Search Results
Spatial decoupling of agricultural production and consumption: Quantifying dependences of countries on food imports due to domestic land and water constraints
2013, Fader, Marianela, Gerten, Dieter, Krause, Michael, Lucht, Wolfgang, Cramer, Wolfgang
In our globalizing world, the geographical locations of food production and consumption are becoming increasingly disconnected, which increases reliance on external resources and their trade. We quantified to what extent water and land constraints limit countries' capacities, at present and by 2050, to produce on their own territory the crop products that they currently import from other countries. Scenarios of increased crop productivity and water use, cropland expansion (excluding areas prioritized for other uses) and population change are accounted for. We found that currently 16% of the world population use the opportunities of international trade to cover their demand for agricultural products. Population change may strongly increase the number of people depending on ex situ land and water resources up to about 5.2 billion (51% of world population) in the SRES A2r scenario. International trade will thus have to intensify if population growth is not accompanied by dietary change towards less resource-intensive products, by cropland expansion, or by productivity improvements, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. Up to 1.3 billion people may be at risk of food insecurity in 2050 in present low-income economies (mainly in Africa), if their economic development does not allow them to afford productivity increases, cropland expansion and/or imports from other countries.
Prolonged Corrosion Stability of a Microchip Sensor Implant during In Vivo Exposure
2018, Glogener, Paul, Krause, Michael, Katzer, Jens, Schubert, Markus A., Birkholz, Mario, Bellmann, Olaf, Kröger-Koch, Claudia, Hammon, Harald M., Metges, Cornelia C., Welsch, Christine, Ruff, Roman, Hoffmann, Klaus P.
A microelectronic biosensor was subjected to in vivo exposure by implanting it in the vicinity of m. trapezii (Trapezius muscle) from cattle. The implant is intended for the continuous monitoring of glucose levels, and the study aimed at evaluating the biostability of exposed semiconductor surfaces. The sensor chip was a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) prepared using 0.25 µm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor CMOS/BiCMOS technology. Sensing is based on the principle of affinity viscometry with a sensoric assay, which is separated by a semipermeable membrane from the tissue. Outer dimensions of the otherwise hermetically sealed biosensor system were 39 × 49 × 16 mm. The test system was implanted into cattle in a subcutaneous position without running it. After 17 months, the device was explanted and analyzed by comparing it with unexposed chips and systems. Investigations focused on the MEMS chip using SEM, TEM, and elemental analysis by EDX mapping. The sensor chip turned out to be uncorroded and no diminishing of the topmost passivation layer could be determined, which contrasts remarkably with previous results on CMOS biosensors. The negligible corrosive attack is understood to be a side effect of the semipermeable membrane separating the assay from the tissue. It is concluded that the separation has enabled a prolonged biostability of the chip, which will be of relevance for biosensor implants in general.
Verbundprojekt: Si- und SiGe-Dünnfilme für thermoelektrische Anwendungen (SiGe-TE), Teilvorhaben 3: Versetzungsnetzwerk in dünnen SOI-Strukturen für Si-basierte thermoelektrische Generatoren : Schlussbericht zum Vorhaben im Rahmen der BMBF-Initiative Werkstofftechnologien von morgen - Wissenschaftliche Verbundprojekte in den Werkstoff- und Nanotechnologien (WING) ; Berichtszeitraum: 01.08.2009 bis 29.02.2013
2013, Kittler, Martin, Krause, Michael, Akhmetov, V., Arguirov, T., Mankovics, D., Trushin, M., Schwartz, B.
[no abstract available]