OpenSocial

Zusammenfassung  OpenSocial definiert eine Menge von Programmierschnittstellen für Anwendungen von Drittanbietern im Kontext sozialer Netzwerke. Unter der Verwendung von Standardtechnologien wie HTML und JavaScript k?nnen Entwickler interoperable Anwendungen erstellen, die auf den sozialen Graphen des jeweiligen Netzwerks zugreifen.     

The effect of life-cycle cost disclosure on consumer behavior: evidence from a field experiment with cooling appliances

Theory suggests that providing consumers with an estimated life-cycle cost (LCC) may make them buy more energy-efficient household appliances in cases where energy efficiency is cost effective. This article evaluates the link between the provision of LCC and consumer behavior by using an online field experiment for cooling appliances. Internet users arriving at a commercially operating price comparison website were randomly assigned to two experimental groups, and the groups were exposed to different visual stimuli. The control group received regular product price information, whereas the treatment group was offered additional information about estimated operating cost and total LCC. Consumers’ click behavior was evaluated with multiple regression controlling for several product characteristics (n = 1,969 clicks). We find that LCC disclosure reduces the mean specific energy use of chosen cooling appliances by 2.5% (p < 0.01), making it a potentially interesting approach for environmental policy regarding the market transformation toward more energy-efficient household appliances. However, LCC disclosure also decreases the number of clicks from the price comparison website to final retailers by about 23% (p < 0.01), which makes it—in the format chosen here—undesirable from a business perspective. Therefore, future research should clarify under what (if any) conditions can monetary energy cost disclosure be associated with more positive effects for price comparison websites.     

Exploring the common denominator between microplastics and microbiology: a scientometric approach

Scientometrics - At the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (the home institute of this paper), scientists have been exploring the common denominator between microplastics and...     

Metal injection molding of titanium for medical and aerospace applications

Mixing of titanium powder and thermoplastic binders creates a feedstock that is injection molded similar to plastic, has a chemical and thermal debinding process, and then is sintered to form a net-shape or near-net shape part. TiJet Medizintechnik GmbH (TiJet) developed and uses its own feedstock and powder processing technology to achieve desired mechanical properties. This paper explains the theory of the process and the possibilities that result from the development of this new powder processing technology, such as new alloys, design possibilities, etc. Discussed will be the microstructure, chemical composition, and mechanical properties of the manufactured parts.     

Climate policy impacts on the competitiveness of energy-intensive manufacturing sectors

This study examines the impacts of energy price changes resulting from different carbon-pricing policies on the competitiveness of selected US energy-intensive industries. It further examines possible industry responses, and identifies and provides a preliminary evaluation of potential opportunities to mitigate these impacts. The industry sectors investigated – steel, aluminum, chemicals and paper – are among the largest industrial users of fossil fuels in the US economy. The results of this examination show that climate policies that put a price on carbon could have substantial impacts on the competitiveness of US energy-intensive manufacturing sectors over the next two decades, if climate regulations are applied only in the United States, and no action is taken to invest in advanced low- and no-carbon technologies. The extent of these impacts will vary across industries, depending on their energy intensities, the mix of energy sources they rely on and how energy is used in production activities (heat and power, feedstock). Of relevance is also the speed and rigor with which industries adopt new technologies and retire (or replace) old ones. Other factors affecting these impacts include an industry's vulnerability to foreign imports and its ability to pass through cost increases to its customers in the face of international market competition.     

Supervised data analysis and reliability estimation with exemplary application for spectral data

The analysis and classification of data is a common task in multiple fields of experimental research such as bioinformatics, medicine, satellite remote sensing or chemometrics leading to new challenges for an appropriate analysis. For this purpose different machine learning methods have been proposed. These methods usually do not provide information about the reliability of the classification. This, however, is a common requirement in, e.g. medicine and biology. In this line the present contribution offers an approach to enhance classifiers with reliability estimates in the context of prototype vector quantization. This extension can also be used to optimize precision or recall of the classifier system and to determine items which are not classifiable. This can lead to significantly improved classification results. The method is exemplarily presented on satellite remote spectral data but is applicable to a wider range of data sets.     

Occurrence of stable foam in the upper Rhine River caused by plant-derived surfactants

For 30 yr, a persistent foam cover has been observed during the summer months in the Rhine River beneath the Rhine Fall, a waterfall near Schaffhausen, Switzerland. This phenomenon has been a matter of public concern ever since its first appearance, but all previous attempts to clarify the origin of this foam had remained inconclusive. With the aid of electrospray LC-MS,triterpene saponins and mono- and digalactosyldiacylglycerolipids (MGDAG and DGDAG), two classes of tensioactive metabolites occurring in the aquatic plant Ranunculus fluitans Lamk. (Ranunculaceae), were detected in river water and foam samples. Saponin concentrations in water and foam samples were monitored at regular intervals during the years 1998 and 2000. Other compound classes with surfactant properties such as proteins, humic acids, and synthetic detergents were also analyzed. Foam occurrence paralleled with saponin concentration and with the amounts of detached Ranunculus biomass accumulating at the dam of the hydroelectric power plant of Schaffhausen located just above the Rhine Fall but not with the concentration of synthetic detergents. The ecotoxicological potential of Ranunculus constituents, water, and foam samples was checked with a representative range of aquatic indicator organisms. No acute toxicity was observed at concentrations that were at least 50-fold higher than those found in the environmental samples.