Dynamic Data Citation Service-Subset Tool for Operational Data Management

In earth observation and climatological sciences, data and their data services grow on a daily basis in a large spatial extent due to the high coverage rate of satellite sensors, model calculations, but also by continuous meteorological in situ observations. In order to reuse such data, especially data fragments as well as their data services in a collaborative and reproducible manner by citing the origin source, data analysts, e.g., researchers or impact modelers, need a possibility to identify the exact version, precise time information, parameter, and names of the dataset used. A manual process would make the citation of data fragments as a subset of an entire dataset rather complex and imprecise to obtain. Data in climate research are in most cases multidimensional, structured grid data that can change partially over time. The citation of such evolving content requires the approach of "dynamic data citation". The applied approach is based on associating queries with persistent identifiers. These queries contain the subsetting parameters, e.g., the spatial coordinates of the desired study area or the time frame with a start and end date, which are automatically included in the metadata of the newly generated subset and thus represent the information about the data history, the data provenance, which has to be established in data repository ecosystems. The Research Data Alliance Data Citation Working Group (RDA Data Citation WG) summarized the scientific status quo as well as the state of the art from existing citation and data management concepts and developed the scalable dynamic data citation methodology of evolving data. The Data Centre at the Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA) has implemented the given recommendations and offers since 2017 an operational service on dynamic data citation on climate scenario data. With the consciousness that the objective of this topic brings a lot of dependencies on bibliographic citation research which is still under discussion, the CCCA service on Dynamic Data Citation focused on the climate domain specific issues, like characteristics of data, formats, software environment, and usage behavior. The current effort beyond spreading made experiences will be the scalability of the implementation, e.g., towards the potential of an Open Data Cube solution

Historic Preservation and Urban Housing Policy

Historic preservation is broadly concerned with maintaining the visible presence of history in our lives through a concerted effort to preserve culturally significant aspects of the built environment. Through their diversity of form and function, older buildings and areas provide continuity between the past and the present, contribute to the development of an aesthetic townscape, and evoke a sense of pleasantness and amenity. Such design considerations have traditionally had little relationship to the development of housing policy. Under the impact of a new emphasis on neighborhood conservation, this situation is rapidly changing. A realization that the built environment is a valuable asset must include an awareness of the design features and aesthetic value of the existing housing stock. In particular, housing strategists should recognize that areas of historic and architectural quality may appeal to certain portions of the housing market. Historic preservation can play an important role in achieving the objectives of a local housing policy which stresses neighborhood revitalization. This article suggests the growing importance of preservation as a housing strategy and illustrates how preservation in one North Carolina city, Wilmington, has helped to stimulate public investment and revitalization in the central city

Imaging hyphal growth of Physisporinus vitreus in Norway spruce wood by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM)

Light microscopy and electron microscopy are the most common methods for analyzing wood-decay fungi. However, the 3D visualization and quantification of the filamentous structure of fungi in wood is difficult to realize by means of these traditional techniques. In the present work, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was further developed for the quantitative imaging of the 3D microscopic hyphal growth of Physisporinus vitreus, a versatile fungus for engineering value-added wood products. To this purpose, the fungus was stained with a fluorescent dye Alexa Fluor. The 3D information obtained by CLSM has a high potential as a basis for the development of mathematical models for a more precise observation of the growth behavior of wood-decay fung

Chirality enhancement in macro-chiral liquid crystal nanoparticles

The amplification of molecular chirality by metal nanoparticles (NPs) is an important and rapidly evolving field in nanomaterial research with wide applications in smart materials, catalysis, and solvent-solute interactions. Here we present the results of the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized both with chiral ligands based on the binaphthol motif and with nematogenic groups (ChirAuLC). The materials were characterized chemically and the ratios between chiral groups and LC groups was determined. Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) and synchrotron based X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show that the AuNPs favoured by the LC state arrange themselves into ordered columns and a helical superstructure appears in the mesophase of collective NPs. A specific focus has been the investigation of the chiral induction of ChirAuLC composites in two different nematic LC hosts. For a number of selected mixtures, the helical twisting power (HTP) of these NPs in systems was calculated from systematic optical observations based on optical polarizing microscopy (OPM). The experimental data show that the HTP of the investigated ChirAuLC composite is significantly larger than that of free "small molecule"chiral groups when dispersed in the same LC host and the chiral transfer efficiency of ChirAuLC is higher than NPs functionalized only with chiral groups (ChirAuNP). This is new and can be explained by a combination of a surface chirality and the domino effect of bound mesogens interacting with the bulk. This journal i

Managing active pharmaceutical ingredient raw material variability during twin-screw blend feeding

Continuous powder feeding is a critical step in continuous manufacturing of solid dosage forms, as this unit operation should ensure the mass flow consistency at the desired powder feed rate to guarantee the process throughput and final product consistency. In this study, twin-screw feeding of a pharmaceutical formulation (i.e., blend) existing of a highly dosed very poorly flowing active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) leading to insufficient feeding capacity was investigated. Furthermore, the API showed very high batch-to-batch variability in raw material properties dominating the formulation blend properties. Formulation changes were evaluated to improve the flowability of the blends and to mitigate the impact of API batch-to-batch variability on the twin-screw feeding. Herewith, feeding evaluation tests and an extensive material characterization of the reformulated blends were performed to assess the impact of the formulation changes upon continuous twin-screw feeding. The transfer of the glidant from extra-granular to intra-granular phase allowed to improve the flowability of the blends. A sufficient feeding capacity for the downstream process and a mitigation of the impact of batch-to-batch variability of the API upon twin-screw feeding of the blends could be achieved. No effect of the formulation or of the API properties on the feeding stability was observed. The material characterization of the blends allowed identifying the material attributes which were critical for continuous twin-screw feeding (i.e., bulk density, mass charge and powder cohesiveness)

Intramuscular coherence during challenging walking in incomplete spinal cord injury: Reduced high-frequency coherence reflects impaired supra-spinal control

Individuals regaining reliable day-to-day walking function after incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) report persisting unsteadiness when confronted with walking challenges. However, quantifiable measures of walking capacity lack the sensitivity to reveal underlying impairments of supra-spinal locomotor control. This study investigates the relationship between intramuscular coherence and corticospinal dynamic balance control during a visually guided Target walking treadmill task. In thirteen individuals with iSCI and 24 controls, intramuscular coherence and cumulant densities were estimated from pairs of Tibialis anterior surface EMG recordings during normal treadmill walking and a Target walking task. The approximate center of mass was calculated from pelvis markers. Spearman rank correlations were performed to evaluate the relationship between intramuscular coherence, clinical parameters, and center of mass parameters. In controls, we found that the Target walking task results in increased high-frequency (21-44 Hz) intramuscular coherence, which negatively related to changes in the center of mass movement, whereas this modulation was largely reduced in individuals with iSCI. The impaired modulation of high-frequency intramuscular coherence during the Target walking task correlated with neurophysiological and functional readouts, such as motor-evoked potential amplitude and outdoor mobility score, as well as center of mass trajectory length. The Target walking effect, the difference between Target and Normal walking intramuscular coherence, was significantly higher in controls than in individuals with iSCI [F(1.0,35.0) = 13.042, p < 0.001]. Intramuscular coherence obtained during challenging walking in individuals with iSCI may provide information on corticospinal gait control. The relationships between biomechanics, clinical scores, and neurophysiology suggest that intramuscular coherence assessed during challenging tasks may be meaningful for understanding impaired supra-spinal control in individuals with iSCI

The minibrain kinase homolog, mbk-2, is required for spindle positioning and asymmetric cell division in early C. elegans embryos

AbstractIn the newly fertilized Caenorhabditis elegans zygote, cytoplasmic determinants become localized asymmetrically along the anterior–posterior (A–P) axis of the embryo. The mitotic apparatus then orients so as to cleave the embryo into anterior and posterior blastomeres that differ in both size and developmental potential. Here we describe a role for MBK-2, a member of the Dyrk family of protein kinases, in asymmetric cell division in C. elegans. In mbk-2 mutants, the initial mitotic spindle is misplaced and cytoplasmic factors, including the germline-specific protein PIE-1, are mislocalized. Our findings support a model in which MBK-2 down-regulates the katanin-related protein MEI-1 to control spindle positioning and acts through distinct, as yet unknown factors, to control the localization of cytoplasmic determinants. These findings in conjunction with work from Schizosaccharomyces pombe indicate a possible conserved role for Dyrk family kinases in the regulation of spindle placement during cell division

First geodetic observations using new VLBI stations ASKAP-29 and WARK12M

We report the results of a successful 7 hour 1.4 GHz VLBI experiment using two new stations, ASKAP-29 located in Western Australia and WARK12M located on the North Island of New Zealand. This was the first geodetic VLBI observing session with the participation of these new stations. We have determined the positions of ASKAP-29 and WARK12M. Random errors on position estimates are 150-200 mm for the vertical component and 40-50 mm for the horizontal component. Systematic errors caused by the unmodeled ionosphere path delay may reach 1.3 m for the vertical component.Comment: 11 pages, 6 flgures, 4 table

External perceptions of successful university brands

Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue, with some institutions committing substantial financial resources to branding activities. The particular characteristics of the sector present challenges for those seeking to build brands and it therefore seems to be timely and appropriate to investigate the common approaches of those institutions perceived as having successful brands. This study is exploratory in nature, seeking to investigate how successfully UK universities brand themselves, whether they are distinct and if the sector overall communicates effectively. This is approached through examining the perspective of opinion formers external to universities but closely involved with the sector – a key stakeholder group in UK higher education Overall, the research’s exploratory nature aims to further the debate on effective branding in UK higher education. The findings and conclusions identify some issues surrounding university branding activity; most UK universities were considered to be distinct from one another, but few were seen to have real fully formed brands. Although a number of institutions that were seen as having more ‘successful’ brands were identified, it was argued that whilst many UK universities communicate their brand well enough to key stakeholders, they fail to consistently do this across all audiences. It was also suggested that UK universities may concentrate on areas of perceived immediate strategic importance (in terms of branding) to an extent where others are neglected