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Depressive disorders are related to social withdrawal and a loss of social contacts. Moreover, a lack of social integration and social support are risk factors for relapse and rehospitalization. Despite the crucial role of social networks for mental health and social support, knowledge about the structure of social networks or how they promote social support in terms of coping with depressive disorders is scarce. The present study aims to analyze social support in people with depressive disorders using ego-centered social network analysis for formal description. Ninety-seven former psychiatric inpatients participated in the study. Network size and density, a small number of conflicts in the relationships of ego to alters, and the multiplexity of social support dimensions were associated with perceived social support—measured via Social Support Questionnaire (F-Soz-U-K-14). Considering relational ratios which correlated with perceived social support, five types of social support networks were differentiated by means of cluster analysis: (1) no social support, (2) professionally supported birth family, (3) the more the merrier, (4) concentrated support, (5) overchallenged nuclear family. More than each relational characteristic on its own, their co-occurring patterns as network types provide the very structures of social support. This underpins the crucial role of structural approaches and networking skills in social work practice. German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS): DRKS00011561. Trial registration date: 10. March 2017.

The fire behaviour of electric vehicles (EVs) differs from that of vehicles with combustion engines. Especially the rechargeable energy storage system (REESS) requires special fire protection measures. The fire behaviour of materials for REESS housings plays an important role in the fire resistance of such systems. Full-scale fire resistance tests like gasoline pool fire tests on complete REESS according to the UNECE-R100-8E standard are mandatory for EVs. However, these tests are not applicable for materials used for REESS housings in the material and process development state, due to the high material demand and production costs of the REESS. Standard tests like the limiting oxygen index test, UL94-V test or cone calorimeter test are insufficient to analyse the fire behaviour of thermoplastic and thermoset materials in a gasoline pool fire. This paper describes a bench-scale fuel fire test including several test criteria to evaluate materials for REESS housings on a laboratory scale. This bench-scale fire test is demonstrated on two case studies: fibre-reinforced thermoset plates and thermoplastic sandwich structures.

Hoy en dia la informacion que se maneja en las distintas dependencias de la Administracion Publica es susceptible de optimizacion que reduzca los riesgos de amenaza. El presente articulo describe los procesos de gestion documental usada en las dependencias del Gobierno del Estado de Tabasco y la necesidad de hacerlos mas eficientes. Se describe el modelo metodologico que se utiliza para la obtencion de los resultados, los cuales, en su seccion inmediata, se enlistan los mecanismos de seguridad recomendados ad hoc para la dependencia de gobierno estudiada, los cuales incluyen desde el almacenamiento de la informacion, hasta la transmision de la misma. Organizational communication trough documents between public administration offices, may be compromised in case of external or internal thread. This article presents advances of research on the processes of governmental document management applied at offices in Tabasco’s State Government. It also describes the methodology used, and the security strategies recommended ad hoc, including information storage and transmission. Nowadays, the information handled in the different agencies of the Public Administration is susceptible to optimization that reduces the risks of threat. This article describes the document management processes used in the agencies of the Government of the State of Tabasco and the need to make them more efficient. It describes the methodological model used to obtain the results, which, in its immediate section, lists the security mechanisms recommended ad hoc for the government agency studied, which include from the storage of information to its transmission. Organizational communication through documents between public administration offices, may be compromised in case of external or internal thread. This article presents advances of research on the processes of governmental document management applied at offices in Tabasco's State Government. It also describes the methodology used, and the security strategies recommended ad hoc, including information storage and transmission.

Elektrofahrzeuge unterscheiden sich im Flamm- und Brandverhalten von Fahrzeugen mit Verbrennungsmotor. Insbesondere die Sicherheit der Traktionsbatterie stellt eine Herausforderung dar. Neben einer Beschädigung der Batteriezellen durch ein externes Schadereignis, beispielsweise ein Brand, verursacht durch einen Unfall mit einem kraftstoffbetriebenen Fahrzeug, kann die Batterie selbst durch internes Versagen zur Gefahrenquelle werden. Eine entsprechend wichtige Sicherheitsfunktion übernimmt daher das Batteriegehäuse. Um Gewicht und Kosten zu senken, werden Gehäuse aus faserverstärkten Kunststoffen entwickelt.

The aim of this study is to show how a newly developed aerodynamic lens system (ALS), a delayed ion extraction (DIE), and better electric shielding improve the efficiency of the Aircraft-based Laser ABlation Aerosol MAss spectrometer (ALABAMA). These improvements are applicable to single-particle laser ablation mass spectrometers in general. To characterize the modifications, extensive size-resolved measurements with spherical polystyrene latex particles (PSL; 150–6000 nm) and cubic sodium chloride particles (NaCl; 400–1700 nm) were performed. Measurements at a fixed ALS position show an improved detectable particle size range of the new ALS compared to the previously used Liu-type ALS, especially for supermicron particles. At a lens pressure of 2.4 hPa, the new ALS achieves a PSL particle size range from 230 to 3240 nm with 50 % detection efficiency and between 350 and 2000 nm with 95 % detection efficiency. The particle beam divergence was determined by measuring the detection efficiency at variable ALS positions along the laser cross sections and found to be minimal for PSL at about 800 nm. Compared to measurements by single-particle mass spectrometry (SPMS) instruments using Liu-type ALSs, the minimum particle beam divergence is shifted towards larger particle sizes. However, there are no disadvantages compared to the Liu-type lenses for particle sizes down to 200 nm. Improvements achieved by using the DIE and an additional electric shielding could be evaluated by size-resolved measurements of the hit rate, which is the ratio of laser pulses yielding a detectable amount of ions to the total number of emitted laser pulses. In particular, the hit rate for multiply charged particles smaller than 500 nm is significantly improved by preventing an undesired deflection of these particles in the ion extraction field. Moreover, it was found that by using the DIE the ion yield of the ablation, ionization, and ion extraction process could be increased, resulting in up to 7 times higher signal intensities of the cation spectra. The enhanced ion yield results in a larger effective width of the ablation laser beam, which in turn leads to a hit rate of almost 100 % for PSL particles in the size range from 350 to 2000 nm. Regarding cubic NaCl particles the modifications of the ALABAMA result in an up to 2 times increased detection efficiency and an up to 5 times increased hit rate. The need for such instrument modifications arises in particular for measurements of particles that are present in low number concentrations such as ice-nucleating particles (INPs) in general, but also aerosol particles at high altitudes or in pristine environments. Especially for these low particle number concentrations, improved efficiencies help to overcome the statistical limitations of single-particle mass spectrometer measurements. As an example, laboratory INP measurements carried out in this study show that the application of the DIE alone increases the number of INP mass spectra per time unit by a factor of 2 to 3 for the sampled substances. Overall, the combination of instrument modifications presented here resulted in an increased measurement efficiency of the ALABAMA for different particle types and particles shape as well as for highly charged particles.

For a planar graph G and a set \(\varPi \) of simple paths in G, we define a metro-map embedding to be a planar embedding of G and an ordering of the paths of \(\varPi \) along each edge of G. This definition of a metro-map embedding is motivated by visual representations of hypergraphs using the metro-map metaphor. In a metro-map embedding, two paths cross in a so-called vertex crossing if they pass through the vertex and alternate in the circular ordering around it.

(1) Background: Individualization of treatment is a major challenge in oncology and requires a variety of predictive and prognostic parameters. In addition to tumor biology analyses, baseline health-related quality of life might be a valid tool to predict overall survival. This study was conducted to evaluate the prognostic relevance of baseline quality of life data in patients with rectal cancer. In this context, differences between patients with and without distant metastases were of particular interest. (2) Methods: Our cohort included 258 patients with rectal cancer treated in the radiotherapy department of the University Hospital Erlangen. Patients completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core quality of life questionnaire (QLQ C30) and colorectal cancer questionnaire (CR38). Clinical and survival data were provided by the Gie&szlig, ener Tumor Documentation System (GTDS) of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN (CCC, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany). Statistical analyses were performed using Kaplan&ndash, Meier analyses and univariate and multivariate Cox regression. (3) Results: A cohort of 258 patients with rectal adenocarcinoma was analyzed including 50 patients (19.4%) with metastatic disease. No differences were observed between patients with and without distant metastases in most areas of quality of life studied, with the exception of physical function, loss of appetite, chemotherapy side effects and weight loss. Gender, baseline physical function, sexual function, diarrhea, and weight loss over time had a prognostic value in the entire cohort. Appetite loss was an additional prognostic parameter in patients with distant metastases. (4) Conclusions: The quality of life of patients with metastatic disease differed only slightly from non-metastatic patients. Health-related quality of life data provide prognostic information for patients with rectal cancer.

The aim of this study is to show how a newly developed aerodynamic lens system (ALS), a delayed ion extraction (DIE) and better electric shielding improve the efficiency of the Aircraft-based Laser ABlation Aerosol MAss spectrometer (ALABAMA). These improvements are applicable to single particle laser ablation mass spectrometers in general. To characterize the modifications extensive size-resolved measurements with spherical polystyrene latex particles (PSL; 150–000 nm) and cubic sodium chloride particles (NaCl; 400–1700 nm) were performed. Measurements at a fixed ALS position show an improved detectable particle size range of the new ALS compared to the previously used Liu-type ALS, especially for super-micron particles. At a lens pressure of 2.4 hPa, the new ALS achieves a PSL particle size range from 230 nm to 3240 nm with 50 % detection efficiency and between 350 nm and 2000 nm with 95 % detection efficiency. The particle beam divergence was determined by measuring the detection efficiency at variable ALS positions along the laser cross sections and found to be minimal for PSL at about 800 nm. Compared to measurements of SPMS instruments using Liu-type ALSs, the minimum particle beam divergence is shifted towards larger particle sizes. However, there are no disadvantages compared to the Liu-type lenses for particle sizes down to 200 nm. Improvements achieved by using the DIE and an additional electric shielding could be evaluated by size-resolved measurements of the hit rate, which is the ratio of laser pulses yielding a detectable amount of ions to the total number of emitted laser pulses. In particular, the hit rate for multiply charged particles smaller 500 nm is significantly improved by preventing an undesired deflection of these particles in the ion extraction field. Moreover, it was found that by using the DIE the ion yield of the ablation, ionization and ion extraction process could be increased, resulting in up to seven times higher signal intensities of the cation spectra. The enhanced ion yield results in a larger effective width of the ablation laser beam, which in turn leads to a hit rate of almost 100 % for PSL particles in the size range from 350 nm to 2000 nm. Regarding cubic NaCl particles the modifications of the ALABMA result in a up to two times increased detection efficiency and a up to five times increased hit rate. The need for such instrument modifications arises in particular for measurements of particles that are present in low number concentrations such as ice nucleation particles (INP) in general, but also aerosol particles at high altitudes or in pristine environments. Especially for these low particle number concentrations improved efficiencies help to overcome statistical limitations of single particle mass spectrometer measurements. As an example laboratory INP measurements carried out in this study show that the application of the DIE alone increases the number of INP mass spectra per time unit by a factor of two to three for the sampled substances. Overall, the combination of instrument modifications presented here resulted in an increased measurement efficiency of the ALABAMA for different particle types, particles shapes and for highly charged particles.

In large parts of the world, an increasing number of damaging events caused by previously rare extreme weather phenomena is being observed. This poses a challenge to those responsible for civil protection of how to sustain current safety levels under accelerated climate change. The aim of this study is to contribute to meeting these challenges by providing methods to determine anticipatory strategies for decades of sustainable protection. This endeavor requires the identification of weather-related hazard processeson on the one, and the establishment of corresponding future hazard development corridors on the other hand. The former, so-called Climate Indices (CIs), are determined by blending damage events and spatiotemporal highly resolved meteorological data for three different regions in the Austrian Alpine region and six different process categories via multivariate statistical analyses. The derivation of hazard development corridors describing future changes in risk landscapes requires ensembles of regional climate projections, in which the occurrence of corresponding CIs is detected.Results are incorporated into the decision-making process and processed together with experts in civil protection. The determination of optimal, sustainable protection strategies is based on decision-theoretical techniques and the application of the expected utility theory (Bernoulli principle).The feasibility of integrating hazard development corridors into decision-making processes, as well as the satisfactory implementation of established procedures, is demonstrated by the most comprehensive civil protection project in Austria to date. The results are consistent and show significant differences between near (2036-2065) and far future (2071-2100) time periods, as well as between the threat levels corresponding to the "climate-friendly" path of humanity and those associated with the "business as usual" scenario. The results are in line with the European Floods Directive by ranking linear measures behind resettlement and retention measures.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Collaborative-Care-Modelle wie das Improving Mood Promoting Access to Collaborative Care Programm (IMPACT) sind eine Moglichkeit, um die hausarztliche Versorgung von alteren depressiven Patienten zu unterstutzen. In der GermanIMPACT Studie wird untersucht, ob dieses niederschwellige Modell mit kurzen verhaltenstherapeutischen Interventionen, die von Therapiebegleiterinnen durchgefuhrt und von einer Psychotherapeutin/Psychiaterin supervidiert werden, ebenso wirksam ist, wie in anderen Landern bereits nachgewiesen. Fur die Implementierbarkeit des Programmes ist neben der Wirksamkeit auch die Durchfuhrbarkeit der Intervention essentiell. Methode In leitfadengestutzten qualitativen Interviews wurden die Therapiebegleiterinnen und Supervisorinnen zu ihrer Einschatzung der Durchfuhrbarkeit und Wirksamkeit der GermanIMPACT Intervention befragt und die Interviews mittels eines qualitativ-inhaltsanalytischen Analysemodelles ausgewertet. Ergebnisse Die Befragten gaben wichtige Hinweise zur Optimierung der Interventionsumsetzung. Unter anderem wurden eine kritischere Auswahl der Patienten und mehr Schulung der Therapiebegleiterinnen genannt. Gleichzeitig wurde die Intervention als unterstutzend fur Patienten und als entlastend fur Hausarzte bezeichnet. Wahrend sich die Befragten eine Ausweitung der Intervention auch auf andere Storungsbilder wunschen wurden, wurden auch gleichzeitig Grenzen der Intervention aufgezeigt. Diskussion Die vorliegende Studie liefert praktische Hinweise fur die Implementierbarkeit des GermanIMPACT Modells, aus denen sich konkrete Handlungsanweisungen fur die Umsetzung in die Regelversorgung ableiten lassen.

Zusammenfassung Ziele Untersuchung der Bereitschaft zur Inanspruchnahme internetbasierter Maßnahmen nach stationärer Behandlung. Methodik Querschnittbefragung an ehemals stationären Patienten (N = 247). Ergebnisse 44,9 % sind bereit, ein Angebot über Videokonferenz zu nutzen, 34,7 % über Chat, 50,0 % über Mail und 38,0 % als Onlinetherapie. In älteren Altersgruppen ist die Bereitschaft geringer. Vorteile werden in der Flexibilität und Nachteile im unpersönlichen Charakter gesehen. Schlussfolgerungen Ein relevanter Anteil vor allem jüngerer Patienten ist bereit, internetbasierte Maßnahmen in Anspruch zu nehmen.

Hintergrund Die storungsspezifische psychotherapeutische Weiterbehandlung nach stationarer Entlassung ist aufgrund langer Wartezeiten und Versorgungsdisparitaten insbesondere in landlichen Regionen erschwert. Da eine fast flachendeckende Internetabdeckung in Deutschland gegeben ist, konnten psychotherapeutische Konzepte nach stationarer Entlassung uber Videokonferenzen fortgefuhrt werden, um die Behandlungskontinuitat zu ermoglichen. Das Kompetenzzentrum Psychotherapie an den Medizinischen Fakultaten Baden-Wurttemberg verfugt uber die Infrastruktur, videokonferenzbasierte Masnahmen nach aktuellen Datenschutzbestimmungen umzusetzen.

The Midlatitude Cirrus experiment (ML-CIRRUS) deployed the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO) to obtain new insights into nucleation, life cycle, and climate impact of natural cirrus and aircraft-induced contrail cirrus. Direct observations of cirrus properties and their variability are still incomplete, currently limiting our understanding of the clouds’ impact on climate. Also, dynamical effects on clouds and feedbacks are not adequately represented in today’s weather prediction models. Here, we present the rationale, objectives, and selected scientific highlights of ML-CIRRUS using the G-550 aircraft of the German atmospheric science community. The first combined in situ–remote sensing cloud mission with HALO united state-of-the-art cloud probes, a lidar and novel ice residual, aerosol, trace gas, and radiation instrumentation. The aircraft observations were accompanied by remote sensing from satellite and ground and by numerical simulations. In spring 2014, HALO performed 16 flights above Europe with a focus on anthropogenic contrail cirrus and midlatitude cirrus induced by frontal systems including warm conveyor belts and other dynamical regimes (jet streams, mountain waves, and convection). Highlights from ML-CIRRUS include 1) new observations of microphysical and radiative cirrus properties and their variability in meteorological regimes typical for midlatitudes, 2) insights into occurrence of in situ–formed and lifted liquid-origin cirrus, 3) validation of cloud forecasts and satellite products, 4) assessment of contrail predictability, and 5) direct observations of contrail cirrus and their distinction from natural cirrus. Hence, ML-CIRRUS provides a comprehensive dataset on cirrus in the densely populated European midlatitudes with the scope to enhance our understanding of cirrus clouds and their role for climate and weather.

Sensing and uptake of external ammonium is essential for anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria, and is typically the domain of the ubiquitous Amt/Rh ammonium transporters. Here, we report on the structure and function of an ammonium sensor/transducer from the anammox bacterium “Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis” that combines a membrane-integral ammonium transporter domain with a fused histidine kinase. It contains a high-affinity ammonium binding site not present in assimilatory Amt proteins. The levels of phosphorylated histidine in the kinase are coupled to the presence of ammonium, as conformational changes during signal recognition by the Amt module are transduced internally to modulate the kinase activity. The structural analysis of this ammonium sensor by X-ray crystallography and small-angle X-ray-scattering reveals a flexible, bipartite system that recruits a large uptake transporter as a sensory module and modulates its functionality to achieve a mechanistic coupling to a kinase domain in order to trigger downstream signaling events., For anammox bacteria, the sensing and uptake of ammonium is essential and specialized proteins, like Ks-Amt5, mediate such processes. Here, authors perform biophysical, biochemical, and structural analysis on Ks-Amt5 and establish a role for this protein as an ammonium-sensing signal transducer.

Hintergrund: Depressive Storungen fuhren auch bei Angehorigen zu erheblichen Belastungen. Psychoedukative Angehorigengruppen konnen auf Angehorigenebene zur Belastungsreduktion sowie auf Ebene der erkrankten Personen zu verbesserten Krankheitsverlaufen beitragen. Um die bedurfnis- und zielgruppenorientierte Entwicklung psychoedukativer Angehorigeninterventionen zu unterstutzen, wurde der Informationsbedarf von Angehorigen von Personen mit depressiven Storungen untersucht. Methoden: Im Rahmen einer qualitativen Studie wurden 3 leitfadenbasierte Fokusgruppen mit insgesamt N=17 erwachsenen Angehorigen von Personen mit depressiven Storungen durchgefuhrt. Die Fokusgruppendiskussionen wurden auf Audiorekorder aufgenommen, transkribiert und mittels eines qualitativ-inhaltsanalytischen Analyseverfahrens ausgewertet. Ergebnisse: Der identifizierte Informationsbedarf basiert zumeist auf Informationslucken, emotionalen Belastungen sowie alltagsbezogenen Einschrankungen. Es zeigte sich ein Informationsbedarf bzgl. krankheitsspezifischer (Symptome, Verlauf und Ursachen) sowie behandlungsspezifischer (Behandlungsverfahren und Versorgungssystem) und – als zentrale Aspekte – bzgl. interaktionsspezifischer Fragestellungen (Umgang mit der erkrankten Person, Schwierigkeiten der gemeinsamen Alltagsgestaltung und Beziehungsproblematiken) sowie uber Unterstutzungsmoglichkeiten fur Angehorige und Aspekte der Selbstfursorge. Schlussfolgerungen: Im Rahmen der Angehorigenpsychoedukation sollten in der Informationsvermittlung auch Aspekte der Angehorigenbelastung und der alltagsbezogenen Einschrankung berucksichtigt werden, auf welchen der Informationsbedarf basiert. Um interaktionsbezogene Problematiken angemessen zu berucksichtigen, sollte diesen mit kompetenzorientierten Ansatzen wie bspw. Problemlosetrainings begegnet werden.

Hintergrund Alkohol wird bei Personen mit Migrationshintergrund, insbesondere ab dem 50. Lebensjahr, zu einem Problem. Praventionsmasnahmen erreichen diese Gruppe aber nur unzulanglich. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde ein transkulturelles Praventionskonzept zur Primarpravention alkoholbezogener Storungen entwickelt und evaluiert.

Immersion freezing is the most relevant heterogeneous ice nucleation mechanism through which ice crystals are formed in mixed-phase clouds. In recent years, an increasing number of laboratory experiments utilizing a variety of instruments have examined immersion freezing activity of atmospherically relevant ice-nucleating particles. However, an intercomparison of these laboratory results is a difficult task because investigators have used different ice nucleation (IN) measurement methods to produce these results. A remaining challenge is to explore the sensitivity and accuracy of these techniques and to understand how the IN results are potentially influenced or biased by experimental parameters associated with these techniques. Within the framework of INUIT (Ice Nuclei Research Unit), we distributed an illite-rich sample (illite NX) as a representative surrogate for atmospheric mineral dust particles to investigators to perform immersion freezing experiments using different IN measurement methods and to obtain IN data as a function of particle concentration, temperature (T), cooling rate and nucleation time. A total of 17 measurement methods were involved in the data intercomparison. Experiments with seven instruments started with the test sample pre-suspended in water before cooling, while 10 other instruments employed water vapor condensation onto dry-dispersed particles followed by immersion freezing. The resulting comprehensive immersion freezing data set was evaluated using the ice nucleation active surface-site density, ns, to develop a representative ns(T) spectrum that spans a wide temperature range (−37 °C < T < −11 °C) and covers 9 orders of magnitude in ns. In general, the 17 immersion freezing measurement techniques deviate, within a range of about 8 °C in terms of temperature, by 3 orders of magnitude with respect to ns. In addition, we show evidence that the immersion freezing efficiency expressed in ns of illite NX particles is relatively independent of droplet size, particle mass in suspension, particle size and cooling rate during freezing. A strong temperature dependence and weak time and size dependence of the immersion freezing efficiency of illite-rich clay mineral particles enabled the ns parameterization solely as a function of temperature. We also characterized the ns(T) spectra and identified a section with a steep slope between −20 and −27 °C, where a large fraction of active sites of our test dust may trigger immersion freezing. This slope was followed by a region with a gentler slope at temperatures below −27 °C. While the agreement between different instruments was reasonable below ~ −27 °C, there seemed to be a different trend in the temperature-dependent ice nucleation activity from the suspension and dry-dispersed particle measurements for this mineral dust, in particular at higher temperatures. For instance, the ice nucleation activity expressed in ns was smaller for the average of the wet suspended samples and higher for the average of the dry-dispersed aerosol samples between about −27 and −18 °C. Only instruments making measurements with wet suspended samples were able to measure ice nucleation above −18 °C. A possible explanation for the deviation between −27 and −18 °C is discussed. Multiple exponential distribution fits in both linear and log space for both specific surface area-based ns(T) and geometric surface area-based ns(T) are provided. These new fits, constrained by using identical reference samples, will help to compare IN measurement methods that are not included in the present study and IN data from future IN instruments.

Seven different instruments and measurement methods were used to examine the immersion freezing of bacterial ice nuclei from Snomax® (hereafter Snomax), a product containing ice-active protein complexes from non-viable Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. The experimental conditions were kept as similar as possible for the different measurements. Of the participating instruments, some examined droplets which had been made from suspensions directly, and the others examined droplets activated on previously generated Snomax particles, with particle diameters of mostly a few hundred nanometers and up to a few micrometers in some cases. Data were obtained in the temperature range from −2 to −38 °C, and it was found that all ice-active protein complexes were already activated above −12 °C. Droplets with different Snomax mass concentrations covering 10 orders of magnitude were examined. Some instruments had very short ice nucleation times down to below 1 s, while others had comparably slow cooling rates around 1 K min−1. Displaying data from the different instruments in terms of numbers of ice-active protein complexes per dry mass of Snomax, nm, showed that within their uncertainty, the data agree well with each other as well as to previously reported literature results. Two parameterizations were taken from literature for a direct comparison to our results, and these were a time-dependent approach based on a contact angle distribution (Niedermeier et al., 2014) and a modification of the parameterization presented in Hartmann et al. (2013) representing a time-independent approach. The agreement between these and the measured data were good; i.e., they agreed within a temperature range of 0.6 K or equivalently a range in nm of a factor of 2. From the results presented herein, we propose that Snomax, at least when carefully shared and prepared, is a suitable material to test and compare different instruments for their accuracy of measuring immersion freezing.