Marktanalyse Öko-Hopfen 2012 – Deutschland, Europa, Welt

Es wird eine Recherche zu Umfang und Bedeutung des weltweiten Anbaues von Öko-Hopfen präsentiert. Mit Stand der Ernte 2011 wurde weltweit in 13 Hopfenbaunationen Öko-Hopfen auf einer Gesamtfläche von etwa 220 ha produziert. Die wichtigsten Länder waren dabei, analog zur konventionellen Produktion, Deutschland mit 81 ha und die USA mit geschätzten 60 ha. Die Öko-Hopfenfläche Europas betrug insgesamt knapp 148 ha. Zum Anbau kommen zumindest in Europa vor allem Aromasorten. Die marktwirtschaftliche Bedeutung des global produzierten Öko-Hopfens ist in Relation zur konventionellen Produktion noch sehr gering und umfasst derzeit knapp 0,4 % der weltweiten Gesamtfläche und etwa 0,3 % der weltweiten Erntemenge

Structural Basis for Species Selectivity in the HIV-1 gp120-CD4 Interaction: Restoring Affinity to gp120 in Murine CD4 Mimetic Peptides

The first step of HIV-1 infection involves interaction between the viral glycoprotein gp120 and the human cellular receptor CD4. Inhibition of the gp120-CD4 interaction represents an attractive strategy to block HIV-1 infection. In an attempt to explore the known lack of affinity of murine CD4 to gp120, we have investigated peptides presenting the putative gp120-binding site of murine CD4 (mCD4). Molecular modeling indicates that mCD4 protein cannot bind gp120 due to steric clashes, while the larger conformational flexibility of mCD4 peptides allows an interaction. This finding is confirmed by experimental binding assays, which also evidenced specificity of the peptide-gp120 interaction. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the mCD4-peptide stably interacts with gp120 via an intermolecular β-sheet, while an important salt-bridge formed by a C-terminal lysine is lost. Fixation of the C-terminus by introducing a disulfide bridge between the N- and C-termini of the peptide significantly enhanced the affinity to gp120

Thermally Induced Clamping Force Deviations in a Sensory Chuck for Thin-Walled Workpieces

Deviations between nominal and actual tolerances are a challenging problem during turning processes of thin-walled workpieces. One main cause of these deviations is the clamping force applied by the turning chuck to hold the workpiece. Due to the low stiffness of thin-walled workpieces, large workpiece deformations can occur even when clamping forces are low. For this reason, the clamping force needs to be precisely adjusted. A possible approach are chucks with integrated actuators. As a result of the more direct power transmission, these chucks have a potentially higher clamping force accuracy compared to conventional external actuation. However, integrated actuators are additional heart sources resulting in thermal loads and thermally induced deformations of the chuck components. Due to the resulting mechanical distortion of the chuck system, the precise adjustment of clamping forces is not possible. Thus, this paper evaluates the thermally induced clamping force deviations on a novel turning chuck with four integrated electric drives. A test bench is used to analyse both a single drive and the combination of all four drives regarding the temperature effect on the clamping force adjustability. A clamping force deviation of up to 26% is observed. Based on the measured chuck temperature, a compensation method is introduced leading to a clamping force accuracy of 96.9%

FeelFit – Design and Evaluation of a Conversational Agent to Enhance Health Awareness

In the course of digitalisation, healthcare systems are undergoing a major transformation. The generation and processing of health-related data are intended to improve health concerns. However, individual health awareness remains inadequate. To counteract this problem, issues in the fields of health awareness, wearable health monitoring systems, conversational agents, and user interface design were identified. Meta-requirements were derived from these issues and then converted into design principles. We developed the FeelFit conversational agent under consideration of those design principles. FeelFit measures vital parameters with various wearable sensors and presents them, enriched with personalised health information, to the user in the form of a conversation via individually configurable input and output devices. The conversational agent was evaluated by two experiments with 90 participants and a workshop. The results confirm a positive usability and task fulfilment of our conversational agent. Compared to known applications, the participants highlighted the more natural interaction and seamless integration of various sensors as strengths of FeelFit

Supersphere non-linear sigma model on the lattice

Two-dimensional O(N) non-linear sigma models are exactly solvable theories and have many applications, from statistical mechanics to their use as QCD toy models. We consider a supersymmetric extension, the non-linear sigma model on the supersphere~SN+2m−1|2m≡OSP(N+2m|2m)OSP(N+2m−1|2m) . We briefly describe its renormalization properties and lattice discretization, and present a strategy for numerical simulations together with some preliminary numerical results

Dissertatio inauguralis iuridica de defensione pro avertenda inquisitione quam consensu illustris ictorum ordinis Lipsiensis pro gradu doctoris obtinendo publico eruditorum examini submittit Henricus Meier Brema-Saxo. Die 17. April. 1738

Dissertatio inauguralis iuridica de defensione pro avertenda inquisitione quam consensu illustris ictorum ordinis Lipsiensis pro gradu doctoris obtinendo publico eruditorum examini submittit Henricus Meier Brema-Saxo. Die 17. April. 1738 Lipsiae : ex officina Langenhemiana [6], 58 p. ; 4º Data nel tit., espressa in cifre romane Segn.: ):(⁴ (- ):(4) A-G⁴ H² (-H2)

The political theology of Fichte's Staatslehre : immanence and transcendence

Given its use of religious concepts and language, it is tempting to class Fichte’s rarely discussed Staatslehre as a political theology. I argue that the Staatslehre can be classed as a political theology because of the way in which it can be understood in terms of the concepts of immanence and transcendence. The concept of immanence applies to Fichte’s account of history in particular. Fichte himself allows for a moment of transcendence at the very beginning of history. I argue that the concept of transcendence is also implicit in the Staatslehre in relation to some problems faced by Fichte’s own account of the role of the Zwingherr in the historical development and actualization of right and moral freedom, despite his attempt to avoid introducing theologically based explanations of political concepts at this stage of his Staatslehre

Using the dendro-climatological signal of urban trees as a measure of urbanization and urban heat island

Using dendroclimatological techniques this study investigates whether inner city tree-ring width (TRW) chronologies from eight tree species (ash, beech, fir, larch, lime, sessile and pedunculate oak, and pine) are suitable to examine the urban heat island of Berlin, Germany. Climate-growth relationships were analyzed for 18 sites along a gradient of increasing urbanization covering Berlin and surrounding rural areas. As a proxy for defining urban heat island intensities at each site, we applied urbanization parameters such as building fraction, impervious surfaces, and green areas. The response of TRW to monthly and seasonal air temperature, precipitation, aridity, and daily air-temperature ranges were used to identify climate-growth relationships. Trees from urban sites were found to be more sensitive to climate compared to trees in the surrounding hinterland. Ring width of the deciduous species, especially ash, beech, and oak, showed a high sensitivity to summer heat and drought at urban locations (summer signal), whereas conifer species were found suitable for the analysis of the urban heat island in late winter and early spring (winter signal). The summer and winter signals were strongest in tree-ring chronologies when the urban heat island intensities were based on an area of about 200 m to 3000 m centered over the tree locations, and thus reflect the urban climate at the scale of city quarters. For the summer signal, the sensitivity of deciduous tree species to climate increased with urbanity. These results indicate that urban trees can be used for climate response analyses and open new pathways to trace the evolution of urban climate change and more specifically the urban heat island, both in time and space

Trunk sway in mildly disabled multiple sclerosis patients with and without balance impairment

Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes a broad range of neurological symptoms. Most common is poor balance control. However, knowledge of deficient balance control in mildly affected MS patients who are complaining of balance impairment but have normal clinical balance tests (CBT) is limited. This knowledge might provide insights into the normal and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying stance and gait. We analysed differences in trunk sway between mildly disabled MS patients with and without subjective balance impairment (SBI), all with normal CBT. The sway was measured for a battery of stance and gait balance tests (static and dynamic posturography) and compared to that of age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Eight of 21 patients (38%) with an Expanded Disability Status Scale of 1.0-3.0 complained of SBI during daily activities. For standing on both legs with eyes closed on a normal and on a foam surface, patients in the no SBI group showed significant differences in the range of trunk roll (lateral) sway angle and velocity, compared to normal persons. Patients in the SBI group had significantly greater lateral sway than the no SBI group, and sway was also greater than normal in the pitch (anterior-posterior) direction. Sway for one-legged stance on foam was also greater in the SBI group compared to the no SBI and normal groups. We found a specific laterally directed impairment of balance in all patients, consistent with a deficit in proprioceptive processing, which was greater in the SBI group than in the no SBI group. This finding most likely explains the subjective symptoms of imbalance in patients with MS with normal CBT