Keeping Flows Separate: Good Management Practices in Novel Urban Water Systems Derived from Error Analyses

This article examines the causes and addresses the prevention of unintended interconnections, particularly cross-connections, in novel urban water systems using the example of Qingdao, where a Resource Recovery Centre for the reuse of greywater and blackwater has been established for 12,000 inhabitants. With respect to cross-connections, this work incorporated both social-scientific and technical error analyses. The social-scientific error analysis systematically focused on the planning, implementation, and operational phases of the project. Organisational shortcomings were identified in four areas: (A) Coordination and consensus between the commissioned design institutes, (B) information in tenders, expertise, and awareness, (C) ownership by investors, and (D) time management. Based on empirical evidence, this article derives and discusses (eight) recommendations for good management, integrating technical and organisational measures aimed at preventing cross-connections. The pursuit of such measures is appropriate in order to prevent most types of misconnections — not just for the case under discussion, but for other novel urban water systems as well

Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup T is associated with coronary artery disease and diabetic retinopathy: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is strong and consistent evidence that oxidative stress is crucially involved in the development of atherosclerotic vascular disease. Overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria is an unifying mechanism that underlies micro- and macrovascular atherosclerotic disease. Given the central role of mitochondria in energy and ROS production, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is an obvious candidate for genetic susceptibility studies on atherosclerotic processes. We therefore examined the association between mtDNA haplogroups and coronary artery disease (CAD) as well as diabetic retinopathy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study of Middle European Caucasians included patients with angiographically documented CAD (n = 487), subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus with (n = 149) or without (n = 78) diabetic retinopathy and control subjects without clinical manifestations of atherosclerotic disease (n = 1527). MtDNA haplotyping was performed using multiplex PCR and subsequent multiplex primer extension analysis for determination of the major European haplogroups. Haplogroup frequencies of patients were compared to those of control subjects without clinical manifestations of atherosclerotic disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Haplogroup T was significantly more prevalent among patients with CAD than among control subjects (14.8% vs 8.3%; p = 0.002). In patients with type 2 diabetes, the presence of diabetic retinopathy was also significantly associated with a higher prevalence of haplogroup T (12.1% vs 5.1%; p = 0.046).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data indicate that the mtDNA haplogroup T is associated with CAD and diabetic retinopathy in Middle European Caucasian populations.</p

Cirrus clouds

Andrew J. Heymsfield, Martina Kramer, Anna Luebke, Phil Brown, Daniel J. Cziczo, Charmaine Franklin, Ulrike Lohmann, Greg McFarquhar, Zbigniew Ulanowski and Kristof Van Trich, American Meteorological Society , January 2017, this article has been published in final form at DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/AMSMONOGRAPHS-D-16-0010.1 Published by AMS Publications © 2017 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (http://www.ametsoc.org/PUBSCopyrightPolicy).The goal of this article is to synthesize information about what is now known about one of the three main types of clouds, cirrus, and to identify areas where more knowledge is needed. Cirrus clouds, composed of ice particles, form primarily in the upper troposphere, where temperatures are generally below -30°C. Satellite observations show that the maximum-occurrence frequency of cirrus is near the tropics, with a large latitudinal movement seasonally. In-situ measurements obtained over a wide range of cloud types, formation mechanisms, temperatures, and geographical locations indicate that the ice water content and particle size generally decrease with decreasing temperature, whereas the ice particle concentration is nearly constant or increase slightly with decreasing temperature. High ice concentrations, sometimes observed in strong updrafts , results from homogeneous nucleation. The satellite-based and in-situ measurements indicate that cirrus ice crystals typically depart from the simple, idealized geometry for smooth hexagonal shapes, indicating complexity and/or surface roughness. Their shapes significantly impact cirrus radiative properties and feedbacks to climate. Cirrus clouds, one of the most uncertain components of general circulation models (GCM), pose one of the greatest challenges in predicting the rate and geographical pattern of climate change. Improved measurements of the properties and size distributions and surface structure of small ice crystals — about 20 μm, and identifying the dominant ice nucleation process — heterogeneous versus homogeneous ice nucleation, under different cloud dynamical forcings, will lead to a better representation of their properties in GCM and in modeling their current and future effects on climate.Peer reviewe

Pharmazeutische Rückstände in Urin und potentielle Risiken bei Einsatz als Dünger in der Landwirtschaft

Das Ziel dieses Forschungsvorhabens war es die potentiellen Risiken von in Urin enthaltenen Pharmazeutika mit Hilfe einer Datenbank und Gewächshausversuchen zu bestimmen, wenn dieser als Dünger eingesetzt wird. Wirkstoffkonzentrationen konnten für einen durchschnittlichen deutschen Urin über Daten zu Konsum und Pharmakokinetik ermittelt werden. Sie wurden mit Konzentrationen, die in Abwasser und getrennt erfasstem Urin gemessen wurden, verglichen. Bestimmte Pharmazeutika verbleiben im Boden und werden von Pflanzen aufgenommen, was Anlass zur Besorgnis bezüglich der Düngung mit Urin gibt.Aim of this study was to determine the potential risks of pharmaceuticals contained in urine when used as fertiliser by means of a database and by greenhouse experiments. Pharmaceutical concentrations in average German urine could be identified by consumption and pharmacokinetic data and were related to concentrations found in wastewater as well as separately colleted urine. Certain pharmaceuticals persist in soil and are taken up by plants, a potential concern with respect to urine fertilisation

Neue Wege in Technik und Naturwissenschaften– Zum Berufswahlverhalten von Mädchen und jungen Frauen

Womit kann geschlechtstypisches Berufs- und Studienwahlverhalten erklärt werden und wie kann das Berufswahlspektrum von jungen Frauen erweitert werden? Um auf diese Fragen eine Antwort zu geben, hat das Wirtschaftsministerium Baden-Württemberg auf Empfehlung des Landesausschusses für Berufsbildung das Gutachten „Neue Wege in Technik und Naturwissenschaften – Zum Berufswahlverhalten von Mädchen und jungen Frauen“ in Auftrag gegeben. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eindrucksvoll, wie stark das Berufswahlverhalten junger Frauen bis zum heutigen Tag durch ihre Geschlechterrolle geprägt ist und welche Faktoren die typisch weibliche Berufsentscheidung beeinflussen. Schließlich werden auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse konkrete Empfehlungen für künftige Modellversuche gegeben

Innovative Wasserinfrastrukturen in der Umsetzung auf Quartiersebene

Innovative Wasserinfrastrukturen, wie sie etwa mit den Neuartigen Sanitärsystemen entwickelt worden sind, versprechen Effizienzgewinne. Ihre Anwendung bedeutet nicht nur, den Einsatz neuer Techniken, sondern auch, dass sich die im konventionellen System erprobten Arbeitsteilungen zwischen verschiedenen Akteuren verändern. Ebenso können sich Beweggründe und Motivationen der beteiligten Akteure wandeln. Die Innovations- und Umsetzungsschritte werden dabei komplexer. Die Konstellationen der verschiedenen (heterogenen) Akteure und ihre Zusammenarbeit haben dabei hohe Relevanz für die Umsetzung innovativer Infrastrukturkonzepte. Das vorliegende Diskussionspapier zeigt – aufbauend auf Ergebnisse aus zwei BMBFForschungsvorhaben – welcher Koordinationsbedarf bei einer Umsetzung auf der Quartiersebene zu erwarten ist. Zudem werden Hinweise gegeben, wie sich die Koordination zwischen den beteiligten Akteuren optimieren lässt.Innovative water infrastructures like the novel sanitary systems that have been developed are promising efficiency gains. Their application does not only mean the use of new technologies but it also means that proven divisions of labor as they were established between various actors within the conventional system are subject to change. Similarly, motives and motivation of the actors involved may shift. Thus, the required steps necessary for innovation and application are becoming more complex. That is why the constellation of the various (heterogeneous) actors and their cooperation are of high relevance for the implementation of innovative infrastructural concepts. Based on the results of two research projects of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the discussion paper at hand shows to what extent cooperation needs are to be expected with respect to the implementation on a local level. Furthermore, information is provided as to how the coordination between the actors involved can be optimized