@masterthesis{Zlati, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Zlati, Felicia}, title = {Production and detection of polyhydroxybutyrate by Azohydromonas lata}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-3905}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {76}, abstract = {The aim of the project was to produce, identify and quantify PHB. The bacterial strain Azohydromonas lata was cultured in multiple batch processes and the accumulation of biopolymer was observed. The following results were obtained after 50 hours of a 3L batch fermentation: a dry cell weight of 3.197 g/L, a PHB concentration of 1.939 g/L and a PHB content of 60.65\%. Subsequently, the same set-up was extrapolated to an 8L batch fermentation, which yielded in a dry cell weight, PHB concentration and PHB content of 2.964 g/L, 1.090 g/L and 36.79\%, respectively. The synthesized biopolymer was recovered from the bacterial cells in two ways, namely by SDS digestion and by chloroform Soxhlet extraction. Afterwards, three analytical methods were tested for detecting and quantifying the produced PHB. Fermentation samples stained with the Nile Red dye were analysed with both fluorescence microscopy and spectrofluorometry, and the presence of PHB granules could be confirmed. Both methods showed promising results, but further optimization is still necessary. Finally, the chloroform extracted PHB samples were successfully analysed using HPLC. The HPLC method proved to reliably identify and to relatively accurately quantify the recovered PHB.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{AtenkengTendong, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Atenkeng Tendong, Jean Carlos}, title = {The Economic, Social and Environmental Valuation of the Hambach Forest.}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-3732}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {Forest ecosystems provide mankind with economic, social and environmental benefits called ecosystem goods and services. More often than not, some of these benefits are either mutually exclusive or come with negative impacts on the society or the environment. Hence, estimating the monetary value of these benefits is essential in decision making and policies on scarce natural resources. This thesis aims at estimating the monetary value of about 200 ha of the remaining Hambach forest which was once about 8,500 ha. In recent years, this forest has been the focus of numerous protests from environmentalists who believe that the German energy company RWE should not continue cutting down forest trees in order to extract its rich lignite reserves for electricity production. The environmentalists cite the loss of biodiversity and climate change as the base of their argument but fail to support this statement with an actual valuation study of the existing forest. On the contrary, RWE values the Hambach mine at €4 to €5 billion. In this light, this thesis makes a generous attempt at placing a monetary value on the 200 ha of Hambach forest using benefit transfer and meta-analysis as the main valuation techniques. Moreover, other techniques for a possible primary valuation project are elucidated. Besides, the social and environmental impacts of lignite mining are examined. Eventually, the obtained results are analyzed and discussed along with a concluding chapter on possible solutions and subsequent developments.}, language = {en} } @misc{Shaji, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Shaji, Anith}, title = {The Implementation and Enhancement of Timesheet Management Process Based on Stored Procedure via .NET}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-3411}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {81}, abstract = {Stored Procedures perform a significant role in the implementation of complex business logic in the database management system. Web-based application systems that handle a large amount of data with complex calculation and transformation rules, they prove to improve the system efficiency, maintainability, data integrity and reliability to a large extent. This research will attempt to enhance a FoxPro based timesheet management system by implementing a web-driven Relational Database Management System with SQL based stored procedure and user-defined functions for faster and efficient data processing. The thesis explores the issues and the processing stages of the current timesheet management process and develops user-friendly responsive intranet online web-application portal with minimal processing steps. That accomplished by writing the processing logic using stored procedures in association with the user-defined table-valued and scalar-valued function in SQL Server and integrating them with Entity Framework three-tier web application architecture in ASP.NET MVC. The final timesheet booking data generated by the stored procedure is modified to a specific format using SpreadsheetLight, an open source spreadsheet library for the .NET framework for uploading the output booking file on SAP Business ByDesign web portal. Outcomes show that using stored procedures in a comprehensive business application can enhance the application performance by lessening the processing time and processing stages.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Bravin, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Bravin, Luca}, title = {Nanoprobe-based immuno-LAMP for Whole-pot Nucleic Acid-Antigen co-detection}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {Point-of-Care testing (POCT) is a novel approach that aims to fill in the gaps by bringing state-of-art technologies to the field outside of the clinics. Several aspects of these novel technologies are currently challenging their real-world application as their use is often limited to centralized locations. Nevertheless, novel engineering approaches coupled with the current technological development are now working towards new platforms that could potentially serve to deliver these technologies at a decentralized level. Microfluidic platforms, LFAs, DNA microarrays and others are novel tools that are being explored for their potential impact in the development of Point-of-care (POC) technologies. These platforms altogether allow for the processing of a very small amount of sample in a semi-automated, miniaturized, portable device that requires little to no training from the user side. Furthermore, they allow to reach clinically-relevant results within the same device in a short amount of time without the need for logistic or time resources. Nevertheless, the sensitivity and accuracy offered by these methods is often of a lower degree when compared to standard laboratory tests. Therefore, new approaches are being explored which involve the integration of cutting-edge nanotechnology to POCT. In this project, the proof of concept of an assay for the dual detection of nucleic acid and protein biomarker was attempted using a DNA amplification technique also called, commonly referred to as immuno-PCR (iPCR). Although PCR is the most known and developed assay, this assay was designed to work with the LAMP assay. This novel technique allows the isothermal amplification of nucleic acid within a relative short incubation time thus making this a perfect candidate for a potential POC platform to be used in RLS. Furthermore, the use of different nanoprobes in the assay enabled the improvement of several aspects of the test which allows to achieve similar results to the current standard methods. Several constraints related to the use of this novel technology challenge the application of such tests field. Nevertheless, the integration of this test in a microarray platform could overcome these limitations, offering a platform that could potentially detect multiple diseases within the same test on a LOC format. Although iLAMP platform remains a promising alternative for the development of next-generation nucleic acid-based POCT, further research will be needed to assess the performance of this assay with clinical samples and determine the feasibility of DNA microarray-based detection}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Ibor, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Ibor, Stan}, title = {Implementation of an adaptive control loop on an FPGA microcontroller for a Torque Sensor Calibration rig and optimization of the mechanical design to realize smallest possible uncertainties}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-3304}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {101}, abstract = {A statement on the accuracy of the result of a torque calibration is expressed as a measurement uncertainty (Bell, 1999). This measurement uncertainty is derived from a measurement uncertainty budget which considers contributing factors on the measurement uncertainty and the degree to which these factors influence the measurement uncertainty. Measurement uncertainties arise from different sources such as the measuring item, measuring instruments, environment, the operator and other sources (Bell, 1999). This work seeks to investigate the contributions arising from the afore-mentioned sources on the measurement uncertainties of the lower range (i.e. 5 to 200 Nm) of a HBM 2 kNm reference type torque calibration rig. This work also presents a software implementation of a control loop on an FPGA microcontroller using the graphical programming language LabVIEW. The design of the control system on the FPGA isn't done using VHDL (Very high speed integration circuit Hardware Description Language) but LabVIEW FPGA module from National Instruments. The control system would consists of torque and position control features.}, language = {en} } @misc{Voss, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Voß, Julia}, title = {The effectiveness of mental practice on novices' basketball free throw performance: Differentiation between external and internal visual imagery}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-3231}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {124}, abstract = {Purpose: The present study aims to investigate the acute effects of mental practice on novices' basketball free throw performance and their motor self-efficacy. Moreover, it is examined whether internal visual imagery combined with kinesthetic elements enhances performance more than external visual imagery. Methods: In order to test the research questions, a sample of 61 participants who are currently not participating in any type of basketball program were assigned to one of the following three conditions with the help of the matched sample method: The internal visual imagery group with kinesthetic elements, the external visual imagery group, and the control group. The experimental interventions with a duration of 15 minutes (mental imagery internal or external or mathematic exercises) followed by physical practice were repeated three times in a row. Consequently, the basketball free throw enhancement was measured via the shot accuracy. The results were compared by using an ANOVA with repeated measurements. Changes in the participants' motor self-efficacy were assessed via a pre- and a post-test of the MOSI (Wilhelm and B{\"u}sch, 2006). Results: Results showed no significant differences between the groups, neither in the performance increase nor in the self-efficacy. Conclusion: The current study can serve as a reference point to avoid overestimating the effectiveness of mental practice. Findings are discussed in terms of possible explanations and hints for future research are given.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Kunze, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Kunze, Tobias}, title = {Effects of management during the pre-weaning, weaning and postweaning period on the development of calves}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-3174}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {An efficient rearing process, consisting of pre-weaning, weaning and postweaning phase is integral to any operation seeking herd replacements. The results of multiple publications focusing on different aspects of calf development were reviewed and compared. Throughout the rearing process the calf's development is influenced heavily by the feeding treatment, and consequent nutritional level. This can effect calf development as early as the fetal stage. Intensive and ad libitum feeding treatments during the pre-weaning phase can lower mortality rate, while also helping to achieve an early onset of puberty, target weights for insemination, an optimal age at first calving and an increased lifetime productivity. Feeding milk replacer instead of whole milk when employing these treatments may mitigate the risk of fat deposition, ensuring proper mammary development. Additionally, combining intensive or ad libitum feeding treatments with a step-down weaning plan can work to mitigate postweaning growth depression. Feedstuff that results in an increased production of volatile fatty acids has a significant positive influence on rumen development, although dietary fiber needs to then be included to buffer rumen pH. Housing calves in groups may have the benefit of increasing animal welfare and results in the exhibition of more natural and social behaviors. Nonetheless, all efforts in optimizing management decisions to improve calf development can be rendered obsolete if proper hygiene is not enforced, resulting in disease outbreaks and increased mortality rates.}, language = {en} } @misc{Franzaring, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Franzaring, Imke}, title = {Predicting Plasma Donation Intention Using an Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {The urgent need for plasma and its components is increasing rapidly all over the world. This is due to demographic changes, which bring about an imbalance between eligible donors and possible future recipients. Hence, these changes pose a great challenge in meeting the demand for plasma and plasma-derived products in the future. As plasma cannot be synthesized, recipients depend on voluntary plasma donors. In order to ensure a sufficient supply of plasma considering the ongoing process of aging population, it is crucial to understand why people engage in donation behavior and which factors influence their decision to maintain the donor career. The current study investigates the determinants of plasma donation intention using an extended version of the theory of planned behavior. As the study is conducted in cooperation with Octapharma Plasma GmbH, a subsidiary of one of the largest worldwide operating providers for plasma preparations, the analysis is based on the company's donors only. By using an online questionnaire, data of N = 1153 plasma donors is surveyed in order to examine the hypotheses. Multiple hierarchical regressions reveal significant predictors for plasma donation intention for all donors combined and also for both first-time and repeat plasma donors. Across all donor stages, self-efficacy turns out to be the predominant predictor for future donation intention. Moreover, the satisfaction with the last donation influences all groups of plasma donors in their decision of career maintenance. Therefore, organizations should pay attention to these components, developing strategies to enhance both donors' self-efficacy and donation satisfaction.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Ciornii, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Ciornii, Stanislav}, title = {Competitive advantage}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {The competitive advantage within certain market directly depends on the composition and characteristics of resources/capabilities that are possessed by competing organizations. This is the reason, why it is so significant to realize what enterprises have and what they do, or could implement well. Thus, have been elaborated several concepts (including Resource Based View) for analyzing and understanding such complex information.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Hoeft, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {H{\"o}ft, Mattis}, title = {Influence of humic acids on nutrient use efficiency of three phosphorus sources in a sandy soil}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-2978}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {74}, abstract = {A pot trial was conducted under greenhouse conditions to assess the effect of humic acid (HA) application in combination with rock phosphate (RP) on the plant phosphorus (P) nutrient use efficiency (NUE), in comparison to the performance of struvite (ST) and triple superphosphate (TSP) amended plants. A sandy soil, exhibiting a low P content, was used in combination with a lignite derived, liquid humic acid product, with a HA content of 4.8 \%. Nine groups of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) were set up as experimental plants, in replications of six, each containing 4.5 kg air dry soil with a P supply of 27 mg P kg-1 soil, causing P deficiency during the experiment. HA was applied at rates of 1, 30 and 100 mg kg-1 soil, directly to the soil as coated RP or as foliar application. Aboveground biomass was harvested biweekly, five times in total. Amendment performance was evaluated by analysing plant biomass, soil pH, plant phosphorus-, carbon-, nitrogen-, iron-, zinc-, manganese- and boron contents. The label doses of 1 mg kg-1 soil as well as 100-fold increases in HA concentration didn't result in a significant difference in plant shoot or root growth and P NUE compared to untreated plants. Positive trends were displayed at higher foliar application rates. Plant tissue micronutrient concentrations of HA treated samples were generally lower and partly significantly lower than the control. The detected effects were accredited to the hormone-like influence of HA on plants' metabolism and the ability to alter soil conditions. The lack of calcium in ST amended samples resulted in better plant P availability, significantly higher P uptake and better shoot biomass development. Trends show that ST could be applied in combination with HA to further increase plants P NUE in the future.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Schlossarek, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Schlossarek, Nina Tangyue}, title = {FinTechs in Germany - Current Status and Potential Impact on the Financial System}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {The development of technologies that created FinTechs have brought new possibilities for customers into life that provide a quick and convenient handling of operations by covering various segments of the financial industry. However, the innovations also implicate drawbacks: Traditional banks may be threatened due to a loss of customers. This thesis evaluates to which extent this case can be measured by executing quantitative research methods as well as qualitative research methods for the purpose of gaining information from a bank's perspective as well as opinions from customers. The result of this empirical study is that there is a certain correlation between the development of FinTechs and a threat caused by FinTechs although the latter is rather weak. Furthermore, this thesis indicates the knowledge of customers regarding FinTechs and their willingness to face said innovations.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Chow, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Chow, Kan Kau}, title = {Comparison of Eight Human Tumour Cell Lines and Their Responses to Low-Dose Reactive Oxygen Species}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-2746}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {51}, abstract = {Cancer as a wide range of life threatening diseases causes over 600,000 death across the US annually. Despite advances in oncology, this exemplifies the need for new avenues in cancer treatment. Tumour cells often display altered susceptibility to reactive species-induced cell death, and changes in redox signalling pathways. Therefore, utilizing reactive species to complement existing therapies may improve therapeutic success. Cold physical plasma is a potent source of reactive species. In this bachelor study, low-dose plasma-generated reactive species and bulk hydrogen peroxide were assessed for their effects on cancer cell growth, morphology, surface marker profile, and transcriptional profile of redox-related target genes. Using eight different cell lines, cell type-specific and non-specific effects were observable. Although the low dose of ROS caused relatively mild effects on altering cell viability and phenotype, it showed significant and specific effects in gene expression, which might be used for further studies utilizing ROS in tumour therapy.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Bezirgyanova, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Bezirgyanova, Gergana}, title = {Determination of the polyhydroxyalkanoate content in bacteria by gel permeation chromatography}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-2669}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {Polyhydroxyalkanoates are popular biopolymers which pertain to the biodegradable polymers group. This scientific work aims to examine the production of PHA polymers via microbial fermentation and employ fast methods for extraction and characterization of the polymer. Analytical methods as gel permeation chromatography, fluorescence microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to determine whether the polymer was produced or extracted successfully. Until now no fast method for this polyester of interest was invented. Multiple fermentations of the bacteria Pseudomonas Oleovorans were cultivated under different operation modes with octanoic acid as a substrate. Afterwards, various cell disruption methods involving some chemical treatment with etylenediaminetetraaceic acid and critical carbon dioxide drying were used to destroy the gram-negative bacteria. All in all, the results from gel permeation chromatography were correlated with the ones from Raman spectroscopy, but the methods failed to identify the presence of the desired polyhydroxyalkanoate or any of its monomers from the fermentations.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Grabowski, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Grabowski, Laura}, title = {The Demand for Change Management in the German Financial Service Sector}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-2784}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {66}, abstract = {The thesis contributes to the research field of change management by conducting empirical research and by analyzing how the changes in the financial service sector can be managed regarding the example of Bank X. Following questions are researched: Why is there a demand for change in the financial service sector and how can financial service providers shape the future and cope with changes? According to the methodological approach the thesis firstly draws on a literature review in order to evaluate the demand for change management. Then the thesis, in the empirical part, applies the method LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® with regard to the case of Bank X for deriving possible ideas how a financial service provider can cope with change. In the findings five categories are outlined, which can be seen as fields of actions, describing how financial service providers can cope with change.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Dams, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Dams, Anne}, title = {Import of liquid fertilizer from the Netherlands into the district of Kleve - A look at sustainability}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {This study analysed the import of liquid fertilizer from the Netherlands to the district of Kleve. Through the assessment of the situation the core question and the subquestions are tryed to be answered. These questions cover the amounts of fertilizer and the reasons for importing, the legal limitations as well as the environmental effects of the imports. By the literature research the N{\"a}hrstoffbericht of North-Rhine Westphalia 2014 was the most important source. The liquid fertilizer amounts that are imported from the Netherlands are rising. Environmental effects can be observed in the open and groundwaters as well as in the emissions into the air. Improving the animal husbandy with regards to less nitrogen and phosphours inputs by feeding and to emissions into the air through liquid manure storage and spreading. Moreover, the precise use and processing of liquid manure can lead to economical benefits and lighten the environment. A sustainable system for the nutrient cycling is not yet available. Further improvements in liquid manure processing and emission reduction are necessary.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Oh, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Oh, Hyeryeon}, title = {45S5 Bioglass scaffold coated with a drug loaded mesoporous bioactive glass for bone tissue engineering}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-2689}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {48}, abstract = {Bioactive glass scaffold is a promising substitute of the bone grafts in bone tissue engineering. To improve its potential in bone repair, it needs to be more mechanically stable and provide a controlled drug delivery. Thus, 45S5 Bioglass® scaffolds that are fabricated via a foam replication technique, are coated with the amine-functionalized mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles by the slurry dip coating method. These nanoparticles are able to load the therapeutic biomolecules in their mesopores in size range of 2-50 nm and release the drug at a controlled rate when they are exposed to a physiological fluid. The compressive strength of the scaffolds is improved by coating them with gelatin, a biocompatible polymer. The influence of these modifications on the bioactivity of the scaffolds is analyzed by immersing them in the simulated body fluid for up to 21 days. FTIR and XRD analysis confirms that the coating of bioglass nanoparticles and gelatin does not inhibit the formation of the hydroxyapatite layer, while it improves the drug loading capacity and mechanical strength of the scaffolds.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Tanzin, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Tanzin, Tamanna}, title = {Assessment of growth and yield potential of different vegetable amaranth type in Kleve, Germany}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-2711}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {57}, abstract = {Amaranthus belongs to the Amaranthaceae family which has approximately 70 species. It is considered as an underutilized plant but some research in the recent years showed that it is a promising plant for future nutrition supply. Amaranths are widely known for its nutritional value and their easy growing habit. This underutilized plant can become a good option for the commercial growers because it is easy to grow, it has high nutritional value and low maintenance cost. Many species of the Amaranthus genus are known as annual weeds, some are used as a vegetable and ornamental plants, some are known as pseudocereals which are mainly used for their grain. The core objective of this study was to assess the growth and yield potential of different vegetable amaranths to select a suitable variety for Kleve, Germany. Eight vegetable amaranths variety (Leafy variety and Stem variety) were grown in the experimental garden of Hochschule Rhein-Waal University. A seed germination test was also conducted at thelife science lab to observe the best seed germination rate at different temperatures. Plant height, number of leaves per plant were measured continuously after two weeks of sowing till the harvest week. The fresh and dry weight of leaf, stem and root were measured after final harvest. The statistical analysis of growth and yield performance of stem and leafy varieties were done separately. Leafy varieties showed a high variation in yield and germination rate than stem varieties. Leafy variety 'Surinamese Spinach'(L7) and 'Marog Green' (L8) excelled in all yield parameters whereas 'Chinese Spinach' (L6) was consistent in low growth and yield. Stem variety 'Danta Bhutan' (S2) and 'Danta Lusina' (S3) showed low yield performance. All the varieties showed a high germination rate above 20°C in seed germination test.}, language = {en} } @misc{Nawaz, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Nawaz, Muhammad Ahsan}, title = {Automatic Classification of a Customer's Vertical Market by Using Text Mining}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {The German logistics company Schenker AG categorizes its customers into so-called vertical markets. For instance; category "Automotive" is assigned to car manufacturer BMW AG. The classification allows the company to evaluate its revenue and profits on different customer segments which, in turn, has an impact on Schenker's strategic planning. Until now the assignment is carried out manually which means that someone from sales department should perform some research on a customer's public profile whenever a new customer is registered in the database. With the rapid growth of global trade in recent years and Schenker's expansion to the Asian market with thousands of new customers the manual approach is no longer sustainable in a global market. This thesis provides an alternative solution based on scraping customer data available in the web and classification of the extracted content. We deal with three significant difficulties: find web data related to a given customer name (we do have a company name but no homepage URL in Schenker database), extract a predictive portion of the data without introducing too much noise and, finally, set up a classification algorithm. Most importantly, the whole process needs to be implemented automatically. For the classification task, we have identified two tree-based classification algorithms random forest and extreme gradient boosting (xgboost). Random forest performs better by using package ranger with an overall 52\% accuracy and 87.8\% multiclass area under the curve. On the other hand, xgboost takes less time to compute, but the accuracy is poor as compared to random forest.}, subject = {Text classification}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Szewczyk, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Szewczyk, Mateusz}, title = {A Novel Multiphase Slug Flow Tubular Photobioreactor for the Cultivation of Unicellular Photosynthetic Organisms}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-2488}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {70}, abstract = {Microalgae cultivation offers a sustainable alternative to another production organisms that are used in biotechnological industry - since they are able to remove carbon dioxide from atmosphere and various nutrients from wastewater, converting them into various products. However, due to lack of efficient and cost-effective cultivation methods, the development of this branch of biotechnology is not as rapid as anticipated. This thesis introduces a novel multiphase slug flow tubular photobioreactor as a potential solution to some of the aforementioned problems. The novel photobioreactor combines the advantages of slug flow regime and tubular photobioreactors: enhanced mass transfer and mixing rates as well as enlarged illumination area. The main goal of this thesis was the construction and implementation of this novel photobioreactor design. In order to achieve this, various experiments have been conducted, including toxicity assessment of organic solvents and hydrodynamics tests of the three-phase slug flow into long microchannels. The toxicity assessment revealed that n-decane and sunflower oil are the most biocompatible of the tested solvents. It was also found that all the examined alkanes allow fairly stable slug flow generation in a 1mm ID capillary as opposed to sunflower oil, which was found not suitable for that capillary diameter, as it caused its blockage. The results of the final experiment reveal that there is still a lot of room for improvement in the novel photobioreactor concept, as it was found that the biomass concentration decreases over time of cultivation. It was hypothesized that the reason for the cell number decrease is the improved mixing and mass transfer rate that enhanced toxicity of the organic solvent.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Richter, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Richter, Sebastiaan}, title = {The influence of lime, iron sulphate-lime mixtures, and iron compounds on bioavailable phosphorous}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {Available nutrients for higher plants in the soil are crucial in agriculture and can be repressed by farming practices. The objective of this thesis was to determine if the application of a lime-FeSO4 mixture reduces the available phosphorus for higher plants further than conventional liming. For this, soils from the Lower Rhine region in Germany with different soil properties were collected, treated with different applications, and incubated over a predefined time. Aerobic and anaerobic conditions were created by raising the soils' water content to 50\% and 100\% of their maximum water holding capacity. Bioavailable phosphorus was extracted from the incubated samples with the Calcium-acetate-lactate (CAL) method, and analysed in the Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). Statistical analysis was conducted with the open-source program "R for statistical computing". Results showed that not the treatment but rather the type of soil had a significant effect on the phosphorus availability. At some extent the WHC significantly influenced the phosphorus availability. In general, lime-FeSO4 mixtures showed a tendency to have higher phosphorus availability than conventional liming. Effects of long-term field application cannot be determined because the experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions for a limited time. For farming, further field experiments and monitoring of fields where the lime-FeSO4 mixtures are regularly applied can exclude negative long-term effects and determine sufficient the effect of lime-FeSO4 mixtures on bioavailable phosphorus.}, language = {en} } @misc{Mahanta, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Mahanta, Arindam}, title = {Workflow optimization based on testing of an industrial control application, within a model-based development environment}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {This Master's thesis was written in cooperation with Jungheinrich Moosburg AG \& CO. KG as a part of its development of counterbalance forklift trucks with hydrostatic drivetrain. The work in this thesis aims in optimizing the current model-based development workflow of the application software in the context of testing. The failure or malfunction of the drive- or service-hydraulics of a counter- balanced forklift truck is inevitably linked to the endangerment of human life. This calls for ensuring the functional correctness of the entire system throughout the development process. Both in the hardware and software quality assurance, the goal is always to reduce the risk of errors to an acceptable level. Within the scope of the development of automotive control applications, dynamic testing in the form of Model-in-the-Loop (MiL) simulations plays an important role. At this point, the selection of proper test cases is crucial, and to address this point, application of systematic test design techniques and testing methods have been studied as a part of this work. In terms of quality assurance for embedded software, model-based testing enables systematic and effective testing at a relatively low cost. In model-based testing, the test cases in whole or in parts, are generated from the developed model that describes the functional aspects of the system under test (SUT). Both black- box and white-box testing methods have been studied for this work. For black- box testing, test design techniques as the combinatorial testing and classification tree method have been applied and evaluated. The designed test cases have been imported and applied to the SUT in MATLAB/Simulink. A workflow for carrying out the unit testing is proposed and a framework is developed for automating the unit testing process. This thesis aims to provide a road map for effective unit testing through the application of established testing techniques. The application of these techniques have demonstrated their effectiveness in detecting and evaluating potential errors in the software units. Suggestions for improvements in the line of achieving complete automation for the testing process have also been pointed out.}, language = {en} } @misc{Hoernschemeyer, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {H{\"o}rnschemeyer, Heike}, title = {Development of a Usability Capability Self-Assessment Tool for Improvement and Monitoring of Human-Centred Design in Small and Medium-Sized Companies}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-2433}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, pages = {86}, abstract = {Usability is an important quality aspect of software products. Today, companies need to be capable to develop software with good usability to stay competitive. This can be achieved by practicing human-centred design (HCD) during the development process. However, especially small and medium-sized software enterprises (SMEs) still practice HCD on a low level, if at all. This thesis explores whether and how the approach of process capability assessment can support SMEs with a systematic improvement of HCD. It is shown that a process capability assessment for usability at SMEs can only be successful, when the first steps of initiating HCD are al-ready done. Then, a process assessment approach seems to be useful to systematically improve the usability capability at SMEs. Based on this theoretical background, a usability capability self-assessment tool tailored for SMEs is developed. It has a simplified assessment procedure and uses the DIN EN ISO 9241-220 as reference model. The self-assessment tool was applied at two German software SMEs to test whether the approach is useful for SMEs and whether the reference model is suitable. The results indicate that the usability self-assessment tool is a promising approach for future SMEs as several interesting applications were identified. The chosen reference model seems to be an appropriate choice for a self-assessment; only the complex language used in the standard impedes the assessment. All in all, the thesis lays the foundation for a systematic approach to support SMEs with usability.}, language = {en} }