The Digital Constellation

The emergence of the digital society has become one of the most pressing research topics in social science. So far, political science has been at the margins of the debate because it has been restricted by a rather narrow focus on networked communications. The paper attempts to change this by presenting a more encompassing way to address digitalisation from within political science. After briefly criticising the development of the research in political science the paper reconstructs at length some of the most popular conceptualisations in neighbouring disciplines. While we highlight the commonalities and strengths of those approaches in theorising digitalisation, we criticise their rather derivative understanding of democratic practices and the political as such. We go on to propose a modified understanding - which we term the "digital constellation" - that looks at the changing shape of democracy by developing a much more nuanced understanding of the interplay between societies and technologies. Finally, we illustrate the argument in an exemplary analysis of the changes occurring in political representation in the context of digitalisation

Widerstand und die Formierung von Ordnung in der digitalen Konstellation

Wird digitaler Widerstand in der Politischen Theorie zum Thema, so meist mit einem Fokus auf (neue) Formen zivilen Ungehorsams wie Hacktivismus. Der Aufsatz bietet hierzu eine Alternative, indem er das Betrachtungsfeld so ausweitet, dass neben diesen Formen auch Strategien des netzpolitischen Protests und der Schaffung alternativen Infrastrukturen in den Blick genommen werden. Die systematisierende und vergleichende Analyse der Entwicklung von Widerstandsformen in der digitalen Konstellation erlaubt es, die Dynamik des Zusammenwirkens von Ordnung und Widerstand besser zu verstehen. Hieraus erwächst eine Kritik der Formierung von Herrschaft in der Gegenwart, welche die depolitisierende Restrukturierung von Handlungsund Möglichkeitsräumen für gesellschaftliche Akteur*innen im Umgang mit digitaler Technik herausarbeitet, was eine politiktheoretische Ergänzung der Kritik von Überwachungspotentialen und Privatisierungstendenzen erzeugt.When Political Theory has dealt with digital resistance, it has almost exclusively focused on novel forms of civil disobedience. This article argues that a broader understanding of resistance, which includes digitally focused political mobilization as well as the creation of alternative infrastructure, allows us to better understand the formation of order in the digital constellation. By analyzing and comparing different approaches used to counter the emergent digital order, we show the vital importance of the depoliticizing effects embedded in new forms of (digital) domination and expand the normative reflection of digital societies as subject to surveillance and/or privatization

Zinc oxide polyvinylidene difluoride nanocomposite ultrafiltration membranes

Ultrafiltration ist ein weitverbreitetes Membranverfahren zur Wasseraufbereitung. Während die Anwendung dieses Prozesses etabliert ist, besteht immer noch ein großes Interesse an der Verbesserung der Membranen. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Herstellung von Polyvinylidenfluorid (PVDF) Membranen und der Integration von Zinkoxid Nanopartikel in diese. Zuerst wurde eine Basismembran mit attraktiver Leistung entwickelt und anschließend bis zu einem Pilotversuch optimiert. Gleichzeitig wurden Nanocomposite Membranen auf Grundlage der Basismembran hergestellt. Dazu wurden die Nanopartikel in dem Lösungsmittel dispergiert und anschließend wurde das Polymer hinzugegeben, um die Gießlösung zu erhalten. Diese wurden anhand der Scherviskosität charakterisiert. Dadurch wurde überprüft, ob Agglomerate in der Gießlösung vorhanden sind. Die Membranen wurden mittels Nicht-Lösungsmittel induzierter Phasenseparation (NIPS) unter kontrollierten Klimabedingungen erzeugt. Es wurde untersucht inwieweit verschiedene Faktoren die Integration und Agglomeration der Partikel während der Phasenseparation beeinflussen. Dazu zählen die Verwendung des hydrophilen Additivs Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), die Geschwindigkeit der Phasenseparation, die Oberflächenmodifikation der Partikel mit PVP, Trifluoressigsäure, Essigsäure und Oxalsäure sowie die Anwesenheit von Acrylsäure (AA) Einheiten im Membranpolymer. Es konnte dabei festgestellt werden, dass die Verwendung von PVP in der Gießlösung sowie die Reduktion der Geschwindigkeit der Phasenseparation die Agglomeration der Partikel verringert, wobei die Integration allerdings nicht verbessert wurde. Die Oberflächenmodifikation mit Carbonsäuren war unter den Bedingungen bei der Herstellung von Gießlösungen nicht stabil und auch bezüglich der Erzeugung einer hohen Oberflächenbedeckung nicht erfolgreich. Auf Grund dieser Defizite war kein Einfluss auf die Membraneigenschaften feststellbar. Die Oberflächenmodifikation mit PVP hingegen konnte eine Änderung der Hansen Parameter der Partikel realisieren, wodurch die Agglomeration auch in harten Nicht-Lösungsmitteln unterdrückt und die Integration der Partikel in die Polymermatrix erreicht wurde. Es konnten außerdem Hinweise gefunden werden, dass eine Vergrößerung des Partikeldurchmessers durch Agglomeration vor der Phasenseparation zu einer besseren Integration der Partikel führt, da diese nicht vollständig in die Nicht- Lösungsmittel Phase migrieren. Die Verwendung des Copolymer P(VDF-co-AA) als Membranpolymer konnte einen ähnlichen Effekt erzeugen unter der Voraussetzung, dass kein hartes Nicht-Lösungsmittel verwendet wurde, da dieses die Bindung zwischen Polymer und Partikel stört und damit den Effekt negiert.Ultrafiltration is a widely-used membrane process for water purification. While the application of the process is an established practice, there is still a profound interest in the improvement of the membranes. The present work is about the preparation of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes and nanocomposite membranes with zinc oxide nanoparticles. As a first step, a basis membrane was developed which exhibited an attractive filtration performance. This membrane formulation was optimized and produced in pilot scale. Meanwhile, nanocomposite membranes were prepared using the formulation of the basis membrane as starting point. For the preparation of the dope solution, the nanoparticles were dispersed in the solvent and the polymer was added afterwards. The membranes were prepared by the non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) under controlled climate conditions. It was evaluated how several factors effect the agglomeration and integration of the particles during the phase separation. These were the implementation of the hydrophilic additive polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in the dope, the rate of the phase separation, the surface modification of the particles with PVP, trifluoroacetic acid, acetic acid, and oxalic acid, and the presence of acrylic acid (AA) repetition units in the membrane polymer. It was found that the implementation of PVP and the reduction of the phase separation rate reduce the agglomeration tendency of the particles while the integration was not improved. The particle surface modification with carboxylic acids exhibited no influence on the membrane over the pristine particles. This can be attributed to the low surface coverage and the instability of the modification under the conditions of dope solution preparation. In contrast, the surface modification with PVP facilitated a change in the Hansen parameter of the particles. This led to a decrease of agglomeration even in hard non-solvents and improved the integration of the particles into the polymer matrix. The implementation of the copolymer P(VDF-co-AA) as membrane polymer induced a comparable effect under the condition that soft non-solvents were used. Since hard solvents disrupt the bonding between the polymer and the particle. Some results indicated that the increase in particle size, which is caused by agglomeration in the dope solution, can lead to a better integration of the particle because the decrease in diffusivity hinders the migration of the particles into the non-solvent phase

Wave attenuation in mangrove forests; field data obtained in Trang, Thailand

Mangroves thrive in sheltered intertidal areas in the tropics and sub-tropics. Due to this position at the interface between land and sea, mangroves play an important role in the attenuation of waves. Dissipation of wave energy in mangrove forests is an interesting feature from the viewpoint of coastal protection. Nevertheless, field data are sparse and modeling attempts reveal the need for additional data. This paper presents the results of an extensive field campaign, lasting 6 months, in mangroves along the Andaman coast of Trang Province in southern Thailand. Wave attenuation has been studied along two contrasting transects with different elevation and vegetation characteristics and different orientations towards the Andaman Sea. Along the Kantang transect, which is mostly exposed to swell waves, vegetation densities increased from 4.5 to 9.3 volume-‰ along the transect and on average 63% of the incident wave energy was attenuated over a distance of 246 m. Along the Palian transect, mostly exposed to sea waves instead, vegetation increased from 4.3 to 19 volume-‰ and 72% of the incident wave energy was attenuated over this 98 m transect. It was found that standardized wave attenuation correlates well with incident wave energy, when attenuation is analyzed per vegetation zone. Energy reduction rates of these zones, defined by the gradient of the correlations between the standardized wave attenuation and incident wave energy, are found to increase significantly with vegetation density. Consistently, wave reduction rates, expressing the gradient of the correlation between wave height reduction and incident wave heights, are found to be 0.001-0.014 for the study sites and also show a significant and increasing trend with vegetation densities

Die digitale Konstellation: eine Positionsbestimmung

Die Entwicklung der digitalen Gesellschaft ist in den Sozialwissenschaften zu einem zentralen Forschungsgegenstand aufgestiegen; in der Politikwissenschaft gilt allerdings, dass die Auseinandersetzung auf eher wenige Schwerpunkte - insbesondere Digitalisierung als vernetzte Kommunikation - beschränkt geblieben ist. Der Beitrag macht einen Vorschlag für eine andere Form der politikwissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung indem er - nach einer kritischen Rekonstruktion der Forschungsentwicklung in der Politikwissenschaft - breit rezipierte Diagnosen der digitalen Gesellschaft in Nachbardisziplinen wie der Soziologie und Rechtswissenschaft (Baecker, Nassehi, Reckwitz, Stalder und Vesting) rekonstruiert. Er arbeitet übergreifende Erkenntnisse im Digitalisierungsverständnis dieser Ansätze heraus, kritisiert jedoch deren Konzeptualisierung von Politik und Demokratie. Auf dieser Grundlage wird sodann ein Vorschlag unterbreitet, eine in der Politikwissenschaft anschlussfähigere Perspektive mittels des Konzepts der "digitalen Konstellation" zu entwickeln. Dieses untersucht das Wechselspiel technischer und gesellschaftlicher Entwicklungen in Bezug auf den Zusammenhang zum Formwandel von Demokratie. Abschließend wird dies in einer exemplarischen Analyse von Veränderungen des Repräsentationskonzepts im digitalen Kontext veranschaulicht.The emergence of the digital society has become one of the most pressing research topics in social science. So far political science has been at the margins of the debate being restricted by a rather narrow focus on networked communications. The paper attempts to change this by presenting a more encompassing way to thematize digitalization from within political science. After briefly having criticized the research development in political science the paper reconstructs at length some of the most popular conceptualizations in neighboring disciplines. While we highlight the commonalities and strengths of those approaches in theorizing digitalization, we criticize their rather derivative understanding of democratic practices and the political as such.We go on to propose a modified understanding - labeled the "digital constellation" - that looks at the changing shape of democracy by developing a much more nuanced understanding of the interplay of societies and technology. Finally, the argument is illustrated by a short exemplary analysis of the changes occurring in political representation in the context of digitalization

Exit pathways of therapeutic antibodies from the brain and retention strategies

Treating brain diseases requires therapeutics to pass the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which is nearly impermeable for large biologics such as antibodies. Several methods now facilitate crossing or circumventing the BBB for antibody therapeutics. Some of these exploit receptor-mediated transcytosis, others use direct delivery bypassing the BBB. However, successful delivery into the brain does not preclude exit back to the systemic circulation. Various mechanisms are implicated in the active and passive export of antibodies from the central nervous system. Here we review findings on active export via transcytosis of therapeutic antibodies - in particular, the role of the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) - and discuss a possible contribution of passive efflux pathways such as lymphatic and perivascular drainage. We point out open questions and how to address these experimentally. In addition, we suggest how emerging findings could aid the design of the next generation of therapeutic antibodies for neurologic diseases.</p

Exit pathways of therapeutic antibodies from the brain and retention strategies

Treating brain diseases requires therapeutics to pass the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which is nearly impermeable for large biologics such as antibodies. Several methods now facilitate crossing or circumventing the BBB for antibody therapeutics. Some of these exploit receptor-mediated transcytosis, others use direct delivery bypassing the BBB. However, successful delivery into the brain does not preclude exit back to the systemic circulation. Various mechanisms are implicated in the active and passive export of antibodies from the central nervous system. Here we review findings on active export via transcytosis of therapeutic antibodies - in particular, the role of the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) - and discuss a possible contribution of passive efflux pathways such as lymphatic and perivascular drainage. We point out open questions and how to address these experimentally. In addition, we suggest how emerging findings could aid the design of the next generation of therapeutic antibodies for neurologic diseases

5GNOW: Challenging the LTE Design Paradigms of Orthogonality and Synchronicity

LTE and LTE-Advanced have been optimized to deliver high bandwidth pipes to wireless users. The transport mechanisms have been tailored to maximize single cell performance by enforcing strict synchronism and orthogonality within a single cell and within a single contiguous frequency band. Various emerging trends reveal major shortcomings of those design criteria: 1) The fraction of machine-type-communications (MTC) is growing fast. Transmissions of this kind are suffering from the bulky procedures necessary to ensure strict synchronism. 2) Collaborative schemes have been introduced to boost capacity and coverage (CoMP), and wireless networks are becoming more and more heterogeneous following the non-uniform distribution of users. Tremendous efforts must be spent to collect the gains and to manage such systems under the premise of strict synchronism and orthogonality. 3) The advent of the Digital Agenda and the introduction of carrier aggregation are forcing the transmission systems to deal with fragmented spectrum. 5GNOW is an European research project supported by the European Commission within FP7 ICT Call 8. It will question the design targets of LTE and LTE-Advanced having these shortcomings in mind and the obedience to strict synchronism and orthogonality will be challenged. It will develop new PHY and MAC layer concepts being better suited to meet the upcoming needs with respect to service variety and heterogeneous transmission setups. Wireless transmission networks following the outcomes of 5GNOW will be better suited to meet the manifoldness of services, device classes and transmission setups present in envisioned future scenarios like smart cities. The integration of systems relying heavily on MTC into the communication network will be eased. The per-user experience will be more uniform and satisfying. To ensure this 5GNOW will contribute to upcoming 5G standardization.Comment: Submitted to Workshop on Mobile and Wireless Communication Systems for 2020 and beyond (at IEEE VTC 2013, Spring

Kombination von Messdaten und wissensbasierter Modellierung zur Fehlerdiagnose bei Weichen / Connecting measurement data and knowledge-based engineering for heavy rail switch fault diagnosis

Die Anwendung Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) im Bereich Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) der Eisenbahninfrastruktur, insbesondere in der Fehlerdiagnose, wird durch hinsichtlich Umfang und/oder Labelling unzureichende Datenbestände und die Notwendigkeit der Rückverfolgbarkeit aufgrund strenger Sicherheitsvorschriften erschwert. Vielversprechende Ansätze sind Feature Engineering, unüberwachtes Lernen und wissensbasierte Systeme. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird nachfolgend erörtert, wie Stromumlaufkurven von Weichenantrieben ausgewertet und mit einem für den Menschen interpretierbaren Bayes'schen Netzmodell für Diagnosezwecke verbunden werden können. -- The application of AI methods in prognostics and health management, especially fault diagnosis, for railway infrastructure is complicated by the largely unlabelled databases and the necessity for traceability due to strict safety regulations. Promising approaches include feature engineering, unsupervised learning and knowledge-based systems. This article discusses how to treat the current curve measurements of railway point machines and connect them with a human-interpretable Bayesian network model for diagnostic purposes

Expert system based fault diagnosis for railway point machines

To meet the increasing demands for availability at reasonable cost, operators and maintainers of railway point machines are constantly looking for innovative techniques for switch condition monitoring and prediction. This includes automated fault root cause diagnosis based on measurement data (such as motor current curves) and other information. However, large, comprehensive sets of labeled data suitable for standard machine learning are not yet available. Existing data-driven approaches focus only on the differentiation of a few major fault categories at the level of the measurement data (i.e. the "fault symptoms"). There is great potential in hybrid models that use expert knowledge in combination with multiple sources of information to automatically identify failure causes at a much more detailed level. This paper discusses a Bayesian network diagnostic model for determining the root causes of faults in point machines, based on expert knowledge and few labeled data examples from the Netherlands. Human-interpretable current curve features and other information sources (e.g. past maintenance actions) are used as evidence. The result of the model is a ranking of the most likely failure causes with associated probabilities in terms of fuzzy multi-label classification, which is directly aimed at providing decision support to maintenance engineers. The validity and limitations of the model are demonstrated by a scenario-based evaluation and a brief analysis using information theoretic measures. We present the information sources used, the detailed development process and the analysis methodology. This article is intended to be a guide to developing similar models for various complex technical assets