Exploring the health context : a multimethod approach to climate change adaptation evaluation

Climate change is a major environmental Public Health issue of the 21st century. Extreme heat and cold, weather events such as flooding or storms, disease vector distribution changes, and increased pathogen loads in water might all put human health at risk. To protect health from inevitable changes, climate change adaptation strategies are implemented at local, national, and global level. Are these measures effectively reducing health risks? This dissertation explores multiple methods to evaluate climate change adaptation to increase our understanding of the contextual requirements for measurement of effects. Health-related climate change adaptation is situated within theories of place and placebased vulnerability. Targeting two core research questions on effectiveness of adaptation and on useful approaches to evaluation, this mixed methods work combines a systematic review, policy analysis, risk factor modeling, situational analysis, and theoretical framework development on cases from Europe and Japan. The systematic review on effectiveness of heat adaptation showed challenges concerning attributing health outcomes directly to specific adaptation measures via epidemiological methods. Without conclusive evidence for individual adaptation items, emphasis instead is placed on policy evaluation, on risk factor distribution changes, and on local or â on the groundâ adaptation. The data suggest that reframing effectiveness towards inequality and vulnerability reduction is a promising strategy for evaluation while dealing with gaps in the causal chains between adaptation and health outcomes. Based on these findings, I argue that adaptation evaluation in Public Health could apply a portfolio of methods and theory-based solutions informed by structural prevention measures, qualitative methods such as context mapping, and transformation as a philosophy of change. Most importantly, a conceptual re-thinking of adaptation evaluation is suggested that positions social justice and place-based vulnerability concepts as imperatives for successful adaptation

Far- and Near-Field Photochemistry of Single Molecules on a Metal Surface

Photoexcitation of molecules on metal surfaces can drive chemical reactions within the excited state along otherwise not accessible reaction pathways. Fast relaxation to substrate induced dissipation channels, however, significantly reduces the reaction yield. The concentration of visible light in the near-field of metal nanostructures has been demonstrated before to enhance the excitation rate of adsorbed molecules and compensate increased losses. Quantitative insight into the underlying mechanism at the single-molecule level within a well-defined nanostructure geometry is nevertheless missing and usually inaccessible in ensemble averaging techniques. Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is ideally suited to study single molecules, while the junction, formed between a noble metal tip and and substrate, provides an individual, precisely tunable nano-gap, in which the electric field of the incident light is dramatically enhanced. In this thesis, a combination of STM with wavelength tunable laser excitation is used to investigate single-molecule photochemistry within a tip-sample junction. The molecular photochemical reactivity is monitored as function of photon energy which provides insight into the underlying excitation mechanism while comparing optical far- and near-field excitation. Porphycene molecules on copper surfaces act as multiresponsive, bi-stable tautomeric switches. Within this work, the optical stimulus is explored through far-field excitation. We find that photogenerated substrate charge carriers drive the tautomerization via non-adiabatic coupling of vibrational energy to the reaction coordinate. By narrowing the tip-sample gap into the range of optical near-field enhancement, the photochemical reactivity is enhanced by 10^2-10^3. In the tunneling regime, photogenerated charge carriers mediate inelastic tunneling between tip and sample and can attach to molecule electronic states before thermalization. As optically induced porphycene tautomerization is found highly responsive to the near-field magnitude at the apex, it is further employed as a sensitive sensor to study the plasmonic response of scanning tunneling tips. Microstructured tips are found to exhibit a spectrally modulated near-field at the apex due to the formation of surface plasmon cavity resonances which provides a facile tool for customizing the near-field response. The here presented findings contribute to the understanding of plasmon enhanced chemistry at the level of a single metallic nano-gap and molecule which is unattainable in ensemble averaging techniques and demonstrates a possibility to fabricate tailored near-field optical probes

Combined monitoring of pest and beneficial insects with sticky traps, as basis for decision making in greenhouse pest control : a proof of concept study

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Integrierte Bekämpfung der Kohlmottenschildlaus an Gemüsekohlarten

Ziel des Verbundvorhabens war die Erarbeitung eines Gesamtkonzepts zur Bekämpfung der Kohlmottenschildlaus für den ökologischen und integrierten Anbau von Kohlarten. Im vorliegenden Teilprojekt wurde notwendiges Basiswissen ermittelt und gezielte Pflanzenschutzstrategien zur Bekämpfung der Kohlmottenschildlaus Aleyrodes proletella (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) an Rosenkohl (Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera) und weiteren Kohlarten entwickelt. Es wurde gezeigt, dass ein Kohlmottenschildlaus-Befall den Feldertrag und die Vermarktbarkeit von Rosenkohl gerade bei ungünstigen Wuchsbedingungen stark reduzieren kann. Durch die Verwendung einer Bekämpfungsschwelle (BS) von 25 % mit Larven befallenen Pflanzen ist eine sichere Bekämpfung möglich. Dieses Verfahren wurde für Rosenkohl ausreichend erprobt und für Grünkohl, Kohlrabi und Wirsing liegen erste Ergebnisse vor. Durch Verwendung dieser BS können Pflanzenschutzmittel-Anwendungen eingespart werden. In der Praxis müssen dabei geeignete Spritzfolgen ausgewählt werden, wobei die verwendeten Pflanzenschutzmitteln PSM unterschiedlichen Wirkstoffklassen (MoA) angehören sollten Ein wirksames systemisches Mittel sollte an den Beginn der Spritzfolge gestellt werden (bei der derzeitigen Zulassungssituation empfiehlt sich hier Movento OD). Im ökologischen Anbau ist eine Verwendung der BS aufgrund der vergleichsweise geringeren Wirksamkeit der verfügbaren PSM nicht zielführend. In dem Pilotversuch zeigte sich, dass bei geeigneten Anbaubedingungen das frühzeitige Auflegen eines feinmaschige Netzes (0,5-0,6 mm Maschenweite) bis mindestens Anfang August eine wirksame Maßnahme gegen den Schädling ist. Im selben Versuch zeigte sich, dass ein Einsatz von nicht-selektiven Pflanzenschutzmitteln (z. B. Schwefel) die Parasitierungsrate durch den einheimischen Parasitoiden Encarsia tricolor stark reduziert. Entsprechend sollten vorrangig Mittel verwendet werden, die nicht oder wenig schädigend gegenüber der nah verwandten Art Encarsia formosa sind

Methoden der Produktgestaltung

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, einen gebündelten Überblick über die Vielfalt der verschiedenartigen Methoden der Produktgestaltung zu geben, sie entsprechend ihrer generellen Orientierung zu ordnen und ihre Methodik anhand exemplarischer Innovationsprozesse in der Konsumgüterindustrie zu erläutern

Robust determination of station positions and Earth orientation parameters by VLBI intra-technique combination

In this thesis, it is shown that combining contributions of different VLBI analysis centers, a so called intra-technique combination, improves the robustness and stability of the final VLBI results. For this purpose, a refined combination method has been developed which is in many theoretical and practical aspects superior to combination approaches currently used for comparable geodetic combination tasks. For example, datum-free normal equation systems are used as input, which ensure that the contributions are not deformed by any constraints at all, and the same underlying terrestrial reference frame can be applied during the combination process. Furthermore, a statistically rigorous variance component estimation approach for the relative weighting of the contributions is used. The combination process implies detailed comparisons and analyses of the individual ACs' contributions. From these, as one of the outcomes of this thesis, several systematic differences between the individual contributions were detected and eliminated. The adherence to standards was considerably improved. The combination process itself reduces the analyst's noise and damps the impact of outliers. Validations with independent results of other space-geodetic techniques confirm a benefit of up to 15% more accurate results than from individual solutions. Another aspect of this thesis is the general problem of any intra-technique combination, the correlations between the individual contributions. So far, the contributions of different ACs are always treated as independent data sets, although they have been derived from virtually the same set of original observations. It is shown that correlations between the individual ACs' contributions can be determined and rigorously taken in account during the combination process if the combination is performed directly on the level of the observation equations, instead on the level of normal equation systems. The main effect of considering these correlations is that the formal errors of the estimated combined parameters are considerably more realistic, but the parameters as such remain unchanged within their formal errors.Robuste Schätzung von Stationskoordinaten und Erdorientierungsparametern durch die VLBI intra-technik Kombination In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird gezeigt, dass eine Kombination von Beiträgen verschiedener VLBI Analysezentren, eine so genannte Intra-Technik Kombination, die Robustheit und Stabilität der endgültigen VLBI Ergebnisse verbessert. Dazu wird eine verfeinerte Kombinationsmethode entwickelt, die in vielen theoretischen und praktischen Aspekten besser ist bisher existierende Realisierungen. Zum Beispiel werden als Eingangsdaten datumsfreie Normalgleichungen genutzt, durch die gewährleitest wird, dass keiner der Beiträge vor der Kombination durch Bedingungen deformiert ist. Darüber hinaus bieten sie den Vorteil, dass derselbe zugrunde liegende terrestrische Referenzrahmen verwendet werden kann. Ferner erfolgt die relative Gewichtung der einzelnen Beiträge über eine statistisch strenge Varianz-Komponenten Schätzung. Der Kombinationsprozess impliziert detaillierte Vergleiche und Analysen der einzelnen Beiträge. Dadurch werden systematische Unterschiede zwischen den Einzelbeiträgen aufgedeckt und beseitigt sowie erhebliche Verbesserungen in der Einhaltung von Standards erzielt. Durch den Kombinationsprozess selbst wird das sog. Analysten-Rauschen reduziert. Validierungen mit unabhängigen Ergebnissen anderer Weltraumverfahren können einen Genauigkeitsgewinn von bis zu 15% gegenüber den Einzellösungen bestätigen. Darüber hinaus wird in dieser Arbeit das allgemeine Problem einer jeden Intra-Technik Kombination untersucht, das in der Abhängigkeit der einzelnen Beiträge voneinander besteht. Bisher wurden diese als unabhängig voneinander betrachtet, obwohl sie nahezu den gleichen Satz an originären Beobachtungsdaten verwenden. Es wird gezeigt, dass Korrelationen zwischen den einzelnen Beiträgen bestimmt und streng im Kombinationsprozess berücksichtigt werden können, wenn die Kombination direkt auf der Ebene der Beobachtungsgleichungen anstatt auf der bisher verwendeten Normalgleichungsebene durchgeführt wird. Die Berücksichtigung dieser Korrelationen führt in erster Linie zu realistischeren Standardabweichungen der geschätzten kombinierten Parameter, die Parameter als solche bleiben innerhalb ihrer formalen Fehler unverändert

The nucleon-nucleon interaction and properties of the nucleon in a πρω\pi\rho\omega soliton model including a dilaton field with anomalous dimension

We investigate an extended chiral soliton model which includes $\pi, \rho, \omega$ and $\sigma$ mesons as explicit degrees of freedom. The Lagrangian incorporates chiral symmetry and broken scale invariance. A scalar-isoscalar meson $\sigma$ is associated with a quarkonium dilaton field with a mass \msig\approx 550 MeV. We show that the scalar field with anomalous dimension slightly changes the static and electromagnetic properties of the nucleon. In contrast, it plays a significant role in nucleon-nucleon dynamics and gives an opportunity to describe well the two-nucleon interaction.Comment: 14 pages, REVTeX, 3 figures (Ps), 83 k

The Influence of 1-Alkanols and External Pressure on the Lateral Pressure Profiles of Lipid Bilayers

AbstractThe suggestion by Robert Cantor, that drug-induced pressure changes in lipid bilayers can change the conformational equilibrium between open and closed states of membrane proteins and thereby cause anesthesia, attracted much attention lately. Here, we studied the effect of both large external pressure and of 1-alkanols of different chain lengths—some of them anesthetics, others not—on the lateral pressure profiles across dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) bilayers by molecular dynamics simulations. For a pure DMPC bilayer, high pressure both reduced and broadened the tension at the interface hydrophobic/hydrophilic and diminished the repulsion between the phospholipid headgroups. Whereas the effect of ethanol on the lateral pressure profile was similar to the effect of a large external pressure on a DMPC bilayer, long-chain 1-alkanols significantly amplified local maxima and minima in the lateral pressure profile. For most 1-alkanols, external pressure had moderate effects and did not reverse the changes 1-alkanols exerted on the pressure profile. Nevertheless, assuming the bent helix model as a simple geometric model for the transmembrane region of a membrane protein, protein conformational equilibria were shifted in opposite directions by addition of 1-alkanols and additional application of external pressure