106 research outputs found
Optimal designs for enzyme inhibition kinetic models
In this paper we present a new method for determining optimal designs for
enzyme inhibition kinetic models, which are used to model the influence of the
concentration of a substrate and an inhibition on the velocity of a reaction.
The approach uses a nonlinear transformation of the vector of predictors such
that the model in the new coordinates is given by an incomplete response
surface model. Although there exist no explicit solutions of the optimal design
problem for incomplete response surface models so far, the corresponding design
problem in the new coordinates is substantially more transparent, such that
explicit or numerical solutions can be determined more easily. The designs for
the original problem can finally be found by an inverse transformation of the
optimal designs determined for the response surface model. We illustrate the
method determining explicit solutions for the -optimal design and for the
optimal design problem for estimating the individual coefficients in a
non-competitive enzyme inhibition kinetic model
Blood flow in cylindrical stenosed channel – numerical approach
Arthrosclerosis means literally “arteries hardening”. However, arthrosclerosis it is a generic term that is related with three patterns of vascular diseases, which have the hardening and loss of elasticity of the arteries walls as a common factor [1]. The dominant pattern is atherosclerosis, characterized by the formation of atheroma, which is comprised by fibrous plaques that generally exhibit a centre rich in lipids.
In the present work, the flow of blood in a cylindrical channel, containing an atheroma at the walls, has been numerically studied using the finite-element software package POLYFLOW®. In the simulations, blood was considered an incompressible homogenous fluid and the flow regime was the laminar regime. The rheology of the mentioned fluid was described by distinct constitutive equations [2] - constant viscosity, power-law model and Carreau model. The local behaviour of properties such as pressure, interstitial velocities, shear rate and shear stress was explored in the present investigation. The local behaviour of these properties can help to understand the formation and detachment of thrombi
First virological and pathological study of Go¨ttingen Minipigs with Dippity Pig Syndrome (DPS)
Dippity Pig Syndrome (DPS) is a well-known but rare complex of clinical signs affecting minipigs, which has not been thoroughly investigated yet. Clinically affected animals show acute appearance of red, exudating lesions across the spine. The lesions are painful, evidenced by arching of the back (dipping), and the onset of clinical signs is generally sudden. In order to understand the pathogenesis, histological and virological investigations were performed in affected and unaffected Göttingen Minipigs (GöMPs). The following DNA viruses were screened for using PCR-based methods: Porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV), which is a porcine roseolovirus (PCMV/PRV), porcine lymphotropic herpesviruses (PLHV-1, PLHV-2, PLHV-3), porcine circoviruses (PCV1, PCV2, PCV3, PCV4), porcine parvovirus 1 (PPV1), and Torque Teno sus viruses (TTSuV1, TTSuV2). Screening was also performed for integrated porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV-A, PERV-B, PERV-C) and recombinant PERV-A/C and their expression as well as for the RNA viruses hepatitis E virus (HEV) and SARS-CoV-2. Eight clinically affected and one unaffected GöMPs were analyzed. Additional unaffected minipigs had been analyzed in the past. The analyzed GöMPs contained PERV-A and PERV-B integrated in the genome, which are present in all pigs and PERV-C, which is present in most, but not all pigs. In one affected GöMPs recombinant PERV-A/C was detected in blood. In this animal a very high expression of PERV mRNA was observed. PCMV/PRV was found in three affected animals, PCV1 was found in three animals with DPS and in the unaffected minipig, and PCV3 was detected in two animals with DPS and in the unaffected minipig. Most importantly, in one animal only PLHV-3 was detected. It was found in the affected and unaffected skin, and in other organs. Unfortunately, PLHV-3 could not be studied in all other affected minipigs. None of the other viruses were detected and using electron microscopy, no virus particles were found in the affected skin. No porcine virus RNA with exception of PERV and astrovirus RNA were detected in the affected skin by next generation sequencing. This data identified some virus infections in GöMPs with DPS and assign a special role to PLHV-3. Since PCMV/PRV, PCV1, PCV3 and PLHV-3 were also found in unaffected animals, a multifactorial cause of DPS is suggested. However, elimination of the viruses from GöMPs may prevent DPS
Remote sensing of geomorphodiversity linked to biodiversity — part III: traits, processes and remote sensing characteristics
Remote sensing (RS) enables a cost-effective, extensive, continuous and standardized monitoring of traits and trait variations of geomorphology and its processes, from the local to the continental scale. To implement and better understand RS techniques and the spectral indicators derived from them in the monitoring of geomorphology, this paper presents a new perspective for the definition and recording of five characteristics of geomorphodiversity with RS, namely: geomorphic genesis diversity, geomorphic trait diversity, geomorphic structural diversity, geomorphic taxonomic diversity, and geomorphic functional diversity. In this respect, geomorphic trait diversity is the cornerstone and is essential for recording the other four characteristics using RS technologies. All five characteristics are discussed in detail in this paper and reinforced with numerous examples from various RS technologies. Methods for classifying the five characteristics of geomorphodiversity using RS, as well as the constraints of monitoring the diversity of geomorphology using RS, are discussed. RS-aided techniques that can be used for monitoring geomorphodiversity in regimes with changing land-use intensity are presented. Further, new approaches of geomorphic traits that enable the monitoring of geomorphodiversity through the valorisation of RS data from multiple missions are discussed as well as the ecosystem integrity approach. Likewise, the approach of monitoring the five characteristics of geomorphodiversity recording with RS is discussed, as are existing approaches for recording spectral geomorhic traits/ trait variation approach and indicators, along with approaches for assessing geomorphodiversity. It is shown that there is no comparable approach with which to define and record the five characteristics of geomorphodiversity using only RS data in the literature. Finally, the importance of the digitization process and the use of data science for research in the field of geomorphology in the 21st century is elucidated and discussed
GPs' opinions of public and industrial information regarding drugs: a cross-sectional study
Background: General Practitioners {GP} in Sweden prescribe more than 50% of all prescriptions. Scientific knowledge on the opinions of GPs regarding drug information has been sparse. Such knowledge could be valuable when designing evidence-based drug information to GPs. GPs' opinions on public- and industry-provided drug information are presented in this article. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was answered by 368 GPs at 97 primary-health care centres {PHCC}. The centres were invited to participate by eight out of 29 drug and therapeutic committees {DTCs}. A multilevel model was used to analyse associations between opinions of GPs regarding drug information and whether the GPs worked in public sector or in a private enterprise, their age, sex, and work experience. PHCC and geographical area were included as random effects. Results: About 85% of the GPs perceived they received too much information from the industry, that the quality of public information was high and useful, and that the main task of public authorities was to increase the GPs' knowledge of drugs. Female GPs valued information from public authorities to a much greater extent than male GPs. Out of the GPs, 93% considered the main task of the industry was to promote sales. Differences between the GPs' opinions between PHCCs were generally more visible than differences between areas. Conclusions: Some kind of incentives could be considered for PHCCs that actively reduce drug promotion from the industry. That female GPs valued information from public authorities to a much greater extent than male GPs should be taken into consideration when designing evidence-based drug information from public authorities to make implementation easier
Human Practice. Digital Ecologies. Our Future. : 14. Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2019) : Tagungsband
Erschienen bei: universi - Universitätsverlag Siegen. - ISBN: 978-3-96182-063-4Aus dem Inhalt:
Track 1: Produktion & Cyber-Physische Systeme
Requirements and a Meta Model for Exchanging Additive Manufacturing Capacities
Service Systems, Smart Service Systems and Cyber- Physical Systems—What’s the difference? Towards a Unified Terminology
Developing an Industrial IoT Platform – Trade-off between Horizontal and Vertical Approaches
Machine Learning und Complex Event Processing: Effiziente Echtzeitauswertung am Beispiel Smart Factory
Sensor retrofit for a coffee machine as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance use case
Stakeholder-Analyse zum Einsatz IIoT-basierter Frischeinformationen in der Lebensmittelindustrie
Towards a Framework for Predictive Maintenance Strategies in Mechanical Engineering - A Method-Oriented Literature Analysis
Development of a matching platform for the requirement-oriented selection of cyber physical systems for SMEs
Track 2: Logistic Analytics
An Empirical Study of Customers’ Behavioral Intention to Use Ridepooling Services – An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model
Modeling Delay Propagation and Transmission in Railway Networks
What is the impact of company specific adjustments on the acceptance and diffusion of logistic standards?
Robust Route Planning in Intermodal Urban Traffic
Track 3: Unternehmensmodellierung & Informationssystemgestaltung (Enterprise Modelling & Information Systems Design)
Work System Modeling Method with Different Levels of Specificity and Rigor for Different Stakeholder Purposes
Resolving Inconsistencies in Declarative Process Models based on Culpability Measurement
Strategic Analysis in the Realm of Enterprise Modeling – On the Example of Blockchain-Based Initiatives for the Electricity Sector
Zwischenbetriebliche Integration in der Möbelbranche: Konfigurationen und Einflussfaktoren
Novices’ Quality Perceptions and the Acceptance of Process Modeling Grammars
Entwicklung einer Definition für Social Business Objects (SBO) zur Modellierung von Unternehmensinformationen
Designing a Reference Model for Digital Product Configurators
Terminology for Evolving Design Artifacts
Business Role-Object Specification: A Language for Behavior-aware Structural Modeling of Business Objects
Generating Smart Glasses-based Information Systems with BPMN4SGA: A BPMN Extension for Smart Glasses Applications
Using Blockchain in Peer-to-Peer Carsharing to Build Trust in the Sharing Economy
Testing in Big Data: An Architecture Pattern for a Development Environment for Innovative, Integrated and Robust Applications
Track 4: Lern- und Wissensmanagement (e-Learning and Knowledge Management)
eGovernment Competences revisited – A Literature Review on necessary Competences in a Digitalized Public Sector
Say Hello to Your New Automated Tutor – A Structured Literature Review on Pedagogical Conversational Agents
Teaching the Digital Transformation of Business Processes: Design of a Simulation Game for Information Systems Education
Conceptualizing Immersion for Individual Learning in Virtual Reality
Designing a Flipped Classroom Course – a Process Model
The Influence of Risk-Taking on Knowledge Exchange and Combination
Gamified Feedback durch Avatare im Mobile Learning
Alexa, Can You Help Me Solve That Problem? - Understanding the Value of Smart Personal Assistants as Tutors for Complex Problem Tasks
Track 5: Data Science & Business Analytics
Matching with Bundle Preferences: Tradeoff between Fairness and Truthfulness
Applied image recognition: guidelines for using deep learning models in practice
Yield Prognosis for the Agrarian Management of Vineyards using Deep Learning for Object Counting
Reading Between the Lines of Qualitative Data – How to Detect Hidden Structure Based on Codes
Online Auctions with Dual-Threshold Algorithms: An Experimental Study and Practical Evaluation
Design Features of Non-Financial Reward Programs for Online Reviews: Evaluation based on Google Maps Data
Topic Embeddings – A New Approach to Classify Very Short Documents Based on Predefined Topics
Leveraging Unstructured Image Data for Product Quality Improvement
Decision Support for Real Estate Investors: Improving Real Estate Valuation with 3D City Models and Points of Interest
Knowledge Discovery from CVs: A Topic Modeling Procedure
Online Product Descriptions – Boost for your Sales?
Entscheidungsunterstützung durch historienbasierte Dienstreihenfolgeplanung mit Pattern
A Semi-Automated Approach for Generating Online Review Templates
Machine Learning goes Measure Management: Leveraging Anomaly Detection and Parts Search to Improve Product-Cost Optimization
Bedeutung von Predictive Analytics für den theoretischen Erkenntnisgewinn in der IS-Forschung
Track 6: Digitale Transformation und Dienstleistungen
Heuristic Theorizing in Software Development: Deriving Design Principles for Smart Glasses-based Systems
Mirroring E-service for Brick and Mortar Retail: An Assessment and Survey
Taxonomy of Digital Platforms: A Platform Architecture Perspective
Value of Star Players in the Digital Age
Local Shopping Platforms – Harnessing Locational Advantages for the Digital Transformation of Local Retail Outlets: A Content Analysis
A Socio-Technical Approach to Manage Analytics-as-a-Service – Results of an Action Design Research Project
Characterizing Approaches to Digital Transformation: Development of a Taxonomy of Digital Units
Expectations vs. Reality – Benefits of Smart Services in the Field of Tension between Industry and Science
Innovation Networks and Digital Innovation: How Organizations Use Innovation Networks in a Digitized Environment
Characterising Social Reading Platforms— A Taxonomy-Based Approach to Structure the Field
Less Complex than Expected – What Really Drives IT Consulting Value
Modularity Canvas – A Framework for Visualizing Potentials of Service Modularity
Towards a Conceptualization of Capabilities for Innovating Business Models in the Industrial Internet of Things
A Taxonomy of Barriers to Digital Transformation
Ambidexterity in Service Innovation Research: A Systematic Literature Review
Design and success factors of an online solution for cross-pillar pension information
Track 7: IT-Management und -Strategie
A Frugal Support Structure for New Software Implementations in SMEs
How to Structure a Company-wide Adoption of Big Data Analytics
The Changing Roles of Innovation Actors and Organizational Antecedents in the Digital Age
Bewertung des Kundennutzens von Chatbots für den Einsatz im Servicedesk
Understanding the Benefits of Agile Software Development in Regulated Environments
Are Employees Following the Rules? On the Effectiveness of IT Consumerization Policies
Agile and Attached: The Impact of Agile Practices on Agile Team Members’ Affective Organisational Commitment
The Complexity Trap – Limits of IT Flexibility for Supporting Organizational Agility in Decentralized Organizations
Platform Openness: A Systematic Literature Review and Avenues for Future Research
Competence, Fashion and the Case of Blockchain
The Digital Platform Otto.de: A Case Study of Growth, Complexity, and Generativity
Track 8: eHealth & alternde Gesellschaft
Security and Privacy of Personal Health Records in Cloud Computing Environments – An Experimental Exploration of the Impact of Storage Solutions and Data Breaches
Patientenintegration durch Pfadsysteme
Digitalisierung in der Stressprävention – eine qualitative Interviewstudie zu Nutzenpotenzialen
User Dynamics in Mental Health Forums – A Sentiment Analysis Perspective
Intent and the Use of Wearables in the Workplace – A Model Development
Understanding Patient Pathways in the Context of Integrated Health Care Services - Implications from a Scoping Review
Understanding the Habitual Use of Wearable Activity Trackers
On the Fit in Fitness Apps: Studying the Interaction of Motivational Affordances and Users’ Goal Orientations in Affecting the Benefits Gained
Gamification in Health Behavior Change Support Systems - A Synthesis of Unintended Side Effects
Investigating the Influence of Information Incongruity on Trust-Relations within Trilateral Healthcare Settings
Track 9: Krisen- und Kontinuitätsmanagement
Potentiale von IKT beim Ausfall kritischer Infrastrukturen: Erwartungen, Informationsgewinnung und Mediennutzung der Zivilbevölkerung in Deutschland
Fake News Perception in Germany: A Representative Study of People’s Attitudes and Approaches to Counteract Disinformation
Analyzing the Potential of Graphical Building Information for Fire Emergency Responses: Findings from a Controlled Experiment
Track 10: Human-Computer Interaction
Towards a Taxonomy of Platforms for Conversational Agent Design
Measuring Service Encounter Satisfaction with Customer Service Chatbots using Sentiment Analysis
Self-Tracking and Gamification: Analyzing the Interplay of Motivations, Usage and Motivation Fulfillment
Erfolgsfaktoren von Augmented-Reality-Applikationen: Analyse von Nutzerrezensionen mit dem Review-Mining-Verfahren
Designing Dynamic Decision Support for Electronic Requirements Negotiations
Who is Stressed by Using ICTs? A Qualitative Comparison Analysis with the Big Five Personality Traits to Understand Technostress
Walking the Middle Path: How Medium Trade-Off Exposure Leads to Higher Consumer Satisfaction in Recommender Agents
Theory-Based Affordances of Utilitarian, Hedonic and Dual-Purposed Technologies: A Literature Review
Eliciting Customer Preferences for Shopping Companion Apps: A Service Quality Approach
The Role of Early User Participation in Discovering Software – A Case Study from the Context of Smart Glasses
The Fluidity of the Self-Concept as a Framework to Explain the Motivation to Play Video Games
Heart over Heels? An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Emotions and Review Helpfulness for Experience and Credence Goods
Track 11: Information Security and Information Privacy
Unfolding Concerns about Augmented Reality Technologies: A Qualitative Analysis of User Perceptions
To (Psychologically) Own Data is to Protect Data: How Psychological Ownership Determines Protective Behavior in a Work and Private Context
Understanding Data Protection Regulations from a Data Management Perspective: A Capability-Based Approach to EU-GDPR
On the Difficulties of Incentivizing Online Privacy through Transparency: A Qualitative Survey of the German Health Insurance Market
What is Your Selfie Worth? A Field Study on Individuals’ Valuation of Personal Data
Justification of Mass Surveillance: A Quantitative Study
An Exploratory Study of Risk Perception for Data Disclosure to a Network of Firms
Track 12: Umweltinformatik und nachhaltiges Wirtschaften
Kommunikationsfäden im Nadelöhr – Fachliche Prozessmodellierung der Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation am Kapitalmarkt
Potentiale und Herausforderungen der Materialflusskostenrechnung
Computing Incentives for User-Based Relocation in Carsharing
Sustainability’s Coming Home: Preliminary Design Principles for the Sustainable Smart District
Substitution of hazardous chemical substances using Deep Learning and t-SNE
A Hierarchy of DSMLs in Support of Product Life-Cycle Assessment
A Survey of Smart Energy Services for Private Households
Door-to-Door Mobility Integrators as Keystone Organizations of Smart Ecosystems: Resources and Value Co-Creation – A Literature Review
Ein Entscheidungsunterstützungssystem zur ökonomischen Bewertung von Mieterstrom auf Basis der Clusteranalyse
Discovering Blockchain for Sustainable Product-Service Systems to enhance the Circular Economy
Digitale Rückverfolgbarkeit von Lebensmitteln: Eine verbraucherinformatische Studie
Umweltbewusstsein durch audiovisuelles Content Marketing? Eine experimentelle Untersuchung zur Konsumentenbewertung nachhaltiger Smartphones
Towards Predictive Energy Management in Information Systems: A Research Proposal
A Web Browser-Based Application for Processing and Analyzing Material Flow Models using the MFCA Methodology
Track 13: Digital Work - Social, mobile, smart
On Conversational Agents in Information Systems Research: Analyzing the Past to Guide Future Work
The Potential of Augmented Reality for Improving Occupational First Aid
Prevent a Vicious Circle! The Role of Organizational IT-Capability in Attracting IT-affine Applicants
Good, Bad, or Both? Conceptualization and Measurement of Ambivalent User Attitudes Towards AI
A Case Study on Cross-Hierarchical Communication in Digital Work Environments
‘Show Me Your People Skills’ - Employing CEO Branding for Corporate Reputation Management in Social Media
A Multiorganisational Study of the Drivers and Barriers of Enterprise Collaboration Systems-Enabled Change
The More the Merrier? The Effect of Size of Core Team Subgroups on Success of Open Source Projects
The Impact of Anthropomorphic and Functional Chatbot Design Features in Enterprise Collaboration Systems on User Acceptance
Digital Feedback for Digital Work? Affordances and Constraints of a Feedback App at InsurCorp
The Effect of Marker-less Augmented Reality on Task and Learning Performance
Antecedents for Cyberloafing – A Literature Review
Internal Crowd Work as a Source of Empowerment - An Empirical Analysis of the Perception of Employees in a Crowdtesting Project
Track 14: Geschäftsmodelle und digitales Unternehmertum
Dividing the ICO Jungle: Extracting and Evaluating Design Archetypes
Capturing Value from Data: Exploring Factors Influencing Revenue Model Design for Data-Driven Services
Understanding the Role of Data for Innovating Business Models: A System Dynamics Perspective
Business Model Innovation and Stakeholder: Exploring Mechanisms and Outcomes of Value Creation and Destruction
Business Models for Internet of Things Platforms: Empirical Development of a Taxonomy and Archetypes
Revitalizing established Industrial Companies: State of the Art and Success Principles of Digital Corporate Incubators
When 1+1 is Greater than 2: Concurrence of Additional Digital and Established Business Models within Companies
Special Track 1: Student Track
Investigating Personalized Price Discrimination of Textile-, Electronics- and General Stores in German Online Retail
From Facets to a Universal Definition – An Analysis of IoT Usage in Retail
Is the Technostress Creators Inventory Still an Up-To-Date Measurement Instrument? Results of a Large-Scale Interview Study
Application of Media Synchronicity Theory to Creative Tasks in Virtual Teams Using the Example of Design Thinking
TrustyTweet: An Indicator-based Browser-Plugin to Assist Users in Dealing with Fake News on Twitter
Application of Process Mining Techniques to Support Maintenance-Related Objectives
How Voice Can Change Customer Satisfaction: A Comparative Analysis between E-Commerce and Voice Commerce
Business Process Compliance and Blockchain: How Does the Ethereum Blockchain Address Challenges of Business Process Compliance?
Improving Business Model Configuration through a Question-based Approach
The Influence of Situational Factors and Gamification on Intrinsic Motivation and Learning
Evaluation von ITSM-Tools für Integration und Management von Cloud-Diensten am Beispiel von ServiceNow
How Software Promotes the Integration of Sustainability in Business Process Management
Criteria Catalog for Industrial IoT Platforms from the Perspective of the Machine Tool Industry
Special Track 3: Demos & Prototyping
Privacy-friendly User Location Tracking with Smart Devices: The BeaT Prototype
Application-oriented robotics in nursing homes
Augmented Reality for Set-up Processe
Mixed Reality for supporting Remote-Meetings
Gamification zur Motivationssteigerung von Werkern bei der Betriebsdatenerfassung
Automatically Extracting and Analyzing Customer Needs from Twitter: A “Needmining” Prototype
GaNEsHA: Opportunities for Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities
TUCANA: A platform for using local processing power of edge devices for building data-driven services
Demonstrator zur Beschreibung und Visualisierung einer kritischen Infrastruktur
Entwicklung einer alltagsnahen persuasiven App zur Bewegungsmotivation für ältere Nutzerinnen und Nutzer
A browser-based modeling tool for studying the learning of conceptual modeling based on a multi-modal data collection approach
Exergames & Dementia: An interactive System for People with Dementia and their Care-Network
Workshops
Workshop Ethics and Morality in Business Informatics (Workshop Ethik und Moral in der Wirtschaftsinformatik – EMoWI’19)
Model-Based Compliance in Information Systems - Foundations, Case Description and Data Set of the MobIS-Challenge for Students and Doctoral Candidates
Report of the Workshop on Concepts and Methods of Identifying Digital Potentials in Information Management
Control of Systemic Risks in Global Networks - A Grand Challenge to Information Systems Research
Die Mitarbeiter von morgen - Kompetenzen künftiger Mitarbeiter im Bereich Business Analytics
Digitaler Konsum: Herausforderungen und Chancen der Verbraucherinformati
Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples
Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts
Transition metal isotope fractionation in marine hydrothermal deposits of the Mohns Ridge, North Atlantic Ocean
Seafloor hydrothermal vent systems form along mid-ocean ridges in all of the Earth’s oceans. They have a major impact on the chemical exchange between the lithosphere and the hydrosphere, as vast volumes of seawater cycle through these systems, thereby interacting with young, oceanic crust. Furthermore, seafloor hydrothermal vent systems provide an excellent environment for organisms to thrive, resulting in diverse and unique vent faunas. Due to their favourable ecological conditions and their existence throughout Earth’s history, they are regarded as a potential cradle where life on Earth could have emerged. Transition metals, such as iron, copper and zinc, are essential nutrients for all organisms on Earth and, thus, metabolic processes have direct influence on cycling of these elements in the environment. The development of high-resolution multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) in the mid-1990s enabled the use of transition metal stable isotope variations in nature as geochemical tracers. Studies on Fe, Cu and Zn isotope variations have revealed that metabolic reactions are capable of fractionating stable isotopes of these transition metals. Consequently, researchers have tried to find distinct isotopic fingerprints that allow identifying remnants of biological activity in geological samples, since DNA or microfossil structures are often missing in especially ancient samples due to later geological overprint. Unambiguous biological transition metal isotope signatures, however, have not been discovered so far. The objective of this thesis is to better understand fractionation of Fe, Cu and Zn isotopes in seafloor hydrothermal vent systems in general, and whether isotope variations of these transition metals may help to unravel (biological) formation processes of ancient hydrothermal deposits in particular. For this purpose, analytical methods were developed to determine Cu and Zn isotope variations in Fe-rich hydrothermal samples. Copper and zinc were purified from the sample matrices using a two-step ion-exchange chromatographic procedure. It was shown that no fractionation of Cu isotopes occurred during chromatographic separation of copper by applying a standard addition approach with an enriched 65Cu spike. Furthermore, a new 64Zn-67Zn double spike was calibrated in order to correct for instrumental mass bias during Zn isotope ratio determinations by MC-ICP-MS. Cu and Zn isotope measurements of international reference materials and inter-laboratory data comparison between the isotope laboratories at the University of Bergen and the Imperial College, London, confirmed the accuracy and applicability of the established analytical methods. The samples investigated in this thesis derived from the Jan Mayen and the Loki’s Castle vent fields, situated along the Mohns Ridge, North Atlantic. Low temperature hydrothermal venting at the Jan Mayen vent fields leads to the formation of extensive microbial mats that mediate the precipitation of layered, siliceous Fe oxyhydroxide deposits. These deposits exhibit substantial amounts of encrusted filaments of the Fe-oxidising bacterium Mariprofundus ferrooxidans. Fe isotopic compositions of the siliceous Fe oxyhydroxides span a range from -2.09 to -0.66 ‰ in δ56Fe, which is most likely the result of partial oxidation of hydrothermal Fe(II)aq by low concentrations of free oxygen in fluid-filled cavities within the deposits and/or by microbial iron oxidation. The Jan Mayen samples are enriched in the heavy Zn isotopes relative to the low temperature hydrothermal fluids, most likely caused by isotope fractionation during adsorption of Zn aquo complexes onto the surfaces of the siliceous Fe oxyhydroxides. Cu isotopes in the Jan Mayen samples, on the other hand, are fractionated towards lower δ65Cu values relative to igneous rocks. Here, Cu isotope fractionation might be caused by partitioning of copper into different organic and inorganic complexes and subsequent preferential, pH-dependent adsorption of Cu aquo complexes onto siliceous Fe oxyhydroxides and/or by assimilation and adsorption of isotopically light copper by microorganisms. Isotope variations in the modern Jan Mayen siliceous Fe oxyhydroxide deposits were compared to those in Ordovician jasper beds from the Løkken ophiolite complex, Norway, which are interpreted to have formed from white smoker hydrothermal fallout deposits. Fe isotope variations in the Løkken jaspers, ranging from -0.38 to +0.89 ‰ in δ56Fe, point to partial oxidation of Fe(II)aq in the hydrothermal plume. The isotopic compositions of copper and zinc in the jaspers are comparable to those of the modern siliceous Fe oxyhydroxide deposits from the Jan Mayen vent fields, and isotope fractionation might have been caused by similar (bio)chemical reactions despite different formation pathways of the two deposits. However, interpreting reactions causing the observed Cu and Zn isotope fractionations in these hydrothermal systems remains speculative. Besides low temperature deposits, hydrothermal sulphides which formed in high temperature white smoker chimneys at the Jan Mayen vent fields and in black smoker chimneys at the Loki’s Castle vent field were investigated. In these environments, fractionation of transition metal isotopes is mostly driven by inorganic chemical reactions. Variations of Fe, Cu and Zn isotopes were used to trace reaction pathways of sulphide formation. Isotopically light iron is incorporated into iron mono- and disulphides, such as pyrrhotite and marcasite, respectively, reflecting kinetic Fe isotope fractionation during sulphide precipitation. Kinetic isotope effects are most likely also responsible for low δ56Fe and δ66Zn values in sphalerite solid solution, compared to δ56Fe and δ66Zn values of high temperature hydrothermal fluids. A correlation between FeS concentration and Zn isotopic composition in sphalerite was found, which might indicate an impact of zinc substitution for iron on Zn isotope fractionation. Equilibrium isotope fractionation of copper and iron between hydrothermal fluids and sulphides was identified during formation of isocubanite and chalcopyrite. Here, isotope fractionation is most likely driven by changes in the oxidation states of iron and copper. Overall, the results are in agreement with experimental studies published in literature. The findings of this thesis show that transition metal isotope variations can be successfully used to trace chemical reactions in hydrothermal vent systems. However, the results also confirm that investigations solely based on Fe isotope variations are not suitable to distinguish between microbial and inorganic oxidation of reduced Fe(II)aq, which is an important reaction in oceanic and terrestrial low temperature environments. Combined studies of isotope fractionation of different transition metals, as presented in this thesis, are certainly a better approach to unravel formation reactions of minerals and hydrothermal deposits. However, the results of this thesis also emphasise the need of further research on metal isotope fractionation both in nature and laboratory experiments to enhance our knowledge of transition metal isotope fractionation and, thus, to allow accurate interpretations of measured isotope variations in nature
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