TY - JOUR A1 - Bhattarai, Aroj A1 - Staat, Manfred T1 - Modelling of Soft Connective Tissues to Investigate Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions JF - Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine N2 - After menopause, decreased levels of estrogen and progesterone remodel the collagen of the soft tissues thereby reducing their stiffness. Stress urinary incontinence is associated with involuntary urine leakage due to pathological movement of the pelvic organs resulting from lax suspension system, fasciae, and ligaments. This study compares the changes in the orientation and position of the female pelvic organs due to weakened fasciae, ligaments, and their combined laxity. A mixture theory weighted by respective volume fraction of elastin-collagen fibre compound (5%), adipose tissue (85%), and smooth muscle (5%) is adopted to characterize the mechanical behaviour of the fascia. The load carrying response (other than the functional response to the pelvic organs) of each fascia component, pelvic organs, muscles, and ligaments are assumed to be isotropic, hyperelastic, and incompressible. Finite element simulations are conducted during Valsalva manoeuvre with weakened tissues modelled by reduced tissue stiffness. A significant dislocation of the urethrovesical junction is observed due to weakness of the fascia (13.89 mm) compared to the ligaments (5.47 mm). The dynamics of the pelvic floor observed in this study during Valsalva manoeuvre is associated with urethral-bladder hypermobility, greater levator plate angulation, and positive Q-tip test which are observed in incontinent females. Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/9518076 SN - 1748-6718 VL - 2018 IS - Article ID 9518076 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Hindawi CY - New York, NY ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bhattarai, Aroj A1 - Frotscher, Ralf A1 - Staat, Manfred T1 - Computational Analysis of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction T2 - Women's Health and Biomechanics N2 - Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is characterized by the failure of the levator ani (LA) muscle to maintain the pelvic hiatus, resulting in the descent of the pelvic organs below the pubococcygeal line. This chapter adopts the modified Humphrey material model to consider the effect of the muscle fiber on passive stretching of the LA muscle. The deformation of the LA muscle subjected to intra-abdominal pressure during Valsalva maneuver is compared with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of a nulliparous female. Numerical result shows that the fiber-based Humphrey model simulates the muscle behavior better than isotropic constitutive models. Greater posterior movement of the LA muscle widens the levator hiatus due to lack of support from the anococcygeal ligament and the perineal structure as a consequence of birth-related injury and aging. Old and multiparous females with uncontrolled urogenital and rectal hiatus tend to develop PFDs such as prolapse and incontinence. KW - Pelvic muscle KW - Muscle fibers KW - Passive stretching KW - Pelvic floor dysfunction Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-71574-2 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71574-2_17 N1 - Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics, vol 29 SP - 217 EP - 230 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Oberländer, Jan A1 - Mayer, Marlena A1 - Greeff, Anton A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Spore-based biosensor to monitor the microbicidal efficacy of gaseous hydrogen peroxide sterilization processes JF - Biosensors and Bioelectronics N2 - In this work, a spore-based biosensor is evaluated to monitor the microbicidal efficacy of sterilization processes applying gaseous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The sensor is based on interdigitated electrode structures (IDEs) that have been fabricated by means of thin-film technologies. Impedimetric measurements are applied to study the effect of sterilization process on spores of Bacillus atrophaeus. This resilient microorganism is commonly used in industry to proof the sterilization efficiency. The sensor measurements are accompanied by conventional microbiological challenge tests, as well as morphological characterizations with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The sensor measurements are correlated with the microbiological test routines. In both methods, namely the sensor-based and microbiological one, a tailing effect has been observed. The results are evaluated and discussed in a three-dimensional calibration plot demonstrating the sensor's suitability to enable a rapid process decision in terms of a successfully performed sterilization. Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2017.12.045 SN - 0956-5663 VL - 104 SP - 87 EP - 94 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rieke, Christian A1 - Stollenwerk, Dominik A1 - Dahmen, Markus A1 - Pieper, Martin T1 - Modeling and optimization of a biogas plant for a demand-driven energy supply JF - Energy N2 - Due to the Renewable Energy Act, in Germany it is planned to increase the amount of renewable energy carriers up to 60%. One of the main problems is the fluctuating supply of wind and solar energy. Here biogas plants provide a solution, because a demand-driven supply is possible. Before running such a plant, it is necessary to simulate and optimize the process. This paper provides a new model of a biogas plant, which is as accurate as the standard ADM1 model. The advantage compared to ADM1 is that it is based on only four parameters compared to 28. Applying this model, an optimization was installed, which allows a demand-driven supply by biogas plants. Finally the results are confirmed by several experiments and measurements with a real test plant. Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.12.073 SN - 0360-5442 VL - 145 SP - 657 EP - 664 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Chwallek, Constanze A1 - Gölzer, Kaan A1 - Reichert, Walter T1 - Faymonville – Wachstum als Komplexitätstreiber T2 - Fallstudienkompendium Hidden Champions - Innovationen für den Weltmarkt N2 - Die Fallstudie FAYMONVILLE beschäftigt sich damit, wie es dem Familienunternehmen Faymonville aus Ostbelgien gelungen ist, sich zu einem der führenden Hersteller in seiner Branche zu entwickeln. Die gezielte Identifizierung neuer Märkte, die Fokussierung auf die relevanten Kundenbedürfnisse und eine konsistente Produktpolitik mit einem abgestimmten Fertigungskonzept legen die Grundsteine für den Erfolg. Das vorliegende Fallbeispiel zeigt anschaulich, wie es gelingen kann, den prinzipiellen Widerspruch zwischen wirtschaftlicher und kundenindividueller Fertigung erfolgreich aufzulösen. Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-658-17829-1 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-17829-1_18 SP - 299 EP - 312 PB - Springer Gabler ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Engemann, Heiko A1 - Wiesen, Patrick A1 - Kallweit, Stephan A1 - Deshpande, Harshavardhan A1 - Schleupen, Josef T1 - Autonomous mobile manipulation using ROS T2 - Advances in Service and Industrial Robotics Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-61276-8 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61276-8_43 N1 - International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria Danube Region RAAD 2017; Mechanisms and Machince Science book series, Vol 49. SP - 389 EP - 401 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Figueroa-Miranda, Gabriela A1 - Feng, Lingyan A1 - Shiu, Simon Chi-Chin A1 - Dirkzwager, Roderick Marshall A1 - Cheung, Yee-Wai A1 - Tanner, Julian Alexander A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Offenhäusser, Andreas A1 - Mayer, Dirk T1 - Aptamer-based electrochemical biosensor for highly sensitive and selective malaria detection with adjustable dynamic response range and reusability JF - Sensor and Actuators B: Chemical N2 - Malaria infection remains a significant risk for much of the population of tropical and subtropical areas, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, it is of high importance to develop sensitive, accurate and inexpensive malaria diagnosis tests. Here, we present a novel aptamer-based electrochemical biosensor (aptasensor) for malaria detection by impedance spectroscopy, through the specific recognition between a highly discriminatory DNA aptamer and its target Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH). Interestingly, due to the isoelectric point (pI) of PfLDH, the aptasensor response showed an adjustable detection range based on the different protein net-charge at variable pH environments. The specific aptamer recognition allows sensitive protein detection with an expanded detection range and a low detection limit, as well as a high specificity for PfLDH compared to analogous proteins. The specific feasibility of the aptasensor is further demonstrated by detection of the target PfLDH in human serum. Furthermore, the aptasensor can be easily regenerated and thus applied for multiple usages. The robustness, sensitivity, and reusability of the presented aptasensor make it a promising candidate for point-of-care diagnostic systems. Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2017.07.117 SN - 0925-4005 VL - 255 IS - P1 SP - 235 EP - 243 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ciritsis, Alexander A1 - Horbach, Andreas A1 - Staat, Manfred A1 - Kuhl, Christiane K. A1 - Kraemer, Nils Andreas T1 - Porosity and tissue integration of elastic mesh implants evaluated in vitro and in vivo JF - Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part B: Applied Biomaterials N2 - Purpose In vivo, a loss of mesh porosity triggers scar tissue formation and restricts functionality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the properties and configuration changes as mesh deformation and mesh shrinkage of a soft mesh implant compared with a conventional stiff mesh implant in vitro and in a porcine model. Material and Methods Tensile tests and digital image correlation were used to determine the textile porosity for both mesh types in vitro. A group of three pigs each were treated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visible conventional stiff polyvinylidene fluoride meshes (PVDF) or with soft thermoplastic polyurethane meshes (TPU) (FEG Textiltechnik mbH, Aachen, Germany), respectively. MRI was performed with a pneumoperitoneum at a pressure of 0 and 15 mmHg, which resulted in bulging of the abdomen. The mesh-induced signal voids were semiautomatically segmented and the mesh areas were determined. With the deformations assessed in both mesh types at both pressure conditions, the porosity change of the meshes after 8 weeks of ingrowth was calculated as an indicator of preserved elastic properties. The explanted specimens were examined histologically for the maturity of the scar (collagen I/III ratio). Results In TPU, the in vitro porosity increased constantly, in PVDF, a loss of porosity was observed under mild stresses. In vivo, the mean mesh areas of TPU were 206.8 cm2 (± 5.7 cm2) at 0 mmHg pneumoperitoneum and 274.6 cm2 (± 5.2 cm2) at 15 mmHg; for PVDF the mean areas were 205.5 cm2 (± 8.8 cm2) and 221.5 cm2 (± 11.8 cm2), respectively. The pneumoperitoneum-induced pressure increase resulted in a calculated porosity increase of 8.4% for TPU and of 1.2% for PVDF. The mean collagen I/III ratio was 8.7 (± 0.5) for TPU and 4.7 (± 0.7) for PVDF. Conclusion The elastic properties of TPU mesh implants result in improved tissue integration compared to conventional PVDF meshes, and they adapt more efficiently to the abdominal wall. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 827–833, 2018. Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.33877 SN - 1552-4981 VL - 106 IS - 2 SP - 827 EP - 833 PB - Wiley CY - New York, NY ER -