202 research outputs found
A foam model highlights the differences of the macro- and microrheology of respiratory horse mucus
Native horse mucus is characterized with micro- and macrorheology and
compared to hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) gel as a model. Both systems show
comparable viscoelastic properties on the microscale and for the HEC the
macrorheology is in good agreement with the microrheology. For the mucus, the
viscoelastic moduli on the macroscale are several orders of magnitude larger
than on the microscale. Large amplitude oscillatory shear experiments show that
the mucus responds nonlinearly at much smaller deformations than HEC. This
behavior fosters the assumption that the mucus has a foam like structure on the
microscale compared to the typical mesh like structure of the HEC, a model that
is supported by cryogenic-scanning-electron-microscopy (CSEM) images. These
images allow also to determine the relative amount of volume that is occupied
by the pores and the scaffold. Consequently, we can estimate the elastic
modulus of the scaffold. We conclude that this particular foam like
microstructure should be considered as a key factor for the transport of
particulate matter which plays a central role in mucus function with respect to
particle penetration. The mesh properties composed of very different components
are responsible for macroscopic and microscopic behavior being part of
particles fate after landing.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of
Biomedical Material
Mapping biomass availability to decrease the dependency on fossil fuels
To decrease the dependency on fossil fuels, more renewable energy sources need to be explored. Over the last years, the consumption of biomass has risen steadily and it has become a major source for re-growing energy. Besides the most common sources of biomass (forests, agriculture etc.) there are smaller supplies available in mostly unused areas like hedges, vegetation along streets, railways, rivers and field margins. However, these sources are not mapped and in order to obtain their potential for usage as a renewable energy, a method to quickly assess their spatial distribution and their volume is needed. We use a range of data sets including satellite imagery, GIS and elevation data to evaluate these parameters. With the upcoming Sentinel missions, our satellite data is chosen to match the spatial resolution of Sentinel-2 (10-20m) as well as its spectral characteristics. To obtain sub-pixel information from the satellite data, we use a spectral unmixing approach. Additional GIS data is provided by the German Digital Landscape Model (ATKIS Base-DLM). To estimate the height (and derive the volume) of the vegetation, we use LIDAR data to produce a digital surface model. These data sets allow us to map the extent of previously unused biomass sources. This map can then be used as a starting point for further analyses about the feasibility of the biomass extraction and their usage as a renewable energy source.BMWi/DLR/50EE1333BMWi/DLR/50EE1334BMWi/DLR/50EE133
The Extremely Luminous Quasar Survey in the Pan-STARRS 1 Footprint (PS-ELQS)
We present the results of the Extremely Luminous Quasar Survey in the
survey of the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS;
PS1). This effort applies the successful quasar selection strategy of the
Extremely Luminous Survey in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint
() to a much larger area
(). This spectroscopic survey targets the most
luminous quasars (; ) at intermediate redshifts
(). Candidates are selected based on a near-infrared JKW2 color cut
using WISE AllWISE and 2MASS photometry to mainly reject stellar contaminants.
Photometric redshifts () and star-quasar classifications for each
candidate are calculated from near-infrared and optical photometry using the
supervised machine learning technique random forests. We select 806 quasar
candidates at from a parent sample of 74318 sources. After
exclusion of known sources and rejection of candidates with unreliable
photometry, we have taken optical identification spectra for 290 of our 334
good PS-ELQS candidates. We report the discovery of 190 new quasars
and an additional 28 quasars at lower redshifts. A total of 44 good PS-ELQS
candidates remain unobserved. Including all known quasars at , our
quasar selection method has a selection efficiency of at least . At lower
declinations we approximately triple the known
population of extremely luminous quasars. We provide the PS-ELQS quasar catalog
with a total of 592 luminous quasars (, ). This unique
sample will not only be able to provide constraints on the volume density and
quasar clustering of extremely luminous quasars, but also offers valuable
targets for studies of the intergalactic medium.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures, accepted to ApJ
Self-attraction effect and correction on three absolute gravimeters
The perturbations of the gravitational field due to the mass distribution of
an absolute gravimeter have been studied. The so called Self Attraction Effect
(SAE) is crucial for the measurement accuracy, especially for the International
Comparisons, and for the uncertainty budget evaluation. Three instruments have
been analysed: MPG-2, FG5-238 and IMPG-02. The SAE has been calculated using a
numerical method based on FEM simulation. The observed effect has been treated
as an additional vertical gravity gradient. The correction (SAC) to be applied
to the computed g value has been associated with the specific height level,
where the measurement result is typically reported. The magnitude of the
obtained corrections is of order 1E-8 m/s2.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Metrologi
Tuning the pseudospin polarization of graphene by a pseudo-magnetic field
One of the intriguing characteristics of honeycomb lattices is the appearance
of a pseudo-magnetic field as a result of mechanical deformation. In the case
of graphene, the Landau quantization resulting from this pseudo-magnetic field
has been measured using scanning tunneling microscopy. Here we show that a
signature of the pseudo-magnetic field is a local sublattice symmetry breaking
observable as a redistribution of the local density of states. This can be
interpreted as a polarization of graphene's pseudospin due to a strain induced
pseudo-magnetic field, in analogy to the alignment of a real spin in a magnetic
field. We reveal this sublattice symmetry breaking by tunably straining
graphene using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. The tip locally
lifts the graphene membrane from a SiO support, as visible by an increased
slope of the curves. The amount of lifting is consistent with molecular
dynamics calculations, which reveal a deformed graphene area under the tip in
the shape of a Gaussian. The pseudo-magnetic field induced by the deformation
becomes visible as a sublattice symmetry breaking which scales with the lifting
height of the strained deformation and therefore with the pseudo-magnetic field
strength. Its magnitude is quantitatively reproduced by analytic and
tight-binding models, revealing fields of 1000 T. These results might be the
starting point for an effective THz valley filter, as a basic element of
valleytronics.Comment: Revised manuscript: streamlined the abstract and introduction, added
methods to supplement, Nano Letters, 201
Clinical correlates of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody profiles in Spanish COVID-19 patients from a high incidence region
Laboratory testing for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) consists of two pillars: the detection of viral RNA via rt-PCR as the diagnostic gold standard in acute cases, and the detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. However, concerning the latter, questions remain about their diagnostic and prognostic value and it is not clear whether all patients develop detectable antibodies. We examined sera from 347 Spanish COVID-19 patients, collected during the peak of the epidemic outbreak in Spain, for the presence of IgA and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and evaluated possible associations with age, sex and disease severity (as measured by duration of hospitalization, kind of respiratory support, treatment in ICU and death). The presence and to some degree the levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies depended mainly on the amount of time between onset of symptoms and the collection of serum. A subgroup of patients did not develop antibodies at the time of sample collection. Compared to the patients that did, no differences were found. The presence and level of antibodies was not associated with age, sex, duration of hospitalization, treatment in the ICU or death. The case-fatality rate increased exponentially with older age. Neither the presence, nor the levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies served as prognostic markers in our cohort. This is discussed as a possible consequence of the timing of the sample collection. Age is the most important risk factor for an adverse outcome in our cohort. Some patients appear not to develop antibodies within a reasonable time frame. It is unclear, however, why that is, as these patients differ in no respect examined by us from those who developed antibodies
Mutual Validation of GNSS Height Measurements and High-precision Geometric-astronomical Leveling
The method of geometric-astronomical leveling is presented as a suited technique for the validation of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) heights. In geometric-astronomical leveling, the ellipsoidal height differences are obtained by combining conventional spirit leveling and astronomical leveling. Astronomical leveling with recently developed digital zenith camera systems is capable of providing the geometry of equipotential surfaces of the gravity field accurate to a few 0.1 mm per km. This is comparable to the accuracy of spirit leveling. Consequently, geometric-astronomical leveling yields accurate ellipsoidal height differences that may serve as an independent check on GNSS height measurements at local scales. A test was performed in a local geodetic network near Hanover. GPS observations were simultaneously carried out at five stations over a time span of 48 h and processed considering state-of-the-art techniques and sophisticated new approaches to reduce station-dependent errors. The comparison of GPS height differences with those from geometric-astronomical leveling shows a promising agreement of some millimeters. The experiment indicates the currently achievable accuracy level of GPS height measurements and demonstrates the practical applicability of the proposed approach for the validation of GNSS height measurements as well as the evaluation of GNSS height processing strategies
Combining EGM2008 and SRTM/DTM2006.0 residual terrain model data to improve quasigeoid computations in mountainous areas devoid of gravity data
A global geopotential model, like EGM2008, is not capable of representing the high-frequency components of Earth?s gravity field. This is known as the omission error. In mountainous terrain, omission errors in EGM2008, even when expanded to degree 2,190, may reach amplitudes of10cm and more for height anomalies. The present paper proposes the utilisation of high-resolution residual terrain model (RTM) data for computing estimates of the omission error in rugged terrain. RTM elevations may be constructed as the difference between the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) elevation model and the DTM2006.0 spherical harmonic topographic expansion. Numerical tests, carried out in the German Alps with a precise gravimetric quasigeoid model (GCG05) and GPS/levelling data as references, demonstrate that RTM-based omission error estimatesimprove EGM2008 height anomaly differences by 10cm in many cases. The comparisons of EGM2008-only height anomalies and the GCG05 model showed 3.7 cm standard deviation after a bias-fit. Applying RTM omission error estimates to EGM2008 reduces the standard deviation to 1.9 cm which equates to a significant improvement rate of 47%. Using GPS/levelling data strongly corroborates thesefindings with an improvement rate of 49%. The proposed RTM approach may be of practical value to improve quasigeoid determination in mountainous areas without sufficient regional gravity data coverage, e.g., in parts of Asia, South America or Africa. As a further application, RTMomission error estimates will allow refined validation of global gravity field models like EGM2008 from GPS/levelling data
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