Capitalising on multiplicity: a transdisciplinary systems approach to landscape research

Different disciplines have landscape as the focal point of their research. They are successful in presenting new findings about landscapes within their specialisation, but collaboration—and thus, transfer of knowledge across disciplinary boundaries—is seldom realised because a common approach that bridges the gaps between disciplines is missing. Instead, different landscape concepts exist side by side. Yet, cooperation is required to tackle the various environmental and social problems related to landscapes. This paper provides an overview of the historical development of landscape concepts originating from different cultural and scientific trends, and presents a new complex concept of landscape, which is designed to enable transdisciplinary landscape research. The transdisciplinary landscape concept is based on five dimensions of landscapes: the spatial entity, the mental entity, the temporal dimension, the nexus of nature and culture, and the systemic properties of landscapes. In contrast to other approaches, it unites dimensions that are usually the domain of individual disciplines and makes it, thus, possible to capitalise on plurality in landscape research. The concept promotes landscape as the combination of the subsystems known as the geo-, bio- and noo-sphere, and is illustrated by the people–landscape interaction model. The concept can be applied to all human–landscape-related research, but is exemplified by two studies that have investigated the relationship between landscape and second-home tourism, and landscape and farming, respectively.     

Automated and Continuous Production of Microstructured Metallic Plates via Cold Embossing

Many critical issues need to be addressed when microstructured reactors are manufactured in large unit volumes. The most crucial of these are cost, ease of production, and reliability. The lack of breakthrough manufacturing technology to provide high‐efficiency, low‐cost, high‐precision plates is a hindrance to the early market implementation of systems requiring metallic microstructured plates. This contribution focuses on the development and optimization of a combined embossing and bending tool for the quick and continuous manufacture of easily machined plates.     

Entwicklung einer leistungsstarken Mikrorektifikationsapparatur für analytische und präparative Anwendungen

In this contribution it is reported about the realization of efficient micro rectification equipment (MRA), which can be operated intermittently or continuously and be used both for analytical as well as for preparative separations of mixtures of liquid substances. Different binary systems were separated. A theoretical separation stage number of 12 was obtained together with a height equivalent to one theoretical plate of 1.08 cm. Compared to the state of microtechnology this can be regarded as an excellent progress.     

A complete miniaturized microstructured methanol fuel processor/fuel cell system for low power applications

A complete miniaturized methanol fuel processor/fuel cell system was developed and put into operation as compact hydrogen supplier for low power application. The whole system consisting of a micro-structured evaporator, a micro-structured reformer and two stages of preferential oxidation of CO (PROX) reactor, micro-structured catalytic burner, and fuel cell was operated to evaluate the performance of the whole production line from methanol to electricity. The performance of micro methanol steam reformer and PROX reactor was systematically investigated. The effect of reaction temperature, steam to carbon ratio, and contact time on the methanol steam reformer performance is presented in terms of catalytic activity, selectivity, and reformate yield. The performance of PROX reactor fed with the reformate produced by the reformer reactor was evaluated by the variation of reaction temperature and oxygen to CO ratio. The results demonstrate that micro-structured device may be an attractive power source candidate for low power application.     

Characterization of Cu/CeO2/γ-Al2O3 Thin Film Catalysts by Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy

Thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) under ultra high vacuum (UHV) condition has been used to investigate the desorption characteristics of Cu/CeO₂/γ-Al₂O₃ thin film catalysts coated onto the microchannel of a microreactor. TDS results demonstrate that surface desorption profiles and chemical properties (acid–base and redox properties) are remarkably influenced by the catalyst composition, i.e. the loading of copper and ceria. The enhanced basicity with the increase of ceria loading and the decrease of copper loading is evident from the shifted desorption maximum of CO₂ in TDS spectra. Three oxygen species, ranging from weakly bound oxygen desorbed at low temperature to the strongly held lattice oxygen desorbed at high temperature, are easily discernible and clearly identified by O₂ TDS spectra, depending on the catalyst compositions. The concomitant thermal desorption of O₂, CO₂, and H₂O at low temperature indicates the unique chemical properties of copper/ceria catalyst with appropriate copper and ceria contents. The observed low-temperature feature is ascribed to the role of porthole of copper/ceria interfacial area for several desorbed species. The weakly bound oxygen species is attributed to the enhanced abundance of copper/ceria interfacial anionic vacancies created by the intimate contact between copper and ceria entities and its impact on steam reforming of methanol (SRM) reaction is tentatively discussed in terms of reverse oxygen spillover.     

Simulation-based layout optimization for multi-station assembly lines

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing - This article presents a novel approach for the automated 3D-layout planning of multi-station assembly lines. The planning method is based on a comprehensive...     

Towards All-Solid-State Polymer Batteries: Going Beyond PEO with Hybrid Concepts

To go beyond polyethylene oxide in lithium metal batteries, a hybrid polymer/oligomer cell design is presented, where an ester oligomer provides high ionic conductivity of 0.2 mS cm⁻¹ at 40 °C within thicker composite cathodes with active mass loadings of up to 11 mg cm⁻² (LiNbO₃-coated) LiNi_0.6Mn_0.2Co_0.2 (NMC622), while a 30 µm thin scaffold-supported polymer electrolyte affords mechanical stability. Corresponding discharge capacities of the hybrid cells exceed 170 mAh g⁻¹ (11 mg cm⁻²) or 160 mAh g⁻¹ (6 mg cm⁻²) at rates of either 0.1 or 0.25 C. Multilayer pouch cells are projected to enable energy densities of 235 Wh L⁻¹ (6 mg cm⁻²) and even up to 356 Wh L⁻¹ (11 mg cm⁻²), clearly superior to other reported polymer-based cell designs. Polyester electrolytes are environmentally benign and safer compared to common liquid electrolytes, while the straightforward synthesis and affordability of precursors render hybrid polyester electrolytes suitable candidates for future application in solid-state lithium metal batteries.     

In vitro model to assess the adsorption of oral veterinary drugs to mycotoxin binders in a feed- and aflatoxin B1-containing buffered matrix

Mycotoxin binders are feed additives which are mixed in the feed to adsorb mycotoxins and thereby reducing their toxic effects on animals. Interactions with orally administered veterinary medicinal products, such as antimicrobials or coccidiostats, have been reported previously. This paper describes an in vitro model to screen the interaction between mycotoxin binders and veterinary drugs with respect to the non-specific binding of drugs. It is designed as a static setup using a single concentration of drug and binder in a feed-containing or a feed-plus-mycotoxin-containing matrix, buffered at different pH values. The model was applied to two frequently used antimicrobials in veterinary medicine, doxycycline (DOX) and tylosin (TYL), one major mycotoxin, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), and four mycotoxin binders. Proportions of feed, DOX or TYL, AFB1, and binder are equivalent to the in vivo situation for broiler chickens, while pH and volume of the buffer are representative of the gastrointestinal tract of chickens. A substantial binding of DOX (~ 88%) and TYL (~ 66%) to the feed-matrix was observed. For the mycotoxin binders, similar results were obtained for DOX and TYL; more specifically up to an inclusion rate of 20 g binder/kg feed, no significant binding was demonstrated, determined as the free concentration of DOX and TYL. A single exception was noticed for TYL and one specific bentonite-based mycotoxin binder, for which no significant interaction could be demonstrated up to 10 g binder/kg but there was an effect at 20 g/kg. In all cases, there was no competition between the tested drugs DOX or TYL and the mycotoxin AFB1 for binding to the bentonite-based mycotoxin binder.