A Polarimetric Phased Array Antenna for E-SAR in L-Band

The design of a new L-band antenna for DLR’s airborne synthetic aperture radar system (E-/F-SAR) is presented. Beside operations in L-band new components for a system upgrade were developed. These components are intro-duced. Special interest of this paper is the development of the dual-polarized L-Band antenna with enhanced bandwidth of 150MHz. The antenna feed network is equipped with 2bit hybrid phase shifters to steer the beam between 25° and 40° in elevation. For mounting the antenna at the fuselage of a Dornier Do 228-212 aircraft a rack is described to house several antenna configuration

Design & KI

In diesem Bericht werden die wichtigsten Begriffe aus dem Bereich des (Produkt)Designs aus dem Blickwinkel der künstlichen Intelligenz untersucht. Der Schwerpunkt liegt dabei nicht so sehr auf den technischen Details von existierenden Designsystemen als vielmehr in der Untersuchung der wesentlichen Konzepte wie Designmodelle, Modelle des wissensbasierten Designs, innovatives Design, etc. auf einem informellen Level, die der grundsätzlichen Beschreibung des Vorgehens eines Experten beim Design genügen

Von IDA bis IMCOD : Expertensysteme im CIM-Umfeld

Kürzer werdende Produktzyklen bei höher werdenden Qualitätsansprüchen erfordern flexiblere und intelligentere Systeme für komplexere Aufgaben. Die im Sinne der CIM-Idee fortschreitende Integration unterschiedlicher Aufgabenbereiche und ihrer jeweiligen Systeme stellt hohe Anforderungen an die Informationstechnologie. Die Künstliche Intelligenz und speziell die Expertensystemforschung liefern hier erfolgversprechende Ansätze und Perspektiven. Die Systeme MOLTKE und IDA stehen als Beispiele für einzelne Expertensysteme in den Bereichen Diagnose und Konfiguration. Die Ergebnisse des ARC-TEC Projekts erreichen zwischen Konstruktion und Planung bereits eine stärkere Integration. Das Projekt IMCOD untersucht schließlich Ansätze, die Möglichkeiten der Verbindung verschiedener Systeme mit beschränkten Kompetenzbereichen, um einen besseren Produktentwurf zu erzielen.The shortness in product cycles with increasing quality demands requires more flexible and more intelligent systems for very complex tasks. The proceeding integration of the many different task areas within the CIM-idea and their individual systems requests high demands to the information technology. AI, especially expert system research, provides a successful approach and perspectives. The examples for single expert systems in diagnostics and configuration are the systems MOLTKE and IDA. The results of the ARC-TEC projects already reach a strong integration of construction and planning. The project IMCOD finally surveys the possibility of connecting different systems with limited competence areas to obtain better products

Interleukin-22 predicts severity and death in advanced liver cirrhosis: a prospective cohort study

Background: Interleukin-22 (IL-22), recently identified as a crucial parameter of pathology in experimental liver damage, may determine survival in clinical end-stage liver disease. Systematic analysis of serum IL-22 in relation to morbidity and mortality of patients with advanced liver cirrhosis has not been performed so far. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study including 120 liver cirrhosis patients and 40 healthy donors to analyze systemic levels of IL-22 in relation to survival and hepatic complications. Results: A total of 71% of patients displayed liver cirrhosis-related complications at study inclusion. A total of 23% of the patients died during a mean follow-up of 196 +/- 165 days. Systemic IL-22 was detectable in 74% of patients but only in 10% of healthy donors (P 18 pg/ml, n = 57) showed significantly reduced survival compared to patients with regular ([less than or equal to]18 pg/ml) levels of IL-22 (321 days versus 526 days, P = 0.003). Other factors associated with overall survival were high CRP ([greater than or equal to]2.9 mg/dl, P = 0.005, hazard ratio (HR) 0.314, confidence interval (CI) (0.141 to 0.702)), elevated serum creatinine (P = 0.05, HR 0.453, CI (0.203 to 1.012)), presence of liver-related complications (P = 0.028, HR 0.258 CI (0.077 to 0.862)), model of end stage liver disease (MELD) score [greater than or equal to]20 (P = 0.017, HR 0.364, CI (0.159 to 0.835)) and age (P = 0.011, HR 1.047, CI (1.011 to 1.085)). Adjusted multivariate Cox proportional-hazards analysis identified elevated systemic IL-22 levels as independent predictors of reduced survival (P = 0.007, HR 0.218, CI (0.072 to 0.662)). Conclusions: In patients with liver cirrhosis, elevated systemic IL-22 levels are predictive for reduced survival independently from age, liver-related complications, CRP, creatinine and the MELD score. Thus, processes that lead to a rise in systemic interleukin-22 may be relevant for prognosis of advanced liver cirrhosis

PIMaS : ein objektorientiert-regelbasiertes System zur Produkt-Prozeß-Transformation

PIMaS permits an interactive object-oriented modelling of product data, which are then automatically transformed into production processes by if-then rules. The SmallTalk-implemented prototype is exemplified via products from the automobile and water-purification sectors

Biogeochemical limitations of carbon stabilization in forest subsoils

Background: Soils are important carbon (C) sinks or sources and thus of utmost importance for global carbon cycling. Particularly, subsoils are considered to have a high potential for additional C storage due to mineral surfaces still available for sorptive stabilization. Aims: Little information exists about the extent to which additional litter-derived C is transferred to and stabilized in subsoils. This study aimed at evaluating the role of litter-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) inputs for the formation of stable mineral-associated C in subsoils. Methods: We carried out a multiple-method approach including field labeling with 13C-enriched litter, exposure of 13C-loaded reactive minerals to top- and subsoils, and laboratory sorption experiments. Results: For temperate forest soils, we found that the laboratory-based C sink capacity of subsoils is unlikely to be reached under field conditions. Surface C inputs via litter leachates are little conducive to the subsoil C pool. Only 0.5% of litter-derived C entered the subsoil as DOM within nearly 2 years and most of the recently sorbed C is prone to fast microbial mineralization rather than long-term mineral retention. Desorption to the soil solution and an adapted microbial community re-mobilize organic matter in subsoils faster than considered so far. Conclusions: We conclude that the factors controlling the current mineral retention and stabilization of C within temperate forest subsoils will likewise limit additional C uptake. Thus, in contrast to their widely debated potential to accrue more C, the role of forest subsoils as future C sink is likely overestimated and needs further reconsideration

Point-of-care lung ultrasound in COVID-19 patients: inter- and intra-observer agreement in a prospective observational study

With an urgent need for bedside imaging of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this study's main goal was to assess inter- and intraobserver agreement in lung ultrasound (LUS) of COVID-19 patients. In this single-center study we prospectively acquired and evaluated 100 recorded ten-second cine-loops in confirmed COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) patients. All loops were rated by ten observers with different subspeciality backgrounds for four times by each observer (400 loops overall) in a random sequence using a web-based rating tool. We analyzed inter- and intraobserver variability for specific pathologies and a semiquantitative LUS score. Interobserver agreement for both, identification of specific pathologies and assignment of LUS scores was fair to moderate (e.g., LUS score 1 Fleiss' kappa =0.27; subpleural consolidations Fleiss' kappa =0.59). Intraobserver agreement was mostly moderate to substantial with generally higher agreement for more distinct findings (e.g., lowest LUS score 0 vs. highest LUS score 3 (median Fleiss' kappa =0.71 vs. 0.79) or air bronchograms (median Fleiss' kappa =0.72)). Intraobserver consistency was relatively low for intermediate LUS scores (e.g. LUS Score 1 median Fleiss' kappa =0.52). We therefore conclude that more distinct LUS findings (e.g., air bronchograms, subpleural consolidations) may be more suitable for disease monitoring, especially with more than one investigator and that training material used for LUS in point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) should pay refined attention to areas such as B-line quantification and differentiation of intermediate LUS scores