TY - JOUR A1 - Infantino, Angelo A1 - Paulßen, Elisabeth A1 - Mostacci, Domiziano A1 - Schaffer, Paul A1 - Trinczek, Michael A1 - Hoehr, Cornelia T1 - Assessment of the production of medical isotopes using the Monte Carlo code FLUKA: Simulations against experimental measurements JF - Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms N2 - The Monte Carlo code FLUKA is used to simulate the production of a number of positron emitting radionuclides, ¹⁸F, ¹³N, ⁹⁴Tc, ⁴⁴Sc, ⁶⁸Ga, ⁸⁶Y, ⁸⁹Zr, ⁵²Mn, ⁶¹Cu and ⁵⁵Co, on a small medical cyclotron with a proton beam energy of 13 MeV. Experimental data collected at the TR13 cyclotron at TRIUMF agree within a factor of 0.6 ± 0.4 with the directly simulated data, except for the production of ⁵⁵Co, where the simulation underestimates the experiment by a factor of 3.4 ± 0.4. The experimental data also agree within a factor of 0.8 ± 0.6 with the convolution of simulated proton fluence and cross sections from literature. Overall, this confirms the applicability of FLUKA to simulate radionuclide production at 13 MeV proton beam energy. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2015.10.067 SN - 1872-9584 VL - 366 SP - 117 EP - 123 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ngamga, Eulalie Joelle A1 - Bialonski, Stephan A1 - Marwan, Norbert A1 - Kurths, Jürgen A1 - Geier, Christian A1 - Lehnertz, Klaus T1 - Evaluation of selected recurrence measures in discriminating pre-ictal and inter-ictal periods from epileptic EEG data JF - Physics Letters A N2 - We investigate the suitability of selected measures of complexity based on recurrence quantification analysis and recurrence networks for an identification of pre-seizure states in multi-day, multi-channel, invasive electroencephalographic recordings from five epilepsy patients. We employ several statistical techniques to avoid spurious findings due to various influencing factors and due to multiple comparisons and observe precursory structures in three patients. Our findings indicate a high congruence among measures in identifying seizure precursors and emphasize the current notion of seizure generation in large-scale epileptic networks. A final judgment of the suitability for field studies, however, requires evaluation on a larger database. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2016.02.024 SN - 0375-9601 VL - 380 IS - 16 SP - 1419 EP - 1425 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Jin A1 - Heimbach, Tycho A1 - Scheer, Nico A1 - Barve, Avantika A1 - Li, Wenkui A1 - Lin, Wen A1 - He, Handan T1 - Clinical Exposure Boost Predictions by Integrating Cytochrome P450 3A4–Humanized Mouse Studies With PBPK Modeling JF - Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences N2 - NVS123 is a poorly water-soluble protease 56 inhibitor in clinical development. Data from in vitro hepatocyte studies suggested that NVS123 is mainly metabolized by CYP3A4. As a consequence of limited solubility, NVS123 therapeutic plasma exposures could not be achieved even with high doses and optimized formulations. One approach to overcome NVS123 developability issues was to increase plasma exposure by coadministrating it with an inhibitor of CYP3A4 such as ritonavir. A clinical boost effect was predicted by using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling. However, initial boost predictions lacked sufficient confidence because a key parameter, fraction of drug metabolized by CYP3A4 (ƒₘCYP3A4), could not be estimated with accuracy on account of disconnects between in vitro and in vivo preclinical data. To accurately estimate ƒₘCYP3A4 in human, an in vivo boost effect study was conducted using CYP3A4-humanized mouse model which showed a 33- to 56-fold exposure boost effect. Using a top-down approach, human ƒₘCYP3A4 for NVS123 was estimated to be very high and included in the human PBPK modeling to support subsequent clinical study design. The combined use of the in vivo boost study in CYP3A4-humanized mouse model mice along with PBPK modeling accurately predicted the clinical outcome and identified a significant NVS123 exposure boost (∼42-fold increase) with ritonavir. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/doi.org/10.1016/j.xphs.2016.01.021 SN - 0022-3549 VL - Volume 105 IS - Issue 4 SP - 1398 EP - 1404 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bernecker, Andreas T1 - Divided we reform? Evidence from US welfare policies JF - Journal of Public Economics N2 - Divided government is often thought of as causing legislative deadlock. I investigate the link between divided government and economic reforms using a novel data set on welfare reforms in US states between 1978 and 2010. Panel data regressions show that, under divided government, a US state is around 25% more likely to adopt a welfare reform than under unified government. Several robustness checks confirm this counter-intuitive finding. Case study evidence suggests an explanation based on policy competition between governor, senate, and house. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2016.08.003 SN - 0047-2727 VL - 142 SP - 24 EP - 38 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheer, Nico A1 - Wilson, Ian D. T1 - A comparison between genetically humanized and chimeric liver humanized mouse models for studies in drug metabolism and toxicity JF - Drug Discovery Today N2 - Mice that have been genetically humanized for proteins involved in drug metabolism and toxicity and mice engrafted with human hepatocytes are emerging and promising in vivo models for an improved prediction of the pharmacokinetic, drug–drug interaction and safety characteristics of compounds in humans. The specific advantages and disadvantages of these models should be carefully considered when using them for studies in drug discovery and development. Here, an overview on the corresponding genetically humanized and chimeric liver humanized mouse models described to date is provided and illustrated with examples of their utility in drug metabolism and toxicity studies. We compare the strength and weaknesses of the two different approaches, give guidance for the selection of the appropriate model for various applications and discuss future trends and perspectives. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2015.09.002 SN - 1359-6446 VL - 21 IS - 2 SP - 250 EP - 263 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weber, Tobias A1 - Arent, Jan-Christoph A1 - Münch, Lukas A1 - Duhovic, Miro A1 - Balvers, Johannes M. T1 - A fast method for the generation of boundary conditions for thermal autoclave simulation JF - Composites Part A N2 - Manufacturing process simulation enables the evaluation and improvement of autoclave mold concepts early in the design phase. To achieve a high part quality at low cycle times, the thermal behavior of the autoclave mold can be investigated by means of simulations. Most challenging for such a simulation is the generation of necessary boundary conditions. Heat-up and temperature distribution in an autoclave mold are governed by flow phenomena, tooling material and shape, position within the autoclave, and the chosen autoclave cycle. This paper identifies and summarizes the most important factors influencing mold heat-up and how they can be introduced into a thermal simulation. Thermal measurements are used to quantify the impact of the various parameters. Finally, the gained knowledge is applied to develop a semi-empirical approach for boundary condition estimation that enables a simple and fast thermal simulation of the autoclave curing process with reasonably high accuracy for tooling optimization. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.05.036 SN - 1359-835X VL - 88 SP - 216 EP - 225 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kolditz, Melanie A1 - Albin, Thivaharan A1 - Abel, Dirk A1 - Fasse, Alessandro A1 - Brüggemann, Gert-Peter A1 - Albracht, Kirsten T1 - Evaluation of foot position and orientation as manipulated variables to control external knee adduction moments in leg extension training JF - Computer methods and programs in biomedicine N2 - Background and Objective Effective leg extension training at a leg press requires high forces, which need to be controlled to avoid training-induced damage. In order to avoid high external knee adduction moments, which are one reason for unphysiological loadings on knee joint structures, both training movements and the whole reaction force vector need to be observed. In this study, the applicability of lateral and medial changes in foot orientation and position as possible manipulated variables to control external knee adduction moments is investigated. As secondary parameters both the medio-lateral position of the center of pressure and the frontal-plane orientation of the reaction force vector are analyzed. Methods Knee adduction moments are estimated using a dynamic model of the musculoskeletal system together with the measured reaction force vector and the motion of the subject by solving the inverse kinematic and dynamic problem. Six different foot conditions with varying positions and orientations of the foot in a static leg press are evaluated and compared to a neutral foot position. Results Both lateral and medial wedges under the foot and medial and lateral shifts of the foot can influence external knee adduction moments in the presented study with six healthy subjects. Different effects are observed with the varying conditions: the pose of the leg is changed and the direction and center of pressure of the reaction force vector is influenced. Each effect results in a different direction or center of pressure of the reaction force vector. Conclusions The results allow the conclusion that foot position and orientation can be used as manipulated variables in a control loop to actively control knee adduction moments in leg extension training. KW - External knee adduction moments KW - Manipulated variables KW - Inverse dynamic problem KW - Inverse kinematic problem KW - Musculoskeletal model Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2016.09.005 SN - 0169-2607 N1 - Part of special issue: "SI: Personalised Models and System Identification" VL - 171 SP - 81 EP - 86 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -