TY - JOUR A1 - Monakhova, Yulia A1 - Diehl, Bernd W. K. T1 - A step towards optimization of the qNMR workflow: proficiency testing exercise at an GxP-accredited laboratory JF - Applied Magnetic Resonance N2 - Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) is considered as a powerful tool for multicomponent mixture analysis as well as for the purity determination of single compounds. Special attention is currently paid to the training of operators and study directors involved in qNMR testing. To assure that only qualified personnel are used for sample preparation at our GxP-accredited laboratory, weighing test was proposed. Sixteen participants performed six-fold weighing of the binary mixture of dibutylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and 1,2,4,5-tetrachloro-3-nitrobenzene (TCNB). To evaluate the quality of data analysis, all spectra were evaluated manually by a qNMR expert and using in-house developed automated routine. The results revealed that mean values are comparable and both evaluation approaches are free of systematic error. However, automated evaluation resulted in an approximately 20% increase in precision. The same findings were revealed for qNMR analysis of 32 compounds used in pharmaceutical industry. Weighing test by six-fold determination in binary mixtures and automated qNMR methodology can be recommended as efficient tools for evaluating staff proficiency. The automated qNMR method significantly increases throughput and precision of qNMR for routine measurements and extends application scope of qNMR. Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00723-021-01324-3 SN - 1613-7507 N1 - Corresponding author: Yulia Monakhova VL - 52 SP - 581 EP - 593 PB - Springer Nature CY - Wien ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Monakhova, Yulia A1 - Diehl, Bernd W.K. T1 - Novel approach of qNMR workflow by standardization using 2H integral: Application to any intrinsic calibration standard JF - Talanta N2 - Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) is routinely performed by the internal or external standardization. The manuscript describes a simple alternative to these common workflows by using NMR signal of another active nuclei of calibration compound. For example, for any arbitrary compound quantification by NMR can be based on the use of an indirect concentration referencing that relies on a solvent having both 1H and 2H signals. To perform high-quality quantification, the deuteration level of the utilized deuterated solvent has to be estimated. In this contribution the new method was applied to the determination of deuteration levels in different deuterated solvents (MeOD, ACN, CDCl3, acetone, benzene, DMSO-d6). Isopropanol-d6, which contains a defined number of deuterons and protons, was used for standardization. Validation characteristics (precision, accuracy, robustness) were calculated and the results showed that the method can be used in routine practice. Uncertainty budget was also evaluated. In general, this novel approach, using standardization by 2H integral, benefits from reduced sample preparation steps and uncertainties, and can be applied in different application areas (purity determination, forensics, pharmaceutical analysis, etc.). KW - qNMR KW - Deuterium NMR KW - Deuterated solvents KW - Standardization Y1 - 2021 SN - 0039-9140 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121504 VL - 222 IS - Article number: 121504 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Monti, Elena A1 - Waldvogel, Janice A1 - Ritzmann, Ramona A1 - Freyler, Kathrin A1 - Albracht, Kirsten A1 - Helm, Michael A1 - De Cesare, Niccolò A1 - Pavan, Piero A1 - Reggiani, Carlo A1 - Gollhofer, Albert A1 - Narici, Marco Vincenzo T1 - Muscle in variable gravity: “I do not know where I am, but I know what to do” JF - Frontiers in Physiology N2 - Performing tasks, such as running and jumping, requires activation of the agonist and antagonist muscles before (motor unit pre-activation) and during movement performance (Santello and Mcdonagh, 1998). A well-timed and regulated muscle activation elicits a stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) response, naturally occurring in bouncing movements (Ishikawa and Komi, 2004; Taube et al., 2012). By definition, the SSC describes the stretching of a pre-activated muscle-tendon complex immediately followed by a muscle shortening in the concentric push-off phase (Komi, 1984). Given the importance of SSC actions for human movement, it is not surprising that many studies investigated the biomechanics of this phenomenon; in particular, drop jumps (DJs) represent a good paradigm to study muscle fascicle and tendon behavior in ballistic movements involving the SSC. Within a DJ, three main phases [pre-activation, braking, and push-off (PO; Komi, 2000)] have been recognized and extensively studied in common and challenging conditions, such as changes in load, falling height, or simulated hypo-gravity (Avela et al., 1994; Arampatzis et al., 2001; Fukashiro et al., 2005; Ishikawa et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007; Ritzmann et al., 2016; Helm et al., 2020). These studies show that the timing and amount of triceps-surae muscle-tendon unit pre-activation in DJs are differentially regulated based on the load applied to the muscle, being optimal in normal “Earth” gravity conditions (Avela et al., 1994), but decreased in simulated hypo-gravity, hyper-gravity (Avela et al., 1994; Ritzmann et al., 2016), or unknown conditions (i.e., unknown falling heights; Helm et al., 2020). Some authors indicated that, when falling from heights different from the optimal one [defined as the drop height giving a maximum DJ performance indicated as peak ground reaction force (GRF) or jump high], electromyographic (EMG) activity of the plantar flexors increases from lower than optimal to higher than optimal heights (Ishikawa and Komi, 2004; Sousa et al., 2007). These findings highlight the ability of the central nervous system to regulate the timing and amount of pre-activation according to different jumping conditions, thus regulating muscle fascicle length, tendon and joint stiffness as well as position, in order to safely land on the ground and quickly re-bounce. Similarly, to pre-activation, also in the braking phase, the plantar flexors are differentially regulated. In optimal height (i.e., load) jumping conditions, gastrocnemius medialis (GM) fascicles shorten at early ground contact (possibly due to the intervention of the stretch reflex; Gollhofer et al., 1992) and behave quasi-isometrically in the late braking phase, enabling tendon elongation, and storage of elastic energy (Gollhofer et al., 1992; Fukashiro et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007). When increasing the falling height (augmenting the impact GRF), the quasi-isometric behavior of fascicles disappears, and fast fascicle lengthening occurs (Ishikawa et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007). In the third and last PO phase, fascicles shorten and the tendon releases the elastic energy previously stored. Bobbert et al. (1987) reported no influence of jumping height on the work done and on the net vertical impulse assessed during PO; this observation suggests that, despite an optimal DJ performance might be achieved only in specific conditions (falling heights, loads), the central nervous system seems to be able to regulate muscle behavior in order to effectively perform the required task also in challenging situations. Although the regulation of triceps-surae muscle-tendon unit in DJs has been extensively investigated, very few studies focused on sarcomeres behavior during the performance of this SSC movement (Kurokawa et al., 2003; Fukashiro et al., 2005, 2006). Sarcomeres represent muscle contractile units and are known to express different amounts of force depending on their length (Gordon et al., 1966; Walker and Schrodt, 1974); thus, understanding the time course of their responses during DJs is fundamental to gain further insights into muscle force-generating capacity. In vivo measurement of sarcomere length in humans has been so far been performed only in static positions and under highly controlled experimental conditions (Llewellyn et al., 2008; Sanchez et al., 2015). Instead, human sarcomere length estimation (achieved by dividing GM measured fascicle length for a fixed sarcomere number) in dynamic contractions provided an indirect measure of sarcomere operating range during squat jump, countermovement jump, and DJ (Fukashiro et al., 2005, 2006; Kurokawa et al., 2003). The results of these studies showed that sarcomeres operate in the ascending limb of their length-tension (L-T) relationship in all types of jumps, and particularly so in DJ. However, most of the available observations on sarcomere and muscle fascicle behavior were made in condition of constant gravity. Thus, in order to understand how sarcomere and muscle fascicle length are regulated in variable gravity conditions, we performed experiments in a parabolic flight, involving variable gravity levels, ranging from about zero-g to about double the Earth’s gravity (1 g; Waldvogel et al., 2021). Specifically, the aims of the present study were as follows: 1. To investigate the ability of the neuromuscular system in regulating fascicle length in response to conditions of variable gravity. 2. To estimate sarcomere operative length in the different DJ phases, in order to calculate its theoretical force production and its possible modulation in conditions of variable gravity. We hypothesized that muscle fascicles would be differentially regulated in different gravity conditions compared to 1 g, particularly in anticipation of landing and re-bouncing in unknown gravity levels. In addition, we hypothesized that sarcomeres would operate in the upper part of the ascending limb of their L-T relationship, possibly lengthening during the braking phase (especially in hyper-gravity) while operating quasi-isometrically in 1 g. KW - parabolic flight KW - drop jump KW - hypo-gravity KW - hyper-gravity KW - sarcomere operating length Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.714655 SN - 1664-042X VL - 12 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Müller, Tim M. A1 - Schmitt, Andreas A1 - Leise, Philipp A1 - Meck, Tobias A1 - Altherr, Lena A1 - Pelz, Peter F. A1 - Pfetsch, Marc E. T1 - Validation of an optimized resilient water supply system T2 - Uncertainty in Mechanical Engineering N2 - Component failures within water supply systems can lead to significant performance losses. One way to address these losses is the explicit anticipation of failures within the design process. We consider a water supply system for high-rise buildings, where pump failures are the most likely failure scenarios. We explicitly consider these failures within an early design stage which leads to a more resilient system, i.e., a system which is able to operate under a predefined number of arbitrary pump failures. We use a mathematical optimization approach to compute such a resilient design. This is based on a multi-stage model for topology optimization, which can be described by a system of nonlinear inequalities and integrality constraints. Such a model has to be both computationally tractable and to represent the real-world system accurately. We therefore validate the algorithmic solutions using experiments on a scaled test rig for high-rise buildings. The test rig allows for an arbitrary connection of pumps to reproduce scaled versions of booster station designs for high-rise buildings. We experimentally verify the applicability of the presented optimization model and that the proposed resilience properties are also fulfilled in real systems. KW - Optimization KW - Mixed-integer nonlinear programming KW - Water distribution system KW - Resilience KW - Validation Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-3-030-77255-0 SN - 978-3-030-77256-7 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77256-7_7 N1 - Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Uncertainty in Mechanical Engineering (ICUME 2021), June 7–8, 2021 SP - 70 EP - 80 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neumaier, Felix A1 - Kotliar, Konstantin A1 - Haeren, Roel Hubert Louis A1 - Temel, Yasin A1 - Lüke, Jan Niklas A1 - Seyam, Osama A1 - Lindauer, Ute A1 - Clusmann, Hans A1 - Hescheler, Jürgen A1 - Schubert, Gerrit Alexander A1 - Schneider, Toni A1 - Albanna, Walid T1 - Retinal Vessel Responses to Flicker Stimulation Are Impaired in Ca v 2.3-Deficient Mice—An in- vivo Evaluation Using Retinal Vessel Analysis (RVA) JF - Frontiers in Neurology Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2021.659890 VL - 12 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Frontiers ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neumaier, Felix A1 - Weiss, Miriam A1 - Veldeman, Michael A1 - Kotliar, Konstantin A1 - Wiesmann, Martin A1 - Schulze-Steinen, Henna A1 - Höllig, Anke A1 - Clusmann, Hans A1 - Schubert, Gerrit Alexander A1 - Albanna, Walid T1 - Changes in endogenous daytime melatonin levels after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage – preliminary findings from an observational cohort study JF - Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery N2 - Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is associated with early and delayed brain injury due to several underlying and interrelated processes, which include inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial, and neuronal apoptosis. Treatment with melatonin, a cytoprotective neurohormone with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic effects, has been shown to attenuate early brain injury (EBI) and to prevent delayed cerebral vasospasm in experimental aSAH models. Less is known about the role of endogenous melatonin for aSAH outcome and how its production is altered by the pathophysiological cascades initiated during EBI. In the present observational study, we analyzed changes in melatonin levels during the first three weeks after aSAH. KW - constructive alignment KW - examination KW - long-term retention KW - multimodal KW - practical learning Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106870 SN - 0303-8467 VL - 208 IS - Article No.: 106870 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Neumann, Hannah A1 - Adam, Mario A1 - Backes, Klaus A1 - Börner, Martin A1 - Clees, Tanja A1 - Doetsch, Christian A1 - Glaeser, Susanne A1 - Herrmann, Ulf A1 - May, Johanna A1 - Rosenthal, Florian A1 - Sauer, Dirk Uwe A1 - Stadler, Ingo T1 - Development of open educational resources for renewable energy and the energy transition process T2 - ISES SWC 2021 N2 - The dissemination of knowledge about renewable energies is understood as a social task with the highest topicality. The transfer of teaching content on renewable energies into digital open educational resources offers the opportunity to significantly accelerate the implementation of the energy transition. Thus, in the here presented project six German universities create open educational resources for the energy transition. These materials are available to the public on the internet under a free license. So far there has been no publicly accessible, editable media that cover entire learning units about renewable energies extensively and in high technical quality. Thus, in this project, the content that remains up-to-date for a longer period is appropriately prepared in terms of media didactics. The materials enable lecturers to provide students with in-depth training about technologies for the energy transition. In a particular way, the created material is also suitable for making the general public knowledgeable about the energy transition with scientifically based material. KW - energy transition KW - renewable energies KW - open educational resources KW - dissemination KW - digitalization Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.18086/swc.2021.47.03 N1 - ISES Solar World Congress, virtual conference 25-29 October 2021 PB - International Solar Energy Society CY - Freiburg ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Nikolovski, Gjorgji A1 - Reke, Michael A1 - Elsen, Ingo A1 - Schiffer, Stefan T1 - Machine learning based 3D object detection for navigation in unstructured environments T2 - 2021 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium Workshops (IV Workshops) N2 - In this paper we investigate the use of deep neural networks for 3D object detection in uncommon, unstructured environments such as in an open-pit mine. While neural nets are frequently used for object detection in regular autonomous driving applications, more unusual driving scenarios aside street traffic pose additional challenges. For one, the collection of appropriate data sets to train the networks is an issue. For another, testing the performance of trained networks often requires tailored integration with the particular domain as well. While there exist different solutions for these problems in regular autonomous driving, there are only very few approaches that work for special domains just as well. We address both the challenges above in this work. First, we discuss two possible ways of acquiring data for training and evaluation. That is, we evaluate a semi-automated annotation of recorded LIDAR data and we examine synthetic data generation. Using these datasets we train and test different deep neural network for the task of object detection. Second, we propose a possible integration of a ROS2 detector module for an autonomous driving platform. Finally, we present the performance of three state-of-the-art deep neural networks in the domain of 3D object detection on a synthetic dataset and a smaller one containing a characteristic object from an open-pit mine. KW - 3D object detection KW - LiDAR KW - autonomous driving KW - Deep learning KW - Three-dimensional displays Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-1-6654-7921-9 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IVWorkshops54471.2021.9669218 N1 - 2021 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium Workshops (IV Workshops), 11-17 July 2021, Nagoya, Japan. SP - 236 EP - 242 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Olderog, M. A1 - Mohr, P. A1 - Beging, Stefan A1 - Tsoumpas, C. A1 - Ziemons, Karl T1 - Simulation study on the role of tissue-scattered events in improving sensitivity for a compact time of flight compton positron emission tomograph T2 - 2020 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS/MIC) N2 - In positron emission tomography improving time, energy and spatial detector resolutions and using Compton kinematics introduces the possibility to reconstruct a radioactivity distribution image from scatter coincidences, thereby enhancing image quality. The number of single scattered coincidences alone is in the same order of magnitude as true coincidences. In this work, a compact Compton camera module based on monolithic scintillation material is investigated as a detector ring module. The detector interactions are simulated with Monte Carlo package GATE. The scattering angle inside the tissue is derived from the energy of the scattered photon, which results in a set of possible scattering trajectories or broken line of response. The Compton kinematics collimation reduces the number of solutions. Additionally, the time of flight information helps localize the position of the annihilation. One of the questions of this investigation is related to how the energy, spatial and temporal resolutions help confine the possible annihilation volume. A comparison of currently technically feasible detector resolutions (under laboratory conditions) demonstrates the influence on this annihilation volume and shows that energy and coincidence time resolution have a significant impact. An enhancement of the latter from 400 ps to 100 ps leads to a smaller annihilation volume of around 50%, while a change of the energy resolution in the absorber layer from 12% to 4.5% results in a reduction of 60%. The inclusion of single tissue-scattered data has the potential to increase the sensitivity of a scanner by a factor of 2 to 3 times. The concept can be further optimized and extended for multiple scatter coincidences and subsequently validated by a reconstruction algorithm. Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-1-7281-7693-2 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/NSS/MIC42677.2020.9507901 N1 - 2020 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS/MIC), 31 Oct.-7 Nov. 2020, Boston, MA, USA PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Oliveira, Danilo A. A1 - Molinnus, Denise A1 - Beging, Stefan A1 - Siqueira Jr, José R. A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Biosensor Based on Self-Assembled Films of Graphene Oxide and Polyaniline Using a Field-Effect Device Platform JF - physica status solidi (a) applications and materials science N2 - A new functionalization method to modify capacitive electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor (EIS) structures with nanofilms is presented. Layers of polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) and graphene oxide (GO) with the compound polyaniline:poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PANI:PAAMPSA) are deposited onto a p-Si/SiO2 chip using the layer-by-layer technique (LbL). Two different enzymes (urease and penicillinase) are separately immobilized on top of a five-bilayer stack of the PAH:GO/PANI:PAAMPSA-modified EIS chip, forming a biosensor for detection of urea and penicillin, respectively. Electrochemical characterization is performed by constant capacitance (ConCap) measurements, and the film morphology is characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An increase in the average sensitivity of the modified biosensors (EIS–nanofilm–enzyme) of around 15% is found in relation to sensors, only carrying the enzyme but without the nanofilm (EIS–enzyme). In this sense, the nanofilm acts as a stable bioreceptor onto the EIS chip improving the output signal in terms of sensitivity and stability. KW - capacitive electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor sensors KW - graphene oxide KW - layer-by-layer technique KW - nanomaterials KW - polyaniline Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202000747 SN - 1862-6319 N1 - Corresponding author: José R. Siqueira Jr & Michael J. Schöning VL - 218 IS - 13 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER -