TY - JOUR A1 - Knobe, M. A1 - Giesen, M. A1 - Plate, S. A1 - Gradl-Dietsch, G. A1 - Buecking, B. A1 - Eschbach, D. A1 - Laack, Walter van A1 - Pape, H.-C. T1 - The Aachen mobility and balance index to measure physiological falls risk: a comparison with the Tinetti POMA scale JF - European Journal Of Trauma And Emergency Surgery N2 - Purpose The most commonly used mobility assessments for screening risk of falls among older adults are rating scales such as the Tinetti performance oriented mobility assessment (POMA). However, its correlation with falls is not always predictable and disadvantages of the scale include difficulty to assess many of the items on a 3-point scale and poor specificity. The purpose of this study was to describe the ability of the new Aachen Mobility and Balance Index (AMBI) to discriminate between subjects with a fall history and subjects without such events in comparison to the Tinetti POMA Scale. Methods For this prospective cohort study, 24 participants in the study group and 10 in the control group were selected from a population of patients in our hospital who had met the stringent inclusion criteria. Both groups completed the Tinetti POMA Scale (gait and balance component) and the AMBI (tandem stance, tandem walk, ten-meter-walk-test, sit-to-stand with five repetitions, 360° turns, timed-up-and-go-test and measurement of the dominant hand grip strength). A history of falls and hospitalization in the past year were evaluated retrospectively. The relationships among the mobility tests were examined with Bland–Altmananalysis. Receiver-operated characteristics curves, sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Results The study showed a strong negative correlation between the AMBI (17 points max., highest fall risk) and Tinetti POMA Scale (28 points max., lowest fall risk; r = −0.78, p < 0.001) with an excellent discrimination between community-dwelling older people and a younger control group. However, there were no differences in any of the mobility and balance measurements between participants with and without a fall history with equal characteristics in test comparison (AMBI vs. Tinetti POMA Scale: AUC 0.570 vs. 0.598; p = 0.762). The Tinetti POMA Scale (cut-off <20 points) showed a sensitivity of 0.45 and a specificity of 0.69, the AMBI a sensitivity of 0.64 and a specificity of 0.46 (cut-off >5 points). Conclusion The AMBI comprises mobility and balance tasks with increasing difficulty as well as a measurement of the dominant hand-grip strength. Its ability to identify fallers was comparable to the Tinetti POMA Scale. However, both measurement sets showed shortcomings in discrimination between fallers and non-fallers based on a self-reported retrospective falls-status. KW - Tinetti test KW - Mobility KW - Mobility tests KW - Ground-level falls KW - Elderly KW - Fall prevention KW - Co-managed care KW - Balance Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00068-016-0693-2 SN - 1863-9941 VL - 42 IS - 5 SP - 537 EP - 545 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, K. A1 - Forkmann, K. A1 - Sinke, C. A1 - Gratz, M. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Bingel, U. T1 - The differential effect of trigeminal vs. peripheral pain stimulation on visual processing and memory encoding is influenced by pain-related fear JF - NeuroImage N2 - Compared to peripheral pain, trigeminal pain elicits higher levels of fear, which is assumed to enhance the interruptive effects of pain on concomitant cognitive processes. In this fMRI study we examined the behavioral and neural effects of trigeminal (forehead) and peripheral (hand) pain on visual processing and memory encoding. Cerebral activity was measured in 23 healthy subjects performing a visual categorization task that was immediately followed by a surprise recognition task. During the categorization task subjects received concomitant noxious electrical stimulation on the forehead or hand. Our data show that fear ratings were significantly higher for trigeminal pain. Categorization and recognition performance did not differ between pictures that were presented with trigeminal and peripheral pain. However, object categorization in the presence of trigeminal pain was associated with stronger activity in task-relevant visual areas (lateral occipital complex, LOC), memory encoding areas (hippocampus and parahippocampus) and areas implicated in emotional processing (amygdala) compared to peripheral pain. Further, individual differences in neural activation between the trigeminal and the peripheral condition were positively related to differences in fear ratings between both conditions. Functional connectivity between amygdala and LOC was increased during trigeminal compared to peripheral painful stimulation. Fear-driven compensatory resource activation seems to be enhanced for trigeminal stimuli, presumably due to their exceptional biological relevance. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.026 SN - 1053-8119 VL - 134 SP - 386 EP - 395 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Steinbauer, Gerald T1 - The Interplay of Aldebaran and RoboCup JF - KI - Künstliche Intelligenz Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13218-016-0440-1 SN - 1610-1987 VL - 30 IS - 3-4 SP - 325 EP - 326 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paulßen, Elisabeth A1 - Lengkeek, Nigel A. A1 - Le, Van So A1 - Pellegrini, Paul A. A1 - Greguric, Ivan A1 - Weiner, Ron T1 - The role of additives in moderating the influence of Fe(III) and Cu(II) on the radiochemical yield of [⁶⁸Ga(DOTATATE)] JF - Applied Radiation and Isotopes N2 - [⁶⁸Ga(DOTATATE)] has demonstrated its clinical usefulness. Both Fe³⁺ and Cu²⁺, potential contaminants in Gallium-68 generator eluent, substantially reduce the radiochemical (RC) yield of [⁶⁸Ga(DOTATATE)] if the metal/ligand ratio of 1:1 is exceeded. A variety of compounds were examined for their potential ability to reduce this effect. Most had no effect on RC yield. However, addition of phosphate diminished the influence of Fe³⁺ by likely forming an insoluble iron salt. Addition of ascorbic acid reduced Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ to Cu⁺ and Fe²⁺ respectively, both of which have limited impact on RC yields. At low ligand amounts (5 nmol DOTATATE), the addition of 30 nmol phosphate (0.19 mM) increased the tolerance of Fe3⁺ from 4 nmol to 10 nmol (0.06 mM), while the addition of ascorbic acid allowed high RC yields (>95%) in the presence of 40 nmol Fe³⁺ (0.25 mM) and 100 nmol Cu²⁺ (0.63 mM). The effect of ascorbic acid was highly pH-dependant, and gave optimal results at pH 3. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.09.008 SN - 1872-9800 VL - 107 SP - 13 EP - 16 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Molinnus, Denise A1 - Sorich, Maren A1 - Bartz, Alexander A1 - Siegert, Petra A1 - Willenberg, Holger S. A1 - Lisdat, Fred A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Towards an adrenaline biosensor based on substrate recycling amplification in combination with an enzyme logic gate JF - Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical N2 - An amperometric biosensor using a substrate recycling principle was realized for the detection of low adrenaline concentrations (1 nM) by measurements in phosphate buffer and Ringer’s solution at pH 6.5 and pH 7.4, respectively. In proof-of-concept experiments, a Boolean logic-gate principle has been applied to develop a digital adrenaline biosensor based on an enzyme AND logic gate. The obtained results demonstrate that the developed digital biosensor is capable for a rapid qualitative determination of the presence/absence of adrenaline in a YES/NO statement. Such digital biosensor could be used in clinical diagnostics for the control of a correct insertion of a catheter in the adrenal veins during adrenal venous-sampling procedure. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2016.06.064 SN - 0925-4005 VL - 237 SP - 190 EP - 195 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jablonowski, Nicolai David A1 - Kollmann, Tobias A1 - Nabel, Moritz A1 - Damm, Tatjana A1 - Klose, Holger A1 - Müller, Michael A1 - Bläsing, Marc A1 - Seebold, Sören A1 - Krafft, Simone A1 - Kuperjans, Isabel A1 - Dahmen, Markus A1 - Schurr, Ulrich T1 - Valorization of Sida (Sida hermaphrodita) biomass for multiple energy purposes JF - GCB [Global Change Biology] Bioenergy N2 - The performance and biomass yield of the perennial energy plant Sida hermaphrodita (hereafter referred to as Sida) as a feedstock for biogas and solid fuel was evaluated throughout one entire growing period at agricultural field conditions. A Sida plant development code was established to allow comparison of the plant growth stages and biomass composition. Four scenarios were evaluated to determine the use of Sida biomass with regard to plant development and harvest time: (i) one harvest for solid fuel only; (ii) one harvest for biogas production only; (iii) one harvest for biogas production, followed by a harvest of the regrown biomass for solid fuel; and (iv) two consecutive harvests for biogas production. To determine Sida's value as a feedstock for combustion, we assessed the caloric value, the ash quality, and melting point with regard to DIN EN ISO norms. The results showed highest total dry biomass yields of max. 25 t ha⁻¹, whereas the highest dry matter of 70% to 80% was obtained at the end of the growing period. Scenario (i) clearly indicated the highest energy recovery, accounting for 439 288 MJ ha⁻¹; the energy recovery of the four scenarios from highest to lowest followed this order: (i) ≫ (iii) ≫ (iv) > (ii). Analysis of the Sida ashes showed a high melting point of >1500 °C, associated with a net calorific value of 16.5–17.2 MJ kg⁻¹. All prerequisites for DIN EN ISO norms were achieved, indicating Sida's advantage as a solid energy carrier without any post-treatment after harvesting. Cell wall analysis of the stems showed a constant lignin content after sampling week 16 (July), whereas cellulose had already reached a plateau in sampling week 4 (April). The results highlight Sida as a promising woody, perennial plant, providing biomass for flexible and multipurpose energy applications. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12346 SN - 1757-1707 (online) SN - 1757-1693 (print) N1 - Special Issue: Perennial biomass crops for a resource constrained world VL - 9 IS - 1 SP - 202 EP - 214 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Schiffer, Stefan A1 - Booysen, T. A1 - Stopforth, R. T1 - Why it is harder to run RoboCup in South Africa: Experiences from German South African collaborations JF - International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems N2 - Robots are widely used as a vehicle to spark interest in science and technology in learners. A number of initiatives focus on this issue, for instance, the Roberta Initiative, the FIRST Lego League, the World Robot Olympiad and RoboCup Junior. Robotic competitions are valuable not only for school learners but also for university students, as the RoboCup initiative shows. Besides technical skills, the students get some project exposure and experience what it means to finish their tasks on time. But qualifying students for future high-tech areas should not only be for students from developed countries. In this article, we present our experiences with research and education in robotics within the RoboCup initiative, in Germany and South Africa; we report on our experiences with trying to get the RoboCup initiative in South Africa going. RoboCup has a huge support base of academic institutions in Germany; this is not the case in South Africa. We present our ‘north–south’ collaboration initiatives in RoboCup between Germany and South Africa and discuss some of the reasons why we think it is harder to run RoboCup in South Africa. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1729881416662789 SN - 1729-8806 VL - 13 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lagemaat, Miriam W. A1 - Breukels, Vincent A1 - Vos, Eline K. A1 - B., Adam A1 - Uden, Mark J. van A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Maas, Marnix C. A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. T1 - ¹H MR spectroscopic imaging of the prostate at 7T using spectral-spatial pulses JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - Purpose To assess the feasibility of prostate ¹H MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) using low-power spectral-spatial (SPSP) pulses at 7T, exploiting accurate spectral selection and spatial selectivity simultaneously. Methods A double spin-echo sequence was equipped with SPSP refocusing pulses with a spectral selectivity of 1 ppm. Three-dimensional prostate ¹H-MRSI at 7T was performed with the SPSP-MRSI sequence using an 8-channel transmit array coil and an endorectal receive coil in three patients with prostate cancer and in one healthy subject. No additional water or lipid suppression pulses were used. Results Prostate ¹H-MRSI could be obtained well within specific absorption rate (SAR) limits in a clinically feasible time (10 min). Next to the common citrate signals, the prostate spectra exhibited high spermine signals concealing creatine and sometimes also choline. Residual lipid signals were observed at the edges of the prostate because of limitations in spectral and spatial selectivity. Conclusion It is possible to perform prostate ¹H-MRSI at 7T with a SPSP-MRSI sequence while using separate transmit and receive coils. This low-SAR MRSI concept provides the opportunity to increase spatial resolution of MRSI within reasonable scan times. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrm.25569 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 75 IS - 3 SP - 933 EP - 945 PB - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine ER -