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The paper describes the new superstructure for Kagraner Steg pedestrian bridge in Vienna, Austria. The original one, made of timber in 1991, must be replaced due to exploitational problems and frequent traffic disturbances during repair measures. The existing foundations must be used for the new superstructure. Different material options were compared in the concept design phase. Finally, glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) was chosen due to its low weight, high strength, and minimal maintenance cost. To justify its initial higher costs, a life-cycle costs analysis has been performed. The results of the analysis compared with conventional carbon steel alternative solution, are presented. In addition, the article reviews the challenges met during the design of the new GFRP superstructure of Kagraner Steg.

The digital age allows for integration of dispersed groups into the innovation process. These heterogeneous groups of individuals varying in size and knowledge distribution, also referred to as crowds, build the basis for open innovation contests (OIC), one of the most common forms of crowdsourcing innovation. Different from more focused forms of open innovation, at OIC innovation managers often do not identify or evaluate participants ex‐ante. Instead, innovation managers often make use of open calls for participation and assume efficient self‐selection of participants i.e., that only motivated and qualified participants will volunteer and engage in the innovation contest. This behavior reflects one of the key assumption of crowdsourcing in participatory innovation settings. However, not every self‐selected member is in the position to solve the contest task appropriately. Hence, innovation contests often result in large numbers of submissions, covering a wide range of quality levels, causing decision biases and significant workloads for innovation managers to select ideas. This problem is referred to as “crowding”. In order to reduce “crowding”, open innovation researchers are interested in understanding which types of individuals make the “best” contributions and therefore should be preferably encouraged to participate in in OIC. In this paper, we are assessing what characterizes those participants who submit innovative ideas to OIC, in particular those who submit incremental ideas vs. those who have more radical ideas. Drawing on the componential model of creativity and data generated in innovation contest held by chocolate producer Ritter Sport, we analyze the effect of participants‘ creativity, domain knowledge, and several motivational factors on the innovativeness of their contributions. We find all of these factors to affect the innovativeness of an idea. However, regarding generating incremental or radical innovations, some factors have opposing roles. Our findings imply for practice that innovation managers must decide which type of innovations they intend to generate and then design contests to attract participants with the required characteristics, if they want to increase the number of appropriate ideas and reduce the problems of “crowding”.

Gunnar Benktander passed away on February 25, 2018 at the age of 99. He left his family, and also the actuarial (non-life) community, after a long and very full life.

Die ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG (Österreichische Bundesbahn) verfügt über eine große Zahl verschiedenster Brückenprovisorien für den Einsatz im Zuge von Baustellen. Aufgrund des mittlerweile fortgeschrittenen Alters eines Großteils dieser Konstruktionen werden diese derzeit durch neue und leistungsfähigere Hilfsbrücken (HHB – Hochleistungshilfsbrücken) ergänzt. In der Planung hat man sich vor allem der Anforderung an eine hohe Überfahrtgeschwindigkeit gewidmet. Denn die gewünschten Eigenschaften der Hilfsbrücken – schlank und leicht – bedeuten auch, dass sie in besonderem Maße schwingungsanfällig sind und bei Zugüberfahrt zu starken Resonanzen neigen können. Inzwischen wurde der erste Typ (eine 26,5 m lange Hilfsbrücke mit Stützweite 26,0 m) – bezeichnet als HHB 265 – hergestellt und zahlreichen Tests unter Prüfstandbedingungen und im realen Einsatz unterworfen. Der folgende Beitrag beschreibt das Lösungskonzept zur Vermeidung unverträglich hoher Resonanzen infolge Zugüberfahrt und stellt die dazu entwickelten Maßnahmen in Form von Schwingungstilger vor.

There is an urgent need for biomaterials that support tissue healing, particularly neuronal regeneration. In a medium throughput screen novel self-assembling peptide (SAP) sequences that form fibrils and stimulated nerve fiber growth of peripheral nervous system (PNS)-derived neurons are identified. Based on the peptide sequences and fibril morphologies and by applying rational data-mining, important structural parameters stimulating neuronal activity are elucidated. Three SAPs (SAP1e, SAP2e, and SAP5c) enhance adhesion and growth of PNS neurons. These SAPs form 2D and 3D matrices that serve as bioactive scaffolds stimulating cell adhesion and growth. The newly discovered SAPs also support the growth of CNS neurons and glia cells. Subsequently, the potential of SAPs to enhance PNS regeneration in vivo is analyzed. For this, the facial nerve driving whisker movement in mice is injured. Notably, SAPs persist for up to 3 weeks in the injury site indicating highly adhesive properties and stability. After SAP administration, more motor neurons incorporating markers for successive regeneration are observed. Recovery of whisker movement is elevated in SAP-injected mice. In summary, short peptides that form fibrils are identified and the adhesion, growth, and regeneration of neurons have been efficiently enhanced without the necessity to attach hormones or growth factors.

Funder: German Research Foundation; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659, Amyloid‐like peptide nanofibrils (PNFs) are abundant in nature providing rich bioactivities and playing both functional and pathological roles. The structural features responsible for their unique bioactivities are, however, still elusive. Supramolecular nanostructures are notoriously challenging to optimize, as sequence changes affect self‐assembly, fibril morphologies, and biorecognition. Herein, the first sequence optimization of PNFs, derived from the peptide enhancing factor‐C (EF‐C, QCKIKQIINMWQ), for enhanced retroviral gene transduction via a multiparameter and a multiscale approach is reported. Retroviral gene transfer is the method of choice for the stable delivery of genetic information into cells offering great perspectives for the treatment of genetic disorders. Single fibril imaging, zeta potential, vibrational spectroscopy, and quantitative retroviral transduction assays provide the structure parameters responsible for PNF assembly, fibrils morphology, secondary and quaternary structure, and PNF‐virus‐cell interactions. Optimized peptide sequences such as the 7‐mer, CKFKFQF, have been obtained quantitatively forming supramolecular nanofibrils with high intermolecular β‐sheet content that efficiently bind virions and attach to cellular membranes revealing efficient retroviral gene transfer.

Zwischen Linz und Selzthal wurde an der Phyrnbahn in den Jahren 2013 bis 2014 die Steyrtalbrucke bei km 65,621 erneuert. Wesentliches Entwurfskriterium der OBB Infrastruktur AG als Bauherr war das Bestreben eines unter Life-Cycle-Cost-Betrachtung optimierten Bruckenbaus, der u. a. auch trotz der grosen Bruckenlange von 182 m ohne wartungsintensive Schienenauszuge auskommt. Ausgehend von den normativen Vorgaben sowie gewissen Gestaltungsfreiraumen, welche die einschlagigen Normen zulassen, wurden bei der Planung Sonderwege bei der Ermittlung der Schienenspannungen aus der Interaktion beschritten. Die Ergebnisse der Berechnung Interaktion Gleis/Tragwerk ermoglichten schlieslich tatsachlich den Verzicht auf Schienenauszuge. Im Planungsprozess wurden zahlreiche Annahmen getroffen, die anschliesend uber umfangreiche Messungen des tatsach lichen Verhaltens verifiziert wurden. Dazu sollten neben Messungen wahrend der statischen und dynamischen Belastungsprobe auch Langzeitmessungen durchgefuhrt werden, um das Tragverhalten uber die Zeit beurteilen zu konnen sowie eine Bestatigung der Rechenansatze beim Nachweis der Gleis/Tragwerk-Interaktion zu ermoglichen. In diesem Artikel sollen die Planung des Messsystems, die Durchfuhrung und Ergebnisse der Messungen wahrend der Belastungsprobe und des darauffolgenden Jahreszyklus erlautert werden.

Hybrid nanomaterials have shown great potential in regenerative medicine due to the unique opportunities to customize materials properties for effectively controlling cellular growth. The peptide nanofiber-mediated auto-oxidative polymerization of dopamine, resulting in stable aqueous dispersions of polydopamine-coated peptide hybrid nanofibers, is demonstrated. The catechol residues of the polydopamine coating on the hybrid nanofibers are accessible and provide a platform for introducing functionalities in a pH-responsive polymer analogous reaction, which is demonstrated using a boronic acid modified fluorophore. The resulting hybrid nanofibers exhibit attractive properties in their cellular interactions: they enhance neuronal cell adhesion, nerve fiber growth, and growth cone area, thus providing great potential in regenerative medicine. Furthermore, the facile modification by pH-responsive supramolecular polymer analog reactions allows tailoring the functional properties of the hybrid nanofibers in a reversible fashion.

New product development via crowdsourcing relies on individuals who provide creative ideas to firms. Hence, researchers are interested in understanding the nature of individuals who engage in and win innovation contests. Our study advances this research by drawing on the componential model of creativity and including participants and non-participants of innovation contests in our sample. We find participants to have higher levels of domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant processes, and intrinsic motivation than non-participants. Furthermore, extrinsic motivation and high levels of domain-relevant skills are found to distinguish successful from unsuccessful participants more so than high levels of creativity-relevant processes and intrinsic motivation.

Litzenbuendelseile fuer Schraegseilbruecken stellen eine wartungsfreundliche Bauweise dar, welche bei der Elbebruecke Schoenebeck eingesetzt wurde. Nach abgeschlossenem Seileinbau wurden verschiedene Pruefungen durchgefuehrt, die zum Teil durch die Ausschreibung als Abnahmepruefung gefordert waren oder zum anderen Teil als Referenzmessungen fuer zukuenftige Bauwerkspruefungen dienen. Zur Seilkraftbestimmung kamen Schwingungsmessungen zur Anwendung, die unter besonderer Beruecksichtigung der Biegesteifigkeit ausgewertet wurden. Die Schwingungsmessungen wurden auch hinsichtlich des Daempfungsverhaltens der Seile ausgewertet. Fuer eine einfache Kraftmessung waehrend ueblicher Hauptpruefungen wurden auch elektromagnetische Kraftmesssensoren eingebaut. Zur Detektion moeglicher Drahtbrueche ausserhalb der Verankerungen wurde ein eigens fuer Litzenbuendelseile konzipiertes Pruefgeraet eingesetzt, das durch um den Seilumfang angeordnete Magnetisierungsspulen auch bei den relativ kleinen Huellrohrfuellungsgraden eine volle Magnetisierung und damit eine Ortung von Spannstahlbruechen auch im Seilinnern zulaesst. (A) ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: Parallel strand cables for cable stayed bridges are easy to monitor which is verified on the Elbe Bridge Schoenebeck. After cable installation, several tests were carried out that were partly required as a verification test by the bidding procedure and partly used as reference measurements for future structure inspections. Vibration measurements that were evaluated while specifically taking into account bending stiffness were used to determine stay cable forces. The vibration measurements were also evaluated with regard to the damping behavior of the stays. Elastomagnetic force sensors were also installed to permit easy force measurement during detailed inspection. A testing device that had been especially designed for parallel strand cables was used for detecting possible wire fractures outside of the anchorages. Thanks to magnetizing coils that are placed around the stay cable circumference, this testing device permits full magnetization even for relatively small duct filling levels and thus also ensures a detection of prestressing steel fractures within the cable. (A)

In den letzten Jahren wurden, aufgrund der zahlreichen Vorteile integraler Brucken uber den Lebenszyklus, vermehrt lager- und fugenlose Brucken geplant und errichtet. Die Akzeptanz seitens der Bauherren gegenuber diesem Bruckentyp ist inzwischen auch bei groseren Tragwerkslangen bis 100 m durchaus gegeben. Bei zunehmender Lange haben jedoch Langzeiteffekte sowie Temperaturschwankungen deutliche Auswirkungen auf die Bewegungen und damit die Boden-Bauwerks-Interaktion, die fur ein langes integrales Bauwerk bemessungsrelevant sein konnen. Die in diesem Bericht prasentierte Seitenhafenbrucke in Wien ist die aktuell langste integrale Brucke in Osterreich. Aufgrund einer Gesamtlange von rund 130 m sowie einiger bautechnischer Besonderheiten wurde vom Bauherren ein umfangreiches Monitoringsystem zur Uberwachung des Bauwerksverhaltens ausgeschrieben und eingebaut. Dieses nimmt seit der Eroffnung des Bauwerks im November 2011 unterbrechungsfrei Messdaten auf. Es werden dauerhaft die Temperaturen und die Bauwerksbewegungen wie Durchbiegungen, Neigungen, Langenanderungen und der Erddruck am Widerlager gemessen. Die Daten werden laufend ausgewertet und in Berichten fur den Bauherren im Vergleich zu den Annahmen der statischen Berechnung zusammengefasst, um Aufschluss uber das tatsachliche Bauwerksverhalten zu geben. Monitoring of the Seitenhafenbridge in Vienna More and more bridges without bearings and expansion joints have been designed and built in recent years as a result of the numerous advantages which integral bridges have all through their life cycle. This type of a bridge with larger load bearing structures not exceeding 100 m has been accepted meanwhile also by clients. With increasing length however, temperature variations have significant effects on the movements and thus on the soil-structure interaction which, when we speak about a long integral construction, is relevant in terms of design. The Seitenhafenbridge in Vienna presented in this article is currently the longest integral bridge in Austria. Having regard to its total length of about 130 meters, the client requested and installed a complex system for the monitoring of the movements of the construction. This system is gathering measuring data since opening of the bridge in November 2011 without any interruptions. The monitoring system constantly measures the temperatures and the movements of the construction, like for example deflection, inclination, length variation and earth pressure at the abutment. The data are continuously assessed and summed up in intermediary reports for the client in order to provide an overview on the actual behaviour of the structure.

Submitted by Guilherme Lemeszenski (guilherme@nead.unesp.br) on 2013-08-22T19:04:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 S1414-32832010000400019.pdf: 136765 bytes, checksum: 62dc2bced3db142654f96569a506c68f (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2013-08-22T19:04:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 S1414-32832010000400019.pdf: 136765 bytes, checksum: 62dc2bced3db142654f96569a506c68f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-01 Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-30T18:24:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 S1414-32832010000400019.pdf: 136765 bytes, checksum: 62dc2bced3db142654f96569a506c68f (MD5) S1414-32832010000400019.pdf.txt: 36889 bytes, checksum: 339f32b212657f86158ea950a764d4c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-01 Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-20T13:38:41Z No. of bitstreams: 2 S1414-32832010000400019.pdf: 136765 bytes, checksum: 62dc2bced3db142654f96569a506c68f (MD5) S1414-32832010000400019.pdf.txt: 36889 bytes, checksum: 339f32b212657f86158ea950a764d4c7 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-20T13:38:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 S1414-32832010000400019.pdf: 136765 bytes, checksum: 62dc2bced3db142654f96569a506c68f (MD5) S1414-32832010000400019.pdf.txt: 36889 bytes, checksum: 339f32b212657f86158ea950a764d4c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-01 Unesp Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu (FMB) Departamento de Saúde Pública Unesp FMB Departamento de Saúde Pública Unesp Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu (FMB) Departamento de Saúde Pública Unesp FMB Departamento de Saúde Pública

Together with the Chain Ladder (CL) method, the Bornhuetter/Ferguson (BF) method is one of the most popular claims reserving methods. Whereas a formula for the prediction error of the CL method has been published already in 1993, there is still nothing equivalent available for the BF method. On the basis of the BF reserve formula, this paper develops a stochastic model for the BF method. From this model, a formula for the prediction error of the BF reserve estimate is derived.Moreover, the model gives important advice on how to estimate the parameters for the BF reserve formula. E.g. it turns out that the appropriate BF development pattern is different from the CL pattern. This is a nice add-on as it makes BF to a standalone reserving method which is fully independent from CL. The other parameter required for the BF reserve is the well-known initial estimate for the ultimate claims amount. Here the stochastic model clearly shows what has to be meant with ‘initial’.In order to apply the formula for the prediction error, the actuary must assess his uncertainty about both sets of parameters, about the development pattern and about the initial ultimate claims estimates. But for both, much guidance can be drawn from the estimates itself and from the run-off data given. Finally, a numerical example shows how the resulting prediction error compares to the one of the CL method.

During the partially reconstruction of the Pyhrn railroad line from the Austrian Federal Railways between Linz and Selzthal instead of the old Steyrtalbridge from 1905 a new arch bridge over an storage reservoir was built in 2014. The new bridge is built in reinforced concrete with a length of about 180m. The design of the structure was determined by the rail-track-interaction as it was essential to avoid using rail expansion joints as expensive and maintenance-intensive components. For this reason, extensive measurements should provide information on the structural behavior and are compared with the assumptions and results of the structural analysis. In addition to measurements during an initial loading test the structural behaviour over the seasonal cycle should be determined by measurements. The installed monitoring system stores data since November 2014.

We discuss some questionable points of the approach taken in the paper by Buchwalder, Bühlmann, Merz and Wüthrich and come to the conclusion that this approach does not yield an improvement of Mack’s original formula. The main reason is that the new approach disregards the negative correlation of the squares of the development factors. The same applies to the formula by Murphy (PCAS 1994).

The IBNR reserve for a portfolio is usually calculated on the basis of both the run-off triangle of paid losses and the run-off triangle of incurred losses, i.e. the sum of paid losses and case reserves. Often, the problem arises that the projection based on paid losses is far different than the projection based on incurred losses. Even worse, paid losses may yield a higher ultimate loss projection than incurred losses in one accident year, but in the next accident year, the situation may be entirely reversed, with incurred losses yielding the higher projection of ultimate loss.

The well-known inflation-independent exposure rating curves from Property reinsurance (see e.g. Mack (1980) or Bernegger (1997)) cannot be deduced in Liability insurance in the same way because here the claims sizes cannot be assumed to be scaled by the sums insured. Instead, German insurance and reinsurance companies apply a specific system of increased limits factors introduced already in 1936 by the pioneer of German non-life insurance mathematics, Paul Riebesell.

Aluminum rich coatings, built up by a diffusion zone and a NiAl-cover layer, can protect the surface of turbine blades against oxidation. Within the single crystalline substrate and the adjacent layer, phases in the range of several tens of nanometers up to a few micrometers develop during production and operation of the turbine blade, were characterized. Investigations with transmission electron microscopy, nanoindentation and local crystal orientation mapping with a scanning electron microscope have been carried out in order to determine composition, morphology and distribution of the different phases. The diffusion zone has in general a defined orientation relative to the superalloy substrate and is built up by at least three phases embedded in a softer matrix, with significant differences in nanohardness. Local internal stress states in the diffusion zone are estimated. The NiAl-cover layer is a coarse columnar grained, non-textured B2 ordered intermetallic NiAl-phase.

In diesem Artikel sind die wichtigsten Anderungen der 2. Auflage des Buches „Schadenversicherungsmathematik“ (Autor: Thomas Mack) gegenuber der 1. Auflage zusammengestellt.

More and more bridges without bearings and expansion joints have been designed and built in recent years as a result of the numerous advantages which integral bridges have all through their life cycle. This type of a bridge with larger load bearing structures not exceeding 100 m has been accepted meanwhile also by clients. With increasing length however, temperature variations have significant effects on the movements and thus on the soil-structure interaction which, when we speak about a long integral construction, is relevant in terms of measurement. The Seitenhafenbridge in Vienna presented in this article is currently the longest integral bridge in Austria. Having regard to ist total length of about 130 meters, the client requested and installed a complex system for the monitoring of the movements of the construction. The monitoring system constantly measures the temperatures and the movements of the construction, like for example deflection, inclination, length variation and ground pressure at the abutment. The data are continuously assessed and summed up in intermediary reports for the client in order to provide an overview on the actual behaviour of the structure.

Creep properties at three different temperatures (1123, 1253 and 1373 K) for five single crystal alloys with varying Re and W content are presented. Tungsten content has been varied between 3.0 and 3.6 wt.%, rhenium between 2.3 and 2.9 wt.%. Creep properties, such as minimum creep rate, time to reach 1, or 2% strain and time to failure have been evaluated. For the low temperature regime, two parts of rhenium can be replaced by one part of tungsten. In the intermediate range, the ratio cW/cRe≈1.3 has to be fulfilled with the constraint that cRe≥2.3 wt.%. At high temperature the sum of W plus Re concentration determines the time to failure.

A claims reserving method is reviewed which was introduced by Gunnar Benktander in 1976. It is a very intuitive credibility mixture of Bornhuetter/Ferguson and Chain Ladder. In this paper, the mean squared errors of all 3 methods are calculated and compared on the basis of a very simple stochastic model. The Benktander method is found to have almost always a smaller mean squared error than the other two methods and to be almost as precise as an exact Bayesian procedure.