Transfer von Methoden der Aktionsforschung für urbane Mobilitätslabore am Beispiel von Mobilitätsexpeditionen

Zwischen dem Stand der Forschung und der Praxis urbaner Mobilität ist eine deutliche Umsetzungslücke erkennbar, die Urbane Mobilitätslabore überbrücken wollen. Ziel ist es, Innovationen zu forcieren und sie in den Alltag der Menschen zu intergrieren. Urbane Mobilitätslabore erfordern dabei ein umfangreiches Methodenset aus Analyse, Kommunikation und Visualisierung, um die Bedürfnisse der Menschen zu verstehen, Innovationen in Testsituationen umzusetzen und zu vermitteln (vgl. Berger et. al. 2016b). Die urbanen Mobilitätslabore bauen größtenteils auf dem Konzept des Reallabors auf. Reallabore wiederrum können als Fortsetzung der bereits verbreiteten Aktionsforschung gesehen werden, welche auf einem experimentellen Setting in einer iterativen Abfolge von Handlung, Reflexion und Planung fußt (vgl. Parodi et.al. 2016). Im Rahmen der Sondierung1 der UMLs wurden Methoden der Aktionsforschung für den Bereich der Mobilitätsforschung adaptiert und deren Anwendbarkeit im Kontext der Mobilitätslabore getestet. So wurden beispielsweise Mobilitätsexpeditionen als reflektierte Auseinandersetzung mit der lokalen Situation realisiert. Im Rahmen der Publikation soll aufgezeigt werden, ob und wie sich diese Methoden der Aktionsforschung im Rahmen von UML-Prozessen bewähren. Hierzu werden zuerst die Methoden in ihrer Vorbereitung, Realisierung und Auswertung sturkturiert beschrieben. In einem zweiten Schritt werden die Anwendungsbeispiele gegenübergestellt und verglichen. Hierauf aufbauend können Verbesserungsansätze für den Einsatz der Methoden für die Zwecke der UML’s formuliert werden

Microcantilever Q Control Via Capacitive Coupling

We introduce a versatile method to control the quality factor Q of a conducting cantilever in an atomic force microscope (AFM) via capacitive coupling to the local environment. Using this method, Q may be reversibly tuned to within ~ 10% of any desired value over several orders of magnitude. A point-mass oscillator model describes the measured effect. Our simple Q control module increases the AFM functionality by allowing greater control of parameters such as scan speed and force gradient sensitivity, which we demonstrate by topographic imaging of a VO$_{2}$ thin film in high vacuum.Physic

Revisiting afro-alpine Lake Garba Guracha in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia:Rationale, chronology, geochemistry, and paleoenvironmental implications

Abstract: Previous paleolimnological studies demonstrated that the sediments of Garba Guracha, situated at 3950 m asl in the afro-alpine zone of the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, provide a complete Late Glacial and Holocene paleoclimate and environmental archive. We revisited Garba Guracha in order to retrieve new sediment cores and to apply new environmental proxies, e.g. charcoal, diatoms, biomarkers, and stable isotopes. Our chronology is established using 210Pb dating and radiocarbon dating of bulk sedimentary organic matter, bulk n-alkanes, and charcoal. Although bedrock was not reached during coring, basal ages confirm that sedimentation started at the earliest ~ 16 cal kyr BP. The absence of a systematic age offset for the n-alkanes suggests that “pre-aging” is not a prominent issue in this lake, which is characterised by a very small afro-alpine catchment. X-ray fluorescence scans and total organic carbon contents show a prominent transition from minerogenic to organic-rich sediments around 11 cal kyr BP coinciding with the Holocene onset. While an unambiguous terrestrial versus aquatic source identification seems challenging, the n-alkane-based Paq proxy, TOC/N ratios, δ13C values, and the sugar biomarker patterns suggest a predominantly autochthonous organic matter source. Supraregional climate events, such as the African Humid Period, the Younger Dryas (YD), a 6.5 cal kyr BP short drying event, and the 4.2 cal kyr BP transition to overall drier climate are recorded in our archive. The Garba Guracha record suggests that northern hemisphere forcings played a role in the Eastern African highland paleoclimate

Rapid fabrication and interface structure of highly faceted epitaxial Ni-Au solid solution nanoparticles on sapphire

Supersaturated Ni-Au solid solution particles were synthesized by rapid solid-state dewetting of bilayer thin films deposited onto c-plane sapphire single-crystals. Rapid thermal annealing above the miscibility gap of the Ni-Au system followed by quenching to room temperature resulted in textured and faceted submicron-sized particles as a function of alloying content in the range of 0-28 at% Au. Morphologically, the observed kinetic crystal shapes are confined by close-packed planes; in addition, high-index facets are identified as a function of alloying content by TEM cross-sectioning and equilibrium crystal shape simulations. All samples exhibit a distinct out-of-plane as well as in-plane texture along densely packed directions. Lattice parameters extracted from independent orthogonal X-ray and electron diffraction techniques prove the formation of a solid solution without tetragonal distortion imposed by the sapphire substrate. At the particle-substrate interface of highly alloyed particles segregation of Au atoms as well as dislocations in stand-off position are found. These observations are in-line with a semi-coherent interface, where Au segregation is triggered by the reduction of the overall strain energy due to: (i) a lower shear modulus on the particle side of the interface, (ii) the shifting of misfit dislocations in stand-off position further away from the stiffer substrate and (iii) a reduction of intrinsic misfit dislocation strain energy on the tensile side. In addition, the mechanical properties of pure and alloyed particles were characterized by in situ compression experiments in the SEM. Typical force-displacement data of defect-free single-crystals were obtained, reaching the theoretical strength of Ni for particles smaller than 400 nm. Alloying changes the mechanical response from an intermittent and discrete plastic flow behavior into a homogeneous deformation regime at large compressive strain

Impact of bedside percutaneous dilational and open surgical tracheostomy on intracranial pressure, pulmonary gas exchange, and hemodynamics in neurocritical care patients

Aim was to compare the impact of bedside percutaneous dilational tracheostomy (PDT) and open surgical technique (ST) on intracranial pressure (ICP), pulmonary gas exchange and hemodynamics. We retrospectively analyzed data of 92 neurocritical care patients with invasive ICP monitoring during either PDT (43 patients) or ST (49 patients). Peak ICP levels were higher during PDT (22 [17-38] mm Hg vs 19 [13-27] mm Hg, P=.029). Mean oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) and end-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure (etCO(2)) did not differ. Episodes with relevant desaturation (SpO(2)50mm Hg) occurred rarely (5/49 during ST vs 3/43 during PDT for SpO(2)<90%; 2/49 during ST vs 5/43 during PDT for hypercapnia). Drops in mean arterial pressure (MAP) below 60mm Hg were seen more often during PDT (8/43 vs 2/49, P=. 026). Mean infusion rate of norepinephrine did not differ (0.52mg/h during ST vs 0.45mg/h during PDT). No fatal complications were observed. Tracheostomy can be performed as ST and PDT safely in neurocritical care patients. The impact on ICP, pulmonary gas exchange and hemodynamics remains within an unproblematic range

Transmission control of schistosomiasis mansoni in a low endemicity area through a single intervention with rigorous prospection of infected cases treated with praziquantel: evaluation after 7 years of intervention

A prospective cohort study with rigorous searching for schistosomiasis cases was conducted among residents of Pedra Preta, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, seven years after an intervention. Kato-Katz (KK), Saline Gradient, Miracidia Hatch and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) were used as the diagnostic methods in 2008. In the period of 2013-2016, 175 patients remaining in the area were examined using the diagnostic methods Kato-Katz (24 slides, 1 g of feces) and Saline Gradient (2 procedures, 1 g of feces). Sixty-eight out of the 69 infected and treated individuals in 2008 tested negative. The percentage of new cases was 2.29% (4/175), and the 4 infected individuals presented low parasitic load [1, 6, 7 and 19 eggs per gram (EPG)]. All the participants answered epidemiological questionnaires on risky behavior. All residences had pit latrines and domiciliary water supply. The primary transmission focus (lake) was dry for several months. Malacological surveys showed a few non-infected specimens of Biomphalaria glabrata. A clear dominance of Biomphalaria straminea was observed. It can be inferred that a significant decrease in the disease transmission occurred after a single action through an intense search for infected and treated cases under the ecoepidemiological conditions of this area

Properties and Origin of the High-Velocity Gas Toward the Large Magellanic Cloud

In the spectra of 139 early-type Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) stars observed with FUSE and with deep radio Parkes HI 21-cm observations along those stars, we search for and analyze the absorption and emission from high-velocity gas at +90<v<+175 km/s. The HI column density of the high-velocity clouds (HVCs) along these sightlines ranges from <10^18.4 to 10^19.2 cm^-2. The incidence of the HVC metal absorption is 70%, significantly higher than the HI emission occurrence of 32%. We find that the mean metallicity of the HVC is [OI/HI] = -0.51 (+0.12,-0.16). There is no strong evidence for a large variation in the HVC metallicity, implying that thes e HVCs have a similar origin and are part of the same complex. The mean and scatter of the HVC metallicities are more consistent with the present-day LMC oxygen abundance than that of the Small Magellanic Cloud or the Milky Way. We find that on average [SiII/OI] = +0.48 (+0.15,- 0.25) and [FeII/OI] = +0.33 (+0.14,-0.21), implying that the HVC complex is dominantly ionized. The HVC complex has a multiphase structure with a neutral (OI, FeII), weakly ionized (FeII, NII), and highly ionized (OVI) components, and has evidence of dust but no molecules. All the observed properties of the HVC can be explained by an energetic outflow from the LMC. This is the first example of a large (>10^6 M_sun) HVC complex that is linked to stellar feedback occurring in a dwarf spiral galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Ap