A priori bounds for quasi-linear SPDEs in the full sub-critical regime

This paper is concerned with quasi-linear parabolic equations driven by an additive forcing $\xi \in C^{\alpha-2}$, in the full sub-critical regime $\alpha \in (0,1)$. We are inspired by Hairer's regularity structures, however we work with a more parsimonious model indexed by multi-indices rather than trees. This allows us to capture additional symmetries which play a crucial role in our analysis. Assuming bounds on this model, which is modified in agreement with the concept of algebraic renormalization, we prove local a priori estimates on solutions to the quasi-linear equations modified by the corresponding counter terms.Comment: 49 pages, submitted, added reference

Doing Gender in Public Services: Affective Labour of Employment Agents

The restructuring of state bureaucracies into service organi zations and the new welfare state paradigm of activation have changed the work requirements of front-line workers in public employment agencies across Europe. Public employment agents are less engaged in bureaucratic labour, but have to perform service work. They use affective means to motivate and to monitor and sanction jobseekers. This article provides evidence that these transformations in Aus tria, Germany and Switzerland did not suspend the gender ing of public service work. We discovered four typical modes of affectively enacting the state: both male and female employment agents follow feminized service work pat terns or masculinized entrepreneurial norms. To prevent a possible loss of their professional status, some employment agents reinterpret affective labour as professional service work that demands high expertise. Others resist the activa tion paradigm by performing traditionally feminized care work or by still adhering to affect-neutral male bureaucratic work

Affektive Subjektivierung: Arbeit und Geschlecht

Der Aufsatz thematisiert die affektive Arbeit von front line-Beschäftigten am Beispiel der österreichischen gelben Post. Seit der Privatisierung des Unternehmens stellt affektive Arbeit einen zentralen Bestandteil der neuen Kundenorientierung dar. Interviews zeigen das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen den betriebswirtschaftlichen Ansprüchen der Konzernleitung und dem Gefühlsmanagement, das am unteren Ende der Betriebshierarchie im Kundenkontakt zu leisten ist und sich in Kundenfreundlichkeit zeigen soll, aber auch mit Angst und Stressgefühlen verbunden ist. Dabei bilden Foucaults Konzept der Gouvernementalität und Connells Konzeption hegemonialer Männlichkeit die theoretische Basis für die Erforschung der Integration bislang weiblich konnotierter affektiver Praxen in den traditionell männlich dominierten Dienstleistungsbereich der Post. Wir erarbeiten daraus das Konzept der vergeschlechtlichten affektiven Subjektivierung und hinterfragen die Auswirkungen dieser Prozesse auf die Konstruktionen von Männlichkeit/en und Weiblichkeit/en, auf die Vergeschlechtlichung von Tätigkeiten und hinsichtlich neuer Formen von Über- und Unterordnung.The article examines affective labor of front line-service workers of the Austrian Post. Since the transformation of the public postal service into a listed company and with the new focus of the company on customer friendly services, emotionality became a core issue of the work process. Our investigation focuses on the tensions between management control of affective labor and emotional self-management at the bottom of the company's hierarchy, where friendliness is expected but service workers also have to cope with fear and feelings of stress. Foucault’s theory of governmentality and Connell’s concept of "hegemonic masculinity" provide the theoretical framework for our analysis of hitherto supposedly feminine emotional practices in interactive service professions. The results of our fieldwork point to gendered affective subjectivation processes at the workplace, where the construction of femininity and masculinity, the gendering of work practices and new relations of superiority and subordination are at stake

Semi-robotic 6 degree of freedom positioning for intracranial high precision radiotherapy; first phantom and clinical results

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To introduce a novel method of patient positioning for high precision intracranial radiotherapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An infrared(IR)-array, reproducibly attached to the patient via a vacuum-mouthpiece(vMP) and connected to the table via a 6 degree-of-freedom(DoF) mechanical arm serves as positioning and fixation system. After IR-based manual prepositioning to rough treatment position and fixation of the mechanical arm, a cone-beam CT(CBCT) is performed. A robotic 6 DoF treatment couch (HexaPOD™) then automatically corrects all remaining translations and rotations. This absolute position of infrared markers at the first fraction acts as reference for the following fractions where patients are manually prepositioned to within ± 2 mm and ± 2° of this IR reference position prior to final HexaPOD-based correction; consequently CBCT imaging is only required once at the first treatment fraction.</p> <p>The preclinical feasibility and attainable repositioning accuracy of this method was evaluated on a phantom and human volunteers as was the clinical efficacy on 7 pilot study patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Phantom and volunteer manual IR-based prepositioning to within ± 2 mm and ± 2° in 6DoF was possible within a mean(± SD) of 90 ± 31 and 56 ± 22 seconds respectively. Mean phantom translational and rotational precision after 6 DoF corrections by the HexaPOD was 0.2 ± 0.2 mm and 0.7 ± 0.8° respectively. For the actual patient collective, the mean 3D vector for inter-treatment repositioning accuracy (n = 102) was 1.6 ± 0.8 mm while intra-fraction movement (n = 110) was 0.6 ± 0.4 mm.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This novel semi-automatic 6DoF IR-based system has been shown to compare favourably with existing non-invasive intracranial repeat fixation systems with respect to handling, reproducibility and, more importantly, intra-fraction rigidity. Some advantages are full cranial positioning flexibility for single and fractionated IGRT treatments and possibly increased patient comfort.</p

Gasoline from the bioliq® process: Production, characterization and performance

Within the so-called bioliq® process, renewable carbon resources, especially agricultural residues, are converted to gasoline. The process chain comprises pyrolysis of the feedstocks, gasification to synthesis gas, gas cleaning and conversion of synthesis gas to dimethyl ether (DME) followed by conversion of DME to hydrocarbons. Construction of all process units has been completed now and the entire plant has been successfully operated in several campaigns. Thus, hundreds of liters of a new alternative gasoline are available now, which allow for an extensive testing. The basic characteristics of the resulting bioliq®/100 fuel are described. It is rich in aromatics and a blend consisting of 90 Vol.−% of conventional RON95 E5 fuel and 10 Vol.−% of bioliq®/100, designated as bioliq®/10, has been produced which meets the DIN EN 228 standard. Initial measurements on a single cylinder research engine have been carried out focusing on efficiency and emissions. A comparison of bioliq®/10 with neat RON95 E5 revealed an improved knocking behavior of bioliq®/10 even by a small fraction of regenerative bioliq® fuel. Particle as well as hydrocarbon emissions from bioliq®/10 are significantly higher than in the case of RON95 E5. Increased particle emissions are attributed to the higher content of aromatics. Soot reactivity has been investigated and soot from bioliq®/10 exhibits higher reactivity than soot from RON95 E5

A 2D and 3D segmentation-based microstructure study on the role of brittle phases in diffusion brazed AISI 304L/NiCrSiFeMoB joints

Nickel-based filler metals are frequently used in high temperature vacuum diffusion brazing for austenitic stainless-steel joints when components are subjected to high static or dynamic loads, corrosive environments and elevated temperatures. Due to melting point depressing metalloids such as silicon and boron, hard and brittle intermetallic phases are formed during the brazing process depending on the diffusion mechanisms. These brittle phases significantly affect mechanical and corrosive properties of the compounds. To quantify the influences of their amount, morphology and distribution, deep learning image segmentation was applied to segment these phases of the athermal solidification zone and the diffusion zone. Subsequently, characteristic microstructure parameters were calculated from these. The parameters of six different brazed joint variations were compared with their experimental characterization of mechanical and corrosive properties so that several correlations could be identified. Finally, a layer-by-layer removal of a brazed joint was performed using a focused ion beam, and a 3D model was reconstructed from the generated images to gain a mechanism-based understanding beyond the previous 2D investigations

Affektive Interaktionsarbeit in der öffentlichen Arbeitsvermittlung in Österreich, Deutschland und der Schweiz

Die voranschreitende Transformation vom versorgenden zum aktivierenden Sozialstaat und die Einführung von New Public Management veränderten die Anforderungen an das berufliche Handeln von Beschäftigten (semi-)staatlicher Institutionen. Gefordert sind höhere Effizienz und Effektivität öffentlicher Dienstleistungen sowie BürgerInnennähe, also kundenorientierte Interaktionsarbeit statt bürokratischer Verwaltungsarbeit. Unser Beitrag fokussiert auf diese Prozesse im Feld der öffentlichen Arbeitsvermittlung in drei Untersuchungsländern (A/D/CH). Die Maxime "Fördern und Fordern" richtet sich in ähnlicher Weise an die Erwerbslosen aller drei Länder und begründet ein Doppelmandat der ArbeitsvermittlerInnen: Sie sind dazu angehalten, den Arbeitsuchenden beratend und motivierend zur Seite zu stehen sowie deren individuelle Bemühungen im Rahmen der Stellensuche zu kontrollieren. Mit den steigenden Anforderungen an die moralische Unterstützung und Motivation der KlientInnen nimmt die Beratungstätigkeit die Form affektiver Interaktionsarbeit an. Gleichzeitig werden in den Interaktionen symbolische Herrschaftsverhältnisse konstituiert, die auf neue Formen affektiver Gouvernmentalität schließen lassen.The reorientation from welfare to workfare and the introduction of activation policies and New Public Management changed the professional requirements for civil servants and public employees. Public services are supposed to increase their efficiency and effectiveness and public employees should act more responsively towards their clients. Our article focuses on those developments in the field of public employment services in three central European countries (Austria, Germany and Switzerland). The workfare and activation regime addresses job seekers in a similar way in all three countries, and constitutes a dual responsibility for employment agents: to advise and motivate job seekers and to control their effort in finding paid work. In accordance with the rising demand to assist, motivate and morally support job seekers, interactive affective labor becomes the core issue of the counseling process. However, the interactive work process also constitutes power relations that we conceive as "affective governmentality"

The Effects of 5-Hydroxytryptophan in Combination with Different Fatty Acids on Gastrointestinal Functions: A Pilot Experiment

Background. Fat affects gastric emptying (GE). 5-Hydroxythryptophan (5-HTP) is involved in central and peripheral satiety mechanisms. Influence of 5-HTP in addition to saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids (FA) on GE and hormone release was investigated. Subjects/Methods. 24 healthy individuals (12f : 12m, 22-29 years, BMI 19-25.7 kg/m(2)) were tested on 4 days with either 5-HTP + short-chain saturated FA (butter), placebo + butter, 5-HTP + monounsaturated FA (olive oil), or placebo + olive oil in double-blinded randomized order. Two hours after FA/5-HTP or placebo intake, a C-13 octanoid acid test was conducted. Cortisol, serotonin, cholecystokinin (CCK), and ghrelin were measured, as were mood and GE. Results. GE was delayed with butter and was normal with olive (P < 0.05) but not affected by 5-HTP. 5-HTP supplementation did not affect serotonin levels. Food intake increased plasma CCK (F = 6.136; P < 0.05) irrespective of the FA. Ghrelin levels significantly decreased with oil/5-HTP (F = 9.166; P < 0.001). The diurnal cortisol profile was unaffected by FA or 5-HTP, as were ratings of mood, hunger, and stool urgency. Conclusion. Diverse FAs have different effects on GE and secretion of orexigenic and anorexigenic hormones. Supplementation of 5-HTP had no effect on plasma serotonin and central functions. Further studies are needed to explain the complex interplay