A Supervised Approach to Delineate Built-Up Areas for Monitoring and Analysis of Settlements

Monitoring urban growth and measuring urban sprawl is essential for improving urban planning and development. In this paper, we introduce a supervised approach for the delineation of urban areas using commonly available topographic data and commercial GIS software. The method uses a supervised parameter optimization approach along with buffer-based quality measuring method. The approach was developed, tested and evaluated in terms of possible usage in monitoring built-up areas in spatial science at a very fine-grained level. Results show that built-up area boundaries can be delineated automatically with higher quality compared to the settlement boundaries actually used. The approach has been applied to 166 settlement bodies in Germany. The study shows a very efficient way of extracting settlement boundaries from topographic data and maps and contributes to the quantification and monitoring of urban sprawl. Moreover, the findings from this study can potentially guide policy makers and urban planners from other countries

Aufklärung der dreidimensionalen Struktur des Proteins Amoebapore A mit Hilfe der mehrdimensionalen NMR-Spektroskopie

Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde die 3D-Struktur des Proteins Amoebapore A mit Hilfe der NMR-Spektroskopie aufgeklaert. Anhand der Struktur und weiterer Experimente konnte der Mechanismus der zur Bildung von Membranporen fuehrt aufgeklaert werden und somit ein neuer Aktivierungsmechanismus fuehr porenbildende Toxine beschrieben werden. Des weiteren konnte gezeigt werden dass das Protein Psoriasin die gleiche Faltungstopologie aufweist wie Amoebapore A und ebenfalls in der Lage ist Membranen zu lysieren

Ba2AlSi5N9

Ba2AlSi5N9 was synthesized starting from Si3N4, AlN, and Ba in a radio-frequency furnace at temperatures of about 1725°C. The new nitridoalumosilicate crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 (no. 1), a=9.860(1) Å, b=10.320(1) Å, c=10.346(1) Å, α=90.37(2)°, β=118.43(2)°; γ=103.69(2)°, Z=4, R1=0.0314. All synthesized crystals were characteristically twinned by reticular pseudomerohedry with twin law (1 0 0, −0.5 −1 0, −1 0 −1). The crystal structure of Ba2AlSi5N9 was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data of a twinned crystal and confirmed by Rietveld refinement both on X-ray and on neutron powder diffraction data. Statistical distribution Si/Al is corroborated by lattice energy calculations (MAPLE). 29Si and 27Al solid-state NMR are in accordance with the crystallographic results. Ba2AlSi5N9 represents a new type of network structure made up of TN4 tetrahedra (T = Si, Al). Highly condensed layers of dreier rings with nitrogen connecting three neighboring tetrahedral centers occur which are further crosslinked by dreier rings and vierer rings. The dreier rings consist of corner-sharing tetrahedra, whereas some of the vierer rings exhibit two pairs of edge-sharing tetrahedra. In the resulting voids of the network there are eight different Ba2+ sites with coordination numbers between 6 and 10. Thermogravimetric investigations confirmed a thermal stability of Ba2AlSi5N9 up to about 1515°C (He atmosphere). Luminescence measurements on Ba2AlSi5N9:Eu2+ (2 mol % Eu2+) with an excitation wavelength of 450 nm revealed a broadband emission peaking at 584 nm (FWHM=100 nm) originating from dipole-allowed 4f6(7F)5d1 → 4f7(8S7/2) transitions

towards chameleon detergents for 2-D gel electrophoresis

Caged non-ionic detergents, comprised of polar oligo(ethylene glycol) and non- polar alkyl chains joined by a photocleavable ortho-nitrobenzyl sulfonate linker have been synthesized and characterized. The light-triggered transformation of such chameleon surfactant from a charge-neutral into a charged form offers great potential to improve 2-D gel electrophoretic separation of complex protein mixtures

Automatisierte Abgrenzung von Innenbereichen auf Grundlage von Geobasisdaten

In der Arbeit wird untersucht, ob und wie auf Grundlage von Geobasisdaten eine geometrische Abgrenzung erzeugt werden kann, die als Innenbereichsabgrenzung von Siedlungsflächen nutzbar ist. Hierzu wurde ein modulares Programm in einer ArcGISUmgebung (ibTool) entwickelt, mit dem eine Innenbereichsabgrenzung näherungsweise abgeleitet und hinsichtlich ihrer Qualität bewertet werden kann. Die mit dem Programm erzielten Ergebnisse sind vielversprechend und besser als Innenbereichsabgrenzung geeignet, als die häufig ersatzweise verwendeten Ortslagen aus dem ATKIS® Basis-DLM

Impact of different water activities (aw) adjusted by solutes on high pressure high temperature inactivation of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens spores

Much research has been conducted to comprehend the mechanisms of high pressure (HP) inactivation of spores in aqueous systems but for food model systems these information are scarce. In these systems spores can interact with ingredients which then could possibly lead to retarded or reduced inactivation, which can cause a problem for the sterilization process. The protective mechanism of a reduced aw-value is still unclear. HP processing might prove valuable to overcome protective effects of solutes and achieve shorter process times for sterilization under HP. To gain insight into the underlying mechanisms five aw-values (0.9, 0.92, 0.94, 0.96, 1) were adjusted with two different solutes (NaCl, sucrose). Solutions were inoculated with spores of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and treated at 105, 110, and 115°C at 600 MPa. Further a thermal inactivation was conducted at the same temperatures for a comparison with the HP data. Afterward, the influence of HP high temperature treatment on the inactivation, the dipicolinic acid (DPA)-release and membrane constitution was assessed by plate count, HPLC and flow cytometry (FCM). The results show that during HP treatments sucrose and salt both have a protective effect, in which the influence of sucrose on the retarded inactivation is higher. The threshold water activities (aw), which is 0.94, here salt and sucrose have a significant influence on the inactivation. The comparison of thermal (105–115°C) and HP and high temperature (600 MPa, 105–115°C) treated samples showed that the time needed to achieve a 4–5 log10 inactivation is reduced from 45 (aw = 1) to 75 (aw = 0.9) min at 105°C to 3 (aw = 1) to 15 (aw = 0.9) minutes at 600 MPa and 105°C. The release of DPA is the rate limiting step of the inactivation and therefore monitoring the release is of great interest. The DPA-release is slowed down in high concentrated solutions (e.g., sucrose, salt) in comparison to aw 1. Since there is a difference in the way the solutes protect the spore it could be seen as an inner spore membrane effect. Maybe as shown for vegetative microorganism the solutes can interact with membranes, e.g., the inner spore membrane. Flow cytometry (FCM) measurement data show a similar trend

Spreading depolarization and angiographic spasm are separate mediators of delayed infarcts

In DISCHARGE-1, a recent Phase III diagnostic trial in aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage patients, spreading depolarization variables were found to be an independent real-time biomarker of delayed cerebral ischaemia. We here investigated based on prospectively collected data from DISCHARGE-1 whether delayed infarcts in the anterior, middle, or posterior cerebral artery territories correlate with (i) extravascular blood volumes; (ii) predefined spreading depolarization variables, or proximal vasospasm assessed by either (iii) digital subtraction angiography or (iv) transcranial Doppler-sonography; and whether spreading depolarizations and/or vasospasm are mediators between extravascular blood and delayed infarcts. Relationships between variable groups were analysed using Spearman correlations in 136 patients. Thereafter, principal component analyses were performed for each variable group. Obtained components were included in path models with a priori defined structure. In the first path model, we only included spreading depolarization variables, as our primary interest was to investigate spreading depolarizations. Standardised path coefficients were 0.22 for the path from extravascular bloodcomponent to depolarizationcomponent (P = 0.010); and 0.44 for the path from depolarizationcomponent to the first principal component of delayed infarct volume (P < 0.001); but only 0.07 for the direct path from bloodcomponent to delayed infarctcomponent (P = 0.36). Thus, the role of spreading depolarizations as a mediator between blood and delayed infarcts was confirmed. In the principal component analysis of extravascular blood volume, intraventricular haemorrhage was not represented in the first component. Therefore, based on the correlation analyses, we also constructed another path model with bloodcomponent without intraventricular haemorrhage as first and intraventricular haemorrhage as second extrinsic variable. We found two paths, one from (subarachnoid) bloodcomponent to delayed infarctcomponent with depolarizationcomponent as mediator (path coefficients from bloodcomponent to depolarizationcomponent = 0.23, P = 0.03; path coefficients from depolarizationcomponent to delayed infarctcomponent = 0.29, P = 0.002), and one from intraventricular haemorrhage to delayed infarctcomponent with angiographic vasospasmcomponent as mediator variable (path coefficients from intraventricular haemorrhage to vasospasmcomponent = 0.24, P = 0.03; path coefficients from vasospasmcomponent to delayed infarctcomponent = 0.35, P < 0.001). Human autopsy studies shaped the hypothesis that blood clots on the cortex surface suffice to cause delayed infarcts beneath the clots. Experimentally, clot-released factors induce cortical spreading depolarizations that trigger (i) neuronal cytotoxic oedema and (ii) spreading ischaemia. The statistical mediator role of spreading depolarization variables between subarachnoid blood volume and delayed infarct volume supports this pathogenetic concept. We did not find that angiographic vasospasm triggers spreading depolarizations, but angiographic vasospasm contributed to delayed infarct volume. This could possibly result from enhancement of spreading depolarization-induced spreading ischaemia by reduced upstream blood supply.Peer Reviewe

Phase-field modeling of epitaxial growth of polycrystalline quartz veins in hydrothermal experiments

Mineral precipitation in an open fracture plays a crucial role in the evolution of fracture permeability in rocks, and the microstructural development and precipitation rates are closely linked to fluid composition, the kind of host rock as well as temperature and pressure. In this study, we develop a continuum thermodynamic model to understand polycrystalline growth of quartz aggregates from the rock surface. The adapted multiphase-field model takes into consideration both the absolute growth rate as a function of the driving force of the reaction (free energy differences between solid and liquid phases), and the equilibrium crystal shape (Wulff shape). In addition, we realize the anisotropic shape of the quartz crystal by introducing relative growth rates of the facets. The missing parameters of the model, including surface energy and relative growth rates, are determined by detailed analysis of the crystal shapes and crystallographic orientation of polycrystalline quartz aggregates in veins synthesized in previous hydrothermal experiments. The growth simulations were carried out for a single crystal and for grain aggregates from a rock surface. The single crystal simulation reveals the importance of crystal facetting on the growth rate; for example, growth velocity in the c-axis direction drops by a factor of ~9 when the faceting is complete. The textures produced by the polycrystal simulations are similar to those observed in the hydrothermal experiments, including the number of surviving grains and crystallographic preferred orientations as a function of the distance from the rock wall. Our model and the methods to define its parameters provide a basis for further investigation of fracture sealing under varying conditions