TY - JOUR A1 - Akimbekov, Nuraly S. A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Tastambek, Kuanysh T. A1 - Marat, Adel K. A1 - Turaliyeva, Moldir A. A1 - Kaiyrmanova, Gulzhan K. T1 - Biotechnology of Microorganisms from Coal Environments: From Environmental Remediation to Energy Production JF - Biology N2 - It was generally believed that coal sources are not favorable as live-in habitats for microorganisms due to their recalcitrant chemical nature and negligible decomposition. However, accumulating evidence has revealed the presence of diverse microbial groups in coal environments and their significant metabolic role in coal biogeochemical dynamics and ecosystem functioning. The high oxygen content, organic fractions, and lignin-like structures of lower-rank coals may provide effective means for microbial attack, still representing a greatly unexplored frontier in microbiology. Coal degradation/conversion technology by native bacterial and fungal species has great potential in agricultural development, chemical industry production, and environmental rehabilitation. Furthermore, native microalgal species can offer a sustainable energy source and an excellent bioremediation strategy applicable to coal spill/seam waters. Additionally, the measures of the fate of the microbial community would serve as an indicator of restoration progress on post-coal-mining sites. This review puts forward a comprehensive vision of coal biodegradation and bioprocessing by microorganisms native to coal environments for determining their biotechnological potential and possible applications. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11091306 SN - 2079-7737 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Microbial Ecology and Evolution in Extreme Environments" VL - 11 IS - 9 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Baringhaus, Ludwig A1 - Gaigall, Daniel T1 - On Hotelling’s T² test in a special paired sample case JF - Communications in Statistics - Theory and Methods N2 - In a special paired sample case, Hotelling’s T² test based on the differences of the paired random vectors is the likelihood ratio test for testing the hypothesis that the paired random vectors have the same mean; with respect to a special group of affine linear transformations it is the uniformly most powerful invariant test for the general alternative of a difference in mean. We present an elementary straightforward proof of this result. The likelihood ratio test for testing the hypothesis that the covariance structure is of the assumed special form is derived and discussed. Applications to real data are given. KW - complete block symmetry KW - Hotelling’s T² test KW - likelihood ratio test KW - uniformly most powerful invariant test Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03610926.2017.1408828 SN - 1532-415X VL - 48 IS - 2 SP - 257 EP - 267 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bhattarai, Aroj A1 - Staat, Manfred T1 - Computational comparison of different textile implants to correct apical prolapse in females JF - Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering N2 - Prosthetic textile implants of different shapes, sizes and polymers are used to correct the apical prolapse after hysterectomy (removal of the uterus). The selection of the implant before or during minimally invasive surgery depends on the patient’s anatomical defect, intended function after reconstruction and most importantly the surgeon’s preference. Weakness or damage of the supporting tissues during childbirth, menopause or previous pelvic surgeries may put females in higher risk of prolapse. Numerical simulations of reconstructed pelvic floor with weakened tissues and organ supported by textile product models: DynaMesh®-PRS soft, DynaMesh®-PRP soft and DynaMesh®-CESA from FEG Textiletechnik mbH, Germany are compared. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2018-0159 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 661 EP - 664 PB - De Gruyter CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kleefeld, Andreas T1 - The hot spots conjecture can be false: some numerical examples JF - Advances in Computational Mathematics N2 - The hot spots conjecture is only known to be true for special geometries. This paper shows numerically that the hot spots conjecture can fail to be true for easy to construct bounded domains with one hole. The underlying eigenvalue problem for the Laplace equation with Neumann boundary condition is solved with boundary integral equations yielding a non-linear eigenvalue problem. Its discretization via the boundary element collocation method in combination with the algorithm by Beyn yields highly accurate results both for the first non-zero eigenvalue and its corresponding eigenfunction which is due to superconvergence. Additionally, it can be shown numerically that the ratio between the maximal/minimal value inside the domain and its maximal/minimal value on the boundary can be larger than 1 + 10− 3. Finally, numerical examples for easy to construct domains with up to five holes are provided which fail the hot spots conjecture as well. KW - Numerics KW - Boundary integral equations KW - Potential theory KW - Helmholtz equation KW - Interior Neumann eigenvalues Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10444-021-09911-5 SN - 1019-7168 VL - 47 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Goßmann, Matthias A1 - Frotscher, Ralf A1 - Linder, Peter A1 - Bayer, Robin A1 - Epple, U. A1 - Staat, Manfred A1 - Temiz Artmann, Aysegül A1 - Artmann, Gerhard T1 - Mechano-pharmacological characterization of cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells JF - Cellular physiology and biochemistry N2 - Background/Aims: Common systems for the quantification of cellular contraction rely on animal-based models, complex experimental setups or indirect approaches. The herein presented CellDrum technology for testing mechanical tension of cellular monolayers and thin tissue constructs has the potential to scale-up mechanical testing towards medium-throughput analyses. Using hiPS-Cardiac Myocytes (hiPS-CMs) it represents a new perspective of drug testing and brings us closer to personalized drug medication. Methods: In the present study, monolayers of self-beating hiPS-CMs were grown on ultra-thin circular silicone membranes and deflect under the weight of the culture medium. Rhythmic contractions of the hiPS-CMs induced variations of the membrane deflection. The recorded contraction-relaxation-cycles were analyzed with respect to their amplitudes, durations, time integrals and frequencies. Besides unstimulated force and tensile stress, we investigated the effects of agonists and antagonists acting on Ca²⁺ channels (S-Bay K8644/verapamil) and Na⁺ channels (veratridine/lidocaine). Results: The measured data and simulations for pharmacologically unstimulated contraction resembled findings in native human heart tissue, while the pharmacological dose-response curves were highly accurate and consistent with reference data. Conclusion: We conclude that the combination of the CellDrum with hiPS-CMs offers a fast, facile and precise system for pharmacological, toxicological studies and offers new preclinical basic research potential. KW - Inotropic compounds KW - Pharmacology KW - Ion channels KW - CellDrum KW - Heart tissue culture KW - Induced pluripotent stem cells KW - Cardiac myocytes Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000443124 SN - 1421-9778 (Online) SN - 1015-8987 (Print) VL - 38 IS - 3 SP - 1182 EP - 1198 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bertz, Morten A1 - Molinnus, Denise A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Homma, Takayuki T1 - Real-time monitoring of H₂O₂ sterilization on individual bacillus atrophaeus spores by optical sensing with trapping Raman spectroscopy JF - Chemosensors N2 - Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a strong oxidizer, is a commonly used sterilization agent employed during aseptic food processing and medical applications. To assess the sterilization efficiency with H₂O₂, bacterial spores are common microbial systems due to their remarkable robustness against a wide variety of decontamination strategies. Despite their widespread use, there is, however, only little information about the detailed time-resolved mechanism underlying the oxidative spore death by H₂O₂. In this work, we investigate chemical and morphological changes of individual Bacillus atrophaeus spores undergoing oxidative damage using optical sensing with trapping Raman microscopy in real-time. The time-resolved experiments reveal that spore death involves two distinct phases: (i) an initial phase dominated by the fast release of dipicolinic acid (DPA), a major spore biomarker, which indicates the rupture of the spore’s core; and (ii) the oxidation of the remaining spore material resulting in the subsequent fragmentation of the spores’ coat. Simultaneous observation of the spore morphology by optical microscopy corroborates these mechanisms. The dependence of the onset of DPA release and the time constant of spore fragmentation on H₂O₂ shows that the formation of reactive oxygen species from H₂O₂ is the rate-limiting factor of oxidative spore death. KW - DPA (dipicolinic acid) KW - sterilization KW - Bacillus atrophaeus spores KW - optical trapping KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - optical sensor setup Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors11080445 SN - 2227-9040 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Biosensors and Chemical Sensors for Food and Healthcare Monitoring—Celebrating the 10th Anniversary" VL - 8 IS - 11 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thiebes, Anja Lena A1 - Klein, Sarah A1 - Zingsheim, Jonas A1 - Möller, Georg H. A1 - Gürzing, Stefanie A1 - Reddemann, Manuel A. A1 - Behbahani, Mehdi A1 - Cornelissen, Christian G. T1 - Effervescent atomizer as novel cell spray technology to decrease the gas-to-liquid ratio JF - pharmaceutics N2 - Cell spraying has become a feasible application method for cell therapy and tissue engineering approaches. Different devices have been used with varying success. Often, twin-fluid atomizers are used, which require a high gas velocity for optimal aerosolization characteristics. To decrease the amount and velocity of required air, a custom-made atomizer was designed based on the effervescent principle. Different designs were evaluated regarding spray characteristics and their influence on human adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells. The arithmetic mean diameters of the droplets were 15.4–33.5 µm with decreasing diameters for increasing gas-to-liquid ratios. The survival rate was >90% of the control for the lowest gas-to-liquid ratio. For higher ratios, cell survival decreased to approximately 50%. Further experiments were performed with the design, which had shown the highest survival rates. After seven days, no significant differences in metabolic activity were observed. The apoptosis rates were not influenced by aerosolization, while high gas-to-liquid ratios caused increased necrosis levels. Tri-lineage differentiation potential into adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts was not negatively influenced by aerosolization. Thus, the effervescent aerosolization principle was proven suitable for cell applications requiring reduced amounts of supplied air. This is the first time an effervescent atomizer was used for cell processing. KW - tri-lineage differentiation KW - survival KW - twin-fluid atomizer KW - adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) KW - cell atomization KW - cell aerosolization Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14112421 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Stromal, Stem, Signaling Cells: The Multiple Roles and Applications of Mesenchymal Cells" VL - 14 IS - 11 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Breuß, Michael A1 - Kleefeld, Andreas T1 - Implicit monotone difference methods for scalar conservation laws with source terms JF - Acta Mathematica Vietnamica N2 - In this article, a concept of implicit methods for scalar conservation laws in one or more spatial dimensions allowing also for source terms of various types is presented. This material is a significant extension of previous work of the first author (Breuß SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 43(3), 970–986 2005). Implicit notions are developed that are centered around a monotonicity criterion. We demonstrate a connection between a numerical scheme and a discrete entropy inequality, which is based on a classical approach by Crandall and Majda. Additionally, three implicit methods are investigated using the developed notions. Next, we conduct a convergence proof which is not based on a classical compactness argument. Finally, the theoretical results are confirmed by various numerical tests. KW - Entropy solution KW - Source term KW - Monotone methods KW - Implicit methods KW - Finite difference methods KW - Conservation laws Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40306-019-00354-1 SN - 2315-4144 N1 - Corresponding author: Andreas Kleefeld VL - 45 SP - 709 EP - 738 PB - Springer Singapore CY - Singapore ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gaigall, Daniel T1 - Hoeffding-Blum-Kiefer-Rosenblatt independence test statistic on partly not identically distributed data JF - Communications in Statistics - Theory and Methods N2 - The established Hoeffding-Blum-Kiefer-Rosenblatt independence test statistic is investigated for partly not identically distributed data. Surprisingly, it turns out that the statistic has the well-known distribution-free limiting null distribution of the classical criterion under standard regularity conditions. An application is testing goodness-of-fit for the regression function in a non parametric random effects meta-regression model, where the consistency is obtained as well. Simulations investigate size and power of the approach for small and moderate sample sizes. A real data example based on clinical trials illustrates how the test can be used in applications. KW - Brownian Pillow KW - Hoeffding-Blum-Kiefer-Rosenblatt independence test KW - not identically distributed KW - random effects meta-regression model Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03610926.2020.1805767 SN - 1532-415X VL - 51 IS - 12 SP - 4006 EP - 4028 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Baringhaus, Ludwig A1 - Gaigall, Daniel T1 - On an asymptotic relative efficiency concept based on expected volumes of confidence regions JF - Statistics - A Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistic N2 - The paper deals with an asymptotic relative efficiency concept for confidence regions of multidimensional parameters that is based on the expected volumes of the confidence regions. Under standard conditions the asymptotic relative efficiencies of confidence regions are seen to be certain powers of the ratio of the limits of the expected volumes. These limits are explicitly derived for confidence regions associated with certain plugin estimators, likelihood ratio tests and Wald tests. Under regularity conditions, the asymptotic relative efficiency of each of these procedures with respect to each one of its competitors is equal to 1. The results are applied to multivariate normal distributions and multinomial distributions in a fairly general setting. KW - Volume of confidence regions KW - asymptotic relative efficiency KW - likelihood ratio test KW - multivariate normal distribution KW - multinomial distribution Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/02331888.2019.1683560 SN - 1029-4910 VL - 53 IS - 6 SP - 1396 EP - 1436 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER -