@article{HoffmannRohrbachUhletal.2022, author = {Hoffmann, Andreas and Rohrbach, Felix and Uhl, Matthias and Ceblin, Maximilian and Bauer, Thomas and Mallah, Marcel and Jacob, Timo and Heuermann, Holger and Kuehne, Alexander J. C.}, title = {Atmospheric pressure plasma-jet treatment of polyacrylonitrile-nonwovens—Stabilization and roll-to-roll processing}, series = {Journal of Applied Polymer Science}, volume = {139}, journal = {Journal of Applied Polymer Science}, number = {37}, publisher = {Wiley}, issn = {0021-8995 (Print)}, doi = {10.1002/app.52887}, pages = {1 -- 9}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Carbon nanofiber nonwovens represent a powerful class of materials with prospective application in filtration technology or as electrodes with high surface area in batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors. While new precursor-to-carbon conversion processes have been explored to overcome productivity restrictions for carbon fiber tows, alternatives for the two-step thermal conversion of polyacrylonitrile precursors into carbon fiber nonwovens are absent. In this work, we develop a continuous roll-to-roll stabilization process using an atmospheric pressure microwave plasma jet. We explore the influence of various plasma-jet parameters on the morphology of the nonwoven and compare the stabilized nonwoven to thermally stabilized samples using scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and infrared spectroscopy. We show that stabilization with a non-equilibrium plasma-jet can be twice as productive as the conventional thermal stabilization in a convection furnace, while producing electrodes of comparable electrochemical performance.}, language = {en} } @article{FalkenbergBottBongaertsetal.2022, author = {Falkenberg, Fabian and Bott, Michael and Bongaerts, Johannes and Siegert, Petra}, title = {Phylogenetic survey of the subtilase family and a data-mining-based search for new subtilisins from Bacillaceae}, series = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, volume = {2022}, journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, number = {13}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-302X}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2022.1017978}, pages = {Artikel 13:1017978}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The subtilase family (S8), a member of the clan SB of serine proteases are ubiquitous in all kingdoms of life and fulfil different physiological functions. Subtilases are divided in several groups and especially subtilisins are of interest as they are used in various industrial sectors. Therefore, we searched for new subtilisin sequences of the family Bacillaceae using a data mining approach. The obtained 1,400 sequences were phylogenetically classified in the context of the subtilase family. This required an updated comprehensive overview of the different groups within this family. To fill this gap, we conducted a phylogenetic survey of the S8 family with characterised holotypes derived from the MEROPS database. The analysis revealed the presence of eight previously uncharacterised groups and 13 subgroups within the S8 family. The sequences that emerged from the data mining with the set filter parameters were mainly assigned to the subtilisin subgroups of true subtilisins, high-alkaline subtilisins, and phylogenetically intermediate subtilisins and represent an excellent source for new subtilisin candidates.}, language = {en} } @article{HaegerBongaertsSiegert2022, author = {Haeger, Gerrit and Bongaerts, Johannes and Siegert, Petra}, title = {A convenient ninhydrin assay in 96-well format for amino acid-releasing enzymes using an air-stable reagent}, series = {Analytical Biochemistry}, journal = {Analytical Biochemistry}, number = {624}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1096-0309}, doi = {10.1016/j.ab.2022.114819}, pages = {Artikel 114819}, year = {2022}, abstract = {An improved and convenient ninhydrin assay for aminoacylase activity measurements was developed using the commercial EZ Nin™ reagent. Alternative reagents from literature were also evaluated and compared. The addition of DMSO to the reagent enhanced the solubility of Ruhemann's purple (RP). Furthermore, we found that the use of a basic, aqueous buffer enhances stability of RP. An acidic protocol for the quantification of lysine was developed by addition of glacial acetic acid. The assay allows for parallel processing in a 96-well format with measurements microtiter plates.}, language = {en} } @article{WeldenSeverinsPoghossianetal.2022, author = {Welden, Melanie and Severins, Robin and Poghossian, Arshak and Wege, Christina and Bongaerts, Johannes and Siegert, Petra and Keusgen, Michael and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef}, title = {Detection of acetoin and diacetyl by a tobacco mosaic virus-assisted field-effect biosensor}, series = {Chemosensors}, volume = {10}, journal = {Chemosensors}, number = {6}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2227-9040}, doi = {10.3390/chemosensors10060218}, pages = {Artikel 218}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Acetoin and diacetyl have a major impact on the flavor of alcoholic beverages such as wine or beer. Therefore, their measurement is important during the fermentation process. Until now, gas chromatographic techniques have typically been applied; however, these require expensive laboratory equipment and trained staff, and do not allow for online monitoring. In this work, a capacitive electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor sensor modified with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles as enzyme nanocarriers for the detection of acetoin and diacetyl is presented. The enzyme acetoin reductase from Alkalihalobacillus clausii DSM 8716ᵀ is immobilized via biotin-streptavidin affinity, binding to the surface of the TMV particles. The TMV-assisted biosensor is electrochemically characterized by means of leakage-current, capacitance-voltage, and constant capacitance measurements. In this paper, the novel biosensor is studied regarding its sensitivity and long-term stability in buffer solution. Moreover, the TMV-assisted capacitive field-effect sensor is applied for the detection of diacetyl for the first time. The measurement of acetoin and diacetyl with the same sensor setup is demonstrated. Finally, the successive detection of acetoin and diacetyl in buffer and in diluted beer is studied by tuning the sensitivity of the biosensor using the pH value of the measurement solution.}, language = {en} } @article{OjovanSteinmetz2022, author = {Ojovan, Michael I. and Steinmetz, Hans-J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Approaches to Disposal of Nuclear Waste}, series = {Energies}, volume = {15}, journal = {Energies}, number = {20}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1996-1073}, doi = {10.3390/en15207804}, pages = {Artikel 7804}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We present a concise mini overview on the approaches to the disposal of nuclear waste currently used or deployed. The disposal of nuclear waste is the end point of nuclear waste management (NWM) activities and is the emplacement of waste in an appropriate facility without the intention to retrieve it. The IAEA has developed an internationally accepted classification scheme based on the end points of NWM, which is used as guidance. Retention times needed for safe isolation of waste radionuclides are estimated based on the radiotoxicity of nuclear waste. Disposal facilities usually rely on a multi-barrier defence system to isolate the waste from the biosphere, which comprises the natural geological barrier and the engineered barrier system. Disposal facilities could be of a trench type, vaults, tunnels, shafts, boreholes, or mined repositories. A graded approach relates the depth of the disposal facilities' location with the level of hazard. Disposal practices demonstrate the reliability of nuclear waste disposal with minimal expected impacts on the environment and humans.}, language = {en} } @article{ZhantlessovaSavitskayaKistaubayevaetal.2022, author = {Zhantlessova, Sirina and Savitskaya, Irina and Kistaubayeva, Aida and Ignatova, Ludmila and Talipova, Aizhan and Pogrebnjak, Alexander and Digel, Ilya}, title = {Advanced "Green" prebiotic composite of bacterial cellulose/pullulan based on synthetic biology-powered microbial coculture strategy}, series = {Polymers}, volume = {14}, journal = {Polymers}, number = {15}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2073-4360}, doi = {10.3390/polym14153224}, pages = {Artikel 3224}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a biopolymer produced by different microorganisms, but in biotechnological practice, Komagataeibacter xylinus is used. The micro- and nanofibrillar structure of BC, which forms many different-sized pores, creates prerequisites for the introduction of other polymers into it, including those synthesized by other microorganisms. The study aims to develop a cocultivation system of BC and prebiotic producers to obtain BC-based composite material with prebiotic activity. In this study, pullulan (PUL) was found to stimulate the growth of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG better than the other microbial polysaccharides gellan and xanthan. BC/PUL biocomposite with prebiotic properties was obtained by cocultivation of Komagataeibacter xylinus and Aureobasidium pullulans, BC and PUL producers respectively, on molasses medium. The inclusion of PUL in BC is proved gravimetrically by scanning electron microscopy and by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Cocultivation demonstrated a composite effect on the aggregation and binding of BC fibers, which led to a significant improvement in mechanical properties. The developed approach for "grafting" of prebiotic activity on BC allows preparation of environmentally friendly composites of better quality.}, language = {en} } @article{WeldenPoghossianVahidpouretal.2022, author = {Welden, Melanie and Poghossian, Arshak and Vahidpour, Farnoosh and Wendlandt, Tim and Keusgen, Michael and Wege, Christina and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef}, title = {Towards multi-analyte detection with field-effect capacitors modified with tobacco mosaic virus bioparticles as enzyme nanocarriers}, series = {Biosensors}, volume = {12}, journal = {Biosensors}, number = {1}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2079-6374}, doi = {10.3390/bios12010043}, pages = {Artikel 43}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Utilizing an appropriate enzyme immobilization strategy is crucial for designing enzyme-based biosensors. Plant virus-like particles represent ideal nanoscaffolds for an extremely dense and precise immobilization of enzymes, due to their regular shape, high surface-to-volume ratio and high density of surface binding sites. In the present work, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles were applied for the co-immobilization of penicillinase and urease onto the gate surface of a field-effect electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor capacitor (EISCAP) with a p-Si-SiO₂-Ta₂O₅ layer structure for the sequential detection of penicillin and urea. The TMV-assisted bi-enzyme EISCAP biosensor exhibited a high urea and penicillin sensitivity of 54 and 85 mV/dec, respectively, in the concentration range of 0.1-3 mM. For comparison, the characteristics of single-enzyme EISCAP biosensors modified with TMV particles immobilized with either penicillinase or urease were also investigated. The surface morphology of the TMV-modified Ta₂O₅-gate was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, the bi-enzyme EISCAP was applied to mimic an XOR (Exclusive OR) enzyme logic gate.}, language = {en} } @article{DitzhausGaigall2022, author = {Ditzhaus, Marc and Gaigall, Daniel}, title = {Testing marginal homogeneity in Hilbert spaces with applications to stock market returns}, series = {Test}, volume = {2022}, journal = {Test}, number = {31}, publisher = {Springer}, issn = {1863-8260}, doi = {10.1007/s11749-022-00802-5}, pages = {749 -- 770}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This paper considers a paired data framework and discusses the question of marginal homogeneity of bivariate high-dimensional or functional data. The related testing problem can be endowed into a more general setting for paired random variables taking values in a general Hilbert space. To address this problem, a Cram{\´e}r-von-Mises type test statistic is applied and a bootstrap procedure is suggested to obtain critical values and finally a consistent test. The desired properties of a bootstrap test can be derived that are asymptotic exactness under the null hypothesis and consistency under alternatives. Simulations show the quality of the test in the finite sample case. A possible application is the comparison of two possibly dependent stock market returns based on functional data. The approach is demonstrated based on historical data for different stock market indices.}, language = {en} } @article{GaigallGerstenbergTrinh2022, author = {Gaigall, Daniel and Gerstenberg, Julian and Trinh, Thi Thu Ha}, title = {Empirical process of concomitants for partly categorial data and applications in statistics}, series = {Bernoulli}, volume = {28}, journal = {Bernoulli}, number = {2}, publisher = {International Statistical Institute}, address = {Den Haag, NL}, issn = {1573-9759}, doi = {10.3150/21-BEJ1367}, pages = {803 -- 829}, year = {2022}, abstract = {On the basis of independent and identically distributed bivariate random vectors, where the components are categorial and continuous variables, respectively, the related concomitants, also called induced order statistic, are considered. The main theoretical result is a functional central limit theorem for the empirical process of the concomitants in a triangular array setting. A natural application is hypothesis testing. An independence test and a two-sample test are investigated in detail. The fairly general setting enables limit results under local alternatives and bootstrap samples. For the comparison with existing tests from the literature simulation studies are conducted. The empirical results obtained confirm the theoretical findings.}, language = {en} } @article{MorandiButenwegBreisetal.2022, author = {Morandi, Paolo and Butenweg, Christoph and Breis, Khaled and Beyer, Katrin and Magenes, Guido}, title = {Latest findings on the behaviour factor q for the seismic design of URM buildings}, series = {Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering}, volume = {20}, journal = {Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering}, number = {11}, editor = {Ansal, Atilla}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {Cham}, issn = {1573-1456}, doi = {10.1007/s10518-022-01419-7}, pages = {5797 -- 5848}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Recent earthquakes as the 2012 Emilia earthquake sequence showed that recently built unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings behaved much better than expected and sustained, despite the maximum PGA values ranged between 0.20-0.30 g, either minor damage or structural damage that is deemed repairable. Especially low-rise residential and commercial masonry buildings with a code-conforming seismic design and detailing behaved in general very well without substantial damages. The low damage grades of modern masonry buildings that was observed during this earthquake series highlighted again that codified design procedures based on linear analysis can be rather conservative. Although advances in simulation tools make nonlinear calculation methods more readily accessible to designers, linear analyses will still be the standard design method for years to come. The present paper aims to improve the linear seismic design method by providing a proper definition of the q-factor of URM buildings. These q-factors are derived for low-rise URM buildings with rigid diaphragms which represent recent construction practise in low to moderate seismic areas of Italy and Germany. The behaviour factor components for deformation and energy dissipation capacity and for overstrength due to the redistribution of forces are derived by means of pushover analyses. Furthermore, considerations on the behaviour factor component due to other sources of overstrength in masonry buildings are presented. As a result of the investigations, rationally based values of the behaviour factor q to be used in linear analyses in the range of 2.0-3.0 are proposed.}, language = {en} }