Collecting Middle-Class Memories? The COVID-19 Pandemic, Technology and Crowdsourced Archives

in Technology and Culture (2022), 63(2), 483-493

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many groups initiated crowd-sourced archives that invite members of the public to upload personal material connected to the pandemic. By archiving and publishing how ... [more ▼]

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many groups initiated crowd-sourced archives that invite members of the public to upload personal material connected to the pandemic. By archiving and publishing how "ordinary" people experienced and perceived the pandemic, these platforms influence how the pandemic is remembered and how historians will write about it. This article presents the example of covidmemory.lu and compares contributions to this platform from Luxembourg with others from German speaking countries. Analyzing users' thoughts about empty streets and skies and their experiences with computers and phones for work and leisure at home, this article discusses the potential and the limitations of crowdsourced archives for future historians of technology. [less ▲]

Die Mobilisierung des Radiohörens

in Roether, Diemut; Sarkowicz, Hans; Zimmermann, Clemens (Eds.) 100 Jahre Radio in Deutschland (2022)

Une promenade dans la Haard

Computer development (2022)

Souvent, les paysages paraissent immuables à nos yeux. Pourtant, l’aspect actuel de nombreux endroits que nous visitons est généralement dû à des transformations naturelles successives ou à l’activité ... [more ▼]

Souvent, les paysages paraissent immuables à nos yeux. Pourtant, l’aspect actuel de nombreux endroits que nous visitons est généralement dû à des transformations naturelles successives ou à l’activité humaine. C’est le cas de la réserve naturelle de la Haard, dans la région du Minett, située dans le sud du Luxembourg. Par le passé, cette réserve a connu beaucoup de changements avant d’adopter son aspect actuel. Nous vous invitons à découvrir la Haard au cours de cette promenade virtuelle. [less ▲]

Transient receptor potential channel vanilloid type 2 in red cells of cannabis consumer

in AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY (2022), 97(5), 180-183

A precise nanoparticle quantification approach using microfluidics and single-particle tracking

in JOURNAL OF DRUG DELIVERY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (2022), 75

Due to the limited available amounts of components, especially of low water-soluble drugs, formulation development is often impeded by a careful characterization. The use of small batch sizes might solve ... [more ▼]

Due to the limited available amounts of components, especially of low water-soluble drugs, formulation development is often impeded by a careful characterization. The use of small batch sizes might solve this problem but requires also adequate analytics. Concentration of nanoparticulate formulations lack straightforward evaluation techniques. In this work, a precise and straight-forward method is established to individually count nanoparticles. A microfluidic chip with known dimensions was used to visualize single particles flowing through the channel (single-particle tracking (SPT)). A sequence of 10,000 images was analyzed to determine the mean particle concentration. The proposed method is independent of the particular flow rate through the microfluidic chip as long as there is no particle overlap and a continuous exchange of particles. Monodisperse Rhodamine B labeled poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoparticles (267.03 +/- 9.79 nm) were used as a model and reference particle system for the evaluation process of SPT allowing for a gravimetric determination based on density analysis using analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) and gas pycnometry. The SPT method was evaluated and compared to other techniques used for concentration measurement. Both approaches (SPT and gravimetry) provide very similar and comparable results indicating the applicability of this novel quantification approach. In contrast, multi angle dynamic light scattering (MADLS) could not yield a precision as good as SPT (number 11.67\%; SD nMADLS = 49.45\%). Finally, the measured particle number concentrations can be realized in low concentration ranges (0.8249 mu g mL-1 - 0.08249 mu g mL-1) not accessible for MADLS (0.08249 mg mL-1 - 0.008249 mg mL-1) and gravimetric analysis. [less ▲]

Assessing Equity in Carsharing Systems: The case of Munich, Germany

in Transportation Research Procedia (2022)

Large graphene oxide flakes: self-assembly and electro-optical switching in liquid crystal phase

Doctoral thesis (2022)

Graphene oxide (GO) flakes in aqueous suspension self-organize into liquid crystal (LC) phases. They have been studied for various applications because of their unique properties, but mostly in their bi ... [more ▼]

Graphene oxide (GO) flakes in aqueous suspension self-organize into liquid crystal (LC) phases. They have been studied for various applications because of their unique properties, but mostly in their bi-phasic suspensions since high concentrations was needed for their pure liquid crystal. The stability of a suspension of GO flakes over time is essential for their application. A crucial change in GO biphasic suspension is the isotropic - liquid crystal phase separation. Here I study the isotropic-nematic phase transition for large GO flakes with an average size of ~38 µm for 570 days to examine their stability. I found that large GO flakes make pure LC phases at a very low concentration of 0.7 mg/mL (0.035 vol%), completely stable over time. I observed that the equilibrium concentration for making a LC phase increases over time, and it is not constant until it reaches a critical concentration for the pure nematic phase. As typical LCs, GO LCs exhibits birefringence property and, interestingly, low-field-induced birefringence. Thus, graphene-based lyotropic LCs are an attractive class of materials for electro-optic devices. To control the electro-optic properties of these high-performance functional materials at a macroscopic scale, it is necessary to understand their self-assembly individually. I study this here by determining the large GO flakes arrangement and spatial order in the nematic phase via synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering and direct visualization of the flakes with fluorescence confocal laser scanning microscopy. The high fluorescence of large GO flakes makes it possible to individually study the assembly of flakes in real-time when suspended in aqueous dispersions. I successfully performed an enhanced electro-optical switching of large GO flakes in their low concentration nematic phase by using a low electric field, unlike what has been reported so far. I study the optical behavior of GO LCs using polarizing optical microscopy in static and dynamic conditions to follow the flake reassembly under the application of the electric field. [less ▲]

COVID-19 Digital Memory Banks: Challenges and Opportunities for Historians of Education

in Paedagogica Historica (2022), 58(5), 781-801

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, historians – along with archivists and other stakeholders – began to initiate digital memory banks, inviting members of the public to upload personal stories, pictures ... [more ▼]

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, historians – along with archivists and other stakeholders – began to initiate digital memory banks, inviting members of the public to upload personal stories, pictures, videos, or other material connected to the pandemic and its impact on everyday life. This article describes how platforms from Western and Central Europe differ with regard to contributions by children and adolescents, taking the German coronarchiv.de and covidmemory.lu from Luxembourg as the main case studies. Submissions come in various forms, but photographs are the most frequent, echoing the visual bias of social media. By means of selected contributions, the article illustrates the range of topics that can be of interest to future historians of education. The platforms show how COVID-19 influenced not only practices of education, with the introduction of homeschooling, but also the content of teaching, as seen in the many pandemic-related assignments uploaded. In this respect, it is crucial to acknowledge that there are significant gaps in the collections. Most notably, the first wave of infections in Europe is overrepresented, and people that were most existentially affected by the pandemic are underrepresented. Performing a thorough source critique on a selection of contributions, we argue that, despite these gaps, digital memory banks on the pandemic are of significant value for a future historiography of education, as long as the available metadata of the individual submissions are as complete and transparent as possible. [less ▲]

A Commentary on Article 47 of the Charter and the Member States

in SSRN (2022)

EU law is applied by Member States and on the Union level alike and accordingly EU law is to be applied by Member State courts as well as the CJEU. Different constellations of implementation and ... [more ▼]

EU law is applied by Member States and on the Union level alike and accordingly EU law is to be applied by Member State courts as well as the CJEU. Different constellations of implementation and enforcement of EU law on the national and European levels, however, lead to a diverse set of conditions of judicial review. The CJEU aims to ensure that a ‘complete’ system of remedies2 be provided for all “rights and freedoms protected under Union law” (Article 47 of the Charter). A central tool for realising a ‘complete’ system of remedies is the strengthening of Member State courts as ‘first level EU courts’ as well as ensuring the CJEU’s monopoly of reviewing the validity of acts under EU law. Accordingly, this chapter concentrates on Member State obligations and the links between the national and the EU levels under the right to an effective remedy. The following analysis of the right to an effective remedy within Member State legal systems3 looks at the right to effective remedies in its constitutional context (a), before analysing the scope of protection of the right to an effective remedy and turning to the concept of the rights and freedoms under Union law as the ‘ius’ protected by the right to an effective remedy enshrining the Latin maxime of ubi ius, ibi remedium into EU law (b). The commentary then turns to specific obligations in ‘vertical’ relations between individuals and Member States (c) as well as those in ‘horizontal’ relations between individuals (d). Part (e) examines the permissible limitations on the right to an effective remedy before looking at some of the main lines of development (f). [less ▲]

Die Benennungen des Minetts

Computer development (2022)

Landschafts- und Ortsnamen spielen als Bezugspunkte für die regionale Identität eine wichtige Rolle. Im Süden Luxemburgs haben sich diese Namen im Zusammenhang mit der industriellen Umgestaltung der ... [more ▼]

Landschafts- und Ortsnamen spielen als Bezugspunkte für die regionale Identität eine wichtige Rolle. Im Süden Luxemburgs haben sich diese Namen im Zusammenhang mit der industriellen Umgestaltung der Landschaft mehrfach geändert. Die Benennungen und Umbenennungen des Minett reflektieren die industrielle Entwicklung der Region. Dieser Aspekt der Geschichte des Minett ist in der Öffentlichkeit wenig bekannt; er verdient es, erzählt zu werden. [less ▲]