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Formaldehyde is an important hazardous air pollutant, classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It is emitted directly by many anthropogenic and natural sources, and formed as a secondary product from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) photo-oxidation. Formaldehyde is, as well, a significant source of radicals in the atmosphere resulting in ozone and secondary organic aerosols formation. Routine measurements of formaldehyde in regulatory networks within Europe (EMEP) and USA (EPA Compendium Method TO 11A) rely on sampling with DNPH (2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine)- impregnated silica cartridges, followed by analysis with HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography). In the framework of the EURAMET-EMPIR project « MetClimVOC » (Metrology for climate relevant volatile organic compounds: http://www.metclimvoc.eu/), the European ACTRIS (Aerosol, Cloud and Trace Gases Research InfraStructure: https://www.actris.eu/) Topical Centre for Reactive Trace Gases in-situ Measurements (CiGas), IMT Nord Europe unit – France, organized a side-by-side intercomparison campaign in Douai-France, dedicated to formaldehyde measurement in a low amount fraction range of 2 - 20 nmol/mol, from 30 May to 8 June 2022. The objectives of the intercomparison are to evaluate the instruments metrological performance under the same challenging conditions, and to build best practices and instrumental knowledge. Here, we present the results from the intercomparison, where ten instruments belonging to seven different techniques were challenged with the same formaldehyde gas mixture generated either from a cylinder or from a permeation system, in different conditions (amount fractions, relative humidity, interference, blanks, etc.), flowing through a high-flow (up to 50 L/min) Silcosteel-coated manifold. The advantages/drawbacks of the techniques will be discussed.

A multisite method of fragments-based rainfall temporal (daily to hourly) disaggregation procedure conditioned on circulation pattern (CP) classification is developed and applied to the German part of the Rhine river basin. The performance of the CP-based disaggregation in representing key rainfall characteristics is evaluated and the influence of different number of CP classes is investigated. Compared with the standard (monthly-based) method of fragments disaggregation, the CP-based procedure including a seasonal stratification improves the disaggregation quality in hourly rainfall extremes, although it shows no improvement in reproducing standard rainfall statistics, such as mean and standard deviation. CP classifications with more classes tend to perform better in representing hourly rainfall statistics in the Rhine basin. The developed procedure opens up the possibility to consider dynamic changes in the atmosphere, such as changes in the frequency, persistence and seasonality of circulation patterns, that may be associated with climate change.

The combination of hot-stamped steels and fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (FRTP) offers great potential for lightweight design. The process steps of hot stamping and thermoforming for the manufacturing of such hybrid structures are usually carried out in two separate steps. After hot stamping, the blank has to be reheated for the application of FRTP in order to enable the bonding of FRTP to the blank. Process integration of the individual processes means that reheating of the blank during thermoforming is no longer necessary. Due to non-uniform contact conditions during hot stamping between blank and tool, an inhomogeneous temperature distribution in the blank occurs, which would lead to non-uniform bonding properties between blank and FRTP after thermoforming. The aim of this work is to determine this non-uniform contact and the resulting heat transfer by a numerical model. By segmenting the tool in the model, a possibility is shown to control the non-uniform contact and to achieve a homogeneous temperature distribution in the blank after hot stamping. Furthermore, the temperature adaptability of the used tool and the resulting temperature distribution in the blank is investigated. Finally, the manufactured structures are tested in a numerical three-point bending test in order to be able to make a statement about their performances.

In the face of climate change and socio-economic developments, water scarcity is a tremendous challenge. In particular, a significant portion of the world’s population rely on water from cryospheric sources such as snow and/or glacier fed mountain rivers. However, the data coverage in mountain regions is often sparse, which substantially hampers the assessment of climate impacts on hydrological systems. Furthermore, the large impact of climate change on snow and glacier hydrology require physically sound hydrological models.The gap between the growing need for sustainable water resources management, low data availability and uncertain hydrological projections calls for new approaches. To close this gap, a modular modelling framework was developed to foster the use of complementary data sets in hydrological models. The framework enables a flexible combination of remote sensing and in situ data for model calibration and validation providing a multi-model and multi-input ensemble. The additional consideration of data regarding snow covered area, snow water equivalent and soil moisture allows for physically meaningful representations of key hydrological processes, even in the absence of a dense network of meteorological stations and river discharge gauges.Case studies in the European Alps (Inn and Adige/Etsch) and in Central Asia (Ala Archa and Karadarya) illustrate the high value of this approach for physically meaningful representations of the hydrological processes. Furthermore, a high impact of glacier retreat on future water availability was found for the highly glacierised basins of the Fagge river in the upper part of the Inn basin and the Ala Archa river.

Ecosystem services (ES) are highly impacted by human-induced land-use change. Progressive urbanization and agricultural land abandonment in Western Europe necessitate assessments of future land-change impacts on ES to ensure sustainable service management. The present study aims at evaluating future demand and supply of three key services (flood protection, nearby recreation and biodiversity) in the mountainous region of Vorarlberg, Austria. We mapped the ES for the referenced time step 2016 and two scenarios for 2050, assuming the continuation of current land-change trends and pressure on landscape development. Results for the referenced landscape in 2016 show the highest ES supply for intermediate levels, while ES supply was low in the lowlands and valley bottoms and in high-elevation areas. We found a high positive correlation of ES with the distribution of forested areas. In contrast, service demand was highest in low-elevation areas and decreased with increasing elevation. This indicates that densely settled and intensively used agricultural areas currently suffer from ES undersupply. The projected future development of land use showed an increase in both supply and demand of the selected ES. The overall service supply increased more than the respective demand due to some reforestation of open land. As forests were found to be important synergistic areas for overall service provision, we expect decreasing demand on related services. Locally, demand was found to exceed the supply of ES, especially in the densely populated Rhine valley- requiring further policy interventions. Such ES-related information may contribute to regional policy making and ensure the long-term provision of ESs for future generations.

Background and Purpose— Many patients with acute ischemic stroke are not eligible for thrombolysis or mechanical reperfusion therapies due to contraindications, inaccessible vascular occlusions, late presentation, or large infarct core. Sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) stimulation to enhance collateral flow and stabilize the blood-brain barrier offers an alternative, potentially more widely deliverable, therapy. Methods— In a randomized, sham-controlled, double-masked trial at 41 centers in 7 countries, patients with anterior circulation ischemic stroke not treated with reperfusion therapies within 24 hours of onset were randomly allocated to active SPG stimulation or sham control. The primary efficacy outcome was improvement beyond expectations on the modified Rankin Scale of global disability at 90 days (sliding dichotomy), assessed in the modified intention-to-treat population. The initial planned sample size was 660 patients, but the trial was stopped early when technical improvements in device placement occurred, so that analysis of accumulated experience could be conducted to inform a successor trial. Results— Among 303 enrolled patients, 253 received at least one active SPG or sham stimulation, constituting the modified intention-to-treat population (153 SPG stimulation and 100 sham control). Age was median 73 years (interquartile range, 64–79), 52.6% were female, deficit severity on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was median 11 (interquartile range, 9–15), and time from last known well median 18.6 hours (interquartile range, 14.5–22.5). For the primary outcome, improved 3-month disability beyond expectations, rates in the SPG versus sham treatment groups were 49.7% versus 40.0%; odds ratio, 1.48 (95% CI, 0.89–2.47); P =0.13. A significant treatment interaction with stroke location (cortical versus noncortical) was noted, P =0.04. In the 87 patients with confirmed cortical involvement, rates of improvement beyond expectations were 50.0% versus 27.0%; odds ratio, 2.70 (95% CI, 1.08–6.73); P =0.03. Similar response patterns were observed for all prespecified secondary efficacy outcomes. No differences in mortality or serious adverse event safety end points were observed. Conclusions— SPG stimulation within 24 hours of onset is safe in acute ischemic stroke. SPG stimulation was not shown to statistically significantly improve 3-month disability above expectations, though favorable outcomes were nominally higher with SPG stimulation. Beneficial effects may distinctively be conferred in patients with confirmed cortical involvement. The results of this study need to be confirmed in a larger pivotal study. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT03767192.

Alkyl nitrate (AN) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from the reaction of nitrate radicals (NO3) with isoprene were observed in the Simulation of Atmospheric PHotochemistry In a large Reaction (SAPHIR) chamber during the NO3Isop campaign in August 2018. Based on 15 day-long experiments under various reaction conditions, we conclude that the reaction has a nominally unity molar AN yield (observed range 90 ± 40%) and an SOA mass yield of OA + organic nitrate aerosol of 13–15% (with ∼50 μg m–3 inorganic seed aerosol and 2–5 μg m–3 total organic aerosol). Isoprene (5–25 ppb) and oxidant (typically ∼100 ppb O3 and 5–25 ppb NO2) concentrations and aerosol composition (inorganic and organic coating) were varied while remaining close to ambient conditions, producing similar AN and SOA yields under all regimes. We observe the formation of dinitrates upon oxidation of the second double bond only once the isoprene precursor is fully consumed. We determine the bulk partitioning coefficient for ANs (Kp ∼ 10–3 m3 μg–1), indicating an average volatility corresponding to a C5 hydroxy hydroperoxy nitrate.

An experimental configuration for velocity map ion imaging experiments is presented, in which a pulsed voltage defocusses the ion Newton sphere along the time-of-flight axis. This significantly spreads the times-of-flight for ions with the same mass-to-charge ratio, allowing for either sliced or three-dimensional velocity imaging with high slicing resolution along the time-of-flight axis. The technique is coupled to an event-triggered, position-sensitive sensor, enabling full three-dimensional Newton sphere imaging at high count rates, with significantly improved slicing resolution (∼1–2%) compared to previous DC slicing approaches. Good slice imaging conditions can be brought about at relatively high extraction voltages, circumventing issues regarding image size, stray fields, and poor detection efficiency when operating at low extraction voltages. The method, termed Post Extraction Inversion Slice Imaging (PEISI) was optimised through ion trajectory simulations and experimentally verified on the well-studied photodissociation of OCS at around 230 nm. We demonstrate that this approach is suitable for recording full 3D angular distributions of systems lacking an axis of cylindrical symmetry in the detector plane, where conventional image inversion techniques are invalid. This method could be useful in a range of systems lacking cylindrical symmetry, including studies into angular momentum polarisation and bimolecular scattering.

Flood risk assessment is an important prerequisite for risk management decisions. To estimate the risk, flood damages need to be either systematically recorded over long period or they need to be modelled for a series of synthetically generated flood events. Since damage records are typically rare, time series of plausible, spatially coherent event precipitation or peak discharges need to be generated to drive the chain of process models. In the present study, synthetic flood events are generated by two different approaches to model flood risk in a meso-scale alpine study area (Vorarlberg, Austria). The first approach is based on the semi-conditional multi-variate dependence model applied to discharge series. The second approach is based on the continuous hydrological modelling of synthetic meteorological fields generated by a multi-site weather generator and using an hourly disaggregation scheme. The results of the two approaches are compared in terms of simulated spatial patterns and overall flood risk estimates. It could be demonstrated that both methods are valid approaches for risk assessment with specific advantages and disadvantages. Both methods are superior to the traditional assumption of a uniform return period, where risk is computed by assuming a homogeneous return period (e.g. 100-year flood) across the entire study area.

Background: Knowledge about the population's iodine status is important, because it allows adjustment of iodine supply and prevention of iodine deficiency. The validity and comparability of iodine-related population studies can be improved by standardization, which was one of the goals of the EUthyroid project. The aim of this study was to establish the first standardized map of iodine status in Europe by using standardized urinary iodine concentration (UIC) data. Materials and Methods: We established a gold-standard laboratory in Helsinki measuring UIC by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A total of 40 studies from 23 European countries provided 75 urine samples covering the whole range of concentrations. Conversion formulas for UIC derived from the gold-standard values were established by linear regression models and were used to postharmonize the studies by standardizing the UIC data of the individual studies. Results: In comparison with the EUthyroid gold-standard, mean UIC measurements were higher in 11 laboratories and lower in 10 laboratories. The mean differences ranged from −36.6% to 49.5%. Of the 40 postharmonized studies providing data for the standardization, 16 were conducted in schoolchildren, 13 in adults, and 11 in pregnant women. Median standardized UIC was

Background Patients with a sudden onset of focal neurological deficits consistent with stroke, who turn out to have alternative conditions, have been labeled stroke mimics. Aims We assessed a recently validated telemedicine-based stroke mimic score (TeleStroke mimic score; TM-score) and individual patient characteristics with regard to its discriminative value between cerebrovascular disease and stroke mimic patients in the in-person, pre-hospital setting. Methods We evaluated patients cared for in a mobile stroke unit in Berlin, Germany. We investigated whether the TM-score (comprising six parameters), Face Arm Speech Time test, and individual patient characteristics were able to differentiate cerebrovascular disease from stroke mimic patients. Results We included 423 patients (299 (70.7%) cerebrovascular disease and 124 (29.3%) stroke mimic) in the final analysis. A TM-score > 30 indicated a high probability of a cerebrovascular disease and a score ≤15 of a stroke mimic. The TM-score performed well to identify stroke mimics (area under the curve of 0.74 under receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis). The cerebrovascular disease patients were older (74.8 vs. 69.8 years, p = 0.001), had more often severe strokes (NIHSS > 14 25.8% vs. 11.3%, p = 0.001), presented more often with weakness of the face (70.9% vs. 42.7%, p = 0.001) or arm (60.9% vs. 33.9%, p = 0.001), dysarthria (59.5% vs. 40.3%, p Conclusions The TM-score and certain patient characteristics can help paramedics and emergency physicians in the field to identify stroke mimic patients and select the most appropriate hospital destination.

Flood risk models capture a variety of processes and are associated with large uncertainties. In this paper, the uncertainties due to alternative model assumptions are analysed for various components of a probabilistic flood risk model in the study area of Vorarlberg (Austria). The effect of different model assumptions for five aspects is compared to a reference simulation. This includes: (I, II) the selection of two model thresholds controlling the generation of large sets of possible flood events; (III) the selection of a distribution function for the flood frequency analysis; (IV) the building representation and water level derivation for the exposure analysis and (V) the selection of an appropriate damage function. The analysis shows that each of the tested aspects has the potential to alter the modelling results considerably. The results range from a factor of 1.2 to 3, from the lowest to highest value, whereby the selection of the damage function has the largest effect on the overall modelling results.

Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) reach state-of-the-art results in a variety of Natural Language Processing tasks. However, understanding of their internal functioning is still insufficient and unsatisfactory. In order to better understand BERT and other Transformer-based models, we present a layer-wise analysis of BERT's hidden states. Unlike previous research, which mainly focuses on explaining Transformer models by their attention weights, we argue that hidden states contain equally valuable information. Specifically, our analysis focuses on models fine-tuned on the task of Question Answering (QA) as an example of a complex downstream task. We inspect how QA models transform token vectors in order to find the correct answer. To this end, we apply a set of general and QA-specific probing tasks that reveal the information stored in each representation layer. Our qualitative analysis of hidden state visualizations provides additional insights into BERT's reasoning process. Our results show that the transformations within BERT go through phases that are related to traditional pipeline tasks. The system can therefore implicitly incorporate task-specific information into its token representations. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that fine-tuning has little impact on the models' semantic abilities and that prediction errors can be recognized in the vector representations of even early layers., Comment: Accepted at CIKM 2019

Background Time to reperfusion treatment is closely related to outcome in ischemic stroke. Prehospital stroke work-up in CT-equipped mobile stroke units is effective in reducing time to thrombolytic treatment. Current evidence predominantly comes from mobile stroke units staffed with neurologists but telemedicine-guided management may be acceptable for providing neurological expertise in ambulances. With unsatisfactory experiences in third-generation (3G)-based approaches, fourth-generation (4G) networks may provide adequate audio-visual quality but systematic comparisons of technological parameters and decision-making are lacking. Methods Trained actors presented stroke symptoms and paramedics assisted the remotely guided extended National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (eNIHSS) assessment on the mobile stroke unit in Berlin, Germany. We compared technical parameters of 4G and 3G connections, assessed audio-visual quality of examination, and analyzed reliability of neurological assessment and treatment decisions made by the remote neurologist versus the mobile stroke unit neurologist. Results 4G and 3G connections were evaluated in 40 scenarios each. Connectivity was not available in 17% of 4G- and 15% of 3G-attempts with 6% simultaneous unavailability of both networks. The remote examiners graded audio and video quality in 4G better than in 3G with slightly shorter assessment duration in 4G (mean: 9 (SD:5) vs. mean 11 (SD:3) min, p = 0.10). Reliability of the eNIHSS sum scores was high with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.987–1.00) for 4G and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96–0.99) for 3G. None of the remote treatment decisions differed from onsite decisions. Conclusions 4G mobile communications provided higher quality of video-examination and allowed reliable remote assessment of stroke symptoms but coverage was still incomplete in both networks.

Meteorological time series with 1 h time steps are required in many applications in geoscientific modelling. These hourly time series generally cover shorter periods of time compared to daily meteorological time series. We present an open-source MEteoroLOgical observation time series DISaggregation Tool (MELODIST). This software package is written in Python and comprises simple methods to temporally downscale (disaggregate) daily meteorological time series to hourly data. MELODIST is capable of disaggregating the most commonly used meteorological variables for geoscientific modelling including temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, and shortwave radiation. In this way, disaggregation is performed independently for each variable considering a single site without spatial dependencies. The algorithms are validated against observed meteorological time series for five sites in different climates. Results indicate a good reconstruction of diurnal features at those sites. This makes the methodology interesting to users of models operating at hourly time steps, who want to apply their models for longer periods of time not covered by hourly observations.

With respect to urban development a common practice is to exclude flood-prone areas from further construction for flood safety reasons. Granting exemptions when local flood safety measures are applied is a topic of continued debate. The Ottnager-Redl/Upper Austria case study investigates various future settlement scenarios with or without local flood protection measures (LFPM). In accordance with the legal situation in the Federal Province of Upper Austria, construction permits require flood safety up to a 100-year flood level plus 20 cm. Estimations of potential flood damage in the catchment’s residential areas are based on damage functions used to describe the structural vulnerability at an object level. Impacts are simulated with a distributed hydrological and a 2D-hydraulic model, which incorporate future settlement dynamics. In addition to linking losses to return periods, the cumulative damages within design periods are estimated using a Monte-Carlo modelling framework. Event-based and cumul...

Macroscopic SiO2 spheres with a homogeneous amine distribution were synthesized by a one-step emulsion based synthesis approach in a flow column reactor. The CO2 adsorption capacity of the nano-structured amine-functionalized silica spheres was studied in absence and presence of H2O. The structural properties were adjusted by varying solvents and surfactants during the synthesis and, at constant amine loadings, were found to be the main factor for influencing the CO2 sorption capacities. Under water-free conditions CO2 is bound to the amino groups via the formation of carbamates, which require two neighboring amino groups to adsorb one CO2 molecule. At constant amine concentrations sorbents with lower surface area allow to establish a higher amine density on the surface, which enhances the CO2 uptake capacities under dry conditions. In presence of H2O the CO2 adsorption changes to 1:1 stoichiometry due to stabilization of carbamates by protonation of H2O and formation of further species such as bicarbonates, which should in principle double the adsorption capacities. Low concentrations of physisorbed H2O (0.3 mmol/g) did not impair the adsorption capacity of the adsorbents for CO2, while at higher water uptakes (0.6 and 1.1 mmol/g) the CO2 uptake is reduced, which could be attributed to capillary condensation of H2O or formation of bulky reaction products blocking inner pores and access to active sites.

All rights reserved.Recently, we described a direct low-energy ion detector for time-of-flight applications based on a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array optically coupled to an LYSO (cerium-doped lutetium yttrium orthosilicate) scintillator. Here, we present a greatly improved version of the detector, developed through testing of a number of different scintillator and phosphor materials in combination with a commercially available SPAD array. The various scintillator materials have been characterized in terms of the achievable detection sensitivity and time response when used in conjunction with the SPAD array. Organic para-polyphenylene dyes, a relatively new class of scintillator for particle detection, were found to exhibit markedly improved performance relative to well-established scintillators such as LYSO crystal scintillators and P47 phosphors, both in terms of brightness and time response. The optimized detector has a time resolution of ∼2 ns, an improvement of more than an order of magnitude over the original version, at the same time as achieving a five- to ten-fold improvement in detection sensitivity. Our approach points the way towards the development of a generic silicon-based ion detector technology to complement or replace the microchannel-plate (MCP) ion detectors in widespread use at present. Such a detector would remove the need for high voltages and high vacuum, and at the same time greatly reduce detector cost relative to MCP-based detectors.

The cyclic expression of pituitary gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors (GnRHRs) may be an important checkpoint for leptin regulatory signals. Gonadotrope Lepr-null mice have reduced GnRHR levels, suggesting these receptors may be leptin targets. To determine if leptin stimulated GnRHR directly, primary pituitary cultures or pieces were exposed to 1 to 100 nM leptin. Leptin increased GnRHR protein levels and the percentages of gonadotropes that bound biotinylated analogs of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (bio-GnRH) but had no effect on Gnrhr messenger RNA (mRNA). An in silico analysis revealed three consensus Musashi (MSI) binding elements (MBEs) for this translational control protein in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of Gnrhr mRNA. Several experiments determined that these Gnrhr mRNA MBE were active: (1) RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay analyses showed that MSI1 specifically bound Gnrhr mRNA 3'-UTR; (2) RNA immunoprecipitation of pituitary fractions with MSI1 antibody pulled down a complex enriched in endogenous MSI protein and endogenous Gnrhr mRNA; and (3) fluorescence reporter assays showed that MSI1 repressed translation of the reporter coupled to the Gnrhr 3'-UTR. In vitro, leptin stimulation of pituitary pieces reduced Msi1 mRNA in female pituitaries, and leptin stimulation of pituitary cultures reduced MSI1 proteins selectively in gonadotropes identified by binding to bio-GnRH. These findings show that leptin's direct stimulatory actions on gonadotrope GnRHR correlate with a direct inhibition of expression of the posttranscriptional regulator MSI1. We also show MSI1 interaction with the 3'-UTR of Gnrhr mRNA. These findings now open the door to future studies of leptin-modulated posttranscriptional pathways.

The wing scales of the Green Hairstreak butterfly Callophrys rubi consist of crystalline domains with sizes of a few micrometers, which exhibit a congenitally handed porous chitin microstructure identified as the chiral triply periodic single-gyroid structure. Here, the chirality and crystallographic texture of these domains are investigated by means of electron tomography. The tomograms unambiguously reveal the coexistence of the two enantiomeric forms of opposite handedness: the left- and right-handed gyroids. These two enantiomers appear with nonequal probabilities, implying that molecularly chiral constituents of the biological formation process presumably invoke a chiral symmetry break, resulting in a preferred enantiomeric form of the gyroid structure. Assuming validity of the formation model proposed by Ghiradella H (1989) J Morphol 202(1):69-88 and Saranathan V, et al. (2010) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107(26):11676-11681, where the two enantiomeric labyrinthine domains of the gyroid are connected to the extracellular and intra-SER spaces, our findings imply that the structural chirality of the single gyroid is, however, not caused by the molecular chirality of chitin. Furthermore, the wing scales are found to be highly textured, with a substantial fraction of domains exhibiting the001directions of the gyroid crystal aligned parallel to the scale surface normal. Both findings are needed to completely understand the photonic purpose of the single gyroid in gyroid-forming butterflies. More importantly, they show the level of control that morphogenesis exerts over secondary features of biological nanostructures, such as chirality or crystallographic texture, providing inspiration for biomimetic replication strategies for synthetic self-assembly mechanisms.

The performance of nanocomposites for improved resistance to electrical discharges has resulted in increased interest in nano-loaded thermosetting resins. First assessments of the performance of new systems can be obtained by a plate-electrode construction according to IEC(b). Epoxy resins loaded with different amounts of spherical alumina particles were tested following this procedure and parameters such as erosion depth and standardized volume analyzed. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction using electron tomography were used to determine the particle size distribution. TEM analysis after preparation of the eroded samples indicates the advantages and disadvantages of using alumina nanoparticles to improve the erosion resistance and showed a novel effect of the surface-grafted polysiloxanes. A comparison with conventional nano-silica-loaded resins reveals that the lower sintering tendency of Al2O3 is important.

Background and Purpose— Copeptin levels are increased in patients diagnosed with stroke and other vascular diseases. Copeptin elevation is associated with adverse outcome, predicts re-events in patients with transient ischemic attack and is used in ruling-out acute myocardial infarction. We evaluated whether copeptin can also be used as a diagnostic marker in the prehospital stroke setting. Methods— We prospectively examined patients with suspected stroke on the Stroke Emergency Mobile—an ambulance that is equipped with computed tomography and point-of-care laboratory. A blood sample was taken from patients immediately after arrival. We analyzed copeptin levels in patients with final hospital-based diagnosis of stroke or stroke mimics as well as in vascular or nonvascular patients. In addition, we examined the associations of symptom onset with copeptin levels and the prognostic value of copeptin in patients with stroke. Results— Blood samples of 561 patients were analyzed. No significant differences were seen neither between cerebrovascular (n=383) and other neurological (stroke mimic; n=90) patients ( P =0.15) nor between vascular (n=391) and nonvascular patients (n=170; P =0.57). We could not detect a relationship between copeptin levels and time from onset to blood draw. Three-month survival status was available in 159 patients with ischemic stroke. Copeptin levels in nonsurviving patients (n=8: median [interquartile range], 27.4 [20.2–54.7] pmol/L) were significantly higher than in surviving patients (n=151: median [interquartile range], 11.7 [5.2–30.9] pmol/L; P =0.024). Conclusions— In the prehospital setting, copeptin is neither appropriate to discriminate between stroke and stroke mimic patients nor between vascular and nonvascular patients. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01382862. The Pre-Hospital Acute Neurological Therapy and Optimization of Medical Care in Stroke Patients study (PHANTOM-S) was registered (NCT01382862). This sub-study was observational and not registered separately, therefore.

Lanthanide-doped up-conversion nanophosphors were employed as up-conversion converters (UC-converters) combined with organic solar cells (OSCs). The optical properties of the external up-conversion layers were investigated, and the optimized layers were laminated with OSCs. Strong photocurrents were observed when OSCs with an UC converter were illuminated by a NIR laser. An improvement of photocurrent and efficiency were also observed under AM 1.5 G sun irradiation. Our investigations show a proof-of-concept that organic solar cells could utilize sub-bandgap photons via integrating up-conversion nanophosphors, which provide us a promising approach to exceed the efficiency limit of single junction organic solar cells.

Background and Purpose— Specialized management of patients with stroke is not available in all hospitals. We evaluated whether prehospital management in the Stroke Emergency Mobile (STEMO) improves the triage of patients with stroke. Methods— STEMO is an ambulance staffed with a specialized stroke team and equipped with a computed tomographic scanner and point-of-care laboratory. We compared the prehospital triage of patients with suspected stroke at dispatcher level who either received STEMO care or conventional care. We assessed transport destination in patients with different diagnoses. Status at hospital discharge was used as short-term outcome. Results— From May 2011 to January 2013, 1804 of 6182 (29%) patients received STEMO care and 4378 of 6182 (71%) patients conventional care. Two hundred forty-five of 2110 (11.6%) patients with cerebrovascular events were sent to hospitals without Stroke Unit in conventional care when compared with 48 of 866 (5.5%; P P P P =0.096). Conclusions— The triage of patients with cerebrovascular events to specialized hospitals can be improved by STEMO ambulances. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01382862.

In this work we present a novel route to synthesize well defined germanium-silicon alloy (GexSi1-x) and core-shell nanocrystals (NCs) employing monosilane (SiH4) and monogermane (GeH4) as precursors in a continuously operated two-stage hot-wall aerosol reactor setup. The first hot-wall reactor stage (HWR I) is used to produce silicon (Si) seed particles from SiH4 pyrolysis in Argon (Ar). The resulting seeding aerosol is fed into the second reactor stage (HWR II) and a mixture of SiH4 and GeH4 is added. The ratio of the precursors in the feed, their partial pressures, the synthesis temperature in HWR II and the overall pressure are varied depending on the desired morphology and composition. Alloy particle production is achieved in the heterogeneous surface reaction regime, meaning that germanium (Ge) and Si are deposited on the seed surface simultaneously. The NCs can be synthesized with any desired composition, whilst maintaining a mean diameter around 30 nm with a geometric standard deviation (GSD) around 1.25. The absorption behavior and the related fundamental optical band gap energy in dependence on the alloy composition are exemplarily presented. They prove the possibility to tailor NC properties for electronical and opto-electronical applications. In the homogeneous gas phase reaction regime facetted Ge-Si core-shell structures are accessible. The Ge deposition on the seeds precedes the Si deposition due to different gas phase reaction kinetics of the precursors. The Si layer grows epitaxially on the Ge core and is around 5 nm thick.

Summary Wireless sensor networks are becoming more popular for structural monitoring because of their low installation costs; in addition, coupling structural control with wireless data acquisition can also yield advantages. However, these systems have limited communication bandwidth, limiting their effectiveness as the number of devices in control networks grows large if centralized control approaches are used. Traditional methods for collocating data in wireless structural control network rely on time-budgeted bandwidth or spatial decentralization, where the network is divided into smaller subnetworks. These methods are largely static and typically do not take into account any measure of data quality to prioritize transmissions. This study presents a dynamic approach for bandwidth allocation in wireless structural control networks that relies on an application-specific, autonomous, and controller-aware, carrier sense multiple access with collision detection protocol. Stochastic parameters are derived to strategically alter back-off times in the carrier sense multiple access with collision detection algorithm based on nodal observability and output estimation error. Inspired by data fusion approaches, this paper presents 2 different methods for neighborhood state estimation using a dynamic form of measurement-only fusion. Upon receiving data from the contended wireless medium, each wireless unit fuses incoming data using a precalculated static Kalman gain matrix for the corresponding dynamic neighborhood. Onboard, each wireless unit contains a library of Kalman gain matrices, to accommodate any possible set of communicated data. Both numerical simulations and small-scale laboratory experimental results are presented.

This article presents a flood risk analysis model that considers the spatially heterogeneous nature of flood events. The basic concept of this approach is to generate a large sample of flood events that can be regarded as temporal extrapolation of flood events. These are combined with cumulative flood impact indicators, such as building damages, to finally derive time series of damages for risk estimation. Therefore, a multivariate modeling procedure that is able to take into account the spatial characteristics of flooding, the regionalization method top-kriging, and three different impact indicators are combined in a model chain. Eventually, the expected annual flood impact (e.g., expected annual damages) and the flood impact associated with a low probability of occurrence are determined for a study area. The risk model has the potential to augment the understanding of flood risk in a region and thereby contribute to enhanced risk management of, for example, risk analysts and policymakers or insurance companies. The modeling framework was successfully applied in a proof-of-concept exercise in Vorarlberg (Austria). The results of the case study show that risk analysis has to be based on spatially heterogeneous flood events in order to estimate flood risk adequately.

The effects of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in ischemic stroke are time dependent.1,2 Because of delays in conventional stroke workup, previous randomized IVT trials were unable to include patients with onset-to-treatment time (OTT) ≤60 minutes of symptom onset. With the invention of computed tomography–equipped mobile stroke units (MSUs), a relevant proportion of patients treated on such ambulances receive IVT within this ultraearly time window.3 In this study, we assessed the effects of IVT on 3-month functional outcome and mortality in different OTT intervals, including the first hour after onset, using a pooled analysis of 2 prospective prehospital and in-hospital registries in Berlin/Germany.4 Methods of patient inclusion and documentation in the 2 registries were described elsewhere4 (URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02358772). Briefly, all patients admitted through emergency medical services who received IVT between February 5, 2011, and March 5, 2015, were included in the registries. The prehospital registry included patients thrombolysed in an MSU and admitted to the nearest stroke unit thereafter. Intra-arterial treatment was optional in patients with occlusion of proximal intracranial arteries in both cohorts. The in-hospital registry comprised patients receiving IVT at Charite-Universitatsmedizin, Campus Benjamin Franklin. We excluded patients with nonstroke diagnosis, IVT without known exact (witnessed) time of onset, denial/withdrawal of informed consent for follow-up, missing 3-month follow-up, or incomplete documentation of data used in the multivariable analyses. For the pooled analyses of time-to-treatment effects, we included …

The high-pressure hydrogenation of commercially available anatase or anatase/rutile TiO2 powder can create a photocatalyst for H2 evolution that is highly effective and stable without the need for any additional co-catalyst. This activation effect cannot be observed for rutile; however, for anatase/rutile mixtures, a strong synergistic effect can be found (similar to results commonly observed for noble-metal-decorated TiO2). EPR and PL measurements indicated the intrinsic co-catalytic activation of anatase TiO2 to be due to specific defect centers formed during hydrogenation. These active centers can be observed specifically for high-pressure hydrogenation; other common reduction treatments do not result in this effect.

A facile one-pot synthesis of hybrid materials consisting of PbSe quantum dots (QDs) that grow epitaxially on MoS2 nanoflakes resulting in three equivalent orientation variants of the PbSe QDs with respect to the MoS2 lattice is demonstrated. The epitaxial growth and cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) investigations verify a direct and linker-free contact between the quantum dots and the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanoflakes, while maintaining surface passivation of the PbSe with oleic acid ligands on the outside. Solution-processed photodetectors based on PbSe-MoS2 hybrids exhibit stable photoconduction when illuminated with near-IR light (wavelength > 1200 nm) without any laborious ligand-exchange steps. Flexible devices fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates show excellent stability upon repeated bending. These hybrid materials are air-stable and solution-processable at low temperatures and thus promising for low-cost flexible near-IR photodetectors.

During the last decade, quantum-chemical calculations of surface reactions have become well established for the design of catalytic sites. However, the corresponding methods allowing optimization of adequate pore structures for catalyst supports have so far not reached the same level of sophistication. This holds in particular for realistic pore systems that can be practically synthesized with a reasonable effort. We propose a strategy that enables virtual prototyping and computational optimization of the pore system of a solid catalyst. The method combines template-assisted synthesis of porous metal oxides with tunable pore-space morphology, 3D imaging of the catalysts nanostructure by the state-of-the-art electron tomography in HAADF STEM mode, and multi-scale mathematical modeling that provides computational evaluation of the pore size distribution, effective diffusivity and tortuosity in the reconstructed system as well as macroscopic performance of the catalytic layer in terms of reactant conversion. This general approach is demonstrated on mesoporous TiO 2 layers.

RATIONALE: Imaging mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical technique capable of accessing a large volume of spatially resolved, chemical data from two-dimensional samples. Probing the entire surface of a sample simultaneously requires a detector with high spatial and temporal resolutions, and the ability to observe events relating to different mass-to-charge ratios. METHODS: A commercially available time-of-flight mass spectrometer, designed for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) analysis, was combined with the novel pixel imaging mass spectrometry (PImMS) camera in order to perform multi-mass, microscope-mode imaging experiments. A number of minor modifications were made to the spectrometer hardware and ion optics so that spatial imaging was achieved for a number of small molecules. RESULTS: It was shown that a peak width of Δm50 %

Flood risk management is an appropriate method to understand and mitigate the consequences of flooding which regularly causes significant losses to property and human lives. Therefore, the analysis of flood risk is a key issue. Within this risk analysis, direct tangible damages are important flood hazard impact indicators. This paper shows an approach of how to assess the potential direct monetary damages in a mountain meso-scale study area (Austrian Province of Vorarlberg). The approach comprises the following key components: (i) asset pooling and its monetary assessment, (ii) exposure analysis, and (iii) susceptibility analysis. By applying this method, loss probability relations reflecting the potential direct monetary damages of flood events with a return period of 30 yrs, 100 yrs and 300 yrs were derived for all flood exposed communities in the study area. The results illustrate the possible uncertainties that are inherent in the procedure of assessing direct monetary damages. By highlighting this significant variability, it is a valuable contribution to a