Showing papers by "Leibniz University of Hanover published in 2009"

The physics of dipolar bosonic quantum gases

Abstract: This paper reviews the recent theoretical and experimental advances in the study of ultra-cold gases made of bosonic particles interacting via the long-range, anisotropic dipole–dipole interaction, in addition to the short-range and isotropic contact interaction usually at work in ultra-cold gases. The specific properties emerging from the dipolar interaction are emphasized, from the mean-field regime valid for dilute Bose–Einstein condensates, to the strongly correlated regimes reached for dipolar bosons in optical lattices. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

Rapid Room-Temperature Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocrystals of a Prototypical Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework

Abstract: Simply reacting Zn(NO3)2·6H2O with an excess of 2-methylimidazole in methanol at room temperature yields well-shaped nanocrystals of ZIF-8 with a narrow size distribution. The rapid growth has been monitored by time-resolved static light scattering. Nanoscale ZIF-8 powder is microporous and thermally stable up to ca. 200 °C.

Photoelectrocatalytic materials for environmental applications

Abstract: This feature article summarizes recent research on and development of semiconductor-based photocatalyst materials that are applicable to environmental remediation and/or chemical synthesis purposes. A wide variety of TiO2 particles and/or films have been studied during the past 30 years because they are the most stable and powerful photocatalysts leading to the degradation of various organic pollutants. The photocatalytic performance of other semiconductor materials such as ZnO, SnO2, WO3, Fe2O3 and CdS has also been intensively investigated. A general limitation in the efficiency of any photocatalytic process is the recombination of the photogenerated charge carriers, i.e., of electrons and holes, following bandgap illumination. Considerable efforts have been made to suppress this recombination and hence to enhance the charge carrier separation and the overall efficiency by means of coupling of different semiconductors with desirable matching of their electronic band structures, or incorporation of noble metal nanoclusters onto the surface of semiconductor photocatalyst particles. Modification of the physicochemical properties, such as particle size, surface area, porosity and/or crystallinity of the semiconductor materials, and optimization of the experimental conditions, such as pH, illumination conditions and/or catalyst loading, during photocatalytic reactions have also been carefully addressed to achieve high reaction rates or yields. To utilize solar energy more efficiently, i.e., to extend the optical absorption of the mostly UV-sensitive photocatalysts into the visible light range, numerous research groups have contributed to the development of novel visible light active photocatalysts. With the application of semiconductors with narrower bandgaps such as CdS, Fe2O3 and WO3 being straightforward choices, doping of wide bandgap semiconductors like TiO2 has been the most popular technique to enhance the catalysts' optical absorption abilities. Research on mixed-oxide-based semiconductor photocatalysts with deliberately modulated band structures has also attracted tremendous attention in the past decade, concentrating on, for example, the generation of H2 and/or O2 from H2O splitting, and the degradation of organic pollutants under visible light irradiation. Both theoretical calculations and experimental results have convincingly shown that the developed materials can serve as highly efficient photocatalysts that are both environmentally and economically significant.

Value-based segmentation of luxury consumption behavior

Abstract: Following a broader perspective in exploring customer perceptions of and motives for purchasing luxury brands, it is not sufficient to explain the whole picture of luxury consumption in terms of socially oriented consumer motives and the desire to impress others. The main contribution here is to explore a multidimensional framework of luxury value as a general basis for identifying value-based consumer segments. The empirical results can be seen as a first step toward a better understanding of consumers' luxury value perceptions as based on social, individual, functional, and financial aspects. ©2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Combining global optimization with local selection for efficient QoS-aware service composition

Abstract: The run-time binding of web services has been recently put forward in order to support rapid and dynamic web service compositions. With the growing number of alternative web services that provide the same functionality but differ in quality parameters, the service composition becomes a decision problem on which component services should be selected such that user's end-to-end QoS requirements (e.g. availability, response time) and preferences (e.g. price) are satisfied. Although very efficient, local selection strategy fails short in handling global QoS requirements. Solutions based on global optimization, on the other hand, can handle global constraints, but their poor performance renders them inappropriate for applications with dynamic and real-time requirements. In this paper we address this problem and propose a solution that combines global optimization with local selection techniques to benefit from the advantages of both worlds. The proposed solution consists of two steps: first, we use mixed integer programming (MIP) to find the optimal decomposition of global QoS constraints into local constraints. Second, we use distributed local selection to find the best web services that satisfy these local constraints. The results of experimental evaluation indicate that our approach significantly outperforms existing solutions in terms of computation time while achieving close-to-optimal results.

An upper limit on the stochastic gravitational-wave background of cosmological origin

Abstract: A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of a large number of unresolved gravitational-wave sources of astrophysical and cosmological origin. It should carry unique signatures from the earliest epochs in the evolution of the Universe, inaccessible to standard astrophysical observations. Direct measurements of the amplitude of this background are therefore of fundamental importance for understanding the evolution of the Universe when it was younger than one minute. Here we report limits on the amplitude of the stochastic gravitational-wave background using the data from a two-year science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). Our result constrains the energy density of the stochastic gravitational-wave background normalized by the critical energy density of the Universe, in the frequency band around 100 Hz, to be <6.9 times 10-6 at 95% confidence. The data rule out models of early Universe evolution with relatively large equation-of-state parameter, as well as cosmic (super)string models with relatively small string tension that are favoured in some string theory models. This search for the stochastic background improves on the indirect limits from Big Bang nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background at 100 Hz.

Two-photon fabrication

Abstract: Two-photon polymerization is a 3D nanoscale manufacturing tool that offers great potential for rapid prototyping and the manufacture of photonic devices, tissue scaffolds and biomechanical parts.

Motion capture using joint skeleton tracking and surface estimation

Abstract: This paper proposes a method for capturing the performance of a human or an animal from a multi-view video sequence. Given an articulated template model and silhouettes from a multi-view image sequence, our approach recovers not only the movement of the skeleton, but also the possibly non-rigid temporal deformation of the 3D surface. While large scale deformations or fast movements are captured by the skeleton pose and approximate surface skinning, true small scale deformations or non-rigid garment motion are captured by fitting the surface to the silhouette. We further propose a novel optimization scheme for skeleton-based pose estimation that exploits the skeleton's tree structure to split the optimization problem into a local one and a lower dimensional global one. We show on various sequences that our approach can capture the 3D motion of animals and humans accurately even in the case of rapid movements and wide apparel like skirts.

Electrodeposition of Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Thin Films

Abstract: Electrodeposition of inorganic compound thin films in the presence of certain organic molecules results in self-assembly of various hybrid thin films with new properties. Examples of new discoveries by the authors are reviewed, taking cathodic formation of a ZnO/dye hybrid as the leading example. Hybridization of eosinY leads to the formation of highly oriented porous crystalline ZnO as the consequence of dye loading. The hybrid formation is a highly complicated process involving complex chemistry of many molecular and ionic constituents. However, electrochemical analyses of the relevant phenomena indicate the possibility of reaching a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism, giving us the chance to further develop them into industrial technologies. The porous crystals are ideal for photoelectrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells. As the process also permits the use of non-heat-resistant substrates, the technology can be applied for the development of colorful and light-weight plastic solar cells.

An Overview of Ultra-Wide-Band Systems With MIMO

Abstract: Ultra-wide-band (UWB) technology combined with multiple transmit and receive antennas (MIMO) is a viable way to achieve data rates of more than 1 Gb/s for wireless communications. UWB is typically applied to short-range and therefore mainly indoor communications in environments characterized usually by dense multipath propagation. For this type of environment, MIMO systems allow for a substantial increase of spectral efficiency by exploiting the inherent array gain and spatial multiplexing gain of the systems. In this paper, we provide a brief overview for UWB-MIMO wireless technology. The overview covers channel capacity, space-time coding (STC), and beamforming. It is shown that the spectral efficiency is increased logarithmically and linearly, respectively, for single transmit and multiple receive antennas (SIMO) and MIMO systems. For multiple transmit and single receive antenna (MISO) systems, a threshold for the data transmission rate exists such that the spatial multiplexing gain can be obtained if the data rate is lower than this threshold, but it is not beneficial to deploy multiple transmit antennas if the required data rate is higher than the threshold. Two STC schemes for UWB-MIMO are briefly discussed, and their performance comparison is presented. A discussion about antenna selection is also presented, and the performance comparison between antenna selection and equal gain combiner is provided showing the diversity gain for some scenarios. For the beamforming, it is shown that the optimal beamformer is obtained if all the weighting filters in each antenna branch are identical. About the optimal beamformer, it is found that the amplitude of the side lobe is independent of the ray incidence angle, and the amplitude of the main lobe is increased by a fold of the element number in the array. Three kinds of beam patterns are defined, and the beamwidth of the main lobe is given. Experimental results based on an offline testbed are provided to verify some analytical results presented in this paper. Since UWB-MIMO is still in its research infancy, the aim of this paper is to present some first results on spatial multiplexing, STC, and beamforming to illustrate the potential of UWB-MIMO.

Biotechnology of flavours—the next generation

Abstract: Volatile organic chemicals (flavours, aromas) are the sensory principles of many consumer products and govern their acceptance and market success. Flavours from microorganisms compete with the traditional agricultural sources. Screening for overproducers, elucidation of metabolic pathways and precursors and application of conventional bioengineering has resulted in a set of more than 100 commercial aroma chemicals derived via biotechnology. Various routes may lead to volatile metabolites: De novo synthesis from elementary biochemical units, degradation of larger substrates such as lipids, and functionalization of immediate flavour precursor molecules. More recently, the field was stimulated by the increasing preference of alienated consumers for products bearing the label “natural”, and by the vivid discussion on healthy and “functional” food ingredients. The unmistakable call for sustainable sources and environmentally friendly production is forcing the industry to move towards a greener chemistry. Progress is expected from the toolbox of genetic engineering which is expected to help in identifying metabolic bottlenecks and in creating novel high-yielding strains. Bioengineering, in a complementary way, provides promising technical options, such as improved substrate dosage, gas-phase or two-phase reactions and in situ product recovery.

Thermal tolerance of the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei: predictions of climate change impact on a tropical insect pest.

Abstract: Coffee is predicted to be severely affected by climate change. We determined the thermal tolerance of the coffee berry borer , Hypothenemus hampei, the most devastating pest of coffee worldwide, and make inferences on the possible effects of climate change using climatic data from Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. For this, the effect of eight temperature regimes (15, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33 and 35°C) on the bionomics of H. hampei was studied. Successful egg to adult development occurred between 20–30°C. Using linear regression and a modified Logan model, the lower and upper thresholds for development were estimated at 14.9 and 32°C, respectively. In Kenya and Colombia, the number of pest generations per year was considerably and positively correlated with the warming tolerance. Analysing 32 years of climatic data from Jimma (Ethiopia) revealed that before 1984 it was too cold for H. hampei to complete even one generation per year, but thereafter, because of rising temperatures in the area, 1–2 generations per year/coffee season could be completed. Calculated data on warming tolerance and thermal safety margins of H. hampei for the three East African locations showed considerably high variability compared to the Colombian site. The model indicates that for every 1°C rise in thermal optimum (Topt.), the maximum intrinsic rate of increase (rmax) will increase by an average of 8.5%. The effects of climate change on the further range of H. hampei distribution and possible adaption strategies are discussed. Abstracts in Spanish and French are provided as supplementary material Abstract S1 and Abstract S2.

Gold Nanoparticles on Mesoporous Interparticle Networks of Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystals for Enhanced Photonic Efficiencies

Abstract: Nanocomposites consisting of Au and TiO2 nanocrystals have been synthesized through simple one-step sol−gel reactions of titanium tetraisopropoxide with hydrogen tetrachloroaurate in the presence of an F127 triblock copolymer as the template to direct the formation of nanostructured photocatalysts. The thus formed Au/TiO2 network gels were calcined at 500 °C for 4 h, leading to Au/TiO2 nanocomposites with high interparticle mesoporosity, pore diameters of around 10 nm, and BET surface areas of about 100 m2/g. TEM investigations of 0.5 wt % Au/TiO2 reveal that the TiO2 particles are quite uniform in size and shape. The particle sizes of TiO2 and Au are in the range of 5−10 and 20−120 nm, respectively. The photocatalytic methanol oxidation to formaldehyde chosen as the test reaction to examine the photocatalytic activity of the Au/TiO2 was shown to be more effective as compared with pure TiO2 and with Degussa P25, respectively. The increased photocatalytic activity of Au/TiO2 with interparticle mesopores is...

Confirmatory adaptive designs with Bayesian decision tools for a targeted therapy in oncology.

Abstract: The ability to select a sensitive patient population may be crucial for the development of a targeted therapy. Identifying such a population with an acceptable level of confidence may lead to an inflation in development time and cost. We present an approach that allows to decrease these costs and to increase the reliability of the population selection. It is based on an actual adaptive phase II/III design and uses Bayesian decision tools to select the population of interest at an interim analysis. The primary endpoint is assumed to be the time to some event like e.g. progression. It is shown that the use of appropriately stratified logrank tests in the adaptive test procedure guarantees overall type I error control also when using information on patients that are censored at the adaptive interim analysis. The use of Bayesian decision tools for the population selection decision making is discussed. Simulations are presented to illustrate the operating characteristics of the study design relative to a more traditional development approach. Estimation of treatment effects is considered as well.

Laplace-Beltrami eigenvalues and topological features of eigenfunctions for statistical shape analysis

Abstract: This paper proposes the use of the surface-based Laplace-Beltrami and the volumetric Laplace eigenvalues and eigenfunctions as shape descriptors for the comparison and analysis of shapes. These spectral measures are isometry invariant and therefore allow for shape comparisons with minimal shape pre-processing. In particular, no registration, mapping, or remeshing is necessary. The discriminatory power of the 2D surface and 3D solid methods is demonstrated on a population of female caudate nuclei (a subcortical gray matter structure of the brain, involved in memory function, emotion processing, and learning) of normal control subjects and of subjects with schizotypal personality disorder. The behavior and properties of the Laplace-Beltrami eigenvalues and eigenfunctions are discussed extensively for both the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary condition showing advantages of the Neumann vs. the Dirichlet spectra in 3D. Furthermore, topological analyses employing the Morse-Smale complex (on the surfaces) and the Reeb graph (in the solids) are performed on selected eigenfunctions, yielding shape descriptors, that are capable of localizing geometric properties and detecting shape differences by indirectly registering topological features such as critical points, level sets and integral lines of the gradient field across subjects. The use of these topological features of the Laplace-Beltrami eigenfunctions in 2D and 3D for statistical shape analysis is novel.

Observation of a kilogram-scale oscillator near its quantum ground state

Abstract: We introduce a novel cooling technique capable of approaching the quantum ground state of a kilogram-scale system—an interferometric gravitational wave detector. The detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) operate within a factor of 10 of the standard quantum limit (SQL), providing a displacement sensitivity of 10−18 m in a 100 Hz band centered on 150 Hz. With a new feedback strategy, we dynamically shift the resonant frequency of a 2.7 kg pendulum mode to lie within this optimal band, where its effective temperature falls as low as 1.4 μK, and its occupation number reaches about 200 quanta. This work shows how the exquisite sensitivity necessary to detect gravitational waves can be made available to probe the validity of quantum mechanics on an enormous mass scale.

Unsupervised strategies for shilling detection and robust collaborative filtering

Abstract: Collaborative filtering systems are essentially social systems which base their recommendation on the judgment of a large number of people. However, like other social systems, they are also vulnerable to manipulation by malicious social elements. Lies and Propaganda may be spread by a malicious user who may have an interest in promoting an item, or downplaying the popularity of another one. By doing this systematically, with either multiple identities, or by involving more people, malicious user votes and profiles can be injected into a collaborative recommender system. This can significantly affect the robustness of a system or algorithm, as has been studied in previous work. While current detection algorithms are able to use certain characteristics of shilling profiles to detect them, they suffer from low precision, and require a large amount of training data. In this work, we provide an in-depth analysis of shilling profiles and describe new approaches to detect malicious collaborative filtering profiles. In particular, we exploit the similarity structure in shilling user profiles to separate them from normal user profiles using unsupervised dimensionality reduction. We present two detection algorithms; one based on PCA, while the other uses PLSA. Experimental results show a much improved detection precision over existing methods without the usage of additional training time required for supervised approaches. Finally, we present a novel and highly effective robust collaborative filtering algorithm which uses ideas presented in the detection algorithms using principal component analysis.

Zerber+R: top-k retrieval from a confidential index

Abstract: Privacy-preserving document exchange among collaboration groups in an enterprise as well as across enterprises requires techniques for sharing and search of access-controlled information through largely untrusted servers. In these settings search systems need to provide confidentiality guarantees for shared information while offering IR properties comparable to the ordinary search engines. Top-k is a standard IR technique which enables fast query execution on very large indexes and makes systems highly scalable. However, indexing access-controlled information for top-k retrieval is a challenging task due to the sensitivity of the term statistics used for ranking.In this paper we present Zerber+R -- a ranking model which allows for privacy-preserving top-k retrieval from an outsourced inverted index. We propose a relevance score transformation function which makes relevance scores of different terms indistinguishable, such that even if stored on an untrusted server they do not reveal information about the indexed data. Experiments on two real-world data sets show that Zerber+R makes economical usage of bandwidth and offers retrieval properties comparable with an ordinary inverted index.

Overview of the INEX 2009 entity ranking track

Abstract: In some situations search engine users would prefer to retrieve entities instead of just documents. Example queries include "Italian Nobel prize winners", "Formula 1 drivers that won the Monaco Grand Prix", or "German spoken Swiss cantons". The XML Entity Ranking (XER) track at INEX creates a discussion forum aimed at standardizing evaluation procedures for entity retrieval. This paper describes the XER tasks and the evaluation procedure used at the XER track in 2009, where a new version of Wikipedia was used as underlying collection; and summarizes the approaches adopted by the participants.

"Last-Mile" preparation for a potential disaster – Interdisciplinary approach towards tsunami early warning and an evacuation information system for the coastal city of Padang, Indonesia

Abstract: . Extreme natural events, like e.g. tsunamis or earthquakes, regularly lead to catastrophes with dramatic consequences. In recent years natural disasters caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, destruction of infrastructure, disruption of economic activity and loss of billions of dollars worth of property and thus revealed considerable deficits hindering their effective management: Needs for stakeholders, decision-makers as well as for persons concerned include systematic risk identification and evaluation, a way to assess countermeasures, awareness raising and decision support systems to be employed before, during and after crisis situations. The overall goal of this study focuses on interdisciplinary integration of various scientific disciplines to contribute to a tsunami early warning information system. In comparison to most studies our focus is on high-end geometric and thematic analysis to meet the requirements of small-scale, heterogeneous and complex coastal urban systems. Data, methods and results from engineering, remote sensing and social sciences are interlinked and provide comprehensive information for disaster risk assessment, management and reduction. In detail, we combine inundation modeling, urban morphology analysis, population assessment, socio-economic analysis of the population and evacuation modeling. The interdisciplinary results eventually lead to recommendations for mitigation strategies in the fields of spatial planning or coping capacity.