Datenschutz für Geodaten

Die Bedeutung der automatisierten Verarbeitung von Geodaten nimmt signifikant zu. Insofern ist die Frage, ob — und falls ja, mit welchen Konsequenzen — Geoinformationen als personenbezogene Daten zu gelten haben. Der Beitrag geht dieser Frage am Beispiel des Bilderdienstes Google Street View nach.     

Selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry of mastitis milk reveals pathogen-specific regulation of bovine host response proteins

Mastitis is a major challenge to bovine health. The detection of sensitive markers for mastitis in dairy herds is of great demand. Suitable biomarkers should be measurable in milk and should report pathogen-specific changes at an early stage to support earlier diagnosis and more efficient treatment. However, the identification of sensitive biomarkers in milk has remained a challenge, in part due to their relatively low concentration in milk. In the present study, we used a selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mass spectrometry approach, which allowed the absolute quantitation of 13 host response proteins in milk for the first time. These proteins were measured over a 54-h period upon an in vivo challenge with cell wall components from either gram-negative (lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli; LPS) or gram-positive bacteria (peptidoglycan from Staphylococcus aureus; PGN). Whereas our data clearly demonstrate that all challenged animals have consistent upregulation of innate immune response proteins after both LPS and PGN challenge, the data also reveal clearly that LPS challenge unleashes faster and shows a more intense host response compared with PGN challenge. Biomarker candidates that may distinguish between gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria include α-2 macroglobulin, α-1 antitrypsin, haptoglobin, serum amyloid A3, cluster of differentiation 14, calgranulin B, cathepsin C, vanin-1, galectin 1, galectin 3, and IL-8. Our approach can support further studies of large cohorts of animals with natural occurring mastitis, to validate the relevance of these suggested biomarkers in dairy production.     

Numerical simulations of pulsed electric fields for food preservation: A review

The application of pulsed electric fields is a novel technique to preserve foods in a non-thermal way. One key component of this technology is the treatment chamber, in which the food is exposed to a pulsed electric field to induce permeabilization of biological cells, e.g. to inactivate microorganisms. For a high efficiency of the method and a high product quality a detailed knowledge of the electric field strength and temperature distribution in the chamber is necessary. The numerical simulation of the fluid dynamics coupled with the electric and thermal fields inside the treatment chamber can provide such information with high spacial and temporal resolution. An important goal of the simulations is the optimization of the treatment chamber geometry to improve the uniformity of the electric and thermal fields between the electrodes in order to avoid the over or under-processing of foods or dielectric breakdowns. This article reviews numerical investigations performed on the pulsed electric field process and presents numerical results of a treatment chamber optimization and the solution of coupled fluid dynamical, electrical and thermal problems.

Industrial relevance:

Numerical simulations of the pulsed electric field process provide detailed information of the fluid flow, the temperature and the electric field distributions in treatment chambers under various conditions. Such local information inside the electric field is difficult to obtain experimentally. For a further development of the pulsed electric field technology, numerical simulations can be applied to improve the fundamental understanding of the physical phenomena occurring and to optimize the process with respect to the chamber design and operating conditions.     

Does the Gold Standard label hold its promise in delivering higher Sustainable Development benefits? A multi-criteria comparison of CDM projects

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has a twin objective: to help developed countries reduce GHG emissions, and to support developing countries in achieving Sustainable Development (SD). As a response to the widespread criticism of the CDM's unsatisfactory SD record, initiatives have developed premium labels like the Gold Standard, which applies two additional ‘screens’ to filter CDM projects for higher SD benefits. In order to determine whether Gold Standard projects can be associated with higher local SD benefits, this paper evaluates the potential benefits of 48 CDM projects using a multi-criteria method and building on existing work. The 18 evaluated Gold Standard projects are compared to a ‘representative portfolio’ of 30 unlabeled CDM projects in order to capture the ‘full’ effect of the additional Gold Standard requirements, which is further decomposed into the two ‘screen’ effects. The results suggest that Gold Standard Certified Emission Reductions can be associated with higher potential local SD benefits when compared to the ‘representative portfolio’ of unlabeled CDM projects, while the comparison of projects of the same type remains inconclusive. The results support previous findings showing that renewable energy projects may deliver comparatively high SD benefits.     

The potential of demand-side management in energy-intensive industries for electricity markets in Germany

This paper investigates the technical and economic potential of energy-intensive industries to provide demand-side management (DSM) in electricity and balancing markets through 2030. Increasing shares of renewables will lead to a rising demand for ancillary services at the same time that less conventional plants will be available to provide these services. This paper makes projections on the extent to which DSM from industrial processes can provide economic benefits in electricity markets with renewables by providing tertiary reserve capacity. Different industrial processes and their specific technical and economic properties are investigated and compared with other storage devices and electricity generation technologies. Based on an extension of an existing European electricity market model, simulations are used here to make long-term forecasts for market prices, dispatch and investments in the electricity markets through linear optimization.     

Pressurized solid oxide fuel cells: Experimental studies and modeling

The hybrid power plant project at DLR aims at investigating the fundamentals and requirements of a combined fuel cell and gas turbine power plant. A specific aim is to demonstrate stable operation of a plant in the 50 kW class. Prerequisite for the power plant realization is the detailed characterization of each subsystem and their interactions. The pressurized solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an essential part of one main subsystem. A combined theoretical and experimental approach allows a thorough insight into nonlinear behavior. This paper focuses on the influence of pressurization on SOFC performance in the range from 1.4 to 3 bar. Conclusions are based on experimental V(i)-characteristics as well as on overpotentials derived from elementary kinetic models. Experiments are performed on planar, anode-supported 5-cell short stacks. The performance increases from 284 mW cm⁻² at 1.4 bar to 307 mW cm⁻² at 2 bar and 323 mW cm⁻² at 3 bar (at 0.9 V; anode: H₂/N₂ 1/1; cathode: air; temperature: 800 °C). The benefit of a temperature rise increases at elevated pressures. Moreover, the effect of gas variation is enhanced at higher pressures. The main conclusion is that pressurization improves the performance. Due to different effects interfering, operation of pressurized SOFC requires further detailed analysis.     

Effect of concentration gradients in ZnPc:C60 bulk heterojunction organic solar cells

A concentration gradient in a mixed absorber layer with increasing content of donor (acceptor) towards the hole (electron) collecting contact could improve the charge carrier collection in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. We study p-i-metal type solar cells where the gradient in a 45 nm thick ZnPc:C₆₀ absorber layer is introduced by varying the deposition rate during co-evaporation. It is shown that the observed increase in the performance is mainly caused by a better energy level alignment and reduced recombination at the p-side. A significant influence on charge carrier transport is not observed. However, regions with a concentration of less than 20% of one component do not fully contribute to the photocurrent. Voltage dependent external quantum efficiency data are used to identify the photoactive regions.