General Electric (Austria)

Tropical forests are global centres of biodiversity and carbon storage. Many tropical countries aspire to protect forest to fulfil biodiversity and climate mitigation policy targets, but the conservation strategies needed to achieve these two functions depend critically on the tropical forest tree diversity-carbon storage relationship. Assessing this relationship is challenging due to the scarcity of inventories where carbon stocks in aboveground biomass and species identifications have been simultaneously and robustly quantified. Here, we compile a unique pan-tropical dataset of 360 plots located in structurally intact old-growth closed-canopy forest, surveyed using standardised methods, allowing a multi-scale evaluation of diversity-carbon relationships in tropical forests. Diversity-carbon relationships among all plots at 1 ha scale across the tropics are absent, and within continents are either weak (Asia) or absent (Amazonia, Africa). A weak positive relationship is detectable within 1 ha plots, indicating that diversity effects in tropical forests may be scale dependent. The absence of clear diversity-carbon relationships at scales relevant to conservation planning means that carbon-centred conservation strategies will inevitably miss many high diversity ecosystems. As tropical forests can have any combination of tree diversity and carbon stocks both require explicit consideration when optimising policies to manage tropical carbon and biodiversity.

The intention of this paper is to provide an overview of using agent and service-oriented technologies in intelligent energy systems. It focuses mainly on ongoing research and development activities related to smart grids. Key challenges as a result of the massive deployment of distributed energy resources are discussed, such as aggregation, supply-demand balancing, electricity markets, as well as fault handling and diagnostics. Concepts and technologies like multiagent systems or service-oriented architectures are able to deal with future requirements supporting a flexible, intelligent, and active power grid management. This work monitors major achievements in the field and provides a brief overview of large-scale smart grid projects using agent and service-oriented principles. In addition, future trends in the digitalization of power grids are discussed covering the deployment of resource constrained devices and appropriate communication protocols. The employment of ontologies ensuring semantic interoperability as well as the improvement of security issues related to smart grids is also discussed.

Isotopic measurements showed that N 2 O production during drought is unexpectedly dominated by denitrification of organic nitrogen.

An overview of the electromagnetic (EM) physics of the Geant4 toolkit is presented. Two sets of EM models are available: the "Standard" initially focused on high energy physics (HEP) while the "Low-energy" was developed for medical, space and other applications. The "Standard" models provide a faster computation but are less accurate for keV energies, the "Low-energy" models are more CPU time consuming. A common interface to EM physics models has been developed allowing a natural combination of ultra-relativistic, relativistic and low-energy models for the same run providing both precision and CPU performance. Due to this migration additional capabilities become available. The new developments include relativistic models for bremsstrahlung and e+e-pair production, models of multiple and single scattering, hadron/ion ionization, microdosimetry for very low energies and also improvements in existing Geant4 models. In parallel, validation suites and benchmarks have been intensively developed.

We carry out a finite density calculation based on a canonical approach which is designed to address the overlap problem. Two degenerate flavor simulations are performed using Wilson gauge action and Wilson fermions on ${4}^{4}$ lattices, at temperatures close to the critical temperature ${T}_{c}\ensuremath{\approx}170\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$ and large densities (5 to 20 times nuclear matter density). In this region, we find that the algorithm works well. We compare our results with those from other approaches.

Future use of coated conductors in electric power applications like transmission cables, transformers or fault current limiters is sensitive to the amount of dissipation in the AC regime. This paper analyses factors controlling AC loss of coated conductors in typical configurations: the self-field case when transport current generates the magnetic field, and the case of AC applied field where the orientation of magnetic field with respect to the superconducting layer plays a significant role.

Reitz, G., Berger, T., Bilski, P., Facius, R., Hajek, M., Petrov, V., Puchalska, M., Zhou, D., Bossler, J., Akatov, Y., Shurshakov, V., Olko, P., Ptaszkiewicz, M., Bergmann, R., Fugger, M., Vana, N., Beaujean, R., Burmeister, S., Bartlett, D., Hager, L., Pálfalvi, J., Szabó, J., O'Sullivan, D., Kitamura, H., Uchihori, Y., Yasuda, N., Nagamatsu, A., Tawara, H., Benton, E., Gaza, R., McKeever, S., Sawakuchi, G., Yukihara, E., Cucinotta, F., Semones, E., Zapp, N., Miller, J. and Dettmann, J. Astronaut's Organ Doses Inferred from Measurements in a Human Phantom Outside the International Space Station. Radiat. Res. 171, 225–235 (2009).Space radiation hazards are recognized as a key concern for human space flight. For long-term interplanetary missions, they constitute a potentially limiting factor since current protection limits for low-Earth orbit missions may be approached or even exceeded. In such a situation, an accurate risk assessment requires knowledge of equivalent doses in critical radiosensitive organs rather than only skin doses or ambient doses from area monitoring. To achieve this, the MATROSHKA experiment uses a human phantom torso equipped with dedicated detector systems. We measured for the first time the doses from the diverse components of ionizing space radiation at the surface and at different locations inside the phantom positioned outside the International Space Station, thereby simulating an extravehicular activity of an astronaut. The relationships between the skin and organ absorbed doses obtained in such an exposure show a steep gradient between the doses in the uppermost layer of the skin and the deep organs with a ratio close to 20. This decrease due to the body self-shielding and a concomitant increase of the radiation quality factor by 1.7 highlight the complexities of an adequate dosimetry of space radiation. The depth-dose distributions established by MATROSHKA serve as benchmarks for space radiation models and radiation transport calculations that are needed for mission planning.

Sintered samples of MgB2 were irradiated in a fission reactor. Defects in the bulk microstructure are produced during this process mainly by the 10B(n,a)7Li reaction while collisions of fast neutrons with the lattice atoms induce much less damage. Self-shielding effects turn out to be very important and lead to a highly inhomogeneous defect distribution in the irradiated samples. The resulting disorder enhances the normal state resistivity and the upper critical field. The irreversibility line shifts to higher fields at low temperatures and the measured critical current densities increase following irradiation.

PURPOSE: To develop a simple method for combining multi-echo phase information from a number of coils in an array that requires no volume coil or additional scans and yields signal-to-noise ratio-optimal images that reflect only ΔB0-related phase. THEORY AND METHODS: Two SNR optimal coil combination methods were developed which retrieve the ΔB0-related phase by determining the coil-dependent phase offsets. The first variant, MCPC-3D-S, requires the unwrapping of one phase image; the second variant, ASPIRE, allows unwrapping to be avoided if two echoes j and k satisfy the echo time relation m⋅TEk=(m+1)⋅TEj, where m is an integer, making this a particularly fast and robust approach. Both developed methods constitute improvements over a prior method, MCPC-3D, in terms of robustness and computational expense. RESULTS: In the brain at 7 T, phase matching and contrast-to-noise ratio were higher with MCPC-3D-S and ASPIRE than with phase difference reconstruction, and similar to the reference coil-dependent Roemer combination. Unlike the Roemer and virtual reference coil methods, the proposed approaches also eliminated all non- ΔB0-related phase. CONCLUSION: MCPC-3D-S is an improvement over prior multi-echo methods, which is useful if the ASPIRE echo time condition cannot be fulfilled. ASPIRE is a particularly fast and robust approach that runs on the scanner's reconstructor in a small fraction of the acquisition time. Magn Reson Med 79:2996-3006, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

The field dependence of the volume pinning force in anisotropic polycrystalline superconductors is calculated for various well established pinning models. The anisotropy substantially changes the field dependence of the volume pinning force and shifts its maximum to significantly lower reduced fields. A scaling procedure that allows the identification of the dominant pinning mechanism from the peak position is proposed.

Abstract Manually collected snow data are often considered as ground truth for many applications such as climatological or hydrological studies. However, there are many sources of uncertainty that are not quantified in detail. For the determination of water equivalent of snow cover (SWE), different snow core samplers and scales are used, but they are all based on the same measurement principle. We conducted two field campaigns with 9 samplers commonly used in observational measurements and research in Europe and northern America to better quantify uncertainties when measuring depth, density and SWE with core samplers. During the first campaign, as a first approach to distinguish snow variability measured at the plot and at the point scale, repeated measurements were taken along two 20 m long snow pits. The results revealed a much higher variability of SWE at the plot scale (resulting from both natural variability and instrumental bias) compared to repeated measurements at the same spot (resulting mostly from error induced by observers or very small scale variability of snow depth). The exceptionally homogeneous snowpack found in the second campaign permitted to almost neglect the natural variability of the snowpack properties and focus on the separation between instrumental bias and error induced by observers. Reported uncertainties refer to a shallow, homogeneous tundra‐taiga snowpack less than 1 m deep (loose, mostly recrystallised snow and no wind impact). Under such measurement conditions, the uncertainty in bulk snow density estimation is about 5% for an individual instrument and is close to 10% among different instruments. Results confirmed that instrumental bias exceeded both the natural variability and the error induced by observers, even in the case when observers were not familiar with a given snow core sampler.

AIMS: The aims of the study were to: (1) evaluate the gastrointestinal transit, release and absorption of budesonide from tablets with a new multimatrix formulation (MMX) designed to release the drug throughout the whole colon, and (2) assess the influence of food on budesonide bioavailability. METHODS: Two phase I studies, each comprising 12 healthy males, were performed. Gastrointestinal transit of (153)Sm-labelled tablets containing 9 mg budesonide was evaluated by means of pharmaco-scintigraphy. The effect of food was tested by comparing plasma pharmacokinetics after intake of a high fat and high calorie breakfast with fasting controls. RESULTS: (153)Sm-labelled tablets reached the ascending colon after a mean +/- SD 9.8 +/- 6.9 h. Initial tablet disintegration was observed in the ileum in 42% and the ascending and transverse colon in 33% of subjects. Ninety-six per cent of the dose was absorbed into the systemic circulation during passage through the whole colon including the sigmoid. Food significantly decreased C(max) values from 1429 +/- 1014 to 1040 +/- 601 pg mL(-1) (P = 0.028) and AUC values from 14 814 +/- 11 254 to 13 486 +/- 9369 pg h(-1) mL(-1) (P = 0.008). Mean residence time and t(max) increased by 12-29%. There was no drug accumulation after 1 week of once daily oral administration of budesomide. CONCLUSIONS: MMX-budesonide tablets appear suitable for targeted colonic drug delivery. Transit parameters and low systemic bioavailability warrant further studies with the new formulation.

OBJECTIVE: To describe clinical and research applications of 4-dimensional imaging of the fetal heart using color Doppler spatiotemporal image correlation. METHODS: Forty-four volume data sets were acquired by color Doppler spatiotemporal image correlation. Seven subjects were examined: 4 fetuses without abnormalities, 1 fetus with ventriculomegaly and a hypoplastic cerebellum but normal cardiac anatomy, and 2 fetuses with cardiac anomalies detected by fetal echocardiography (1 case of a ventricular septal defect associated with trisomy 21 and 1 case of a double-inlet right ventricle with a 46,XX karyotype). The median gestational age at the time of examination was 21 3/7 weeks (range, 19 5/7-34 0/7 weeks). Volume data sets were reviewed offline by multiplanar display and volume-rendering methods. Representative images and online video clips illustrating the diagnostic potential of this technology are presented. RESULTS: Color Doppler spatiotemporal image correlation allowed multiplanar visualization of ventricular septal defects, multiplanar display and volume rendering of tricuspid regurgitation, volume rendering of the outflow tracts by color and power Doppler ultrasonography (both in a normal case and in a case of a double-inlet right ventricle with a double-outlet right ventricle), and visualization of venous streams at the level of the foramen ovale. CONCLUSIONS: Color Doppler spatiotemporal image correlation has the potential to simplify visualization of the outflow tracts and improve the evaluation of the location and extent of ventricular septal defects. Other applications include 3-dimensional evaluation of regurgitation jets and venous streams at the level of the foramen ovale.

A model for As clustering in single crystal silicon is presented that allows for the participation of arbitrary numbers of As ions, electrons, and arbitrarily charged vacancies. From this model the saturation behavior of the concentration of unclustered, electrically active As impurities is derived. It is shown that saturation (or electrical solubility) demands the participation of at least one negative charge in the formation of positively charged clusters, be it electron or negative vacancy. By analysis of our own experimental results and those by other authors, this general cluster model indicates that the participation of exactly one negative charge is the most likely case. In the course of this discussion the equilibrium saturation concentration of electrically active As is deduced from experiment as a function of temperature.

We report on the effects of neutron irradiation in superconducting ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$ single crystals. Transmission electron microscopy investigations reveal large radiation-induced defects with dimensions comparable to the superconducting coherence length. Accordingly, measurements of the magnetic moment show pronounced modifications of the reversible and irreversible properties after irradiation. In particular, we concentrate on the emergence of a second peak (fishtail), situated near ${H}_{c2}$ at low neutron fluences, but extending over a large part of the superconducting phase diagram at high doses. The history dependence of the critical current density on the low-field side of the fishtail region is studied by measuring minor hysteresis loops and interpreted in terms of an order-disorder transition of the vortex lattice.

In-beam positron emission tomography (PET) is currently used for monitoring the dose delivery at the heavy ion therapy facility at GSI Darmstadt. The method is based on the fact that carbon ions produce positron emitting isotopes in fragmentation reactions with the atomic nuclei of the tissue. The relation between dose and beta(+)-activity is not straightforward. Hence it is not possible to infer the delivered dose directly from the PET distribution. To overcome this problem and enable therapy monitoring, beta(+)-distributions are simulated on the basis of the treatment plan and compared with the measured ones. Following the positive clinical impact, it is planned to apply the method at future ion therapy facilities, where beams from protons up to oxygen nuclei will be available. A simulation code capable of handling all these ions and predicting the irradiation-induced beta(+)-activity distributions is desirable. An established and general purpose radiation transport code is preferred. FLUKA is a candidate for such a code. For application to in-beam PET therapy monitoring, the code has to model with high accuracy both the electromagnetic and nuclear interactions responsible for dose deposition and beta(+)-activity production, respectively. In this work, the electromagnetic interaction in FLUKA was adjusted to reproduce the same particle range as from the experimentally validated treatment planning software TRiP, used at GSI. Furthermore, projectile fragmentation spectra in water targets have been studied in comparison to available experimental data. Finally, cross sections for the production of the most abundant fragments have been calculated and compared to values found in the literature.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have investigated the potential effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by GSM mobile phones ( approximately 900 MHz to approximately 1800 MHz) on cognitive functioning, but results have been equivocal. In order to try and clarify this issue, the current study carried out a meta-analysis on 19 experimental studies. DESIGN: Meta-analysis. METHODS: Nineteen studies were taken into consideration. Ten of them were included in the meta-analysis as they fulfilled several minimum requirements; for example, single-blind or double-blind experimental study design and documentation of means and standard deviation of the dependent variables. The meta-analysis compared exposed with non-exposed subjects assuming that there is a common population effect so that one single effect size could be calculated. When homogeneity for single effect sizes was not given, an own population effect for each study and a distribution of population effects was assumed. RESULTS: Attention measured by the subtraction task seems to be affected in regard to decreased reaction time. Working memory measured by the N-back test seems to be affected too: under condition 0-back target response time is lower under exposure, while under condition 2-back target response time increases. The number of errors under condition 2-back non-targets appears to be higher under exposure. CONCLUSION: Results of the meta-analysis suggest that EMFs may have a small impact on human attention and working memory.

We present the results of experiments on the optical, electrical and magnetic properties and electronic structure and optical spectrum calculations of the Heusler alloys Fe2TiAl, Fe2VAl and Fe2CrAl. We find that the drastic transformation of the band spectrum, especially near the Fermi level, when replacing the Me element (Me = Ti, V, Cr), is accompanied by a significant change in the electrical and optical properties. The electrical and optical properties of Fe2TiAl are typical for metals. The abnormal behavior of the electrical resistivity and the optical properties in the infrared range for Fe2VAl and Fe2CrAl are determined by electronic states at the Fermi level. Both the optical spectroscopic measurements and the theoretical calculations demonstrate the presence of low-energy gaps in the band spectrum of the Heusler alloys. In addition, we demonstrate that the formation of Fe clusters may be responsible for the large enhancement of the total magnetic moment in Fe2CrAl.

We discuss the results of a study of MgB2 multifilamentary conductors and coated conductors from the point of view of their future dc and ac applications. The correlation between the slope of the irreversibility line induced by neutron irradiation defects and in situ structural imperfections and the critical temperature and critical current density is discussed with respect to the conductor performance and applicability. We debate the possible origin of the observed anomalous decrease of ac susceptibility at 50 K in copper clad in situ powder-in-tube MgB2 wires. Different conductor preparation methods and conductor architectures, and attainable critical current densities are presented. Some numerical results on critical currents, thermal stability and ac losses of future MgB2 multifilamentary and coated conductors with magnetic cladding of their filaments are also discussed.

(16)O and (12)C ion beams will be used-besides lighter ions-for cancer treatment at the Heidelberg Ion Therapy Center (HIT), Germany. It is planned to monitor the treatment by means of in-beam positron emission tomography (PET) as it is done for therapy with (12)C beams at the experimental facility at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Darmstadt, Germany. To enable PET also for (16)O beams, experimental data of the beta(+)-activity created by these beams are needed. Therefore, in-beam PET measurements of the activity created by (16)O beams of various energies on targets of PMMA, water and graphite were performed at GSI for the first time. Additionally reference measurements of (12)C beams on the same target materials were done. The results of the measurements are presented. The deduction of clinically relevant results from in-beam PET data requires reliable simulations of the beta(+)-activity production, which is done presently by a dedicated code limited to (12)C beams. Because this code is not extendable to other ions in an easy way, a new code, capable of simulating the production of the beta(+)-activity by all ions of interest, is needed. Our choice is the general purpose Monte Carlo code FLUKA which was used to simulate the ion transport, the beta(+)-active isotope production, the decay, the positron annihilation and the transport of the annihilation photons. The detector response was simulated with an established software that gives the output in the same list-mode data format as in the experiment. This allows us to use the same software to reconstruct measured and simulated data, which makes comparisons easier and more reliable. The calculated activity distribution shows general good agreement with the measurements.