Laser Beam Welding of Hard to Weld Al Alloys for a Regional Aircraft Fuselage Design – First Results

AbstractLight weight design of fuselage structures is a major goal for future aircrafts to reduce structural weight for increased efficiency regarding fuel consumption. One objective is to validate and demonstrate the technology that offer the best opportunities of weight reduction and short production time. It involves the development of laser welding technologies for difficult weldable high strength aluminum alloys, containing Cu and / or Li. Another objective is to identify and evaluate approaches for first welding trials on T-joints of the alloy 2139 which are very promising regarding weld seam quality and achieved mechanical properties

Achieving electrical conductive tracks by laser treatment of non-conductive polypropylene/polycarbonate blends filled with MWCNTs

Electrical non-conductive polymer blends consisting of a polypropylene (PP) matrix and dispersed particles of polycarbonate (PC) were melt compounded with 3 wt.% multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) loading and processed into plates by injection molding. The morphological analysis confirmed the selective localization of the MWCNTs in the PC component. By local irradiation with a CO2 laser beam, depending on the laser conditions, conductive tracks with dimensions of about 2 mm width, 80 to 370 μm depth and line resistances as low as 1.5 kΩ · cm-1 were created on the surface of the non-conductive plates. The factors affecting the line resistance are the PC content, the laser speed and laser power, as well as laser direction with respect to the melt flow direction. After the irradiation an enrichment of MWCNTs in the laser lines was detected indicating that conductive paths were generated by percolation of nanotubes selectively within these lines in otherwise non-conductive plates. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Short communication: Lifetime musical activity and resting-state functional connectivity in cognitive networks

Background Participation in multimodal leisure activities, such as playing a musical instrument, may be protective against brain aging and dementia in older adults (OA). Potential neuroprotective correlates underlying musical activity remain unclear. Objective This cross-sectional study investigated the association between lifetime musical activity and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in three higher-order brain networks: the Default Mode, Fronto-Parietal, and Salience networks. Methods We assessed 130 cognitively unimpaired participants (≥ 60 years) from the baseline cohort of the DZNE-Longitudinal Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Study (DELCODE) study. Lifetime musical activity was operationalized by the self-reported participation in musical instrument playing across early, middle, and late life stages using the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire (LEQ). Participants who reported musical activity during all life stages (n = 65) were compared to controls who were matched on demographic and reserve characteristics (including education, intelligence, socioeconomic status, self-reported physical activity, age, and sex) and never played a musical instrument (n = 65) in local (seed-to-voxel) and global (within-network and between-network) RSFC patterns using pre-specified network seeds. Results Older participants with lifetime musical activity showed significantly higher local RSFC between the medial prefrontal cortex (Default Mode Network seed) and temporal as well as frontal regions, namely the right temporal pole and the right precentral gyrus extending into the superior frontal gyrus, compared to matched controls. There were no significant group differences in global RSFC within or between the three networks. Conclusion We show that playing a musical instrument during life relates to higher RSFC of the medial prefrontal cortex with distant brain regions involved in higher-order cognitive and motor processes. Preserved or enhanced functional connectivity could potentially contribute to better brain health and resilience in OA with a history in musical activity. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00007966, 04/05/2015)

Legislative Documents

Also, variously referred to as: House bills; House documents; House legislative documents; legislative documents; General Court documents

Videocampus Sachsen - Machbarkeitsuntersuchung

Sachsen bekommt eine neue Videoplattform – den Videocampus Sachsen (VCS). Durch das Sächsische Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst (SMWK) wurde Ende 2017 das Projekt zur Umsetzung genehmigt. Im Rahmen der Pilotphase 2018 erfolgt die Konstituierung eines sächsischen Verbundes wie auch die An- und Einpassung der Plattform in die gemeinsame technische Infrastruktur der sächsischen Hochschulen. Ab 2019 soll das Videoportal dann durch den Dienstleister BPS GmbH in den Regelbetrieb überführt werden. Bis hierhin war es ein langer Weg. Der vorliegende Sammelband dokumentiert die Schritte dorthin. Auf den folgenden Seiten werden zentrale Ergebnisse der 2015/16 erstellten, kumulativen Machbarkeitsuntersuchung zur Einrichtung eines hochschulübergreifenden sächsischen Videoportals vorgestellt.:Einführung Videoeinsatz an sächsischen Hochschulen – Anwendungsszenarien. Ergebnisse der Online-Befragung von Studierenden, Lehrenden, Forschenden und Mitarbeiterinnen/Mitarbeitern der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Bearbeiten von Unterrichtsvideos durch Studierende in der Lehrerbildung: Darstellung einer Seminarmethode und Kurzbericht einer wissenschaftlichen Begleitforschung zweier Seminare an der Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig Aufgabentypen für das Zusammenspiel von E-Assessment und Lernvideos Potenziale videobasierter Inhalte an Hochschulen: Einsatzszenarien – Trends – Erfolgskriterien Datenschutzrechtliche Vorgaben für eine E-Learning-Videoplattform Videoportalsysteme in der Hochschule – Ergebnisse eines Systemfunktionsvergleichs für den Videocampus Sachsen Wirtschaftliche Faktoren und organisatorische Rahmenbedingungen im Rahmen der zentralen Bereitstellung eines Videoportals für die sächsischen Hochschulen Internationalisierung von Videomaterial für den Einsatz in der Lehre Videolectures zur Unterstützung der professionellen Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der sächsischen Hochschulen – Ein MOOC als Instrument des Studierendenmarketings Additive Vermittlung von Schlüsselkompetenzen mit der Flipped Classroom-Methode am Career Service der HTW Dresden Flipped Consulting Anhang: Ausgewählte Beispiele digitaler/videobasierter Lehr-/Lernformate als Best-Practice-Konzepte Anhang: Videosequenzen zu den Teilprojekten der Machbarkeitsuntersuchun

Sustainability Analysis of Fish Feed Derived from Aquatic Plant and Insect

Fish and meat production and processing will grow drastically in the coming decades. In aquacultural systems, insects are gaining interest as feed to provide a sustainable alternative to the fishmeal paradox, whose production leads to high consumption of resources and negative environmental impacts. Within the scope of this study, the production of fish feed from Hermetia illucens larvae and Lemna minor in an inline recirculating aquaponics model for urban sites was developed and optimized, which efficiently combines waste and environmental service concepts in one production system. At the same time, the value chain produces high-quality, market-accessible raw materials for the fish feed industry. All investigations were accompanied by a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to measure and compare ecological effects to finally result in sustainable alternatives. The results achieved in this research show that fish feed based on Hermetia illucens and Lemna minor can have the potential to be ecologically competitive or more sustainable than standard feed. It should be noted that the comparison here represents the results of the project on a pilot scale. Various optimization potentials were shown, which are essential for the large-scale implementation of the breeding of both species as well as their processing up to the fish feed pellets

LCA as decision support tool in the food and feed sector. Evidence from R&D case studies

Biomass waste and waste-derived feedstocks are important resources for the development of sustainable value-added products. However, the provision and preparation of biomass as well as all possible downstream processing steps need to be thoroughly analyzed to gain environmentally sound and economically viable products. Additionally, its impacts are substantially determined by decisions made at early development stages. Therefore, sustainability assessment methods can support to improve the production process, reduce waste, and costs and help decision-making, at the industrial as well as policy levels. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an analysis technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all product's life cycle stages. It is a well-established tool to drive development towards a sustainable direction, however, its application in the earlier research phase is surrounded by practical challenges. The overall objective of this paper is to provide an understanding of the environmental issues involved in the early stages of product and process development and the opportunities for life cycle assessment techniques to address these issues. Thus, herein two LCA case studies are presented, dealing with novel approaches for food and feed supply through implementing the valorization and upcycling of waste and side-streams, respectively. In both case studies, LCA is used as a decision support tool for R&D activities to launch environmentally sound products to market, as well as to highlight the usefulness of LCA for identifying environmental issues at an earlier stage of development, regardless of product, process, or service

Affinity Proteomics Identifies Interaction Partners and Defines Novel Insights into the Function of the Adhesion GPCR VLGR1/ADGRV1

The very large G-protein-coupled receptor 1 (VLGR1/ADGRV1) is the largest member of the adhesion G-protein-coupled receptor (ADGR) family. Mutations in VLGR1/ADGRV1 cause human Usher syndrome (USH), a form of hereditary deaf-blindness, and have been additionally linked to epilepsy. In the absence of tangible knowledge of the molecular function and signaling of VLGR1, the pathomechanisms underlying the development of these diseases are still unknown. Our study aimed to identify novel, previously unknown protein networks associated with VLGR1 in order to describe new functional cellular modules of this receptor. Using affinity proteomics, we have identified numerous new potential binding partners and ligands of VLGR1. Tandem affinity purification hits were functionally grouped based on their Gene Ontology terms and associated with functional cellular modules indicative of functions of VLGR1 in transcriptional regulation, splicing, cell cycle regulation, ciliogenesis, cell adhesion, neuronal development, and retinal maintenance. In addition, we validated the identified protein interactions and pathways in vitro and in situ. Our data provided new insights into possible functions of VLGR1, related to the development of USH and epilepsy, and also suggest a possible role in the development of other neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease