2 results
Earth and space observation at the German Antarctic Receiving Station O’Higgins
- Thomas Klügel, Kathrin Höppner, Reinhard Falk, Elke Kühmstedt, Christian Plötz, Andreas Reinhold, Axel Rülke, Reiner Wojdziak, Ulrich Balss, Erhard Diedrich, Michael Eineder, Hennes Henniger, Robert Metzig, Peter Steigenberger, Christoph Gisinger, Harald Schuh, Johannes Böhm, Roopesh Ojha, Matthias Kadler, Angelika Humbert, Matthias Braun, Jing Sun
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- Journal:
- Polar Record / Volume 51 / Issue 6 / November 2015
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 08 October 2014, pp. 590-610
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The German Antarctic Receiving Station (GARS) O’Higgins at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula is a dual purpose facility for earth observation and has existed for more than 20 years. It serves as a satellite ground station for payload data downlink and telecommanding of remote sensing satellites as well as a geodetic observatory for global reference systems and global change. Both applications use the same 9 m diameter radio antenna. Major outcomes of this usage are summarised in this paper.
The satellite ground station O’Higgins (OHG) is part of the global ground station network of the German Remote Sensing Data Centre (DFD) operated by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). It was established in 1991 to provide remote sensing data downlink support within the missions of the European Remote Sensing Satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2. These missions provided valuable insights into the changes of the Antarctic ice shield. Especially after the failure of the on-board data recorder, OHG became an essential downlink station for ERS-2 real-time data transmission. Since 2010, OHG is manned during the entire year, specifically to support the TanDEM-X mission. OHG is a main dump station for payload data, monitoring and telecommanding of the German TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X satellites.
For space geodesy and astrometry the radio antenna O’Higgins significantly improves coverage over the southern hemisphere and plays an essential role within the global Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) network. In particular the determination of the Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP) and the sky coverage of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) benefit from the location at a high southern latitude. Further, the resolution of VLBI images of active galactic nuclei (AGN), cosmic radio sources defining the ICRF, improves significantly when O’Higgins is included in the network. The various geodetic instrumentation and the long time series at O’Higgins allow a reliable determination of crustal motions. VLBI station velocities, continuous GNSS measurements and campaign-wise absolute gravity measurements consistently document a vertical rate of about 5 mm/a. This crustal uplift is interpreted as an elastic rebound due to ice loss as a consequence of the ice shelf disintegration in the Prince Gustav Channel in the late 1990s.
The outstanding location on the Antarctic continent and its year-around operation make GARS O’Higgins in future increasingly attractive for polar orbiting satellite missions and a vitally important station for the global VLBI network. Future plans call for the development of an observatory for environmentally relevant research. That means that the portfolio of the station will be expanded including the expansion of the infrastructure and the construction and operation of new scientific instruments suitable for long-term measurements and satellite ground truthing.
Unsuitable readability levels of patient information pertaining to dementia and related diseases: a comparative analysis
- Markus Weih, Angelika Reinhold, Tanja Richter-Schmidinger, Anne-Kathrin Sulimma, Harald Klein, Johannes Kornhuber
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- Journal:
- International Psychogeriatrics / Volume 20 / Issue 6 / December 2008
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 30 June 2008, pp. 1116-1123
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Background: Our study investigated the readability of printed material about dementia that is offered to patients and caregivers.
Methods: Comparisons of various brochures (at least three standard pages in length) on dementia and related disorders were made using automated measuring by the SMOG readability index grade.
Results: 118 brochures were assessed (25 in English, 93 in German), for which the mean readability was found to be high school/college level as measured by the SMOG readability index (grade 13.6 ± 1.8). No differences in readability were observed between materials produced by pharmaceutical companies and other sources. Furthermore, recently published brochures were not more readable than older ones. Shorter brochures, English brochures and those containing medical facts were easier to read than longer ones, those written in German or brochures primarily addressing psychosocial care/social issues. The sentence length was above the 20 word recommendation in 25% of the brochures. The average font size of the brochure texts was small (mean font size 11.1 ± 1.6 point) with only 25% of brochures having a font size of 12 or more, as recommended.
Conclusions: Written patient information and educational material of more than three standard pages is often published at unsuitably high readability levels using small fonts. Information material about dementia should be designed and tested prior to distribution among patients and caregivers. Future studies should address material shorter than three pages and material for younger caregivers.
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