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This paper presents an analytical method for determining the bending stresses and deformations in prismatic, noncircular profile shafts with trochoidal cross sections. The so-called higher trochoids can be used as form-fit shaft-hub connections. Hybrid (mixed) higher trochoids (M-profiles) were developed for the special application as a profile contour for the form-fit shaft and hub connections in an earlier work by the author. M-profiles combine the advantages of the two standardised polygonal and spline contours, which are used as shaft-hub connections for the transmission of high torques. In this study, the geometric and mechanical properties of the higher hybrid trochoids were investigated using complex functions to simplify the calculations. The pure bending stress and shaft deflection were determined for M-profiles using bending theory based on the theory of mathematical elasticity. The loading cases consisted of static and rotating bends. Analytical, numerical, and experimental results agreed well. The calculation formulas developed in this work enable reliable and low-cost dimensioning with regard to the stresses and elastic deformations of profile shafts subjected to bending loads.
Hypotrochoidal profile contours have been produced in industrial applications in recent years using two-spindle processes, and they are considered effective high-quality solutions for form-fit shaft and hub connections. This study mainly concerns analytical approaches to determine the stresses and deformations in hypotrochoidal profile shafts due to pure bending loads. The formulation was developed according to bending principles using the mathematical theory of elasticity and conformal mappings. The loading was further used to investigate the rotating bending behaviour. The stress factors for the classical calculation of maximum bending stresses were also determined for all those profiles presented and compiled in the German standard DIN3689-1 for practical applications. The results were also compared with the corresponding numerical and experimental results, and very good agreement was observed. Additionally, based on previous work, the stress factor was determined for the case of torsional loading to calculate the maximum torsional stresses in the standardised profiles, and the results are listed in a table. This study contributes to the further refinement of the current DIN3689 standard.
Boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes offer some excellent electrochemical properties, including the widest potential window in aqueous solutions, low background currents and good chemical and mechanical stability. They can also be produced transparent and could offer a great potential for spectroelectrochemical (SEC) experiments. However, to reach the mentioned electrical properties for such optically transparent electrodes (OTE), heavy doping is needed to increase conductivity. The introduction of boron in return reduces the transparency significantly. This work investigates the effect of introducing an alternative path for electrons in the form of an highly conductive get transparent interlayer which could increase the conductivity without increasing the BDD film or the doping level supporting high transparency in the visible (Vis) and ultraviolet (UV) regime. This work furthermore investigates possible interlayers for this application and implements four of them in two BDD OTE samples which are extensively studied by electrical, optical and electrochemical methods. An ultra-thin metal film (UTMF) of titanium (Ti) is shown to decrease the electrochemical resistance by 2.4kOhms while decreasing the transparency of a BDD OTE by only 11%.
China is planning to rebuild the ancient Silk Road into a modern infrastructre network, spanning Asia, Central Asia and Europe. The investements are high and are not paying off. This thesis is exploring the political reasons for China's plans and the impact the initiative has on the Chinese-Kazakh relationship.
Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) as a means of public transportation is set to revolutionize the mobility behavior of elderly people in the coming future. Though the vehicle manufacturers and corporates emphasize on potential benefits of AVs to elderly citizens, very little has been researched and studied about this large cohort (age 65+) in society. This study aims to measure the experience of the elderlies in this Highly Automat Shuttle (HAS) in Berlin and find out the potential pros and cons affecting the design, trust and security, and perception to adopt this technology in the future. Among the elderly respondents surveyed, 93% found the HAS convenient, with minor design issues addressed. Respondents (90%) were willing to use it for their first and last-mile journey and considered that the HAS would help improve the social participation of elderlies with mobility restrictions. However, elderlies still have trust issues integrating a fully driverless vehicle in the domain of public transportation. The significant findings on the difference in the experience of HAS between the elderlies, adults, and younger adults could be adopted to develop the design further, making it more comfortable and trustworthy towards the elderly population.
Die Diplomarbeit umfasst die Analyse der für den Prüfstand notwendigen Geräte, den Aufbau des Prüfstandes und die Programmierung von kundenspezifischen Applikationen mittels LabVIEW.
Stereo matching methods are usually relying on rectified images to calculate disparities. If the rectification is inaccurate or not present at all most stereo matching algorithms will produce distorted disparity maps. In this thesis an approach is described that overcomes this issue for the PatchMatch Stereo algorithm. As groundwork for stereo matching four rectification procedures namely Bouget
Duplex steels are used for applications that require high strength and ductility combined with good corrosion resistance. An economical welding technology to handle these steels is achieved by combining the MIG and TIG arc processes. The aim is to improve welding speed and quality by utilizing a TIG-MIG hybrid welding process to join 1.4462 duplex steel with a thickness of 2 mm. The interaction between the two arcs, caused by the blowing effect, is an enormous challenge that can be counteracted with a defined torch position and current modulation. For this purpose, a variation of the MIG (pulsed and AC pulsed arc) and TIG process (AC and pulsed DC) took place. The influence of electrical parameters on process stability and material transfer was investigated. For analysis, an evaluation of high-speed recordings (5000 frames per second) and synchronized measured current/voltage curves (200 kHz) is carried out. Based on a number of selected specimens, a welding procedure test according to ISO 15614-1 is performed to determine the welding seam quality. The test includes the characterization by tensile and hardness testing and macroscopic and microscopic examination. Additionally, the specimens are examined according to ISO 5817.
The atomizing gas dynamics and the applied process energy have a significant influence on the produced particles. The melting process of the two wires can be influenced by current modulation. As for arc welding processes, more and more electronic and software-controlled machines are being used for arc spraying and will have replaced conventional power sources in the future. Due to the highly dynamic, fast regulating computing technology in the latest energy source, technology arcs can be operated with different current forms and types. The modern machines allow process-stable, reproducible variation of the particles and heat input into the substrate. Constant and pulsed current can be used as current forms. Usable current types are direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC). The electrical parameters must be analyzed to evaluate the process behavior. The consumable used is a wire-shaped iron-based alloy with a diameter of 1.6 mm. Relevant process parameters such as basic current Iground, pulse current Ipulse, pulse duration tpulse, impulse frequency fpulse, and alternating current frequency, fAC, are varied and recorded using appropriate measurement technology. The aim is to change the process performance and thereby the particle formation in a broad band. High-speed images are used to observe the arc and the deposition process. In addition, particle sizes are determined.
This bachelor thesis is about the development and design of the suture-based HeartStitch MR device for functional restoration of the mitral valve when a mitral regurgitation is present. The mitral valve is one of the four existing heart valves and due to their load, the mitral valve is most commonly affected by valve defects. In case of a mitral regurgitation, the leaflets of the mitral valve are not closing tight enough, which causes a reflux of the oxygenated blood from the left ventricle into the left atrium. As consequence, the human body won't be sufficiently supplied with oxygen anymore, which results in a disproportionate cardiac output. Untreated, this can lead to respiratory dis-tress, cardiac arrhythmias and stroke or even to death. In this case, a heart surgery is essential to improve the patient
The removal of bacterial infections within the root canal system is still a challenge. Therefore, the cleansing effect of established and new irrigation-protocols (IP) containing silver diamine fluoride (SDF) 3.8% on the whole root canal system was analyzed using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and 4′,6-diamidino-phenylindole-(DAPI)-staining. Extracted human premolars were instrumented up to F2 (ProTaper Gold) under NaCl 0.9% irrigation and incubated with Enterococcus faecalis for 42 days. Subsequently, different ultrasonically agitated IP were applied to the roots: control (no irrigation), 1. NaOCl 3%, EDTA 20%, CHX 2%, 2. NaOCl 3%, EDTA 20%, 3. NaOCl 3%, EDTA 20%, SDF 3.8%, 4. SDF 3.8%, and 5. NaCl 0.9%. One half of the root was investigated fluorescent-microscopically with DAPI. The other half was grinded in a cryogenic mill and the bacterial DNA was quantified with qPCR. The qPCR results showed a statistically significant reduction of bacteria after the application of IP 1, 2, and 3 compared to the control group. While IP 4 lead to a bacterial reduction which was not significant, IP 5 showed no reduction. These data corresponded with DAPI staining. With qPCR a new molecular-biological method for the investigation of the complete root canal system was implemented. The novel IP 3 had an equally good cleansing effect as the already established IP.
This article presents a cost-effective ultraviolet-ozone cleaner (UV/O3 Cleaner) for surface pre-treatment of substrates in the field of semiconductor technology. The cleaner consists of two chambers, the upper one contains the electronics, including the time counter. The lower chamber contains the two UV sterilisation lamps and a UV reflector of anodized aluminium, which confines the area of high Ozone concentration in the area of interest. The device is successfully used for surface cleaning and modification of different materials. To this end, the two important wavelengths 253.7 nm (excitation of organic residues) and 184.9 nm (production of ozone from the atmospheric environment as a strong oxidant) were first detected. The effectiveness of UV/O3 cleaning is demonstrated by improving the properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) for OLED fabrication. The contact angle of water to ITO could be reduced from 90° to 3° and for diiodomethane, it was reduced from 55° to 31° within the 10 min of irradiation. This greatly improved wettability for polar and non-polar liquids can increase the flexibility in further process control. In addition, an improvement in wettability is characterized by measuring the contact angles for titanium dioxide (TiO2) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The contact angle of water to TiO2 decreased from 70° to 10°, and that of diiodomethane to TiO2 from 54° to 31°. The wettability of PDMS was also greatly increased. Here, the contact angle of water was reduced from 109° to 24° and the contact angle to diiodomethane from 89° to 49°.
Article Highlights
We report a cost-effective dry-cleaning device for surface cleaning and modification based on ultraviolet-ozone irradiation.
Contact angle measurements show an increase of wettability for different materials due to surface modification.
The UVO3 pre-treatment improves layer formation and optoelectrical properties of OLEDs.
Introduction: In the spring of 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 posed a substantial challenge for countries and their healthcare systems. In Germany, over 70% of all cancer patients are treated in an outpatient setting, so gynecologic oncology practices are the guarantors of optimal patient care. We developed a survey to evaluate the management of gynecologic oncology patients.
Methods: The survey consisted of 38 questions and was sent to the members of the Berufsverband Niedergelassener Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V. (BNGO), a professional association of gynecologic oncologists in the outpatient sector in Germany.
Results: The survey was completed by 54 out of 133 (41%) gynecologic oncologists from 14 out of 15 (93%) federal states where the BNGO is represented. Facing the pandemic, popular measures were mask requirements (100%), restriction of access to practices (94%), increased number of disinfectant dispensers (85%), installment of panes of acrylic glass (76%), or spatial alterations (67%). For most patients the pandemic had no influence on prioritization of therapies (82%) or prescribed systemic treatments (87%). Despite an increase in perceived psychological burden among the staff (72%), 85% (45/54) of the practices were not offered any additional psychological support.
Discussion and Conclusion: As most cancer patients in Germany are treated in an outpatient setting, a suitable reaction of oncology centers to the new circumstances was crucial to secure optimal treatment and patient care. Nevertheless, the low prioritization of mental health or distress of healthcare workers poses a serious threat to the maintenance of optimal medical care in further waves of the pandemic.
This paper deals with systematic approaches for the analysis of stability properties and controller design for nonlinear dynamical systems. Numerical methods based on sum-of-squares decomposition or algebraic methods based on quantifier elimination are used. Starting from Lyapunov’s direct method, these methods can be used to derive conditions for the automatic verification of Lyapunov functions as well as for the structural determination of control laws. This contribution describes methods for the automatic verification of (control) Lyapunov functions as well as for the constructive determination of control laws.
Diese empirische Diplomarbeit in englischer Sprache wirft einen Blick auf den Status Quo des Estnischen HIV/AIDS Präventionssystems und entwirft Hypothesen und Vorschläge, dessen Wirkung zu verbessern. Die Grundlage bilden qualitative Interviews mit Schlüsselpersonen, welche die Phänomene Konsens, Kooperation und Kapazitätenschaffung sowie deren Bedeutung für die Estnische HIV/AIDS Prävention untersuchen. Bei diesen Phänomenen handelt es sich um wichtige und bisher unbestimmte Problemfelder, welche zum Teil den Widerspruch zwischen einer erfolgreichen politischen und ökonomischen Transition Estlands und der hohen HIV Prävalenzrate erklären. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit beziehen sich auf das existierende Qualitätsmanagement von NGOs, die horizontale Kooperation von NGOs und die vertikale Kooperation von Staat und NGOs. Darüber hinaus wird der Aspekt der Führung sowie das Estnische Präventionsprogramm aus Mitteln des Globalen Found zur Bekämpfung von AIDS, Tuberkulose und Malaria betrachtet.
1 In an increasingly populated and technological world, manufacturing processes have become faster and data more voluminous. With this comes the need to store this massive production data and use real-time data monitoring tools to facilitate decision making in a plant. Concepts, derived from Pharma 4.0.
| 2 In the manufacturing environment there is, however, a big challenge in data collection and transmission, i.e. the communication between different equipments, sensors, and software. Since each manufacturer tends or has tended to use its own standards for programming and manufacturing the devices and tools.
| 3 Another major challenge is the secure transmission of data to avoid theft and cyber attacks, thus affecting the company's credibility and financial losses.
| 4 In this project the data transfer from Programmable Logic Controller (PLCs) was performed through the Matrikon Server and an interface belonging to the OPC Foundation, this technology allows the collection of data from different sources and delivers them safely to the process visualization software in a single language.
| 5 For software and hardware installation in a regulated environment, standards and validation methods need to be followed before, during and after installation of the required system.
| 6 This project aims to transfer data continuously and contemporaneously from a local source to the could environment and present the validation method used by pharmaceutical industries to validate this process in a GMP-regulated environment.
| 7 For the performance of the software installation, documents have been prepared and used to record and evidence the procedure. These documents were prepared and executed based on standards and methods relevant to the validation process.
| 8 The workers were also trained to know how to handle the data coming from production, and to be able to extract the value from it for different sectors, such as quality, raw material sector, energy sector, etc.
| 9 Finally, improvements were suggested for the documents and validation process used in this project. Since this installation will be used as a basis for future customer installations, not only for interfaces, but also for 1st and 2nd generation connectors.
This work aimed to apply the Floating Film Transfer Method (FTM), developed by Kaneto et.al., as a new way of coating planar and nonplanar substrates with photoresist. Focus laid on the creation of a workflow to coat the substrate and process it by UV-Lithography and Nanoimprint lithography. Conventional coating methods like spin-, spray- or dip coating are well established in today’s industry but are limited in their capabilities to coat curved and structured surfaces. FTM offers the possibility to overcome these limitations. Therefore, two negative resists AR N 4400 and AR N 4600 10 as well as two positive resists AR P 3110 and AZ MIR 701 were drop cast on deionized water. The resist spreads into a thin film that can be transferred to a planar or curved substrate. Profilometric and ellipsometric measurements were conducted to evaluate the topography of the resist. A non-uniform thickness distribution was found depending on the resist and parameters like solid content, water temperature, and the amount of surfactant. UV-Lithography and Nanoimprintl ithography were successfully performed with these films. Resolutions as low as 2,3±0,4 µm were achieved by UV-Lithography of AR P 3110. A periodic pattern with a pitch of 1,51 µm was transferred by thermal nanoimprint lithography to AR N 4400 10. As proof of concept Laser Direct Writing was performed to structure AZ MIR 701coated on a glass vial.
The thesis analysis the car parks’ elements and the factors that influence the drivers’ behaviour on them. Then makes an approach to the definition of the strategy of how the car drivers search for free parking spaces. The reason for it is that there is a need to assess car parks’ design parameters in the terms of their performance. One of the decisive factors is also the drivers’ behaviour. A car park simulation based on the environment of matrices is designed and implemented in MATLAB. The algorithm for searching for the parking spaces is designed and implemented within that as well. The results of the simulation are presented.
Morality confronts us in our daily life. Sometimes people do not act the way we would have expected it. One of the biggest culture differences can be found between China and Germany. A lot of foreigners try to make business in the more and more economic important becoming country. A lot of them fail, because of not knowing how to act in certain circumstances. Furthermore, some situations are happening which one would not expected. Everyone got influenced by media about China. But is everything true about it? Most of the journalists are from western countries and they decide what is right and what wrong dependent from their origin. We call such a situation ethnocentrism. It means, that one judges dependent on ones ethnical norms one raised up with and that these norms are basis of valuation on other cultures (Schubert, 2011). While I was in China, I experienced a lot moral misunderstandings. I found out that especially foreign companies do have huge problems in that term because they use their - grown up morality- in China which is not working. This paper explains moral inequalities and helps companies to act differently in consideration of a very important topic such as payment morality.
In this paper, we propose cache replacement strategies based on the machine learning methods. As part of this work, we analyse the data provided for caching, design, and train Random Forest Regression and Gradient Boosting Decision Trees to predict the popularity of web objects. Finally we compare the proposed strategies with policies traditionally used for cache replacement to evaluate their applicability.
Sustainable Integration of Digitalisation in Nursing Education - An International Scoping Review
(2024)
This thesis aims to explain the German and Indian Road & Traffic designing, Green & Smart roads. This topic mainly involves around how both the countries are maintaining a different set of standards in designing roads and analysing them. India is the 2nd largest road network in the world and Germany having a greater number of highway connectivity throughout the country if the area isn’t considered both the countries have an equal amount of road connectivity. When we mainly consider Road, traffic designing, Green & Smart Road concepts practiced in both the countries the methods, procedures and standards used are different. Here we will analyse key factors that play a major role in differentiating Road and traffic designs and by considering some conditions and situations from both the countries we will analyse them. we will also analyse how much efforts are put in to implementing the Green, smart roads and we will further analyse how far did both the nations implemented their ideas and how much effect did it show and we will go through the Solar power produced, support for electrical vehicles, Automation improved and Iot (Internet of things) implemented for less human interactions and more advancement in transportation.
This research investigates the Leipzigerstraße and Gießereistraße intersection in Rackwitz to enhance safety and sustainable transportation. The study analyzes existing designs that experience accidents and proposes a design plan of mini roundabout to improve safety while using the guideline Anlage von Kreisverkehren. In this project, the roundabout is planned according to the currently valid guidelines from phase 2 of the HOAI (Fee Structure for Architects and Engineers). Rainwater management strategies and traffic quality of the roundabout are considered. Additionally, cyclist-friendly paths connecting Rackwitz and Zschölkau are developed in line by using guideline ERA. The proposed roundabout design and elevated cycle paths are identified as effective solutions to enhance safety and support eco-friendly transportation. By adhering to established guidelines and prioritizing safety, this research contributes to creating a secure and sustainable urban transportation network.
Development and Characterization of a Dispersion-Encoded Method for Low-Coherence Interferometry
(2022)
This Open Access book discusses an extension to low-coherence interferometry by dispersion-encoding. The approach is theoretically designed and implemented for applications such as surface profilometry, polymeric cross-linking estimation and the determination of thin-film layer thicknesses. During a characterization, it was shown that an axial measurement range of 79.91 µm with an axial resolution of 0.1 nm is achievable. Simultaneously, profiles of up to 1.5 mm in length were obtained in a scan-free manner. This marked a significant improvement in relation to the state-of-the-art in terms of dynamic range. Also, the axial and lateral measurement range were decoupled partially while functional parameters such as surface roughness were estimated. The characterization of the degree of polymeric cross-linking was performed as a function of the refractive index. It was acquired in a spatially-resolved manner with a resolution of 3.36 x 10-5. This was achieved by the development of a novel mathematical analysis approach.
ABSTRACT:
Multimodal transportation system which is also called as Combined transportation system. This type of transportation is seen in two methods i.e., movement of passengers from one place to another and movement of cargo using different types of transportation vehicles (Trains, trams, metro, bus, ship, truck, bicycle, airplane and air cargos). This type of system can also be derived
as single ticket (passengers) and single contract (freight) transportation. This will help in reducing the travel time, air pollution, economy, environmental changes, and unorganized journey. The main goal of the thesis is to bring ease in the multi-modal transportation system in India and to make people choose public transport over private and to provide end to end transportation facilities for people, so that people opt for public transportation as it is budget friendly as well. For instance, prevailing the single ticket (passengers) and single contract (freight) transportation system in Germany could be implemented in India. A single transport operator system is needed to meet the desired target in implementing multi-modal transportation
system feasibly. The main issue lies in the implementation of this system in Indian conditions which can be fulfilled by integration of various institutions involved in it for instance linking up the network channels of various modes of transport (end to end transportation). The rising concerns of funding by Indian government can be resolved by the implementation of this system
in the form of subsidies.
My research paper also includes the phases of MMTS, how it was earlier and how it has been in contemporary times. Major Factors like total cost, reliability, transportation capability, total time and security drive forward to developing multi-modal transportation system. This system is helpful in the growth of a nation's economy and is energy-efficient. Reliability of this system shall be based on the funding from the government because the absence of multi-modal transportation system leads to pollution, and ill health. The amount of funding plays a vital role in determining country to country (MMTS) development. Having been considering the advantages and uses of this system it is important to look into the disadvantages of the system.
For instance, How can implementing multi-modal transportation system in India be feasible?
This master's thesis focuses on developing a robust framework for co-simulating microscopic traffic scenarios and vehicle dynamics, leveraging the capabilities of SUMO and CARLA. The essence of this research lies in its meticulous analysis of existing simulation tools, leading to identifying the most effective co-simulation strategies and intercommunication methods. A comparative study elucidates the strengths and limitations of these methodologies, guiding the selection of an optimal approach.
Central to the methodology is a thorough understanding and application of SUMO and CARLA, enhanced by the strategic implementation of intercommunication methods. The detailed integration of these tools and the introduction of test automation significantly boost simulation efficacy. The framework's reliability and accuracy are rigorously validated through well-defined procedures and metrics, ensuring fidelity in simulation results.
Key to this research is the design of experimental scenarios that reflect real-world traffic conditions underpinned by carefully chosen simulation parameters. These scenarios are pivotal in validating the co-simulation framework's performance, supplemented by a performance cost analysis focusing on processing efficiency. The thesis culminates with a critical discussion of the findings, addressing the research objectives and posing solutions to identified challenges. Potential areas for future enhancements are explored, highlighting the framework's limitations.
In conclusion, this thesis contributes significantly to the field of traffic simulation for autonomous driving technologies. It presents a comprehensive co-simulation framework, offering researchers and engineers a sophisticated tool for advanced testing and validation. The insights and recommendations provided are instrumental for ongoing research and development in this rapidly evolving domain.
In this study more than 150 kg real waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) shredder residues from different European dismantling plant were treated by laserspectroscopic flouroescence and solvent-based recycling process. Currently, the samples used are excluded from material recycling and remain as side streams in state-of-the-art plastic recycling plants. The main reason why the waste streams are not currently recycled is due to the fact that they contain flame retardants that are already banned by different EU regulations (e.g. REACH, POP) and must be removed before the recyclates produced can be used again in products on the market. Conventional recycling technologies cannot separate these hazardous flame retardants from the polymers, therefore the solvent-based recycling process was used for this study. The focus within this work was the upscaling of the CreaSolv® Process from the laboratory scale to the small technical scale to provide larger quantities of recyclates. Sensor-based sorting process and CreaSolv® Process were combined to achieve easier handling and better yields of recyclates. By means of safe solvents a significant decrease of halogen content of (up to 98%) was achieved within the applied methods. Mass balances were determined, and gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD) as well as energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) measurements provided data on the different flame retardants and halogen content of each recyclate. As a result, the recyclates produced comply with the limit values of the EU directives (e.g. POPs, REACH). Melt flow analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were carried out on the recyclates for a quality evaluation and revealed that the recyclates have similar properties to virgin materials. Based on this work, the upscaling of the CreaSolv® Process is able to recycle WEEE containing pollutants and at the same time produce recyclates with good mechanical properties.
Developing of a marketing-mix for Duerr Ecoclean for the modified Spray Cleaning Machine "Jeto 84W". Duerr Ecoclean already established its business within the Chinese Automotive Industry and is now trying to touch the Chinese Component Industry. Therefore, they are looking for a suitable strategy to enter this market. The thesis included an analysis of the market environment, customer base, and competitor structure to develop a fitting marketing-mix to implement the Spray Cleaning Machine "Jeto 84W".
Model predictive control (MPC) is a promising approach to the lateral and longitudinal control of autonomous vehicles. However, the parameterization of the MPC with respect to high-level requirements such as passenger comfort, as well as lateral and longitudinal tracking, is challenging. Numerous tuning parameters and conflicting requirements need to be considered. In this paper, we formulate the MPC tuning task as a multi-objective optimization problem. Its solution is demanding for two reasons: First, MPC-parameterizations are evaluated in a computationally expensive simulation environment. As a result, the optimization algorithm needs to be as sample-efficient as possible. Second, for some poor parameterizations, the simulation cannot be completed; therefore, useful objective function values are not available (for instance, learning with crash constraints). In this work, we compare the sample efficiency of multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), a genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), and multiple versions of Bayesian optimization (BO). We extend BO by introducing an adaptive batch size to limit the computational overhead. In addition, we devise a method to deal with crash constraints. The results show that BO works best for a small budget, NSGA-II is best for medium budgets, and none of the evaluated optimizers are superior to random search for large budgets. Both proposed BO extensions are, therefore, shown to be beneficial.
Methods of analyzing the structural integrity of compound materials under stressed conditions becoming more importantly. Not merely safety and economic reasons demanding a good monitoring of e.g. wind turbine blades or aircraft wings but also ecological ones. The existing strategy for the blades is to replace them at a certain schedule, resulting in unnecessary downtimes and high cost. Several possibilities of an optical structural health monitoring system been examined in this thesis. Both free-space and fiber-based setups are tested and evaluated in their usability. The methods were tested with the objective of embedding them into large-scale polymer structures such as the mentioned fields of application.
Experimental tests on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to safety belt anchorages, ISOFIX anchorages and ISOFIX top anchorages have been carried out in accordance with Regulation No. 14 UNECE. From the design stage, the safety belt anchorages must comply with the requirements for the installation of a safety belt and reduce slipping and damage to the belt while wearing it. These can be components of the seat structure or of the body's resistance structure, which have the role of fastening the seat belts. The position of the anchor points is determined by the R point. The R point is defined as the seat reference point on the seat. This point is set by the vehicle manufacturer for each seat in the vehicle. In this paper, two models of chairs were tested. Both seat models are equipped with seat belts anchored at three anchor points. Seat belt anchorages were tested simultaneously using parallel force devices. These traction devices are placed on the seat cushion and are pressed into the seat back. The pulling device has a vertical pulling arm, which has the role of anchoring the steel wire cables. Two test forces are applied simultaneously to the anchor points during the test.
This study aimed to investigate the component structural behaviour and response under overturned truck crash that subsequently collides with road-side pole or tree. The safety of the truck occupants in an accident is very important and should be considered in the process of cabin design. Specific focus will be on the structural integrity of the truck cabin in response to a collision with a cylindrical pendulum. In the past, dynamic analysis was done by real world testing. Nowadays crash simulation is proven to be much more efficient by being a virtual representation of destructive crash impact and providing opportunities to reduce the number of physical prototypes consumed for design verification, thus reducing development time. According to cab strength tests (ECE R29), the cabin body of the truck shall be attached to the chassis in such a way that in the event of impact it ensures a sufficient survival space and eliminates the risk of injury. This paper investigates the FE (finite element) simulation of a frontal impact on the cabin structure to validate the cabin according to the ECE regulation 29 tests. The study also includes the assessment of the energy absorption capabilities of the cabin during the pendulum impact. The pendulum impact was carried out using Ansys LS-Dyna explicit solver to evaluate the cabin strength under the loads.
The impact of work environment factors has to be considered in an integrated ergonomic analyzing and designing process. To capture relevant environmental exposures, measurements must be carried out. In companies, an increasing use of smartphones for initial measurements of work environment factors can be noticed. Here, the question arises whether it is possible to determine adequate data for scientific work analyses by using built-in sensors in smartphones. For that purpose, the operational readiness of smartphone applications to measure the work environment factors noise, climate and lighting is investigated. Here, the assessing of measuring accuracy and the recordable measurement quantities for different combinations of applications and smartphones is analyzed. In result, a wide variety of the measurement accuracy for the analyzed environmental factors can be observed.
The birefringence of single crystal diamonds is quantified using a birefringence measurement setup and a Matlab program for the calculation. The theoretical backgrounds of the polarization of light and polarization changing equipment is used for selecting a plane polariscope measurement method. Here, a birefringent sample is placed between two optical polarizers. The equipment, as well as its theoretical and practical behavior in the measurement setup is discussed. The equations for birefringence measurements are given and a practical Matlab program is introduced to simplify the birefringence calculation for the user. Possible influences on the birefringence value due to inaccuracies of the laser, the polarizers, the diamond sample, the magnification lenses and the camera are discussed and taken into account. Intensity fluctuations and polarization changes of the laser beam are studied. The direction of the transmission axis of the polarizer and the analyzer is examined. A retarder is inserted into the measurement setup to check the accuracy of the birefringence measurement since a retarder has a known phase retardation. This retarder measurement should qualify the measurement setup to quantify birefringence of the diamond sample. The measurement results show that intensity fluctuations of the laser and the handling inaccurracies of the polarizers have a major influence on the accurracy of the birefringence measurement. This measurement setup is not qualitfied to measure birefringence accurate yet. Steps to improve the measurement setup and the birefringence calculation are discussed.
To improve the quality of education in applied laser physics, a new and innovative educational platform was designed, realized and tested. The system focusses on the improvement of the theoretical, experimental and numerical skills in the topics of ultra-short pulsed fiber based laser systems and related measurement techniques. The main content of the platform is the fundamental understanding of the technologies of an ytterbium-doped fiber based Master-Oscillator Power-Amplifier and a 2nd order intensity autocorrelator. A wide range of system parameters are variable and metrologically accessible. Thus the underlying physical mechanisms are illustrated and, by this the fundamental understanding of the system, improved. To transfer actual industrial and scientific topics into the experimental education of students, the complex lab course aims for a full characterization of the system by experimental work and a numerical analysis by simulating the system dynamics. A state-of-the-art educational tool was created to demonstrate current industrial sys-tems. An amplification of 37.2 dB was achieved. The pulses with a temporal width of 30.6 picoseconds possessed a pulse peak power of 14.2 kW. By the analysis of the material specific spectral properties, the rate equation model can be applied and im-portant system parameters determined.
This thesis will examine the process of internationalization which generates international changes and growth, entry into new markets and the creation of new businesses. Projecting this on the sports industry, businessmen tend to take more risks than a few decades ago in the interest of becoming more competitive. The sports industry is used to transmit multiple messages as it reaches global audiences. The term sports covers much more than the physical activity. The term also comprises possibilities for lucrative business actions, sponsoring and image creation. Furthermore, it induces a pooling of diverse cultures. Thanks to this boundary-spanning connection of sportsmen and arising opportunities to increase sales, managers have decided to go international and to expand their company
Natural varnishes have been used for centuries by musical instrument makers to protect the instruments for climatic, aesthetic and acoustic reasons. The effects of varnishes on the protection of the wood surface, as well as their aesthetic parameters, are easier to verify and compare visually, but the comparison of their acoustic effects has always been challenging and debated.
In fact, varnish layers have a small effect on the vibration properties of wood. For example, the effect of a decrease or increase in humidity on the vibration properties of wood is sometimes equal to the effect of several layers of varnish. Because of this small amount of effect, measuring this effect is also difficult and challenging.
Our strategy in this study is to obtain the clearest possible results by comparing the effect of only two types of oil varnishes with completely opposite elastomechanical properties and increasing the number of samples varnished.
The samples were measured before and after each varnish layer using conventional methods for measuring vibration properties, and the average results of the same samples were discussed and analyzed.
Overall, the amber varnish obviously has a more negative effect on the vibration properties of the violin plates compared to the colophony varnish.
This work is aimed to study the effect of two types of stresses/corrosion on different materials used in making of disc brake rotors, atmospheric corrosion and thermal fatigue. The materials chosen were steel (100Cr6), nodular cast iron (GJS-400-15) and Aluminium reinforced silicon carbide (F3S-20S). Specimens of the each material will be subjected to an induced atmospheric corrosion using the salt spray (fog) chamber for two different test durations to simulate atmospheric corrosion. Other specimens of the chosen materials will be subjected to a thermal fatigue test through a repeated heating-cooling cycle. The effects on the materials will be measured by the difference in the values of coefficient of friction and the wear rate before and after the tests are carried out. Analysis of the induced corrosion and thermal fatigue products will be carried out by XRD analysis and microscopic photos of the surfaces. A comparison between the different tested materials will also be performed.
With the launch of a new vehicle model Rolls-Royce Motorcars had to face a dramatic volume increase from 300% more cars being build in existing structure and facilities in the Test and Finish Area. This massive volume increase required a revisiting of the process flow of cars through this Test and Finish Area to show optimisation potential and possible improvements to work packages and sequence of operation. Furthermore it will be necessary to implement those improvements to cope increased future throughput targets. To find optimisation and improvement potentials it was essential to analyse the entire area. In doing so every single station and work package was analysed. In addition to this a simulation model was used to confirm the highlighted problems and bottlenecks. Furthermore it was possible to investigate the influence of certain measures. In a following step it was the aim to show a way how a permanent and stable vehicle flow is achievable. According to that an action plan was developed, which shows clear measures to cope not only future but also the current production volume. In doing so it was possible to gain a transparency into the processes. Furthermore the process flow was optimised into a pull strategy to improve respectively implement a takt adherence.
was ist HIV/AIDS? Wie ist HIV/AIDS verbreitet in der Welt? HIV/AIDS in Tanzania: heute und in Zukunft Auswirkungen von AIDS auf Struktur und Zusammensetzung der Arbeitskräfte in Tanzania -> ableitend davon Auswirkungen auf betriebe, auf die Wirtschaftallgemein, auf verschiedene Wirtschaftszweige -> außerdem inwieweit AIDS den einzelnen Haushalt betrifft, insbesondere Frauen Zusammenspiel von Armut und AIDS
Active Traffic Management Systems – Developing a Package of Measurements for the City of Füssen
(2021)
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Active Transportation and Demand Management (ATDM) are new commanders in the world of transportation engineering. The combination of ATDM and ITS has created a concept called “Active Traffic Management (ATM)”. The world’s ATM is getting a higher point for major technological changes that have been bringing new ways in public and private transport managing, decision making, smart cities, traffic control, safety and environment.
The management, control, influence of travel demand and traffic flow in transportation facilities is referred to as ATM. Actions are taken in real time to improve system performance, such as preventing or delaying breakdown conditions, enhancing safety, encouraging sustainable travel modes or cutting emissions, using archived data and or/predictive methods.
In this Master's thesis, it has been exanimated the prominent different areas of Active Traffic Management in traffic engineering with a special focus on the sections of traffic management, signal control, and simulations with the program VISSIM. To discuss this issue, this paper begins with a brief introduction of the names and concepts of the current technologies in ATM, followed by an example. Important data and challenges for the study case of the city of Füssen in Germany will be presented in the text, subsequent to some results, conclusions and recommendations. In addition, the current and alternative scenarios with their respective level of service are researched according to German regulations. A simulation of different nodes has been modeled to observe the respective delays, level of services and emissions of the intersections selected in the city.
Keywords
Traffic Engineering, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Active Traffic Management (ATM), Level of Service (LOS) and Traffic Simulation.
The labor market is confronted with social, environmental, and economic developments that affect working conditions and individual labor relations. Lately, the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated and reinforced the importance of inclusive growth and sustainable work relationships. In this chapter, the smart job factory, a metamodel that supports the creation of new forms of work by redefining roles in labor, is introduced. The smart job factory is based on social entrepreneurship principles to drive innovative, sustainable, and long-term solutions to social challenges. For practical application, the model can be translated into a software solution that supports employers in the assessment of current working conditions and job roles within their companies and helps to redefine work relationships and to create new jobs. Thus, the smart job factory supports the labor market transition by systematically and proactively shaping new forms of work based on the triple bottom line of sustainable development.
The leading question, which political system is better suited for an emerging economy with a large population to ensure an effective climate protection, builds the nucleus of this thesis. The People's Republic of China and the Republic of India, which share similar demographic conditions and represent an autocratic and a democratic form of government, are compared in terms of the formulation and implementation of climate protection strategies and measures to draw conclusions about the characteristics of the respective systems.
The sysWORXX CTR-700 is a versatile edge controller solution developed by SYSTEC electronic AG and sold since 2017. The embedded device is designed for industrial environments to control other machines and equipment connected to it
over Ethernet network, CAN bus or a set of digital and analog input/output pins.
As a central controller in such automated environments, security is an important aspect. Especially integrity of all devices as well as confidentiality of stored and processed data must be ensured. Furthermore, provable authenticity of hardware is crucial to secure the controller's environment and prevent counterfeit hardware.
The sysWORXX CTR-700 has a built-in cryptographic co-processor ATECC508A from Microchip Inc. This ac:HSM provides hardware support for algorithms based on elliptic curve cryptography as well as secured slots for cryptographic keys and other confidential secrets.
This thesis analyses requirements for secure hardware verification and license management supported by the ac:HSM to enhance the existing solutions by leveraging military-grade cryptography standard algorithms and processes. Over
the course of this document, security principles are presented, relevant cryptographic systems and algorithms are explained to build a strong foundation and understanding.
Furthermore, the ATECC508A is introduced with its capabilities and prerequisites for secure confidential operation.
The proposed solution is a form of a vendor acrlong:PKI system. Technical and organizational policies for the ac:PKI are covered. They are accompanied by a detailed process description for provisioning the sysWORXX CTR-700 and the integrated ac:HSM. The process is supported by a set of custom-built tools for managing licenses and devices.
Ferroelectric doped hafnium oxide might be able to revive the ferroelectric memory as a candidate for future non-volatile memories. Recent publications have reported ferroelectricity in HfO2 films deposited via physical vapor deposition (PVD) and thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD). Within this thesis, such layers have been fabricated by a plasma enhanced ALD process for the first time. Using an O2 remote plasma to oxidize TEMAHf and TMAl, respectively, Al:HfO2 stacks with different compositions have been deposited. Sputter deposited TiN was used as bottom and top electrode to form metal-insulator-metal capacitors. Compared to the PVD or thermal ALD films reported in literature, the plasma enhanced ALD films exhibited one to two orders higher leakage current at 1 V. The root of this higher leakage are oxygen vacancies as well as carbon and nitrogen impurities in the range of several at%. Despite the consequential perturbing effects, the main trends reported earlier are discernable. Just these perturbing effects turn out to substantiate the current explanation of a ferroelectric phase as route source for the observed electrical behavior.
Routing games over time are widely studied due to various applications, e.g., transportation, road and air traffic control, logistic in production systems, communication networks like the internet, and financial flows. In this article, we present a new competitive packet routing game with edge priorities motivated by traffic and transportation. In this model a set of selfishly acting players travels through the network over time. If the number of players who want to enter an edge at the same time exceeds the inflow capacity of this edge, then edge priorities with respect to the preceding edge are used to resolve these conflicts, which is similar to right-of-way rules in traffic. We analyze the efficiency of pure Nash equilibria, present an efficient algorithm for computing equilibria in symmetric games, and show that it is NP-hard to decide whether a Nash equilibrium exists in an asymmetric game. Furthermore, we address the problem of constructing optimal priorities.
Hintergrund: Wenn professionelle Unterstützung fehlt, erkennen pflegende Angehörige selten eigene Überlastungssituationen und nehmen Unterstützungsleistungen bei Pflegebedürftigkeit daher unzureichend in Anspruch.
Ziel: Die Studie untersucht die Versorgung von Menschen mit Pflegebedarf, den Kenntnisstand zu Entlastungsleistungen sowie Belastungsfaktoren bei der Übernahme pflegerischer Leistungen aus Sicht informell Pflegender und Nicht-Pflegender.
Methode: Es wurde eine Querschnittstudie mittels standardisierter Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) mit Personen ab dem 18. Lebensjahr in Sachsen durchgeführt. Deskriptive und bivariate Statistiken wurden berechnet.
Ergebnisse: Die Versorgung durch einen ambulanten Pflegedienst oder durch pflegende Angehörige bewerteten von 601 Teilnehmenden 259 informell Pflegende gegenüber 342 Nicht-Pflegenden signifikant besser ( N = 601). Weiterhin hatten die informell Pflegenden und die Nicht-Pflegenden unterschiedliche Kenntnisse über den nächstgelegenen Ort der Pflegeberatung und über Ausgleichzahlungen der Rentenversicherung. Schlussfolgerungen: In einzelnen Bereichen der abgefragten Beratungsleistungen und Entlastungsmöglichkeiten hat sich das Antwortverhalten von pflegenden Angehörigen gegenüber den anderen Teilnehmenden signifikant unterschieden. Es kann von einem geringen Informationsvorsprung der pflegenden Angehörigen bei der Inanspruchnahme von Unterstützungsleistungen ausgegangen werden.
The demand for thorough disinfection within ambulances is essential, given the in-vehicle medical procedures and the potential high risk of infections due to patients' open wounds. One solution that can address this hygiene challenge involves the application of reactive products generated from atmospheric (air) oxygen and water vapor, activated through the use of cold plasma. Cold plasma's charged particles perforate the cell membranes of microorganisms. This process does not work in human cells, as proteins in the form of enzymes within the body break down the cold plasma and protect the cells. The study was done on an ambulance that was contaminated in eight places. Samples were taken from each site, and two surfaces measuring approximately 8 × 8 cm were carefully sealed and marked. These surfaces were deliberately contaminated by applying an Enterococcus faecium suspension of 8.5 × 107 CFU/mL using a sterile cotton swab. It was followed by the disinfection procedure, that was initiated with the PLASMOCAR device. It was positioned on the front workspace and operated for a duration of 30 min, utilizing the vehicle's onboard voltage. Throughout the operation, all doors and windows were closed and the vehicle's air conditioning system remained active. After the completion of the disinfection process, samples were collected from the surfaces for bacterial counts. A reduction of 3.73 log levels in initial bacteria was accomplished within the rescue vehicle for Enterococcus faecium, equivalent to a 10–fourfold reduction in bacteria, eliminating up to 99.99% of the initial microorganisms. This success makes the process well-suited and convenient as an ongoing "background" procedure to enhance the established disinfection procedures. The established disinfection procedures outlined in the hygiene plan must be promptly implemented whenever mechanical surface cleaning is required. The use of PLASMOCAR offers an extra layer of protection and security, significantly decreasing the risk of microorganism transmission through cross-contamination and aerosols. This is a significant benefit for the well-being of both staff and patients.
Despite lacking sufficient evidence, the shift to automated mobility has often been regarded as progress towards a safer road transport system. Following the introduction of the first production car that has been officially certified as Level 3 earlier in 2022, the driver can shift their role to only as a fallback when the automated driving system reaches its limit of the Operational Design Domain. In the event of an accident, though, the matter will only get even more complicated, especially in the process of unravelling the party that was performing the Dynamic Driving Task at the time of the collision. An accident investigation is done to provide insight into how it occurred and uncover the liable parties. This thesis reviews various methods reconstructing an accident scene, such as photogrammetry and laser scanning, as well as elaborating the relevant data that has already available in the vehicle and from the infrastructure. Recommendations are also presented on for the future data collection, specifically in the scenario of automated driving, to improve such practice.
The NobleStitchTM EL Cardiovascular Suturing System can be used in general surgical, interventional and endoscopic procedures, such as Patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure, transapical ventricular closure, carotid arterial closure, mitral annuloplasty or edge-to-edge mitral valve repair. The System is used through an access device or in an open setting. For applying suture to a wound site, one Device of the NobleStitchTM EL Cardiovascular Suturing System, called the NobleStitchTM EL (S)
In the present work of thesis, exhaust gas temperature transients of different diesel electric hybrid configurations equipped to a mid-size European passenger car were evaluated through numerical simulation. Different degrees of hybridization, from micro to mild hybrids, based on General Motors BAS powertrain architecture, enabling different hybridization strategies, were taken into account in order to obtain a preliminary assessment of the impact of micro and mild hybridization on the exhaust aftertreatment system's efficiency over the regulated New European Driving Cycle. Thereto, the simulation software GT-SUITE featuring an one dimensional code was used to build a model of the reference vehicle with conventional powertrain, to which the corresponding BAS configurations were later equipped. The simulated exhaust gas temperature transients were then compared and evaluated.
China has become one of the largest economies world wide. While China itself used to receive huge amounts of FDI or aid from developed countries, it is now in the position to support less developed coutries. Cambodia is an example for such an LDC which is strongly supported through development aid and investments from China. This thesis analyses the unique advantages this country is offering to China. In addition, this thesis is trying to evaluate whether both participating countries equally benefit from this partnership.
In this project we develop an intelligent water meter based on software solutions offered by the IOTA Foundation. The water meter allows the customer to map water usage in real-time and pay water on demand, as well as the water provider to map water usage on a greater scale, regulate water supply during low- demand phases and offers regulatory functions to prepare for drought or humid climate, and to incentivise sustainable water usage in high-demand fields like agriculture. This functionality is phrased into a research issue:
Invention of a working prototype to demonstrate the IOTA Streams and Wallet protocols for a meter with additional focus on economic efficiency and the technical preparation of scalability.
Utilizing the IOTA streams protocol, a next generation secure data connection is established between the water meter and a server-sided software application. On this connection, water consumption is mapped into a data bench, and informative data and commands are issued to the graphical interface of the meter.
The IOTA wallet library is leveraged to provide customer accounts corresponding to their meter. IOTA tokens can be send to the account, which grants access to water in a matter of seconds. Depending on the regulatory scenario, water flow can be stopped as soon as the account is exhausted (i.e. public well), or an overdraw can be established in order to guarantee fulfilment of basic human rights (i.e. private households).
Since pricing data can be calculated server-sided and water consumption is mapped in very narrow intervals of as low as 4 seconds, the price can be used as tool to regulate consumption.
The physical components include an electrical ball valve to shut down water flow automatically, a command line interface to provide informative data,, a Raspberry Pi running the client-sided software application, and a water meter with MBus-Interface, as well as a Controlling Board to connect the Raspberry Pi with both peripheral devices.
The finished prototype shows, that water consumption can be mapped on a highly secure level, in near real-time, from afar, flexible for most applications.
A novel approach to consider triaxial tensile stresses within the framework of a failure criterion
(2022)
For use in micromechanical simulations of continuous fiber reinforced polymers, a more general form of the paraboloid failure criterion by Stassi‐D'Alia for matrix failure was developed with explicit consideration of the hydrostatic tension strength. Regarding polymers, limits for hydrostatic tensile strength based on isotropic linear elasticity could be derived. The comparison of the newly developed extended paraboloid criterion with experimental data for yielding as well as for material separation (fracture) shows good agreement.
Integrating Message-Based Load Distribution for Asynchronous Processes in an Enterprise Application
(2011)
With the ever-growing need for more scalable and fault-tolerant enterprise-level intranet and extranet solutions, application vendors are trying to prepare their products for multiple-machine environments. Apart from the traditional clustering approach of balancing and distributing user requests equally over several nodes, applications can be designed to handle greater loads by allowing designated background processes to run independently and be scaled separately from the main business logic and client request handling processes. Liferay Portal, a web-based enterprise-level portal and CMS solution developed by the company of the same name, already offers support for modeling a multi-node setup by utilizing well-known clustering paradigms in the manner of search index replication or cache invalidation as well as taking the application server's session replication mechanisms into account. Its upcoming release, however, will introduce long-running, CPU-bound features like creating document previews and encoding video or audio files , which will intensify the need for a concept that allows for queuing and equally distributing processor time
Recent surveys and political research have shown that the acceptance of the political programmes of populist parties, such as the “Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)”, is relatively high amongst the population of the three eastern German federal states, especially in Saxony, where the AfD won nine of the 13 rural districts during the local elections in May 2019. Thus, it seems relevant to take a closer look at the persuasive discourse of a so-called populist party. In its public discourse, the AfD responds to the fears and concerns of those people who tend to use social media platforms to gain information when making political decisions. The aim of the article is to show which verbal and visual resources characterize the persuasive discourse of the AFD Saxony on their Facebook account. For this purpose, we propose a qualitative, multimodal analysis of selected entries which the party uploaded on its Facebook account between November 2018 and March 2019.
As one of the key technologies involved in communication networks, all-optical switching has witnessed many research efforts during the last decade. This work presents a detailed investigation of the properties and attractive interaction of spatial solitons in nematic liquid crystals for all-optical switching devices. This includes a description of basic properties such as their multimode behavior, as well as their power dependent interactions and signal steering. Furthermore, the temporal performance of an all-optical switching setup is analyzed and discussed. Thanks to their long-range, phase and wavelength independent interactions at milliwatts powers, and despite their slow response time in switching applications, nematicons proved to be an extremely promising testbed for soliton-based devices, including signal waveguides and power-dependent spatial steering devices.
An omnipresent topic in the economic news of the current year 2018 were the
developments regarding the smoldering trade dispute between the USA and China.
Within short periods of time, a downright exchange of strikes between the
administrations of the two countries evolved, with the President of the USA, Donald
Trump, in particular, pithily announcing to China an increasingly serious threat of
sanctions. Although the Chinese side was noticeably striving to de-escalate the verbal
dispute, it also presented a series of sanctions which were described in the relevant
press as so-called retaliatory tariffs.
The reason behind this diplomatic duel, however, has substance. It is evident that the
USA and China share an exceptional status with regard to economic fundamentals.
The US has the largest international trade deficit of US$ 375.2 billion vis-à-vis China.
China, on the other hand, is by far the largest creditor of the USA on an international
scale and currently holds around US$ 1.2 trillion in government bonds. Accordingly,
China exerts a major economic influence over the USA. This objective situation
opposes the subjective self-reflection of the government under President Trump, which
hardly misses an opportunity to operate on an international level with the help of
supposed deals according to the credo "America first".
The purpose of this study is to bring China closer to the audience, especially from the marketing perspective. The automotive industry, textile industry, technological industry, food, and beverage industries and much more have developed themselves in the Chinese market. Subsequently, the writer chose one sector of the technology industry, which are smartphones. The focus of this thesis is already available smartphone brands in China. The perception of smartphone brands should help in determining how the producing country is looked at, if the image clouds the judgment and if consumers are loyal to brands. These insights allow us to draw conclusions and recommendations for the communication and design of smartphone brands.
Objective: Sagittal balance (SB) plays important role in the successful treatment of spinal disorders. Segmental lordosis is an important SB parameter in spinal surgery and diagnosis, which can help to ensure proper surgical planning and better postoperative outcomes. The manual measurement of segmental lordosis is associated with problems such as time-consuming procedures, high error rates, and poor reproducibility.
The bachelor thesis proposes a solution by exploring and evaluating a more efficient and reliable AI-based method for determining segmental lordosis in preoperative patients, which is compared to measurements made by experienced physicians.
Methods: hidden due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Results: hidden due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Conclusions: hidden due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Regional power shift in Southeast Asia: Comparing economic influence of China and Japan in ASEAN
(2017)
This work deals with the Sino-Japanese power competition in Southeast Asia, which is here considered as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For this purpose, the academic discourse on regional powers in general, as well as in Southeast Asia is outlined, with special regard to the relation of economic and soft power. On the basis of trade and investment figures an analysis in comparative perspective is conducted, which examines the development of the Chinese and Japanese economic influence in ASEAN over the past decades.
Es wird ein neuartiges, interferometrisches Verfahren zur Analyse dünner Filme beschrieben.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a wide area in computer science and software engineering that finds its application not only in such fields as machine learning or artificial intelligence, but also has very quickly become a very popular solution to various questions and issues raised in the academic field. Those issues include information classification, text analysis, performing a so-called “smart search”, information grouping, providing feedback to academic papers, and many more. The application designed and implemented for this thesis targets solving a similar problem, which is described in details below.
The faculty of Physical Engineering and Informatics at the Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau uses a software tool called “Quest”. The “Quest” serves as an online platform that enables students to ask questions regarding the module material introduced by the teaching professors. The professors can use these questions in order to keep track of the topics rising the most amount of uncertainty, as well as to clarify those questions during the lectures. Since the modules repeat over time, similar or identical questions are frequently asked by students.
The current functionality of the “Quest” tool, however, does not provide grouping or clustering questions with a similar content into one category. The reason why this is important is because in the future phases of the improvement of the functionality of the “Quest”, professors want to be able to link similar questions with a learning material or online resources that the students can benefit from. This, however, is only possible when each incoming question is labeled with a certain category, and all previously inputted questions associated with this category become visible through the UI of the tool. That would allow students to review the questions referring to the same category that were previously asked by others, as well as to get access to the study materials or resources associated with that category.
The functionality described above would significantly improve the study process and therefore a solution to this problem is needed. One way to solve this issue would be to perform a manual classification of existing questions into associated categories, which given the large size of the question database would be quite time- and effort-consuming. Another option would be to build an application that would be able to analyze the existing dataset of questions and, with the help of the NLP techniques, classify new questions asked by students and identify the similar ones from an existing database.
The tool implemented for the above-mentioned purposes aims to serve as text analytics and classification application that would be able to find and categorize similar text and questions provided by students and/or professors at the Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau.
This bachelor thesis demonstrates the process of building a software tool using certain NLP techniques, such as tokenization, model training, categorization, NER (Named Entity Recognition), and POS (Parts of Speech tagging), which are defined and described in Chapter 2: “Literature Overview”. The relevance of these techniques in terms of the classification tool built in the context of this thesis is discussed in the section “Selection of NLP tools and techniques” of the “Methodology” chapter.
The aim of this thesis is to describe the methods and software tools used to develop a restful API for text classification, as well as to compare and analyze the effectiveness of two common NLP classifiers – the Naïve Bayes and Logistic Regression (Entropy Model) algorithms.
Sodium iron hexacyanoferrate (NaFeHCF) films were electrodeposited on Au/Cr/Si for the study of growth behavior and physical properties. The NaFeHCF films were studied by different analytical methods to prove the chemical composition, morphology and crystal structure. The grains of the film grow with a cubic structure with an average lattice parameter of 10.10 Å and the preferential growth direction along the [111] direction of the cubic cell. The films show a repeatable bipolar resistive switching behavior accompanied by high current changes (up to a factor of ~105). The different resistive states in the materials are dominated by ohmic conduction.
Since Carbon emissions are soaring all over the atmosphere, the world suffers from significant problems daily. It has become apparent that reliance on single occupancy vehicle transportation is unsustainable, expensive, and primarily harmful to humankind. Rural areas are frequently abandoned while expanding
transportation infrastructure as urbanisation grows. In rural areas, a lack of adequate and inexpensive transportation options leads to seclusion and restricted access to products, facilities, and job opportunities.
This study explores the potential of alternative transportation methods to improve mobility in rural areas. The objectives of the research are to expand knowledge on sustainable alternative transportation in rural regions and to offer practical solutions for enhancing accessibility and mobility for rural residents.
The study employed a mixed-method approach, including a literature review, a survey, and interviews with participants in two rural regions, Mosel and Oberrothenbach. The findings suggest that the transportation challenges faced by rural inhabitants can be effectively and sustainably addressed through walking and by using alternative transportation modes, such as cycling and public transit. This thesis provides a range of ideas and strategies to improve regulations, programs, and infrastructure related to alternative transportation modes in rural areas. This study dives into the characteristics and requirements
of these places using a combination of quantitative and qualitative surveys done in representative two rural regions to recommend successful alternative transportation solutions of On-Demand Transport Services and Electric or Trolley bus Services for daily commutes. The findings underline the need for flexible, multimodal, and on-demand transit choices, as well as the need for community participation and technology integration.
Traffic calming is introduced to minimise the negative results of motor vehicle use, for example, low safety level or quality of life, high noise and pollution. It can be implemented through the introduction of road infrastructure reducing the velocity and the traffic volume. In this paper, we studied how traffic-calming influences the traffic assignment. For the research, a traffic-calming measure of speed cushions on the Stachiewicza street in Krakow was taken. A method of extracting trajectories from aerial footage was shown, and it was used to build a model. For a given example, through driving characteristics research and microscopic modelling, volume–delay BPR functions were estimated—for a street with and without traffic calming. Later, a toy network of two roads of the same length, connecting the same origin and destination, was simulated using an equilibrium traffic assignment method. Simulations were conducted both with the use of PTV Vissim and Visum software and through individual calculations. According to the results of this paper, there was a difference in traffic volume according to the equilibrium traffic assignment in the aforementioned toy network as a function of total network traffic volume.
The traffic calming measures aim to slow down traffic speed, accident frequency, and reduction of through traffic caused mainly by motorized vehicles in residential areas. These measures are primarily addressed to the specific streets and lead the necessary or remaining traffic to drive in a restrained or considerate manner. While these measures are designed to prevent conflicts between pedestrians and motorists, they impose unstable traffic patterns and are sometimes unable to accommodate the increasing motor vehicle flows, as they are concentrated only on certain streets.
This paper investigates area-wide urban traffic calming techniques from existing projects. It explains how traffic regulatory and structural measures link together or separately to restrict the movement of motor vehicles traveling through neighborhood streets and divert them to main roads. The implemented sample measures were illustrated and described with photos of their current locations.
In this thesis, the district Äußere Neustadt was defined as a model area in Dresden to analyze and redesign the existing mobility plan in order to reduce the MIV flows with the main objectives of giving space for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport. The district's street infrastructure is heavily impacted by the presence of parked vehicles, raising challenges to the safe movement of both bicyclists and oncoming motor vehicles. In the frame of the model project initiative - "Woche des guten Lebens", the volunteer team has designed a traffic experiment and carried out an online survey to assess citizens' opinions of the Äußere Neustadt. The analyses demonstrate and emphasize the necessity of political support and interactive communication with citizens regarding the area-wide radical sustainable mobility plan. Considering the positive feedback of the citizens, the new mobility plan was realized in this paper.
Area-specific traffic calming techniques such as diagonal or cross barriers, zone speed limits, offsets, one-way streets, etc. were analyzed from the implemented projects to determine the appropriate solutions for the specified streets. The district's existing traffic network and the new solutions offered were visualized using QGIS software.
The implemented new traffic plan will lead to more space for pedestrians and bicycle traffic and a reduction in traffic noise.
ABSTRACT
Traffic congestion is a worldwide issue seen in various metropolitan cities. The reason for the existence of traffic congestion is overpopulation and high volumes of private cars that the roads are not able to sustain. The causes of traffic congestion are accidents, pollution, rush hours, bus bunching, and delays. Data and statistics are provided for traffic congestion related to rush hours. The benefits of public transportation such as buses are discussed. In this paper various forms of transit signal priority (TSP) strategies are assessed. TSP is a strategy that improves public transportation. The goal is to lessen congestion, lessen wait times, lessen travel times, and improve the service. Various forms of transit signal priority are researched and analyzed such as green wave, red truncation, dedicated bus lanes, queue jumps, etc.
The principal objective and aim of this thesis are improving traffic flow at the intersections of 2nd avenue @ 97th street, 2nd avenue @ 98th street and 2nd avenue @ 99th street in Manhattan. VISSIM will be utilized in implementing and setting up a high-quality microscopic simulation model of the signalized intersection in Manhattan. Providing prioritization for public transportation (specifically buses). Analyzing deficiencies in the traffic flow at the intersection 2nd avenue @ 97th, 98 and 99th street. The real time aspects will be considered on the selected intersections such as traffic signal coordination, speeds, pedestrians, various types of vehicles, public transportation, and bus stops.
There will be two models simulated: one that simulates the real time conditions. The second model in VISSIM implement changes to traffic flow on signalized intersection through V-A controller logic system. Improved signalization utilizes tsp and shows changes to congestion by giving buses priority with the help of detectors on signalized intersections. The aim of this model is to provide priority to buses and allows them special treatment; ultimately improves the bus service and traffic congestion.
KEYWORDS:
Bus priority, transit signal priority, detectors, public transportation, green extension, V-A Signal controller.
Conceptual Approach to an AI-Based Adaptive Study Support System for Individualized Higher Education
(2023)
In the context of the digital transformation, the targeted implementation of AI-based or AI-supported technologies in "teaching & learning" as well as "administration & service" holds considerable potential for organizational change and quality enhancement for higher education institutions. The use of AI in higher education teaching and services lags behind the level in research. Therefore, holistic solutions must be planned and implemented in unity of teaching and research for the AI-based support of the stakeholders’ inclusive administration, the further development or the establishment of new digital study programs and offers as well as the prospective qualification of university staff in the field of AI. The solutions must be analyzed, systematized, and structured to generate a conceptual approach via an integrated architecture with adaptive services.
This paper is an evolution of the concept presented at the Learning Ideas Conference 2022 and includes, in addition to explanations of the current state of the arts, the presentation of a systems-oriented approach for AI in higher education as well as the conception of the student lifecycle management at the author’s university. The paper ends with the presentation of a concept regarding a decision support system for individualized studying.
Analgesic drug use of recreational and competitive badminton players: Starting points for prevention
(2021)
Cloud Computing has had an impact on the computer science in recent years. Instead of the traditional way, where the using and providing of hardware resources and software are inflexible, Cloud Computing represents a pool of scalable, on-demand and easily available Cloud Services. These are differentiated by infrastructure, platform or software and are provided by a Cloud Service provider. An example of a service provider is a business software provider. Due to this of business software customers are increasingly are interested in a shift to Cloud Computing. Customers want to appreciate the advantages of Cloud Computing, such as the reduction of business expenditures generally or make business more flexible. This Bachelor Thesis analyses Cloud Computing's possibilities and advantages, especially Cloud Services, to forming the basis of expanding business software providers' product portfolio. The analyses results the concept for providing existing software components as a Cloud Service, without radically altering component configuration. This is used by a number of actors types and points out the advantage of using Cloud Services in different ways. Finally, a prototype implementation analysis the technical feasibility of the concept and represents a basis for conclusion and outlook
Objectives: Evidence-based clinical guidelines play an important role in healthcare and can be a valuable source for quality indicators (QIs). However, the link between guidelines and QI is often neglected and methodological standards for the development of guideline-based QI are still lacking. The aim of this qualitative study was to get insights into experiences of international authors with developing and implementing guideline-based QI.
Setting: We conducted semistructured interviews via phone or skype (September 2017–February 2018) with guideline authors developing guideline-based QI.
Participants: 15 interview participants from eight organisations in six European and North American countries.
Methods: Organisations were selected using purposive sampling with a maximum variation of healthcare settings. From each organisation a clinician and a methodologist were asked to participate. An interview guide was developed based on the QI development steps according to the ‘Reporting standards for guideline-based performance measures’ by the Guidelines International Network. Interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis with deductive and inductive categories.
Results: Interviewees deemed a programmatic approach, involvement of representative stakeholders with clinical and methodological knowledge and the connection to existing quality improvement strategies important factors for developing QI parallel to or after guideline development. Methodological training of the developing team and a shared understanding of the QI purpose were further seen conducive. Patient participation and direct patient relevance were inconsistently considered important, whereas a strong evidence base was seen essential. To assess measurement characteristics interviewees favoured piloting, but often missed implementation. Lack of measurability is still experienced a serious limitation, especially for qualitative aspects and individualised care.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that developing guideline-based QI can succeed either parallel to or following the guideline process with careful planning and instruction. Strategic partnerships seem key for implementation. Patient participation and relevance, measurement of qualitative aspects and piloting are areas for further development.
Trial registration number: German Clinical Trials Registry (DRKS00013006).
This article aims to identify the status quo of sustainability covenants firstly, secondly analyze their possibilities in enhancing sustainability performance and thirdly present further research directions. Covenants are additional contractual agreements mainly used in financial contracts, e.g. loans. They often focus on financial performance indicators, e.g., equity and net debt ratio, which the borrower must fulfil. However, the purpose of this article is to present a new approach to non-financial covenants, so-called sustainability covenants. Therefore, also nowadays ecological and social challenges are addressed. Banks have a huge impact on sustainable development by introducing more non-financial indicators in evaluating the creditability of borrowers. As a key hypothesis, this article argues that the approach of integrating ecological and social objectives through non-financial covenants is underrepresented in economic and business practice. Therefore, this article wants to examine how those objectives can be integrated into the financial concept of covenants and rely on research towards an integrative sustainability approach. In addition, a systematic literature review was conducted from October 2022 to July 2023 to analyze the status quo and derive future research directions. The review was based on two databases – Google Scholar and Scopus. As one key result, it was revealed that there is scarce existing literature on sustainability covenants, which refers to them as a policy measure. Only a few publications analyze their usage in financial contracts. However, this study implies the necessity for further research on sustainability covenants, emphasizing that they are powerful indicators to enhance the sustainability performance of the borrower.
The objective of the study is to improve the functionality of the Virtual Reality Laboratory (VR Labs) of the Faculty of Automotive Engineering and enhance its applicability in Road Traffic Engineering education and training at the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau (WHZ). In this study, a comprehensive description of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) as well as their wide application in education has been given.
An insight into the VR Labs of the Faculty of Automotive Engineering at WHZ is provided. The study built and proposed eight use cases of VR Labs in road traffic engineering training and education at WHZ. The limitations and barriers in deploying application cases are analyzed and suitable solutions are given. The adoption of virtual reality can be an easy transition based on BIM modeling software development, and 3D and 360 degrees scanning.
An extension of the VR Labs application for other areas of education at WHZ has been identified. In addition, technologies, areas of application, and future research directions are mentioned. Innovations such as 3D modeling and BIM-based workflows that are being encouraged through the development of content-created engines will provide students with opportunities for using VR/AR on road traffic and infrastructure projects in the future.
Conceptual design of load balanced streaming of multimedia data within shared web applications
(2011)
In this master's thesis it has been researched the possibility of a network of shared web applications in a server-supported (hybrid) peer-to-peer network where peers retransmit specified parts of the progressively download (streamed) multimedia data, with focus on economically bandwidth usage. A conceptual design of a real-world peer-to-peer video-on-demand service, controlled by a central server, was developed, including a payment procedure for commercial use. Different network overlay scenarios were proposed and their advantages and disadvantages were discussed. Bandwidth calculations have supported those predications. Algorithms for dynamically handling changes in the network structure were developed. Communication protocols were conceptualized accordant to the needs of the proposed shared applications. Methods for keeping the quality of experience high were discussed. A zipper mode, higher-level slice structure for the data was proposed, and enhanced to a multiple-stream system for sending and receiving data. Error and data loss handling procedures were designed.
In this work, a new method for selecting suitable materials is presented. This method has a high potential for a variety of engineering applications, such as the design of sound-absorbing and vibration-loaded structures, where a large number of different requirements have to be met. The method is based on the derivation of functional dependencies of selected material parameters. These dependencies can be used in parameter studies to consider parameter combinations that lie in the range of real existing and targeted material groups. This allows the parameter space to be reduced, the calculation to be accelerated, and suitable materials to be (pre-)selected for the respective application, which contributes to a more target-oriented design. The method is applied to the example of a plate resonator. For this purpose, a semi-analytical model is implemented to calculate the transmission loss as well as the reflected and dissipated sound power of plate silencers, taking into account the influence of flow velocity and fluid temperature on the performance of plate silencers.
Analysis of a Film Forming Process through Coupled Image Correlation and Infrared Thermography
(2022)
The aim of the present investigation was to determine the dependence of the material and process parameters of the bending process of thermoplastic films. In this context, parameter combinations leading to high resulting forming ratios were identified. To measure the relevant parameters within the hot bending process, a coupled evaluation of infrared thermography (IRT) and deformation measurement using digital image correlation (DIC) was performed. The coupled measurement enables the identification of the actual mechanically stressed bending area of the film as a result of the bending process. This allows for the specification of the local forming temperatures required for the desired forming ratios. Furthermore, the mechanical and thermal strain along the defined measuring sections and their deviation in individual tests as well as the effect of thermal strain on process control on a larger scale were determined. Based on the results, a process window was defined for the film materials investigated, which will serve as a starting point for future efforts to develop a continuous manufacturing process.
The purpose of this article is to revise the literature on how theories have been utilized in investigating third-parties (for example, Non-Governmental Organizations, certifying organizations, among others) in Sustainable Supply Chain Management. Based on that, we derive future research directions. For revising the literature in a structured manner, the articles use the systematic literature review as the method of choice. Only half of the identified articles utilize theories for investigating third-parties in Sustainable Supply Chain Management. In addition, major theories are overweighed. This predomination leads to influencing the conceptualization of third-parties in Sustainable Supply Chain Management. Future research opportunities exist in broadening the utilization of theories and methods applied in the field, investing in under-explored aspects and broadening the scope of testing and building frameworks. Based on the synthesizing, propositions supplement future research directions. The novelty of this article lies in its investigation of how theories have been used in investigating and conceptualizing third-parties in Sustainable Supply Chain Management. By that, it contributes with a state-of-the-art view on the important topic of sustainability and how third-parties could solve sustainability challenges. With that, the article is a first attempt and step for extending the academic literature and practice with rethinking classic ways of managing sustainability and utilize out of the box ideas.
China
(2019)
At first an indroduction is given to lidar, atmospheric basics, include scattering and absorption, and different experiments using lidar in space. Then it's shown how you can determine aerosol layers using LITE data. Two different kinds of Color Rations will analyzed on these aerosol layers. To calculate Color Rations it's necessary to calibrate the LITE data in the 352 nm and the 1064 nm wavelength. A calibration ratio is used, because of problems with the calabration in the 1064 nm channel.<br> The Attenued Totel Color Ration can be used to distinguish betweeen clouds and aerosols. This will be done for the Orbit 55 on single shot and averaged shot data, and for more averaged shot data in other Orbits. On the other hand the Particle Color Ratio, which is analyzed from the top of the layer with the Top Skimming Technique, can be used to find out what kind of particle is it.