Influence of hydrochar from hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) on plant growth aspects and soil improvement

Hydrochar (HC), produced by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), offers technical advantages compared to biochar (BC) produced by pyrolysis and is suitable for soil amelioration, carbon (C) sequestration, and enhanced plant growth. However, this suitability is dependent on the feedstock, HTC process conditions, application rate, and environmental and soil conditions. BC grain size has shown to influence, inter alia, nutrient retention, microbial colonization, and aggregate formation, however, such research for HC’s is lacking. This study conducted pot trials to investigate the influence of HC grain size (coarse (6.3-2 mm), medium (2-0.63 mm) and fine (<0.63 mm)), produced from biogas digestate, for soil improvement in three soils: loamy Chernozem, sandy Podzol, and clayey Gleysol, at a 5% HC application rate. All soils, including two controls (with and without plants) were analyzed for germination and bio-mass success, pH, and plant-available nutrients, namely phosphate (PO4), potassium (K) and mineral nitrogen (Nmin) content using standard laboratory methods. Results showed no germination inhibition using Chinese cabbage seeds at a 5% HC application rate, while its influence on biomass production was mostly insignificant. Soil pH showed a compensatory shift toward the pH of the HC, based on the initial pH of the soils and the HC. This effect was most pronounced in the fine-grained HC treatments. The HC served as a short-term source of nutrients, namely PO4, K (both nutrients showing the greatest effect in the fine-grained HC treatments) and ammonium (NH4+) due to the relatively more easily mineralized fraction of the HC, which allowed for the quick release of these nutrients. However, the duration of this contribution is dependent on the presence of this particular fraction in the soil. A relationship between HC and nitrate (NO3-) content was indeterminable due to the variable results between controls and HC grain size over the course of the study. In conclusion, the 5% HC application rate was insufficient to induce substantial changes to those soil properties affecting plant growth, nor to sustain a longer-term supply of nutrients

Modellbasierte automatisierte Greifplanung

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt das Planungssystem Auto GRASP zur modellbasierten, automatisierten Planung von Greifoperationen bekannter Objekte im Arbeitsraum eines Roboters. Im Gegensatz zu existierenden Greifplanungssystemen werden bei der Planung sämtliche erforderlichen Nebenbedingungen des Greifvorgangs berücksichtigt. Das vorgestellte Greifverfahren beruht auf einer effizienten Zweiteilung der Planung in eine Offline- und in eine Online-Phase. Während der Offline-Phase erfolgt eine maximale Modelldatenaufbereitung der zu greifenden Objekte. Geometrische Filteroperationen, die eine Art Shape-Matching zwischen der Geometrie des eingesetzten Parallelbackengreifers und der zu greifenden Objekte durchführen, generieren Griffklassen eines Objektes. Hierbei beschreibt eine Griffklasse eine Menge von Greifkoordinatensystemen, die für den Greifer unter konstanter Orientierung kollisionsfrei erreichbar sind. Als Orientierungen werden repräsentative Greiferorientierungen bestimmt, die zu Formschluß mit der Handbasis des Greifers und damit zu einer Erhöhung der Griffstabilität führen. Sämtliche generierten Griffklassen werden unter Berücksichtigung diverser geometrischer Kriterien bewertet, die aus den Ergebnissen der Modelldatenaufbereitung folgen. Daneben werden objektspezifische Merkmale bestimmt, die in die Online-Phase der Planung von Greifoperationen einfließen. Für die Planung evtl. erforderlicher Umgreifoperationen werden ebenfalls im Rahmen der Modelldatenaufbereitung Plazierungsklassen sämtlicher Objekte der Modellwelt generiert und evaluiert. Eine Plazierungsklasse eines Objektes beschreibt eine Menge von stabilen Plazierungen auf einer horizontalen Ablagefläche, die einen gemeinsamen Kontaktbereich besitzen. Zur Bewertung der Stabilität einer Plazierungsklasse wird eine anschaulich zu interpretierende Evaluierungsfunktion eingeführt. Die Ergebnisse der Modelldatenaufbereitung fließen in die Online-Phase der Planung von Greifoperationen ein.Grasping has evolved from a somewhat marginal topic to an important field in robotics research. This increasing interest in grasping is partly due to the increasing importance of flexible assembly in industrial automation. The thesis describes the model based grasp planning system Auto GRASP for automatically grasping objects in a robot’s workspace. In contrast to existing grasp planning systems various constraints are taken into account required for a successful execution of a grasp operation. The computations performed by Auto GRASP are split into offline and online computations, with as much a priori knowledge as possible used in the offline phase. During the offline phase a geometric grasp planning is performed using the concept of symbolic grasps. Symbolic grasps are generated by filter operations performing a kind of shape matching between the geometry of the gripper and the objects to be grasped. To reduce computational costs, representative gripper orientations are determined for each symbolic grasp. The new concept of representative gripper orientations guarantees, that the gripper’s palm can achieve form closure with the objects to be grasped. Thus, higher stability is achieved to resist dynamic disturbance forces arising during the motion of the robot. For each representative gripper orientation collision free approach trajectories and grasp frames are calculated in a local xy-configuration space respective to the objects. The resulting sets of grasp frames define grasp classes that are evaluated taking into account several evaluation criteria. For the generation of regrasp sequences, placement classes of objects are generated and evaluated. Placement classes describe stable object placements on a horizontal plane

Vergleich von Gesundheitsdatenmodellen

According to researches done by the WHO, asthma is a common disease all around the world. Asthma is characterized by recurring symptoms such as coughing, chest tightness, reduced oxygen saturation and shortness of breath. Sometimes it requires even an emergency admission. Supervising and taking care of these patients can dramatically reduce the time needed for convalescence. Therefore it is recommended by the ECHO-Project to supervise asthma patients using online systems and modern smartphones or web browsers. To keep track of the patient's data it needs an electronic health system. The goal of this study is to evaluate several existing platforms and systems to store and manage health care data. The final platform should be able to keep track of current and past data sets. Furthermore it shall offer a dedicated doctor account which can make recommendations to the patients and dedicated patient's account in which they can enter data and vitals on their own

Influence of 4-week intraduodenal supplementation of quercetin on performance, glucose metabolism, and mRNA abundance of genes related to glucose metabolism and antioxidative status in dairy cows

AbstractQuercetin has been shown to be a potent antioxidant, acts hepatoprotectively, and affects glucose and lipid metabolism in monogastrics. If this is also true in ruminants, quercetin could be beneficial in periparturient high-yielding dairy cows by ameliorating the negative effects of free radical formation and reducing the severity of liver lipidosis and ketosis. In a first attempt to evaluate effects of a long-term quercetin treatment, we intraduodenally administered twice daily 18mg of quercetin (Q)/kg of body weight to 5 late-lactation (215d in milk) dairy cows over a period of 28d. Frequent blood samples were taken before and during administration to determine plasma concentrations of flavonols and metabolites. Before and after 1 and 4wk of Q administration, glycogen and fat content as well as mRNA expression of selected genes were measured in liver biopsies. Furthermore, euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic, and hyperglycemic clamp studies were conducted before and after 2wk of Q administration. During the experiment, dry matter intake and most other zootechnical data remained unchanged. Milk protein content was increased in wk 2 and 4 of Q administration compared with basal values, whereas fat and lactose contents of milk remained unchanged. Plasma nonesterified fatty acids, γ-glutamyl transferase, cholesterol, glutamate dehydrogenase, triglyceride, and albumin concentrations, as well as liver fat and glycogen concentrations, were not affected by Q supplementation. Plasma glucose and β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations in plasma decreased and increased, respectively, under the influence of quercetin. During hyperglycemic clamp conditions, the relative increase of plasma insulin was higher after 2wk of Q administration, and a tendency for an increased rQUICKI (revised quantitative insulin sensitivity check index) was observed. The relative mRNA expression levels of selected genes related to glucose metabolism, fat metabolism, and antioxidative status were not altered after 1 or 4wk of Q supplementation. In conclusion, the effects on insulin release and sensitivity support the assumption that administration of Q could have positive effects on the metabolic adaption of high-yielding cows to early lactation. The increase of milk protein content in response to Q supplementation needs to be verified

Task-specific oscillatory synchronization of prefrontal cortex, nucleus reuniens and hippocampus during working memory. De Moji-van Malsen et al.

Theta power and running speed during DNMTS working memory task:During a Delayed Non Match To Sample (DNMTS) working memory task inside a automated touch screen chamber lfp data for hippocampal CA1 region, nucleus reuniens and the medial prefrontal cortex were acquired in mice. Besides this a video of the behavior was recorded. Since hippocampal theta oscillations have been associated with running speed, we tested whether running speed differed between the task &quot;must touch&quot; (MT) and the actual working memory task (&quot;DNMTS&quot;). Furthermore the correlation of running speed and and CA1 theta power was analyzed. Changes in oscillatory coherence between mPFC,nRE and vCA1 over time during a working memory task :During a Delayed Non Match To Sample (DNMTS) working memory task inside a automated touch screen chamber lfp data for hippocampal CA1 region, nucleus reuniens and the medial prefrontal cortex were acquired in mice. We calculated time varying coherence between the regions during the delay (6 sec) period between the presentation of the sample location and the presentation of the sample and target location (non match to sample).THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV