TY - JOUR A1 - Waller, Mark P. A1 - Braun, Heiko A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Bühl, Michael T1 - Geometries of Second-Row Transition-Metal Complexes from Density-Functional Theory JF - Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation Y1 - 2007 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/ct700178y SN - 1549-9626 VL - 3 IS - 6 SP - 2234 EP - 2242 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Svaneborg, Carsten A1 - Karimi-Varzaneh, Hossein Ali A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Fleck, Franz A1 - Everaers, Ralf T1 - Kremer-Grest Models for Universal Properties of Specific Common Polymer Species JF - Soft Condensed Matter N2 - The Kremer-Grest (KG) bead-spring model is a near standard in Molecular Dynamic simulations of generic polymer properties. It owes its popularity to its computational efficiency, rather than its ability to represent specific polymer species and conditions. Here we investigate how to adapt the model to match the universal properties of a wide range of chemical polymers species. For this purpose we vary a single parameter originally introduced by Faller and Müller-Plathe, the chain stiffness. Examples include polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, cis-polyisoprene, polydimethylsiloxane, polyethyleneoxide and styrene-butadiene rubber. We do this by matching the number of Kuhn segments per chain and the number of Kuhn segments per cubic Kuhn volume for the polymer species and for the Kremer-Grest model. We also derive mapping relations for converting KG model units back to physical units, in particular we obtain the entanglement time for the KG model as function of stiffness allowing for a time mapping. To test these relations, we generate large equilibrated well entangled polymer melts, and measure the entanglement moduli using a static primitive-path analysis of the entangled melt structure as well as by simulations of step-strain deformation of the model melts. The obtained moduli for our model polymer melts are in good agreement with the experimentally expected moduli. Y1 - 2018 IS - 1606.05008 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mayer, Jan A1 - Hentschke, Reinhard A1 - Hager, Jonathan A1 - Hojdis, Nils A1 - Karimi-Varnaneh, Hossein Ali T1 - A Nano-Mechanical Instability as Primary Contribution to Rolling Resistance JF - Scientific Reports Y1 - 2017 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 7 IS - Article number 11275 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ulmer, Jessica A1 - Braun, Sebastian A1 - Cheng, Chi-Tsun A1 - Dowey, Steve A1 - Wollert, Jörg T1 - Gamification of virtual reality assembly training: Effects of a combined point and level system on motivation and training results JF - International Journal of Human-Computer Studies N2 - Virtual Reality (VR) offers novel possibilities for remote training regardless of the availability of the actual equipment, the presence of specialists, and the training locations. Research shows that training environments that adapt to users' preferences and performance can promote more effective learning. However, the observed results can hardly be traced back to specific adaptive measures but the whole new training approach. This study analyzes the effects of a combined point and leveling VR-based gamification system on assembly training targeting specific training outcomes and users' motivations. The Gamified-VR-Group with 26 subjects received the gamified training, and the Non-Gamified-VR-Group with 27 subjects received the alternative without gamified elements. Both groups conducted their VR training at least three times before assembling the actual structure. The study found that a level system that gradually increases the difficulty and error probability in VR can significantly lower real-world error rates, self-corrections, and support usages. According to our study, a high error occurrence at the highest training level reduced the Gamified-VR-Group's feeling of competence compared to the Non-Gamified-VR-Group, but at the same time also led to lower error probabilities in real-life. It is concluded that a level system with a variable task difficulty should be combined with carefully balanced positive and negative feedback messages. This way, better learning results, and an improved self-evaluation can be achieved while not causing significant impacts on the participants' feeling of competence. KW - Gamification KW - Virtual reality KW - Assembly KW - User study KW - Level system Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102854 SN - 1071-5819 VL - 165 IS - Art. No. 102854 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dachwald, Bernd T1 - Optimization of very-low-thrust trajectories using evolutionary neurocontrol JF - Acta Astronautica N2 - Searching optimal interplanetary trajectories for low-thrust spacecraft is usually a difficult and time-consuming task that involves much experience and expert knowledge in astrodynamics and optimal control theory. This is because the convergence behavior of traditional local optimizers, which are based on numerical optimal control methods, depends on an adequate initial guess, which is often hard to find, especially for very-low-thrust trajectories that necessitate many revolutions around the sun. The obtained solutions are typically close to the initial guess that is rarely close to the (unknown) global optimum. Within this paper, trajectory optimization problems are attacked from the perspective of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Inspired by natural archetypes, a smart global method for low-thrust trajectory optimization is proposed that fuses artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms into so-called evolutionary neurocontrollers. This novel method runs without an initial guess and does not require the attendance of an expert in astrodynamics and optimal control theory. This paper details how evolutionary neurocontrol works and how it could be implemented. The performance of the method is assessed for three different interplanetary missions with a thrust to mass ratio <0.15mN/kg (solar sail and nuclear electric). Y1 - 2005 SN - 1879-2030 VL - 57 IS - 2-8 SP - 175 EP - 185 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Valero, Daniel A1 - Bung, Daniel Bernhard A1 - Erpicum, Sebastien A1 - Peltier, Yann A1 - Dewals, Benjamin T1 - Unsteady shallow meandering flows in rectangular reservoirs: a modal analysis of URANS modelling JF - Journal of Hydro-environment Research N2 - Shallow flows are common in natural and human-made environments. Even for simple rectangular shallow reservoirs, recent laboratory experiments show that the developing flow fields are particularly complex, involving large-scale turbulent structures. For specific combinations of reservoir size and hydraulic conditions, a meandering jet can be observed. While some aspects of this pseudo-2D flow pattern can be reproduced using a 2D numerical model, new 3D simulations, based on the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations, show consistent advantages as presented herein. A Proper Orthogonal Decomposition was used to characterize the four most energetic modes of the meandering jet at the free surface level, allowing comparison against experimental data and 2D (depth-averaged) numerical results. Three different isotropic eddy viscosity models (RNG k-ε, k-ε, k-ω) were tested. The 3D models accurately predicted the frequency of the modes, whereas the amplitudes of the modes and associated energy were damped for the friction-dominant cases and augmented for non-frictional ones. The performance of the three turbulence models remained essentially similar, with slightly better predictions by RNG k-ε model in the case with the highest Reynolds number. Finally, the Q-criterion was used to identify vortices and study their dynamics, assisting on the identification of the differences between: i) the three-dimensional phenomenon (here reproduced), ii) its two-dimensional footprint in the free surface (experimental observations) and iii) the depth-averaged case (represented by 2D models). KW - coherent structures KW - hydraulic modelling KW - model performance KW - Proper Orthogonal Decomposition KW - Q-criterion Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jher.2022.03.002 SN - 1570-6443 IS - In Press PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Loeb, Horst Wolfgang A1 - Schartner, Karl-Heinz A1 - Dachwald, Bernd A1 - Ohndorf, Andreas A1 - Seboldt, Wolfgang T1 - Interstellar heliopause probe JF - Труды МАИ N2 - There is common agreement within the scientific community that in order to understand our local galactic environment it will be necessary to send a spacecraft into the region beyond the solar wind termination shock. Considering distances of 200 AU for a new mission, one needs a spacecraft traveling at a speed of close to 10 AU/yr in order to keep the mission duration in the range of less than 25 yrs, a transfer time postulated by European Space Agency (ESA). Two propulsion options for the mission have been proposed and discussed so far: the solar sail propulsion and the ballistic/radioisotope-electric propulsion (REP). As a further alternative, we here investigate a combination of solar-electric propulsion (SEP) and REP. The SEP stage consists of six 22-cms diameter RIT-22 ion thrusters working with a high specific impulse of 7377 s corresponding to a positive grid voltage of 5 kV. Solar power of 53 kW at begin of mission (BOM) is provided by a lightweight solar array. Y1 - 2012 IS - 60 SP - 2 EP - 2 PB - Moskauer Staatliches Luftfahrtinstitut (МАИ) CY - Moskau ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bhattarai, Aroj A1 - Horbach, Andreas A1 - Staat, Manfred A1 - Kowalczyk, Wojciech A1 - Tran, Thanh Ngoc T1 - Virgin passive colon biomechanics and a literature review of active contraction constitutive models JF - Biomechanics N2 - The objective of this paper is to present our findings on the biomechanical aspects of the virgin passive anisotropic hyperelasticity of the porcine colon based on equibiaxial tensile experiments. Firstly, the characterization of the intestine tissues is discussed for a nearly incompressible hyperelastic fiber-reinforced Holzapfel–Gasser–Ogden constitutive model in virgin passive loading conditions. The stability of the evaluated material parameters is checked for the polyconvexity of the adopted strain energy function using positive eigenvalue constraints of the Hessian matrix with MATLAB. The constitutive material description of the intestine with two collagen fibers in the submucosal and muscular layer each has been implemented in the FORTRAN platform of the commercial finite element software LS-DYNA, and two equibiaxial tensile simulations are presented to validate the results with the optical strain images obtained from the experiments. Furthermore, this paper also reviews the existing models of the active smooth muscle cells, but these models have not been computationally studied here. The review part shows that the constitutive models originally developed for the active contraction of skeletal muscle based on Hill’s three-element model, Murphy’s four-state cross-bridge chemical kinetic model and Huxley’s sliding-filament hypothesis, which are mainly used for arteries, are appropriate for numerical contraction numerical analysis of the large intestine. KW - virgin passive KW - strain energy function KW - smooth muscle contraction KW - viscoelasticity KW - damage Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/biomechanics2020013 SN - 2673-7078 VL - 2 IS - 2 SP - 138 EP - 157 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Temiz Artmann, Aysegül A1 - Kurulgan demirci, Eylem A1 - Fırat, Ipek Seda A1 - Oflaz, Hakan A1 - Artmann, Gerhard T1 - Recombinant activated protein C (rhAPC) affects lipopolysaccharide-induced mechanical compliance changes and beat frequency of mESC-derived cardiomyocyte monolayers JF - SHOCK KW - Septic cardiomyopathy KW - LPS KW - cardiomyocyte biomechanics KW - CellDrum KW - actin cytoskeleton Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1097/SHK.0000000000001845 SN - 1540-0514 PB - Wolters Kluwer CY - Köln ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hunker, Jan L. A1 - Gossmann, Matthias A1 - Raman, Aravind Hariharan A1 - Linder, Peter T1 - Artificial neural networks in cardiac safety assessment: Classification of chemotherapeutic compound effects on hiPSC-derived cardiomyocyte contractility JF - Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vascn.2021.107044 SN - 1056-8719 VL - 111 IS - Article number 107044 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heiligers, Jeannette A1 - Schoutetens, Frederic A1 - Dachwald, Bernd T1 - Photon-sail equilibria in the alpha centauri system JF - Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2514/1.G005446 SN - 1533-3884 SN - 0731-5090 SN - 0162-3192 VL - 44 IS - 5 SP - 1053 EP - 1061 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - German, Laura A1 - Mikucki, Jill A. A1 - Welch, Susan A. A1 - Welch, Kathleen A. A1 - Lutton, Anthony A1 - Dachwald, Bernd A1 - Kowalski, Julia A1 - Heinen, Dirk A1 - Feldmann, Marco A1 - Francke, Gero A1 - Espe, Clemens A1 - Lyons, W. Berry T1 - Validation of sampling antarctic subglacial hypersaline waters with an electrothermal ice melting probe (IceMole) for environmental analytical geochemistry JF - International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry N2 - Geochemical characterisation of hypersaline waters is difficult as high concentrations of salts hinder the analysis of constituents at low concentrations, such as trace metals, and the collection of samples for trace metal analysis in natural waters can be easily contaminated. This is particularly the case if samples are collected by non-conventional techniques such as those required for aquatic subglacial environments. In this paper we present the first analysis of a subglacial brine from Taylor Valley, (~ 78°S), Antarctica for the trace metals: Ba, Co, Mo, Rb, Sr, V, and U. Samples were collected englacially using an electrothermal melting probe called the IceMole. This probe uses differential heating of a copper head as well as the probe’s sidewalls and an ice screw at the melting head to move through glacier ice. Detailed blanks, meltwater, and subglacial brine samples were collected to evaluate the impact of the IceMole and the borehole pump, the melting and collection process, filtration, and storage on the geochemistry of the samples collected by this device. Comparisons between melt water profiles through the glacier ice and blank analysis, with published studies on ice geochemistry, suggest the potential for minor contributions of some species Rb, As, Co, Mn, Ni, NH4+, and NO2−+NO3− from the IceMole. The ability to conduct detailed chemical analyses of subglacial fluids collected with melting probes is critical for the future exploration of the hundreds of deep subglacial lakes in Antarctica. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03067319.2019.1704750 SN - 0306-7319 VL - 101 IS - 15 SP - 2654 EP - 2667 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Spietz, Peter A1 - Spröwitz, Tom A1 - Seefeldt, Patric A1 - Grundmann, Jan Thimo A1 - Jahnke, Rico A1 - Mikschl, Tobias A1 - Mikulz, Eugen A1 - Montenegro, Sergio A1 - Reershemius, Siebo A1 - Renger, Thomas A1 - Ruffer, Michael A1 - Sasaki, Kaname A1 - Sznajder, Maciej A1 - Tóth, Norbert A1 - Ceriotti, Matteo A1 - Dachwald, Bernd A1 - Macdonald, Malcolm A1 - McInnes, Colin A1 - Seboldt, Wolfgang A1 - Quantius, Dominik A1 - Bauer, Waldemar A1 - Wiedemann, Carsten A1 - Grimm, Christian D. A1 - Hercik, David A1 - Ho, Tra-Mi A1 - Lange, Caroline A1 - Schmitz, Nicole T1 - Paths not taken – The Gossamer roadmap’s other options JF - Advances in Space Research KW - Solar sail KW - Small spacecraft KW - DLR-ESTEC GOSSAMER roadmap for solar sailing KW - GOSSAMER-1 Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2021.01.044 SN - 0273-1177 VL - 67 IS - 9 SP - 2912 EP - 2956 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinke, Lars N. A1 - Knicker, Axel J. A1 - Albracht, Kirsten T1 - Test-retest reliability of the internal shoulder rotator muscles' stretch reflex in healthy men JF - Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology N2 - Until now the reproducibility of the short latency stretch reflex of the internal rotator muscles of the glenohumeral joint has not been identified. Twenty-three healthy male participants performed three sets of external shoulder rotation stretches with various pre-activation levels on two different dates of measurement to assess test-retest reliability. All stretches were applied with a dynamometer acceleration of 104°/s2 and a velocity of 150°/s. Electromyographical response was measured via surface EMG. Reflex latencies showed a pre-activation effect (ƞ2 = 0,355). ICC ranged from 0,735 to 0,909 indicating an overall “good” relative reliability. SRD 95% lay between ±7,0 to ±12,3 ms.. The reflex gain showed overall poor test-retest reproducibility. The chosen methodological approach presented a suitable test protocol for shoulder muscles stretch reflex latency evaluation. A proof-of-concept study to validate the presented methodical approach in shoulder involvement including subjects with clinically relevant conditions is recommended. KW - stretch reflex KW - shoulder KW - test-retest reliability KW - intraclass correlation coefficient KW - standard error of measurement Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2021.102611 SN - 1050-6411 VL - 62 IS - Article 102611 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jung, Alexander A1 - Staat, Manfred T1 - Erratum to "Modeling and simulation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac tissue" [GAMM-Mitteilungen, (2019), 42, 4, 10.1002/gamm.201900002] JF - GAMM-Mitteilungen Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/gamm.202000011 SN - 1522-2608 N1 - Refers to: Modeling and simulation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac tissue. Alexander Jung, Manfred Staat. Volume 42, Issue 4. GAMM-Mitteilungen, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/gamm.201900002 VL - 43 IS - 4 PB - Wiley-VCH GmbH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Klettke, Tanja A1 - Homburg, Carsten A1 - Gell, Sebastian T1 - How to measure analyst forecast effort JF - European Accounting Review N2 - We introduce a new way to measure the forecast effort that analysts devote to their earnings forecasts by measuring the analyst's general effort for all covered firms. While the commonly applied effort measure is based on analyst behaviour for one firm, our measure considers analyst behaviour for all covered firms. Our general effort measure captures additional information about analyst effort and thus can identify accurate forecasts. We emphasise the importance of investigating analyst behaviour in a larger context and argue that analysts who generally devote substantial forecast effort are also likely to devote substantial effort to a specific firm, even if this effort might not be captured by a firm-specific measure. Empirical results reveal that analysts who devote higher general forecast effort issue more accurate forecasts. Additional investigations show that analysts' career prospects improve with higher general forecast effort. Our measure improves on existing methods as it has higher explanatory power regarding differences in forecast accuracy than the commonly applied effort measure. Additionally, it can address research questions that cannot be examined with a firm-specific measure. It provides a simple but comprehensive way to identify accurate analysts. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09638180.2014.909291 SN - 0963-8180 VL - 24 IS - 1 SP - 129 EP - 146 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kezerashvili, Roman Ya A1 - Dachwald, Bernd T1 - Preface: Solar sailing: Concepts, technology, and missions II JF - Advances in Space Research Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2021.01.037 SN - 0273-1177 VL - 67 IS - 9 SP - 2559 EP - 2560 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hein, Andreas M. A1 - Eubanks, T. Marshall A1 - Lingam, Manasvi A1 - Hibberd, Adam A1 - Fries, Dan A1 - Schneider, Jean A1 - Kervella, Pierre A1 - Kennedy, Robert A1 - Perakis, Nikolaos A1 - Dachwald, Bernd T1 - Interstellar now! Missions to explore nearby interstellar objects JF - Advances in Space Research N2 - The recently discovered first hyperbolic objects passing through the Solar System, 1I/’Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, have raised the question about near term missions to Interstellar Objects. In situ spacecraft exploration of these objects will allow the direct determination of both their structure and their chemical and isotopic composition, enabling an entirely new way of studying small bodies from outside our solar system. In this paper, we map various Interstellar Object classes to mission types, demonstrating that missions to a range of Interstellar Object classes are feasible, using existing or near-term technology. We describe flyby, rendezvous and sample return missions to interstellar objects, showing various ways to explore these bodies characterizing their surface, dynamics, structure and composition. Their direct exploration will constrain their formation and history, situating them within the dynamical and chemical evolution of the Galaxy. These mission types also provide the opportunity to explore solar system bodies and perform measurements in the far outer solar system. KW - Interstellar objects KW - Trajectories KW - Missions Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2021.06.052 SN - 0273-1177 VL - 69 IS - 1 SP - 402 EP - 414 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Tim M. A1 - Leise, Philipp A1 - Lorenz, Imke-Sophie A1 - Altherr, Lena A1 - Pelz, Peter F. T1 - Optimization and validation of pumping system design and operation for water supply in high-rise buildings JF - Optimization and Engineering N2 - The application of mathematical optimization methods for water supply system design and operation provides the capacity to increase the energy efficiency and to lower the investment costs considerably. We present a system approach for the optimal design and operation of pumping systems in real-world high-rise buildings that is based on the usage of mixed-integer nonlinear and mixed-integer linear modeling approaches. In addition, we consider different booster station topologies, i.e. parallel and series-parallel central booster stations as well as decentral booster stations. To confirm the validity of the underlying optimization models with real-world system behavior, we additionally present validation results based on experiments conducted on a modularly constructed pumping test rig. Within the models we consider layout and control decisions for different load scenarios, leading to a Deterministic Equivalent of a two-stage stochastic optimization program. We use a piecewise linearization as well as a piecewise relaxation of the pumps’ characteristics to derive mixed-integer linear models. Besides the solution with off-the-shelf solvers, we present a problem specific exact solving algorithm to improve the computation time. Focusing on the efficient exploration of the solution space, we divide the problem into smaller subproblems, which partly can be cut off in the solution process. Furthermore, we discuss the performance and applicability of the solution approaches for real buildings and analyze the technical aspects of the solutions from an engineer’s point of view, keeping in mind the economically important trade-off between investment and operation costs. KW - Technical Operations Research KW - MINLP KW - MILP KW - Experimental validation KW - Pumping systems Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11081-020-09553-4 SN - 1573-2924 VL - 2021 IS - 22 SP - 643 EP - 686 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Altherr, Lena A1 - Leise, Philipp A1 - Pfetsch, Marc E. A1 - Schmitt, Andreas T1 - Algorithmic design and resilience assessment of energy efficient high-rise water supply systems JF - Applied Mechanics and Materials N2 - High-rise water supply systems provide water flow and suitable pressure in all levels of tall buildings. To design such state-of-the-art systems, the consideration of energy efficiency and the anticipation of component failures are mandatory. In this paper, we use Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming to compute an optimal placement of pipes and pumps, as well as an optimal control strategy.Moreover, we consider the resilience of the system to pump failures. A resilient system is able to fulfill a predefined minimum functionality even though components fail or are restricted in their normal usage. We present models to measure and optimize the resilience. To demonstrate our approach, we design and analyze an optimal resilient decentralized water supply system inspired by a real-life hotel building. KW - MINLP KW - Buffering Capacity KW - Uncertainty KW - Water Supply Networks KW - Booster Stations Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.885.211 SN - 1662-7482 VL - 885 SP - 211 EP - 223 PB - Trans Tech Publications CY - Bäch ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Braun, Sebastian A1 - Cheng, Chi-Tsun A1 - Dowey, Steve A1 - Wollert, Jörg T1 - Performance evaluation of skill-based order-assignment in production environments with multi-agent systems JF - IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Industrial Electronics N2 - The fourth industrial revolution introduces disruptive technologies to production environments. One of these technologies are multi-agent systems (MASs), where agents virtualize machines. However, the agent's actual performances in production environments can hardly be estimated as most research has been focusing on isolated projects and specific scenarios. We address this gap by implementing a highly connected and configurable reference model with quantifiable key performance indicators (KPIs) for production scheduling and routing in single-piece workflows. Furthermore, we propose an algorithm to optimize the search of extrema in highly connected distributed systems. The benefits, limits, and drawbacks of MASs and their performances are evaluated extensively by event-based simulations against the introduced model, which acts as a benchmark. Even though the performance of the proposed MAS is, on average, slightly lower than the reference system, the increased flexibility allows it to find new solutions and deliver improved factory-planning outcomes. Our MAS shows an emerging behavior by using flexible production techniques to correct errors and compensate for bottlenecks. This increased flexibility offers substantial improvement potential. The general model in this paper allows the transfer of the results to estimate real systems or other models. KW - cyber-physical production systems KW - event-based simulation KW - multi-agent systems KW - digital factory KW - industrial agents Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/JESTIE.2021.3108524 SN - 2687-9735 IS - Early Access PB - IEEE CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jahnke, Siegfried A1 - Roussel, Johanna A1 - Hombach, Thomas A1 - Kochs, Johannes A1 - Fischbach, Andreas A1 - Huber, Gregor A1 - Scharr, Hanno T1 - phenoSeeder - A robot system for automated handling and phenotyping of individual seeds JF - Plant physiology N2 - The enormous diversity of seed traits is an intriguing feature and critical for the overwhelming success of higher plants. In particular, seed mass is generally regarded to be key for seedling development but is mostly approximated by using scanning methods delivering only two-dimensional data, often termed seed size. However, three-dimensional traits, such as the volume or mass of single seeds, are very rarely determined in routine measurements. Here, we introduce a device named phenoSeeder, which enables the handling and phenotyping of individual seeds of very different sizes. The system consists of a pick-and-place robot and a modular setup of sensors that can be versatilely extended. Basic biometric traits detected for individual seeds are two-dimensional data from projections, three-dimensional data from volumetric measures, and mass, from which seed density is also calculated. Each seed is tracked by an identifier and, after phenotyping, can be planted, sorted, or individually stored for further evaluation or processing (e.g. in routine seed-to-plant tracking pipelines). By investigating seeds of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), rapeseed (Brassica napus), and barley (Hordeum vulgare), we observed that, even for apparently round-shaped seeds of rapeseed, correlations between the projected area and the mass of seeds were much weaker than between volume and mass. This indicates that simple projections may not deliver good proxies for seed mass. Although throughput is limited, we expect that automated seed phenotyping on a single-seed basis can contribute valuable information for applications in a wide range of wild or crop species, including seed classification, seed sorting, and assessment of seed quality. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.16.01122 SN - 0032-0889 VL - 172 IS - 3 SP - 1358 EP - 1370 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Werner, Frederik A1 - Buniatyan, V. V. A1 - Wagner, Torsten A1 - Miamoto, K. A1 - Yoshinobu, T. A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Towards addressability of light-addressable potentiometric sensors: Shunting effect of non-illuminated region and cross-talk JF - Sensor and Actuators B: Chemical N2 - The LAPS (light-addressable potentiometric sensor) platform is one of the most attractive approaches for chemical and biological sensing with many applications ranging from pH and ion/analyte concentration measurements up to cell metabolism detection and chemical imaging. However, although it is generally accepted that LAPS measurements are spatially resolved, the light-addressability feature of LAPS devices has not been discussed in detail so far. In this work, an extended electrical equivalent-circuit model of the LAPS has been presented, which takes into account possible cross-talk effects due to the capacitive coupling of the non-illuminated region. A shunting effect of the non-illuminated area on the measured photocurrent and addressability of LAPS devices has been studied. It has been shown, that the measured photocurrent will be determined not only by the local interfacial potential in the illuminated region but also by possible interfacial potential changes in the non-illuminated region, yielding cross-talk effects. These findings were supported by the experimental investigations of a penicillin-sensitive multi-spot LAPS and a metal-insulator-semiconductor LAPS as model systems. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2017.01.047 SN - 0925-4005 IS - 244 SP - 1071 EP - 1079 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wrede, Oliver T1 - Continuity in travel information JF - Information Design Journal N2 - This article discusses the contrast between the information transportation companies provide to travellers and that of their brand messaging. Companies’ brand messaging often portrays the service they provide as pleasant, stress free and perfect. Customers and users of the service, on the other hand, often describe their experience of the service as a negative one. This article suggests that the brand value would be greater if transportation companies paid more attention to the users’ experience when designing their information systems, particularly in worst case scenarios. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.22.2.09wre SN - 0142-5471 N1 - Gedruckt vorhanden in der Bereichsbibliothek Boxgraben unter 53 Z 971-2016 (Magazin) VL - 22 IS - 2 SP - 172 EP - 178 PB - John Benjamins CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neu, Eugen A1 - Janser, Frank A1 - Khatibi, Akbar A. A1 - Orifici, Adrian C. T1 - Fully Automated Operational Modal Analysis using multi-stage clustering JF - Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymssp.2016.07.031 SN - 0888-3270 VL - Vol. 84, Part A SP - 308 EP - 323 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Steinbauer, Gerald T1 - 20 Years of RoboCup - A Subjective Retrospection JF - KI - Künstliche Intelligenz N2 - This summer, RoboCup competitions were held for the 20th time in Leipzig, Germany. It was the second time that RoboCup took place in Germany, 10 years after the 2006 RoboCup in Bremen. In this article, we give an overview on the latest developments of RoboCup and what happened in the different leagues over the last decade. With its 20th edition, RoboCup clearly is a success story and a role model for robotics competitions. From our personal view point, we acknowledge this by giving a retrospection about what makes RoboCup such a success. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13218-016-0449-5 SN - 1610-1987 VL - 30 IS - 3 SP - 225 EP - 232 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Funke, Harald A1 - Keinz, Jan A1 - Kusterer, Karsten A1 - Ayed, Anis Haj A1 - Kazari, Masahide A1 - Kitajima, Junichi A1 - Horikawa, Atsushi A1 - Okada, Kunio T1 - Experimental and Numerical Study on Optimizing the Dry Low NOₓ Micromix Hydrogen Combustion Principle for Industrial Gas Turbine Applications JF - Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications N2 - Combined with the use of renewable energy sources for its production, hydrogen represents a possible alternative gas turbine fuel for future low-emission power generation. Due to the difference in the physical properties of hydrogen compared to other fuels such as natural gas, well-established gas turbine combustion systems cannot be directly applied to dry low NOₓ (DLN) hydrogen combustion. The DLN micromix combustion of hydrogen has been under development for many years, since it has the promise to significantly reduce NOₓ emissions. This combustion principle for air-breathing engines is based on crossflow mixing of air and gaseous hydrogen. Air and hydrogen react in multiple miniaturized diffusion-type flames with an inherent safety against flashback and with low NOₓ emissions due to a very short residence time of the reactants in the flame region. The paper presents an advanced DLN micromix hydrogen application. The experimental and numerical study shows a combustor configuration with a significantly reduced number of enlarged fuel injectors with high-thermal power output at constant energy density. Larger fuel injectors reduce manufacturing costs, are more robust and less sensitive to fuel contamination and blockage in industrial environments. The experimental and numerical results confirm the successful application of high-energy injectors, while the DLN micromix characteristics of the design point, under part-load conditions, and under off-design operation are maintained. Atmospheric test rig data on NOₓ emissions, optical flame-structure, and combustor material temperatures are compared to numerical simulations and show good agreement. The impact of the applied scaling and design laws on the miniaturized micromix flamelets is particularly investigated numerically for the resulting flow field, the flame-structure, and NOₓ formation. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4034849 SN - 1948-5093 N1 - TSEA-15-1227 VL - 9 IS - 2 SP - 021001 EP - 021001-10 PB - ASME CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ayed, Anis Haj A1 - Kusterer, Karsten A1 - Funke, Harald A1 - Keinz, Jan T1 - CFD Based Improvement of the DLN Hydrogen Micromix Combustion Technology at Increased Energy Densities JF - American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS) N2 - Combined with the use of renewable energy sources for its production, Hydrogen represents a possible alternative gas turbine fuel within future low emission power generation. Due to the large difference in the physical properties of Hydrogen compared to other fuels such as natural gas, well established gas turbine combustion systems cannot be directly applied for Dry Low NOx (DLN) Hydrogen combustion. Thus, the development of DLN combustion technologies is an essential and challenging task for the future of Hydrogen fuelled gas turbines. The DLN Micromix combustion principle for hydrogen fuel has been developed to significantly reduce NOx-emissions. This combustion principle is based on cross-flow mixing of air and gaseous hydrogen which reacts in multiple miniaturized diffusion-type flames. The major advantages of this combustion principle are the inherent safety against flash-back and the low NOx-emissions due to a very short residence time of reactants in the flame region of the micro-flames. The Micromix Combustion technology has been already proven experimentally and numerically for pure Hydrogen fuel operation at different energy density levels. The aim of the present study is to analyze the influence of different geometry parameter variations on the flame structure and the NOx emission and to identify the most relevant design parameters, aiming to provide a physical understanding of the Micromix flame sensitivity to the burner design and identify further optimization potential of this innovative combustion technology while increasing its energy density and making it mature enough for real gas turbine application. The study reveals great optimization potential of the Micromix Combustion technology with respect to the DLN characteristics and gives insight into the impact of geometry modifications on flame structure and NOx emission. This allows to further increase the energy density of the Micromix burners and to integrate this technology in industrial gas turbines. Y1 - 2016 SN - 2313-4402 VL - 26 IS - 3 SP - 290 EP - 303 PB - GSSRR ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Funke, Harald A1 - Beckmann, Nils A1 - Keinz, Jan A1 - Abanteriba, Sylvester T1 - Comparison of Numerical Combustion Models for Hydrogen and Hydrogen-Rich Syngas Applied for Dry-Low-NOx-Micromix-Combustion JF - ASME Turbo Expo 2016: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition Volume 4A: Combustion, Fuels and Emissions Seoul, South Korea, June 13–17, 2016 N2 - The Dry-Low-NOₓ (DLN) Micromix combustion technology has been developed as low emission combustion principle for industrial gas turbines fueled with hydrogen or syngas. The combustion process is based on the phenomenon of jet-in-crossflow-mixing. Fuel is injected perpendicular into the air-cross-flow and burned in a multitude of miniaturized, diffusion-like flames. The miniaturization of the flames leads to a significant reduction of NOₓ emissions due to the very short residence time of reactants in the flame. In the Micromix research approach, CFD analyses are validated towards experimental results. The combination of numerical and experimental methods allows an efficient design and optimization of DLN Micromix combustors concerning combustion stability and low NOₓ emissions. The paper presents a comparison of several numerical combustion models for hydrogen and hydrogen-rich syngas. They differ in the complexity of the underlying reaction mechanism and the associated computational effort. For pure hydrogen combustion a one-step global reaction is applied using a hybrid Eddy-Break-up model that incorporates finite rate kinetics. The model is evaluated and compared to a detailed hydrogen combustion mechanism derived by Li et al. including 9 species and 19 reversible elementary reactions. Based on this mechanism, reduction of the computational effort is achieved by applying the Flamelet Generated Manifolds (FGM) method while the accuracy of the detailed reaction scheme is maintained. For hydrogen-rich syngas combustion (H₂-CO) numerical analyses based on a skeletal H₂/CO reaction mechanism derived by Hawkes et al. and a detailed reaction mechanism provided by Ranzi et al. are performed. The comparison between combustion models and the validation of numerical results is based on exhaust gas compositions available from experimental investigation on DLN Micromix combustors. The conducted evaluation confirms that the applied detailed combustion mechanisms are able to predict the general physics of the DLN-Micromix combustion process accurately. The Flamelet Generated Manifolds method proved to be generally suitable to reduce the computational effort while maintaining the accuracy of detailed chemistry. Especially for reaction mechanisms with a high number of species accuracy and computational effort can be balanced using the FGM model. Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-0-7918-4975-0 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1115/GT2016-56430 PB - ASME CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Johst, Sören A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Solbach, Klaus A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - Mitigation of B1(+) inhomogeneity on single-channel transmit systems with TIAMO JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.24453 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 70 IS - 1 SP - 290 EP - 294 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, S. A1 - Maderwald, S. A1 - Poser, B. A. A1 - Johst, S. A1 - Kannengiesser, S. A1 - Ladd, M. E. A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - Time-interleaved acquisition of modes: an analysis of SAR and image contrast implications JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - s the magnetic field strength and therefore the operational frequency in MRI are increased, the radiofrequency wavelength approaches the size of the human head/body, resulting in wave effects which cause signal decreases and dropouts. Especially, whole-body imaging at 7 T and higher is therefore challenging. Recently, an acquisition scheme called time-interleaved acquisition of modes has been proposed to tackle the inhomogeneity problems in high-field MRI. The basic premise is to excite two (or more) different Burn:x-wiley:07403194:media:MRM23081:tex2gif-stack-1 modes using static radiofrequency shimming in an interleaved acquisition, where the complementary radiofrequency patterns of the two modes can be exploited to improve overall signal homogeneity. In this work, the impact of time-interleaved acquisition of mode on image contrast as well as on time-averaged specific absorption rate is addressed in detail. Time-interleaved acquisition of mode is superior in Burn:x-wiley:07403194:media:MRM23081:tex2gif-stack-2 homogeneity compared with conventional radiofrequency shimming while being highly specific absorption rate efficient. Time-interleaved acquisition of modes can enable almost homogeneous high-field imaging throughout the entire field of view in PD, T2, and T2*-weighted imaging and, if a specified homogeneity criterion is met, in T1-weighted imaging as well. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.23081 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 67 IS - 4 SP - 1033 EP - 1041 PB - Wiley-Liss CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kobus, Thiele A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Uden, Mark J. van A1 - Lagemaat, Miram W. A1 - Rothgang, Eva A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Heerschap, Arend A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. T1 - In vivo 31P MR spectroscopic imaging of the human prostate at 7 T: safety and feasibility JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - 31P MR spectroscopic imaging of the human prostate provides information about phosphorylated metabolites that could be used for prostate cancer characterization. The sensitivity of a magnetic field strength of 7 T might enable 3D 31P MR spectroscopic imaging with relevant spatial resolution in a clinically acceptable measurement time. To this end, a 31P endorectal coil was developed and combined with an eight-channel 1H body-array coil to relate metabolic information to anatomical location. An extensive safety validation was performed to evaluate the specific absorption rate, the radiofrequency field distribution, and the temperature distribution of both coils. This validation consisted of detailed Finite Integration Technique simulations, confirmed by MR thermometry and Burn:x-wiley:07403194:media:MRM24175:tex2gif-stack-1 measurements in a phantom and in vivo temperature measurements. The safety studies demonstrated that the presence of the 31P endorectal coil had no influence on the specific absorption rate levels and temperature distribution of the external eight-channel 1H array coil. To stay within a 10 g averaged local specific absorption rate of 10 W/kg, a maximum time-averaged input power of 33 W for the 1H array coil was allowed. For transmitting with the 31P endorectal coil, our safety limit of less than 1°C temperature increase in vivo during a 15-min MR spectroscopic imaging experiment was reached at a time-averaged input power of 1.9 W. With this power setting, a second in vivo measurement was performed on a healthy volunteer. Using adiabatic excitation, 3D 31P MR spectroscopic imaging produced spectra from the entire prostate in 18 min with a spatial resolution of 4 cm3. The spectral resolution enabled the separate detection of phosphocholine, phosphoethanolamine, inorganic phosphate, and other metabolites that could play an important role in the characterization of prostate cancer. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.24175 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 68 IS - 6 SP - 1683 EP - 1695 PB - Wiley-Liss CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Poser, Benedikt Andreas A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. T1 - RF excitation using time interleaved acquisition of modes (TIAMO) to address B1 inhomogeneity in high-field MRI JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - As the field strength and, therefore, the operational frequency in MRI is increased, the wavelength approaches the size of the human head/body, resulting in wave effects, which cause signal decreases and dropouts. Several multichannel approaches have been proposed to try to tackle these problems, including RF shimming, where each element in an array is driven by its own amplifier and modulated with a certain (constant) amplitude and phase relative to the other elements, and Transmit SENSE, where spatially tailored RF pulses are used. In this article, a relatively inexpensive and easy to use imaging scheme for 7 Tesla imaging is proposed to mitigate signal voids due to B1 field inhomogeneity. Two time-interleaved images are acquired using a different excitation mode for each. By forming virtual receive elements, both images are reconstructed together using GRAPPA to achieve a more homogeneous image, with only small SNR and SAR penalty in head and body imaging at 7 Tesla. Y1 - 2010 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.22527 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 64 IS - 2 SP - 327 EP - 333 PB - Wiley-Liss CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Umutlu, Lale A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Kinner, Sonja A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Brote, Irina A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Schroeder, Tobias A1 - Forsting, Michael T1 - Contrast-enhanced ultra-high-field liver MRI: a feasibility trial JF - European Journal of Radiology Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2011.07.004 SN - 0720-048X VL - 82 IS - 5 SP - 760 EP - 767 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yazdanbakhsh, Pedram A1 - Solbach, Klaus A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - Variable power combiner for RF mode shimming in 7-T MR imaging JF - IEEE Transaction on Biomedical Engineering N2 - This contribution discusses the utilization of RF power in an MRI system with RF mode shimming which enables the superposition of circularly polarized modes of a transmit RF coil array driven by a Butler matrix. Since the required power for the individual modes can vary widely, mode-shimming can result in a significant underutilization of the total available RF power. A variable power combiner (VPC) is proposed to improve the power utilization: it can be realized as a reconfiguration of the MRI transmit system by the inclusion of one additional matrix network which receives the power from all transmit amplifiers at its input ports and provides any desired (combined) power distribution at its output ports by controlling the phase and amplitude of the amplifiers’ input signals. The power distribution at the output ports of the VPC is then fed into the “mode” ports of the coil array Butler matrix in order to superimpose the spatial modes at the highest achievable power utilization. The VPC configuration is compared to the standard configuration of the transmit chain of our MRI system with 8 transmit channels and 16 coils. In realistic scenarios, improved power utilization was achieved from 17% to 60% and from 14% to 55% for an elliptical phantom and a region of interest in the abdomen, respectively, and an increase of the power utilization of 1 dB for a region of interest in the upper leg. In general, it is found that the VPC allows significant improvement in power utilization when the shimming solution demands only a few modes to be energized, while the technique can yield loss in power utilization in cases with many modes required at high power level. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2012.2205926 SN - 1558-2531 VL - 59 IS - 9 SP - 2549 EP - 2557 PB - IEEE CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prochnow, Nora A1 - Gebing, Tina A1 - Ladage, Kerstin A1 - Krause-Finkeldey, Dorothee A1 - Ourdi, Abessamad El A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Streckert, Joachim A1 - Hansen, Volkert A1 - Dermietzel, Rolf T1 - Electromagnetic field effect or simply stress? Effects of UMTS exposure on hippocampal longterm plasticity in the context of procedure related hormone release JF - PLoS one N2 - Harmful effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on cognitive and behavioural features of humans and rodents have been controversially discussed and raised persistent concern about adverse effects of EMF on general brain functions. In the present study we applied radio-frequency (RF) signals of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to full brain exposed male Wistar rats in order to elaborate putative influences on stress hormone release (corticosteron; CORT and adrenocorticotropic hormone; ACTH) and on hippocampal derived synaptic long-term plasticity (LTP) and depression (LTD) as electrophysiological hallmarks for memory storage and memory consolidation. Exposure was computer controlled providing blind conditions. Nominal brain-averaged specific absorption rates (SAR) as a measure of applied mass-related dissipated RF power were 0, 2, and 10 W/kg over a period of 120 min. Comparison of cage exposed animals revealed, regardless of EMF exposure, significantly increased CORT and ACTH levels which corresponded with generally decreased field potential slopes and amplitudes in hippocampal LTP and LTD. Animals following SAR exposure of 2 W/kg (averaged over the whole brain of 2.3 g tissue mass) did not differ from the sham-exposed group in LTP and LTD experiments. In contrast, a significant reduction in LTP and LTD was observed at the high power rate of SAR (10 W/kg). The results demonstrate that a rate of 2 W/kg displays no adverse impact on LTP and LTD, while 10 W/kg leads to significant effects on the electrophysiological parameters, which can be clearly distinguished from the stress derived background. Our findings suggest that UMTS exposure with SAR in the range of 2 W/kg is not harmful to critical markers for memory storage and memory consolidation, however, an influence of UMTS at high energy absorption rates (10 W/kg) cannot be excluded. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019437 VL - 6 IS - 5 PB - PLOS CY - San Francisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Schäfer, Lena C. A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Maderwald, Stefan T1 - Open design eight-channel transmit/receive coil for high-resolution and real-time ankle imaging at 7 T JF - Medical Physics N2 - Purpose: At 1.5 T, real-time MRI of joint movement has been shown to be feasible. However, 7 T, provides higher SNR and thus an improved potential for parallel imaging acceleration. The purpose of this work was to build an open, U-shaped eight-channel transmit/receive microstrip coil for 7 T MRI to enable high-resolution and real-time imaging of the moving ankle joint. Methods: A U-shaped eight-channel transmit/receive array for the human ankle was built.urn:x-wiley:00942405:mp3399:equation:mp3399-math-0001-parameters and urn:x-wiley:00942405:mp3399:equation:mp3399-math-0002-factor were measured. SAR calculations of different ankle postures were performed to ensure patient safety. Inhomogeneities in the transmit field consequent to the open design were compensated for by the use of static RF shimming. High-resolution and real-time imaging was performed in human volunteers. Results: The presented array showed good performance with regard to patient comfort and image quality. High acceleration factors of up to 4 are feasible without visible acceleration artifacts. Reasonable image homogeneity was achieved with RF shimming. Conclusions: Open, noncylindrical designs for transmit/receive coils are practical at 7 T and real-time imaging of the moving joint is feasible with the presented coil design. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1118/1.3553399 SN - 2473-4209 VL - 38 IS - 3 SP - 1162 EP - 1167 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Dammann, Philipp A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Quick, Harald H. T1 - An eight-channel transmit/receive multipurpose coil for musculoskeletal MR imaging at 7 T JF - Medical Physics N2 - Purpose: MRI plays a leading diagnostic role in assessing the musculoskeletal (MSK) system and is well established for most questions at clinically used field strengths (up to 3 T). However, there are still limitations in imaging early stages of cartilage degeneration, very fine tendons and ligaments, or in locating nerve lesions, for example. 7 T MRI of the knee has already received increasing attention in the current published literature, but there is a strong need to develop new radiofrequency (RF) coils to assess more regions of the MSK system. In this work, an eight-channel transmit/receive RF array was built as a multipurpose coil for imaging some of the thus far neglected regions. An extensive coil characterization protocol and first in vivo results of the human wrist, shoulder, elbow, knee, and ankle imaged at 7 T will be presented. Methods: Eight surface loop coils with a dimension ofurn:x-wiley:00942405:media:mp7176:mp7176-math-0001 were machined from FR4 circuit board material. To facilitate easy positioning, two coil clusters, each with four loop elements, were combined to one RF transmit/receive array. An overlapped and shifted arrangement of the coil elements was chosen to reduce the mutual inductance between neighboring coils. A phantom made of body-simulating liquid was used for tuning and matching on the bench. Afterward, the S-parameters were verified on a human wrist, elbow, and shoulder. For safety validation, a detailed compliance test was performed including full wave simulations of the RF field distribution and the corresponding specific absorption rate (SAR) for all joints. In vivo images of four volunteers were assessed with gradient echo and spin echo sequences modified to obtain optimal image contrast, full anatomic coverage, and the highest spatial resolution within a reasonable acquisition time. The performance of the RF coil was additionally evaluated by in vivo B1 mapping. Results: A comparison of B1 per unit power, flip angle distribution, and anatomic images showed a fairly homogeneous excitation for the smaller joints (elbow, wrist, and ankle), while for the larger joints, the shoulder and especially the knee, B1 inhomogeneities and limited penetration depth were more pronounced. However, the greater part of the shoulder joint could be imaged.In vivo images rendered very fine anatomic details such as fascicles of the median nerve and the branching of the nerve bundles. High-resolution images of cartilage, labrum, and tendons could be acquired. Additionally, turbo spin echo (TSE) and inversion recovery sequences performed very well. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the concept of two four-channel transmit/receive RF arrays can be used as a multipurpose coil for high-resolutionin vivo MR imaging of the musculoskeletal system at 7 T. Not only gradient echo but also typical clinical and SAR-intensive sequences such as STIR and TSE performed well. Imaging of small structures and peripheral nerves could in particular benefit from this technique. Y1 - 2010 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1118/1.3517176 SN - 2473-4209 VL - 37 IS - 12 SP - 6368 EP - 6376 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, NJ ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - A method to approximate maximum local SAR in multichannel transmit MR systems without transmit phase information JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine N2 - Purpose To calculate local specific absorption rate (SAR) correctly, both the amplitude and phase of the signal in each transmit channel have to be known. In this work, we propose a method to derive a conservative upper bound for the local SAR, with a reasonable safety margin without knowledge of the transmit phases of the channels. Methods The proposed method uses virtual observation points (VOPs). Correction factors are calculated for each set of VOPs that prevent underestimation of local SAR when the VOPs are applied with the correct amplitudes but fixed phases. Results The proposed method proved to be superior to the worst-case calculation based on the maximum eigenvalue of the VOPs. The mean overestimation for six coil setups could be reduced, whereas no underestimation of the maximum local SAR occurred. In the best investigated case, the overestimation could be reduced from a factor of 3.3 to a factor of 1.7. Conclusion The upper bound for the local SAR calculated with the proposed method allows a fast estimation of the local SAR based on power measurements in the transmit channels and facilitates SAR monitoring in systems that do not have the capability to monitor transmit phases Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.26398 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 78 IS - 2 SP - 805 EP - 811 PB - International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chen, Bixia A1 - Schoemberg, Tobias A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Dammann, Philipp A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Schlamann, Marc A1 - Quick, Harald H. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Sure, Ulrich A1 - Wrede, Karsten H. T1 - Cranial fixation plates in cerebral magnetic resonance imaging: a 3 and 7 Tesla in vivo image quality study JF - Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine N2 - Objective This study assesses and quantifies impairment of postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 7 Tesla (T) after implantation of titanium cranial fixation plates (CFPs) for neurosurgical bone flap fixation. Materials and methods The study group comprised five patients who were intra-individually examined with 3 and 7 T MRI preoperatively and postoperatively (within 72 h/3 months) after implantation of CFPs. Acquired sequences included T₁-weighted magnetization-prepared rapid-acquisition gradient-echo (MPRAGE), T₂-weighted turbo-spin-echo (TSE) imaging, and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI). Two experienced neurosurgeons and a neuroradiologist rated image quality and the presence of artifacts in consensus reading. Results Minor artifacts occurred around the CFPs in MPRAGE and T2 TSE at both field strengths, with no significant differences between 3 and 7 T. In SWI, artifacts were accentuated in the early postoperative scans at both field strengths due to intracranial air and hemorrhagic remnants. After resorption, the brain tissue directly adjacent to skull bone could still be assessed. Image quality after 3 months was equal to the preoperative examinations at 3 and 7 T. Conclusion Image quality after CFP implantation was not significantly impaired in 7 T MRI, and artifacts were comparable to those in 3 T MRI. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-016-0548-1 SN - 1352-8661 VL - 29 IS - 3 SP - 389 EP - 398 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 - https://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 - Bank, Bart L. van de A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Smits, Frits A1 - Lagemaat, Miriam W. A1 - Rodgers, Christopher T. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. T1 - Optimized (31) P MRS in the human brain at 7 T with a dedicated RF coil setup JF - NMR in Biomedicine Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.3422 SN - 1099-1492 VL - 28 IS - 11 SP - 1570 EP - 1578 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Noureddine, Yacine A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Thürling, Markus A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Schaefers, Gregor A1 - Kraff, Oliver T1 - Experience with magnetic resonance imaging of human subjects with passive implants and tattoos at 7 T: a retrospective study JF - Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-015-0499-y SN - 1352-8661 VL - 28 IS - 6 SP - 577 EP - 590 PB - Springer CY - Berlin 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 - https://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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Vos, E. K. A1 - Lagemaat, M. W. A1 - Barentsz, J. O. A1 - Fütterer, J. J. A1 - Zamecnik, P. A1 - Roozen, H. A1 - Orzada, S. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Maas, M. C. A1 - Scheenen, T. W. J. T1 - Image quality and cancer visibility of T2-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the prostate at 7 Tesla JF - European Radiology N2 - Objectives To assess the image quality of T2-weighted (T2w) magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate and the visibility of prostate cancer at 7 Tesla (T). Materials & methods Seventeen prostate cancer patients underwent T2w imaging at 7T with only an external transmit/receive array coil. Three radiologists independently scored images for image quality, visibility of anatomical structures, and presence of artefacts. Krippendorff’s alpha and weighted kappa statistics were used to assess inter-observer agreement. Visibility of prostate cancer lesions was assessed by directly linking the T2w images to the confirmed location of prostate cancer on histopathology. Results T2w imaging at 7T was achievable with ‘satisfactory’ (3/5) to ‘good’ (4/5) quality. Visibility of anatomical structures was predominantly scored as ‘satisfactory’ (3/5) and ‘good’ (4/5). If artefacts were present, they were mostly motion artefacts and, to a lesser extent, aliasing artefacts and noise. Krippendorff’s analysis revealed an α = 0.44 between three readers for the overall image quality scores. Clinically significant cancer lesions in both peripheral zone and transition zone were visible at 7T. Conclusion T2w imaging with satisfactory to good quality can be routinely acquired, and cancer lesions were visible in patients with prostate cancer at 7T using only an external transmit/receive body array coil. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-014-3234-6 SN - 1432-1084 VL - 24 IS - 8 SP - 1950 EP - 1958 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lagemaat, Miriam W. A1 - Maas, Marnix C. A1 - Vos, Eline K. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Orzada, Stephan A1 - Weiland, Elisabeth A1 - Uden, Mark J. van A1 - Kobus, Thiele A1 - Heerschap, Arend A1 - Scheenen, Tom W. J. T1 - (31) P MR spectroscopic imaging of the human prostate at 7 T: T1 relaxation times, Nuclear Overhauser Effect, and spectral characterization JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.25209 SN - 1522-2594 VL - 73 IS - 3 SP - 909 EP - 920 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Theysohn, Jens M. A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Eilers, Kristina A1 - Andrade, Dorian A1 - Gerwig, Marcus A1 - Timmann, Dagmar A1 - Schmitt, Franz A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Ladd, Susanne C. A1 - Bitz, Andreas T1 - Vestibular effects of a 7 Tesla MRI examination compared to 1.5 T and 0 T in healthy volunteers JF - PLoS one N2 - Ultra-high-field MRI (7 Tesla (T) and above) elicits more temporary side-effects compared to 1.5 T and 3 T, e.g. dizziness or “postural instability” even after exiting the scanner. The current study aims to assess quantitatively vestibular performance before and after exposure to different MRI scenarios at 7 T, 1.5 T and 0 T. Sway path and body axis rotation (Unterberger's stepping test) were quantitatively recorded in a total of 46 volunteers before, 2 minutes after, and 15 minutes after different exposure scenarios: 7 T head MRI (n = 27), 7 T no RF (n = 22), 7 T only B₀ (n = 20), 7 T in & out B₀ (n = 20), 1.5 T no RF (n = 20), 0 T (n = 15). All exposure scenarios lasted 30 minutes except for brief one minute exposure in 7 T in & out B₀. Both measures were documented utilizing a 3D ultrasound system. During sway path evaluation, the experiment was repeated with eyes both open and closed. Sway paths for all long-lasting 7 T scenarios (normal, no RF, only B₀) with eyes closed were significantly prolonged 2 minutes after exiting the scanner, normalizing after 15 minutes. Brief exposure to 7 T B₀ or 30 minutes exposure to 1.5 T or 0 T did not show significant changes. End positions after Unterberger's stepping test were significantly changed counter-clockwise after all 7 T scenarios, including the brief in & out B₀ exposure. Shorter exposure resulted in a smaller alteration angle. In contrast to sway path, reversal of changes in body axis rotation was incomplete after 15 minutes. 1.5 T caused no rotational changes. The results show that exposure to the 7 Tesla static magnetic field causes only a temporary dysfunction or “over-compensation” of the vestibular system not measurable at 1.5 or 0 Tesla. Radiofrequency fields, gradient switching, and orthostatic dysregulation do not seem to play a role. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092104 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 3 PB - PLOS CY - San Francisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ciritsis, Alexander A1 - Horbach, Andreas A1 - Staat, Manfred A1 - Kuhl, Christiane K. A1 - Kraemer, Nils Andreas T1 - Porosity and tissue integration of elastic mesh implants evaluated in vitro and in vivo JF - Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part B: Applied Biomaterials N2 - Purpose In vivo, a loss of mesh porosity triggers scar tissue formation and restricts functionality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the properties and configuration changes as mesh deformation and mesh shrinkage of a soft mesh implant compared with a conventional stiff mesh implant in vitro and in a porcine model. Material and Methods Tensile tests and digital image correlation were used to determine the textile porosity for both mesh types in vitro. A group of three pigs each were treated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visible conventional stiff polyvinylidene fluoride meshes (PVDF) or with soft thermoplastic polyurethane meshes (TPU) (FEG Textiltechnik mbH, Aachen, Germany), respectively. MRI was performed with a pneumoperitoneum at a pressure of 0 and 15 mmHg, which resulted in bulging of the abdomen. The mesh-induced signal voids were semiautomatically segmented and the mesh areas were determined. With the deformations assessed in both mesh types at both pressure conditions, the porosity change of the meshes after 8 weeks of ingrowth was calculated as an indicator of preserved elastic properties. The explanted specimens were examined histologically for the maturity of the scar (collagen I/III ratio). Results In TPU, the in vitro porosity increased constantly, in PVDF, a loss of porosity was observed under mild stresses. In vivo, the mean mesh areas of TPU were 206.8 cm2 (± 5.7 cm2) at 0 mmHg pneumoperitoneum and 274.6 cm2 (± 5.2 cm2) at 15 mmHg; for PVDF the mean areas were 205.5 cm2 (± 8.8 cm2) and 221.5 cm2 (± 11.8 cm2), respectively. The pneumoperitoneum-induced pressure increase resulted in a calculated porosity increase of 8.4% for TPU and of 1.2% for PVDF. The mean collagen I/III ratio was 8.7 (± 0.5) for TPU and 4.7 (± 0.7) for PVDF. Conclusion The elastic properties of TPU mesh implants result in improved tissue integration compared to conventional PVDF meshes, and they adapt more efficiently to the abdominal wall. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 827–833, 2018. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.33877 SN - 1552-4981 VL - 106 IS - 2 SP - 827 EP - 833 PB - Wiley CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kraff, Oliver A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Breyer, Tobias A1 - Kruszona, Stefan A1 - Maderwald, Stefan A1 - Brote, Irina A1 - Gizewski, Elke R. A1 - Ladd, Mark E. A1 - Quick, Harald H. T1 - A transmit/receive radiofrequency array for imaging the carotid arteries at 7 Tesla: coil design and first in vivo results JF - Investigative Radiology N2 - Objective: To develop a transmit/receive radiofrequency (RF) array for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the carotid arteries at 7 T. The prototype is characterized in numerical simulations and bench measurements, and the feasibility of plaque imaging at 7 T is demonstrated in first in vivo images. Materials and Methods: The RF phased array coil consists of 8 surface loop coils. To allow imaging of both sides of the neck, the RF array is divided into 2 coil clusters, each with 4 overlapping loop elements. For safety validation, numerical computations of the RF field distribution and the corresponding specific absorption rate were performed on the basis of a heterogeneous human body model. To validate the coil model, maps of the transmit B1+ field were compared between simulation and measurement. In vivo images of a healthy volunteer and a patient (ulcerating plaque and a 50% stenosis of the right internal carotid artery) were acquired using a 3-dimensional FLASH sequence with a high isotropic spatial resolution of 0.54 mm as well as using pulse-triggered proton density (PD)/T2-weighted turbo spin echo sequences. Results: Measurements of the S-parameters yielded a reflection and isolation of the coil elements of better than −18 and −13 dB, respectively. Measurements of the g-factor indicated good image quality for parallel imaging acceleration factors up to 2.4. A similar distribution and a very good match of the absolute values were found between the measured and simulated B1+ transmit RF field for the validation of the coil model. In vivo images revealed good signal excitation of both sides of the neck and a high vessel-to-background image contrast for the noncontrast-enhanced 3-dimensional FLASH sequence. Imaging at 7 T could depict the extent of stenosis, and revealed the disruption and ulcer of the plaque. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that 2 four-channel transmit/receive RF arrays for each side of the neck is a suitable concept for in vivo MRI of the carotid arteries at 7 Tesla. Further studies are needed to explore and exploit the full potential of 7 T high-field MRI for carotid atherosclerotic plaque imaging. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1097/RLI.0b013e318206cee4 SN - 1536-0210 VL - 46 IS - 4 SP - 246 EP - 254 PB - Wolters Kluwer CY - Köln ER - TY - JOUR A1 - El Quardi, A. A1 - Streckert, J. A1 - Bitz, Andreas A1 - Münkner, S. A1 - Engel, J. A1 - Hansen, V. T1 - New fin-line devices for radiofrequency exposure of small biological samples in vitro allowing whole-cell patch clamp recordings JF - Bioelectromagnetics N2 - The development and analysis of three waveguides for the exposure of small biological in vitro samples to mobile communication signals at 900 MHz (GSM, Global System for Mobile Communications), 1.8 GHz (GSM), and 2 GHz (UMTS, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) is presented. The waveguides were based on a fin-line concept and the chamber containing the samples bathed in extracellular solution was placed onto two fins with a slot in between, where the exposure field concentrates. Measures were taken to allow for patch clamp recordings during radiofrequency (RF) exposure. The necessary power for the achievement of the maximum desired specific absorption rate (SAR) of 20 W/kg (average over the mass of the solution) was approximately Pin = 50 mW, Pin = 19 mW, and Pin = 18 mW for the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2 GHz devices, respectively. At 20 W/kg, a slight RF-induced temperature elevation in the solution of no more than 0.3 °C was detected, while no thermal offsets due to the electromagnetic exposure could be detected at the lower SAR settings (2, 0.2, and 0.02 W/kg). A deviation of 10% from the intended solution volume yielded a calculated SAR deviation of 8% from the desired value. A maximum ±10% variation in the local SAR could occur when the position of the patch clamp electrode was altered within the area where the cells to be investigated were located. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/bem.20621 SN - 1521-186X VL - 32 IS - 2 SP - 102 EP - 112 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER -