Building information modelling based ground modelling for tunnel projects – Tunnel Angath/Austria

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Identification of metabolic biomarkers in relation to methotrexate response in early rheumatoid arthritis

This study aimed to identify baseline metabolic biomarkers for response to methotrexate (MTX) therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using an untargeted method. In total, 82 baseline plasma samples (41 insufficient responders and 41 sufficient responders to MTX) were selected from the Treatment in the Rotterdam Early Arthritis Cohort (tREACH, trial number: ISRCTN26791028) based on patients’ EULAR response at 3 months. Metabolites were assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. Differences in metabolite concentrations between insufficient and sufficient responders were assessed using partial least square regression discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and Welch’s t-test. The predictive performance of the most significant findings was assessed in a receiver operating chara

Amazon hydrology from space : scientific advances and future challenges

As the largest river basin on Earth, the Amazon is of major importance to the world's climate and water resources. Over the past decades, advances in satellite-based remote sensing (RS) have brought our understanding of its terrestrial water cycle and the associated hydrological processes to a new era. Here, we review major studies and the various techniques using satellite RS in the Amazon. We show how RS played a major role in supporting new research and key findings regarding the Amazon water cycle, and how the region became a laboratory for groundbreaking investigations of new satellite retrievals and analyses. At the basin-scale, the understanding of several hydrological processes was only possible with the advent of RS observations, such as the characterization of "rainfall hotspots" in the Andes-Amazon transition, evapotranspiration rates, and variations of surface waters and groundwater storage. These results strongly contribute to the recent advances of hydrological models and to our new understanding of the Amazon water budget and aquatic environments. In the context of upcoming hydrology-oriented satellite missions, which will offer the opportunity for new synergies and new observations with finer space-time resolution, this review aims to guide future research agenda toward integrated monitoring and understanding of the Amazon water from space. Integrated multidisciplinary studies, fostered by international collaborations, set up future directions to tackle the great challenges the Amazon is currently facing, from climate change to increased anthropogenic pressure

Bagatellreparaturen im Mietrecht

von Dipl.-Ing. Albert Alexander Frédéric HeilUniversität Innsbruck, Diplomarbeit, 2017(VLID)231606

Streamlining Tunnelling Projects through BIM

Currently, most academic discourse looking at the advantages of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is kept very general. This article evaluates how the use of BIM affects social and economic aspects of seven different tunneling projects. The analysis is based on internal project documentation and on-site visits, resulting in the authors subjective perception. Due to a confidentiality policy given by ongoing projects, the official documentation is anonymised. On one hand, the social analysis considers teamwork aspects. On the other hand, the economic assessment considers the optimised use of resources. The conclusion shows that the correct and complete implementation of all methods and tools from BIM increase social and economic sustainability, optimising project delivery in tunneling. As a result, among other things, on par communication, teambuilding, and mutual appreciation contribute to an increased social sustainability. Economic sustainability is directly associated with resulting short distances within the team and easy communication and coordination. Consequently, this leads to faster problem solving and a streamlined project execution

Identification of metabolic biomarkers in relation to methotrexate response in early rheumatoid arthritis

This study aimed to identify baseline metabolic biomarkers for response to methotrexate (MTX) therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using an untargeted method. In total, 82 baseline plasma samples (41 insufficient responders and 41 sufficient responders to MTX) were selected from the Treatment in the Rotterdam Early Arthritis Cohort (tREACH, trial number: ISRCTN26791028) based on patients’ EULAR response at 3 months. Metabolites were assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. Differences in metabolite concentrations between insufficient and sufficient responders were assessed using partial least square regression discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and Welch’s t-test. The predictive performance of the most significant findings was assessed in a receiver operating characteristic plot with area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity. Finally, overrepresentation analysis was performed to assess if the best discriminating metabolites were enriched in specific metabolic events. Baseline concentrations of homocystine, taurine, adenosine triphosphate, guanosine diphosphate and uric acid were significantly lower in plasma of insufficient responders versus sufficient responders, while glycolytic intermediates 1,3-/2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid, glycerol-3-phosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate were significantly higher in insufficient responders. Homocystine, glycerol-3-phosphate and 1,3-/2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid were independent predictors and together showed a high AUC of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.72–0.91) for the prediction of insufficient response, with corresponding sensitivity of 0.78 and specificity of 0.76. The Warburg effect, glycolysis and amino acid metabolism were identified as underlying metabolic events playing a role in clinical response to MTX in early RA. New metabolites and potential underlying metabolic events correlating with MTX response in early RA were identified, which warrant validation in external cohorts

Amazon Hydrology From Space: Scientific Advances and Future Challenges

International audienceAs the largest river basin on Earth, the Amazon is of major importance to the world's climate and water resources. Over the past decades, advances in satellite-based remote sensing (RS) have brought our understanding of its terrestrial water cycle and the associated hydrological processes to a new era. Here, we review major studies and the various techniques using satellite RS in the Amazon. We show how RS played a major role in supporting new research and key findings regarding the Amazon water cycle, and how the region became a laboratory for groundbreaking investigations of new satellite retrievals and analyses. At the basin-scale, the understanding of several hydrological processes was only possible with the advent of RS observations, such as the characterization of "rainfall hotspots" in the Andes-Amazon transition, evapotranspiration rates, and variations of surface waters and groundwater storage. These results strongly contribute to the recent advances of hydrological models and to our new understanding of the Amazon water budget and aquatic environments. In the context of upcoming hydrology-oriented satellite missions, which will offer the opportunity for new synergies and new observations with finer space-time resolution, this review aims to guide future research agenda toward integrated monitoring and understanding of the Amazon water from space. Integrated multidisciplinary studies, fostered by international collaborations, set up future directions to tackle the great challenges the Amazon is currently facing, from climate change to increased anthropogenic pressure

Role of sea ice in global biogeochemical cycles: Emerging views and challenges

Observations from the last decade suggest an important role of sea ice in the global biogeochemical cycles, promoted by (i) active biological and chemical processes within the sea ice; (ii) fluid and gas exchanges at the sea ice interface through an often permeable sea ice cover; and (iii) tight physical, biological and chemical interactions between the sea ice, the ocean and the atmosphere. Photosynthetic micro-organisms in sea ice thrive in liquid brine inclusions encased in a pure ice matrix, where they find suitable light and nutrient levels. They extend the production season, provide a winter and early spring food source, and contribute to organic carbon export to depth. Under-ice and ice edge phytoplankton blooms occur when ice retreats, favoured by increasing light, stratification, and by the release of material into the water column. In particular, the release of iron – highly concentrated in sea ice – could have large effects in the iron-limited Southern Ocean. The export of inorganic carbon transport by brine sinking below the mixed layer, calcium carbonate precipitation in sea ice, as well as active iceatmosphere carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes, could play a central role in the marine carbon cycle. Sea ice processes could also significantly contribute to the sulphur cycle through the large production by ice algae of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the precursor of sulfate aerosols, which as cloud condensation nuclei have a potential cooling effect on the planet. Finally, the sea ice zone supports significant ocean-atmosphere methane (CH4) fluxes, while saline ice surfaces activate springtime atmospheric bromine chemistry, setting ground for tropospheric ozone depletion events observed near both poles. All these mechanisms are generally known, but neither precisely understood nor quantified at large scales. As polar regions are rapidly changing, understanding the large-scale polar marine biogeochemical processes and their future evolution is of high priority. Earth system models should in this context prove essential, but they currently represent sea ice as biologically and chemically inert. Paleoclimatic proxies are also relevant, in particular the sea ice proxies, inferring past sea ice conditions from glacial and marine sediment core records and providing analogs for future changes. Being highly constrained by marine biogeochemistry, sea ice proxies would not only contribute to but also benefit from a better understanding of polar marine biogeochemical cycles