Geförderte OA-Publikationen

Assessments of source reconstruction procedures in electroencephalography and computations of transcranial electrical stimulation profiles require verification and validation with the help of ground truth configurations as implemented by physical head phantoms. For these phantoms, synthetic materials are needed, which are mechanically and electrochemically stable and possess conductivity values similar to the modeled human head tissues. Three-compartment head models comprise a scalp layer with a conductivity range of 0.137 S/m to 2.1 S/m, a skull layer with conductivity values between 0.066 S/m and 0.00275 S/m, and an intracranial volume with an often-used average conductivity value of 0.33 S/m. To establish a realistically shaped physical head phantom with a well-defined volume conduction configuration, we here characterize the electrical conductivity of synthetic materials for modeling head compartments. We analyzed agarose hydrogel, gypsum, and sodium chloride (NaCl) solution as surrogate materials for scalp, skull, and intracranial volume. We measured the impedance of all materials when immersed in NaCl solution using a four-electrode setup. The measured impedance values were used to calculate the electrical conductivity values of each material. Further, the conductivities in the longitudinal and transverse directions of reed sticks immersed in NaCl solution were measured to test their suitability for mimicking the anisotropic conductivity of white matter tracts.

The problem of the haze caused by huge forest fires persists as an annual transboundary problem for Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia. In 2015, the problem was worse than ever before, affecting many countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and causing respiratory ailments for more than half a million Indonesians. This study explores the media framing of the haze problem in Indonesia from June to December 2015. Using Entman’s framing approach, it investigates how media outlets from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore covered the crisis. Articles from six online media outlets published in these three countries were analysed. Using cluster analysis, this research identified three frames as follows: (1) crisis frame, (2) immediate action frame, and (3) regular problem frame. The first cluster/frame consists of articles giving high salience to all problems and causes of the forest fires provoking the haze. In contrast, the second frame mostly ignores causes and problems and focuses almost exclusively on the need for immediate action. The third frame, which represents more than 60% of the articles, covers the haze problem as a regular issue without emphasizing prominently either the different aspects of the problem itself or its causes and solutions. Further results show that the media in Singapore and Malaysia used the crisis frame more often than the media in Indonesia.

Vapor compression systems (VCS) cover a wide range of applications and consume large amounts of energy. In this context, previous research identified the optimization of the condenser fans speed as a promising measure to improve the energy efficiency of VCS. The present paper introduces a steady-state modeling approach of an air-cooled VCS to predict the ideal condenser fan speed. The model consists of a hybrid characterization of the main components of a VCS and the optimization problem is formulated as minimizing the total energy consumption by respectively adjusting the condenser fan and compressor speed. In contrast to optimization strategies found in the literature, the proposed model does not relay on algorithms, but provides a single optimization term to predict the ideal fan speed. A detailed experimental validation demonstrates the feasibility of the model approach and further suggests that the ideal condenser fan speed can be calculated with sufficient precision, assuming constant evaporating pressure, compressor efficiency, subcooling, and superheating, respectively. In addition, a control strategy based on the developed model is presented, which is able to drive the VCS to its optimal operation. Therefore, the study provides a crucial input for set-point optimization and steady-state modeling of air-cooled vapor compression systems.