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The BMK10k is a 30cm-aperture lens telescope ‘Ballistische Messkammer 75/2,5/18’, now equipped with a 100Megapixel STA1600LN CCD camera. With a plate scale of 2.54 arcsec per pixel, it delivers an astrometrically well-corrected field of view of 7.25° × 7.25°. We have roboticized it with the intention of operating it from Cerro Armazones, Chile, where it saw first light in August 2019. It is currently in commissioning. Among other applications, we plan to use it to observe the Southern PLATO Field (SPF) almost continuously for three years in preparation for the PLATO satellite, which will have much reduced spatial resolution in comparison. The telescope mount was retrofitted with modern servo motors and an industrial Beckhoff programmable logic controller (PLC), allowing reliable remote telescope control, environmental monitoring, dome control, with a separate PLC ensuring safely measures to protect the telescope in case of communication loss or power failure. Communications between the TCS and the PLC firmware are accomplished with Beckhoff TwinCAT Automation Device Specification (ADS) over TCP/IP. Real-time response is realised within the PLC, and ADS has latency times on the order of a few 100 ms, sufficient for high-level control of the telescope. Using off-the-shelf industrial components has proven to be a cost-effective and reliable method of operating a fully autonomous observatory.

The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is a remote sensing instrument on Solar Orbiter that observes the hard X-ray bremsstrahlung emission of solar flares. This paper describes the STIX Aspect System (SAS), a subunit that measures the pointing of STIX relative to the Sun with a precision of $\pm 4''$ , which is required to accurately localize the reconstructed X-ray images on the Sun. The operating principle of the SAS is based on an optical lens that images the Sun onto a plate that is perforated by small apertures arranged in a cross-shaped configuration of four radial arms. The light passing through the apertures of each arm is detected by a photodiode. Variations of spacecraft pointing and of distance from the Sun cause the solar image to move over different apertures, leading to a modulation of the measured lightcurves. These signals are used by ground analysis to calculate the locations of the solar limb, and hence the pointing of the telescope.

The synthesis and characterization of dicarbonyl Fe(II) PNP pincer complexes of the type cis-[Fe(PNP-iPr)(CO)2(X)]+ (X = Br, Cl) is described. These complexes are slowly formed when solutions of complexes trans-[Fe(PNP-iPr)(CO)2(X)]+ are kept in the dark for 9 h (X = Br) and 3 days (X = Cl). Upon exposure to visible light these complexes isomerize to the respective trans-dicarbonyl complexes within a few hours. The visible-light reaction seems to involve reversible CO dissociation. The isomerization can be repeated serval times. A mechanistic rationale for this isomerization process is established by means of DFT calculations.

A base-tolerant supported ionic-liquid-phase (SILP) system containing a well-defined hydride Fe(II) PNP pincer complex has been prepared, structurally characterized, and used as catalyst in the hydrogenation of aldehydes to alcohols. The new SILP catalyst, with the optimum pore filling, was highly active exhibiting TONs and TOFs of up to 1000 and 4000 h–1, respectively, under mild conditions (25 °C, 10–50 bar H2 pressure) without significant leaching of both the complex and the IL.

GREGOR at night spectrograph (GANS) is a high-resolution thermally-stabilised vacuum-enclosed fixed-format fiber-fed Echelle spectrograph. GANS will be installed starting 2018 alongside the daytime instrumentation in the building of the 1,5m Gregor Solar Telescope at the Observatorio del Teide at Izan˜a, Tenerife. Specified resolving power is R~55k with wavelength coverage from 470 to 680 nm in single shot on 2k 2k CCD with 3”, 50μm fiber on sky, and with space between orders for simultaneous calibration light in the form of a Fabry-Perot Etalon or a Laser-comb spectrum. The end-to-end simulated radial velocity precision performance estimate is 2 ms−1. The main observing project of GANS will be the ground-based follow-up survey of TESS and PLATO2.0 exoplanet candidates. GANS will observe its targets in autonomous operation without human intervention using the normally human-operated day-time observatory. Limited operations will begin in first half of 2019 with first science-light planned for summer 2019.

PEPSI is the bench-mounted, two-arm, fibre-fed and stabilized Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument for the 2×8.4 m Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Three spectral resolutions of either 43 000, 120 000 or 270 000 can cover the entire optical/red wavelength range from 383 to 907 nm in three exposures. Two 10.3k×10.3k CCDs with 9-µm pixels and peak quantum efficiencies of 94–96 % record a total of 92 echelle orders. We introduce a new variant of a wave-guide image slicer with 3, 5, and 7 slices and peak efficiencies between 92–96 %. A total of six cross dispersers cover the six wavelength settings of the spectrograph, two of them always simultaneously. These are made of a VPH-grating sandwiched by two prisms. The peak efficiency of the system, including the telescope, is 15 % at 650 nm, and still 11 % and 10 % at 390 nm and 900 nm, respectively. In combination with the 110 m2 light-collecting capability of the LBT, we expect a limiting magnitude of ≈20th mag in V in the low-resolution mode. The R = 120 000 mode can also be used with two, dual-beam Stokes IQUV polarimeters. The 270 000-mode is made possible with the 7-slice image slicer and a 100-µm fibre through a projected sky aperture of 0.74″, comparable to the median seeing of the LBT site. The 43 000-mode with 12-pixel sampling per resolution element is our bad seeing or faint-object mode. Any of the three resolution modes can either be used with sky fibers for simultaneous sky exposures or with light from a stabilized Fabry-Perot etalon for ultra-precise radial velocities. CCD-image processing is performed with the dedicated data-reduction and analysis package PEPSI-S4S. Its full error propagation through all image-processing steps allows an adaptive selection of parameters by using statistical inferences and robust estimators. A solar feed makes use of PEPSI during day time and a 500-m feed from the 1.8 m VATT can be used when the LBT is busy otherwise. In this paper, we present the basic instrument design, its realization, and its characteristics. Some pre-commissioning first-light spectra shall demonstrate the basic functionality. (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

International animal welfare organizations and federal, regional, and institutional oversight bodies encourage social housing of gregarious species, such as New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), to promote animal wellbeing in research, teaching, testing and farming settings. At our institution, 2 groups of female New Zealand white rabbits (approximate age, 11 wk; mean weight, 2.35 kg), compatibly paired at the vendor for 5 wk, were paired in caging or group-housed in a floor pen. The rabbits appeared compatible, demonstrating primarily affiliative behaviors throughout 6 wk of daily observations. However, occult aggression that occurred between daily observations or nocturnally resulted in skin wounding. The skin injuries, first identified during prestudy clipping of fur from the back of each rabbit 6 wk after arrival, disqualified every animal from participation in skin toxicology and muscle implantation studies. Success meeting scientific research requirements while promoting animal welfare and health when socially housing New Zealand white rabbits requires examining the behavioral repertoire of their wild counterparts, European rabbits. Factors including age, sex, and housing density influence territoriality, dominance hierarchy, social ranking, and natural, agonistic, injurious, behavioral tendencies. IACUC and other relevant oversight bodies, researchers, and animal care staff should consider this case study and the species-specific natural history of New Zealand white rabbits when assessing the harm and benefit of social housing in regard to research utility and animal welfare.

Phase equilibria of Al–Ge–Ti have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Partial isothermal sections at 400 °C, 520 °C and 1000 °C were obtained with focus on the titanium-poor part up to 50 at.% titanium. Three ternary compounds were found to exist. The compound Al3GeTi (τ1) crystallizes in an own structure type (P4/nmm, tP10). Two structurally closely related compounds were found at the composition Al1−xGe1+xTi: τ2 (0.61 ≤ x ≤ 0.73), Al4Si5Zr3-type, I41/amd, tI24 and τ 2 ′ (0.36 ≤ x ≤ 0.57), Si2Zr-type, Cmcm, oC12. DTA data were used to construct a ternary reaction scheme (Scheil diagram) up to approximately 1300 °C, a partial liquidus projection and two vertical sections, at 10 at.% Ti and at a constant Al:Ti ratio of 1:1. A total number of 12 ternary invariant reactions were identified.

The new Solar telescope GREGOR is designed to observe small-scale dynamic magnetic structures below a size of 70 km on the Sun with high spectral resolution and polarimetric accuracy. For this purpose, the polarimetric concept of GREGOR is based on a combination of post-focus polarimeters with pre-focus equipment for high precision calibration. The Leibniz-Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam developed the GREGOR calibration unit which is an integral part of the telescope. We give an overview of the function and design of the calibration unit and present the results of extensive testing series done in the Solar Observatory “Einsteinturm” and at GREGOR (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The Astrophysical Institute Potsdam (AIP) and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) inaugurated the robotic telescopes STELLA-I and STELLA-II (STELLar Activity) on Tenerife on May 18, 2006. The observatory is located on the Izaña ridge at an elevation of 2400 m near the German Vacuum Tower Telescope. STELLA consists of two 1.2 m alt-az telescopes. One telescope fiber feeds a bench-mounted high-resolution echelle spectrograph while the other telescope feeds a wide-field imaging photometer. Both scopes work autonomously by means of artificial intelligence. Not only that the telescopes are automated, but the entire observatory operates like a robot, and does not require any human presence on site.

A pulse mass analyzer was used to study the vapor phase adsorption of organic compounds on single-walled carbon nanotubes and chemically modified/oxidized SWCNTs. The change in mass of a packed bed of adsorbent held at 200 °C was observed following the injection of a pulse of an organic compound from the series: ethanol, iso-propanol, cyclohexane, cyclohexene, benzene, or n-hexane. The relative strength of adsorption was obtained by the mass increase resulting from injection of the pulse and by the time required for desorption. This time was broken into the transit time to reach the end of the bed and the half-time for return from peak to baseline. Hexane was the most strongly held compound of the organic sequence. Oxidative purification of a raw nanotube sample produced a less hydrophobic surface. The effect of the purification was reversed by thermolysis at 700 °C, which removed oxygenated functional groups and increased the affinity for hydrocarbons. The amorphous carbon associated with the raw nanotube sample is a strong adsorbent for hydrocarbons. By comparison, an activated carbon had a greater affinity for hydrocarbons than any of the nanotube samples.

Solar Orbiter is a Sun-observing mission led by the European Space Agency, addressing the interaction between the Sun and the heliosphere. It will carry ten instruments, among them the X-ray imaging spectrometer STIX. STIX will determine the intensity, spectrum, timing, and location of thermal and accelerated electrons near the Sun through their bremsstrahlung X-ray emission. This report gives a brief overview of the STIX scientific goals and covers in more detail the instrument design and challenges.

International audience; The binary phase diagram Ge-Ti was investigated experimentally by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy including EDX analysis, and differential thermal analysis. Total energies of the compounds GeTi3, GeTi2, Ge3Ti5, Ge4Ti5, Ge5Ti6 GeTi and Ge2Ti were calculated for various structure types employing electronic density-functional theory (DFT). Experimental studies as well as electronic calculations show the existence of a new phase Ge4Ti5 (Ge4Sm5-type, oP36, Pnma) which is formed in a solid state reaction Ge3Ti5 + Ge5Ti6 = Ge4Ti5. In addition, a significant homogeneity range was observed for the compound Ge3Ti5 and the composition of the liquid phase in the eutectic reaction L = Ge + Ge2Ti was found to be at significant higher Ge-content (97.5 at.% Ge) than reported in previous studies. Based on these new results, a modified phase diagram Ge-Ti is suggested. The zero-temperature lattice parameters and the formation enthalpies determined by DTF calculations were found to be in good agreement with experimental data.

GeTi alloy samples (32—66 at.% Ge) are prepared by vacuum arc melting and annealing at 1000 °C for 4 weeks.

The Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is one of 10 instruments on board Solar Orbiter, a confirmed Mclass mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) within the Cosmic Vision program scheduled to be launched in 2017. STIX applies a Fourier-imaging technique using a set of tungsten grids (at pitches from 0.038 to 1 mm) in front of 32 pixelized CdTe detectors to provide imaging spectroscopy of solar thermal and non-thermal hard X-ray emissions from 4 to 150 keV. The status of the instrument reviewed in this paper is based on the design that passed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in early 2012. Particular emphasis is given to the first light of the detector system called Caliste-SO.

A simple low-temperature treatment (below 500°C) of several types of silica was found to induce catalytic activity toward hydrogen-deuterium exchange, the degree of which was measured with a pulse-flow microreactor. Silica samples were heated in a microreactor in the presence of an argon carrier gas. Pulses of hydrogen and deuterium gas mixtures were injected into the flow and the effluent stream was monitored for H2, D2, and HD. In some cases equilibrium amounts of the effluent gases were observed. Activation of the silicas appeared to be related to the dehydration of the silica surfaces. After activation, the surface of one of the silicas, Cabosil M5, was found to catalyze the hydrogenation of ethylene to ethane and to catalyze extensive exchange when deuterium was used as the hydrogenation reagent.

A simple low-temperature treatment (below 500°C) of several types of silica was found to induce catalytic activity toward hydrogen-deuterium exchange, the degree of which was measured with a pulse-flow microreactor. Silica samples were heated in a microreactor in the presence of an argon carrier gas. Pulses of hydrogen and deuterium gas mixtures were injected into the flow and the effluent stream was monitored for H2, D2, and HD. In some cases equilibrium amounts of the effluent gases were observed. Activation of the silicas appeared to be related to the dehydration of the silica surfaces. After activation, the surface of one of the silicas, Cabosil M5, was found to catalyze the hydrogenation of ethylene to ethane and to catalyze extensive exchange when deuterium was used as the hydrogenation reagent.

We present the status of PEPSI, the bench-mounted fibre-fed and stabilized "Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument" for the 2×8.4m Large Binocular Telescope in southern Arizona. PEPSI is under construction at AIP and is scheduled for first light in 2009/10. Its ultra-high-resolution mode will deliver an unprecedented spectral resolution of approximately R=310,000 at high efficiency throughout the entire optical/red wavelength range 390-1050nm without the need for adaptive optics. Besides its polarimetric Stokes IQUV mode, the capability to cover the entire optical range in three exposures at resolutions of 40,000, 130,000 and 310,000 will surpass all existing facilities in terms of light-gathering-power times spectral-coverage product. A solar feed will make use of the spectrograph also during day time. As such, we hope that PEPSI will be the most powerful spectrometer of its kind for the years to come.

Patients with stage II colorectal cancer and no histologic evidence of lymph node invasion develop recurrent disease, presumably because of undetected micrometastases. Guanylyl cyclase C is expressed by intestinal and colorectal cancer cells but not by extraintestinal tissues or tumors.To examine the expression of guanylyl cyclase C messenger RNA (mRNA) in lymph nodes of patients with node-negative colorectal cancer who did and did not have recurrent disease.Case-control study.Tertiary care academic medical center.Paraffin-embedded lymph nodes were obtained from 21 patients with histologically confirmed node-negative colorectal cancer who had undergone resection. Controls included 11 patients without disease recurrence 6 or more years after resection, and case-patients included 10 patients whose disease recurred up to 3 years after resection.Sections of paraffin-embedded lymph nodes were obtained from each patient and were pooled, and their RNA was analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Guanylyl cyclase C mRNA was expressed in lymph nodes from all patients with recurrent disease but not in those from patients without recurrent disease (P = 0.004). Nested RT-PCR that used primers for carcinoembryonic antigen, a marker for colorectal cancer, identified carcinoembryonic antigen mRNA in lymph nodes from only 1 of 10 patients with recurrent disease and those from 0 of 11 patients without recurrent disease. The odds ratio for death associated with expression of guanylyl cyclase C mRNA in regional lymph nodes was 15.0 (95% CI, 1.1 to 756.7).Expression of guanylyl cyclase C mRNA in lymph nodes is associated with recurrence of colorectal cancer in patients with stage II disease. Analysis of guanylyl cyclase mRNA expression by RT-PCR may be useful for colorectal cancer staging.

The use of granulocyte stimulating factor (G-CSF) (Neupogen, Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, Calif.) has become acceptable for treating both primary and acquired leukopenia. Leukopenia associated with infection is an ominous sign of overwhelming sepsis. In this article, we present two cases of infection that were related to leukopenia which were successfully treated with G-CSF.

A description is given of: (a) the construction and operation of a complete throttle expansion hydrogen liquefaction cycle employing the Kapitza circuit for operation with ordinary commercial gas without fouling of the heat exchangers by low freezing impurities; (b) a simple scheme for employing ``dry ice'' as a supplementary precooling agent which effects a considerable saving in the amount of liquid nitrogen used by the liquefier; (c) a satisfactory method of soldering together a Kapitza side‐by‐side multiple tube interchanger; (d) an efficient and easily built combination heat exchanger and trap for freezing out water and oil vapor from large, rapid streams of compressed gas.

Liquid-repellent surfaces based on slippery liquid-infused porous substrates (SLIPS) were prepared from porous, nanostructured silicon surfaces with different surface functionalization, infused with the polar ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfate ([C2mim]MeSO4). Contrary to nonpolar SLIPS based on perfluorinated substrates and infusion liquids, [C2mim]MeSO4 forms stable SLIPS with high energy surfaces like native silicon (Si–SiO2) or ionic liquid-functionalized silicon (Si-[C3mim]Cl), whose liquid-repellent properties against low surface tension liquids (toluene, cyclohexane) were demonstrated by very low sliding angles (α

Wenn ich mir erlaube, vor Ihnen zur Stellung der Sympathektomie, also einer rein chirurgischen Masnahme, im Rahmen der einzuschlagenden Therapie zu sprechen, so aus folgenden Grunden: Wir ubersehen an unserer Abteilung, deren Leiter Herr Prof. Block ist, aus den letzten 10 Jahren ein Krankengut von etwas uber 1000 Fallen stationar behandelter Durchblutungsgestorter. Unser Therapieplan war nie ein strikt chirurgischer. Etwa 2/3 der Kranken wurden nur konservativ oder mit halbchirurgischen Masnahmen, wie sie etwa die Blockade darstellt, behandelt. Das bietet, glaube ich, eine ziemlich gute Ubersicht uber die einzelnen Therapiearten, vermeidet eine gewisse therapeutische Blickeinengung und es erspart uns hoffentlich den Vorwurf, wir wurden zu chirurgisch denken, auch wen ich sage, das von den 1000 Kranken leider nur etwas uber 300 einer erfolgversprechenden chirurgischen Therapie zugefuhrt werden konnten. Dieses „leider“ verzeihen Sie bitte dem Chirurgen und lassen Sie es mich naher erlautern.

A new high resolution scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has been constructed in the Biology Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The microscope will be operated under the NIH National Research Resource Program and will be open to outside users as well as Brookhaven staff.Since the primary goal of the facility is biological research rather than instrument development, careful attention has been paid to designing an instrument which will be easy to use, reliable, and easy to service, without sacrificing high performance. The electron gun is copied from one of the Chicago designs and operates at 100 KeV with the field emission source at room temperature in a vacuum better than 10-10 Torr.