13 research outputs found
Emergency service staff and social media â A comparative empirical study of the attitude by Emergency Services staff in Europe in 2014 and 2017
Finding a way to ensure an effective use of social media has become increasingly important to emergency services over the past decade. Despite all efforts to determine the utility of social media for emergency organisations, it is necessary to benefit from such institutions' staffs' opinions to establish effective use. To provide empirical evidence we present a comparison of two surveys, conducted across Europe with emergency services in 2014 and 2017 respectively, with a total of 1169 answers. The analysis shows that personal experience has an effect on how organisational usage of social media is perceived and how emergency service staff view the future use of social media. Furthermore, the use has increased. This article not only shows emergency services what their staff think about their social media usage but also discusses challenges and future directions for the design of systems that can be useful for further development of optimized organisational social media usage
Formation of chondrule analogs aboard the International Space Station
Chondrules are thought to play a crucial role in planet formation, but the mechanisms leading to their formation are still a matter of unresolved discussion. So far, experiments designed to understand chondrule formation conditions have been carried out only under the influence of terrestrial gravity. In order to introduce more realistic conditions, we developed a chondrule formation experiment, which was carried out at longâterm microgravity aboard the International Space Station. In this experiment, freely levitating forsterite (Mg2SiO4) dust particles were exposed to electric arc discharges, thus simulating chondrule formation via nebular lightning. The arc discharges were able to melt single dust particles completely, which then crystallized with very high cooling rates of >105Â KÂ hâ1. The crystals in the spherules show a crystallographic preferred orientation of the [010] axes perpendicular to the spherule surface, similar to the preferred orientation observed in some natural chondrules. This microstructure is probably the result of crystallization under microgravity conditions. Furthermore, the spherules interacted with the surrounding gas during crystallization. We show that this type of experiment is able to form spherules, which show some similarities with the morphology of chondrules despite very short heating pulses and high cooling rates.Carl Zeiss Meditec AG
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002806BIOVIA Science Ambassador programBundesministerium fĂŒr Wirtschaft und Energie
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100006360Deutsches Zentrum fĂŒr Luftâ und Raumfahrt
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002946NanoRacks LLCDreamUpDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Dr. Rolf M. Schwiete Stiftun
Formation of fused aggregates under longâterm microgravity conditions aboard the ISS with implications for early solar system particle aggregation
In order to gain further insights into early solar system aggregation processes, we carried out an experiment on board the International Space Station, which allowed us to study the behavior of dust particles exposed to electric arc discharges under longâterm microgravity. The experiment led to the formation of robust, elongated, fluffy aggregates, which were studied by scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and synchrotron microâcomputed tomography. The morphologies of these aggregates strongly resemble the typical shapes of fractal fluffyâtype calciumâaluminumârich inclusions (CAIs). We conclude that a small amount of melting could have supplied the required stability for such fractal structures to have survived transportation and aggregation to and compaction within planetesimals. Other aggregates produced in our experiment have a massy morphology and contain relict grains, likely resulting from the collision of grains with different degrees of melting, also observed in some natural CAIs. Some particles are surrounded by igneous rims, which remind in thickness and crystal orientation of WarkâLovering rims; another aggregate shows similarities to diskâshaped CAIs. These results imply that a (flashâ)heating event with subsequent aggregation could have been involved in the formation of different morphological CAI characteristics.BIOVIANordlicht GmbHDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Bundesministerium fĂŒr Wirtschaft und Energie
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100006360NanoRacks LLCDr. Rolf M. Schwiete Stiftung
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100020027Deutsches Zentrum fĂŒr Luftâ und Raumfahrt
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002946DreamUpCarl Zeiss Meditec AG
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/50110000280
A chondrule formation experiment aboard the ISS: microtomography, scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy on MgSiO dust aggregates
We performed an experiment under long-term microgravity conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to obtain information on the energetics and experimental constraints required for the formation of chondrules in the solar nebula by ânebular lightningâ. As a simplified model system, we exposed porous forsterite (MgSiO) dust particles to high-energetic arc discharges. The characterization of the samples after their return by synchrotron microtomography and scanning electron microscopy revealed that aggregates had formed, consisting of several fused MgSiO particles. The partial melting and fusing of MgSiO dust particles under microgravity conditions leads to a strong reduction of their porosity. The experimental outcomes vary strongly in their appearance from small spherical melt-droplets (â
â 90 ”m) to bigger and irregularly shaped aggregates (â
â 350 ”m). Our results provided new constraints with respect to energetic aspects of chondrule formation and a roadmap for future and more complex experiments on Earth and in microgravity conditions
Formation of fused aggregates under longâterm microgravity conditions aboard the ISS with implications for early solar system particle aggregation
In order to gain further insights into early solar system aggregation processes, we carried out an experiment on board the International Space Station, which allowed us to study the behavior of dust particles exposed to electric arc discharges under long-term microgravity. The experiment led to the formation of robust, elongated, fluffy aggregates, which were studied by scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and synchrotron micro-computed tomography. The morphologies of these aggregates strongly resemble the typical shapes of fractal fluffy-type calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs). We conclude that a small amount of melting could have supplied the required stability for such fractal structures to have survived transportation and aggregation to and compaction within planetesimals. Other aggregates produced in our experiment have a massy morphology and contain relict grains, likely resulting from the collision of grains with different degrees of melting, also observed in some natural CAIs. Some particles are surrounded by igneous rims, which remind in thickness and crystal orientation of WarkâLovering rims; another aggregate shows similarities to disk-shaped CAIs. These results imply that a (flash-)heating event with subsequent aggregation could have been involved in the formation of different morphological CAI characteristics
Functional binders as graphite exfoliation suppressants in aggressive electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries
DeepSARS: simultaneous diagnostic detection and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2
Background
The continued spread of SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of new variants with higher transmission rates and/or partial resistance to vaccines has further highlighted the need for large-scale testing and genomic surveillance. However, current diagnostic testing (e.g., PCR) and genomic surveillance methods (e.g., whole genome sequencing) are performed separately, thus limiting the detection and tracing of SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants.
Results
Here, we developed DeepSARS, a high-throughput platform for simultaneous diagnostic detection and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 by the integration of molecular barcoding, targeted deep sequencing, and computational phylogenetics. DeepSARS enables highly sensitive viral detection, while also capturing genomic diversity and viral evolution. We show that DeepSARS can be rapidly adapted for identification of emerging variants, such as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta strains, and profile mutational changes at the population level.
Conclusions
DeepSARS sets the foundation for quantitative diagnostics that capture viral evolution and diversity
DeepSARS: simultaneous diagnostic detection and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2
The continued spread of SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of new variants with higher transmission rates and/or partial resistance to vaccines has further highlighted the need for large-scale testing and genomic surveillance. However, current diagnostic testing (e.g., PCR) and genomic surveillance methods (e.g., whole genome sequencing) are performed separately, thus limiting the detection and tracing of SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants. Here, we developed DeepSARS, a high-throughput platform for simultaneous diagnostic detection and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 by the integration of molecular barcoding, targeted deep sequencing, and computational phylogenetics. DeepSARS enables highly sensitive viral detection, while also capturing genomic diversity and viral evolution. We show that DeepSARS can be rapidly adapted for identification of emerging variants, such as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta strains, and profile mutational changes at the population level. DeepSARS sets the foundation for quantitative diagnostics that capture viral evolution and diversity