Gesellschaft für Fertigungstechnik und Entwicklung

The TRIPLE project aims to develop key technologies for a future space mission dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life on Jupiter’s moon Europa. The mission concept is based on a melting probe designed to penetrate Europa’s ice shell and deploy scientific instruments into the underlying subsurface ocean to search for life and biosignatures. To validate the feasibility of this approach, the developed technologies are tested stepwise in terrestrial analogue environments under extreme conditions.Within the TRIPLE-FRS project, a Forefield Reconnaissance System (FRS) for these ice-penetrating melting probes is being developed that combines radar and sonar sensing to scan the probe’s forefield. To enable in-situ correction of radar and sonar wave velocities, an additional sensor is integrated into the melting probe to measure the complex permittivity of the surrounding medium.This contribution presents the integration of the permittivity sensor into the melting probe TRIPLE-IceCraft, the achievable measurement accuracy for a wide range of dielectrics, and the results of validation experiments conducted in controlled freezer environments and on alpine glaciers. Furthermore, the role of the sensor system within an upcoming Antarctic field campaign at Neumayer Station III during the 2026/2027 season is outlined.

The retrofitting of existing reinforced concrete structures is of paramount importance due to aging structures, changes in design codes, and the need to enhance resilience against seismic events. This paper addresses this critical issue by presenting the results of an experimental campaign focused on evaluating the shear performance of old-to-new concrete interface, considering the application of a thin (5 cm) concrete overlay. Both monotonic and cyclic shear tests were conducted to assess the behavior under static and seismic loading conditions. Mechanical anchors were installed into the existing concrete as connectors. The study investigates the influence of different concrete types, i.e. normal-weight and lightweight concrete, used for the overlay. The experimentally obtained shear strength values were compared with predictions derived from established design codes and guidelines: Eurocode 2 (old and new versions) and EOTA TR066. The aim of the comparison was to understand if the available codes are able to predict the experimental behavior when using an overlay with limited thickness and a lightweight concrete. TR066 results conservative but able to predict the failure mode, while the new Eurocode 2 gives the best prediction of resistance, although it does not cover very short embedment depth and seismic action. Lastly, the evaluation of the reduction coefficient α seis is made to account the behavior of the connectors under seismic action.

Kinder finden in den geltenden Normen und Richtlinien im Bauwesen oft nur wenig Beachtung. Besonders Kinder mit Einschränkungen benötigen spezielle Bedingungen, um Umkleidebereiche sicher und eigenständig nutzen zu können. Viele Sporthallen sind allerdings nicht kindgerecht und inklusiv gestaltet, was die Teilhabe der Kinder erschwert. Umkleidebereiche sind ein essenzieller Bestandteil von Sporthallen, da sie die erste und letzte Station des Sports darstellen und somit erheblich zum Komfort und Wohlbefinden beitragen. [... aus dem Text]

IntroductionResearch indicates that the sexual support needs of patients with anorectal malformations (ARM) and Hirschsprung disease (HD) are often not addressed by patients, parents, and healthcare professionals (HPs) in their interactions. An international support website was developed to empower stakeholders, by addressing identified barriers. This study aimed to explore the empowerment potential of this disease-specific tool.Materials and MethodsTwo online surveys were disseminated between May 1 and October 1, 2023; one for HPs and another for patients/parents. The surveys sought to assess and understand the website's expected empowerment effect. Empowerment was conceptualized using patient/professional empowerment models. Data were descriptively analyzed.ResultsA total of 12 patients (ARM,n = 11; HD,n = 1), 17 parents (ARM,n = 9; HD,n = 8), and 20 HPs responded to the survey. HPs largely expected the website to have a positive empowerment effect, by providing a sense of meaning, information, support, and opportunities to learn and grow. Less of an effect was expected for “freeing up resources.” For patients and parents, an empowerment effect was also expected, by generating the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and self-awareness necessary to influence their own behavior and by providing a sense of meaning and coherence. Respondents experienced the website positively, yet one patient and one parent considered the website “fully complete.” Inclusivity, cultural sensitivity, and accessibility were highlighted as focus points.ConclusionTo increase the website's empowerment potential, attention should be paid to inclusivity, cultural sensitivity, and accessibility, as well as its implementation within the (institutional) contexts where patients, parents, and HPs interact.

Der Forschungsartikel widmet sich der Entwicklung architektonischer Lösungen zur Förderung der motorischen Entwicklung von Kindern mit Hemiparese in Folge eines Schlaganfalls. Besonders das Lernen mit möglichst wenig Druck steht im Vordergrund. Dabei wurde untersucht, welchen Einfluss ein Kindergarten auf die motorische Entwicklung nehmen kann und welche spezifischen architektonischen Aspekte Einfluss nehmen. Es wurden sowohl kleinere als auch größere Maßnahmen ausgearbeitet und Gestaltungsvorschläge erbracht. [... aus dem Text]

Human feedback is commonly utilized to finetune AI assistants. But human feedback may also encourage model responses that match user beliefs over truthful ones, a behaviour known as sycophancy. We investigate the prevalence of sycophancy in models whose finetuning procedure made use of human feedback, and the potential role of human preference judgments in such behavior. We first demonstrate that five state-of-the-art AI assistants consistently exhibit sycophancy across four varied free-form text-generation tasks. To understand if human preferences drive this broadly observed behavior, we analyze existing human preference data. We find that when a response matches a user's views, it is more likely to be preferred. Moreover, both humans and preference models (PMs) prefer convincingly-written sycophantic responses over correct ones a non-negligible fraction of the time. Optimizing model outputs against PMs also sometimes sacrifices truthfulness in favor of sycophancy. Overall, our results indicate that sycophancy is a general behavior of state-of-the-art AI assistants, likely driven in part by human preference judgments favoring sycophantic responses.

Abstract As a result of the New Leipzig Charter 2020 and the general shift towards a service society, the small business economic structure in cities is once again becoming significantly more relevant. Under the concept of the “Productive City”, small businesses are to be integrated more strongly into the existing various neighborhoods of a city. In order to implement the concept of the Productive City in practice, a typology with quantitative factors is needed to assign completed, ongoing and future urban development projects to the Productive City.

A perinatális veszteségek jelentőst traumát jelentenek a nők számára, melyek nem megfelelő feldolgozása számos rövid- és hosszú távú negatív hatással jár együtt. A vizsgálat célja annak felmérése, hogy a magzati halálozást megélt nők kaptak-e megfelelő lelki támogatást a szakemberek és a társas közeg részéről, illetve megjelent-e esetükben a komplikált gyász. A vizsgálatban 7 perinatális veszteséget megélt nő vett részt. Félig strukturált mélyinterjú segítségével került feltárása a veszteségek megélése, valamint az észlelt professzionális és társas támogatás szinte retrospektív jelleggel. Az adatelemzés a tartalomelemzés módszerével történt. A vizsgálat eredményei szerint a veszteséget megélt édesanyák számára nem biztosítottak az ellátás során professzionális lelki támogatást. A társas támogatás nem minden esetben tudott elegendő szupporciót biztosítani számukra, több esetben kommunikációs gátak alakultak ki a párkapcsolatban, illetve az egyéb társas kapcsolatokban. Az egészségügyi ellátással kapcsolatban több interjúalany idézett fel negatív tapasztalást. Egy esetben volt megállapítható súlyos komplikált gyász, melynek feldolgozása csak évekkel később történt meg. Jelen tanulmány felhívja a figyelmet a perinatális veszteséget megélt nők mentálhigiénés támogatásának fontosságára, valamint az szülészeti-nőgyógyászati osztályon dolgozó szakemberek érzékenyítésére.