Assessing agreement between preclinical magnetic resonance imaging and histology: An evaluation of their image qualities and quantitative results

One consequence of demographic change is the increasing demand for biocompatible materials for use in implants and prostheses. This is accompanied by a growing number of experimental animals because the interactions between new biomaterials and its host tissue have to be investigated. To evaluate novel materials and engineered tissues the use of nondestructive imaging modalities have been identified as a strategic priority. This provides the opportunity for studying interactions repeatedly with individual animals, along with the advantages of reduced biological variability and decreased number of laboratory animals. However, histological techniques are still the golden standard in preclinical biomaterial research. The present article demonstrates a detailed method comparison between histology and magnetic resonance imaging. This includes the presentation of their image qualities as well as the detailed statistical analysis for assessing agreement between quantitative measures. Exemplarily, the bony ingrowth of tissue engineered bone substitutes for treatment of a cleft-like maxillary bone defect has been evaluated. By using a graphical concordance analysis the mean difference between MRI results and histomorphometrical measures has been examined. The analysis revealed a slightly but significant bias in the case of the bone volume ðbiasHisto MRI: Bonevolume = 2: 40 %, p < 0: 005) and a clearly significant deviation for the remaining defect width ðbiasHisto MRI: Defectwidth = 6: 73 %, p 0: 005Þ: But the study although showed a considerable effect of the analyzed section position to the quantitative result. It could be proven, that the bias of the data sets was less originated due to the imaging modalities, but mainly on the evaluation of different slice positions. The article demonstrated that method comparisons not always need the use of an independent animal study, additionally

Economic models for assessing the economic effects of linking emissions trading schemes

Before linking emissions trading systems, there should be a good understanding of the expected economic implications: How could linking affect the development of the common allowance price, the development of emissions or industrial production, capital flows or liquidity? Answering these questions requires a multitude of data and assumptions and therefore usually the use of economic models. This report gives an overview of various economic models that are suitable for assessing the economic effects of linking. It analyses the economic indicators relevant for the assessment of the effects of linking, formulates requirements for economic models to answer this question, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different modelling approaches and gives an assessment of which models are suitable in principle for the assessment of linking. Five models were selected for a more detailed description: E3ME, GEM-E3, PACE, POLES, and TIMES-MARKAL

Kontrastive Analyse chinesischer und deutscher SMS-Kommunikation – ein interaktionaler und gattungstheoretischer Ansatz

Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung ist also eine kontrastive Analyse, die u.a. den folgenden Fragen nachgeht: Inwiefern geben die medialen Voraussetzungen bei der Verschriftlichung von chinesischen und deutschen SMS-Nachrichten sprachliche Strukturen vor? Welche Besonderheiten können sich durch die Unterschiedlichkeit des Schriftsystems ergeben? Inwiefern kann man bei sprachlichen Merkmalen deutscher und chinesischer Kurznachrichten von einer Zuordnung zum Pol der konzeptionellen Mündlichkeit nach Koch/Oesterreicher sprechen? Dialogische Ansätze bei der Erforschung von SMS-Nachrichten gehen zudem verstärkt davon aus, dass analysiert werden muss, welche interaktionalen Aufgaben durch bestimmte, routinisierte sprachliche Muster gelöst werden sollen. Das Konzept der kommunikativen Gattungen kann hierbei zeigen, dass sich innerhalb der Kommunikationsform SMS verschiedene Gattungen herausgebildet haben, die den jeweiligen kommunikativen Bedürfnissen der SchreiberInnen und den von ihnen zu bewältigenden kommunikativen Aufgaben entsprechen

Rethink the target : drivers, barriers and path dependencies for a low-carbon-transition in shrinking cities ; the case of Oberhausen

The role of cities in mitigating GHG emissions and thus tackling global warming has gained importance over the last years.Many cities have developed climate action plans, primarily to achieve long-term "low-carbon" mitigation goals set by national governments or (inter)national agreements. A mere adoption of high level targets, however, raises the question whether these targets are applicable for cities with very different framework conditions. We argue that it is crucial to understand the socio-economic, geophysical, spatial, infrastructural and political framework of a city - a broad approach, which is generally missing in climate action plans. Thus, determining drivers and barriers for future development paths is neglected by local policies, which leads to a gap between ambition (target) and reality (implementation). We exemplarily examine this hypothesis for the shrinking city of Oberhausen (Germany). Oberhausen, located in the Ruhr area,is a typical old industrial region, which has seen a decline of its industrial basis over the last decades. We analysed historical data and developed scenarios until 2030. Both show a significant decrease in CO2 emissions. A closer look, however, reveals that the reduction is primarily due to the economic transformation (less manufacturing, more service industry, accompanied by a decrease in population) and general energy efficiency developments following the implementation of national and EU policies. Although the city has implemented–and will further implement - many instruments and policies to reduce CO2 emissions, local barriers such as unemployment, low rents, low income, high per capita debts, etc. dramatically reduce the city's capacity for action. The results show that Oberhausen's emission reductions do not reflect active energy policies but are mainly driven by an economic decline. To reach ambitious reduction targets, however, the city needs to be enabled to take action in achieving appropriate and reasonable targets