Die Vegetationsverhältnisse des Stockberges bei Ottbergen

Der Stockberg bei Ottbergen, Kreis Höxter, wurde 1982 nach fast zwanzigjährigem Bemühen der Naturkundler unter Schutz gestellt. Bereits in den beiden über dieses Gebiet veröffentlichten Arbeiten von KOPPE (1962) und LEWEJOHANN (1964) wird die floristische Bedeutung des Berges hervorgehoben. BRINKMANN (1978) bezeichnet ihn gar als wertvollsten und artenreichsten Muschelkalkhang im gesamten Regierungsbezirk Detmold

Digital Technology as a Challenge to European Contract Law

Offering an overview of the interactions between digital technologies and contract law, we identify three pillars in this architecture: the regulatory framework; digital interventions over the life cycle of the contract; and digital objects of contracting. The regulatory framework, which itself may draw on digital technology to effectively pursue its ends, shapes, and is shaped by, the other two pillars. More specifically, on the one hand, we show how four key technologies – digital platforms, Big Data analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain – are being used at different stages of the contractual process (from the screening for contractual partners to formation, enforcement and interpretation) and engender novel market dynamics that, in many instances, necessitate regulatory responses. On the other hand, digitally facilitated contracting increasingly relates to digital content as the object of the contract; however, while this area has notably been the subject of the proposed Directive on Contracts for the Supply of Digital Content and thus has received some first ‘European structure’, we argue that a number of important blind spots remain that fail to be addressed by the directive. All in all, the use of digital technology in contracting will likely reinforce an adaptive, relational view and practice of contracting. This increased fluidity engenders a vast potential for preference-conforming, time-sensitive contracts; however, to the extent that it also mirrors novel asymmetries of information and power, the ordering mechanisms of the law may simultaneously be more needed than ever.Peer Reviewe

Generation of phase-controlled ultraviolet pulses and characterization by a simple autocorrelator setup

A versatile femtosecond ultraviolet (UV) pulse generation, a phase modulation, and a characterization setup for coherent control applications are demonstrated. For high-performance phase control of ultrashort pulses direct in the UV a microelectromechanical-system-based 2D mirror array is applied. Multiple examples for successful phase control of ultrashort UV pulses are given, such as arbitrarily phase tailoring and pulse recompression in open and closed loop schemes. For simple and effective characterization of the generated pulses, a UV autocorrelator based on two-photon absorption in a solar blind photomultiplier is constructed. The effects of space-time coupling on split mirror autocorrelation measurements are addressed and minimized. © 2009 Optical Society of America

A Versatile Macromer-Based Glycosaminoglycan (sHA3) Decorated Biomaterial for Pro-Osteogenic Scavenging of Wnt Antagonists

High serum levels of Wnt antagonists are known to be involved in delayed bone defect healing. Pharmaceutically active implant materials that can modulate the micromilieu of bone defects with regard to Wnt antagonists are therefore considered promising to support defect regeneration. In this study, we show the versatility of a macromer based biomaterial platform to systematically optimize covalent surface decoration with high-sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sHA3) for efficient scavenging of Wnt antagonist sclerostin. Film surfaces representing scaffold implants were cross-copolymerized from three-armed biodegradable macromers and glycidylmethacrylate and covalently decorated with various polyetheramine linkers. The impact of linker properties (size, branching) and density on sHA3 functionalization efficiency and scavenging capacities for sclerostin was tested. The copolymerized 2D system allowed for finding an optimal, cytocompatible formulation for sHA3 functionalization. On these optimized sHA3 decorated films, we showed efficient scavenging of Wnt antagonists DKK1 and sclerostin, whereas Wnt agonist Wnt3a remained in the medium of differentiating SaOS-2 and hMSC. Consequently, qualitative and quantitative analysis of hydroxyapatite staining as a measure for osteogenic differentiation revealed superior mineralization on sHA3 materials. In conclusion, we showed how our versatile material platform enables us to efficiently scavenge and inactivate Wnt antagonists from the osteogenic micromilieu. We consider this a promising approach to reduce the negative effects of Wnt antagonists in regeneration of bone defects via sHA3 decorated macromer based macroporous implants. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Complete Relativistic Description of the N*(1520)

A relativistic description of spin 3/2 resonances and their decay channels is presented by calculating their selfenergies and spectral functions. The full vector-spinor structure is taken into account. Special emphasis is put on the N*(1520) and its decay channels pi N, rho N and pi \Delta. All interactions are formulated such that only the correct number of degrees of freedom of a spin 3/2 state is propagated. The obtained results are compared with several approximations frequently used to avoid the complicated vector-spinor structure. Since this structure is taken fully into account here, the quality of the approximations can be judged.Comment: 32 pages, 40 figure

Feebate and Scrappage Policy Instruments - Environmental and Economic Impacts for the EU27

This report presents the results and conclusions of a research carried out by the JRC/IPTS analysing two demand-side measures that can help improving the environmental performance of cars: The first instrument, the feebate system, is a way to differentiate the registration tax according to the CO2 emissions from cars. The second instrument, the scrappage policy is intended to encourage the owners of old cars to scrap their car earlier. The potential and consequences of technical options to reduce car weight are also analysed. The report builds a comprehensive assessment of these policy options at EU level, covering all major environmental life cycle impacts and the different economic impacts. The report is built upon IPTS research work, supported with a study subcontracted to a research consortium led by Transport&Mobility Leuven (TML) and involving Öko-Institut and ISI-Fraunhofer.JRC.J.2-The economics of climate change, energy and transpor

Fault Detection, Isolation and Recovery in the MMX Rover Locomotion Subsystem

In any mechatronic system, faults can occur. Likewise also in the MMX rover, which is a wheeled rover mutually developed by CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales) and DLR (German Aerospace Center), intended to land on Phobos. An essential part of the MMX rover is the locomotion subsystem which includes several sensors and eight motors actuating the four legs and the four wheels. In each of these components and their interfaces, there is a possibility that faults arise and lead to subsystem failures, which would mean that the rover cannot move anymore. To reduce this risk, the possible faults of the MMX locomotion subsystem were identified in a FMECA study and their criticality was classified, which is presented in here. During this examination, the criticality was graded depending on different mission phases. With the help of this study, the hardware, firmware and software design were enhanced. Fur- ther, certain fault detection, isolation and recovery strategies were implemented in the locomotion firmware and software as well as in the full rover software

Mononuclear cell secretome protects from experimental autoimmune myocarditis

Aims Supernatants of serum-free cultured mononuclear cells (MNC) contain a mix of immunomodulating factors (secretome), which have been shown to attenuate detrimental inflammatory responses following myocardial ischaemia. Inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy (iDCM) is a common cause of heart failure in young patients. Experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) is a CD4+ T cell-dependent model, which mirrors important pathogenic aspects of iDCM. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of MNC secretome on myocardial inflammation in the EAM model. Methods and results BALB/c mice were immunized twice with an alpha myosin heavy chain peptide together with Complete Freund adjuvant. Supernatants from mouse mononuclear cells were collected, dialysed, and injected i.p. at Day 0, Day 7, or Day 14, respectively. Myocarditis severity, T cell responses, and autoantibody formation were assessed at Day 21. The impact of MNC secretome on CD4+ T cell function and viability was evaluated using in vitro proliferation and cell viability assays. A single high-dose application of MNC secretome, injected at Day 14 after the first immunization, effectively attenuated myocardial inflammation. Mechanistically, MNC secretome induced caspase-8-dependent apoptosis in autoreactive CD4+ T cells. Conclusion MNC secretome abrogated myocardial inflammation in a CD4+ T cell-dependent animal model of autoimmune myocarditis. This anti-inflammatory effect of MNC secretome suggests a novel and simple potential treatment concept for inflammatory heart disease

Driving in Milli-G: The Flight Model of the MMX Rover Locomotion Subsystem and its Integration & Testing in the Rover

IDEFIX is a 25 kg four-wheeled rover that will explore the surface of the Martian Moon Phobos in 2027. The rover is jointly developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and will be brought to Phobos within the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Martian Moon eXploration (MMX) mission. Being the world's first wheeled system to drive in milli-gravity, IDEFIX's locomotion deserves special attention. This paper gives an overview of the locomotion subsystem (LSS) of the rover, which is entirely developed and built by the Robotics and Mechatronics Center of DLR (DLR-RMC). A representative LSS, mounted on an IDEFIX prototype, is shown in Figure 1. The LSS is tailored to the needs for the IDEFIX rover and the most important, sizing challenges and functional requirements are summarized. It is then shown how the final flight model (FM) design answers to these requirements. The assembly, integration and testing (AIT) with respect to the LSS consists of several steps of integration and testing at different facilities as well as a comprehensive test sequence once the rover is mostly integrated. Since the LSS is an important, interconnected and the functionally most complex subsystem of the rover, some functionalities could only be tested once the LSS was integrated into IDEFIX. These AIT aspects are therefore summarized in this paper as well