TY - JOUR A1 - Schoenrock, Britt A1 - Muckelt, Paul E. A1 - Hastermann, Maria A1 - Albracht, Kirsten A1 - MacGregor, Robert A1 - Martin, David A1 - Gunga, Hans-Christian A1 - Salanova, Michele A1 - Stokes, Maria J. A1 - Warner, Martin B. A1 - Blottner, Dieter T1 - Muscle stiffness indicating mission crew health in space JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Muscle function is compromised by gravitational unloading in space affecting overall musculoskeletal health. Astronauts perform daily exercise programmes to mitigate these effects but knowing which muscles to target would optimise effectiveness. Accurate inflight assessment to inform exercise programmes is critical due to lack of technologies suitable for spaceflight. Changes in mechanical properties indicate muscle health status and can be measured rapidly and non-invasively using novel technology. A hand-held MyotonPRO device enabled monitoring of muscle health for the first time in spaceflight (> 180 days). Greater/maintained stiffness indicated countermeasures were effective. Tissue stiffness was preserved in the majority of muscles (neck, shoulder, back, thigh) but Tibialis Anterior (foot lever muscle) stiffness decreased inflight vs. preflight (p < 0.0001; mean difference 149 N/m) in all 12 crewmembers. The calf muscles showed opposing effects, Gastrocnemius increasing in stiffness Soleus decreasing. Selective stiffness decrements indicate lack of preservation despite daily inflight countermeasures. This calls for more targeted exercises for lower leg muscles with vital roles as ankle joint stabilizers and in gait. Muscle stiffness is a digital biomarker for risk monitoring during future planetary explorations (Moon, Mars), for healthcare management in challenging environments or clinical disorders in people on Earth, to enable effective tailored exercise programmes. KW - Ageing KW - Anatomy KW - Muscle KW - Musculoskeletal system KW - Physiology Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54759-6 SN - 2045-2322 N1 - Corresponding author: Dieter Blottner VL - 14 IS - Article number: 4196 PB - Springer Nature CY - London ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kraft, Bodo A1 - Kohl, Philipp A1 - Meinecke, Matthias ED - Bernert, Christian ED - Scheurer, Steffen ED - Wehnes, Harald T1 - Analyse und Nachverfolgung von Projektzielen durch Einsatz von Natural Language Processing T2 - KI in der Projektwirtschaft : was verändert sich durch KI im Projektmanagement? Y1 - 2024 SN - 978-3-3811-1132-9 (Online) SN - 978-3-3811-1131-2 (Print) U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.24053/9783381111329 SP - 157 EP - 167 PB - UVK Verlag ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Uysal, Karya A1 - Firat, Ipek Serat A1 - Creutz, Till A1 - Aydin, Inci Cansu A1 - Artmann, Gerhard A1 - Teusch, Nicole A1 - Temiz Artmann, Aysegül T1 - A novel in vitro wound healing assay using free-standing, ultra-thin PDMS membranes JF - membranes N2 - Advances in polymer science have significantly increased polymer applications in life sciences. We report the use of free-standing, ultra-thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes, called CellDrum, as cell culture substrates for an in vitro wound model. Dermal fibroblast monolayers from 28- and 88-year-old donors were cultured on CellDrums. By using stainless steel balls, circular cell-free areas were created in the cell layer (wounding). Sinusoidal strain of 1 Hz, 5% strain, was applied to membranes for 30 min in 4 sessions. The gap circumference and closure rate of un-stretched samples (controls) and stretched samples were monitored over 4 days to investigate the effects of donor age and mechanical strain on wound closure. A significant decrease in gap circumference and an increase in gap closure rate were observed in trained samples from younger donors and control samples from older donors. In contrast, a significant decrease in gap closure rate and an increase in wound circumference were observed in the trained samples from older donors. Through these results, we propose the model of a cell monolayer on stretchable CellDrums as a practical tool for wound healing research. The combination of biomechanical cell loading in conjunction with analyses such as gene/protein expression seems promising beyond the scope published here. Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/membranes13010022 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Latest Scientific Discoveries in Polymer Membranes" VL - 2023 IS - 13(1) PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schmitz, Annika A1 - Apandi, Shah Eiman Amzar Shah A1 - Spillner, Jan A1 - Hima, Flutura A1 - Behbahani, Mehdi ED - Digel, Ilya ED - Staat, Manfred ED - Trzewik, Jürgen ED - Sielemann, Stefanie ED - Erni, Daniel ED - Zylka, Waldemar T1 - Effect of different cannula positions in the pulmonary artery on blood flow and gas exchange using computational fluid dynamics analysis T2 - 4th YRA MedTech Symposium 2024 : February 1 / 2024 / FH Aachen N2 - Pulmonary arterial cannulation is a common and effective method for percutaneous mechanical circulatory support for concurrent right heart and respiratory failure [1]. However, limited data exists to what effect the positioning of the cannula has on the oxygen perfusion throughout the pulmonary artery (PA). This study aims to evaluate, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the effect of different cannula positions in the PA with respect to the oxygenation of the different branching vessels in order for an optimal cannula position to be determined. The four chosen different positions (see Fig. 1) of the cannulas are, in the lower part of the main pulmonary artery (MPA), in the MPA at the junction between the right pulmonary artery (RPA) and the left pulmonary artery (LPA), in the RPA at the first branch of the RPA and in the LPA at the first branch of the LPA. Y1 - 2024 SN - 978-3-940402-65-3 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.17185/duepublico/81475 SP - 29 EP - 30 PB - Universität Duisburg-Essen CY - Duisburg ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Simsek, Beril A1 - Krause, Hans-Joachim A1 - Engelmann, Ulrich M. ED - Digel, Ilya ED - Staat, Manfred ED - Trzewik, Jürgen ED - Sielemann, Stefanie ED - Erni, Daniel ED - Zylka, Waldemar T1 - Magnetic biosensing with magnetic nanoparticles: Simulative approach to predict signal intensity in frequency mixing magnetic detection T2 - 4th YRA MedTech Symposium 2024 : February 1 / 2024 / FH Aachen N2 - Magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) are investigated with great interest for biomedical applications in diagnostics (e.g. imaging: magnetic particle imaging (MPI)), therapeutics (e.g. hyperthermia: magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH)) and multi-purpose biosensing (e.g. magnetic immunoassays (MIA)). What all of these applications have in common is that they are based on the unique magnetic relaxation mechanisms of MNP in an alternating magnetic field (AMF). While MFH and MPI are currently the most prominent examples of biomedical applications, here we present results on the relatively new biosensing application of frequency mixing magnetic detection (FMMD) from a simulation perspective. In general, we ask how the key parameters of MNP (core size and magnetic anisotropy) affect the FMMD signal: by varying the core size, we investigate the effect of the magnetic volume per MNP; and by changing the effective magnetic anisotropy, we study the MNPs’ flexibility to leave its preferred magnetization direction. From this, we predict the most effective combination of MNP core size and magnetic anisotropy for maximum signal generation. Y1 - 2024 SN - 978-3-940402-65-3 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.17185/duepublico/81475 SP - 27 EP - 28 PB - Universität Duisburg-Essen CY - Duisburg ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Staat, Manfred A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Trzewik, Jürgen A1 - Sielemann, Stefanie A1 - Erni, Daniel A1 - Zylka, Waldemar T1 - Symposium Proceedings; 4th YRA MedTech Symposium 2024 : February 1 / 2024 / FH Aachen Y1 - 2024 SN - 978-3-940402-65-3 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.17185/duepublico/81475 PB - Universität Duisburg-Essen CY - Duisburg ER - TY - INPR A1 - Ringers, Christa A1 - Bialonski, Stephan A1 - Solovev, Anton A1 - Hansen, Jan N. A1 - Ege, Mert A1 - Friedrich, Benjamin M. A1 - Jurisch-Yaksi, Nathalie T1 - Preprint: Local synchronization of cilia and tissue-scale cilia alignment are sufficient for global metachronal waves T2 - bioRxiv N2 - Motile cilia are hair-like cell extensions present in multiple organs of the body. How cilia coordinate their regular beat in multiciliated epithelia to move fluids remains insufficiently understood, particularly due to lack of rigorous quantification. We combine here experiments, novel analysis tools, and theory to address this knowledge gap. We investigate collective dynamics of cilia in the zebrafish nose, due to its conserved properties with other ciliated tissues and its superior accessibility for non-invasive imaging. We revealed that cilia are synchronized only locally and that the size of local synchronization domains increases with the viscosity of the surrounding medium. Despite the fact that synchronization is local only, we observed global patterns of traveling metachronal waves across the multiciliated epithelium. Intriguingly, these global wave direction patterns are conserved across individual fish, but different for left and right nose, unveiling a chiral asymmetry of metachronal coordination. To understand the implications of synchronization for fluid pumping, we used a computational model of a regular array of cilia. We found that local metachronal synchronization prevents steric collisions and improves fluid pumping in dense cilia carpets, but hardly affects the direction of fluid flow. In conclusion, we show that local synchronization together with tissue-scale cilia alignment are sufficient to generate metachronal wave patterns in multiciliated epithelia, which enhance their physiological function of fluid pumping. Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.23.469646 N1 - Veröffentlicht in eLife 12:e77701 (https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77701). ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yang, Peng-Fei A1 - Kriechbaumer, Andreas A1 - Albracht, Kirsten A1 - Sanno, Maximilian A1 - Ganse, Bergita A1 - Koy, Timmo A1 - Shang, Peng A1 - brüggemann, Gert-Peter A1 - Müller, Lars Peter A1 - Rittweger, Jörn T1 - A novel optical approach for assessing in vivo bone segment deformation and its application in muscle-bone relationship studies in humans JF - Journal of Orthopaedic Translation Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jot.2014.07.078 SN - 2214-0328 SN - 2214-031X VL - 2 IS - 4 SP - 238 EP - 238 PB - Elsevier CY - Singapore ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werkhausen, Amelie A1 - Albracht, Kirsten A1 - Cronin, Neil J A1 - Paulsen, Gøran A1 - Bojsen-Møller, Jens A1 - Seynnes, Olivier R T1 - Effect of training-induced changes in achilles tendon stiffness on muscle-tendon behavior during landing JF - Frontiers in physiology N2 - During rapid deceleration of the body, tendons buffer part of the elongation of the muscle-tendon unit (MTU), enabling safe energy dissipation via eccentric muscle contraction. Yet, the influence of changes in tendon stiffness within the physiological range upon these lengthening contractions is unknown. This study aimed to examine the effect of training-induced stiffening of the Achilles tendon on triceps surae muscle-tendon behavior during a landing task. Twenty-one male subjects were assigned to either a 10-week resistance-training program consisting of single-leg isometric plantarflexion (n = 11) or to a non-training control group (n = 10). Before and after the training period, plantarflexion force, peak Achilles tendon strain and stiffness were measured during isometric contractions, using a combination of dynamometry, ultrasound and kinematics data. Additionally, testing included a step-landing task, during which joint mechanics and lengths of gastrocnemius and soleus fascicles, Achilles tendon, and MTU were determined using synchronized ultrasound, kinematics and kinetics data collection. After training, plantarflexion strength and Achilles tendon stiffness increased (15 and 18%, respectively), and tendon strain during landing remained similar. Likewise, lengthening and negative work produced by the gastrocnemius MTU did not change detectably. However, in the training group, gastrocnemius fascicle length was offset (8%) to a longer length at touch down and, surprisingly, fascicle lengthening and velocity were reduced by 27 and 21%, respectively. These changes were not observed for soleus fascicles when accounting for variation in task execution between tests. These results indicate that a training-induced increase in tendon stiffness does not noticeably affect the buffering action of the tendon when the MTU is rapidly stretched. Reductions in gastrocnemius fascicle lengthening and lengthening velocity during landing occurred independently from tendon strain. Future studies are required to provide insight into the mechanisms underpinning these observations and their influence on energy dissipation. KW - achilles tendon KW - energy absorption KW - energy dissipation KW - mechanical buffer KW - stiffness Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00794 SN - 1664-042X IS - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ketelhut, Maike A1 - Göll, Fabian A1 - Braunstein, Björn A1 - Albracht, Kirsten A1 - Abel, Dirk T1 - Comparison of different training algorithms for the leg extension training with an industrial robot JF - Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering N2 - In the past, different training scenarios have been developed and implemented on robotic research platforms, but no systematic analysis and comparison have been done so far. This paper deals with the comparison of an isokinematic (motion with constant velocity) and an isotonic (motion against constant weight) training algorithm. Both algorithms are designed for a robotic research platform consisting of a 3D force plate and a high payload industrial robot, which allows leg extension training with arbitrary six-dimensional motion trajectories. In the isokinematic as well as the isotonic training algorithm, individual paths are defined i n C artesian s pace by sufficient s upport p oses. I n t he i sotonic t raining s cenario, the trajectory is adapted to the measured force as the robot should only move along the trajectory as long as the force applied by the user exceeds a minimum threshold. In the isotonic training scenario however, the robot’s acceleration is a function of the force applied by the user. To validate these findings, a simulative experiment with a simple linear trajectory is performed. For this purpose, the same force path is applied in both training scenarios. The results illustrate that the algorithms differ in the force dependent trajectory adaption. KW - Rehabilitation Technology and Prosthetics KW - Surgical Navigation and Robotics Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2018-0005 SN - 2364-5504 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 17 EP - 20 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin ER -