Integrating Scientometric Indicators into Sociological Studies: Methodical and Methodological Problems

This article discusses the methodological problems of integrating scientometric methods into a qualitative study. Integrative attempts of this kind are poorly supported by the methodologies of both the sociology of science and scientometrics. Therefore it was necessary to develop a project-specific methodological approach that linked scientometric methods to theoretical considerations. The methodological approach is presented and used to discuss general methodological problems concerning the relation between (qualitative) theory and scientometric methods. This discussion enables some conclusions to be drawn as to the relations that exist between scientometrics and the sociology of science. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An integrated approach for validating micro mechanical systems based on simulation and test

Miniaturization of macroscopic mechanical systems enables the opening of new areas of application for micro technological systems. Because of technological restrictions, especially when applying miniaturized conventional manufacturing techniques, shape and material deviations cannot be scaled down in the same dimension like micro parts. Thus, the long-term objective is to ensure the functioning by appropriate design measures. In doing so, determination of the transfer behavior by modeling and simulation is required. This work presents two ways for ensuring the required properties of micro gears and describes how the results do correlate. The experimental way uses the radial composite inspection as it is used in the macroscopic world. The simulative way deploys a rolling simulation by utilization of finite element analysis. The virtual prototypes are originated on measured real test gears. When comparing experiment and simulation of the rolling behavior, in some short and long wave areas deviations can be recognized. These can be ascribed to the reduction from three to two dimensions when modeling. Other deviations might be based on inaccuracies when mounting into the test rig. In other areas quite good correlations of test and simulation could be ascertained.     

Die Sturzflut von Braunsbach – Ingenieuranalyse der Gebäudeschäden

The flash flood of Braunsbach – engineering analysis of the building damage At the end of May to the beginning of June, a series of extreme rainfall events occurred in the southern part of Germany, which triggered some severe flash floods with significant building damage in the affected municipalities. The devastating flash flood of May 29, 2016 in Braunsbach in the district Schwäbisch Hall in Baden‐Württemberg caused heavy structural damage to some of the approximately 130 affected buildings. The paper gives an overview of the building damages documented immediately after the event. The damages cases were classified and assessed using the evaluation system of the EDAC‐flood damage model developed at the Earthquake Damage Analysis Center (EDAC) of the Bauhaus‐Universität Weimar. The analysis illustrates the particularities of the damage patterns due to flash floods compared to conventional river floods.     

Experimentelle und numerische Untersuchungen von Brandszenarien vor Fassaden unter Berücksichtigung verschiedener Abstände

Experimental and numerical investigations of fire scenarios in front of façades considering various distances Constructional boundary conditions, e. g. walls or façades, close to ignition sources affect the fire formation and the plume. It is already known, that boundaries (e. g. walls) constrain the entrainment of air and oxygen into the plume and the combustion of gas or flammable products is completed at larger heights. How far the location of the fire sources, the building geometry and the heat release rate affect the characteristics of a flame is investigated at the Institut für Baustoffe, Massivbau und Brandschutz (iBMB) of TU Braunschweig in line with a series of experiments with a square gas burner. For the implementation of the fire tests the test rig in Braunschweig is provided with extensive measurement techniques to determine heat flux, wall‐bounded temperatures, temperatures for plume measurements and upward velocity. In this paper the data of the fire tests are discussed and compared with the results of a CFD‐Model and selected empirical calculation approaches.     

Yttrium incorporation in Cr2AlC: On the metastable phase formation and decomposition of (Cr,Y)2AlC MAX phase thin films

Herein we report on the synthesis of a metastable (Cr,Y)₂AlC MAX phase solid solution by co-sputtering from a composite Cr–Al–C and elemental Y target, at room temperature, followed by annealing. However, direct high-temperature synthesis resulted in multiphase films, as evidenced by X-ray diffraction analyses, room-temperature depositions, followed by annealing to 760°C led to the formation of phase pure (Cr,Y)₂AlC by diffusion. Higher annealing temperatures caused a decomposition of the metastable phase into Cr₂AlC, Y₅Al₃, and Cr-carbides. In contrast to pure Cr₂AlC, the Y-containing phase crystallizes directly in the MAX phase structure instead of first forming a disordered solid solution. Furthermore, the crystallization temperature was shown to be Y-content dependent and was increased by ∼200°C for 5 at.% Y compared to Cr₂AlC. Calculations predicting the metastable phase formation of (Cr,Y)₂AlC and its decomposition are in excellent agreement with the experimental findings.     

Temperature-Dependent Re-alignment of the Short Multifunctional Peptide BP100 in Membranes Revealed by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

BP100 is a cationic undecamer peptide with antimicrobial and cell-penetrating activities. The orientation of this amphiphilic α-helix in lipid bilayers was examined under numerous conditions using solid-state ¹⁹F, ¹⁵N and ²H NMR. At high temperatures in saturated phosphatidylcholine lipids, BP100 lies flat on the membrane surface, as expected. Upon lowering the temperature towards the lipid phase transition, the helix is found to flip into an upright transmembrane orientation. In thin bilayers, this inserted state was stable at low peptide concentration, but thicker membranes required higher peptide concentrations. In the presence of lysolipids, the inserted state prevailed even at high temperature. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that BP100 monomer insertion can be stabilized by snorkeling lysine side chains. These results demonstrate that even a very short helix like BP100 can span (and thereby penetrate through) a cellular membrane under suitable conditions.     

Fe(O)/lignitic coal: an efficient and mechanically stable reactive material for purification of water containing heavy metals, radionuclides, and nitroaromatics

Mine water in the former uranium mine of K?nigstein (Saxony, Germany) contains high concentrations of acid, sulfate, iron, aluminum, various heavy metals, radionuclides, and nitroaromatics. Research has been conducted for several years to establish the extent to which reduction of pollutant concentrations can be positively influenced and accelerated by storage of reactive materials in mine cavities. Investigations were made at different scales to test and select materials with respect to maximum fixation of contaminants (underground column tests) to examine hydraulic effects (underground large-scale column tests) and to optimize material properties (laboratory tests). The investigations have shown that a mixture of Fe chips and lignitic coal is capable of efficiently cleaning acid and contaminant-containing mine water. The examined material is easily available and compatible with the environment. A large-scale application of such a reactive barrier is being considered for mine water treatment in the future and is deemed to be a reasonable conception for a safety component after conclusion of the flooding.     

Liquid chromatographic quantification of synthetic colorants in fish roe and caviar

According to the directive 94/36/EC of the European Union (EU), quantities of synthetic colorants added to foods are restricted by upper limits and, therefore, reliable methods for their quantification have to be established. Approved colorants, defined by so-called E numbers, are permitted for dying fish roe (commonly named caviar). We developed a chromatographic method for the quantitation of colorants in roe. The recovery rates of 14 synthetic food colorants from solid materials (Al₂O₃, XAD-2, anion exchangers, and polyamide-6) were tested, and polyamide powder was selected as adsorbent for quantitative determination of colorants in fish roe. The most effective sample preparation comprises extraction of colorants from roe with 1 M aqueous ammonia, defatting of the solution with n-hexane, adjustment of pH 2 of the extract, adsorption of dyes on the polyamide and desorption with a mixture of aqueous ammonia (25%) and methanol (1:9 v/v). The isolated colorants were analyzed by RP-HPLC with diode-array detection. In several caviars, the maximum of individual colorants regulated by EU were exceeded or colorants declared on food labels were not detected. Presented at 25th International Symposium on Chromatography, Paris, France, October 4–8, 2004.