Cooperative Research Project Research Articles

A newly developed, portable, vacuum-chamber equipped XRF-instrument, designed for the sophisticated needs of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

In the analysis of artworks x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy gains a high significance because of the non-destructiveness of the method. It can provide valuable information of technologies and materials and support conservation and restoration efforts. This method is especially suitable for the study of the collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (KHM) with its affiliated institutions, because of the great diversity of the materials and objects with different art historical and ethnological background. Within a research project in cooperation of the Conservation Science Department of the KHM with the ATI (Atomic Institute of the Vienna University of Technology) and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) a portable XRF instrument ("PART II") was designed and constructed, optimized to cope with the diverse analytical problems of a widespread museum collection as it is kept at the KHM.Beneath some technical improvements concerning the optimization of the design of the new instrument (regarding stability and accessibility to objects) with respect to its precursor model, a special focus was laid on the detection of light elements to be able to analyze chemical elements from sodium (Na) onwards. In this way the palette of materials that can be analyzed could be expanded to matters like glass and enamel. In this paper the advantages of the new facility will be discussed.

Die Patientensicherheit in der Grundversorgung - eine Erhebung in Schweizer Hausarztpraxen

Knowledge of the most frequent and relevant safety problems is necessary in order to identify areas of risk in patient safety and to specify need for action. For Switzerland, there was no data available that systematically describes the type and frequency of critical incidents in outpatient care. Due to differences in primary care systems world wide, the transfer of international data to the Swiss context is of limited validity. For this reason the Patient Safety Foundation conducted a research project in cooperation with partners from primary care practice. We analysed the frequency and severity of patient safety risks in primary care offices as well as the safety climate in those practices. Results of the survey show the following areas of risk are of high relevance: medication, triage by nurse at initial contact (by phone), diagnosis as well as failures to monitor patients in the office. In addition, errors in tests and therapeutic interventions should be prioritized for future action. Several differences between professional groups could be identified regarding the perception and estimation of critical incidents as with respect to the safety climate. In conclusion, physicians and nurses should be involved when analysing risks and developing measures in order to insure high quality standards in patient care.

Selected papers about chemiluminescence of flames

Sensors that allow cheap, reliable and non-intrusive monitoring and subsequent active control of combustion processes are necessary for the development of combustors operating under potentially unstable operation conditions (e.g., for very lean or low-temperature combustion). Chemiluminescence in the UV-Vis region fulfills all of these requirements, and it has been shown that it can be used to determine flame parameters such as stoichiometry and heat release quantitatively. However, even though flame emissions have been studied for more than one century, important facts still remain unknown. Especially, reaction pathways leading to chemiluminescent species such as OH∗, CH∗, C∗2 and CO ∗ 2 are still under debate and cannot be modeled with standard codes for flame simulation. In several cases, even the source species of spectral features observed in flames are unknown. To investigate these processes in more detail, the cooperative research project “Chemiluminescence and Heat Release” has been started in 2006 with support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under contract PAK 116. Seven individual projects, contributions from nine groups and institutions including the IWR and PCI at Heidelberg University, DLR Stuttgart, IVG of University of Duisburg– Essen, PC1 at Bielefeld University, EKT at TU Darmstadt, PTB Braunschweig, TCP at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and LTD at TU Munchen. The project has been very

Position paper on the management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension

This article is aimed at addressing the current state of the art in epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic procedures and treatment options for appropriate management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in cardiovascular (particularly hypertensive) patients, as well as for the management of cardiovascular diseases (particularly arterial hypertension) in OSA patients. The present document is the result of the work done by a panel of experts participating in the European Union COST (COoperation in Scientific and Technological research) ACTION B26 on OSA, with the endorsement of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH). These recommendations are particularly aimed at reminding cardiovascular experts to consider the occurrence of sleep-related breathing disorders in patients with high blood pressure. They are at the same time aimed at reminding respiration experts to consider the occurrence of hypertension in patients with respiratory problems at night.

Analyzing rare diseases terms in biomedical terminologies

Rare disease patients too often face common problems, including the lack of access to correct diagnosis, lack of quality information on the disease, lack of scientific knowledge of the disease, inequities and difficulties in access to treatment and care. These things could be changed by implementing a comprehensive approach to rare diseases, increasing international cooperation in scientific research, by gaining and sharing scientific knowledge about and by developing tools for extracting and sharing knowledge. A significant aspect to analyze is the organization of knowledge in the biomedical field for the proper management and recovery of health information. For these purposes, the sources needed have been acquired from the Office of Rare Diseases Research, the National Organization of Rare Disorders and Orphanet, organizations that provide information to patients and physicians and facilitate the exchange of information among different actors involved in this field. The present paper shows the representation of rare diseases terms in biomedical terminologies such as MeSH, ICD-10, SNOMED CT and OMIM, leveraging the fact that these terminologies are integrated in the UMLS. At the first level, it was analyzed the overlap among sources and at a second level, the presence of rare diseases terms in target sources included in UMLS, working at the term and concept level. We found that MeSH has the best representation of rare diseases terms.

Protection and utilization of genetic resources in international cooperative study

Human genetic resource is a special kind of resource,which is an important media through which people understand about their life. Its protection and utilization is particularly significant.To understand the current situation,the author analyzed the international cooperative research projects that involved human genetic resource and approved during 1999 and 2010 at Chinese Academy of Medicine. Problems were identified and suggestions were proposed so as to provide reference for proper management. Key words: International cooperation; Genetic resources; Protection and utilization

Multi-Disciplinary Hazard Reduction from Earthquakes and Volcanoes in Indonesia

Indonesian and Japanese researchers have conducted a three-year, multi-disciplinary, cooperative research project. The project provides a platform for collaboration among researchers in natural science, engineering, and social or humanity sciences, and for officials in national and local governments. Research activities are grouped into (1) evaluation of earthquake potential and prediction of strong-motion and tsunami hazards based on geophysical investigations, (2) shortterm and long-term predictions of volcanic eruptions and development of methods for their evaluation, (3) establishment of social infrastructure based on engineering developments, (4) mitigation of social vulnerability to geohazards, and (5) promotion of disaster education and raising of disaster consciousness. To coordinate these research activities and to utilize the research results, the project has one last group, (6) application of the research and establishment of a collaboration mechanism between researchers and government officials. In addition to research collaboration in individual fields, inter-group meetings and workshops are regularly held to promote inter-disciplinary discussion and collaboration. Multi-disciplinary surveys on recent volcanic and tsunami disasters have also been conducted. The Joint Coordinating Committee, composed of representatives of relevant Indonesian ministries and institutions as well as project leaders, oversees the unique multi-institutional and multidisciplinary activities. This committee can be maintained after the completion of the project as a platform for Indonesian stakeholders.

The Design and Development of China Sports Scientific Research Cooperation Platform Base on E-science Paradigm

E-science research is a new research collaboration pattern emerging in the information age. Compared with traditional research methods, E-science provides great developing space for the sharing and exchanging of scientific research. This paper illustrates a B / S structure based method of designing and implementing sports science collaboration platform applying E-science theory. The platform originates from sports research reality, whose function modules include first page, scientific research progress, research program collaboration, personal zone, research collaboration tools, management of academic meeting, research information online, sharing scientific apparatus, questionnaire, and systematic management. The platform solves key techniques concerning sports researchers’ scientific research project cooperation, scientific research resources integration, scientific research process control, and provides the possibility to sports researchers for scientific cooperation and innovation.

National, Regional and Global Perspectives of Higher Education and Science Policies in the Arab Region

In this paper we discuss the interaction between science policies (and particularly in the area of scientific research) and higher education policies in Gulf and Mediterranean Arab countries. Our analysis reveals a discrepancy between the two sub-regions with respect to integration in the global market, cooperation in scientific research and international mobility of students. The paper discusses the implications of the analysis of reform policies and higher education restructuring.

Acoustic monitoring of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet, Alaska

Cook Inlet belugas (CIB) form a small geographically and genetically isolated population, endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. They summer in the northern end of the inlet, but their wintertime distribution is essentially unknown. Factors impeding the recovery of this population over the last decade are unknown, yet could include anthropogenic activities that impact their acoustic ecology, including coastal development, oil and gas exploration, and shipping and military activities. Beginning in 2008, a cooperative research project has acquired new information on background noise levels and seasonal presence of CIB using passive acoustic monitoring. Mooring packages containing ecological acoustic recorders and echolocation loggers (C-PODs) have been deployed at 10 sites for continuous monitoring. It is a challenging environment for acoustic monitoring because of extreme tides and currents, sediment dynamics, debris from rivers, and seasonal ice. Noise from both natural and anthropogenic sources often make beluga call detection challenging. However, the effort to date has met with success and is providing valuable insights into beluga movement patterns and the acoustic environment they face. This methodology also allows monitoring other odontocetes such as killer whales (Orcinus orca), detected mostly in the lower inlet, and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) detected throughout the inlet.

The Key Role of the Closed-loop Combustion Control for Exploiting the Potential of Biodiesel in a Modern Diesel Engine for Passenger Car Applications

The present paper describes the results of a cooperative research project between GM Powertrain Europe and Istituto Motori CNR aimed at studying the capability of GM Combustion Closed-Loop Control (CLCC) in enabling seamless operation with high biodiesel blending levels in a modern diesel engine for passenger car applications. As a matter of fact, fuelling modern electronically-controlled diesel engines with high blends of biodiesel leads to a performance reduction of about 12-15% at rated power and up to 30% in the low-end torque, while increasing significantly the engine-out NOx emissions. These effects are both due to the interaction of the biodiesel properties with the control logic of the electronic control unit, which is calibrated for diesel operation. However, as the authors previously demonstrated, if engine calibration is re-tuned for biodiesel fuelling, the above mentioned drawbacks can be compensated and the biodiesel environmental inner qualities can be fully deployed. In order to enable such calibration re-tuning, it is fundamental to achieve a reliable biodiesel blending detection, and to use it for realtime combustion optimization, chiefly by optimizing the injection train. Therefore, the authors investigated the capability of CLCC to detect biodiesel blending ratio on the recently released 2.0L Euro5 GM diesel engine equipped with embedded pressure sensors in the glow plugs. Various blends of biodiesel were tested, notably 20% by volume (B20), 50% (B50) and pure biodiesel (B100). Tests on the multicylinder engine were carried out in a wide range of engine operating points for the complete characterization of the biodiesel performance in the NEDC cycle. The results demonstrated the successful capability of the CLCC control to detect biodiesel blending with reasonable accuracy and to implement the corrective actions to avoid emission drift and performance losses.

Research and Capacity Building for Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases: The Need for a Different Approach

Research and Capacity Building for Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases: The Need for a Different Approach

LeukemiaNet: A transnational model for cooperative leukemia research.

6556 Background: Leukemia research may be jeopardized by lack of communication structures or fragmentation of study activities, insufficient interaction and underestimation of the problem. Methods: Recognizing that the only way to cure leukemia is by cooperative research, scientists in Europe in 2002, set out to establish an exemplary cooperative network for research in leukemia, the European LeukemiaNet (ELN). At present, ELN integrates 105 national leukemia trial groups and networks, 105 interdisciplinary specialty groups and about 1000 leukemia specialists from 175 institutions. They care for ten thousands of leukemia patients in 33 countries. Results: The most visible results are 1.) those due to the cooperative research projects and trials as reflected by a large number of high impact publications; and 2.) the guidelines and management recommendations for virtually every type of leukemia and interdisciplinary specialty which have lain the groundwork for uniform definitions and standards required for common clinical trials and projects. Conclusions: ELN is a model of transnational cooperation. Working together successfully has created a spirit of cooperation and mutual trust. Due to its structured and long-term cooperation, ELN is likely to have a durable impact on leukemia research in Europe. By promoting cooperation over competition that is necessary for good research, ELN provides a competitive advantage for all participants to the benefit of every patient with leukemia worldwide.

Björn O. Roos: 1937–2010. Mentor, colleague, innovator

Björn O. Roos: 1937–2010. Mentor, colleague, innovator

Acoustic monitoring of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet, Alaska.

Cook Inlet belugas (CIBs) are listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Their current seasonal distribution is essentially unknown and the factors impeding their recovery over the past decade are unknown, yet could include anthropogenic activities that impact their acoustic ecology, including coastal development, oil and gas exploration, shipping and military activities. Beginning in 2008, a cooperative research project has acquired new information on background noise levels and the seasonal presence of CIBs throughout Cook Inlet using passive acoustic monitoring. Mooring packages containing ecological acoustic recorders (EARs) and echolocation loggers (C‐PODs) have been deployed at ten sites to continuously monitor the presence of CIBs. Cook Inlet is a challenging environment for acoustic monitoring because of extreme tides and currents, sediment dynamics, debris from rivers and seasonal ice that characterize the area. Noise from both natural and anthropogenic sources often make beluga call detection challenging. However, the effort to date has met with success and is providing valuable insights into beluga movement patterns and the acoustic environment they face. This methodology also allows monitoring other odontocetes such as killer whales (Orcinus orca), detected mostly in the lower inlet, and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) detected throughout the inlet.

Diffusion Phase Formation in the Cu-Sn Nanofilms System

Processes involved in the structure and phase formation in the thin film systems Sn(4 nm)/Cu(14 nm) and Сu(14 nm)/Sn(8 nm) in the temperature range 130-500 оС were studied using “in situ” electron imaging and Transmission Electron Microscopy methods (TEM). Solubility of Sn α – solid solution Cu-Sn has been determined from the changes in the lattice parameter. This work was performed in the framework of the Swedish Institute supported cooperative research project “Thin metal films – the interplay of structure diffusion and boundaries” (SI dnr 00699/2009).

Examination of the prevalence of skin injuries in debeaked fattened turkeys

Within the framework of a cooperative research project, turkey health as well as numerous aspects of animal welfare were examined in various intensive commercial farms with varying rearing forms. The present study demonstrates the prevalence of skin injuries concerning living animals as well as carcasses of slaughtered turkeys of both sexes. Although all turkeys were debeaked, prevalences of skin injuries at a value of 12.8% with male turkeys and 13.8% with female turkeys could be found at the age of 16 weeks. Within the scope of medically inspections skin injuries were mainly established in the head region, especially the snood as well as in the region of the back. By means of their clinical picture pecking wounds and scratch injuries could be distinguished. Skin lesion produced primary as a result of scratching the skin surface, could be enlarged by the animal itself or by conspecifics by beak pecking, especially after bleeding, in spite of debeaked upper beak. Injuries in the head region, especially of the snood, could be explained mainly as a result of pecking by conspecifics by reason of their clinical picture and were found mainly in male turkeys. Skin injuries in the region of the back, especially at the coxal tuberosity, were identified primarily as scratch marks. They were found mainly in female turkeys. A statistically significant correlation of the injury prevalence to particular husbandry parameters discussed in the literature as "predisposing" or "limiting" factors (e.g., population density, light regime or offer of employment material) could not be established in this study. At the meat inspection fresh scratching injuries at the chest and the hind legs were diagnosed most often. Especially fresh injuries of the carcass point to a misguided behaviour of the staff concerning animal handling during loading and transport which is not conform to animal welfare.

Influence of production process chain on grain size stability of a microalloyed 20CrMo5 case hardening steel

Abstract Within the scope of a research project in cooperation with steelmakers and steel users, the whole production process chain of gear parts was investigated concerning the influence on the grain size stability. Three different case hardening steels were investigated in a basic and a microalloyed state. This paper discusses the results gained with a case hardening steel with a new alloying concept, called 20CrMo5. The grain size stabilities of four different industrially produced states of the microalloyed material are compared to the standard material produced in a standard production chain. As a result, it emerged that additional annealing treatments above the eutectoid temperature within the production process chain reduce the grain stability of microalloyed steels.

Investigations of the drying process of a water based paint film for automotive applications

In a cooperative research project funded by the German BMBF the drying process in the automotive industry has been investigated. More precisely, it was the aim of the project to develop a simulation program that in its final stage allows the calculation of the heat-up process of a fully painted car body, including heat and mass transfer in the thin, water based paint film. The investigations focused on the joint base coat and clear coat drying process used in the automotive industry. A physical model was developed that treats mass and heat transfer of a ternary mixture applied as a thin film on a substrate. This model was added to the commercial CFD-Solver ANSYS-FLUENT and successfully compared with experimental data in practical conditions. The estimation of paint failures, i.e. pinholes that might occur due to unfavourable drying, which is based upon an empirical model applying a design-of-experiments scheme, was also added to the CFD-Solver.

Contribution of rare disease patient organisations to medical education

Faced with about 7000 rare diseases, the limited knowledge of physicians is obvious, and deficits in diagnosis and therapy in consequence as well. Rare disease patients however, being usually confronted with only one disease or syndrome during their life time learn to cope with the symptoms, course and specificities of their disease and acquire expertise in diagnostics and treatments, as well as a feeling for a limited competence even of specialists. As disease-specific patient organisations provide a platform for the exchange of these experiences and for the provision of specialised information and/or services, the question arises: How is the knowledge of patients and the infrastructure of patient organisations utilised not only for the benefit of patients but also for the continuous education of doctors? A Charite research project in cooperation with ACHSE (German Rare Disease Umbrella Organization), funded by the German Ministry of Health, among other aspects investigates the “Contribution of patient organisations to medical education”, by - implementing a survey of rare disease patient organisations (members of ACHSE), - providing the documentation, analysis and support of activities of rare disease patient organisations for the training and continuous education of doctors. As the project is still ongoing at the time of the ECRD, only a few interim results and preliminary recommendations can be presented So far: Method of data collection - E-mail questionnaire survey of 90 member organisations of ACHSE with short introductory paper attached; - Good response rate of 58%, i.e. 52 member organisations responded by end March 2010 Preliminary overall results: - Most RD patient organisations are actively and successfully involved in numerous activities for and by doctors, researchers and clinicians specialised in the field of their respective diseases; - Priority is placed on the organisations of annual or biannual conferences, research colloquia and patient days followed by patient-oriented presentations, articles and publications in specialised professional meetings, journals, books etc. - Training of medical students by patient organisations is far less important than education of doctors although some innovative activities exist. Major preliminary recommendation: The regular observation, collection of data and support of educational activities by RD patient organisations for doctors and medical professionals is recommended, given their specific learning impact and benefit of interaction not only for professionals but also for patients, patient representatives, researchers and the wider public. Contribution of Rare Disease Patient Organisations to Medical Education in Germany