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This model course for the development of Digital Citizenship skills is a guideline designed to assist trainers and educators to introduce and organise training courses and non-formal educational activities for youngsters. It comprises 10 lesson plans supported by: course aim, competencies and area of knowledge, teaching syllabus, practical exercises, evaluation method, as well as the recognition system. By following this guideline and the recommended methods for teaching and assessment, trainers can enhance the existing training materials, to further deliver effective training to youth in the 10 digital domains essential for today’s digital world. Access and Inclusion Learning and Creativity Media and Information Literacy Ethics and Empathy Health and Wellbeing e-Presence and Communications Active Participation Rights and Responsibilities Privacy and Security Consumer Awareness The model shall not be seen as exhaustive, and the course designer is invited to adapt the time and educational materials in accordance with the trainees’ level of understanding. The educational materials for the proposed lesson plans supported by course curricula, quizzes, case studies and exercises are available online via this e-learning platform.

Young people today inhabit a world that has been transformed by digital technologies, effortlessly enabling connectedness through social media and access to vast quantities of information. Making sense of this hyper-rich information and engaging effectively and responsibly poses a whole set of new challenges for educators as they seek to prepare young people as citizens, exercising their rights and participating effectively in the affairs of the community (COE, 2020). Teaching Digital citizenship is challenging. Nowadays, more than ever online education plays a decisive role in the future of humanity. The methods used for preparing the course materials certainly impact the learner engagement, the level of achievement as well as the lifelong impact of the developed skills. In order to propose educational tools adapted to youth needs, the authors consulted hundreds of references, conducted an online survey among European young people and interviews with youth workers. Creating an efficient and effective digital synchronous classroom requires online teachers to develop exceptional communication skills. Twenty-first-century teachers need all the skills required to develop lesson plans for traditional classroom instruction and they must be able to apply them to digital teaching environments. The challenge occurs while trying to create an efficient and effective digital asynchronous classroom. At this point, the teachers really need Instructional design skills. Instructional design is the creation of learning experiences and materials in a manner that results in the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. Despite the numerous online courses and scientific articles that are available for developing and improving instructional design skills, very few addressed the teaching methods along with examples, pros and cons. This MOOC Canvas and Instructional Design Manual for Digital Citizenship Courses was created in the Strategic partnership to develop open educational resources for teaching digital citizenship project based on the results of the feedback survey (taking into consideration the youth preferences), the responses of youth workers and trainers to interviews and the vast scientific research literature. The Manual includes ten MOOC Canvases meant to introduce the reader to the online course environment offering an overview of the digital citizenship courses. These canvases were then supplemented by elements of instructional design which help developing stimulating and meaningful learning environments for digital citizenship learners. The MOOC Canvas and Instructional Design Manual for Digital Citizenship Courses represents the starting point for the development of ten online courses to improve the digital citizenship skills of youth: Access and inclusion; Learning and Creativity; Media and Information Literacy; Ethics and Empathy; Health and Wellbeing; e-Presence and Communication; Active Participation; Rights and Responsibilities; Privacy and Security; and Consumer Awareness. These courses are available in English, Romanian, Greek and German in the European Online Training Platform TrainingClub.eu. Therefore, this manual investigates the methods of teaching in an online asynchronous classroom, presents the best practices for creating learners engagement, as well as concludes be summarizing the main steps for creating an efficient and effective online course adapted to youth needs. With this manual, even the novice teacher will feel empowered to proceed to online course development., Grant Agreement 2019-3-RO01-KA205-078053, Strategic partnership to develop open educational resources for teaching digital citizenship (DIGCIT)

Comprehensive evaluations include data from multiple informants, but discrepancies occur on adaptive skill measures of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID). This study investigated discrepancies between parent-teacher ratings on a measure of adaptive behavior [Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition (ABAS-3)] in a clinical sample of 115 youth. Agreement between informants was determined and then discrepancies were identified using paired-sample t-tests for the whole sample and subsamples. Factors associated with parent-teacher discrepancies were investigated including age, diagnoses, IQ, autism symptomology, and parent education. Parent-teacher scores were moderately correlated for the ABAS-3 composite and domains. Teachers rated youth with ASD and ID as having higher adaptive skills. Autism symptomology significantly predicted discrepancies between informants on the ABAS-3.

Livestock production is associated with several gaseous pollutant emissions to the environment. These emissions can degrade local and regional air quality, contribute to surface water eutrophication and acid rain, and contribute to the greenhouse gas footprint of the production sector. Modern production systems must balance animal welfare and environmental pollution potential with economic reality, which is a great challenge to maintain as global demand for animal protein increases. Accordingly, gaseous emission technologies were the main target for this research, in which mitigating gas emissions of ammonia, nitrous oxide, and methane from pig production facilities via slurry aeration system was tested. Five treatments with different airflow rates in the test room were examined continuously over a period of 6 weeks and the results were compared with the control room. Test results indicate that the highest mitigation potentials were 12, 57.6, and 10.4% for nitrous oxide, methane, and ammonia, respectively. Subsequently directing exhaust air into a sulfuric acid air scrubber at 3.0 pH further reduced total ammonia emissions by 80 to 87%.

Manure management is considered to be a main key for mitigating gas emissions from livestock buildings. Since there are a number of limitations that make it difficult to identify these conditions in farm-scale experiments, these experiments should be conducted on a laboratory scale. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop pilot reactors for simulating the operation conditions to be used later in a farm-scale experiment. The developed reactors were made from polyvinylchloride with 1.5 m height and 0.16 m diameter to be filled with 0.19 L slurry. The generated concentrations of NH3, N2O and CH4 from the slurry were continuously analysed at 800 mL min−1 air flow rate using three different sampling methods. The concentration gradient was also analysed within gas chamber height above the slurry. No differences were apparent neither between the various sampling methods nor concentrations gradient in the gas chamber. Acid pilot reactor was developed to determine the required acid concentration and quantity. Influences of pH slurry and air flow rates on gases concentrations were investigated. At 0.32 $${\text{m}}_{\text{air}}^{3} \;{\text{m}}_{\text{slurry}}^{ - 3} \;{\text{h}}^{ - 1}$$ flow rate, the reproducible value of the emissions was minimized. The emissions of NH3, N2O and CH4 were 3.2, 2.3 and 38 $${\text{mg}}\;{\text{m}}_{\text{slurry}}^{ - 3} \;{\text{h}}^{ - 1}$$ , respectively. In order to achieve minimum gas emissions under aerobic conditions, slurry pH should be kept in the neutral range. A comparison of gas emissions under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was conducted. Approximately 70% less NH3 and 130% more N2O were produced under aerobic than with anaerobic conditions.

Blends of arabinoxylan ferulate (AXF) and gelatin (GEL) at 1:1, 2:1 and 4:1 mass ratios were electrospun into composite fibrous mats as a wound-healing drug delivery platform. The composite...

Arabinoxylan ferulate (AXF) foams were fabricated via enzymatic peroxidase/hydrogen peroxide crosslinking reaction followed by freeze-drying and studied as a potential wound dressing material. The AXF foam's rheological, morphological, porous, and swelling properties were examined. AXF foams were found to be a viscoelastic material that proved to be highly porous and water absorbent. AXF foams possessed low endotoxin levels and were cytocompatible with fibroblasts. Silver was successfully integrated into AXF foams and slowly released over 48 h. AXF foams impregnated with silver demonstrated efficacy inhibiting bacterial growth according to a modified Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility test. Overall, AXF foams possess appropriate material properties and the silver-loaded AXF foams showed antimicrobial activity necessary to be a candidate material in wound dressing development. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 2456-2465, 2016.

The primary aim of this equivalence study was to compare the outcome of a brief group therapeutic intervention, based on the principles of dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT) with an intervention based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in patients suffering from medically unexplained somatic symptoms (MUSS). Participants were 89 patients (aged 18 to 62) who were offered 20 sessions of either DIT or CBT, as central part of a treatment package, consisting of art therapy, psychomotor therapy, social therapy and physical therapy. Measurements were conducted at baseline, 10 weeks and 20 weeks, using self-rating scales measuring the level of anxiety and depression, the severity of medically unexplained symptoms and quality of life. Results showed that CBT and DIT were comparable. The conclusion was that it is recommended to design a larger scale randomised controlled trial to further elaborate the short-term and long-term effects of this novel psychodynamic group therapy for MUSS patients.

Purpose: To determine if use of antiplatelet or anticoagulant (AP/AC) medication influences visual acuity in patients with active neovascular age-related macular degeneration (N-AMD). Design: Retrospective analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial. Methods: SETTING: Multicenter. STUDY POPULATION: Total of 330 patients with active N-AMD from the BRAMD study, a comparative trial between bevacizumab and ranibizumab in the Netherlands. OBSERVATION PROCEDURES: Patients underwent an extensive ophthalmic examination. Visual acuity was categorized into functional vision (best-corrected visual acuity [BCVA] ≥ 0.5), visual impairment (BCVA < 0.5), and severe visual impairment (BCVA < 0.3). Fundus photographs were graded for presence of retinal or subretinal hemorrhages. Information on AP/AC medication was obtained through interview. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine associations between AP/AC medication and outcomes. Frequency of hemorrhages in users and non-users stratified for visual acuity categories was analyzed with ANCOVA. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: BCVA and presence of hemorrhages. Results: In total, 40.9% of the patients used AP/AC medication, of which 73.3% was aspirin. AP/AC use was not associated with visual impairment (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.43-1.44) or severe visual impairment (adjusted OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.40-1.43). Patients on AP/AC presented with comparable frequencies of hemorrhages (27% vs 32%, P =.32, respectively). Similar results were found when analyses were restricted to aspirin users only. Conclusion: In our study, use of AP/AC medication was associated neither with visual decline nor with the occurrence of hemorrhages in patients with active N-AMD.

This investigation examined the factor structure and validity evidence for the Parent Experience of Racial Socialization Scale (PERS). Exploratory factor analysis found four interpretable factors accounting for 40% of the variance in the racial socialization construct. The identified factors were religion and spirituality, alertness to discrimination, mainstream, and cultural pride and coping. Correlation analyses indicated negative relationships between the newly identified PERS factors religion and spirituality and alertness to discrimination and the Teenagers Experiences of Racial Socialization (TERS) factor Alertness to Discrimination. In contrast, a positive relationship was found for the PERS spirituality and religion factor and the TERS cultural endorsement of the mainstream factor. Recommendations for research methods regarding racial socialization scales are provided.

Despite considerable recent progress in defining neutrophil functions and behaviors in tissue repair, much remains to be determined with regards to its overall role in the tissue integration of biomaterials. This article provides an overview of the neutrophil's numerous, important roles in both inflammation and resolution, and subsequently, their role in biomaterial integration. Neutrophils function in three primary capacities: generation of oxidative bursts, release of granules and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs); these combined functions enable neutrophil involvement in inflammation, macrophage recruitment, M2 macrophage differentiation, resolution of inflammation, angiogenesis, tumor formation and immune system activation. Neutrophils exhibit great flexibility to adjust to the prevalent microenvironmental conditions in the tissue; thus, the biomaterial composition and fabrication will potentially influence neutrophil behavior following confrontation. This review serves to highlight the neutrophil's plasticity, reiterating that neutrophils are not just simple suicidal killers, but the true maestros of resolution and regeneration.

Although electrospun templates are effective at mimicking the extracellular matrix (ECM) of native tissue due to the tailorability of parameters such as fiber diameter, polymer composition, and drug loading, these templates are often limited with regards to cell infiltration and the tailorability of the microenvironments within the structures. Thus, there remains a need for a flexible threedimensional template system which could be combined with cell suspensions to promote three-dimensional tissue regeneration, and ultimately allow cells to freely reorganize and modify their microenvironment. In this study, a mincing process was designed and optimized to create mixtures of electrospun fibers/branched-clusters for use as fundamental tissue engineering building units. These fiber/branched-cluster elements were characterized with regards to fiber and branch lengths, and a method was optimized to combine them with normal human dermal fibroblasts (nHDFs) in culture to create interconnected template constructs. Sectioning and imaging of these constructs revealed cell/fiber integration as well as even cell distribution throughout the construct interior. These fiber/branched-cluster elements represent an innovative flexible tissue regeneration template system.

Electrospun fibrous meshes are promising vehicles for sustained, localized delivery of therapeutic agents to specific target tissues. Their large surface area to volume ratio facilitates a high loading efficiency, and the versatility of methods for drug attachment and/or encapsulation allows for loading with many types of drug molecules. Additionally, varying polymer type and fiber morphology and the use of additional drug-encapsulating particles allow the release profile, mechanical properties, and degradation rate to be tailored to each application. Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of these systems in antibiotic delivery, establishing hemostasis, eliciting tissue growth and remodeling, and treating various types of cancer. These results indicate promising avenues for commercialization, which have yet to be fully realized.

Arabinoxylan ferulate (AXF) foams were fabricated via enzymatic peroxidase/hydrogen peroxide crosslinking reaction followed by freeze-drying and studied as a potential wound dressing material. The AXF foam's rheological, morphological, porous, and swelling properties were examined. AXF foams were found to be a viscoelastic material that proved to be highly porous and water absorbent. AXF foams possessed low endotoxin levels and were cytocompatible with fibroblasts. Silver was successfully integrated into AXF foams and slowly released over 48 h. AXF foams impregnated with silver demonstrated efficacy inhibiting bacterial growth according to a modified Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility test. Overall, AXF foams possess appropriate material properties and the silver-loaded AXF foams showed antimicrobial activity necessary to be a candidate material in wound dressing development. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 2456-2465, 2016.

Since the dot.com boom and Clayton Christensen's book, The Innovator's Dilemma, there has been an international revival of interest in innovation. At the same time, corporate interest in branding remains buoyant. On a third issue—a world of cost-cutting, off-shoring, and IT—millions of managers have been forced to focus on organization. What is unclear is how design managers interpret their tasks in the current climate, and how well they think they are performing these tasks. PARK, a network of consultants in advanced design management, worked with Wouter Voskuijl, a masters student at the Delft University of Technology, to seek responses from 300 design managers worldwide. Positive and negative correlations were then made between their primary objectives and their experiences. Broad conclusions were drawn from the survey. These include the persistence of silos and the prevalence of competition within organizations, which lead design managers to feel left in the dark about other internal departments. It is also apparent that design managers feel far removed from corporate strategy. This may explain design management's fascination with measuring its performance to be commendable, which perhaps reflects a level of defensiveness.

We no longer have to prove the value of design, say these authors. Now, the task is to use design to the fullest. It boils down to two basic ideas: 1) that design's aims must be closely related to the objectives of the company; and 2) that design must be implemented in a manner consistent with that relationship.

We develop an estimate of the complete outdoor lighting of Flagstaff Arizona, as well as lighting- use densities (lumens per acre) for a number of different land uses. We find a total outdoor light output of 173 million lumens (Mlm) including sports lighting, and 139 Mlm without sports lighting, with an uncertainty of about 7%. The average fraction escaping directly upward from light fixtures is estimated to be 8.3%. After correcting approximately for near-ground blocking described in the accompanying paper by Luginbuhl et al., total uplight is estimated at 17.9 Mlm or 12.2 Mlm with and without sports lighting, respectively. Of these 17.9 Mlm, 33% arise from sports lighting, when it is on; when sports lighting is off, commercial and industrial lighting account for 62% with the remainder dominated by residential (14%) and roadway lighting (12%). We show that the 1989 Flagstaff lighting code that limited total outdoor lighting on new construction has reduced the growth rate of lighting, re- sulting in a 17% growth in light escaping into the sky from 1989 to 2003, compared to a 43% increase expected if the 1989 code had not been enacted. If all legally nonconforming lighting installed before 1989 were to be brought into compliance with the code, we would expect sky glow in Flagstaff to actually decrease by 36% compared to that in 2003; if all lighting, including residential, could be converted to fully shielded fixtures, sky glow would decrease to about half the current value. The implications for the most effective ways to address sky glow through lighting codes are discussed.

In this study we examined the effects of risk factors (perceived neighborhood crime/delinquency problems, neighborhood incivilities) and protective factors (teacher support, family support, peer support) on the school engagement of 123 urban adolescents of color. Age and gender were also examined to determine if different ages (younger or older) or genders (male or female) significantly modified the relationship between the risk factors and school engagement. Results indicated that perceived neighborhood incivilities was uniquely predictive of school engagement. Contrary to hypotheses, different levels of the perceived social support variables did not modify the effects of risky neighborhood conditions on adolescent's perceived school engagement. Age, but not gender, significantly modified the relationship between perceived family social support and perceived neighborhood crime on adolescents' reported levels of school engagement. The implications of the results for prevention and intervention programs that address school engagement among early adolescents of color are considered.

In dem vom BMBF geforderten Verbundprojekt „Schulinspektion als Steuerungsimpuls zur Schulentwicklung und seine Realisierungsbedingungen auf einzelschulischer Ebene“ gab es eine quantitative Befragung von Schulleitungen in vier ausgesuchten Bundeslandern, die das Umgehen der Schulleitungen mit der eingefuhrten Schulinspektion eruierte. Des Weiteren gab es in dem Verbundprojekt eine qualitative Interviewstudie, die Experteninterviews mit verschiedenen Vertreter/innen des Mehrebenensystem der Schule durchfuhrte, darunter auch Schulleitungen. Im Aufsatz erfolgt eine triangulative Gegenuberstellung der Befunde aus beiden Studien, wobei Schulleitungen als Akteure im Zentrum stehen.

To evaluate the association of subretinal hyperreflective material (SHRM) with visual acuity (VA), geographic atrophy (GA), and scar in the Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT).Prospective cohort study within a randomized clinical trial.The 1185 CATT participants.Masked readers graded scar and GA on fundus photography and fluorescein angiography and graded SHRM on time-domain and spectral-domain (SD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) throughout 104 weeks. Measurements of SHRM height and width in the fovea, within the center 1 mm(2), or outside the center 1mm(2) were obtained on SD OCT images at 56 (n = 76) and 104 (n = 66) weeks.Presence of SHRM, as well as location and size, and associations with VA, scar, and GA.Among CATT participants, the percentage with SHRM at enrollment was 77%, decreasing to 68% at 4 weeks after treatment and to 54% at 104 weeks. At 104 weeks, scar was present more often in eyes with persistent SHRM than in eyes with SHRM that resolved (64% vs. 31%; P0.0001). Among eyes with detailed evaluation of SHRM at weeks 56 (n = 76) and 104 (n = 66), mean VA letter score was 73.5 (standard error [SE], 2.8), 73.1 (SE, 3.4), 65.3 (SE, 3.5), and 63.9 (SE, 3.7) when SHRM was absent, present outside the central 1 mm(2), present within the central 1 mm(2) but not the foveal center, or present at the foveal center (P = 0.02), respectively. When SHRM was present, the median maximum height under the fovea, within the central 1 mm(2) including the fovea and anywhere within the scan, was 86 μm, 120 μm, and 122 μm, respectively. Visual acuity was decreased with greater SHRM height and width (P0.05).In eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), SHRM is common and often persists after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment. At 2 years, eyes with scar were more likely to have SHRM than other eyes. Greater SHRM dimensions were associated with worse VA. In eyes with neovascular AMD, SHRM is an important morphologic biomarker.

Fear of dental procedures deters many individuals with mental retardation from accepting dental treatment. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of two procedures, in vivo desensitization and video modeling, for increasing compliance with dental procedures in participants with severe or profound mental retardation. Desensitization increased compliance for all 5 participants, whereas video modeling increased compliance for only 1 of 3 participants.

Although advances have been made in modulation of host inflammatory response in periodontal therapy, it is important to control the bacterial challenge to the host immune system through conventional therapy and improvement of personal oral hygiene. Although toothbrushing is generally performed, interdental cleaning is not as common. This study compared the use of dental floss to a toothpick holder in the improvement of gingival health.Participants were examined and those with clinical gingivitis or slight chronic periodontitis were included in the study. O'Leary plaque, interproximal plaque index (IPI), and Eastman interdental bleeding index scores (EIBI) were recorded at baseline and following appointments. Forty-two females and 13 males ranging from 18 to 50 years in age were randomly divided into either a dental flossing group or toothpick holder using group. Each was given instructions in the use of the oral hygiene device and examined 2, 6, and 12 weeks following baseline. At 12 weeks, 27 floss users and 20 toothpick-holder users completed the study.Plaque scores were reduced in both groups as the study progressed. Mean O'Leary plaque scores decreased significantly for both methods from baseline to week 12 (P0.05). The EIBI and IPI scores decreased in mean scores over time for each method (P0.05). A correlation was found between the O'Leary plaque index and the IPI scores (P0.05).The results of this study found that the use of dental floss or toothpick holder resulted in no significantly different effect in the improvement of gingival health.

Electrospinning, a fabrication technique used to create non-woven, porous templates from natural and synthetic polymers, is commonly used in tissue engineering because it is highly tailorable. However, traditional electrospinning creates restrictive pore sizes that limit the required cell migration. Therefore, tissue engineering groups have sought to enhance and regulate porosity of tissue engineering templates. Air-impedance electrospinning generates templates with tailorable, patterned areas of low and high density fiber deposition. Here we demonstrate an improved air-impedance electrospinning system, consisting of a newly designed funnel equipped to hold changeable porous deposition plates and administer air flow in a confined and focused manner, with parameters that maintain template integrity. In this preliminary study, we quantify the increase in porosity of polydioxanone templates with use of traditional fiber and pore analysis as well as with mercury porosimetry. Additionally, we validate the system’s significance in fabricating enhanced porosity templates that maintain their mechanical properties (i.e. elastic modulus, tensile strength, and suture retention strength) despite the deliberate increase in porosity. This is of exceptional value to the template’s integrity and efficacy as these parameters can be further optimized to induce the desired template porosity, strength, and texture for a given application.

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Treballs Finals de Grau en Geografia, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 201x-201x, Tutor: Ma Carmen Moreno García, El objetivo principal de este Trabajo es la implementación de indicadores de cambio global en el Parque Nacional de Yasuní, Ecuador. Para la realización del proyecto fue necesario un viaje de 10 días a Ecuador, cuyo objetivo era la estancia en la Estación científica de Yasuní de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ecuador (PUCE) en el este del Ecuador amazónico. La estancia fue aprovechada para varias reuniones y consulta con expertos en biodiversidad de la zona y el trabajo de campo en los senderos de la estación que se adentran en selva. Gracias a las reuniones se pudo elaborar una lista con una quincena de árboles cuyas fenofases serán utilizadas para probar y medir el cambio global. En el trabajo de campo se buscaron, marcaron y registraron tres ejemplares de cada especie. Se espera que a partir de los datos que se obtendrán del monitoreo, las fenofases de estas especies tengan expresiones que indiquen el cambio global. Se recomienda un monitoreo en las fenofases marcadas en las fichas de las especies que incluye este documento. Palabras clave: Cambio global; fenofases; indicadores ambientales; Parque Nacional Yasuní, Proyecto Dinámica del Bosque Yasuní

Rectilinear biphasic cardioversion was used in 2 horses with idiopathic sustained atrial fibrillation; 1 horse converted to sustained sinus rhythm. Variables that potentially affected outcome of the electrical cardioversion procedures in these horses included duration of arrhythmia, placement of cardioverter pads and paddles, serum electrolyte concentrations, and treatment with quinidine. Serum cardiac troponin I concentration, measured to determine whether the myocardium was damaged from the electrical shocks, was within the reference range in both horses after the procedure. Biphasic electrical cardioversion may provide an alternative to pharmacologic cardioversion with quinidine in horses. The rectilinear biphasic defibrillator-cardioverter uses a unique biphasic waveform to deliver constant current to the myocardium during cardioversion, regardless of transthoracic impedance. Biphasic cardioversion is safer and more effective than traditional monophasic cardioversion in humans and animals.

We demonstrated that (i) quite simple arrangements of a few `strategically positioned' antidots can lead to significant reduction of the low-frequency noise in high-Tc SQUIDs and (ii) that a careful analysis of the unlocked SQUID signal can be used to identify the number and position of vortices that penetrate the superconducting device. By using only two antidots in the vicinity of the Josephson junction and a ring of antidots at the position of the first penetrating vortices, the onset field at which the low-frequency noise starts to increase is shifted from B on ≈8 μ T without antidots to B on ≈40 μ T in field-cooled experiments and to B on ≈25 μ T in zero-field cooled measurements. The exact position for the antidots is obtained by careful analysis of the impact of the position of moving vortices on the low-frequency noise, the driving forces for vortex motion and the position of the first vortices that penetrate the SQUID washer. The attained improvement of the sensitivity of the superconducting device demonstrates the potential of antidots in applications which not necessarily are restricted to high-Tc SQUIDS.

In this contribution, we report (i) on the observation of commensurability effects between regular arrays of artificial defects and the vortex lattice in high-temperature superconductor (HTS) films and (ii) on the reduction of low-frequency 1/ f noise in high- T c superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) caused by these regular arrays of artificial defects. Arrays of submicrometer holes (antidots) with periodicity down to 0.5 μm were patterned into YBCO thin films without deterioration of superconducting properties. Commensurability effects between the antidot and vortex lattice were observed via resistive and inductive measurements, which clearly prove the presence of an attractive interaction between vortices and antidots and the existence of multiquanta vortices. Consequently, the attractive interaction between antidots and vortices was used to reduce the vortex motion in superconducting devices, thus leading to a strong reduction of 1/ f noise. For a proof of the principle, YBCO films with antidot lattices (5 μm spacing) were mounted in flip-chip configuration onto bicrystal rf-SQUIDs. Commensurability between vortex lattice in film, fluxons in the bicrystal boundary and the antidot array was observed in the form of a strong reduction and increase of the 1/ f noise at discrete magnetic inductions, which are predicted by simple geometric considerations. The transfer of this very promising technology for 1/ f noise reduction to standard HTS SQUIDs used in applications (e.g., NDE, MGC) is presently under way.

We report on the detection of matching effects between antidot and vortex lattices in rf SQUIDs that clearly demonstrate, that antidots can strongly reduce the low-frequency 1/f noise in active superconducting devices. Square lattices of holes (antidots) with diameters of 0.25-2 /spl mu/m and lattice parameters ranging from 0.5 to 50 /spl mu/m are patterned into optimized sputtered YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 2/O/sub 7-/spl delta// thin films without deterioration of superconducting properties. First, a special experimental set-up consisting of an antidot lattice in flip-chip configuration with a bicrystal rf-SQUID is used for the demonstration of the principle of noise reduction by antidots. Matching effects between vortex and antidot lattice in form of minima in the noise spectra are observed, indicating that thermally activated hopping of vortices can strongly be reduced by antidots. Second, antidots are directly patterned into step-edge rf-SQUIDs. For large antidot lattice parameters (50 /spl mu/m) no degradation of the SQUID parameters can be measured. However, matching effects and noise reduction due to the presence of the antidots can not be observed in this first attempt. The results are discussed in terms of multiquanta, possible solutions and suggestions for improvements are given.

It is well known that alterations to the oral cavity caused by dental prostheses may affect speech articulation, although influences on the voice are not assumed. In addition to the vocal fundamental frequency, vibrations of the vocal chords generate overtones. Through the shape of the larynx and the upper airway, resonances and antiresonances are formed, and in this way overtones are amplified to a variable extent. Nozzle changes caused by a dental prosthesis in the oral cavity may possibly influence overtones but influences on the vocal fundamental frequency seem unlikely. The influence of dental prostheses on the voice is demonstrated in a patient who owned two different dental prostheses. The fundamental frequency rose by up to five semitones during speech and his vocal range increased by up to four semitones when a thin denture was used instead of a normal denture. When the position of the mandible was checked by intraoral needle point placement, a more rostral position of the mandible was recorded with the thin denture than with the normal denture. Sagittal magnetic resonance tomography imaging also showed that the larynx was in a more cranial position. This change was presumed to be due to an upward movement of the larynx induced by the tongue, which itself was found to be in a more cranial position with the thin denture. In this situation, increased tension of the laryngeal muscles were believed to induce a rise in fundamental frequency, shifting the voice range toward higher frequencies. These findings show that dental prostheses can cause vocal changes in individual cases. The etiology of this occurrence is still not clear. Its consequences, however, should be known to the dentist, ENT surgeon and phoniatrist if patients notice changes in their voice after having altered or replaced their dentures.

This paper presents the implementation and experimental evaluation of a new current-sharing technique for paralleled power converters. This technique uses information naturally encoded in the switching ripple to achieve current sharing and requires no intercell connections for communicating this information. Practical implementation of the approach is addressed and an experimental evaluation, based on a three-cell prototype system, is also presented. It is shown that accurate and stable load sharing is obtained over a wide load range. Finally, an alternate implementation of this current-sharing technique is described and evaluated.

A new current-sharing technique for paralleled power converters, which is based on frequency encoding of the current-sharing information, is introduced. The approach has significant advantages over existing methods, including the ability to transformer isolate or eliminate current-sharing control connections. Operation of the current-sharing technique is analyzed, and the design and experimental evaluation of a three-cell prototype system are presented.

Es wird die Problematik der Kostenverrechnung (Gemeinkostenzuteilung) anhand der Spieltheorie analysiert. Dabei wird anhand der kooperativen Spieltheorie gezeigt, dass der entwickelte Lösungsvorschlag eine Kernzuteilung bestimmt. Praxisrelevante Konsequenzen werden diskutiert und anhand des Fallbeispiels der Werbildungsrechnung veranschaulicht.

Die zentrale Aufgabe dieser Arbeit besteht darin, die Wirksamkeit oder Unwirksamkeit einer pädagogischen Innovation empirisch zu dokumentieren. Die Entwicklung von Kindertagesstätten zu Familienzentren im Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, durch einen politischen Beschluss im Jahr 2005 in Gang gesetzt, ist der Rahmenprozess, in dem diese Evaluationsuntersuchung stattfindet. Familienzentren und Kindertagesstätten werden in dieser Arbeit zweimal untersucht, 2007 (Februar) und 2008 (September). Die Evaluationsuntersuchung, die hier vorgestellt wird, stützt sich auf ein längsschnittliches Versuchs- und Kontrollgruppendesign und berichtet über die erste und zweite Messung von Meinungen und Bewertungen von LeiterInnen, Eltern und ErzieherInnen, sie ist also mehrperspektivisch angelegt. Alle 3 Gruppen werden befragt, wie zufrieden sie mit ihrer Situation sind, welche Meinung sie über die Familienzentrenentwicklung haben und welche Angebote ihnen wichtig sind. Die LeiterInnen werden darüber hinaus noch gebeten, zur Abschätzung der treatment fidelity, einige strukturelle Variablen ihrer Einrichtungen zu benennen. Insgesamt werden 12 Einrichtungen, die sich auf dem Wege der Veränderung zu Familienzentren befinden, mit 19 anderen verglichen, die Kindertagesstätten bleiben. Es werden je Messung gut 20 Leiterinnen, über 100 ErzieherInnen und knapp 190 Elternteile untersucht.

Shredded newspaper (2.5, 7.6, 12.7, and 17.8 cm depth), chopped newspaper (2.5 and 7.6 cm), wheat straw (15.2 cm), black plastic, and plastic landscape fabric were evaluated during 1993 and 1994 in West Virginia for their effect on soil temperature, soil moisture, weed control, and yield in tomato. Shredded newspaper and wheat straw applied at 0, 2, 4, or 6 weeks after transplanting (WAT) and napropamide (2.1 kg ai/ha) plus metribuzin (0.28 kg ai/ha) applied at transplanting were evaluated during 1992 and 1993 in North Carolina for effect on weed control and tomato yield. Results from West Virginia indicated that shredded (7.6 cm) and chopped (7.6 cm) newspaper conserved moisture similar to higher application rates of the shredded material. Higher newspaper mulching rates reduced soil temperature compared to black plastic and bare ground. Chopped newspaper controlled weeds more consistently than other treatments. At least 7.6 cm of chopped newspaper mulch was required to control weeds at least 90%. Wheat straw was not as effective in controlling weeds as 7.6 cm or greater of newspaper mulch. Chopped newspaper provided higher tomato yields than shredded newspaper applied at the same rates. Mulches applied at 0, 2, or 4 WAT resulted in weed control similar to the chemical treatment. In North Carolina, mulches applied 2 or 4 WAT resulted in tomato yields similar to the chemical treatment. Shredded and chopped newspaper have potential as a mulching material but may vary in effect in different environments and vegetable crops.

We report on the detection of matching effects between antidot and Abrikosov vortex lattices for fields far below the matching field Bm using rf SQUIDs and demonstrate, that antidots can strongly reduce the low-frequency l/f noise in active devices in unshielded environment. Square lattices of submicron holes (antidots) with diameters of 250–450 nm and lattice parameters ranging from 0.5–5 μm are patterned into optimized sputtered YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on CeO2-buffered sapphire substrates without deterioration of superconducting properties. A special experimental set-up consisting of an antidot lattice in flip-chip configuration with a bicrystal rf-SQUID has been used for the measurements. Thus, two different matching conditions are exposed upon the vortex lattice defined by the vortex–antidot interaction and the vortex–grain boundary interaction at the grain boundary in the washer. Vortices within the vicinity of the grain boundary of the washer can either be trapped (reduction of l/f noise) or exposed to a kind of double potential (increase of l/f noise) depending upon the magnitude of the applied magnetic induction and the geometrical arrangement between antidot array and grain boundary in the washer. Matching effects between vortex and antidot lattice could be observed in the form of minima in the noise spectrum for magnetic inductions much smaller then the matching field, e.g. for B*=(1/18)2Bm. The maxima in the low-frequency noise are a result of the existence of two matching conditions, i.e. caused by the presence of the grain boundary in the SQUID washer. The experiments demonstrate that thermally activated hopping of vortices can strongly be reduced by antidots in the superconducting layer. The resulting reduction of the low frequency excess noise bears a great potential for applications of active high-Tc superconducting devices if other matching conditions are avoided, e.g. by using step-edge type rf-SQUIDs.

Im Fokus des Beitrages steht die Frage, ob länderspezifische Variationen der Schulinspektion mit entsprechend unterschiedlicher Akzeptanz und divergierenden Verarbeitungsstrategien von Schulinspektionsimpulsen auf Ebene der Einzelschule einhergehen. Im Rahmen einer standardisierten Befragung von rund 1.470 Schulleitungen in den vier Bundesländern Baden-Württemberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen und Thüringen zu Beginn des Jahres 2012 wurden Merkmale der Schulinspektion sowie die damit verbundene Wahrnehmung und Akzeptanz der Schulleitungen erfasst. Die Operationalisierung dieses Zusammenhangs orientiert sich an dem von Ehren und Visscher (2006) vorgelegten Rahmenmodell zur Wirkung von Schulinspektionen.

Introduction: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are known to play a key role in tissue regeneration, while cigarette smoking is described to impair it. Such problem causes a tremendous problem in clinical care. The work presented here addresses the question of how cigarette smoke affects the regenerat[for full text, please go to the a.m. URL], 49. Jahrestagung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Plastische, Ästhetische und Rekonstruktive Chirurgie (ÖGPÄRC), 42. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft der Plastischen, Rekonstruktiven und Ästhetischen Chirurgen (DGPRÄC), 16. Jahrestagung der Vereinigung der Deutschen Ästhetisch-Plastischen Chirurgen (VDÄPC)

It is demonstrated that the low-frequency noise due to vortex motion in high-temperature superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) in ambient magnetic fields can strongly be reduced by a simple arrangement of antidots patterned into the SQUID. Sputter-deposited YBa2Cu3O7−δ radio-frequency SQUIDs (rf-SQUIDs) with step edge junctions are characterized before and after patterning of antidots in the vicinity of the Josephson junction. No deterioration of the rf-SQUIDs due to the introduction of the antidots can be detected. In contrary, the onset of the increase of the low-frequency noise in an applied magnetic field is shifted from 10 μT for the bare SQUID to 40 (field cooled) and 18 μT (zero-field cooled) for the rf-SQUIDs with antidots. The reduction of low-frequency noise in ambient field is explained by trapping of vortices by the antidots. The comparison of zero-field and field-cooled experiments demonstrates that flux penetrating the washer does not affect the low-frequency noise as long as the vortices are homogeneously distributed and the flux is properly pinned in the vicinity of the junction.

Summary: Solar cells are reviewed with a view to their terrestrial application. The basis of the photovoltaic effect is discussed and the physical and technical problems are presented which have to be solved in order to develop an efficient terrestrial cell. The different solar cells presently under development are described. It is concluded from this technical discussion that at the present time a number of ceils warrant further development work. Moreover, an alleviation of the future energy dilemma appears as a strong justification for this effort.

A method of simultaneously fabricating MESFETs with a maximum frequency of oscillation (f/sub max/) of 70 GHz and Schottky diodes with a gain-bandwidth product (f/sub T/) of approximately=2300 GHz to produce a 60-GHz mixer is given. A deep selective n/sup +/ implantation for a buried n/sup +/ zone under the mixer diode was used. Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was used for the growth of the active n layer and an n/sup +/ surface contact layer. The MESFETs and the diodes were both fabricated with a recessed Schottky contact structure using Ti-Pt-Au metallization. Arrays of 30 different diodes and 55 different MESFETs were fabricated to study the process technology and to get optimum devices for a receiver chip containing a diode balanced mixer plus a low-noise intermediate-frequency (IF) amplifier. The conversion loss and noise figures of the diodes were measured and compared with those obtained from computer simulations. Both large- and small-signal analysis are included. The 60-GHz balanced mixer chip shows a conversion loss of 6.0 dB and a double-sideband noise figure of 3.3 dB. >

To compare baseline characteristics, treatment frequency, visual acuity (VA), and morphologic outcomes of eyes with50% of the lesion composed of blood (B50 group) versus all other eyes (Other group) enrolled in the Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT).Prospective cohort study within a multicenter randomized clinical trial.CATT patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Treatment for the study eye was assigned randomly to either ranibizumab or bevacizumab and to 3 different dosing regimens over a 2-year period. Reading center graders evaluated baseline and follow-up morphology in color fundus photographs, fluorescein angiography (FA), and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Masked examiners tested VA.Morphologic features and VA at 1 and 2 years.The B50 group consisted of 84 of 1185 (7.1%) patients enrolled in CATT. Baseline lesion characteristics differed between groups. In the B50 group, choroidal neovascularization size was smaller (0.73 vs 1.83 disc areas [DA]; P0.001), total lesion size was greater (4.55 vs 2.31 DA; P0.001), total retinal thickness was greater (524 vs 455 μm; P = 0.02), and mean VA was worse (56.0 vs 60.9 letters; P = 0.002). Increases in mean VA were similar in the B50 and Other groups at 1 year (+9.3 vs +7.2 letters; P = 0.22) and at 2 years (9.0 vs 6.1 letters; P = 0.17). Eyes treated PRN received a similar number of injections in the 2 groups (12.2 vs 13.4; P = 0.27). Mean lesion size in the B50 group decreased by 1.2 DA at both 1 and 2 years (primarily owing to resolution of hemorrhage) and increased in the Other group by 0.33 DA at 1 year and 0.91 DA at 2 years (P 0.001). Leakage on FA and fluid on OCT were similar between groups at 1 and 2 years.In CATT, the B50 group had a visual prognosis similar to the Other group. Lesion size decreased markedly through 2 years. Eyes like those enrolled in CATT with neovascular AMD lesions composed of50% blood can be managed similarly to those with less or no blood.