2,081 research outputs found
Energiepflanzenanbau zur Biogaserzeugung im Ăkologischen Landbau â Ergebnisse aus dem Versuch ĂKOVERS
In the research project ĂKOVERS different crops for fermentation were cultivated in a double cropping system at five locations in Germany. The crop yields after half a year and after one and half a year mixture of clover/grass were compared. The second crops were maize, sorghum, sunflowers, buckwheat and others, which have been fertilised with solid and liquid digestate. In one and half a year a yield over 20 t DM ha-1 of clover/grass was realised. The yields of the second crops after a one and half a year clover/grass were clearly higher than after half a year clover/grass. The highest yield of the second crops in the mean of all locations was realised by maize with 11,5 t DM ha-1. The yield of sorghum and sunflowers and a mixture with maize and sunflowers with 10 t DM ha-1 were comparable to the yield of maize. The yield of buckwheat was 6,5 t DM ha-1 only, however this could be an alternative as there was no need for weed control. After digestate application the increases of yields were very low at all crops. The reason for this could be the large C and N ratio and the low fraction of plant available nitrogen
The Numbers of Nitrosomonas in Some Variously Treated Iowa Soils
A study was made of the numbers of Nitrosomonas, bacteria capable of oxidizing ammonia to nitrite, in variously treated soils of the Agronomy Farm at Iowa State College, and of certain other soils of the state. The dilution method, as modified by Wilson for the study of these organisms was employed for making the determinations
Thermodynamic correction of particle concentrations measured by underwing probes on fast flying aircraft
Particle concentration measurements with underwing probes on aircraft are impacted by air compression upstream of the instrument body as a function of flight velocity. In particular for fast-flying aircraft the necessity arises to account for compression of the air sample volume. Hence, a correction procedure is needed to invert measured particle number concentrations to ambient conditions that is commonly applicable for different instruments to gain comparable results. In the compression region where the detection of particles occurs (i.e. under factual measurement conditions), pressure and temperature of the air sample are increased compared to ambient (undisturbed) conditions in certain distance away from the aircraft. Conventional procedures for scaling the measured number densities to ambient conditions presume that the particle penetration speed through the instruments' detection area equals the aircraft speed (True Air Speed, TAS). However, particle imaging instruments equipped with pitot-tubes measuring the Probe Air Speed (PAS) of each underwing probe reveal PAS values systematically below those of the TAS. We conclude that the deviation between PAS and TAS is mainly caused by the compression of the probed air sample. From measurements during two missions in 2014 with the German Gulfstream G-550 (HALO â High Altitude LOng range) research aircraft we develop a procedure to correct the measured particle concentration to ambient conditions using a thermodynamic approach. With the provided equation the corresponding concentration correction factor Ο is applicable to the high frequency measurements of each underwing probe which is equipped with its own air speed sensor (e.g. a pitot-tube). Ο-values of 1 to 0.85 are calculated for air speeds (i.e. TAS) between 60 and 260 m sâ1. From HALO data it is found that Ο does not significantly vary between the different deployed instruments. Thus, for the current HALO underwing probe configuration a parameterisation of Ο as a function of TAS is provided for instances if PAS measurements are lacking. The Ο-correction yields higher ambient particle concentration by about 15â25 % compared to conventional procedures â an improvement which can be considered as significant for many research applications. The calculated Ο-values are specifically related to the considered HALO underwing probe arrangement and may differ for other aircraft or instrument geometries. Moreover, the Ο-correction may not cover all impacts originating from high flight velocities and from interferences between the instruments and, e.g., the aircraft wings and/or fuselage. Consequently, it is important that PAS (as a function of TAS) is individually measured by each probe deployed underneath the wings of a fast-flying aircraft
Tumour cell contamination of autologous stem cells grafts in high-risk neuroblastoma: the good news?
Long term outcome of high-risk neuroblastoma patients after immunotherapy with antibody ch14.18 or oral metronomic chemotherapy
Background: The treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma patients consists of multimodal induction therapy to achieve remission followed by consolidation therapy to prevent relapses. However, the type of consolidation therapy is still discussed controversial. We applied metronomic chemotherapy in the prospective NB90 trial and monoclonal anti-GD2-antibody (MAB) ch14.18 in the NB97 trial. Here, we present the long term outcome data of the patient cohort. Methods: A total of 334 stage 4 neuroblastoma patients one year or older were included. All patients successfully completed the induction therapy. In the NB90 trial, 99 patients received at least one cycle of the oral maintenance chemotherapy (NB90 MT, 12 alternating cycles of oral melphalan/etoposide and vincristine/cyclophosphamide). In the NB97 trial, 166 patients commenced the MAB ch14.18 consolidation therapy (six cycles over 12 months). Patients who received no maintenance therapy according to the NB90 protocol or by refusal in NB97 (n = 69) served as controls. Results: The median observation time was 11.11 years. The nine-year event-free survival rates were 41 ± 4%, 31 ± 5%, and 32 ± 6% for MAB ch14.18, NB90 MT, and no consolidation, respectively (p = 0.098). In contrast to earlier reports, MAB ch14.18 treatment improved the long-term outcome compared to no additional therapy (p = 0.038). The overall survival was better in the MAB ch14.18-treated group (9-y-OS 46 ± 4%) compared to NB90 MT (34 ± 5%, p = 0.026) and to no consolidation (35 ± 6%, p = 0.019). Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed ch14.18 consolidation to improve outcome compared to no consolidation, however, no difference between NB90 MT and MAB ch14.18-treated patients was found. Conclusions: Follow-up analysis of the patient cohort indicated that immunotherapy with MAB ch14.18 may prevent late relapses. Finally, metronomic oral maintenance chemotherapy also appeared effective
Value of T2 Mapping MRI for Prostate Cancer Detection and Classification.
Currently, multi-parametric prostate MRI (mpMRI) consists of a qualitative T <sub>2</sub> , diffusion weighted, and dynamic contrast enhanced imaging. Quantification of T <sub>2</sub> imaging might further standardize PCa detection and support artificial intelligence solutions.
To evaluate the value of T <sub>2</sub> mapping to detect prostate cancer (PCa) and to differentiate PCa aggressiveness.
Retrospective single center cohort study.
Forty-four consecutive patients (mean age 67 years; median PSA 7.9 ng/mL) with mpMRI and verified PCa by subsequent targeted plus systematic MR/ultrasound (US)-fusion biopsy from February 2019 to December 2019.
Standardized mpMRI at 3 T with an additionally acquired T <sub>2</sub> mapping sequence.
Primary endpoint was the analysis of quantitative T <sub>2</sub> values and contrast differences/ratios (CD/CR) between PCa and benign tissue. Secondary objectives were the correlation between T <sub>2</sub> values, ISUP grade, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value, and PI-RADS, and the evaluation of thresholds for differentiating PCa and clinically significant PCa (csPCa).
Mann-Whitney test, Spearman's rank (r <sub>s</sub> ) correlation, receiver operating curves, Youden's index (J), and AUC were performed. Statistical significance was defined as P < 0.05.
Median quantitative T <sub>2</sub> values were significantly lower for PCa in PZ (85 msec) and PCa in TZ (75 msec) compared to benign PZ (141 msec) or TZ (97 msec) (P < 0.001). CD/CR between PCa and benign PZ (51.2/1.77), respectively TZ (19.8/1.29), differed significantly (P < 0.001). The best T <sub>2</sub> -mapping threshold for PCa/csPCa detection was for TZ 81/86 msec (J = 0.929/1.0), and for PZ 110 msec (J = 0.834/0.905). Quantitative T <sub>2</sub> values of PCa did not correlate significantly with the ISUP grade (r <sub>s</sub> = 0.186; P = 0.226), ADC value (r <sub>s</sub> = 0.138; P = 0.372), or PI-RADS (r <sub>s</sub> = 0.132; P = 0.392).
Quantitative T <sub>2</sub> values could differentiate PCa in TZ and PZ and might support standardization of mpMRI of the prostate. Different thresholds seem to apply for PZ and TZ lesions. However, in the present study quantitative T <sub>2</sub> values were not able to indicate PCa aggressiveness.
2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2
A Development Environment for Visual Physics Analysis
The Visual Physics Analysis (VISPA) project integrates different aspects of
physics analyses into a graphical development environment. It addresses the
typical development cycle of (re-)designing, executing and verifying an
analysis. The project provides an extendable plug-in mechanism and includes
plug-ins for designing the analysis flow, for running the analysis on batch
systems, and for browsing the data content. The corresponding plug-ins are
based on an object-oriented toolkit for modular data analysis. We introduce the
main concepts of the project, describe the technical realization and
demonstrate the functionality in example applications
Airborne observations of Arctic air mass transformations during the HALO-(AC)3 campaign
The HALO-(AC)3 campaign was conducted in March and April 2022
to investigate warm air intrusions into the Arctic and marine cold air outbreaks. In
coordinated flights over the Arctic, the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft
(HALO), equipped with a remote sensing payload and dropsondes, investigated these
air mass transformations together with the research aircraft Polar 5 and Polar 6. In
this report, we give an overview about the research flights and preliminary results from
projects, which are carried out by employees of the Leipzig Institute for Meteorology
(LIM).Die HALO-(AC)3 Kampagne wurde im MĂ€rz und April 2022
durchgefĂŒhrt, umWarmlufteinbrĂŒche in die Arktis und marine KaltluftausbrĂŒche zu untersuchen.
Das 'High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft' (HALO), ausgestattet
mit Instrumenten zur Fernerkundung und Standardmeteorologiesonden, untersuchte
zusammen mit den Forschungsflugzeugen Polar 5 und Polar 6, in koordinierten FlĂŒgen
ĂŒber der Arktis, diese VerĂ€nderungen der Luftmassen. In diesem Bericht wird eine
Ăbersicht ĂŒber die durchgefĂŒhrten ForschungsflĂŒge gegeben und Forschungsprojekte
werden vorgestellt, welche von Mitarbeitern des Leipziger Instituts fĂŒr Meteorologie
(LIM) durchgefĂŒhrt werden
A tandem approach for collocated measurements of microphysical and radiative cirrus properties
Microphysical and
radiation measurements were collected with the novel AIRcraft TOwed Sensor
Shuttle (AIRTOSS) â Learjet tandem platform. The platform is a combination
of an instrumented Learjet 35A research aircraft and an aerodynamic bird,
which is detached from and retracted back to the aircraft during flight via a
steel wire with a length of 4000âŻm. Both platforms are equipped with
radiative, cloud microphysical, trace gas, and meteorological instruments.
The purpose of the development of this tandem set-up is to study the
inhomogeneity of cirrus as well as other stratiform clouds. Sophisticated
numerical flow simulations were conducted in order to optimally integrate an
axially asymmetric Cloud Combination Probe (CCP) inside AIRTOSS. The tandem
platform was applied during measurements at altitudes up to
36âŻ000âŻft (10âŻ970âŻm) in the framework of the AIRTOSS â
Inhomogeneous Cirrus Experiment (AIRTOSS-ICE). Ten flights were performed
above the North Sea and Baltic Sea to probe frontal and in situ formed
cirrus, as well as anvil outflow cirrus. For one flight, cirrus microphysical
and radiative properties displayed significant inhomogeneities resolved by
both measurement platforms. The CCP data show that the maximum of the
observed particle number size distributions shifts with decreasing altitude
from 30 to 300âŻÂ”m, which is typical for frontal, midlatitude
cirrus. Theoretical considerations imply that cloud particle aggregation
inside the studied cirrus is very unlikely. Consequently, diffusional growth
was identified to be the dominant microphysical growth process. Measurements
of solar downward and upward irradiances at 670âŻnm wavelength were conducted
above, below, and in the cirrus on both the Learjet and AIRTOSS. The observed
variability of the downward irradiance below the cirrus reflects the
horizontal heterogeneity of the observed thin cirrus. Vertically resolved
solar heating rates were derived by either using single-platform measurements
at different altitudes or by making use of the collocated irradiance
measurements at different altitudes of the tandem platform. Due to
unavoidable biases of the measurements between the individual flight legs,
the single-platform approach failed to provide a realistic solar heating rate
profile, while the uncertainties of the tandem approach are reduced. Here,
the solar heating rates range up to 6âŻKâdayâ1 at top of the
cirrus layer
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