Implementation and evaluation of a mobile web application for auditory stimulation of chronic Tinnitus patients

Tinnitus is a prevalent disease that mainly states a big mystery to all kinds of scientific faculties and causes enormous costs due to further research. An initial assumption of the disease was the coherence of Tinnitus with a worse spatial hearing ability of the patient. With the assistance of mobile devices, it is the aim of this thesis to realize a mobile web application that allows it to draw conclusions that might support this theory in an easy available and ambulant way. The application is created as a game that has its focus on spatial hearing. The thesis depicts the used Application Programming Interfaces and names possible improvements

The Role of Local Public Goods for Gender Gaps in the Spatial Economy

We assess the role of local public goods provision for gender gaps in the labour market. We find that higher fiscal revenues of local governments are associated with decreasing gender employment gaps in German labour market areas because it decreases labour supply for male workers at a higher rate than for female workers. The results are robust when we include instrumental variables that address the endogeneity of local public goods provision. To assess the impact of fiscal transfers across regions on gender gaps we quantify a spatial general equilibrium model with multiple types of workers, who are differently affected by local public goods provision in their labour supply decision. We find that transfers reduce disparities across regions. This goes along with smaller gender gaps in employment in treated regions because female workers are disproportionately pulled into market work and regions with low productivity

Automatische Erstellung von GDI-DE konformen Produktmetadaten im Kontext der Krisenkartierung

Metadaten als Daten über Daten werden in vielen Anwendungsbereichen erhoben. Sie stellen sicher, dass die Daten erhalten bleiben und sinnvoll genutzt werden können. Die Sicherung des Kontextes in denen die Daten erfasst worden sind, spielt gerade in der Krisenunterstützung eine große Rolle. Hier ist es essentiell, dass die Daten auffindbar sind und die räumliche und zeitliche Gültigkeit erfasst werden kann. Für eine sinnvolle Unterstützung müssen die Daten den Helfern zeitnah bereitgestellt werden. Dadurch bleibt für die Verarbeitung der Daten nur sehr wenig Zeit. Die Zeit, die die Erstellung der Metadaten benötigt, fehlt für die Erzeugung der Informationsprodukte. Metadaten können zu unterschiedlichen Zeitpunkten erhoben werden. Die meisten Informationen sind jedoch zum Zeitpunkt der Erstellung der Daten vorhanden. Deswegen sollten die Metadaten auch zu diesem Zeitpunkt erhoben werden. Eine automatische Erstellung der Metadaten ermöglicht das, ohne dabei den Ablauf der Krisenkartierung zu stören. Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit den Methoden, Metadaten zu erfassen. Diese Methoden gliedern sich in die manuelle, die semi-automatische und die automatische Erfassung. Des weiteren wird auf Metadaten im Allgemeinen und speziell auf das INSPIRE Profil der europäischen Union eingegangen. Dieses Profil findet auch in der GDI-DE Verwendung, die Teil der Europäischen Geodateninfrastruktur ist. Die automatischen Methoden werden dann zusammen mit dem Anforderungen des INSPIRE Standards als Anwendung in „ArcMap R “umgesetzt. Die Anwendung verbindet die Erstellung der verschiedenen Formate des Produktes und die Erfassung der Metadaten sowie die Möglichkeit, vorhandene Metadaten zu aktualisieren. Damit soll gezeigt werden, wie Metadaten für die Produkte einer Krisenkartierung erfasst und aktualisiert werden können. Für die Anwendung werden die Anforderungen aus den Ergebnissen der Forschung im Bereich der automatischen Metadatenerfassung abgeleitet und zusammen mit den Nutzern in Zentrum für Satellitengestützte Kriseninformation erfasst. Bei der Umsetzung wird eine möglichst vollständige Automatisierung der Metadatenerstellung angestrebt. Die mit dem Werkzeug erstellten Metadaten werden dann mit Hilfe den von der GDI-DE und INPIRE angebotenen Services validiert. Die für die Erfassung verwendeten Methoden und ihre Umsetzung werden dargestellt, und der Automationsgrad anhand eines Krisenprodukts bestimmt

Optimisation of hybrid off-grid energy systems by linear programming

Background: In this study, a general model of a hybrid off-grid energy system is developed, which can be adjusted to reflect real conditions in order to achieve economical and ecological optimisation of off-grid energy systems. Methods: Using linear programming methods in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) environment, the optimal configuration of the electrical power supply system following characteristic restrictions as well as hourly weather and demand data is found. From this model, the optimal mix of solar- and wind-based power generators combined with storage devices and a diesel generator set is formed. Results: The operation of this model was tested in two real off-grid energy systems, a cluster of villages in India and Titumate in Colombia. Both optimisation processes resulted in hybrid energy systems, utilising photovoltaics (PV), lead-acid batteries and a diesel generator as a load-balancing facility. Conclusions: With respect to small off-grid energy systems, it was found that renewable energy in combination with electrical storage devices help to reduce the cost of energy compared to stand-alone diesel generator sets. The optimal solutions strongly depend on the particular load demand curve. As both PV and wind energy benefit from energy storage, the costs of the battery can be shared and the two technologies complement each other. Finally, although the optimised capacity of the diesel generator remains nearly constant, its contribution to the total power generation is being substituted by renewable energy sources, which serve as fuel-saving technologies

Einleitung

In der soziologischen Theoriebildung kommt der Zeitdimension seit jeher eine konzeptbildende Bedeutung zu. Spätestens seitdem Alfred Schütz den Weberschen Ansatz einer verstehenden Soziologie ausgehend von der Zeitphilosophie Bergsons und der Phänomenologie Husserls tieferlegte und erweiterte, ist Zeit als Sinndimensionen des Sozialen kaum mehr wegzudenken. Sozialtheoretisch ist Zeit von der Phänomenologie über den Pragmatismus bis hin zur Systemtheorie relevant über den Aspekt der genuin zeitlichen Konstitution sozialen Sinns. Gegenwartsdiagnostisch ist vor diesem Hintergrund allerdings eine Verschiebung zu erkennen: Mit dem spacial und allgemein material turn sowie der Diagnose einer Beschleunigung der Gesellschaft attestiert sich die moderne Gesellschaft, dass ihr Raum und Zeit problematisch werden. Im Sinne einer These kann vermutet werden, dass sich nach dem Übergang zur Moderne die Zeit- und Raumverhältnisse sozialen Sinns erneut im Umbruch befinden – mit potenziell ähnlich weitreichenden Implikationen für soziale Strukturen, wie sie rückblickend im Übergang zur Moderne beobachtbar sind

Detection of Emission from the CN Radical in the Cloverleaf Quasar at z=2.56

We report the detection of CN(N=3-2) emission towards the Cloverleaf quasar (z=2.56) based on observations with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. This is the first clear detection of emission from this radical at high redshift. CN emission is a tracer of dense molecular hydrogen gas (n(H2) > 10^4 cm^{-3}) within star-forming molecular clouds, in particular in regions where the clouds are affected by UV radiation. The HCN/CN intensity ratio can be used as a diagnostic for the relative importance of photodissociation regions (PDRs) in a source, and as a sensitive probe of optical depth, the radiation field, and photochemical processes. We derive a lensing-corrected CN(N=3-2) line luminosity of L'(CN(3-2) = (4.5 +/- 0.5) x 10^9 K km/s pc^2. The ratio between CN luminosity and far-infrared luminosity falls within the scatter of the same relationship found for low-z (ultra-) luminous infrared galaxies. Combining our new results with CO(J=3-2) and HCN(J=1-0) measurements from the literature and assuming thermal excitation for all transitions, we find a CO/CN luminosity ratio of 9.3 +/- 1.9 and a HCN/CN luminosity ratio of 0.95 +/- 0.15. However, we find that the CN(N=3-2) line is likely only subthermally excited, implying that those ratios may only provide upper limits for the intrinsic 1-0 line luminosity ratios. We conclude that, in combination with other molecular gas tracers like CO, HCN, and HCO+, CN is an important probe of the physical conditions and chemical composition of dense molecular environments at high redshift.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, to appear in ApJ (accepted May 23, 2007

First Detection of HCO+ Emission at High Redshift

We report the detection of HCO+(1-0) emission towards the Cloverleaf quasar (z=2.56) through observations with the Very Large Array. This is the first detection of ionized molecular gas emission at high redshift (z>2). HCO+ emission is a star formation indicator similar to HCN, tracing dense molecular hydrogen gas (n(H_2) ~= 10^5 cm^{-3}) within star-forming molecular clouds. We derive a lensing-corrected HCO+ line luminosity of L'(HCO+) = 3.5 x 10^9 K km/s pc^2. Combining our new results with CO and HCN measurements from the literature, we find a HCO+/CO luminosity ratio of 0.08 and a HCO+/HCN luminosity ratio of 0.8. These ratios fall within the scatter of the same relationships found for low-z star-forming galaxies. However, a HCO+/HCN luminosity ratio close to unity would not be expected for the Cloverleaf if the recently suggested relation between this ratio and the far-infrared luminosity were to hold. We conclude that a ratio between HCO+ and HCN luminosity close to 1 is likely due to the fact that the emission from both lines is optically thick and thermalized and emerges from dense regions of similar volumes. The CO, HCN and HCO+ luminosities suggest that the Cloverleaf is a composite AGN--starburst system, in agreement with the previous finding that about 20% of the total infrared luminosity in this system results from dust heated by star formation rather than heating by the AGN. We conclude that HCO+ is potentially a good tracer for dense molecular gas at high redshift.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, ApJL, in press (accepted May 17, 2006

CO(1-0) in z ≳ 4 Quasar Host Galaxies: No Evidence for Extended Molecular Gas Reservoirs

We present ^(12)CO(J = 1 → 0) observations of the high-redshift quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) BR 1202-0725 (z = 4.69), PSS J2322+1944 (z = 4.12), and APM 08279+5255 (z = 3.91) using the NRAO Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and the MPIfR Effelsberg 100 m telescope. We detect, for the first time, the CO ground-level transition in BR 1202-0725. For PSS J2322+1944 and APM 08279+5255, our observations result in line fluxes that are consistent with previous NRAO Very Large Array (VLA) observations, but they reveal the full line profiles. We report a typical lensing-corrected velocity-integrated intrinsic ^(12)CO(J = 1 → 0) line luminosity of L'_(CO) = 5 × 10^(10) K km s^(-1) pc^2 and a typical total H_2 mass of M(H_2) = 4 × 10^(10) M_☉ for the sources in our sample. The CO/FIR luminosity ratios of these high-z sources follow the same trend as seen for low-z galaxies, leading to a combined solution of log L_(FIR) = (1.39 ± 0.05) log L_(CO) - 1.76. It has previously been suggested that the molecular gas reservoirs in some quasar host galaxies may exhibit luminous, extended ^(12)CO(J = 1 → 0) components that are not observed in the higher J CO transitions. Using the line profiles and the total intensities of our observations and large velocity gradient (LVG) models based on previous results for higher J CO transitions, we derive that emission from all CO transitions is described well by a single gas component in which all molecular gas is concentrated in a compact nuclear region. Thus, our observations and models show no indication of a luminous extended, low surface brightness molecular gas component in any of the high-redshift QSOs in our sample. If such extended components exist, their contribution to the overall luminosity is limited to at most 30%

The Discovery of a Molecular Complex in the Tidal Arms near NGC 3077

We present the discovery of a giant molecular complex (r=350 pc, M_ vir=10^7 M_sun) in the tidal arms south-east of NGC 3077, a member of the M 81 triplet. The complex is clearly detected in the 12CO (J=1-0) transition at five independent positions. The position relative to NGC 3077, the systemic velocity (v_hel=14km/s) and the cloud averaged line width (15km/s) indicate that the object is not related to Galactic cirrus but is extragalactic. The tidal HI arm where the molecular complex is located has an total HI mass of M_HI=3x10^8 M_sun. This tidal material was presumably stripped off the outer parts of NGC 3077 during the closest encounter with M 81, about 3x10^8 years ago. After the complex detected along a torn-out spiral arm of M 81 by Brouillet et al., it is the second of its kind reported so far. Based on published optical observations, we have no evidence for on--going star formation in the newly detected molecular complex. Since the system has all the ingredients to form stars in the future, we speculate that it might eventually resemble the young dwarf galaxies in the M 81 group.Comment: 12 pages (including 3 figures), accepted for publication in the ApJ Letter