Nongenomic effects of aldosterone on phosphocreatine levels in human calf muscle during recovery from exercise.

Nongenomic in vitro effects of aldosterone on the sodium-proton antiport and intracellular second messengers have been described in human mononuclear leukocytes, vascular smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. To test the potential physiological relevance of these effects, an in vivo 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy study on the human calf at rest and during exercise was performed in 10 healthy volunteers receiving either 1 mg aldosterone or placebo iv in a double blind, randomized, cross-over trial. Spectra were analyzed for phosphocreatine, ATP, phosphomonoesters, inorganic intracellular phosphate, and intracellular pH. Resting values remained unchanged by aldosterone. After isometric contraction of the calf (50% body weight for 3 min), phosphocreatine recovered to significantly higher levels after application of aldosterone compared with placebo. Other parameters were not significantly changed by aldosterone. Effects appeared immediately after isometric contraction and, thus, occurred within 8 min of aldosterone administration. They are, therefore, likely to represent the first contemporary evidence of nongenomic in vivo effects of aldosterone in man. These findings also point to an involvement of aldosteron in the acute stress adaptation of cellular oxidative metabolism in human muscle physiology

Particle diagrams and embedded many-body random matrix theory

We present a new method which uses Feynman-like diagrams to calculate the statistical quantities of embedded many-body random matrix problems. The method provides a promising alternative to existing techniques and offers many important simplifications. We use it here to find the fourth, sixth and eighth moments of the level density for k fermions or bosons interacting through a random hermitian potential in the limit where the number of possible single-particle states is taken to infinity. All share the same transition, starting immediately after 2k = m, from moments arising from a semi-circular level density to gaussian moments. The results also reveal a striking feature; the domain of the 2n'th moment is naturally divided into n subdomains specified by the points 2k = m, 3k = m, ..., nk = m.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; 1 figure added, typos corrected, corrections made to (17) and (18), title altered, DOI and journal reference adde

Particle Diagrams and Statistics of Many-Body Random Potentials

We present a method using Feynman-like diagrams to calculate the statistical properties of random many-body potentials. This method provides a promising alternative to existing techniques typically applied to this class of problems, such as the method of supersymmetry and the eigenvector expansion technique pioneered in [1]. We use it here to calculate the fourth, sixth and eighth moments of the average level density for systems with $m$ bosons or fermions that interact through a random $k$-body Hermitian potential ($k \le m$); the ensemble of such potentials with a Gaussian weight is known as the embedded Gaussian Unitary Ensemble (eGUE) [2]. Our results apply in the limit where the number $l$ of available single-particle states is taken to infinity. A key advantage of the method is that it provides an efficient way to identify only those expressions which will stay relevant in this limit. It also provides a general argument for why these terms have to be the same for bosons and fermions. The moments are obtained as sums over ratios of binomial expressions, with a transition from moments associated to a semi-circular level density for $m < 2k$ to Gaussian moments in the dilute limit $k \ll m \ll l$. Regarding the form of this transition, we see that as $m$ is increased, more and more diagrams become relevant, with new contributions starting from each of the points $m = 2k, 3k, \ldots, nk$ for the $2n$-th moment.Comment: 39 pages, 17 figure

Exploiting Deep Matching and SAR Data for the Geo-Localization Accuracy Improvement of Optical Satellite Images

Improving the geo-localization of optical satellite images is an important pre-processing step for many remote sensing tasks like scene monitoring over time or the scene analysis after sudden events. These tasks often require the fusion of geo-referenced and precisely co-registered multi-sensor data. Images captured by high resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites have an absolute geo-location accuracy within few decimeters. This renders SAR images interesting as a source for the geo-location improvement of optical images, whose geo-location accuracy is in the range of some meters. In this paper, we are investigating a deep learning based approach for the geo-localization accuracy improvement of optical satellite images through SAR reference data. Image registration between SAR and optical satellite images requires few but accurate and reliable matching points. To derive such matching points a neural network based on a Siamese network architecture was trained to learn the two dimensional spatial shift between optical and SAR image patches. The neural network was trained over TerraSAR-X and PRISM image pairs covering greater urban areas spread over Europe. The results of the proposed method confirm that accurate and reliable matching points are generated with a higher matching accuracy and precision than state-of-the-art approaches

Hyperspektrale Fernerkundung

Hyperspektrale Fernerkundung nimmt mit der Verfügbarkeit geeigneter Sensorik auf verschiedenen Plattformen, von UAVs über Flugzeuge und Helikopter zu Satelliten, auch im militärischen Bereich stetig zu. Diese Technologie mit einer hohen spektralen und teilweise auch räumlichen Auflösung für die Bereiche Aufklärung, Identifizierung, Zielerfassung und thematische Kartographie wird demonstriert

Drying-off practices on Swiss dairy farms: Status quo and adoption potential of integrating incomplete milking.

Drying-off practices to reduce milk production before dry-off are gaining attention because high milk yields at dry-off are becoming more common and increase the risk to cow health and welfare during the dry period. Incomplete milking for the last days before dry-off is one approach for reducing milk production. We conducted an online survey to determine the currently used drying-off practices on Swiss dairy farms and to identify the adoption potential of integrating incomplete milking before dry-off. In March 2021, the online survey was sent to a representative sample of 1,974 Swiss dairy farmers. A total of 518 completed questionnaires were analyzed. The mean number of dairy cows per farm was 39 (range: 11-140 cows). Thirty-five percent of cows produced considerable quantities of milk (>15 kg/d) at dry-off, and milk yield at dry-off increased with increasing annual milk yield. Abrupt dry-off was applied on 45% of the farms. The participants reported observing behavioral changes of cows such as increased vocalizations and decreased lying time associated with dry-off. Selective dry cow therapy was applied on 74% of the farms, and 44% of the participants indicated the use of antibiotics at dry-off as being "rather often," "often," or "always." Correlation analysis revealed that with increasing annual milk yields, the frequency of observed behavioral changes and antibiotic use at dry-off increased as well. Therefore, drying-off approaches that reduce milk production while supporting cow welfare are needed. We found that farmers showed an interest in testing the presented drying-off approach of incomplete milking. In addition, the farmers indicated that they would be more willing to test incomplete milking before dry-off if it became available for automated use in milking parlors or robots. Uncertainties regarding udder health appeared to be the main barrier for the adoption potential of this approach

Gerechtigkeit und Effizienz in der Klimapolitik : Zentrale Aspekte der gesellschaftlichen Akzeptanz der Energiewende

Climate policies should meet the requirements of justice as well as those of efficiency. In order to achieve both goals, the choice of instruments is of central importance. However, German climate policy focuses on announcing newer, more ambitious targets and meanwhile neglects serious discussions about costs and adequate instruments. Such a structure and culture of political discourse is detrimental to the social acceptance of sustainable energy policy and energy transformation. Moreover, the crucial importance of international climate policy is hardly noticed.Die Klimapolitik sollte den Anforderungen der Gerechtigkeit ebenso wie denen der Effizienz genügen. Dabei sind die zum Einsatz kommenden Instrumente von zentralem Interesse. Jedoch werden meist lediglich die ambitionierten Klimaziele benannt. Vielmehr ist eine offene klimapolitische Diskussion bezüglich innovativer Wege, der zum Einsatz kommenden Instrumente sowie der entstehenden Kosten notwendig. Hierdurch wird auch die gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz gefördert. Zudem ist der Klimawandel ein weltweites Phänomen, weshalb der Klimaschutz nur durch internationale Kooperationen gelingen kann

The TerraSAR-X Traffic Monitoring System

The presentation gives an overview about the TerraSAR-X traffic monitoring project at DLR. The tasks of the "traffic processor" and the overall ground segment are described. Results from first airborne campaigns are presented including the monitoring of a traffic jam on a motorway near Munich / Germany. Furthermore radar cross sections of passenger cars are presented

Improving the Classification in Shadowed Areas using Nonlinear Spectral Unmixing

This paper presents a shadow restoration method based on the nonlinear mixture model. A shadowed spectrum is modeled by using a pure sunlit spectrum for the same material following physical assumptions. Regarding pure sunlit and shadowed spectra as endmembers, an unmixing process is then conducted pixel-wise using a nonlinear mixture model. Shadow pixels are restored by simulating their exposure to sunlight through a combination of selected sunlit endmembers spectra, weighted by abundance values. Experiments conducted on a real airborne hyperspectral image are eval- uated through spectra comparison and classification. In addition, a soft shadow map is generated, which quantifies the shadow intensity at the edges between sunlit and shadow areas