TY - CHAP A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Akimbekov, Nuraly S. A1 - Kistaubayeva, Aida A1 - Zhubanova, Azhar A. ED - Artmann, Gerhard ED - Temiz Artmann, Aysegül ED - Zhubanova, Azhar A. ED - Digel, Ilya T1 - Microbial Sampling from Dry Surfaces: Current Challenges and Solutions T2 - Biological, Physical and Technical Basics of Cell Engineering N2 - Sampling of dry surfaces for microorganisms is a main component of microbiological safety and is of critical importance in many fields including epidemiology, astrobiology as well as numerous branches of medical and food manufacturing. Aspects of biofilm formation, analysis and removal in aqueous solutions have been thoroughly discussed in literature. In contrast, microbial communities on air-exposed (dry) surfaces have received significantly less attention. Diverse surface sampling methods have been developed in order to address various surfaces and microbial groups, but they notoriously show poor repeatability, low recovery rates and suffer from lack of mutual consistency. Quantitative sampling for viable microorganisms represents a particular challenge, especially on porous and irregular surfaces. Therefore, it is essential to examine in depth the factors involved in microorganisms’ recovery efficiency and accuracy depending on the sampling technique used. Microbial colonization, retention and community composition on different dry surfaces are very complex and rely on numerous physicochemical and biological factors. This study is devoted to analyze and review the (a) physical phenomena and intermolecular forces relevant for microbiological surface sampling; (b) challenges and problems faced by existing sampling methods for viable microorganisms and (c) current directions of engineering and research aimed at improvement of quality and efficiency of microbiological surface sampling. KW - Sampling methods KW - Surface microorganisms KW - Dry surfaces KW - Microbial adhesion KW - Swabbing Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-981-10-7904-7 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7904-7_19 SP - 421 EP - 456 PB - Springer CY - Singapore ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Gao, H. A1 - Babilon, Katharina A1 - Pfaff, Raphael A1 - Gan, F. A1 - Reich, A. T1 - Model of wheel-rail contact for sanding and adhesion enhancement T2 - Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/wheel Systems, CM 2018 Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-946186963-0 SP - 314 EP - 321 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 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.12.073 SN - 0360-5442 VL - 145 SP - 657 EP - 664 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - 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 - https://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 - Bindzus, Manuel A1 - Bragard, Michael T1 - Motivating Intuitive Understanding of the Switched Reluctance Machine in the Education of Undergraduate Students T2 - 2018 IEEE 59th International Scientific Conference on Power and Electrical Engineering of Riga Technical University (RTUCON) Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-1-5386-6903-7 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/RTUCON.2018.8659870 SP - 1 EP - 6 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bragard, Michael A1 - Hoek, Hauke van A1 - Hoegen, Anne von A1 - Doncker, Rik W. De T1 - Motivation-based Learning: Teaching Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering with an LED Spinning Top T2 - 2018 IEEE 59th International Scientific Conference on Power and Electrical Engineering of Riga Technical University (RTUCON) Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-1-5386-6903-7 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/RTUCON.2018.8659810 SP - 1 EP - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Druckenmüller, Katharina A1 - Günther, Klaus A1 - Elbers, Gereon T1 - Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a tool to monitor exhaust air from poultry operations JF - Science of the Total Environment N2 - Intensive poultry operation systems emit a considerable volume of inorganic and organic matter in the surrounding environment. Monitoring cleaning properties of exhaust air cleaning systems and to detect small but significant changes in emission characteristics during a fattening cycle is important for both emission and fattening process control. In the present study, we evaluated the potential of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with chemometric techniques as a monitoring tool of exhaust air from poultry operation systems. To generate a high-quality data set for evaluation, the exhaust air of two poultry houses was sampled by applying state-of-the-art filter sampling protocols. The two stables were identical except for one crucial difference, the presence or absence of an exhaust air cleaning system. In total, twenty-one exhaust air samples were collected at the two sites to monitor spectral differences caused by the cleaning device, and to follow changes in exhaust air characteristics during a fattening period. The total dust load was analyzed by gravimetric determination and included as a response variable in multivariate data analysis. The filter samples were directly measured with NIR spectroscopy. Principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and factor analysis (FA) were effective in classifying the NIR exhaust air spectra according to fattening day and origin. The results indicate that the dust load and the composition of exhaust air (inorganic or organic matter) substantially influence the NIR spectral patterns. In conclusion, NIR spectroscopy as a tool is a promising and very rapid way to detect differences between exhaust air samples based on still not clearly defined circumstances triggered during a fattening period and the availability of an exhaust air cleaning system. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.072 SN - 0048-9697 VL - 630 SP - 536 EP - 543 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schreiber, Marc A1 - Kraft, Bodo A1 - Zündorf, Albert T1 - NLP Lean Programming Framework: Developing NLP Applications More Effectively T2 - Proceedings of NAACL-HLT 2018: Demonstrations, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 2 - 4, 2018 N2 - This paper presents NLP Lean Programming framework (NLPf), a new framework for creating custom natural language processing (NLP) models and pipelines by utilizing common software development build systems. This approach allows developers to train and integrate domain-specific NLP pipelines into their applications seamlessly. Additionally, NLPf provides an annotation tool which improves the annotation process significantly by providing a well-designed GUI and sophisticated way of using input devices. Due to NLPf’s properties developers and domain experts are able to build domain-specific NLP applications more efficiently. NLPf is Opensource software and available at https:// gitlab.com/schrieveslaach/NLPf. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/N18-5001  ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Albanna, Walid A1 - Kotliar, Konstantin A1 - Lüke, Jan Niklas A1 - Alpdogan, Serdar A1 - Conzen, Catharina A1 - Lindauer, Ute A1 - Clusmann, Hans A1 - Hescheler, Jürgen A1 - Vilser, Walthard A1 - Schneider, Toni A1 - Schubert, Gerrit Alexander T1 - Non-invasive evaluation of neurovascular coupling in the murine retina by dynamic retinal vessel analysis JF - Plos one N2 - Background Impairment of neurovascular coupling (NVC) was recently reported in the context of subarachnoid hemorrhage and may correlate with disease severity and outcome. However, previous techniques to evaluate NVC required invasive procedures. Retinal vessels may represent an alternative option for non-invasive assessment of NVC. Methods A prototype of an adapted retinal vessel analyzer was used to assess retinal vessel diameter in mice. Dynamic vessel analysis (DVA) included an application of monochromatic flicker light impulses in predefined frequencies for evaluating NVC. All retinae were harvested after DVA and electroretinograms were performed. Results A total of 104 retinal scans were conducted in 21 male mice (90 scans). Quantitative arterial recordings were feasible only in a minority of animals, showing an emphasized reaction to flicker light impulses (8 mice; 14 scans). A characteristic venous response to flicker light, however, could observed in the majority of animals. Repeated measurements resulted in a significant decrease of baseline venous diameter (7 mice; 7 scans, p < 0.05). Ex-vivo electroretinograms, performed after in-vivo DVA, demonstrated a significant reduction of transretinal signaling in animals with repeated DVA (n = 6, p < 0.001). Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first non-invasive study assessing murine retinal vessel response to flicker light with characteristic changes in NVC. The imaging system can be used for basic research and enables the investigation of retinal vessel dimension and function in control mice and genetically modified animals. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204689 VL - 13 IS - 10 PB - PLOS CY - San Francisco ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Essingholt, Felix A1 - Meyer, Frederic A1 - Kuhn, Peter A1 - Schmidt, Philip A1 - Benkner, Thorsten A1 - Grabmaier, Anton T1 - Non-invasive heart beat measurement using microwave resonators T2 - Proceedings, Vol. 2, Eurosensors 2018 Conference, Graz, Austria, 9–12 September 2018 Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2131002 SN - 2504-3900 SP - 1002 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -