Age-related efficiency loss of household refrigeration appliances: Development of an approach to measure the degradation of insulation properties

Despite the omnipresence of household refrigeration appliances, there is still a lack of knowledge about their age-related efficiency loss over time. Past studies provide basic evidence for increasing electricity consumption of cooling appliances with ageing but fail to investigate the associated technical wear. Concentrating on the degradation of the thermal insulation, we first determined the ageing process of sealed samples of polyurethane rigid foam by investigating changes in cell gas composition and thermal conductivity over time. Simultaneously, the main challenge was to develop an approach that investigates the age-related efficiency loss of the insulation without its destruction. This testing procedure is referred to as the Bonn method. The non-destructive Bonn method was applied to varying refrigerator models in a series of successive experiments to evaluate the insulation degradation over time. Subsequently, the physical relationship between the test value of the Bonn method and the heat transfer through the multi-layered compartment walls of domestic refrigeration appliances was established, ultimately characterising the degrading insulation in terms of increasing heat transfer. Our results give substantiated evidence that the efficiency loss of cooling appliances is greatly influenced by insulation degradation over time. The ageing of sealed samples of polyurethane rigid foam indicates a large initial increase of thermal conductivity by 15% within the first year, corresponding to a change in cell gas composition. These results are in line with those of the Bonn method, emphasising an increasing heat flow through the multi-layered compartment walls of domestic refrigerators with ageing. Therewith, the present study is of significance to a wide range of stakeholders and forms the basis for future research.BMWi, 03ET1544, ALGE: Alterungsmechanismen von Haushaltskältegeräte

Bridging cultural heritage and communities through digital technologies: Understanding perspectives and challenges

We present and discuss the results of a qualitative study aimed at identifying what role interactive digital technologies could play in facilitating the participation of communities at risk of exclusion (particularly migrants and refugees) in cultural and heritage-related activities. Culture and heritage are known to be key factors in fostering social inclusion, and this has the potential for contributing to both the wellbeing of these communities and to cultural institutions themselves. Through surveys and interviews with two cohorts of participants (cultural heritage professionals and community facilitators), we gathered insights about their perspectives on how ICT tools could support their work with and for communities, as well as the challenges they face. This work sheds light on the opportunities and barriers surrounding the use of digital technologies for participation in the cultural heritage sector, which is timely due to the increasing focus on grassroots and community-led heritage initiatives and to the growing body of work on participatory ICT in disciplines such as human-computer interaction and community informatics

Determining the heat flow through the cabinet walls of household refrigerating appliances

The increase of the thermal conductivity of PUR foam in the insulation of the cabinet is an important cause for aging processes of household refrigerating appliances. To determine the influence of the PUR foam aging on energy consumption, the development of a new measurement method is necessary because current methods influence the aging behavior of household refrigerators and are therefore not applicable in general. Based on a latent heat sink, constructed as an ice water bucket, a new measurement method is developed to determine the k · A value over time. With this method, the k · A value of four household refrigerating appliances was determined over an interval of 14 months. The k · A value increased between 3.6 % and 11.5 % during this period.BMWi, 03ET1544A, Verbundvorhaben ALGE: Alterungsmechanismen von Haushaltskältegeräte

Hochschule und Stadt

Wie zielgerichtete und abgestimmte Zusammenarbeit von Hochschulstandorten funktioniert wurde in dem rund dreijährigen Projekt "Hochschule und Standort" der Deutschen Universität für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer (DUV) und der ZIRP erarbeitet. Die Abschlusspublikation versammelt Workshop-Ergebnisse aus drei Modellstädten, Best-Practice-Beispiele und Einschätzungen aus Politik, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft. Die Publikation liefert auf 125 Seiten in vier thematischen Kapiteln Erkenntnisse aus dem Projekt Hochschule und Standort zu den Themen Netzwerkbildung und –pflege, Standort-marketing, MINT-Strategien und Aufbau einer Gründungsszene. Diese Kapitel werden an-gereichert durch Erfahrungen in lokalspezifischen Themen und Strategien der Zusammen-arbeit in den Modellstädten Trier, Pirmasens und Koblenz. Stimmen aus Politik, Kommunal-verwaltungen, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft runden diese Handreichung für Standort-initiativen zwischen Kommunen und Hochschulen ab

Informal financing of small-scale enterprises in Sri Lanka

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Frage, welche Moeglichkeiten es gibt, den Zugang zu Krediten fuer Kleinunternehmen in Sri Lanka zu verbessern. Aus diesem Grund werden zunaechst der Status quo und die Probleme mit informellen Kreditbeziehungen untersucht. Die Autoren betrachten den 'financial system approach', da er den umfassendsten Ansatz auf diesem Gebiet darstellt. Die verwendete Befragung enthaelt sowohl qualitative als auch quantitative Elemente und basiert auf Plausibilitaet. Im ersten Kapitel wird das Mikrofinanzsystem in Sri Lanka vorgestellt, besonders beruecksichtigt wird dabei die Rolle der verschiedenen Akteure. Das folgende Kapitel untersucht die Anforderungen und Notwendigkeiten von Kleinunternehmen in Zusammenhang mit der Kreditaufnahme. Es wird deutlich, dass die Kleinunternehmen einen bedeutenden Beitrag zur Armutsminderung leisten und dass sie zu kaum Zugang zu formellen Krediten haben. Die Autoren gehen dann auf die informellen Kreditgeber ein und zeigen, wie sie arbeiten, welchen Stellenwert sie fuer die Kleinunternehmen haben, wodurch sie sich auszeichnen und welche Vor- und Nachteile fuer die Kleinunternehmen mit einer solchen Kreditaufnahme verbunden sind. Im vierten Kapitel werden die Schlussfolgerungen dargelegt und Empfehlungen abgegeben, wie der Zugang zu Krediten fuer Kleinunternehmer verbessert werden kann. (ICD)German title: Informelle Finanzierung von Kleinunternehmen in Sri LankaAvailable from http://www.die-gdi.de/die homepage.nsf/6f3fa777ba64bd9ec12569cb00547f1b/5b3bee9132fbc3a0c1256c38002e772f/$ FILE/informal%20financing%20Sri%20Lanka.pdf / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

High protein and mRNA expression levels of TUBB3 (class III beta-tubulin) are associated with aggressive tumor features in esophageal adenocarcinomas

Background: Esophageal adenocarcinomas show an increasing incidence in the Western world and their overall survival remains low. Microtubules are multifunctional cytoskeletal proteins involved in crucial cellular roles, including maintenance of cell shape, intracellular transport, meiosis, and mitosis. Microtubulus-TUBB3 was found overexpressed in several carcinomas suggesting a significant role in cancer development. High levels of TUBB3 expression were also described to be associated with poor clinical outcome in various cancers. It was shown that overexpression of TUBB3 could be related to reduced efficiency of taxane-based targeting anticancer drugs in several cancer types. Results: There is a statistically significant association between high TUBB3 protein and TUBB3 mRNA expression and shortened survival (p<0,0001). Prognostic impact of TUBB3 expression is seen in patients with and without multimodal treatment. Multivariate analysis revealed a strong TUBB3 expression to be an independent prognosis factor. Validation of protein expression by mRNA in situ hybridization underlines the credibility of the immunohistochemical results. Discussion: Our study emphasized the significant importance of TUBB3 in esophageal adenocarcinoma. TUBB3 serves as an independent prognostic marker and may be a valuable biomarker for routine application in esophageal adenocarcinoma especially to address the need for adjuvant treatment in individuals following neoadjuvant therapy and surgery. Future prospective studies are needed which include the results of TUBB3 in preoperative biopsy material to proof the prognostic impact of TUBB3. Materials and Methods: 280 esophageal adenocarcinomas that underwent primary surgical resection or resection after neoadjuvant therapy were analyzed by mRNA-in-situ-hybridization (RNAscope (R)) and by immunohistochemistry (TUBB3 rabbit monoclonal antibody; Epitomics)

Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase (IDO) Expression Is an Independent Prognostic Marker in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Background. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an interferon-inducible immune checkpoint expressed on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). IDO is known as a poor prognostic marker in esophageal squamous cell cancer, while a positive effect was shown for breast cancer. A comprehensive analysis of IDO expression in a well-defined cohort of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is missing.Methods. We analyzed 551 patients with EAC using single-protein and multiplex immunohistochemistry as well as mRNA in situ technology for the expression and distribution of IDO on subtypes of TILs (INF-gamma mRNA and CD4- and CD8-positive T lymphocytes).Results. IDO expression on TILs was seen in up to 59.6% of tumors, and expression on tumor cells was seen in 9.2%. We found a strong positive correlation of IDO-positive TILs, CD3-positive T lymphocytes, and INF-gamma mRNA-producing TILs in the tumor microenvironment of EACs showing significantly better overall survival (47.7 vs. 22.7 months,p<0.001) with emphasis on early tumor stages (pT1/2: 142.1 vs. 37.1 months,p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, IDO is identified as an independent prognostic marker.Conclusions. Our study emphasizes the importance of immunomodulation in EAC marking IDO as a potential biomarker. Beyond this, IDO might indicate a subgroup of EAC with an explicit survival benefit

Somatic BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) loss is an early and rare event in esophageal adenocarcinoma

Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common malignant tumor worldwide, and the number of incidences of esophageal adenocarcinoma is increasing in the Western world. Despite improvements in perioperative treatment, the overall survival rate of patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma remains poor. Breast cancer type I susceptibility protein (BRCA1)-associated protein (BAP1) is located on chromosome 3p21, and it is an enzyme with ubiquitin carboxyl hydrolase activity that regulates cell growth. It interacts with BRCA1, and the nuclear localization of BAPI is required for its tumor suppressor function. BAP1 is frequently mutated in uveal melanomas, malignant mesothelioma and several carcinomas, including a sub-type of renal cell carcinoma, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. Furthermore, several germline-associated mutations of tumors have been described (BAPI hereditary cancer syndrome). However, the importance and frequency of BAPI alterations in adenocarcinoma of the esophagus remain to be elucidated. In the present study, tissue microarrays of 332 resected adenocarcinomas (including a few cases of concomitant Barrett dysplasia) of the esophagus were constructed. The tumor tissue was analyzed using immunohistochemistry to investigate the levels of BAP1 expression. Fibroblasts or inflammatory cells served as an internal positive control. Three adenocarcinomas revealed nuclear loss of BAP1 (0.9%). One case with concomitant Barrett dysplasia also exhibited a loss of BAP1. Of the resected adenocarcinomas, 329 of them exhibited an intact and uniform strong nuclear staining pattern. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of BAP1 deficiency in adenocarcinomas of the esophagus. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that BAP1 loss is possibly an early event in esophageal adcnocarcinoma. These results warrant further functional and clinical evaluation

The expression of the immune checkpoint regulator VISTA correlates with improved overall survival in pT1/2 tumor stages in esophageal adenocarcinoma

Immune checkpoint modulation in cancer has been demonstrated as a high-value therapeutic strategy in many tumor entities. VISTA is an immune checkpoint receptor regulating T-cell function. To the best of our knowledge, nothing is known about the expression and prognostic impact of VISTA on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the tumor microenvironment of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). We analyzed in total 393 EACs within a test-cohort (n = 165) and a validation-cohort (n = 228) using a monoclonal antibody (clone D1L2G). These data were statistically correlated with clinical as well as molecular data. 22.2% of the tumor cohort presented with a VISTA expression on TILs. These patients demonstrated an improved median overall survival compared to patients without VISTA expression (202.2 months vs. 21.6 months; p < 0.0001). The favorable outcome of VISTA positive tumors is significant in the entire cohort but mainly driven by the general better prognosis of T1/T2 tumors. However, in the pT1/2 group, VISTA positive tumors show a tremendous survival benefit compared to VISTA negative tumors revealing real long-term survivors in this particular subgroup. The survival difference is independent of the T-stage. This unique characteristic could influence neoadjuvant therapy concepts for EAC, since a profit of therapy could be reduced in the already favorable subgroup of VISTA positive tumors. VISTA emerges as a prognostic biomarker for long-term survival especially in the group of early TNM-stages. Future studies have to show the relevance of VISTA positive TILs within a tumor concerning response to specific immune checkpoint inhibition

Investigating the real life energy consumption of refrigeration appliances in Germany: Are present policies sufficient?

Domestic refrigeration appliances are standard household commodities. Although policies, such as the energy labelling, prompted technical improvements and decreased appliance energy consumption throughout recent decades, important parameters were disregarded. These refer to the efficiency loss over time and the consumer behaviour. The objective of this contribution was to develop a dynamic energy model to determine the power consumption of refrigeration appliances considering degradation factors and behaviour. These were included by model parameters for direct consumer interactions, such as the storage behaviour, door openings and temperature setting, as well as indirect actions, e.g. exposing an appliance to specific temperature conditions at an installation site. For this, an online-survey was conducted to evaluate the consumer behaviour. A total of 706 consumers participated in the national questionnaire, serving as input for the dynamic energy model. It was found that the efficiency loss increases the power consumption by at least 1% annually, leading to an excess of 10% after 10 years of usage. Another important finding was that 32.5% of appliance's power consumption results from consumer behaviour, whereas the promotion of behavioural changes leads to a significant decrease of the consumer-induced consumption. Consequently, this study provides a tool to evaluate the impact of policies targeting refrigeration appliances, stressing that efficiency loss and behaviour should be integrated into future policy approaches.BMWi, 03ET1544A, Verbundvorhaben ALGE: Alterungsmechanismen von Haushaltskältegeräten - Teilprojekt: Bestimmung des Degenerationsverhaltens und Konstruktion der Gerät