Stress in thin films and heterostructures is often the cause for malfunction of respective applications, but enables also the controlled engineering of novel materials properties. In the last years ...considerable progress has been achieved in understanding the mechanisms for stress evolution and relaxation. Whereas originally the stress generation appeared to be strongly dependent on the chosen deposition technique, it turned out that many of the involved stress mechanisms apply independently of the deposition technique and are intrinsically determined by the growth process. A comparative review of recent results on the stress of polycrystalline and epitaxial thin films prepared by evaporation and sputtering techniques will be given. The review focuses on stress results measured in situ during the film deposition.
Our modern society requires environmentally friendly solutions for energy production. Energy can be released not only from the ssion of heavy nuclei but also from the fusion of light nuclei. Nuclear ...fusion is an important option for a clean and safe solution for our long-term energy needs. The extremely high temperatures required for the fusion reaction are routinely realized in several magnetic-fusion machines. Since the early 1990s, up to 16 MW of fusion power has been released in pulses of a few seconds, corresponding to a power multiplication close to break-even. Our understanding of the very complex behaviour of a magnetized plasma at temperatures between 150 and 200 million C surrounded by cold walls has also advanced substantially. This steady progress has resulted in the construction of ITER, a fusion device with a planned fusion power output of 500 MW in pulses of 400 s. ITER should provide answers to remaining important questions on the integration of physics and technology, through a full-size demonstration of a tenfold power multiplication, and on nuclear safety aspects. Here we review the basic physics underlying magnetic fusion: past achievements, present eorts and the prospects for future production of electrical energy. We also discuss questions related to the safety, waste management and decommissioning of a future fusion power plant.
A growing number of applications depend on accurate and fast 3D scene analysis. Examples are model and lightfield acquisition, collision prevention, mixed reality and gesture recognition. The ...estimation of a range map by image analysis or laser scan techniques is still a time‐consuming and expensive part of such systems.
A lower‐priced, fast and robust alternative for distance measurements are time‐of‐flight (ToF) cameras. Recently, significant advances have been made in producing low‐cost and compact ToF devices, which have the potential to revolutionize many fields of research, including computer graphics, computer vision and human machine interaction (HMI).
These technologies are starting to have an impact on research and commercial applications. The upcoming generation of ToF sensors, however, will be even more powerful and will have the potential to become ‘ubiquitous real‐time geometry devices’ for gaming, web‐conferencing, and numerous other applications. This paper gives an account of recent developments in ToF technology and discusses the current state of the integration of this technology into various graphics‐related applications.
This multisource, multilevel study examined the importance of supervisors as work-life-friendly role models for employees' boundary management. Particularly, we tested whether supervisors' work-home ...segmentation behavior represents work-life-friendly role modeling for their employees. Furthermore, we tested whether work-life-friendly role modeling is positively related to employees' work-home segmentation behavior. Also, we examined whether work-life-friendly role modeling is positively related to employees' well-being in terms of feeling less exhausted and disengaged. In total, 237 employees and their 75 supervisors participated in our study. Results from hierarchical linear models revealed that supervisors who showed more segmentation behavior to separate work and home were more likely perceived as work-life-friendly role models. Employees with work-life-friendly role models were more likely to segment between work and home, and they felt less exhausted and disengaged. One may conclude that supervisors as work-life-friendly role models are highly important for employees' work-home segmentation behavior and gatekeepers to implement a work-life-friendly organizational culture.
The advent of skin- and nipple-sparing mastectomy in conjunction with the use of human acellular dermal matrix to provide lower pole coverage has made direct-to-implant immediate breast ...reconstruction following mastectomy feasible. The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term complications associated with this technique.
All human acellular dermal matrix-assisted direct-to-implant immediate reconstructions performed over an 8-year period were included in this analysis. Patient charts were reviewed for type of mastectomy (oncologic or prophylactic), incision type, complications during follow-up, length of follow-up, rate and type of revision surgery in breasts without postoperative complications, contralateral procedures, and adjuvant radiotherapy.
A total of 466 breasts (260 patients) were reconstructed; 68 percent were prophylactic and 32 percent were oncologic cases. Twenty-one breasts (4.5 percent) received radiotherapy. Mean implant size placed was 412.8 ± 24.7 cc (range, 150 to 600 cc). Mean follow-up was 28.9 ± 21.3 months (range, 0.3 to 97.7 months). The overall complication rate was 3.9 percent (implant loss, 1.3 percent; skin breakdown/necrosis, 1.1 percent; hematoma, 1.1 percent; human acellular dermal matrix exposure, 0.6 percent; capsular contracture, 0.4 percent; and infection, 0.2 percent). Type, incidence, and overall rate of complications did not differ significantly between prophylactic and oncologic breasts. Irradiated breasts had a fourfold higher rate of complications. In 354 breasts with more than 1 year of follow-up (mean, 36.7 ± 18.6 months; range, 12.1 to 97.7 months), there were no long-term complications.
Human acellular dermal matrix-assisted direct-to-implant breast reconstruction following mastectomy is safe and reliable, with a low overall long-term complication rate. The low incidence of capsular contracture supports the growing body of evidence that human acellular dermal matrix mitigates capsular contracture.
The climate warming trend and city growth contribute to the generation of excessive heat in urban areas. This could be reduced by introducing vegetation and open water surfaces in urban design. This ...study evaluates the cooling efficiency of green and blue infrastructure to reduce urban heat load using a set of idealized case simulations and a real city model application for Vienna. The idealized case simulations show that the cooling effect of green and blue infrastructure is dependent on the building type, time of the day and in case of blue infrastructure, the water temperature. The temperature reduction and the size of the cooled surface are largest in densely built-up environments. The real case simulations for Vienna, which include the terrain, inhomogeneous land use distribution and observed climate data, show that urban planning measures should be applied extensively in order to gain substantial cooling on the city scale. The best efficiency can be reached by targeted implementation of minor but combined measures such as a decrease in building density of 10 %, a decrease in pavement by 20 % and an enlargement in green or water spaces by 20 %. Additionally, the modelling results show that equal heat load mitigation measures may have different efficiency dependent on location in the city due to the prevailing meteorological conditions and land use characteristics in the neighbouring environment.
Throughout the last century, the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) has been studied quite extensively, with topics ranging from genetics and evolution to population dynamics ...and applied biological control being covered. Much of the early work on H. axyridis was conducted in the native Asian range. From the 1980's to the present, numerous European and North American studies have added to the body of literature on H. axyridis. H. axyridis has recently gained attention in North America both as a biological control agent and as a pest. This literature review was compiled for two reasons. First, to assist other researchers as a reference, summarizing most of the voluminous body of literature on H. axyridis pertaining to its biology, life history, uses in biological control, and potential non-target impacts. Secondly, to be a case study on the impacts of an exotic generalist predator.
Maternal mortality continues to be of great public health importance, however for each woman who dies as the direct or indirect result of pregnancy, many more women experience life-threatening ...complications. The global burden of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) is not known, but the World Bank estimates that it is increasing over time. Consistent with rates of maternal mortality, SMM rates are higher in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) than in high-income countries (HICs).
Since the WHO recommended that HICs with low maternal mortality ratios begin to examine SMM to identify systems failures and intervention priorities, researchers in many HICs have turned their attention to SMM. Where surveillance has been conducted, the most common etiologies of SMM have been major obstetric hemorrhage and hypertensive disorders. Of the countries that have conducted SMM reviews, the most common preventable factors were provider-related, specifically failure to identify "high risk" status, delays in diagnosis, and delays in treatment.
The highest burden of SMM is in Sub-Saharan Africa, where estimates of SMM are as high as 198 per 1000 live births. Hemorrhage and hypertensive disorders are the leading conditions contributing to SMM across all regions. Case reviews are rare, but have revealed patterns of substandard maternal health care and suboptimal use of evidence-based strategies to prevent and treat morbidity.
Severe maternal morbidity not only puts the woman's life at risk, her fetus/neonate may suffer consequences of morbidity and mortality as well. Adverse delivery outcomes occur at a higher frequency among women with SMM. Reducing preventable severe maternal morbidity not only reduces the potential for maternal mortality but also improves the health and well-being of the newborn.
Increasing global maternal morbidity is a failure to achieve broad public health goals of improved women's and infants' health. It is incumbent upon all countries to implement surveillance initiatives to understand the burden of severe morbidity and to implement review processes for assessing potential preventability.
Supramolecular macrocyclic forces have been used to trap phytate, myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate, a key bioanion with multiple roles in metabolic processes. Due to the complex chemistry of ...six multivalent phosphates surrounding the small, cyclic inositol framework, crystallographic information of simple phytate salts has been elusive. This report represents a combined crystallographic, theoretical, and solution binding investigation of a supramolecular macrocyclic complex of phytate. Together the results provide significant insight to phytate's intramolecular and intermolecular interactions at the microenvironment level. The macrocycle-phytate aggregates consist of phytate anionic pairs, each partly sandwiched by two 24-membered, amide/amine-based cationic macrocycles. The phytate ion pairs hold the tetramer macrocyclic array together by six strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Both phytates crystallize in 1a5e phosphate conformations (one axial (P2) and five equatorial phosphates). Solution NMR binding studies in 1:1 DMSO-d6:D2O indicate 2:1 macrocycle:phytate associations, suggesting that the sandwich-like nature of the complex holds together in solution. DFT studies indicate the likely occurrence of dynamic intramolecular interchange of phosphate protons, as well as important roles for the axial (P2) phosphate in both intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions.
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