal directions. We applied the space–time coupled model with a daily temporal and spatial resolution of 100 m x 100 m to the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) and the Asian bush mosquito (Aedes japonicus japonicus). Both species are widely distributed in Germany and discussed as important hosts and vectors, respectively. We also applied the model to three study regions in Germany, each representing slightly different climatic conditions and containing significantly different pattern of suitable habitats for the mosquito species

Photoelectron and NEXAFS microscopy of radiation induced changes in cadmium arachidate films

The radiation induced changes caused by both low energy Ar+ ion bombardment and high energy H+ ion bombardment on Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of cadmium arachidate were investigated using a commercial photoelectron microscope installed at the German synchrotron facility BESSY. For the low energy situation, XPS imaging was performed using damage induced differential charging as the contrast mechanism. The high energy H+ bombardment produced less damage and no resolvable charging shift, so this contrast mechanism cannot be used for imaging. However, chemical shifts in the C NEXAFS (near edge X-ray absorption fine structure), caused by the H+ bombardment, are sufficiently large to use as a contrast mechanism. NEXAFS, of course, requires tunable radiation and hence spectromicroscopy in conjunction with synchrotron radiation offers the possibility for imaging chemical changes in organic films which are not observable using fixed energy laboratory sources. In principle, molecular orientation changes are also imageable, as the relative intensities of different features in a NEXAFS spectrum often vary with orientation

von Knethen: „Functional requirements, non-functional requirements and architecture specification cannot be separated – A position paper

Abstract. Requirements engineering approaches have for a long time mainly focused on functional requirements. During the last 5 years, several approaches dealing specifically with non-functional requirements have emerged. They support the elicitation, documentation, verification and validation of nonfunctional requirements: sometimes only concentrating on the non-functional requirements, sometimes in conjunction with functional requirements, and sometimes in conjunction with architecture. The position we put forward in this paper is that functional requirements, non-functional requirements, and architecture must be treated together. It is well known that functional requirements (FRs) and non-functional requirements (NFRs) constrain each other and therefore should be treated together. Similarly, it is well known that both FRs and NFRs must be realized through the architecture. However, typically, the development of an architecture is not considered part of requirements engineering. In this paper we argue that FRs, NFRs and architectural decisions (ADs) must be developed in a tightly integrated approach. In the rest of th