@incollection{CarlowitzVossiekGirgetal., author = {Carlowitz, Christian and Vossiek, Martin and Girg, T. and Dietz, M. and Schrotz, A.-M. and Maiwald, T. and Hagelauer, A. and Weigel, R. and Ghaleb, Hatem and Carta, Corrado and Ellinger, Frank and Du, Xuan-Quang and Gr{\"o}zing, Markus and Berroth, Manfred}, title = {SPARS : simultaneous phase and amplitude regenerative sampling}, series = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655}, booktitle = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655}, doi = {10.26127/BTUOpen-5908}, publisher = {BTU Cottbus - Senftenberg}, pages = {37 -- 74}, abstract = {In 2012 a group of researchers proposed a basic research initiative to the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a special priority project (SPP) with the name: Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond. The main goal of this initiative was the investigation of architectures, technologies and methods to go well beyond the state of the art. The target of 100 Gbps was set far away from the (at that time) achievable 1 Gbps such that it was not possible to achieve promising results just by tuning some parameters. We wanted to find breakthrough solutions. When we started the work on the proposal we discussed the challenges to be addressed in order to advancing the wireless communication speed significantly. Having the fundamental Shannon boundary in mind we discussed how to achieve the 100 Gbps speed.}, subject = {100 Gbps; Wireless; Drahtlos; Simultaneous phase sampling; Amplitude regenerative sampling; Amplituden-regenerativ-Sampling; Simultanes Phasen-Sampling; Drahtloses Sensorsystem; Hochfrequenztechnik; Antenne; Terahertzbereich; Energieffizienz}, language = {en} } @article{BahnsKopkow2023, author = {Bahns, Carolin and Kopkow, Christian}, title = {Physiotherapy for patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis in Germany: a survey of current practice}, series = {BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders}, volume = {24}, journal = {BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1471-2474}, doi = {10.1186/s12891-023-06464-0}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and the knee is common and leads to pain, stiffness and disability. Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) provide recommendations to assist healthcare professionals in clinical decision-making. Although evidence-based physiotherapy has been shown to be effective in the management OA, a gap between clinical practice and guideline recommendations exists. Little is known about OA management provided by physiotherapists in Germany and whether treatment aligns with CPGs. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate the current physiotherapy practice in patients with hip and/or knee OA in Germany, (2) to evaluate physiotherapists' adherence to guideline recommendations and (3) to explore barriers and facilitators to guideline use.}, subject = {Osteoarthrosis; Knee; Hip; Physical therapy; Arthrose; H{\"u}ftgelenk; Knie; Osteoarthrose; Physikalische Therapie; Arthrose; Knie; H{\"u}fte; Physiotherapie}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{SegabinazziFerreiraNolte2019, author = {Segabinazzi Ferreira, Raphael and Nolte, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Low latency reconfiguration mechanism for fine-grained processor internal functional units}, doi = {10.1109/LATW.2019.8704560}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:co1-opus4-50497}, year = {2019}, abstract = {The strive for performance, low power consumption, and less chip area have been diminishing the reliability and the time to fault occurrences due to wear out of electronic devices. Recent research has shown that functional units within processors usually execute a different amount of operations when running programs. Therefore, these units present different individual wear out during their lifetime. Most existent schemes for re-configuration of processors due to fault detection and other processor parameters are done at the level of cores which is a costly way to achieve redundancy. This paper presents a low latency (approximately 1 clock cycle) software controlled mechanism to reconfigure units within processor cores according to predefined parameters. Such reconfiguration capability delivers features like wear out balance of processor functional units, configuration of units according to the criticality of tasks running on an operating system and configurations to gain in performance (e.g. parallel execution) when possible. The focus of this paper is to show the implemented low latency reconfiguration mechanism and highlight its possible main features.}, subject = {Functional units low latency; Fine-grained; Reconfiguration; Software; Rekonfiguration; Mikroprozessor; Latenzzeit }, language = {en} } @inproceedings{RottaSegabinazziFerreiraNolte2020, author = {Rotta, Randolf and Segabinazzi Ferreira, Raphael and Nolte, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Real-time dynamic hardware reconfiguration for processors with redundant functional units}, series = {Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE 23rd International Symposium on Real-Time Distributed Computing (ISORC)}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE 23rd International Symposium on Real-Time Distributed Computing (ISORC)}, publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE)}, address = {Nashville, TN, USA}, isbn = {978-1-7281-6958-3}, issn = {2375-5261}, doi = {10.1109/ISORC49007.2020.00035}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:co1-opus4-52031}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The tiny logic elements in modern integrated circuits increase the rate of transient failures significantly. Therefore, redundancy on various levels is necessary to retain reliability. However, for mixed-criticality scenarios, the typical processor designs offer either too little fault-tolerance or too much redundancy for one part of the applications. Amongst others, we specifically address redundant processor internal functional units (FU) to cope with transient errors and support wear leveling. A real-time operating system (RTOS) was extended to control our prototypical hardware platform and, since it can be configured deterministically within few clock cycles, we are able to reconfigure the FUs dynamically, at process switching time, according to the specified critically of the running processes. Our mechanisms were integrated into the Plasma processor and the Plasma-RTOS. With few changes to the original software code, it was, for example, possible to quickly change from fault-detecting to fault-correcting modes of the processor on demand.}, subject = {Reconfiguration; Run-Time; Modular redundancy; Mixed-criticality; Rekonfiguration; Laufzeit; Funktionseinheit; Redundanz }, language = {en} } @article{KlugBergGramann2023, author = {Klug, Marius and Berg, Timo and Gramann, Klaus}, title = {Optimizing EEG ICA decomposition with data cleaning in stationary and mobile experiments}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {14}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-024-64919-3}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Electroencephalography (EEG) studies increasingly utilize more mobile experimental protocols, leading to more and stronger artifacts in the recorded data. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is commonly used to remove these artifacts. It is standard practice to remove artifactual samples before ICA to improve the decomposition, for example using automatic tools such as the sample rejection option of the AMICA algorithm. However, the effects of movement intensity and the strength of automatic sample rejection on ICA decomposition have not been systematically evaluated. We conducted AMICA decompositions on eight open-access datasets with varying degrees of motion intensity using varying sample rejection criteria. We evaluated decomposition quality using mutual information of the components, the proportion of brain, muscle, and 'other' components, residual variance, and an exemplary signal-to-noise ratio. Within individual studies, increased movement significantly decreased decomposition quality, though this effect was not found across different studies. Cleaning strength significantly improved the decomposition, but the effect was smaller than expected. Our results suggest that the AMICA algorithm is robust even with limited data cleaning. Moderate cleaning, such as 5 to 10 iterations of the AMICA sample rejection, is likely to improve the decomposition of most datasets, regardless of motion intensity.}, subject = {Electroencephalography; Independent component analysis; Signal-to-Noise Ratio; Elektroencephalographie; Signal-Rausch Abstand; Unabh{\"a}ngige Komponentenanalyse}, language = {en} } @incollection{Kraemer, author = {Kraemer, Rolf}, title = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655 : preface, contents, list of tables, list of figures, bibliography}, series = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655}, booktitle = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655}, editor = {Kraemer, Rolf and Scholz, Stefan}, doi = {10.26127/BTUOpen-5716}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:co1-opus4-57167}, publisher = {BTU Cottbus - Senftenberg}, pages = {i-xxix ; 445-489}, abstract = {In 2012 a group of researchers proposed a basic research initiative to the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a special priority project (SPP) with the name: Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond. The main goal of this initiative was the investigation of architectures, technologies and methods to go well beyond the state of the art. The target of 100 Gbps was set far away from the (at that time) achievable 1 Gbps such that it was not possible to achieve promising results just by tuning some parameters. We wanted to find breakthrough solutions. When we started the work on the proposal we discussed the challenges to be addressed in order to advancing the wireless communication speed significantly. Having the fundamental Shannon boundary in mind we discussed how to achieve the 100 Gbps speed.}, subject = {100 Gbps; Wireless; Drahtlos; SPP-1655; Drahtloses Sensorsystem; Hochfrequenztechnik; Antenne; Terahertzbereich; Energieffizienz}, language = {en} } @article{RiedelMeissnerKaschubowskietal.2024, author = {Riedel, Ramona and Meißner, Karsten and Kaschubowski, Arne and Benndorf, Dirk and Martienssen, Marion and Braun, Burga}, title = {Laundry isolate Delftia sp. UBM14 capable of biodegrading industrially relevant aminophosphonates}, series = {Microorganisms}, volume = {12}, journal = {Microorganisms}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2076-2607}, doi = {10.3390/microorganisms12081664}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Phosphonates such as ethylenediaminetetra (methylenephosphonic acid) (EDTMP) and aminotris (methylenephosphonic acid) (ATMP) are used every day in water treatment processes or in household products. Their consumption is still increasing, regardless of the debates on their environmental impact. Here, the microbial characterisation and determination of the biodegradation potential of selected industrially relevant phosphonates for the isolate Delftia sp. UMB14 is reported. The opportunistic strain was isolated from a biofilm that was derived from a conventional washing machine using conventional detergents containing phosphonates. In antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the strain was only susceptible to sulfonamide, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol. Physiological and biochemical characteristics were determined using the BIOLOG EcoPlate assay. Most importantly, the strain was shown to convert D-malic acid and D-mannitol, as confirmed for strains of Delftia lacustris, and thus the new isolate could be closely related. Biodegradation tests with different phosphonates showed that the strain preferentially degrades ATMP and EDTMP but does not degrade glyphosate (GS) and amino (methylphosphonic acid) (AMPA). A specific gene amplification confirmed the presence of phnX (phosphonoacetaldehyde hydrolase) and the absence of PhnJ (the gene for the core component of C-P lyase). The presence of PhnCDE is strongly suggested for the strain, as it is common in Delftia lacustris species.}, subject = {Phosphonates; Biodegradation; PhnX; PhnJ; PhnCDE; Phosphonate; Biologischer Abbau; Mikrobieller Abbau; Waschmittel}, language = {en} } @article{MoralesGertigKotetal.2025, author = {Morales, Carlos and Gertig, Max and Kot, Małgorzata and Alvarado, Carlos and Schubert, Markus Andreas and Zoellner, Marvin Hartwig and Wenger, Christian and Henkel, Karsten and Flege, Jan Ingo}, title = {In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of atomic layer deposited ceria on SiO₂ : substrate influence on the reaction mechanism during the early stages of growth}, series = {Advanced Materials Interfaces}, volume = {12}, journal = {Advanced Materials Interfaces}, number = {5}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {2196-7350}, doi = {10.1002/admi.202400537}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) of cerium oxide using commercial Ce(thd)4 precursor and O₃ on SiO₂ substrates is studied employing in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The system presents a complex growth behavior determined by the change in the reaction mechanism when the precursor interacts with the substrate or the cerium oxide surface. During the first growth stage, non-ALD side reactions promoted by the substrate affect the growth per cycle, the amount of carbon residue on the surface, and the oxidation degree of cerium oxide. On the contrary, the second growth stage is characterized by a constant growth per cycle in good agreement with the literature, low carbon residues, and almost fully oxidized cerium oxide films. This distinction between two growth regimes is not unique to the CeOx/SiO₂ system but can be generalized to other metal oxide substrates. Furthermore, the film growth deviates from the ideal layer-by-layer mode, forming micrometric inhomogeneous and defective flakes that eventually coalesce for deposit thicknesses above 10 nm. The ALD-cerium oxide films present less order and a higher density of defects than films grown by physical vapor deposition techniques, likely affecting their reactivity in oxidizing and reducing conditions.}, subject = {ALD; Cerium oxide; Growth model; In-situ; XPS}, language = {en} } @article{vonWernerGlasauer2025, author = {von Werner, Dina and Glasauer, Stefan}, title = {Increased breathlessness in post-COVID syndrome despite normal breathing patterns in a rebreathing challenge}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {15}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-025-11728-x}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Severe symptoms in the absence of measurable body pathology are a frequent hallmark of post-COVID syndrome. From a Bayesian Brain perspective, such symptoms can be explained by incorrect internal models that the brain uses to interpret sensory signals. In this pre-registered study, we investigate whether induced breathlessness perception during a controlled CO2rebreathing challenge is reflected by altered respiratory measures (physiology and breathing patterns), and propose different computational mechanisms that could explain our findings in a Bayesian Brain framework. We analysed data from 40 patients with post-COVID syndrome and 40 healthy participants. Results from lung function, neurological and neurocognitive examination of all participants were within normal limits on the day of the experiment. Using a Bayesian repeated-measures ANOVA, we found that patients' breathlessness was strongly increased (BF10,baseline=8.029, BF10,rebreathing=11636, BF10,recovery=43662) compared to controls. When excluding patients who hyperventilated (N = 8, 20\%) during the experiment from the analysis, differences in breathlessness remained (BF10,baseline=1.283, BF10,rebreathing=126.812, BF10,recovery=751.282). For physiology and breathing patterns, all evidence pointed towards no difference between the two groups (0.307 > BF10 < 0.704). In summary, we found intact breathing patterns and physiology but increased symptom perception in patients with post-COVID syndrome.}, subject = {Cognitive neuroscience; Fatigue; Perception; Respiratory signs and symptoms; Sensorimotor processing}, language = {en} } @article{MartienssenRiedelKuehne2024, author = {Martienssen, Marion and Riedel, Ramona and K{\"u}hne, Tom}, title = {Contribution of professional cleaning to indoor air and sewage pollution}, series = {Sustainable Chemistry}, volume = {5}, journal = {Sustainable Chemistry}, number = {4}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2673-4079}, doi = {10.3390/suschem5040019}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:co1-opus4-71378}, pages = {275 -- 286}, year = {2024}, abstract = {In this study, several professional cleaning products were analyzed for their impact on local air and sewage contamination. The products were first analyzed for their content of potentially harmful ingredients, their biodegradability, and the potential for the mobilization of hazardous substances from the floorings that were cleaned. The contribution of the cleaning products to sewage pollution with environmentally hazardous substances was studied at full scale. All commercially available cleaning products studied were declared to be environmentally friendly (labeled with the EU Ecolabel). However, despite being labeled as "green" products, between 16 and 24 volatile harmful ingredients were identified. An optimized experimental product, produced completely from natural raw materials, also contained several harmful substances originating from the herbal raw materials themselves. During the field study, we identified a range of trace substances in the sewage. Eight of these substances (e.g., p-cymene, butanone, eucalyptol) significantly originated from the cleaning products. Several others may have originated from the cleaning products, but other sources were also possible. The flooring materials that were cleaned contained several harmful substances themselves. The release of some substances (e.g., toluene) into the sewage significantly increased during the cleaning process.}, subject = {Professional cleaning agents; Trace substances; Biodegradability; Sewage pollution; Environmental impact}, language = {en} } @article{MarkovaNenovaEnglerCordetal.2023, author = {Markova-Nenova, Nonka and Engler, Jan O. and Cord, Anna F. and W{\"a}tzold, Frank}, title = {Will passive acoustic monitoring make result-based payments more attractive? A cost comparison with human observation for farmland bird monitoring}, doi = {10.1111/csp2.13003}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Result-based payments (RBPs) reward land users for conservation outcomes and are a promising alternative to standard payments, which are targeted at specific land use measures. A major barrier to the implementation of RBPs, particularly for the conservation of mobile species, is the substantial monitoring cost. Passive acoustic monitoring may offer promising opportunities for low-cost monitoring as an alternative to human observation. We develop a costing framework for comparing human observation and passive acoustic monitoring and apply it to a hypothetical RBP scheme for farmland bird conservation. We consider three different monitoring scenarios: daytime monitoring for the whinchat and the ortolan bunting, nighttime monitoring for the gray partridge and the common quail, and day-and-night monitoring for all four species. We also examine the effect of changes in relevant parameters (such as participating area, travel distance and required monitoring time) on the cost comparison. Our results show that passive acoustic monitoring is still more expensive than human observation for daytime monitoring. In contrast, passive acoustic monitoring has a cost advantage for nighttime as well as day-and-nighttime monitoring in all considered scenarios.}, subject = {Performance-based payments; Monitoring costs; PAM; ARU; AudioMoth; Monitoringkosten; Ergebnishonorierung; Naturschutz; Landwirtschaft; Monitoring; V{\"o}gel; Erfolgshonorar; Kostenvergleich}, language = {en} } @article{TomasMarinRodriguezCalcerradaArenasCastroetal.2023, author = {Tom{\´a}s Mar{\´i}n, Sergio de and Rodr{\´i}guez-Calcerrada, J{\´e}sus and Arenas-Castro, Salvador and Prieto, Iv{\´a}n and Gonz{\´a}lez, Guillermo and Gil, Luis and Riva, Enrique G. de la}, title = {Fagus sylvatica and Quercus pyrenaica : two neighbors with few things in common}, series = {Forest Ecosystems}, volume = {10}, journal = {Forest Ecosystems}, publisher = {Beijing Foresty University}, address = {Beijing}, issn = {2197-5620}, doi = {10.1016/j.fecs.2023.100097}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The Iberian Peninsula comprises one of the largest boundaries between Mediterranean and Eurosiberian vegetation, known as sub-Mediterranean zone. This ecotone hosts many unique plant species and communities and constitutes the low-latitude (warm) margin of numerous central European species which co-occur with Mediterranean vegetation. Two of the main species found in this region are the Eurosiberian European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and the Mediterranean Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.). It remains unclear how the different physiological and adaptive strategies of these two species reflect their niche partitioning within a sub-Mediterranean community and to what extent phenotypic variation (intraspecific variability) is driving niche partitioning across Eurosiberian and Mediterranean species. We quantified functional niche partitioning, based on the n-dimensional hypervolume to nine traits related to resource acquisition strategies (leaf, stem and root) plus relative growth rate as an additional whole-plant trait, and the environmental niche similarity between Pyrenean oak and European beech. Further, we analyzed the degree of phenotypic variation of both target species and its relationship with relative growth rates (RGR) and environmental conditions. Plant recruitment was measured for both target species as a proxy for the average fitness. Species' functional space was highly segregated (13.09\% overlap), mainly due to differences in niche breadth (59.7\%) rather than niche replacement (25.6\%), and beech showed higher trait variability, i.e., had larger functional space. However, both species shared the environmental space, i.e., environmental niches were overlapped. Most plant traits were not related to abiotic variables or RGR, neither did RGR to plant traits. Both target species share similar environmental space, however, show notably different functional resource-use strategies, promoting a high complementarity that contributes to maintaining a high functionality in sub-Mediterranean ecosystems. Therefore, we propose that conservation efforts be oriented to preserve both species in these habitats to maximize ecosystem functionality and resilience.}, subject = {Environmental niche; European beech; Forest dynamics; Functional niche; Pyrenean oak; {\"O}kologische Nische; Europ{\"a}ische Buche; Walddynamik; Funktionelle Nische; Pyren{\"a}en-Eiche; Iberische Halbinsel; {\"O}koton; {\"O}kologische Nische; Rotbuche; Pyren{\"a}eneiche; Artenschutz; {\"O}kosystem}, language = {en} } @incollection{AscheidWangBirkeetal., author = {Ascheid, Gerd and Wang, Gaojian and Birke, Sebastian and Wehn, Norbert and Herrmann, Matthias and Wang, Yanlu and Hanay, Oner and Bayram, Erkan and Negra, Renato}, title = {LP100 : optimization of 100 Gb/s short range wireless transceivers under processing energy constraints}, series = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655}, booktitle = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655}, doi = {10.26127/BTUOpen-5906}, publisher = {BTU Cottbus - Senftenberg}, pages = {1 -- 35}, abstract = {In 2012 a group of researchers proposed a basic research initiative to the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a special priority project (SPP) with the name: Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond. The main goal of this initiative was the investigation of architectures, technologies and methods to go well beyond the state of the art. The target of 100 Gbps was set far away from the (at that time) achievable 1 Gbps such that it was not possible to achieve promising results just by tuning some parameters. We wanted to find breakthrough solutions. When we started the work on the proposal we discussed the challenges to be addressed in order to advancing the wireless communication speed significantly. Having the fundamental Shannon boundary in mind we discussed how to achieve the 100 Gbps speed.}, subject = {100 Gbps; Wireless; Drahtlos; Short range wireless transceiver; Kurzreichweiten-Funk-Transceiver; Drahtloses Sensorsystem; Hochfrequenztechnik; Antenne; Terahertzbereich; Energieffizienz}, language = {en} } @incollection{SteegTebartDuelmeetal., author = {Steeg, Matthias and Tebart, Jonas and D{\"u}lme, Sebastian and St{\"o}hr, Andreas and Exner, Florian and Czylwik, Andreas and Alissa, Mai and Kaiser, Thomas}, title = {Tera50+ : sub-mm-wave 100 Gbit/s fiber-wireless transmission system}, series = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655}, booktitle = {Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond : architectures, approaches and findings of German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Programme SPP1655}, doi = {10.26127/BTUOpen-5909}, publisher = {BTU Cottbus - Senftenberg}, pages = {75 -- 108}, abstract = {In 2012 a group of researchers proposed a basic research initiative to the German Research Foundation (DFG) as a special priority project (SPP) with the name: Wireless 100 Gbps and beyond. The main goal of this initiative was the investigation of architectures, technologies and methods to go well beyond the state of the art. The target of 100 Gbps was set far away from the (at that time) achievable 1 Gbps such that it was not possible to achieve promising results just by tuning some parameters. We wanted to find breakthrough solutions. When we started the work on the proposal we discussed the challenges to be addressed in order to advancing the wireless communication speed significantly. Having the fundamental Shannon boundary in mind we discussed how to achieve the 100 Gbps speed.}, subject = {100 Gbps; Wireless; Drahtlos; Tera50+; Fiber-wireless transmission system; Glasfaser-Funk-{\"U}bertragungssystem; Drahtloses Sensorsystem; Hochfrequenztechnik; Antenne; Terahertzbereich; Energieffizienz}, language = {en} } @article{SaraviaTrachte2025, author = {Saravia, Christian and Trachte, Katja}, title = {Spatiotemporal analysis of NH³ emission sources and their relation to land use types in the eastern German lowlands}, series = {Atmosphere}, volume = {16}, journal = {Atmosphere}, number = {3}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2073-4433}, doi = {10.3390/atmos16030346}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Ammonia (NH³) emissions, which are key precursors of fine particulate matter, pose significant environmental challenges. This study investigated the spatiotemporal variations in NH³ emissions across the eastern German lowlands from 2013 to 2022 using IASI-B satellite data. Five major Land Cover Classes (LCC) -tree, grassland, cropland, built-up areas, and water bodies- were analyzed. The results showed distinct diurnal variations, with nighttime NH³ concentrations exceeding 2.0 × 10¹⁶ molecules cm⁻² in the peak months. Seasonal patterns indicated significant emissions in March (1.2 × 10¹⁶ molecules cm⁻²), April (1.1 × 10¹⁶ molecules cm⁻²), and August (9.6 × 10¹⁵ molecules cm⁻²), while the lowest concentrations occurred in September (0.6 × 10¹⁵ molecules cm⁻²). Persistent hotspots were identified in the northwestern region, where emissions peaked in spring (1.8 × 10¹⁶ molecules cm⁻²) and summer (1.3 × 10¹⁶ molecules cm⁻²), primarily due to agricultural activities. Over the study period, the annual NH³ concentration peaked in 2015, 2018, and 2022. Using k-means clustering, three distinct emission zones were identified, with Cluster 3 showing the highest NH³ emission values, particularly in urban centers, and agricultural zones were identified, covering less than 20\% of the study area, where cropland predominates (8\%). Meteorological factors significantly influenced NH³ levels, with negative correlations obtained for precipitation, wind speed, and evaporation, while solar radiation, boundary layer height, and instantaneous moisture fluxes showed positive correlations. A case study from March 2022, employing the HYSPLIT trajectory model, confirmed that agricultural practices are the dominant NH³ source, with emissions reaching 3.2 × 10¹⁶ molecules cm⁻² in hotspot regions.}, subject = {Ammonia; Remote sensing; Land cover type; Spatiotemporal variability; Cluster k-means}, language = {en} } @article{KaestnerCaviedesVoulliemeHinz2025, author = {K{\"a}stner, Karl and Caviedes-Voulli{\`e}me, Daniel and Hinz, Christoph}, title = {Formation of spatial vegetation patterns in heterogeneous environments}, series = {PLOS One}, volume = {20}, journal = {PLOS One}, number = {5}, publisher = {PLOS}, address = {San Francisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324181}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Functioning of many resource-limited ecosystems is facilitated through spatial patterns. Patterns can indicate ecosystems productivity and resilience, but the interpretation of a pattern requires good understanding of its structure and underlying biophysical processes. Regular patterns are understood to form autogenously through self-organization, for which exogenous heterogeneities are negligible. This has been corroborated by reaction-diffusion models which generate highly regular patterns in idealized homogeneous environments. However, such model-generated patterns are considerably more regular than natural patterns, which indicates that the concept of autogenous pattern formation is incomplete. Models can generate patterns which appear more natural when they incorporate exogenous random spatial heterogeneities (noise), such as microtopography or spatially varying soil properties. However, the mechanism through which noise influences the pattern formation has not been explained so far. Recalling that irregular patterns can form through stochastic processes, we propose that regular patterns can form through stochastic processes as well, where spatial noise is filtered through scale-dependent biophysical feedbacks. First, we demonstrate that the pattern formation in nonlinear reaction-diffusion models is highly sensitive to noise. We then propose simple stochastic processes which can explain why and how random exogenous heterogeneity influences the formation of regular and irregular patterns. Finally, we derive linear filters which reproduce the spatial structure and visual appearance of natural patterns well. Our work contributes to a more holistic understanding of spatial pattern formation in self-organizing ecosystems.}, subject = {Linear filters; Anisotropy; Autocorrelation; Bandpass filters; Nonlinear systems}, language = {en} } @article{IjiomaIjiomaHerd2025, author = {Ijioma, Uche Dickson and Ijioma, Michael and Herd, Rainer}, title = {Assessment of quality and health risks in drinking water sources in Aba, Nigeria}, series = {Water Practice \& Technology}, volume = {20}, journal = {Water Practice \& Technology}, number = {4}, publisher = {IWA Publishing}, address = {London}, issn = {1751-231X}, doi = {10.2166/wpt.2025.042}, pages = {937 -- 953}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Unregulated urban activities significantly impact drinking water quality in many developing communities. This study applied a Water Safety Plan (WSP) to assess water quality, health risks, and the effects of harmful environmental practices in Aba, Nigeria, where the waterworks infrastructure is dysfunctional. The datasets used were collected from physicochemical, chemical, and bacteriological analyses of drinking water samples (natural sources: n ¼ 60, secondary sources: n ¼ 19), along with household surveys (120) and semi-structured expert interviews (10). Findings revealed that groundwater is the primary drinking water source, with most facilities classified as improved sources. However, poor sanitation practices, particularly improper septage disposal, were identified as major contributors to water contamination. Risk assessments based on hazard quotient/index (HQ/HI < 1) indicated low health concerns overall, but higher risks were observed in areas with intense urbanization. Bacteriological analysis showed severe contamination in the Aba River, while sachet water posed significant health risks due to the presence of E. coli and total coliform bacteria in some cases. Despite existing environmental policies in Nigeria, weak institutional frameworks and ineffective local governance hinder effective water quality management. Addressing these challenges requires stronger regulatory enforcement and locally adapted strategies to ensure safe drinking water access.}, subject = {Drinking water quality; Hazard quotient/index; Microbial quality; Nigeria; Water safety plan}, language = {en} } @article{BucherDjoudiBirkhofer2025, author = {Bucher, Roman and Djoudi, El Aziz and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Land‑use impacts on crop yield : direct and indirect roles of arthropods and associated ecosystem services in European farmland}, series = {Landscape Ecology}, volume = {40}, journal = {Landscape Ecology}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1572-9761}, doi = {10.1007/s10980-025-02117-w}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Land-use intensification to increase yields is often detrimental to biodiversity undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, it is questionable if ecosystem service providers contribute to ecological intensification by achieving the same or higher yields than conventional high-intensity agriculture. In this study, we aimed to disentangle the effects of local and landscape-scale land-use intensification on arthropod communities and their contribution to ecosystem services and crop yield. A set of meta-analytic structural equation models allowed us to assess direct and indirect relationships in the cascade from land use to yield. We selected 37 datasets containing information on land use, community composition, levels of pollination and natural pest control services, and crop yield. We quantified functional diversity of communities by collecting trait information for three exemplary groups of service-providers: bees, ground beetles, and spiders. Local land-use intensification reduced the abundance of all arthropod groups. Spiders were the only group whose species richness was negatively related to a higher percentage of arable land in the landscape. High abundance of bees related positively to oilseed rape pollination and crop yields. In the models for the two predator groups, crop yield was strongly determined by land use, independent of the pest control services provided by natural enemies. Our results suggest a potential for ecological intensification mediated by land-use change in crops where pollination benefits yield, but suggest more nuanced effects for pest control. Our study also calls for experiments on multiple taxonomic groups and ecosystem services that apply comparable methods at similar scales.}, subject = {Agroecology; Ecological intensification; Meta-analytic structural equation models; Pollination; Pest control}, language = {en} } @article{HozadAbendroth2025, author = {Hozad, Ahmad Shabir and Abendroth, Christian}, title = {Electro-composting : an emerging technology}, series = {Fermentation}, volume = {7}, journal = {Fermentation}, number = {11}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2311-5637}, doi = {10.3390/fermentation11070401}, year = {2025}, abstract = {This study focuses on electrical stimulation for composting. Using the PSALSAR method, a comprehensive systematic review analysis identified 22 relevant articles. The examined studies fall into four main systems: electric field-assisted aerobic composting (EAAC), electrolytic oxygen aerobic composting (EOAC), microbial fuel cells (MFCs), and thermoelectric generators (TEGs). Apart from the main systems highlighted above, bioelectrochemically assisted anaerobic composting (AnCBE, III) is discussed as an underexplored system with the potential to improve the efficiency of anaerobic degradation. Each system is described in terms of key materials, composter design, operating conditions, temperature evolution, compost maturity, microbial community, and environmental outcomes. EAAC and EOAC systems accelerate organic matter decomposition by improving oxygen distribution and microbial activity, whereas MFC and TEG systems have dual functioning due to the energy generated alongside waste degradation. These innovative systems not only significantly improve composting efficiency by speeding up organic matter breakdown and increasing oxygen supply but also support sustainable waste management by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating bioelectricity or heat. Together, these systems overcome the drawbacks of conventional composting systems and promote future environmental sustainability solutions.}, subject = {Electric field-assisted; Composting; Bioelectrochemical treatment; Energy generation; Waste management}, language = {en} } @article{KotGawlińskaNęcekPożarowskaetal.2025, author = {Kot, Małgorzata and Gawlińska-Nęcek, Katarzyna and Pożarowska, Emilia and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter}, title = {Photosensitivity and carrier densities of perovskite solar absorbers}, series = {Advanced Science}, volume = {12}, journal = {Advanced Science}, number = {16}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {2198-3844}, doi = {10.1002/advs.202412711}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Dark and light current-voltage characteristics of perovskite solar absorbers are analyzed in terms of their carrier densities. The analysis reveals p-type large polarons as a dominant carrier type in the investigated perovskite solar cells. The mechanism causing photosensitivity is attributed to the dissociation (and pairing) of bipolarons to large polarons (and vice versa) that are controlled by the internal potential Γ. As an example, the polaron concept is tested for a formamidinium lead triiodide perovskite solar cell. The individual steps of the data analysis are demonstrated and determine the ionicity factor of this perovskite film, quantify the density of the large polarons, and predict the gain and loss of photo-induced carriers. It is deduced that a reversible light-on/off operation can only occur when the bias voltage never exceeds a critical value of the internal potential. The results gained in this study suggest that the novel analysis can be successively applied on different hybrid perovskite materials, too.}, subject = {Bipolarons; Ionicity factor; Large polarons; Perovskite solar cells}, language = {en} }