TY - CHAP A1 - Kallweit, Stephan A1 - Gottschalk, Michael A1 - Walenta, Robert T1 - ROS based safety concept for collaborative robots in industrial applications T2 - Advances in robot design and intelligent control : proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region (RAAD). (Advances in intelligent systems and computing ; 371) N2 - The production and assembly of customized products increases the demand for flexible automation systems. One approach is to remove the safety fences that separate human and industrial robot to combine their skills. This collaboration possesses a certain risk for the human co-worker, leading to numerous safety concepts to protect him. The human needs to be monitored and tracked by a safety system using different sensors. The proposed system consists of a RGBD camera for surveillance of the common working area, an array of optical distance sensors to compensate shadowing effects of the RGBD camera and a laser range finder to detect the co-worker when approaching the work cell. The software for collision detection, path planning, robot control and predicting the behaviour of the co-worker is based on the Robot Operating System (ROS). A first prototype of the work cell shows that with advanced algorithms from the field of mobile robotics a very flexible safety concept can be realized: the robot not simply stops its movement when detecting a collision, but plans and executes an alternative path around the obstacle. KW - Collaborative robot KW - Human-Robot interaction KW - Safety concept KW - Workspace monitoring KW - Path planning Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-3-319-21289-0 (Print) ; 978-3-319-21290-6 (E-Book) U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21290-6_3 SP - 27 EP - 35 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dikta, Gerhard A1 - Reißel, Martin A1 - Harlaß, Carsten T1 - Semi-parametric survival function estimators deduced from an identifying Volterra type integral equation JF - Journal of multivariate analysis N2 - Based on an identifying Volterra type integral equation for randomly right censored observations from a lifetime distribution function F, we solve the corresponding estimating equation by an explicit and implicit Euler scheme. While the first approach results in some known estimators, the second one produces new semi-parametric and pre-smoothed Kaplan–Meier estimators which are real distribution functions rather than sub-distribution functions as the former ones are. This property of the new estimators is particular useful if one wants to estimate the expected lifetime restricted to the support of the observation time. Specifically, we focus on estimation under the semi-parametric random censorship model (SRCM), that is, a random censorship model where the conditional expectation of the censoring indicator given the observation belongs to a parametric family. We show that some estimated linear functionals which are based on the new semi-parametric estimator are strong consistent, asymptotically normal, and efficient under SRCM. In a small simulation study, the performance of the new estimator is illustrated under moderate sample sizes. Finally, we apply the new estimator to a well-known real dataset. KW - Volterra integral equation KW - Product-integration KW - Asymptotic efficiency KW - Semi-parametric random censorship model KW - Censored data KW - Survival analysis Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmva.2016.02.008 IS - 147 SP - 273 EP - 284 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Arreola, Julio A1 - Mätzkow, Malte A1 - Durán, Marlena Palomar A1 - Greeff, Anton A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Optimization of the immobilization of bacterial spores on glass substrates with organosilanes JF - Physica status solidi (A) : Applications and materials science N2 - Spores can be immobilized on biosensors to function as sensitive recognition elements. However, the immobilization can affect the sensitivity and reproducibility of the sensor signal. In this work, three different immobilization strategies with organosilanes were optimized and characterized to immobilize Bacillus atrophaeus spores on glass substrates. Five different silanization parameters were investigated: nature of the solvent, concentration of the silane, silanization time, curing process, and silanization temperature. The resulting silane layers were resistant to a buffer solution (e.g., Ringer solution) with a polysorbate (e.g., Tween®80) and sonication. KW - silanization KW - organosilanes KW - immobilization KW - endospores KW - biosensors KW - Bacillus atrophaeus Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201532914 SN - 1862-6319 VL - 213 IS - 6 SP - 1463 EP - 1470 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Fissabre, Anke A1 - Wilson, Ariane ED - Feiglstorfer, Hubert T1 - "Lehmbaupropaganda" : On the tradition of earth building literature T2 - Earth Construction and Tradition. Vol. I Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-3-900265-34-2 SP - 47 EP - 69 PB - IVA Institut für vergleichende Architekturforschung CY - Wien ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Murib, M. S. A1 - Yeap, W. S. A1 - Eurlings, Y. A1 - Grinsven, B. van A1 - Boyen, H.-G. A1 - Conings, B. A1 - Michiels, L. A1 - Ameloot, M. A1 - Carleer, R. A1 - Warmer, J. A1 - Kaul, P. A1 - Haenen, K. A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Ceuninck, W. de A1 - Wagner, P. T1 - Heat-transfer based characterization of DNA on synthetic sapphire chips JF - Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical N2 - In this study, we show that synthetic sapphire (Al₂O₃), an established implant material, can also serve as a platform material for biosensors comparable to nanocrystalline diamond. Sapphire chips, beads, and powder were first modified with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), followed by succinic anhydride (SA), and finally single-stranded probe DNA was EDC coupled to the functionalized layer. The presence of the APTES-SA layer on sapphire powders was confirmed by thermogravimetric analyis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Using planar sapphire chips as substrates and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as surface-sensitive tool, the sequence of individual layers was analyzed with respect to their chemical state, enabling the quantification of areal densities of the involved molecular units. Fluorescence microscopy was used to demonstrate the hybridization of fluorescently tagged target DNA to the probe DNA, including denaturation- and re-hybridization experiments. Due to its high thermal conductivity, synthetic sapphire is especially suitable as a chip material for the heat-transfer method, which was employed to distinguish complementary- and non-complementary DNA duplexes containing single-nucleotide polymorphisms. These results indicate that it is possible to detect mutations electronically with a chemically resilient and electrically insulating chip material. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2016.02.027 SN - 0925-4005 VL - 230 IS - 230 SP - 260 EP - 271 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hamad, E. M. A1 - Bilatto, S. E. R. A1 - Adly, N. Y. A1 - Correa, D. S. A1 - Wolfrum, B. A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Offenhäusser, A. A1 - Yakushenko, A. T1 - Inkjet printing of UV-curable adhesive and dielectric inks for microfluidic devices JF - Lab on a Chip N2 - Bonding of polymer-based microfluidics to polymer substrates still poses a challenge for Lab-On-a-Chip applications. Especially, when sensing elements are incorporated, patterned deposition of adhesives with curing at ambient conditions is required. Here, we demonstrate a fabrication method for fully printed microfluidic systems with sensing elements using inkjet and stereolithographic 3D-printing. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/C5LC01195G SN - 1473-0189 VL - 16 IS - 1 SP - 70 EP - 74 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Nakagawa, Masaki A1 - Kallweit, Stephan A1 - Michaux, Frank A1 - Hojo, Teppei T1 - Typical Velocity Fields and Vortical Structures around a Formula One Car, based on Experimental Investigations using Particle Image Velocimetry T2 - SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4271/2016-01-1611 SN - 1946-4002 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bayon, Arnau A1 - Valero, Daniel A1 - Garcia-Bartual, Rafael A1 - Vallés-Morán, Francisco José A1 - López-Jiménez, P. Amparo T1 - Performance assessment of OpenFOAM and FLOW-3D in the numerical modeling of a low Reynolds number hydraulic jump JF - Environmental Modelling & Software N2 - A comparative performance analysis of the CFD platforms OpenFOAM and FLOW-3D is presented, focusing on a 3D swirling turbulent flow: a steady hydraulic jump at low Reynolds number. Turbulence is treated using RANS approach RNG k-ε. A Volume Of Fluid (VOF) method is used to track the air–water interface, consequently aeration is modeled using an Eulerian–Eulerian approach. Structured meshes of cubic elements are used to discretize the channel geometry. The numerical model accuracy is assessed comparing representative hydraulic jump variables (sequent depth ratio, roller length, mean velocity profiles, velocity decay or free surface profile) to experimental data. The model results are also compared to previous studies to broaden the result validation. Both codes reproduced the phenomenon under study concurring with experimental data, although special care must be taken when swirling flows occur. Both models can be used to reproduce the hydraulic performance of energy dissipation structures at low Reynolds numbers. Y1 - 2016 SN - 1364-8152 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.02.018 VL - 80 SP - 322 EP - 335 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dantism, Shahriar A1 - Takenaga, Shoko A1 - Wagner, Patrick A1 - Wagner, Torsten A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Determination of the extracellular acidification of Escherichia coli K12 with a multi-​chamber-​based LAPS system JF - Physica status solidi (a) N2 - On-line monitoring of the metabolic activity of microorganisms involved in intermediate stages of biogas production plays an important role to avoid undesirable “down times” during the biogas production. In order to control this process, an on-chip differential measuring system based on the light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) principle combined with a 3D-printed multi-chamber structure has been realized. As a test microorganism, Escherichia coli K12 (E. coli K12) were used for cell-based measurements. Multi-chamber structures were developed to determine the metabolic activity of E. coli K12 in suspension for a different number of cells, responding to the addition of a constant or variable amount of glucose concentrations, enabling differential and simultaneous measurements. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201533043 SN - 1862-6300 VL - 213 IS - 6 SP - 1479 EP - 1485 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schreiber, Marc A1 - Kraft, Bodo A1 - Zündorf, Albert T1 - Cost-efficient quality assurance of natural language processing tools through continuous monitoring with continuous integration T2 - 3rd International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1145/2897022.2897029 N1 - SER&IP’16, May 17 2016, Austin, TX, USA SP - 46 EP - 52 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hüning, Felix T1 - Power Semiconductors for the automotive 48V board net T2 - PCIM Europe 2016 Conference Proceedings Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-3-8007-4186-1 SP - 1963 EP - 1969 PB - VDE Verl. CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Breuer, Lars A1 - Raue, Markus A1 - Strobel, M. A1 - Mang, Thomas A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Thoelen, R. A1 - Wagner, Torsten T1 - Hydrogels with incorporated graphene oxide as light-addressable actuator materials for cell culture environments in lab-on-chip systems JF - Physica status solidi (a) N2 - Abstractauthoren Graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles were incorporated in temperature-sensitive Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) hydrogels. The nanoparticles increase the light absorption and convert light energy into heat efficiently. Thus, the hydrogels with GO can be stimulated spatially resolved by illumination as it was demonstrated by IR thermography. The temporal progression of the temperature maximum was detected for different concentrations of GO within the polymer network. Furthermore, the compatibility of PNIPAAm hydrogels with GO and cell cultures was investigated. For this purpose, culture medium was incubated with hydrogels containing GO and the viability and morphology of chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells was examined after several days of culturing in presence of this medium. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201533056 SN - 1862-6300 VL - 213 IS - 6 SP - 1520 EP - 1525 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pookhalil, Ali A1 - Amoabediny, Ghassem A1 - Tabesh, Hadi A1 - Behbahani, Mehdi A1 - Mottaghy, Khosrow T1 - A new approach for semiempirical modeling of mechanical blood trauma JF - The international journal of artificial organs N2 - Purpose Two semi-empirical models were recently published, both making use of existing literature data, but each taking into account different physical phenomena that trigger hemolysis. In the first model, hemoglobin (Hb) release is described as a permeation procedure across the membrane, assuming a shear stress-dependent process (sublethal model). The second model only accounts for hemoglobin release that is caused by cell membrane breakdown, which occurs when red blood cells (RBC) undergo mechanically induced shearing for a period longer than the threshold time (nonuniform threshold model). In this paper, we introduce a model that considers the hemolysis generated by both these possible phenomena. Methods Since hemolysis can possibly be caused by permeation of hemoglobin through the RBC functional membrane as well as by release of hemoglobin from RBC membrane breakdown, our proposed model combines both these models. An experimental setup consisting of a Couette device was utilized for validation of our proposed model. Results A comparison is presented between the damage index (DI) predicted by the proposed model vs. the sublethal model vs. the nonthreshold model and experimental datasets. This comparison covers a wide range of shear stress for both human and porcine blood. An appropriate agreement between the measured DI and the DI predicted by the present model was obtained. Conclusions The semiempirical hemolysis model introduced in this paper aims for significantly enhanced conformity with experimental data. Two phenomenological outcomes become possible with the proposed approach: an estimation of the average time after which cell membrane breakdown occurs under the applied conditions, and a prediction of the ratio between the phenomena involved in hemolysis. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5301/ijao.5000474 SN - 1724-6040 VL - 39 IS - 4 SP - 171 EP - 177 PB - Sage CY - London ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Gebhardt, Andreas A1 - Hötter, Jan-Steffen T1 - Additive manufacturing : 3D printing for prototyping and manufacturing Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-56990-582-1 ; 978-1-56990-583-8 PB - Hanser Publishers CY - Munich ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kasper, Katharina A1 - Schiffels, Johannes A1 - Krafft, Simone A1 - Kuperjans, Isabel A1 - Elbers, Gereon A1 - Selmer, Thorsten T1 - Biogas Production on Demand Regulated by Butyric Acid Addition T2 - IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Bd. 32 Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/32/1/012009 SN - 1755-1315 N1 - ICARET 2016, International Conference on Advances in Renewable Energy and Technologies, Putrajaya, MY, Feb 23-25, 2016 VL - 32 SP - 012009/1 EP - 012009/4 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bialonski, Stephan T1 - Are interaction clusters in epileptic networks predictive of seizures? T2 - Epilepsy: The Intersection of Neurosciences, Biology, Mathematics, Engineering, and Physics Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-143983886-0 SP - 349 EP - 355 PB - CRC Press ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Valero, Daniel A1 - Bung, Daniel Bernhard T1 - Development of the interfacial air layer in the non-aerated region of high-velocity spillway flows: Instabilities growth, entrapped air and influence on the self-aeration onset JF - International Journal of Multiphase Flow N2 - Self-aeration is traditionally explained by the water turbulent boundary layer outer edge intersection with the free surface. This paper presents a discussion on the commonly accepted hypothesis behind the computation of the critical point of self-aeration in spillway flows and a new formulation is proposed based on the existence of a developing air flow over the free surface. Upstream of the inception point of self-aeration, some surface roughening has been often reported in previous studies which consequently implies some entrapped air transport and air–water flows coupling. Such air flow is proven in this study by presenting measured air velocities and computing the air boundary layer thickness for a 1V:2H smooth chute flow. Additionally, the growth rate of free surface waves has been analysed by means of Ultrasonic Sensors measurements, obtaining also the entrapped air concentration. High-speed camera imaging has been used for qualitative study of the flow perturbations. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2016.04.012 SN - 0301-9322 VL - 84 SP - 66 EP - 74 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Neu, Eugen A1 - Janser, Frank A1 - Khatibi, Akbar A. A1 - Braun, Carsten A1 - Orifici, Adrian C. T1 - Operational Modal Analysis of a wing excited by transonic flow JF - Aerospace Science and Technology N2 - Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) is a promising candidate for flutter testing and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of aircraft wings that are passively excited by wind loads. However, no studies have been published where OMA is tested in transonic flows, which is the dominant condition for large civil aircraft and is characterized by complex and unique aerodynamic phenomena. We use data from the HIRENASD large-scale wind tunnel experiment to automatically extract modal parameters from an ambiently excited wing operated in the transonic regime using two OMA methods: Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI) and Frequency Domain Decomposition (FDD). The system response is evaluated based on accelerometer measurements. The excitation is investigated from surface pressure measurements. The forcing function is shown to be non-white, non-stationary and contaminated by narrow-banded transonic disturbances. All these properties violate fundamental OMA assumptions about the forcing function. Despite this, all physical modes in the investigated frequency range were successfully identified, and in addition transonic pressure waves were identified as physical modes as well. The SSI method showed superior identification capabilities for the investigated case. The investigation shows that complex transonic flows can interfere with OMA. This can make existing approaches for modal tracking unsuitable for their application to aircraft wings operated in the transonic flight regime. Approaches to separate the true physical modes from the transonic disturbances are discussed. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2015.11.032 SN - 1270-9638 VL - 49 SP - 73 EP - 79 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ngamga, Eulalie Joelle A1 - Bialonski, Stephan A1 - Marwan, Norbert A1 - Kurths, Jürgen A1 - Geier, Christian A1 - Lehnertz, Klaus T1 - Evaluation of selected recurrence measures in discriminating pre-ictal and inter-ictal periods from epileptic EEG data JF - Physics Letters A N2 - We investigate the suitability of selected measures of complexity based on recurrence quantification analysis and recurrence networks for an identification of pre-seizure states in multi-day, multi-channel, invasive electroencephalographic recordings from five epilepsy patients. We employ several statistical techniques to avoid spurious findings due to various influencing factors and due to multiple comparisons and observe precursory structures in three patients. Our findings indicate a high congruence among measures in identifying seizure precursors and emphasize the current notion of seizure generation in large-scale epileptic networks. A final judgment of the suitability for field studies, however, requires evaluation on a larger database. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2016.02.024 SN - 0375-9601 VL - 380 IS - 16 SP - 1419 EP - 1425 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Valero, Daniel A1 - Bung, Daniel Bernhard A1 - Crookston, B. M. A1 - Matos, J. ED - Crookston, B. ED - Tullis, B. T1 - Numerical investigation of USBR type III stilling basin performance downstream of smooth and stepped spillways BT - Session 1: Hydraulic structures T2 - Hydraulic Structures and Water System Management. 6th IAHR International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures, Portland, OR, 27-30 June 2016 Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-884575-75-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.15142/T340628160853 SP - 635 EP - 646 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Dalguer, Luis A. A1 - Renault, Philippe A1 - Churilov, Sergey A1 - Butenweg, Christoph T1 - Evaluation of fragility curves for a three-storey-reinforced-concrete mock-up of SMART 2013 project T2 - Transactions, SMiRT-23 : 23rd Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology : Manchester, United Kingdom - August 10-14, 2015 Y1 - 2016 SP - 1 EP - 9 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becker, Jörg A1 - Delfmann, Patrick A1 - Dietrich, Hanns-Alexander A1 - Steinhorst, Matthias A1 - Eggert, Mathias T1 - Business Process Compliance Checking — Applying and Evaluating a Generic Pattern Matching Approach for Conceptual Models in the Financial Sector JF - Information Systems Frontiers N2 - Given the strong increase in regulatory requirements for business processes the management of business process compliance becomes a more and more regarded field in IS research. Several methods have been developed to support compliance checking of conceptual models. However, their focus on distinct modeling languages and mostly linear (i.e., predecessor-successor related) compliance rules may hinder widespread adoption and application in practice. Furthermore, hardly any of them has been evaluated in a real-world setting. We address this issue by applying a generic pattern matching approach for conceptual models to business process compliance checking in the financial sector. It consists of a model query language, a search algorithm and a corresponding modelling tool prototype. It is (1) applicable for all graph-based conceptual modeling languages and (2) for different kinds of compliance rules. Furthermore, based on an applicability check, we (3) evaluate the approach in a financial industry project setting against its relevance for decision support of audit and compliance management tasks. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-014-9529-y SN - 1572-9419 VL - 18 IS - 2 SP - 359 EP - 405 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Rajan, Sreelakshmy A1 - Holtschoppen, B. A1 - Dalguer, L. A. A1 - Klinkel, S. A1 - Butenweg, Christoph ED - Sas, P. T1 - Seismic fragility analysis of a non-conventional reinforced concrete structure considering different uncertainties T2 - Proceedings of ISMA2016, International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering/USD2016, International Conference on Uncertainty in Structural Dynamics, / ISMA 2016, USD 2016 Y1 - 2016 SP - 4213 EP - 4225 PB - KU Leuven CY - Leuven ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Engel, Mareike A1 - Thieringer, Julia A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Linking bioprocess engineering and electrochemistry for sustainable biofuel production T2 - Young Researchers Symposium, YRS 2016. Proceedings N2 - Electromicrobial engineering is an emerging, highly interdisciplinary research area linking bioprocesses with electrochemistry. In this work, microbial electrosynthesis (MES) of biobutanol is carried out during acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentations with Clostridium acetobutylicum. A constant electric potential of −600mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) with simultaneous addition of the soluble redox mediator neutral red is used in order to study the electron transfer between the working electrode and the bacterial cells. The results show an earlier initiation of solvent production for all fermentations with applied potential compared to the conventional ABE fermentation. The f inal butanol concentration can be more than doubled by the application of a negative potential combined with addition of neutral red. Moreover a higher biofilm formation on the working electrode compared to control cultivations has been observed. In contrast to previous studies, our results also indicate that direct electron transfer (DET) might be possible with C. acetobutylicum. The presented results make microbial butanol production economically attractive and therefore support the development of sustainable production processes in the chemical industry aspired by the “Centre for resource-efficient chemistry and raw material change” as well as the the project “NanoKat” working on nanostructured catalysts in Kaiserslautern. Y1 - 2016 N1 - Young Researchers Symposium, YRS 2016, 14th - 15th April 2016, Fraunhofer-Zentrum Kaiserslautern SP - 49 EP - 53 PB - Fraunhofer Verlag CY - Karlsruhe 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 - Leingartner, Max A1 - Maurer, Johannes A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Steinbauer, Gerald T1 - Evaluation of Sensors and Mapping Approaches for Disasters in Tunnels JF - Journal of Field Robotics N2 - Ground or aerial robots equipped with advanced sensing technologies, such as three-dimensional laser scanners and advanced mapping algorithms, are deemed useful as a supporting technology for first responders. A great deal of excellent research in the field exists, but practical applications at real disaster sites are scarce. Many projects concentrate on equipping robots with advanced capabilities, such as autonomous exploration or object manipulation. In spite of this, realistic application areas for such robots are limited to teleoperated reconnaissance or search. In this paper, we investigate how well state-of-the-art and off-the-shelf components and algorithms are suited for reconnaissance in current disaster-relief scenarios. The basic idea is to make use of some of the most common sensors and deploy some widely used algorithms in a disaster situation, and to evaluate how well the components work for these scenarios. We acquired the sensor data from two field experiments, one from a disaster-relief operation in a motorway tunnel, and one from a mapping experiment in a partly closed down motorway tunnel. Based on these data, which we make publicly available, we evaluate state-of-the-art and off-the-shelf mapping approaches. In our analysis, we integrate opinions and replies from first responders as well as from some algorithm developers on the usefulness of the data and the limitations of the deployed approaches, respectively. We discuss the lessons we learned during the two missions. These lessons are interesting for the community working in similar areas of urban search and rescue, particularly reconnaissance and search. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/rob.21611 SN - 1556-4967 VL - 33 IS - 8 SP - 1037 EP - 1057 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Al-Kaidy, Huschyar A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Superparamagnetic hydrophobic particles as shell material for digital microfluidic droplets and proof-of-principle reaction assessments with immobilized laccase JF - Engineering in Life Sciences N2 - In the field of biotechnology and molecular biology, the use of small liquid volumes has significant advantages. In particular, screening and optimization runs with acceptable amounts of expensive and hardly available catalysts, reagents, or biomolecules are feasible with microfluidic technologies. The presented new microfluidic system is based on the inclusion of small liquid volumes by a protective shell of magnetizable microparticles. Hereby, discrete aqueous microreactor drops with volumes of 1–30 μL can be formed on a simple planar surface. A digital movement and manipulation of the microreactor is performed by overlapping magnetic forces. The magnetic forces are generated by an electrical coil matrix positioned below a glass plate. With the new platform technology, several discrete reaction compartments can be moved simultaneously on one surface. Due to the magnetic fields, the reactors can even be merged to initiate reactions by mixing or positioned above surface-immobilized catalysts and then opened by magnetic force. Comparative synthesis routes of the magnetizable shell particles and superhydrophobic glass slides including their performance and stability with the reaction platform are described. The influence of diffusive mass transport during the catalyzed reaction is discussed by evaluation finite element model of the microreactor. Furthermore, a first model dye reaction of the enzyme laccase has been established. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/elsc.201400124 VL - 16 IS - 3 SP - 222 EP - 230 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bhattarai, Aroj A1 - Frotscher, Ralf A1 - Staat, Manfred ED - Natal Jorge, Renato T1 - Significance of fibre geometry on passive-active response of pelvic muscles to evaluate pelvic dysfunction T2 - BioMedWomen: Proceedings of the international conference on clinical and bioengineering for women's health Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-138-02910-1 SP - 185 EP - 188 PB - CRC Press CY - Boca Raton ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bung, Daniel Bernhard A1 - Valero, Daniel ED - Crookston, B. ED - Tullis, B. T1 - Application of the optical flow method to velocity determination in hydraulic structure models BT - Session 11: Fish passage and shiplocks T2 - Hydraulic Structures and Water System Management. 6th IAHR International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures, Portland, OR, 27-30 June 2016 Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-884575-75-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.15142/T3150628160853 SP - 223 EP - 232 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kowalski, Julia A1 - Linder, Peter A1 - Zierke, S. A1 - Wulfen, B. van A1 - Clemens, J. A1 - Konstantinidis, K. A1 - Ameres, G. A1 - Hoffmann, R. A1 - Mikucki, J. A1 - Tulaczyk, S. A1 - Funke, O. A1 - Blandfort, D. A1 - Espe, Clemens A1 - Feldmann, Marco A1 - Francke, Gero A1 - Hiecker, S. A1 - Plescher, Engelbert A1 - Schöngarth, Sarah A1 - Dachwald, Bernd A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Artmann, Gerhard A1 - Eliseev, D. A1 - Heinen, D. A1 - Scholz, F. A1 - Wiebusch, C. A1 - Macht, S. A1 - Bestmann, U. A1 - Reineking, T. A1 - Zetzsche, C. A1 - Schill, K. A1 - Förstner, R. A1 - Niedermeier, H. A1 - Szumski, A. A1 - Eissfeller, B. A1 - Naumann, U. A1 - Helbing, K. T1 - Navigation technology for exploration of glacier ice with maneuverable melting probes JF - Cold Regions Science and Technology N2 - The Saturnian moon Enceladus with its extensive water bodies underneath a thick ice sheet cover is a potential candidate for extraterrestrial life. Direct exploration of such extraterrestrial aquatic ecosystems requires advanced access and sampling technologies with a high level of autonomy. A new technological approach has been developed as part of the collaborative research project Enceladus Explorer (EnEx). The concept is based upon a minimally invasive melting probe called the IceMole. The force-regulated, heater-controlled IceMole is able to travel along a curved trajectory as well as upwards. Hence, it allows maneuvers which may be necessary for obstacle avoidance or target selection. Maneuverability, however, necessitates a sophisticated on-board navigation system capable of autonomous operations. The development of such a navigational system has been the focal part of the EnEx project. The original IceMole has been further developed to include relative positioning based on in-ice attitude determination, acoustic positioning, ultrasonic obstacle and target detection integrated through a high-level sensor fusion. This paper describes the EnEx technology and discusses implications for an actual extraterrestrial mission concept. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.11.006 SN - 0165-232X IS - 123 SP - 53 EP - 70 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Finger, Felix T1 - Comparative Performance and Benefit Assessment of VTOL and CTOL UAVs T2 - Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress (DLRK) 2016, 13.-15.9.2016 Y1 - 2016 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Steuer-Dankert, Linda A1 - Leicht-Scholten, Carmen T1 - Social responsibility and innovation - Key competencies for engineers T2 - ICERI 2016: 9th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation: Conference Proceedings : Seville (Spain), 14-16 November N2 - Engineers are of particular importance for the societies of tomorrow. The big social challenges society has to cope with in future, can only be mastered, if engineers link the development and innovation process closely with the requirements of people. As a result, in the frame of the innovation process engineers have to design and develop products for diverse users. Therefore, the consideration of diversity in this process is a core competence engineers should have. Implementing the consideration of diverse requirements into product design is also linked to the development of sustainable products and thus leads to social responsible research and development, the core concept formulated by the EU. For this reason, future engineers should be educated to look at the technical perspectives of a problem embedded in the related questions within societies they are developing their artefacts for. As a result, the aim of teaching engineering should be to prepare engineers for these requirements and to draw attention to the diverse needs in a globalized world. To match the competence profiles of future engineers to the global challenges and the resulting social responsibility, RWTH Aachen University, one of the leading technical universities in Germany, has established the bridging professorship “Gender and Diversity in Engineering” (GDI) which educates engineers with an interdisciplinary approach to expand engineering limits. The interdisciplinary teaching concept of the research group pursues an approach which imparts an application oriented Gender and Diversity expertise to future engineers. In the frame of an established teaching concept, which is a result of experiences and expertise of the research group, students gain theoretical knowledge about Gender and Diversity and learn how to transfer their knowledge into their later field of action. In the frame of the conference the institutional approach will be presented as well as the teaching concept which will be introduced by concrete course examples. KW - diversity KW - innovation KW - social responsible engineering KW - engineering education Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-84-617-5895-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2016.0353 SN - 2340-1095 SP - 5967 EP - 5976 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frotscher, Ralf A1 - Muanghong, Danita A1 - Dursun, Gözde A1 - Goßmann, Matthias A1 - Temiz Artmann, Aysegül A1 - Staat, Manfred T1 - Sample-specific adaption of an improved electro-mechanical model of in vitro cardiac tissue JF - Journal of Biomechanics N2 - We present an electromechanically coupled computational model for the investigation of a thin cardiac tissue construct consisting of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived atrial, ventricular and sinoatrial cardiomyocytes. The mechanical and electrophysiological parts of the finite element model, as well as their coupling are explained in detail. The model is implemented in the open source finite element code Code_Aster and is employed for the simulation of a thin circular membrane deflected by a monolayer of autonomously beating, circular, thin cardiac tissue. Two cardio-active drugs, S-Bay K8644 and veratridine, are applied in experiments and simulations and are investigated with respect to their chronotropic effects on the tissue. These results demonstrate the potential of coupled micro- and macroscopic electromechanical models of cardiac tissue to be adapted to experimental results at the cellular level. Further model improvements are discussed taking into account experimentally measurable quantities that can easily be extracted from the obtained experimental results. The goal is to estimate the potential to adapt the presented model to sample specific cell cultures. KW - hiPS cardiomyocytes KW - Homogenization KW - Hodgkin–Huxley models KW - Frequency adaption KW - Electromechanical modeling KW - Drug simulation KW - Computational biomechanics KW - Cardiac tissue Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2016.01.039 SN - 0021-9290 (Print) SN - 1873-2380 (Online) VL - 49 IS - 12 SP - 2428 EP - 2435 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hallmann, Marcus A1 - Heidecker, Ansgar A1 - Schlotterer, Markus A1 - Dachwald, Bernd T1 - GTOC8: results and methods of team 15 DLR T2 - 26th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Napa, CA N2 - This paper describes the results and methods used during the 8th Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC) of the DLR team. Trajectory optimization is crucial for most of the space missions and usually can be formulated as a global optimization problem. A lot of research has been done to different type of mission problems. The most demanding ones are low thrust transfers with e.g. gravity assist sequences. In that case the optimal control problem is combined with an integer problem. In most of the GTOCs we apply a filtering of the problem based on domain knowledge. Y1 - 2016 N1 - 26th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, February 14-18, 2016, Napa, California, U.S.A. Napa, CA ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Kerpen, Nils B. A1 - Bung, Daniel Bernhard A1 - Valero, Daniel A1 - Schlurmann, Torsten T1 - Energy dissipation within the wave run-up at stepped revetments T2 - 8th Chinese-German Joint Symposium on Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering, Qingdao, China KW - energy disspation KW - wave run-up KW - friction Y1 - 2016 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Jung, Alexander A1 - Staat, Manfred ED - Erni, Daniel T1 - Computing olympic gold: Ski jumping as an example T2 - 1st YRA MedTech Symposium 2016 : April 8th / 2016 / University of Duisburg-Essen Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-3-940402-06-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.17185/duepublico/40821 SP - 54 EP - 55 PB - Universität Duisburg-Essen CY - Duisburg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Schiffer, Stefan A1 - Booysen, T. A1 - Stopforth, R. T1 - Why it is harder to run RoboCup in South Africa: Experiences from German South African collaborations JF - International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems N2 - Robots are widely used as a vehicle to spark interest in science and technology in learners. A number of initiatives focus on this issue, for instance, the Roberta Initiative, the FIRST Lego League, the World Robot Olympiad and RoboCup Junior. Robotic competitions are valuable not only for school learners but also for university students, as the RoboCup initiative shows. Besides technical skills, the students get some project exposure and experience what it means to finish their tasks on time. But qualifying students for future high-tech areas should not only be for students from developed countries. In this article, we present our experiences with research and education in robotics within the RoboCup initiative, in Germany and South Africa; we report on our experiences with trying to get the RoboCup initiative in South Africa going. RoboCup has a huge support base of academic institutions in Germany; this is not the case in South Africa. We present our ‘north–south’ collaboration initiatives in RoboCup between Germany and South Africa and discuss some of the reasons why we think it is harder to run RoboCup in South Africa. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1729881416662789 SN - 1729-8806 VL - 13 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 13 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Duong, Minh Tuan A1 - Jung, Alexander A1 - Frotscher, Ralf A1 - Staat, Manfred ED - Papadrakakis, M. T1 - A 3D electromechanical FEM-based model for cardiac tissue T2 - ECCOMAS Congress 2016, VII European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering. Crete Island, Greece, 5–10 June 2016 Y1 - 2016 N1 - revised after the conference P11367 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Wulfhorst, H. A1 - Duwe, A. A1 - Möhring, S. A1 - Jurca, O. A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Analysis of pretreated biomass by differential scanning 132 calorimetry and multivariate data analysis T2 - New frontiers of biotech-processes (Himmelfahrtstagung) : 02-04 May 2016, Rhein-Mosel-Halle, Koblenz/Germany Y1 - 2016 SP - 132 PB - DECHEMA CY - Frankfurt am Main ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hackl, Michael A1 - Kahmann, Stephanie Lucina A1 - Wegmann, Kilian A1 - Ries, Christian A1 - Staat, Manfred A1 - Müller, Lars-Peter T1 - Shortening osteotomy of the proximal radius — a treatment option for isolated osteoarthritis of the lateral column of the elbow joint? JF - Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy N2 - Treatment of posttraumatic osteoarthritis of the radial column of the elbow joint remains a challenging yet common issue. While partial joint replacement leads to high revision rates, radial head excision has shown to severely increase joint instability. Shortening osteotomy of the radius could be an option to decrease the contact pressure of the radiohumeral joint and thereby pain levels without causing valgus instability. Hence, the aim of this biomechanical study was to evaluate the effects of radial shortening on axial load distribution and valgus stability of the elbow joint. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-016-4080-7 SN - 0942-2056 VL - Volume 24 IS - Supplement 1 SP - 128 EP - 129 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Harzheim, Thomas A1 - Heuermann, Holger A1 - Marso, Michel T1 - An Adaptive Biasing Method for SRD Comb Generators T2 - 2016 German Microwave Conference (GeMiC) Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/GEMIC.2016.7461613 N1 - GeMiC 2016 ; March 14–16, 2016, Bochum, Germany SP - 289 EP - 292 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Niemueller, Tim A1 - Reuter, Sebastian A1 - Ferrein, Alexander ED - Almeida, Luis T1 - Fawkes for the RoboCup Logistics League T2 - RoboCup 2015: Robot World Cup XIX Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-3-319-29339-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29339-4_31 N1 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science ; 9513 SP - 365 EP - 373 PB - Springer International Publishing CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ferrein, Alexander A1 - Steinbauer, Gerald T1 - Looking back on 20 Years of RoboCup JF - KI - Künstliche Intelligenz Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13218-016-0443-y SN - 1610-1987 VL - 30 IS - 3-4 SP - 321 EP - 323 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Möhring, S. A1 - Wulfhorst, H. A1 - Roth, J. A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Pretreatment strategies for lignocellulosic biomass T2 - New frontiers of biotech-processes (Himmelfahrtstagung) : 02-04 May 2016, Rhein-Mosel-Halle, Koblenz/Germany Y1 - 2016 SP - 131 PB - DECHEMA CY - Frankfurt am Main ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Roth, J. A1 - Möhring, S. A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Characterization and evaluation of lignocellulosic biomass 130 hydrolysates for ABE fermentation T2 - New frontiers of biotech-processes (Himmelfahrtstagung) : 02-04 May 2016, Rhein-Mosel-Halle, Koblenz/Germany Y1 - 2016 SP - 130 PB - DECHEMA CY - Frankfurt am Main ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Knobe, M. A1 - Giesen, M. A1 - Plate, S. A1 - Gradl-Dietsch, G. A1 - Buecking, B. A1 - Eschbach, D. A1 - Laack, Walter van A1 - Pape, H.-C. T1 - The Aachen mobility and balance index to measure physiological falls risk: a comparison with the Tinetti POMA scale JF - European Journal Of Trauma And Emergency Surgery N2 - Purpose The most commonly used mobility assessments for screening risk of falls among older adults are rating scales such as the Tinetti performance oriented mobility assessment (POMA). However, its correlation with falls is not always predictable and disadvantages of the scale include difficulty to assess many of the items on a 3-point scale and poor specificity. The purpose of this study was to describe the ability of the new Aachen Mobility and Balance Index (AMBI) to discriminate between subjects with a fall history and subjects without such events in comparison to the Tinetti POMA Scale. Methods For this prospective cohort study, 24 participants in the study group and 10 in the control group were selected from a population of patients in our hospital who had met the stringent inclusion criteria. Both groups completed the Tinetti POMA Scale (gait and balance component) and the AMBI (tandem stance, tandem walk, ten-meter-walk-test, sit-to-stand with five repetitions, 360° turns, timed-up-and-go-test and measurement of the dominant hand grip strength). A history of falls and hospitalization in the past year were evaluated retrospectively. The relationships among the mobility tests were examined with Bland–Altmananalysis. Receiver-operated characteristics curves, sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Results The study showed a strong negative correlation between the AMBI (17 points max., highest fall risk) and Tinetti POMA Scale (28 points max., lowest fall risk; r = −0.78, p < 0.001) with an excellent discrimination between community-dwelling older people and a younger control group. However, there were no differences in any of the mobility and balance measurements between participants with and without a fall history with equal characteristics in test comparison (AMBI vs. Tinetti POMA Scale: AUC 0.570 vs. 0.598; p = 0.762). The Tinetti POMA Scale (cut-off <20 points) showed a sensitivity of 0.45 and a specificity of 0.69, the AMBI a sensitivity of 0.64 and a specificity of 0.46 (cut-off >5 points). Conclusion The AMBI comprises mobility and balance tasks with increasing difficulty as well as a measurement of the dominant hand-grip strength. Its ability to identify fallers was comparable to the Tinetti POMA Scale. However, both measurement sets showed shortcomings in discrimination between fallers and non-fallers based on a self-reported retrospective falls-status. KW - Tinetti test KW - Mobility KW - Mobility tests KW - Ground-level falls KW - Elderly KW - Fall prevention KW - Co-managed care KW - Balance Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-016-0693-2 SN - 1863-9941 VL - 42 IS - 5 SP - 537 EP - 545 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Al-Kaidy, Huschyar A1 - Kuthan, Kai A1 - Hering, Thomas A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Aqueous droplets used as enzymatic microreactors and their electromagnetic actuation JF - Journal of Visualized Experiments N2 - For the successful implementation of microfluidic reaction systems, such as PCR and electrophoresis, the movement of small liquid volumes is essential. In conventional lab-on-a-chip-platforms, solvents and samples are passed through defined microfluidic channels with complex flow control installations. The droplet actuation platform presented here is a promising alternative. With it, it is possible to move a liquid drop (microreactor) on a planar surface of a reaction platform (lab-in-a-drop). The actuation of microreactors on the hydrophobic surface of the platform is based on the use of magnetic forces acting on the outer shell of the liquid drops which is made of a thin layer of superhydrophobic magnetite particles. The hydrophobic surface of the platform is needed to avoid any contact between the liquid core and the surface to allow a smooth movement of the microreactor. On the platform, one or more microreactors with volumes of 10 µL can be positioned and moved simultaneously. The platform itself consists of a 3 x 3 matrix of electrical double coils which accommodate either neodymium or iron cores. The magnetic field gradients are automatically controlled. By variation of the magnetic field gradients, the microreactors' magnetic hydrophobic shell can be manipulated automatically to move the microreactor or open the shell reversibly. Reactions of substrates and corresponding enzymes can be initiated by merging the microreactors or bringing them into contact with surface immobilized catalysts. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3791/54643 SN - 1940-087X IS - Issue 126 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jablonowski, Nicolai David A1 - Kollmann, Tobias A1 - Nabel, Moritz A1 - Damm, Tatjana A1 - Klose, Holger A1 - Müller, Michael A1 - Bläsing, Marc A1 - Seebold, Sören A1 - Krafft, Simone A1 - Kuperjans, Isabel A1 - Dahmen, Markus A1 - Schurr, Ulrich T1 - Valorization of Sida (Sida hermaphrodita) biomass for multiple energy purposes JF - GCB [Global Change Biology] Bioenergy N2 - The performance and biomass yield of the perennial energy plant Sida hermaphrodita (hereafter referred to as Sida) as a feedstock for biogas and solid fuel was evaluated throughout one entire growing period at agricultural field conditions. A Sida plant development code was established to allow comparison of the plant growth stages and biomass composition. Four scenarios were evaluated to determine the use of Sida biomass with regard to plant development and harvest time: (i) one harvest for solid fuel only; (ii) one harvest for biogas production only; (iii) one harvest for biogas production, followed by a harvest of the regrown biomass for solid fuel; and (iv) two consecutive harvests for biogas production. To determine Sida's value as a feedstock for combustion, we assessed the caloric value, the ash quality, and melting point with regard to DIN EN ISO norms. The results showed highest total dry biomass yields of max. 25 t ha⁻¹, whereas the highest dry matter of 70% to 80% was obtained at the end of the growing period. Scenario (i) clearly indicated the highest energy recovery, accounting for 439 288 MJ ha⁻¹; the energy recovery of the four scenarios from highest to lowest followed this order: (i) ≫ (iii) ≫ (iv) > (ii). Analysis of the Sida ashes showed a high melting point of >1500 °C, associated with a net calorific value of 16.5–17.2 MJ kg⁻¹. All prerequisites for DIN EN ISO norms were achieved, indicating Sida's advantage as a solid energy carrier without any post-treatment after harvesting. Cell wall analysis of the stems showed a constant lignin content after sampling week 16 (July), whereas cellulose had already reached a plateau in sampling week 4 (April). The results highlight Sida as a promising woody, perennial plant, providing biomass for flexible and multipurpose energy applications. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12346 SN - 1757-1707 (online) SN - 1757-1693 (print) N1 - Special Issue: Perennial biomass crops for a resource constrained world VL - 9 IS - 1 SP - 202 EP - 214 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinze, D. A1 - Mang, Thomas A1 - Popescu, C. A1 - Weichold, O. T1 - Effect of side chain length and degree of polymerization on the decomposition and crystallization behaviour of chlorinated poly(vinyl ester) oligomers JF - Thermochimica Acta N2 - Four members of a homologous series of chlorinated poly(vinyl ester) oligomers CCl₃–(CH₂CH (OCO(CH₂)ₘCH₃))ₙ–Cl with degrees of polymerization of 10 and 20 were prepared by telomerisation using carbon tetrachloride. The number of side chain carbon atoms ranges from 2 (poly(vinyl acetate) to 18 (poly(vinyl stearate)). The effect of the n-alkyl side chain length and of the degree of polymerization on the thermal stability and crystallization behaviour of the synthesized compounds was investigated. All oligomers degrade in two major steps by first losing HCl and side chains with subsequent breakdown of the backbone. The members with short side chains, up to poly(vinyl octanoate), are amorphous and show internal plasticization, whereas those with high number of side chain carbon atoms are semi-crystalline due to side-chain crystallization. A better packing for poly(vinyl stearate) is also noticeable. The glass transition and melting temperatures as well as the onset temperature of decomposition are influenced to a larger extent by the side chain length than by the degree of polymerization. Thermal stability is improved if both the size and number of side chains increase, but only a long side chain causes a significant increase of the resistance to degradation. This results in a stabilization of PVAc so that oligomers from poly(vinyl octanoate) on are stable under atmospheric conditions. Thus, the way to design stable, chlorinated PVEs oligomers is to use a long n-alkyl side chain. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2016.05.015 SN - 0040-6031 (electronic) VL - 637 SP - 143 EP - 153 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Albanna, W. A1 - Conzen, C. A1 - Weiss, M. A1 - Clusmann, H. A1 - Fuest, M. A1 - Mueller, M. A1 - Brockmann, M.A. A1 - Vilser, W. A1 - Schmidt-Trucksäss, A. A1 - Hoellig, A. A1 - Seiz, M. A1 - Thomé, C. A1 - Kotliar, Konstantin A1 - Schubert, G.A. T1 - Retinal Vessel Analysis (RVA) in the context of subarachnoid hemorrhage: A proof of concept study JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Background Timely detection of impending delayed cerebral ischemia after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is essential to improve outcome, but poses a diagnostic challenge. Retinal vessels as an embryological part of the intracranial vasculature are easily accessible for analysis and may hold the key to a new and non-invasive monitoring technique. This investigation aims to determine the feasibility of standardized retinal vessel analysis (RVA) in the context of SAH. Methods In a prospective pilot study, we performed RVA in six patients awake and cooperative with SAH in the acute phase (day 2–14) and eight patients at the time of follow-up (mean 4.6±1.7months after SAH), and included 33 age-matched healthy controls. Data was acquired using a manoeuvrable Dynamic Vessel Analyzer (Imedos Systems UG, Jena) for examination of retinal vessel dimension and neurovascular coupling. Results Image quality was satisfactory in the majority of cases (93.3%). In the acute phase after SAH, retinal arteries were significantly dilated when compared to the control group (124.2±4.3MU vs 110.9±11.4MU, p<0.01), a difference that persisted to a lesser extent in the later stage of the disease (122.7±17.2MU, p<0.05). Testing for neurovascular coupling showed a trend towards impaired primary vasodilation and secondary vasoconstriction (p = 0.08, p = 0.09 resp.) initially and partial recovery at the time of follow-up, indicating a relative improvement in a time-dependent fashion. Conclusion RVA is technically feasible in patients with SAH and can detect fluctuations in vessel diameter and autoregulation even in less severely affected patients. Preliminary data suggests potential for RVA as a new and non-invasive tool for advanced SAH monitoring, but clinical relevance and prognostic value will have to be determined in a larger cohort. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158781 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 IS - 7 PB - PLOS CY - San Francisco ER -