Gneuss (Germany)

Hermetically sealed oil-filled power transformers are manufactured with a sealed and gastight tank. A gas cushion, usually compressed nitrogen or dry air, is maintained above the liquid. In case of severe faults, the generation of a considerable amount of fault gases is expected, which will, in the case of hermetically sealed power transformers, gradually escape from the insulating liquid and diffuse into the gas cushion. As a cost-effective and compact alternative to gas chromatography, a prototype semiconductor-based online monitoring system of undissolved fault gases was developed by the Schering-Institute. In this contribution, the new monitoring system is investigated regarding its accuracy under different conditions.

To acquire needed resources, companies often build relationships with various types of partners in ‘open innovation’ (OI) relationships. However, such relationships have considerable downsides related to the risk of partners’ opportunistic behaviour, and managers need to know how to manage such behaviours if they are to profit from the external resources that OI relationships offer. Drawing on resource dependency theory, this study investigates how firms can manage their OI relationships effectively to deal with their upsides and downsides in terms of resource acquisition and opportunistic behaviour. Furthermore, this study examines an open organisational context in the form of open strategy as well as open structures and processes as contingency factors. The multisource data for the empirical analyses stem from survey data from managers in 181 companies and secondary data from a financial database. The results reveal that an open strategy facilitates the transformation of acquired resources into OI product performance and market success. However, an open strategy also increases the risk of partners’ opportunistic behaviour and its effect on OI product performance, contrary to the hypotheses. The results indicate that when firms seek to counter the negative impact of opportunistic behaviour, they should implement open structures and processes. Overall, the findings provide guidance for managers about how to ensure that their OI relationships thrive.

Caecilians are elongate, limbless and annulated amphibians that, with the exception of one aquatic family, all have an at least partly fossorial lifestyle. It has been suggested that caecilian evolution resulted in sturdy and compact skulls with fused bones and tight sutures, as an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits. However, although their cranial osteology is well described, relationships between form and function remain poorly understood. In the present study, we explored the relationship between cranial shape and in vivo burrowing forces. Using micro-computed tomography (µCT) data, we performed 3D geometric morphometrics to explore whether cranial and mandibular shapes reflected patterns that might be associated with maximal push forces. The results highlight important differences in maximal push forces, with the aquatic Typhlonectes producing a lower force for a given size compared with other species. Despite substantial differences in head morphology across species, no relationship between overall skull shape and push force could be detected. Although a strong phylogenetic signal may partly obscure the results, our conclusions confirm previous studies using biomechanical models and suggest that differences in the degree of fossoriality do not appear to be driving the evolution of head shape.

To mitigate the risk of wake vortex encounters during final approach, so-called plate lines have been developed. Wake vortices generated by landing aircraft induce secondary vortices at the plates’ surfaces that approach the primary vortices and trigger premature wake vortex decay. Each plate line consists of several upright plates being installed underneath the approach slope. While the plate line extends perpendicular to the flight direction, its individual plates are oriented in parallel to the runway centerline. To obtain the approval of the authorities for the installation of the plate lines at runway 16 of Vienna International Airport, the plate design had to comply with airport requirements like obstacle clearance, stability, and frangibility. During a six-month campaign, wake vortex behavior of about 9500 landings with and without plates was measured simultaneously by three lidars complemented by a comprehensive suite of meteorological instrumentation. The analysis of over 1000 measured wake vortex evolutions indicates that the plate lines reduce the lifetimes of the vortices in a safety corridor along the final approach by 22–37% depending on the aircraft type. This corresponds to a reduction of vortex circulation by about 50% for the most relevant International Civil Aviation Organization separation (Medium behind Heavy).

Dieses Kapitel spricht über Umsetzung einer WU-Betonkonstruktion im Bestand, Bauausführung und Erstellung der WU-Betonkonstruktion. Vor Planungsbeginn sind neben der Kenntnis des Schadenbildes und des Grades der vorliegenden Feuchtebeastung weitere grundlegende objektbezogene Kenntnisse erforderlich. Diese sind die konkrete Lage des Bauwerkstandortes und die Höhenlage des Bemessungswasserstandes. Der Bemessungswasserstand weist die Höhe der möglichen am Gebäude anstehenden wassergesättigten Zone in m NHN aus. Die Dimensionierung der neuen WU-Betonkonstruktion wird auf die ermittelten Fakten abgestimmt und die Detailausführungsplanung kann dann erstellt werden. Damit die neue WU-Betonkonstruktion kraftschlüssig mit dem Bestandsgebäude verbunden werden kann,müssen die individuell erforderlichen Rückbaumaßnahmen erfolgen. Nach erfolgreichem Rückbau kann die Erstellung der WU-Betonkonstruktion begonnen werden. Die Ausführung erfolgt in mehreren Bau- und Betonierabschnitten. Dies ergibt sich aus der Notwendigkeit, dassbeim Einbau der neuen WU-Betonkonstruktion die Standsicherheit des Gebäudes nicht gefährdet wird. Die Dauerhaftigkeit des Betons wird über die vom Planer festzulegenden Expositions- und Feuchtigkeitsklassen sichergestellt.

Purpose. Optimized biocompatibility is a major requirement for alloplastic materials currently applied for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair. In the preliminary studies the mesh modification by coating with autologous plasma resulted in the increased adherence score in vitro and improved biocompatibility in an animal model. The first use of plasma coated meshes in human is presented. Materials and Methods. Between 04/2013 and 05/2014, 20 patients with the indication for SUI and POP repair were selected in a single institution. The applied meshes were modified by autologous plasma coating prior to implantation. A retrospective chart review for peri- and early postoperative complications was performed. Functional outcome and QoL were evaluated pre- and postoperatively. Results. The functional outcome and QoL improved significantly in all groups. Two reoperations (Grade IIIB) with the release of TVT-mesh in anesthesia due to the obstruction were needed. No other severe complications were registered. Conclusion. For the first time we applied a mesh modification in a human setting according to IDEAL criteria of surgical innovations. The procedure of mesh coating with autologous plasma is safe and a prospective randomized trial proving a positive effect of plasma coating on the biocompatibility and morbidity outcome with long-term registry is planned.