VICAR-DIGITAL image processing system

Computer program corrects various photometic, geometric and frequency response distortions in pictures. The program converts pictures to a number of elements, with each elements optical density quantized to a numerical value. The translated picture is recorded on magnetic tape in digital form for subsequent processing and enhancement by computer

Testing the effect of medical positive reinforcement training on salivary cortisol levels in bonobos and orangutans

The management of captive animals has been improved by the establishment of positive reinforcement training as a tool to facilitate interactions between caretakers and animals. In great apes, positive reinforcement training has also been used to train individuals to participate in simple medical procedures to monitor physical health. One aim of positive reinforcement training is to establish a relaxed atmosphere for situations that, without training, might be very stressful. This is especially true for simple medical procedures that can require animals to engage in behaviours that are unusual or use unfamiliar medical devices that can be upsetting. Therefore, one cannot exclude the possibility that the training itself is a source of stress. In this study, we explored the effects of medical positive reinforcement training on salivary cortisol in two groups of captive ape species, orangutans and bonobos, which were familiar to this procedure. Furthermore, we successfully biologically validated the salivary cortisol assay, which had already been validated for bonobos, for orangutans. For the biological validation, we found that cortisol levels in orangutan saliva collected during baseline conditions were lower than in samples collected during three periods that were potentially stressful for the animals. However, we did not find significant changes in salivary cortisol during medical positive reinforcement training for either bonobos or orangutans. Therefore, for bonobos and orangutans with previous exposure to medical PRT, the procedure is not stressful. Thus, medical PRT provides a helpful tool for the captive management of the two species

Managing FAIR Tribological Data Using Kadi4Mat

The ever-increasing amount of data generated from experiments and simulations in engineering sciences is relying more and more on data science applications to generate new knowledge. Comprehensive metadata descriptions and a suitable research data infrastructure are essential prerequisites for these tasks. Experimental tribology, in particular, presents some unique challenges in this regard due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field and the lack of existing standards. In this work, we demonstrate the versatility of the open source research data infrastructure Kadi4Mat by managing and producing FAIR tribological data. As a showcase example, a tribological experiment is conducted by an experimental group with a focus on comprehensiveness. The result is a FAIR data package containing all produced data as well as machine- and user-readable metadata. The close collaboration between tribologists and software developers shows a practical bottom-up approach and how such infrastructures are an essential part of our FAIR digital future

Morphological stability of rod-shaped continuous phases

Morphological transition of a rod-shaped phase into a string of spherical particles is commonly observed in the microstructures of alloys during solidification (Ratke and Mueller, 2006). This transition phenomenon can be explained by the classic Plateau-Rayleigh theory which was derived for fluid jets based on the surface area minimization principle. The quintessential work of Plateau-Rayleigh considers tiny perturbations (amplitude much less than the radius) to the continuous phase and for large amplitude perturbations, the breakup condition for the rod-shaped phase is still a knotty issue. Here, we present a concise thermodynamic model based on the surface area minimization principle as well as a non-linear stability analysis to generalize Plateau-Rayleigh’s criterion for finite amplitude perturbations. Our results demonstrate a breakup transition from a continuous phase via dispersed particles towards a uniform-radius cylinder, which has not been found previously, but is observed in our phase-field simulations. This new observation is attributed to a geometric constraint, which was overlooked in former studies. We anticipate that our results can provide further insights on microstructures with spherical particles and cylinder-shaped phases

Gewalt gegen Rettungsdienstpersonal

Aktuell werden Angriffe gegen Rettungsdienstpersonal medial und politisch vermehrt diskutiert, was u. a. politische Initiativen und Gesetzesänderungen zur Folge hat. Es wird konstatiert, dass die wissenschaftliche Studienlage in Deutschland insbesondere in Hinsicht auf die Prävalenzen solcher Vorfälle lückenhaft ist. Zwischen Mai bis August 2021 wurden im Rahmen einer Langzeitbefragung das Rettungsdienstpersonal mit Hilfe eines Onlinefragebogens befragt und qualitative Interviews mit Experten und Expertinnen bzw. Betroffenen geführt. Neben den Häufigkeiten von Gewaltdelikten wurden Eskalationsfaktoren sowie Folgen der Vorfälle für die betroffenen Einsatzkräfte erhoben. Es zeigt sich, dass Angriffe, insbesondere verbaler Art, zum Arbeitsalltag von Rettungsdienstpersonal gehören. Im Durchschnitt wurden wöchentlich 29 % der Befragten beleidigt, belästigt oder verbal bedroht. Pro Woche waren 8 % der Befragten körperlichen Angriffen ausgesetzt. Die Betroffenen äußern den Wunsch nach Nachbetreuung und eine Anpassung der Ausbildungslage. Empfohlen werden Schulungen, die für Gefahren sensibilisieren, Deeskalationsansätze in den Blick nehmen und Eigensicherung thematisieren