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This study examines the impact of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) on two coral species, Acropora eurystoma and Pocillopora damicornis, in the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat Red Sea, assessing their natural isotopic responses to highlight changes in energy and nutrient sourcing due to sensory light pollution. Our findings indicate significant disturbances in photosynthetic processes in Acropora eurystoma, as evidenced by shifts in δ13C values under ALAN, pointing to alterations in carbon distribution or utilization. In Pocillopora damicornis, similar trends were observed, with changes in δ13C and δ15N values suggesting a disruption in its nitrogen cycle and feeding strategies.
The study also uncovers species-specific variations in heterotrophic feeding, a crucial factor in coral resilience under environmental stress, contributing to the corals' fixed carbon budget. Light measurements across the Gulf demonstrated a gradient of light pollution which possess the potential of affecting marine biology in the region. ALAN was found to disrupt natural diurnal tentacle behaviors in both coral species, crucial for prey capture and nutrient acquisition, thereby impacting their isotopic composition and health.
Echoing previous research, our study underscores the need to consider each species' ecological and physiological contexts when assessing the impacts of anthropogenic changes. The findings offer important insights into the complexities of marine ecosystems under environmental stress and highlight the urgency of developing effective mitigation strategies.
The energy transfer between bouncing particles and rigid boundaries during impacts is crucially influenced not only by restitution coefficients of the material but also by particle shapes. This is particularly important when such particles are mechanically agitated with vibrating plates. Inertial measurement units are able to measure all acceleration and rotational velocity components of an object and store these data for subsequent analysis. We employ them to measure the dynamics of cubes and icosahedra on vibrating plates to study the efficiency of energy transfer into the individual degrees of freedom (DOFs) of the excited object. The rotational DOFs turn out to be much less excited than the vertical translational motion. Most remarkably, there is only little difference between the two Platonic solids in both the absolute energies and the energy partition ratios.
Deutsche Telekom, one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies, has recently shifted its focus in event marketing to prioritize more personal co-creational communication on regional occasions, rather than largescale events. This paper outlines the three-part LAW-principle that Deutsche Telekom follows in its brand communication in Germany, providing examples for each of the three pillars. The co-creation resulting from brand communication is changing the role of marketing and brand practitioners. They are now required to negotiate with various stakeholders.
Finding an optimal balance between risk and returns in investment portfolios is a central challenge in quantitative finance, often addressed through Markowitz portfolio theory (MPT). While traditional portfolio optimization is carried out in a continuous fashion, as if stocks could be bought in fractional increments, practical implementations often resort to approximations, as fractional stocks are typically not tradeable. While these approximations are effective for large investment budgets, they deteriorate as budgets decrease. To alleviate this issue, a discrete Markowitz portfolio theory (DMPT) with finite budgets and integer stock weights can be formulated, but results in a non-polynomial (NP)-hard problem. Recent progress in quantum processing units (QPUs), including quantum annealers, makes solving DMPT problems feasible. Our study explores portfolio optimization on quantum annealers, establishing a mapping between continuous and discrete Markowitz portfolio theories. We find that correctly normalized discrete portfolios converge to continuous solutions as budgets increase. Our DMPT implementation provides efficient frontier solutions, outperforming traditional rounding methods, even for moderate budgets. Responding to the demand for environmentally and socially responsible investments, we enhance our discrete portfolio optimization with ESG (environmental, social, governance) ratings for EURO STOXX 50 index stocks. We introduce a utility function incorporating ESG ratings to balance risk, return and ESG friendliness, and discuss implications for ESG-aware investors.
Light pollution has increased globally, with 80% of the total population now living under light-polluted skies. In this Review, we elucidate the scope and importance of light pollution and discuss techniques to monitor it. In urban areas, light emissions from sources such as street lights lead to a zenith radiance 40 times larger than that of an unpolluted night sky. Non-urban areas account for over 50% of the total night-time light observed by satellites, with contributions from sources such as transportation networks and resource extraction. Artificial light can disturb the migratory and reproductive behaviours of animals even at the low illuminances from diffuse skyglow. Additionally, lighting (indoor and outdoor) accounts for 20% of global electricity consumption and 6% of CO2 emissions, leading to indirect environmental impacts and a financial cost. However, existing monitoring techniques can only perform a limited number of measurements throughout the night and lack spectral and spatial resolution. Therefore, satellites with improved spectral and spatial resolution are needed to enable time series analysis of light pollution trends throughout the night.
Artificial light at night originating from bridge illumination can cause polarised light pollution when it is reflected at water body surfaces. This alters the optical conditions of a river at night and potentially interferes with natural polarisation signals from, for example, moonlight. Therefore, this type of light pollution could detrimentally change the behaviour of organisms sensitive to polarised light, a navigational cue and signal known to be used e.g. by flying water-seeking insects to detect suitable aquatic habitats to reproduce and lay eggs. So far, polarised light pollution from artificial light at night is understudied. Here, we quantify polarised light pollution at the water’s surface near seven illuminated bridges crossing the river Spree in Berlin. Our measurements show for the first time, that nocturnal bridge illumination induces polarised light pollution towards potential flying paths of polarotactic aquatic insects. On average, around 9% of the water surfaces at the investigated bridges were highly polluted by polarised light, with values ranging between 3 and 12 % for each bridge. Thus, polarised light pollution from artificial light at night is an emergent pollutant for aquatic systems. Future work on this topic should include more comprehensive measurements, further ecological studies on its impacts and the development of sustainable lighting solutions that can contribute to the protection of riverine nightscapes.
Live music is often linked to elaborate light shows, particularly at large outdoor music festivals. However, artificial light at night is one form of environmental pollution, light pollution, and because outdoor festivals emit a substantial amount of artificial light into the environment, they are a potential source of light pollution. So far, no studies that quantified the impact of such festivals on urban light pollution and skyglow exist. Here, the light pollution produced by a major rock festival (Lollapalooza Berlin 2016 with 70,000 visitors per day in an urban park) was investigated with ground-based radiometry and night-time light data. A small night-sky radiometer installed near the main stages and a calibrated digital camera from a nearby observation spot inside of the park were used to quantify changes in night sky brightness and direct light emissions within the park. The impact of the music festival on the urban skyglow was indeed measurable. Zenith luminance increased locally by up to a factor of 8 and illuminance increased by about 50% at the observation spot within the park. The radiance detected by night-time satellite was also increased during the festival. This is the first time, that light pollution from such a major rock music event was quantified.
Coarsening of Quasi Two-Dimensional Emulsions Formed by Islands in Free-Standing Smectic Films
(2024)
We study the coarsening behavior of assemblies of islands on smectic A freely suspended films in ISS microgravity experiments. The islands can be regarded as liquid inclusions in a two-dimensional fluid in analogy to liquid droplets of the discontinuous phase of an emulsion. The coarsening is effectuated by two processes, predominantly by island coalescence, but to some extend also by Ostwald ripening, whereby large islands grow at the expense of surrounding smaller ones. A peculiarity of this system is that the continuous and the discontinuous phases consist of the same material. We determine the dynamics, analyze the self-similar aging of the island size distribution and discuss characteristic exponents of the mean island growth.
Smectic islands on a thin freely suspended smectic film form a quasi two-dimensional emulsion, without a liquid subphase. We describe the coarsening dynamics that involves island coalescence and Ostwald ripening.
The attraction of insects to artificial light is a global environmental problem with far-reaching implications for ecosystems. Since light pollution is rarely integrated into conservation approaches, effective mitigation strategies towards environmentally friendly lighting that drastically reduce insect attraction are urgently needed. Here, we tested novel luminaires in two experiments (i) at a controlled experimental field site and (ii) on streets within three municipalities. The luminaires are individually tailored to only emit light onto the target area and to reduce spill light. In addition, a customized shielding renders the light source nearly invisible beyond the lit area. We show that these novel luminaires significantly reduce the attraction effect on flying insects compared to different conventional luminaires with the same illuminance on the ground. This underlines the huge potential of spatially optimized lighting to help to bend the curve of global insect decline without compromising human safety aspects. A customized light distribution should therefore be part of sustainable future lighting concepts, most relevant in the vicinity of protected areas.
Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit den Herausforderungen, die im Rahmen von Remote Work
in Kooperationen bezüglich der Informations- und
IT-Sicherheit bestehen, insbesondere im Hinblick auf
den sicheren Datenaustausch. Des Weiteren wird die
Wichtigkeit einer ganzheitlichen Sicht von IT-Governance-, Risiko- und Compliance-Management in Verbünden kleiner und mittlerer Unternehmen (KMU)
behandelt. Weiterhin wird aufgezeigt, was bei der
informationstechnischen Absicherung von Kooperationen und IT-Konsortien beachtet werden sollte.
Large three-dimensional metallic parts can be printed layer-by-layer using gas metal arc directed energy deposition (GMA-DED) process at a high deposition rate and with little or no material wastage. Fast responsive real-time monitoring of GMA-DED process signatures and their transient variations is required for printing of dimensionally accurate and structurally sound parts. A systematic experimental investigation is presented here on multi-layer GMA-DED with two different scanning strategies using a high strength low alloy (HSLA) filler wire. The dynamic metal transfer, melt pool temperature field and its longitudinal cross-section, and arc voltage and current are monitored synchronously. The transient arc heat input and the melt pool solidification cooling rate are estimated from the monitored signals. The layer-wise variations of the melt pool dimension, surface temperature profile, thermal cycles, and solidification cooling rate are examined for different scanning strategies. It is comprehended that the part defects can be minimized, and the mass production of zero-defect parts can be achieved in GMA-DED process with synchronized monitoring and assessment of the real-time process signatures.
An approach for analyzing business process execution complexity based on textual data and event log
(2023)
With the advent of digital transformation, organizations increasingly rely on various information systems to support their business processes (BPs). Recorded data, including textual data and event log, expand exponentially, complicating decision-making and posing new challenges for BP complexity analysis in Business Process Management (BPM). Herein, Process Mining (PM) serves to derive insights based on historic BP execution data, called event log. However, in PM, textual data is often neglected or limited to BP descriptions. Therefore, in this study, we propose a novel approach for analyzing BP execution complexity by combining textual data serving as an input at the BP start and event log. The approach is aimed at studying the connection between complexities obtained from these two data types. For textual data-based complexity, the approach employs a set of linguistic features. In our previous work, we have explored the design of linguistic features favorable for BP execution complexity prediction. Accordingly, we adapt and incorporate them into the proposed approach. Using these features, various machine learning techniques are applied to predict textual data-based complexity. Moreover, in this prediction, we show the adequacy of our linguistic features, which outperformed the linguistic features of a widely-used text analysis technique. To calculate event log-based complexity, the event log and relevant complexity metrics are used. Afterward, a correlation analysis of two complexities and an analysis of the significant differences in correlations are performed. The results serve to derive recommendations and insights for BP improvement. We apply the approach in the IT ticket handling process of the IT department of an academic institution. Our findings show that the suggested approach enables a comprehensive identification of BP redesign and improvement opportunities.
Illuminated bridges have become important assets to navigable aquatic systems. However, if artificial light at night (ALAN) from illuminated bridges reaches aquatic habitats, such as rivers, it can threaten the river's natural heterogeneity and alter the behavioural responses of migratory fish. Here, via a pilot study, we quantified levels of ALAN at illuminated bridges that cross a river and, propose a conceptual model to estimate its potential implications on two migrating fish species with contrasting life histories. Night-time light measurements on the river Spree in Berlin were performed continuously along a transect and in detail at seven illuminated bridges. Photometric data of the pilot study showed rapidly increased and decreased light levels at several illuminated bridges from which we derived several model illumination scenarios. These illumination scenarios and their potential effect on migrating Atlantic salmon smolts (Salmo salar) and European silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) are presented as a conceptual model, considering illuminated bridges as behavioural barriers to fish migration. ALAN's adverse effects on freshwater habitats must be better researched, understood, managed, and properly communicated to develop future sustainable lighting practices and policies that preserve riverscapes and their biodiversity.
So weit das Auge trägt
(2023)
Sichtweiten in der Atmosphäre reichen von wenigen Metern im Nebel bis zu einigen hundert Kilometern bei extrem guten Fernsichtbedingungen. Die zugrundeliegende Physik geht vom Wahrnehmungskontrast aus. Dieser ändert sich mit der Entfernung entlang der Sichtlinie zwischen Objekt und Auge aufgrund von Lichtstreuung und Absorption an den Bestandteilen der Atmosphäre. Dazu kommt bei der Fernsicht die Refraktion, die es erlaubt, auch über den durch die Kugelform der Erde geometrisch bedingten Horizont hinaus zu sehen.
1. Introduction
(2023)
With the release of the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max in 2020, various features were integrated that make it attractive as a recording device for scene-related computer graphics pipelines. The captured Apple RAW images have a much higher dynamic range than the standard 8-bit images. Since a scene-based workflow naturally has an extended dynamic range (HDR), the Apple RAW recordings can be well integrated. To correctly integrate the iPhone 12 pro Apple RAW data into a scene-related workflow, two command-line software solutions, among others, are dcraw and rawtoaces. In this paper, we concentrate on dcraw. dcraw offers the possibility to export RAW images directly to ACES2065-1. Different images recorded under different lighting conditions are examined to determine which options for the dcraw development produce the best results. Images from five different lighting situations like D65, D60, D55, D50, and 2980K, are examined. The DNG files are developed using different methods within dcraw. The values of the recorded ColorChecker24 patches are compared to reference values derived from BabelColor [1] and ACES [2].
In this work, the most relevant 3D LiDAR technologies and their applications in 2022 were investigated. For this purpose, applications of LiDAR systems were classified into the typical application areas "3D modeling", "smart city", "robotics", "smart automotive" and "consumer goods". The investigation has shown that neither "mechanical" LiDAR technologies, nor so-called solid-state LiDAR technologies, nor "hybrid" LiDAR technologies can be evaluated as optimal for the typical application areas. In none of the application areas could all of the elaborated requirements be met. However, the "hybrid" LiDAR technologies such as sequential MEMS LiDAR technology and sequential flash LiDAR technology proved to be among the most suitable for most typical application areas. However, other technologies also tended to be suitable for individual typical application areas. Finally, it was found that several of the LiDAR technologies investigated are currently equally suitable for some typical application areas. To evaluate the suitability, concrete LiDAR systems - of different technologies and properties - were compared with the specific requirements of exemplary applications of an application area. The results of the investigation provide an orientation as to which LiDAR technology is promising for which application area.
In this study, we have investigated the form of velocity and pressure functions of a fluid oscillating between two parallel glass sheets that form a circular Hele-Shaw cell. The flow has been considered to be radial, incompressible and laminar. The time-dependent Navier-Stokes equation has been solved in cylindrical coordinates using Fourier transform, and the oscillating flow velocity across the thickness of the cell has been obtained at different times. The flow velocity function in the unsteady state is related to the vertical component of the coordinates in the form of parabolic functions and also to the inverse of the radial component. The time dependence appears as a simple harmonic with a frequency equal to the oscillation frequency. The velocity of the flow is maximum at the middle of the cell along its height and gradually decreases from the middle towards the top or bottom plane and reaches zero. Pressure does not depend on the height and changes logarithmically with the radius. The dependence of pressure on time is also a simple harmonic with the external frequency, but it has a phase shift with respect to the velocity.
The Patellostabilometer: A New Device for Quantification of Mediolateral Patella Displacement
(2023)
Mediolateral patella displacement is of interest for diagnostics and clinically relevant
research questions. Apart from manual testing, no standardized method is currently available. Proper
quantification of patella mobility is necessary to better understand pathologies at the patellofemoral
joint. Patella mobility was assessed in 25 healthy individuals using a Patellostabilometer, a new
prototype instrument for quantification of the mediolateral patella displacement. The participants
underwent measurements of the mediolateral displacement three times using the Patellostabilome-
ter. A maximal force of 10 N was applied for patella movement. Additionally, leg length and
circumference of the knee, upper- and lower-leg were measured. Lateral patella displacement of
18.27 ± 3.76 mm (range 15.85–20.64 mm, interquartile range (IQR) of 4.79) was measured. The medial
patella displacement showed 24.47 ± 6.59 mm (range 19.29–29.76 mm, IQR of 10.47). The test–retest
measurement error was 2.32 ± 1.76 mm (IQR of 2.38 mm), with five outliers. There was greater
test–retest variability between the measurements of the medial displacement compared to the lateral
one. The test–retest variability reached 7% of the patella displacement. Other parameters provided no
significant correlations. Based on the natural patellofemoral mobility, a precise and clinically relevant
quantification of patella mobility is allowed.
The public sector faces several challenges, such as a number of external and internal demands for change, citizens' dissatisfaction and frustration with public sector organizations, that need to be addressed. An alternative to the traditional top-down development of public services is co-creation of public services. Co-creation promotes collaboration between stakeholders with the aim to create better public services and achieve public values. At the same time, data analytics has been fuelled by the availability of immense amounts of textual data. Whilst both co-creation and TA have been used in the private sector, we study existing works on the application of Text Analytics (TA) techniques on text data to support public service co-creation. We systematically review 75 of the 979 papers that focus directly or indirectly on the application of TA in the context of public service development. In our review, we analyze the TA techniques, the public service they support, public value outcomes, and the co-creation phase they are used in. Our findings indicate that the TA implementation for co-creation is still in its early stages and thus still limited. Our research framework promotes the concept and stimulates the strengthening of the role of Text Analytics techniques to support public sector organisations and their use of co-creation process. From policy-makers' and public administration managers' standpoints, our findings and the proposed research framework can be used as a guideline in developing a strategy for the designing co-created and user-centred public services.
We present a method for the arbitrage-free interpolation of plain-vanilla option prices and implied volatilities, which is based on a system of integral equations that relates terminal density and option prices. Using a discretization of the terminal density, we write these integral equations as a system of linear equations. We show that the kernel matrix of this system is, in general, ill-conditioned, so that it cannot be solved for the discretized density using a naive approach. Instead, we construct a sparse model for the kernel matrix using singular value decomposition (SVD), which allows us not only to systematically improve the condition number of the kernel matrix, but also determines the computational effort and accuracy of our method. In order to allow for the treatment of realistic inputs that may contain arbitrage, we reformulate the system of linear equations as an optimization problem, in which the SVD-transformed density minimizes the error between the input prices and the arbitrage-free prices generated by our method. To further stabilize the method in the presence of noisy input prices or arbitrage, we apply an 𝐿1-regularization to the SVD-transformed density. Our approach, which is inspired by recent progress in theoretical physics, offers a flexible and efficient framework for the arbitrage-free interpolation of plain-vanilla option prices and implied volatilities, without the need to explicitly specify a stochastic process, expansion basis functions or any other kind of model. We demonstrate the capabilities of our method in a number of artificial and realistic test cases.
Disclinations or disclination clusters in smectic C freely suspended films with topological charges larger than one are unstable. They disintegrate, preferably in a spatially symmetric fashion, into single defects with individual charges of +1, which is the smallest positive topological charge allowed in polar vector fields. While the opposite process of defect annihilation is well-defined by the initial defect positions, disintegration starts from a singular state and the following scenario including the emerging regular defect patterns must be selected by specific mechanisms. We analyze experimental data and compare them with a simple model where the defect clusters adiabatically pass quasi-equilibrium solutions in one-constant approximation. It is found that the defects arrange in geometrical patterns that correspond very closely to superimposed singular defect solutions, without additional director distortions. The patterns expand by affine transformations where all distances between individual defects scale with the same time-dependent scaling factor proportional to the square-root of time.
Layered van der Waals ferromagnets, which preserve their magnetic properties down to exfoliated monolayers, are fueling an abundance of fundamental research and nanoscale device demonstration. CrGeTe3 is a prime example of this class of materials. Its temperature-pressure phase diagram features an insulator-to-metal transition and a significant increase in ferromagnetic Curie-Weiss temperatures upon entering the metallic state. We use density functional theory to understand the magnetic exchange interactions in CrGeTe3 at ambient and elevated pressures. We calculate Heisenberg exchange couplings, which provide the correct ferromagnetic ground state and explain the experimentally observed pressure dependence of magnetism in CrGeTe3. Furthermore, we combine density functional theory with dynamical mean-field theory to investigate the effects of electronic correlations and the nature of the high-pressure metallic state in CrGeTe3.
We investigate micrometer-sized flat droplets consisting of an isotropic core surrounded by a nematic rim in freely suspended smectic A liquid-crystal films. In contrast to purely isotropic droplets which are characterized by a sharp edge and no long-range interactions, the nematic fringe introduces a continuous film thickness change resulting in long-range mutual attraction of droplets. The coalescence scenario is divided in two phases. The first one consists in the fusion of the nematic regions. The second phase involves the dissolution of a thin nematic film between the two isotropic cores. The latter has many similarities with the rupture of thin liquid films between droplets coalescing in an immiscible viscous liquid.
Coalescence of biphasic droplets in free-standing smectic films is controlled in part by the rupture of a thin nematic membrane separating the isotropic droplet cores.
Fast protein and metabolite liquid chromatography (FPLMC) was introduced years ago to enable the easy separation of high-molecular compounds such as proteins from small molecules and the identification of the low-molecular substances. In this paper, the method is applied for the rapid evaluation of freshness and monitoring the aging of animal meat and fish. A novel chromatographic sensor was developed with a deep UV LED-based photometric detection unit (255–265 nm), an original flow cuvette and registration scheme; the processing of a chromatogram with the sensor takes approximately 15 min. Strict isochronism between the elution of ATP metabolites, mainly hypoxanthine (Hx) and inosine monophosphate (IMP), and the time of maturation of meat or fish, was discovered. A new freshness index H* = [Hx]/[IMP] was introduced, which is proportional to the instrumental delay time in the FPMLC chromatograms: the H* index < 0.5 indicates the presence of inosine monophosphate (IMP) and the high quality of the meat or fish. Reasonably strong correlations were revealed between data obtained by FPMLC and total volatile basic nitrogen TVB-N (for fish) or volatile fatty acids VFA (for meat) content. Moreover, putative nucleotide salvage and an increase in the concentration of IMP were observed in fish after heat treatment using the FPMLC sensor and NMR technique.
The problem of increasing the efficiency of existing photodetectors and creating their new types attracts much research attention. Among new photodetector types are photosensitive structures based on cascade concentrators, whose operational principle involves the absorption of optical radiation followed by its reemission at a longer wavelength and radiation concentration onto a highly efficient small-area photodetector. The absorption and re-emission spectra of each cascade layer depend on the characteristics of the material used. Сolloidal quantum dots are among the most promising materials for cascade layers due to their manufacturing technology, which provides for accurate control over the photoluminescence maximum position. It seems highly relevant to develop and to study photosensitive structures with cascade concentrators of various shapes based on CdS, CdSe/ZnS, and PbS colloidal quantum dots. Aim . To develop photosensitive structures with a wide-range sensitivity spectrum based on concentrators containing arrays of metal chalcogenide CQDs and to study their characteristics. Materials and methods . Cascade photosensitive structures were manufactured based on layers made of polymethyl methacrylate and layers of colloidal quantum dots embedded in a polystyrene matrix. Results . Three-layer concentrators were manufactured with different colloidal quantum dots in each concentrator layers. A 22 % increase in the output power was observed for a three-layer cascade structure based on different cascade layer materials compared to a similar structure using a single layer concentrator. Conclusion . The conducted studies showed an increase in the efficiency of photosensitive structures with a cascade concentrator based on colloidal quantum dots of various types (CdS, CdSe/ZnS, and PbS) in the cascade layers.
This study analyzes approaches to decarbonize the energy supply of the secondary steel processing industry. Therefore, real data from a secondary steel production company is used in combination with state-of-the art low carbon energy supply technologies. Also, the use of waste heat from a pusher furnace for process integration is considered. The developed temporal process model allows holistic optimizing and expanding the steel making process system regarding techno-economic criteria. As we show, implementing the annual heat demand of a municipality shows that a nearly 100 % self-sufficient heat supply is possible.
In this study we have examined the potential of excess wind use in Germany. Excess wind constitutes roughly 40% of unused capacities of installed wind power in Germany. Using LP modelling and representative annual load profiles on an hourly resolution, we investigate the impact of the price level for wind peak power supply of residential quarters with heat, cold and electricity in Germany in combination with different power ratios of wind supply and demand. As we show, an application of wind peak tariff is technically and economically feasible and allows using green leftover energy without going in competition with e.g., green fuels or green H2 production.
How do we interact with the digital world in the future by only using our thoughts to interact? To interact with the digital world, we use gestures (most common: swipe gestures), voice, facial expressions and mental commands. The latter has become more important by recent press releases about scientific achievements, for example, from Neuralink [1] using invasive technology to control a computer game by thoughts only [2]. Another study says an application can display text on a screen by just thinking about a word [3]. Currently, BCIs are mainly developed for neurotechnology and healthcare. However, it is a question of time when these services will be available for commercial products for everyday life. (Until then, manufacturers have to minimize health risks and face privacy and safety regulations.) The thesis is that in the future, you will be able to interact with your digital devices just by using your thoughts and you’ll do much faster. This makes sense in many situations where you f. e. do not have a free hand (manufacturing, sports) or cannot speak (underwater). But for such services, you cannot rely on conventional visual design guidelines or interaction patterns, frameworks or libraries. Navigation interacting with a digital service by mental command has a lot of advantages, the human brain comes naturally with some specific features that force us to find a radically new way to interact with digital interfaces. The following study introduces you first into working conditions with mental commands, comparing invasive and non-invasive technologies, and later on comparing several possibilities of interaction patterns for a BCI of everyday usage. [1] Neuralink is a US neurotechnology company founded in July 2016 by Elon Musk and eight other persons. Neuralink’s goal is to develop a device for communication between human brain and computers, a so-called brain-computer-interface(BCI). [2] The Guardian, Fr. 9th April 2021 “Elon Musk startup shows monkey with brain chip implants playing video game”. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/09/elon-musk- neuralink-monkey-video-game . [3] Scientific American, 15th July 2021, Neuroscience, author Emily Willingham: “New Brain Implant Transmits Full Words from Neural Signals”.
Companies are increasingly facing the challenges of a persistent cyber threat landscape. By means of AI, cyber attacks can be efficiently conducted more successful through offensive AI. As for cyber defense, AI can be also utilized against cyber threats (defensive AI). Due to limited resources, especially in small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), there is a need to deploy more effective defensive cyber security solutions. Precisely, the adaptation of AI-based resilient defenses must be driven forward. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify and evaluate AI-related use cases with a high impact potential on the cyber security level, while being applicable to SMEs at the same time. In order to reach the research goal, an extensive literature review of several online catalogs, surveys and online platforms was conducted. In conclusion, seven crucial AI-based security features were outlined that are providing a high impact potential to the security level for SMEs. Afterwards, the results are discussed and set into a broader context. Even though AI-based security solutions are providing a large range of advantages, certain challenges and barriers using AI-related security applications are addressed in the paper as well. A high need for usable state of the art AI based cyber security solution for SMEs was identified.
Biomass gasification is recognized as a viable avenue to accelerate the sustainable production of hydrogen. In this work, a numerical simulation model of air gasification of rice husks is developed using the Aspen Plus to investigate the feasibility of producing hydrogen-rich syngas. The model is experimentally validated with rice husk gasification results and other published studies. The influence of temperature and equivalence ratio on the syngas composition, H2 yield, LHVSyngas, H2/CO ratio, CGE, and PCG was studied. Furthermore, the synchronized effects of temperature and ER are studied using RSM to determine the operational point of maximizing H2 yield and PCG. The RSM analysis results show optimum performance at temperatures between 820 °C and 1090 °C and ER in the range of 0.06–0.10. The findings show that optimal operating conditions of the gasification system can be achieved at a more refined precision through simulations coupled with advanced optimization techniques.
Single dielectric microspheres can manipulate light focusing and collection to enhance optical interaction with surfaces. To demonstrate this principle, we experimentally investigate the enhancement of the Raman signal collected by a single dielectric microsphere, with a radius much larger than the exciting laser spot size, residing on the sample surface. The absolute microsphere-assisted Raman signal from a single graphene layer measured in air is more than a factor of two higher than that obtained with a high numerical aperture objective. Results from Mie’s theory are used to benchmark numerical simulations and an analytical model to describe the isolated microsphere focusing properties. The analytical model and the numerical simulations justify the Raman signal enhancement measured in the microsphere-assisted Raman spectroscopy experiments.
360-degree image and movie content has gained popularity over the media and the MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conventions, and Exhibitions) industry in the last few years. There are three main reasons for this development. First, on the one hand, it is the immersive character of this media form, and, on the other hand, the development of recording and presentation technology has made significant progress in terms of resolution and quality. Third, after a decade of dynamic rising, the MICE Industry focuses on a disruptive change for more digital-based solutions. 360-degree panoramas are particularly widespread in VR and AR technology. However, despite the high immersive potential, these forms of presentation have the disadvantage that the users are isolated and have no social contact during the performance. Therefore, efforts have been made to project 360-degree content in specially equipped rooms or planetariums to enable a shared experience for the audience. One application area for 360-degree panoramas and films is conference rooms in hotels, conference centers, and any other venues that create an immersive environment for their clients to stimulate creativity. This work aims to overview the various application scenarios and usability possibilities for such conference rooms. In particular, we consider applications in construction, control, tourism, medicine, art exhibition, architecture, music performance, education, partying, organizing and carrying out events, and video conferencing. These applications and use scenarios were successfully tested, implemented, and evaluated in the 360-degree conference room “Dortmund” in the Hotel Park Soltau in Soltau, Germany. Finally, the advantages, challenges, and limitations of the proposed method are described.
Smectic films in a collapsing catenoid develop spontaneous wrinkling patterns like solid sheets.
Smectic freely-suspended films can wrinkle like solid sheets. This has been demonstrated earlier with shape-fluctuating smectic bubbles. Here, we exploit the collapse of smectic catenoid films with a central equatorial film to expose the latter to rapid lateral compression. Wrinkle formation is observed in the planar film and the thickness dependence of the undulation wavelength is measured. In addition to the central film, its border undergoes an undulation instability as well.
Glass-ceramic composites consisting of potassium-iron-silicate glass and barium titanate mixed in various proportions were successfully synthesized by low-temperature sintering. The crystal structure of the obtained composite samples, the porosity and the microhardness were studied by the X-ray diffraction, the electron microscopy, the weight method, and the Vickers method. Electrical characteristics (dielectric permittivity, tunability and losses) of as-prepared and annealed in oxygen medium samples were investigated at microwaves. According to structural analysis, the synthesized samples are a mixture of KFeSi glass, ferroelectric BaTiO3, and dielectric barium polytitanates; the ratio of the latter determines the electrical properties of the composites. Depending on the content of barium titanate, the studied composite samples show a permittivity from 50 to 270 with a dielectric loss level of 0,1–0,02 in frequency range from 3 to 10 GHz. Annealing of composite samples in an oxygen-containing environment leads to an increase in their dielectric permittivity and tunability by 10–25% and a twofold decrease in dielectric loss.
Auf dem Weg zum Replikator
(2022)
Making and interpretation of drawings and schematics is an important skill to be developed in engineering education. The question type STACK in the Moodle learning management system combined with the interactive graphics library JSXGraph has a great potential for implementation of e-learning resources addressing these skills in formative and summative settings. The authoring process of such materials is complex due to multiple markup and programming languages like HTML, LaTeX, Maxima and JavaScript (JS) being involved. The Meclib concept mitigates this complexity and allows for efficient bulk production of material with consistent appearance and user experience. The core of Meclib is a set of pre-defined JSXGraph-based objects with an interface to Maxima, such that no problem specific JS code is required at all. The present paper outlines the basic ideas of the implementation and demonstrates the approach for some typical examples of different complexity. The focus is on applications in engineering mechanics, starting from static illustrations up to an editor for free body diagrams, with rich adaptive formative feedback.
Zur Umsetzung ihres "digitalen Kompass 2030" hat die Kommission zwei weitere Rechtsakte vorgeschlagen. Die mehr als 30 Jahre alte Produkthaftungsrichtlinie soll revidiert und eine neue Richtlinie über die Haftung für künstliche Intelligenz erlassen werden. Damit soll die politisch gewünschte Etablierung von KI in der EU für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft auch haftungsrechtlich abgesichert werden. Der Beitrag analysiert die Richtlinie über die Haftung für künstliche Intelligenz in ihrem Verhältnis zum Gesetz über künstliche Intelligenz und zur Produkthaftungsrichtlinie.
Gemeinsame Digitalisierung durch die Entwicklung von IT-Governance-Strukturen auf Landesebene
(2022)
Anordnung des HmbBfDI gegen Facebook - Dringlichkeitsanordnung statt Zusammenarbeit und Kohärenz?
(2021)
Selbstbestimmte Identitäten
(2021)
Von Ethik zu Recht : Der AI Act und seine Bedeutung für die Gestaltung von algorithmischen Systemen
(2021)
Assessing business process complexity based on textual data: Evidence from ITIL IT ticket processing
(2021)
Gefrierende Gewässer
(2021)
When a droplet is brought in contact with an undercooled surface, it wets the substrate and solidifies at the same time. The interplay between the phase transition effects and the contact-line motion, leading to its arrest, remains poorly understood. Here we reveal the early solidification patterns and dynamics of spreading hexadecane droplets. Total internal reflection imaging is employed to temporally and spatially resolve the early solidification behavior. With this, we determine the conditions leading to the contact-line arrest. We quantify the overall nucleation behavior, i.e., the nucleation rate and the crystal growth speed and show its sensitivity to the applied undercooling of the substrate. We also show that for strong enough undercooling it is the rapid growth of the crystals which determines the eventual arrest of the spreading contact line. By combining the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov nucleation theory and scaling relations for the spreading, we calculate the temporal evolution of the solid area fraction, which is in good agreement with our observations.