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The Genetic Factors Controlling the Accumulation of Amylase/Trypsin Inhibitors (ATIs) in Barley for Enhancing Human Nutrition and Health
Full text linkAmylase trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) are a group of proteins in all cereals\u27 seeds, including wheat, barley, rye, and maize. Currently, ATIs are the most studied wheat components since they are linked to celiac disease and baker\u27s asthma. The interest has increased since 2012, when they were shown to trigger the innate immune system and intestinal and extra-intestinal inflammation. Even though ATIs are present in many plant-based diets, the genetic factors underlying these proteins have not yet been investigated in barley. To this end, this study was designed to measure ten ATI proteins in a diverse barley collection grown under field conditions. Ample natural variation among the accessions in ten ATIs has been measured, which showed a substantial role in the accumulation of ATI_total, such as CMa, CMd, CMe, BTI_CMc, and AIBDAI_1. A genome-wide association scan (GWAS) utilizing a large number of molecular markers demonstrated that the accumulation of ATIs was influenced by many small to medium quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs). Eight QTNs showed the highest association with ATIs, particularly AIBDAI, whereas these QTNs negatively influenced ATI accumulation. Genomic investigations identified Serine/threonine protein phosphatase as a putative candidate gene. Our research provides the initial analysis of the ATI proteins found in barley, which might potentially contribute to enhancing the quality of barley-based food products. As a result, the study demonstrated that cultivars with lower ATI proteins can speed up their integration to improve the quality of barley products and diminish the possibility of some diseases
Comparison of different solvent suppression techniques for polymer characterization with a 90 MHz benchtop spectrometer
Full text linkIn NMR spectroscopy, samples are usually dissolved in deuterated solvents to avoid overlap of small analyte signals with large, protonated solvent signals. However, for reasons such as cost and widespread use, using deuterated solvents is impractical, e.g., for on-flow NMR applications, since large volumes of solvent are required. This study compares six different solvent suppression techniques: PRESATuration (PRESAT), Water suppression Enhanced through T1 effects (WET), Pulsed Gradient STimulated Echo (PGSTE), 1-pulse-spoil, simple solvent subtraction, and a newly developed post-acquisition suppression method named Solvent Attenuation by Fourier Elimination (SAFE). The SAFE method is based on alternating measurements of the sample solution and the pure solvent 2n times, followed by a fast Fourier transform to eliminate the solvent signals, which are constant in the first approximation. The different solvent suppression methods were compared alone and in several combinations to determine their optimum suppression efficiency. The suppression was quantified by evaluating the Analyte-to-Solvent Ratio normalized to the unsuppressed 1H reference spectrum (ASR). Furthermore, a comparison was made between the methods concerning their suitability for polymer solutions of varying molar masses, quantification towards measurement time efficiency, repeatability, and intermediate precision. The PGSTE-SAFE combination proved to be the most efficient method for polymer samples, achieving an ASR of about 47,000. The applicability of solvent suppression methods in flow-based setups was also assessed by investigating polystyrenes in non-deuterated solvents. WET, PGSTE, and a WET-PGSTE combination were applied in online Size Exclusion Chromatography-NMR (SECsingle bondNMR) to demonstrate their potential for efficient solvent suppression in this context
Progress Toward Efficient Wide‐Gap Cu (In,Ga)(S,Se) Thin‐Film Solar Cells
Full text linkIn this paper, wide-gap Cu (In,Ga)(S,Se) thin-film solar cells are studied in view of their performance, limitations, and opportunities for further optimization. To this end, a wide variety of properties is investigated. This includes the role of gallium gradients, grain size effects, electronic properties, doping metastabilities, and minority carrier lifetime. Particular emphasis is placed on the impact of alkali atoms. A comparison of surface, interface, and grain boundary chemistry shows systematic atomic accumulation and depletion effects. This leads to electronic modifications in the grain boundary regions of the absorber. Heavy alkali treatments also influence the device properties, giving a clear boost of open-circuit voltage. By the combination of different experimental results, this positive open-circuit voltage effect has been explained in terms of reduction of interface recombination. The latter effects are discussed in view of a possible alkali–indium–selenium bond formation at the interface between the absorber and the buffer layer. The properties of a 14.2%-efficient Cu (In,Ga)Se-based device with [Ga]/([Ga] + [In]) = 0.8 and a wide optical band gap of 1.48 eV are investigated, also in view of further opportunities for improvement
Ergebnisbericht Forschungsunterstützte Maßnahmen zur Transformation von Anlagen für klimaneutrale Kraftstoffe (reFuels) in den industriellen Maßstab
Full text linkDas Projekt „Forschungsunterstützte Maßnahmen zur Transformation von Anlagen für klimaneutrale Kraftstoffe (reFuels) in den industriellen Maßstab“ hat den Entwurf einer produktvariablen Kraftstoffsyntheseanlage hinsichtlich der Effekte auf Kraftstoffkosten und mögliche Treibhausgasreduktionen analysiert. Hierzu wurden mit Unterstützung eines beauftragen Entwicklungsdienstleisters die Stoff- und Energieströme der Anlage in zwei unterschiedlichen Aufbau- und Betriebsphasen ermittelt und darauf aufbauend Kosten- und Treibhausgasemissionen berechnet. Die Ergebnisse wurden in einer zweiten Auftragsarbeit mit einer anonymisierten Technologie-Umfrage und Betrachtungen abgeglichen.
Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass eine produktvariable Kraftstoffsynthese auf Basis von Methanol technisch umsetzbar ist. Die Wirtschaftlichkeitsbetrachtung hat unter den getroffenen Annahmen gezeigt, dass ein über alle Koppelprodukte gleichmäßig verteilter Mehrkostenfaktor von 1,8 nicht unterschritten werden kann. Werden nur einzelne Produkte vertrieben, steigen für diese die Mehrkostenfaktoren bis auf 10 an. Die Ergebnisse der Ökobilanz werden wesentlich vom Treibhausgasfußabdruck des Methanols und der verwendeten Prozessenergien dominiert. Eine potenzielle Berücksichtigung von Gutschriften zu über Nebenprodukte vermiedenen Treibhausgasemissionen ermöglicht sogar trotz des Mehraufwandes der Kerosin-Synthese negative Treibhausgasemissionen der Kraftstoffprodukte
Using Synthetic Data and Artificial Intelligence for Optimizing Tillage Process Quality Measurement
Full text linkAutomation in agriculture enhances efficiency and productivity. Taking tillage as an example, driving tasks such as steering and speed control are already highly automated, shifting the focus toward automating the tillage process itself. Measuring crop residue coverage - a key factor for erosion resistance, soil structure, and moisture - with semantic segmentation of camera images requires large, accurately annotated datasets. Manual annotation is time-consuming, error-prone, and challenging due to the fine structures of straw and the indistinct boundaries of soil aggregates. To overcome these issues, synthetic training data were generated using the modeling software Blender to model soil textures, residue distributions, and environmental conditions. Photorealism was subsequently enhanced through the machine learning method ControlNet. The approach was evaluated and tested using three datasets - real-world, Blender-generated, and ControlNet-generated - assessed with the mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) and Fréchet Inception Distance (FID) metrics. A semantic segmentation network, PIDNet, trained on real-world data, achieved an mIoU of 75.0 %. The network trained on the Blender dataset obtained 52.9 % due to limited realism. In contrast, ControlNet-generated data achieved 69.3 % with improved FID scores compared to the Blender dataset, indicating higher realism and superior model performance. Finally, after fine-tuning the segmentation model based on the ControlNet dataset with real data, an mIoU of 75.4 % was reached. These findings indicate that high-quality synthetic data can reduce annotation effort, minimize labeling errors, and, in some instances, outperform real data in training machine learning models
Application of 2D elastic FWI to Rayleigh waves acquired at the Herrenknecht test site
Full text linkElastic full-waveform inversion (FWI) is a physics-based method that can recover quantita-
tive subsurface models by fitting synthetic to observed seismograms. In the near surface,
where depths of interest are in the order of tens of meters, Rayleigh waves are the dominant
energy in seismic records and carry strong sensitivity to shear-wave velocity. Exploiting
this information is particularly valuable for engineering.
The objective of this thesis is to construct a two-dimensional elastic reference model of
the Herrenknecht gravel test site in southern Germany. This site serves as the validation
ground for the newly developed Urban Vibro Truck (UVT), a mobile seismic vibrator
intended for urban geophysical surveys. A reliable near-surface model is essential both for
characterizing the test site itself and for calibrating the emitted source signal.
Seismic data were acquired along two perpendicular profiles using hammer blows at 4 m
intervals and vertical-component geophones at 1 m spacing. Two alternative starting
models were tested: a four-layer model obtained from dispersion-curve inversion and a
smooth linear-gradient model. In both cases, elastic 2D FWI converged to consistent
solutions. The results reveal a low-velocity zone of approximately 200 m/s within the upper
3–5 m, underlain by a rapid increase to 400–500 m/s and a gradual rise to 600–700 m/s at
16 m depth. These features are consistent across both profiles and at their intersection
point, demonstrating the robustness of the inversion.
Multi-parameter tests examined whether compressional velocity (Vp) and density (ρ) could
be reconstruct in addition to shear-wave velocity (Vs). While joint inversions achieved
similar reductions in data misfit, the Vp and ρmodels remained poorly resolved and showed
strong parameter trade-offs. In contrast, the Vs-only inversions yielded stable, geologically
plausible results.
Overall, the study confirms that Rayleigh-wave-based elastic FWI provides a reliable
and reproducible Vs model of the shallow subsurface. This reference model will support
future validation of the UVT source and illustrates both the strengths and limitations of
Rayleigh-wave FWI in near-surface geophysics
The evolving modalities of gentrification in Athens vis-à-vis Greece’s shifting growth models: Insight from a novel multi-scalar approach
Full text linkGentrification theory remains highly relevant, particularly amid an escalating international housing crisis. Yet, in Southern Europe, despite soaring rents and deepening dependence on tourism, the analytical rigour of gentrification theory is contested. This article draws on early accounts from within critical geography and employs a novel, multi-scalar approach, combining secondary, primary and policy analysis, to examine waves of gentrification in Athens, an illustrative Southern European metropolis, vis-à-vis domestic growth models. Its analysis distinguishes two waves of gentrification up to the 2004 Olympic Games gradually restructuring Athens’ inner city amid Greece’s primarily urbanisation-driven growth. It also identifies two further waves to the present during which time gentrification sprawled outward and intertwined with touristification. The findings show gentrification in Athens evolving as Greece’s construction-driven model shifted towards tourism dependence; initially, to exploit emerging rent gaps and rationalise inner-city landscapes amid the structural weaknesses of domestic industry, and subsequently, to restructure property markets towards tourism-related uses and facilitate debt-driven financialisation. Building on these findings, the article argues that gentrification in Athens not only adapts to shifting sectoral priorities but actively accommodates future trends, including touristification. Moreover, stressing that the imperative of extracting value from the built environment has remained diachronically unchallenged, it emphasises gentrification in Athens’ function as a key spatial fix for capital in Greece. In doing so, the article re-situates the process within broader cycles of uneven spatial development, underscores the analytical capacity of gentrification theory and provincialises urban theory beyond the dominant Anglo-centric discourse
TerraTimber: Digital circular construction methodologies for structural hybrid building systems with reclaimed wood and earth
Full text linkThe TerraTimber research demonstrator examines digital circular construction techniques that utilize reclaimed wood and earth in hybrid structural systems. Through computational design and Augmented Reality (AR)-aided assembly, a full-scale modular system comprising columns, beams, slabs, and walls is investigated, focusing on a hybrid floor component. Geometric interlocking and friction provide a shear interface between wood and earth, thereby creating structural synergy. Computational tools optimize the integration of irregular reclaimed wood elements, while wooden nails enable metal-free connections and recycling. AR technologies enable assembly, combining computational precision, material imperfections, and human craft skills. A 1:1 prototype was built, and structural tests were conducted to assess load-bearing capacity and serviceability. The system ensures structural performance, exhibiting only 4.8 mm of deformation under typical residential load conditions, while offering design opportunities, particularly in terms of ceiling appearances. This modular approach extends material lifecycles, aligns with Digital Upcycling principles, and promotes resource efficiency for sustainable construction
Energy efficient control of electric driven vessels including current effects
Full text linkEnergy consumption and emissions in shipping are playing an expanding role due to their impact on climate change. Combined with the shortage of nautical staff, automation and autonomy concepts move into the focus. Autonomous ships offer the opportunity to increase energy efficiency through intelligent control and trajectory planning. Given the example of an electric driven vessel it is shown how energy demands can be reduced by taking disturbances, such as water currents, into account in trajectory planning. For this, trajectory tracking is performed with a model predictive control approach. Therefore, an overall model of the ship with two effectors that are operated by electric drives (actuators) as an alternative to diesel or gasoline engines is used. The energy demand is investigated on the basis of the energy level of a high voltage battery that delivers the power to electrical machines