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We present a case of vaginocutaneous fistula 10 years after pelvic floor reconstruction using transvaginal mesh implantation. The female patient in her mid-60s presented with typical symptoms of perianal abscess. After undergoing three surgical operations, the perianal infection was shown to be due to the implanted mesh as a late complication of the reconstruction. The patient was successfully managed with limited removal of the mesh tails. The case highlights one of the late complications of pelvic floor reconstruction using synthetic meshes.

In diesem Beitrag werden die theoretischen Grundlagen des Aufsatzes „Wasserdruck auf Wildbachsperren“ [1] den Messungen an vier Konsolidierungssperren gegenübergestellt. Im Speziellen wird dabei auf den Ansatz der Wasserdruckbelastung eingegangen. In [1] wurde bereits auf Grundlage von Felduntersuchungen sowie Beobachtungen gezeigt, dass oft keine Wassersättigung in der Hinterfüllung vorhanden ist. Der auf diesen Erkenntnissen aufbauende Vorschlag für eine empirische Festlegung der Belastungen auf Konsolidierungssperren konnte durch die nunmehr vorliegenden Feldmessungen an vier Konsolidierungssperren über einen Zeitraum von 15 Monaten bestätigt werden.

Purpose There are only rough estimates of the worldwide incidence of pilonidal sinus carcinoma. The purpose of the study is to explore the demographic characteristics of this disease and to provide more precise information about its incidence. Methods The study included questioning the surgeons and pathologists in Germany in addition to a literature research. The literature investigation included all published articles about pilonidal carcinoma in all languages. The questionnaire included 1050 pathologists and all 834 hospitals with a surgical division in Germany. The outcome measures included the total number of cases, the language of publication, gender, age, country of origin, interval until the diagnosis of carcinoma, and reported incidence based on local studies. Results From 1900 to 2022, we found 140 cases of pilonidal sinus carcinoma in 103 articles. The investigation revealed two additional unpublished cases from Germany. The male-to-female ratio was 7.75:1. The countries with the most cases were the USA (35 cases, 25.0%), Spain (13 cases, 9.3%), and Turkey (11 cases, 7.6%). The average age was 54.0 ± 11.8 years and the interval between the diagnosis of the disease and the development of carcinoma was 20.1 ± 14.1 years. There was a parallel increase in reported cases of pilonidal sinus disease and pilonidal carcinoma over the last century. The reported incidence varied from 0.03% to 5.56%. The worldwide calculated incidence equaled 0.17%. Conclusion Due to underreporting and other causes, the incidence of carcinoma emerging on the background of pilonidal sinus disease is higher than reported.

Stosowanie druku przestrzennego do produkcji elementów kolejowych jest bardziej ekonomiczne niż wytwarzanie niewielkiej liczby takich elementów w zakładach przemysłowych, zwłaszcza że w pociągach są stosowane surowe wymagania dotyczące właściwości palnych, określone w normie EN 45545-2. Niniejszy artykuł dotyczy produkcji metodą druku 3D przezroczystych elementów z poliwęglanu. Polimer modyfikowano za pomocą różnych środków zmniejszających palność oraz określano wpływ parametrów druku, zwłaszcza gęstości druku. Polilaktyd był badany tylko w celach porównawczych. Próbki wydrukowanych i zmodyfikowanych polimerów poddano naświetlaniu promieniowaniem cieplnym, zgodnie z normą ISO 5660-1, za pomocą kalorymetru stożkowego oraz działaniu bezpośredniego płomienia, zgodnie z normą UL 94. Przetwarzanie i drukowanie polimeru powoduje naprężenia termiczne molekuł. Może to prowadzić do pogorszenia palności, powodując spadek właściwości w porównaniu z poliwęglanem w stanie nieprzetworzonym, co potwierdzono dwie-ma metodami badawczymi. Zarówno dodatek, jak i gęstość druku wpływają na właściwości palne w zależności od rodzaju polimeru. W podsumowaniu stwierdzono, że należy dokładnie przeanalizować parametry drukowania i dodatki przy określaniu właściwości palnych polimerów. Słowa kluczowe: odporność ogniowa materiału (poliwęglan, również z dodatkami) po druku 3D, wpływ druku 3D na właściwości ogniowe

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmental change. Publisher PDF

Quantifying movement and demographic events of free-ranging animals is fundamental to studying their ecology, evolution and conservation. Technological advances have led to an explosion in sensor-based methods for remotely observing these phenomena. This transition to big data creates new challenges for data management, analysis and collaboration. We present the Movebank ecosystem of tools used by thousands of researchers to collect, manage, share, visualize, analyse and archive their animal tracking and other animal-borne sensor data. Users add sensor data through file uploads or live data streams and further organize and complete quality control within the Movebank system. All data are harmonized to a data model and vocabulary. The public can discover, view and download data for which they have been given access to through the website, the Animal Tracker mobile app or by API. Advanced analysis tools are available through the EnvDATA System, the MoveApps platform and a variety of user-developed applications. Data owners can share studies with select users or the public, with options for embargos, licenses and formal archiving in a data repository. Movebank is used by over 3,100 data owners globally, who manage over 6 billion animal location and sensor measurements across more than 6,500 studies, with thousands of active tags sending over 3 million new data records daily. These data underlie >700 published papers and reports. We present a case study demonstrating the use of Movebank to assess life-history events and demography, and engage with citizen scientists to identify mortalities and causes of death for a migratory bird. A growing number of researchers, government agencies and conservation organizations use Movebank to manage research and conservation projects and to meet legislative requirements. The combination of historic and new data with collaboration tools enables broad comparative analyses and data acquisition and mapping efforts. Movebank offers an integrated system for real-time monitoring of animals at a global scale and represents a digital museum of animal movement and behaviour. Resources and coordination across countries and organizations are needed to ensure that these data, including those that cannot be made public, remain accessible to future generations. published

Thermal energy storage technologies significantly increase the benefits of decentralized renewable en-ergy production on residential scale. While many studies investigate singular applications of thermalenergy storages or provide a broad overview about the current state of research in thisfield, there is nocomprehensive assessment on market-ready solutions. This paper combines a system performanceanalysis for the combination of photovoltaic and solar thermal generation with storages based onbuilding energy system simulations. Energy systems for single- and multi-family reference buildingswith low energy consumption, representing the most common retrofit case in Switzerland, are designedon equal energy performance, and later evaluated for total costs of ownership andfinancial payback. Theresults highlight the operational difference in thermal energy storages, where some technologies actmore like an energy source in their optimal sizing. Variation of renewable input versus storage sizeemphasize the individual optimal storage duration. Many solutions are capable of substantiallyincreasing the degree of energy autarky while being competitive without subsidies. This assessmenthelps guiding future development and design of thermal energy storages., + ID der Publikation: hslu_86778 + Art des Beitrages: Wissenschaftliche Medien + Sprache: Englisch + Letzte Aktualisierung: 2023-04-18 13:48:42

Heat pumps play an important role in decarbonizing the heating supply of buildings and they allow to increase the self-consumption of PV electricity, especially when supported by electricity or heat storage. In this study, we develop an open-source model to optimize PV-coupled heat pumps, with and without electricity and heat storage, and we compare their performance for three types of single-family houses with different thermal envelope quality paired with 549 electricity profiles. We analyze trade-offs between prosumer benefits and grid impacts, namely bill minimization, and maximum grid relief, depending on the type of storage and incentives for grid peak reduction (i.e., a capacity-based tariff). We conclude that the use of heat storage reduces the levelized cost of meeting the electricity demand between 13–26% compared to the baseline case without storage, in particular when heat pumps are used for both space heating and domestic hot water (DHW). Regarding total self-consumption rates, both storage technologies, namely batteries and hot water tanks (which supply both space heating and DHW) achieve similar rates ranging between 30–39%. In contrast, batteries are found to be very effective in reducing the peak demand (14–17% compared to the baseline scenario), but only if the retail tariff has a capacity-based component. Interestingly, the quality of the envelope plays a key role and heat pumps can double the power peak demand in poorly insulated houses, with thermal storage increasing the power peak demand further up to 8%, compared to the baseline, regardless of the storage technology. Thus, we conclude that policy makers should promote thermal retrofitting of the building stock to avoid the upgrading of the distribution grid.

The fire behavior of polymers is examined primarily with the time-dependent heat release rate (HRR) measured with a cone calorimeter. The HRR is used to examine the fire behavior of materials with and without flame retardants, especially Polypropylene (PP-Copo) and Polyethylene (PE-LD). Polypropylene is stored for up to 99 days under normal conditions and the heat release rate shows especially changes about 100 s after irradiation with cone calorimeter, which may be caused by aging effects. The effect of crosslinking to the burning behavior of PP was examined too. Polyamides (PA 6) are irradiated with a radiation intensity of 25 kW/m2 to 95 kW/m2 and fire-related principles between radiation intensity and time to ignition can be derived from the measurement results. In order to comprehensively investigate the fire behavior of PP (also with flame retardant additives), the samples were also exposed to a flame, according to UL 94 with small power (50 W) and is inflamed with the power of a few 100 W. The irradiation causes different trigger mechanisms for the flame retardant additives in a plastic than the flame exposure. It is shown that the compound, which is favorable for irradiation, is not necessarily good for flame exposure. It can be seen that expandable graphite alone or with the addition of other additives is a very effective flame retardant for PP.

Energy system models on country level usually contain multiple energy carriers at different granularity. While data is comparably rich in terms of temporal and spatial resolution for the electricity part, much less is known for heat. Especially the true demand for heat as a function of usage and time is difficult to obtain. In many cases, energy consumption data (fuel oil, natural gas, district heating etc.) is taken as approximation for the final energy end-use of heat. Different heat distribution technologies bring their own bias on temperature levels and heating hours, like with ground floor heating vs. radiator. Therefore, historic consumption data is not an appropriate base for modelling of energy systems with long prospect. The present research work proposes a novel top-down methodology for generating aggregated load curves on heat demand, with a focus on residential space heating. Maps of population density distribution combined with norm temperature profiles and the definition of heating degree days provides a tempo-spatial map of heating demand. The knowledge of total residential space heating demand is used to identify the aggregated demand curve, suitable for energy system modelling.

The H2020-Cleansky 2 project EULOSAM II supports the development and assessment of an innovative natural laminar aircraft wing by integrating innovative aerodynamic control surfaces and high lift technologies. The project focuses on the modification and completion of a WT-model to enable robust and efficient testing. EULOSAM II is a project funded by the EC through the Clean Sky 2 JU and carried out in cooperation with Dassault Aviation. In order to ensure efficient testing a key element of EULOSAM II was to develop and validate a solution to improve the WT test productivity, which was achieved by designing, manufacturing and testing a remotely controlled, actuated HTP which significantly reduces the time needed in the WT for model-configuration changes. The model under review is a business jet half-model, test will be performed in the ONERA F1 Wind Tunnel, at high Reynolds numbers and low Mach Numbers typical of high-lift conditions. This paper presents the outcome of the whole development process of the actuated solution. This development includes the mechanical design as well as the control-solution to be applied in the WT. Pre-Tests have been performed in order to show that the implemented solution is working well and is robust enough to enable smooth and productive testing operations. In this paper, details on the design as well as explanations on why specific solutions were down-selected and found to be most effective ones are presented. During the final development phase, to investigate the functionality and robustness of the system, ground tests have been conducted with the assembled model on test benches to save WT time and to enable faster troubleshooting. Actuating WT models are seen as key to increase WT test efficiency, therefore this is in particular interesting for WT-test which have high hourly test-costs. Lessons learned for future applications therefore will be given to discuss if solutions found so far can be extrapolated to other, comparable applications.

Fostering electricity self-consumption of distributed produced renewable energy offers a potential for substantial CO 2 -emission reduction while not posing additional constraints to the transmission and distribution grid. While new constructed residential buildings can be purposely designed to fulfil this objective, retrofitting existing buildings poses many limiting constraints. The high operating temperature of radiators for instance makes PV-driven heat pumps inefficient, whereas solar thermal input to a sensible thermal energy storage requires large volumes. In this paper, we outline a novel demonstrator for latent thermal energy storage for heating and cooling application for a single-family house. The technology in conjunction with two heat pumps allows for a self-consumption above 50% and operates at maximized exergetic efficiency. Investment versus return is indicating a viable solution to competing technologies like borehole thermal energy storages.

Space cooling under tropical climatic conditions requires large amounts of energy. Ventilation and air conditioning systems should hence be improved for minimal consumption, while taking into account waste heat management and the urban heat island effect. Latent thermal energy storages are a potential solution here. Principles of low exergy, avoiding inefficient low operating temperatures, are merged with time shifting of cooling and optimal waste heat rejection. Results of this case study indicate unique capabilities to support system efficiency and reduce thermal impact in the proximity, while still being economically attractive. Encapsulated salt hydrates are considered as a storage material, since they provide melting enthalpies of around 200 kJ/kg at near-ambient temperature levels.

In this study, the Swiss residential building stock model (SwissRes model) is used to conduct a geospatial analysis of the techno-economic potential of deep building envelope retrofit packages in Switzerland. Element and building characteristics of 8242 archetype buildings are combined with high-resolution spatio-temporal weather data. We estimate final energy demand before and after retrofit, while correcting for the energy performance gap. Levelized costs of energy savings are calculated in two ways, i.e. based on full costs and investment cost related only to thermal improvement of the envelope. Results show that, technically, a 57% reduction of the final energy demand for space heating could be achieved with the deep envelope retrofit. For full costs, less than 1% of these measures would be cost-effective, whereas for improvement costs nearly the full retrofit potential is cost-effective. We identified primarily rural and mountainous regions as well as historic city centres to show highest cost-effectiveness.

Product-related and market-related uncertainties often cause users to defer from switching to new IT devices. There is a value of waiting (VoW) for users because waiting allows them to collect more information. At the same time, many IT switching decisions are increasingly complex due to increased connectivity and the resulting interdependencies between jointly used devices. Therefore, switching decisions for connected devices not only need to consider the new device in isolation, but must also account for the potential benefits from internally or externally connecting the device with other devices. Although crucial for users and providers alike, existing models cannot explain whether and when users switch in such connected environments. We focus on connected Smart Home Devices (SHDs) and simulate users’ actual switching timing based on a real options model which combines switching and deferral concepts in a context-specific setting. We examine how Smart Home Network (SHN) density influences switching and how providers can use incentives to accelerate switching to foster product diffusion. The findings show an accelerating effect of connectivity and a deferring effect of uncertainty on actual switching timing. We also learn that SHD providers should focus more on immediate than on delayed incentives to promote product diffusion, since the latter can also have undesired effects. Interestingly, external connectivity has almost no influence on decision timing in scenarios with highly dense SHNs, leading to further key implications for SHD providers.

Developing countries face different challenges for future electrical energy planning than developed countries. In particular, rural areas suffer from lack of energy supply, which is due to missing transmission infrastructure, influence of foreign players, and capitalization of energy production resources through export. In this paper, we highlight this situation by the case of Ethiopia, one of the least developed countries worldwide. So far, Ethiopia’s energy strategy is mainly based on hydropower, with major projects under construction. However, these projects are unlikely to support rural areas, and in addition have already sparked international controversy due to the substantial ecological impact. In order to obtain a better understanding of which alternative pathways may be feasible, we offer a new planning methodology based on an interactive and collaborative computer-based tool. The tool allows the exploration of different scenarios that include alternative energy sources such as wind power and photovoltaics. Our tool addresses the gap between current policy debates that will shape the development path of the country and existing energy modeling tools. Most existing tools are sophisticated but seem less adequate for developing countries in terms of scope and basic assumptions. By addressing these shortcomings, we present a tool that takes the specific properties of emerging energy markets into account and allows exploring the impact of various policy decisions in a collaborative way without assuming the presence of perfect markets or ubiquitous infrastructure. The tool does not require expert knowledge and can be made available easily to decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public as we demonstrated at the Addis2050 conference in Addis Ababa in 2012.

Today the implication of buildings’ electricity demand on the outdoor climate around buildings is not fully understood. For tropical cities like Singapore, where air-conditioning is required throughout the year and high rise buildings irregularly alternate with lower buildings, the distribution of this so called anthropogenic heat emissions in time and space is determining the local and overall contribution to the urban heat island (UHI). In the absence of detailed measurements calculating the local consumption can be challenging. We present a methodology which combines a top-down disaggregation of sectoral electricity consumption with a bottom-up geographic information system (GIS) derived building database for obtaining anthropogenic heat emission maps with high spatial resolution. The database has been validated through control samples. Using the example of Singapore we can show that heat emissions are more inhomogeneous and higher in magnitude than previously estimated. Our method can now be employed to generate better UHI models by identifying areas with significant anthropogenic heat emissions., Sustainable Cities and Society, 19, ISSN:2210-6707

Resolving functions of closely linked genes is challenging or nearly impossible with classical genetic tools. Four members of the Catharanthus roseus receptor-like kinase 1-like (CrRLK1L) family are clustered on Arabidopsis chromosome five. To resolve the potentially redundant functions of this subclass of CrRLK1Ls named MEDOS1 to 4 (MDS1 to 4), we generated a single CRISPR/Cas9 transformation vector using a Golden Gate based cloning system to target all four genes simultaneously. We introduce single mutations within and deletions between MDS genes as well as knock-outs of the whole 11 kb gene cluster. The large MDS cluster deletion was inherited in up to 25% of plants lacking the CRISPR/Cas9 construct in the T2 generation. In contrast to described phenotypes of already characterized CrRLK 1 L mutants, quadruple mds knock-outs were fully fertile, developed normal root hairs and trichomes and responded to pharmacological inhibition of cellulose biosynthesis similar to wildtype. Recently, we demonstrated the role of four CrRLK1L in growth adaptation to metal ion stress. Here we show the involvement of MDS genes in response to Ni2+ during hypocotyl elongation and to Cd2+ and Zn2+ during root growth. Our finding supports the model of an organ specific network of positively and negatively acting CrRLK1Ls.

Die fortschreitende Digitalisierung der Kommunikation verändert das Arbeiten in vielen Bereichen der Medienwelt. So erlauben die zunehmende Verfügbarkeit immer größerer Datenmengen, sowie leistungsfähigere Hard- und Software zur Verarbeitung dieser Daten, einen quantitativen Zugang zu journalistischen Schaffungsprozessen und Bewertungskriterien. Die daraus resultierende Verschmelzung von journalistischen und technologischen Tätigkeiten in Redaktionen ermöglicht eine zunehmende Automatisierung der Produktionsprozesse. Diese Entwicklungen verändern nachhaltig das klassische Rollenverständnis von Journalisten, Rezipienten und Medienunternehmen und werden immer häufiger als Computational Journalism bezeichnet. Die Integration der neuen technologischen Möglichkeiten in den journalistischen Prozess ist eine Herausforderung für Redaktionen und Medienhäuser. Offen ist insbesondere, inwieweit der zunehmende technologische Fokus das Anforderungsprofil und Selbstverständnis von Journalisten verändert und welche ökonomischen und gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen damit verbunden sind. Nachfolgend beschreiben wir die dahinter liegende Entwicklung, zeigen aktuelle Anwendungsfelder auf und geben einen Überblick über heute schon erkennbare Veränderungen in den Rollen von Journalisten und Nutzern im Mediensystem sowie für Medienunternehmen und die Gesellschaft.

This paper investigates three scenarios for (LNG) Liquefied natural gas driven district cooling grids in terms of technological and economic feasibility. The scenarios consist of commercial, residential, and low temperature industrial cooling and their combinations. These scenarios achieve tremendous energy savings in comparison with conventional mechanical cooling. The free cooling potential in Singapore is calculated to Singapore Dollars (SGD) 800.75 million p.a. depending on the scenario, based on a regasification heat demand of 1009 kJ/kg of LNG with current terminal capacity of 3.5 Million Tonnes per annum (MTPA). In addition to the economic benefit, there is also an environmental benefit of 655.57 Million kg of CO2 e/a (CO2 equivalent) through Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction by free cooling utilization. The terminal's capacity has increased to 6 MTPA by the end of 2014.