Estimation of Value-at-Risk for Energy Commodities via CAViaR Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiliang, Zhao; Xi, Zhu

This paper uses the Conditional Autoregressive Value at Risk model (CAViaR) proposed by Engle and Manganelli (2004) to evaluate the value-at-risk for daily spot prices of Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate crude oil covering the period May 21th, 1987 to Novermber 18th, 2008. Then the accuracy of the estimates of CAViaR model, Normal-GARCH, and GED-GARCH was compared. The results show that all the methods do good job for the low confidence level (95%), and GED-GARCH is the best for spot WTI price, Normal-GARCH and Adaptive-CAViaR are the best for spot Brent price. However, for the high confidence level (99%), Normal-GARCH do a good job for spot WTI, GED-GARCH and four kind of CAViaR specifications do well for spot Brent price. Normal-GARCH does badly for spot Brent price. The result seems suggest that CAViaR do well as well as GED-GARCH since CAViaR directly model the quantile autoregression, but it does not outperform GED-GARCH although it does outperform Normal-GARCH.

POWTEX - A new High-Intensity Powder and Texture Diffractometer at FRM II, Garching Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, J. M.; Brückel, T.; Dronskowski, R.; Hansen, B. T.; Houben, A.; Klein, H.; Leiss, B.; Vollbrecht, A.; Sowa, H.

2009-05-01

In recent years, neutron diffraction has become a routine tool in Geoscience for experimental high-field (HP/HT/HH) powder diffraction and for the quantitative analysis of the crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO). Quantitative texture analysis is e.g. involved in the research fields of fabric development in mono- and polyphase rocks, deformation histories and kinematics during mountain building processes and the characterization of flow kinematics in lava flows. Secondly the quantitative characterization of anisotropic physical properties of both rock and analogue materials is conducted by bulk texture measurements of sometimes larger sample volumes. This is easily achievable by neutron diffraction due to the high penetration capabilities of the neutrons. The resulting geoscientific need for increased measuring time at neutron diffraction facilities with the corresponding technical characteristics and equipment will in future be satisfied by this high-intensity diffractometer at the neutron research reactor FRM II in Garching, Germany. It will be built by a consortium of groups from the RWTH Aachen, Forschungszentrum Jülich and the University of Göttingen, who will also operate the instrument. The diffractometer will be optimized to high intensities (flux) with an equivalent sufficient resolution for polyphase rocks. Furthermore a broad range of d-values (0.5 to 15 Å) will be measurable. The uniqueness of this instrument is the geoscientific focus on different sample environments for in situ-static and deformation experiments (stress, strain and annealing/recrystallisation) and (U)HP/(U)HT experiments. A LP/LT or atmospheric-P deformation rig for in situ-deformation experiments on ice, halite or rock analogue materials is planned, to allow in situ-measurements of the texture development during deformation and annealing. Additionally a uniaxial HT/MP deformation apparatus for salt deformation experiments and an adapted Griggs- type deformation rig are also designated. Furthermore an uniaxial stress frame for in situ stress investigations is planned to conduct simultaneous measurements of stress, elastic or plastic deformation and texture. Other sample environments for geoscientific application will be HP/HT furnaces and pressure cells for powder diffraction investigations. Furthermore the diffractometer will be built in combination with a high-pressure multi anvil up to 25 GPa and 2500 K built by the University of Bayreuth at the same beam line. The detector concept allows single shot texture measurements and therefore the measurement of larger geological sample series as necessary for the investigations of complete geological structures. This concept is complementary to the geoscience neutron texture diffractometer in Dubna, Russia and the stress diffractometer STRESS-SPEC located also at the Garching research reactor. For powder diffraction the diffractometer will be complementary to the existing high-resolution powder diffractometer SPODI at the FRM-II. It will offer the possibility of short, high-intensity parametric powder diffraction measurements in dependency of temperature, electrical, magnetic and stress fields due to the higher flux at the sample. The optimization to high-intensities and therefore short measuring times will also allow time-resolved measurements of kinetic reactions even of small sample volumes.

Modeling Markov switching ARMA-GARCH neural networks models and an application to forecasting stock returns.

PubMed

Bildirici, Melike; Ersin, Özgür

2014-01-01

The study has two aims. The first aim is to propose a family of nonlinear GARCH models that incorporate fractional integration and asymmetric power properties to MS-GARCH processes. The second purpose of the study is to augment the MS-GARCH type models with artificial neural networks to benefit from the universal approximation properties to achieve improved forecasting accuracy. Therefore, the proposed Markov-switching MS-ARMA-FIGARCH, APGARCH, and FIAPGARCH processes are further augmented with MLP, Recurrent NN, and Hybrid NN type neural networks. The MS-ARMA-GARCH family and MS-ARMA-GARCH-NN family are utilized for modeling the daily stock returns in an emerging market, the Istanbul Stock Index (ISE100). Forecast accuracy is evaluated in terms of MAE, MSE, and RMSE error criteria and Diebold-Mariano equal forecast accuracy tests. The results suggest that the fractionally integrated and asymmetric power counterparts of Gray's MS-GARCH model provided promising results, while the best results are obtained for their neural network based counterparts. Further, among the models analyzed, the models based on the Hybrid-MLP and Recurrent-NN, the MS-ARMA-FIAPGARCH-HybridMLP, and MS-ARMA-FIAPGARCH-RNN provided the best forecast performances over the baseline single regime GARCH models and further, over the Gray's MS-GARCH model. Therefore, the models are promising for various economic applications.

Modeling Markov Switching ARMA-GARCH Neural Networks Models and an Application to Forecasting Stock Returns

PubMed Central

Bildirici, Melike; Ersin, Özgür

2014-01-01

The study has two aims. The first aim is to propose a family of nonlinear GARCH models that incorporate fractional integration and asymmetric power properties to MS-GARCH processes. The second purpose of the study is to augment the MS-GARCH type models with artificial neural networks to benefit from the universal approximation properties to achieve improved forecasting accuracy. Therefore, the proposed Markov-switching MS-ARMA-FIGARCH, APGARCH, and FIAPGARCH processes are further augmented with MLP, Recurrent NN, and Hybrid NN type neural networks. The MS-ARMA-GARCH family and MS-ARMA-GARCH-NN family are utilized for modeling the daily stock returns in an emerging market, the Istanbul Stock Index (ISE100). Forecast accuracy is evaluated in terms of MAE, MSE, and RMSE error criteria and Diebold-Mariano equal forecast accuracy tests. The results suggest that the fractionally integrated and asymmetric power counterparts of Gray's MS-GARCH model provided promising results, while the best results are obtained for their neural network based counterparts. Further, among the models analyzed, the models based on the Hybrid-MLP and Recurrent-NN, the MS-ARMA-FIAPGARCH-HybridMLP, and MS-ARMA-FIAPGARCH-RNN provided the best forecast performances over the baseline single regime GARCH models and further, over the Gray's MS-GARCH model. Therefore, the models are promising for various economic applications. PMID:24977200

Crew of Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission visits Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1994-01-01

The Hubble Space telescope servicing mission in December (STS-61) was a great success and the fully refurbished orbiting telescope produced absolutely remarkable first results just two weeks ago. The 7-member crew who carried out the mission will soon be in Europe to share their experience with the Press, ESA space specialists and the European space community. Public conferences will also be held in Switzerland, the home country of ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier. The visit of the STS-61 crew is scheduled as follows: Friday 11 February, 1994 - ESA Paris, France Presentation and Press Conference Location: ESA, 8/10 Rue Mario Nikis, 75015 Paris time: 16:00 hrs - 17:30 hrs contact: ESA, Public Relations Office Tel. (+33) 1 42 73 71 55 Fax. (+33) 1 42 73 76 90 Monday 14 February, 1994 - British Aerospace, Bristol, United Kingdom Presentation and Press Conference Location: British Aerospace, FPC 333, Filton, Bristol BS12 7QW time: 10:00 hrs - 12:00 hrs contact: BAe, Public Relations Tel. (+44) 272 36 33 69 Tel. (+44) 272 36 33 68 Tuesday 15 February, 1994 - ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, the Netherlands Presentation and Press Conference Location: Noordwijk Space Expo, Keplerlaan 3, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, the Netherlands time: 09:30 hrs - 12:00 hrs contact: ESTEC Public Relations Office Tel. (+31) 1719 8 3006 Fax. (+31) 1719 17 400 Wednesday 16 February, 1944 - ESO, Garching - Munich, Germany Presentation and Press Conference Location: European Southern Observatory, Karl- Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching -Munich, Germany time: to be decided contact: ESO Information Service Tel. (+49) 89 32 006 276 Fax. (+49) 89 320 23 62 Thursday 17 February, 1994 - Bern, Switzerland a. Presentation and Press Conference Location: Hotel Bern, Zeughausgasse 9, 3001 Bern, Switzerland time: 09:30 hrs contact: Press & Information Service of the Federal Dept. for Education & Sciences Tel. (+41) 31 322 80 34 Fax. (+41) 31 312 30 15 b. Public conference Location: University of Bern, Institute of Physics time: 18:00 hrs - 20:00 hrs Friday 18 February, 1994 - Geneva, Switzerland a. Presentation and Press Conference Location: Geneva Observatory, Chemin des Maillettes 51, 1290 Sauverny, Switzerland time: 10:00 hrs - 11:30 hrs contact: Press Service University of Geneva Tel. (+41) 22 705 77 17 Tel. (+41) 22 328 25 66 b. Public Conference Location: University of Geneva, Auditorium Piaget, Uni Dufour time: 18:00 hrs - 20:30 hrs For accreditation and further information on these events, please get in touch directly with the contact listed for each location.

A Cryogenic Detector Characterization Facility in the Shallow Underground Laboratory at the Technical University of Munich

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langenkämper, A.; Defay, X.; Ferreiro Iachellini, N.; Kinast, A.; Lanfranchi, J.-C.; Lindner, E.; Mancuso, M.; Mondragón, E.; Münster, A.; Ortmann, T.; Potzel, W.; Schönert, S.; Strauss, R.; Ulrich, A.; Wawoczny, S.; Willers, M.

2018-04-01

The Physics Department of the Technical University of Munich operates a shallow underground detector laboratory in Garching, Germany. It provides ˜ 160 {m^2} of laboratory space which is shielded from cosmic radiation by ˜ 6 m of gravel and soil, corresponding to a shielding of ˜ 15 {m.w.e.} . The laboratory also houses a cleanroom equipped with work- and wetbenches, a chemical fumehood as well as a spin-coater and a mask-aligner for photolithographic processing of semiconductor detectors. Furthermore, the shallow underground laboratory runs two high-purity germanium detector screening stations, a liquid argon cryostat and a ^3 He-^4 He dilution refrigerator with a base temperature of ≤ 12-14 mK . The infrastructure provided by the shallow laboratory is particularly relevant for the characterization of CaWO_4 target crystals for the CRESST-III experiment, detector fabrication and assembly for rare event searches. Future applications of the laboratory include detector development in the framework of coherent neutrino nucleus scattering experiments (ν -cleus) and studying its potential as a site to search for MeV-scale dark matter with gram-scale cryogenic detectors.

Design and status of the detector block for the ISO-SWS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luinge, W.; Beintema, D. A.; Haser, L.; Katterloher, R.; Ploeger, G.

1989-01-01

The Short Wave Spectrometer (SWS) is one of the two spectrometers for the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). It consists of a pair of grating spectrometers and a Fabry-Perot interferometer. Together, the grating spectrometers cover the wavelength range 2.4 to 45 microns, at a resolution between 1000 and 2000. The Fabry-Perot interferometer, in series with one of the grating spectrometers, provides a resolution of about 20,000 at the wavelengths between 15 and 35 microns. The SWS is being built by the Space Research Organization of the Netherlands and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany. The spectrometer has 52 discrete detectors, most of which are bulk detectors. In the design of the spectrometer, the main emphasis is on the sensitivity of the individual channels, rather than on the number of detectors. This was one of the main reasons to select non-destructive read-out circuits, with a separate heated-JFET pre-amplifier for each individual detector. The signals are amplified and filtered in parallel. The engineering tests on the SWS detector block have not yet been completed. The design of the detector block is described and the present problem areas are indicated.

A comparison of monthly precipitation point estimates at 6 locations in Iran using integration of soft computing methods and GARCH time series model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehdizadeh, Saeid; Behmanesh, Javad; Khalili, Keivan

2017-11-01

Precipitation plays an important role in determining the climate of a region. Precise estimation of precipitation is required to manage and plan water resources, as well as other related applications such as hydrology, climatology, meteorology and agriculture. Time series of hydrologic variables such as precipitation are composed of deterministic and stochastic parts. Despite this fact, the stochastic part of the precipitation data is not usually considered in modeling of precipitation process. As an innovation, the present study introduces three new hybrid models by integrating soft computing methods including multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), Bayesian networks (BN) and gene expression programming (GEP) with a time series model, namely generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) for modeling of the monthly precipitation. For this purpose, the deterministic (obtained by soft computing methods) and stochastic (obtained by GARCH time series model) parts are combined with each other. To carry out this research, monthly precipitation data of Babolsar, Bandar Anzali, Gorgan, Ramsar, Tehran and Urmia stations with different climates in Iran were used during the period of 1965-2014. Root mean square error (RMSE), relative root mean square error (RRMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and determination coefficient (R2) were employed to evaluate the performance of conventional/single MARS, BN and GEP, as well as the proposed MARS-GARCH, BN-GARCH and GEP-GARCH hybrid models. It was found that the proposed novel models are more precise than single MARS, BN and GEP models. Overall, MARS-GARCH and BN-GARCH models yielded better accuracy than GEP-GARCH. The results of the present study confirmed the suitability of proposed methodology for precise modeling of precipitation.

Analysis of Spin Financial Market by GARCH Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takaishi, Tetsuya

2013-08-01

A spin model is used for simulations of financial markets. To determine return volatility in the spin financial market we use the GARCH model often used for volatility estimation in empirical finance. We apply the Bayesian inference performed by the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to the parameter estimation of the GARCH model. It is found that volatility determined by the GARCH model exhibits "volatility clustering" also observed in the real financial markets. Using volatility determined by the GARCH model we examine the mixture-of-distribution hypothesis (MDH) suggested for the asset return dynamics. We find that the returns standardized by volatility are approximately standard normal random variables. Moreover we find that the absolute standardized returns show no significant autocorrelation. These findings are consistent with the view of the MDH for the return dynamics.

Refining value-at-risk estimates using a Bayesian Markov-switching GJR-GARCH copula-EVT model.

PubMed

Sampid, Marius Galabe; Hasim, Haslifah M; Dai, Hongsheng

2018-01-01

In this paper, we propose a model for forecasting Value-at-Risk (VaR) using a Bayesian Markov-switching GJR-GARCH(1,1) model with skewed Student's-t innovation, copula functions and extreme value theory. A Bayesian Markov-switching GJR-GARCH(1,1) model that identifies non-constant volatility over time and allows the GARCH parameters to vary over time following a Markov process, is combined with copula functions and EVT to formulate the Bayesian Markov-switching GJR-GARCH(1,1) copula-EVT VaR model, which is then used to forecast the level of risk on financial asset returns. We further propose a new method for threshold selection in EVT analysis, which we term the hybrid method. Empirical and back-testing results show that the proposed VaR models capture VaR reasonably well in periods of calm and in periods of crisis.

Stochastic GARCH dynamics describing correlations between stocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prat-Ortega, G.; Savel'ev, S. E.

2014-09-01

The ARCH and GARCH processes have been successfully used for modelling price dynamics such as stock returns or foreign exchange rates. Analysing the long range correlations between stocks, we propose a model, based on the GARCH process, which is able to describe the main characteristics of the stock price correlations, including the mean, variance, probability density distribution and the noise spectrum.

The equation of state package FEOS for high energy density matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faik, Steffen; Tauschwitz, Anna; Iosilevskiy, Igor

2018-06-01

Adequate equation of state (EOS) data is of high interest in the growing field of high energy density physics and especially essential for hydrodynamic simulation codes. The semi-analytical method used in the newly developed Frankfurt equation of state (FEOS) package provides an easy and fast access to the EOS of - in principle - arbitrary materials. The code is based on the well known QEOS model (More et al., 1988; Young and Corey, 1995) and is a further development of the MPQeos code (Kemp and Meyer-ter Vehn, 1988; Kemp and Meyer-ter Vehn, 1998) from Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik (MPQ) in Garching Germany. The list of features contains the calculation of homogeneous mixtures of chemical elements and the description of the liquid-vapor two-phase region with or without a Maxwell construction. Full flexibility of the package is assured by its structure: A program library provides the EOS with an interface designed for Fortran or C/C++ codes. Two additional software tools allow for the generation of EOS tables in different file output formats and for the calculation and visualization of isolines and Hugoniot shock adiabats. As an example the EOS of fused silica (SiO2) is calculated and compared to experimental data and other EOS codes.

Modelling world gold prices and USD foreign exchange relationship using multivariate GARCH model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ping, Pung Yean; Ahmad, Maizah Hura Binti

2014-12-01

World gold price is a popular investment commodity. The series have often been modeled using univariate models. The objective of this paper is to show that there is a co-movement between gold price and USD foreign exchange rate. Using the effect of the USD foreign exchange rate on the gold price, a model that can be used to forecast future gold prices is developed. For this purpose, the current paper proposes a multivariate GARCH (Bivariate GARCH) model. Using daily prices of both series from 01.01.2000 to 05.05.2014, a causal relation between the two series understudied are found and a bivariate GARCH model is produced.

The Virtual Observatory: I

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanisch, R. J.

2014-11-01

The concept of the Virtual Observatory arose more-or-less simultaneously in the United States and Europe circa 2000. Ten pages of Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium: Panel Reports (National Academy Press, Washington, 2001), that is, the detailed recommendations of the Panel on Theory, Computation, and Data Exploration of the 2000 Decadal Survey in Astronomy, are dedicated to describing the motivation for, scientific value of, and major components required in implementing the National Virtual Observatory. European initiatives included the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory at the European Southern Observatory, the AstroGrid project in the United Kingdom, and the Euro-VO (sponsored by the European Union). Organizational/conceptual meetings were held in the US at the California Institute of Technology (Virtual Observatories of the Future, June 13-16, 2000) and at ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany (Mining the Sky, July 31-August 4, 2000; Toward an International Virtual Observatory, June 10-14, 2002). The nascent US, UK, and European VO projects formed the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) at the June 2002 meeting in Garching, with yours truly as the first chair. The IVOA has grown to a membership of twenty-one national projects and programs on six continents, and has developed a broad suite of data access protocols and standards that have been widely implemented. Astronomers can now discover, access, and compare data from hundreds of telescopes and facilities, hosted at hundreds of organizations worldwide, stored in thousands of databases, all with a single query.

Determination of sample size for higher volatile data using new framework of Box-Jenkins model with GARCH: A case study on gold price

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roslindar Yaziz, Siti; Zakaria, Roslinazairimah; Hura Ahmad, Maizah

2017-09-01

The model of Box-Jenkins - GARCH has been shown to be a promising tool for forecasting higher volatile time series. In this study, the framework of determining the optimal sample size using Box-Jenkins model with GARCH is proposed for practical application in analysing and forecasting higher volatile data. The proposed framework is employed to daily world gold price series from year 1971 to 2013. The data is divided into 12 different sample sizes (from 30 to 10200). Each sample is tested using different combination of the hybrid Box-Jenkins - GARCH model. Our study shows that the optimal sample size to forecast gold price using the framework of the hybrid model is 1250 data of 5-year sample. Hence, the empirical results of model selection criteria and 1-step-ahead forecasting evaluations suggest that the latest 12.25% (5-year data) of 10200 data is sufficient enough to be employed in the model of Box-Jenkins - GARCH with similar forecasting performance as by using 41-year data.

Study of the cross-market effects of Brexit based on the improved symbolic transfer entropy GARCH model—An empirical analysis of stock–bond correlations

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiurong; Zhao, Rubo

2017-01-01

In this paper, we study the cross-market effects of Brexit on the stock and bond markets of nine major countries in the world. By incorporating information theory, we introduce the time-varying impact weights based on symbolic transfer entropy to improve the traditional GARCH model. The empirical results show that under the influence of Brexit, flight-to-quality not only commonly occurs between the stocks and bonds of each country but also simultaneously occurs among different countries. We also find that the accuracy of the time-varying symbolic transfer entropy GARCH model proposed in this paper has been improved compared to the traditional GARCH model, which indicates that it has a certain practical application value. PMID:28817712

Comparative Analysis of VaR Estimation of Double Long-Memory GARCH Models: Empirical Analysis of China's Stock Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Guangxi; Guo, Jianping; Xu, Lin

GARCH models are widely used to model the volatility of financial assets and measure VaR. Based on the characteristics of long-memory and lepkurtosis and fat tail of stock market return series, we compared the ability of double long-memory GARCH models with skewed student-t-distribution to compute VaR, through the empirical analysis of Shanghai Composite Index (SHCI) and Shenzhen Component Index (SZCI). The results show that the ARFIMA-HYGARCH model performance better than others, and at less than or equal to 2.5 percent of the level of VaR, double long-memory GARCH models have stronger ability to evaluate in-sample VaRs in long position than in short position while there is a diametrically opposite conclusion for ability of out-of-sample VaR forecast.

100th anniversary of the birth of B M Pontecorvo (Scientific session of the Physical Sciences Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2 September 2013)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-05-01

A scientific session "Prospects of Studies in Neutrino Particle Physics and Astrophysics," of the Physical Sciences Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences (DPS RAS), devoted to the centenary of B M Pontecorvo, was held on 2-3 September 2014 at the JINR international conference hall (Dubna, Moscow region).The following reports were put on the session agenda as posted on the website http://www.gpad.ac.ru of the RAS Physical Sciences Division: (1) Kudenko Yu G (Institute for Nuclear Research, RAS, Moscow; Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudnyi, Moscow region; National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Moscow) "Long-baseline neutrino accelerator experiments: results and prospects";(2) Spiering Ch (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Germany) "Results obtained by ICECUBE and prospects of neutrino astronomy";(3) Barabash A S (Alikhanov Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Moscow) "Double beta decay experiments: current status and prospects";(4) Bilenky S M (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Moscow region; Technische Universitat M'unchen, Garching, Germany) "Bruno Pontecorvo and the neutrino";(5) Olshevskiy A G (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Moscow region) "Reactor neutrino experiments: results and prospects";(6) Gavrin V N (Institute for Nuclear Research, RAS, Moscow) "Low-energy neutrino research at the Baksan Neutrino Laboratory";(7) Gorbunov D S (Institute for Nuclear Research, RAS, Moscow): "Sterile neutrinos and their role in particle physics and cosmology";(8) Derbin A V (Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, Gatchina, Leningrad region) "Solar neutrino experiments";(9) Rubakov V A (Institute for Nuclear Research, RAS, Moscow) "Prospects of studies in the field of neutrino particle physics and astrophysics." An article by V N Gavrin, close in essence to talk 6, was published in Usp. Fiz. Nauk 181 (9), 975 (2011) [Phys. Usp. 54 (9) 941 (2011)]. Articles by V A Rubakov, close in essence to talk 9, were published in Usp. Fiz. Nauk 182 (10) 1017 (2012); 181 (6) 655 (2011) [Phys. Usp. 55 (10) 949 (2012); 54 (6) 633 (2011)]. Articles based on talks 1-5, 7, and 8 are published below. • Long-baseline neutrino accelerator experiments: results and prospects, Yu G Kudenko Physics-Uspekhi, 2014, Volume 57, Number 5, Pages 462-469 • High-energy neutrino astronomy: a glimpse of the promised land, Ch Spiering Physics-Uspekhi, 2014, Volume 57, Number 5, Pages 470-481 • Double beta decay experiments: current status and prospects, A S Barabash Physics-Uspekhi, 2014, Volume 57, Number 5, Pages 482-488 • Bruno Pontecorvo and the neutrino, S M Bilenky Physics-Uspekhi, 2014, Volume 57, Number 5, Pages 489-496 • Reactor neutrino experiments: results and prospects, A G Olshevskiy Physics-Uspekhi, 2014, Volume 57, Number 5, Pages 497-502 • Sterile neutrinos and their role in particle physics and cosmology, D S Gorbunov Physics-Uspekhi, 2014, Volume 57, Number 5, Pages 503-511 • Solar neutrino experiments, A V Derbin Physics-Uspekhi, 2014, Volume 57, Number 5, Pages 512-524

Modeling rainfall-runoff relationship using multivariate GARCH model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Modarres, R.; Ouarda, T. B. M. J.

2013-08-01

The traditional hydrologic time series approaches are used for modeling, simulating and forecasting conditional mean of hydrologic variables but neglect their time varying variance or the second order moment. This paper introduces the multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (MGARCH) modeling approach to show how the variance-covariance relationship between hydrologic variables varies in time. These approaches are also useful to estimate the dynamic conditional correlation between hydrologic variables. To illustrate the novelty and usefulness of MGARCH models in hydrology, two major types of MGARCH models, the bivariate diagonal VECH and constant conditional correlation (CCC) models are applied to show the variance-covariance structure and cdynamic correlation in a rainfall-runoff process. The bivariate diagonal VECH-GARCH(1,1) and CCC-GARCH(1,1) models indicated both short-run and long-run persistency in the conditional variance-covariance matrix of the rainfall-runoff process. The conditional variance of rainfall appears to have a stronger persistency, especially long-run persistency, than the conditional variance of streamflow which shows a short-lived drastic increasing pattern and a stronger short-run persistency. The conditional covariance and conditional correlation coefficients have different features for each bivariate rainfall-runoff process with different degrees of stationarity and dynamic nonlinearity. The spatial and temporal pattern of variance-covariance features may reflect the signature of different physical and hydrological variables such as drainage area, topography, soil moisture and ground water fluctuations on the strength, stationarity and nonlinearity of the conditional variance-covariance for a rainfall-runoff process.

A new estimator method for GARCH models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onody, R. N.; Favaro, G. M.; Cazaroto, E. R.

2007-06-01

The GARCH (p, q) model is a very interesting stochastic process with widespread applications and a central role in empirical finance. The Markovian GARCH (1, 1) model has only 3 control parameters and a much discussed question is how to estimate them when a series of some financial asset is given. Besides the maximum likelihood estimator technique, there is another method which uses the variance, the kurtosis and the autocorrelation time to determine them. We propose here to use the standardized 6th moment. The set of parameters obtained in this way produces a very good probability density function and a much better time autocorrelation function. This is true for both studied indexes: NYSE Composite and FTSE 100. The probability of return to the origin is investigated at different time horizons for both Gaussian and Laplacian GARCH models. In spite of the fact that these models show almost identical performances with respect to the final probability density function and to the time autocorrelation function, their scaling properties are, however, very different. The Laplacian GARCH model gives a better scaling exponent for the NYSE time series, whereas the Gaussian dynamics fits better the FTSE scaling exponent.

Focusing adaptive-optics for neutron spectroscopy at extreme conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simeoni, G. G., E-mail: ggsimeoni@outlook.com; Physics Department E13, Technical University of Munich, D-85748 Garching; Valicu, R. G.

2015-12-14

Neutron Spectroscopy employing extreme-conditions sample environments is nowadays a crucial tool for the understanding of fundamental scientific questions as well as for the investigation of materials and chemical-physical properties. For all these kinds of studies, an increased neutron flux over a small sample area is needed. The prototype of a focusing neutron guide component, developed and produced completely at the neutron source FRM II in Garching (Germany), has been installed at the time-of-flight (TOF) disc-chopper neutron spectrometer TOFTOF and came into routine-operation. The design is based on the compressed Archimedes' mirror concept for finite-size divergent sources. It represents a uniquemore » device combining the supermirror technology with Adaptive Optics, suitable for broad-bandwidth thermal-cold TOF neutron spectroscopy (here optimized for 1.4–10 Å). It is able to squeeze the beam cross section down to a square centimeter, with a more than doubled signal-to-background ratio, increased efficiency at high scattering angles, and improved symmetry of the elastic resolution function. We present a comparison between the simulated and measured beam cross sections, as well as the performance of the instrument within real experiments. This work intends to show the unprecedented opportunities achievable at already existing instruments, along with useful guidelines for the design and construction of next-generation neutron spectrometers.« less

Fusion energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1990-09-01

The main purpose of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is to develop an experimental fusion reactor through the united efforts of many technologically advanced countries. The ITER terms of reference, issued jointly by the European Community, Japan, the USSR, and the United States, call for an integrated international design activity and constitute the basis of current activities. Joint work on ITER is carried out under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to the terms of quadripartite agreement reached between the European Community, Japan, the USSR, and the United States. The site for joint technical work sessions is at the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics. Garching, Federal Republic of Germany. The ITER activities have two phases: a definition phase performed in 1988 and the present design phase (1989 to 1990). During the definition phase, a set of ITER technical characteristics and supporting research and development (R and D) activities were developed and reported. The present conceptual design phase of ITER lasts until the end of 1990. The objectives of this phase are to develop the design of ITER, perform a safety and environmental analysis, develop site requirements, define future R and D needs, and estimate cost, manpower, and schedule for construction and operation. A final report will be submitted at the end of 1990. This paper summarizes progress in the ITER program during the 1989 design phase.

Comparison of some characteristics of aerobic granules and sludge flocs from sequencing batch reactors.

PubMed

Li, J; Garny, K; Neu, T; He, M; Lindenblatt, C; Horn, H

2007-01-01

Physical, chemical and biological characteristics were investigated for aerobic granules and sludge flocs from three laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). One reactor was operated as normal SBR (N-SBR) and two reactors were operated as granular SBRs (G-SBR1 and G-SBR2). G-SBR1 was inoculated with activated sludge and G-SBR2 with granules from the municipal wastewater plant in Garching (Germany). The following major parameters and functions were measured and compared between the three reactors: morphology, settling velocity, specific gravity (SG), sludge volume index (SVI), specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR), distribution of the volume fraction of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and bacteria, organic carbon and nitrogen removal. Compared with sludge flocs, granular sludge had excellent settling properties, good solid-liquid separation, high biomass concentration, simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. Aerobic granular sludge does not have a higher microbial activity and there are some problems including higher effluent suspended solids, lower ratio of VSS/SS and no nitrification at the beginning of cultivation. Measurement with CLSM and additional image analysis showed that EPS glycoconjugates build one main fraction inside the granules. The aerobic granules from G-SBR1 prove to be heavier, smaller and have a higher microbial activity compared with G-SBR2. Furthermore, the granules were more compact, with lower SVI and less filamentous bacteria.

The predictive content of CBOE crude oil volatility index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hongtao; Liu, Li; Li, Xiaolei

2018-02-01

Volatility forecasting is an important issue in the area of econophysics. The information content of implied volatility for financial return volatility has been well documented in the literature but very few studies focus on oil volatility. In this paper, we show that the CBOE crude oil volatility index (OVX) has predictive ability for spot volatility of WTI and Brent oil returns, from both in-sample and out-of-sample perspectives. Including OVX-based implied volatility in GARCH-type volatility models can improve forecasting accuracy most of time. The predictability from OVX to spot volatility is also found for longer forecasting horizons of 5 days and 20 days. The simple GARCH(1,1) and fractionally integrated GARCH with OVX performs significantly better than the other OVX models and all 6 univariate GARCH-type models without OVX. Robustness test results suggest that OVX provides different information from as short-term interest rate.

Nonlinear GARCH model and 1 / f noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kononovicius, A.; Ruseckas, J.

2015-06-01

Auto-regressive conditionally heteroskedastic (ARCH) family models are still used, by practitioners in business and economic policy making, as a conditional volatility forecasting models. Furthermore ARCH models still are attracting an interest of the researchers. In this contribution we consider the well known GARCH(1,1) process and its nonlinear modifications, reminiscent of NGARCH model. We investigate the possibility to reproduce power law statistics, probability density function and power spectral density, using ARCH family models. For this purpose we derive stochastic differential equations from the GARCH processes in consideration. We find the obtained equations to be similar to a general class of stochastic differential equations known to reproduce power law statistics. We show that linear GARCH(1,1) process has power law distribution, but its power spectral density is Brownian noise-like. However, the nonlinear modifications exhibit both power law distribution and power spectral density of the 1 /fβ form, including 1 / f noise.

Preliminary analysis on hybrid Box-Jenkins - GARCH modeling in forecasting gold price

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaziz, Siti Roslindar; Azizan, Noor Azlinna; Ahmad, Maizah Hura; Zakaria, Roslinazairimah; Agrawal, Manju; Boland, John

2015-02-01

Gold has been regarded as a valuable precious metal and the most popular commodity as a healthy return investment. Hence, the analysis and prediction of gold price become very significant to investors. This study is a preliminary analysis on gold price and its volatility that focuses on the performance of hybrid Box-Jenkins models together with GARCH in analyzing and forecasting gold price. The Box-Cox formula is used as the data transformation method due to its potential best practice in normalizing data, stabilizing variance and reduces heteroscedasticity using 41-year daily gold price data series starting 2nd January 1973. Our study indicates that the proposed hybrid model ARIMA-GARCH with t-innovation can be a new potential approach in forecasting gold price. This finding proves the strength of GARCH in handling volatility in the gold price as well as overcomes the non-linear limitation in the Box-Jenkins modeling.

Beyond long memory in heart rate variability: An approach based on fractionally integrated autoregressive moving average time series models with conditional heteroscedasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leite, Argentina; Paula Rocha, Ana; Eduarda Silva, Maria

2013-06-01

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) series exhibit long memory and time-varying conditional variance. This work considers the Fractionally Integrated AutoRegressive Moving Average (ARFIMA) models with Generalized AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroscedastic (GARCH) errors. ARFIMA-GARCH models may be used to capture and remove long memory and estimate the conditional volatility in 24 h HRV recordings. The ARFIMA-GARCH approach is applied to fifteen long term HRV series available at Physionet, leading to the discrimination among normal individuals, heart failure patients, and patients with atrial fibrillation.

Polish and European SST Assets: the Solaris-Panoptes Global Network of Robotic Telescopes and the Borowiec Satellite Laser Ranging System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konacki, M.; Lejba, P.; Sybilski, P.; Pawłaszek, R.; Kozłowski, S.; Suchodolski, T.; Litwicki, M.; Kolb, U.; Burwitz, V.; Baader, J.; Groot, P.; Bloemen, S.; Ratajczak, M.; Helminiak, K.; Borek, R.; Chodosiewicz, P.

2016-09-01

We present the assets of the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Space Research Center (both of the Polish Academy of Sciences), two Polish companies Sybilla Technologies, Cillium Engineering and a non-profit research foundation Baltic Institute of Technology. These assets are enhanced by telescopes belonging to The Open University (UK), the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and in the future the Radboud University. They consist of the Solaris-Panoptes global network of optical robotic telescopes and the satellite laser ranging station in Borowiec, Poland. These assets will contribute to the Polish and European Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) program. The Solaris component is composed of four autonomous observatories in the Southern Hemisphere. Solaris nodes are located at the South African Astronomical Observatory (Solaris-1 and Solaris-2), Siding Spring Observatory, Australia (Solaris-3) and Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito, Argentina (Solaris-4). They are equipped with 0.5-m telescopes on ASA DDM-160 direct drive mounts, Andor iKon-L cameras and housed in 3.5-m Baader Planetarium (BP) clamshell domes. The Panoptes component is a network of telescopes operated by software from Sybilla Technologies. It currently consists of 4 telescopes at three locations, all on GM4000 mounts. One 0.36-m (Panoptes-COAST, STL- 1001E camera, 3.5 BP clamshell dome) and one 0.43-m (Panoptes-PIRATE, FLI 16803 camera, 4.5-m BP clamshell dome, with planned exchange to 0.63-m) telescope are located at the Teide Observatory (Tenerfie, Canary Islands), one 0.6-m (Panoptes-COG, SBIG STX 16803 camera, 4.5-m BP clamshell dome) telescope in Garching, Germany and one 0.5-m (Panoptes-MAM, FLI 16803 camera, 4.5-m BP slit dome) in Mammendorf, Germany. Panoptes-COAST and Panoptes-PIRATE are owned by The Open University (UK). Panoptes-COG is owned by the Max Planck Institute

ESO/ST-ECF Data Analysis Workshop, 5th, Garching, Germany, Apr. 26, 27, 1993, Proceedings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grosbol, Preben; de Ruijsscher, Resy

1993-01-01

Various papers on astronomical data analysis are presented. Individual optics addressed include: surface photometry of early-type galaxies, wavelet transform and adaptive filtering, package for surface photometry of galaxies, calibration of large-field mosaics, surface photometry of galaxies with HST, wavefront-supported image deconvolution, seeing effects on elliptical galaxies, multiple algorithms deconvolution program, enhancement of Skylab X-ray images, MIDAS procedures for the image analysis of E-S0 galaxies, photometric data reductions under MIDAS, crowded field photometry with deconvolved images, the DENIS Deep Near Infrared Survey. Also discussed are: analysis of astronomical time series, detection of low-amplitude stellar pulsations, new SOT method for frequency analysis, chaotic attractor reconstruction and applications to variable stars, reconstructing a 1D signal from irregular samples, automatic analysis for time series with large gaps, prospects for content-based image retrieval, redshift survey in the South Galactic Pole Region.

Long Memory in STOCK Market Volatility: the International Evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Chunxia; Hu, Sen; Xia, Bingying; Wang, Rui

2012-08-01

It is still a hot topic to catch the auto-dependence behavior of volatility. Here, based on the measurement of average volatility, under different observation window size, we investigated the dependence of successive volatility of several main stock indices and their simulated GARCH(1, 1) model, there were obvious linear auto-dependence in the logarithm of volatility under a small observation window size and nonlinear auto-dependence under a big observation. After calculating the correlation and mutual information of the logarithm of volatility for Dow Jones Industrial Average during different periods, we find that some influential events can change the correlation structure and the volatilities of different periods have distinct influence on that of the remote future. Besides, GARCH model could produce similar behavior of dependence as real data and long memory property. But our analyses show that the auto-dependence of volatility in GARCH is different from that in real data, and the long memory is undervalued by GARCH.

Forecasting Tehran stock exchange volatility; Markov switching GARCH approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abounoori, Esmaiel; Elmi, Zahra (Mila); Nademi, Younes

2016-03-01

This paper evaluates several GARCH models regarding their ability to forecast volatility in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). These include GARCH models with both Gaussian and fat-tailed residual conditional distribution, concerning their ability to describe and forecast volatility from 1-day to 22-day horizon. Results indicate that AR(2)-MRSGARCH-GED model outperforms other models at one-day horizon. Also, the AR(2)-MRSGARCH-GED as well as AR(2)-MRSGARCH-t models outperform other models at 5-day horizon. In 10 day horizon, three models of AR(2)-MRSGARCH outperform other models. Concerning 22 day forecast horizon, results indicate no differences between MRSGARCH models with that of standard GARCH models. Regarding Risk management out-of-sample evaluation (95% VaR), a few models seem to provide reasonable and accurate VaR estimates at 1-day horizon, with a coverage rate close to the nominal level. According to the risk management loss functions, there is not a uniformly most accurate model.

PREFACE: The 395th Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Seminar: `Time-dependent phenomena in Quantum Mechanics'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleber, Manfred; Kramer, Tobias

2008-03-01

The 395th Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Seminar: `Time-dependent phenomena in Quantum Mechanics' took place at the Heinrich Fabri Institute in Blaubeuren, Germany, 12-16 September 2007. The conference covered a wide range of topics connected with time-dependent phenomena in quantum mechanical systems. The 20 invited talks and 15 short talks with posters at the workshop covered the historical debate between Schrödinger, Dirac and Pauli about the role of time in Quantum Mechanics (the debate was carried out sometimes in footnotes) up to the almost direct observation of electron dynamics on the attosecond time-scale. Semiclassical methods, time-delay, monodromy, variational principles and quasi-resonances are just some of the themes which are discussed in more detail in the papers. Time-dependent methods also shed new light on energy-dependent systems, where the detour of studying the time-evolution of a quantum states allows one to solve previously intractable problems. Additional information is available at the conference webpage http://www.quantumdynamics.de The organizer would like to thank all speakers, contributors, session chairs and referees for their efforts in making the conference a success. We also gratefully acknowledge the generous financial support from the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation for the conference and the production of this special volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series. Manfred Kleber Physik Department T30, Technische Universität München, 85747 Garching, Germany mkleber@ph.tum.de Tobias Kramer Institut I: Theoretische Physik, Universität Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany tobias.kramer@physik.uni-regensburg.de Guest Editors Front row (from left): W Schleich, E J Heller, J B Delos, H Friedrich, K Richter, M Kleber, P Kramer, M Man'ko, A del Campo, V Man'ko, M Efremov, A Ruiz, M O Scully Middle row: A Zamora, R Aganoglu, T Kramer, J Eiglsperger, H Cruz, P Raab, I Cirac, G Muga, J Larson, V Dodonov, W Becker Back row: A Eckardt, A Siddiki, K Vafayi, M Holthaus, E Räsänen, M Rodriguez, O Kullie, D Milošević, J Briggs, A Ribeiro, (not in the picture W Zwerger)

German Foreign Minister Visits Paranal Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-03-01

During his current tour of countries in South America, the Honourable Foreign Minister of Germany, Mr. Joschka Fischer, stopped over at the ESO Paranal Observatory Wednesday night (March 6 - 7, 2002). Arriving in Antofagasta, capital of the II Chilean region, the Foreign Minister and his suite was met by local Chilean officials, headed by Mr. Jorge Molina, Intendente of the Region, as well as His Excellency, the German Ambassador to Chile, Mr. Georg CS Dick and others. In the afternoon of March 6, the Foreign Minister, accompanied by a distinguished delegation from the German Federal Parliament as well as by businessmen from Germany, travelled to Paranal, site of the world's largest optical/infrared astronomical facility, the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). The delegation was welcomed by the Observatory Director, Dr. Roberto Gilmozzi, the VLT Programme Manager, Professor Massimo Tarenghi, the ESO Representative in Chile, Mr. Daniel Hofstadt and ESO staff members, and also by Mr. Reinhard Junker, Deputy Director General (European Co-operation) at the German Ministry for Education and Research. The visitors were shown the various high-tech installations at this remote desert site, some of which have been constructed by German firms. Moreover, most of the large, front-line VLT astronomical instruments have been built in collaboration between ESO and European research institutes, several of these in Germany. One of the latest arrivals to Paranal, the CONICA camera (cf. ESO PR 25/01 ), was built under an ESO contract by the Max-Planck-Institutes for Astronomy (MPIA, in Heidelberg) and Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE, in Garching). The guests had the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular sunset over the Pacific Ocean from the terrace of the new Residencia building ( Photos 05/02 ). At the beginning of the night, the Minister was invited to the Control Room for the VLT Interferometer (VLTI) from where this unique new facility ( ESO PR 23/01 ) is now being thoroughly tested before it enters into service later this year. In his expression of thanks, Minister Fischer enthusiastically referred to his visit at Paranal. He said he was truly impressed by the technology of the telescopes and considered the VLT project a model of European technological and scientific cooperation. Later in the evening, the Minister was invited to perform an observing sequence at the console of the MELIPAL telescope.

Climate SPHINX: evaluating the impact of resolution and stochastic physics parameterisations in the EC-Earth global climate model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davini, Paolo; von Hardenberg, Jost; Corti, Susanna; Christensen, Hannah M.; Juricke, Stephan; Subramanian, Aneesh; Watson, Peter A. G.; Weisheimer, Antje; Palmer, Tim N.

2017-03-01

The Climate SPHINX (Stochastic Physics HIgh resolutioN eXperiments) project is a comprehensive set of ensemble simulations aimed at evaluating the sensitivity of present and future climate to model resolution and stochastic parameterisation. The EC-Earth Earth system model is used to explore the impact of stochastic physics in a large ensemble of 30-year climate integrations at five different atmospheric horizontal resolutions (from 125 up to 16 km). The project includes more than 120 simulations in both a historical scenario (1979-2008) and a climate change projection (2039-2068), together with coupled transient runs (1850-2100). A total of 20.4 million core hours have been used, made available from a single year grant from PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and close to 1.5 PB of output data have been produced on SuperMUC IBM Petascale System at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) in Garching, Germany. About 140 TB of post-processed data are stored on the CINECA supercomputing centre archives and are freely accessible to the community thanks to an EUDAT data pilot project. This paper presents the technical and scientific set-up of the experiments, including the details on the forcing used for the simulations performed, defining the SPHINX v1.0 protocol. In addition, an overview of preliminary results is given. An improvement in the simulation of Euro-Atlantic atmospheric blocking following resolution increase is observed. It is also shown that including stochastic parameterisation in the low-resolution runs helps to improve some aspects of the tropical climate - specifically the Madden-Julian Oscillation and the tropical rainfall variability. These findings show the importance of representing the impact of small-scale processes on the large-scale climate variability either explicitly (with high-resolution simulations) or stochastically (in low-resolution simulations).

The relationship between trading volumes, number of transactions, and stock volatility in GARCH models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takaishi, Tetsuya; Chen, Ting Ting

2016-08-01

We examine the relationship between trading volumes, number of transactions, and volatility using daily stock data of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Following the mixture of distributions hypothesis, we use trading volumes and the number of transactions as proxy for the rate of information arrivals affecting stock volatility. The impact of trading volumes or number of transactions on volatility is measured using the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model. We find that the GARCH effects, that is, persistence of volatility, is not always removed by adding trading volumes or number of transactions, indicating that trading volumes and number of transactions do not adequately represent the rate of information arrivals.

Volatility in GARCH Models of Business Tendency Index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahyuni, Dwi A. S.; Wage, Sutarman; Hartono, Ateng

2018-01-01

This paper aims to obtain a model of business tendency index by considering volatility factor. Volatility factor detected by ARCH (Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity). The ARCH checking was performed using the Lagrange multiplier test. The modeling is Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) are able to overcome volatility problems by incorporating past residual elements and residual variants.

Estimation of value at risk in currency exchange rate portfolio using asymmetric GJR-GARCH Copula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurrahmat, Mohamad Husein; Noviyanti, Lienda; Bachrudin, Achmad

2017-03-01

In this study, we discuss the problem in measuring the risk in a portfolio based on value at risk (VaR) using asymmetric GJR-GARCH Copula. The approach based on the consideration that the assumption of normality over time for the return can not be fulfilled, and there is non-linear correlation for dependent model structure among the variables that lead to the estimated VaR be inaccurate. Moreover, the leverage effect also causes the asymmetric effect of dynamic variance and shows the weakness of the GARCH models due to its symmetrical effect on conditional variance. Asymmetric GJR-GARCH models are used to filter the margins while the Copulas are used to link them together into a multivariate distribution. Then, we use copulas to construct flexible multivariate distributions with different marginal and dependence structure, which is led to portfolio joint distribution does not depend on the assumptions of normality and linear correlation. VaR obtained by the analysis with confidence level 95% is 0.005586. This VaR derived from the best Copula model, t-student Copula with marginal distribution of t distribution.

RF Negative Ion Source Development at IPP Garching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraus, W.; McNeely, P.; Berger, M.; Christ-Koch, S.; Falter, H. D.; Fantz, U.; Franzen, P.; Fröschle, M.; Heinemann, B.; Leyer, S.; Riedl, R.; Speth, E.; Wünderlich, D.

2007-08-01

IPP Garching is heavily involved in the development of an ion source for Neutral Beam Heating of the ITER Tokamak. RF driven ion sources have been successfully developed and are in operation on the ASDEX-Upgrade Tokamak for positive ion based NBH by the NB Heating group at IPP Garching. Building on this experience a RF driven H- ion source has been under development at IPP Garching as an alternative to the ITER reference design ion source. The number of test beds devoted to source development for ITER has increased from one (BATMAN) by the addition of two test beds (MANITU, RADI). This paper contains descriptions of the three test beds. Results on diagnostic development using laser photodetachment and cavity ringdown spectroscopy are given for BATMAN. The latest results for long pulse development on MANITU are presented including the to date longest pulse (600 s). As well, details of source modifications necessitated for pulses in excess of 100 s are given. The newest test bed RADI is still being commissioned and only technical details of the test bed are included in this paper. The final topic of the paper is an investigation into the effects of biasing the plasma grid.

Essays on oil price volatility and irreversible investment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pastor, Daniel J.

In chapter 1, we provide an extensive and systematic evaluation of the relative forecasting performance of several models for the volatility of daily spot crude oil prices. Empirical research over the past decades has uncovered significant gains in forecasting performance of Markov Switching GARCH models over GARCH models for the volatility of financial assets and crude oil futures. We find that, for spot oil price returns, non-switching models perform better in the short run, whereas switching models tend to do better at longer horizons. In chapter 2, I investigate the impact of volatility on firms' irreversible investment decisions using real options theory. Cost incurred in oil drilling is considered sunk cost, thus irreversible. I collect detailed data on onshore, development oil well drilling on the North Slope of Alaska from 2003 to 2014. Volatility is modeled by constructing GARCH, EGARCH, and GJR-GARCH forecasts based on monthly real oil prices, and realized volatility from 5-minute intraday returns of oil futures prices. Using a duration model, I show that oil price volatility generally has a negative relationship with the hazard rate of drilling an oil well both when aggregating all the fields, and in individual fields.

Solar Observations on Magneto-Convection

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-05-31

Technical Library National Solar Observatory Sunspot, NM 88349 Karl - Schwarzschild -Strasse 1 8046 Garching bei Mundhen Solar Observations On Magneto...Schmidt, Hermann-Ulrich Schmidt, Hans-Christoph Thomas (eds.) Max-Planck-Institut fir Physik und Astrophysik Institut fiur Astrophysik Karl ... Schwarzschild -St-. 1 D-8046 Garching, FklG 14TIS CRiA.&l DTIC TA. U~Jar,iou8:ed B ......... ... Distribution I -- Availability COcý----- Avail and or Dist special

Bridge Structure Deformation Prediction Based on GNSS Data Using Kalman-ARIMA-GARCH Model

PubMed Central

Li, Xiaoqing; Wang, Yu

2018-01-01

Bridges are an essential part of the ground transportation system. Health monitoring is fundamentally important for the safety and service life of bridges. A large amount of structural information is obtained from various sensors using sensing technology, and the data processing has become a challenging issue. To improve the prediction accuracy of bridge structure deformation based on data mining and to accurately evaluate the time-varying characteristics of bridge structure performance evolution, this paper proposes a new method for bridge structure deformation prediction, which integrates the Kalman filter, autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA), and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH). Firstly, the raw deformation data is directly pre-processed using the Kalman filter to reduce the noise. After that, the linear recursive ARIMA model is established to analyze and predict the structure deformation. Finally, the nonlinear recursive GARCH model is introduced to further improve the accuracy of the prediction. Simulation results based on measured sensor data from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) deformation monitoring system demonstrated that: (1) the Kalman filter is capable of denoising the bridge deformation monitoring data; (2) the prediction accuracy of the proposed Kalman-ARIMA-GARCH model is satisfactory, where the mean absolute error increases only from 3.402 mm to 5.847 mm with the increment of the prediction step; and (3) in comparision to the Kalman-ARIMA model, the Kalman-ARIMA-GARCH model results in superior prediction accuracy as it includes partial nonlinear characteristics (heteroscedasticity); the mean absolute error of five-step prediction using the proposed model is improved by 10.12%. This paper provides a new way for structural behavior prediction based on data processing, which can lay a foundation for the early warning of bridge health monitoring system based on sensor data using sensing technology. PMID:29351254

Bridge Structure Deformation Prediction Based on GNSS Data Using Kalman-ARIMA-GARCH Model.

PubMed

Xin, Jingzhou; Zhou, Jianting; Yang, Simon X; Li, Xiaoqing; Wang, Yu

2018-01-19

Bridges are an essential part of the ground transportation system. Health monitoring is fundamentally important for the safety and service life of bridges. A large amount of structural information is obtained from various sensors using sensing technology, and the data processing has become a challenging issue. To improve the prediction accuracy of bridge structure deformation based on data mining and to accurately evaluate the time-varying characteristics of bridge structure performance evolution, this paper proposes a new method for bridge structure deformation prediction, which integrates the Kalman filter, autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA), and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH). Firstly, the raw deformation data is directly pre-processed using the Kalman filter to reduce the noise. After that, the linear recursive ARIMA model is established to analyze and predict the structure deformation. Finally, the nonlinear recursive GARCH model is introduced to further improve the accuracy of the prediction. Simulation results based on measured sensor data from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) deformation monitoring system demonstrated that: (1) the Kalman filter is capable of denoising the bridge deformation monitoring data; (2) the prediction accuracy of the proposed Kalman-ARIMA-GARCH model is satisfactory, where the mean absolute error increases only from 3.402 mm to 5.847 mm with the increment of the prediction step; and (3) in comparision to the Kalman-ARIMA model, the Kalman-ARIMA-GARCH model results in superior prediction accuracy as it includes partial nonlinear characteristics (heteroscedasticity); the mean absolute error of five-step prediction using the proposed model is improved by 10.12%. This paper provides a new way for structural behavior prediction based on data processing, which can lay a foundation for the early warning of bridge health monitoring system based on sensor data using sensing technology.

A copula-multifractal volatility hedging model for CSI 300 index futures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Yu; Wang, Yudong; Huang, Dengshi

2011-11-01

In this paper, we propose a new hedging model combining the newly introduced multifractal volatility (MFV) model and the dynamic copula functions. Using high-frequency intraday quotes of the spot Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index (SSEC), spot China Securities Index 300 (CSI 300), and CSI 300 index futures, we compare the direct and cross hedging effectiveness of the copula-MFV model with several popular copula-GARCH models. The main empirical results show that the proposed copula-MFV model obtains better hedging effectiveness than the copula-GARCH-type models in general. Furthermore, the hedge operating strategy based MFV hedging model involves fewer transaction costs than those based on the GARCH-type models. The finding of this paper indicates that multifractal analysis may offer a new way of quantitative hedging model design using financial futures.

Modeling the stock price returns volatility using GARCH(1,1) in some Indonesia stock prices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awalludin, S. A.; Ulfah, S.; Soro, S.

2018-01-01

In the financial field, volatility is one of the key variables to make an appropriate decision. Moreover, modeling volatility is needed in derivative pricing, risk management, and portfolio management. For this reason, this study presented a widely used volatility model so-called GARCH(1,1) for estimating the volatility of daily returns of stock prices of Indonesia from July 2007 to September 2015. The returns can be obtained from stock price by differencing log of the price from one day to the next. Parameters of the model were estimated by Maximum Likelihood Estimation. After obtaining the volatility, natural cubic spline was employed to study the behaviour of the volatility over the period. The result shows that GARCH(1,1) indicate evidence of volatility clustering in the returns of some Indonesia stock prices.

MONA, LISA and VINCI Soon Ready to Travel to Paranal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2000-11-01

First Instruments for the VLT Interferometer Summary A few months from now, light from celestial objects will be directed for the first time towards ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the Paranal Observatory (Chile). During this "First Light" event and the subsequent test phase, the light will be recorded with a special test instrument, VINCI (VLT INterferometer Commissioning Instrument). The main components of this high-tech instrument are aptly named MONA (a system that combines the light beams from several telescopes by means of optical fibers) and LISA (the infrared camera). VINCI was designed and constructed within a fruitful collaboration between ESO and several research institutes and industrial companies in France and Germany . It is now being assembled at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany) and will soon be ready for installation at the telescope on Paranal. With the VLTI and VINCI, Europe's astronomers are now entering the first, crucial phase of an exciting scientific and technology venture that will ultimately put the world's most powerful optical/IR interferometric facility in their hands . PR Photo 31/00 : VINCI during tests at the ESO Headquarters in Garching. The VLT Interferometer (VLTI) ESO Press Photo 31/00 ESO Press Photo 31/00 [Preview; JPEG: 400 x 301; 43k] [Normal; JPEG: 800 x 602;208xk] [Full-Res; JPEG: 1923 x 1448; 2.2Mb] PR Photo 31/00 shows the various components of the complex VINCI instrument for the VLT Interferometer , during the current tests at the Optical Laboratory at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany). It will later be installed in "clean-room" conditions within the Interferometric Laboratory at the Paranal Observatory. This electronic photo was obtained for documentary purposes. VINCI (VLT INterferometer Commissioning Instrument) is the "First Light" instrument for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at the Paranal Observatory (Chile). Early in 2001, it will be used for the first tests of this very complex system. Subsequently, it will serve to tune this key research facility to the highest possible performance. The VLTI is based on the combination of light (beams) from the telescopes at Paranal. Of these, the four 8.2-m Unit Telescopes are already in operation - they will soon be joined by three 1.8-m telescopes that can be relocated on rails, cf. PR Photo 43b/99. By means of a system of mirrors, the light from two or more of these telescopes will be guided to the central Interferometric Laboratory , at the center of the observing platform on Paranal. Information about the heart of this complex system, the Delay Lines that are located in the underground Interferometric Tunnel, is available with the recent ESO PR Photos 26a-e/00. The VLTI will later receive other front-line instruments, e.g. AMBER , MIDI and PRIMA. When fully ready some years from now, the VLTI will produce extremely sharp images. This will have a major impact on different types of exciting astronomical observations, e.g.: * the direct discovery and imaging of extra-solar planets comparable to Jupiter, * the discovery and imaging of low-mass stars such as brown dwarfs, * observations of star-forming regions and to better understand the physical processes that give birth to stars, * spectral analysis of the atmospheres of nearby stars, and * imaging the objects of the very core of our Galaxy and the detection of black holes in active nuclei of galaxies. The VINCI test instrument The new instrument, VINCI , will soon be delivered to Paranal by the Département de Recherche Spatiale (Department for Space Research), a joint unit of the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique (French National Centre for Scientific Research) and the Paris Observatory. VINCI is a functional copy of the FLUOR instrument - now at the IOTA (Infrared Optical Telescope Array) interferometer - that has been upgraded and adapted to the needs of the VLTI. FLUOR was developed by the Département de Recherche Spatiale (DESPA) of the Paris Observatory. It was used in 1991 at the Kitt Peak National Observatory (Arizona, USA), for the first (coherent) combination of the light beams from two independent telescopes by means of optical fibers of fluoride glass. It has since been in operation for five years as a focal instrument at the IOTA Interferometer (Mount Hopkins, Arizona, USA) within a collaboration with the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), producing a rich harvest of scientific data. The VINCI partners The VINCI instrument is constructed in a collaboration between ESO (that also finances it) and the following laboratories and institutes: * DESPA (Paris Observatory) provides the expertise, the general concept, the development and integration of the optomechanics (with the exception of the camera) and the electronics, * Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées that produces the control software * The LISA infrared camera is developed by the Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (Garching, Germany), and * ESO provides the IR camera electronics and the overall observational software and is also responsible for the final integration. DESPA delivered VINCI to ESO in Garching on September 27, 2000, and is now assembling the instrument in the ESO optical workshop. It will stay here during three months, until it has been fully integrated and thoroughly tested. It will then be shipped to Paranal at the beginning of next year. After set-up and further tests, the first observations on the sky are expected in late March 2001. Fluoride fibers guide the light The heart of VINCI - named MONA - is a fiber optics beam combine unit. It is the outcome of a fertile, 10-year research partnership between Science (DESPA) and Industry ("Le Verre Fluoré" [2]). Optical fibers will be used to combine the light from two telescopes inside VINCI . Since the instrument will be working in the near-infrared region of the spectrum (wavelength 2-2.5 µm), it is necessary to use optical fibers made of a special type of glass that is transparent at these wavelengths. By far the best best material for this is fluoride glass . It was invented by one of the co-founders of the company "Le Verre Fluoré", the only manufacturer of this kind of highly specialized material in the world. Optical fibers of fluoride glass from this company are therefore used in VINCI . They are of a special type ("monomode") with a very narrow core measuring only 6.5 µm (0.065 mm) across. Light that is collected by one of the telescopes in the VLTI array (e.g., by the 50 m 2 mirror of a VLT Unit Telescope) is guided through the VLTI system of optics and finally enters this core. The fibers guide the light and at the same time "clean" the light beam by eliminating the errors introduced by the atmospheric turbulence, hereby improving the accuracy of the measurements by a factor of 10. DESPA has shown that this is indeed possible by means of real astronomical observations with the FLUOR experiment. Following this positive demonstration, it has been decided to equip the instrumentation of all interferometers currently under construction with fibers or equivalent systems.

Modeling returns volatility: Realized GARCH incorporating realized risk measure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Wei; Ruan, Qingsong; Li, Jianfeng; Li, Ye

2018-06-01

This study applies realized GARCH models by introducing several risk measures of intraday returns into the measurement equation, to model the daily volatility of E-mini S&P 500 index futures returns. Besides using the conventional realized measures, realized volatility and realized kernel as our benchmarks, we also use generalized realized risk measures, realized absolute deviation, and two realized tail risk measures, realized value-at-risk and realized expected shortfall. The empirical results show that realized GARCH models using the generalized realized risk measures provide better volatility estimation for the in-sample and substantial improvement in volatility forecasting for the out-of-sample. In particular, the realized expected shortfall performs best for all of the alternative realized measures. Our empirical results reveal that future volatility may be more attributable to present losses (risk measures). The results are robust to different sample estimation windows.

Clustering of financial time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Urso, Pierpaolo; Cappelli, Carmela; Di Lallo, Dario; Massari, Riccardo

2013-05-01

This paper addresses the topic of classifying financial time series in a fuzzy framework proposing two fuzzy clustering models both based on GARCH models. In general clustering of financial time series, due to their peculiar features, needs the definition of suitable distance measures. At this aim, the first fuzzy clustering model exploits the autoregressive representation of GARCH models and employs, in the framework of a partitioning around medoids algorithm, the classical autoregressive metric. The second fuzzy clustering model, also based on partitioning around medoids algorithm, uses the Caiado distance, a Mahalanobis-like distance, based on estimated GARCH parameters and covariances that takes into account the information about the volatility structure of time series. In order to illustrate the merits of the proposed fuzzy approaches an application to the problem of classifying 29 time series of Euro exchange rates against international currencies is presented and discussed, also comparing the fuzzy models with their crisp version.

The log-periodic-AR(1)-GARCH(1,1) model for financial crashes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gazola, L.; Fernandes, C.; Pizzinga, A.; Riera, R.

2008-02-01

This paper intends to meet recent claims for the attainment of more rigorous statistical methodology within the econophysics literature. To this end, we consider an econometric approach to investigate the outcomes of the log-periodic model of price movements, which has been largely used to forecast financial crashes. In order to accomplish reliable statistical inference for unknown parameters, we incorporate an autoregressive dynamic and a conditional heteroskedasticity structure in the error term of the original model, yielding the log-periodic-AR(1)-GARCH(1,1) model. Both the original and the extended models are fitted to financial indices of U. S. market, namely S&P500 and NASDAQ. Our analysis reveal two main points: (i) the log-periodic-AR(1)-GARCH(1,1) model has residuals with better statistical properties and (ii) the estimation of the parameter concerning the time of the financial crash has been improved.

Measuring Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall of crude oil portfolio using extreme value theory and vine copula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Wenhua; Yang, Kun; Wei, Yu; Lei, Likun

2018-01-01

Volatilities of crude oil price have important impacts on the steady and sustainable development of world real economy. Thus it is of great academic and practical significance to model and measure the volatility and risk of crude oil markets accurately. This paper aims to measure the Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) of a portfolio consists of four crude oil assets by using GARCH-type models, extreme value theory (EVT) and vine copulas. The backtesting results show that the combination of GARCH-type-EVT models and vine copula methods can produce accurate risk measures of the oil portfolio. Mixed R-vine copula is more flexible and superior to other vine copulas. Different GARCH-type models, which can depict the long-memory and/or leverage effect of oil price volatilities, however offer similar marginal distributions of the oil returns.

Evaluation of the dark signal performance of different SiPM-technologies under irradiation with cold neutrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durini, Daniel; Degenhardt, Carsten; Rongen, Heinz; Feoktystov, Artem; Schlösser, Mario; Palomino-Razo, Alejandro; Frielinghaus, Henrich; van Waasen, Stefan

2016-11-01

In this paper we report the results of the assessment of changes in the dark signal delivered by three silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detector arrays, fabricated by three different manufacturers, when irradiated with cold neutrons (wavelength λn=5 Å or neutron energy of En=3.27 meV) up to a neutron dose of 6×1012 n/cm2. The dark signals as well as the breakdown voltages (Vbr) of the SiPM detectors were monitored during the irradiation. The system was characterized at room temperature. The analog SiPM detectors, with and without a 1 mm thick Cerium doped 6Li-glass scintillator material located in front of them, were operated using a bias voltage recommended by the respective manufacturer for a proper detector performance. Iout-Vbias measurements, used to determine the breakdown voltage of the devices, were repeated every 30 s during the first hour and every 300 s during the rest of the irradiation time. The digital SiPM detectors were held at the advised bias voltage between the respective breakdown voltage and dark count mappings repeated every 4 min. The measurements were performed on the KWS-1 instrument of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching, Germany. The two analog and one digital SiPM detector modules under investigation were respectively fabricated by SensL (Ireland), Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan), and Philips Digital Photon Counting (Germany).

Bavarian Prime Minister to Visit la Silla

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1997-03-01

The Bavarian Prime Minister, Dr. Edmund Stoiber , is currently visiting a number of countries in South America. He is accompanied by a high-ranking delegation of representatives of Bavarian politics and industry. During this trip, the Bavarian delegation will visit the Republic of Chile, arriving in Santiago de Chile on Sunday, March 9, 1997. On the same day, Dr. Stoiber and most other members of the delegation, on the invitation of the Director General of ESO, Professor Riccardo Giacconi, will visit the ESO La Silla Observatory , located in an isolated area in the Atacama desert some 600 km north of the Chilean capital. ESO, the European Organisation for Astronomy, with Headquarters in Garching near Munich in Bavaria, welcomes this opportunity to present its high-tech research facilities to Dr. Stoiber and leaders of the Bavarian industry. During the visit, the delegation will learn about the various front-line research projects, now being carried out by astronomers from Germany and other ESO member countries with the large telescopes at La Silla. There will also be a presentation of the ESO VLT project , which will become the world's largest optical astronomical telescope, when it is ready a few years from now. The delegation will be met by the Director of the La Silla Observatory, Dr. Jorge Melnick and his scientific-technical staff which includes several members of German nationality. Also present will be ESO's Head of Administration, Dr. Norbert König (Garching) and the General Manager of ESO in Chile, Mr. Daniel Hofstadt. More information about this visit and the ESO facilities is available from the ESO Education and Public Relations Department (Tel.: +49-89-32006-276; Fax.: +49-89-3202362; email: ips@eso.org; Web: http://www.eso.org../../../epr/ ). Diese Pressemitteilung ist auch in einer Deutschen Fassung vorhanden. How to obtain ESO Press Information ESO Press Information is made available on the World-Wide Web (URL: http://www.eso.org../). ESO Press Photos may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory.

On the connection between financial processes with stochastic volatility and nonextensive statistical mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Queirós, S. M. D.; Tsallis, C.

2005-11-01

The GARCH algorithm is the most renowned generalisation of Engle's original proposal for modelising returns, the ARCH process. Both cases are characterised by presenting a time dependent and correlated variance or volatility. Besides a memory parameter, b, (present in ARCH) and an independent and identically distributed noise, ω, GARCH involves another parameter, c, such that, for c=0, the standard ARCH process is reproduced. In this manuscript we use a generalised noise following a distribution characterised by an index qn, such that qn=1 recovers the Gaussian distribution. Matching low statistical moments of GARCH distribution for returns with a q-Gaussian distribution obtained through maximising the entropy Sq=1-sumipiq/q-1, basis of nonextensive statistical mechanics, we obtain a sole analytical connection between q and left( b,c,qnright) which turns out to be remarkably good when compared with computational simulations. With this result we also derive an analytical approximation for the stationary distribution for the (squared) volatility. Using a generalised Kullback-Leibler relative entropy form based on Sq, we also analyse the degree of dependence between successive returns, zt and zt+1, of GARCH(1,1) processes. This degree of dependence is quantified by an entropic index, qop. Our analysis points the existence of a unique relation between the three entropic indexes qop, q and qn of the problem, independent of the value of (b,c).

Hybrid Forecasting of Daily River Discharges Considering Autoregressive Heteroscedasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szolgayová, Elena Peksová; Danačová, Michaela; Komorniková, Magda; Szolgay, Ján

2017-06-01

It is widely acknowledged that in the hydrological and meteorological communities, there is a continuing need to improve the quality of quantitative rainfall and river flow forecasts. A hybrid (combined deterministic-stochastic) modelling approach is proposed here that combines the advantages offered by modelling the system dynamics with a deterministic model and a deterministic forecasting error series with a data-driven model in parallel. Since the processes to be modelled are generally nonlinear and the model error series may exhibit nonstationarity and heteroscedasticity, GARCH-type nonlinear time series models are considered here. The fitting, forecasting and simulation performance of such models have to be explored on a case-by-case basis. The goal of this paper is to test and develop an appropriate methodology for model fitting and forecasting applicable for daily river discharge forecast error data from the GARCH family of time series models. We concentrated on verifying whether the use of a GARCH-type model is suitable for modelling and forecasting a hydrological model error time series on the Hron and Morava Rivers in Slovakia. For this purpose we verified the presence of heteroscedasticity in the simulation error series of the KLN multilinear flow routing model; then we fitted the GARCH-type models to the data and compared their fit with that of an ARMA - type model. We produced one-stepahead forecasts from the fitted models and again provided comparisons of the model's performance.

Modeling variations in the cedi/dollar exchange rate in Ghana: an autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (ARCH) models.

PubMed

Techie Quaicoe, Michael; Twenefour, Frank B K; Baah, Emmanuel M; Nortey, Ezekiel N N

2015-01-01

This research article aimed at modeling the variations in the dollar/cedi exchange rate. It examines the applicability of a range of ARCH/GARCH specifications for modeling volatility of the series. The variants considered include the ARMA, GARCH, IGARCH, EGARCH and M-GARCH specifications. The results show that the series was non stationary which resulted from the presence of a unit root in it. The ARMA (1, 1) was found to be the most suitable model for the conditional mean. From the Box-Ljung test statistics x-squared of 1476.338 with p value 0.00217 for squared returns and 16.918 with 0.0153 p values for squared residuals, the null hypothesis of no ARCH effect was rejected at 5% significance level indicating the presence of an ARCH effect in the series. ARMA (1, 1) + GARCH (1, 1) which has all parameters significant was found to be the most suitable model for the conditional mean with conditional variance, thus showing adequacy in describing the conditional mean with variance of the return series at 5% significant level. A 24 months forecast for the mean actual exchange rates and mean returns from January, 2013 to December, 2014 made also showed that the fitted model is appropriate for the data and a depreciating trend of the cedi against the dollar for forecasted period respectively.

Short Gamma-ray Bursts: Observations and Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janka, H.-Thomas

2007-04-01

The aim of the workshop, which will be held at the scenic Ringberg castle, is supposed to bring together astrophysicists, physicists, and astronomers from different fields in order to discuss recent observational and theoretical discoveries and developments on short gamma-ray bursts. In particular, we plan to address the following topics: * recent short GRB observations * environments and host galaxies of short GRBs * is there a 3rd class of GRBs? * modeling GRB engines and jet outflows * rate and redshift predictions for short GRBs * the fireball model and short GRBs * gravitational-wave signals from short GRBs * neutrino signals from short GRBs * microphysics needed for modeling short GRBs and their engines Scientific and Local organizing committee members: H.-Thomas Janka (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching), Miguel Aloy (University of Valencia), Jochen Greiner (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics), Sandra Savaglio (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics), Shri Kulkarni (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena)

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Cyanoacetylene (HC3N) infrared spectrum (Bizzocchi+,

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bizzocchi, L.; Tamassia, F.; Laas, J.; Giuliano, B. M.; Degli Esposti, C.; Dore, L.; Melosso, M.; Cane, E.; Pietropolli Charmet, A.; Muller, H. S. P.; Spahn, H.; Belloche, A.; Caselli, P.; Menten, K. M.; Garrod, R. T.

2018-01-01

A substantial amount of new spectroscopic data of HC3N was col in four laboratories located in Bologna, Italy and in Cologne and Munich, Germany. The infrared spectra in the 450-1100cm-1 range were recorded in Bologna using a Bomem DA3.002 Fourier-transform spectrometer. The resolution was generally 0.004cm-1. New mm-wave spectra in selected frequency intervals between 80 and 400GHz were observed in Bologna using a frequency-modulation (FM) mm-wave spectrometer whose details are reported elsewhere (see, e.g., Bizzocchi+ 2016, J/ApJ/820/L26). Further measurements of the sub-mm-wave spectrum of HC3N in the 200-690GHz frequency range were carried out at the Center for Astrochemical Studies (MPE Garching). The measurements performed in Cologne were carried out with leftover samples from previous studies (Yamada+ 1995ZNatA..50.1179Y ; Thorwirth+ 2000JMoSp.204..133T). Further measurements were made using the Cologne Terahertz Spectrometer. See section 2 for further explanations. (2 data files).

In-Situ Neutron Diffraction Studies of Micromechanical Behavior in a Friction Stir Welded AA7475-T761

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X. P.; Lin Peng, R.; Hofmann, M.; Johansson, S.; Wang, Y. D.

2011-01-01

An in-situ neutron diffraction technique was used to investigate the lattice strain distributions and micromechanical behavior in a friction stir welded (FSW) sheet of AA7475-T761. The neutron diffraction experiments were performed on the spectrometer for material research, STRESS-SPEC, at FRM II (Garching, Germany). The lattice strain profiles around the weld center were measured as a function of the applied strain during the tensile loading and unloading. The anisotropic elastic and plastic properties of the FSW aluminum alloy were simulated by elasto-plastic self-consistent (EPSC) model to predict the anisotropic deformation behaviors involving the grain-to-grain interactions. Material parameters used for describing the constitutive laws of each test position were determined from the measured lattice strain distributions for different diffraction hkl planes as well as the macroscopic stress-strain curve of the FSW aluminum alloy. A good agreement between experimental results and numerical simulations was obtained. The present investigations provided a reliable prediction of the anisotropic micromechanical behavior of the FSW aluminum alloy during tensile deformation.

A versatile UHV transport and measurement chamber for neutron reflectometry under UHV conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syed Mohd, A.; Pütter, S.; Mattauch, S.; Koutsioubas, A.; Schneider, H.; Weber, A.; Brückel, T.

2016-12-01

We report on a versatile mini ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber which is designed to be used on the MAgnetic Reflectometer with high Incident Angle of the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum in Garching, Germany. Samples are prepared in the adjacent thin film laboratory by molecular beam epitaxy and moved into the compact chamber for transfer without exposure to ambient air. The chamber is based on DN 40 CF flanges and equipped with sapphire view ports, a small getter pump, and a wobble stick, which serves also as sample holder. Here, we present polarized neutron reflectivity measurements which have been performed on Co thin films at room temperature in UHV and in ambient air in a magnetic field of 200 mT and in the Q-range of 0.18 Å-1. The results confirm that the Co film is not contaminated during the polarized neutron reflectivity measurement. Herewith it is demonstrated that the mini UHV transport chamber also works as a measurement chamber which opens new possibilities for polarized neutron measurements under UHV conditions.

A versatile UHV transport and measurement chamber for neutron reflectometry under UHV conditions.

PubMed

Syed Mohd, A; Pütter, S; Mattauch, S; Koutsioubas, A; Schneider, H; Weber, A; Brückel, T

2016-12-01

We report on a versatile mini ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber which is designed to be used on the MAgnetic Reflectometer with high Incident Angle of the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum in Garching, Germany. Samples are prepared in the adjacent thin film laboratory by molecular beam epitaxy and moved into the compact chamber for transfer without exposure to ambient air. The chamber is based on DN 40 CF flanges and equipped with sapphire view ports, a small getter pump, and a wobble stick, which serves also as sample holder. Here, we present polarized neutron reflectivity measurements which have been performed on Co thin films at room temperature in UHV and in ambient air in a magnetic field of 200 mT and in the Q-range of 0.18 Å -1 . The results confirm that the Co film is not contaminated during the polarized neutron reflectivity measurement. Herewith it is demonstrated that the mini UHV transport chamber also works as a measurement chamber which opens new possibilities for polarized neutron measurements under UHV conditions.

Evolved Stars, Masers And Polarization Submm/mm/cm QUESO Workshop 2017 (QUESO2017), Centimetre-Sub-Millimetre Q&U (and V) European Southern Observatory Workshop, held 25-27 October, 2017 at ESO, Garching bei München, Germany. Online at https://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2017/QUESO2017.html, id.35

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humphreys, Elizabeth

2017-11-01

Cool evolved stars on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) and Red Supergiants (RSG) often host strong masers, for example from SiO, water and OH. The maser emission can display high degrees of circular and linear polarization, potentially revealing information on magnetic field strength and morphology at different radii in the circumstellar envelopes. In this review, I will describe maser polarization theory and discuss was has been learnt so far from maser observations. I will also discuss dust polarization at (sub)mm wavelengths and the role that full polarization observations using ALMA is going to play in better characterizing evolved stars. Finally, I will talk about the potential impact of magnetic fields in the evolution of the stars, for example the shaping of AGB stars to often highly axisymmetric/aspherical Planetary Nebulae.queso2017queso2017

Estimating Risk of Natural Gas Portfolios by Using GARCH-EVT-Copula Model.

PubMed

Tang, Jiechen; Zhou, Chao; Yuan, Xinyu; Sriboonchitta, Songsak

2015-01-01

This paper concentrates on estimating the risk of Title Transfer Facility (TTF) Hub natural gas portfolios by using the GARCH-EVT-copula model. We first use the univariate ARMA-GARCH model to model each natural gas return series. Second, the extreme value distribution (EVT) is fitted to the tails of the residuals to model marginal residual distributions. Third, multivariate Gaussian copula and Student t-copula are employed to describe the natural gas portfolio risk dependence structure. Finally, we simulate N portfolios and estimate value at risk (VaR) and conditional value at risk (CVaR). Our empirical results show that, for an equally weighted portfolio of five natural gases, the VaR and CVaR values obtained from the Student t-copula are larger than those obtained from the Gaussian copula. Moreover, when minimizing the portfolio risk, the optimal natural gas portfolio weights are found to be similar across the multivariate Gaussian copula and Student t-copula and different confidence levels.

Hot money and China's stock market volatility: Further evidence using the GARCH-MIDAS model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Yu; Yu, Qianwen; Liu, Jing; Cao, Yang

2018-02-01

This paper investigates the influence of hot money on the return and volatility of the Chinese stock market using a nonlinear Granger causality test and a new GARCH-class model based on mixed data sampling regression (GARCH-MIDAS). The empirical results suggest that no linear or nonlinear causality exists between the growth rate of hot money and the Chinese stock market return, implying that the Chinese stock market is not driven by hot money and vice versa. However, hot money has a significant positive impact on the long-term volatility of the Chinese stock market. Furthermore, the dependence between the long-term volatility caused by hot money and the total volatility of the Chinese stock market is time-variant, indicating that huge volatilities in the stock market are not always triggered by international speculation capital flow and that Chinese authorities should further focus on more systemic reforms in the trading rules and on effectively regulating the stock market.

Estimating Risk of Natural Gas Portfolios by Using GARCH-EVT-Copula Model

PubMed Central

Tang, Jiechen; Zhou, Chao; Yuan, Xinyu; Sriboonchitta, Songsak

2015-01-01

This paper concentrates on estimating the risk of Title Transfer Facility (TTF) Hub natural gas portfolios by using the GARCH-EVT-copula model. We first use the univariate ARMA-GARCH model to model each natural gas return series. Second, the extreme value distribution (EVT) is fitted to the tails of the residuals to model marginal residual distributions. Third, multivariate Gaussian copula and Student t-copula are employed to describe the natural gas portfolio risk dependence structure. Finally, we simulate N portfolios and estimate value at risk (VaR) and conditional value at risk (CVaR). Our empirical results show that, for an equally weighted portfolio of five natural gases, the VaR and CVaR values obtained from the Student t-copula are larger than those obtained from the Gaussian copula. Moreover, when minimizing the portfolio risk, the optimal natural gas portfolio weights are found to be similar across the multivariate Gaussian copula and Student t-copula and different confidence levels. PMID:26351652

The Geography of Germany: Lessons for Teaching the Five Themes of Geography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blankenship, Glen; Tinkler, D. William

This activity guide contains five lessons. Lesson 1 deals with "Location of Germany on the Earth's Surface" with two activities: (1) "Germany's Location in the World"; and (2) "Germany's Location in Europe." Lesson 2 is on the "Physical and Human Characteristics of Germany" with four activities on: (1)…

Modeling turbidity and flow at daily steps in karst using ARIMA/ARFIMA-GARCH error models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massei, N.

2013-12-01

Hydrological and physico-chemical variations recorded at karst springs usually reflect highly non-linear processes and the corresponding time series are then very often also highly non-linear. Among others, turbidity, as an important parameter regarding water quality and management, is a very complex response of karst systems to rain events, involving direct transfer of particles from point-source recharge as well as resuspension of particles previously deposited and stored within the system. For those reasons, turbidity modeling has not been well taken in karst hydrological models so far. Most of the time, the modeling approaches would involve stochastic linear models such ARIMA-type models and their derivatives (ARMA, ARMAX, ARIMAX, ARFIMA...). Yet, linear models usually fail to represent well the whole (stochastic) process variability, and their residuals still contain useful information that can be used to either understand the whole variability or to enhance short-term predictability and forecasting. Model residuals are actually not i.i.d., which can be identified by the fact that squared residuals still present clear and significant serial correlation. Indeed, high (low) amplitudes are followed in time by high (low) amplitudes, which can be seen on residuals time series as periods of time during which amplitudes are higher (lower) then the mean amplitude. This is known as the ARCH effet (AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity), and the corresponding non-linear process affecting residuals of a linear model can be modeled using ARCH or generalized ARCH (GARCH) non-linear modeling, which approaches are very well known in econometrics. Here we investigated the capability of ARIMA-GARCH error models to represent a ~20-yr daily turbidity time series recorded at a karst spring used for water supply of the city of Le Havre (Upper Normandy, France). ARIMA and ARFIMA models were used to represent the mean behavior of the time series and the residuals clearly appeared to present a pronounced ARCH effect, as confirmed by Ljung-Box and McLeod-Li tests. We then identified and fitted GARCH models to the residuals of ARIMA and ARFIMA models in order to model the conditional variance and volatility of the turbidity time series. The results eventually showed that serial correlation was succesfully removed in the last standardized residuals of the GARCH model, and hence that the ARIMA-GARCH error model appeared consistent for modeling such time series. The approach finally improved short-term (e.g a few steps-ahead) turbidity forecasting.

Analysis of physical activity and acculturation among Turkish migrants in Germany and England (.).

PubMed

Koca, Canan; Lapa, Tennur Yerlisu

2014-12-01

Recent literature shows that migrant populations in Western countries are generally less physically active than their host populations. The purpose of the present study was to expand research investigating associations between physical activity (PA) and acculturation and their relationship with several socio-demographic factors among Turkish migrants in Germany and England. The sample consisted of 521 Turkish migrants. Migrant generation, length of residence, and language proficiency were used as indicators of acculturation. Acculturation was not associated with PA among migrants in Germany and England. PA of migrants was significantly associated with migrant's host country, age, sex, marital status, and education. The total PA of migrants in Germany was higher than that of migrants in England; the large majority of females in both Germany and England had low PA, whereas most males had moderate PA. Seemingly, PA in Turkish migrant populations will not necessarily increase as a result of greater acculturation to the host society.

Applications of GARCH models to energy commodities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humphreys, H. Brett

This thesis uses GARCH methods to examine different aspects of the energy markets. The first part of the thesis examines seasonality in the variance. This study modifies the standard univariate GARCH models to test for seasonal components in both the constant and the persistence in natural gas, heating oil and soybeans. These commodities exhibit seasonal price movements and, therefore, may exhibit seasonal variances. In addition, the heating oil model is tested for a structural change in variance during the Gulf War. The results indicate the presence of an annual seasonal component in the persistence for all commodities. Out-of-sample volatility forecasting for natural gas outperforms standard forecasts. The second part of this thesis uses a multivariate GARCH model to examine volatility spillovers within the crude oil forward curve and between the London and New York crude oil futures markets. Using these results the effect of spillovers on dynamic hedging is examined. In addition, this research examines cointegration within the oil markets using investable returns rather than fixed prices. The results indicate the presence of strong volatility spillovers between both markets, weak spillovers from the front of the forward curve to the rest of the curve, and cointegration between the long term oil price on the two markets. The spillover dynamic hedge models lead to a marginal benefit in terms of variance reduction, but a substantial decrease in the variability of the dynamic hedge; thereby decreasing the transactions costs associated with the hedge. The final portion of the thesis uses portfolio theory to demonstrate how the energy mix consumed in the United States could be chosen given a national goal to reduce the risks to the domestic macroeconomy of unanticipated energy price shocks. An efficient portfolio frontier of U.S. energy consumption is constructed using a covariance matrix estimated with GARCH models. The results indicate that while the electric utility industry is operating close to the minimum variance position, a shift towards coal consumption would reduce price volatility for overall U.S. energy consumption. With the inclusion of potential externality costs, the shift remains away from oil but towards natural gas instead of coal.

A Journey Through the Universe at the Deutsches Museum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wankerl, B.

2010-12-01

Five research institutions in Munich and Garching bei München joined forces in the International Year of Astronomy 2009 to realise a unique exhibition project at the Deutsches Museum. The exhibition is called Evolution of the Universe and invites visitors to take a tour through time, beginning 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang and finishing with a glimpse into the future of the Universe. En route visitors learn how space, time, matter and the large structures in space have formed. The exhibition combines findings from astronomy, astrophysics, nuclear and particle physics in order to present the history of cosmos from different perspectives.

Assessment of variability in the hydrological cycle of the Loess Plateau, China: examining dependence structures of hydrological processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, A.; Wang, Y.

2017-12-01

Investigating variability in dependence structures of hydrological processes is of critical importance for developing an understanding of mechanisms of hydrological cycles in changing environments. In focusing on this topic, present work involves the following: (1) identifying and eliminating serial correlation and conditional heteroscedasticity in monthly streamflow (Q), precipitation (P) and potential evapotranspiration (PE) series using the ARMA-GARCH model (ARMA: autoregressive moving average; GARCH: generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity); (2) describing dependence structures of hydrological processes using partial copula coupled with the ARMA-GARCH model and identifying their variability via copula-based likelihood-ratio test method; and (3) determining conditional probability of annual Q under different climate scenarios on account of above results. This framework enables us to depict hydrological variables in the presence of conditional heteroscedasticity and to examine dependence structures of hydrological processes while excluding the influence of covariates by using partial copula-based ARMA-GARCH model. Eight major catchments across the Loess Plateau (LP) are used as study regions. Results indicate that (1) The occurrence of change points in dependence structures of Q and P (PE) varies across the LP. Change points of P-PE dependence structures in all regions almost fully correspond to the initiation of global warming, i.e., the early 1980s. (3) Conditional probabilities of annual Q under various P and PE scenarios are estimated from the 3-dimensional joint distribution of (Q, P and PE) based on the above change points. These findings shed light on mechanisms of the hydrological cycle and can guide water supply planning and management, particularly in changing environments.

8TH International Laser Physics Workshop Lphys󈨧 Budapest, July 2-6, 1999, Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-07-05

Gerhard J. MUller (Germany) Rudolf Steiner (Germany) Symposium Status and Future Directions of High-Power Laser Installations Co-Chairs: See Leang...Sciences, Kazan. Russia I.A. Shcherbakov General Physics Institute. Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russia R. Steiner Institute of Laser Technologies...14.50-15.15 R. Steiner , A. Pohl, A. Bentele, T. Meier (Ulm, Germany) Laser Doppler sensor for laser assisted injection 30 SEMINAR 5 --- LASER METHODS IN

Rebuilding Physical Education in the Western Occupation Zones of Germany, 1945-1949

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dichter, Heather L.

2012-01-01

After the Second World War, the British, American and French believed education could be used to promote democracy in Germany. The Western powers faced particular difficulties with the field of physical education because of the strong Nazi influence in this area during the Third Reich. The premier pre-war physical education teacher training…

Modelling of cayenne production in Central Java using ARIMA-GARCH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarno; Sudarno; Ispriyanti, Dwi; Suparti

2018-05-01

Some regencies/cities in Central Java Province are known as producers of horticultural crops in Indonesia, for example, Brebes which is the largest area of shallot producer in Central Java, while the others, such as Cilacap and Wonosobo are the areas of cayenne commodities production. Currently, cayenne is a strategic commodity and it has broad impact to Indonesian economic development. Modelling the cayenne production is necessary to predict about the commodity to meet the need for society. The needs fulfillment of society will affect stability of the concerned commodity price. Based on the reality, the decreasing of cayenne production will cause the increasing of society’s basic needs price, and finally it will affect the inflation level at that area. This research focused on autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modelling by considering the effect of autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH) to study about cayenne production in Central Java. The result of empirical study of ARIMA-GARCH modelling for cayenne production in Central Java from January 2003 to November 2015 is ARIMA([1,3],0,0)-GARCH(1,0) as the best model.

Germany plans 60m euro physics and medicine lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stafford, Ned

2017-09-01

A new €60m medical-physics research lab is to be built in Erlangen, Germany, by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) together with the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg and the University Hospital Erlangen.

Noise sensitivity of portfolio selection in constant conditional correlation GARCH models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varga-Haszonits, I.; Kondor, I.

2007-11-01

This paper investigates the efficiency of minimum variance portfolio optimization for stock price movements following the Constant Conditional Correlation GARCH process proposed by Bollerslev. Simulations show that the quality of portfolio selection can be improved substantially by computing optimal portfolio weights from conditional covariances instead of unconditional ones. Measurement noise can be further reduced by applying some filtering method on the conditional correlation matrix (such as Random Matrix Theory based filtering). As an empirical support for the simulation results, the analysis is also carried out for a time series of S&P500 stock prices.

GARCH modelling of covariance in dynamical estimation of inverse solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galka, Andreas; Yamashita, Okito; Ozaki, Tohru

2004-12-01

The problem of estimating unobserved states of spatially extended dynamical systems poses an inverse problem, which can be solved approximately by a recently developed variant of Kalman filtering; in order to provide the model of the dynamics with more flexibility with respect to space and time, we suggest to combine the concept of GARCH modelling of covariance, well known in econometrics, with Kalman filtering. We formulate this algorithm for spatiotemporal systems governed by stochastic diffusion equations and demonstrate its feasibility by presenting a numerical simulation designed to imitate the situation of the generation of electroencephalographic recordings by the human cortex.

Online Physics Lab Exercises--A Binational Study on the Transfer of Teaching Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Theyßen, Heike; Struzyna, Sarah; Mylott, Elliot; Widenhorn, Ralf

2016-01-01

In this paper, we present the design and the results of a comparative study that evaluated the success of a transfer of an online-teaching resource between two universities, one in Germany and one in the USA. The teaching resource is an online physics lab that has been used in the physics education of medical students in Germany since 2003. The…

Investigations of Spectroscopic Factors and Sum Rules from the Single Neutron Transfer Reaction 111Cd(overrightarrow {{d}} ,p)112Cd

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamieson, D. S.; Garrett, P. E.; Ball, G. C.; Demand, G. A.; Faestermann, T.; Finlay, P.; Green, K. L.; Hertenberger, R.; Krücken, R.; Leach, K. G.; Phillips, A. A.; Sumithrarachchi, C. S.; Triambak, S.; Wirth, H.-F.

2014-03-01

Cadmium isotopes have been presented for decades as excellent examples of vibrational nuclei, with low-lying levels interpreted as multi-phonon quadrupole, octupole, and mixed-symmetry states. A large amount of spectroscopic data has been obtained through various experimental studies of cadmiumisotopes. In the present work, the 111Cd(overrightarrow {{d}} ,p)112Cd reaction was used to investigate the single-particle structure of the 112Cd nucleus. A 22 MeV beam of polarized deuterons was obtained at the Maier-Leibnitz laboratory in Garching, Germany. The reaction ejectiles were momentum analyzed using a Q3D spectrograph, and 130 levels have been identified up to 4.2 MeV of excitation energy. Using DWBA analysis with optical model calculations, spin-parity assignments have been made for observed levels, and spectroscopic factors have been extracted from the experimental angular distributions of differential cross section and analyzing power. In this high energy resolution investigation, many additional levels have been observed compared with the previous (d,p) study using 8 MeV deuterons [1]. There were a total of 44 new levels observed, and the parity assignments of 34 levels were improved.

Development of a simultaneous SANS / FTIR measuring system and its application to polymer cocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneko, F.; Seto, N.; Sato, S.; Radulescu, A.; Schiavone, M. M.; Allgaier, J.; Ute, K.

2016-09-01

In order to provide plenty of structure information which would assist in the analysis and interpretation of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) profile, a novel method for the simultaneous time-resolved measurement of SANS and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been developed. The method was realized by building a device consisting of a portable FTIR spectrometer and an optical system equipped with two aluminum coated quartz plates that are fully transparent to neutron beams but play as mirrors for infrared radiation. The optical system allows both a neutron beam and an infrared beam pass through the same position of a test specimen coaxially. The device was installed on a small angle neutron diffractometer, KWS2 of the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS) outstation at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Center (MLZ) in Garching, Germany. In order to check the performance of this simultaneous measuring system, the structural changes in the cocrystals of syndiotactic polystyrene during the course of heating were followed. It has been confirmed that FTIR spectra measured in parallel are able to provide information about the behavior of each component and also useful to grasp in real time what is actually happening in the sample system.

Texture analysis at neutron diffractometer STRESS-SPEC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brokmeier, H.-G.; Gan, W. M.; Randau, C.; Völler, M.; Rebelo-Kornmeier, J.; Hofmann, M.

2011-06-01

In response to the development of new materials and the application of materials and components in advanced technologies, non-destructive measurement methods of textures and residual stresses have gained worldwide significance in recent years. The materials science neutron diffractometer STRESS-SPEC at FRM II (Garching, Germany) is designed to be applied equally to texture and residual stress analyses by virtue of its very flexible configuration. Due to the high penetration capabilities of neutrons and the high neutron flux of STRESS-SPEC it allows a combined analysis of global texture, local texture, strain pole figure and FWHM pole figure in a wide variety of materials including metals, alloys, composites, ceramics and geological materials. Especially, the analysis of texture gradients in bulk materials using neutron diffraction has advantages over laboratory X-rays and EBSD for many scientific cases. Moreover, neutron diffraction is favourable for coarse-grained materials, where bulk information averaged over texture inhomogeneities is needed, and also stands out due to easy sample preparation. In future, the newly developed robot system for STRESS-SPEC will allow much more flexibility than an Eulerian cradle as on standard instruments. Five recent measurements are shown to demonstrate the wide range of possible texture applications at STRESS-SPEC diffractometer.

Accelerometry measurements using the Rosetta Lander's anchoring harpoon: experimental set-up, data reduction and signal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kargl, Günter; Macher, Wolfgang; Kömle, Norbert I.; Thiel, Markus; Rohe, Christian; Ball, Andrew J.

2001-04-01

In the years 2011-2013 the ESA mission Rosetta will explore the short period comet 46P/Wirtanen. The aims of the mission include investigation of the physical and chemical properties of the cometary nucleus and also the evolutionary processes of comets. It is planned to land a small probe on the surface of the comet, carrying a multitude of sensors devoted to in situ investigation of the material at the landing site. On touchdown at the nucleus, an anchoring harpoon will be fired into the surface to avoid a rebound of the lander and to supply a reaction force against mechanical operations such as sample drilling or instrument platform motion. The anchor should also prevent an ejection of the lander due to gas drag from sublimating volatiles when the comet becomes more active closer to the Sun. In this paper, we report on the development of one of the sensors of the MUPUS instrument aboard the Rosetta Lander, the MUPUS ANC-M (mechanical properties) sensor. Its purpose is to measure the deceleration of the anchor harpoon during penetration into the cometary soil. First the test facilities at the Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, are briefly described. Subsequently, we analyse several accelerometer signals obtained from test shots into various target materials. A procedure for signal reduction is described and possible errors that may be superimposed on the true acceleration or deceleration of the anchor are discussed in depth, with emphasis on the occurrence of zero line offsets in the signals. Finally, the influence of high-frequency resonant oscillations of the anchor body on the signals is discussed and difficulties faced when trying to derive grain sizes of granular target materials are considered. It is concluded that with the sampling rates used in this and several other space experiments currently under way or under development a reasonable resolution of strength distribution in soil layers can be achieved, but conclusions concerning grain size distribution would probably demand much higher sampling rates.

Astrobo: Towards a new observatory control system for the Garching Observatory 0.6m

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweyer, T.; Jarmatz, P.; Burwitz, V.

2016-12-01

The recently installed Campus Observatory Garching (COG) 0.6m telescope features a wide array of instruments, including a wide-field imager and a variety of spectrographs. To support all these different instruments and improve time usage, it was decided to develop a new control system from scratch, that will be able to safely observe autonomously as well as manually (for student lab courses). It is built using an hierarchical microservice architecture, which allows well-specified communication between its components regardless of the programming language used. This modular design allows for fast prototyping of components as well as easy implementation of complex instrumentation control software.

Forecasting stock return volatility: A comparison between the roles of short-term and long-term leverage effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Zhiyuan; Liu, Li

2018-02-01

In this paper, we extend the GARCH-MIDAS model proposed by Engle et al. (2013) to account for the leverage effect in short-term and long-term volatility components. Our in-sample evidence suggests that both short-term and long-term negative returns can cause higher future volatility than positive returns. Out-of-sample results show that the predictive ability of GARCH-MIDAS is significantly improved after taking the leverage effect into account. The leverage effect for short-term volatility component plays more important role than the leverage effect for long-term volatility component in affecting out-of-sample forecasting performance.

Seasonality and Dynamic Spatial Contagion of Air Pollution in 42 Chinese Cities

PubMed Central

He, Zhanqiong; Sriboonchita, Songsak; He, Min

2013-01-01

To monitor and improve the urban air quality, the Chinese government has begun to make many efforts, and the interregional cooperation to cut and improve air quality has been required. In this paper, we focus on the seasonality of the first and second moments of the daily air pollution indexes (APIs) of 42 Chinese sample cities over 10 years, from June 5, 2000 to March 4, 2010, and investigate the dynamic correlation of air pollution indexes (APIs) between 42 Chinese cities and their corresponding regional and national levels; comparison with the model without seasonal consideration is made. By adopting a DCC-GARCH model that accounts for the seasonality, we found that (i) the transformed DCC-GARCH model including seasonality dummies improves the estimation result in this study; (ii) the seasonality feature of the second moment follows that of the first moment, with the condition mean and variance of the second and autumn significantly lower than spring, whereas that of winter is higher than spring; (iii) the correlation between local APIs and their corresponding regional and national levels is dynamic; (iv) comparing with the DCC-GARCH model estimation, the transformed model does not change the feature of the dynamic correlations very much. PMID:23533348

A complex network for studying the transmission mechanisms in stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, Wen; Guan, Lijing; Shen, Jiangjian; Song, Linqiu; Cui, Lingxiao

2017-10-01

This paper introduces a new complex network to describe the volatility transmission mechanisms in stock market. The network can not only endogenize stock market's volatility but also figure out the direction of volatility spillover. In this model, we first use BEKK-GARCH to estimate the volatility spillover effects among Chinese 18 industry sectors. Then, based on the ARCH coefficients and GARCH coefficients, the directional shock networks and variance networks in different stages are constructed separately. We find that the spillover effects and network structures changes in different stages. The results of the topological stability test demonstrate that the connectivity of networks becomes more fragile to selective attacks than stochastic attacks.

FIFI: The MPE Garching/UC Berkeley Far-Infrared Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Geis, Norbert; Genzel, Reinhard; Haggerty, M.; Herrmann, F.; Jackson, J.; Madden, Suzanne C.; Nikola, T.; Poglitsch, Albrecht; Rumitz, M.; Stacey, G. J.

1995-01-01

We describe the performance characteristics of the MPE Garching/UC Berkeley Far-Infrared Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FIFI) for the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO). The spectrometer features two or three cryogenic tunable Fabry-Perot filters in series giving spectral resolution R of up to 10(exp 5) in the range of 40 microns less than lambda less than 200 microns, and an imaging 5x5 array of photoconductive detectors with variable focal plane plate scale. The instrument works at background limited sensitivity of up to 2 x 10(exp -19) W cm(exp -2) Hz(exp -1/2) per pixel per resolution element at R = 10(exp 5) on the KAO.

Forecasting volatility in gold returns under the GARCH, IGARCH and FIGARCH frameworks: New evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bentes, Sonia R.

2015-11-01

This study employs three volatility models of the GARCH family to examine the volatility behavior of gold returns. Much of the literature on this topic suggests that gold plays a fundamental role as a hedge and safe haven against adverse market conditions, which is particularly relevant in periods of high volatility. This makes understanding gold volatility important for a number of theoretical and empirical applications, namely investment valuation, portfolio selection, risk management, monetary policy-making, futures and option pricing, hedging strategies and value-at-risk (VaR) policies (e.g. Baur and Lucey (2010)). We use daily data from August 2, 1976 to February 6, 2015 and divide the full sample into two periods: the in-sample period (August 2, 1976-October 24, 2008) is used to estimate model coefficients, while the out-of-sample period (October 27, 2008-February 6, 2015) is for forecasting purposes. Specifically, we employ the GARCH(1,1), IGARCH(1,1) and FIGARCH(1, d,1) specifications. The results show that the FIGARCH(1, d,1) is the best model to capture linear dependence in the conditional variance of the gold returns as given by the information criteria. It is also found to be the best model to forecast the volatility of gold returns.

The School-HE Interface in West Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmithals, F.

1986-01-01

Discusses the concerns and problems associated with the secondary school-higher education interface in West Germany. Reviews reform efforts and attempts at problem resolution with specific emphasis on physics instruction. (ML)

PREFACE: 11th IAEA Technical Meeting on H-mode Physics and Transport Barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takizuka, Tomonori

2008-07-01

This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains papers based on invited talks and contributed posters presented at the 11th IAEA Technical Meeting on H-mode Physics and Transport Barriers. This meeting was held at the Tsukuba International Congress Center in Tsukuba, Japan, on 26-28 September 2007, and was organized jointly by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the University of Tsukuba. The previous ten meetings in this series were held in San Diego (USA) 1987, Gut Ising (Germany) 1989, Abingdon (UK) 1991, Naka (Japan) 1993, Princeton (USA) 1995, Kloster Seeon (Germany) 1997, Oxford (UK) 1999, Toki (Japan) 2001, San Diego (USA) 2003, and St Petersburg (Russia) 2005. The purpose of the eleventh meeting was to present and discuss new results on H-mode (edge transport barrier, ETB) and internal transport barrier, ITB, experiments, theory and modeling in magnetic fusion research. It was expected that contributions give new and improved insights into the physics mechanisms behind high confinement modes of H-mode and ITBs. Ultimately, this research should lead to improved projections for ITER. As has been the tradition at the recent meetings of this series, the program was subdivided into six topics. The topics selected for the eleventh meeting were: H-mode transition and the pedestal-width Dynamics in ETB: ELM threshold, non-linear evolution and suppression, etc Transport relations of various quantities including turbulence in plasmas with ITB: rotation physics is especially highlighted Transport barriers in non-axisymmetric magnetic fields Theory and simulation on transport barriers Projections of transport barrier physics to ITER For each topic there was an invited talk presenting an overview of the topic, based on contributions to the meeting and on recently published external results. The six invited talks were: A Leonard (GA, USA): Progress in characterization of the H-mode pedestal and L-H transition N Oyama (JAEA, Japan): Progress and issues in physics understanding of dynamics, mitigation and control of ELMs J Rice (MIT, USA): Spontaneous rotation and momentum transport in tokamak plasmas K Ida (NIFS, Japan): Transport barriers in non-axisymmetric magnetic fields F Jenko (IPP, Germany): Transport barriers: Recent progress in theory and simulation T Hoang (CEA, France): Internal transport barriers: Projection to ITER Every talk satisfied the objective of the meeting. A discussion period followed each invited talk in order to expand physics understandings, projection capabilities, and the direction of research around the topic. Short talks were presented by contributing speakers in addition to questions, answers, comments and discussion among the participants. For each topic there was an associated poster session for contributed papers, and lively discussion took place in front of every poster. Through the meeting six invited papers and 77 contributed papers were presented in total. The final session of the meeting was devoted to summaries; R Groebner, T S Hahm and K Ida of the IAC summarized the fruits of topics 1 and 2, 3 and 5, and 4 and 6, respectively. I would like to thank Dr A Malaquias, the IAEA Scientific Secretary, for his continuous support and useful suggestions on the arrangements of the meeting. I am very grateful to the IAC members for their cooperation in selecting topics and invited speakers, and for their important advices on the meeting strategy and proceedings publication. I also wish to express my gratitude to LOC colleagues for their hard work organizing the meeting. Young students of the University of Tsukuba helped us during the meeting. Financial and personel support from JAEA and the University of Tsukuba were essential. Finally I would like to acknowledge the participants of the meeting and the referees for the present proceedings. All of the above contributions contributed to the success of the meeting. Tomonori Takizuka Editor Group photograph International Advisory Committee T Takizuka (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan: Chair) R J Groebner (General Atomics, USA) T S Hahm (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA) A E Hubbard (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) K Ida (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) S V Lebedev (Ioffe Institute, Russia) G Saibene (EFDA CSU Garching, Germany) W Suttrop (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) Additional information about this meeting (H-mode-TM-11) is available in its homepage http://www-jt60.naka.jaea.go.jp/h-mode-tm-11/. List of Participants N Aiba (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) T Akiyama (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) N Asakura (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) L G Askinazi (Ioffe Institute, Russia) M N A Beurskens (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) J D Callen (University of Wisconsin, USA) T Cho (University of Tsukuba, Japan) P C DeVries (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) X T Ding (Southwestern Institute of Physics, China) E J Doyle (University of California, Los Angels, USA) A Fukuyama (Kyoto University, Japan) P Gohil (General Atomics, USA) R J Groebner (General Atomics, USA) T S Hahm (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA) N Hayashi (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) Y Higashiyama (Nagoya University, Japan) Y Higashizono (University of Tsukuba, Japan) M Hirata (University of Tsukuba, Japan) G T Hoang (Association Euratom-CEA sur la Fusion Controle, France) G M D Hogeweij (FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, The Netherlands) M Honda (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) L D Horton (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) W A Houlberg (ITER Organization) A E Hubbard (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) J W Hughes (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) M Ichimura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) K Ida (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Ido (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Imai (University of Tsukuba, Japan) F Imbeaux (Association Euratom-CEA sur la Fusion Controle, France) A Itakura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) K Itoh (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) S-I Itoh (Kyushu University, Japan) F Jenko (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) D Kalupin (Institut für Plasmaphysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Germany) Y Kamada (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) N Kasuya (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) I Katanuma (University of Tsukuba, Japan) M Kimura (Kyushu University, Japan) A Kirk (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) S Kitajima (Tohoku University, Japan) S Kobayashi (Kyoto University, Japan) T Kobuchi (Tohoku University, Japan) J Kohagura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) P T Lang (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) S V Lebedev (Ioffe Institute, Russia) A W Leonard (General Atomics, USA) J Q Li (Kyoto University, Japan) A Malaquias (International Atomic Energy Agency) Y R Martin (Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, EPFL, Switzerland) C J McDevitt (University of California, San Diego, USA) D C McDonald (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) H Meyer (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) C A Michael (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) K Miki (Kyushu University, Japan) R Minami (University of Tsukuba, Japan) T Minami (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) Y Miyata (University of Tsukuba, Japan) N Miyato (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) Y Motegi (University of Tsukuba, Japan) V Mukhovatov (ITER Organization) S Murakami (Kyoto University, Japan) Y Nagashima (Kyushu University, Japan) Y Nakashima (University of Tsukuba, Japan) T Numakura (University of Tsukuba, Japan) S Ohshima (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Oishi (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Onjun (Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thailand) T H Osborne (GENERAL Atomics, USA) N Oyama (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) T Ozeki (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) V Parail (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) A Polevoi (ITER Organization, France) J E Rice (MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, USA) F Ryter (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) H Saimaru (University of Tsukuba, Japan) R Sakamoto (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) Y Sakamoto (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) M Sasaki (University of Tokyo, Japan) Y Shi (Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, China) A Shimizu (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) T Shimozuma (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) P B Snyder (General Atomics, USA) C Suzuki (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) H Takahashi (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) Y Takahashi (Nagoya University, Japan) Y Takeiri (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) H Takenaga (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) M Takeuchi (Nagoya University, Japan) T Takizuka (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) N Tamura (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) K Tanaka (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) S Tokuda (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) S Tokunaga (Kyushu University, Japan) G Turri (Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, EPFL, Switzerland) H Urano (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) H Utoh (Tohok University, Japan) K Uzawa (Kyoto University, Japan) M Valovic (EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, UK) L Vermare (Max-Plank-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Germany) F Watanabe (Nagoya University, Japan) M Yagi (Kyushu University, Japan) Y Yamaguchi (University of Tsukuba, Japan) K Yamazaki (Nagoya University, Japan) M Yokoyama (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan) M Yoshida (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan) M Yoshinuma (National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan)

Physical Activity during Work, Transport and Leisure in Germany - Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Correlates

PubMed Central

Wallmann-Sperlich, Birgit; Froboese, Ingo

2014-01-01

Background This study aimed 1) to provide data estimates concerning overall moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) as well as MVPA during work, transport and leisure in Germany and 2) to investigate MVPA and possible associations with socio-demographic correlates. Methods A cross-sectional telephone survey interviewed 2248 representative participants in the age of 18–65 years (1077 men; 42.4±13.4 years; body mass index: 25.3±4.5kg•m−2) regarding their self-reported physical activity across Germany. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was applied to investigate MVPA during work, transport and leisure and questions were answered concerning their demographics. MVPA was stratified by gender, age, body mass index, residential setting, educational and income level. To identify socio-demographic correlates of overall MVPA as well as in the domains, we used a series of linear regressions. Results 52.8% of the sample achieved physical activity recommendations (53.7% men/52.1% women). Overall MVPA was highest in the age group 18–29 years (p<.05), in participants with 10 years of education (p<.05) and in participants with lowest income levels <1.500€ (p<.05). Regression analyses revealed that age, education and income were negatively associated with overall and work MVPA. Residential setting and education was positively correlated with transport MVPA, whereas income level was negatively associated with transport MVPA. Education was the only correlate for leisure MVPA with a positive association. Conclusions The present data underlines the importance of a comprehensive view on physical activity engagement according to the different physical activity domains and discloses a need for future physical activity interventions that consider socio-demographic variables, residential setting as well as the physical activity domain in Germany. PMID:25390071

Physical activity during work, transport and leisure in Germany--prevalence and socio-demographic correlates.

PubMed

Wallmann-Sperlich, Birgit; Froboese, Ingo

2014-01-01

This study aimed 1) to provide data estimates concerning overall moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) as well as MVPA during work, transport and leisure in Germany and 2) to investigate MVPA and possible associations with socio-demographic correlates. A cross-sectional telephone survey interviewed 2248 representative participants in the age of 18-65 years (1077 men; 42.4 ± 13.4 years; body mass index: 25.3 ± 4.5 kg • m(-2)) regarding their self-reported physical activity across Germany. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was applied to investigate MVPA during work, transport and leisure and questions were answered concerning their demographics. MVPA was stratified by gender, age, body mass index, residential setting, educational and income level. To identify socio-demographic correlates of overall MVPA as well as in the domains, we used a series of linear regressions. 52.8% of the sample achieved physical activity recommendations (53.7% men/52.1% women). Overall MVPA was highest in the age group 18-29 years (p < .05), in participants with 10 years of education (p < .05) and in participants with lowest income levels < 1.500 € (p < .05). Regression analyses revealed that age, education and income were negatively associated with overall and work MVPA. Residential setting and education was positively correlated with transport MVPA, whereas income level was negatively associated with transport MVPA. Education was the only correlate for leisure MVPA with a positive association. The present data underlines the importance of a comprehensive view on physical activity engagement according to the different physical activity domains and discloses a need for future physical activity interventions that consider socio-demographic variables, residential setting as well as the physical activity domain in Germany.

Development of extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray multilayer optics for scientific studies with femtosecond/attosecond sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aquila, Andrew Lee

The development of multilayer optics for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation has led to advancements in many areas of science and technology, including materials studies, EUV lithography, water window microscopy, plasma imaging, and orbiting solar physics imaging. Recent developments in femtosecond and attosecond EUV pulse generation from sources such as high harmonic generation lasers, combined with the elemental and chemical specificity provided by EUV radiation, are opening new opportunities to study fundamental dynamic processes in materials. Critical to these efforts is the design and fabrication of multilayer optics to transport, focus, shape and image these ultra-fast pulses This thesis describes themore » design, fabrication, characterization, and application of multilayer optics for EUV femtosecond and attosecond scientific studies. Multilayer mirrors for bandwidth control, pulse shaping and compression, tri-material multilayers, and multilayers for polarization control are described. Characterization of multilayer optics, including measurement of material optical constants, reflectivity of multilayer mirrors, and metrology of reflected phases of the multilayer, which is critical to maintaining pulse size and shape, were performed. Two applications of these multilayer mirrors are detailed in the thesis. In the first application, broad bandwidth multilayers were used to characterize and measure sub-100 attosecond pulses from a high harmonic generation source and was performed in collaboration with the Max-Planck institute for Quantum Optics and Ludwig- Maximilians University in Garching, Germany, with Professors Krausz and Kleineberg. In the second application, multilayer mirrors with polarization control are useful to study femtosecond spin dynamics in an ongoing collaboration with the T-REX group of Professor Parmigiani at Elettra in Trieste, Italy. As new ultrafast x-ray sources become available, for example free electron lasers, the multilayer designs described in this thesis can be extended to higher photon energies, and such designs can be used with those sources to enable new scientific studies, such as molecular bonding, phonon, and spin dynamics.« less

Advances in Solid State Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kramer, Bernhard

The present volume 45 of Advances in Solid-State Physics contains the written versions of selected invited lectures from the spring meeting of the Arbeitskreis Festkörperphysik of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft in the World Year of Physics 2005, the Einstein Year, which was held from 4 - 11 March 2005 in Berlin, Germany. Many topical talks given at the numerous symposia are included. Most of these were organized collaboratively by several of the divisions of the Arbeitskreis. The book presents, to some extent, the status of the field of solid-state physics in 2005 not only in Germany but also internationally.

Core network infrastructure supporting the VLT at ESO Paranal in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reay, Harold

2000-06-01

In October 1997 a number of projects were started at ESO's Paranal Observatory at Cerro Paranal in Chile to upgrade the communications infrastructure in place at the time. The planned upgrades were to internal systems such as computer data networks and telephone installations and also data links connecting Paranal to other ESO sites. This paper details the installation work carried out on the Paranal Core Network (PCN) during the period of October 1997 to December 1999. These installations were to provide both short term solutions to the requirement for reliable high bandwidth network connectivity between Paranal and ESO HQ in Garching, Germany in time for UTI (Antu) first light and perhaps more importantly, to provide the core systems necessary for a site moving towards operational status. This paper explains the reasons for using particular cable types, network topology, and fiber backbone design and implementation. We explain why it was decided to install the PCN in two distinct stages and how equipment used in temporary installations was re-used in the Very Large Telescope networks. Finally we describe the tools used to monitor network and satellite link performance and will discuss whether network backbone bandwidth meets the expected utilization and how this bandwidth can easily be increased in the future should there be a requirement.

The 20Ne(d,p) 21Ne Transfer Reaction in Relation to the s-Process Abundances

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nsangu, C. T.; Laird, A. M.; Parikh, A.

2016-01-01

A study of the Ne-20(d,p)Ne-21 transfer reaction was performed using the Quadrupole Dipole Dipole Dipole (Q3D) magnetic spectrograph in Garching, Germany. The experiment probed excitation energies in Ne-21 ranging from 6.9 MeV to 8.5 MeV. The aim was to investigate the spectroscopic information of Ne-21 within the Gamow window of core helium burning in massive stars. Further information in this region will help reduce the uncertainties on the extrapolation down to Gamow window cross sections of the O-17(alpha,gamma)Ne-21 reaction. In low metallicity stars, this reaction has a direct impact on s-process abundances by determining the fate of O-16 as eithermore » a neutron poison or a neutron absorber. The experiment used a 22-MeV deuteron beam, with intensities varying from 0.5-1 mu A, and an implanted target of Ne-20 of 7 mu g/cm(2) in 40 mu g/cm(2) carbon foils. Sixteen Ne-21 peaks have been identified in the E-x = 6.9-8.5 MeV range, of which only thirteen peaks correspond to known states. Only the previously-known E-x = 7.960 MeV state was observed within the Gamow window.« less

Spectroscopic Factors from the Single Neutron Transfer Reaction 111Cd(d,p)112Cd

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamieson, D. S.; Garrett, P. E.; Demand, G. A.; Finlay, P.; Green, K. L.; Leach, K. G.; Phillips, A. A.; Svensson, C. E.; Sumithrarachchi, C. S.; Triambak, S.; Wong, J.; Ball, G.; Faestermann, T.; Krücken, R.; Hertenberger, R.; Wirth, H.-F.

2013-03-01

The cadmium isotopes have been cited as excellent examples of vibrational nuclei for decades, with multi-phonon quadrupole, quadrupole-octupole, and mixed-symmetry states proposed. From a variety of experimental studies, a large amount of spectroscopic data has been obtained, recently focused on γ-ray studies. In the present work, the single-particle structure of 112Cd has been investigated using the 111Cd(ěcd, p)112Cd reaction. The investigation was carried out using a 22 MeV beam of polarized deuterons obtained from the Maier-Leibnitz Laboratory at Garching, Germany. The reaction ejectiles were momentum analyzed using a Q3D spectrograph, and 115 levels have been identified up to 4.2 MeV of excitation energy. Spin-parity has been assigned to each analyzed level, and angular distributions for the reaction cross sections and analyzing powers were obtained. Many additional levels have been observed compared with the previous (d,p) study performed with 8 MeV deuterons,1 including strongly populated 5- and 6- states. The former was previously assigned as a member of the quadrupole-octupole quintuplet, based on a strongly enhanced B(E2) value to the 3- state, but is now re-assigned as being predominately s1/2 ⊗ h11/2 configuration.

Upgrade to the control system of the reflectometry diagnostic of ASDEX upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graça, S.; Santos, J.; Manso, M. E.

2004-10-01

The broadband frequency modulation-continuous wave microwave/millimeter wave reflectometer of ASDEX upgrade tokamak (Institut für Plasma Physik (IPP), Garching, Germany) developed by Centro de Fusão Nuclear (Lisboa, Portugal) with the collaboration of IPP, is a complex system with 13 channels (O and X modes) and two types of operation modes (swept and fixed frequency). The control system that ensures remote operation of the diagnostic incorporates VME and CAMAC bus based acquisition/timing systems. Microprocessor input/output boards are used to control and monitor the microwave circuitry and associated electronic devices. The implementation of the control system is based on an object-oriented client/server model: a centralized server manages the hardware and receives input from remote clients. Communication is handled through transmission control protocol/internet protocol sockets. Here we describe recent upgrades of the control system aiming to: (i) accommodate new channels; (ii) adapt to the heterogeneity of computing platforms and operating systems; and (iii) overcome remote access restrictions. Platform and operating system independence was achieved by redesigning the graphical user interface in JAVA. As secure shell is the standard remote access protocol adopted in major fusion laboratories, secure shell tunneling was implemented to allow remote operation of the diagnostic through the existing firewalls.

XMM-Newton observation of the Coma Galaxy cluster. The temperature structure in the central region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnaud, M.; Aghanim, N.; Gastaud, R.; Neumann, D. M.; Lumb, D.; Briel, U.; Altieri, B.; Ghizzardi, S.; Mittaz, J.; Sasseen, T. P.; Vestrand, W. T.

2001-01-01

We present a temperature map and a temperature profile of the central part (r < 20' or 1/4 virial radius) of the Coma cluster. We combined 5 overlapping pointings made with XMM/EPIC/MOS and extracted spectra in boxes of 3.5'x3.5'. The temperature distribution around the two central galaxies is remarkably homogeneous (r<10'), contrary to previous ASCA results, suggesting that the core is actually in a relaxed state. At larger distance from the cluster center we do see evidence for recent matter accretion. We confirm the cool area in the direction of NGC 4921, probably due to gas stripped from an infalling group. We find indications of a hot front in the South West, in the direction of NGC 4839, probably due to an adiabatic compression. Based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and the USA (NASA). EPIC was developed by the EPIC Consortium led by the Principal Investigator, Dr. M. J. L. Turner. The consortium comprises the following Institutes: University of Leicester, University of Birmingham, (UK); CEA/Saclay, IAS Orsay, CESR Toulouse, (France); IAAP Tuebingen, MPE Garching, (Germany); IFC Milan, ITESRE Bologna, IAUP Palermo, Italy. EPIC is funded by: PPARC, CEA, CNES, DLR and ASI.

Rotational Spectroscopy of Reactive Species at the Center for Astrochemical Studies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lattanzi, Valerio; Spezzano, Silvia; Caselli, Paola

2017-06-01

The Center for Astrochemical Studies at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, is a recently established group which collects scientists with very diverse backgrounds. In the same group observers, theoreticians, chemists and molecular astrophysicists join their efforts with the ultimate goal of properly interpreting observations with the new generation telescopes and unveiling our astrochemical/physical heritage. Among these tasks, the gas-phase spectroscopic characterisation of molecular species of astrophysical relevance is one of the main goals of the laboratory sub-group. This talk will mainly focus on the first experiment built in our center, the CASAC (CAS Absorption Cell) spectrometer: this experiment has been optimised on the production and probe of small molecular ions and radicals. The main laboratory techniques along with the more prominent outcomes of recent studies will be presented. Finally, a brief update on the status of the other instruments available in our center will be given, including their planned upgrades.

Modeling and forecasting the volatility of Islamic unit trust in Malaysia using GARCH model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Nuraini; Ismail, Mohd Tahir; Karim, Samsul Ariffin Abdul; Hamzah, Firdaus Mohamad

2015-10-01

Due to the tremendous growth of Islamic unit trust in Malaysia since it was first introduced on 12th of January 1993 through the fund named Tabung Ittikal managed by Arab-Malaysian Securities, vast studies have been done to evaluate the performance of Islamic unit trust offered in Malaysia's capital market. Most of the studies found that one of the factors that affect the performance of the fund is the volatility level. Higher volatility produces better performance of the fund. Thus, we believe that a strategy must be set up by the fund managers in order for the fund to perform better. By using a series of net asset value (NAV) data of three different types of fund namely CIMB-IDEGF, CIMB-IBGF and CIMB-ISF from a fund management company named CIMB Principal Asset Management Berhad over a six years period from 1st January 2008 until 31st December 2013, we model and forecast the volatility of these Islamic unit trusts. The study found that the best fitting models for CIMB-IDEGF, CIMB-IBGF and CIMB-ISF are ARCH(4), GARCH(3,3) and GARCH(3,1) respectively. Meanwhile, the fund that is expected to be the least volatile is CIMB-IDEGF and the fund that is expected to be the most volatile is CIMB-IBGF.

Estimating risk of foreign exchange portfolio: Using VaR and CVaR based on GARCH-EVT-Copula model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zong-Run; Chen, Xiao-Hong; Jin, Yan-Bo; Zhou, Yan-Ju

2010-11-01

This paper introduces GARCH-EVT-Copula model and applies it to study the risk of foreign exchange portfolio. Multivariate Copulas, including Gaussian, t and Clayton ones, were used to describe a portfolio risk structure, and to extend the analysis from a bivariate to an n-dimensional asset allocation problem. We apply this methodology to study the returns of a portfolio of four major foreign currencies in China, including USD, EUR, JPY and HKD. Our results suggest that the optimal investment allocations are similar across different Copulas and confidence levels. In addition, we find that the optimal investment concentrates on the USD investment. Generally speaking, t Copula and Clayton Copula better portray the correlation structure of multiple assets than Normal Copula.

Finland to Join ESO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2004-02-01

Finland will become the eleventh member state of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) [1]. Today, during a ceremony at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany), a corresponding Agreement was signed by the Finnish Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Tuula Haatainen and the ESO Director General, Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, in the presence of other high officials from Finland and the ESO member states (see Video Clip 02/04 below). Following subsequent ratification by the Finnish Parliament of the ESO Convention and the associated protocols [2], it is foreseen that Finland will formally join ESO on July 1, 2004. Uniting European Astronomy ESO PR Photo 03/04 ESO PR Photo 03/04 Caption : Signing of the Finland-ESO Agreement on February 9, 2004, at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany). At the table, the ESO Director General, Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, and the Finnish Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Tuula Haatainen . [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 499 pix - 52k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 997 pix - 720k] [Full Res - JPEG: 2126 x 2649 pix - 2.9M] The Finnish Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Tuula Haatainen, began her speech with these words: "On behalf of Finland, I am happy and proud that we are now joining the European Southern Observatory, one of the most successful megaprojects of European science. ESO is an excellent example of the potential of European cooperation in science, and along with the ALMA project, more and more of global cooperation as well." She also mentioned that besides science ESO offers many technological challenges and opportunities. And she added: "In Finland we will try to promote also technological and industrial cooperation with ESO, and we hope that the ESO side will help us to create good working relations. I am confident that Finland's membership in ESO will be beneficial to both sides." Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, ESO Director General, warmly welcomed the Finnish intention to join ESO. "With the accession of their country to ESO, Finnish astronomers, renowned for their expertise in many frontline areas, will have new, exciting opportunities for working on research programmes at the frontiers of modern astrophysics." "This is indeed the right time to join ESO", she added. "The four 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescopes with their many first-class instruments are working with unsurpassed efficiency at Paranal, probing the near and distant Universe and providing European astronomers with a goldmine of unique astronomical data. The implementation of the VLT Interferometer is progressing well and last year we entered into the construction phase of the intercontinental millimetre- and submillimetre-band Atacama Large Millimeter Array. And the continued design studies for gigantic optical/infrared telescopes like OWL are progressing fast. Wonderful horizons are indeed opening for the coming generations of European astronomers!" She was seconded by the President of the ESO Council, Professor Piet van der Kruit, "This is a most important step in the continuing evolution of ESO. By having Finland become a member of ESO, we welcome a country that has put in place a highly efficient and competitive innovation system with one of the fastest growths of research investment in the EU area. I have no doubt that the Finnish astronomers will not only make the best scientific use of ESO facilities but that they will also greatly contribute through their high quality R&D to technological developments which will benefit the whole ESO community. " Notes [1]: Current ESO member countries are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kindgdom. [2]: The ESO Convention was established in 1962 and specifies the goals of ESO and the means to achieve these, e.g., "The Governments of the States parties to this convention... desirous of jointly creating an observatory equipped with powerful instruments in the Southern hemisphere and accordingly promoting and organizing co-operation in astronomical research..." (from the Preamble to the ESO Convention).

[Staffing in medical radiation physics in Germany--summary of a questionnaire].

PubMed

Leetz, Hans-Karl; Eipper, Hermann Hans; Gfirtner, Hans; Schneider, Peter; Welker, Klaus

2003-01-01

To obtain an overview of the actual staffing levels in Medical Radiation Physics, a survey was carried out in 1999 by the task-group "Staffing requirements" of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medizinische Physik (DGMP; German Society of Medical Physics) among all DGMP members active in this field. The main components for equipment and activities are defined as in Report 8 and 10 of the DGMP for staffing requirements in Medical Radiation Physics. The survey focused on these main components. Of 322 forms sent out, 173 answers could be evaluated. From the answers regarding equipment and activities, theoretical staff requirements were calculated on the basis of this spot-check target and compared with the effective staffing levels documented in the survey. The spot-check data were then extrapolated to the whole Germany. The calculation revealed a deficit of 72% for the whole physics staff and of 58% for the number of physicists. Considering the age distribution of the DGMP members and the calculated staffing deficit, a training need was calculated of approximately 100 medical physicists per year in Germany, provided that the goal is set of cutting back the deficit in 10 years.

Modeling climate effects on hip fracture rate by the multivariate GARCH model in Montreal region, Canada.

PubMed

Modarres, Reza; Ouarda, Taha B M J; Vanasse, Alain; Orzanco, Maria Gabriela; Gosselin, Pierre

2014-07-01

Changes in extreme meteorological variables and the demographic shift towards an older population have made it important to investigate the association of climate variables and hip fracture by advanced methods in order to determine the climate variables that most affect hip fracture incidence. The nonlinear autoregressive moving average with exogenous variable-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARMAX-GARCH) and multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) time series approaches were applied to investigate the nonlinear association between hip fracture rate in female and male patients aged 40-74 and 75+ years and climate variables in the period of 1993-2004, in Montreal, Canada. The models describe 50-56% of daily variation in hip fracture rate and identify snow depth, air temperature, day length and air pressure as the influencing variables on the time-varying mean and variance of the hip fracture rate. The conditional covariance between climate variables and hip fracture rate is increasing exponentially, showing that the effect of climate variables on hip fracture rate is most acute when rates are high and climate conditions are at their worst. In Montreal, climate variables, particularly snow depth and air temperature, appear to be important predictors of hip fracture incidence. The association of climate variables and hip fracture does not seem to change linearly with time, but increases exponentially under harsh climate conditions. The results of this study can be used to provide an adaptive climate-related public health program and ti guide allocation of services for avoiding hip fracture risk.

Modeling climate effects on hip fracture rate by the multivariate GARCH model in Montreal region, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Modarres, Reza; Ouarda, Taha B. M. J.; Vanasse, Alain; Orzanco, Maria Gabriela; Gosselin, Pierre

2014-07-01

Changes in extreme meteorological variables and the demographic shift towards an older population have made it important to investigate the association of climate variables and hip fracture by advanced methods in order to determine the climate variables that most affect hip fracture incidence. The nonlinear autoregressive moving average with exogenous variable-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARMA X-GARCH) and multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) time series approaches were applied to investigate the nonlinear association between hip fracture rate in female and male patients aged 40-74 and 75+ years and climate variables in the period of 1993-2004, in Montreal, Canada. The models describe 50-56 % of daily variation in hip fracture rate and identify snow depth, air temperature, day length and air pressure as the influencing variables on the time-varying mean and variance of the hip fracture rate. The conditional covariance between climate variables and hip fracture rate is increasing exponentially, showing that the effect of climate variables on hip fracture rate is most acute when rates are high and climate conditions are at their worst. In Montreal, climate variables, particularly snow depth and air temperature, appear to be important predictors of hip fracture incidence. The association of climate variables and hip fracture does not seem to change linearly with time, but increases exponentially under harsh climate conditions. The results of this study can be used to provide an adaptive climate-related public health program and ti guide allocation of services for avoiding hip fracture risk.

Germany-US Nuclear Theory Exchange Program for QCD Studies of Hadrons & Nuclei 'GAUSTEQ'

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dudek, Jozef; Melnitchouk, Wally

GAUSTEQ was a Germany-U.S. exchange program in nuclear theory whose purpose was to focus research efforts on QCD studies of hadrons and nuclei, centered around the current and future research programs of Jefferson Lab and the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Germany. GAUSTEQ provided travel support for theoretical physicists at US institutions conducting collaborative research with physicists in Germany. GSI (with its Darmstadt and Helmholtz Institute Mainz braches) served as the German “hub” for visits of U.S. physicists, while Jefferson Lab served as the corresponding “hub” for visits of German physicists visiting U.S. institutions through the reciprocal GUSTEHP (German-US Theorymore » Exchange in Hadron Physics) program. GAUSTEQ was funded by the Office of Nuclear Physics of the U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract No.DE-SC0006758 and officially managed through Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The program ran between 2011 and 2015.« less

German-Chinese cooperative Bachelor in engineering physics/optoelectronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wick, Michael; Lindner, Gerhard; Zimmer, Katja; Zheng, Jihong; Xu, Boqing; Wang, Ning; Schreiner, Rupert; Fuhrmann, Thomas; Seebauer, Gudrun

2017-08-01

The University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST), the Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts (CUASA) and the OTH Regensburg, University of Applied Sciences (OTHR) established an English taught international cooperative bachelor program in the area of Engineering Physics/Optoelectronics. Students from China study their first four semesters at USST. They continue their studies in Germany for the last three semesters, including an internship and a bachelor thesis, graduating with a Chinese and a German bachelor degree. Students from Germany study their third and fourth semester at USST to gain international experience. While the first cohort of Chinese students is currently in Germany, the second cohort of German students is in Shanghai. Up to now the feedback regarding this study program is completely positive, thus it is planned to develop it further.

Constraining Calcium Production in Novae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, Pranjal; C. Fry, C. Wrede Team; A. Chen, J. Liang Collaboration; S. Bishop, T. Faestermann, D. Seiler Collaboration; R. Hertenberger, H. Wirth Collaboration

2017-09-01

Calcium is an element that can be produced by thermonuclear reactions in the hottest classical novae. There are discrepancies between the abundance of Calcium observed in novae and expectations based on astrophysical models. Unbound states 1 MeV above the proton threshold affect the production of Calcium in nova models because they act as resonances in the 38 K(p , γ) 39 Ca reaction present. This work describes an experiment to measure the energies of the excited states of 39 Ca . We will bombard a thin target of 40 Ca with a beam of 22 MeV deuterons, resulting in tritons and 39Ca. We will use a Q3D magnetic spectrograph from the MLL in Garching, Germany to momenta analyze the tritons to observe the excitation energies of the resulting 39 Ca states. Simulations have been run to determine the optimal spectrograph settings. We decided to use a chemically stable target composed of CaF2 , doing so resulted in an extra contaminant, Fluorine, which is dealt with by measuring the background from a LiF target. These simulations have led to settings and targets that will result in the observation of the 39 Ca states of interest with minimal interference from contaminants. Preliminary results from this experiment will be presented. National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and U.S. National Science Foundation.

Measuring daily Value-at-Risk of SSEC index: A new approach based on multifractal analysis and extreme value theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Yu; Chen, Wang; Lin, Yu

2013-05-01

Recent studies in the econophysics literature reveal that price variability has fractal and multifractal characteristics not only in developed financial markets, but also in emerging markets. Taking high-frequency intraday quotes of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Component (SSEC) Index as example, this paper proposes a new method to measure daily Value-at-Risk (VaR) by combining the newly introduced multifractal volatility (MFV) model and the extreme value theory (EVT) method. Two VaR backtesting techniques are then employed to compare the performance of the model with that of a group of linear and nonlinear generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models. The empirical results show the multifractal nature of price volatility in Chinese stock market. VaR measures based on the multifractal volatility model and EVT method outperform many GARCH-type models at high-risk levels.

Modeling and predicting historical volatility in exchange rate markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lahmiri, Salim

2017-04-01

Volatility modeling and forecasting of currency exchange rate is an important task in several business risk management tasks; including treasury risk management, derivatives pricing, and portfolio risk evaluation. The purpose of this study is to present a simple and effective approach for predicting historical volatility of currency exchange rate. The approach is based on a limited set of technical indicators as inputs to the artificial neural networks (ANN). To show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, it was applied to forecast US/Canada and US/Euro exchange rates volatilities. The forecasting results show that our simple approach outperformed the conventional GARCH and EGARCH with different distribution assumptions, and also the hybrid GARCH and EGARCH with ANN in terms of mean absolute error, mean of squared errors, and Theil's inequality coefficient. Because of the simplicity and effectiveness of the approach, it is promising for US currency volatility prediction tasks.

POWTEX Neutron Diffractometer at FRM II - New Perspectives in Rock Deformation and Recrystallisation Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, J. M.; Stipp, M.; Ullemeyer, K.; Klein, H.; Leiss, B.; Hansen, B.; Kuhs, W. F.

2011-12-01

Neutron diffraction has become a routine method in Geoscience for the quantitative analysis of crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) and for (experimental) powder diffraction. Quantitative texture analysis is a common tool for the investigation of fabric development in mono- and polyphase rocks, their deformation histories and kinematics. Furthermore the quantitative characterization of anisotropic physical properties by bulk texture measurements can be achieved due to the high penetration capabilities of neutrons. To cope with increasing needs for beam time at neutron diffraction facilities with the corresponding technical characteristics and equipment, POWTEX (POWder and TEXture Diffractometer) is designed as a high-intensity diffractometer at the neutron research reactor FRM II in Garching, Germany by groups from the RWTH Aachen, Forschungszentrum Jülich and the University of Göttingen. Complementary to existing neutron diffractometers (SKAT at Dubna, Russia; GEM at ISIS, UK; HIPPO at Los Alamos, USA; D20 at ILL, France; and the local STRESS-SPEC and SPODI at FRM II) the layout of POWTEX is focused on fast (texture) measurements for either time-resolved experiments or the measurement of larger sample series as necessary for the study of large scale geological structures. By utilizing a range of neutron wavelengths simultaneously (TOF-technique), a high flux (~1 x 107 n/cm2s) and a high detector coverage ( 9.8 sr) effective texture measurements without sample tilting and rotation are possible. Furthermore the instrument and the angular detector resolution is sufficient for strong recrystallisation textures as well as weak textures of polyphase rocks. Thereby large sample environments will be implemented at POWTEX allowing in-situ time-resolved texture measurements during deformation experiments on rocksalt, ice and other materials. Furthermore a furnace for 3D-recrystallisation analysis of single grains will be realized complementary to the furnace that already exists for fine grained materials at the synchrotron beamline BW5 at HASYLAB, Germany (e.g. Klein et al. 2009). The in-situ triaxial deformation apparatus is operated by a uniaxial spindle drive with a maximum axial load of 200 kN, which will be redesigned to minimize shadowing effects on the detector. The HT experiments will be carried out in uniaxial compression or extension and an upgrade to triaxial deformation conditions is envisaged. The load frame can alternatively be used for ice deformation by inserting a cryostat cell for temperatures down to 77 K with a triaxial apparatus allowing also simple shear experiments on ice. Strain rates range between 10-8 and 10-3 s-1 reaching to at least 50 % axial strain. The furnace for the recrystallization analysis will be a mirror furnace with temperatures up to 1500° C, which will be rotatable around a vertical axis to obtain the required stereologic orientation information.

Orthopaedics in Germany under the influence of National-Socialist healt-politic in the years 1933-1945.

PubMed

von Grabowski, Michał T W

2015-01-01

In the paper the health-care of physically disabled patients in Germany before, during and after the II world war are discussed. The circumstances of introduction of "Racial-Hygiene" - laws and orthopedic indications for the sterilization and euthanasia are described. Patients with severe physical and mental disabilities were potential candidates for annihilation. The tragic fate of jewish physicians is remembered. The activity of board of the German Orthopeadic Society (DOG) in the years 1933-1945 is described and critically analysed.

Quantum technology: from research to application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schleich, Wolfgang P.; Ranade, Kedar S.; Anton, Christian; Arndt, Markus; Aspelmeyer, Markus; Bayer, Manfred; Berg, Gunnar; Calarco, Tommaso; Fuchs, Harald; Giacobino, Elisabeth; Grassl, Markus; Hänggi, Peter; Heckl, Wolfgang M.; Hertel, Ingolf-Volker; Huelga, Susana; Jelezko, Fedor; Keimer, Bernhard; Kotthaus, Jörg P.; Leuchs, Gerd; Lütkenhaus, Norbert; Maurer, Ueli; Pfau, Tilman; Plenio, Martin B.; Rasel, Ernst Maria; Renn, Ortwin; Silberhorn, Christine; Schiedmayer, Jörg; Schmitt-Landsiedel, Doris; Schönhammer, Kurt; Ustinov, Alexey; Walther, Philip; Weinfurter, Harald; Welzl, Emo; Wiesendanger, Roland; Wolf, Stefan; Zeilinger, Anton; Zoller, Peter

2016-05-01

The term quantum physics refers to the phenomena and characteristics of atomic and subatomic systems which cannot be explained by classical physics. Quantum physics has had a long tradition in Germany, going back nearly 100 years. Quantum physics is the foundation of many modern technologies. The first generation of quantum technology provides the basis for key areas such as semiconductor and laser technology. The "new" quantum technology, based on influencing individual quantum systems, has been the subject of research for about the last 20 years. Quantum technology has great economic potential due to its extensive research programs conducted in specialized quantum technology centres throughout the world. To be a viable and active participant in the economic potential of this field, the research infrastructure in Germany should be improved to facilitate more investigations in quantum technology research.

Man-made Star Shines in the Southern Sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2006-02-01

Scientists celebrate another major milestone at Cerro Paranal in Chile, home of ESO's Very Large Telescope array. Thanks to their dedicated efforts, they were able to create the first artificial star in the Southern Hemisphere, allowing astronomers to study the Universe in the finest detail. This artificial laser guide star makes it possible to apply adaptive optics systems, that counteract the blurring effect of the atmosphere, almost anywhere in the sky. ESO PR Photo 07a/06 ESO PR Photo 07a/06 First Light of the VLT Laser Guide Star On 28 January 2006, at 23:07 local time, a laser beam of several watts was launched from Yepun, the fourth 8.2m Unit Telescope of the Very Large Telescope, producing an artificial star, 90 km up in the atmosphere. Despite this star being about 20 times fainter than the faintest star that can be seen with the unaided eye, it is bright enough for the adaptive optics to measure and correct the atmosphere's blurring effect. The event was greeted with much enthusiasm and happiness by the people in the control room of one of the most advanced astronomical facilities in the world. It was the culmination of five years of collaborative work by a team of scientists and engineers from ESO and the Max Planck Institutes for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching and for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany. After more than one month of integration on site with the invaluable support of the Paranal Observatory staff, the VLT Laser Guide Star Facility saw First Light and propagated into the sky a 50cm wide, vivid, beautifully yellow beam. ESO PR Photo 07b/06 ESO PR Photo 07b/06 An Artificial Star Above Paranal "This event tonight marks the beginning of the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics era for ESO's present and future telescopes", said Domenico Bonaccini Calia, Head of the Laser Guide Star group at ESO and LGSF Project Manager. Normally, the achievable image sharpness of a ground-based telescope is limited by the effect of atmospheric turbulence. This drawback can be surmounted with adaptive optics, allowing the telescope to produce images that are as sharp as if taken from space. This means that finer details in astronomical objects can be studied, and also that fainter objects can be observed. In order to work, adaptive optics needs a nearby reference star that has to be relatively bright, thereby limiting the area of the sky that can be surveyed. To overcome this limitation, astronomers use a powerful laser that creates an artificial star, where and when they need it. ESO PR Photo 07c/06 ESO PR Photo 07c/06 The Laser Guide Star Laboratory The laser beam, shining at a well-defined wavelength, makes the layer of sodium atoms that is present in Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of 90 kilometres glow. The laser is hosted in a dedicated laboratory under the platform of Yepun. A custom-made fibre carries the high power laser to the launch telescope situated on top of the large Unit Telescope. An intense and exhilarating twelve days of tests followed the First Light of the Laser Guide Star (LGS), during which the LGS was used to improve the resolution of astronomical images obtained with the two adaptive optics instruments in use on Yepun: the NAOS-CONICA imager and the SINFONI spectrograph. In the early hours of 9 February, the LGS could be used together with the SINFONI instrument, while in the early morning of 10 February, it was with the NAOS-CONICA system. ESO PR Video 07/06 ESO PR Video 07/06 Learn more with the video! "To have succeeded in such a short time is an outstanding feat and is a tribute to all those who have together worked so hard over the last few years," said Richard Davies, project manager for the laser source development at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. A second phase of commissioning will take place in the spring with the aim of optimizing the operations and refining the performances before the instrument is made available to the astronomers, later this year. The experience gained with this Laser Guide Star is also a key milestone in the design of the next generation of Extremely Large Telescope in the 30 to 60 metre range that is now being studied by ESO together with the European astronomical community. High resolution images and their captions are available on this page. This press release is also accompanied by Broadcast quality material. Notes The Laser Guide Star Facility is a collaborative project between ESO, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany (MPE) and the Max Planck Institut for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany (MPIA). The team members are D. Bonaccini Calia, W. Hackenberg, M. Cullum, M. Dimmler, I. Guidolin, C. Araujo, E. Allaert, D. Popovic, M. Comin, M. Quattri, E. Brunetto, F. Koch, A. Silber, J-L. Alvarez, M. Tapia, E. Bendek, J. Quentin, G. Fischer, M. Tarenghi, G.Monnet, and R.Gilmozzi (ESO), R. Davies, S. Rabien, T. Ott, R. Genzel, S.Kellner, S. Huber, W. Zaglauer, A. Goldbrunner, and J. Li (MPE), and S. Hippler, U. Neumann, D. Butler, R.-R. Rohloff, and B.Grimm (MPIA). Members of ESO's Adaptive Optics team also participated to First Light: M. Kasper, S. Stroebele, E. Fedrigo, R. Donaldson, S. Oberti, and C. Soenke. This press release is issued in coordination between ESO and the Max Planck Society. A German version is available at http://www.mpg.de/bilderBerichteDokumente/dokumentation/pressemitteilungen/2006/

Lise Meitner's escape from Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sime, Ruth Lewin

1990-03-01

Lise Meitner (1878-1968) achieved prominence as a nuclear physicist in Germany; although of Jewish origin, her Austrian citizenship exempted her from Nazi racial laws until the annexation of Austria in 1938 precipitated her dismissal. Forbidden to emigrate, she narrowly escaped to the Netherlands with the help of concerned friends in the international physics community.

[German practice of involuntary commitment at both federal and state level after introduction of the Guardianship law (1992-2009)].

PubMed

Valdes-Stauber, J; Deinert, H; Kilian, R

2012-05-01

Given the steady rise of psychiatric coercive measures in Germany, the question arises whether this development is significantly influenced by the corresponding legal basis or through epidemiological, socio-economic or socio-structural factors. Based on full surveys of the Federal Ministry of Justice we examined the development and associations of 10 indicators of coercive psychiatric measures over a period of 18 years. Time trends of all indicators have been descriptively analysed. Statistical associations between time trends and between involuntary and admissions economic indicators were analysed by regression models. All annual involuntary commitment rates have increased, judicial ordered physical restraint measures particularly strongly (848%). The rate of judicial rejections of applied involuntary measures showed the lowest increase. On the other hand, quotas of involuntary admissions remained stable. In former East Germany, the involuntary admission rates are only a third of those in the former West Germany. Results of regression analyses indicate an excess increase of physical coercive measures in psychiatric hospitals in relation to the increase of psychiatric admissions. In former East Germany the rate of involuntary admissions at the federal state level is negatively correlated with the average gross income. The continuous increase of coercive psychiatric measures in consequence to the change in the Guardianship law suggests that this change has influenced the practice. The differences at federal and state levels, and the sharper rise in the former East Germany by lower rates in comparison to the former West Germany need an explanation, as well as the fact that the rate of involuntary admissions is associated at least in the former East Germany with economic conditions. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The X-shooter pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldoni, P.

2011-03-01

The X-shooter data reduction pipeline is an integral part of the X-shooter project, it allows the production of reduced data in physical quantities from the raw data produced by the instrument. The pipeline is based on the data reduction library developed by the X-shooter consortium with contributions from France, The Netherlands and ESO and it uses the Common Pipeline Library (CPL) developed at ESO. The pipeline has been developed for two main functions. The first function is to monitor the operation of the instrument through the reduction of the acquired data, both at Paranal, for a quick-look control, and in Garching, for a more thorough evaluation. The second function is to allow an optimized data reduction for a scientific user. In the following I will first outline the main steps of data reduction with the pipeline then I will briefly show two examples of optimization of the results for science reduction.

Department of Defense Survey of Living Conditions Overseas, 1984. Volume 1. Management Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-01

Spouse Nationality, and Sex ............................. 1 Household Composition..............................................1I Spouse Employment and...Nationality, and Sex Army Air Force Only service members who had Germany 2770 United Kingdom 1996 dependents qualified to be sampled. Italy 710 Germany...number/ availability for teens and preteens , convenience to playgrounds - and youth centers; - Immediate physical-psychological surroundings, including

Cornelius Schiller (1961-2012)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenlof, Karen; Müller, Rolf

2012-08-01

Cornelius Schiller, an international leader in high-altitude water vapor measurements and quality assessment who took charge of several research campaigns and mentored many young scientists, passed away on 3 March 2012 in Neuss, Germany, after a battle with cancer. He was 50 years old. Cornelius spent his childhood and most of his life in the Niederrhein region of Germany, close to Düsseldorf. He studied physics at the University of Bonn, and his developing interest in the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere led him to work with Dieter Ehhalt at the Forschungszentrum Jülich (Research Centre Jülich) in Germany. Cornelius' career started shortly after the discovery of the ozone hole, and he had the opportunity to participate in the first large-scale ozone measurement campaign in the Arctic, known as the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition, during January and February 1989; he contributed airborne observations of ozone-depleting chlorine and bromine substances.

The role of mathematics for physics teaching and understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pospiech, Gesche; Eylon, BatSheva; Bagno, Esther; Lehavi, Yaron; Geyer, Marie-Annette

2016-05-01

-1That mathematics is the "language of physics" implies that both areas are deeply interconnected, such that often no separation between "pure" mathematics and "pure" physics is possible. To clarify their interplay a technical and a structural role of mathematics can be distinguished. A thorough understanding of this twofold role in physics is also important for shaping physics education especially with respect to teaching the nature of physics. Herewith the teachers and their pedagogical content knowledge play an important role. Therefore we develop a model of PCK concerning the interplay of mathematics and physics in order to provide a theoretical framework for the views and teaching strategies of teachers. In an exploratory study four teachers from Germany and four teachers from Israel have been interviewed concerning their views and its transfer to teaching physics. Here we describe the results from Germany. Besides general views and knowledge held by all or nearly all teachers we also observe specific individual focus depending on the teachers' background and experiences. The results fit well into the derived model of PCK.

The asymmetric reactions of mean and volatility of stock returns to domestic and international information based on a four-regime double-threshold GARCH model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Cathy W. S.; Yang, Ming Jing; Gerlach, Richard; Jim Lo, H.

2006-07-01

In this paper, we investigate the asymmetric reactions of mean and volatility of stock returns in five major markets to their own local news and the US information via linear and nonlinear models. We introduce a four-regime Double-Threshold GARCH (DTGARCH) model, which allows asymmetry in both the conditional mean and variance equations simultaneously by employing two threshold variables, to analyze the stock markets’ reactions to different types of information (good/bad news) generated from the domestic markets and the US stock market. By applying the four-regime DTGARCH model, this study finds that the interaction between the information of domestic and US stock markets leads to the asymmetric reactions of stock returns and their variability. In addition, this research also finds that the positive autocorrelation reported in the previous studies of financial markets may in fact be mis-specified, and actually due to the local market's positive response to the US stock market.

Impact of global financial crisis on precious metals returns: An application of ARCH and GARCH methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Mohd Tahir; Abdullah, Nurul Ain; Abdul Karim, Samsul Ariffin

2013-04-01

This paper is focusing on seeing the resilient of precious metals returns in facing the global financial crisis and provides a new guide for the investors before making investment decisions on precious metals. Four types of precious metals returns which are the variables selected in this study. The precious metals are gold, silver, bronze and platinum. All the variables are transferred to natural logarithm (ln). Daily data over the period 2 January 1995 to 30 December 2011 is used. Unit root tests that involve Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin (KPSS) tests have been employed in determining the stationarity of the variables. Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ARCH) and Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) methods have been applied in measuring the impact of global financial crisis on precious metals returns. The result shows that investing in platinum is less risky compared to the other precious metals because it is not influence by the crisis period.

Time series modelling of global mean temperature for managerial decision-making.

PubMed

Romilly, Peter

2005-07-01

Climate change has important implications for business and economic activity. Effective management of climate change impacts will depend on the availability of accurate and cost-effective forecasts. This paper uses univariate time series techniques to model the properties of a global mean temperature dataset in order to develop a parsimonious forecasting model for managerial decision-making over the short-term horizon. Although the model is estimated on global temperature data, the methodology could also be applied to temperature data at more localised levels. The statistical techniques include seasonal and non-seasonal unit root testing with and without structural breaks, as well as ARIMA and GARCH modelling. A forecasting evaluation shows that the chosen model performs well against rival models. The estimation results confirm the findings of a number of previous studies, namely that global mean temperatures increased significantly throughout the 20th century. The use of GARCH modelling also shows the presence of volatility clustering in the temperature data, and a positive association between volatility and global mean temperature.

INVITED SPEAKERS Invited Speakers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2011-01-01

Alain AspectPalaiseau Markus AspelmeyerVienna Vanderlei BagnatoSão Paulo Victor BalykinMoscow Kristian BaumannZürich Jim BergquistNIST, Boulder Frédéric ChevyENS, Paris John CloseCanberra Claude Cohen-TannoudjiENS, Paris Jean DalibardENS, Paris Eugene DemlerHarvard Michael DoserCERN Markus DrescherHamburg Francesca FerlainoInnsbruck Victor FlambaumSydney Chiara FortFlorence Elisabeth GiacobinoENS, Paris Philippe GrangierPalaiseau Chris GreeneJILA, Boulder Markus GreinerHarvard Eric HesselsToronto Hidetoshi KatoriTokyo Wolfgang KetterleMIT Michael KohlCambridge Wu-Ming LiuBeijing Francesco MinardiFlorence Holger MüllerBerkeley Karim MurrGarching Hanns-Christoph NägerlInnsbruck Jeremy O'BrienBristol Silke OspelkausJILA, Boulder Krzysztof PachuckiWarsaw Bill PhillipsGaithersburg Randolf PohlGarching Eugene PolzikCopenhagen Cindy RegalJILA, Boulder Jakob ReichelENS, Paris Helmut RitschInnsbruck Christian RoosInnsbruck Mark SaffmanWisconsin Christophe SalomonENS, Paris Gora ShlyapnikovOrsay Richard TaiebParis Masahito UedaTokyo Chris ValeMelbourne Andreas WallraffZürich Matthias WeidemüllerHeidelberg Martin WeitzBonn Artur WideraBonn David WinelandNIST, Boulder

Features of spillover networks in international financial markets: Evidence from the G20 countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xueyong; An, Haizhong; Li, Huajiao; Chen, Zhihua; Feng, Sida; Wen, Shaobo

2017-08-01

The objective of this study is to investigate volatility spillover transmission systematically in stock markets across the G20 countries. To achieve this objective, we combined GARCH-BEKK model with complex network theory using the linkages of spillovers. GARCH-BEKK model was used to capture volatility spillover between stock markets. Then, an information spillover network was built. The data encompass the main stock indexes from 19 individual countries in the G20. To consider the dynamic spillover, the full data set was divided into several sub-periods. The main contribution of this paper is considering the volatility spillover relationships as the edges of a complex network, which can capture the propagation path of volatility spillovers. The results indicate that the volatility spillovers among the stock markets of the G20 countries constitute a holistic associated network, another finding is that Korea acts a role of largest sender in long-term, while Brazil is the largest long-term recipient in the G20 spillover network.

Physical Education and Recreation in Europe.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howell, M. L.; Van Vliet, M. L.

Physical education and research programs, and recreational and athletic facilities, in Yugoslavia, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, and the U.S.S.R. are examined by two faculty members from the University of Alberta. This publication is an abridgement of their report on European approaches to physical education and recreation, giving their…

The NGC 4839 group falling into the Coma cluster observed by XMM-Newton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neumann, D. M.; Arnaud, M.; Gastaud, R.; Aghanim, N.; Lumb, D.; Briel, U. G.; Vestrand, W. T.; Stewart, G. C.; Molendi, S.; Mittaz, J. P. D.

2001-01-01

We present here the first analysis of the XMM-Newton EPIC-MOS data of the galaxy group around NGC 4839, which lies at a projected distance to the Coma cluster center of 1.6h50-1 Mpc. In our analysis, which includes imaging, spectro-imaging and spectroscopy we find compelling evidence for the sub group being on its first infall onto the Coma cluster. The complex temperature structure around NGC 4839 is consistent with simulations of galaxies falling into a cluster environment. We see indications of a bow shock and of ram pressure stripping around NGC 4839. Furthermore our data reveal a displacement between NGC 4839 and the center of the hot gas in the group of about 300h50-1 kpc. With a simple approximation we can explain this displacement by the pressure force originating from the infall, which acts much stronger on the group gas than on the galaxies. Based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and the USA (NASA). EPIC was developed by the EPIC Consortium led by the Principal Investigator, Dr. M. J. L. Turner. The consortium comprises the following Institutes: University of Leicester, University of Birmingham, (UK); CEA/Saclay, IAS Orsay, CESR Toulouse, (France); IAAP Tuebingen, MPE Garching, (Germany); IFC Milan, ITESRE Bologna, IAUP Palermo, Italy. EPIC is funded by: PPARC, CEA, CNES, DLR and ASI.

AMS of 93Zr: Passive absorber versus gas-filled magnet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hain, Karin; Deneva, Boyana; Faestermann, Thomas; Fimiani, Leticia; Gómez-Guzmán, José Manuel; Koll, Dominik; Korschinek, Gunther; Ludwig, Peter; Sergeyeva, Victoria; Thiollay, Nicolas

2018-05-01

Two different isobar separation techniques were tested for the detection of the long-lived fission product 93Zr (T1/2 = 1.64 · 106 a) using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), i.e. a passive absorber and a gas-filled magnet, respectively. Both techniques were used in combination with a Time-of-Flight path for the identification of the stable neighboring isotopes 92Zr and 94Zr. The passive absorber was represented by a stack of silicon nitride foils for high flexibility regarding the thickness for optimal isobar separation. Ion beams with a large variety of energies, between 80 and 180 MeV, were provided for this experiment by the tandem accelerator at the Maier-Leibnitz Laboratory in Garching, Germany. With these beams, the stopping powers of 93Zr and 93Nb as a function of energy were determined experimentally and compared to the results obtained with the simulation program SRIM. Considerable discrepancies regarding the energy dependence of the two stopping power curves relative to each other were found. The lowest detection limit for 93Zr achieved with the passive absorber setup was 93Zr/Zr = 1 · 10-10. In comparison, by optimizing the gas-filled magnet set-up, 93Nb was suppressed by around six orders of magnitude and a detection limit of 93Zr/Zr = 5 · 10-11 was obtained. To our knowledge, these results represent the lowest detection limit achieved for 93Zr until now.

Photodetection Characterization of SiPM Technologies for their Application in Scintillator based Neutron Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, S.; Durini, D.; Degenhardt, C.; van Waasen, S.

2018-01-01

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments have become one of the most important techniques in the investigation of the properties of material on the atomic scale. Until 2001, nearly exclusively 3He-based detectors were used for neutron detection in these experiments, but due to the scarcity of 3He and its steeply rising price, researchers started to look for suitable alternatives. Scintillation based solid state detectors appeared as a prominent alternative. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), having single photon resolution, lower bias voltages compared to photomultiplier tubes (PMT), insensitivity to magnetic fields, low cost, possibility of modular design and higher readout rates, have the potential of becoming a photon detector of choice in scintillator based neutron detectors. The major concerns for utilizing the SiPM technology in this kind of applications are the increase in their noise performance and the decrease in their photon detection efficiency (PDE) due to direct exposure to neutrons. Here, a detailed comparative analysis of the PDE performance in the range between UV and NIR parts of the spectra for three different SiPM technologies, before and after irradiation with cold neutrons, has been carried out. For this investigation, one digital and two analog SiPM arrays were irradiated with 5Å wavelength cold neutrons and up to a dose of 6×1012 n/cm2 at the KWS-1 instrument of the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching, Germany.

Between Autonomy and Accommodation:The German Physical Society during the Third Reich

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, Dieter

2005-09-01

I first sketch the history of the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft,DPG) from its founding by six young Berlin scientists as the Physical Society of Berlin (Physikalische Gesellschaft zu Berlin) in 1845, through its renaming as the DPG in 1899 and its rise to prominence by the beginning of the 1930s. I then turn to the history of the DPG during the Third Reich, which can be divided into two periods, from the transfer of power in Germany to the Nazis in 1933 to 1940, and from 1941 to 1945. During the first period, Johannes Stark (1874 1957), one of the leaders of the “German Physics” (Deutsche Physik) movement, attempted to gain election as the Chairman of the DPG in September 1933 but was repulsed. A period of relative autonomy of the DPG from Nazi ideology and policies ensued, which gradually was transformed into one of accommodation, until at the end of the 1938, Peter Debye (1884 1966), then Chairman of the DPG, bowed to governmental demands and Nazi activists in the DPG, introduced Nazi principles, and strongly advised the Jewish members of the DPG to withdraw from it. Debye left Germany in early 1940, and after a transitional period in which Jonathan Zenneck (1871 1959) served as Acting Chairman, Carl Ramsauer (1879 1955) was elected Chairman of the DPG in December 1940, thus opening the second period, the Ramsauer era, which lasted from 1941 until the end of the war in 1945. Ramsauer oversaw the self-coordination (Selbstgleichschaltung) of the DPG to the Nazi regime, and as an industrial physicist he led the DPG to establish ever more alliances with powerful figures in the military-industrial complex of Nazi Germany, which worked to the advantage both of Ramsauer and the DPG and to that of the Nazi regime during the course of the war. Finally, as the military defeat of Germany loomed, Ramsauer took steps aimed at insuring the survival of German physics in the postwar period. After the war, he masked the wartime activities of himself and the DPG, thereby contributing to the postwar conspiracy of silence or minimization of the Nazi past in Germany.

PREFACE: Quantum Dot 2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Robert A.

2010-09-01

These conference proceedings contain the written papers of the contributions presented at Quantum Dot 2010 (QD2010). The conference was held in Nottingham, UK, on 26-30 April 2010. The conference addressed topics in research on: 1. Epitaxial quantum dots (including self-assembled and interface structures, dots defined by electrostatic gates etc): optical properties and electron transport quantum coherence effects spin phenomena optics of dots in cavities interaction with surface plasmons in metal/semiconductor structures opto-electronics applications 2. Novel QD structures: fabrication and physics of graphene dots, dots in nano-wires etc 3. Colloidal quantum dots: growth (shape control and hybrid nanocrystals such as metal/semiconductor, magnetic/semiconductor) assembly and surface functionalisation optical properties and spin dynamics electrical and magnetic properties applications (light emitting devices and solar cells, biological and medical applications, data storage, assemblers) The Editors Acknowledgements Conference Organising Committee: Maurice Skolnick (Chair) Alexander Tartakovskii (Programme Chair) Pavlos Lagoudakis (Programme Chair) Max Migliorato (Conference Secretary) Paola Borri (Publicity) Robert Taylor (Proceedings) Manus Hayne (Treasurer) Ray Murray (Sponsorship) Mohamed Henini (Local Organiser) International Advisory Committee: Yasuhiko Arakawa (Tokyo University, Japan) Manfred Bayer (Dortmund University, Germany) Sergey Gaponenko (Stepanov Institute of Physics, Minsk, Belarus) Pawel Hawrylak (NRC, Ottawa, Canada) Fritz Henneberger (Institute for Physics, Berlin, Germany) Atac Imamoglu (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland) Paul Koenraad (TU Eindhoven, Nethehrlands) Guglielmo Lanzani (Politecnico di Milano, Italy) Jungil Lee (Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea) Henri Mariette (CNRS-CEA, Grenoble, France) Lu Jeu Sham (San Diego, USA) Andrew Shields (Toshiba Research Europe, Cambridge, UK) Yoshihisa Yamamoto (Stanford University, USA) Artur Zrenner (Paderborn University, Germany) International Programme Committee: Alexander Eychmüller (TU Dresden, Germany) Jonathan Finley (TU Munich, Germany) Dan Gammon (NRL, Washington, USA) Alexander Govorov (Ohio University, USA) Neil Greenham (Cavendish Laboratory, UK) Vladimir Korenev (Ioffe Institute, Russia) Leo Kouwenhoven (TU Delft, Netherlands) Wolfgang Langbein (Cardiff University, UK) Xavier Marie (CNRS Toulouse, France) David Ritchie (Cambridge, UK) Andrew Sachrajda (IMS, Ottawa, Canada) Katerina Soulantica (University of Toulouse, France) Seigo Tarucha (University of Tokyo, Japan) Carlos Tejedor (UAM, Madrid, Spain) Euijoon Yoon (Seoul National University, Korea) Ulrike Woggon (Tu Berlin, Germany) Proceedings edited and compiled by Profesor Robert A Taylor, University of Oxford

A Study of Junior College Level Physics in German Speaking Europe.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riggs, Roderick D.

The purpose of this study was to analyze physics instruction in West Germany, Austria, and German-speaking Switzerland at levels comparable to junior colleges in the United States, and to compare this with the physics instruction offered at Jackson Community College (Jackson, Michigan). The investigator spent four months interviewing faculty and…

Recommendations for Promoting Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents in Germany. A Consensus Statement

PubMed Central

Graf, Christine; Beneke, Ralph; Bloch, Wilhelm; Bucksch, Jens; Dordel, Sigrid; Eiser, Stefanie; Ferrari, Nina; Koch, Benjamin; Krug, Susanne; Lawrenz, Wolfgang; Manz, Kristin; Naul, Roland; Oberhoffer, Renate; Quilling, Eike; Schulz, Henry; Stemper, Theo; Stibbe, Günter; Tokarski, Walter; Völker, Klaus; Woll, Alexander

2014-01-01

Increasing physical activity and reduction of sedentary behaviour play important roles in health promotion and prevention of lifestyle-related diseases in children and adolescents. However, the question of how much physical activity is useful for which target group is still a matter of debate. International guidelines (World Health Organization; European Association for the Study of Obesity), which are mainly based on expert opinions, recommend 60 min of physical activity every day. Age- and sex-specific features and regional differences are not taken into account. Therefore, expert consensus recommendations for promoting physical activity of children and adolescents in Germany were developed with special respect to national data, but also with respect to aspects of specific target groups, e.g., children with a lower socio-economic status (SES) or with migration background. They propose 90 min/day of physical activity, or at least 12,000 steps daily. Additionally, lifestyle factors, especially restriction of media consumption, were integrated. The recommendations provide orientation for parents and caregivers, for institutions such as schools and kindergartens as well as for communities and stakeholders. PMID:24821136

Women in Physics in Germany, 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kluge, Hanna

2009-04-01

The status of women in physics in Germany has not changed dramatically in the three years since the last IUPAP Women in Physics Conference was held in 2005. The salary of a woman remains approximately 25% lower than that of a man in a comparable professional position. The number of female professors is growing slowly. The number of young women beginning to study physics is around 20%. There is, however, a noticeable increase in organization and societal acceptance of female physicists, and an increasing amount of men taking part in this process. There is also increased acceptance and support of dual-career couples. The Helmholtz Alliance for "Physics at the Terascale" founded a dual-career option program. In 2008, the annual Conference of German Female Physicists (DPT) held in Muenster became an official conference of the DPG (German Physical Society). Various scientific groups working for equal opportunity have formed a "network of networks." At the DESY (German Electron Synchrotron), a group of women led by an equal opportunity officer is involved in the entire process of hiring new staff members in all positions, including directors.

Utilisation of rheumatology care services in Germany: the case of physical therapy and self-help groups.

PubMed

Thieme, Holm; Borgetto, Bernhard

2012-01-01

Physical Therapy (PT) and self-help groups (SHG) are important components of health care in rheumatic diseases. The utilisation of PT and SHG by patients with rheumatic diseases may be influenced by several factors. The aim of this study is to summarize the evidence on PT and SHG utilisation of patients with rheumatic diseases in Germany. We systematically searched the MEDLINE-database for studies that evaluated the utilisation and factors that possibly influence the utilisation of PT and SHG. Eight studies were found for PT-utilisation and one for SHG-utilisation. Between 25 and 59 percent of patients with rheumatic diseases received PT services. Several individual and contextual factors that may influence the utilisation could be identified. In conclusion, evidence exists for wide variations in the utilisation of PT services and an underuse of such services among patients with rheumatic diseases in Germany. By contrast, little evidence exists on the utilisation of SHG.

Manfred Ziebell Retires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofstadt, D.

2002-12-01

On December 1st, 2002, after thirty- seven years of service, first in Chile and then in Garching, Ms. Christa Euler will leave ESO to enjoy a welldeserved retirement. Among the current staff, she is probably the only person who started her career at ESO just four years after the Organization was founded.

Factor analytic study of two questionnaires measuring oral health-related quality of life among children and adults in New Zealand, Germany and Poland.

PubMed

Tapsoba, H; Deschamps, J P; Leclercq, M H

2000-01-01

A questionnaire designed to measure oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) in adults and children was assessed for its factorial structure and reliability using data from the Second International Collaborative Study on Oral Health Outcomes in New Zealand, Poland and Germany. Principal component analysis with orthogonal and oblique rotation was applied. The three-factor structure hypothesized for the children's questionnaire (self-reported oral disease symptoms, perceived oral well-being, social and physical functioning) was confirmed in New Zealand and Poland, and two self-reported oral disease symptom dimensions emerged in Germany. Five factors instead of the three hypothesized were identified for adults: two dimensions of symptoms were identified, and social and physical functioning appeared to be independent dimensions of OHRQOL. Similarity between the factors was demonstrated in all three countries. The reliability of the questionnaire ranged from moderate to excellent depending on the dimension and the country. These findings provide preliminary evidence of the cross-cultural stability of the OHRQOL questionnaire in New Zealand, Poland and Germany, for both children and adults. Further investigations by the present authors of the properties of the instrument in other samples will focus on demonstrating the stability and replicability of the factor structure identified here.

Organized sports, overweight, and physical fitness in primary school children in Germany.

PubMed

Drenowatz, Clemens; Steiner, Ronald P; Brandstetter, Susanne; Klenk, Jochen; Wabitsch, Martin; Steinacker, Jürgen M

2013-01-01

Physical inactivity is associated with poor physical fitness and increased body weight. This study examined the relationship between participation in organized sports and overweight as well as physical fitness in primary school children in southern Germany. Height, weight, and various components of physical fitness were measured in 995 children (7.6 ± 0.4 years). Sports participation and confounding variables such as migration background, parental education, parental body weight, and parental sports participation were assessed via parent questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression as well as multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to determine associations between physical fitness, participation in organized sports, and body weight. Participation in organized sports less than once a week was prevalent in 29.2%, once or twice in 60.2%, and more often in 10.6% of the children. Overweight was found in 12.4% of the children. Children participating in organized sports more than once per week displayed higher physical fitness and were less likely to be overweight (OR  =  0.52, P < 0.01). Even though causality cannot be established, the facilitation of participation in organized sports may be a crucial aspect in public health efforts addressing the growing problems associated with overweight and obesity.

List of Organizing Committees and Conference Programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-03-01

Organizers Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering - IFIN HH Romanian Neutron Scattering Society Sponsors Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering - IFIN HH Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry AS CR, Czech Republic Programme Committee Valentin Gordely (chairman)Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia Heinrich StuhrmannGermany Jose TeixeiraLaboratoire Leon Brillouin, France Pavel ApelJoint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia Pavol BalgavyComenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia Alexander BelushkinJoint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia Georg BueldtInstitute of Structural Biology and Biophysics (ISB), Germany Leonid BulavinTaras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine Emil BurzoBabes-Bolyai University, Romania Vadim CherezovThe Scripps Research Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, USA Ion IonitaRomanian Society of Neutron Scattering, Romania Alexei KhokhlovMoscow State University, Russia Aziz MuzafarovInstitute of Synthetic Polymeric Materials, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia Alexander OzerinInstitute of Synthetic Polymeric Materials, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia Gerard PepyResearch Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Hungary Josef PlestilInstitute of Macromolecular Chemistry CAS, Czech Republic Aurel RadulescuJuelich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS, Germany Maria BalasoiuJoint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia Alexander KuklinJoint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia Local Organizing Committee Alexander Kuklin - Chairman Maria Balasoiu - Co-chairman Tatiana Murugova - Secretary Natalia Malysheva Natalia Dokalenko Julia Gorshkova Andrey Rogachev Oleksandr Ivankov Dmitry Soloviev Lilia Anghel Erhan Raul The PDF also contains the Conference Programme.

Exploring the Digital Universe with Europe's Astrophysical Virtual Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2001-12-01

Vast Databanks at the Astronomers' Fingertips Summary A new European initiative called the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) is being launched to provide astronomers with a breathtaking potential for new discoveries. It will enable them to seamlessly combine the data from both ground- and space-based telescopes which are making observations of the Universe across the whole range of wavelengths - from high-energy gamma rays through the ultraviolet and visible to the infrared and radio. The aim of the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) project, which started on 15 November 2001, is to allow astronomers instant access to the vast databanks now being built up by the world's observatories and which are forming what is, in effect, a "digital sky" . Using the AVO, astronomers will, for example, be able to retrieve the elusive traces of the passage of an asteroid as it passes near the Earth and so enable them to predict its future path and perhaps warn of a possible impact. When a giant star comes to the end of its life in a cataclysmic explosion called a supernova, they will be able to access the digital sky and pinpoint the star shortly before it exploded so adding invaluable data to the study of the evolution of stars. Background information on the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory is available in the Appendix. PR Photo 34a/01 : The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory - an artist's impression. The rapidly accumulating database ESO PR Photo 34a/01 ESO PR Photo 34a/01 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 345 pix - 90k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 689 pix - 656k] [Hi-Res - JPEG: 3000 x 2582 pix - 4.3M] ESO PR Photo 34a/01 shows an artist's impression of the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory . Modern observatories observe the sky continuously and data accumulates remorselessly in the digital archives. The growth rate is impressive and many hundreds of terabytes of data - corresponding to many thousands of billions of pixels - are already available to scientists. The real sky is being digitally reconstructed in the databanks! The richness and complexity of data and information available to the astronomers is overwhelming. This has created a major problem as to how astronomers can manage, distribute and analyse this great wealth of data . The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) will allow astronomers to overcome the challenges and enable them to "put the Universe online". AVO is supported by the European Commission The AVO is a three-year project, funded by the European Commission under its Research and Technological Development (RTD) scheme, to design and implement a virtual observatory for the European astronomical community. The European Commission awarded a contract valued at 4 million Euro for the AVO project , starting 15 November 2001. AVO will provide software tools to enable astronomers to access the multi-wavelength data archives over the Internet and so give them the capability to resolve fundamental questions about the Universe by probing the digital sky. Equivalent searches of the 'real' sky would, in comparison, be both costly and take far too long. Towards a Global Virtual Observatory The need for virtual observatories has also been recognised by other astronomical communities. The National Science Foundation in the USA has awarded 10 million Dollar (approx. 11.4 million Euro) for a National Virtual Observatory (NVO). The AVO project team has formed a close alliance with the NVO and both teams have representatives on their respective committees. It is clear to the NVO and AVO communities that there are no intrinsic boundaries to the virtual observatory concept and that all astronomers should be working towards a truly global virtual observatory that will enable new science to be carried out on the wealth of astronomical data held in the growing number of first class international astronomical archives. The AVO involves six partner organisations led by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Munich (Germany). The other partner organisations are the European Space Agency (ESA) , the United Kingdom's ASTROGRID consortium, the CNRS-supported Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) at the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg (France), the CNRS-supported TERAPIX astronomical data centre at the Institut d'Astrophysique in Paris and the Jodrell Bank Observatory of the Victoria University of Manchester (UK). Note [1]: This is a joint Press Release issued by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre, ASTROGRID, CDS, TERAPIX/CNRS and the University of Manchester. A 13 minute background video (broadcast PAL) is available from ESO PR and the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre (addresses below). This will also be transmitted via satellite Wednesday 12 December 2001 from 12:00 to 12:15 CET on "ESA TV Service", cf. http://television.esa.int. An international conference, "Toward an International Virtual Observatory" will take place at ESO (Garching, Germany) on June 10 - 14, 2002. Contacts AVO Contacts Peter Quinn European Southern Observatory Garching, Germany Tel.: +4989-3200-6509 email: pjq@eso.org Piero Benvenuti Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility Garching, Germany Tel.: +49-89-3200-6290 email: pbenvenu@eso.org Andy Lawrence (on behalf of The ASTROGRID Consortium) Institute for Astronomy University of Edinburgh United Kingdom Tel.: +44-131-668-8346/56 email: al@roe.ac.uk Francoise Genova Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) France Tel.: +33-390-24-24-76 email: genova@astro.u-strasbg.fr Yannick Mellier CNRS, Delegation Paris A (CNRSDR01-Terapix)/IAP/INSU France Tel.: +33-1-44-32-81-40 email: mellier@iap.fr Phil Diamond University of Manchester/Jodrell Bank Observatory United Kingdom Tel.: +44-147-757-2625 email: pdiamond@jb.man.ac.uk PR Contacts Richard West European Southern Observatory Garching, Germany Tel.: +49-89-3200-6276 email: rwest@eso.org Lars Lindberg Christensen Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre Garching, Germany Tel.: +49-89-3200-6306 or +49-173-38-72-621 email: lars@eso.org Ray Footman The ASTROGRID Consortium/University of Edinburgh United Kingdom Tel.: +44-131-650-2249 email: r.footman@ed.ac.uk Philippe Chauvin Terapix/CDS CNRS, Delegation Paris A, IAP/INSU France Tel.: +33 1 44 96 43 36 email: philippe.chauvin@cnrs-dir.fr Agnes Villanueva University of Strasbourg France Tel.: +33 3 90 24 11 35 email: agnes.villanueva@adm-ulp.u-strasbg.fr Ian Morison University of Manchester/Jodrell Bank Observatory United Kingdom Tel.: +44 1477 572610 email: im@jb.man.ac.uk Appendix: Introduction to Europe's Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) The Digital Data Revolution Over the past thirty years, astronomers have moved from photographic and analogue techniques towards the use of high-speed, digital instruments connected to specialised telescopes to study the Universe. Whether these instruments are onboard spacecraft or located at terrestrial observatories, the data they produce are stored digitally on computer systems for later analysis. Two Challenges This data revolution has created two challenges for astronomers. Firstly, as the capability of digital detector systems has advanced, the volume of digital data that astronomical facilities are producing has expanded greatly. The rate of growth of the volume of stored data far exceeds the rate of increase in the performance of computer systems or storage devices. Secondly, astronomers have realised that many important insights into the deepest secrets in the Universe can come from combining information obtained at many wavelengths into a consistent and comprehensive physical picture . However, because the datasets from different parts of the spectrum come from different observatories using different instruments, the data are not easily combined. To unite data from different observatories, bridges must be built between digital archives to allow them to share data and "interoperate" - an important and challenging task. The Human Factor These challenges are not only technological. Our brains are not equipped to for instance analyse simultaneously the millions and millions of images available. Astronomers must adapt and learn to deal with such diverse and extensive sets of data. The "digital sky" has the potential to become a vital tool with novel and fascinating capabilities that are essential for astronomers to make progress in their understanding of the Cosmos. But astronomers must be able to find the relevant information quickly and efficiently. Currently the data needed by a particular research program may well be stored in the archives already, but the tools and methods have not yet been developed to extract the relevant information from the flood of images available. A new way of thinking, a new frame of mind and a new approach are needed. The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) will allow astronomers to overcome the challenges and extract data from the digital sky, thus "putting the Universe online" . Like a search engine helps us to find information on the Internet, astronomers need sophisticated "search engines" as well as other tools to find and interpret the information. "We're drowning in information and starving for knowledge", a Yale University librarian once said. Or to paraphrase a popular series on TV: "The information is out there, but you have to find it!" Using the latest in computer technology, data storage and analysis techniques, AVO will maximise the potential for new scientific insights from the stored data by making them available in a readily accessible and seamlessly unified form to professional researchers, amateur astronomers and students. Users of AVO will have immense multi-wavelength vistas of the digital Universe at their fingertips and the potential to make breathtaking new discoveries. Virtual observatories signal a new era, where data collected by a multitude of sophisticated telescopes can be used globally and repeatedly to achieve substantial progress in the quest for knowledge. The AVO project, funded by the European Commission, is a three-year study of the design and implementation of a virtual observatory for European astronomy. A virtual observatory is a collection of connected data archives and software tools that utilise the Internet to form a scientific research environment in which new multi-wavelength astronomical research programs can be conducted. In much the same way as a real observatory consists of telescopes, each with a collection of unique astronomical instruments, the virtual observatory consists of a collection of data centres each with unique collections of astronomical data, software systems and processing capabilities. The programme will implement and test a prototype virtual observatory , focussing on the key areas of scientific requirements, interoperability and new technologies such as the GRID, needed to link powerful computers to the newly formed large data repositories. The GRID and the Future of the Internet The technical problems astronomers have to solve are similar to those being worked on by particle physicists, by biologists, and by commercial companies who want to search and fill customer databases across the world. The emerging idea is that of the GRID where computers collaborate across the Internet. The World Wide Web made words and pictures available to anybody at the click of a mouse. The GRID will do the same for data, and for computer processing power. Anybody can have the power of a supercomputer sitting on their desktop. The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory, and GRID projects like the ASTROGRID project in the United Kingdom (funding 5 million UK Pounds or 8 million Euro), are closely linked to these developments.

Parental physical illness as a risk for psychosocial maladjustment in children and adolescents: epidemiological findings from a national survey in Germany.

PubMed

Barkmann, Claus; Romer, Georg; Watson, Maggie; Schulte-Markwort, Michael

2007-01-01

The authors assessed the risk for psychosocial maladjustment in a population-based sample of dependent children of parents with serious physical illness. In the context of The Hamburg Health Survey, a wide range of data on current life situation and health status was collected from a representative sample of families with children and adolescents between 4 and 18 years old (N=1,950). For 4- to 18-year-old children and adolescents in Germany, the prevalence of a serious physical illness in a parent was 4.1%. The adjusted risk of psychosocial maladjustment in this target group, depending on the case definition, is elevated, with internalizing problems being more prevalent than externalizing problems. Although problems for affected boys decline with puberty, they increase for girls. In this age-group, girls and boys appear to be under particular strain when the respective same-sex parent has a serious physical illness. Exposure to serious parental physical illness is an epidemiologically relevant risk factor for psychosocial maladjustment in children and adolescents that needs to be better recognized by medical professionals.

Thirty-Seven Years of Service with ESO!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breysacher, J.

2002-12-01

On December 1st, 2002, after thirty- seven years of service, first in Chile and then in Garching, Ms. Christa Euler will leave ESO to enjoy a welldeserved retirement. Among the current staff, she is probably the only person who started her career at ESO just four years after the Organization was founded.

Fuel cells and batteries: Competition or separate paths?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilic, D.; Holl, K.; Birke, P.; Wöhrle, T.; Birke-Salam, F.; Perner, A.; Haug, P.

This article in honor of 60th anniversary of Prof. Dr. J. Garche shows some historical and general aspects of batteries and fuel cells. Our most innovative product PoLiFlex™ will be highlighted and compared with the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), which is sometimes considered as a replacement for batteries.

Time-varying coefficient vector autoregressions model based on dynamic correlation with an application to crude oil and stock markets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, Fengbin, E-mail: fblu@amss.ac.cn

This paper proposes a new time-varying coefficient vector autoregressions (VAR) model, in which the coefficient is a linear function of dynamic lagged correlation. The proposed model allows for flexibility in choices of dynamic correlation models (e.g. dynamic conditional correlation generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models, Markov-switching GARCH models and multivariate stochastic volatility models), which indicates that it can describe many types of time-varying causal effects. Time-varying causal relations between West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil and the US Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) stock markets are examined by the proposed model. The empirical results show that their causal relationsmore » evolve with time and display complex characters. Both positive and negative causal effects of the WTI on the S&P 500 in the subperiods have been found and confirmed by the traditional VAR models. Similar results have been obtained in the causal effects of S&P 500 on WTI. In addition, the proposed model outperforms the traditional VAR model.« less

Time-varying coefficient vector autoregressions model based on dynamic correlation with an application to crude oil and stock markets.

PubMed

Lu, Fengbin; Qiao, Han; Wang, Shouyang; Lai, Kin Keung; Li, Yuze

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a new time-varying coefficient vector autoregressions (VAR) model, in which the coefficient is a linear function of dynamic lagged correlation. The proposed model allows for flexibility in choices of dynamic correlation models (e.g. dynamic conditional correlation generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models, Markov-switching GARCH models and multivariate stochastic volatility models), which indicates that it can describe many types of time-varying causal effects. Time-varying causal relations between West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil and the US Standard and Poor's 500 (S&P 500) stock markets are examined by the proposed model. The empirical results show that their causal relations evolve with time and display complex characters. Both positive and negative causal effects of the WTI on the S&P 500 in the subperiods have been found and confirmed by the traditional VAR models. Similar results have been obtained in the causal effects of S&P 500 on WTI. In addition, the proposed model outperforms the traditional VAR model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ROSAT Discovers Unique, Distant Cluster of Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1995-06-01

Brightest X-ray Cluster Acts as Strong Gravitational Lens Based on exciting new data obtained with the ROSAT X-ray satellite and a ground-based telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory, a team of European astronomers [2] has just discovered a very distant cluster of galaxies with unique properties. It emits the strongest X-ray emission of any cluster ever observed by ROSAT and is accompanied by two extraordinarily luminous arcs that represent the gravitationally deflected images of even more distant objects. The combination of these unusual characteristics makes this cluster, now known as RXJ1347.5-1145, a most interesting object for further cosmological studies. DISCOVERY AND FOLLOW-UP OBSERVATIONS This strange cluster of galaxies was discovered during the All Sky Survey with the ROSAT X-ray satellite as a moderately intense X-ray source in the constellation of Virgo. It could not be identified with any already known object and additional ground-based observations were therefore soon after performed with the Max-Planck-Society/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile. These observations took place within a large--scale redshift survey of X-ray clusters of galaxies detected by the ROSAT All Sky Survey, a so-called ``ESO Key Programme'' led by astronomers from the Max-Planck-Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik and the Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera. The main aim of this programme is to identify cluster X-ray sources, to determine the distance to the X-ray emitting clusters and to investigate their overall properties. These observations permitted to measure the redshift of the RXJ1347.5-1145 cluster as z = 0.45, i.e. it moves away from us with a velocity (about 106,000 km/sec) equal to about one-third of the velocity of light. This is an effect of the general expansion of the universe and it allows to determine the distance as about 5,000 million light-years (assuming a Hubble constant of 75 km/sec/Mpc). In other words, we see these galaxies as they were 5,000 million years ago. Knowing the intensity of the X-ray emission as measured by ROSAT and also the distance, the astronomers were then able to estimate the total X-ray energy emitted by this cluster. It was found to be extremely high [3], in fact higher than that of any other cluster ever observed by ROSAT. It amounts to no less than 1.5 million million times the total energy emitted by the Sun. It is believed that this strong X-ray emission originates in a hot gas located between the galaxies in the cluster. The high temperature indicates that the components of the gas move very rapidly; this is related to the strong gravitational field within the cluster. THE GRAVITATIONAL ARCS To their great surprise and delight, the astronomers also discovered two bright arcs, 5 - 6 arcseconds long and symmetrically placed about 35 arcseconds to the North-East and South-West of the brightest galaxies in the cluster (see the photo). They were detected on exposures of only 3 minutes duration with the 2.2-metre telescope and are among the brightest such arcs ever found. At the indicated distance, the arcs are situated at a projected distance of about 500,000 light-years from the centre of the cluster. It is an interesting possibility that the two arcs may in fact be two images of the same, very distant galaxy, that is situated far beyond RXJ1347.5-1145 and whose light has been bent and split by this cluster's strong gravitational field. This strange phenomenon was first discovered in the late 1970's and is referred to as gravitational lensing. Quite a few examples are now known, in most cases in the form of double or multiple images of quasars. About three dozen cases involve well visible galaxy clusters and elongated arcs, but few, if any, of these arcs are as bright as those seen in the present cluster. This particular arc configuration enables a very accurate determination of the total mass of the cluster, once the distance of the background galaxy has been measured (by obtaining spectra of the arcs and measuring their redshift). The masses of galaxy clusters are important for the determination, for instance of the mean density and distribution of matter in the universe. This is because these clusters are the most massive, clearly defined objects known and as such trace these parameters in the universe on very large scales. Another possibility to derive the cluster mass is offered by X-ray observations, because the distribution of the hot, X-ray emitting gas traces the gravitational field of the cluster. Recently, in some clusters there has been a discrepancy between the mass determined in this way and that found from gravitational lensing effects. The team of astronomers now hopes that follow-up X-ray observations of RXJ1347.5-1145 will help to solve this puzzle. Moreover, the combination of extremely high X-ray brightness and the possibility to perform a rather accurate mass determination by the gravitational lensing effect makes this particular cluster a truly unique object. In view of the exceptional X-ray brightness, a very high mass is expected. The exact determination will be possible, as soon as spectra have been obtained of the two arcs. Contrary to what is the case in other clusters, this will not be so difficult, due to their unusual brightness and their ideal geometrical configuration. [1] This is a joint Press Release of ESO and the Max-Planck-Society. It is accompanied by a B/W photo. [2] The investigation described in this Press Release is the subject of a Letter to the Editor which will soon appear in the European journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, with the following authors: Sabine Schindler (Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik and Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik, Garching, Germany), Hans Boehringer, Doris M. Neumann and Ulrich G. Briel (Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany), Luigi Guzzo (Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Merate, Italy), Guido Chincarini (Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Merate, and Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Milano, Italy), Harald Ebeling (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, U.K.), Chris A. Collins (School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, John-Moores University, Liverpool, U.K.), Sabrina De Grandi (Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Milano, Italy), Peter Shaver (ESO, Garching, Germany) and Giampaolo Vettolani (Istituto di Radioastronomia del CNR, Bologna, Italy). [3] The total X-ray energy emitted by RXJ1347.5-1145 is (6.2 +-0.6) 10^45 erg s-1 in the range 0.1--2.4 keV. ESO Press Information is made available on the World-Wide Web (URL: http://www.hq.eso.org/) and on CompuServe (space science and astronomy area, GO SPACE)

Physical Activity of German Children and Adolescents 2003–2012: The MoMo-Study

PubMed Central

Henn, Annette; Albrecht, Claudia; Woll, Alexander

2017-01-01

Organized and unorganized physical activity (PA) hold an important role in the daily life of children and adolescents. Regular representative tracking of PA in different settings is important to evaluate social trends and implemented interventions. In this paper, representative PA data of German children and adolescents from the MoMo Baseline-Study (2004, n = 4528) are compared to those of Wave 1 (2010, n = 3994). Participants aged 4–17 were drawn out of 167 sample points in Germany and the data was weighted to ensure representativeness. PA was measured via questionnaire and was differentiated between organized (sports clubs and schools) and unorganized (unorganized sports and playing outside). Organized PA in extracurricular activities and sports clubs increased by eight percent, while unorganized PA decreased by seven percent. In addition to sports clubs, schools became a more prevalent setting for participation in physical activity in Germany. PMID:29137127

Physical Activity of German Children and Adolescents 2003-2012: The MoMo-Study.

PubMed

Schmidt, Steffen C E; Henn, Annette; Albrecht, Claudia; Woll, Alexander

2017-11-11

Organized and unorganized physical activity (PA) hold an important role in the daily life of children and adolescents. Regular representative tracking of PA in different settings is important to evaluate social trends and implemented interventions. In this paper, representative PA data of German children and adolescents from the MoMo Baseline-Study (2004, n = 4528) are compared to those of Wave 1 (2010, n = 3994). Participants aged 4-17 were drawn out of 167 sample points in Germany and the data was weighted to ensure representativeness. PA was measured via questionnaire and was differentiated between organized (sports clubs and schools) and unorganized (unorganized sports and playing outside). Organized PA in extracurricular activities and sports clubs increased by eight percent, while unorganized PA decreased by seven percent. In addition to sports clubs, schools became a more prevalent setting for participation in physical activity in Germany.

Changes in physical functioning among men and women aged 50-79 years in Germany: an analysis of National Health Interview and Examination Surveys, 1997-1999 and 2008-2011.

PubMed

Buttery, A K; Du, Y; Busch, M A; Fuchs, J; Gaertner, B; Knopf, H; Scheidt-Nave, C

2016-12-01

This study examines changes in physical functioning among adults aged 50-79 years in Germany based on data from two German National Health Interview and Examination Surveys conducted in 1997-1999 (GNHIES98) and 2008-2011 (DEGS1). Using cross-sectional data from the two surveys (GNHIES98, n = 2884 and DEGS1, n = 3732), we examined changes in self-reported physical functioning scores (Short Form-36 physical functioning subscale (SF-36 PF)) by sex and age groups (50-64 and 65-79 years). Covariables included educational level, living alone, nine chronic diseases, polypharmacy (≥5 prescribed medicines), body mass index, sports activity, smoking and alcohol consumption. Multimorbidity was defined as ≥2 chronic diseases. Multivariable models were fitted to examine consistency of changes in physical functioning among certain subgroups and to assess changes in mean SF-36 PF scores, adjusting for changes in covariables between surveys. Mean physical functioning increased among adults aged 50-79 years between surveys in unadjusted analyses, but this change was not as marked among men aged 65-79 years who experienced rising obesity (20.6 to 31.5%, p = 0.004) and diabetes (13.0 to 20.0%, p = 0.014). Prevalence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy use increased among men and women aged 65-79 years. In sex and age specific multivariable analyses, changes in physical functioning over time were consistent across subgroups. Gains in physical functioning were explained by improved education, lower body mass index and improved health-related behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, sports activity) in women, but less so among men. Physical functioning improved in Germany among adults aged 50-79 years. Improvements in the population 65-79 years were less evident among men than women, despite increases in multimorbidity prevalence among both sexes. Changes in health behaviours over time differed between sexes and help explain variations in physical functioning. Targeted health behaviour interventions are indicated from this study.

Development of the European Health Interview Survey - Physical Activity Questionnaire (EHIS-PAQ) to monitor physical activity in the European Union.

PubMed

Finger, Jonas D; Tafforeau, Jean; Gisle, Lydia; Oja, Leila; Ziese, Thomas; Thelen, Juergen; Mensink, Gert B M; Lange, Cornelia

2015-01-01

A domain-specific physical activity questionnaire (EHIS-PAQ) was developed in the framework of the second wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). This article presents the EHIS-PAQ and describes its development and evaluation processes. Research institutes from Belgium, Estonia and Germany participated in the Improvement of the EHIS (ImpEHIS) Grant project issued by Eurostat. The instrument development process comprised a non-systematic literature review and a systematic HIS/HES database search for physical activity survey questions. The developed EHIS-PAQ proposal was reviewed by survey experts. Cognitive testing of the EHIS-PAQ was conducted in Estonia and Germany. The EHIS-PAQ was further tested in a pilot survey in Belgium, Estonia and Germany in different modes of data collection, face-to-face paper and pencil interview (PAPI) and computer assisted telephone interview (CATI). The EHIS-PAQ is a rather pragmatic tool aiming to evaluate how far the population is physically active in specific public health relevant settings. It assesses work-related, transport-related and leisure-time physical activity in a typical week. Cognitive testing revealed that the EHIS-PAQ worked as intended. The pilot testing showed the feasibility of using the EHIS-PAQ in an international health interview survey setting in Europe. It will be implemented in all 28 European Union Member States via European Union implementing regulation in the period between 2013 and 2015. This will be a first opportunity to get comparable data on domain-specific physical activity in all 28 EU MS and to publish indicators at the EU level. The EHIS-PAQ is a short, domain-specific PA questionnaire based on PA questions which have been used in large-scale health interview surveys before. It was designed by considering the respondents' perspective in answering PA questions.

ESO adaptive optics facility progress report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arsenault, Robin; Madec, Pierre-Yves; Paufique, Jerome; La Penna, Paolo; Stroebele, Stefan; Vernet, Elise; Pirard, Jean-Francois; Hackenberg, Wolfgang; Kuntschner, Harald; Jochum, Lieselotte; Kolb, Johann; Muller, Nicolas; Le Louarn, Miska; Amico, Paola; Hubin, Norbert; Lizon, Jean-Louis; Ridings, Rob; Abad, Jose A.; Fischer, Gert; Heinz, Volker; Kiekebusch, Mario; Argomedo, Javier; Conzelmann, Ralf; Tordo, Sebastien; Donaldson, Robert; Soenke, Christian; Duhoux, Philippe; Fedrigo, Enrico; Delabre, Bernard; Jost, Andreas; Duchateau, Michel; Downing, Mark; Moreno, Javier R.; Dorn, Reinhold; Manescau, Antonio; Bonaccini Calia, Domenico; Quattri, Marco; Dupuy, Christophe; Guidolin, Ivan M.; Comin, Mauro; Guzman, Ronald; Buzzoni, Bernard; Quentin, Jutta; Lewis, Steffan; Jolley, Paul; Kraus, Maximilian; Pfrommer, Thomas; Biasi, Roberto; Gallieni, Daniele; Bechet, Clementine; Stuik, Remko

2012-07-01

The ESO Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF) consists in an evolution of one of the ESO VLT unit telescopes to a laser driven adaptive telescope with a deformable mirror in its optical train. The project has completed the procurement phase and several large structures have been delivered to Garching (Germany) and are being integrated (the AO modules GRAAL and GALACSI and the ASSIST test bench). The 4LGSF Laser (TOPTICA) has undergone final design review and a pre-production unit has been built and successfully tested. The Deformable Secondary Mirror is fully integrated and system tests have started with the first science grade thin shell mirror delivered by SAGEM. The integrated modules will be tested in stand-alone mode in 2012 and upon delivery of the DSM in late 2012, the system test phase will start. A commissioning strategy has been developed and will be updated before delivery to Paranal. A substantial effort has been spent in 2011-2012 to prepare the unit telescope to receive the AOF by preparing the mechanical interfaces and upgrading the cooling and electrical network. This preparation will also simplify the final installation of the facility on the telescope. A lot of attention is given to the system calibration, how to record and correct any misalignment and control the whole facility. A plan is being developed to efficiently operate the AOF after commissioning. This includes monitoring a relevant set of atmospheric parameters for scheduling and a Laser Traffic control system to assist the operator during the night and help/support the observing block preparation.

ROSAT Science Data Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, Stephen; Pisarski, Ryszard L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This report provides a summary of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) ROSAT SCIENCE DATA CENTER (RSDC) activities for the recent years of our contract. Details have already been reported in the monthly reports. The SAO was responsible for the High Resolution Imager (HRI) detector on ROSAT. We also provided and supported the HRI standard analysis software used in the pipeline processing (SASS). Working with our colleagues at the Max Planck in Garching Germany (MPE), we fixed bugs and provided enhancements. The last major effort in this area was the port from VMS/VAX to VMS/ALPHA architecture. In 1998, a timing bug was found in the HRI standard processing system which degraded the positional accuracy because events accessed incorrect aspect solutions. The bug was fixed and we developed off-line correction routines and provided them to the community. The Post Reduction Off-line Software (PROS) package was developed by SAO and runs in the IRAF environment. Although in recent years PROS was not a contractual responsibility of the RSDC, we continued to maintain the system and provided new capabilities such as the ability to deal with simulated AXAF data in preparation for the NASA call for proposals for Chandra. Our most recent activities in this area included the debugging necessary for newer versions of IRAF which broke some of our software. At SAO we have an operating version of PROS and hope to release a patch even though almost all functionality that was lost was subsequently recovered via an IRAF patch (i.e. most of our problems were caused by an IRAF bug).

Organized Sports, Overweight, and Physical Fitness in Primary School Children in Germany

PubMed Central

Steiner, Ronald P.; Brandstetter, Susanne; Klenk, Jochen; Wabitsch, Martin; Steinacker, Jürgen M.

2013-01-01

Physical inactivity is associated with poor physical fitness and increased body weight. This study examined the relationship between participation in organized sports and overweight as well as physical fitness in primary school children in southern Germany. Height, weight, and various components of physical fitness were measured in 995 children (7.6 ± 0.4 years). Sports participation and confounding variables such as migration background, parental education, parental body weight, and parental sports participation were assessed via parent questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression as well as multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to determine associations between physical fitness, participation in organized sports, and body weight. Participation in organized sports less than once a week was prevalent in 29.2%, once or twice in 60.2%, and more often in 10.6% of the children. Overweight was found in 12.4% of the children. Children participating in organized sports more than once per week displayed higher physical fitness and were less likely to be overweight (OR  =  0.52, P < 0.01). Even though causality cannot be established, the facilitation of participation in organized sports may be a crucial aspect in public health efforts addressing the growing problems associated with overweight and obesity. PMID:23533728

Strong Interaction Studies with PANDA at FAIR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schönning, Karin

2016-10-01

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany, provides unique possibilities for a new generation of nuclear-, hadron- and atomic physics experiments. The future PANDA experiment at FAIR will offer a broad physics programme with emphasis on different aspects of hadron physics. Understanding the strong interaction in the perturbative regime remains one of the greatest challenges in contemporary physics and hadrons provide several important keys. In these proceedings, PANDA will be presented along with some high-lights of the planned physics programme.

Anisotropies in the Diffuse Gamma-Ray Background Measured by the Fermi LAT

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-02

D-15738 Zeuthen, Germany 2W.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology , Department of Physics...and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA 3Department of Physics, Center for Cosmology and Astro...Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA 57Consorzio Interuniversitario per la Fisica Spaziale (CIFS), I-10133 Torino, Italy E. Komatsu{ Texas Cosmology Center

The Peculiarities of Physical Education Teachers' Professional Training: Foreign Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soltyk, Oleksandr

2017-01-01

The article deals with professional training of future teachers of physical education within the context of leading countries, namely the USA, Great Britain, China, Germany, France. The aforementioned countries are not just leaders in economical development; they are also leaders in sports. The analysis of literature resources allowed revealing a…

Studying Gender Bias in Physics Grading: The Role of Teaching Experience and Country

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hofer, Sarah I.

2015-01-01

The existence of gender-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) stereotypes has been repeatedly documented. This article examines physics teachers' gender bias in grading and the influence of teaching experience in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. In a 2?×?2 between-subjects design, with years of teaching experience included as…

Potentials of Physical Activity Promotion in Preschools--An Overview of Results of an Ethnographic Observation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pape, Natalie; Sterdt, Elena; Azouagh, Karima; Kramer, Silke; Walter, Ulla; Urban, Michael; Werning, Rolf

2016-01-01

This article addresses exemplary differences between preschools with systematic physical activity (PA) programmes and preschools without PA programmes in Germany. Two preschools from each group were visited in the context of a focused ethnographic observation to examine the educational practice, PA and social behaviour of preschool children. The…

[Staffing levels in medical radiation physics in radiation therapy in Germany. Summary of a questionnaire].

PubMed

Leetz, Hans-Karl; Eipper, Hermann Hans; Gfirtner, Hans; Schneider, Peter; Welker, Klaus

2003-10-01

To get a general idea of the actual staffing level situation in medical radiation physics in 1999 a survey was carried out by the task-group "Personalbedarf" of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medizinische Physik (DGMP) among all DGMP-members who are active in this field. Main components for equipment and activities are defined in Report 8 and 10 of DGMP for staffing requirements in medical radiation physics. 322 forms were sent out, 173 of them have been evaluated. From the answers regarding equipment and activities numbers for staff are calculated by the methods given in Report 8 and 10 for this spot check target and compared with effective staffing levels. The data of the spot check are then extrapolated on total Germany. The result is a calculated deficit of 865 medical physicists for the whole physics staff, 166 of them in radiation therapy. From the age distribution of DGMP-members and the calculated deficit resulted a training capacity of about 100 medical physicists at all per year (19 in radiation therapy) if the deficit shall be cut back in 10 years.

Studying Gender Bias in Physics Grading: The role of teaching experience and country

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofer, Sarah I.

2015-11-01

The existence of gender-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) stereotypes has been repeatedly documented. This article examines physics teachers' gender bias in grading and the influence of teaching experience in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, with years of teaching experience included as moderating variable, physics teachers (N = 780) from Switzerland, Austria, and Germany graded a fictive student's answer to a physics test question. While the answer was exactly the same for each teacher, only the student's gender and specialization in languages vs. science were manipulated. Specialization was included to gauge the relative strength of potential gender bias effects. Multiple group regression analyses, with the grade that was awarded as the dependent variable, revealed only partial cross-border generalizability of the effect pattern. While the overall results in fact indicated the existence of a consistent and clear gender bias against girls in the first part of physics teachers' careers that disappeared with increasing teaching experience for Swiss teachers, Austrian teachers, and German female teachers, German male teachers showed no gender bias effects at all. The results are discussed regarding their relevance for educational practice and research.

Learning Pathways, Learning Progression--The Process Matters: An Interview with Prof. Hans Niedderer about His Work as a Physics Education Researcher in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kulgemeyer, Christoph

2014-01-01

Hans Niedderer has contributed a lot to German physics education research. His work includes quantitative and qualitative studies about topics like the learning of physics concepts or the history and philosophy of science in science teaching, he has worked on theoretical issues as well as on textbooks. But it is not only his work that is…

Effect of Visual Impairment on Physical and Cognitive Function in Old Age: Findings of a Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study in Germany.

PubMed

Hajek, André; Brettschneider, Christian; Lühmann, Dagmar; Eisele, Marion; Mamone, Silke; Wiese, Birgitt; Weyerer, Siegfried; Werle, Jochen; Pentzek, Michael; Fuchs, Angela; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Luck, Tobias; Bickel, Horst; Weeg, Dagmar; Koppara, Alexander; Wagner, Michael; Scherer, Martin; Maier, Wolfgang; König, Hans-Helmut

2016-11-01

To examine how visual impairment affects physical and cognitive function in old age. A longitudinal population-based prospective cohort study. General practitioner offices at six study centers in Germany. They were observed every 1.5 years over four waves. Individuals aged 77-101 at follow-up Wave 2 (N = 2,394). Physical and cognitive function were assessed using an adapted scale that had been previously developed, and visual impairment was rated on a Likert scale (none, mild, severe or profound). Adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbidity, linear fixed-effects regression showed that the onset of severe visual impairment was associated with a decline in physical function score in the total sample (β = -0.15, P = .01) and in women (β = -.15, P = .03). Moreover, the onset of severe visual impairment was associated with decline in cognitive function score in the total sample (β = -0.38, P < .001) and in women (β = -0.38, P < .001) and men (β = -0.37, P = .001). Visual impairment affects physical and cognitive function in old age. Interventional strategies to postpone visual impairment may contribute to maintaining physical and cognitive function. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Finland to Join ESO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2004-03-01

Finland will become the eleventh member state of the European Southern Observatory. In a ceremony at the ESO Headquarters in Garching on 9 February 2004, an Agreement to this effect was signed by the Finnish Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Tuula Haatainen and the ESO Director General, Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, in the presence of other high officials from Finland and the ESO member states.

Effects of exchange rate volatility on export volume and prices of forest products

Treesearch

Sijia Zhang; Joseph Buongiorno

2010-01-01

The relative value of currencies varies considerably over time. These fluctuations bring uncertainty to international traders. As a result, the volatility in exchange rate movements may influence the volume and the price of traded commodities. The volatility of exchange rates was measured by the variance of residuals in a GARCH(1,1) model of the exchange rate. We...

Estimating long-run equilibrium real exchange rates: short-lived shocks with long-lived impacts on Pakistan.

PubMed

Zardad, Asma; Mohsin, Asma; Zaman, Khalid

2013-12-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that affect real exchange rate volatility for Pakistan through the co-integration and error correction model over a 30-year time period, i.e. between 1980 and 2010. The study employed the autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH), generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and Vector Error Correction model (VECM) to estimate the changes in the volatility of real exchange rate series, while an error correction model was used to determine the short-run dynamics of the system. The study is limited to a few variables i.e., productivity differential (i.e., real GDP per capita relative to main trading partner); terms of trade; trade openness and government expenditures in order to manage robust data. The result indicates that real effective exchange rate (REER) has been volatile around its equilibrium level; while, the speed of adjustment is relatively slow. VECM results confirm long run convergence of real exchange rate towards its equilibrium level. Results from ARCH and GARCH estimation shows that real shocks volatility persists, so that shocks die out rather slowly, and lasting misalignment seems to have occurred.

Stationarity test with a direct test for heteroskedasticity in exchange rate forecasting models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khin, Aye Aye; Chau, Wong Hong; Seong, Lim Chee; Bin, Raymond Ling Leh; Teng, Kevin Low Lock

2017-05-01

Global economic has been decreasing in the recent years, manifested by the greater exchange rates volatility on international commodity market. This study attempts to analyze some prominent exchange rate forecasting models on Malaysian commodity trading: univariate ARIMA, ARCH and GARCH models in conjunction with stationarity test on residual diagnosis direct testing of heteroskedasticity. All forecasting models utilized the monthly data from 1990 to 2015. Given a total of 312 observations, the data used to forecast both short-term and long-term exchange rate. The forecasting power statistics suggested that the forecasting performance of ARIMA (1, 1, 1) model is more efficient than the ARCH (1) and GARCH (1, 1) models. For ex-post forecast, exchange rate was increased from RM 3.50 per USD in January 2015 to RM 4.47 per USD in December 2015 based on the baseline data. For short-term ex-ante forecast, the analysis results indicate a decrease in exchange rate on 2016 June (RM 4.27 per USD) as compared with 2015 December. A more appropriate forecasting method of exchange rate is vital to aid the decision-making process and planning on the sustainable commodities' production in the world economy.

Hadron Physics with Antiprotons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wiedner, Ulrich

2005-10-26

The new FAIR facility which comes into operation at GSI in the upcoming years has a dedicated program of utilizing antiprotons for hadron physics. In particular, the planned PANDA experiment belongs to the group of core experiments at the new FAIR facility in Darmstadt/Germany. PANDA will be a universal detector to study the strong interaction by utilizing the annihilation process of antiprotons with protons and nuclear matter. The current paper gives an introduction into the hadron physics with antiprotons and part of the planned physics program with PANDA.

Educational inequalities in subjective health in Germany from 1994 to 2014: a trend analysis using the German Socio-Economic Panel study (GSOEP).

PubMed

Moor, Irene; Günther, Sebastian; Knöchelmann, Anja; Hoebel, Jens; Pförtner, Timo-Kolja; Lampert, Thomas; Richter, Matthias

2018-06-08

As trend studies have shown, health inequalities by income and occupation have widened or remained stable. However, research on time trends in educational inequalities in health in Germany is scarce. The aim of this study is to analyse how educational inequalities in health evolved over a period of 21 years in the middle-aged population in Germany, and whether the trends differ by gender. Data were obtained from the German Socio-Economic Panel covering the period from 1994 to 2014. In total, n=16 339 participants (106 221 person years) aged 30-49 years were included in the study sample. Educational level was measured based on the 'Comparative Analysis of Social Mobility in Industrial Nations' (CASMIN) classification. Health outcomes were self-rated health (SRH) as well as (mental and physical) health-related quality of life (HRQOL, SF-12v2). Absolute Index of Inequality (Slope Index of Inequality (SII)) and Relative Index of Inequality (RII) were calculated using linear and logarithmic regression analyses with robust SEs. Significant educational inequalities in SRH and physical HRQOL were found for almost every survey year from 1994 to 2014. Relative inequalities in SRH ranged from 1.50 to 2.10 in men and 1.25 to 1.87 in women (RII). Regarding physical HRQOL, the lowest educational group yielded 4.5 to 6.6 points (men) and 3.3 to 6.1 points (women) lower scores (SII). Although educational level increased over time, absolute and relative health inequalities remained largely stable over the last 21 years. For mental HRQOL, only few educational inequalities were found. This study found persistent educational inequalities in SRH and physical HRQOL among adults in Germany from 1994 to 2014. Our findings highlight the need to intensify efforts in social and health policies to tackle these persistent inequalities. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Health-related quality of life and sense of coherence among Polish immigrants in Germany and indigenous Poles.

PubMed

Morawa, Eva; Erim, Yesim

2015-06-01

Immigrants are faced with several impediments in the host country that may affect their quality of life (QoL), but little is known about the impact of these stressors as well as about the protective role of sense of coherence (SoC) in the context of Polish immigration to Germany. Health Related QoL (Short Form Health Survey SF-36) and SoC (Sense of Coherence Scale SOC-29) were assessed in a total sample consisting of 511 participants aged between 18 and 84 years (260 Polish immigrants in Germany and 251 indigenous Poles). Polish immigrants reported a significantly lower mental and physical health-related QoL than the German norm population, but they were comparable to native Poles. This result remained the same when the model was adjusted for age but physical health status was better for immigrants compared with indigenous Poles. Both groups scored significantly lower for SoC than Germans, but did not differ from each other. The main differences concerning the examined variables were with respect to the German norm population and are putatively shaped by culture. © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Chinese physicists educated in Germany and America: Their scientific contributions and their impact on China's higher education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Jing Cheng

1998-11-01

This dissertation records the historical paths of Chinese physicists educated in Germany and America, explores their representative achievements in modern physics that have not been recognized by Chinese scholars, and provides sociological analyses of their contributions to China's higher education. We have found that Chinese students of physics in Germany and America were not passive recipients of Western science, but active contributors. They were also crucial contributors to science education and important scientific projects upon their return to China. Chapter One briefly describes physics knowledge in ancient China and introduces the transplantation of modern science and technology to China. Three distinct historical periods have been identified. In Chapter Two and Chapter Three, 30 Chinese physicists educated in Germany and 89 in America have been investigated. This research analyzes the significant achievements of these physicists. It also examines the political changes, the social background, and other factors impacting on their studies in the two countries. The selected cases in the two chapters are Li Fo-ki, Chinese physics students in Berlin, Werner Heisenberg and his Chinese students, Max Born and his Chinese students, Robert Millikan and Chinese physicists, the first two Chinese physicists from Harvard, and the Science Society of China. Chapter Four explores the geographical distribution, education and careers, return and expatriation, and the social influence exerted by these Chinese physicists. Statistical compilation and quantitative analyses comprise the basic methodology. In terms of two periods and two generations, this dissertation explores the physicists' contributions to the development of modern science in China and to education in China. Significant cases from Beijing University, Qinghua University, and Yanjing University are analyzed. The last chapter, Chapter Five, concludes that some of the achievements of these Chinese physicists were critical steps in modern physics even though China remained domestically rather weak in the development of modern science. Returning to China, most of them became pioneers and active contributors to modern science and to higher education in China. They comprised the majority of the physics community of China and played a leading role in the formation of modern science in China. After 1949, China continued to benefit from the contributions of these physicists. China independently constructed an atomic bomb in 1964 and a hydrogen bomb in 1967. In 1970, China successfully launched a man-made satellite. The Chinese physicists trained in Western countries constituted the main research force behind these projects.

Portugal to Accede to ESO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2000-06-01

The Republic of Portugal will become the ninth member state of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) [1]. Today, during a ceremony at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany), a corresponding Agreement was signed by the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology, José Mariano Gago and the ESO Director General, Catherine Cesarsky , in the presence of other high officials from Portugal and the ESO member states (see Video Clip 05/00 below). Following subsequent ratification by the Portuguese Parliament of the ESO Convention and the associated protocols [2], it is foreseen that Portugal will formally join this organisation on January 1, 2001. Uniting European Astronomy ESO PR Photo 16/00 ESO PR Photo 16/00 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 405 pix - 160k] [Normal - JPEG: 800 x 809 pix - 408k] Caption : Signing of the Portugal-ESO Agreement on June 27, 2000, at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany). At the table, the ESO Director General, Catherine Cesarsky , and the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology, José Mariano Gago . In his speech, the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology, José Mariano Gago , stated that "the accession of Portugal to ESO is the result of a joint effort by ESO and Portugal during the last ten years. It was made possible by the rapid Portuguese scientific development and by the growth and internationalisation of its scientific community." He continued: "Portugal is fully committed to European scientific and technological development. We will devote our best efforts to the success of ESO". Catherine Cesarsky , ESO Director General since 1999, warmly welcomed the Portuguese intention to join ESO. "With the accession of their country to ESO, Portuguese astronomers will have great opportunities for working on research programmes at the frontiers of modern astrophysics." "This is indeed a good time to join ESO", she added. "The four 8.2-m VLT Unit Telescopes with their many first-class instruments are nearly ready, and the VLT Interferometer will soon follow. With a decision about the intercontinental millimetre-band ALMA project expected next year and the first concept studies for gigantic optical/infrared telescopes like OWL now well under way at ESO, there is certainly no lack of perspectives, also for coming generations of European astronomers!" Portuguese astronomy: a decade of progress The beginnings of the collaboration between Portugal and ESO, now culminating in the imminent accession of that country to the European research organisation, were almost exactly ten years ago. On July 10, 1990, the Republic of Portugal and ESO signed a Co-operation Agreement , aimed at full Portuguese membership of the ESO organisation within the next decade. During the interim period, Portuguese astronomers were granted access to ESO facilities while the Portuguese government would provide support towards the development of astronomy and the associated infrastructure in this country. A joint Portuguese/ESO Advisory Body was set up to monitor the development of Portuguese astronomy and its interaction with ESO. Over the years, an increasing number of measures to strengthen the Portuguese research infrastructure within astrophysics and related fields were proposed and funded. More and more, mostly young Portuguese astronomers began to make use of ESO's facilities at the La Silla observatory and recently, of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal. Now, ten years later, the Portuguese astronomical community is the youngest in Europe with more than 90% of its PhD's awarded during the last eight years. As expected, the provisional access to ESO telescopes - especially the Very Large Telescope (VLT) with its suite of state-of-the-art instruments for observations at wavelengths ranging from the UV to the mid-infrared - has proven to be a great incentive to the Portuguese scientists. As a clear demonstration of these positive developments, a very successful Workshop entitled "Portugal - ESO - VLT" was held in Lisbon on April 17-18, 2000. It was primarily directed towards young Portuguese scientists and served to inform them about the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the steadily evolving, exciting research possibilities with this world-class facility. Notes [1]: Current ESO member countries are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. [2]: The ESO Convention was established in 1962 and specifies the goals of ESO and the means to achieve these, e.g., "The Governments of the States parties to this convention... desirous of jointly creating an observatory equipped with powerful instruments in the Southern hemisphere and accordingly promoting and organizing co-operation in astronomical research..." (from the Preamble to the ESO Convention). Video Clip from the Signing Ceremony

PREFACE: Progress in the ITER Physics Basis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, K.

2007-06-01

I would firstly like to congratulate all who have contributed to the preparation of the `Progress in the ITER Physics Basis' (PIPB) on its publication and express my deep appreciation of the hard work and commitment of the many scientists involved. With the signing of the ITER Joint Implementing Agreement in November 2006, the ITER Members have now established the framework for construction of the project, and the ITER Organization has begun work at Cadarache. The review of recent progress in the physics basis for burning plasma experiments encompassed by the PIPB will be a valuable resource for the project and, in particular, for the current Design Review. The ITER design has been derived from a physics basis developed through experimental, modelling and theoretical work on the properties of tokamak plasmas and, in particular, on studies of burning plasma physics. The `ITER Physics Basis' (IPB), published in 1999, has been the reference for the projection methodologies for the design of ITER, but the IPB also highlighted several key issues which needed to be resolved to provide a robust basis for ITER operation. In the intervening period scientists of the ITER Participant Teams have addressed these issues intensively. The International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) has provided an excellent forum for scientists involved in these studies, focusing their work on the high priority physics issues for ITER. Significant progress has been made in many of the issues identified in the IPB and this progress is discussed in depth in the PIPB. In this respect, the publication of the PIPB symbolizes the strong interest and enthusiasm of the plasma physics community for the success of the ITER project, which we all recognize as one of the great scientific challenges of the 21st century. I wish to emphasize my appreciation of the work of the ITPA Coordinating Committee members, who are listed below. Their support and encouragement for the preparation of the PIPB were fundamental to its completion. I am pleased to witness the extensive collaborations, the excellent working relationships and the free exchange of views that have been developed among scientists working on magnetic fusion, and I would particularly like to acknowledge the importance which they assign to ITER in their research. This close collaboration and the spirit of free discussion will be essential to the success of ITER. Finally, the PIPB identifies issues which remain in the projection of burning plasma performance to the ITER scale and in the control of burning plasmas. Continued R&D is therefore called for to reduce the uncertainties associated with these issues and to ensure the efficient operation and exploitation of ITER. It is important that the international fusion community maintains a high level of collaboration in the future to address these issues and to prepare the physics basis for ITER operation. ITPA Coordination Committee R. Stambaugh (Chair of ITPA CC, General Atomics, USA) D.J. Campbell (Previous Chair of ITPA CC, European Fusion Development Agreement—Close Support Unit, ITER Organization) M. Shimada (Co-Chair of ITPA CC, ITER Organization) R. Aymar (ITER International Team, CERN) V. Chuyanov (ITER Organization) J.H. Han (Korea Basic Science Institute, Korea) Y. Huo (Zengzhou University, China) Y.S. Hwang (Seoul National University, Korea) N. Ivanov (Kurchatov Institute, Russia) Y. Kamada (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka, Japan) P.K. Kaw (Institute for Plasma Research, India) S. Konovalov (Kurchatov Institute, Russia) M. Kwon (National Fusion Research Center, Korea) J. Li (Academy of Science, Institute of Plasma Physics, China) S. Mirnov (TRINITI, Russia) Y. Nakamura (National Institute for Fusion Studies, Japan) H. Ninomiya (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka, Japan) E. Oktay (Department of Energy, USA) J. Pamela (European Fusion Development Agreement—Close Support Unit) C. Pan (Southwestern Institute of Physics, China) F. Romanelli (Ente per le Nuove tecnologie, l'Energia e l'Ambiente, Italy and European Fusion Development Agreement—Close Support Unit) N. Sauthoff (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, USA and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, USA) Y. Saxena (Institute for Plasma Research, India) Y. Shimomura (ITER Organization) R. Singh (Institute for Plasma Research, India) S. Takamura (Nagoya University, Japan) K. Toi (National Institute for Fusion Studies, Japan) M. Wakatani (Kyoto University, Japan (deceased)) H. Zohm (Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching, Germany)

Proceedings of the Joint Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (6th) Held at Albuquerque, New Mexico on 20-23 June 1994. (Journal of Applied Physics. Volume 76, Number 10, Part 2)

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-23

4728 Levitation, Propulsion, and Power and Control Magnetics Optimal Design of the Electromagnetic Levitation with Permanent and Electro Magnets-Y-K...Germany M. Richter and H. Eschrig MGP Research Group "Electron Systems," Technical University Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany Magnetic and specific... designed to achieve the desired 6M. G. Abele, Tenth International Workshop on Rare-Earth Magnets and field configuration. The ability to control the

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnes, Austin J.; Schmitt, Michael

2015-06-01

EUCMOS XXXII, the 32nd European Congress on Molecular Spectroscopy, was held during August 24-29, 2014, at the Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany. The meeting was organised by the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Heinrich-Heine University.

Dietrich Stauffer: Unconventional in Science and Life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chowdhury, Debashish

Dietrich Stauffer (DS) was born in Bonn on 6th February, 1943. He was awarded the Ph.D. degree in Physics by the Technical University of Munich in 1970 for his thesis on phase transitions and superfluidity of helium. After doing postdoctoral research in USA over the next few years, on phase transitions [1], droplet model and nucleation [2], he returned to Germany to join Kurt Binder's group at the Saar State University, Saarbrücken. During this period the classic works of Binder and Stauffer on the cluster theory of nucleation were published [3]. He completed his “Habilitation” (required as eligibility for tenured professor positions in Germany) in Saarbrücken in 1975. Then, in 1977, he joined the faculty of the University of Cologne as an associate professor in the Institute of Theoretical Physics where he has remained ever since.

Health-related locus of control and health behaviour among university students in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany.

PubMed

Helmer, Stefanie M; Krämer, Alexander; Mikolajczyk, Rafael T

2012-12-29

Health control beliefs were postulated to be associated with health behaviour. However, the results of studies assessing these associations suggest that they might not be universal. Among young adults associations have been reported, but the evidence is limited. The objective of this analysis was to re-examine these associations in a sample of university students in Germany. Data from a multicentre cross-sectional study among university students in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany was used (N=3,306). The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale with three dimensions (one internal and two external) and six aspects of health behaviour (smoking habits, alcohol use, drug consumption, being over-/ or underweight, physical activity, and importance of healthy nutrition) were evaluated. Students with stronger internal locus of control paid more attention to healthy nutrition and displayed a higher level of physical activity. Individuals with a stronger belief in health professionals were less likely to use drugs and paid more attention to healthy nutrition. Furthermore, higher scores in the second external locus of control dimension (beliefs in luck or chance) were associated with a higher likelihood of current smoking, lower physical activity and less attention to healthy nutrition. Students engaged more strongly in unhealthy behaviour if they believed that luck determines health. In contrast, believing in having control over one's own health was associated with more healthy behaviour. These findings support the need to consider health control beliefs while designing preventive strategies in this specific population.

Health-related locus of control and health behaviour among university students in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Health control beliefs were postulated to be associated with health behaviour. However, the results of studies assessing these associations suggest that they might not be universal. Among young adults associations have been reported, but the evidence is limited. The objective of this analysis was to re-examine these associations in a sample of university students in Germany. Findings Data from a multicentre cross-sectional study among university students in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany was used (N=3,306). The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale with three dimensions (one internal and two external) and six aspects of health behaviour (smoking habits, alcohol use, drug consumption, being over-/ or underweight, physical activity, and importance of healthy nutrition) were evaluated. Students with stronger internal locus of control paid more attention to healthy nutrition and displayed a higher level of physical activity. Individuals with a stronger belief in health professionals were less likely to use drugs and paid more attention to healthy nutrition. Furthermore, higher scores in the second external locus of control dimension (beliefs in luck or chance) were associated with a higher likelihood of current smoking, lower physical activity and less attention to healthy nutrition. Conclusions Students engaged more strongly in unhealthy behaviour if they believed that luck determines health. In contrast, believing in having control over one’s own health was associated with more healthy behaviour. These findings support the need to consider health control beliefs while designing preventive strategies in this specific population. PMID:23273039

Determinants of sports, cycling, walking and overall leisure-time physical activity among postmenopausal women in Germany.

PubMed

Steindorf, Karen; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Flesch-Janys, Dieter; Schmidt, Martina E

2010-11-01

Convincing evidence exists for a beneficial effect of physical activity (PA) on health and well-being for elderly women. Nevertheless, many women in Germany are insufficiently physically active. Activity promotion programmes should target women in particular need. Thus, we examined subject-related determinants of PA for postmenopausal women in Germany. Associations of sociodemographic, anthropometric, lifestyle and health-related factors with activity since the age of 50 years were assessed with multiple linear and logistic regression models, regarding overall leisure-time PA (LPA) in metabolic equivalent hours per week, engagement in sports (ever v. never), cycling (yes v. no) and walking (≥3·5 v. <3·5 h/week). All controls from a population-based case-control study carried out in 2002-2005 in Germany (MARIE study). A total of 6569 postmenopausal women. We found significant associations of overall LPA, sports, cycling and walking in postmenopausal years with several characteristics, among others: obese v. normal BMI (adjusted OR: ORsports = 0·73; ORcycling = 0·60; ORwalking = 0·63), tall v. short (ORsports = 1·49), worker v. medium employee (ORsports = 0·47), working full time v. unemployed/retired (ORsports = 0·80; ORwalking = 0·56), current v. non-smoker (ORsports = 0·62; ORcycling = 0·62; ORwalking = 0·82), non-German nationality (ORsports = 0·58; ORcycling = 0·41). Parity seemed more relevant than marital status for sports or cycling activity. Further, CVD, hypertension and diabetes were significantly associated with lower activity (ORsports = 0·77, 0·79 and 0·80; ORcycling = 0·80, 0·75 and 0·85, respectively). Our results suggest potential target groups for promoting sports, cycling or walking activity. Postmenopausal women with chronic diseases may need to be stronger encouraged by their physicians to engage in adequate PA for the management of their diseases.

Physics Knowledge of First Semester Physics Students in Germany: A Comparison of 1978 and 2013 Cohorts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buschhüter, David; Spoden, Christian; Borowski, Andreas

2017-01-01

Over the last decades, the percentage of the age group choosing to pursue university studies has increased significantly across the world. At the same time, there are university teachers who believe that the standards have fallen. There is little research on whether students nowadays demonstrate knowledge or abilities similar to that of the…

Does Relative Age Influence Motor Test Performance of Fourth Grade Pupils?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wattie, Nick; Tietjens, Maike; Schorer, Jörg; Ghanbari, Marie-Christine; Strauss, Bernd; Seidel, Ilka; Baker, Joseph

2014-01-01

The aim of the current study was to explore relative age's influence on physical and motor tests among fourth grade children (9 to 10 years) from Germany. Data from 1218 children (49% female) who had performed the German Motor Ability Test (Bös et al., 2009) were analysed. The test battery, which was comprised of physical and motor tests, included…

Calibration of hard x-ray (15 - 50 keV) optics at the MPE test facility PANTER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bräuninger, Heinrich; Burkert, Wolfgang; Hartner, Gisela D.; Citterio, Oberto; Ghigo, Mauro; Mazzoleni, Francesco; Pareschi, Giovanni; Spiga, Daniele

2004-02-01

The Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) in Garching, Germany, operates the large X-ray beam line facility PANTER for testing astronomical systems. At PANTER a number of telescopes like EXOSAT, ROSAT, SAX, JET-X, ABRIXAS, XMM and SWIFT operating in the soft energy range (0.02 - 15 keV) have been successfully calibrated. In the present paper we report on an important upgrade recently implemented that enables the calibration of hard X-ray optics (from 15 up to 50 keV). Currently hard X-ray optics based on single and multilayer coating are being developed for several future X-ray missions. The hard X-ray calibrations at PANTER are carried out by a high energy source based on an electron gun and several anodes, able to cover the energy range from 4.5 up to 50 keV. It provides fluxes up to 104 counts/sec/cm2 at the instrument chamber with a stability better than 1%. As detector a pn-CCD camera operating between 0.2 and 50 keV and a collecting area of 36 cm2 is used. Taking into account the high energy resolution of the CCD (145 eV at 6 keV), a very easy way to operate the facility in hard X-ray is in energy-dispersive mode (i.e. with a broad-band beam). A double crystal monochromator is also available providing energies up to 20 keV. In this paper we present the first results obtained by using PANTER for hard X-ray characterizations, performed on prototype multilayer optics developed by the Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera (OAB), Milano, Italy, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Cambridge, MA, USA.

A study of low mass x-ray binaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Catura, Richard C.

1994-01-01

The entire effort under this contract during the period through January 1992 was devoted to a study of the cost and schedule required to put an upgraded Aries payload on the ASTRO-SPAS carrier provided by the German space agency, DARA. The ASTRO-SPAS is flown on the Space Shuttle, deployed by the crew for 5 to 7 days of free-flying observations and then recovered and returned to Earth. The spectrograph was to be provided by a collaboration involving the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory (LPARL), the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA) at the U. of Colorado and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) in England. The payload for the ASTRO-SPAS mission included our own spectrograph and an instrument provided by Dr. Joachim Trumper of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) in Garching, Germany. A meeting was held in late July, 1991 with German scientists, DARA representatives and MBB, the ASTRO-SPAS spacecraft contractor. Sufficient information was exchanged to allow us to complete the study and the name LEXSA (Low Energy X-ray Spectrograph on ASTRO-SPAS) was given to our instrument and HERTA (High Energy x-Ray Telescope on ASTR0-SPAS) to the German instrument. The combination was called SPECTRO-SPAS. On October 1, 1991 CASA and LPARL submitted a cost and brief technical proposal to NASA on results of the study. The total cost over 4 fiscal years was 6.16 M dollars including CASA costs. NASA Headquarters was briefed on 3 October on details of the proposal. They found our costs reasonable, but indicated that the NASA FY '92 budget is extremely tight, they could not readily identify where the -S2.3M for LEXSA could be found and it was not clear that FY '93 would improve.

The European SL-9/JUPITER Workshop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1995-02-01

During the past six months, many astronomers - observational as well theoretical - have been busy interpreting the many data taken during the impacts and thereafter. This is a very labour-intensive task and although the first conclusions have begun to emerge, it has also become obvious that extensive consultations between the various groups are necessary before it will be possible to understand the very complex processes during the impacts and thereafter. In order to further the interaction among the involved scientists, it has been decided to hold a three-day "European SL-9/Jupiter Workshop" at the Headquarters of the European Southern Observatory. More than 100 astronomers will meet on February 13-15, 1995, and close to 100 reports will be delivered on this occasion. Although most come from European countries, the major groups on other continents are also well represented. This meeting will give the participants the opportunity to exchange information about their individual programmes and will serve to establish future collaborative efforts. SL-9/JUPITER PRESS CONFERENCE In this connection, ESO is pleased to invite the media to a Press Conference: Wednesday, February 15, 1995, 17:30 CET ESO Headquarters, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany This conference will be held at the end of the Workshop and will provide a thorough overview of the latest results, as presented during the meeting. Media representatives who are interested in participating in this Press Conference are requested to register with the ESO Information Service (Mrs. E. Völk, Tel.: +49-89-32006276; Fax: +49-89-3202362), at the latest on Friday, February 10, 1995. ESO Press Information is made available on the World-Wide Web (URL: http://www.hq.eso.org/) and on CompuServe (space science and astronomy area, GO SPACE).

Early German Plans for a Southern Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolfschmidt, Gudrun

As early as the 18th and 19th centuries, French and English observers were active in South Africa. Around the beginning of the 20th century the Heidelberg astronomer Max Wolf (1863-1932) proposed a southern observatory. In 1907 Hermann Carl Vogel (1841-1907), director of the Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam, suggested a southern station in Spain. His ideas for building an observatory in Windhuk for photographing the sky and measuring the solar constant were taken over by the Göttingen astronomers. In 1910 Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916), after having visited the observatories in America, pointed out the usefulness of an observatory in South West Africa, where it would have better weather than in Germany and also give access to the southern sky. Seeing tests were begun in 1910 by Potsdam astronomers, but WW I stopped the plans. In 1928 Erwin Finlay-Freundlich (1885-1964), inspired by the Hamburg astronomer Walter Baade (1893-1960), worked out a detailed plan for a southern observatory with a reflecting telescope, spectrographs and an astrograph with an objective prism. Paul Guthnick (1879-1947), director of the Berlin observatory, in cooperation with APO Potsdam and Hamburg, made a site survey to Africa in 1929 and found the conditions in Windhuk to be ideal. Observations were started in the 1930s by Berlin and Breslau astronomers, but were stopped by WW II. In the 1950s, astronomers from Hamburg and The Netherlands renewed the discussion in the framework of European cooperation, and this led to the founding of ESO in 1963, as is well described by Blaauw (1991). Blaauw, Adriaan: ESO's Early History. The European Southern Observatory from Concept to Reality. Garching bei München: ESO 1991.

G-7 countries : transportation highlights

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-11-01

This report provides summary statistics on the physical characteristics, use, and performance of transportation networks in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan--the Group of Seven (G-7) countries. Data on ...

Quality of life of Turkish type 2 diabetics in Germany and Turkey--a comparison between Hamburg and Istanbul.

PubMed

Kofahl, Christopher; Doğan, Mustafa; Doğan, Gülsün; Mnich, Eva; von dem Knesebeck, Olaf

2014-01-01

The analyses address the following research questions: (1) Do Turkish diabetics in Germany and Turkey differ in terms of quality of life? (2) If yes, can these differences (in part) be explained by social factors (age, gender, education, household size), functional limitations and availability of support? (3) Are social factors, functional limitations and availability of support differently associated with quality of life among Turkish diabetics in Germany and Turkey? For this comparative cross-sectional study, 111 patients with type 2 diabetes were personally interviewed in Istanbul (Turkey) and 294 Turkish patients in Hamburg (Germany). For quality of life measurement we have used the Turkish version of the WHOQOL-Bref-26. Sociodemographics included age, sex, education and household-size. Health related functional limitations were assessed on the basis of an index of (instrumental) activities of daily living including the availability of help. Statistical analyses were conducted on group comparisons with Chi-square- and T-tests as well as linear regressions. There are no significant differences between Turkish diabetics in Germany and Turkey in the physical and the psychological dimensions of the WHOQOL-Bref. However, in the WHOQOL-domains 'social QoL' and 'environmental QoL' Turkish diabetics living in Hamburg have a significantly better quality of life than their counterparts in Istanbul. These differences cannot be explained by individual sociodemographic factors, functional limitations and availability of support. Furthermore, we found much stronger positive associations between education and quality of life in Istanbul than in Hamburg. Beyond strong similarities between the two samples in sociodemographics, physical and mental health the social and environmental quality of life was significantly assessed better by the Turkish diabetics living in Hamburg. This is most likely an effect of public investment in social security, infrastructure and health care which is also influencing the decision as to where to spend life in retirement.

PREFACE: Loops 11: Non-Perturbative / Background Independent Quantum Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mena Marugán, Guillermo A.; Barbero G, J. Fernando; Garay, Luis J.; Villaseñor, Eduardo J. S.; Olmedo, Javier

2012-05-01

Loops 11 The international conference LOOPS'11 took place in Madrid from the 23-28 May 2011. It was hosted by the Instituto de Estructura de la Materia (IEM), which belongs to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientĺficas (CSIC). Like previous editions of the LOOPS meetings, it dealt with a wealth of state-of-the-art topics on Quantum Gravity, with special emphasis on non-perturbative background-independent approaches to spacetime quantization. The main topics addressed at the conference ranged from the foundations of Quantum Gravity to its phenomenological aspects. They encompassed different approaches to Loop Quantum Gravity and Cosmology, Polymer Quantization, Quantum Field Theory, Black Holes, and discrete approaches such as Dynamical Triangulations, amongst others. In addition, this edition celebrated the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the now well-known Ashtekar variables and the Wednesday morning session was devoted to this silver jubilee. The structure of the conference was designed to reflect the current state and future prospects of research on the different topics mentioned above. Plenary lectures that provided general background and the 'big picture' took place during the mornings, and the more specialised talks were distributed in parallel sessions during the evenings. To be more specific, Monday evening was devoted to Shape Dynamics and Phenomenology Derived from Quantum Gravity in Parallel Session A, and to Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity and Spin foams in Parallel Session B. Tuesday's three Parallel Sessions dealt with Black Hole Physics and Dynamical Triangulations (Session A), the continuation of Monday's session on Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity and Spin foams (Session B) and Foundations of Quantum Gravity (Session C). Finally, Thursday and Friday evenings were devoted to Loop Quantum Cosmology (Session A) and to Hamiltonian Loop Quantum Gravity (Session B). The result of the conference was very satisfactory and enlightening. Not only was it a showroom for the research currently being carried out by many groups throughout the world, but there was also a permanent look towards the future. During these days, the CSIC Campus witnessed many scientific conversations triggered by the interaction amongst the people and groups that participated in LOOPS'11 Madrid and which, in many cases, will crystallise into new results and advances in the field. The conference would not have been possible without the generous help of a number of national and international institutions. The organizers would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación), the Spanish Research Council, CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientĺficas), The BBVA Foundation (Fundación BBVA), The CONSOLIDER-CPAN project, the Spanish Society for Gravitation and Relativity (SEGRE), The Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M), and the European Science Foundation (ESF). The ESF, through the Quantum Gravity and Quantum Geometry network, provided full support for a number of young participants that have contributed to these proceedings: Dario Benedetti (Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam, Germany), Norbert Bodendorfer (Institute for Theoretical Physics III, FAU Erlangen Nürnberg, Germany), Mariam Bouhmadi López (CENTRA, Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofĺsica, Lisbon), Timothy Budd (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, The Netherlands), Miguel Campiglia (Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, Penn State University, USA), Gianluca Delfino (School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK), Maite Dupuis (Institute for Theoretical Physics III, FAU Erlangen Nürnberg, Germany), Michał Dziendzikowski (Institute of Theoretical Physics, Warsaw University, Poland), Muxin Han (Centre de Physique Théorique de Luminy, Marseille, France), Philipp Höhn (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, The Netherlands), Jacek Puchta (Centre de Physique Théorique de Luminy, Marseille, France), James Ryan (Albert Einstein Institute, Potsdam, Germany), Lorenzo Sindoni (Albert Einstein Institute, Golm, Germany), David Sloan (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, The Netherlands), Johannes Tambornino (Laboratoire de Physique, ENS Lyon, France), Andreas Thurn (Institute for Theoretical Physics III, FAU Erlangen Nürnberg, Germany), Francesca Vidotto (Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie, Grenoble, France), and Matteo Smerlak (Albert Einstein Institute, Golm, Germany). We would like to conclude this preamble by thanking all the attendants of the conference for their high and enthusiastic participation. The presence of a large number of past and present Loop Quantum Gravity practitioners, as well as a significant number of top researchers in other approaches to quantum gravity, provided ample opportunities for fruitful scientific exchanges and a very lively atmosphere. It is encouraging to see that, 25 years after the inception of Loop Quantum Gravity, there is a vibrant young community of researchers entering the field. Let us hope that, with their help, the quantization of general relativity can be successfully accomplished in the near future. The Editors Conference photograph

Memorial for Walter E. Meyerhof

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichler, Jörg

2007-08-01

Walter Meyerhof, one of the leading figures in the field of ion-atom collisions, passed away on May 27, 2006. He was 84 years old. He was born in Kiel, Germany, in the same year that his father, Otto Meyerhof, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of energetically important cycles in biological processes. Following his flight from Hitler-Germany in 1938, Walter Meyerhof studied from 1939-1940 at the Ecole de Physique et Chimie Industrielles in Paris, but when France too fell under Nazi occupation, he had to escape once again. In an exciting odyssey via Spain and Portugal he finally reached the United States. He received a doctorate degree in physics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1946 with a thesis in solid-state physics. In the same year, he became Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois and in 1949 at Stanford University. In 1952 he was promoted to Associate Professor and in 1959 to Full Professor. From 1970 to 1977 he served as a Chairman of the Stanford Physics Department (see Fig. 1).

Modeling inflation rates and exchange rates in Ghana: application of multivariate GARCH models.

PubMed

Nortey, Ezekiel Nn; Ngoh, Delali D; Doku-Amponsah, Kwabena; Ofori-Boateng, Kenneth

2015-01-01

This paper was aimed at investigating the volatility and conditional relationship among inflation rates, exchange rates and interest rates as well as to construct a model using multivariate GARCH DCC and BEKK models using Ghana data from January 1990 to December 2013. The study revealed that the cumulative depreciation of the cedi to the US dollar from 1990 to 2013 is 7,010.2% and the yearly weighted depreciation of the cedi to the US dollar for the period is 20.4%. There was evidence that, the fact that inflation rate was stable, does not mean that exchange rates and interest rates are expected to be stable. Rather, when the cedi performs well on the forex, inflation rates and interest rates react positively and become stable in the long run. The BEKK model is robust to modelling and forecasting volatility of inflation rates, exchange rates and interest rates. The DCC model is robust to model the conditional and unconditional correlation among inflation rates, exchange rates and interest rates. The BEKK model, which forecasted high exchange rate volatility for the year 2014, is very robust for modelling the exchange rates in Ghana. The mean equation of the DCC model is also robust to forecast inflation rates in Ghana.

Long-term memory and volatility clustering in high-frequency price changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

oh, Gabjin; Kim, Seunghwan; Eom, Cheoljun

2008-02-01

We studied the long-term memory in diverse stock market indices and foreign exchange rates using Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA). For all high-frequency market data studied, no significant long-term memory property was detected in the return series, while a strong long-term memory property was found in the volatility time series. The possible causes of the long-term memory property were investigated using the return data filtered by the AR(1) model, reflecting the short-term memory property, the GARCH(1,1) model, reflecting the volatility clustering property, and the FIGARCH model, reflecting the long-term memory property of the volatility time series. The memory effect in the AR(1) filtered return and volatility time series remained unchanged, while the long-term memory property diminished significantly in the volatility series of the GARCH(1,1) filtered data. Notably, there is no long-term memory property, when we eliminate the long-term memory property of volatility by the FIGARCH model. For all data used, although the Hurst exponents of the volatility time series changed considerably over time, those of the time series with the volatility clustering effect removed diminish significantly. Our results imply that the long-term memory property of the volatility time series can be attributed to the volatility clustering observed in the financial time series.

Press Meeting 20 January 2003: First Light for Europe's Virtual Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-12-01

Imagine you are an astronomer with instant, fingertip access to all existing observations of a given object and the opportunity to sift through them at will. In just a few moments, you can have information on all kinds about objects out of catalogues all over the world, including observations taken at different times. Over the next two years this scenario will become reality as Europe's Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) develops. Established only a year ago (cf. ESO PR 26/01), the AVO already offers astronomers a unique, prototype research tool that will lead the way to many outstanding new discoveries. Journalists are invited to a live demonstration of the capabilities of this exciting new initiative in astronomy. The demonstration will take place at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Manchester, in the United Kingdom, on 20 January 2003, starting at 11:00. Sophisticated AVO tools will help scientists find the most distant supernovae - objects that reveal the cosmological makeup of our Universe. The tools are also helping astronomers measure the rate of birth of stars in extremely red and distant galaxies. Journalists will also have the opportunity to discuss the project with leading astronomers from across Europe. The new AVO website has been launched today, explaining the progress being made in this European Commission-funded project: URL: http://www.euro-vo.org/ To register your intention to attend the AVO First Light Demonstration, please provide your name and affiliation by January 13, 2003, to: Ian Morison, Jodrell Bank Observatory (full contact details below). Information on getting to the event is included on the webpage above. Programme for the AVO First Light Demonstration 11:00 Welcome, Phil Diamond (University of Manchester/Jodrell Bank Observatory) 11:05 Short introduction to Virtual Observatories, Piero Benvenuti (ESA/ST-ECF) 11:15 Q&A 11:20 Short introduction to the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory, Peter Quinn (ESO) 11:30 Q&A 11:35 Screening of Video News Release 11:40 Demonstration of the AVO prototype, Nicholas Walton (University of Cambridge) 12:00 Q&A, including interview possibilities with the scientists 12:30-13:45 Buffet lunch, including individual hands-on demos 14:00 Science Demo (also open to interested journalists) For more information about Virtual Observatories and the AVO, see the website or the explanation below. Notes to editors The AVO involves several partner organisations led by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The other partner organisations are the European Space Agency (ESA), AstroGrid (funded by PPARC as part of the UK's E-Science programme), the CNRS-supported Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS), the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, the CNRS-supported TERAPIX astronomical data centre at the Institut d'Astrophysique in Paris, France, and the Jodrell Bank Observatory of the Victoria University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Note [1]: This is a joint Press Release issued by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre, AstroGrid, CDS, TERAPIX/CNRS and the University of Manchester. Science Contacts Peter J. Quinn European Southern Observatory (ESO) Garching, Germany Tel: +49-89-3200 -6509 email: pjq@eso.org Phil Diamond University of Manchester/Jodrell Bank Observatory United Kingdom Tel: +44-147-757-26-25 (0147 in the United Kingdom) email: pdiamond@jb.man.ac.uk Press contacts Ian Morison University of Manchester/Jodrell Bank Observatory United Kingdom Tel: +44-147-757-26-10 (0147 in the United Kingdom) E-mail: email: im@jb.man.ac.uk Lars Lindberg Christensen Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre Garching, Germany Tel: +49-89-3200-6306 (089 in Germany) Cellular (24 hr): +49-173-3872-621 (0173 in Germany) email: lars@eso.org Richard West (ESO EPR Dept.) ESO EPR Dept. Garching, Germany Phone: +49-89-3200-6276 email: rwest@eso.org Background information What is a Virtual Observatory? - A short introduction The Virtual Observatory is an international astronomical community-based initiative. It aims to allow global electronic access to the available astronomical data archives of space and ground-based observatories, sky survey databases. It also aims to enable data analysis techniques through a coordinating entity that will provide common standards, wide-network bandwidth, and state-of-the-art analysis tools. It is now possible to have powerful and expensive new observing facilities at wavelengths from the radio to the X-ray and gamma-ray regions. Together with advanced instrumentation techniques, a vast new array of astronomical data sets will soon be forthcoming at all wavelengths. These very large databases must be archived and made accessible in a systematic and uniform manner to realise the full potential of the new observing facilities. The Virtual Observatory aims to provide the framework for global access to the various data archives by facilitating the standardisation of archiving and data-mining protocols. The AVO will also take advantage of state-of-the-art advances in data-handling software in astronomy and in other fields. The Virtual Observatory initiative is currently aiming at a global collaboration of the astronomical communities in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia under the auspices of the recently formed International Virtual Observatory Alliance. The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory - An Introduction The breathtaking capabilities and ultrahigh efficiency of new ground and space observatories have led to a 'data explosion' calling for innovative ways to process, explore, and exploit these data. Researchers must now turn to the GRID paradigm of distributed computing and resources to solve complex, front-line research problems. To implement this new IT paradigm, you have to join existing astronomical data centres and archives into an interoperating and single unit. This new astronomical data resource will form a Virtual Observatory (VO) so that astronomers can explore the digital Universe in the new archives across the entire spectrum. Similarly to how a real observatory consists of telescopes, each with a collection of unique astronomical instruments, the VO consists of a collection of data centres each with unique collections of astronomical data, software systems, and processing capabilities. The Astrophysical Virtual Observatory Project (AVO) will conduct a research and demonstration programme on the scientific requirements and technologies necessary to build a VO for European astronomy. The AVO has been jointly funded by the European Commission (under FP5 - Fifth Framework Programme) with six European organisations participating in a three year Phase-A work programme, valued at 5 million Euro. The partner organisations are the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Munich, Germany, the European Space Agency (ESA), AstroGrid (funded by PPARC as part of the UK's E-Science programme), the CNRS-supported Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS), the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, the CNRS-supported TERAPIX astronomical data centre at the Institut d'Astrophysique in Paris, France, and the Jodrell Bank Observatory of the Victoria University of Manchester, United Kingdom. The Phase A program will focus its effort in the following areas: * A detailed description of the science requirements for the AVO will be constructed, following the experience gained in a smaller-scale science demonstration program called ASTROVIRTEL (Accessing Astronomical Archives as Virtual Telescopes). * The difficult issue of data and archive interoperability will be addressed by new standards definitions for astronomical data and trial programmes of "joins" between specific target archives within the project team. * The necessary GRID and database technologies will be assessed and tested for use within a full AVO implementation. The AVO project is currently working in conjunction with other international VO efforts in the United States and Asia-Pacific region. This is part of an International Virtual Observatory Alliance to define essential new data standards so that the VO concept can have a global dimension. The AVO partners will join with all astronomical data centres in Europe to put forward an FP6 IST (Sixth Framework Programme - Information Society Technologies Programme) Integrated Project proposal to make a European VO fully operational by the end of 2007.

Gesellschaft fuer angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik, Scientific Annual Meeting, Universitaet Stuttgart, Federal Republic of Germany, Apr. 13-17, 1987, Reports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recent advances in the analytical and numerical treatment of physical and engineering problems are discussed in reviews and reports. Topics addressed include fluid mechanics, numerical methods for differential equations, FEM approaches, and boundary-element methods. Consideration is given to optimization, decision theory, stochastics, actuarial mathematics, applied mathematics and mathematical physics, and numerical analysis.

Predictors of Learned Helplessness among Average and Mildly Gifted Girls and Boys Attending Initial High School Physics Instruction in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ziegler, Albert; Finsterwald, Monika; Grassinger, Robert

2005-01-01

In mathematics, physics, and chemistry, women are still considered to be at a disadvantage. In the present study, the development of the symptoms of learned helplessness was of particular interest. A study involving average and mildly gifted 8th-grade boys and girls (top 60%) investigated whether girls, regardless of ability level, experience…

[Quo vadis Therapeutic Health Care Professionals--What do Occupational and Physical Therapists Think about their Future? Results of a Survey throughout Germany].

PubMed

Ketels, G; Schön, G; van den Bussche, H; Barzel, A

2015-11-01

The introduction of occupational and physical therapy as academic disciplines is evidence of radical changes in the therapeutic health care professions. Therapists' professional associations are planning and negotiating both with health insurance companies and with other branches of the health care professions concerning future spheres of activity. In order to find out what the therapists in these professions think about their future, we conducted a survey of physical and occupational therapists through-out Germany. Our findings regarding professional life, job satisfaction, competition and cooperation have already been published. This article presents therapists' assessments of the future of their professions. From May until December 2008 we performed a cross-sectional survey, interviewing physical and occupational therapists throughout Germany. Statements were answered on a 6-step Likert scale; open questions were answered in free-text fields. The evaluation was performed quantitatively; the free texts were also evaluated qualitatively. A total of 3,506 questionnaires were evaluated; 1,273 were completed by occupational therapists and 2,233 by physical therapists. Nearly half of the therapists (n=1,687; 48.4%) used the opportunity to emphasise the need for change. We identified 4,026 statements about 8 general topics: remuneration, employee co-determination, professional recognition, continuing education, cooperation, initial access to the professions, and their academic status. Therapists illustrated certain items in the questionnaire with examples from their professional experience, suggested additional topics, and proposed concrete changes. We document a broad range of opinions and concerns, especially in regard to such subjects concerning the future of the professions as their new academic status and initial access. Physical and occupational therapists are concerned about the future development of their professions. They see a need for change in the following areas: remuneration, employee co-determination, initial access and cooperation as well as in the development of their profession as an academic discipline. Policy makers need to heed therapists' assessments of the state of their professions and their calls for its increased professionalisation. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Promotion of Physical Activity Using Point-of-Decision Prompts in Berlin Underground Stations

PubMed Central

Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk; Nocon, Marc; Reinhold, Thomas; Willich, Stefan N.

2010-01-01

To evaluate point-of-decision prompts in the promotion of stair use in Germany, motivational posters were placed at three underground stations in Berlin. The proportion of passengers using stairs or stairways was counted before, during installation, and two weeks after removal of posters. In total, 5,467 passersby were counted. Stair use increased significantly in women, but not in men. The present pilot study thereby shows that the use of point-of-decision prompts is also feasible in Germany and it provides some evidence of effectiveness. Methodologically rigorous studies are warranted to confirm these findings. PMID:20948947

News

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-03-01

UK Awards: Teacher of Physics Awards Institute Matters: Institute of Physics Education Conference UK Awards: Top SHAP students win prizes Competition: International creative essay competition UK Awards: Kelvin Medal Particle Physics Resources: New poster from PPARC Australia: Physics Students's Day at Adventure World UK Awards: Bragg Medal winners in a FLAP ASE Annual Meeting: Particle Physics at ASE 2002 UK Grants: PPARC Awards AAPT Winter Meeting: Physics First - but do you need maths? UK In-Service Training: The Particle Physics Institutes for A-level teachers Physics on Stage 2: Not too entertaining this time, please! Scotland: A reasoned approach wins reasonable funding Institute Matters: New education manager Germany: Physics gets real: curriculum change for better teaching Research Frontiers: Let there be light - if you hang on a minute

Hostile environmental intellectuals? Critiques and counter-critiques of science and technology in West Germany after 1945.

PubMed

Beyler, Richard H

2008-12-01

Paul Forman, in his work on physics in Weimar Germany, advanced the thesis that an irrationalist current within German intellectual history was then suddenly exacerbated in a context of defeat and political crisis. After World War II, Germany's situation was if any thing even more catastrophic; nevertheless, a comparable climate of irrationalism arose only in a limited way. The collapse of National Socialism was, in effect, sufficiently explicable on rational grounds to resort to a philosophical fatalism. F. G. Jünger, as a possible exception, put forward a theory of autonomous, demonic technology as an explanation; many cultural critics of the time, however, found these views unrealistic and favored an integration of technical and humanistic approaches. Moreover, even a new wave of (sometimes apocalyptic) literature of environmental crisis focused on specific scientifically analyses rather than a diffuse cultural pessimism.

Problems with German Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riess, Falk

The main problems of science (especially physics) teaching in Germany are students'' lack of interest and motivation in the subject, their poor understanding of scientific concepts, ideas, methods,and results, and their lack of comprehension of the social, political, and epistemological role of science. These circumstances result in a growing `scientific illiteracy'' of the population and adecline in democratic quality concerning decision making processes about scientific and technological projects. One means of improving this situation lies in the use of history and philosophy of science in science teaching. School science curricula and textbooks neglect almost completely the importance of history and philosophy of science. In this paper, the main empirical results concerning motivation and knowledge are given. Some examples from science curricula and textbooks are presented, and some of the few reform projects in Germany are listed. As a consequence a compensatory program is proposed in order to create the prerequisites for raising science education in Germany to an international standard.

PREFACE: International Conference on Magnetism (ICM 2009)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goll, Gernot; Löhneysen, Hilbert v.; Loidl, Alois; Pruschke, Thomas; Richter, Manuel; Schultz, Ludwig; Sürgers, Christoph; Wosnitza, Jochen

2010-11-01

The International Conference on Magnetism 2009 (ICM 2009) was held in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 26-31 July 2009. Previous conferences in this series were organized in Edingburgh, United Kingdom (1991), Warsaw, Poland (1994), Cairns, Australia (1997), Recife, Brazil (2000), Rome, Italy (2003) and Kyoto, Japan (2006). As with previous ICM conferences, the annual Conference on Strongly Correlated Electron Systems (SCES) was integrated into ICM 2009. Conference photograph Participants of ICM 2009 in front of the Stadthalle Karlsruhe. Topics of ICM 2009 were: Strongly Correlated Electron Systems; Quantum and Classical Spin Systems; Magnetic Structures and Interactions; Magnetization Dynamics and Micromagnetics; Spin-Dependent Transport; Spin Electronics; Magnetic Thin Films, Particles, and Nanostructures; Soft and Hard Magnetic Materials and their Applications; Novel Materials and Device Applications; Magnetic Recording and Memories; Measuring Techniques and Instrumentation, as well as Interdisciplinary Topics. We are grateful to the International Advisory Committee for their help in putting up an attractive program encompassing practically all aspects of magnetism, both experimentally and theoretically. The program committee comprised A Loidl, Germany (Chair), M A Continentino, Brazil, D E Dahlberg, USA, D Givord, France, G Güntherodt, Germany, H Mikeska, Germany, D Kaczorowski, Poland, Ching-Ray Chang, South Korea, I Mertig, Germany, D Vollhardt, Germany and E F Wassermann, Germany was also head of the National Organizing Committee. His help is gratefully acknowledged. Photographs Left: Poster session in the Stadthalle Karlsruhe. Upper right: H v Löhneysen (Conference Chairman), Nobel Laureates A Fert and P. Grünberg, E Umbach (Chairman of the Executive Board of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe) (left to right). Lower right: Nobel Laureate P W Anderson. The scientific program started on Monday 27 July 2009 with opening addresses by the Conference Chairman, the deputy Mayor of Karlsruhe, Ms M Mergen, and the Chairman of the Executive Board of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, E Umbach. ICM 2009 was attended by the Nobel Laureates P W Anderson, A Fert and P Grünberg who gave plenary talks. A special highlight was the presentation of the Magnetism Award and Néel Medal to S S P Parkin who presented his newest results in a plenary talk as well. The IUPAP Young Scientist Award on Magnetism was given to S O Valenzuela, E Saitoh and T Kimura. The sessions were held in the Stadthalle Karlsuhe operated by the Karlsruher Messe- und Kongress-GmbH (KMK). We are grateful to Ms M Mäkelburg (KMK) for a perfect organization at the conference site. The conference was attended by 1552 participants from 48 countries, with about 50 percent from overseas (see figure). The program entailed six plenary talks (40 minutes each), with 16 half-plenary and 41 invited talks (30 minutes) and 298 contributed talks (15 minutes). Extended lunch breaks and evenings were devoted to the poster sessions, with a total of 1632 posters presented. Attendance breakdown All submitted papers were reviewed in order to meet the standards of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter and Journal of Physics: Conference Series. The referees made every effort possible to ensure that the manuscripts submitted for publication in the proceedings reach a high standard. The tremendous work in organizing the paper classification and refereeing procedures was carried out by the Publication Committee which was headed by J Wosnitza, and comprised, in addition, Th Pruschke, M Richter and L Schultz. We also thank G Douglas, IOP Publishing, for his efficient support with the preparation of these proceedings. We gratefully acknowledge the help of L Behrens, E Maass and B Schelske in preparing the conference. The conference would not have been possible without G Goll (conference secretary) and C Sürgers (finance). I thank them for their great help. Thanks go to the many students in blue T-shirts who helped to run the conference. We are grateful for financial support to Universität Karlsruhe (TH) and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (both institutions merged to form the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as of 1 October 2009), International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the City of Karlsruhe, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German National Science Foundation) and the European Commission through COST MPNS Action P16. Hilbert v Löhneysen Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Email address: hilbert.loehneysen@kit.edu Logo Conference Organization Chairperson Hilbert v Löhneysen, Karlsruhe Members of IUPAP Commission 9 Magnetism C Chang, TaipeiD Kaczorowski, Wroclaw khrouhou, SfaxP H Kes, Leiden M A Continentino, NiteróiS Maekawa, Sendai D E Dahlberg, MinnesotaI Mertig, Halle D Fiorani, RomaD McMorow, London M R Freeman, EdmontonS Rezende, Recife D Givord, GrenobleS Sanvito, Dublin A Granovsky, MoscowJ Xiaofeng, Shanghai International Advisory Board G Aeppli, UKM Gingras, Canada I Affleck, CanadaJ C Gomez Sal, Spain J Akimitsu, JapanP A Grünberg, Germany D Awschalom, USAB Heinrich, Canada S D Bader, USAT J Hicks, Australia E Baggio-Saitovitch, BrazilM R Ibarra, Spain M N Baibich, BrazilY H Jeong, Korea G Baskaran, IndiaB Keimer, Germany E Bauer, AustriaG Kotliar, USA R J Birgeneau, USAR B Laughlin, USA P Bruno, GermanyP A Lee, USA J Chapman, UKG G Lonzarich, UK Y Endoh, JapanA MacDonald, USA A Fert, FranceM B Maple, USA J Fink, GermanyA J Millis, USA Z Fisk, USAL W Molenkamp, Germany J Flouquet, FranceJ A Mydosh, Germany A J Freeman, USAY Maeno, Japan H Fukuyama, JapanK Miyake, Japan P Fulde, GermanyP Nordblad, Sweden H Ohno, JapanF Steglich, Germany H R Ott, SwitzerlandT Takabatake, Japan Y Onuki, JapanJ L Tholence, France S S P Parkin, USAY Tokura, Japan A P Ramirez, USAK Ueda, Japan T M Rice, SwitzerlandD Vollhardt, Germany Z X Shen, USAE F Wassermann, Germany S -C Shin, KoreaM K Wu, Taiwan T Shinjo, JapanD Y Xing, China J C Slonczewski, USAY D Yao, Taiwan H Szymczak, PolandF C Zhang, Hong Kong National Organizing Committee E F Wassermann (Chair), DuisburgB Keimer, Stuttgart G Bayreuther, RegensburgJ Litterst, Braunschweig T Brückel, JülichI Mertig, Halle B Büchner, DresdenG Reiss, Bielefeld R Claessen, WürzburgK Samwer, Göttingen M Farle, DuisburgL Schultz, Dresden M Fähnle, StuttgartF Steglich, Dresden G Güntherodt, AachenD Vollhardt, Augsburg P Grünberg, JülichJ Wecker, Erlangen W Hanke, WürzburgD Weiss, Regensburg B Hillebrands, KaiserslauternR Wiesendanger, Hamburg R Hilzinger, HanauJ Wosnitza, Dresden A Loidl, AugsburgP Wöle, Karlsruhe A Kasten, RheinstettenH Zabel, Bochum Program Committee A Loidl, Germany (Chair)D Kaczorowski, Poland Ching-Ray Chang, TaiwanI Mertig, Germany M A Continentino, BrazilH Mikeska, Germany D E Dahlberg, USAD Vollhardt, Germany D Givord, FranceE F Wassermann, Germany G Güntherodt, Germany

Endogenous risk-taking and physical appearance of sex workers.

PubMed

Egger, Peter H; Lindenblatt, Andreas

2015-12-01

Previous research found that physical appearance affects the risk-taking of sex workers through offering unprotected services. This paper utilizes a large individual-level data set covering 16,583 pay-for-sex contracts in 2011 and 2012 by 2,517 female suppliers in Germany. Results based on instrumental variables suggest that the incentive for risk-taking is about twice as high than when assuming random assignment of risk-taking.

Gauge Invariance and the Goldstone Theorem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guralnik, Gerald S.

This paper was originally created for and printed in the "Proceedings of seminar on unified theories of elementary particles" held in Feldafing, Germany from July 5 to 16, 1965 under the auspices of the Max-Planck-Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Munich. It details and expands upon the 1964 Guralnik, Hagen, and Kibble paper demonstrating that the Goldstone theorem does not require physical zero mass particles in gauge theories.

Giving students a taste of research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thoennessen, Michael

2008-02-01

When I was studying physics at the University of Cologne, Germany - admittedly a fairly long time ago - I once carried out an experiment that involved counting hundreds of pendulum oscillations. Using just a stopwatch to roughly measure the period of the oscillation we determined g, the gravitational acceleration on Earth. It was rote, tedious and only roughly accurate work. It was not an experience that inspired me to pursue a career in physics.

Partner, workplace, and stranger abuse during pregnancy in Germany.

PubMed

Stöckl, Heidi; Hertlein, Linda; Friese, Klaus; Stöckl, Doris

2010-11-01

To investigate the prevalence, perpetrators, sociodemographic correlates, and health impacts of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse during pregnancy among women attending a maternity ward in Germany. A written questionnaire was given to pregnant women in a maternity ward of a university hospital in Munich. Abuse during pregnancy was assessed using the Abuse Assessment Screen. Of 552 women, 401 completed the questionnaire for a response rate of 72.6%. The prevalence of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse during pregnancy by any perpetrator was 6.7% (n = 27); the main perpetrators were women's partners and work colleagues. After controlling for the effect of age, psychological, physical, or sexual abuse during pregnancy was significantly associated with a history of abuse, low education level of the woman and the father of her child, short relationship duration, unintended pregnancy, financial problems caused by the pregnancy, having more than 3 children, and insufficient social support. Women who reported abuse during pregnancy were significantly more likely to smoke and to have adverse maternal health outcomes. Psychological, physical, or sexual abuse during pregnancy was experienced by 1 in 15 women who attended a maternity ward in Munich and adversely affected maternal health outcomes. Copyright © 2010 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Was Nazi Germany on the Road to an Atomic Bomb after all?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lustig, Harry

2006-04-01

The story of Germany's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon during World War II is a much written about and contentious subject. However there has been agreement on one thing: by the end of the War the Germans had not achieved and were nowhere near to building a bomb. The dispute therefore has been about why Germany did not succeed. Now, from Germany, comes a challenge to this truth, in the provocative book Hitlers Bombe by Rainer Karlsch. The bombshell in Hitler's Bombe is the assertion that German scientists developed and tested a primitive fission and fusion nuclear weapon in March 1945. Karlsch bases this claim on testimony of witnesses in 1962, previously secret Russian documents, and the results of soil tests carried out in 2004 and 2005. However the physics is very murky and it seems out of the question that Germany had enough Uranium 235 or produced any Plutonium for a bomb. Hitlers Bombe also makes other, better documented and more credible revisionist assertions. These include the claim that the Nazis did continue to try to build a bomb after 1942 and that not Werner Heisenberg, but Kurt Diebner and Walther Gerlach were then the leaders of the German Uranium project. Karlsch's book therefore deserves more attention from physicists and historians than it has received in the United States.

POWTEX Neutron Diffractometer at FRM II - New Perspectives for In-Situ Rock Deformation Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, J. M.; Stipp, M.; Ullemeyer, K.; Klein, H.; Leiss, B.; Hansen, B. T.; Kuhs, W. F.

2012-04-01

In Geoscience quantitative texture analysis here defined as the quantitative analysis of the crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO), is a common tool for the investigation of fabric development in mono- and polyphase rocks, their deformation histories and kinematics. Bulk texture measurements also allow the quantitative characterisation of the anisotropic physical properties of rock materials. A routine tool to measure bulk sample volumes is neutron texture diffraction, as neutrons have large penetration capabilities of several cm in geological sample materials. The new POWTEX (POWder and TEXture) Diffractometer at the neutron research reactor FRM II in Garching, Germany is designed as a high-intensity diffractometer by groups from the RWTH Aachen, Forschungszentrum Jülich and the University of Göttingen. Complementary to existing neutron diffractometers (SKAT at Dubna, Russia; GEM at ISIS, UK; HIPPO at Los Alamos, USA; D20 at ILL, France; and the local STRESS-SPEC and SPODI at FRM II) the layout of POWTEX is focused on fast time-resolved experiments and the measurement of larger sample series as necessary for the study of large scale geological structures. POWTEX is a dedicated beam line for geoscientific research. Effective texture measurements without sample tilting and rotation are possible firstly by utilizing a range of neutron wavelengths simultaneously (Time-of-Flight technique) and secondly by the high detector coverage (9.8 sr) and a high flux (~1 - 107 n/cm2s) at the sample. Furthermore the instrument and the angular detector resolution is designed also for strong recrystallisation textures as well as for weak textures of polyphase rocks. These instrument characteristics allow in-situ time-resolved texture measurements during deformation experiments on rocksalt, ice and other materials as large sample environments will be implemented at POWTEX. The in-situ deformation apparatus is operated by a uniaxial spindle drive with a maximum axial load of 250 kN, which will be redesigned to minimize shadowing effects inside the cylindrical detector. The HT deformatione experiments will be carried out in uniaxial compression or extension and an upgrade to triaxial deformation conditions is envisaged. The load frame can alternatively be used for ice deformation by inserting a cryostat cell for temperatures down to 77 K with a triaxial apparatus allowing also simple shear experiments on ice. Strain rates range between 10-8 and 10-3 s-1 reaching to at least 50 % axial strain. The deformation apparatus is designed for continuous long-term deformation experiments and can be exchanged between in-situ and ex-situ placements during continuous operation inside and outside the neutron detector.

Public Support for Weight-Related Antidiscrimination Laws and Policies

PubMed Central

Hilbert, Anja; Hübner, Claudia; Schmutzer, Gabriele; Danielsdottir, Sigrun; Brähler, Elmar; Puhl, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Objective Weight-related discrimination is prevalent and associated with health impairments for those who are targeted, which underscores the need of antidiscrimination legislation. This study is the first to examine public support of weight-related antidiscrimination laws or policies in Germany, compared to the US and Iceland. Methods In a representative German population sample (N = 2,513), public support for general and employment-specific weight-related antidiscrimination policies, weight-based victimization, and weight bias internalization were measured through established self-report questionnaires. Results Half of the German population sample agreed with antidiscrimination policies. General antidiscrimination laws received lower support than employment-specific laws. Support for policies considering obesity a physical disability was greatest in Germany, whereas support for employment-specific antidiscrimination laws was lower in Germany than in the US and Iceland. Total support for weight-related antidiscrimination policies was significantly predicted by lower age, female gender, obese weight status, residence in West Germany, church membership, and readiness to vote in elections. Conclusion German support for weight-related antidiscrimination policies is moderate. Increasing awareness about weight-related discrimination and laws prohibiting this behavior may help to promote policy acceptance. PMID:28384631

Ethnicity and Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seele, Claudia

2012-01-01

Dominant discourses in Germany portray children with a so-called "migration background" implicitly or explicitly as "the Other" in relation to a normative image of "German children." Family origins, language, and physical appearance act as important criteria in this process of ethnifying children. Embedded within this…

News

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2004-03-01

Italy’s Physics Olympiad creates greater interest and motivation House of Experiments: 'humour helps in the teaching of science' Science takes stage in Germany PPARC news: guide and awards Schools newspaper competition focuses on Venus Website offers practical advice SHAP workshop will sharpen up teachers' skills Students will soon use Faulkes Telescope North to see the stars Talk takes a tour of the universe ASE 2004 Welsh physicists share secrets Switch students on to physics Teachers Awards 2004 recognize quality of teaching AAPT spends winter in Miami sun Schools Physics Group meeting will take place at Rugby School

Exupéry - a mobile fast response system for managing a volcanic crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hort, M. K.

2009-12-01

Despite ever increasing efforts to monitor historically active volcanoes many of those are still very poorly or unmonitored, even in highly populated areas. In case of volcanic unrest or even a volcanic crisis evaluating the situation is therefore often very difficult due to the little information that is available for that specific volcano. Over the past decades several different programs have supported volcanic crisis management efforts in third world countries from sending experts all the way to improving or even installing new networks around the volcano. One of the main problems especially when quickly upgrading networks during a crisis is that each system usually comes with its own acquisition and processing system which makes it very difficult to manage the observational network and provide an interdisciplinary interpretation of the data with respect to the activity status of the volcano. Here we present a newly developed volcano fast response system which overcomes several of these shortcomings. The core of the system is a novel database (SEISHUB) that allows for the collection of data of various kinds, i.e. simple time series data like seismic data, gas measurements, GPS measurements, as well as satellite data (SO2 flux, thermal anomaly, ground deformation). Part of the collected data may also come from an already existing network. Data from new field instruments are transmitted through a wireless network that has been specifically designed for the volcano fast response system. One of the main difficulties with such a multidisciplinary data set is an easy access to the data. This is provided through a common Web based GIS interface which allows various datalayers being simultaneously accessed through a Web Browser. The underlying software is designed in such a way that it only uses open source software, so it can be easily installed on other systems not having to deal with purchasing proprietary software. Aside from this the system provides tools to analyze the incoming data (e.g. earthquake classification, rapid moment tensor inversion, deformation modeling, an automatic alert level system) which are currently under development. Exupery Working Group: Barsch R (2); Bernsdorf S (3); Beyreuther M (2); Cong X (4); Dahm T (1); Eineder M (4); Erbertseder T (4); Gerstenecker C (5); Hammer C (6); Hansteen T (7); Krieger L (1); Läufer G (5); Maerker C (4); Montalvo Garcia A (1); Ohrnberger M (6); Rix M (4); Rödelsperger S (5); Seidenberger K (4); Shirzaei M (8); Stammler K (9); Stittgen H (9); Valks P (4); Walter T (8); Wallenstein N (10); Wassermann J (2); Zakšek K (1) (1)Institute of Geophysics, Hamburg, Germany; (2) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Geophysical Observatory, Munich, Germany; (3)Centauron - geosoftware & consulting, Weimar, Germany; (4)DLR Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany; (5)Institute of Physical Geodesy, Darmstadt, Germany; (6)Institute of Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany; (7) IFM-GEOMAR, Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, Germany; (8)Department physics of the earth, GFZ, Potsdam, Germany; (9)BGR, Geocentre Hannover, Germany; (10)CVARG, Universidade Dos Acores; Portugal

Housing and health in Germany.

PubMed

Pollack, C E; von dem Knesebeck, O; Siegrist, J

2004-03-01

To examine the association between housing tenure and self rated health, controlling for socioeconomic measures and testing the mediating effects of physical features of the home, pollution in the local environment, and relationships with neighbours. Cross sectional panel study with people nested within households. Analyses were performed using multilevel methods. Population based sample in Germany. People aged 16 or older were interviewed in the 1999 wave of the socio-economic panel study (n = 14 055) and nested within households (n = 7381). 44.0% of the population lived in homes that they owned. In bivariate analyses, women, people who live in apartment buildings, reside near cities, live in crowded homes, have homes in need of renovation, report higher pollution, and have distant contact with neighbours are more likely to live in rented homes. In multilevel analyses, renting a home was found to be associated with poor self rated health (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.68). This relation persisted after controlling for education and income and was partially mediated by the need for household renovation, the perception of air and noise pollution in the local area, and distant relationship with neighbours, all of which were significantly associated with self rated health. This study provides evidence that home ownership is significantly associated with self rated health in Germany, and this relation may be, in part, mediated by physical and social features of home and neighbourhood.

Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of the compliance with the physical activity guidelines in children and adolescents in Germany.

PubMed

Jekauc, Darko; Reimers, Anne K; Wagner, Matthias O; Woll, Alexander

2012-08-30

Regular physical activity (PA) is a prerequisite for normal growth and maturation, health, and fitness of children and adolescents. Because of the growing evidence of the health benefits of regular PA, several national and international public health organisations have established PA guidelines. The purpose of this study was to assess the percentage of children and adolescents in Germany who meet the PA guideline of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA each day and to evaluate socio-demographic correlates of compliance with the PA guideline. The sample consists of 4,529 children and adolescents aged between 4 and 17 years who lived and were registered in the Federal Republic of Germany between 2003 and 2006. The compliance with the PA guideline was assessed using a widely accepted screening measure. Socioeconomic status, immigration background and residential area were assessed using a parent questionnaire. Overall, 13.1% of girls and 17.4% of boys complied with the national guideline of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA daily. While compliance was significantly lower in older participants of both gender groups, the steepest decrease in compliance was observed for age groups around the transition time from primary to secondary school. Logistic regression revealed that socioeconomic status and a migration background were significant predictors for compliance in girls and residential area for compliance in boys. Programs and policy action addressing the problem of decreasing compliance with PA guideline with increasing age are warranted. The transition from primary school to secondary school seems to be a critical stage in life with respect to PA behaviour. Therefore, specific interventions should aim at restructuring and reorganising their daily and physical activities during this transition.

[Physiotherapy and physical therapy in pain management].

PubMed

Egan, M; Seeger, D; Schöps, P

2015-10-01

Patients attend physiotherapy and physical therapy (PT) due to pain problems and/or functional impairments. Although the main focus for therapists has traditionally been physical examination and treatment of tissue structures and biomechanics, over the last few decades a growing body of research has highlighted the importance of central nervous system processing and psychosocial contributors to pain perception. Treatment with PT aims to reduce disability and suffering by reducing pain and increasing tolerance to movement. In Germany, pain management conducted by physiotherapists is currently undergoing major changes. Firstly, PT education is transitioning from a vocational to a degree level and additionally new concepts for improved multidisciplinary treatment approaches are being developed. However, there still remain substantial differences between therapists working in multidisciplinary pain clinics and those following medical referral in private practices. This article provides information on how national and international impulses have contributed to the development of different concepts of passive therapies and active/functional pain rehabilitation in Germany. In the future PT will need to provide more evidence about efficiency and modes of actions for different treatment options to selectively reason the application to patients with acute, subacute and chronic pain.

PREFACE: The International Conference on Highly Frustrated Magnetism HFM2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eremin, Ilya; Brenig, Wolfram; Kremer, Reinhard; Litterst, Jochen

2009-01-01

The International Conference on Highly Frustrated Magnetism 2008 (HFM2008) took place on 7-12 September 2008 at the Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, Germany. This conference was the fourth event in a series of meetings, which started in Waterloo, Canada (HFM 2000), followed by the second one in Grenoble, France (HFM 2003), and the third meeting in Osaka, Japan (HFM 2006). HFM2008 attracted more than 220 participants from all over the world. The number of participants of the HFM conference series has been increasing steadily, from about 80 participants at HFM 2000, to 120 participants at HFM 2003, and 190 participants at HFM 2006, demonstrating that highly frustrated magnetism remains a rapidly growing area of research in condensed matter physics. At the end of HFM2008 it was decided that the next International Conference on Highly Frustrated Magnetism will be held in Baltimore, USA in 2010. HFM2008 saw four plenary talks by R Moessner, S Nakatsuji, S-W Cheong, and S Sachdev, 18 invited presentations, 30 contributed talks and about 160 poster presentations from all areas of frustrated magnetism. The subjects covered by the conference included: Kagome systems Itinerant frustrated systems Spinels and pyrochlore materials Triangular systems Unconventional order and spin liquids Chain systems Chain systems Novel frustrated systems This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains the proceedings of HFM2008 with 83 papers that provide a scientific record of the scientific topics covered by the conference. All articles have been refereed by experts in the field. It is our hope that the reader will enjoy and profit from the HFM2008 Proceedings. Ilya Eremin Proceedings Editor Wolfram Brenig, Reinhard Kremer, and Jochen Litterst Co-Editors International Advisory Board L Balents (USA) F Becca (Italy) S Bramwell (UK) P Fulde (Germany) B D Gaulin (Canada) J E Greedan (Canada) A Harrison (France) Z Hiroi (Japan) H Kawamura (Japan) A Keren (Israel) C Lacroix (France) C Lhuillier (France) A Loidl (Germany) G Misguich (France) J Richter (Germany) A M Olés (Poland) P Schiffer (USA) R Stern (Estonia) O Tchernyshyov (USA) M R. Valenti (Germany) G Zwicknagl (Germany) International Program Committee W Brenig (Germany) C Broholm (USA) M Gingras (Canada) K Ueda (Japan) P Mendels (France) F Mila (Switzerland) R Moessner (Germany) Conference photograph On behalf of the HFM2008 Organizing Committee, I wish to express my sincere thanks to everyone who supported us in organizing and setting up HFM2008. Especially, I would like to thank the European Science Foundation and the Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung for the generous financial support, the Technische Universität Braunschweig and the City of Braunschweig for hosting the conference, all colleagues who served on the Advisory and Program Board, the Referees, and last but not least, the staff members from Stuttgart and Braunschweig, Mrs Gisela Siegle, Mrs Regine Noack and Mrs Katharina Schnettler, for their helpful and invaluable assistance. Reinhard Kremer

The X-shooter pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Modigliani, Andrea; Goldoni, Paolo; Royer, Frédéric; Haigron, Regis; Guglielmi, Laurent; François, Patrick; Horrobin, Matthew; Bristow, Paul; Vernet, Joel; Moehler, Sabine; Kerber, Florian; Ballester, Pascal; Mason, Elena; Christensen, Lise

2010-07-01

The X-shooter data reduction pipeline, as part of the ESO-VLT Data Flow System, provides recipes for Paranal Science Operations, and for Data Product and Quality Control Operations at Garching headquarters. At Paranal, it is used for the quick-look data evaluation. The pipeline recipes can be executed either with EsoRex at the command line level or through the Gasgano graphical user interface. The recipes are implemented with the ESO Common Pipeline Library (CPL). X-shooter is the first of the second generation of VLT instruments. It makes possible to collect in one shot the full spectrum of the target from 300 to 2500 nm, subdivided in three arms optimised for UVB, VIS and NIR ranges, with an efficiency between 15% and 35% including the telescope and the atmosphere, and a spectral resolution varying between 3000 and 17,000. It allows observations in stare, offset modes, using the slit or an IFU, and observing sequences nodding the target along the slit. Data reduction can be performed either with a classical approach, by determining the spectral format via 2D-polynomial transformations, or with the help of a dedicated instrument physical model to gain insight on the instrument and allowing a constrained solution that depends on a few parameters with a physical meaning. In the present paper we describe the steps of data reduction necessary to fully reduce science observations in the different modes with examples on typical data calibrations and observations sequences.

Scale dependence of galaxy biasing investigated by weak gravitational lensing: An assessment using semi-analytic galaxies and simulated lensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Patrick; Hilbert, Stefan

2018-05-01

Galaxies are biased tracers of the matter density on cosmological scales. For future tests of galaxy models, we refine and assess a method to measure galaxy biasing as a function of physical scale k with weak gravitational lensing. This method enables us to reconstruct the galaxy bias factor b(k) as well as the galaxy-matter correlation r(k) on spatial scales between 0.01 h Mpc-1 ≲ k ≲ 10 h Mpc-1 for redshift-binned lens galaxies below redshift z ≲ 0.6. In the refinement, we account for an intrinsic alignment of source ellipticities, and we correct for the magnification bias of the lens galaxies, relevant for the galaxy-galaxy lensing signal, to improve the accuracy of the reconstructed r(k). For simulated data, the reconstructions achieve an accuracy of 3-7% (68% confidence level) over the above k-range for a survey area and a typical depth of contemporary ground-based surveys. Realistically the accuracy is, however, probably reduced to about 10-15%, mainly by systematic uncertainties in the assumed intrinsic source alignment, the fiducial cosmology, and the redshift distributions of lens and source galaxies (in that order). Furthermore, our reconstruction technique employs physical templates for b(k) and r(k) that elucidate the impact of central galaxies and the halo-occupation statistics of satellite galaxies on the scale-dependence of galaxy bias, which we discuss in the paper. In a first demonstration, we apply this method to previous measurements in the Garching-Bonn Deep Survey and give a physical interpretation of the lens population.

The deformable secondary mirror of VLT: final electro-mechanical and optical acceptance test results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briguglio, Runa; Biasi, Roberto; Xompero, Marco; Riccardi, Armando; Andrighettoni, Mario; Pescoller, Dietrich; Angerer, Gerald; Gallieni, Daniele; Vernet, Elise; Kolb, Johann; Arsenault, Robin; Madec, Pierre-Yves

2014-07-01

The Deformable Secondary Mirror (DSM) for the VLT ended the stand-alone electro-mechanical and optical acceptance process, entering the test phase as part of the Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF) at the ESO Headquarter (Garching). The VLT-DSM currently represents the most advanced already-built large-format deformable mirror with its 1170 voice-coil actuators and its internal metrology based on co-located capacitive sensors to control the shape of the 1.12m-diameter 2mm-thick convex shell. The present paper reports the final results of the electro-mechanical and optical characterization of the DSM executed in a collaborative effort by the DSM manufacturing companies (Microgate s.r.l. and A.D.S. International s.r.l.), INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri and ESO. The electro-mechanical acceptance tests have been performed in the company premises and their main purpose was the dynamical characterization of the internal control loop response and the calibration of the system data that are needed for its optimization. The optical acceptance tests have been performed at ESO (Garching) using the ASSIST optical test facility. The main purpose of the tests are the characterization of the optical shell flattening residuals, the corresponding calibration of flattening commands, the optical calibration of the capacitive sensors and the optical calibration of the mirror influence functions.

PREFACE: Selected invited contributions from the International Conference on Magnetism (Karlsruhe, Germany, 26-31 July 2009) Selected invited contributions from the International Conference on Magnetism (Karlsruhe, Germany, 26-31 July 2009)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goll, Gernot; Löhneysen, Hilbert v.; Loidl, Alois; Pruschke, Thomas; Richter, Manuel; Schultz, Ludwig; Sürgers, Christoph; Wosnitza, Jochen

2010-04-01

The International Conference on Magnetism 2009 (ICM 2009) was held in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 26 to 31 July 2009. Previous conferences in this series were organized in Edinburgh, UK (1991), Warsaw, Poland (1994), Cairns, Australia (1997), Recife, Brazil (2000), Rome, Italy (2003), and Kyoto, Japan (2006). As with previous ICM conferences, the annual Conference on Strongly Correlated Electron Systems (SCES) was integrated into ICM 2009. The topics presented at ICM 2009 were strongly correlated electron systems, quantum and classical spin systems, magnetic structures and interactions, magnetization dynamics and micromagnetics, spin-dependent transport, spin electronics, magnetic thin films, particles and nanostructures, soft and hard magnetic materials and their applications, novel materials and device applications, magnetic recording and memories, measuring techniques and instrumentation, as well as interdisciplinary topics. We are grateful to the International Advisory Committee for their help in coordinating an attractive program encompassing practically all aspects of magnetism, both experimentally and theoretically. The Program Committee comprised A Loidl, Germany (Chair), M A Continentino, Brazil, D E Dahlberg, USA, D Givord, France, G Güntherodt, Germany, H Mikeska, Germany, D Kaczorowski, Poland, Ching-Ray Chang, South Korea, I Mertig, Germany, D Vollhardt, Germany, and E F Wassermann, Germany. E F Wassermann was also head of the National Organizing Committee. His help is gratefully acknowledged. The scientific program started on Monday 27 July 2009 with opening addresses by the Conference Chairman, the Deputy Mayor of Karlsruhe, Ms M Mergen and the Chairman of the Executive Board of Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, E Umbach. ICM 2009 was attended by the Nobel Laureates P W Anderson, A Fert and P Grünberg who gave plenary talks. A special highlight was the presentation of the Magnetism Award and Néel Medal to S S P Parkin who also presented his newest results in a plenary talk. The IUPAP Young Scientist Award on Magnetism was presented to S O Valenzuela, E Saitoh and T Kimura. The sessions were held in the Stadthalle Karlsuhe operated by the Karlsruher Messe- und Kongress-GmbH (KMK). We are grateful to Ms M Mäkelburg (KMK) for organizing the conference site impeccably. The conference was attended by 1552 participants from 48 countries, with approximately 50 per cent from overseas. The program entailed six plenary talks (40 min each), with 16 half-plenary and 41 invited talks (30 min) and 298 contributed talks (15 min). Extended lunch breaks and evenings were devoted to poster sessions, with a total of 1632 posters presented. All submitted papers were reviewed in order to meet the standards of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter and Journal of Physics: Conference Series. The referees made every effort to ensure that the manuscripts submitted for publication in the proceedings reached a high standard. The tremendous work in organizing the paper classification and refereeing procedures was carried out by the Publication Committee which was headed by J Wosnitza, and comprised, in addition, Th Pruschke, M Richter and L Schultz. We also thank G Douglas, IOP Publishing, for his support with the preparation of these proceedings. We gratefully acknowledge the help of L Behrens, E Maass and B Schelske in preparing the conference. The conference would not have been possible without G Goll (conference secretary) and C Sürgers (finances). I thank them for their help. Thanks also go to the many students in blue t-shirts who helped to manage the conference. We are grateful for the financial support of Universität Karlsruhe (TH) and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (both institutions merged to form the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as of 1 October 2009), the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), the City of Karlsruhe, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German National Science Foundation), and the European Commission through COST MPNS Action P16. Hilbert v Löhneysen Conference Chairman of ICM 2009 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Associations between lifestyle and mental health in a group of Japanese overseas workers and their spouses resident in Düsseldorf, Germany.

PubMed

Tuekpe, Mallet Korsi-ntumi; Todoriki, Hidemi; Zheng, Kui-Cheng; Kouadio, Kouame; Ariizumi, Makoto

2006-04-01

This study investigated associations between lifestyle factors and selected aspects of mental health in a group of Japanese overseas workers and their accompanying spouses who were residing in and around Düsseldorf, Germany, in February 1994. Considering four aspects of mental health (depression, mental instability, nervousness and neurosis) and six lifestyle factors (alcohol consumption, sleeping hours, cigarette smoking, physical exercise, eating breakfast and eating snacks), a cross-sectional study involving 822 volunteers (486 workers and 336 spouses) was performed using the Todai Health Index (THI) for surveying self-perceived health and a lifestyle related self-administered questionnaire. Alcohol consumption had no associations with any of the four aspects of mental health, and only very weak inverse associations were found between the other five lifestyle factors and the four aspects of mental health in the workers group. In the spouses group, physical exercise was the only lifestyle factor significantly associated with mental health.

Prevalence and temporal trends of physical activity counselling in primary health care in Germany from 1997-1999 to 2008-2011.

PubMed

Gabrys, Lars; Jordan, Susanne; Schlaud, Martin

2015-10-26

For patients, usually the first and most preferred contact person on health issues is still the doctor and most persons see their doctor at least once a year. Therefore, physical activity counselling strategies delivered by a physician seem to be a promising approach for physical activity improvement. The aim of this work is to show prevalence and time trends in physical activity counselling by primary health care physicians from 1997-1999 to 2008-2011 in Germany. Data from two representative cross-sectional health interview and examination surveys of the Robert Koch Institute were used. Prevalence proportions of physicians' physical activity counselling and patients' utilisation of health promotion programmes in relation to physical activity counselling were analysed. Strengths of associations were calculated by using binary logistic regression models. Overall, 11,907 persons aged 18-64 years were included in the analyses. Physical activity counselling prevalence decreased from 11.1 to 9.4% in men and from 9.3 to 7.7% in women over ten years. Only persons with accumulated health risks (OR 5.33; 95% CI 1.89-15.00) and persons with diagnosed diabetes mellitus (OR 3.42; 95% CI 1.68-6.69) showed significantly higher counselling proportions in 2008-2011 compared to 1997-1999. Men were more often counselled on physical activity than women, but women showed significantly higher participation rates in physical activity promotion programmes in both surveys. In both sexes significantly higher participation rates could be observed in persons who had received some activity counselling by a physician. Although, evidence underlines the positive health effects of regular physical activity; overall, physicians counselling behaviour on physical activity decreased over time. However, it is positive to note that a trend towards a disease-specific counselling behaviour in terms of a tailored intervention could be observed.

How an aging society affects the economic costs of inactivity in Germany: empirical evidence and projections.

PubMed

Dallmeyer, Sören; Wicker, Pamela; Breuer, Christoph

2017-01-01

Aging societies represent a major challenge for health care systems all over the world. As older people tend to be more physically inactive, economic costs of inactivity are likely to increase notably. The present study aims to investigate this relationship between an aging society and economic costs of inactivity using the example of Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study applied the comparative risk assessment method developed by the WHO to estimate the direct costs of inactivity for the period 2001-2013 differentiated by gender-specific age-groups (15-29; 30-44; 45-64; 65+). Based on population statistics predicting the aging of the German population for the years 2014-2060, this research projects the development of future costs of inactivity and potential effects of interventions promoting physical activity among the German population. The results reveal an increase in the level of physical activity during the observed period (2001-2013) which compensated the negative effect of aging and resulted in a decline of inactivity costs. The projections for the years 2014-2060 indicate a constant increase in direct per capita costs until 2060 because of an aging society. Scenarios indicating how a short-term reduction of physical inactivity impacts costs of inactivity reveal the crucial role of the oldest age-group in this context. The findings indicate that the aging of the German population demands further actions and initiatives to promote physical activity, especially for the oldest age-group.

Preface: phys. stat. sol. (a) 201/5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avelino Pasa, André

2004-04-01

This issue contains scientific contributions to the 4th German/Brazilian Workshop on Applied Surface Science. The workshop was held in Germany at the beautiful Castle Ringberg conference site of the Max Planck Society, located 60 km from Munich, from 21-26 September 2003. The meeting was attended by about 50 participants, with 21 invited talks and 18 contributed presentations (8 oral and 10 posters) on relevant topics of surface science.As in previous meetings (1995 in Portobello, RJ, Brazil, 1998 in Döllnsee, Berlin, Germany, and 2001 in Itapema, SC, Brazil), a significant number of important questions in surface science were covered from both the theoretical and the experimental point of view. In the field of materials science, emphasis was given to the description of the structural, physical and chemical properties of nanostructures and films of inorganic (metals, alloys and oxides) and organic (polymers and biological molecules) materials.A substantial part of the success of the meeting can be attributed to the relaxed atmosphere at the castle, near the lake Tegernsee, where excellent scientific presentations were mixed with intense discussions among both senior and younger researchers. The event also led to the development of new and ongoing collaborations between partners from Brazil and Germany.The organizers of the Workshop, Israel J. R. Baumvol (Porto Alegre, Brazil), Hajo Freund (Berlin, Germany), Wolfgang H. P. Losch (Natal, Brazil), Horst Niehus (Berlin, Germany), André A. Pasa (Florianópolis, Brazil) and Eberhard Umbach (Würzburg, Germany), are greatly indebted to the following organizations for financial support: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Fritz-Haber-Institut Berlin (FHI), Fundação Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) and the specially created intergovernmental agreement between CAPES and DFG to promote such meetings.

Poverty, health, and nutrition in Germany.

PubMed

Helmert, U; Mielck, A; Shea, S

1997-01-01

To investigate the relation between poverty and several variables describing health and nutrition behavior in East Germany and West Germany. Data are from the third National Health Survey in West Germany and the first Health Survey for the new federal states of Germany (1991/92). Both health surveys included a self-administered questionnaire ascertaining sociodemographic variables, smoking history, nutritional behavior (using a food-frequency list), physical activity, and a medical examination comprising measurements of height, weight, blood pressure, and blood sampling for serum cholesterol determination. Participants included 4958 subjects in the West Survey and 2186 subjects in the East Survey aged 25-69 years, with a respective net response rate of 69.0% and 70.2%. Poverty was defined as a household equivalence income of 62.5% or less of the median income of the general population. The lowest income group (poverty or near poverty) comprised 11.6% of East German versus 15.9% of West German males and 14.8% of East German versus 19.3% of West German females. For most but not all health and nutrition parameters, less favorable results were obtained for subjects with an equivalence income below or near poverty. The most striking poverty-related differences regarding cardiovascular disease risk factors were found for lack of regular exercise for both genders and obesity in females. No poverty-related differences were found for the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, despite a much higher prevalence of obesity in persons with an income below the poverty line. Current nutritional behavior and changes in nutritional behavior during the last three years was strongly related to income status, with a more unhealthy status for low-income population groups in both East and West Germany. In Germany, poverty has strong effects on individual health status and nutritional behavior. Because of rising unemployment rates and reductions in social security payments for low-income groups, it is likely that the negative consequences of poverty on health are increasing.

Astronomy Teaching in Europe's Secondary Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1994-11-01

EU/ESO Workshop for European Physics Teachers A joint Workshop of the European Union (EU) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) will take place on November 25 - 30, 1994 under the auspices of the European Week for Scientific Culture. The Workshop is entitled "Astronomy: Science, Culture and Technology". It will bring together at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany) more than 100 secondary school teachers and ministerial representatives from 17 European countries to discuss all aspects of this broad subject. It is the first and very visible part of a new, sustained effort to stimulate and modernize the teaching of the subjects of Astronomy and Astrophysics in European secondary schools. During the Workshop, the participants will experience the present state of this multi-disciplinary science in its most general context, that is as a human, long-term scientific and technological endeavour with great cultural implications. They will exchange views on how the various elements of Astronomy can best be utilized within the educational schemes of the individual countries, both as subjects in their own rights, and especially in support of many other items on the present teaching agenda. Why This Workshop ? Astronomy is probably the oldest science. Since innumerable millenia, it has continued to have a great influence on mankind's perception of itself and its surroundings. In our days, Astronomy and Astrophysics have become a central area of the natural sciences with many direct links to other sciences (e.g., many aspects of physics, mathematics, chemistry, the geo-sciences, etc.); it has an important cultural content (including our distant origins, the recognition of the location and restricted extent of our niche in space and time, cosmological considerations as well as philosophy in general); its recent successes are to a large amount dependent on advanced technologies and methodologies (e.g., optics, electronics, detector techniques at all wavelengths, computer techniques like image processing and the transfer, storage and retrieval of enormous data sets). Astronomy is undoubtedly one of the sciences that enjoys the most intense public interest and it also has a great media appeal, in part because of its exploratory ("adventurous") character and ability to produce spectacular images, cf. the recent, dramatic collision between a comet and Jupiter. Moreover, with the increasing public awareness of the Earth's fragile ecosystems and the obvious influence of external, i.e., "astronomical" forces (solar irradiation, variations in the Earth's orbit, collisions with other bodies, radiative effects from nearby cosmic explosions, etc.), this science has taken on a new significance in the minds of many people. Nevertheless, the teaching of Astronomy in European secondary schools has been the subject of many vacillations during the past decades. In several countries it is taught at a quite rudimentary and "old-fashioned" level, in others, some of its elements are included, but most often in a seemingly haphazard way; it is very rare, that an overall, holistic view is presented. This is despite the obvious fact that many areas of Astronomy are relatively easy to comprehend (at least qualitatively) and that this science is a most illustrative example of the interplay between science, culture and technology in all its historical and modern aspects. It moreover demonstrates the unity of science, gives a host of educationally useful examples of the scientific method, and may also serve as a natural stepping stone into a large number of other areas of human knowledge and activities. The Workshop Programme The Workshop will begin in the afternoon of Friday, November 25, when the participants gather at the ESO Headquarters in Garching near Munich. It ends after four busy days in the evening of Tuesday, November 29. To begin with, specialist speakers will provide reviews of some of the scientific subjects now at the forefront of Astronomy and Astrophysics, overviews of selected astronomical technologies of more general relevance and their various implications for other human activities, as well as presentations of Astronomy as part of our cultural heritage and its current place in society. Then follows a thorough discussion among the participants about the current teaching of astronomy-related subjects in secondary schools in the individual countries. One of the main aims of this meeting will be the preparation of a joint document stating the goals and optimal contents of the future teaching of Astronomy in Europe's secondary schools. It is also the intention to initiate on this occasion a Europe-wide "teachers' network", which can follow these matters up. How to obtain ESO Press Information ESO Press Information is made available on the World-Wide Web (URL: http://www.eso.org../). ESO Press Photos may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory.

"Catch a Star !"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-05-01

ESO and EAAE Launch Web-based Educational Programme for Europe's Schools Catch a star!... and discover all its secrets! This is the full title of an innovative educational project, launched today by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE). It welcomes all students in Europe's schools to an exciting web-based programme with a competition. It takes place within the context of the EC-sponsored European Week of Science and Technology (EWST) - 2002 . This unique project revolves around a web-based competition and is centred on astronomy. It is specifically conceived to stimulate the interest of young people in various aspects of this well-known field of science, but will also be of interest to the broad public. What is "Catch a Star!" about? [Go to Catch a Star Website] The programme features useful components from the world of research, but it is specifically tailored to (high-)school students. Younger participants are also welcome. Groups of up to four persons (e.g., three students and one teacher) have to select an astronomical object - a bright star, a distant galaxy, a beautiful comet, a planet or a moon in the solar system, or some other celestial body. Like detectives, they must then endeavour to find as much information as possible about "their" object. This information may be about the position and visibility in the sky, the physical and chemical characteristics, particular historical aspects, related mythology and sky lore, etc. They can use any source available, the web, books, newspaper and magazine articles, CDs etc. for this work. The group members must prepare a (short) summarising report about this investigation and "their" object, with their own ideas and conclusions, and send it to ESO (email address: eduinfo@eso.org). A jury, consisting of specialists from ESO and the EAAE, will carefully evaluate these reports. All projects that are found to fulfill the stipulated requirements, including a reasonable degree of scientific correctness, are entered as "registered projects" and will receive a lottery number. The first 1000 participants from the corresponding groups will also get a "Catch a star" T-Shirt by mail. All accepted entries will be listed at the corresponding website and all accepted reports will be displayed soon after the expiry of the deadline for submission on November 1st, 2002 . Winners to be Announced on November 8, 2002 On November 8th, 2002, at the end of the European Week of Science and Technology, the winners will be found by drawing numbers in a lottery. This event will take place at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany) and will be webcast. The First Prize is a free trip for the members of the group to the ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile , the site of the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) . The Paranal trip will be realised in any case, but because of age restrictions, it can only be offered to a group in which all participants are 15 years of age or older at the time of the drawing. Younger participants may win an interesting trip within Europe. There will also be other prizes, to be announced later. Starting now The programme starts now and is open for groups of up to three students and one teacher, who must all belong to a school in Europe on November 1, 2002 . This means that only students who did not yet terminate their school studies on this date can participate. No student may participate in more than one group. The programme is administered by the ESO Educational Office , in close collaboration with members of the EAAE, mostly physics teachers. Details about how to register and how to prepare the report about "your" object are available on the web at: http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/eduoff/cas/ About the ESO Educational Office The ESO Educational Office was established in July 2001. It is part of the EPR Department at ESO Headquarters in Garching near Munich. The aim is to provide support of astronomy and astrophysics education, especially at the high-school level. This includes teaching materials, courses for teachers and specific educational projects, for instance in the context of the yearly European Week of Science and Technology. More information is available in ESO PR 29/01 and at the ESA/ESO Astronomy Excercise Series website. Note also the Frontline Astrophysics for School Teachers (FAST 2002) , an ESO teacher training course just announced. The application deadline for participation is June 1, 2002 . Contact for the "Catch a Star!" Programme: ESO Education Office eduinfo@eso.org

A Blend of Romanism and Germanism: Experimental Science Instruction in Belgian State Secondary Education, 1880-1914

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onghena, Sofie

2013-04-01

A case study of secondary experimental science instruction in Belgium demonstrates the importance of cross-national communication in the study of science education. Belgian secondary science education in the years 1880-1914 had a clear internationalist dimension. French and German influences turn out to have been essential, stimulated by the fact that Belgium, as a result of its geographical position, considered itself as the centre of scientific relations between France and Germany, and as actually strengthened by its linguistic and cultural dualism in this regard. This pursuit of internationalist nationalism also affected the configuration of chemistry and physics as experimental courses at Belgian Royal State Schools, although the years preceding WWI are usually characterized as a period of rising nationalism in science, with countries such as Germany and France as prominent actors. To what extent did France and Germany influence Belgian debates on science education, science teachers' training, the use of textbooks, and the instalment of school laboratories and teaching collections?

LiSICON-Ionic Liquid Electrolyte for Lithium Ion Battery

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-15

Nat Mater, 9 (2010) 353-358. [3] B. Scrosati, J. Garche, Journal of Power Sources, 195 (2010) 2419-2430. [4] F. Mizuno, A. Hayashi , K. Tadanaga, M...Minami, A. Hayashi , M. Tatsumisago, Solid State Ionics, 179 (2008) 1282-1285. [7] G. Girishkumar, B. McCloskey, A.C. Luntz, S. Swanson, W. Wilcke, The...Song, K. Zaghib, K. Kinoshita, F. McLarnon, Journal of Power Sources, 97-8 (2001) 58-66. [15] S. Seki, Y. Kobayashi, H. Miyashiro, Y. Ohno , Y. Mita, N

Leverage effect, economic policy uncertainty and realized volatility with regime switching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Yinying; Chen, Wang; Zeng, Qing; Liu, Zhicao

2018-03-01

In this study, we first investigate the impacts of leverage effect and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on future volatility in the framework of regime switching. Out-of-sample results show that the HAR-RV including the leverage effect and economic policy uncertainty with regimes can achieve higher forecast accuracy than RV-type and GARCH-class models. Our robustness results further imply that these factors in the framework of regime switching can substantially improve the HAR-RV's forecast performance.

Gas demand forecasting by a new artificial intelligent algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khatibi. B, Vahid; Khatibi, Elham

2012-01-01

Energy demand forecasting is a key issue for consumers and generators in all energy markets in the world. This paper presents a new forecasting algorithm for daily gas demand prediction. This algorithm combines a wavelet transform and forecasting models such as multi-layer perceptron (MLP), linear regression or GARCH. The proposed method is applied to real data from the UK gas markets to evaluate their performance. The results show that the forecasting accuracy is improved significantly by using the proposed method.

Introduction to Econophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mantegna, Rosario N.; Stanley, H. Eugene

2007-08-01

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Efficient market hypothesis; 3. Random walk; 4. Lévy stochastic processes and limit theorems; 5. Scales in financial data; 6. Stationarity and time correlation; 7. Time correlation in financial time series; 8. Stochastic models of price dynamics; 9. Scaling and its breakdown; 10. ARCH and GARCH processes; 11. Financial markets and turbulence; 12. Correlation and anti-correlation between stocks; 13. Taxonomy of a stock portfolio; 14. Options in idealized markets; 15. Options in real markets; Appendix A: notation guide; Appendix B: martingales; References; Index.

The solar abundance of Oxygen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grevesse, N.

2009-07-01

With Martin Asplund (Max Planck Institute of Astrophysics, Garching) and Jacques Sauval (Observatoire Royal de Belgique, Brussels) I recently published detailed reviews on the solar chemical composition ({Asplund et al. 2005}, {Grevesse et al. 2007}). A new one, with Pat Scott (Stockholm University) as additional co-author, will appear in Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics ({Asplund et al. 2009}). Here we briefly analyze recent works on the solar abundance of Oxygen and recommend a value of 8.70 in the usual astronomical scale.

Physics with WASA-at-COSY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schadmand, Susan

2010-12-28

The WASA detector facility is an internal experiment at the COoler SYnchrotron COSY in Juelich, Germany. The COSY accelerator provides proton and deuteron beams with momenta up to 3.7 GeV/c giving access to hadron physics including the strange quark sector. The WASA-at-COSY physics program focuses on light meson decays where rare decays are used to scrutinize symmetries and symmetry breaking. The structure of hadrons is probed with transition form factors and hadron spectroscopy while hadron dynamics is studied via reaction dynamics and few body reactions. Goals and status are reported with special emphasis on the meson Dalitz decays.

German law on circumcision and its debate: how an ethical and legal issue turned political.

PubMed

Aurenque, Diana; Wiesing, Urban

2015-03-01

The article aims to illuminate the recent debate in Germany about the legitimacy of circumcision for religious reasons. The aim is both to evaluate the new German law allowing religious circumcision, and to outline the resulting conflict between the surrounding ethical and legal issues. We first elucidate the diversity of legal and medical views on religious circumcision in Germany. Next we examine to what extent invasive and irreversible physical interventions on infant boys unable to given their consent should be carried out for non-medical reasons. To this end, the potential benefits and harms of circumcision for non-medical reasons are compared. We argue that circumcision does not provide any benefits for the 'child as a child' and poses only risks to boys. We then set out to clarify and analyse political (rather than ethical) justifications of the new circumcision law. We demonstrate through this analysis how the circumcision debate in Germany has been transformed from a legal and ethical problem into a political issue, due at least in part to Germany's unique historical context. Although such a particular political sensibility is entirely comprehensible, it raises particular problems when it comes to framing and responding to medical ethical issues - as in the case of religious circumcision. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rotorcraft Airloads Measurements - Extraordinary Costs, Extraordinary Benefits

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

obtained in the 1980s by the PETRA collider in a high-energy physics lab near Hamburg, Germany. The project, called JADE, was an international...and R. M. Martin . 1990. Aerodynamic and Acoustic Test of a United Technologies Scale Model Rotor at DNW. Amer. Hel. Soc. 46th Annual Forum, Wash

CMAQ Model Output

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

CMAQ and CMAQ-VBS model outputThis dataset is associated with the following publication:Woody , M., K. Baker , P. Hayes, J. Jimenez, B. Koo, and H. Pye. Understanding sources of organic aerosol during CalNex-2010 using the CMAQ-VBS. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Copernicus Publications, Katlenburg-Lindau, GERMANY, 16: 4081-4100, (2016).

Perspectives on Elder Abuse in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konig, Julia; Leembruggen-Kallberg, Elisabeth

2006-01-01

This study of 74 German citizens analyzed perspectives on the behaviors of adult children toward their elderly parents, with a focus on the behaviors that were considered to be extremely, moderately, or mildly abusive. Physical and psychological aggression, psychological neglect, and neglect/abandonment were most frequently cited as examples of…

Comparative cost analysis of outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation for musculoskeletal diseases in Germany.

PubMed

Zeidler, J; Mittendorf, T; Vahldiek, G; Zeidler, H; Merkesdal, S

2008-10-01

To examine the costs of inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation for musculoskeletal disorders from the perspective of a major statutory health insurance fund in Germany. A nation-wide database from a major health insurance fund in Germany was used to evaluate all rehabilitation cases in 2005. In addition, to all direct cost domains of the rehabilitation itself, costs incurred in the preceding and the following year for hospital treatment, drugs and physical therapy were analysed. A cost-cost analysis in different institutional settings was chosen for the cost comparison of inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. To minimize the influence of possible confounders, a statistical control system was implemented. After a preceding hospital stay, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation results in mean costs of euro2047 and euro1111, respectively. If the rehabilitation was not preceded by a directly related hospital treatment, mean costs for inpatient (outpatient) rehabilitation were euro2067 (euro1310). No systematic differences could be found between inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation evaluating costs for hospital treatment, drugs or physical therapy in the year preceding and the year directly following the rehabilitation. Assuming comparable medical outcomes, outpatient rehabilitation seems to be a superior alternative compared with inpatient rehabilitation from an economic perspective. Hence, from the perspective of the statutory health insurance, fostering a higher market share of outpatient rehabilitation may add to a better allocation of overall health care resources. For this, regional differences in rehabilitation infrastructure have to be taken into account.

PREFACE: Particles and Fields: Classical and Quantum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asorey, M.; Clemente-Gallardo, J.; Marmo, G.

2007-07-01

This volume contains some of the contributions to the Conference Particles and Fields: Classical and Quantum, which was held at Jaca (Spain) in September 2006 to honour George Sudarshan on his 75th birthday. Former and current students, associates and friends came to Jaca to share a few wonderful days with George and his family and to present some contributions of their present work as influenced by George's impressive achievements. This book summarizes those scientific contributions which are presented as a modest homage to the master, collaborator and friend. At the social ceremonies various speakers were able to recall instances of his life-long activity in India, the United States and Europe, adding colourful remarks on the friendly and intense atmosphere which surrounded those collaborations, some of which continued for several decades. This meeting would not have been possible without the financial support of several institutions. We are deeply indebted to Universidad de Zaragoza, Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España (CICYT), Departamento de Ciencia, Tecnología y Universidad del Gobierno de Aragón, Universitá di Napoli 'Federico II' and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. Finally, we would like to thank the participants, and particularly George's family, for their contribution to the wonderful atmosphere achieved during the Conference. We would like also to acknowledge the authors of the papers collected in the present volume, the members of the Scientific Committee for their guidance and support and the referees for their generous work. M Asorey, J Clemente-Gallardo and G Marmo The Local Organizing Committee George Sudarshan

International Advisory Committee

Local Organizing Committee

Participants

Foundations of Isomer Physics for Energy Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-16

demon.eo.iik/ fitzpcak.htm), 2005 TV, Institute of Nuclear Physics, University of Cologne. Germany. www.ikp.uni-koeln.de/~ fitz /. 2003 Efficiency...14] Boston. D. T. Joss, E. S. Paul , A. T. Semple, N. J. O’Brien, C. M. Parry, A. V. Afanasjev, and I. Ragnarsson, Phys. Rev. C 60,024307(1999). [15...19] and M. Ishii, Z. Phys. A 347. 41 (1993). A. J. Boston. E. S. Paul , C. J. Chiara, M. Devlin. D. B. Fossan. S. J. Freeman. D. R. LaFosse

The Nördlingen-Ries Geopark and nearby museums as a natural teaching laboratory for Geoscience students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaminski, Michael; Kaka, SanLinn; Kaminski, Matthew

2017-04-01

The hypervelocity impact of an asteroid in southern Germany around 15 million years ago not only caused an environmental catastrophe, but it also created a scenario that provides us with a world-class natural laboratory for teaching the basic Principles of Geology. The combination of museum visits and observation of rock outcrops enables the student to reinforce or rediscover the basic principles of physical and historical Geology that are presented in first- or second-year Geoscience courses. At KFUPM, our visit to the Ries Geopark begins at the Ries Crater Museum in Nördlingen, where students review knowledge learned in their Physical Geology course: the Nebular Theory, origin of the solar system, and the classification of meteorites based on real examples. Students then learn the stages of impact crater formation, shock metamorphism, and the products of impact crater formation such as tectites, impact breccia and suevite. Students also become familiar with the Mesozoic stratigraphy of Southern Germany, reviewing basic principals of stratigraphy. Visits to local outcrops reinforce the knowledge gained at the Museum. A visit to the nearby Solnhofen Museum and quarries provides insight into the nature of the late Jurassic animals that lived at the edge of the Tethys Sea, reinforcing many topics learned during their second-year Paleontology course, such as taphonomy, and the idea of a death assemblage. At the Museum of the Geosciences Department of the University of Tübingen, the students become familiar with Mesozoic ammonoids as part of their second-year Paleontology course. A visit to the Urwelt Museum and quarry in Holzmaden explores animal life during the Early Jurassic, stratigraphic principles as presented on the museum's "geological staircase", and the origin of petroleum source rocks. The museum houses spectacular examples of Early Jurassic marine reptiles. All knowledge gained in the Jurassic of southern Germany enriches the students' understanding of the Jurassic subsurface petroleum system in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the world's largest petroleum reservoirs. The combination of museum visits followed by field studies centered around the Ries Geopark in southern Germany not only creates a world-class attraction for Geotourists, but also an ideal teaching laboratory for students interested in Physical and Planetary Geology, Historical Geology, and Paleontology at various levels within the respective subjects.

Dietary behaviour and socioeconomic position: the role of physical activity patterns.

PubMed

Finger, Jonas D; Tylleskär, Thorkild; Lampert, Thomas; Mensink, Gert B M

2013-01-01

The positive association between education level and health outcomes can be partly explained by dietary behaviour. We investigated the associations between education and several indices of food intake and potential influencing factors, placing special emphasis on physical-activity patterns, using a representative sample of the German adult population. The German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998 (GNHIES98) involved 7,124 participants aged between 18 and 79. Complete information on the exposure (education) and outcome (nutrition) variables was available for 6,767 persons. The associations between 'education' and indices of 'sugar-rich food', 'fat-rich food', 'fruit-and-vegetable' and 'alcohol' intake were analysed separately for men and women using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Odds ratios (OR) of education level on nutrition outcomes were calculated and adjusted for age, region (former East/West Germany), occupation, income and other influencing factors such as physical activity indicators. Men and women with only a primary education had a more frequent intake of sugar-rich and fat-rich foods and a less frequent intake of fruit and vegetables and alcohol than people with a tertiary education. 'Physical work activity' partly explained the associations between education and sugar-rich food intake. The interference with physical work activity was stronger among men than women. No significant associations between education and energy-dense food intake were observed in the retirement-age group of persons aged 65+ and among persons with low energy expenditure. In Germany, adults with a low level of education report that they consume energy-dense foods more frequently - and fruit and vegetables and alcohol less frequently - than adults with a high education level. High levels of physical work activity among adults with a low education level may partly explain why they consume more energy-dense foods.

Cross-Cultural Investigation of Male Gait Perception in Relation to Physical Strength and Speed

PubMed Central

Fink, Bernhard; Wübker, Marieke; Ostner, Julia; Butovskaya, Marina L.; Mezentseva, Anna; Muñoz-Reyes, José Antonio; Sela, Yael; Shackelford, Todd K.

2017-01-01

Previous research documents that men and women can accurately judge male physical strength from gait, but also that the sexes differ in attractiveness judgments of strong and weak male walkers. Women’s (but not men’s) attractiveness assessments of strong male walkers are higher than for weak male walkers. Here, we extend this research to assessments of strong and weak male walkers in Chile, Germany, and Russia. Men and women judged videos of virtual characters, animated with the walk movements of motion-captured men, on strength and attractiveness. In two countries (Germany and Russia), these videos were additionally presented at 70% (slower) and 130% (faster) of their original speed. Stronger walkers were judged to be stronger and more attractive than weak walkers, and this effect was independent of country (but not sex). Women tended to provide higher attractiveness judgments to strong walkers, and men tended to provide higher attractiveness judgments to weak walkers. In addition, German and Russian participants rated strong walkers most attractive at slow and fast speed. Thus, across countries men and women can assess male strength from gait, although they tended to differ in attractiveness assessments of strong and weak male walkers. Attractiveness assessments of male gait may be influenced by society-specific emphasis on male physical strength. PMID:28878720

The evolution of spillover effects between oil and stock markets across multi-scales using a wavelet-based GARCH-BEKK model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xueyong; An, Haizhong; Huang, Shupei; Wen, Shaobo

2017-01-01

Aiming to investigate the evolution of mean and volatility spillovers between oil and stock markets in the time and frequency dimensions, we employed WTI crude oil prices, the S&P 500 (USA) index and the MICEX index (Russia) for the period Jan. 2003-Dec. 2014 as sample data. We first applied a wavelet-based GARCH-BEKK method to examine the spillover features in frequency dimension. To consider the evolution of spillover effects in time dimension at multiple-scales, we then divided the full sample period into three sub-periods, pre-crisis period, crisis period, and post-crisis period. The results indicate that spillover effects vary across wavelet scales in terms of strength and direction. By analysis the time-varying linkage, we found the different evolution features of spillover effects between the Oil-US stock market and Oil-Russia stock market. The spillover relationship between oil and US stock market is shifting to short-term while the spillover relationship between oil and Russia stock market is changing to all time scales. That result implies that the linkage between oil and US stock market is weakening in the long-term, and the linkage between oil and Russia stock market is getting close in all time scales. This may explain the phenomenon that the US stock index and the Russia stock index showed the opposite trend with the falling of oil price in the post-crisis period.

PREFACE: Hot Quarks 2014: Workshop for young scientists on the physics of ultrarelativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2015-05-01

The 6th edition of the Workshop for Young Scientists on the Physics of Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Hot Quarks 2014) was held in Las Negras, Spain from 21-28 September 2014. Following the traditions of the conference, this meeting gathered more than 70 participants in the first years of their scientific careers. The present issue contains the proceedings of this workshop. As in the past, the Hot Quarks workshop offered a unique atmosphere for a lively discussion and interpretation of the current measurements from high energy nuclear collisions. Recent results and upgrades at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and Brookhaven's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) were presented. Recent theoretical developments were also extensively discussed as well as the perspectives for future facilities such as the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at Darmstadt and the Electron-Ion Collider at Brookhaven. The conference's goal to provide a platform for young researchers to learn and foster their interactions was successfully met. We wish to thank the sponsors of the Hot Quarks 2014 Conference, who supported the authors of this volume: Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA), CPAN (Spain), Czech Science Foundation (GACR) under grant 13-20841S (Czech Republic), European Laboratory for Particle Physics CERN (Switzerland), European Research Council under grant 259612 (EU), ExtreMe Matter Institute EMMI (Germany), Helmholtz Association and GSI under grant VH-NG-822, Helmholtz International Center for FAIR (Germany), National Science Foundation under grant No.1359622 (USA), Nuclear Physics Institute ASCR (Czech Republic), Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife (Spain) and the Universidad de Granada (Spain). Javier López Albacete, Universidad de Granada (Spain) Jana Bielcikova, Nuclear Physics Inst. and Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic) Rainer J. Fries, Texas A&M University (USA) Raphaël Granier de Cassagnac, CNRS-IN2P3 and École polytechnique (France) Boris Hippolyte, CNRS-IN2P3 and Université de Strasbourg (France) Jiangyong Jia, Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA) André Mischke, Utrecht University and Nikhef Amsterdam (The Netherlands) Ágnes Mócsy, Pratt Institute and Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA) Hannah Petersen, Goethe University, FIAS and GSI (Germany) Lijuan Ruan, Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA) Sevil Salur, Rutgers University, (USA)

Coping with University-Related Problems: A Cross-cultural Comparison.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Essau, Cecilia Ahmoi; Trommsdorff, Gisela

1996-01-01

Compares problem- and emotion-focused coping in students from North America, Germany, and Malaysia to determine the association between coping and physical symptoms. Results with 365 undergraduates found that North Americans and Germans with higher scores on emotion-focused coping had fewer symptoms, although the reverse was true for Malaysians.…

International Conference on Numerical Grid Generation in Computational Fluid Dynamics

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-04-30

Joseph M. Juarez DFVLR SM -TS The Aerospace Corp. Bunsenstr-10 PO Box 92957 M5/559 D-3406 Gottingen Los Angeles CA 90009 F R Germany Klaus A. Hoffmann...Washington, D.C. 20332 Troy, NY 12180 Per Nielsen R. Raghunath Graduate Student Research Fellow Laboratory for Applied Math. Physic NOAA / AOML

CalNex Observational Data

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Observations made during the 2010 CalNex measurement campaign. This dataset is associated with the following publication:Woody , M., K. Baker , P. Hayes, J. Jimenez, B. Koo, and H. Pye. Understanding sources of organic aerosol during CalNex-2010 using the CMAQ-VBS. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Copernicus Publications, Katlenburg-Lindau, GERMANY, 16: 4081-4100, (2016).

Hydroentangled High Quality (HQ) Cotton Developments: Cosmetic Pads and Greige Cotton Bed Sheets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The hydroentagled development work (at a plant-scale) was carried out in year 2004 in collaboration with Hollingsworth on Wheels, Greenville, SC, and Fleissener, Germany. This work was published as two papers in Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics in 2006 and 2007. Early this year physical test...

Annie's Journey to Healing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kreisle, Beate

2008-01-01

Ongoing traumatising life events can often cause a person to the have physical or emotional characteristics of one who is mentally disabled or autistic, making it easy to form a wrong first impression. This article presents the story of one such person in a Positive Peer Culture program in a group treatment facility in Germany. In Positive Peer…

Soil physics and chemistry at a medieval ridge and furrow site in northeastern Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirsch, Florian; van der Maaten-Theunissen, Marieke; van der Maaten, Ernst; Schneider, Anna; Raab, Alexandra; Raab, Thomas

2017-04-01

The usage of non-reversible ploughs, mainly during the Middle Ages and until historic times, led to the formation of ridge and furrow systems. Due to improvements of agricultural techniques, these historic agricultural sites were often abandoned and are now marginal land. The parallel ridges and furrows are usually, if not destroyed by later conventional ploughing, preserved in present-day forests. In northeastern Germany ridge and furrow systems are normally several decameters long and up to ten meters wide. The height difference between ridge top and furrow bottom is up to 50 centimeters and is expected to cause significant contrasts of soil properties and vegetation. Furthermore, due to the abandonment of sites with ridges and furrows, soils on these sites are unique archives for studies on fertilization, soil carbon dynamics and soil development. Therefore, we are characterizing soil physics (bulk density, saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, texture) and soil chemistry (soil acidity, carbon and nitrogen content) on a type location of historic ridges and furrows about 100 km northwest of Berlin.

[Cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics in Germany since 1950 : Developments in the GDR and FRG in the context of society and science].

PubMed

Reiber, H

2016-12-01

The 40 years of separated development in two countries with extremely different political and social utopias allow consideration of the connection between science and society. The society-dependent development of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diagnostics in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) is shown in the context of the international scientific development of the post-war era with new paradigms in physics, biology and genetics. As part of this contribution to the philosophy of science the consequences of the complex life science for a new view of disease research are discussed in contrast to the currently dominating, reductionistic medical industrial complex.

A cross-cultural study on noise problems: Comparison of the results obtained in Japan, West Germany, the U.S.A., China and Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Namba, S.; Kuwano, S.; Schick, A.; Açlar, A.; Florentine, M.; Da Rui, Zheng

1991-12-01

Neighborhood noise has become a serious problem in many countries, and it is difficult to regulate by physical means alone. A cross-cultural survey was conducted in five countries, Japan, West Germany, the United States, China and Turkey, among residents of apartment houses in order to examine the cultural differences involved. Interesting differences were found in preferred countermeasures, highly annoying sounds, attitudes against noise, expectations for laws, etc. The use of loudspeakers in public places was accepted in all five countries, provided that they were used for conveying necessary information. The results suggest that it is important to take cultural or social backgrounds into consideration in order to find suitable countermeasures.

Development of the Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) for Cluster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quinn, Jack; Christensen, John L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) is a new technique for measuring electric fields in space by detecting the effect on weak beams of test electrons. This U.S. portions of the technique, flight hardware, and flight software were developed for the Cluster mission under this contract. Dr. Goetz Paschmann of the Max Planck Institute in Garching, Germany, was the Principle Investigator for Cluster EDI. Hardware for Cluster was developed in the U.S. at the University of New Hampshire, Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory, and University of California, San Diego. The Cluster satellites carrying the original EDI instruments were lost in the catastrophic launch failure of first flight of the Arianne-V rocket in 1996. Following that loss, NASA and ESA approved a rebuild of the Cluster mission, for which all four satellites were successfully launched in the Summer of 2000. Limited operations of EDI were also obtained on the Equator-S satellite, which was launched in December, 1997. A satellite failure caused a loss of the Equator-S mission after only 5 months, but these operations were extremely valuable in learning about the characteristics and operations of the complex EDI instrument. The Cluster mission, satellites, and instruments underwent an extensive on-orbit commissioning phase in the Fall of 2000, carrying over through January 2001. During this period all elements of the instruments were checked and careful measurements of inter-experiments interferences were made. EDI is currently working exceptionally well in orbit. Initial results verify that all aspects of the instrument are working as planned, and returning highly valuable scientific information. The first two papers describing EDI on-orbit results have been submitted for publication in April, 2001. The principles of the EDI technique, and its implementation on Cluster are described in two papers by Paschmann et al., attached as Appendices A and B. The EDI presentation at the formal Cluster Commissioning Review, held at ESA Headquarters in Paris, is attached as Appendix C.

Image recovery by removing stochastic artefacts identified as local asymmetries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osterloh, K.; Bücherl, T.; Zscherpel, U.; Ewert, U.

2012-04-01

Stochastic artefacts are frequently encountered in digital radiography and tomography with neutrons. Most obviously, they are caused by ubiquitous scattered radiation hitting the CCD-sensor. They appear as scattered dots and, at higher frequency of occurrence, they may obscure the image. Some of these dotted interferences vary with time, however, a large portion of them remains persistent so the problem cannot be resolved by collecting stacks of images and to merge them to a median image. The situation becomes even worse in computed tomography (CT) where each artefact causes a circular pattern in the reconstructed plane. Therefore, these stochastic artefacts have to be removed completely and automatically while leaving the original image content untouched. A simplified image acquisition and artefact removal tool was developed at BAM and is available to interested users. Furthermore, an algorithm complying with all the requirements mentioned above was developed that reliably removes artefacts that could even exceed the size of a single pixel without affecting other parts of the image. It consists of an iterative two-step algorithm adjusting pixel values within a 3 × 3 matrix inside of a 5 × 5 kernel and the centre pixel only within a 3 × 3 kernel, resp. It has been applied to thousands of images obtained from the NECTAR facility at the FRM II in Garching, Germany, without any need of a visual control. In essence, the procedure consists of identifying and tackling asymmetric intensity distributions locally with recording each treatment of a pixel. Searching for the local asymmetry with subsequent correction rather than replacing individually identified pixels constitutes the basic idea of the algorithm. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated with a severely spoiled example of neutron radiography and tomography as compared with median filtering, the most convenient alternative approach by visual check, histogram and power spectra analysis.

Neutron resonance spin echo with longitudinal DC fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krautloher, Maximilian; Kindervater, Jonas; Keller, Thomas; Häußler, Wolfgang

2016-12-01

We report on the design, construction, and performance of a neutron resonance spin echo (NRSE) instrument employing radio frequency (RF) spin flippers combining RF fields with DC fields, the latter oriented parallel (longitudinal) to the neutron propagation direction (longitudinal NRSE (LNRSE)). The advantage of the longitudinal configuration is the inherent homogeneity of the effective magnetic path integrals. In the center of the RF coils, the sign of the spin precession phase is inverted by a π flip of the neutron spins, such that non-uniform spin precession at the boundaries of the RF flippers is canceled. The residual inhomogeneity can be reduced by Fresnel- or Pythagoras-coils as in the case of conventional spin echo instruments (neutron spin echo (NSE)). Due to the good intrinsic homogeneity of the B0 coils, the current densities required for the correction coils are at least a factor of three less than in conventional NSE. As the precision and the current density of the correction coils are the limiting factors for the resolution of both NSE and LNRSE, the latter has the intrinsic potential to surpass the energy resolution of present NSE instruments. Our prototype LNRSE spectrometer described here was implemented at the resonance spin echo for diverse applications (RESEDA) beamline at the MLZ in Garching, Germany. The DC fields are generated by B0 coils, based on resistive split-pair solenoids with an active shielding for low stray fields along the beam path. One pair of RF flippers at a distance of 2 m generates a field integral of ˜0.5 Tm. The LNRSE technique is a future alternative for high-resolution spectroscopy of quasi-elastic excitations. In addition, it also incorporates the MIEZE technique, which allows to achieve spin echo resolution for spin depolarizing samples and sample environments. Here we present the results of numerical optimization of the coil geometry and first data from the prototype instrument.

Constructivism in Practice: an Exploratory Study of Teaching Patterns and Student Motivation in Physics Classrooms in Finland, Germany and Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beerenwinkel, Anne; von Arx, Matthias

2017-04-01

For the last three decades, moderate constructivism has become an increasingly prominent perspective in science education. Researchers have defined characteristics of constructivist-oriented science classrooms, but the implementation of such science teaching in daily classroom practice seems difficult. Against this background, we conducted a sub-study within the tri-national research project Quality of Instruction in Physics (QuIP) analysing 60 videotaped physics classes involving a large sample of students ( N = 1192) from Finland, Germany and Switzerland in order to investigate the kinds of constructivist components and teaching patterns that can be found in regular classrooms without any intervention. We applied a newly developed coding scheme to capture constructivist facets of science teaching and conducted principal component and cluster analyses to explore which components and patterns were most prominent in the classes observed. Two underlying components were found, resulting in two scales—Structured Knowledge Acquisition and Fostering Autonomy—which describe key aspects of constructivist teaching. Only the first scale was rather well established in the lessons investigated. Classes were clustered based on these scales. The analysis of the different clusters suggested that teaching physics in a structured way combined with fostering students' autonomy contributes to students' motivation. However, our regression models indicated that content knowledge is a more important predictor for students' motivation, and there was no homogeneous pattern for all gender- and country-specific subgroups investigated. The results are discussed in light of recent discussions on the feasibility of constructivism in practice.

Social Rhythm and Mental Health: A Cross-Cultural Comparison.

PubMed

Margraf, Jürgen; Lavallee, Kristen; Zhang, XiaoChi; Schneider, Silvia

2016-01-01

Social rhythm refers to the regularity with which one engages in social activities throughout the week, and has established links with bipolar disorder, as well as some links with depression and anxiety. The aim of the present study is to examine social rhythm and its relationship to various aspects of health, including physical health, negative mental health, and positive mental health. Questionnaire data were obtained from a large-scale multi-national sample of 8095 representative participants from the U.S., Russia, and Germany. Results indicated that social rhythm irregularity is related to increased reporting of health problems, depression, anxiety, and stress. In contrast, greater regularity is related to better overall health state, life satisfaction, and positive mental health. The effects are generally small in size, but hold even when controlling for gender, marital status, education, income, country, and social support. Further, social rhythm means differ across Russia, the U.S., and Germany. Relationships with mental health are present in all three countries, but differ in magnitude. Social rhythm irregularity is related to mental health in Russia, the U.S., and Germany.

Updated prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in 4- to 10-year-old children in Germany. Results from the telephone-based KiGGS Wave 1 after correction for bias in parental reports.

PubMed

Brettschneider, Anna-Kristin; Schienkiewitz, Anja; Schmidt, Steffen; Ellert, Ute; Kurth, Bärbel-Maria

2017-04-01

The nationwide 'German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents' (KiGGS), conducted in 2003-2006, showed an increase in the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity compared to the early 1990s, indicating the need for regular monitoring. Recently, a follow-up-KiGGS Wave 1 (2009-2012)-was carried out as a telephone-based survey, providing parent-reported height and weight from 5155 children aged 4-10 years. Since parental reports lead to a bias in prevalence rates of weight status, a correction is needed. From a subsample of KiGGS Wave 1 participants, measurements for height and weight were collected in a physical examination. In order to correct prevalence rates derived from parent reports, weight status categories based on parent-reported and measured height and weight were used to estimate a correction formula according to an established procedure. The corrected prevalence rates derived from KiGGS Wave 1 for overweight, including obesity, in children aged 4-10 years in Germany showed that stagnation is reached compared to the KiGGS baseline study (2003-2006). The rates for overweight, including obesity, in Germany have levelled off. However, they still remain at a high level, indicating a need for further public health action. What is Known: • In the last decades, prevalence of overweight and obesity has risen. Now a days, the prevalence seems to be stagnating. • In Germany, prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity are only available from regional or non-representative studies. What is New: • This article gives an update for prevalence rates of overweight and obesity amongst children aged 4-10 years in Germany based on a nationwide and representative sample. • Results show that stagnation in prevalence rates for overweight in children in Germany is reached.

[Physical medicine in hospital. Minimum standards in a physical medical department in acute inpatient areas in rheumatology].

PubMed

Reißhauer, A; Liebl, M E

2012-07-01

Standards for what should be available in terms of equipment and services in a department of physical medicine caring for acute inpatients do not exist in Germany. The profile of a department determines the therapeutic services it focuses on and hence the technical facilities required. The German catalogue of operations and procedures defines minimum thresholds for treatment. In the opinion of the authors a department caring for inpatients with acute rheumatic diseases must, as a minimum, have the facilities and equipment necessary for offering thermotherapeutic treatment. Staff trained in physical therapeutic procedures and occupational therapy is also crucial. Moreover, it is desirable that the staff should be trained in manual therapy.

Testing for unit root bilinearity in the Brazilian stock market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabak, Benjamin M.

2007-11-01

In this paper a simple test for detecting bilinearity in a stochastic unit root process is used to test for the presence of nonlinear unit roots in Brazilian equity shares. The empirical evidence for a set of 53 individual stocks, after adjusting for GARCH effects, suggests that for more than 66%, the hypothesis of unit root bilinearity is accepted. Therefore, the dynamics of Brazilian share prices is in conformity with this type of nonlinearity. These nonlinearities in spot prices may emerge due to the sophistication of the derivatives market.

Rotatable multifunctional load frames for neutron diffractometers at FRM II—design, specifications and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoelzel, M.; Gan, W. M.; Hofmann, M.; Randau, C.; Seidl, G.; Jüttner, Ph.; Schmahl, W. W.

2013-05-01

Novel tensile rigs have been designed and manufactured at the research reactor Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II, Garching near Munich). Besides tensile and compressive stress, also torsion can be applied. The unique Eulerian cradle type design (ω, χ, and φ axis) allows orienting the stress axis with respect to the scattering vector. Applications of these tensile rigs at our neutron diffractometers enable various investigations of structural changes under mechanical load, e.g. crystallographic texture evolution, stress-induced phase transformations or lattice expansion, and the anisotropy of mechanical response.

Rational GARCH model: An empirical test for stock returns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takaishi, Tetsuya

2017-05-01

We propose a new ARCH-type model that uses a rational function to capture the asymmetric response of volatility to returns, known as the "leverage effect". Using 10 individual stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and two stock indices, we compare the new model with several other asymmetric ARCH-type models. We find that according to the deviance information criterion, the new model ranks first for several stocks. Results show that the proposed new model can be used as an alternative asymmetric ARCH-type model in empirical applications.

Walter Greiner: In Memoriam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zen Vasconcellos, César; Coelho, Helio T.; Hess, Peter Otto

Walter Greiner (29 October 1935 - 6 October 2016) was a German theoretical physicist. His scientific research interests include the thematic areas of atomic physics, heavy ion physics, nuclear physics, elementary particle physics (particularly quantum electrodynamics and quantum chromodynamics). He is most known in Germany for his series of books in theoretical physics, but he is also well known around the world. Greiner was born on October 29, 1935, in Neuenbau, Sonnenberg, Germany. He studied physics at the University of Frankfurt (Goethe University in Frankfurt Am Main), receiving in this institution a BSci in physics and a Master’s degree in 1960 with a thesis on plasma-reactors, and a PhD in 1961 at the University of Freiburg under Hans Marshal, with a thesis on the nuclear polarization in μ-mesic atoms. During the period of 1962 to 1964 he was assistant professor at the University of Maryland, followed by a position as research associate at the University of Freiburg, in 1964. Starting in 1965, he became a full professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Goethe University until 2003. Greiner has been a visiting professor to many universities and laboratories, including Florida State University, the University of Virginia, the University of California, the University of Melbourne, Vanderbilt University, Yale University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2003, with Wolf Singer, he was the founding Director of the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), and gave lectures and seminars in elementary particle physics. He died on October 6, 2016 at the age of 80. Walter Greiner was an excellent teacher, researcher, friend. And he was a great supporter of the series of events known by the acronyms IWARA - International Workshop on Astronomy and Relativistic Astrophysics, STARS - Caribbean Symposium on Cosmology, Gravitation, Nuclear and Astroparticle Physics, and SMFNS - International Symposium on Strong Electromagnetic Fields and Neutron Stars. Walter Greiner left us. But his memory will remain always alive among us who have had the privilege of knowing him and enjoy his wisdom and joy of living.

Child maltreatment in Germany: prevalence rates in the general population.

PubMed

Witt, Andreas; Brown, Rebecca C; Plener, Paul L; Brähler, Elmar; Fegert, Jörg M

2017-01-01

Child maltreatment and its consequences are considered a major public health problem. So far, there is only one study from Germany reporting prevalence rates on different types of maltreatment. A representative sample of the German general population was examined for experiences of child maltreatment using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) between September and November 2016. A total of 2510 (53.3% female) participants between 14 and 94 years (M = 48.8 years) were enrolled. Besides the CTQ, a range of sociodemographic information was collected. The interrelatedness of different types of maltreatment was examined using configuration analysis and predictors for maltreatment were identified by performing binary logistic regression analyses. Overall, 2.6% (f: 3.9%, m: 1.2%) of all participants reported severe emotional abuse, 3.3% (f: 3.4%, m: 3.3%) severe physical abuse, 2.3% (f: 3.7%, m: 0.7%) severe sexual abuse, 7.1% (f: 8.1%, m: 5.9%) severe emotional neglect and 9% (f: 9.2%, m: 8.9%) severe physical neglect. Women were more likely to report at least moderate sexual and emotional abuse than men. The largest difference between age groups was reported for physical neglect, with participants aged over 70 years reporting the highest rates. Participants who reported childhood maltreatment were more likely to be unemployed or have lower educational outcomes. The most common combination of maltreatment types were physical and emotional neglect, all five types of maltreatment combined and physical and emotional neglect and physical abuse combined. Child maltreatment, especially physical neglect is common in the German population. Women seem to be at greater risk for sexual and emotional abuse than men. Knowledge about different types of maltreatment based on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) can help to put findings of future studies into an epidemiological and societal context.

Constructivism in Practice: An Exploratory Study of Teaching Patterns and Student Motivation in Physics Classrooms in Finland, Germany and Switzerland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beerenwinkel, Anne; von Arx, Matthias

2017-01-01

For the last three decades, moderate constructivism has become an increasingly prominent perspective in science education. Researchers have defined characteristics of constructivist-oriented science classrooms, but the implementation of such science teaching in daily classroom practice seems difficult. Against this background, we conducted a…

Spicing up Your Curriculum: A Seven-Day Handball Unit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramos, Adolfo; Esslinger, Keri

2016-01-01

In today's physical education classroom, many teachers feel starved for fresh, innovative activities to teach. This article presents team handball (TH) as one such activity. Although TH is not a new activity (it was first played toward the end of the 19th century in countries such as Denmark, Germany and Sweden), for many students in the United…

The Internationality Imperative in Academia. The Ascent of Internationality as an Academic Virtue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamann, Julian; Zimmer, Lena M.

2017-01-01

The paper investigates internationality as an academic virtue that is highly relevant for research biographies. The discursive trajectory of this virtue is assessed by comparing ascriptions of internationality in 216 academic obituaries from the US, UK and Germany, from physics, sociology and history, and from the 1960s, 1980s and 2000s. Our…

Institute for Science Education. Institut fur die Padagogik der Naturwissenschaften an der Universitat Kiel. IPN Report-in-Brief 11. 3rd Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blansdorf, Klaus, Ed.

The Institut fur die Padagogik der Naturwissenschaften (IPN) is the research institute for science education, with a national function in the Federal Republic of Germany. The IPN consists of biology education, chemistry education, physics education, educational science, research methodology/statistics, and administration/general services…

Participants' Experiences in Hellinger's Family Constellation Work: A Grounded Theory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgiadou, Sofia

2012-01-01

As a recently introduced to the U.S. model of intergenerational systemic therapy from Germany, Bert Hellinger's Family Constellation Work (FCW) has very limited research support. Hellinger himself has authored a number of publications referencing hundreds of cases, where he implemented his method to approach a broad array of physical,…

The Politics of Forgetting: Otto Hahn and the German Nuclear-Fission Project in World War II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sime, Ruth Lewin

2012-03-01

As the co-discoverer of nuclear fission and director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry, Otto Hahn (1879-1968) took part in Germany`s nuclear-fission project throughout the Second World War. I outline Hahn's efforts to mobilize his institute for military-related research; his inclusion in high-level scientific structures of the military and the state; and his institute's research programs in neutron physics, isotope separation, transuranium elements, and fission products, all of potential military importance for a bomb or a reactor and almost all of it secret. These activities are contrasted with Hahn's deliberate misrepresentations after the war, when he claimed that his wartime work had been nothing but "purely scientific" fundamental research that was openly published and of no military relevance.

The Schlema-Alberoda five-element uranium deposit, Germany: An example of self-organizing hydrothermal system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naumov, G. B.; Vlasov, B. P.; Golubev, V. N.; Mironova, O. F.

2017-01-01

As a result of integrating geological, mineralogical, and geochemical data on the unique Schlema-Alberoda five-element uranium deposit situated in Federal Republic of Germany and explored in detail down to a depth of 2 km, it has been shown that its formation for more than 100 Ma has been caused by combination of internal and external factors. The latter comprise favorable metallogenic specialization of the region, injection of intrusive bodies bearing the necessary stock of energy, and periodic pulses of tectonic reactivation. The internal factors of self-development involve evolutionary processes, which occur in host rocks at the consecutive stages of prograde and retrograde metamorphism giving rise to alteration of rocks in consistence with physical and chemical laws at variable temperature and degree of system opening.

Padma Kant Shukla 1950-2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bingham, Robert; Eliasson, Bengt; Mendonca, Tito; Stenflo, Lennart; Stenflo

2013-03-01

Professor Padma Kant Shukla passed away on the 26th of January in New Delhi, India, just after receiving the prestigious Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) Award. He was born in the village Tulapur, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India and was educated there. After his Ph.D. in Physics from Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, he obtained his second doctorate degree in Theoretical Plasma Physics from Umea University under the supervision of one of us (Lennart Stenflo). He worked at the Faculty of Physics & Astronomy, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany since January 1973, where he was a permanent faculty member and Professor of International Affairs, a position that was created for him to honour his international accomplishments and reputation.

[The effect of exogenous iron on levels of adenosinetriphosphate and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate in erythrocytes of men during extreme physical exertion].

PubMed

Pedzikiewicz, J; Sobiech, K A

1995-01-01

Nine men were examined during a three-week training requiring much physical effort. They were given nutrient, "LIVEX", enriched with iron. Hematological parameters as well as concentration of erythrocyte ATP and 2,3-DPG were determined before and after the experiment. Hematological parameters were determined using standard methods while Boehringer's test (Germany) was used for determining ATP and 2,3-DPG. The level of reticular cells was statistically higher after the experiment, and the increase in ATP and 2,3-DPG concentration was insignificant. A positive adaptation of energy metabolism after exogenous iron administration during physical effort was discussed.

Walkability is only part of the story: walking for transportation in Stuttgart, Germany.

PubMed

Reyer, Maren; Fina, Stefan; Siedentop, Stefan; Schlicht, Wolfgang

2014-05-30

In modern Western societies people often lead inactive and sedentary lifestyles, even though there is no doubt that physical activity and health are related. From an urban planning point of view it would be highly desirable to develop built environments in a way that supports people in leading more active and healthy lifestyles. Within this context there are several methods, predominantly used in the US, to measure the suitability of built environments for walking and cycling. Empirical studies show that people living in highly walkable areas are more physically active (for example, walk more or cycle more). The question is, however, whether these results are also valid for European cities given their different urban planning characteristics and infrastructure standards. To answer this question we used the Walkability-Index and the Walk Score to empirically investigate the associations between walkability and active transportation in the city of Stuttgart, Germany. In a sample of household survey data (n = 1.871) we found a noticeable relationship between walkability and active transportation-the more walkable an area was, the more active residents were. Although the statistical effect is small, the health impact might be of relevance. Being physically active is multi-determined and not only affected by the walkability of an area. We highlight these points with an excursion into research that the health and exercise sciences contribute to the topic. We propose to strengthen interdisciplinary research between the disciplines and to specifically collect data that captures the influence of the environment on physical activity in the future.

Walkability is Only Part of the Story: Walking for Transportation in Stuttgart, Germany

PubMed Central

Reyer, Maren; Fina, Stefan; Siedentop, Stefan; Schlicht, Wolfgang

2014-01-01

In modern Western societies people often lead inactive and sedentary lifestyles, even though there is no doubt that physical activity and health are related. From an urban planning point of view it would be highly desirable to develop built environments in a way that supports people in leading more active and healthy lifestyles. Within this context there are several methods, predominantly used in the US, to measure the suitability of built environments for walking and cycling. Empirical studies show that people living in highly walkable areas are more physically active (for example, walk more or cycle more). The question is, however, whether these results are also valid for European cities given their different urban planning characteristics and infrastructure standards. To answer this question we used the Walkability-Index and the Walk Score to empirically investigate the associations between walkability and active transportation in the city of Stuttgart, Germany. In a sample of household survey data (n = 1.871) we found a noticeable relationship between walkability and active transportation—the more walkable an area was, the more active residents were. Although the statistical effect is small, the health impact might be of relevance. Being physically active is multi-determined and not only affected by the walkability of an area. We highlight these points with an excursion into research that the health and exercise sciences contribute to the topic. We propose to strengthen interdisciplinary research between the disciplines and to specifically collect data that captures the influence of the environment on physical activity in the future. PMID:24886755

Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research, FAIR, at the GSI site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosner, Guenther

2006-11-01

FAIR is a new large-scale particle accelerator facility to be built at the GSI site in Germany. The research pursued at FAIR will cover a wide range of topics in nuclear and hadron physics, as well as high density plasma physics, atomic and antimatter physics, and applications in condensed matter physics and biology. The working horse of FAIR will be a 1.1km circumference double ring of rapidly cycling 100 and 300Tm synchrotrons, which will be used to produce high intensity secondary beams of short-lived radioactive ions or antiprotons. A subsequent suite of cooler and storage rings will deliver heavy ion and antiproton beams of unprecedented quality. Large experimental facilities are presently being designed by the NUSTAR, PANDA, PAX, CBM, SPARC, FLAIR, HEDgeHOB and BIOMAT collaborations.

Expert Meeting and Membership Meetings, Standing Committee Meeting. Section of Libraries for the Blind. International Federation of Library Associations. Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cylke, Frank Kurt

Two meetings of the International Federation of Library Associations Section of Libraries for the Blind (BLISTA) are summarized. The first was an expert meeting which was held in Marburg/Lahn, Federal Republic of Germany, in August 1983. Participants included 51 librarians and technical experts serving blind and physically disabled individuals in…

Aircraft Icing Handbook. (Update)

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

Report 1946-1947, U. S. Air Material Command Tech. Rept. 5676. Findeisen , W., *Meteorological Commentary of D (air) 1209, Icing,* Germany, Reichsamt fur...Wetterdienst, Forschungs-und Krfahrungsberichte, Ser. a, No. 29, 1943. Findeisen , W., *Meteorological-Physical Limitations of Icing on the Atmosphere...Apparatus for Measurement,’ Harvard - Mt. Washington Icing Research Report 1946-1947, U. S. Air Material Command Tech. Rept. 5676.. Findeisen , W., "The

Visitor preferences for visual changes in bark beetle-impacted forest recreation settings in the United States and Germany

Treesearch

Arne Arnberger; Martin Ebenberger; Ingrid E. Schneider; Stuart Cottrell; Alexander C. Schlueter; Eick von Ruschkowski; Robert C. Venette; Stephanie A. Snyder; Paul H. Gobster

2018-01-01

Extensive outbreaks of tree-killing insects are increasing across forests in Europe and North America due to climate change and other factors. Yet, little recent research examines visitor response to visual changes in conifer forest recreation settings resulting from forest insect infestations, how visitors weigh trade-offs between physical and social forest...

Germany unveils €18bn research plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, Michael

2009-07-01

The German government has unveiled an ambitious plan to inject a total of €18bn into teaching and research over the next decade. The German chancellor Angela Merkel, who has a degree in physics, announced that she was releasing the funds despite concerns from her social-democrat coalition partners that financing the package could be difficult in the economic downturn.

Living Ethnoastronomy: Discovering the Connectedness of the Human Spirit beneath the Night Sky

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hechter, Richard Paul; Awad, Nayif

2017-01-01

Richard Hechter and Nayif Awad wrote this article from opposite sides of the Earth and are getting ready to meet again in December 2017 to continue their project of bringing the world together through physics education, one constellation at a time. With the events in France, Belgium, Germany, United States, and United Kingdom fresh in their minds,…

78 FR 69041 - Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From the People's Republic of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-18

... physical characteristics of the subject merchandise in order to report the relevant factors and costs of... companies.\\29\\ For Korea and Taiwan, Petitioner treated quoted prices as the ex-factory prices.\\30\\ \\28\\ See.... Accordingly, the NV of the product is appropriately based on factors of production (FOPs) valued in a...

Bethe, Hans Albrecht (1906-)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdin, P.

2000-11-01

Physicist, born in Strasburg, Germany (present-day France), Nobel prizewinner (1967). As professor of physics at Cornell University he worked out the nuclear reactions occurring in the Sun. He worked on the development of the atomic bomb in the Manhatten project, and, after the second World War, pursued again research on stellar nuclear energy sources and the origin of the chemical elements in th...

Determining the spatial variability of crop yields of two different climatic regions in Southwest Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eshonkulov, Ravshan; Poyda, Arne; Ingwersen, Joachim; Streck, Thilo

2017-04-01

Assessing the spatial variability of soil physical properties is crucial for agricultural land management. We determined the spatial variability within two agricultural fields in the regions of Kraichgau and Swabian Jura in Southwest Germany. We determined soil physical properties and recorded the temporal development of soil mineral nitrogen (N) and water content as well as that of plant variables (phenology, biomass, leaf area index (LAI), N content, green vegetation fraction (GVF). The work was conducted during the vegetation periods of 2015 and 2016 in winter wheat, and winter rapeseed in Kraichgau and winter barley and silage maize on Swabian Jura. Measurements were taken in three-weekly intervals. On each field, we identified three plots with reduced plant development using high-resolution (RapidEye) satellite images ("cold spots"). Measurements taken on these cold spots were compared to those from five established (long-term) reference plots representing the average field variability. The software EXPERT-N was used to simulate the soil crop system at both cold spots and reference plots. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to identify the most important parameters for the determination of spatial variability in crop growth dynamics.

[Beyond Weimar Culture--the significance of the Forman thesis for a cultural approach to the history of science].

PubMed

Trischler, Helmuth; Carson, Cathryn; Kojevnikov, Alexei

2008-12-01

'"Forman thesis', published in 1971, argued for a historical linkage among the intellectual atmosphere of Weimar Germany, popular revolts against determinism and materialism, and the creation of the revolutionary new theory of quantum mechanics. Paul Forman's long essay on "Weimar Culture" has shaped research agendas in numerous fields, from the history and philosophy of physics to German history to the sociology of scientific knowledge. Despite its status as a classic and its transformative effect, Weimar Culture has always inspired as much critique as assent. In particular in the history of science, cohorts of students and two generations of scholars have debated the Forman thesis as a conceptual tool for linking scientific change with cultural processes. The Forman thesis raises critical questions for both the ongoing debates over cultural approaches to the history of science and the burgeoning newer scholarship on physics in and beyond Weimar Germany. Exploring these implications has been the aim of a transnational project of the three authors of this article which sheds some light on these debates and briefly introduces the following papers of this special issue devoted to Paul Forman and his seminal works in the history of science.

CMS tier structure and operation of the experiment-specific tasks in Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowack, A.

2008-07-01

In Germany, several university institutes and research centres take part in the CMS experiment. Concerning the data analysis, a couple of computing centres at different Tier levels, ranging from Tier 1 to Tier 3, exists at these places. The German Tier 1 centre GridKa at the research centre at Karlsruhe serves all four LHC experiments as well as four non-LHC experiments. With respect to the CMS experiment, GridKa is mainly involved in central tasks. The Tier 2 centre in Germany consists of two sites, one at the research centre DESY at Hamburg and one at RWTH Aachen University, forming a federated Tier 2 centre. Both parts cover different aspects of a Tier 2 centre. The German Tier 3 centres are located at the research centre DESY at Hamburg, at RWTH Aachen University, and at the University of Karlsruhe. Furthermore the building of a German user analysis facility is planned. Since the CMS community in German is rather small, a good cooperation between the different sites is essential. This cooperation includes physical topics as well as technical and operational issues. All available communication channels such as email, phone, monthly video conferences, and regular personal meetings are used. For example, the distribution of data sets is coordinated globally within Germany. Also the CMS-specific services such as the data transfer tool PhEDEx or the Monte Carlo production are operated by people from different sites in order to spread the knowledge widely and increase the redundancy in terms of operators.

[Personal hygiene and cleanliness in an international comparison].

PubMed

Bergler, R

1989-04-01

The investigation was intended to analyse the attitude towards hygiene and cleanliness in the Federal Republic of Germany, France, and Spain. On the basis of a theoretical explanatory model and empirically gained qualitative raw data a standardized questionnaire was prepared; in a number of questions comparability with a study carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1968 was ensured. In all countries the population was subjected to representative random tests (Federal Republic of Germany n = 1016; France n = 517; Spain n = 514). The paper presents a review of the hypothesis that quality and intensity of the cleanliness increases with (1) the extent of personal sensitivity to hygiene in the private, professional and public sphere, (2) with increasing physical sensibility, (3) the increase in our knowledge of hygiene and health, (4) with the increase in the personal behavioral standards for measures concerned with prevention, hygiene of the body, household, underwear and environment, (5) with the increasing weight given to hygiene and toilet during the process of development, and (6) with the extent of regular control of education in cleanliness based on established rules of behavior. The spheres of behavior investigated and mentioned below confirmed the validity of the hypothesis for (1) household hygiene (spring-cleaning, window cleaning, cleaning of the home: dusting, vacuum-cleaning, cleaning of the floor), (2) hygiene of the body (frequency of taking a shower, bathing, toothbrushing, intimate hygiene), (3) hygiene of the laundry (frequency of changing underclothes such as panties/underpants, brassieres, nightgowns/pyjamas, stockings/socks, linen, pillows, dish and kitchen towels). The following general findings were established: (1) In the Federal Republic of Germany the attitude towards hygiene and cleanliness has improved over the last 20 years. (2) The level of hygiene and cleanliness in France and Spain is significantly higher than in the FRG. (3) The use of regular and also strict parental controls of the child's attitude towards cleanliness, as well as the continuity and systematic pursuance of this hygiene-orientated education is far more spread in France and in Spain than in the Federal Republic of Germany. (4) Within the population of a country differences are attributable to the quality of the parental educational efforts, to the importance of sex-specific cleanliness and toilet standards, to the knowledge of or the prejudices against the interrelationship between hygiene, cleanliness and health, the degree of private, public and professional hygiene sensibility, and physical sensibility.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

[Subjective, physical and mental health of children and adolescents in Thuringia : Representative results of the Thuringia state module in KiGGS wave 1].

PubMed

Krause, Laura; Mauz, Elvira

2018-07-01

Children and adolescents from Thuringia have higher health care needs compared with peers in Germany overall. It was investigated whether this is due to a higher disease process. The data basis was the Thuringia state module (2010-2012; n = 4884; 0-17 years), which was conducted in KiGGS wave 1 (2009-2012). The health situation of children and adolescents is described in terms of various indicators of subjective, physical, and mental health. Prevalences with 95% confidence intervals were reported, and with logistic regressions, the significance of the group differences was examined. Whether children and adolescents in Thuringia and Germany overall differ in the examined health indicators, was tested with chi-square tests and the p values are corrected according to Bonferroni. With 93.8%, the majority of children and adolescents in Thuringia had very good or good subjective health. One-fifth of children and adolescents (20.4%) had a chronic illness or a long-standing health condition. Hay fever (13.6%) and atopic dermatitis (17.6%) were the most common medically diagnosed chronic diseases. In addition, one-fifth of children and adolescents (20.6%) had symptoms of mental health problems; a medical ADHD diagnosis was found in 5.6% of children and adolescents in Thuringia. Compared with peers from Germany overall, there were only a few differences in the incidence of disease. According to these results, the higher degree of care provided to Thuringian girls and boys cannot be attributed to a higher incidence of disease. Other factors such as greater parental willingness of utilization or a better supply structure must be taken into account.

Erratum: Erratum to: The Quadrennial Ozone Symposium 2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godin-Beekmann, Sophie; Petropavlovskikh, Irina; Reis, Stefan; Newman, Paul; Steinbrecht, Wolfgang; Rex, Markus; Santee, Michelle L.; Eckman, Richard S.; Zheng, Xiangdong; Tully, Matthew B.; Stevenson, David S.; Young, Paul; Pyle, John; Weber, Mark; Tamminen, Johanna; Mills, Gina; Bais, Alkiviadis F.; Heaviside, Clare; Zerefos, Christos

2018-03-01

The Quadrennial Ozone Symposium 2016 Sophie GODIN-BEEKMANN*1, Irina PETROPAVLOVSKIKH2, Stefan REIS3,20, Paul NEWMAN4, Wolfgang STEINBRECHT5, Markus REX6, Michelle L. SANTEE7, Richard S. ECKMAN8, Xiangdong ZHENG9, Matthew B. TULLY10, David S. STEVENSON11, Paul YOUNG12, John PYLE13, Mark WEBER14, Johanna TAMMINEN15, Gina MILLS16, Alkiviadis F. BAIS17, Clare HEAVISIDE18, and Christos ZEREFOS19 1 Observatoire de Versailles Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, CNRS, 78280 Guyancourt, France 2 CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA 3 NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Edinburgh EH26 0QB, UK 4 Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA 5 Hohenpeissenberg Meteorological Observatory, Deutscher Wetterdienst, 82383 Hohenpeissenberg, Germany 6 Alfred Wegener Institute, 14401 Potsdam, Germany 7 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, CA 91109, USA 8 NASA Headquarters, Earth Science Division, Washington, DC, USA 9 Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China 10 Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia 11 University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK 12 Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK 13 University of Cambridge, Department of Chemistry, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK 14 University of Bremen, Institute of Environmental Physics, 28359 Bremen, Germany 15 Finnish Meteorological Institute, Earth Observation, FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland 16 NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, Wales, UK 17 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece 18 Public Health England, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, London, UK 19 Research Center for Atmospheric Physics & Climatology, Academy of Athens, Athens 10680, Greece 20 University of Exeter Medical School, Truro TR1 3HD, UK

PREFACE Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bleicher, Markus; Caines, Helen; Calderon de la Barca Sanchez, Manuel; de Falco, Alessandro; Fries, Rainer; Granier de Cassagnac, Raphael; Hippolyte, Boris; Mischke, Andre; Nardi, Marzia; Salgado, Carlos A.

2011-01-01

The 4th Workshop for Young Scientists on the Physics of Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-nucleus Collisions (Hot Quarks 2010) was held in La Londe-Les-Maures, France, from June 21-26, 2010. Following the traditions of the conference, this meeting gathered more than 70 participants in the first years of their scientific careers. The present issue contains the proceedings of this workshop. The articles published in this volume clearly show the presence of a dynamic new generation of physicists interested in the different aspects of high energy nuclear collisions. The newest results from RHIC at Brookhaven and SPS at CERN were presented, as well as the latest results from the proton-proton programme from the LHC at CERN, while waiting for the data of the lead-lead collisions only available some months after the meeting. Along with these experimental findings, the corresponding theoretical research was also extensively discussed as well as the new perspectives for future facilities like FAIR, EIC and LHeC. We wish to thank the sponsors of the Hot Quarks 2010 Conference, who supported the authors of this volume: IN2P3/CNRS (France), EMMI (Germany), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (France), National Science Foundation (USA), CERN (Switzerland), Helmholtz International Center for FAIR (Germany), Xunta de Galicia (Spain) and the Journal of Physics G. Markus Bleicher (Frankfurt (HIC4FAIR), Germany)Helen Caines (Yale University, USA)Manuel Calderon de la Barca Sanchez (UC Davis, USA)Alessandro de Falco (Cagliari/INFN, Italy)Rainer Fries (Texas A & M University, USA) Raphael Granier de Cassagnac (Ecole Polytechnique, France)Boris Hippolyte (IPHC, Strasbourg, France)Andre Mischke (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)Marzia Nardi (Torino/INFN, Italy)Carlos A Salgado (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain)

Mental health of patients from different cultures in Germany.

PubMed

Wittig, U; Lindert, J; Merbach, M; Brähler, E

2008-01-01

Empirical studies on migration and mental health of migrants are still rare. In Germany they are often characterised by low sample sizes and are limited to certain diseases and geographical areas (old federal states). The comparability of their results is limited. Nonetheless, the assessment of migrants' health is necessary for adequate medical and psychosocial care for this target group. To provide data on mental health of migrants from Poland and from Vietnam in Germany. We have assessed a random sample of migrants from Poland (n=140) and from Vietnam (n=88) using the Giessen Subjective Complaints List - 24 (GSCL-24) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Additionally we asked migrants about their knowledge of health care institutions in case of psychosocial problems, their demands and the existing barriers to health care utilisation. Migrants from Poland and Vietnam have a higher general score of complaints of physical ill-health and higher anxiety and depression values than Germans. Psychosocial and medical institutions are visited less. Further analytical studies are needed to clarify health differences between these groups. Migrants are a heterogeneous group and only group-specific investigations will clarify associations between countries of origin, health status and use of health care institutions.

Heinz-Dietrich Doebner — an accomplished octogenarian

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyle, L. L.

2012-02-01

A scientific biography of Heinz-Dietrich Doebner is presented on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Doebner has been responsible for fostering the development of theoretical physics both in Germany and internationally. His scientific interests have centred around the quantum theory of both linear and non-linear systems moving on manifolds for which a technique known as Borel quantisation was developed in his group at Clausthal. He was responsible for establishing the Arnold Sommerfeld Institute within the Theoretical Physics Department at Clausthal. This provided a base for visiting scientists for many of whom funding was obtained from various sources.

CONVECTION THEORY AND SUB-PHOTOSPHERIC STRATIFICATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arnett, David; Meakin, Casey; Young, Patrick A., E-mail: darnett@as.arizona.ed, E-mail: casey.meakin@gmail.co, E-mail: patrick.young.1@asu.ed

2010-02-20

As a preliminary step toward a complete theoretical integration of three-dimensional compressible hydrodynamic simulations into stellar evolution, convection at the surface and sub-surface layers of the Sun is re-examined, from a restricted point of view, in the language of mixing-length theory (MLT). Requiring that MLT use a hydrodynamically realistic dissipation length gives a new constraint on solar models. While the stellar structure which results is similar to that obtained by Yale Rotational Evolution Code (Guenther et al.; Bahcall and Pinsonneault) and Garching models (Schlattl et al.), the theoretical picture differs. A new quantitative connection is made between macro-turbulence, micro-turbulence, andmore » the convective velocity scale at the photosphere, which has finite values. The 'geometric parameter' in MLT is found to correspond more reasonably with the thickness of the superadiabatic region (SAR), as it must for consistency in MLT, and its integrated effect may correspond to that of the strong downward plumes which drive convection (Stein and Nordlund), and thus has a physical interpretation even in MLT. If we crudely require the thickness of the SAR to be consistent with the 'geometric factor' used in MLT, there is no longer a free parameter, at least in principle. Use of three-dimensional simulations of both adiabatic convection and stellar atmospheres will allow the determination of the dissipation length and the geometric parameter (i.e., the entropy jump) more realistically, and with no astronomical calibration. A physically realistic treatment of convection in stellar evolution will require substantial additional modifications beyond MLT, including nonlocal effects of kinetic energy flux, entrainment (the most dramatic difference from MLT found by Meakin and Arnett), rotation, and magnetic fields.« less

Chaotic structure of oil prices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bildirici, Melike; Sonustun, Fulya Ozaksoy

2018-01-01

The fluctuations in oil prices are very complicated and therefore, it is unable to predict its effects on economies. For modelling complex system of oil prices, linear economic models are not sufficient and efficient tools. Thus, in recent years, economists attached great attention to non-linear structure of oil prices. For analyzing this relationship, GARCH types of models were used in some papers. Distinctively from the other papers, in this study, we aimed to analyze chaotic pattern of oil prices. Thus, it was used the Lyapunov Exponents and Hennon Map to determine chaotic behavior of oil prices for the selected time period.

PREFACE: 7th International Conference on Quantum Theory and Symmetries (QTS7)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burdík, Čestmír; Navrátil, Ondřej; Pošta, Severin; Schnabl, Martin; Šnobl, Libor

2012-02-01

The Seventh International Conference Quantum Theory and Symmetries (QTS7), organized by the Departments of Mathematics and Physics, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and the Institute of Physics at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, belongs to a successful series of conferences which began at Goslar, Germany in 1999. More recent QTS conferences were held in Poland, Bulgaria, USA and Spain. QTS7 gathered around 300 scientists from all over the world. 136 of the plenary lectures and contributions presented at QTS7 are published in this issue of Journal of Physics: Conference Series. We acknowledge support from the Commission for co-operation with JINR Dubna and grant LA-08002 from the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic. Čestmír Burdík Chairman Local Organizing Committee

Reviews in Modern Astronomy: Vol. 17: The Sun and Planetary Systems - Paradigms for the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schielicke, Reinhard E.

2004-09-01

Volume 17 continues the Reviews of Modern Astronomy with fourteen invited reviews and Highlight Contributions which were presented during the International Scientific Conference of the Society on "The Sun and Planetary Systems", held at Freiburg, Germany, September 15 to 20, 2003. The Karl Schwarzschild medal 2003 was awarded to Professor Erika Boehm-Vitense, Seattle, USA. Her lecture with the title "What Hyades F Stars tell us about Heating Mechanisms in Stellar Transition Layers and Coronae" opened the meeting. The talk presented by the Ludwig Biermann-Prize winner 2003, Dr Luis R. Bellot Rubio, Freiburg i. Br., Germany, dealt with the topic "The Structure of Sunspots as Inferred from Spectropolarimetric Measurements". Other contributions to the meeting published in this volume discuss, among other subjects, solar physics, formation of planets and interferometric imaging in astronomy.

Future Facility: FAIR at GSI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosner, Guenther

2007-05-01

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research, FAIR, is a new particle accelerator facility to be built at the GSI site in Germany. The research at FAIR will cover a wide range of topics in nuclear and hadron physics, high density plasma and atomic physics, and applications in condensed matter physics and biology. A 1.1 km circumference double ring of rapidly cycling 100 and 300 Tm synchrotrons, will be FAIR's central accelerator system. It will be used to produce, inter alia, high intensity secondary beams of antiprotons and short-lived radioactive nuclei. A subsequent suite of cooler and storage rings will deliver heavy ion and antiproton beams of unprecedented quality. Large experiments are presently being designed by the NUSTAR, PANDA, PAX, CBM, SPARC, FLAIR, HEDgeHOB and BIOMAT collaborations.

Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research, FAIR, at the GSI site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rosner, Guenther

FAIR is a new large-scale particle accelerator facility to be built at the GSI site in Germany. The research pursued at FAIR will cover a wide range of topics in nuclear and hadron physics, as well as high density plasma physics, atomic and antimatter physics, and applications in condensed matter physics and biology. The working horse of FAIR will be a 1.1km circumference double ring of rapidly cycling 100 and 300Tm synchrotrons, which will be used to produce high intensity secondary beams of short-lived radioactive ions or antiprotons. A subsequent suite of cooler and storage rings will deliver heavy ionmore » and antiproton beams of unprecedented quality. Large experimental facilities are presently being designed by the NUSTAR, PANDA, PAX, CBM, SPARC, FLAIR, HEDgeHOB and BIOMAT collaborations.« less

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweber, Silvan S.

2014-06-01

Some facets of the life of Hans Bethe after World War II are presented to illustrate how Paul Forman's works, and in particular his various theses—on mathematics and physics in Wilhelmine and Weimar Germany, on physics in the immediate post-World War II period, and on postmodernity—have influenced my biography of Bethe. Some aspects of the history of post-World War II quantum field theory, of solid state/condensed matter physics, and of the development of neoliberalism—the commitment to the belief that the market knows best, to free trade, to enhanced privatization, and to a drastic reduction of the government's role in regulating the economy—are reviewed in order to make some observations regarding certain "top-down" views in solid state physics in postmodernity, the economic and cultural condition of many Western societies since the 1980s, the decade in which many historians assume modernity to have ended.

Positive effects, side effects, and adverse events of clinical holistic medicine. A review of Gerda Boyesen's nonpharmaceutical mind-body medicine (biodynamic body-psychotherapy) at two centers in the United Kingdom and Germany.

PubMed

Allmer, Charlotte; Ventegodt, Søren; Kandel, Isack; Merrick, Joav

2009-01-01

To review adverse events of intensive, clinical holistic medicine (CHM) as it is practiced in holistic body-psychotherapy in England and Germany. Gerda Boyesen's "biodynamic body-psychotherapy" (BBP) is an intensive type of holistic mind-body medicine used by Boyesen at two centers. About 13,500 patients were treated during 1985-2005 period and studied for side effects and adverse events. The first author worked closely with Boyesen 1995-2005 with full insight in all aspects of the therapy and provided the data on side-effects. Therapy helped chronic patients with physical, psychological, sexual, psychiatric and existential problems to improve health, ability, and quality of life (NNT (number needed to treat) = 1-3). Effective in the treatment of mentally ill patients (schizophrenia, anxiety, poor mental health, low general ability). For retraumatization, brief reactive psychosis, depression, depersonalization and derealization, implanted memories, side effects from manipulations of the body, suicide/suicide attempts, hospitalization for physical and mental health problem during or 90 days after treatment, NNH (number needed to harm) > 13,500. Intensive, holistic non-drug medicine is helpful for physical, sexual, psychological, psychiatric and existential problems and is completely safe for the patient. The therapeutic value TV = NNH/NNT > 5,000. Altogether about 18,000 patients treated with different subtypes of CHM in four different countries have now been evaluated for effects, side effects and adverse events, with similar results.

7TH International Workshop on Laser Physics (LPHYS󈨦) Berlin, Germany July 6-10, 1998 Program and Book of Abstracts: Volume 1.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-07-01

to a hydrodynamic expansion of the so-called " nanoplasma " into the vacuum. The relative weight of each of these two explosion mechanisms depends on... nanoplasma . In particular, we observe L-shell emission in the case of Krypton and Xenon clusters and K-shell emission for Argon. Our results concern the

WRF-CMAQ simulations of Aerosol Direct Effects

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

CMAQ and WRF output filesThis dataset is associated with the following publication:Gan, C., J. Pleim , R. Mathur , C. Hogrefe , C.N. Long, J. Xing, D. Wong , R. Gilliam , and C. Wei. Assessment of long-term WRF–CMAQ simulations for understanding direct aerosol effects on radiation "brightening" in the United States. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Copernicus Publications, Katlenburg-Lindau, GERMANY, 15: 12193-12209, (2015).

Global evaluation of ammonia bidirectional exchange and livestock diurnal variation schemes

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

There is no EPA generated dataset in this study.This dataset is associated with the following publication:Zhu, L., D. Henze, J. Bash , G. Jeong, K. Cady-Pereira, M. Shephard, M. Luo, F. Poulot, and S. Capps. Global evaluation of ammonia bidirectional exchange and livestock diurnal variation schemes. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Copernicus Publications, Katlenburg-Lindau, GERMANY, 15: 12823-12843, (2015).

Promoting community readiness for physical activity among older adults in Germany--protocol of the ready to change intervention trial.

PubMed

Brand, Tilman; Gansefort, Dirk; Rothgang, Heinz; Röseler, Sabine; Meyer, Jochen; Zeeb, Hajo

2016-02-01

Healthy ageing is an important concern for many societies facing the challenge of an ageing population. Physical activity (PA) is a major contributor to healthy ageing; however insufficient PA levels are prevalent in old age in Germany. Community capacity building and community involvement are often recommended as key strategies to improve equitable access to prevention and health promotion. However, evidence for the effectiveness of these strategies is scarce. This study aims to assess the community readiness for PA promotion in local environments and to analyse the utility of strategies to increase community readiness for reaching vulnerable groups. We designed a mixed method intervention trial comprising three study modules. The first module includes an assessment of community readiness for PA interventions in older adults. The assessment is carried out in a sample of 24 municipalities in the Northwest of Germany using structured key informant interviews. In the second module, eight municipalities with the low community readiness are selected from the sample and randomly assigned to one of two study groups: active enhancement of community readiness (intervention) versus no enhancement (control). After enhancing community readiness in the active enhancement group, older adults in both study groups will be recruited for participation in a PA intervention. Participation rates are compared between the study groups to evaluate the effects of the intervention. In addition, a cost-effectiveness analysis is carried out calculating recruitment costs per person reached in the two study groups. In the third module, qualitative interviews are conducted with participants and non-participants of the PA intervention exploring reasons for participation or non-participation. This study offers the potential to contribute to the evidence base of reaching vulnerable older adults for PA interventions and provide ideas on how to reduce participation barriers. Its findings will inform governmental authorities, professionals, academics, and NGOs with an estimate of resources necessary to achieve equitable access to physical activity programs for vulnerable older adults. German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00009564 (Date of registration 03-11-2015).

Dollar Summary of Prime Contract Awards with Principal Place of Performance Outside the U.S. by Country and Contractor, FY83.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-01-01

GERMANY 55 55 KOHLEN GRUB GERMANY 9,706 9,706 KOLLER WOLFGANG GERMANY 28 28 KOLLSMANN 0MBN SYSTEM TECHN IK GERMANY 37 37 KONTRO#4 ELEKTRONI C GMBH... KRAUSE GERMANY 56 56 WAGNER GLAS UND GEBAEUDEREINIGUNG GERMANY 374 374 WAGNER GMSM GERMANY 138 136 WAGNER H GERMANY 570 570 WAGNER H a S GARTEN... WOLFGANG PRAYON GERMANY 34 34 WOLLERSHE I M ALFRED GERMANY 47 47 WORMSER AUIOBUSSETRI ED GERMANY 178 178 WUERSCHINGER HANS GERMANY 73 73 WUEST BAU

[Physiotherapy Education in Germany: Ready for Direct Access?

PubMed

Konrad, R; Konrad, A; Geraedts, M

2017-07-01

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate whether the curricula for physiotherapy education in Germany conform to standards recommended in the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) guideline for physical therapist professional entry-level education, published by the WCPT. This Guideline specifies education standards for physical therapists that are able to act as independent practitioners, without referral from another health care professional. Methods: To assess the German curricula of physical therapist education, a list of assessment dimensions was derived from the WCPT-Guideline by means of content analysis. The content validity of this list was estimated by nine experts using Lawshe's method. The German Training and Examination Regulations for Physiotherapists (PhysTh-AprV) and all available regional curricula were studied. All documents were evaluated by 2 independent coders who rated the conformity of the documents with the assessment dimensions. Results: Based on the Lawshe procedure, the whole test content validity index of the 61 out of 67 examined assessment dimensions was 0,84. Cohen's kappa coefficient for intercoder reliability was 0,71-0,97. The German curricula showed high correlation with the WCPT Guideline on many theoretical basic subjects. Fulfillment of some of the requirements showed heterogeneous results. Autonomous practitioners largely lacked special competencies. Conclusions: None of the German educational standards meets the expectations of the WCPT Guideline in terms of direct access. Considering the deficits of the German educational standards and the release date of some of them, a continuous development of the German education does not appear to be adequate. This issue needs to be addressed in the current debate on health policy. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

PREFACE: International Symposium on (e,2e), Double Photoionization and Related Topics & 15th International Symposium on Polarization and Correlation in Electronic and Atomic Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Nicholas L. S.; deHarak, Bruno A.

2010-01-01

From 30 July to 1 August 2009, over a hundred scientists from 18 countries attended the International Symposium on (e,2e), Double Photoionization and Related Topics and the 15th International Symposium on Polarization and Correlation in Electronic and Atomic Collisions which were held at the W T Young Library of the University of Kentucky, USA. Both conferences were satellite meetings of the XXVI International Conference on Photonic, Electronic and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC) held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, 21-28 July 2009. These symposia covered a broad range of experimental and theoretical topics involving excitation, ionization (single and multiple), and molecular fragmentation, of a wide range of targets by photons and charged particles (polarized and unpolarized). Atomic targets ranged from hydrogen to the heavy elements and ions, while molecular targets ranged from H2 to large molecules of biological interest. On the experimental front, cold target recoil ion momentum spectroscopy (COLTRIMS), also known as the Reaction Microscope because of the complete information it gives about a wide variety of reactions, is becoming commonplace and has greatly expanded the ability of researchers to perform previously inaccessible coincidence experiments. Meanwhile, more conventional spectrometers are also advancing and have been used for increasingly sophisticated and exacting measurements. On the theoretical front great progress has been made in the description of target states, and in the scattering calculations used to describe both simple and complex reactions. The international nature of collaborations between theorists and experimentalists is exemplified by, for example, the paper by Ren et al which has a total of 13 authors of whom the experimental group of six is from Heidelberg, Germany, one theoretical group is from Australia, with the remainder of the theoreticians coming from several different institutions in the United States. A total of 52 invited talks and 44 submitted posters covered recent advances in these topics. These proceedings present papers on 35 of the invited talks. The Local Organizers gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, and the University of Kentucky Department of Physics and Astronomy. We also thank Carol Cotrill, Eva Ellis, Diane Yates, Sarah Crowe, and John Nichols, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky for their invaluable assistance in the smooth running of the conferences; Oleksandr Korneta for taking the group photograph; and Emily Martin for helping accompanying persons. Nicholas L S Martin University of Kentucky Bruno A deHarak Illinois Wesleyan University International Scientific Organizing Committee Co-Chairs Don Madison (USA)Klaus Bartschat (USA) Members Lorenzo Avaldi (Italy)Nils Andersen (Denmark) Jamal Berakdar (Germany)Uwe Becker (Germany) Michael Brunger (Australia)Igor Bray (Australia) Greg Childers (USA)Nikolay Cherepkov (Russia) JingKang Deng (China)Albert Crowe (UK) Alexander Dorn (Germany)Danielle Dowek (France) Jim Feagin (USA)Oscar Fojon (Argentina) Nikolay Kabachnik (Russia)Tim Gay (USA) Anatoli Kheifets (Australia)Alexei Grum-Grzhimailo (Russia) George King (UK)Friedrich Hanne (Germany) Tom Kirchner (Germany)Alan Huetz (France) Azzedine Lahmam-Bennani (France)Morty Khakoo (USA) Julian Lower (Australia)Birgit Lohmann (Australia) William McCurdy (USA)Bill McConkey (Canada) Andrew Murray (UK)Rajesh Srivastava (India) Bernard Piraux (Belgium)Al Stauffer (Canada) Tim Reddish (Canada)Jim Williams (Australia) Roberto Rivarola (Argentina)Akira Yagishita (Japan) Michael Schulz (USA)Peter Zetner (Canada) Anthony Starace (USA)Joachim Ullrich (Germany) Giovanni Stefani (Italy)Erich Weigold (Australia) Masahiko Takahashi (Japan) Conference photograph

Short communication: final year students' deficits in physical examination skills performance in Germany.

PubMed

Krautter, Markus; Diefenbacher, Katja; Koehl-Hackert, Nadja; Buss, Beate; Nagelmann, Lars; Herzog, Wolfgang; Jünger, Jana; Nikendei, Christoph

2015-01-01

The physical examination of patients is an important diagnostic competence, but little is known about the examination skills of final-year medical students. To investigate physical examination skills of final-year medical students. In a cross-sectional study, 40 final-year students were asked to perform a detailed physical examination on standardized patients. Their performances were video-recorded and rated by independent video assessors. Video ratings showed a mean success rate of 40.1 % (SD 8.2). As regards accompanying doctor-patient communication, final-year students achieved a mean of no more than 36.7 % (SD 8.9) in the appropriate use of the corresponding communication items. Our study revealed severe deficits among final-year medical students in performing a detailed physical examination on a standardized patient. Thus, physical examination skills training should aim to improve these deficits while also paying attention to communicative aspects. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Orthopedic Management of Scoliosis by Garches Brace and Spinal Fusion in SMA Type 2 Children.

PubMed

Catteruccia, Michela; Vuillerot, Carole; Vaugier, Isabelle; Leclair, Danielle; Azzi, Viviane; Viollet, Louis; Estournet, Brigitte; Bertini, Enrico; Quijano-Roy, Susana

2015-11-21

Scoliosis is the most debilitating issue in SMA type 2 patients. No evidence confirms the efficacy of Garches braces (GB) to delay definitive spinal fusion. Compare orthopedic and pulmonary outcomes in children with SMA type 2 function to management. We carried out a monocentric retrospective study on 29 SMA type 2 children who had spinal fusion between 1999 and 2009. Patients were divided in 3 groups: group 1-French patients (12 children) with a preventive use of GB; group 2-French patients (10 children) with use of GB after the beginning of the scoliosis curve; and group 3-Italian patients (7 children) with use of GB after the beginning of the scoliosis curve referred to our centre to perform orthopedic preoperative management. Mean preoperative and postoperative Cobb angle were significantly lower in the group 1 of proactively braced than in group 2 or 3 (Anova p = 0.03; Kruskal Wallis test p = 0.05). Better surgical results were observed in patients with a minor preoperative Cobb angle (r = 0.92 p <  0.0001). Fewer patients in the group 1 proactively braced required trunk casts and/or halo traction and an additional anterior fusion in comparison with patients in the group 2 and 3. Moreover, major complications tend to be less in the group 1 proactively braced. No significant differences were found between groups in pulmonary outcome measures. A proactive orthotic management may improve orthopedic outcome in SMA type 2. Further prospective studies comparing SMA management are needed to confirm these results. Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions to Authors on jbjs.org for a complete description of levels of evidence (Retrospective comparative study).

Neutrino-driven Explosion of a 20 Solar-mass Star in Three Dimensions Enabled by Strange-quark Contributions to Neutrino-Nucleon Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melson, Tobias; Janka, Hans-Thomas; Bollig, Robert; Hanke, Florian; Marek, Andreas; Müller, Bernhard

2015-08-01

Interactions with neutrons and protons play a crucial role for the neutrino opacity of matter in the supernova core. Their current implementation in many simulation codes, however, is rather schematic and ignores not only modifications for the correlated nuclear medium of the nascent neutron star, but also free-space corrections from nucleon recoil, weak magnetism, or strange quarks, which can easily add up to changes of several 10% for neutrino energies in the spectral peak. In the Garching supernova simulations with the Prometheus-Vertex code, such sophistications have been included for a long time except for the strange-quark contributions to the nucleon spin, which affect neutral-current neutrino scattering. We demonstrate on the basis of a 20 {M}⊙ progenitor star that a moderate strangeness-dependent contribution of {g}{{a}}{{s}}=-0.2 to the axial-vector coupling constant {g}{{a}}≈ 1.26 can turn an unsuccessful three-dimensional (3D) model into a successful explosion. Such a modification is in the direction of current experimental results and reduces the neutral-current scattering opacity of neutrons, which dominate in the medium around and above the neutrinosphere. This leads to increased luminosities and mean energies of all neutrino species and strengthens the neutrino-energy deposition in the heating layer. Higher nonradial kinetic energy in the gain layer signals enhanced buoyancy activity that enables the onset of the explosion at ˜300 ms after bounce, in contrast to the model with vanishing strangeness contributions to neutrino-nucleon scattering. Our results demonstrate the close proximity to explosion of the previously published, unsuccessful 3D models of the Garching group.

Short-term prediction of rain attenuation level and volatility in Earth-to-Satellite links at EHF band

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Montera, L.; Mallet, C.; Barthès, L.; Golé, P.

2008-08-01

This paper shows how nonlinear models originally developed in the finance field can be used to predict rain attenuation level and volatility in Earth-to-Satellite links operating at the Extremely High Frequencies band (EHF, 20 50 GHz). A common approach to solving this problem is to consider that the prediction error corresponds only to scintillations, whose variance is assumed to be constant. Nevertheless, this assumption does not seem to be realistic because of the heteroscedasticity of error time series: the variance of the prediction error is found to be time-varying and has to be modeled. Since rain attenuation time series behave similarly to certain stocks or foreign exchange rates, a switching ARIMA/GARCH model was implemented. The originality of this model is that not only the attenuation level, but also the error conditional distribution are predicted. It allows an accurate upper-bound of the future attenuation to be estimated in real time that minimizes the cost of Fade Mitigation Techniques (FMT) and therefore enables the communication system to reach a high percentage of availability. The performance of the switching ARIMA/GARCH model was estimated using a measurement database of the Olympus satellite 20/30 GHz beacons and this model is shown to outperform significantly other existing models. The model also includes frequency scaling from the downlink frequency to the uplink frequency. The attenuation effects (gases, clouds and rain) are first separated with a neural network and then scaled using specific scaling factors. As to the resulting uplink prediction error, the error contribution of the frequency scaling step is shown to be larger than that of the downlink prediction, indicating that further study should focus on improving the accuracy of the scaling factor.

Screening for infectious diseases among asylum seekers newly arrived in Germany in 2015: a systematic single-centre analysis.

PubMed

Kortas, A Z; Polenz, J; von Hayek, J; Rüdiger, S; Rottbauer, W; Storr, U; Wibmer, T

2017-12-01

During the migrant crisis in 2015, Germany was the largest single recipient of new asylum seekers in Europe. The German asylum law requires a screening examination for certain infectious diseases in asylum seekers upon arrival. The aim of this work was to analyse the rate of certain infectious diseases among asylum seekers screened at a reception centre in Southern Germany. Retrospective medical record review. Medical records of 2602 asylum seekers screened by a local public health authority in Germany in 2015 were systematically analysed. The majority of screened subjects came from Afghanistan and Syria. The mean age was 22.1 (±12.0) years. The majority of subjects were male (75.4%). Most individuals were of normal weight or overweight, more subjects were obese than underweight. A total of 78 (3.9%) individuals were infected with hepatitis B and eight (0.4%) with HIV. In 31 cases, chest radiographs suggested active tuberculosis (1.6%), which was confirmed in four cases (0.2%). The physical examination uncovered 44 (1.7%) cases of scabies, nine (0.3%) cases of lice, eight (0.3%) of upper respiratory tract infections, two (0.1%) of varicella and 13 (0.5%) of other skin infections. In the majority of subjects none of the screened infectious diseases were found. No evidence was found that the overall prevalence of certain infectious diseases screened for in the present analysis was considerably higher than in previous migration studies. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Assisted suicide in Germany: medical diagnoses and personal reasons of 117 decedents].

PubMed

Bruns, F; Blumenthal, S; Hohendorf, G

2016-02-01

In Germany both scientific and public debates on physician assisted suicide often focus on patients with unbearable suffering in terminal condition. Proponents of physician assisted suicide bring forward the argument that there are end-of-life situations where only assisted suicide can bring relief from intolerable pain, dyspnea or other symptoms. But does focusing on unbearable symptoms in terminal condition reflect the reality of assisted suicide? Our data from 117 assisted suicides in Germany indicates that the reasons for assisted suicide are more complex than the current debate in Germany suggests. We analyzed diagnoses and reasons that prompted patients to suicide with the help of the German right-to-die organization "Sterbehilfe Deutschland" (StHD) between 2010 and 2013. 118 case reports of assisted suicide published by StHD were evaluated retrospectively. Between 2010 and 2013 StHD provided assistance in 118 suicides. 71 % of the deceased were women. 67 % were aged 70 years or older. 25,6 % suffered from metastasized cancer, 20,5 % had a severe neurological disease. 23 % suffered from age-associated diseases or disability. 14,5 % of the decedents had a predominant psychiatric diagnose, 7,7 % were physically and mentally healthy. The main reasons for suicide were loss of life perspective in the face of a severe disease (29 %), fear of care dependency (23,9 %), weariness of life without any severe disease (20,5 %). Only 12,8 % named non-treatable symptoms as a reason. Loss of life perspective in the face of a severe disease, fear of long-term care and weariness of life without any severe disease rather than unbearable suffering of non-treatable symptoms seem to be the most common reasons for members of StHD to commit suicide. These empirical findings should be mentioned in future debates on assisted suicide in Germany. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Combined geophysical, geochemical and geological investigations of geothermal reservoir characteristics in Lower Saxony, Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahne, B.; Thomas, R.

2012-04-01

The North German basin provides a significant geothermal potential, although temperature gradients are moderate. However, deep drilling up to several thousand meters is required to reach temperatures high enough for efficient generation of geothermal heat and electric power. In these depths we have not much information yet about relevant physical properties like porosity or permeability of the rock formations. Therefore the costs of developing a geothermal reservoir and the risk of missing the optimum drilling location are high. The collaborative research association "Geothermal Energy and High Performance Drilling" (gebo) unites several universities and research institutes in Lower Saxony, Germany. It aims at a significant increase of economic efficiency by introducing innovative technology and high tech materials resisting temperatures up to 200 °C in the drilling process. Furthermore, a better understanding of the geothermal reservoir is essential. gebo is structured into four main fields: Drilling Technology, Materials, Technical Systems and Geosystem. Here, we show the combined work of the Geosystem group, which focuses on the exploration of geological fault zones as a potential geothermal reservoir as well as on modeling the stress field, heat transport, coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical processes, geochemical interactions and prediction of the long-term behavior of the reservoir. First results include combined seismic and geoelectric images of the Leinetalgraben fault system, a comparison of seismic images from P- and S-wave measurements, mechanical properties of North German rocks from field and laboratory measurements as well as from drill cores, seismological characterization of stimulated reservoirs, a thermodynamic "gebo" database for modeling hydrogeochemical processes in North German formation waters with high salinity and at high temperatures, stress models for specific sites in northern Germany, and modeling results of permeability and heat transport in different (fractured) media. gebo is funded by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Germany and the industry partner Baker Hughes, Celle, Germany.

Czech Republic to Become Member of ESO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2006-12-01

Today, an agreement was signed in Prague between ESO and the Czech Republic, aiming to make the latter become a full member of ESO as of 1 January 2007. "The future membership of the Czech Republic in ESO opens for the Czech astronomers completely new opportunities and possibilities. It will foster this discipline on the highest quality level and open new opportunities for Czech industry to actively cooperate in research and development of high-tech instruments for astronomical research," said Miroslava Kopicová, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. ESO PR Photo 52/06 ESO PR Photo 52/06 Signing Ceremony "We warmly welcome the Czech Republic as the thirteenth member of ESO," said Catherine Cesarsky, ESO's Director General. "The timing couldn't be better chosen: with the Very Large Telescope, Europe is now at the forefront of ground-based astronomy, and with the construction of ALMA and the final studies for the European Extremely Large Telescope, we will ensure that this will remain so for several decades. We look forward to working together with our Czech colleagues towards these successes." The signing event took place at the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in Prague. Following ratification by the Czech Parliament, the Czech Republic with thus join the twelve present member states of ESO, the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere: Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The Czech Republic is the first country from Central and Eastern Europe to join ESO. Astronomy in the Czech Republic has a very long tradition that dates from as far back as 3500 BC. Four centuries ago, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler established themselves in Prague at the invitation of the emperor Rudolph II, laying the ground for the first golden age in astronomy. Later, eminent scientists such as Christian Doppler, Ernst Mach and Albert Einstein stayed in the famous city for periods of time. The Czech capital also played host to the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, first in 1967 and, more recently, in August 2006. Astronomy in the Czech Republic is shared between the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences and several leading universities, in Prague, Brno and Opava, among others. The Astronomical Institute operates the Ondrejov Observatory, with a 2-m optical telescope and a 10-m radio telescope. Czech astronomers are very active in many fields of this science, such as solar and stellar physics, and the study of interstellar matter, galaxies and planetary systems. Created in 1962, ESO, which quite fittingly means 'ace' in the Czech language, provides state-of-the-art research facilities to European astronomers and astrophysicists. ESO's activities cover a wide spectrum including the design and construction of world-class ground-based observational facilities for the member-state scientists, large telescope projects, design of innovative scientific instruments, developing new and advanced technologies, furthering European co-operation and carrying out European educational programmes. Whilst the Headquarters are located in Garching near Munich, Germany, ESO operates three observational sites in the Chilean Atacama desert. The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is located on Paranal, a 2 600m high mountain south of Antofagasta. At La Silla, 600 km north of Santiago de Chile at 2 400m altitude, ESO operates several medium-sized optical telescopes. The third site is the 5 000m high Llano de Chajnantor, near San Pedro de Atacama. Here a new submillimetre telescope (APEX) is in operation, and a giant array of 12-m submillimetre antennas (ALMA) is under development. Over 1 600 proposals are made each year for the use of the ESO telescopes.

PREFACE: IUPAP C20 Conference on Computational Physics (CCP 2011)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troparevsky, Claudia; Stocks, George Malcolm

2012-12-01

Increasingly, computational physics stands alongside experiment and theory as an integral part of the modern approach to solving the great scientific challenges of the day on all scales - from cosmology and astrophysics, through climate science, to materials physics, and the fundamental structure of matter. Computational physics touches aspects of science and technology with direct relevance to our everyday lives, such as communication technologies and securing a clean and efficient energy future. This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains the proceedings of the scientific contributions presented at the 23rd Conference on Computational Physics held in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA, in November 2011. The annual Conferences on Computational Physics (CCP) are dedicated to presenting an overview of the most recent developments and opportunities in computational physics across a broad range of topical areas and from around the world. The CCP series has been in existence for more than 20 years, serving as a lively forum for computational physicists. The topics covered by this conference were: Materials/Condensed Matter Theory and Nanoscience, Strongly Correlated Systems and Quantum Phase Transitions, Quantum Chemistry and Atomic Physics, Quantum Chromodynamics, Astrophysics, Plasma Physics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Complex Systems: Chaos and Statistical Physics, Macroscopic Transport and Mesoscopic Methods, Biological Physics and Soft Materials, Supercomputing and Computational Physics Teaching, Computational Physics and Sustainable Energy. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors: International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), IUPAP Commission on Computational Physics (C20), American Physical Society Division of Computational Physics (APS-DCOMP), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Center for Defect Physics (CDP), the University of Tennessee (UT)/ORNL Joint Institute for Computational Sciences (JICS) and Cray, Inc. We are grateful to the committees that helped put the conference together, especially the local organizing committee. Particular thanks are also due to a number of ORNL staff who spent long hours with the administrative details. We are pleased to express our thanks to the conference administrator Ann Strange (ORNL/CDP) for her responsive and efficient day-to-day handling of this event, Sherry Samples, Assistant Conference Administrator (ORNL), Angie Beach and the ORNL Conference Office, and Shirley Shugart (ORNL) and Fern Stooksbury (ORNL) who created and maintained the conference website. Editors: G Malcolm Stocks (ORNL) and M Claudia Troparevsky (UT) http://ccp2011.ornl.gov Chair: Dr Malcolm Stocks (ORNL) Vice Chairs: Adriana Moreo (ORNL/UT) James Guberrnatis (LANL) Local Program Committee: Don Batchelor (ORNL) Jack Dongarra (UTK/ORNL) James Hack (ORNL) Robert Harrison (ORNL) Paul Kent (ORNL) Anthony Mezzacappa (ORNL) Adriana Moreo (ORNL) Witold Nazarewicz (UT) Loukas Petridis (ORNL) David Schultz (ORNL) Bill Shelton (ORNL) Claudia Troparevsky (ORNL) Mina Yoon (ORNL) International Advisory Board Members: Joan Adler (Israel Institute of Technology, Israel) Constantia Alexandrou (University of Cyprus, Cyprus) Claudia Ambrosch-Draxl (University of Leoben, Austria) Amanda Barnard (CSIRO, Australia) Peter Borcherds (University of Birmingham, UK) Klaus Cappelle (UFABC, Brazil) Giovanni Ciccotti (Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', Italy) Nithaya Chetty (University of Pretoria, South Africa) Charlotte Froese-Fischer (NIST, US) Giulia A. Galli (University of California, Davis, US) Gillian Gehring (University of Sheffield, UK) Guang-Yu Guo (National Taiwan University, Taiwan) Sharon Hammes-Schiffer (Penn State, US) Alex Hansen (Norweigan UST) Duane D. Johnson (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US) David Landau (University of Georgia, US) Joaquin Marro (University of Granada, Spain) Richard Martin (UIUC, US) Todd Martinez (Stanford University, US) Bill McCurdy (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US) Ingrid Mertig (Martin Luther University, Germany) Alejandro Muramatsu (Universitat Stuttgart, Germany) Richard Needs (Cavendish Laboratory, UK) Giuseppina Orlandini (University of Trento, Italy) Martin Savage (University of Washington, US) Thomas Schulthess (ETH, Switzerland) Dzidka Szotek (Daresbury Laboratory, UK) Hideaki Takabe (Osaka University, Japan) William M. Tang (Princeton University, US) James Vary (Iowa State, US) Enge Wang (Chinese Academy of Science, China) Jian-Guo Wang (Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, China) Jian-Sheng Wang (National University, Singapore) Dan Wei (Tsinghua University, China) Tony Williams (University of Adelaide, Australia) Rudy Zeller (Julich, Germany) Conference Administrator: Ann Strange (ORNL)

Migrants and Refugees in Europe: Challenges, Experiences and Contributions.

PubMed

Schilling, Tobias; Rauscher, Stephan; Menzel, Christian; Reichenauer, Simon; Müller-Schilling, Martina; Schmid, Stephan; Selgrad, Michael

2017-08-01

Due to the current geopolitical situation more refugees from crisis countries were and will be treated in Europe. In 2015 the number of displaced people reached an unprecedented level, with more than one million crossing into Europe. The migration itself can impair both mental and physical health. Therefore, the provision of medical care for refugees and migrants is a novel and major challenge for the health care systems in Europe. In this article we describe our experiences and contribution in providing medical care for refugees who have newly arrived in Stuttgart, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Furthermore, we report our experiences from a tertiary referral University center in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. We focus on challenges in both the outpatient and the inpatient setting, with a special focus on intensive care patients. In addition, we provide an overview about the spectrum of diseases in this specific patient cohort.

"Voices of the people": linguistic research among Germany's prisoners of war during World War I.

PubMed

Kaplan, Judith

2013-01-01

This paper investigates the history of the Royal Prussian Phonographic Commission, a body that collected and archived linguistic, ethnographic, and anthropological data from prisoners-of-war (POWs) in Germany during World War I. Recent literature has analyzed the significance of this research for the rise of conservative physical anthropology. Taking a complementary approach, the essay charts new territory in seeking to understand how the prison-camp studies informed philology and linguistics specifically. I argue that recognizing philological commitments of the Phonographic Commission is essential to comprehending the project contextually. My approach reveals that linguists accommodated material and contemporary evidence to older text-based research models, sustaining dynamic theories of language. Through a case study based on the Iranian philologist F. C. Andreas (1846-1930), the paper ultimately argues that linguistics merits greater recognition in the historiography of the behavioral sciences. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Current teaching, learning and examination methods in medical education and potential applications in rehabilitative issues].

PubMed

Schwarzkopf, S R; Morfeld, M; Gülich, M; Lay, W; Horn, K; Mau, W

2007-04-01

With introduction of the new Federal Medical Licensing Regulations (Approbationsordnung) in Germany, integrated teaching in "Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine, Naturopathic Treatment" (Querschnittsbereich Q12) has become obligatory for the first time. Furthermore, the new Regulations require the medical faculties in Germany to realize an innovative didactic orientation in teaching. This paper provides an overview of recent applications of teaching techniques and examination methods in medical education with special consideration of the new integrated course Q12 and further teaching methods related to rehabilitative issues. Problem-oriented learning (POL), problem-based learning (PBL), bedside teaching, eLearning, and the examination methods Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and Triple Jump are in the focus. This overview is intended as the basis for subsequent publications of the Commission for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Training of the German Society of Rehabilitation Science (DGRW), which will present examples of innovative teaching material.

[Ascertainment of physical fitness for work in persons applying for annuities in the Federal Republic of Germany (author's transl)].

PubMed

Gramse, M; Wille, G

1980-06-01

Annuities granted because of unfitness for work in general or unfitness to perform particular professional work are being paid in Germany by a state insurance agency. Unfitness for work has to be ascertained in each individual case as has been ruled by jurisdiction of the Highest German Court. It is the task of the medical expert in the course of this procedure to register the clinical status of the applicants and to reach a medical judgment in regard to fitness for work. This judgment does not rely upon the diagnosis or prognosis of a particular disease; a decreased fitness for work because of a particular disease can only be assumed if the disease has led to long-term irreversible deficient organ functions. Annuities for a limited time period may be granted if there is a chance for improvement of health. Problems of finding expert judgement are reported.

Skin Cancer Prevention, Tanning and Vitamin D: A Content Analysis of Print Media in Germany and Switzerland.

PubMed

Reinau, Daphne; Meier, Christoph R; Blumenthal, Ralf; Surber, Christian

2016-01-01

Print media are a major source of health information. To analyse press coverage related to skin cancer prevention. We conducted a content analysis of print media articles pertaining to skin cancer prevention, solaria and vitamin D published in Germany and Switzerland over a 1-year period between 2012 and 2013. Overall, 2,103 articles were analysed. Applying sunscreen was by far the most common sun protection recommendation. A considerable number of articles on solaria and vitamin D advocated exposure to ultraviolet radiation to enhance physical appearance and vitamin D photosynthesis, often without mentioning any precaution measures. In total, 26.8% of the articles contained misleading or erroneous statements mostly related to sunscreen use and vitamin D issues. Print media can serve as powerful education tools to foster skin cancer prevention. However, misleading or erroneous reports may negatively impact sun-safe behaviour. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

CORRIGENDUM: Atoms riding Rayleigh waves Atoms riding Rayleigh waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benedek, G.; Echenique, P. M.; Toennies, J. P.; Traeger, F.

2010-09-01

In the original paper the affiliation list is incorrect. The correct address list is as follows: G Benedek1, 5, P M Echenique1, 2, J P Toennies3 and F Traeger4 1 Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizábal 4, 20018 Donostia—San Sebastián, Spain 2 Departamento de Física de Materiales and CFM (CSIC-UPV/EHU), Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, E-20018 San Sebastián/Donostia, Spain 3 Max Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Bunsenstraße 10 D-37073 Göttingen, Germany 4 Fakultät für Chemie und Biochemie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum Universitätsstraße 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany 5 Permanent address: Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Universitá di Milano-Bicocca, Via Cozzi 53, 20125 Milano, Italy

Economic Evaluation and Transferability of Physical Activity Programmes in Primary Prevention: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Wolfenstetter, Silke B.; Wenig, Christina M.

2010-01-01

This systematic review aims to assess the characteristics of, and the clinical and economic evidence provided by, economic evaluations of primary preventive physical exercise interventions, and to analyse their transferability to Germany using recommended checklists. Fifteen economic evaluations from seven different countries met eligibility criteria, with seven of the fifteen providing high economic evidence in the special country context. Most of the identified studies conclude that the investigated intervention provide good value for money compared with alternatives. However, this review shows a high variability of the costing methods between the studies, which limits comparability, generalisability and transferability of the results. PMID:20617050

News

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2004-05-01

SHAP Awards: SHAP students come out on top APECS Seminar: Able Pupils Experience Challenging Science project gets support SHAP Awards : Teachers get awards too Institute Awards: Musical squares: musical pair continue to share their adventures in sound Meeting: Rugby School hosts Schools’ Physics Group Meeting Germany: German didactics group puts on a full programme for spring meeting Radio Communication: GB4FUN: mobile radio shack hits the airwaves and is a hit with schools Saturn: Cassini Huygens mission: Saturn here we come! World Year of Physics: Conference continues with its preparations for 2005 Resources: New resources on radioactive materials available JG was supported by KBN grant no 2 P03A 020 24.

No Need for Training Wheels: Ideas for Including Balance Bikes in Elementary Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Andrew; Jenny, Seth E.

2017-01-01

Although it was invented nearly two centuries ago in Germany, the balance bike is only now beginning to make its presence known in the United States. A balance bike is a bicycle with no pedals- propelled by running or walking--and is designed to teach young children how to ride a bike in less time by allowing them to practice balance and steering…

Bruno Touschek: From Betatrons to Electron-Positron Colliders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernardini, Carlo; Pancheri, Giulia; Pellegrini, Claudio

Bruno Touschek's life as a physicist spanned the period from World War II to the 1970s. He was a key figure in the developments of electron-positron colliders and storage rings, and made important contributions to theoretical high energy physics. Storage rings, initially developed for high energy physics, are being widely used in many countries as synchrotron radiation sources and are a tool for research in physics, chemistry, biology, environmental sciences and cultural heritage studies. We describe Touschek's life in Austria, where he was born, in Germany, where he participated in the construction of a betatron during WWII, and in Italy, where he proposed and led to completion the first electron-positron storage ring in 1960, in Frascati. We highlight how his central European culture influenced his lifestyle and work, and his main contributions to physics, such as the discovery of the Touschek effect and beam instabilities in the larger storage ring ADONE.

Bruno Touschek: From Betatrons to Electron-Positron Colliders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernardini, Carlo; Pancheri, Giulia; Pellegrini, Claudio

Bruno Touschek’s life as a physicist spanned the period from World War II to the 1970s. He was a key figure in the developments of electron-positron colliders and storage rings, and made important contributions to theoretical high energy physics. Storage rings, initially developed for high energy physics, are being widely used in many countries as synchrotron radiation sources and are a tool for research in physics, chemistry, biology, environmental sciences and cultural heritage studies. We describe Touschek’s life in Austria, where he was born, in Germany, where he participated in the construction of a betatron during WWII, and in Italy, where he proposed and led to completion the first electron-positron storage ring in 1960, in Frascati. We highlight how his central European culture influenced his lifestyle and work, and his main contributions to physics, such as the discovery of the Touschek effect and beam instabilities in the larger storage ring ADONE.

[Frequency and consequences of financial problems in patients undergoing outpatient psychosomatic treatment].

PubMed

Wagner, Stefanie; Münster, Eva; Beutel, Manfred E

2010-01-01

About seven million people in Germany are affected by overindebtedness and insolvency. Being severely in debt is a very stressful situation that can result in social marginalisation, reducted overall activity, and physical and mental illness. The present study investigated the frequency of financial problems and their effects on physical and mental disorders at a university psychosomatic clinic. The study included a total of 659 patients. Their mental status was assessed with the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R), their physical status with the Gießener Beschwerdebogen (GBB). 37 percent of the subjects reported experiencing financial problems. We found that subjects with financial problems reported more physical and mental disorders than those without financial problems. Furthermore, therapists more often recommended that patients with financial problems receive inpatient therapy than patients without financial problems. The study suggests that financial problems should be included in any anamnesis, therapeutic recommendation, and actual therapy of patients in psychosomatic treatment.

Reviews Exhibitions: Collider: Step inside the World's Greatest Experiment Equipment: Hero Steam Turbine Classroom Video: Most of Our Universe is Missing Book: Serving the Reich Book: Breakthrough to CLIL for Physics Book: The Good Research Guide Apps: Popplet Web Watch Apps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-03-01

WE RECOMMEND Collider: step inside the world's greatest experiment A great exhibition at the Science Museum in London Hero Steam Turbine Superb engine model gets up to 2500 rpm Most of Our Universe is Missing BBC video explores the dark truth Serving the Reich Science and morality in Nazi Germany The Good Research Guide A non-specialist book for teachers starting out in education research WORTH A LOOK Breakthrough to CLIL for Physics A book based on a physics curriculum for non-English students WEB WATCH Electric cycles online: patterns of use APPS The virtual laboratory advances personal skills

Impact of uncertainty in expected return estimation on stock price volatility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostanjcar, Zvonko; Jeren, Branko; Juretic, Zeljan

2012-11-01

We investigate the origin of volatility in financial markets by defining an analytical model for time evolution of stock share prices. The defined model is similar to the GARCH class of models, but can additionally exhibit bimodal behaviour in the supply-demand structure of the market. Moreover, it differs from existing Ising-type models. It turns out that the constructed model is a solution of a thermodynamic limit of a Gibbs probability measure when the number of traders and the number of stock shares approaches infinity. The energy functional of the Gibbs probability measure is derived from the Nash equilibrium of the underlying game.

Exchangeability, extreme returns and Value-at-Risk forecasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chun-Kai; North, Delia; Zewotir, Temesgen

2017-07-01

In this paper, we propose a new approach to extreme value modelling for the forecasting of Value-at-Risk (VaR). In particular, the block maxima and the peaks-over-threshold methods are generalised to exchangeable random sequences. This caters for the dependencies, such as serial autocorrelation, of financial returns observed empirically. In addition, this approach allows for parameter variations within each VaR estimation window. Empirical prior distributions of the extreme value parameters are attained by using resampling procedures. We compare the results of our VaR forecasts to that of the unconditional extreme value theory (EVT) approach and the conditional GARCH-EVT model for robust conclusions.

Invariance in the recurrence of large returns and the validation of models of price dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Lo-Bin; Geman, Stuart; Hsieh, Fushing; Hwang, Chii-Ruey

2013-08-01

Starting from a robust, nonparametric definition of large returns (“excursions”), we study the statistics of their occurrences, focusing on the recurrence process. The empirical waiting-time distribution between excursions is remarkably invariant to year, stock, and scale (return interval). This invariance is related to self-similarity of the marginal distributions of returns, but the excursion waiting-time distribution is a function of the entire return process and not just its univariate probabilities. Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models, market-time transformations based on volume or trades, and generalized (Lévy) random-walk models all fail to fit the statistical structure of excursions.

Ultraviolet, Optical and near-infrared photometric follow up of the transient source Fermi J1654-1055 with GROND and Swift-UVOT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, A.; Bolmer, J.; Greiner, J.; Rau, A.; Schady, P.; Ajello, M.; Hartmann, D. H.

2016-02-01

Ultraviolet, Optical and near-infrared photometric follow up of the transient source Fermi J1654-1055 with GROND and Swift-UVOT A. Kaur (Clemson University), J. Bolmer, J. Greiner, A. Rau, P. Schady (all MPE, Garching), M. Ajello, D. H. Hartmann (Clemson University) We report the ultraviolet, optical and near IR photometric observations of the new gamma-ray source Fermi J1654-1055/PMN J1632-1052 (RA = 248.20900 deg and Dec = -10.87578 deg) detected by Fermi during the week of February 08 and 15, 2016 (see ATel #8721).

PREFACE: 17th Russian Youth Conference on Physics and Astronomy (PhysicA.SPb/2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Averkiev, Nikita S.; Poniaev, Sergey A.; Sokolovskii, Grigorii S.

2015-12-01

The seventeenth Russian Youth Conference on Physics and Astronomy (PhysicA.SPb) was held from 28-30 October 2014 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Conference continues the tradition of Saint Petersburg Seminars on Physics and Astronomy originating from the mid-1990s. Since then PhysicA.SPb maintains both the scientific and educational quality of contributions delivered to the young audience. This is the main feature of the Conference that makes it possible to combine the whole spectrum of modern Physics and Astronomy within one event. PhysicA.SPb/2014 has brought together more than 200 students, young scientists and their professor colleagues from many universities and research institutes across the whole of Russia as well as from Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, the Netherlands, France and Germany. Oral and poster presentations were combined into the well-defined sections of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Optics and spectroscopy, Physics of ferroics, Nanostructured and thin-film materials, Mathematical physics and numerical methods, Biophysics, Plasma physics, hydro- and aero-dynamics, and Physics of quantum structures. This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series presents the extended contributions from participants of PhysicA.SPb/2014 that were peer-reviewed by expert referees through processes administered by the Presiders of the Organising and Programme Committees to the best professional and scientific standards.

Plasma Physics Network Newsletter, No. 3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1991-02-01

This issue of the Newsletter contains a report on the First South-North International Workshop on Fusion Theory, Tipaza, Algeria, 17-20 September, 1990; a report in the issuance of the 'Buenos Aires Memorandum' generated during the IV Latin American Workshop on Plasma Physics, Argentina, July 1990, and containing a proposal that the IFRC establish a 'Steering Committee on North-South Collaboration in Controlled Nuclear Fusion and Plasma Physics Research'; the announcement that the 14th International Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion will be held in Wuerzburg, Germany, September 30 to October 7, 1992; a list of IAEA technical committee meetings for 1991; an item on ITER news; an article 'Long Term Physics R and D Planning (for ITER)' by F. Engelmann; in the planned sequence of 'Reports on National Fusion Programs' contributions on the Chinese and Yugoslav programs; finally, the titles and contacts for two other newsletters of potential interest, i.e., the AAAPT (Asian African Association for Plasma Training) Newsletter, and the IPG (International physics Group-A sub unit of the American Physical Society) Newsletter.

Preparation of [(68)Ga]PSMA-11 for PET-CT imaging using a manual synthesis module and organic matrix based (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator.

PubMed

Nanabala, Raviteja; Anees, Muhammed K; Sasikumar, Arun; Joy, Ajith; Pillai, M R A

2016-08-01

[(68)Ga]PSMA-11 is a relatively recently introduced radiopharmaceutical for PET-CT imaging of prostate cancer patients. The availability of (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator and PSMA-11 ligand from commercial sources is facilitating the production of the radiopharmaceutical in-house. This paper describes our experience on the preparation of ~200 batches of [(68)Ga]PSMA-11 for conducting PET-CT imaging in patients suspected/suffering from prostate cancer. The radiosynthesis of [(68)Ga]PSMA-11 was done in a hospital based nuclear medicine department using (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator and a manual synthesis module, both supplied by Isotope Technologies Garching (ITG), Germany. The production involved the reaction of 5μg (5.3nmol) of PSMA-11 ligand in 1 ml of 0.25M sodium acetate buffer with 4ml of (68)GaCl3 in 0.05M HCl for 5min at 105°C; followed by purification in a C18 cartridge and collection through a 0.22μm pore size filter. The radiochemical yields obtained were consistently high, 93.19%±3.76%, and there was hardly any batch failure. The radiochemical purity of the product was >99% and the product was stable for over 2h; however it was used in patients immediately after preparation. About 200 batches of [(68)Ga]PSMA-11 were prepared during the period and more than 300 patients received the tracer during the 14months of study. No adverse reaction was observed in any of the patients and the image qualities were consistent with literature reports. [(68)Ga]PSMA-11 with high radiochemical and radionuclidic purity is conveniently prepared by using a (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator and manual synthesis module. The radiochemical yields are very high; and activity sufficient for 3-4 patients can be prepared in a single batch; multiple batches can be done on the same day and when needed after a gap of 1.5-2h. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Informed decision-making with and for people with dementia: Developing and pilot testing an education program for legal representatives (PRODECIDE).

PubMed

Lühnen, Julia; Mühlhauser, Ingrid; Richter, Tanja

2017-01-01

Background People living with dementia are often appointed a legal representative, to support and protect their ethical and legal rights to informed healthcare decisions. However, legal representatives usually have no qualifications in healthcare. Objective The aim of this study was to explore decision-making processes with participation of legal representatives and, resulting from this, to develop and pilot test an education program for legal representatives in Germany. Methods We conducted interviews with legal representatives and senior citizens about decision-making processes in healthcare, with special focus on percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, physical restraints, and prescription of antipsychotics for people with dementia. We generated a curriculum based on systematic literature searches and the results of these interviews. We tested the education program for comprehensibility, feasibility, usability, and acceptance. Results Personal interviews with voluntary ( n = 12) and professional ( n = 12) representatives, and senior citizens ( n = 14) were conducted. Preferences, attitudes, and wishes regarding percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, physical restraints, and antipsychotics, and the process of decision-making, were heterogeneous. A structural approach is lacking. The education program proxy-decison-making (PRODECIDE) comprises four modules: (A) decision-making processes and methods; (B-D) evidence-based knowledge about percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, physical restraints, and antipsychotics. We conducted eight trainings with 47 legal representatives. PRODECIDE was well accepted. Comprehensibility of contents and materials was rated high. The program seems feasible for implementation. Conclusion PRODECIDE seems suitable to improve the decision-making processes of legal representatives in Germany. Implementation will be appropriate if efficacy is proven; a randomized controlled trial is currently underway.

The origins of medical physics.

PubMed

Duck, Francis A

2014-06-01

The historical origins of medical physics are traced from the first use of weighing as a means of monitoring health by Sanctorius in the early seventeenth century to the emergence of radiology, phototherapy and electrotherapy at the end of the nineteenth century. The origins of biomechanics, due to Borelli, and of medical electricity following Musschenbroek's report of the Leyden Jar, are included. Medical physics emerged as a separate academic discipline in France at the time of the Revolution, with Jean Hallé as its first professor. Physiological physics flowered in Germany during the mid-nineteenth century, led by the work of Adolf Fick. The introduction of the term medical physics into English by Neil Arnott failed to accelerate its acceptance in Britain or the USA. Contributions from Newton, Euler, Bernoulli, Nollet, Matteucci, Pelletan, Gavarret, d'Arsonval, Finsen, Röntgen and others are noted. There are many origins of medical physics, stemming from the many intersections between physics and medicine. Overall, the early nineteenth-century definition of medical physics still holds today: 'Physics applied to the knowledge of the human body, to its preservation and to the cure of its illnesses'. Copyright © 2014 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PREFACE: FAIRNESS 2013: FAIR NExt generation of ScientistS 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petersen, Hannah; Destefanis, Marco; Galatyuk, Tetyana; Montes, Fernando; Nicmorus, Diana; Ratti, Claudia; Tolos, Laura; Vogel, Sascha

2014-04-01

FAIRNESS 2013 was the second edition in a series of workshops designed to bring together excellent international young scientists with research interests focused on physics at FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) and was held on 16-21 September 2013 in Berlin, Germany. The topics of the workshop cover a wide range of aspects in both theoretical developments and current experimental status, concentrated around the four scientific pillars of FAIR. FAIR is a new accelerator complex with brand new experimental facilities, that is currently being built next to the existing GSI Helmholtzzentrum for Schwerionenforschung close to Darmstadt, Germany. The spirit of the conference is to bring together young scientists, e.g. advanced PhD students and postdocs and young researchers without permanent position to present their work, to foster active informal discussions and build up of networks. Every participant in the meeting with the exception of the organizers gives an oral presentation, and all sessions are followed by an hour long discussion period. During the talks, questions are anonymously collected in box to stimulate discussions. Since the physics program of FAIR is very broad, this is reflected in the wide range of topics covered at the Conference: Physics of hot and dense nuclear matter, QCD phase transitions and critical point Nuclear structure, astrophysics and reactions Hadron spectroscopy, Hadrons in matter and Hypernuclei Special emphasis is put on the experiments CBM, HADES, PANDA, NuSTAR, as well as NICA and the RHIC low beam energy scan New developments in atomic and plasma physics For all of these different areas one invited speaker was selected to give a longer introductory presentation. The write-ups of the talks presented at FAIRNESS 2013 are the content of this issue of Journal of Physics: Conference Series and have been refereed according to the IOP standard for peer review. This issue constitutes therefore a collection of the forefront of research that is dedicated to the physics of FAIR. February 2014. Organizers of FAIRNESS 2013: Marco Destefanis, Tetyana Galatyuk, Fernando Montes, Diana Nicmorus, Hannah Petersen, Claudia Ratti, Laura Tolos, and Sascha Vogel. Support for holding the conference was provided by: Logos

Health status of and health-care provision to asylum seekers in Germany: protocol for a systematic review and evidence mapping of empirical studies.

PubMed

Schneider, Christine; Mohsenpour, Amir; Joos, Stefanie; Bozorgmehr, Kayvan

2014-11-29

There are more than 100,000 asylum seekers registered in Germany, who are granted limited access to health services. This study aims to provide a systematic overview of the empirical literature on the health status of and health-care provision to asylum seekers in Germany in order to consolidate knowledge, avoid scientific redundance, and identify research gaps. A systematic review and evidence mapping of empirical literature on the health status of and health-care provision to asylum seekers in Germany will be performed. We will apply a three-tiered search strategy: 1. search in databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, IBSS, Sociological Abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, CINAHL, Sowiport, Social Sciences Citation Index, ASSIA, MedPilot, DNB), dissertation and theses databases, and the internet (Google); 2. screening references of included studies; 3. contacting authors and civil society organizations for grey literature. Included will be studies which report quantitative and/or qualitative data or review articles on asylum seekers in Germany, published in German or English language. Outcome measures will include physical, mental, or social well-being, and all aspects of health-care provision (access, availability, affordability, and quality). Search results will be screened for eligibility by screening titles, abstracts and full texts. Data extraction comprises information on study characteristics, research aims, and domains of health or health-care services analyzed. The quality of studies will be appraised and documented by appropriate assessment tools. A descriptive evidence map will be drawn by categorizing all included articles by research design and the health conditions and/or domains of health-care provision analyzed. The body of evidence will be evaluated, and a narrative evidence synthesis will be performed by means of a multi-level approach, whereby quantitative and qualitative evidence are analyzed as separate streams and the product of each stream is configured in a final summary. This systematic review will provide an evidence map and synthesis of available research findings on the health status of and health-care provision to asylum seekers in Germany. In anticipation of identifying areas which are amenable to health-care interventions, deserve immediate action, or further exploration, this review will be of major importance for policy-makers, health-care providers, as well as researchers. PROSPERO 2014: CRD42014013043.

Disclinations in Carbon-Carbon Composites.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-09-01

8i-C-0641 U LASIFIED F/6G ii/4 N I uuuuullu ..D un n ." =25 1321. MICROCOP EOUINTSLHR NATONL = BUR A FSADRS16- UNCLASSI FI ED SECURITY CLASIrICA’sJM...Applications nuclear carbon carbon fiber intercalation compounds biocarbons and potential uses - Fundamentals physics chemistry technology The technical...Graphite intercalation compounds : old and new University of Munich problems in the chemist’s view West Germany L. S. Singer Carbon fibers from mesophase

Measuring Care-Related Quality of Life of Caregivers for Use in Economic Evaluations: CarerQol Tariffs for Australia, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US.

PubMed

Hoefman, Renske J; van Exel, Job; Brouwer, Werner B F

2017-04-01

Informal care is often not included in economic evaluations in healthcare, while the impact of caregiving can be relevant for cost-effectiveness recommendations from a societal perspective. The impact of informal care can be measured and valued with the CarerQol instrument, which measures the impact of informal care on seven important burden dimensions (CarerQol-7D) and values this in terms of general quality of life (CarerQol-VAS). The CarerQol can be included at the effect side of multi-criteria analyses of patient interventions or in cost-effectiveness or utility analysis of interventions targeted at caregivers. At present, utility scores based on relative utility weights for the CarerQol-7D are only available for the Netherlands. This study calculates CarerQol-7D tariffs for Australia, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US. Data were collected among the general population in Australia, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US by an Internet survey. Utility weights were collected with a discrete choice experiment with two unlabeled alternatives described in terms of the seven CarerQol-7D dimensions. An efficient experimental design with priors obtained from the Netherlands was used to create the choice sets. Data was analyzed with a panel mixed multinomial logit model with random parameters. In all five countries, the CarerQol-7D dimensions were significantly associated with the utility of informal care situations. Physical health problems were most strongly associated with the utility for informal care situations. The tariff was constructed by adding up the relative utility weights per category of all CarerQol-7D dimensions for each country separately. The CarerQol tariffs for Australia, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US facilitate the inclusion of informal care in economic evaluations.

[Job satisfaction of hospital doctors. Results of a study of a national sample of hospital doctors in Germany].

PubMed

Rosta, J; Gerber, A

2008-01-01

This paper presents the findings on the level of job satisfaction among hospital physicians in Germany and puts the results into relation to demographic variables and employment status. Data were collected as part of the survey "Work Life, Lifestyle and Health among Hospital Doctors in Germany 2006" using anonymous self-reporting questionnaires. Job satisfaction was scored using the scale according to Warr et al. It consists of 10 items with a seven-point Likert scale (1=dissatisfaction; 7=satisfaction), so the sum score ranks between 10 and 70. The following variables were correlated to job satisfaction: demographic variables (gender, age), and employment status (specialty, geographical localisation of hospital, hospital type, level of seniority, working time pattern). The response rate was 58% (n=1917). Doctors reported an average job satisfaction of 44.3. Comparing different specialties, physicians in radiology had the highest (47.6) and in surgery (43.0) the lowest level of job satisfaction. Below-average job satisfaction could also be found in urology (43.5) and internal medicine (43.7). The regression analysis showed that the younger age group (B=-1.45; p=0.031) and those with a status as junior physician (B=-4.97; p=0.0001) were significantly dissatisfied. Out of the ten items assessed "working hours" (3.25), "payment" (3.59), "physical working conditions" (3.96) and "recognition for good work" (4.08) attained the lowest ratings. Hospital doctors in Germany are moderately satisfied with their jobs - less satisfied than their colleagues in England, New Zealand and Norway. Improvement of job satisfaction and working conditions should be achieved via effective regulation of working hours and improvement of recognition for medical work regarding monetary and non-monetary factors such as payment and positive feedback for good work.

Typical patterns of modifiable health risk factors (MHRFs) in elderly women in Germany: results from the cross-sectional German Health Update (GEDA) study, 2009 and 2010.

PubMed

Jentsch, Franziska; Allen, Jennifer; Fuchs, Judith; von der Lippe, Elena

2017-04-04

Modifiable health risk factors (MHRFs) significantly affect morbidity and mortality rates and frequently occur in specific combinations or risk clusters. Using five MHRFs (smoking, high-risk alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, low intake of fruits and vegetables, and obesity) this study investigates the extent to which risk clusters are observed in a representative sample of women aged 65 and older in Germany. Additionally, the structural composition of the clusters is systematically compared with data and findings from other countries. A pooled data set of Germany's representative cross-sectional surveys GEDA09 and GEDA10 was used. The cohort comprised 4,617 women aged 65 and older. Specific risk clusters based on five MHRFs are identified, using hierarchical cluster analysis. The MHRFs were defined as current smoking (daily or occasionally), risk alcohol consumption (according to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a sum score of 4 or more points), physical inactivity (less active than 5 days per week for at least 30 min and lack of sports-related activity in the last three months), low intake of fruits and vegetables (less than one serving of fruits and one of vegetables per day), and obesity (a body mass index equal to or greater than 30). A total of 4,292 cases with full information on these factors are included in the cluster analysis. Extended analyses were also performed to include the number of chronic diseases by age and socioeconomic status of group members. A total of seven risk clusters were identified. In a comparison with data from international studies, the seven risk clusters were found to be stable with a high degree of structural equivalency. Evidence of the stability of risk clusters across various study populations provides a useful starting point for long-term targeted health interventions. The structural clusters provide information through which various MHRFs can be evaluated simultaneously.

Development of students' interest in particle physics as effect of participating in a Masterclass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gedigk, Kerstin; Pospiech, Gesche

2016-05-01

The International Hands On Particle Physics Masterclasses are enjoying increasing popularity worldwide every year. In Germany a national program was brought to live in 2010, which offers these appreciated events to whole classes or courses of high school students all over the year. These events were evaluated concerning the issues of students' interest in particle physics and their perception of the events. How several interest variables interact with each other and the perception of the events is answered by structural equation modelling (sect. 5.2). The results give information about the events' effects on the students' interest development in particle physics, show which event features are important ( e.g. the authenticity) and give information about practical approaches to improve the effects of the Masterclasses. Section 5.3 deals with a group of participants which have a high interest in particle physics 6-8 weeks after the participation. The number of these students is remarkable large, with 26% of all participants. The investigation of this group shows that the Masterclass participation has the same positive effect on both sexes and all levels of physics education.

Physics at COSY-Juelich

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stroeher, Hans

2011-10-21

COSY, a storage and cooler synchrotron, which is fed by an injector cyclotron, is operated at Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany). It provides phase space cooled polarized or unpolarized beams of protons and deuterons with momenta between 0.3 and 3.7 GeV/c for internal experiments and to external target stations. The major experimental facilities, used for the ongoing physics program, are ANKE and WASA (internal) and TOF (external). A new internal target station to investigate polarization build-up by spin-filtering (PAX) has recently been commissioned. COSY is the machine for hadron spin physics on a world-wide scale, which is also used for tests inmore » conjunction with plans to build a dedicated storage ring for electric dipole moment (EDM) measurements of proton, deuteron and {sup 3}He. In this contribution recent results as well as future plans are summarized.« less

Seeing your way to health: the visual pedagogy of Bess Mensendieck's physical culture system.

PubMed

Veder, Robin

2011-01-01

This essay examines the images and looking practices central to Bess M. Mensendieck's (c.1866-1959) 'functional exercise' system, as documented in physical culture treatises published in Germany and the United States between 1906 and 1937. Believing that muscular realignment could not occur without seeing how the body worked, Mensendieck taught adult non-athletes to see skeletal alignment and muscular movement in their own and others' bodies. Three levels of looking practices are examined: didactic sequences; penetrating inspection and appreciation of physiological structures; and ideokinetic visual metaphors for guiding movement. With these techniques, Mensendieck's work bridged the body cultures of German Nacktkultur (nudism), American labour efficiency and the emerging physical education profession. This case study demonstrates how sport historians could expand their analyses to include practices of looking as well as questions of visual representation.

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliasson, B.; Stenflo, L.; Bingham, R.; Mendonça, J. T.; Mendonça

2013-12-01

This special issue is devoted to the memory of Professor Padma Kant Shukla, who passed away 26 January 2013 on his travel to New Delhi, India to receive the prestigious Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) award. Padma was born in Tulapur, Uttar Pradesh, India, 7 July 1950, where he grew up and got his education. He received a PhD degree in Physics at the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1972, under the supervision of late Prof. R. N. Singh, and a second PhD degree in Theoretical Plasma Physics from Umeå University in Sweden in 1975, under the supervision of Prof. Lennart Stenflo. He worked at the Faculty of Physics & Astronomy, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany since January 1973, where he was a permanent faculty member and Professor of International Affairs, a position that was created for him to honour his international accomplishments and reputation.

Predictors of physical activity among older adults in Germany: a nationwide cohort study.

PubMed

Manz, Kristin; Mensink, Gert B M; Jordan, Susanne; Schienkiewitz, Anja; Krug, Susanne; Finger, Jonas D

2018-05-09

To investigate individual, interpersonal and environmental baseline factors predicting regular aerobic physical activity (PA) participation among older adults in Germany at follow-up 12 years later. Population-based cohort study. Cluster-randomised general population sample selected based on population registry address information from 130 nationally distributed sample points collected from 1997 to 1999 and re-evaluated 12 years later from 2008 to 2011. 1184 adults, aged 65 years or older at follow-up with complete data at baseline and follow-up, were included in the final study sample. Regular 'aerobic PA ≥1 day/week' assessed based on self-reported information. At follow-up, 53.2% of the participants engaged in aerobic PA ≥1 day/week. Participants aged 50 to 60 years at baseline were more likely to engage in aerobic PA ≥1 day/week than participants aged 61 to 78 years; OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.46 to 2.40. Participants with middle and high socioeconomic status (SES) were more likely to engage in aerobic PA ≥1 day/week than participants with low SES; OR middle SES 2.08, 1.33 to 3.25; high SES 3.44, 2.11 to 5.60. Participants with high social support were more likely to engage in aerobic PA ≥1 day/week at follow-up than participants with low social support; OR 1.98, 1.26 to 3.12. Furthermore, participants who engaged in leisure time PA at least once per week at baseline were more likely to engage in aerobic PA ≥1 day/week at follow-up than those who engaged less than once per week; OR 1.95, 1.46 to 2.60. Several influencing factors assessed at baseline predicted regular aerobic PA participation 12 years later. These factors should be considered when planning interventions to prevent physical inactivity in older adults. There is great potential to increase aerobic PA participation in older adults in Germany, in particular among those with low SES and low social support. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

PREFACE: Hot Quarks 2012: Workshop for Young Scientists on the Physics of Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bleicher, Markus; Caines, Helen; Calderón de la Barca Sanchez, Manuel; Fries, Rainer; Granier de Cassagnac, Raphaël; Hippolyte, Boris; Mischke, André; Mócsy, Ágnes; Petersen, Hannah; Ruan, Lijuan; Salgado, Carlos A.

2013-09-01

The 5th edition of the Workshop for Young Scientists on the Physics of Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Hot Quarks 2012) was held in Copamarina, Puerto Rico from 14-20 October 2012. As in previous years, this meeting gathered more than 70 participants in the early years of their scientific careers. This issue contains the proceedings of the workshop. As in the past, the Hot Quarks workshop offered a unique atmosphere for a lively discussion and interpretation of the current measurements from high energy nuclear collisions. Recent results and upgrades at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and Brookhaven's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) were presented. Measurements from the proton-led run at the CERN-LHC were shown for the first time at this meeting. Recent theoretical developments were also extensively discussed, as well as the proposals for future facilities such as the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at Darmstadt, the Electron-Ion Collider at Brookhaven, and the LHeC. The conference's goal to provide a platform for young researchers to learn and foster their interactions was successfully met. We wish to thank the sponsors of the Hot Quarks 2012 Conference, who supported the authors of this volume: Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA), European Laboratory for Particle Physics CERN (Switzerland), European Research Council (EU), ExtreMe Matter Institute EMMI (Germany), Helmholtz International Center for FAIR (Germany), IN2P3/CNRS (France) and the European Research Council via grant #259612, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (USA), Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA), National Science Foundation (USA), and Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Netherlands). Marcus BleicherAndré Mischke Goethe-University Frankfurt and HIC4FAIRUtrecht University and Nikhef Amsterdam GermanyThe Netherlands Helen CainesÁgnes Mócsy Yale UniversityPratt Institute and Brookhaven National Laboratory USAUSA Manuel Calderón de la Barca SánchezHannah Petersen UC DavisFIAS USAGermany Rainer J FriesLijuan Ruan Texas A&M UniversityBrookhaven National Laboratory USAUSA Raphaël Granier de CassagnacCarlos A Salgado CNRS-IN2P3 and Ëcole polytechniqueUniversidade de Santiago de Compostela FranceSpain Boris Hippolyte CNRS-IN2P3 and Université de Strasbourg France The PDF also contains the conference poster.

What can we learn from the first community-based epidemiological study on stalking in Germany?

PubMed

Dressing, Harald; Gass, Peter; Kuehner, Christine

2007-01-01

There is a lack of community-based studies on prevalence rates of stalking and the impact of stalking on victims in continental European countries. The authors published the first community-based epidemiological study on stalking in Germany. The purpose of this paper is to discuss possible implications of these epidemiological data for the mental health system, forensic psychiatry and legal regulations in Germany. For these reasons some data of our epidemiological study are outlined and reanalyzed. To examine lifetime and point prevalence rates of stalking, behavioural and psychological consequences for victims and the impact of stalking on current psychological well-being in a German community sample, a postal survey was conducted with 2000 inhabitants randomly selected from Mannheim (response rate 34.2%, n=679). The survey included a stalking questionnaire and the WHO-5 well-being scale. Almost 12% of the respondents reported having been stalked. This study identified a high lifetime prevalence of stalking in the community. Effects on victims' psychological health were significant and there was a high rate of physical (31%) and sexual (19%) violence in the context of stalking. Our data suggest that the phenomenon deserves more attention in future forensic psychiatric research and practice. Implications for forensic psychiatric assessment and treatment of stalkers as well as for management of stalking victims are discussed.

Fritz Reiche and German Refugee Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bederson, Benjamin

2003-04-01

Fritz Reiche (1883-1969) was a distinguished theoretical physicist, a student and colleague of Wilhelm Roentgen, Max Planck, Fritz Haber, Rudolf Ladenburg, James Franck, Max Born, Max von Laue and other early luminaries. He was coauthor of the famous Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule, and author of the seminal book The Quantum Theory, first published in 1920. He was one of the last Jewish physicists to leave Germany during the Nazi period, in 1941. In his book "Heisenberg's War" Thomas Powers relates that Reiche bore news of German work on nuclear fission, in a message from Friedrich Houtermans to Wigner and others in Princeton, where Reiche lived in Einstein's home during the summer of 1941. Reiche's son Hans later claimed that this incident played a significant role in convincing Einstein to write that letter to President Roosevelt. In this talk I will relate the difficulties Reiche experienced, first in leaving Germany and then in reestablishing his physics career in the US. He finally obtained an adjunct position at NYU where he served until his retirement. The role played by the renowned Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars will be discussed. The particular role played by Ladenburg, who was instrumental in obtaining a small grant for Reiche permitting him to obtain a US visa, in helping many physicists leave Nazi Germany and occupied countries, will also be described.

CBM Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ablyazimov, T.; Abuhoza, A.; Adak, R.; Adamczewski-Musch, J.; Adamczyk, M.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Ahammed, Z.; Ahmad, F.; Ahmad, N.; Ahmad, S.; Akindinov, A.; Akishin, P.; Akishina, E.; Akishina, T.; Akishina, V.; Al-Turany, M.; Alexandrov, E.; Alexandrov, I.; Amar-Youcef, S.; Anđelić, M.; Andreeva, O.; Andrei, C.; Andronic, A.; Anisimov, Yu.; Appelshäuser, H.; Arend, A.; Argintaru, D.; Atkin, E.; Avdeev, S.; Averbeck, R.; Azmi, M. D.; Baban, V.; Bach, M.; Badura, E.; Baginyan, S.; Balle, T.; Balog, T.; Bandyopadhyay, S.; Banerjee, P.; Baranova, N.; Barczyk, T.; Bartoş, D.; Bashir, S.; Basrak, Z.; Baszczyk, M.; Batenkov, O.; Baublis, V.; Baumann, C.; Baznat, M.; Becker, K.-H.; Bel, T.; Belogurov, S.; Bendarouach, J.; Berceanu, I.; Bercuci, A.; Berdermann, E.; Berdnikov, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Berendes, R.; Bergmann, C.; Bertini, D.; Bertini, O.; Beşliu, C.; Bezshyyko, O.; Bhaduri, P. P.; Bhasin, A.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattacharjee, B.; Bhattacharyya, A.; Bhattacharyya, T. K.; Biswas, S.; Blau, D.; Blume, C.; Bocharov, Yu.; Böttger, S.; Borysova, M.; Breitner, T.; Brüning, U.; Brzychczyk, J.; Bubak, A.; Büsching, H.; Bychkov, A.; Byszuk, A.; Cai, Xu; Cãlin, M.; Cao, Ping; Čaplar, R.; Caragheorgheopol, G.; Carević, I.; Cătănescu, V.; Chakrabarti, A.; Chatterji, S.; Chattopadhyay, Sanatan; Chattopadhyay, Subhasis; Chen, Hongfang; Cheng, Jianping; Chepurnov, V.; Chernenko, S.; Chernogorov, A.; Choi, Kyung-Eon; Ciobanu, M. I.; Claus, G.; Constantin, F.; Covlea, V.; Csanád, M.; D'Ascenzo, N.; Das, S.; Davkov, K.; Davkov, V.; de Cuveland, J.; Debnath, B.; Dementiev, D.; Deng, Zhi; Deppe, H.; Deppner, I.; Derenovskaya, O.; Deveaux, C. A.; Deveaux, M.; Dey, K.; Dey, M.; Dillenseger, P.; Dobyrn, V.; Doering, D.; Dorokhov, A.; Drozd, A.; Dubey, A. K.; Dubnichka, S.; Dubnichkova, A.; Dürr, M.; Dulinski, W.; Dutka, L.; Dželalija, M.; Emschermann, D.; Engel, H.; Eremin, V.; Eşanu, T.; Eschke, J.; Eschweiler, D.; Eum, Jongsik; Fan, Huanhuan; Fateev, O.; Filozova, I.; Finogeev, D.; Fischer, P.; Flemming, H.; Frankenfeld, U.; Friese, V.; Friske, E.; Fröhlich, I.; Frühauf, J.; Fülöp, Á.; Gajda, J.; Galatyuk, T.; Galkin, A.; Galkin, V.; Gangopadhyay, G.; García Chávez, C.; Gašparić, I.; Gebelein, J.; Ghosh, P.; Ghosh, S. K.; Goffe, M.; Golinka-Bezshyyko, L.; Golovatyuk, V.; Golovnya, S.; Golovtsov, V.; Golubeva, M.; Golubkov, D.; Gómez Ramírez, A.; Gorbunov, S.; Gorokhov, S.; Gottschalk, D.; Gryboś, P.; Grzeszczuk, A.; Guber, F.; Gudima, K.; Gupta, A.; Gusakov, Yu.; Haldar, A.; Haldar, S.; Hartmann, H.; Hehner, J.; Heidel, K.; Heine, N.; Hellbär, E.; Herghelegiu, A.; Herrmann, N.; Heß, B.; Heuser, J. M.; Himmi, A.; Höhne, C.; Holzmann, R.; Huang, Guangming; Huang, Xinjie; Hutsch, J.; Hutter, D.; Iakovleva, E.; Ierusalimov, A.; Ilgenfritz, E.-M.; Irfan, M.; Ivanov, M.; Ivanov, Valery; Ivanov, Victor; Ivanov, Vladimir; Ivashkin, A.; Jaaskelainen, K.; Jahan, H.; Jain, V.; Jakovlev, V.; Janson, T.; Jipa, A.; Kadenko, I.; Kämpfer, B.; Kalcher, S.; Kalinin, V.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kang, Tae Im; Kaptur, E.; Karabowicz, R.; Karavichev, O.; Karavicheva, T.; Karmanov, D.; Karnaukhov, V.; Karpechev, E.; Kasiński, K.; Kasprowicz, G.; Kaur, M.; Kazantsev, A.; Kebschull, U.; Kekelidze, G.; Khan, M. M.; Khan, S. A.; Khanzadeev, A.; Khasanov, F.; Khvorostukhin, A.; Kirakosyan, V.; Kirejczyk, M.; Kiryakov, A.; Kiš, M.; Kisel, I.; Kisel, P.; Kiselev, S.; Kiss, A.; Kiss, T.; Klaus, P.; Kłeczek, R.; Klein-Bösing, Ch.; Kleipa, V.; Kmon, P.; Koch, K.; Kochenda, L.; Koczoń, P.; König, W.; Kohn, M.; Kolb, B. W.; Kolosova, A.; Komkov, B.; Kopfer, J. M.; Korolev, M.; Korolko, I.; Kotte, R.; Kotynia, A.; Kovalchuk, A.; Kowalski, S.; Koziel, M.; Kozlov, G.; Kravtsov, P.; Krebs, E.; Kreidl, C.; Kresan, D.; Kretschmar, G.; Kretz, M.; Krieger, M.; Kryshen, E.; Kucewicz, W.; Kudin, L.; Kugler, A.; Kulakov, I.; Kunkel, J.; Kurepin, A.; Kurilkin, P.; Kushpil, V.; Kyva, V.; Ladygin, V.; Lara, C.; Larionov, P.; Laso Garcia, A.; Lavrik, E.; Lazanu, I.; Lebedev, A.; Lebedev, S.; Lebedeva, E.; Lehnert, J.; Lehrbach, J.; Lemke, F.; Li, Cheng; Li, Jin; Li, Qiyan; Li, Yuanjing; Li, Yulan; Lindenstruth, V.; Linev, S.; Linnik, B.; Litvinenko, E.; Liu, Feng; Lobanov, I.; Lobanova, E.; Löchner, S.; Loizeau, P.-A.; Lucio Martínez, J. A.; Lymanets, A.; Maevskaya, A.; Mahajan, S.; Mahapatra, D. P.; Mahmoud, T.; Maj, P.; Majka, Z.; Malakhov, A.; Malankin, E.; Malkevich, D.; Malyatina, O.; Malygina, H.; Mandal, S.; Manko, V.; Manz, S.; Marin, V.; Marin Garcia, A. M.; Markert, J.; Masciocchi, S.; Matulewicz, T.; Merkin, M.; Mialkovski, V.; Michel, J.; Miftakhov, N.; Mikhailov, K.; Mikhaylov, V.; Milanović, B.; Militsija, V.; Mir, M. F.; Miskowiec, D.; Morhardt, T.; Müller, W. F. J.; Müntz, C.; Murin, Yu.; Najman, R.; Naumann, L.; Nayak, T.; Nedosekin, A.; Neumann, B.; Niebur, W.; Nikulin, V.; Normanov, D.; Nüssle, M.; Oancea, A.; Oh, Kunsu; Onishchuk, Y.; Osipov, D.; Ososkov, G.; Ossetski, D.; Otfinowski, P.; Ovcharenko, E.; Pal, S.; Panasenko, I.; Panda, N. R.; Parzhitskiy, S.; Pauly, C.; Peng, Haiping; Peric, I.; Peshekhonov, D.; Peshekhonov, V.; Petráček, V.; Petriş, M.; Petrovici, A.; Petrovici, M.; Petrovskiy, A.; Petukhov, O.; Piasecki, K.; Pieper, J.; Pietraszko, J.; Płaneta, R.; Plekhanov, E.; Plotnikov, V.; Plujko, V.; Pluta, J.; Poliakov, V.; Polozov, P.; Pop, A.; Popov, V.; Pospisil, V.; Potukuchi, B. V. K. S.; Pouryamout, J.; Poźniak, K.; Prakash, A.; Prokudin, M.; Pshenichnov, I.; Pugach, M.; Pugatch, V.; Querchfeld, S.; Radulescu, L.; Raha, S.; Raja, W.; Rami, F.; Raniwala, R.; Raniwala, S.; Raportirenko, A.; Rautenberg, J.; Rauza, J.; Ray, R.; Razin, S.; Reichelt, P.; Reinecke, S.; Reshetin, A.; Ristea, C.; Ristea, O.; Roether, F.; Romaniuk, R.; Rost, A.; Rostchin, E.; Rostovtseva, I.; Roy, A.; Rożynek, J.; Ryabov, Yu.; Rykalin, V.; Sadovsky, A.; Sadovsky, S.; Sahoo, R.; Sahu, P. K.; Saini, J.; Samanta, S.; Sambyal, S. S.; Samsonov, V.; Sánchez Rosado, J.; Sau, S.; Saveliev, V.; Schatral, S.; Schiaua, C.; Schmidt, C. J.; Schmidt, H. R.; Schmidt, K.; Schweda, K.; Scurtu, A.; Seck, F.; Seddiki, S.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Semennikov, A.; Senger, A.; Senger, P.; Shabunov, A.; Shao, Ming; Sharma, M. K.; Shumeiko, N.; Shumikhin, V.; Sikora, B.; Simakov, A.; Simon, C.; Simons, C.; Singaraju, R. N.; Singh, A. K.; Singh, B. K.; Singh, C. P.; Singhal, V.; Siwek-Wilczyńska, K.; Škoda, L.; Skwira-Chalot, I.; Som, I.; Song, Jihye; Sorokin, I.; Sosin, Z.; Soyk, D.; Staszel, P.; Stavinskiy, A.; Stephan, E.; Storozhyk, D.; Strikhanov, M.; Strohauer, S.; Stroth, J.; Sturm, C.; Sultanov, R.; Sun, Yongjie; Svoboda, O.; Szczygieł, R.; Talukdar, R.; Tang, Zebo; Tanha, M.; Tarasiuk, J.; Tarassenkova, O.; Târzilă, M.-G.; Tiflov, V.; Tischler, T.; Tlustý, P.; Toia, A.; Tolyhi, T.; Topil'skaya, N.; Trageser, C.; Trivedy, P.; Tsakov, I.; Tsyupa, Yu.; Turowiecki, A.; Uhlig, F.; Usenko, E.; Valin, I.; Vasiliev, T.; Vassiliev, I.; Verbitskaya, E.; Verhoeven, W.; Veshikov, A.; Visinka, R.; Viyogi, Y. P.; Volkov, S.; Volkov, Yu.; Vorobiev, A.; Voronin, A.; Vovchenko, V.; Vznuzdaev, E.; Vznuzdaev, M.; Wang, Dong; Wang, Yaping; Yi, Wang; Wendisch, C.; Wessels, J. P.; Wiebusch, M.; Wiechula, J.; Wiedemann, B.; Wielanek, D.; Wieloch, A.; Winckler, N.; Winter, M.; Wiśniewski, K.; Wohlfeld, D.; Wolf, Gy.; Sanguk, Won; Wüstenfeld, J.; Xiang, Changzhou; Nu, Xu; Yi, Jun-Gyu; Yin, Zhongbao; Yoo, In-Kwon; Yue, Qian; Yuldashev, B.; Yushmanov, I.; Zabołotny, W.; Zaitsev, Yu.; Zanevsky, Yu.; Zhalov, M.; Zhang, Ya Peng; Zhang, Yifei; Zhou, Daicui; Zhu, Xianglei; Zinchenko, A.; Zipper, W.; Żoładź, M.; Zrelov, P.; Zryuev, V.; Zumbruch, P.; Zyzak, M.

2014-11-01

We acknowledge support by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission through projects AIDA, CRISP and HadronPhysics3; the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Germany, through the grants 05P09PXFC5, 05P12PXFCE, 05P12RFFC7, 05P12RFFCM, 05P12RFFCP, 05P12RGFCG,05P12RGGHM, 05P12VHFCE, 05P12VHFCF, 05PRVHFC7, and 06HD9123I; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Germany, grant GRK 1039; the Hessian Loewe Initiative through the Helmholtz International Center for FAIR (HIC4FAIR); the Helmholtz Graduate School HIRe; the Helmholtz Research School H-QM; the GSI Helmholzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung mbH, Germany, through F&E cooperations with Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen and Bergische Universität Wuppertal (WKAMPE1012); the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India; the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India; the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India; the University Grants Commission, Government of India; the Indo-FAIR Co-ordination Centre, Bose Institute, Kolkata, India; the Strategic Grants POSDRU/89/1.5/S/58852 and PN-II-ID-PCE-IDEI 34/05.10.2011, Romania; the NASR/CAPACITATI-Modul III, Romania, contract nr. 179EU; the NASR/NUCLEU Project PN09370103, Romania; the FAIR Russia Research Center (FRRC), Russia; and the Federal Agency for Atomic Research (Rosatom), Russia.

Preface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xinwen; Xiao, Guoqing; Wang, Zhiguang; Gao, Xing

2017-09-01

This issue of Nuclear Instruments and Methods B contains selected papers presented at the 27th International Conference on Atomic Collisions in Solids (ICACS-27) that was held from 24 to 29 July 2016 at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Lanzhou, China. ICACS is a series of biannual conferences, those most recently ones were held in Debrecen, Hungary (2014), Kyoto, Japan (2012), Kraków, Poland (2010), Phalaborwa, South Africa (2008), Berlin, Germany (2006) and Genova, Italy (2004).

The Fair Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nilsson, Thomas

2015-03-01

The FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Beams), under construction at the GSI site in Darmstadt, Germany, will be addressing a wealth of outstanding questions within the realm of subatomic, atomic and plasma physics through a combination of novel accelerators, storage rings and innovative experimental setups. The envisaged programme of FAIR yields a breadth that is unprecedented at an accelerator-based infrastructure. A brief review of the FAIR infrastructure and scientific reach is made, together with an update of the status of the construction.

Visitor Preferences for Visual Changes in Bark Beetle-Impacted Forest Recreation Settings in the United States and Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnberger, Arne; Ebenberger, Martin; Schneider, Ingrid E.; Cottrell, Stuart; Schlueter, Alexander C.; von Ruschkowski, Eick; Venette, Robert C.; Snyder, Stephanie A.; Gobster, Paul H.

2018-02-01

Extensive outbreaks of tree-killing insects are increasing across forests in Europe and North America due to climate change and other factors. Yet, little recent research examines visitor response to visual changes in conifer forest recreation settings resulting from forest insect infestations, how visitors weigh trade-offs between physical and social forest environment factors, or how visitor preferences might differ by nationality. This study explored forest visitor preferences with a discrete choice experiment that photographically simulated conifer forest stands with varying levels of bark beetle outbreaks, forest and visitor management practices, and visitor use levels and compositions. On-site surveys were conducted with visitors to State Forest State Park in Colorado ( n = 200), Lake Bemidji State Park in Minnesota ( n = 228), and Harz National Park in Germany ( n = 208). Results revealed that the condition of the immediate forest surrounding was the most important variable influencing visitors' landscape preferences. Visitors preferred healthy mature forest stands and disliked forests with substantial dead wood. The number of visitors was the most important social factor influencing visitor landscape preferences. Differences in the influence of physical and social factors on visual preferences existed between study sites. Findings suggest that both visual forest conditions and visitor use management are important concerns in addressing landscape preferences for beetle-impacted forest recreation areas.

Visitor Preferences for Visual Changes in Bark Beetle-Impacted Forest Recreation Settings in the United States and Germany.

PubMed

Arnberger, Arne; Ebenberger, Martin; Schneider, Ingrid E; Cottrell, Stuart; Schlueter, Alexander C; von Ruschkowski, Eick; Venette, Robert C; Snyder, Stephanie A; Gobster, Paul H

2018-02-01

Extensive outbreaks of tree-killing insects are increasing across forests in Europe and North America due to climate change and other factors. Yet, little recent research examines visitor response to visual changes in conifer forest recreation settings resulting from forest insect infestations, how visitors weigh trade-offs between physical and social forest environment factors, or how visitor preferences might differ by nationality. This study explored forest visitor preferences with a discrete choice experiment that photographically simulated conifer forest stands with varying levels of bark beetle outbreaks, forest and visitor management practices, and visitor use levels and compositions. On-site surveys were conducted with visitors to State Forest State Park in Colorado (n = 200), Lake Bemidji State Park in Minnesota (n = 228), and Harz National Park in Germany (n = 208). Results revealed that the condition of the immediate forest surrounding was the most important variable influencing visitors' landscape preferences. Visitors preferred healthy mature forest stands and disliked forests with substantial dead wood. The number of visitors was the most important social factor influencing visitor landscape preferences. Differences in the influence of physical and social factors on visual preferences existed between study sites. Findings suggest that both visual forest conditions and visitor use management are important concerns in addressing landscape preferences for beetle-impacted forest recreation areas.

Epidemiologic research topics in Germany: a keyword network analysis of 2014 DGEpi conference presentations.

PubMed

Peter, Raphael Simon; Brehme, Torben; Völzke, Henry; Muche, Rainer; Rothenbacher, Dietrich; Büchele, Gisela

2016-06-01

Knowledge of epidemiologic research topics as well as trends is useful for scientific societies, researchers and funding agencies. In recent years researchers recognized the usefulness of keyword network analysis for visualizing and analyzing scientific research topics. Therefore, we applied keyword network analysis to present an overview of current epidemiologic research topics in Germany. Accepted submissions to the 9th annual congress of the German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi) in 2014 were used as data source. Submitters had to choose one of 19 subject areas, and were ask to provide a title, structured abstract, names of authors along with their affiliations, and a list of freely selectable keywords. Keywords had been provided for 262 (82 %) submissions, 1030 keywords in total. Overall the most common keywords were: "migration" (18 times), "prevention" (15 times), followed by "children", "cohort study", "physical activity", and "secondary data analysis" (11 times each). Some keywords showed a certain concentration under one specific subject area, e.g. "migration" with 8 of 18 in social epidemiology or "breast cancer" with 4 of 7 in cancer epidemiology. While others like "physical activity" were equally distributed over multiple subject areas (cardiovascular & metabolic diseases, ageing, methods, paediatrics, prevention & health service research). This keyword network analysis demonstrated the high diversity of epidemiologic research topics with a large number of distinct keywords as presented at the annual conference of the DGEpi.

Open House at the ESO Headquarters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madsen, C.

2006-12-01

On 15 October, the ESO Headquarters opened its doors to the public as part of the All-Campus Open House organised in connection with the inauguration of the extension of the underground line U6 from Munich to the Garching campus. The day was blessed with clear skies and plenty of sunshine, and a large number of citizens took advantage of the opportunity to visit the campus. The estimated number of visitors at ESO was close to 3000 people, a record number. Another record was set by the number of ESO staff who, in anticipation of the high num-ber of guests, volunteered to spend their Sunday at work to explain what ESO is doing and why it is important.

Forecasting volatility of SSEC in Chinese stock market using multifractal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Yu; Wang, Peng

2008-03-01

In this paper, taking about 7 years’ high-frequency data of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index (SSEC) as an example, we propose a daily volatility measure based on the multifractal spectrum of the high-frequency price variability within a trading day. An ARFIMA model is used to depict the dynamics of this multifractal volatility (MFV) measures. The one-day ahead volatility forecasting performances of the MFV model and some other existing volatility models, such as the realized volatility model, stochastic volatility model and GARCH, are evaluated by the superior prediction ability (SPA) test. The empirical results show that under several loss functions, the MFV model obtains the best forecasting accuracy.

PyOperators: Operators and solvers for high-performance computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chanial, P.; Barbey, N.

2012-12-01

PyOperators is a publicly available library that provides basic operators and solvers for small-to-very large inverse problems ({http://pchanial.github.com/pyoperators}). It forms the backbone of the package PySimulators, which implements specific operators to construct an instrument model and means to conveniently represent a map, a timeline or a time-dependent observation ({http://pchanial.github.com/pysimulators}). Both are part of the Tamasis (Tools for Advanced Map-making, Analysis and SImulations of Submillimeter surveys) toolbox, aiming at providing versatile, reliable, easy-to-use, and optimal map-making tools for Herschel and future generation of sub-mm instruments. The project is a collaboration between 4 institutes (ESO Garching, IAS Orsay, CEA Saclay, Univ. Leiden).

Transaction fees and optimal rebalancing in the growth-optimal portfolio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Yu; Medo, Matúš; Zhang, Liang; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2011-05-01

The growth-optimal portfolio optimization strategy pioneered by Kelly is based on constant portfolio rebalancing which makes it sensitive to transaction fees. We examine the effect of fees on an example of a risky asset with a binary return distribution and show that the fees may give rise to an optimal period of portfolio rebalancing. The optimal period is found analytically in the case of lognormal returns. This result is consequently generalized and numerically verified for broad return distributions and returns generated by a GARCH process. Finally we study the case when investment is rebalanced only partially and show that this strategy can improve the investment long-term growth rate more than optimization of the rebalancing period.

Pan-STARRS1: Status, Science, and Public Data Release

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chambers, Kenneth C.

2013-01-01

PS1, the Pan-STARRS1 Telescope is entering its third year of operations. Operations of the PS1 System include the Observatory, Telescope, 1.4 Gigapixel Camera, Image Processing Pipeline , PSPS relational database and reduced science product software servers. The PS1 Surveys include: (1) A 3pi Steradian Survey, (2) A Medium Deep survey of 10 PS1 footprints spaced around the sky; (3) A solar system survey optimized for Near Earth Objects, (4) a Stellar Transit Survey; and (5) a Deep Survey of M31. The PS1 3pi Survey has now covered most of the sky north of dec=-30 with 8 to 10 visits in five bands: g,r,i,z and y or over ~45 epochs per point on sky. The performance of the PS1 system, sky coverage, cadence, and data quality of the surveys will be presented as well as progress in reprocessing of the data taken to date and plans for serving the data to the public. A summary of science highlights will be included. The PS1 Science Consortium consists of The Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawai'i in Manoa, the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Durham, the University of Edinburgh, the Queen's University Belfast, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Los Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network Incorporated, and the National Central University of Taiwan, NASA, and NSF.

The PS1 Science Mission - Status and Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chambers, Kenneth C.

2013-06-01

PS1, the Pan-STARRS1 Telescope is in its last year of the PS1 Science Mission. Operations of the PS1 System include the Observatory, Telescope, 1.4 Gigapixel Camera, Image Processing Pipeline , PSPS relational database and reduced science product software servers. The PS1 Surveys include: (1) A 3pi Steradian Survey, (2) A Medium Deep survey of 10 PS1 footprints spaced around the sky; (3) A solar system survey optimized for Near Earth Objects, (4) a Stellar Transit Survey; and (5) a Deep Survey of M31. The PS1 3pi Survey has now covered the sky north of dec=-30 with 8 to 12 visits in five bands: g,r,i,z and y or over ~45 epochs per point on sky. The performance of the PS1 system, sky coverage, cadence, and data quality of the surveys will be presented as well as progress in reprocessing of the data taken to date and plans for serving the data to the public. A summary of science highlights will be included. The PS1 Science Consortium consists of The Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawai'i in Manoa, the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Durham, the University of Edinburgh, the Queen's University Belfast, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Los Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network Incorporated, and the National Central University of Taiwan, NASA, and NSF.

Parents and children in Second World War Germany: an inter-generational perspective on wartime separation.

PubMed

Vaizey, Hester

2011-01-01

This article discusses how the relationship between parents and their children were affected by the second world war in Germany. With fathers away from home for often as long as a decade, many children grew up without a father being physically present. The current historiography suggests that wartime separation caused a crisis in the family. But did the prolonged periods of time apart and the separate experiences of husbands at the Front and wives and children at home really destabilize family relationships? This article questions such a picture of families in ruin. It argues that family relationships were far more resilient in the face of wartime separation than has previously been credited. Indeed, it reveals the importance of children in keeping mothers and fathers focused on getting through the war. It further contends that, even from afar, fathers continued to play an important role in their children’s lives. And this in turn revises our understanding of the situation facing reuniting families.

[Different explanatory models for addictive behavior in Turkish and German youths in Germany: significance for prevention and treatment].

PubMed

Penka, S; Krieg, S; Hunner, Ch; Heinz, A

2003-07-01

Due to cultural and social barriers, immigrants seldom frequent centers for information, counseling, and treatment of addictive disorders. We examine cultural differences in the explanatory models of addictive behavior among Turkish and German youths in Germany with statistical devices that map the concepts associated with problems of addiction. Relevant differences were found between the disorder concepts of Turkish and German youth. German but not Turkish youths classified eating disorders among severe addictive disorders and associated them with embarrassment and shame. Concerning substance abuse, German but not Turkish youths clearly differentiated between illegal drug abuse and the abuse of alcohol and nicotine. Nearly half of all Turkish youths rejected central medical concepts such as "physical dependence" or "reduced control of substance intake" as completely inadequate to characterize problems of addictive behavior. Preventive information programs must consider these differences and use concepts that are accepted and clearly associated with addictive behavior by immigrant populations.

Causal Relationships Among Time Series of the Lange Bramke Catchment (Harz Mountains, Germany)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aufgebauer, Britta; Hauhs, Michael; Bogner, Christina; Meesenburg, Henning; Lange, Holger

2016-04-01

Convergent Cross Mapping (CCM) has recently been introduced by Sugihara et al. for the identification and quantification of causal relationships among ecosystem variables. In particular, the method allows to decide on the direction of causality; in some cases, the causality might be bidirectional, indicating a network structure. We extend this approach by introducing a method of surrogate data to obtain confidence intervals for CCM results. We then apply this method to time series from stream water chemistry. Specifically, we analyze a set of eight dissolved major ions from three different catchments belonging to the hydrological monitoring system at the Bramke valley in the Harz Mountains, Germany. Our results demonstrate the potentials and limits of CCM as a monitoring instrument in forestry and hydrology or as a tool to identify processes in ecosystem research. While some networks of causally linked ions can be associated with simple physical and chemical processes, other results illustrate peculiarities of the three studied catchments, which are explained in the context of their special history.

[The management of osteoarthritis by general practitioners in Germany: comparison of self-reported behaviour with international guidelines].

PubMed

Rosemann, T; Joos, S; Szecsenyi, J

2008-01-01

In most countries, guidelines for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) are available. However, in Germany, no guideline for the primary care sector is available. The care provider of most patients is the general practitioner (GP). The aim of the study was to investigate the approaches in diagnosing and treating OA of German GPs and to assess adherence to international guidelines. Cross-sectional study using a structured questionnaire with a random sample of 144 GPs. Regarding diagnosis, the importance of X-rays was overestimated. Regarding treatment approaches, exercising and weight reduction were regarded as primary treatment targets. Pharmacological treatment approaches were somewhat guideline oriented, but conservative approaches such as physical therapy were overestimated as invasive treatments such as intra-articular injections were underestimated in its benefit. Establishing a guideline specifically for primary care and increasing guideline adherence could help to prevent the present overuse of X-rays and the high amount of referrals to orthopaedics, save costs and reduce inadequate treatments.

Health and Social Problems Associated with Recent Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) Use Amongst Marginalised, Nightlife and Online Users in Six European Countries.

PubMed

Van Hout, Marie Claire; Benschop, Annemieke; Bujalski, Michal; Dąbrowska, Katarzyna; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Felvinczi, Katalin; Hearne, Evelyn; Henriques, Susana; Kaló, Zsuzsa; Kamphausen, Gerrit; Korf, Dirk; Silva, Joana Paula; Wieczorek, Łukasz; Werse, Bernd

2018-01-01

Continued diversification and use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) across Europe remains a public health challenge. The study describes health and social consequences of recent NPS use as reported in a survey of marginalised, nightlife and online NPS users in the Netherlands, Hungary, Portugal, Ireland, Germany and Poland ( n  = 3023). Some respondents were unable to categorise NPS they had used. Use of ' herbal blends ' and ' synthetic cannabinoids obtained pure ' was most reported in Germany, Poland and Hungary, and use of ' branded stimulants ' and ' stimulants/empathogens/nootropics obtained pure ' was most reported in the Netherlands. Increased heart rate and palpitation, dizziness, anxiety, horror trips and headaches were most commonly reported acute side effects. Marginalised users reported substantially more acute side effects, more mid- and long-term mental and physical problems, and more social problems. Development of country-specific NPS awareness raising initiatives, health and social service needs assessments, and targeted responses are warranted.

[International aspects of inclusion in schools].

PubMed

Häßler, Frank; Burgert, Michael; Fegert, Jörg Michael; Chodan, Wencke

2015-07-01

The term inclusion (=admittance, involvement) is used almost synonymously for the concept of the joint schooling of children with and without intellectual disabilities, language disabilities, physical handicaps, or mental disorders. This article addresses the current state of inclusion in Germany as well as the international situation, such as the Salamanca Declaration of the UNESCO, the «Individuals with Disabilities Act» (IDEA) in the United States as well as European developments, particularly in Great Britain, Austria, and Russia. Even though, from a political perspective, the decision in favor of inclusion seems irreversible, there appears to be a lack an agreement on the modality and timeframe. Thus, the average percentage of students with special education needs in Germany amounts to only 28.2%. The reasons behind this situation are presently being analyzed and discussed. A question of key importance concerns the benefit for the persons concerned, since that should be the measure of the success of inclusion. This question will most likely be validly answered only for individual subgroups of disabilities. This field still requires extensive research.

Flawed Nuclear Physics and Atomic Intelligence in the Campaign to deny Norwegian Heavy Water to Germany, 1942-1944

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Børresen, Hans Christofer

2012-12-01

The military campaign to deny Norwegian heavy water to Germany in World War II did not diminish as the threat posed by heavy water in German hands dwindled, mainly because of excessive security among the Allies. Signs that Albert Speer (1905-1981) had decided in 1942 to stop the German atomic-bomb project were kept secret and ignored. Prominent Allied advisers like Leif Tronstad (1903-1945) and even Niels Bohr (1885-1962) were not told about the plutonium path to a German atomic bomb. Physicists did not brief advisers, decision makers, and Allied officers on how many years Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) would need to accumulate enough heavy water (deuterium oxide, D2O) for an Uranmachine and then to extract and process plutonium for an atomic bomb. Had the flow of information been better, the military raids on the Norwegian heavy-water plant at Vemork could have been timed better, and the more costly of them could have been averted altogether.

Prioritizing the patient: optimizing therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. Results of a patient questionnaire in northern Germany.

PubMed

Wollenhaupt, Jürgen; Ehlebracht-Koenig, Inge; Groenewegen, André; Fricke, Dieter

2013-01-01

A 40-question postal survey was developed to gain insight into the nature of difficulties experienced by patients due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as well as patient perceptions and priorities regarding their RA treatment. A total of 3000 Lower Saxony, Germany members of Rheuma-Liga (RL), a patient support group for people with RA, were invited to participate between July 1, and August 20, 2009. The questionnaire was divided into four sections: (1) patient demographics, (2) quality of life (QOL), (3) treatment expectations and, (4) patient perceptions of RL. The questionnaire could be completed in writing or via the internet. Of 959 respondents (response rate = 32.0%), 318 had diagnosed RA and were included in the analysis. The respondents were mostly retired (71.2%), female (83.3%), and >60 years of age (63.5%). Members' responses indicated that most were generally satisfied with their current treatment (67.3%), considered it efficacious (84.0%), and reported minimal (none or little) side-effects (61.2%). Patient involvement in treatment decisions, however, was reportedly low (49.6% felt insufficiently involved). Patients' primary impairments were reflected in their treatment priorities: mobility (97.0%), ability to run errands/do shopping (97.1%), do the housework (95.6%), and be independent of others (94.2%). The primary service provided by RL and used by respondents was physiotherapy (70.6%), which was reported to benefit physical function and mood by over 90.0% of respondents. RA had a detrimental effect upon respondents' quality of life, specifically impairing their ability to perform daily tasks and causing pain/emotional distress. Independence and mobility were strong priorities for respondents. Physical therapy, provided by RL, was felt to help both physical and mental/emotional health.

First Light for ASTROVIRTEL Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2000-04-01

Astronomical data archives increasingly resemble virtual gold mines of information. A new project, known as ASTROVIRTEL aims to exploit these astronomical treasure troves by allowing scientists to use the archives as virtual telescopes. The competition for observing time on large space- and ground-based observatories such as the ESA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope and the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) is intense. On average, less than a quarter of applications for observing time are successful. The fortunate scientist who obtains observing time usually has one year of so-called proprietary time to work with the data before they are made publicly accessible and can be used by other astronomers. Precious data from these large research facilities retain their value far beyond their first birthday and may still be useful decades after they were first collected. The enormous quantity of valuable astronomical data now stored in the archives of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF) is increasingly attracting the attention of astronomers. Scientists are aware that one set of observations can serve many different scientific purposes, including some that were not considered at all when the observations were first made. Data archives as "gold mines" for research [ASTROVIRTEL Logo; JPEG - 184 k] Astronomical data archives increasingly resemble virtual gold mines of information. A new project, known as ASTROVIRTEL or "Accessing Astronomical Archives as Virtual Telescopes" aims to exploit these astronomical treasure troves. It is supported by the European Commission (EC) within the "Access to Research Infrastructures" action under the "Improving Human Potential & the Socio-economic Knowledge Base" of the EC (under EU Fifth Framework Programme). ASTROVIRTEL has been established on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in response to rapid developments currently taking place in the fields of telescope and detector construction, computer hardware, data processing, archiving, and telescope operation. Nowadays astronomical telescopes can image increasingly large areas of the sky. They use more and more different instruments and are equipped with ever-larger detectors. The quantity of astronomical data collected is rising dramatically, generating a corresponding increase in potentially interesting research projects. These large collections of valuable data have led to the useful concept of "data mining", whereby large astronomical databases are exploited to support original research. However, it has become obvious that scientists need additional support to cope efficiently with the massive amounts of data available and so to exploit the true potential of the databases. The strengths of ASTROVIRTEL ASTROVIRTEL is the first virtual astronomical telescope dedicated to data mining. It is currently being established at the joint ESO/Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility Archive in Garching (Germany). Scientists from EC member countries and associated states will be able to apply for support for a scientific project based on access to and analysis of data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Very Large Telescope (VLT), New Technology Telescope (NTT), and Wide Field Imager (WFI) archives, as well as a number of other related archives, including the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) archive. Scientists will be able to visit the archive site and collaborate with the archive specialists there. Special software tools that incorporate advanced methods for exploring the enormous quantities of information available will be developed. Statements The project co-ordinator, Piero Benvenuti , Head of ST-ECF, elaborates on the advantages of ASTROVIRTEL: "The observations by the ESA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope and, more recently, by the ESO Very Large Telescope, have already been made available on-line to the astronomical community, once the proprietary period of one year has elapsed. ASTROVIRTEL is different, in that astronomers are now invited to regard the archive as an "observatory" in its own right: a facility that, when properly used, may provide an answer to their specific scientific questions. The architecture of the archives as well as their suite of software tools may have to evolve to respond to the new demand. ASTROVIRTEL will try to drive this evolution on the basis of the scientific needs of its users." Peter Quinn , the Head of ESO's Data Management and Operations Division, is of the same opinion: "The ESO/HST Archive Facility at ESO Headquarters in Garching is currently the most rapidly growing astronomical archive resource in the world. This archive is projected to contain more than 100 Terabytes (100,000,000,000,000 bytes) of data within the next four years. The software and hardware technologies for the archive will be jointly developed and operated by ESA and ESO staff and will be common to both HST and ESO data archives. The ASTROVIRTEL project will provide us with real examples of scientific research programs that will push the capabilities of the archive and allow us to identify and develop new software tools for data mining. The growing archive facility will provide the European astronomical community with new digital windows on the Universe." Note [1] This is a joint Press Release by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF). Additional information More information about ASTROVIRTEL can be found at the dedicated website at: http://www.stecf.org/astrovirtel The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an intergovernmental organisation, supported by eight European countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation supported by 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF) is a co-operation between the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a project of international co-operation between NASA and ESA.

Interplay of normative beliefs and behavior in developmental patterns of physical and relational aggression in adolescence: a four-wave longitudinal study

PubMed Central

Krahé, Barbara; Busching, Robert

2014-01-01

In a longitudinal study with N = 1,854 adolescents from Germany, we investigated patterns of change and gender differences in physical and relational aggression in relation to normative beliefs about these two forms of aggression. Participants, whose mean age was 13 years at T1, completed self-report measures of physically and relationally aggressive behavior and indicated their normative approval of both forms of aggression at four data waves separated by 12-month intervals. Boys scored higher than did girls on both forms of aggression, but the gender difference was more pronounced for physical aggression. Physical aggression decreased and relational aggression increased over the four data waves in both gender groups. The normative acceptance of both forms of aggression decreased over time, with a greater decrease for the approval of physical aggression. In both gender groups, normative approval of relational aggression prospectively predicted relational aggression across all data waves, and the normative approval of physical aggression predicted physically aggressive behavior at the second and third data waves. A reciprocal reinforcement of aggressive norms and behavior was found for both forms of aggression. The findings are discussed as supporting a social information processing perspective on developmental patterns of change in physical and relational aggression in adolescence. PMID:25360124

Interplay of normative beliefs and behavior in developmental patterns of physical and relational aggression in adolescence: a four-wave longitudinal study.

PubMed

Krahé, Barbara; Busching, Robert

2014-01-01

In a longitudinal study with N = 1,854 adolescents from Germany, we investigated patterns of change and gender differences in physical and relational aggression in relation to normative beliefs about these two forms of aggression. Participants, whose mean age was 13 years at T1, completed self-report measures of physically and relationally aggressive behavior and indicated their normative approval of both forms of aggression at four data waves separated by 12-month intervals. Boys scored higher than did girls on both forms of aggression, but the gender difference was more pronounced for physical aggression. Physical aggression decreased and relational aggression increased over the four data waves in both gender groups. The normative acceptance of both forms of aggression decreased over time, with a greater decrease for the approval of physical aggression. In both gender groups, normative approval of relational aggression prospectively predicted relational aggression across all data waves, and the normative approval of physical aggression predicted physically aggressive behavior at the second and third data waves. A reciprocal reinforcement of aggressive norms and behavior was found for both forms of aggression. The findings are discussed as supporting a social information processing perspective on developmental patterns of change in physical and relational aggression in adolescence.

PREFACE AND CONFERENCE INFORMATION: Eighth International Conference on Laser Ablation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hess, Wayne P.; Herman, Peter R.; Bäuerle, Dieter; Koinuma, Hideomi

2007-04-01

Laser ablation encompasses a wide range of delicate to extreme light interactions with matter that present considerably challenging problems for scientists to study and understand. At the same time, laser ablation also represents a basic process of significant commercial importance in laser material processing—defining a multi-billion dollar industry today. These topics were widely addressed at the 8th International Conference on Laser Ablation (COLA), held in Banff, Canada on 11-16 September 2005. The meeting took place amongst the majestic and natural beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains at The Banff Centre, where delegates enjoyed many inspiring presentations and discussions in a unique campus learning environment. The conference brought together world leading scientists, students and industry representatives to examine the basic science of laser ablation and improve our understanding of the many physical, chemical and/or biological processes driven by the laser. The multi-disciplinary research presented at the meeting underlies some of our most important trends at the forefront of science and technology today that are represented in the papers collected in this volume. Here you will find new processes that are producing novel types of nanostructures and nano-materials with unusual and promising properties. Laser processes are described for delicately manipulating living cells or modifying their internal structure with unprecedented degrees of control and precision. Learn about short-pulse lasers that are driving extreme physical processes on record-fast time scales and opening new directions from material processing applications. The conference papers further highlight forefront application areas in pulsed laser deposition, nanoscience, analytical methods, materials, and microprocessing applications. Laser ablation continues to grow and evolve, touching forefront areas in science and driving new technological trends in laser processing applications. Please enjoy the collection of papers in this proceeding. Also, please join us for COLA 2007, to be held in the Canary Islands, Spain (http://www.io.csic.es/cola07/index.php). Conference on Laser Ablation (COLA'05) September 11-16, 2005 Banff, Canada Supported by University of Toronto, Canada (UT) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Sponsors Sponsorship from the following companies is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated AMBP Tech Corporation GSI Lumonics Amplitude Systèmes IMRA America, Inc. Andor Technologies Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics North Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations LUMERA LASER GmbH Clark-MXR, Inc. Pascal Coherent, Lamdbda Physik, TuiLaser PVD Products, Inc. Continuum Staib Instruments, Inc. Cyber Laser Inc. Surface GAM LASER, Inc. International Steering Committee C. Afonso (Spain)W. Husinsky (Austria) D. Bäuerle (Austria)W. Kautek (Germany) I.W. Boyd (UK) H. Koinuma (Japan) E.B. Campbell (Sweden) H.U. Krebs (Germany) J.T. Dickinson (USA) D.H. Lowndes (USA) M. Dinescu (Romania) J.G. Lunney (Ireland) J.J. Dubowski (Canada) W. Marine (France) E. Fogarassy (France) K. Murakami (Japan) C. Fotakis (Greece) T. Okada (Japan) D. Geohegan (USA) R.E. Russo (USA) M. Gower (UK) J. Schou (Denmark) R.H. Haglund Jr. (USA) M. Stuke (Germany) R.R. Herman (Canada) K. Sugioka (Japan) W.P. Hess (USA) F. Traeger (Germany) J.S Horwitz (USA) A. Yabe (Japan) Local Organizing Committee Nikki Avery Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Ken Beck Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Jan J. Dubowski University of Alberta Robert Fedosejevs Université de Sherbrooke Alan Joly Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Michel Meunier École Polytechnique de Montréal Suwas Nikumb National Research Council Canada Ying Tsui University of Alberta Conference photograph.

Neighbourhood social ties: how much do residential, physical and virtual mobility matter?

PubMed

Knies, Gundi

2013-09-01

Following up on the prediction by classical sociological theorists that neighbours will become irrelevant as societies become more mobile, this research examines the strength of people's social ties with neighbours and the associations thereof with residential, physical and virtual mobility using longitudinal data for Germany. Unlike previous studies, the research considers the three forms of mobility simultaneously and contrasts its effects on social ties with neighbours to those with family. The results show that residential and physical mobility are negatively associated with social ties to neighbours and positively with ties to family. Virtual mobility does not weaken social ties with neighbours but ties with family. The positive association between mobility and social ties with family may not be strong enough to ascertain that people maintain as close social ties to others in the future as it does not outweigh the negative association with visiting neighbours. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.

Peculiarities of organization of project and research activity of students in computer science, physics and technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stolyarov, I. V.

2017-01-01

The author of this article manages a project and research activity of students in the areas of computer science, physics, engineering and biology, basing on the acquired experience in these fields. Pupils constantly become winners of competitions and conferences of different levels, for example, three of the finalists of Intel ISEF in 2013 in Phoenix (Arizona, USA) and in 2014 in Los Angeles (California, USA). In 2013 A. Makarychev received the "Small Nobel prize" in Computer Science section and special award sponsors - the company's CAST. Scientific themes and methods suggested by the author and developed in joint publications of students from Russia, Germany and Austria are the patents for invention and certificates for registration in the ROSPATENT. The article presents the results of the implementation of specific software and hardware systems in physics, engineering and medicine.

Subjective health of undocumented migrants in Germany - a mixed methods approach.

PubMed

Kuehne, Anna; Huschke, Susann; Bullinger, Monika

2015-09-19

Health of migrants is known to be above-average in the beginning of the migration trajectory. At the same time reports from non-government organisations (NGOs) suggest that undocumented migrants in Germany tend to present late and in poor health at healthcare facilities. In this paper, we explore the health status of undocumented migrants with a mixed method approach including complementary qualitative and quantitative datasets. Undocumented migrants attending a NGO based in Hamburg, Germany, were asked to fill in the SF-12v2, a standardized questionnaire measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The SF-12v2 was analyzed in comparison to the U.S. American norm sample and a representative German sample. Differences in mean scores for HRQOL were evaluated with a t-test and with a generalized linear model analyzing the impact of living without legal status on HRQOL. The quantitative research was complemented by a qualitative ethnographic study on undocumented migration and health in Berlin, Germany. The study included semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and participant observation with Latin American migrants over the course of three years. The study focused on subjective experiences of illness and health and the impact of illegality on migrants' health and access to health care. HRQOL was significantly worse in the sample of undocumented migrants (n = 96) as compared to the U.S. American sample (p < 0.005). Living without legal status displayed a significant negative effect on subjective mental and physical health (p ≤ 0.003) in the generalized linear model when adjusted for age and gender compared to the representative German population sample. The ethnographic study, which included 35 migrants, identified socio-economic conditions, the subjective experiences of criminalization, and late presentation at healthcare-facilities as the three main factors impacting on health from migrant perspective. The present research suggests a high morbidity and mortality in this comparatively young population. The ethnographic research confirms negative impacts on health of social determinants in general and stress associated with living without legal status in particular, both are further aggravated by exclusion from health care services. In addition to the provision of health care it appears to be important to structurally tackle the underlying social conditions which affect undocumented migrants' health. Living without legal status has a negative impact on health and well-being. Limited access to care may further exacerbate physical and mental illness. Possibilities to claim basic rights and protection as well as access to care without legal status appear to be important measures to improve health and well-being.

Hadron polarizability data analysis: GoAT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stegen, H., E-mail: hkstegen@mta.ca; Hornidge, D.; Collicott, C.

The A2 Collaboration at the Institute for Nuclear Physics in Mainz, Germany, is working towards determining the polarizabilities of hadrons from nonperturbative quantum chromodynamics through Compton scattering experiments at low energies. The asymmetry observables are directly related to the scalar and spin polarizabilities of the hadrons. Online analysis software, which will give real-time feedback on asymmetries, efficiencies, energies, and angle distributions, has been developed. The new software is a big improvement over the existing online code and will greatly develop the quality of the acquired data.

Einstein unmasked

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, Brian

2008-09-01

This is a remarkable and, at times, bewilderingly diverse volume. Consisting of 20 essays that represent the proceedings of a conference held in 2005 in Berlin, Germany, during the International Year of Physics, it offers insights into Einstein's influence on a swathe of human activity. In the introduction the distinguished editors make some remarkable claims for the book, calling it "an unique attempt" and saying that "there is no better introduction to...string theory", while the first essay states "Not since Newton's Principia..." Clearly this is a volume that aspires to high standards.

History of the Army Ground Forces. Study Number 17. History of the Third Army

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

impotence; Facist Italy rattled swords, and Germany was giving itself to Nazism. On 9 August 1932, without fanfare and almost without public awareness, the...picking up pecans under ofte tree. 5. All units should continue to remove the physically unfit as rapidly as possible. While this conference was going...with War Department orders, he visited the Fifth Army front in Italy , as an observer, in November, 1943. In his report to General McNair,322 General

Payload specialist Merbold performing experiment in Spacelab

NASA Image and Video Library

1983-11-28

STS009-13-699 (28 Nov - 8 Dec 1983) --? Ulf Merbold, Spacelab 1 payload specialist, carries out one of the experiments using the gradient heating facility on the materials science double rack facility in the busy science module aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Representing the European Space Agency, Dr. Merbold comes from Max-Planck Institute in Stuttgart, the Federal Republic of Germany. He is a specialist in crystal lattice defects and low temperature physics. The photograph was made with a 35mm camera.

[Structural Change, Contextuality, and Transfer in Health Promotion--Sustainable Implementation of the BIG Project].

PubMed

Rütten, A; Frahsa, A; Rosenhäger, N; Wolff, A

2015-09-01

The BIG approach aims at promoting physical activity and health among socially disadvantaged women. BIG has been developed and sustainably implemented in Erlangen/Bavaria. Subsequently, it has been transferred to other communities and states in Germany. Crucial factors for sustainability and transfer in BIG are (1) lifestyle and policy analysis, (2) assets approach, (3) empowerment of target group, (4) enabling of policy-makers and professionals. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Hadron polarizability data analysis: GoAT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stegen, H.; Collicott, C.; Hornidge, D.; Martel, P.; Ott, P.

2015-12-01

The A2 Collaboration at the Institute for Nuclear Physics in Mainz, Germany, is working towards determining the polarizabilities of hadrons from nonperturbative quantum chromodynamics through Compton scattering experiments at low energies. The asymmetry observables are directly related to the scalar and spin polarizabilities of the hadrons. Online analysis software, which will give real-time feedback on asymmetries, efficiencies, energies, and angle distributions, has been developed. The new software is a big improvement over the existing online code and will greatly develop the quality of the acquired data.

F-16 Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared System for Night (LANTIRN) and the Night Close Air Support (CAS) Mission

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-02

physical reference can be a natural feature, river bend, distinctly shaped wooded area, or lake. Artificial references such as colored smoke or...fluorescent ground panels can also be placed instead of, or as an aid to recognition of the natural feature.ដ> But, artificial references that are effective...Government Printin-gOffice, 1959. Central Intelligence Agenc7. National Intellignece Survey, East Germany, Section 23, Weather and Climate. Washington

KSC-06pd0950

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-05-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Beluga aircraft taxis on the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility on NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The Beluga carries the European Space Agency's research laboratory, designated Columbus, flown to Kennedy from its manufacturer in Germany. The module will be prepared for delivery to the International Space Station on a future space shuttle mission. Columbus will expand the research facilities of the station and provide researchers with the ability to conduct numerous experiments in the area of life, physical and materials sciences. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-06pd0949

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-05-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Beluga aircraft arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility on NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The Beluga carries the European Space Agency's research laboratory, designated Columbus, flown to Kennedy from its manufacturer in Germany. The module will be prepared for delivery to the International Space Station on a future space shuttle mission. Columbus will expand the research facilities of the station and provide researchers with the ability to conduct numerous experiments in the area of life, physical and materials sciences. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Experimental results of near real-time protection system for plasma facing components in Wendelstein 7-X at GLADIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, A.; Jakubowski, M.; Greuner, H.; Böswirth, B.; Moncada, V.; Sitjes, A. Puig; Neu, R.; Pedersen, T. S.; the W7-X Team

2017-12-01

One of the aims of stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), is to investigate steady state operation, for which power exhaust is an important issue. The predominant fraction of the energy lost from the confined plasma region will be absorbed by an island divertors, which is designed for 10 {{MWm}}-2 steady state operation. In order to protect the divertor targets from overheating, 10 state-of-the-art infrared endoscopes will be installed at W7-X. In this work, we present the experimental results obtained at the high heat flux test facility GLADIS (Garching LArge DIvertor Sample test facility in IPP Garching) [1] during tests of a new plasma facing components (PFCs) protection algorithm designed for W7-X. The GLADIS device is equipped with two ion beams that can generate a heat load in the range from 3 MWm-2 to 55 MWm-2. The algorithms developed at W7-X to detect defects and hot spots are based on the analysis of surface temperature evolution and are adapted to work in near real-time. The aim of this work was to test the near real-time algorithms in conditions close to those expected in W7-X. The experiments were performed on W7-X pre-series tiles to detect CFC/Cu delaminations. For detection of surface layers, carbon fiber composite (CFC) blocks from the divertor of the Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator were used to observe temporal behavior of fully developed surface layers. These layers of re-deposited materials, like carbon, boron, oxygen and iron, were formed during the W7-AS operation. A detailed analysis of the composition and their thermal response to high heat fluxes (HHF) are described in [2]. The experiments indicate that the automatic detection of critical events works according to W7-X PFC protection requirements.

innoFSPEC: fiber optical spectroscopy and sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roth, Martin M.; Löhmannsröben, Hans-Gerd; Kelz, Andreas; Kumke, Michael

2008-07-01

innoFSPEC Potsdam is presently being established as in interdisciplinary innovation center for fiber-optical spectroscopy and sensing, hosted by Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam and the Physical Chemistry group of Potsdam University, Germany. The center focuses on fundamental research in the two fields of fiber-coupled multi-channel spectroscopy and optical fiber-based sensing. Thanks to its interdisciplinary approach, the complementary methodologies of astrophysics on the one hand, and physical chemistry on the other hand, are expected to spawn synergies that otherwise would not normally become available in more standard research programmes. innoFSPEC targets future innovations for next generation astrophysical instrumentation, environmental analysis, manufacturing control and process monitoring, medical diagnostics, non-invasive imaging spectroscopy, biopsy, genomics/proteomics, high-throughput screening, and related applications.

Comittees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2004-10-01

Fritz Caspers (CERN, Switzerland), Michel Chanel (CERN, Switzerland), Håkan Danared (MSL, Sweden), Bernhard Franzke (GSI, Germany), Manfred Grieser (MPI für Kernphysik, Germany), Dieter Habs (LMU München, Germany), Jeffrey Hangst (University of Aarhus, Denmark), Takeshi Katayama (RIKEN/Univ. Tokyo, Japan), H.-Jürgen Kluge (GSI, Germany), Shyh-Yuan Lee (Indiana University, USA), Rudolf Maier (FZ Jülich, Germany), John Marriner (FNAL, USA), Igor Meshkov (JINR, Russia), Dieter Möhl (CERN, Switzerland), Vasily Parkhomchuk (BINP, Russia), Robert Pollock (Indiana University), Dieter Prasuhn (FZ Jülich, Germany), Dag Reistad (TSL, Sweden), John Schiffer (ANL, USA), Andrew Sessler (LBNL, USA), Alexander Skrinsky (BINP, Russia), Markus Steck (GSI, Germany), Jie Wei (BNL, USA), Andreas Wolf (MPI für Kernphysik, Germany), Hongwei Zhao (IMP, People's Rep. of China).

Shedding Light on the Cosmic Skeleton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2009-11-01

Astronomers have tracked down a gigantic, previously unknown assembly of galaxies located almost seven billion light-years away from us. The discovery, made possible by combining two of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world, is the first observation of such a prominent galaxy structure in the distant Universe, providing further insight into the cosmic web and how it formed. "Matter is not distributed uniformly in the Universe," says Masayuki Tanaka from ESO, who led the new study. "In our cosmic vicinity, stars form in galaxies and galaxies usually form groups and clusters of galaxies. The most widely accepted cosmological theories predict that matter also clumps on a larger scale in the so-called 'cosmic web', in which galaxies, embedded in filaments stretching between voids, create a gigantic wispy structure." These filaments are millions of light years long and constitute the skeleton of the Universe: galaxies gather around them, and immense galaxy clusters form at their intersections, lurking like giant spiders waiting for more matter to digest. Scientists are struggling to determine how they swirl into existence. Although massive filamentary structures have been often observed at relatively small distances from us, solid proof of their existence in the more distant Universe has been lacking until now. The team led by Tanaka discovered a large structure around a distant cluster of galaxies in images they obtained earlier. They have now used two major ground-based telescopes to study this structure in greater detail, measuring the distances from Earth of over 150 galaxies, and, hence, obtaining a three-dimensional view of the structure. The spectroscopic observations were performed using the VIMOS instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope and FOCAS on the Subaru Telescope, operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. Thanks to these and other observations, the astronomers were able to make a real demographic study of this structure, and have identified several groups of galaxies surrounding the main galaxy cluster. They could distinguish tens of such clumps, each typically ten times as massive as our own Milky Way galaxy - and some as much as a thousand times more massive - while they estimate that the mass of the cluster amounts to at least ten thousand times the mass of the Milky Way. Some of the clumps are feeling the fatal gravitational pull of the cluster, and will eventually fall into it. "This is the first time that we have observed such a rich and prominent structure in the distant Universe," says Tanaka. "We can now move from demography to sociology and study how the properties of galaxies depend on their environment, at a time when the Universe was only two thirds of its present age." The filament is located about 6.7 billion light-years away from us and extends over at least 60 million light-years. The newly uncovered structure does probably extend further, beyond the field probed by the team, and hence future observations have already been planned to obtain a definite measure of its size. More information This research was presented in a paper published as a letter in the Astronomy & Astrophysics Journal: The spectroscopically confirmed huge cosmic structure at z = 0.55, by Tanaka et al. The team is composed of Masayuki Tanaka (ESO), Alexis Finoguenov (Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany and University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA), Tadayuki Kodama (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo, Japan), Yusei Koyama (Department of Astronomy, University of Tokyo, Japan), Ben Maughan (H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, UK) and Fumiaki Nakata (Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan). ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 42-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Physical activity is inversely associated with multimorbidity in elderly men: results from the KORA-Age Augsburg Study.

PubMed

Autenrieth, Christine S; Kirchberger, Inge; Heier, Margit; Zimmermann, Anja-Kerstin; Peters, Annette; Döring, Angela; Thorand, Barbara

2013-07-01

Physical activity is suggested to play a key role in the prevention of several chronic diseases. However, data on the association between physical activity and multimorbidity are lacking. Using data from 1007 men and women aged 65-94 years who participated in the population-based KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg)-Age project conducted in Augsburg/Germany and two adjacent counties in 2008/09, 13 chronic conditions were identified, and physical activity scores were calculated based on the self-reported physical activity scale for the elderly (PASE). Multivariable sex-specific logistic regression was applied to determine the association of the continuous physical activity score with multimorbidity (≥ 2 out of 13 diseases). Physical activity (mean PASE score±SD) was higher in men (125.1 ± 59.2) than in women (112.2 ± 49.2). Among men, the odds ratio (OR) for multimorbidity was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.60-0.90) for a 1 standard deviation increase of the PASE score. No significant results could be observed for women (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.83-1.33). We demonstrated an inverse association between physical activity and multimorbidity among men. Further prospective studies have to confirm the temporality of effects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of self-reported physical activity in children and adolescents before and during cancer treatment.

PubMed

Götte, Miriam; Kesting, Sabine; Winter, Corinna; Rosenbaum, Dieter; Boos, Joachim

2014-06-01

Physical activities are important for the development of children and increasing evidence suggests beneficial effects of physical activity promotion during cancer treatment as well. The present study aimed at evaluating the current need of exercise interventions in pediatric cancer patients undergoing acute treatment and identifying risk factors for inactivity. Data about self-reported physical activity before and during treatment was collected in a cross-sectional design with the physical activity questionnaire from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) in a modified cancer specific version. One hundred thirty pediatric cancer patients with various entities were questioned 3.0 ± 1.6 months since diagnosis. Patients' activity levels before diagnosis mainly matched reference values for healthy children in Germany. Reductions during treatment affected all dimensions of daily physical activities and minutes of exercise per week decreased significantly (P < 0.001). Largest reductions of physical activities during treatment were identified for bone tumor patients and in-patient stays. Due to the well known importance of physical activity during childhood and the identified risk of inactivity during cancer treatment, supervised exercise interventions should be implemented into acute treatment phase to enhance activity levels and ensure a continuously support by qualified exercise professionals. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

PREFACE: Proceedings of the 11th European Workshop of the European Microbeam Analysis Society (EMAS) on Modern Developments and Applications in Microbeam Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-07-01

This volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering contains papers from the 11th Workshop of the European Microbeam Analysis Society (EMAS) on Modern Developments and Applications in Microbeam Analysis which took place from 10-14 May 2009 in the Hotel Faltom, Gdynia, Poland. The primary aim of this series of workshops is to assess the state-of-the-art and reliability of microbeam analysis techniques. The workshops also provide a forum where students and young scientists starting out on careers in microbeam analysis can meet and discuss with the established experts. The workshops have a very distinct format comprising invited plenary lectures by internationally recognized experts, poster presentations by the participants and round table discussions on the key topics led by specialists in the field. For this workshop EMAS invited speakers on the following topics: EPMA, EBSD, fast energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, three-dimensional microanalysis, and micro-and nanoanalysis in the natural resources industry. The continuing relevance of the EMAS workshops and the high regard in which they are held internationally can be seen from the fact that 69 posters from 16 countries were on display at the meeting and that the participants came from as far away as Japan and the USA. A number of participants with posters were invited to give short oral presentations of their work in two dedicated sessions. As at previous workshops there was also a special oral session for young scientists. Small cash prizes were awarded for the three best posters and for the best oral presentation by a young scientist. The prize for the best poster went to the contribution by G Tylko, S Dubchak, Z Banach and K Turnau, entitled Monte Carlo simulation for an assessment of standard validity and quantitative X-ray microanalysis in plant. Joanna Wojewoda-Budka of the Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Krakow, received the prize for the best oral presentation by a young scientist for her talk entitled Application of focussed ion beam technique for TEM multilayer materials examination. This volume contains the full texts of 5 of the invited plenary lectures and of 24 papers on related topics originating from the posters presented at the workshop. All the papers have been subjected to peer review by a least two referees. January 2009 Acknowledgements On behalf of the European Microbeam Analysis Society I would like to thank all the invited speakers, session chairs and members of the discussion panels for making the meeting such a great success. Special thanks go to Michal Zelechower and Luc Van't dack who directed the organisation of the workshop giving freely of their time and talents. As was the case for previous workshops, the EMAS board in corpore was responsible for the scientific programme. I am particularly grateful to the exhibiting companies and sustaining members for their generous support of the workshop. In this context I would like particularly to mention: Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice Gdansk University of Technology Polish Society for Microscopy (PTMi), Krakow Polish Academy of Sciences - Materials Science Committee, Warsaw Polish Academy of Sciences - Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Krakow Polish Academy of Sciences - Institute of Physics, Warsaw AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow Warsaw University of Technology Below is a combined list of the exhibiting companies and sponsors of the workshop: Ametek GmbH (Germany) Blackwell Publishing Ltd (UK) Bruker AXS Microanalysis GmbH (Germany) Cameca SA (France) Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH (Germany) COMEF Aparatura Naukowo-Badawcza (Poland) EU-JRC: Inst. for Transuranium Elements (Germany) FEI Company (The Netherlands) IfG - Institute for Scientific Instruments GmbH (Germany) Jeol (Europe) SAS (France) John Wiley & Sons (UK) Olympus Soft Imaging Solutions GmbH (Germany) Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis Ltd (UK) Probe Software, Inc. (USA) Roenalytic GmbH (Germany) Target-Messtechnik (Germany) Thermo Fisher Scientific BV (The Netherlands) Clive T Walker EMAS President János L Lábár Research Institute for Technical Physics and Materials Science, HAS, Konkoly-Thege M. u. 29-33, HU-1121 Budapest, Hungary Clive T Walker European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, P.O. Box 2340, DE-76125 Karlsruhe, Germany Michal Zelechower Silesian University of Technology, Department of Materials Science, ul. Krasinskiego 8, PL-40019 Katowice, Poland Pawel Zieba Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, ul. W. Reymonta 25, PL-30059 Krakow, Poland

a Passage to the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1995-11-01

Exciting Week Ahead for Winners of Unique Astronomy Contest Following the very successful events of 1993 and 1994 [1], ESO again opens its doors for an `educational adventure' next week. It takes place within the framework of the `Third European Week for Scientific and Technological Culture', initiated and supported by the European Commission. On Tuesday, November 14, 1995, about forty 16-18 year old students and their teachers will converge towards Munich from all corners of Europe. They are the happy winners of a Europe-wide astronomy contest (`Europe Towards the Stars') that took place during the summer and early autumn. Their prize is a free, week-long stay at the Headquarters of the European Southern Observatory. During this time they will work with professional astronomers and get a hands-on experience within modern astronomy and astrophysics at one of the world's foremost international centres. In particular, the participants will be exposed to the scientific method by carrying through a research programme of their own, all the way from conception to interpretation of the data. The culmination of the stay will be the opportunity to perform remote observations via a satellite link with two major telescopes at the ESO La Silla observatory in Chile, including the very advanced 3.5-metre New Technology Telescope (NTT). The European Contest This year's EU/ESO programme was devised as a contest between joint teams of secondary school students and their teachers. The teams had to choose between four different subjects requiring either practical or theoretical work, and all with strong scientific and technological components. One subject was to devise an observational programme with an existing telescope and instrument and to discuss the resulting data in order to arrive at a scientific conclusion. This was the preferred subject by many teams. For instance, the winning German team observed the moons of Jupiter and the Danish team studied a star cluster in order to derive its age and other characteristics. The second subject, to build and test an astronomical instrument, posed a welcome challenge to teams with a particular interest in technology. Some of the instruments were quite advanced; in France, for instance, the winning team built a working solar radio interferometer. In the same direction, but with a more theoretical touch, some teams chose the third subject, to design on paper an instrument for a future space mission to the outer Solar System for the exploration of Pluto and the newly discovered Transneptunian Objects. The last subject, which secured the first prize for the Dutch winning team, concerned the study of a hypothetical, stable planetary system around another star, its properties and the technical requirements for observing this system from the Earth. With the recent discovery of a planet around the nearby star 51 Pegasi, this theme has unexpectedly gained added relevance. During the past few weeks, the work by the teams was evaluated by specially established, national juries, consisting of scientists, educators and ministerial representatives (addresses below). The establishment of the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE) last year contributed to the Europe-wide interest in these matters and many EAAE members have been involved in the present contest, as participants or in its organisation. The national winners have now been selected; their names are listed below. In most countries, the award ceremonies have already taken place. Media Coverage The main event, i.e. the stay of the winning teams at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany) from November 14 - 20, 1995, will be covered by the various media in the appropriate ways. More information, including a detailed programme of the many (day and night) activities during this event, may be obtained at request from the ESO Education and Public Relations Department at the Headquarters. In this connection, ESO is also pleased to invite the media to a concluding Press Conference , during which the outcome of this unique event will be summarized by the participants and the organisers: Monday, November 20, 1995, 15:30 pm, at the ESO Headquarters, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany List of National First-Prize Winners Belgium: Mr. Freddy Allemeersch (Teacher), Mr. Pieter De Ceuninck, Mr. Jeroen Staelens (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwecollege, Brugge) Denmark: Mr. Joern C. Olsen, Mr. Henrik Struckmann, Mr. Uffe A. Hansen, Mr. Mogens Winther (Teacher) (Soenderborg Amtsgymnasium) Finland: Mr. Reima Eresmaa, Ms. Laura Elina Nykyri, Ms. Reetamaija Janhonen (Cygnaeues-Lukeo, Jyvaeskylae and Jyvaeskylaen Lyseon Lukeo) France: Mr. Rene Cavaroz (Teacher), Mr. Vincent Hardy, Mr. Antoine Lesuffleur (Lycee Chartier, Bayeux) Germany: Ms. Dorothee Barth, Mr. Walter Czech (Teacher), Mr. Uwe Kranz, Ms. Karin Wieland (Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Baden-Wuerttemberg) Greece: Ms. Agni Ioannidi, Ms. Elena Katifori, Mr. Vassilis Samiotis, Mr. Vassillos Tzotzes (Teacher) (Second Varvakelo Experimental Lyceum, Athens) Ireland: Mr. Declan Maccuarta (Teacher), Mr. Colm Mcloughlin (St. Peter's College, Wexford, Co. Wexford) Italy: Mr. Pasquale Ciarletta, Ms. Francesca D'elia, Ms. Ada Fortugna (Teacher), Mr. Alfredo Pudano (Liceo Scientifico `Leonardo da Vinci', Reggio Calabria) The Netherlands: Mr. Alex De Beer, Mr. Klaas Huijbregts, Mr. Ruud Nellen (Norbertuscollege, Rosendaal) Spain: Mr. Aritz Atela Aio, Mr. Julen Sarasola Manich (Teacher), Mr. Jon Huertas Rodriquez (Txorierri Batxilergoko Institua, Derio Bizkaia) Sweden: Mr. Rahman Amanullah, Mr. Kjell L. Bonander (Teacher), Mr. Tomas Oppelstrup, Ms. Christin Wiedemann (Saltsjoebadens Samskola, Saltsjoebaden) United Kingdom: Mr. Michael Ching, Dr. Richard Field (Teacher) (Oundle School, Peterborough) National Committees Further information about the national contests may be obtained from the National Committees: Belgium: Dr. C. Sterken, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Campus Ofenplein, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Tel. 0032-2-6293469, Fax 0032-9-3623976, E-mail csterken@is1.vub.ac.be Denmark: Mr. B. F. Joergensen, Tycho Brahe Planetariet, Gl. Kongevej 10, DK-1610 Copenhagen V, Tel. 0045-33-144888, Fax 0045-33-142888, E-mail tycho@inet.uni-c.dk Finland: Mr. M. Hotakainen, Taehtitieteellinen Yhdistys Ursa, Laivanvarustajankatu 9C 54, FIN-00140 Helsinki, Tel. 00358-0-174048, Fax 00358-0-657728 France: Mr. B. Pellequer, Geospace d'Aniane, Boite Postale 22, F-34150 Aniane, Tel. 0033-6-7034949, Fax 0033-6-7752864 Germany: Dr. K.-H. Lotze, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet, Max-Wien-Platz 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany, Tel. +49-3641-635904/636654, Fax +49-3641-636728 Greece: Dr. D. Simopoulos, Eugenides Foundation, Astronomy Department, 387 Sygrou Avenue, Palaio Faliro, GR-175 64 Athens, Tel. 0030-1-941-1181, Fax 0030-1-941-7372 Ireland: Dr. I. Elliot, Dunsink Observatory (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), Castleknock, Dublin 15, Tel. 00353-1- 838-7911/7959, Fax 00353-1-8387090, E-mail ie@dunsink.dias.ie Italy: Dr. B. Monsignori Fossi, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, I-50125 Florence, Tel. 0039-55-2752246, Fax 0039-55-220039, E-mail bmonsignori@arcetri.astro.it The Netherlands: Dr. M. Drummen, Stichting `De Koepel', Zonnenburg 2, NL-3512 NL Utrecht, Tel. 0031-30-311360, Fax 0031-30-342852, E-mail dekoepel@knoware.nl Spain: Dr. A. Sanchez/Dr. T. Fernandez, Planetario de Madrid, Parque Tierno Galvan, E-28045 Madrid, Tel. 0034-1-4673578, Fax 0034-1-4681154, E-mail tfc@vilspa.esa.es Sweden: Dr. K. Loden, Stockholms Observatorium, S-133 36 Saltsjoebaden, Tel. 0046-8-164454, Fax 0046-8-7174719, E-mail lodenk@astro.su.se United Kingdom: Dr. A. M. Cohen, c/o The Association for Astronomy Education, 9 Hurst Lane, Bollington, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 5LN, England Notes: [1] See ESO Press Releases 08/93 of 5 November 1993 and 17/94

Update on Germany: Now Eastern Germany Gets a Free Press. Special Report SO 8, 1991.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyn, Hermann

Since the former East German Communist State--the German Democratic Republic (GDR)--was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany, the federal constitution has been valid throughout the whole of Germany, guaranteeing press freedom and ending press censorship in eastern Germany. In October 1989, the GDR had 39 daily newspapers (many…

Sport in Germany. Basis-Info: Social Policy. In-Press.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beitz, Steffen

This report describes sports in Germany, explaining that sport is part of Germany's culture. Popular sports are enjoyed by both the public and private sector. Germany has a well-developed club and association sector. One in three Germans belongs to a sports organization. A major feature of sport in Germany is its autonomy. Popular sports begin in…

First results of the ITER-relevant negative ion beam test facility ELISE (invited).

PubMed

Fantz, U; Franzen, P; Heinemann, B; Wünderlich, D

2014-02-01

An important step in the European R&D roadmap towards the neutral beam heating systems of ITER is the new test facility ELISE (Extraction from a Large Ion Source Experiment) for large-scale extraction from a half-size ITER RF source. The test facility was constructed in the last years at Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik Garching and is now operational. ELISE is gaining early experience of the performance and operation of large RF-driven negative hydrogen ion sources with plasma illumination of a source area of 1 × 0.9 m(2) and an extraction area of 0.1 m(2) using 640 apertures. First results in volume operation, i.e., without caesium seeding, are presented.

Development and tests of molybdenum armored copper components for MITICA ion source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavei, Mauro; Böswirth, Bernd; Greuner, Henri; Marcuzzi, Diego; Rizzolo, Andrea; Valente, Matteo

2016-02-01

In order to prevent detrimental material erosion of components impinged by back-streaming positive D or H ions in the megavolt ITER injector and concept advancement beam source, a solution based on explosion bonding technique has been identified for producing a 1 mm thick molybdenum armour layer on copper substrate, compatible with ITER requirements. Prototypes have been recently manufactured and tested in the high heat flux test facility Garching Large Divertor Sample Test Facility (GLADIS) to check the capability of the molybdenum-copper interface to withstand several thermal shock cycles at high power density. This paper presents both the numerical fluid-dynamic analyses of the prototypes simulating the test conditions in GLADIS as well as the experimental results.

The relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty. Empirical evidence for the newest EU countries.

PubMed

Viorica, Daniela; Jemna, Danut; Pintilescu, Carmen; Asandului, Mircea

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper is to verify the hypotheses presented in the literature on the causal relationship between inflation and its uncertainty, for the newest EU countries. To ensure the robustness of the results, in the study four models for inflation uncertainty are estimated in parallel: ARCH (1), GARCH (1,1), EGARCH (1,1,1) and PARCH (1,1,1). The Granger method is used to test the causality between two variables. The working hypothesis is that groups of countries with a similar political and economic background in 1990 and are likely to be characterized by the same causal relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty. Empirical results partially confirm this hypothesis. C22, E31, E37.

Determination of Trace Concentration in TMD Detectors using PGAA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomandl, I.; Viererbl, L.; Kudějová, P.; Lahodová, Z.; Klupák, V.; Fikrle, M.

2015-05-01

Transmutation detectors could be alternative to the traditional activation detector method for neutron fluence dosimetry at power nuclear reactors. This new method require an isotopically highly-sensitive, non-destructive in sense of compactness as well as isotopic content, precise and standardly used analytical method for trace concentration determination. The capability of Prompt Gamma-ray Activation Analysis (PGAA) for determination of trace concentrations of transmuted stable nuclides in the metallic foils of Ni, Au, Cu and Nb, which were irradiated for 21 days in the reactor core at the LVR-15 research reactor in Řež, is reported. The PGAA measurements of these activation foils were performed at the PGAA facility at Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRMII) in Garching.

Development and tests of molybdenum armored copper components for MITICA ion source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pavei, Mauro, E-mail: mauro.pavei@igi.cnr.it; Marcuzzi, Diego; Rizzolo, Andrea

2016-02-15

In order to prevent detrimental material erosion of components impinged by back-streaming positive D or H ions in the megavolt ITER injector and concept advancement beam source, a solution based on explosion bonding technique has been identified for producing a 1 mm thick molybdenum armour layer on copper substrate, compatible with ITER requirements. Prototypes have been recently manufactured and tested in the high heat flux test facility Garching Large Divertor Sample Test Facility (GLADIS) to check the capability of the molybdenum-copper interface to withstand several thermal shock cycles at high power density. This paper presents both the numerical fluid-dynamic analysesmore » of the prototypes simulating the test conditions in GLADIS as well as the experimental results.« less

Development and tests of molybdenum armored copper components for MITICA ion source.

PubMed

Pavei, Mauro; Böswirth, Bernd; Greuner, Henri; Marcuzzi, Diego; Rizzolo, Andrea; Valente, Matteo

2016-02-01

In order to prevent detrimental material erosion of components impinged by back-streaming positive D or H ions in the megavolt ITER injector and concept advancement beam source, a solution based on explosion bonding technique has been identified for producing a 1 mm thick molybdenum armour layer on copper substrate, compatible with ITER requirements. Prototypes have been recently manufactured and tested in the high heat flux test facility Garching Large Divertor Sample Test Facility (GLADIS) to check the capability of the molybdenum-copper interface to withstand several thermal shock cycles at high power density. This paper presents both the numerical fluid-dynamic analyses of the prototypes simulating the test conditions in GLADIS as well as the experimental results.

Are stock market returns related to the weather effects? Empirical evidence from Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Tsangyao; Nieh, Chien-Chung; Yang, Ming Jing; Yang, Tse-Yu

2006-05-01

In this study, we employ a recently developed econometric technique of the threshold model with the GJR-GARCH process on error terms to investigate the relationships between weather factors and stock market returns in Taiwan using daily data for the period of 1 July 1997-22 October 2003. The major weather factors studied include temperature, humidity, and cloud cover. Our empirical evidence shows that temperature and cloud cover are two important weather factors that affect the stock returns in Taiwan. Our empirical findings further support the previous arguments that advocate the inclusion of economically neutral behavioral variables in asset pricing models. These results also have significant implications for individual investors and financial institutions planning to invest in the Taiwan stock market.

Volatility Spillover in Chinese Steel Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Wen

2018-03-01

This paper examines volatility spillover in Chinese steel markets by comparing spillover effects before and after steel futures market established and finds some interesting change. Volatility spillover method based on multi-GARCH model are proposed. The results show that there is significant proof for spillover effects from B2B electronic market to spot market, and two-way effects between futures and spot market. Market policy planners and practitioners could make decisions according to the master of spillovers. We also find that B2B e-market and futures market can both provide efficient protection against steel price volatility risk, B2B e-market offer a broad-based platform for trading steel commodities over time and space since e-market role in information flow process is dominant.

Time trends in type 2 diabetes patients' disease management and outcomes: evidence from two KORA surveys in Germany.

PubMed

Schunk, M; Schweikert, B; Gapp, O; Reitmeir, P; Meisinger, C; Mielck, A; Holle, R

2009-02-01

To explore time trends in diabetes management and intermediate health outcomes of people with type 2 diabetes, data from two population-based survey studies were compared. The surveys were conducted in the Augsburg region of Southern Germany in 1997/98 and in 2004/05, and included physical examinations, interviews, self-administered questionnaires and laboratory tests. Data from 334 participants aged 40-84 were analysed, including a longitudinal sub-sample of 50 persons. Results show significant time trends towards improvements over the seven year period. Controlling for age, sex, education and duration of diabetes, people felt better informed about diabetes (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.87; 95% CI: 1.12, 3.14) and stated greater adherence to the treatment plan (OR 4.42; CI: 2.62, 7.45) as well as higher participation in diabetes education programmes (OR 2.20; CI: 1.44, 3.38). Mean haemoglobin A1c levels decreased by -0.97% from 7.3% to 6.3% (CI:-0.66%, -1.28%). Physical activity (> or =1 h/week) was more frequent (OR 2.75; CI: 1.65, 4.59), although Body Mass Index increased by 1.43 kg/m (2) (CI: 0.86, 2.00). The positive changes in disease management and metabolic outcomes for type 2 diabetic patients between 1997/98 and 2004/05 indicate a shift towards greater patient involvement in diabetes care and possibly more efficient medical management practices.

The Mother Centers in Germany--Empowerment Strategies for Community Women in Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaeckel, Monika

Mother Centers are a grassroots self-help movement in Germany that help stay-at-home mothers break through the isolation they experience in German society when they have children and are not available for full-time employment. There are about 300 mother center projects currently in Germany, including 40 in the former East Germany. The programs…

Conference scene: DGVS spring conference 2009.

PubMed

Kolligs, Frank Thomas

2009-10-01

The 3rd annual DGVS Spring Conference of the German Society for Gastroenterology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Verdauungs- und Stoffwechselkrankheiten) was held at the Seminaris Campus Hotel in Berlin, Germany, on 8-9 May, 2009. The conference was organized by Roland Schmid and Matthias Ebert from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. The central theme of the meeting was 'translational gastrointestinal oncology: towards personalized medicine and individualized therapy'. The conference covered talks on markers for diagnosis, screening and surveillance of colorectal cancer, targets for molecular therapy, response prediction in clinical oncology, development and integration of molecular imaging in gastrointestinal oncology and translational research in clinical trial design. Owing to the broad array of topics and limitations of space, this article will focus on biomarkers, response prediction and the integration of biomarkers into clinical trials. Presentations mentioned in this summary were given by Matthias Ebert (Technical University of Munich, Germany), Esmeralda Heiden (Epigenomics, Berlin, Germany), Frank Kolligs (University of Munich, Germany), Florian Lordick (University of Heidelberg, Germany), Hans Jorgen Nielsen (University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Anke Reinacher-Schick (University of Bochum, Germany), Christoph Röcken (University of Berlin, Germany), Wolff Schmiegel (University of Bochum, Germany) and Thomas Seufferlein (University of Halle, Germany).

PREFACE: XXXVI Symposium on Nuclear Physics (Cocoyoc 2013)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrón-Palos, Libertad; Morales-Agiss, Irving; Martínez-Quiroz, Enrique

2014-03-01

logo The XXXVI Symposium on Nuclear Physics, organized by the Division of Nuclear Physics of the Mexican Physical Society, took place from 7-10 January, 2013. As it is customary, the Symposium was held at the Hotel Hacienda Cocoyoc, in the state of Morelos, Mexico. Conference photograph This international venue with many years of tradition was attended by outstanding physicists, some of them already regulars to this meeting and others who joined us for the first time; a total of 45 attendees from different countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico and the United States). A variety of topics related to nuclear physics (nuclear reactions, radioactive beams, nuclear structure, fundamental neutron physics, sub-nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics, among others) were presented in 26 invited talks and 10 contributed posters. Local Organizing Committee Libertad Barrón-Palos (IF-UNAM)) Enrique Martínez-Quíroz (ININ)) Irving Morales-Agiss (ICN-UNAM)) International Advisory Committee Osvaldo Civitarese (UNLP, Argentina) Jerry P Draayer (LSU, USA)) Alfredo Galindo-Uribarri (ORNL, USA)) Paulo Gomes (UFF, Brazil)) Piet Van Isacker (GANIL, France)) James J Kolata (UND, USA)) Reiner Krücken (TRIUMF, Canada)) Jorge López (UTEP, USA)) Stuart Pittel (UD, USA)) W Michael Snow (IU, USA)) Adam Szczepaniak (IU, USA)) Michael Wiescher (UND, USA)) A list of participants is available in the PDF

[Physical activity: results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1)].

PubMed

Krug, S; Jordan, S; Mensink, G B M; Müters, S; Finger, J; Lampert, T

2013-05-01

Regular physical activity can have a positive effect on health at any age. Today's lifestyles, however, can often be characterised as sedentary. Therefore, the promotion of physical activity and sports has become an integral part of public health measures. The representative data of adults aged 18 to 79 years in Germany obtained from the "German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults" (DEGS1) provide an overview of self-estimated current physical activity behaviour. The results show that one third of the adult population claims to pay close attention to reaching a sufficient level of physical activity and one fourth participates in sports for at least 2 h/week on a regular basis. Thus, the percentage of adults regularly engaged in sports has increased compared to the previous "German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998". Still, four out of five adults do not achieve at least 2.5 h/week of moderate-intensity physical activity as recommended by the World Health Organisation. Consequently, future individual-level and population-level interventions should focus on target group-specific measures while continuing to promote regular physical activity in all segments of the population. An English full-text version of this article is available at SpringerLink as supplemental.

Introduction: Cardiovascular physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wessel, Niels; Kurths, Jürgen; Ditto, William; Bauernschmitt, Robert

2007-03-01

The number of patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases increases unproportionally high with the increase of the human population and aging, leading to very high expenses in the public health system. Therefore, the challenge of cardiovascular physics is to develop high-sophisticated methods which are able to, on the one hand, supplement and replace expensive medical devices and, on the other hand, improve the medical diagnostics with decreasing the patient's risk. Cardiovascular physics-which interconnects medicine, physics, biology, engineering, and mathematics-is based on interdisciplinary collaboration of specialists from the above scientific fields and attempts to gain deeper insights into pathophysiology and treatment options. This paper summarizes advances in cardiovascular physics with emphasis on a workshop held in Bad Honnef, Germany, in May 2005. The meeting attracted an interdisciplinary audience and led to a number of papers covering the main research fields of cardiovascular physics, including data analysis, modeling, and medical application. The variety of problems addressed by this issue underlines the complexity of the cardiovascular system. It could be demonstrated in this Focus Issue, that data analyses and modeling methods from cardiovascular physics have the ability to lead to significant improvements in different medical fields. Consequently, this Focus Issue of Chaos is a status report that may invite all interested readers to join the community and find competent discussion and cooperation partners.

Pathways from fear of falling to quality of life: the mediating effect of the self-concept of health and physical independence.

PubMed

Hsu, Yawen; Alfermann, Dorothee; Lu, Frank J H; Lin, Linda L

2013-01-01

Fear of falling leads to many adverse consequences and may compromise the quality of life of older adults. Psychological factors are potential mediators between the fear of falling and quality of life, but have yet to be explored in detail. This study presents results from examining the mediating effect of the self-concept of health and physical independence. Data from Western and Eastern countries were compared. Concerns about falling, the level of participation in physical activities, the self-concept of health and physical independence, and health-related quality of life were measured using samples from Taiwan (n = 193) and Germany (n = 182). Multiple regression models were used to test the mediating effects. The relationship between fear of falling and quality of life was partially mediated through participation in physical activities and the self-concept of health and physical independence in both the Taiwanese and German samples. In particular, the self-concept of health and physical independence of the Taiwanese sample resulted in the strongest mediating effect. Potential mediating mechanisms through both participation in physical activities and the self-concept of health and physical independence provide useful information for understanding related theories and for explicating interventions. Cultural factors should also be accounted for when conducting research and programs related to the fear of falling.

A Population-Based Intervention for the Prevention of Falls and Fractures in Home Dwelling People 65 Years and Older in South Germany: Protocol

PubMed Central

Rapp, Kilian; Küpper, Michaela; Becker, Clemens; Fischer, Torben; Büchele, Gisela; Benzinger, Petra

2014-01-01

Background Falls and fall-related injuries pose a major threat to older peoples’ health, and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In the course of demographic changes, development and implementation of fall prevention strategies have been recognized as an urgent public health challenge. Various risk factors for falls and a number of effective interventions have been recognized. A substantial proportion of falls occur for people who are neither frail nor at high risk. Therefore, population-based approaches reaching the entire older population are needed. Objective The objective of the study presented is the development, implementation, and evaluation of a population-based intervention for the prevention of falls and fall-related injuries in a medium sized city in Germany. Methods The study is designed as a population-based approach. The intervention community is a mid sized city named Reutlingen in southern Germany with a population of 112,700 people. All community dwelling inhabitants 65 years and older are addressed. There are two main measures that are defined: (1) increase of overall physical activity, and (2) reduction of modifiable risk factors for falls such as deficits in strength and balance, home and environmental hazards, impaired vision, unsafe footwear, and improper use of assistive devices. The implementation strategies are developed in a participatory community planning process. These might include, for example, training of professionals and volunteers, improved availability of exercise classes, and education and raising awareness via newspaper, radio, or lectures. Results The study starts in September 2010 and ends in December 2013. It is evaluated primarily by process evaluation as well as by telephone survey. Conclusions Physical activity as a key message entails multiple positive effects with benefits on a range of geriatric symptoms. The strength of the design is the development of implementation strategies in a participatory community planning. The problems that we anticipate are the dependency on the stakeholders’ willingness to participate, and the difficulty of evaluating population-based programs by hard end points. PMID:24686959

PREFACE: International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP 2012)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ernst, Michael; Düllmann, Dirk; Rind, Ofer; Wong, Tony

2012-12-01

The International Conference on Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP) was held at New York University on 21- 25 May 2012. CHEP is a major series of international conferences for physicists and computing professionals from the High Energy and Nuclear Physics community and related scientific and technical fields. The CHEP conference provides a forum to exchange information on computing progress and needs for the community, and to review recent, ongoing and future activities. CHEP conferences are held at roughly 18-month intervals, alternating between Europe, Asia, the Americas and other parts of the world. Recent CHEP conferences have been held in Taipei, Taiwan (2010); Prague, Czech Republic (2009); Victoria, Canada (2007); Mumbai, India (2006); Interlaken, Switzerland (2004); San Diego, United States (2003); Beijing, China (2001); Padova, Italy (2000). CHEP 2012 was organized by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and co-sponsored by New York University. The organizational structure for CHEP consists of an International Advisory Committee (IAC) which sets the overall themes of the conference, a Program Organizing Committee (POC) that oversees the program content, and a Local Organizing Committee (LOC) that is responsible for local arrangements (lodging, transportation and social events) and conference logistics (registration, program scheduling, conference site selection and conference proceedings). There were over 500 attendees with a program that included plenary sessions of invited speakers, a number of parallel sessions comprising around 125 oral and 425 poster presentations and industrial exhibitions. We thank all the presenters for the excellent scientific content of their contributions to the conference. Conference tracks covered topics on Online Computing, Event Processing, Distributed Processing and Analysis on Grids and Clouds, Computer Facilities, Production Grids and Networking, Software Engineering, Data Stores and Databases and Collaborative Tools. We would like to thank Brookhaven Science Associates, New York University, Blue Nest Events, the International Advisory Committee, the Program Committee and the Local Organizing Committee members for all their support and assistance. We also would like to acknowledge the support provided by the following sponsors: ACEOLE, Data Direct Networks, Dell, the European Middleware Initiative and Nexsan. Special thanks to the Program Committee members for their careful choice of conference contributions and enormous effort in reviewing and editing the conference proceedings. The next CHEP conference will be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 14-18 October 2013. Conference Chair Michael Ernst (BNL) Program Committee Daniele Bonacorsi, University of Bologna, Italy Simone Campana, CERN, Switzerland Philippe Canal, Fermilab, United States Sylvain Chapeland, CERN, Switzerland Dirk Düllmann, CERN, Switzerland Johannes Elmsheuser, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany Maria Girone, CERN, Switzerland Steven Goldfarb, University of Michigan, United States Oliver Gutsche, Fermilab, United States Benedikt Hegner, CERN, Switzerland Andreas Heiss, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany Peter Hristov, CERN, Switzerland Tony Johnson, SLAC, United States David Lange, LLNL, United States Adam Lyon, Fermilab, United States Remigius Mommsen, Fermilab, United States Axel Naumann, CERN, Switzerland Niko Neufeld, CERN, Switzerland Rolf Seuster, TRIUMF, Canada Local Organizing Committee Maureen Anderson, John De Stefano, Mariette Faulkner, Ognian Novakov, Ofer Rind, Tony Wong (BNL) Kyle Cranmer (NYU) International Advisory Committee Mohammad Al-Turany, GSI, Germany Lothar Bauerdick, Fermilab, United States Ian Bird, CERN, Switzerland Dominique Boutigny, IN2P3, France Federico Carminati, CERN, Switzerland Marco Cattaneo, CERN, Switzerland Gang Chen, Institute of High Energy Physics, China Peter Clarke, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom Sridhara Dasu, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States Günter Duckeck, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany Richard Dubois, SLAC, United States Michael Ernst, BNL, United States Ian Fisk, Fermilab, United States Gonzalo Merino, PIC, Spain John Gordon, STFC-RAL, United Kingdom Volker Gülzow, DESY, Germany Frederic Hemmer, CERN, Switzerland Viatcheslav Ilyin, Moscow State University, Russia Nobuhiko Katayama, KEK, Japan Alexei Klimentov, BNL, United States Simon C. Lin, Academia Sinica, Taiwan Milos Lokajícek, FZU Prague, Czech Republic David Malon, ANL, United States Pere Mato Vila, CERN, Switzerland Mauro Morandin, INFN CNAF, Italy Harvey Newman, Caltech, United States Farid Ould-Saada, University of Oslo, Norway Ruth Pordes, Fermilab, United States Hiroshi Sakamoto, University of Tokyo, Japan Alberto Santoro, UERJ, Brazil Jim Shank, Boston University, United States Dongchul Son, Kyungpook National University, South Korea Reda Tafirout, TRIUMF, Canada Stephen Wolbers, Fermilab, United States Frank Wuerthwein, UCSD, United States

Fbis report. Science and technology: Economic review, September 19, 1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-09-19

;Partial Contents: Germany: Braunschweig University Tests Organic Semiconductors; France: Ariane-5 Tests Suspended; First Tests in Euro-Russian RECORD Rocket Engine Program; France: Renault`s Multi-Model Assembly Line Presented; Germany: New High Speed Trains Under Development; France: Matra Test Drone, Missile Systems; France: Experimental Project for Automobile Recycling; Germany: Survey of Flexible Manufacturing Developments; Germany: Heinrich Hertz Institute Produces Polymer-Based Circuit; French Firms Introduce Computerized Control Room for Nuclear Plants; German Machine Tool Industry Calls for Information Technology Projects; Germany: R&D Achievements in Digital HDTV Reported; Hungary: Secondary Telecommunications Networks Described; EU: Mergers in Pharmaceutical Industry Reported; SGS-Thomson Business Performance Analyzed; Germany`s Siemensmore » Invest Heavily in UK Semiconductor Plant.« less

8th International Symposium on Quantum Theory and Symmetries (QTS8)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bijker, Roelof; Krötzsch, Guillermo; Rosas-Ortiz, Óscar; Wolf, Kurt Bernardo

2014-05-01

The Quantum Theory and Symmetries (QTS) international symposia are periodic biannual meetings of the mathematical physics community with special interest in the methods of group theory in their many incarnations, particularly in the symmetries that arise in quantum systems. The QTSs alternate with the International Colloquia on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics since 1999, when Professor Heinz-Dietrich Doebner organized the first one in Goslar, Germany. Subsequent symposia were held in Krakóow, Poland (2001), Cincinnati, USA (2003), Varna, Bulgaria (2005), Valladolid, Spain (2007), Lexington, USA (2009), and Praha, Czech Republic (2011); the eighth QTS was awarded to Mexico (2013), and the next one (2015) will take place in Yerevan, Armenia. Conference photograph Further details, including committees and members, are available in the PDF

Fibre optical spectroscopy and sensing innovation at innoFSPEC Potsdam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haynes, Roger; Reich, Oliver; Rambold, William; Hass, Roland; Janssen, Katja

2010-07-01

In October 2009, an interdisciplinary centre for fibre spectroscopy and sensing, innoFSPEC Potsdam, has been established as joint initiative of the Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam (AIP) and the Physical Chemistry group of Potsdam University (UPPC), Germany. The centre focuses on fundamental research in the two fields of fibre-coupled multi-channel spectroscopy and optical fibre-based sensing. Thanks to its interdisciplinary approach, the complementary methodologies of astrophysics on the one hand, and physical chemistry on the other hand, are expected to spawn synergies that otherwise would not normally become available in more standard research programmes. innoFSPEC Potsdam targets future innovations for next generation astrophysical instrumentation, environmental analysis, manufacturing control and process analysis, medical diagnostics, non-invasive imaging spectroscopy, biopsy, genomics/proteomics, high throughput screening, and related applications.

Reform of health care in Germany

PubMed Central

Hurst, Jeremy W.

1991-01-01

For the past 45 years Germany has had two health care systems: one in the former Federal Republic of Germany and one in the former German Democratic Republic. The system in the Federal Republic was undergoing some important reforms when German reunification took place in October 1990. Now the system in eastern Germany is undergoing a major transformation to bring it more into line with that in western Germany. PMID:10110879

Evaluation of the Vienna APL corrections using reprocessed GNSS series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steigenberger, P.; Dach, R.

2011-12-01

The Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics of the Vienna University of Technology recently started an operational service to provide non-tidal atmospheric pressure loading (APL) corrections. As the series is based on European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) pressure data, it is fully consistent with the Vienna Mapping Function 1 (VMF1) atmospheric delay correction model for microwave measurements. Whereas VMF1 is widely used for, e.g., observations of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), applying APL corrections is not yet a standard nowadays. The Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) - a joint venture between the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB, Bern, Switzerland), the Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo, Wabern, Switzerland), the Federal Office for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany), and the Insitute for Astronomical and Physical Geodesy, TU Muenchen (IAPG, Munich, Germany) - uses a recently generated series of reprocessed multi-GNSS data (considering GPS and GLONASS) to evaluate the APL corrections provided by the Vienna group. The results are also used to investigate the propagation of the APL effect in GNSS-derived results if no corrections are applied.

Development progresses of radio frequency ion source for neutral beam injector in fusion devices.

PubMed

Chang, D H; Jeong, S H; Kim, T S; Park, M; Lee, K W; In, S R

2014-02-01

A large-area RF (radio frequency)-driven ion source is being developed in Germany for the heating and current drive of an ITER device. Negative hydrogen ion sources are the major components of neutral beam injection systems in future large-scale fusion experiments such as ITER and DEMO. RF ion sources for the production of positive hydrogen (deuterium) ions have been successfully developed for the neutral beam heating systems at IPP (Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics) in Germany. The first long-pulse ion source has been developed successfully with a magnetic bucket plasma generator including a filament heating structure for the first NBI system of the KSTAR tokamak. There is a development plan for an RF ion source at KAERI to extract the positive ions, which can be applied for the KSTAR NBI system and to extract the negative ions for future fusion devices such as the Fusion Neutron Source and Korea-DEMO. The characteristics of RF-driven plasmas and the uniformity of the plasma parameters in the test-RF ion source were investigated initially using an electrostatic probe.

The birth of experimental psychology in Germany between psychophysical methods and physiological theories.

PubMed

Sinatra, Maria

2006-01-01

In 1879 Wundt's laboratory of psychology was opened in Leipzig, and it has been the landmark ever since for the beginning of modern experimental psychology. Its founder, Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt, was the first to successfully demarcate the areas of scientific psychology as being distinct from either physiology or philosophy, thus guaranteeing the survival of psychology, which was regarded as an autonomous discipline set upon a secure institutional framework. This paper attempts to clarify the basic facts and concepts related to the roots of scientific psychology in Germany, i.e., the context in which the "Founding Father" worked, as well as of those predecessors who proposed the topics and apparatus of his laboratory. Attention will be paid in particular to the psychophysical methods of Weber and Fechner, especially in regard to colour perception. In this context, an outline is presented of the history of reaction time experiments in astronomy, physiology, and psychology, and of the role played by the scientific instruments. It is shown how the methodology of physics and physiology contributed to the emancipation of scientific psychology and to the formation of its orientation.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Willard, H.F.; Cremers, F.; Mandel, J.L.

A high-quality integrated genetic and physical map of the X chromosome from telomere to telomere, based primarily on YACs formatted with probes and STSs, is increasingly close to reality. At the Fifth International X Chromosome Workshop, organized by A.M. Poustka and D. Schlessinger in Heidelberg, Germany, April 24--27, 1994, substantial progress was recorded on extension and refinement of the physical map, on the integration of genetic and cytogenetic data, on attempts to use the map to direct gene searches, and on nascent large-scale sequencing efforts. This report summarizes physical and genetic mapping information presented at the workshop and/or published sincemore » the reports of the fourth International X Chromosome Workshop. The principle aim of the workshop was to derive a consensus map of the chromosome, in terms of physical contigs emphasizing the location of genes and microsatellite markers. The resulting map is presented and updates previous versions. This report also updates the list of highly informative microsatellites. The text highlights the working state of the map, the genes known to reside on the X, and the progress toward integration of various types of data.« less

7TH International Workshop on Laser Physics (LPHYS󈨦) Berlin, Germany July 6-10, 1998 Program and Book of Abstracts: Volume 2.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-07-01

Russia)"Laser refractometry of biological media" Tuesday, July 7 Chairs: S. Gonchukov (Russia) and D. Sliney (USA) A. Priezzhev (Moscow, Russia) 11.00...application to the evaluation of blood flow. Optics and Laser Technology, Vol.23, No.4, p.205, 1991. LASER REFRACTOMETRY OF BIOLOGICAL MEDIA S.A. Gonchukov...measuring (fast-action). Refractometry is a classical technique. The sensitivity of traditional measuring is usually 10-4-10-7. That’s no bad. But

KSC-06pd0951

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-05-30

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Beluga aircraft parks near the mate/demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility on NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The Beluga carries the European Space Agency's research laboratory, designated Columbus, flown to Kennedy from its manufacturer in Germany. The module will be prepared for delivery to the International Space Station on a future space shuttle mission. Columbus will expand the research facilities of the station and provide researchers with the ability to conduct numerous experiments in the area of life, physical and materials sciences. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Music and physics: a cultural, interdisciplinary history.

PubMed

Jackson, Myles W

2008-06-01

This essay investigates the triangular exchange among physicists, musicians, and instrument makers in nineteenth-century Germany by proffering a material, cultural, and interdisciplinary history. It does so by analyzing four concrete examples of such exchanges: the relationship between musical automata and virtuosi, the reed pipe as an object of music and scientific measurement, the history of standardizing performance pitch, and the attempts to measure musical virtuosity. The goal of the essay is to suggest ways in which interdisciplinary cultural histories, which take the scientific content seriously, can be an improvement upon purely disciplinary histories.

Statistical regularities of Carbon emission trading market: Evidence from European Union allowances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Zeyu; Xiao, Rui; Shi, Haibo; Li, Guihong; Zhou, Xiaofeng

2015-05-01

As an emerging financial market, the trading value of carbon emission trading market has definitely increased. In recent years, the carbon emission allowances have already become a way of investment. They are bought and sold not only by carbon emitters but also by investors. In this paper, we analyzed the price fluctuations of the European Union allowances (EUA) futures in European Climate Exchange (ECX) market from 2007 to 2011. The symmetric and power-law probability density function of return time series was displayed. We found that there are only short-range correlations in price changes (return), while long-range correlations in the absolute of price changes (volatility). Further, detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) approach was applied with focus on long-range autocorrelations and Hurst exponent. We observed long-range power-law autocorrelations in the volatility that quantify risk, and found that they decay much more slowly than the autocorrelation of return time series. Our analysis also showed that the significant cross correlations exist between return time series of EUA and many other returns. These cross correlations exist in a wide range of fields, including stock markets, energy concerned commodities futures, and financial futures. The significant cross-correlations between energy concerned futures and EUA indicate the physical relationship between carbon emission and energy production process. Additionally, the cross-correlations between financial futures and EUA indicate that the speculation behavior may become an important factor that can affect the price of EUA. Finally we modeled the long-range volatility time series of EUA with a particular version of the GARCH process, and the result also suggests long-range volatility autocorrelations.

48 CFR 252.229-7002 - Customs exemptions (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... (Germany). 252.229-7002 Section 252.229-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.229-7002 Customs exemptions (Germany). As prescribed in 229.402-70(b), use the following clause: Customs Exemptions (Germany) (JUN 1997) Imported products required for the...

48 CFR 252.229-7002 - Customs exemptions (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... (Germany). 252.229-7002 Section 252.229-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.229-7002 Customs exemptions (Germany). As prescribed in 229.402-70(b), use the following clause: Customs Exemptions (Germany) (JUN 1997) Imported products required for the...

48 CFR 252.229-7002 - Customs exemptions (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... (Germany). 252.229-7002 Section 252.229-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.229-7002 Customs exemptions (Germany). As prescribed in 229.402-70(b), use the following clause: Customs Exemptions (Germany) (JUN 1997) Imported products required for the...

48 CFR 252.229-7002 - Customs exemptions (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... (Germany). 252.229-7002 Section 252.229-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.229-7002 Customs exemptions (Germany). As prescribed in 229.402-70(b), use the following clause: Customs Exemptions (Germany) (JUN 1997) Imported products required for the...

48 CFR 252.229-7002 - Customs exemptions (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... (Germany). 252.229-7002 Section 252.229-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.229-7002 Customs exemptions (Germany). As prescribed in 229.402-70(b), use the following clause: Customs Exemptions (Germany) (JUN 1997) Imported products required for the...

Power supply system for negative ion source at IPR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gahlaut, Agrajit; Sonara, Jashwant; Parmar, K. G.; Soni, Jignesh; Bandyopadhyay, M.; Singh, Mahendrajit; Bansal, Gourab; Pandya, Kaushal; Chakraborty, Arun

2010-02-01

The first step in the Indian program on negative ion beams is the setting up of Negative ion Experimental Assembly - RF based, where 100 kW of RF power shall be coupled to a plasma source producing plasma of density ~5 × 1012 cm-3, from which ~ 10 A of negative ion beam shall be produced and accelerated to 35 kV, through an electrostatic ion accelerator. The experimental system is modelled similar to the RF based negative ion source, BATMAN presently operating at IPP, Garching, Germany. The mechanical system for Negative Ion Source Assembly is close to the IPP source, remaining systems are designed and procured principally from indigenous sources, keeping the IPP configuration as a base line. High voltage (HV) and low voltage (LV) power supplies are two key constituents of the experimental setup. The HV power supplies for extraction and acceleration are rated for high voltage (~15 to 35kV), and high current (~ 15 to 35A). Other attributes are, fast rate of voltage rise (< 5ms), good regulation (< ±1%), low ripple (< ±2%), isolation (~50kV), low energy content (< 10J) and fast cut-off (< 100μs). The low voltage (LV) supplies required for biasing and providing heating power to the Cesium oven and the plasma grids; have attributes of low ripple, high stability, fast and precise regulation, programmability and remote operation. These power supplies are also equipped with over-voltage, over-current and current limit (CC Mode) protections. Fault diagnostics, to distinguish abnormal rise in currents (breakdown faults) with over-currents is enabled using fast response breakdown and over-current protection scheme. To restrict the fault energy deposited on the ion source, specially designed snubbers are implemented in each (extraction and acceleration) high voltage path to swap the surge energy. Moreover, the monitoring status and control signals from these power supplies are required to be electrically (~ 50kV) isolated from the system. The paper shall present the design basis, topology selection, manufacturing, testing, commissioning, integration and control strategy of these HVPS. A complete power interconnection scheme, which includes all protective devices and measuring devices, low & high voltage power supplies, monitoring and control signals etc. shall also be discussed. The paper also discusses the protocols involved in grounding and shielding, particularly in operating the system in RF environment.

Beryllium abundances along the evolutionary sequence of the open cluster IC 4651 - A new test for hydrodynamical stellar models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smiljanic, R.; Pasquini, L.; Charbonnel, C.; Lagarde, N.

2010-02-01

Context. Previous analyses of lithium abundances in main sequence and red giant stars have revealed the action of mixing mechanisms other than convection in stellar interiors. Beryllium abundances in stars with Li abundance determinations can offer valuable complementary information on the nature of these mechanisms. Aims: Our aim is to derive Be abundances along the whole evolutionary sequence of an open cluster. We focus on the well-studied open cluster IC 4651. These Be abundances are used with previously determined Li abundances, in the same sample stars, to investigate the mixing mechanisms in a range of stellar masses and evolutionary stages. Methods: Atmospheric parameters were adopted from a previous abundance analysis by the same authors. New Be abundances have been determined from high-resolution, high signal-to-noise UVES spectra using spectrum synthesis and model atmospheres. The careful synthetic modeling of the Be lines region is used to calculate reliable abundances in rapidly rotating stars. The observed behavior of Be and Li is compared to theoretical predictions from stellar models including rotation-induced mixing, internal gravity waves, atomic diffusion, and thermohaline mixing. Results: Beryllium is detected in all the main sequence and turn-off sample stars, both slow- and fast-rotating stars, including the Li-dip stars, but is not detected in the red giants. Confirming previous results, we find that the Li dip is also a Be dip, although the depletion of Be is more modest than for Li in the corresponding effective temperature range. For post-main-sequence stars, the Be dilution starts earlier within the Hertzsprung gap than expected from classical predictions, as does the Li dilution. A clear dispersion in the Be abundances is also observed. Theoretical stellar models including the hydrodynamical transport processes mentioned above are able to reproduce all the observed features well. These results show a good theoretical understanding of the Li and Be behavior along the color-magnitude diagram of this intermediate-age cluster for stars more massive than 1.2 M⊙. Based on observations made with the ESO VLT, at Paranal Observatory, under programs 065.L-0427 and 067.D-0126.Current address: European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany.

48 CFR 252.246-7002 - Warranty of construction (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... (Germany). 252.246-7002 Section 252.246-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.246-7002 Warranty of construction (Germany). As prescribed in 246.710(4), use the following clause: Warranty of Construction (Germany) (JUN 1997) (a) In addition to any other...

48 CFR 252.246-7002 - Warranty of construction (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... (Germany). 252.246-7002 Section 252.246-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.246-7002 Warranty of construction (Germany). As prescribed in 246.710(4), use the following clause: Warranty of Construction (Germany) (JUN 1997) (a) In addition to any other...

48 CFR 252.246-7002 - Warranty of construction (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... (Germany). 252.246-7002 Section 252.246-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.246-7002 Warranty of construction (Germany). As prescribed in 246.710(4), use the following clause: Warranty of Construction (Germany) (JUN 1997) (a) In addition to any other...

48 CFR 252.246-7002 - Warranty of construction (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... (Germany). 252.246-7002 Section 252.246-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.246-7002 Warranty of construction (Germany). As prescribed in 246.710(2), use the following clause: Warranty of Construction (Germany) (JUN 1997) (a) In addition to any other...

48 CFR 252.246-7002 - Warranty of construction (Germany).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... (Germany). 252.246-7002 Section 252.246-7002 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... of Provisions And Clauses 252.246-7002 Warranty of construction (Germany). As prescribed in 246.710(4), use the following clause: Warranty of Construction (Germany) (JUN 1997) (a) In addition to any other...

75 FR 3444 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From Germany: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-21

... Thereof From Germany: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed-Circumstances Review AGENCY: Import... bearings and parts thereof from Germany with respect to myonic GmbH. DATES: Effective Date: January 21... Germany on May 15, 1989. See Antidumping Duty Orders: Ball Bearings, Cylindrical Roller Bearings, and...

Education in Germany: A Bibliography of English Language Publications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Max-Planck-Institut fuer Bildungsforschung, Berlin (West Germany).

This bibliography cites bibliographies, journals, books, essays, journal articles, and monographs on education in Germany. All publications cited are in English. The three major sections of the bibliography are education in Germany up to 1945, education in the Federal Republic of Germany, and education in the German Democratic Republic. Topics…

78 FR 70574 - Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel From China, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Korea, Poland, and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-26

...)] Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel From China, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Korea, Poland, and Russia..., Germany, Japan, Korea, Poland, and Russia of grain-oriented electrical steel, provided for in subheadings... Republic, Germany, Japan, Korea, Poland, and Russia. Accordingly, effective September 18, 2013, the...

The Definition of Vocational Diplomas in Germany and France.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mobus, Martine; Verdier, Eric

1997-01-01

In both France and Germany, the government, employers' organizations, and unions all participate in defining vocational diplomas based on a national framework of procedures of elaborating and standardizing titles. Important differences between the diploma definition processes in France and Germany may be identified. In Germany, the issue is…

Mathematics and Physics: The Idea of a Pre-Established Harmony

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kragh, Helge

2015-07-01

For more than a century the notion of a pre-established harmony between the mathematical and physical sciences has played an important role not only in the rhetoric of mathematicians and theoretical physicists, but also as a doctrine guiding much of their research. Strongly mathematized branches of physics, such as the vortex theory of atoms popular in Victorian Britain, were not unknown in the nineteenth century, but it was only in the environment of fin-de-siècle Germany that the idea of a pre-established harmony really took off and became part of the mathematicians' ideology. Important historical figures were in this respect David Hilbert, Hermann Minkowski and, somewhat later, Albert Einstein. Roughly similar ideas can be found also among British theorists, among whom Arthur Eddington, Arthur Milne, and Paul Dirac are singled out. Although largely limited to the period 1870-1940, the paper also considers Max Tegmark's recent hypothesis of the universe (or multiverse) being a one-to-one reflection of mathematical structures.

Delayed Reaction: The Tardy Embrace of Physical Organic Chemistry by the German Chemical Community.

PubMed

Weininger, Stephen J

2018-02-01

The emergence of physical organic chemistry, which focuses on the mechanisms and structures of organic reactions and molecules using the tools of physical chemistry, was a major development in twentieth-century chemistry. It first flourished in the interwar period, in the UK and then in the US. Germany, by contrast, did not embrace the field until almost a half century later. The great success of classical organic chemistry, especially in synthesis, encouraged indifference to the new field among German chemists, as did their inductivist research philosophy, as enunciated by Walter Hückel's ground-breaking textbook (1931). This author also resisted new concepts and representations, especially those of the American theoretician, Linus Pauling. The arrival of the Nazi regime reinforced such resistance. Postwar conditions initiated a reaction against this conservative, nationalistic attitude, especially in the American Occupation Zone. Exposure to American textbooks and visiting lecturers influenced attitudes of younger chemists. The accompanying shift towards a more explanatory, less hierarchical mode of pedagogy was consonant with larger social and political developments.

PREFACE: International & Interdisciplinary Workshop on Novel Phenomena in Integrated Complex Sciences: from Non-living to Living Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshimura, Kazuyoshi; Ohta, Hiroto; Murase, Masatoshi; Nishimura, Kazuo

2012-03-01

In this workshop recent advancements in experiments and theories were discussed on magnetism and superconductivity, emergent phenomena in biological material, chemical properties and economic problems of non-living and living systems. The aim of the workshop was to discuss old, but also new problems from a multidisciplinary perspective, and to understand the general features behind diversity in condensed matter physics, experimental chemistry and physics in biology and economic science. The workshop was broadly based, and was titled 'International & Interdisciplinary Workshop on Novel Phenomena in Integrated Complex Sciences from Non-living to Living Systems'. However, the primary focus was on magnetism and superconductivity, and NMR research into strongly correlated electrons. The meeting was held as an ICAM workshop, upon official approval in January 2010. Both young scientists and graduate students were invited. We hope that these young scientists had the chance to talk with invited speakers and organizers on their own interests. We thank the participants who contributed through their presentations, discussions and these papers to the advancement of the subject and our understanding. The proceedings are published here in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series (UK). We thank the International Advisory Committee for their advice and guidance: Evgeny Antipov Moscow State University, Russia Nicholas Curro University of California, Davis, USA Minghu Fang Zhejiang University, China Jurgen Haase University of Leipzig, Germany Takashi Imai McMaster University, Canada Peter Lemmens TU Braunschweig, Germany Herwig Michor Vienna TU, Austria Takamasa Momose University of British Columbia, Canada Raivo Stern NICPB, Estonia Louis Taillefer University of Sherbrooke, Canada Masashi Takigawa University of Tokyo, Japan This workshop was mainly organized by the International Research Unit of Integrated Complex System Science, Kyoto University, and was supported by ICAM (Institute for Complex and Adaptive Matter, USA), Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics (Kyoto University), Institute of Economic Research (Kyoto University) and Kyoto University GCOEs (Global Centers Of Excellence: Physics, Chemistry, and Economics). The workshop was also supported by Niki Glass Company Ltd., THAMWAY Corp., TAIYO NIPPON SANSO, and Quantum Design Japan. The Editors and the Organizing Committee, Masatoshi Murase Kyoto University, Japan Kazuo Nishimura Kyoto University, Japan Kazuyoshi Yoshimura Kyoto University, Japan: Conference Chairman and Chief Editor Hiroto Ohta Kyoto University, Tokyo University of A&T, Japan: Conference Secretary Conference Photograph, 14 October 2010 Conference Photograph Conference Poster Conference Poster

[Analysis and evaluation of the health status of physical education teachers focusing on dance teachers].

PubMed

Wanke, E M; Schmitter, J; Groneberg, D A

2012-03-01

A dance teacher teaches in various professional and amateur genres. The physical load depends on the target group and is partly submaximal or even higher. The only tool of dance teachers is their own body. There are only few other tools to facilitate such work. Therefore, keeping the body in a good health status is of great significance. Up to the present, there have been little or no data on the health status of persons teaching dance. The aim of this study is to examine the health status of persons who teach dance in order to initiate a data base for the development of further projects with a preventive medical focus. A total of 165 (f: 154, m: 11) average aged (46.1 years) dance teachers in Germany responded to a cross-section questionnaire survey. Teaching dance is for 96.6 % "the job of their dreams". Of all dance teachers 89.4 % continue to work while in pain and 85.5 % cannot afford a "longer down-time". 78.2 % state that they have paused due to a work-related disease, although 56.9 % of the respondents consider their occupation to be the cause for a disease with the answer only, seldom (44.4 %) or never (12.5 %). 4.5 % consult a medical doctor only after the self-treatment has failed. The lower extremity is the most common anatomic region in acute injuries (57.6 %) as well as in chronic complaints (58.3 %). The causes are multiple and comprise physical as well as psychic factors such as a high pressure of expectation (64.8 %) or a tight schedule/time table (43 %). 29 % of all dance teachers suffer from internal and 58 % from orthopaedic complaints. 43.1 % of them state that these complaints result from their occupation. 80.5 % make an acute injury responsible for compulsary breaks. The discrepancies between the self-perception and the findings of this investigation clearly show that the psychic and physical load in this occupation should not be underestimated. Here, further research on the social, psychic and physical health status of dance teachers is required. The results of this investigation warrant further research in the field of activity of the variable and up to now unprotected dance teacher profession in Germany. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

17 CFR Appendix B to Part 190 - Special Bankruptcy Distributions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... €50 U.K. C €100 U.K., Germany, or Japan Location Actual asset balance U.S. $50 U.K. €100 Germany €50.... C $20 U.S. C €50 Germany D $100. U.S. D £300 U.K. D €100 U.K., Germany, or Japan E $80 U.S. E ¥10,000 Japan Location Actual asset balance U.S. $200 U.K. £200 U.K. €100 Germany €50 Japan ¥10,000...

Ionized and Molecular Gas Kinematics in a z = 1.4 Star-forming Galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Übler, H.; Genzel, R.; Tacconi, L. J.; Förster Schreiber, N. M.; Neri, R.; Contursi, A.; Belli, S.; Nelson, E. J.; Lang, P.; Shimizu, T. T.; Davies, R.; Herrera-Camus, R.; Lutz, D.; Plewa, P. M.; Price, S. H.; Schuster, K.; Sternberg, A.; Tadaki, K.; Wisnioski, E.; Wuyts, S.

2018-02-01

We present deep observations of a z = 1.4 massive, star-forming galaxy (SFG) in molecular and ionized gas at comparable spatial resolution (CO 3–2, NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA); Hα, Large Binocular Telescope (LBT)). The kinematic tracers agree well, indicating that both gas phases are subject to the same gravitational potential and physical processes affecting the gas dynamics. We combine the one-dimensional velocity and velocity dispersion profiles in CO and Hα to forward-model the galaxy in a Bayesian framework, combining a thick exponential disk, a bulge, and a dark matter halo. We determine the dynamical support due to baryons and dark matter, and find a dark matter fraction within one effective radius of {f}DM}(≤slant {R}e)={0.18}-0.04+0.06. Our result strengthens the evidence for strong baryon-dominance on galactic scales of massive z ∼ 1–3 SFGs recently found based on ionized gas kinematics alone. Based on observations carried out with the IRAM Interferometer NOEMA. IRAM is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany), and IGN (Spain). Based on observations carried out with the LBT. The LBT is an international collaboration among institutions in the United States, Italy, and Germany. LBT Corporation partners are: LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Germany, representing the Max-Planck Society, The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, and Heidelberg University; The University of Arizona on behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy; The Ohio State University, and The Research Corporation, on behalf of The University of Notre Dame, University of Minnesota and University of Virginia.

Employment after lung transplantation--a single-center cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Suhling, Hendrik; Knuth, Christine; Haverich, Axel; Lingner, Heidrun; Welte, Tobias; Gottlieb, Jens

2015-03-27

359 lung transplantations were performed in Germany in 2013. The main goals of lung transplantation are to prolong survival and improve the quality of life. Both of these goals can be reflected in a return to employment. We report the first study of employment after lung transplantation in Germany. We evaluated the findings of a single-center, questionnaire-based cross-sectional investigation of the social and economic situation of 531 patients (September 2009 to March 2010) and obtained 5-year follow-up data in December 2014. 38% of the patients were employed after lung transplantation. They took a mean of ten sick days off from work each year; they did not have infections or organ rejection any more frequently than other patients. The fiveyear follow-up data showed no difference in the overall survival rate of employed and unemployed patients. Employment was associated with a better quality of life (80% [interquartiles: 70%, 95%]) versus 75% [interquartiles: 50%, 85%], p = 0.001). Factors associated with a return to employment included a higher educational level (odds ratio [OR] 2.6, 95%confidence interval [CI] 1.7-4, p = 0.001) and better physical fitness (OR 2, 95%CI 1.3-3.2, p = 0.001). The rate of return to work after lung transplantation in Germany is similar to the rates observed in other countries. The findings of this study imply that employment improves the quality of life and does not endanger health. Thus, patients who have received lung transplants should be advised to return to work if possible.

The LIFE-Adult-Study: objectives and design of a population-based cohort study with 10,000 deeply phenotyped adults in Germany.

PubMed

Loeffler, Markus; Engel, Christoph; Ahnert, Peter; Alfermann, Dorothee; Arelin, Katrin; Baber, Ronny; Beutner, Frank; Binder, Hans; Brähler, Elmar; Burkhardt, Ralph; Ceglarek, Uta; Enzenbach, Cornelia; Fuchs, Michael; Glaesmer, Heide; Girlich, Friederike; Hagendorff, Andreas; Häntzsch, Madlen; Hegerl, Ulrich; Henger, Sylvia; Hensch, Tilman; Hinz, Andreas; Holzendorf, Volker; Husser, Daniela; Kersting, Anette; Kiel, Alexander; Kirsten, Toralf; Kratzsch, Jürgen; Krohn, Knut; Luck, Tobias; Melzer, Susanne; Netto, Jeffrey; Nüchter, Matthias; Raschpichler, Matthias; Rauscher, Franziska G; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Sander, Christian; Scholz, Markus; Schönknecht, Peter; Schroeter, Matthias L; Simon, Jan-Christoph; Speer, Ronald; Stäker, Julia; Stein, Robert; Stöbel-Richter, Yve; Stumvoll, Michael; Tarnok, Attila; Teren, Andrej; Teupser, Daniel; Then, Francisca S; Tönjes, Anke; Treudler, Regina; Villringer, Arno; Weissgerber, Alexander; Wiedemann, Peter; Zachariae, Silke; Wirkner, Kerstin; Thiery, Joachim

2015-07-22

The LIFE-Adult-Study is a population-based cohort study, which has recently completed the baseline examination of 10,000 randomly selected participants from Leipzig, a major city with 550,000 inhabitants in the east of Germany. It is the first study of this kind and size in an urban population in the eastern part of Germany. The study is conducted by the Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE). Our objective is to investigate prevalences, early onset markers, genetic predispositions, and the role of lifestyle factors of major civilization diseases, with primary focus on metabolic and vascular diseases, heart function, cognitive impairment, brain function, depression, sleep disorders and vigilance dysregulation, retinal and optic nerve degeneration, and allergies. The study covers a main age range from 40-79 years with particular deep phenotyping in elderly participants above the age of 60. The baseline examination was conducted from August 2011 to November 2014. All participants underwent an extensive core assessment programme (5-6 h) including structured interviews, questionnaires, physical examinations, and biospecimen collection. Participants over 60 underwent two additional assessment programmes (3-4 h each) on two separate visits including deeper cognitive testing, brain magnetic resonance imaging, diagnostic interviews for depression, and electroencephalography. The participation rate was 33 %. The assessment programme was accepted well and completely passed by almost all participants. Biomarker analyses have already been performed in all participants. Genotype, transcriptome and metabolome analyses have been conducted in subgroups. The first follow-up examination will commence in 2016.

[Health literacy of adults in Germany: Findings from the German Health Update (GEDA) study].

PubMed

Jordan, Susanne; Hoebel, Jens

2015-09-01

In today's information society, health literacy (HL) is considered important for health maintenance and disease management. In this context, dealing with health information is fundamental and requires different cognitive and social skills. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of HL levels in the adult population of Germany, and to identify associations with health behaviours and health status. The analyses were based on data from the German Health Update (GEDA) study, a cross-sectional survey of the German-speaking adult population of Germany, which was conducted from October 2013 to June 2014. Health literacy was assessed with the short form of the European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS EU-Q16), along with questions about socio-demographics, health behaviours, and health status. The HLS-EU-Q16 index could be calculated for 4845 respondents. According to the criteria of the HLS-EU-Q16, more than half of the adults had "adequate" HL (55.8 %). Every third person (31.9 %) had "problematic" and almost every eighth person (12.3 %) had "inadequate" HL. We found significant differences in HL by educational level, but no differences in HL by sex and age group. Certain health behaviours were positively associated with health literacy. A low HL level was associated with poorer physical and mental health. The results point to a need for action to improve HL in the adult population. The strengthening of health literacy should not solely aim at the promotion of individual skills, but also give high priority to the development of health-literate settings.

The Relationship between Inflation and Inflation Uncertainty. Empirical Evidence for the Newest EU Countries

PubMed Central

Viorica, Daniela; Jemna, Danut; Pintilescu, Carmen; Asandului, Mircea

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper is to verify the hypotheses presented in the literature on the causal relationship between inflation and its uncertainty, for the newest EU countries. To ensure the robustness of the results, in the study four models for inflation uncertainty are estimated in parallel: ARCH (1), GARCH (1,1), EGARCH (1,1,1) and PARCH (1,1,1). The Granger method is used to test the causality between two variables. The working hypothesis is that groups of countries with a similar political and economic background in 1990 and are likely to be characterized by the same causal relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty. Empirical results partially confirm this hypothesis. Jel Classification C22, E31, E37. PMID:24633073

Market interdependence among commodity prices based on information transmission on the Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Qiang; Guo, Jian-Feng

2015-05-01

Human behaviour on the Internet has become a synchro-projection of real society. In this paper, we introduce the public concern derived from query volumes on the Web to empirically analyse the influence of information on commodity markets (e.g., crude oil, heating oil, corn and gold) using multivariate GARCH models based on dynamic conditional correlations. The analysis found that the changes of public concern on the Internet can well depict the changes of market prices, as the former has significant Granger causality effects on market prices. The findings indicate that the information of external shocks to commodity markets could be transmitted quickly, and commodity markets easily absorb the public concern of the information-sensitive traders. Finally, the conditional correlation among commodity prices varies dramatically over time.

Non-extensitivity vs. informative moments for financial models —A unifying framework and empirical results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrmann, K.

2009-11-01

Information-theoretic approaches still play a minor role in financial market analysis. Nonetheless, there have been two very similar approaches evolving during the last years, one in the so-called econophysics and the other in econometrics. Both generalize the notion of GARCH processes in an information-theoretic sense and are able to capture kurtosis better than traditional models. In this article we present both approaches in a more general framework. The latter allows the derivation of a wide range of new models. We choose a third model using an entropy measure suggested by Kapur. In an application to financial market data, we find that all considered models - with similar flexibility in terms of skewness and kurtosis - lead to very similar results.

Improving 1D Stellar Models with 3D Atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosumgaard, Jakob Rørsted; Silva Aguirre, Víctor; Weiss, Achim; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jørgen; Trampedach, Regner

2017-10-01

Stellar evolution codes play a major role in present-day astrophysics, yet they share common issues. In this work we seek to remedy some of those by the use of results from realistic and highly detailed 3D hydrodynamical simulations of stellar atmospheres. We have implemented a new temperature stratification extracted directly from the 3D simulations into the Garching Stellar Evolution Code to replace the simplified atmosphere normally used. Secondly, we have implemented the use of a variable mixing-length parameter, which changes as a function of the stellar surface gravity and temperature - also derived from the 3D simulations. Furthermore, to make our models consistent, we have calculated new opacity tables to match the atmospheric simulations. Here, we present the modified code and initial results on stellar evolution using it.

Ways to improve the efficiency and reliability of radio frequency driven negative ion sources for fusion.

PubMed

Kraus, W; Briefi, S; Fantz, U; Gutmann, P; Doerfler, J

2014-02-01

Large RF driven negative hydrogen ion sources are being developed at IPP Garching for the future neutral beam injection system of ITER. The overall power efficiency of these sources is low, because for the RF power supply self-excited generators are utilized and the plasma is generated in small cylindrical sources ("drivers") and expands into the source main volume. At IPP experiments to reduce the primary power and the RF power required for the plasma production are performed in two ways: The oscillator generator of the prototype source has been replaced by a transistorized RF transmitter and two alternative driver concepts, a spiral coil, in which the field is concentrated by ferrites, which omits the losses by plasma expansion and a helicon source are being tested.

Does implied volatility of currency futures option imply volatility of exchange rates?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Alan T.

2007-02-01

By investigating currency futures options, this paper provides an alternative economic implication for the result reported by Stein [Overreactions in the options market, Journal of Finance 44 (1989) 1011-1023] that long-maturity options tend to overreact to changes in the implied volatility of short-maturity options. When a GARCH process is assumed for exchange rates, a continuous-time relationship is developed. We provide evidence that implied volatilities may not be the simple average of future expected volatilities. By comparing the term-structure relationship of implied volatilities with the process of the underlying exchange rates, we find that long-maturity options are more consistent with the exchange rates process. In sum, short-maturity options overreact to the dynamics of underlying assets rather than long-maturity options overreacting to short-maturity options.

Germany's Armed Forces in the Second World War: Manpower, Armaments, and Supply.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balsamo, Larry T.

1991-01-01

Discusses the state of Germany's armed forces in World War II. Describes Germany's progress from inferior weaponry and unprepared military at the beginning of the war to superior weapons and fighting. Stresses heavy German dependence on horse drawn supply. Credits Germany's defeat to human attrition accelerated by Hitler's operational leadership.…

Germany's Persistent Balance-of-Payments Disequilibrium Revisited. German Studies Notes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kindleberger, Charles P.

This essay compares Germany's persistent financial disequilibrium with the balance of payments situation in the United States. Delivered at a Symposium on German Economic Growth and Stability, the author concentrates on Germany's balance of payments surplus and presents U.S. figures mainly as a point of comparison. The material on Germany has been…

Germany: The Search for Unity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blankenship, Glen, Ed.

The 12 lessons in this collection are designed so that they may be used individually, integrated into the curriculum at appropriate places, or used as a complete unit. The lessons are entitled: (1) Impressions of Germany and Germans; (2) The Location and Population of Germany; (3) Pollution in Germany: A Complex Problems; (4) German Political…

78 FR 52759 - Brass Sheet and Strip from Germany: Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2012-2013

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-26

... Germany: Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2012-2013 AGENCY: Import Administration... from Germany for the period March 1, 2012, through February 28, 2013. DATES: Effective Date: August 26... 1, 2013, the Department initiated an administrative review of brass sheet and strip from Germany...

76 FR 42681 - Brass Sheet and Strip From Germany: Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-19

... Germany: Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review AGENCY: Import Administration... antidumping duty order on brass sheet and strip from Germany. The review covers one producer/exporter of brass sheet and strip from Germany, Wieland-Werke AG (``Wieland''). Based on a timely withdrawal of the...

Defense.gov Special Report: Travels with Carter - May 2013

Science.gov Websites

Germany Germany Flag of Djibouti Djibouti Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan Top Stories Carter Wraps Up , Civilians Breedlove Takes Charge at European Command Carter Arrives in Germany for Eucom Change of Command Meetings Carter Attends Eucom Change of Command Ceremony in Stuttgart, Germany Travel Locations Travel

78 FR 73562 - Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan; Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-06

... (Preliminary)] Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan... industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports from China, Germany, Japan, Korea... Taiwan and LTFV imports of non-oriented electrical steel from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and...

History of modern genetics in Germany.

PubMed

Hammar, Friederike

2002-01-01

The history of modern genetics in Germany during the 20th century is a story of missed chances. In the USA the genetic revolution opened a fascinating new field for ambitious scientists and created a rapidly growing new industry. Meanwhile Germany stood aside, combating with political and social restrictions. Promising young scientists who wanted to work in the field left Germany for the US, and big companies moved their facilities out of the country. Up until the middle of the 1990s molecular biology in Germany remained a "sleeping beauty" even though many brilliant scientists did their jobs very well. Then a somewhat funny idea changed everything: the German minister for education and science proclaimed the BioRegio contest in order to award the most powerful biotechnology region in Germany concerning academia and especially industry. Since then Germany's biotechnology industry has grown constantly and rapidly due to the foundation of a number of small biotech companies; big companies have returned their interests and their investments to Germany, paralleled by an improvement in academic research because of more funding and better support especially for younger scientists. In respect to biotechnology and molecular biology, Germany is still a developing country, but it has started to move and to take its chances in an exciting global competition.

A comparison of the perceptions and aspirations of third-year physiotherapy students trained in three educational settings in Poland.

PubMed

Gotlib, Joanna; Białoszewski, Dariusz; Sierdziński, Janusz; Jarosz, Mirosław J; Majcher, Piotr; Barczyk, Katarzyna; Bauer, Aleksandra; Cabak, Anna; Grzegorczyk, Joanna; Płaszewski, Maciej; Kułak, Wojciech; Nowotny-Czupryna, Olga; Prokopowicz, Katarzyna

2010-03-01

In Poland, physiotherapy is offered at three types of school: medical universities, universities of physical education, and schools that do not specialise in either the medical sciences or physical education. This study explored the knowledge of students who were completing their physiotherapy studies about working in Poland and other countries of the European Union (EU), and about their vocational plans. Students were asked, through self-assessment, about aspects of the professional skills they had gained. Quantitative questionnaire-based study of students in three university settings. Eleven university-level schools in Poland offering studies in physiotherapy and representing three orientations: medical sciences (MS), physical education (PE) and other universities (OU). The study sample comprised of 954 third-year Bachelor programme students. The differences in university profiles did not influence the vocational plans of the students, with more than 70% (668/954) declaring that they would look for work outside Poland: 76% (725/954) in the UK and 69% (658/954) in Germany. Most students stated that finding work as a physiotherapist is difficult in Poland (686/954,72%) and easy in other EU countries (763/954, 80%). Differences in university profiles had an effect on the students' assessments of their professional skills, as students from universities without a long-standing tradition of training in physiotherapy declared that they were less well prepared to work as physiotherapists; the difference was statistically significant for 12 of the 16 domains examined (P<0.05). In the light of these results, an increased influx of Polish physiotherapists, trained according to European standards, into EU countries, especially the UK and Germany, is to be expected in the near future. The physiotherapists will predominantly be graduates of medical and sports-oriented state universities. It appears advisable to launch, under the auspices of an EU programme, an integrated employment information system for physiotherapists that would offer updated information on current demand in individual EU countries.

The General Weakness Syndrome Therapy (GymNAST) study: protocol for a cohort study on recovery on walking function

PubMed Central

Mehrholz, Jan; Mückel, Simone; Oehmichen, Frank; Pohl, Marcus

2014-01-01

Introduction Critical illness myopathy (CIM) and polyneuropathy (CIP) are common complications of critical illness that frequently occur together. Both cause so called intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired muscle weakness. This weakness of limb muscles increases morbidity and delay rehabilitation and recovery of walking ability. Although full recovery has been reported people with severe weakness may take months to improve walking. Focused physical rehabilitation of people with ICU-acquired muscle weakness is therefore of great importance. However, although physical rehabilitation is common, detailed knowledge about the pattern and the time course of recovery of walking function are not well understood. Therefore, the aim of the General Weakness Syndrome Therapy (GymNAST) study is to describe the time course of recovery of walking function and other activities of daily living in these patients. Methods and analysis We conduct a prospective cohort study of people with ICU-acquired muscle weakness with defined diagnosis of CIM or CIP. Based on our sample size calculation, approximately 150 patients will be recruited from the ICU of our hospital in Germany. Amount and content of physical rehabilitation, clinical tests for example, muscle strength and motor function and neuropsychological assessments will be used as independent variables. The primary outcomes will include recovery of walking function and mobility. Secondary outcomes will include global motor function, activities in daily life and participation. Ethics and dissemination The study is being carried out in agreement with the Declaration of Helsinki and conducted with the approval of the local medical Ethics Committee (Landesärztekammer Sachsen, Germany, reference number EK-BR-32/13-1) and with the understanding and written consent of each patient's guardian. The results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated to the medical society and general public. PMID:25344484

Declining male births in Germany before and after reunification.

PubMed

Grech, Victor

2013-01-01

Male births occur 3% in excess of female births in mammals in a ratio (M/F) of 0.515. Many factors have been shown to influence this, including socioeconomic deprivation. This paper reviews live birth data for Germany over the period 1946-2009, and identifies secular trends in M/F pre- and post-reunification. The null hypothesis is that there were no differences between East and West Germany, geographically or temporally, before and after reunification. Annual data on male and female live births were obtained from the Human Mortality Database and analyzed with contingency tables. These data were available separately for East and West Germany (1950-1989). There was a significant decline in M/F in both German Republics overall and before reunification (p<0.0001). No decline was present after. Pre-reunification, West Germany had a lower overall M/F than East Germany (p=0.001). In conclusion, a declining M/F has been shown in many countries over the past decades. The two German Republics' M/F fell prior to reunification and the economic collapse of East Germany. Contracting societies that offer poor socioeconomic conditions (such as the communist former East Germany) may result in a decrease in M/F, but this is not reflected in the data, which show that M/F in West Germany prior to reunification was lower than in East Germany. This is not explicable with the contracting economies hypothesis; other and as yet unknown influences may have modified M/F trends anticipated by known variables.

PREFACE: ARENA 2006—Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino detection Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Lee

2007-06-01

The International Conference on Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino Activities, ARENA 2006 was jointly hosted by the Universities of Northumbria and Sheffield at the City of Newcastle Campus of the University of Northumbria in June 2006. ARENA 2006 was the latest in a series of meetings which have addressed, either separately or jointly, the use of radio and acoustic sensors for the detection of highly relativistic particles. Previous successful meetings have taken place in Los Angeles (RADHEP, 2000), Stanford (2003) and DESY Zeuthen (ARENA 2005). A total of 50 scientists from across Europe, the US and Japan attended the conference presenting status reports and results from a number of projects and initiatives spread as far afield as the Sweden and the South Pole. The talks presented at the meeting and the proceedings contained herein represent a `snapshot' of the status of the fields of acoustic and radio detection at the time of the conference. The three day meeting also included two invited talks by Dr Paula Chadwick and Dr Johannes Knapp who gave excellent summaries of the related astroparticle physics fields of high energy gamma ray detection and high energy cosmic ray detection respectively. As well as a full academic agenda there were social events including a Medieval themed conference banquet at Lumley Castle and a civic reception kindly provided by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle and hosted at the Mansion House. Thanks must go to the International Advisory Board members for their input and guidance, the Local Organising Committee for their hard work in bringing everything together and finally the delegates for the stimulating, enthusiastic and enjoyable spirit in which ARENA 2006 took place. Lee Thompson

International Advisory Board

Local Organizing Committee

Participants

The role of forensic medicine and forensic dentistry in estimating the chronological age of living individuals in Hamburg, Germany.

PubMed

Mansour, Hussam; Fuhrmann, Andreas; Paradowski, Ioana; van Well, Eilin Jopp; Püschel, Klaus

2017-03-01

Age estimation represents one of the primary responsibilities of forensic medicine and forensic dentistry. It is an integral procedure aiming to estimate the chronological age of an individual, whose age is either unknown or doubtful, by means of assessing the stage of dental, skeletal, and physical development. The present publication reviews the methods and procedures used in estimating the age of young living individuals as well as the experiences of the Institute of Legal Medicine in Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, during the last 25 years. From 1990 to 2015, 4223 age estimations were carried out in Hamburg. During this time, forensic age estimation was requested by different concerned authorities including courts, the foreigners' registration office (Zentrale Ausländerbehörde), and the state office of education and consultation (Landesbetrieb Erziehung und Beratung). In the context of judicial proceedings, orthopantomograms, as well as X-ray examinations of both the left hand and the medial clavicular epiphyses were carried out in accordance with AGFAD recommendations. For investigations not associated with judicial proceedings, orthopantomogram examinations play a key role in the process of age estimation, due to their high diagnostic value and low radiation exposure. Since 2009, mainly unaccompanied young refugees were examined for age estimation. Orthopantomograms and clinical-physical examinations have been used as essential steps in this context to determine whether an individual is 18 years or less. Additional X-ray examinations of the left hand and the medial clavicular epiphyses have been used less frequently.

Relevance of medical reports in criminal investigations of cases of suspected child abuse.

PubMed

Janßen, Katharina; Greif, Dominik; Rothschild, Markus A; Banaschak, Sibylle

2017-07-01

If a case of physical child abuse is suspected in Germany, the general feeling is often that "it does not matter whether you make a report or not" because, generally, no conviction is made anyway. This study investigates the juridical analysis of complaint cases of physical child abuse [criminal complaint parag. 225 StGB (German penal code) with filial victim]. It focuses on the doctor's role and the impact of their practice in relation to a later conviction. It is based on the analysis of 302 files of the enquiry from 2004-2009 from the department of public prosecution in Cologne, Germany. Besides general epidemiological data on the reporting person, the affected child and the presumed offender, the documents were reassessed for the relevance of medical reports for successful convictions. Only 7% (n = 21) of 302 complaints led to a conviction. In 38.1% (n = 8) of those cases, a medical report was mentioned as a piece of evidence, and just in two cases a (legal) medical report was quoted and mentioned as relevant for the conviction. 50% of the complaint cases with legal medical expertise led to a trial. In contrast, only 30.2% with a common medical report and 7.3% without a report led to a trial. The results show how a medical report existed in only a few cases. In those cases, the rate of performed trials was higher than for those without a medical report, but the report played a minor part when reasoning a verdict.

Effects of different agricultural management on a stagnic Luvisol in Lower Saxony, Germany - Factors for sustainable soil protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, Marco; Brunotte, Joachim; Ortmeier, Berthold

2017-04-01

Regarding increasing pressures by global societal and climate change, for example, the assessment of the impact of land use and land management practices on land productivity, land degradation and the related decrease in sustainable food production and the provision of ecosystem services gains increasing interest. Regarding international research on land use and soil threats, main problems in agricultural land use on global scale are erosion by water and wind, soil organic matter loss, salinization, depletion of nutrients, chemical and physical deterioration, including e.g. soil compaction. When coming to soil sciences, basically soil functions are affected negatively by intensive food production and field traffic. Management based negative changes in soil functions and a suboptimal soil structure have multiple negative effects on physical, biological and chemical soil functions, like a poor water balance, air and water permeability, disturbed soil fauna, impeded root penetration etc. and in consequence on the achievable yields. The presentation deals with the multiple effects of different agricultural machinery and technologies and different agricultural soil tillage (e.g. no-till, conservation tillage, ploughing), on various soil properties of a stagnic Luvisol in Lower Saxony, Germany. These are e.g. bulk density, air capacity, saturated water permeability, changes in pore size distribution and water retention curve as well as crop yields. Furthermore results of a long term study of bulk density and total pore size on more then 20 farms in Lower Saxony since the year 1952 will be presented. Finally, key factors and first recommendations for sustainable agricultural soil protection will be derived from the results.

Standardization in dimensional nanometrology: development of a calibration guideline for Scanning Probe Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dziomba, Thorsten; Koenders, Ludger; Wilkening, Günter

2005-10-01

The continuing miniaturization in many technologies - among them the optical systems - demands high-resolution measurements with uncertainties in the nanometre-range or even well below. A brief introduction of measurement methods used at the micro- & nanometre scale is therefore given as introduction. While a wide range of these methods are well established for the determination of various physical properties down to the nanometric scale, it is Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) that provides a unique direct access to topographic surface features in the size range from atomic diameters to some ten or hundred micrometres. With the increasing use of SPMs as quantitative measurement instruments, the demand for standardized calibration routines also for this type of instruments rises. However, except for a few specially designed set-ups mainly at National Metrology Institutes (e. g. PTB in Germany), measurements made with SPMs usually lack traceability to the metre definition. A number of physical transfer standards have therefore been developed and are already available commercially. While detailed knowledge of the standards' properties is a prerequisite for their practical applicability, the calibration procedure itself deserves careful consideration as well. As there is, up to now, no generally accepted concept how to perform SPM calibrations, guidelines are now being developed on various national and international levels, e. g. VDI/VDE-GMA in Germany and ISO. This papers discusses the draft of an SPM calibration guideline by focusing on several critical practical aspects of SPM calibration. The paper intends to invite the readers to take active part in guideline discussions.

ESO Director General to Become President of AUI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1998-11-01

The appointment of Professor Riccardo Giacconi , Director General of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) since January 1, 1993, to the Presidency of Associated Universities, Inc. ( AUI ) in the USA, has been jointly announced by Professor Paul C. Martin, Chair of AUI's Board of Trustees and Mr. Henrik Grage, President of the ESO Council. Professor Giacconi will assume this new position at the end of his term at ESO as of July 1, 1999. AUI is a not-for-profit science management corporation that operates the National Radio Astronomy Observatory ( NRAO) under a Cooperative Agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Corporate headquarters are located in Washington, D.C. The President is its chief executive officer. Nine northeastern universities joined in founding AUI in 1946: Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, The Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, the University of Rochester, and Yale University. Over the years, AUI has taken on a broad national character with a diversified Board of Trustees from universities and other institutions across the United States. ESO is an intergovernmental organization, at present with the following member countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Portugal has an agreement with ESO aiming at full membership. ESO was founded in 1962 to establish and operate an astronomical observatory in the southern hemisphere and to promote and organize co-operation in astronomical research in Europe. While the ESO Headquarters are situated in Europe, the observing facilities are located in Chile (South America). The organization's main administrative and technical departments are located at the ESO Headquarters, in Garching near Munich, Germany. They include a number of highly specialized facilities, e.g. the optical, infrared, detector and instrumentation laboratories, all engaged in front-line research and development. The European Coordinating Facility for the Hubble Space Telescope, jointly managed by ESO and the European Space Agency (ESA), is also situated in Garching. Mr. Grage , President of the ESO Council, expressed the gratitude of the ESO Community for the leadership provided by Prof. Giacconi during these crucial years of development of the organization and its La Silla and Paranal Observatories. In particular, the splendid achievements on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) are a tribute to the ESO staff and to his management and guidance. VLT is currently the largest single project in ground-based astronomy. It has met or exceeded all performance requirements while being built on time and within budget. When reached for comment, Professor Giacconi pointed out: "I have enjoyed enormously the time I have spent here at ESO and I consider it one of the high points of my career. I feel confident that I am leaving ESO in very good condition. The fine performance of the entire staff has succeeded in bringing the organization to an outstanding position in ground-based astronomy in the world. The prospects for the future are equally brilliant. I will be happy and proud to assume the Presidency of Associated Universities, Inc. starting next summer. For more than fifty years, AUI has, in collaboration with universities and the national and international scientific community, overseen and managed national facilities which have made possible a wealth of important discoveries in physics, astronomy, and many other areas of science and technology. In the 21st Century, new challenges and opportunities to serve the community await AUI." Asked about the recent developments in astronomy, Professor Giacconi added that "Advances in this fundamental field of research have come to depend more and more on the execution of complex and large projects. Many of these necessitate international cooperation on the broadest scale. The VLT is an outstanding example and will be the prime ground-based optical observatory of the coming Century. The expertise of AUI and NRAO in providing effective support to the radio astronomy community will prove an invaluable asset in carrying out, under NSF sponsorship, the new and ambitious international cooperative project in submillimeter wave astronomy. I look forward to the opportunity to help AUI in the realization of this undertaking, so important for future advances in the field. Scientific research in different disciplines is ever more closely interwoven today in methodology and management approaches. The expertise of AUI and of the university community it represents qualifies the organization to manage scientific endeavors in many fields. Guiding AUI in responding to the many challenges and opportunities it faces will be interesting and exciting." "We are thrilled that Professor Giacconi has decided to take this position," said Professor Paul Martin , Chairman of the Board of AUI. "It is hard to imagine anyone better qualified to lead an organization committed to managing facilities performing frontier science. His vision and foresight have been at the heart of pioneering projects including the Einstein Observatory, the Space Telescope, and the VLT. He is an extraordinary scientist and an outstanding manager whose accomplishments and values have earned him worldwide respect and admiration." Prior to this assignment at ESO, Prof. Giacconi had served as Director of the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known in scientific circles for his pioneering contributions to X-ray astronomy. His seminal work in this field, which started at American Science and Engineering, Inc., culminated in the realization, while on the faculty of Harvard University, of the orbital Einstein Observatory in the 1970's. He is currently on leave as Research Professor of Johns Hopkins University and Astronomer Emeritus at STScI. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious scientific awards for his work. Prof. Giacconi is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of books as well as more than 200 scientific publications. Note: [1] This is a joint Press Release of ESO and AUI (URL: http://www.aui.edu/ ). How to obtain ESO Press Information ESO Press Information is made available on the World-Wide Web (URL: http://www.eso.org ). ESO Press Photos may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory.

77 FR 32507 - Brass Sheet and Strip From Germany: Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-01

... Germany: Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review AGENCY: Import Administration... and strip from Germany for the period of review (``POR''), March 1, 2011, through February 29, 2012.\\1... brass sheet and strip from Germany: Aurubis Stolberg GmbH & Co. KG (``Aurubis''), Carl Schreiber GmbH...

78 FR 9674 - Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From Germany: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-11

... Thereof From Germany: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Partial Rescission... antidumping duty order on ball bearings and parts thereof from Germany. The period of review (POR) is May 1... bearings and parts thereof from Germany as the conclusion of a sunset review. See Ball Bearings and Parts...

76 FR 35910 - Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan; Notice of Commission Determinations...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-20

...)] Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan; Notice of Commission Determinations To..., Germany, Italy, and Japan AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY... duty orders on brass sheet and strip from France, Germany, Italy, and Japan would be likely to lead to...

75 FR 41439 - Lightweight Thermal Paper from Germany: Extension of Time Limits for the Preliminary Results of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-16

... from Germany: Extension of Time Limits for the Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative... paper from Germany (LTWP), covering the period November 20, 2008, to October 31, 2009. See Initiation of...'s sales were at prices less than the cost of production. See Lightweight Thermal Paper from Germany...

75 FR 27538 - Brass Sheet and Strip from Germany: Extension of Time Limit for the Final Results of Antidumping...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-17

... Germany: Extension of Time Limit for the Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review AGENCY... administrative review of the antidumping duty order on brass sheet and strip from Germany covering one respondent... Sheet and Strip From Germany: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 75 FR 18801...

[Fostering of health economics in Germany].

PubMed

Ulrich, V

2012-05-01

Health economics is now well established in Germany with the aim to apply economic tools to answer problems in health and health care. After a short review of the international development of health economics and the development in Germany in particular, the article looks at selected recent topics of health economic analysis in Germany (economic evaluation, industrial economics, health and education).

77 FR 23508 - Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-19

...)] Brass Sheet and Strip From France, Germany, Italy, and Japan Determination On the basis of the record \\1... antidumping duty orders on brass sheet and strip from France, Germany, Italy, and Japan would be likely to... from France, Germany, Italy, and Japan: Investigation Nos. 731-TA-313, 314, 317, and 379 (Third Review...