Infrared camera-based imaging techniques for solar-grade silicon

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From Berlin to Lisbon: is car sharing a fad?

Car sharing is a market that has been in existence since the early 1950s. It entails members within a given society sharing cars to reach their destination and as such, saving up on costs, time and parking space. Car sharing reduces congestion within cities and as such, making it an important and impactful aspect in the protection of the environment. This paper seeks to evaluate the comparison of the car-sharing industry within Germany and Portugal and how it is influenced by millennials. It looks at a number of aspects such as the role of technology, the preservation of the environment, costs, income, and other factors. The survey that is included in the research focuses on Lisbon and Berlin and the millennials that live within them and how they integrate car-sharing services. The results that are realized indicate that Berlin has had the car-sharing industry for some time and as such, making it more prominent as compared to Lisbon. Nonetheless, the car sharing industry within Portugal is also developing at an alarming rate and as such, making the two areas competitive to some degree when it comes to this industry"Car sharing" é um conceito que existe no mercado desde os anos 50. Significa que, membros de uma mesma sociedade, partilhem automóveis para chegar ao seu destino, e ao mesmo tempo também poupem dinheiro, tempo e estacionamento. O "car sharing" reduz o congestionamento dentro das cidades e tem um impacto importante na proteção do meio ambiente. Este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar e comparar o mercado de "car sharing" entre Portugal e Alemanha e como este é influenciado pelos "millennials". Analisa uma série de aspetos como o papel da tecnologia, a defesa do meio ambiente, custos, o rendimento, entre outros. O estudo incluído neste trabalho concentra-se nas cidades de Lisboa e Berlim e nos "millennials" residentes nestas cidades que utilizem este serviço de "car sharing". Os resultados mostram que Berlim possuí a indústria do "car sharing" há mais tempo e daí ser mais familiar e popular do que em Lisboa. No entanto, o "car sharing" em Portugal está a desenvolver-se rapidamente o que torna esta área cada vez mais competitiva na indústria

Designing Game Based Learning – a Participatory Approach

Game Based Learning seems to be an interesting new possibility of teaching and learning, but the effort spent on designing games and the possible positive outcomes have to be weighed carefully. The following paper describes the development process and the conceptual design of a simulation game on sustainability for teenagers. The design process is participatory in nature. Members of the future group of learners are involved in the design process at every stage. This involvement is especially important to overcome the contradiction between the goal of the game as such and the pedagogical goal of the designers

Fungi as source for new bio-based materials: a patent review

Background The circular economy closes loops in industrial manufacturing processes and minimizes waste. A bio-based economy aims to replace fossil-based resources and processes by sustainable alternatives which exploits renewable biomass for the generation of products used in our daily live. A current trend in fungal biotechnology—the production of fungal-based biomaterials—will contribute to both. Results This study gives an overview of various trends and development applications in which fungal mycelium is used as new and sustainable biomaterial. A patent survey covering the last decade (2009–2018) yielded 47 patents and patent applications claiming fungal biomass or fungal composite materials for new applications in the packaging, textile, leather and automotive industries. Furthermore, fungal-based materials are envisaged for thermal insulation and as fire protection materials. Most patents and patent applications describe the use of different lignin- and cellulose-containing waste biomass as substrate for fungal cultivations, covering 27 different fungal species in total. Our search uncovered that most patent activities are on-going in the United States and in China. Conclusion Current patent developments in the field suggest that fungal bio-based materials will considerable shape the future of material sciences and material applications. Fungal materials can be considered as an excellent renewable and degradable material alternative with a high innovation potential and have the potential to replace current petroleum-based materials.TU Berlin, Open-Access-Mittel - 201

Implantation of paclitaxel-eluting stents in saphenous vein grafts: clinical and angiographic follow-up results from a multicentre study.

Objective: To define the clinical and angiographic follow-up results after implantation of paclitaxel-eluting stents (PESs) in stenotic saphenous vein grafts (SVGs). Design: Prospective multicentre study. Comparison with a control group. Methods: 60 consecutive patients with 65 lesions located in 65 SVGs (mean (SD) age of vein grafts 11.3 (5.7) years) treated with PES (V-Flex Plus, 2.7 mg/mm2 paclitaxel, Cook) and 60 patients with 60 SVG lesions treated with bare metal stent (BMS) were included. Lesions had to be ,20 mm in length and in grafts of 2.75–3.5 mm diameter. The 6 month angiographic follow-up was obtained on 51 lesions (79%) of the PES group and on 51 lesions (85%) of the BMS group. Results: Baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were comparable between both groups. At angiographic follow-up, three vein grafts in the PES group and five vein grafts in the BMS group were occluded. In-stent late lumen loss was lower in PES than in BMS (0.61 (0.81) vs 1.06 (0.72) mm, respectively; p = 0.021). In-stent binary restenosis rates were 12% vs 33%, respectively, (p = 0.012). Linear regression analysis showed BMS to be the only factor with an effect on late lumen loss (p = 0.011). Target-vessel failure rates were 18% in the PES group and 41% in the BMS group (p = 0.019), whereas major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rates at 180 days were 15% and 37%, respectively (p = 0.014). Conclusions: Implantation of non-polymer-based PES in SVG lesions is associated with a lower late lumen loss and restenosis rate than those of BMS. There remains a substantial target-vessel failure rate and MACE rate even at 6 months owing to graft occlusion or new lesions in the graft

Coupling of proton source and sink via H+-migration along the membrane surface as revealed by double patch-clamp experiments

AbstractLong-range proton transfer along the surface of black lipid bilayers was observed between two integral membrane channels (gramicidins), one operating as a proton source, the other as a sink, by patch-clamp technique. In contrast, potassium ions were shown to equilibrate with the aqueous bulk phase before being consumed. Both channels opened and closed simultaneously only if the charge between them was carried by protons. In this case an anomalous high conductance between two patched membrane fragments was measured, each of them containing one single gramicidin channel. The coupled state disappeared when the distance between these two channels was increased above the critical value. The latter was shown to increase with the channel lifetime. Our results support the idea of the `localized' proton coupling, in which protons that have been pumped across membranes migrate along the membrane surface to reach another membrane protein that utilizes the established pH gradient

Terrorist choice: a stochastic dominance and prospect theory analysis

The paper explores terrorist choice by applying two well-known theoretical frameworks: stochastic dominance and prospect theory. We analyse each pair of attack methods that can be formed from the RAND-MIPT database and the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). Instances of stochastic dominance are identified. Prospect theory orderings are computed. Attention is accorded to the identification of 'trigger points' and the circumstances that may lead to an increased likelihood that a terrorist will select an attack method associated with a higher expected number of fatalities, i.e. a potentially more damaging attack method