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The continuing growth of scientific publications raises the question how research processes can be digitalized and thus realized more productively. Especially in information technology fields, research practice is characterized by a rapidly growing volume of publications. For the search process various information systems exist. However, the analysis of the published content is still a highly manual task. Therefore, we propose a text analytics system that allows a fully digitalized analysis of literature sources. We have realized a prototype by using EBSCO Discovery Service in combination with IBM Watson Explorer and demonstrated the results in real-life research projects. Potential addressees are research institutions, consulting firms, and decision-makers in politics and business practice.
As an interdisciplinary research network, the Cluster of Excellence “Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries” (CoE) comprises of around 150 researchers. Their scientific background ranges from mechanical engineering and computer science to social sciences such as sociology and psychology. In addition to content- and methodbased challenges, the CoE’s employees are faced with heterogenic organizational cultures, different hierarchical levels, an imbalanced gender distribution, and a high employee fluctuation. The sub-project Scientific Cooperation Engineering 1 (CSP1) addresses the challenge of interdisciplinary cooperation and organizational learning and aims at fostering interdisciplinarity and its synergies as a source of innovation. Therefore, the project examines means of reaching an organizational development, ranging from temporal structures to a sustainable network in production technology. To achieve this aim, a broad range of means has been developed during the last twelve years: In addition to physical measures such as regular network events and trainings, virtual measures such as the Terminology App were focused. The app is an algorithmic analysis method for uncovering latent topic structures of publications of the CoE to highlight thematic intersections and synergy potentials. The detection and promotion of has been a vital and long known element in knowledge management. Furthermore, CSP1 focusses on project management and thus developed evaluation tools to measure and control the success of interdisciplinary cooperation. In addition to the cooperation fostering measures, CSP1 conducted studies about interdisciplinarity and diversity and their relationship with innovation. The scientific background of these means and the research results of CSP1 are outlined in this paper to offer approaches for successful interdisciplinary cooperation management.
Physical interaction with small solar system bodies (SSSB) is key for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The design of mining missions requires good understanding of SSSB properties, including composition, surface and interior structure, and thermal environment. But as the saying goes "If you've seen one asteroid, you've seen one Asteroid": Although some patterns may begin to appear, a stable and reliable scheme of SSSB classification still has to be evolved. Identified commonalities would enable generic ISRU technology and spacecraft design approaches with a high degree of re-use. Strategic approaches require much broader in-depth characterization of the SSSB populations of interest to the ISRU community. The DLR-ESTEC GOSSAMER Roadmap Science Working Groups identified target-flexible Multiple Near-Earth asteroid (NEA) Rendezvous (MNR) as one of the missions only feasible with solar sail propulsion, showed the ability to access any inclination and a wide range of heliocentric distances as well as continuous operation close to Earth's orbit where low delta-v objects reside.
The search for life on Mars and in the Solar System - strategies, logistics and infrastructures
(2018)
The question "Are we alone in the Universe?" is perhaps the most fundamental one that affects mankind. How can we address the search for life in our Solar System? Mars, Enceladus and Europa are the focus of the search for life outside the terrestrial biosphere. While it is more likely to find remnants of life (fossils of extinct life) on Mars because of its past short time window of the surface habitability, it is probably more likely to find traces of extant life on the icy moons and ocean worlds of Jupiter and Saturn. Nevertheless, even on Mars there could still be a chance to find extant life in niches near to the surface or in just discovered subglacial lakes beneath the South Pole ice cap. Here, the different approaches for the detection of traces of life in the form of biosignatures including pre-biotic molecules will be presented. We will outline the required infrastructure for this enterprise and give examples of future mission concepts to investigate the presence of life on other planets and moons. Finally, we will provide suggestions on methods, techniques, operations and strategies for preparation and realization of future life detection missions.
Physical interaction with small solar system bodies (SSSB) is the next step in planetary science, planetary in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), and planetary defense (PD). It requires a broader understanding of the surface properties of the target objects, with particular interest focused on those near Earth. Knowledge of composition, multi-scale surface structure, thermal response, and interior structure is required to design, validate and operate missions addressing these three fields. The current level of understanding is occasionally simplified into the phrase, ”If you’ve seen one asteroid, you’ve seen one asteroid”, meaning that the in-situ characterization of SSSBs has yet to cross the threshold towards a robust and stable scheme of classification. This would enable generic features in spacecraft design, particularly for ISRU and science missions. Currently, it is necessary to characterize any potential target object sufficiently by a dedicated pre-cursor mission to design the mission which then interacts with the object in a complex fashion. To open up strategic approaches, much broader in-depth characterization of potential target objects would be highly desirable. In SSSB science missions, MASCOT-like nano-landers and instrument carriers which integrate at the instrument level to their mothership have met interest. By its size, MASCOT is compatible with small interplanetary missions. The DLR-ESTEC Gossamer Roadmap Science Working Groups‘ studies identified Multiple Near-Earth asteroid (NEA) Rendezvous (MNR) as one of the space science missions only feasible with solar sail propulsion. The Solar Polar Orbiter (SPO) study showed the ability to access any inclination, theDisplaced-L1 (DL1) mission operates close to Earth, where objects of interest to PD and for ISRU reside. Other studies outline the unique capability of solar sails to provide access to all SSSB, at least within the orbit of Jupiter, and significant progress has been made to explore the performance envelope of near-term solar sails for MNR. However, it is difficult for
sailcraft to interact physically with a SSSB. We expand and extend the philosophy of the recently qualified DLR Gossamer solar sail deployment technology using efficient multiple sub-spacecraft integration to also include landers for one-way in-situ investigations and sample-return missions by synergetic integration and operation of sail and lander. The MASCOT design concept and its characteristic features have created an ideal counterpart for thisand has already been adapted to the needs of the AIM spacecraft, former part of the NASA-ESA AIDA missionDesigning the 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen, Germany, 1-5 October 2018. IAC-18-F1.2.3 Page 2 of 17 combined spacecraft for piggy-back launch accommodation enables low-cost massively parallel access to the NEA population.
This paper introduces a Competence Developing Game (CDG) for the purpose of a cybersecurity awareness training for businesses. The target audience will be discussed in detail to understand their requirements. It will be explained why and how a mix of business simulation and serious game meets these stakeholder requirements. It will be shown that a tablet and touchscreen based approach is the most suitable solution. In addition, an empirical study will be briefly presented. The study was carried out to examine how an interaction system for a 3D-tablet based CDG has to be designed, to be manageable for non-game experienced employees. Furthermore, it will be explained which serious content is necessary for a Cybersecurity awareness training CDG and how this content is wrapped in the game
During the development of a Competence Developing Game’s (CDG) story it is indispensable to understand the target audience. Thereby, CDGs stories represent more than just the plot. The Story is about the
Setting, the Characters and the Plot. As a toolkit to support the
development of such a story, this paper introduces the UserFocused Storybuilding (short UFoS) Framework for CDGs. The Framework and its utilization will be explained, followed by a description of its development and derivation, including an empirical study. In addition, to simplify the Framework use regarding the CDG’s target audience, a new concept of Nine Psychographic Player Types will be explained. This concept of Player Types provides an approach to handle the differences in between players during the UFoS Framework use. Thereby,
this article presents a unique approach to the development of
target group-differentiated CDGs stories.
Resilience as a concept has found its way into different disciplines to describe the ability of an individual or system to withstand and adapt to changes in its environment. In this paper, we provide an overview of the concept in different communities and extend it to the area of mechanical engineering. Furthermore, we present metrics to measure resilience in technical systems and illustrate them by applying them to load-carrying structures. By giving application examples from the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 805, we show how the concept of resilience can be used to control uncertainty during different stages of product life.
The UN sets the goal to ensure access to water and sanitation for all people by 2030. To address this goal, we present a multidisciplinary approach for designing water supply networks for slums in large cities by applying mathematical optimization. The problem is modeled as a mixed-integer linear problem (MILP) aiming to find a network describing the optimal supply infrastructure. To illustrate the approach, we apply it on a small slum cluster in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The energy-efficiency of technical systems can be improved by a systematic design approach. Technical Operations Research (TOR) employs methods known from Operations Research to find a global optimal layout and operation strategy of technical systems. We show the practical usage of this approach by the systematic design of a decentralized water supply system for skyscrapers. All possible network options and operation strategies are modeled by a Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Program. We present the optimal system found by our approach and highlight the energy savings compared to a conventional system design.
The overall energy efficiency of ventilation systems can be improved by considering not only single components, but by considering as well the interplay between every part of the system. With the help of the method "TOR" ("Technical Operations Research"), which was developed at the Chair of Fluid Systems at TU Darmstadt, it is possible to improve the energy efficiency of the whole system by considering all possible design choices programmatically. We show the ability of this systematic design approach with a ventilation system for buildings as a use case example.
Based on a Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Program (MINLP) we model the ventilation system. We use binary variables to model the selection of different pipe diameters. Multiple fans are model with the help of scaling laws. The whole system is represented by a graph, where the edges represent the pipes and fans and the nodes represents the source of air for cooling and the sinks, that have to be cooled. At the beginning, the human designer chooses a construction kit of different suitable fans and pipes of different diameters and different load cases. These boundary conditions define a variety of different possible system topologies. It is not possible to consider all topologies by hand. With the help of state of the art solvers, on the other side, it is possible to solve this MINLP.
Next to this, we also consider the effects of malfunctions in different components. Therefore, we show a first approach to measure the resilience of the shown example use case. Further, we compare the conventional approach with designs that are more resilient. These more resilient designs are derived by extending the before mentioned model with further constraints, that consider explicitly the resilience of the overall system. We show that it is possible to design resilient systems with this method already in the early design stage and compare the energy efficiency and resilience of these different system designs.
Highly competitive markets paired with tremendous production volumes demand particularly cost efficient products. The usage of common parts and modules across product families can potentially reduce production costs. Yet, increasing commonality typically results in overdesign of individual products. Multi domain virtual prototyping enables designers to evaluate costs and technical feasibility of different single product designs at reasonable computational effort in early design phases. However, savings by platform commonality are hard to quantify and require detailed knowledge of e.g. the production process and the supply chain. Therefore, we present and evaluate a multi-objective metamodel-based optimization algorithm which enables designers to explore the trade-off between high commonality and cost optimal design of single products.
To increase pressure to supply all floors of high buildings with water, booster stations, normally consisting of several parallel pumps in the basement, are used. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of a decentralized pump topology regarding energy savings in water supply systems of skyscrapers. We present an approach, based on Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming, that allows to choose an optimal network topology and optimal pumps from a predefined construction kit comprising different pump types. Using domain-specific scaling laws and Latin Hypercube Sampling, we generate different input sets of pump types and compare their impact on the efficiency and cost of the total system design. As a realistic application example, we consider a hotel building with 325 rooms, 12 floors and up to four pressure zones.
Given industrial applications, the costs for the operation and maintenance of a pump system typically far exceed its purchase price. For finding an optimal pump configuration which minimizes not only investment, but life-cycle costs, methods like Technical Operations Research which is based on Mixed-Integer Programming can be applied. However, during the planning phase, the designer is often faced with uncertain input data, e.g. future load demands can only be estimated. In this work, we deal with this uncertainty by developing a chance-constrained two-stage (CCTS) stochastic program. The design and operation of a booster station working under uncertain load demand are optimized to minimize total cost including purchase price, operation cost incurred by energy consumption and penalty cost resulting from water shortage. We find optimized system layouts using a sample average approximation (SAA) algorithm, and analyze the results for different risk levels of water shortage. By adjusting the risk level, the costs and performance range of the system can be balanced, and thus the
system’s resilience can be engineered
On obligations in the development process of resilient systems with algorithmic design methods
(2018)
Advanced computational methods are needed both for the design of large systems and to compute high accuracy solutions. Such methods are efficient in computation, but the validation of results is very complex, and highly skilled auditors are needed to verify them. We investigate legal questions concerning obligations in the development phase, especially for technical systems developed using advanced methods. In particular, we consider methods of resilient and robust optimization. With these techniques, high performance solutions can be found, despite a high variety of input parameters. However, given the novelty of these methods, it is uncertain whether legal obligations are being met. The aim of this paper is to discuss if and how the choice of a specific computational method affects the developer’s product liability. The review of legal obligations in this paper is based on German law and focuses on the requirements that must be met during the design and development process.
Ensuring access to water and sanitation for all is Goal No. 6 of the 17 UN Sustainability Development Goals to transform our world. As one step towards this goal, we present an approach that leverages remote sensing data to plan optimal water supply networks for informal urban settlements. The concept focuses on slums within large urban areas, which are often characterized by a lack of an appropriate water supply. We apply methods of mathematical optimization aiming to find a network describing the optimal supply infrastructure. Hereby, we choose between different decentral and central approaches combining supply by motorized vehicles with supply by pipe systems. For the purposes of illustration, we apply the approach to two small slum clusters in Dhaka and Dar es Salaam. We show our optimization results, which represent the lowest cost water supply systems possible. Additionally, we compare the optimal solutions of the two clusters (also for varying input parameters, such as population densities and slum size development over time) and describe how the result of the optimization depends on the entered remote sensing data.
Around 60% of the paper worldwide is made from recovered paper. Especially adhesive contaminants, so called stickies, reduce paper quality. To remove stickies but at the same time keep as many valuable fibers as possible, multi-stage screening systems with several interconnected pressure screens are used. When planning such systems, suitable screens have to be selected and their interconnection as well as operational parameters have to be defined considering multiple conflicting objectives. In this contribution, we present a Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Program to optimize system layout, component selection and operation to find a suitable trade-off between output quality and yield.
Algorithmic design and resilience assessment of energy efficient high-rise water supply systems
(2018)
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.
Frequency Dependent Impedance Analysis of the Foundation-Soil-Systems of Onshore Wind Turbines
(2018)
Seismic design of buried pipeline systems for energy and water supply is not only important for plant and operational safety but also for the maintenance of the supply infrastructure after an earthquake. The present paper shows special issues of the seismic wave impacts on buried pipelines, describes calculation methods, proposes approaches and gives calculation examples. This paper regards the effects of transient displacement differences and resulting tensions within the pipeline due to the wave propagation of the earthquake. However, the presented model can also be used to calculate fault rupture induced displacements. Based on a three-dimensional Finite Element Model parameter studies are performed to show the influence of several parameters such as incoming wave angle, wave velocity, backfill height and synthetic displacement time histories. The interaction between the pipeline and the surrounding soil is modeled with non-linear soil springs and the propagating wave is simulated affecting the pipeline punctually, independently in time and space. Special attention is given to long-distance heat pipeline systems. Here, in regular distances expansion bends are arranged to ensure movements of the pipeline due to high temperature. Such expansion bends are usually designed with small bending radii, which during the earthquake lead to high bending stresses in the cross-section of the pipeline. Finally, an interpretation of the results and recommendations are given for the most critical parameters.
The Effect of Openings on Out-of-Plane Capacity of Masonry Infilled Reinforced Concrete Frames
(2018)
Reinforced concrete (RC) frames with masonry infills are frequently used in seismic regions all over the world. Generally masonry infills are considered as nonstructural elements and thus are typically neglected in the design process. However, the observations made after strong earthquakes have shown that masonry infills can modify the dynamic behavior of the structure significantly. The consequences were total collapses of buildings and loss of human lives. This paper presents the new system INODIS (Innovative Decoupled Infill System) developed within the European research project INSYSME (Innovative Systems for Earthquake Resistant Masonry Enclosures in RC Buildings). INODIS decouples the frame and the masonry infill by means of special U-shaped rubbers placed in between frame and infill. The effectiveness of the system was investigated by means of full scale tests on RC frames with masonry infills subjected to in-plane and out-of-plane loading. Furthermore small specimen tests were conducted to determine material characteristics of the components and the resistances of the connections. Finally, a micromodel was developed to simulate the in-plane behavior of RC frames infilled with AAC blocks with and without installation of the INODIS system.
The article presents the investigation of the seismic behaviour of a modern URM building located in the municipality of Finale Emilia in province of Modena, Northern Italy. The building is situated in the centre of the series of the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes and has not suffered any damage during the earthquake series in 2012. The observed earthquake resistance of the building is compared with predicted resistances based on linear and nonlinear design approaches according to Eurocode. Furthermore, probabilistic analyses based on nonlinear calculation models taking into account scattering of the most relevant input parameters are carried out to identify their influence to the results and to derive fragility curves.
In recent years, many onshore wind turbines are erected in seismic active regions and on soils with poor load bearing capacity, where pile grids are inevitable to transfer the loads into the ground. In this contribution, a realistic multi pile grid is designed to analyze the dynamics of a wind turbine tower including frequency dependent soil-structure-interaction. It turns out that different foundations on varying soil configurations heavily influence the vibration response. While the vibration amplitude is mostly attenuated, certain unfavorable combinations of structure and soil parameters lead to amplification in the range of the system's natural frequencies. This testifies the need for overall dynamic analysis in the assessment of the dynamic stability and the holistic frequency tuning of the turbines.
Impaired cerebral autoregulation and neurovascular coupling (NVC) contribute to delayed cerebral ischemia after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Retinal vessel analysis (RVA) allows non-invasive assessment of vessel dimension and NVC hereby demonstrating a predictive value in the context of various neurovascular diseases. Using RVA as a translational approach, we aimed to assess the retinal vessels in patients with SAH. RVA was performed prospectively in 24 patients with acute SAH (group A: day 5–14), in 11 patients 3 months after ictus (group B: day 90 ± 35), and in 35 age-matched healthy controls (group C). Data was acquired using a Retinal Vessel Analyzer (Imedos Systems UG, Jena) for examination of retinal vessel dimension and NVC using flicker-light excitation. Diameter of retinal vessels—central retinal arteriolar and venular equivalent—was significantly reduced in the acute phase (p < 0.001) with gradual improvement in group B (p < 0.05). Arterial NVC of group A was significantly impaired with diminished dilatation (p < 0.001) and reduced area under the curve (p < 0.01) when compared to group C. Group B showed persistent prolonged latency of arterial dilation (p < 0.05). Venous NVC was significantly delayed after SAH compared to group C (A p < 0.001; B p < 0.05). To our knowledge, this is the first clinical study to document retinal vasoconstriction and impairment of NVC in patients with SAH. Using non-invasive RVA as a translational approach, characteristic patterns of compromise were detected for the arterial and venous compartment of the neurovascular unit in a time-dependent fashion. Recruitment will continue to facilitate a correlation analysis with clinical course and outcome.
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.
Manufacturing process simulation (MPS) has become more and more important for aviation and the automobile industry. A highly competitive market requires the use of high performance metals and composite materials in combination with reduced manufacturing cost and time as well as a minimization of the time to market for a new product. However, the use of such materials is expensive and requires sophisticated manufacturing processes. An experience based process and tooling design followed by a lengthy trial-and-error optimization is just not contemporary anymore. Instead, a tooling design process aided by simulation is used more often. This paper provides an overview of the capabilities of MPS in the fields of sheet metal forming and prepreg autoclave manufacturing of composite parts summarizing the resulting benefits for tooling design and manufacturing engineering. The simulation technology is explained briefly in order to show several simplification and optimization techniques for developing industrialized simulation approaches. Small case studies provide examples of an efficient application on an industrial scale.
In this paper, a coupled multiphase model considering both non-linearities of water retention curves and solid state modeling is proposed. The solid displacements and the pressures of both water and air phases are unknowns of the proposed model. The finite element method is used to solve the governing differential equations. The proposed method is demonstrated through simulation of seepage test and partially consolidation problem. Then, implementation of the model is done by using hypoplasticity for the solid phase and analyzing the fully saturated triaxial experiments. In integration of the constitutive law error controlling is improved and comparisons done accordingly. In this work, the advantages and limitations of the numerical model are discussed.
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are used as therapeutic and diagnostic agents for local delivery of heat and image contrast enhancement in diseased tissue. Besides magnetization, the most important parameter that determines their performance for these applications is their magnetic relaxation, which can be affected when MNPs immobilize and agglomerate inside tissues. In this letter, we investigate different MNP agglomeration states for their magnetic relaxation properties under excitation in alternating fields and relate this to their heating efficiency and imaging properties. With focus on magnetic fluid hyperthermia, two different trends in MNP heating efficiency are measured: an increase by up to 23% for agglomerated MNP in suspension and a decrease by up to 28% for mixed states of agglomerated and immobilized MNP, which indicates that immobilization is the dominant effect. The same comparatively moderate effects are obtained for the signal amplitude in magnetic particle spectroscopy.
Many efforts are made worldwide to establish magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) as a treatment for organ-confined tumors. However, translation to clinical application hardly succeeds as it still lacks of understanding the mechanisms determining MFH cytotoxic effects. Here, we investigate the intracellular MFH efficacy with respect to different parameters and assess the intracellular cytotoxic effects in detail. For this, MiaPaCa-2 human pancreatic tumor cells and L929 murine fibroblasts were loaded with iron-oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) and exposed to MFH for either 30 min or 90 min. The resulting cytotoxic effects were assessed via clonogenic assay. Our results demonstrate that cell damage depends not only on the obvious parameters bulk temperature and duration of treatment, but most importantly on cell type and thermal energy deposited per cell during MFH treatment. Tumor cell death of 95% was achieved by depositing an intracellular total thermal energy with about 50% margin to damage of healthy cells. This is attributed to combined intracellular nanoheating and extracellular bulk heating. Tumor cell damage of up to 86% was observed for MFH treatment without perceptible bulk temperature rise. Effective heating decreased by up to 65% after MNP were internalized inside cells.
Suspension depletion approach for exemption of infected Solanum jasminoides cells from pospiviroids
(2018)
Despite numerous studies, viroid elimination from infected plants remains a very challenging task. This study introduces for the first time a novel ‘suspension depletion’ approach for exemption of Solanum jasminoides plants from viroids. The proposed method implies initial establishment of suspension cultures of the infected plant cells. The suspended cells were then physically treated (mild thermotherapy, 33 °C), which presumably delayed the replication of the viroid. The viroid concentration in the treated biomass was monitored weekly using pospiviroid-specific PCR. After 10–12 weeks of continuous treatment, a sufficient decrease in viroid concentration was observed such that the infection became undetectable by PCR. The treated single cells then gave rise to microcolonies on a solid culture medium and the obtained viroid-negative clones were further promoted to regenerate into viroid-free plants. Three years of accumulated experimental data suggests feasibility, broad applicability, and good efficacy of the proposed approach.
In energy economy forecasts of different time series are rudimentary. In this study, a prediction for the German day-ahead spot market is created with Apache Spark and R. It is just an example for many different applications in virtual power plant environments. Other examples of use as intraday price processes, load processes of machines or electric vehicles, real time energy loads of photovoltaic systems and many more time series need to be analysed and predicted.
This work gives a short introduction into the project where this study is settled. It describes the time series methods that are used in energy industry for forecasts shortly. As programming technique Apache Spark, which is a strong cluster computing technology, is utilised. Today, single time series can be predicted. The focus of this work is on developing a method to parallel forecasting, to process multiple time series simultaneously with R and Apache Spark.
The Carologistics team participates in the RoboCup Logistics League for the seventh year. The RCLL requires precise vision,
manipulation and path planning, as well as complex high-level decision
making and multi-robot coordination. We outline our approach with an
emphasis on recent modifications to those components.
The team members in 2018 are David Bosen, Christoph Gollok, Mostafa
Gomaa, Daniel Habering, Till Hofmann, Nicolas Limpert, Sebastian Schönitz,
Morian Sonnet, Carsten Stoffels, and Tarik Viehmann.
This paper is based on the last year’s team description.
We present and discuss an exploration of the possibilities and properties of 3D printing with a printing space of 1 cubic meter, and how those can be integrated into architectural education through an experimental design and research course with students of architecture.We expand on issues presented at the eCAADe conference 2017 in Rome [Ref 6] by increasing the complexity and size of our prints, printing not a model to scale, but a full scale funtional prototype of a usable architectural object: A coffee bar.
To train end users how to interact with digital systems is indispensable to ensure a strong computer security. 'Competence Developing Game'-based approaches are particularly suitable for this purpose because of their motivation-and simulation-aspects. In this paper the Competence Developing Game 'GHOST' for cybersecurity awareness trainings and its underlying patterns are described. Accordingly, requirements for an 'Competence Developing Game' based training are discussed. Based on these requirements it is shown how a game can fulfill these requirements. A supplementary game interaction design and a corresponding evaluation study is shown. The combination of training requirements and interaction design is used to create a 'Competence Developing Game'-based training concept. A part of these concept is implemented into a playable prototype that serves around one hour of play respectively training time. This prototype is used to perform an evaluation of the game and training aspects of the awareness training. Thereby, the quality of the game aspect and the effectiveness of the training aspect are shown.
The quest for life on other planets is closely connected with the search for water in liquid state. Recent discoveries of deep oceans on icy moons like Europa and Enceladus have spurred an intensive discussion about how these waters can be accessed. The challenge of this endeavor lies in the unforeseeable requirements on instrumental characteristics both with respect to the scientific and technical methods. The TRIPLE/nanoAUV initiative is aiming at developing a mission concept for exploring exo-oceans and demonstrating the achievements in an earth-analogue context, exploring the ocean under the ice shield of Antarctica and lakes like Dome-C on the Antarctic continent.
In this paper the results of a techno-economic analysis of improved and optimized molten salt solar tower plants (MSSTP plants) are presented. The potential improvements that were analyzed include different receiver designs, different designs of the HTF-system and plant control, increased molten salt temperatures (up to 640°C) and multi-tower systems. Detailed technological and economic models of the solar field, solar receiver and high temperature fluid system (HTF-system) were developed and used to find potential improvements compared to a reference plant based on Solar Two technology and up-to-date cost estimations. The annual yield model calculates the annual outputs and the LCOE of all variants. An improved external tubular receiver and improved HTF-system achieves a significant decrease of LCOE compared to the reference. This is caused by lower receiver cost as well as improvements of the HTF-system and plant operation strategy, significantly reducing the plant own consumption. A novel star receiver shows potential for further cost decrease. The cavity receiver concepts result in higher LCOE due to their high investment cost, despite achieving higher efficiencies. Increased molten salt temperatures seem possible with an adapted, closed loop HTF-system and achieve comparable results to the original improved system (with 565°C) under the given boundary conditions. In this analysis all multi tower systems show lower economic viability compared to single tower systems, caused by high additional cost for piping connections and higher cost of the receivers.
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Motivation-based Learning: Teaching Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering with an LED Spinning Top
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The pharmacokinetics and metabolism of diclofenac in chimeric humanized and murinized FRG mice
(2018)
The pharmacokinetics of diclofenac were investigated following single oral doses of 10 mg/kg to chimeric liver humanized and murinized FRG and C57BL/6 mice. In addition, the metabolism and excretion were investigated in chimeric liver humanized and murinized FRG mice. Diclofenac reached maximum blood concentrations of 2.43 ± 0.9 µg/mL (n = 3) at 0.25 h post-dose with an AUCinf of 3.67 µg h/mL and an effective half-life of 0.86 h (n = 2). In the murinized animals, maximum blood concentrations were determined as 3.86 ± 2.31 µg/mL at 0.25 h post-dose with an AUCinf of 4.94 ± 2.93 µg h/mL and a half-life of 0.52 ± 0.03 h (n = 3). In C57BL/6J mice, mean peak blood concentrations of 2.31 ± 0.53 µg/mL were seen 0.25 h post-dose with a mean AUCinf of 2.10 ± 0.49 µg h/mL and a half-life of 0.51 ± 0.49 h (n = 3). Analysis of blood indicated only trace quantities of drug-related material in chimeric humanized and murinized FRG mice. Metabolic profiling of urine, bile and faecal extracts revealed a complex pattern of metabolites for both humanized and murinized animals with, in addition to unchanged parent drug, a variety of hydroxylated and conjugated metabolites detected. The profiles in humanized mice were different to those of both murinized and wild-type animals, e.g., a higher proportion of the dose was detected in the form of acyl glucuronide metabolites and much reduced amounts as taurine conjugates. Comparison of the metabolic profiles obtained from the present study with previously published data from C57BL/6J mice and humans revealed a greater, though not complete, match between chimeric humanized mice and humans, such that the liver humanized FRG model may represent a model for assessing the biotransformation of such compounds in humans.
Slot die coating is applied to deposit thin and homogenous films in roll-to-roll and sheet-to-sheet applications. The critical step in operation is to choose suitable process parameters within the process window. In this work, we investigate an upper limit for stripe coatings. This maximum film thickness is characterized by stripe merging which needs to be avoided in a stable process. It is shown that the upper limit reduces the process window for stripe coatings to a major extent. As a result, stripe coatings at large coating gaps and low viscosities are only possible for relatively thick films. Explaining the upper limit, a theory of balancing the side pressure in the gap region in the cross-web direction has been developed.
BACKGROUND: Muscle stretch reflexes are widely considered to beneficially influence joint stability and power generation in the lower limbs. While in the upper limbs and especially in the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint such evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To quantify the electromyographical response in the muscles crossing the shoulder of specifically trained overhead athletes to an anterior perturbation force. METHODS: Twenty healthy male participants performed six sets of different external shoulder rotation stretches on an isokinetic dynamometer over a range of amplitudes and muscle pre-activation moment levels. All stretches were applied with a dynamometer acceleration of 10,000∘/s2 and a velocity of 150∘/s. Electromyographical response was measured via sEMG. RESULTS: Consistent reflexes were not observed in all experimental conditions. The reflex latencies revealed a significant muscle main effect (F (2,228) = 99.31, p< 0.001; η2= 0.466; f= 0.934) and a pre-activation main effect (F (1,228) = 142.21, p< 0.001; η2= 0.384; f= 1.418). The stretch reflex amplitude yielded a significant pre-activation main effect (F (1,222) = 470.373, p< 0.001; η2= 0.679; f= 1.454). CONCLUSION: Short latency muscle reflexes showed a tendency to an anterior to posterior muscle recruitment whereby the main internal rotator muscles of the shoulder revealed the most consistent results.
After a liver tumor intervention the medical doctor has to compare both pre and postoperative CT acquisitions to ensure that all carcinogenic cells are destroyed. A correct assessment of the intervention is of vital importance, since it will reduce the probability of tumor recurrence. Some methods have been proposed to support the medical doctors during the assessment process, however, all of them focus on secondary tumors. In this paper a tool is presented that enables the outcome validation for both primary and secondary tumors. Therefore, a multiphase registration (preoperative arterial and portal phases) followed by a registration between the pre and postoperative CT images is carried out. The first registration is in charge of the primary tumors that are only visible in the arterial phase. The secondary tumors will be incorporated in the second registration step. Finally, the part of the tumor that was not covered by the necrosis is quantified and visualized. The method has been tested in 9 patients, with an average registration error of 1.41 mm.
Rare event simulation to optimise maintenance intervals of safety critical redundant subsystems
(2018)
For smaller railway operators or those with a diverse fleet, it can be difficult to collect sufficient data to improve maintenance programs. At the same time, new rules such as entity in charge of maintenance – ECM – regulations impose an additional workload by requiring a dedicated maintenance management system and specific reports. The RailCrowd platform sets out to facilitate compliance with ECM and similar regulations while at the same time pooling anonymised fleet data across operators to form virtual fleets, providing greater data insights.
Sensor positioning and thermal model for condition monitoring of pressure gas reservoirs in vehicles
(2018)
Retrofitting of existing parabolic trough collector power plants with molten salt tower systems
(2018)
Impact of electric propulsion technology and mission requirements on the performance of VTOL UAVs
(2018)
One of the engineering challenges in aviation is the design of transitioning vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Thrust-borne flight implies a higher mass fraction of the propulsion system, as well as much increased energy consumption in the take-off and landing phases. This mass increase is typically higher for aircraft with a separate lift propulsion system than for aircraft that use the cruise propulsion system to support a dedicated lift system. However, for a cost–benefit trade study, it is necessary to quantify the impact the VTOL requirement and propulsion configuration has on aircraft mass and size. For this reason, sizing studies are conducted. This paper explores the impact of considering a supplemental electric propulsion system for achieving hovering flight. Key variables in this study, apart from the lift system configuration, are the rotor disk loading and hover flight time, as well as the electrical systems technology level for both batteries and motors. Payload and endurance are typically used as the measures of merit for unmanned aircraft that carry electro-optical sensors, and therefore the analysis focuses on these particular parameters.
A future bio-economy should not only be based on renewable raw materials but also in the raise of carbon yields of existing production routes. Microbial electrochemical technologies are gaining increased attention for this purpose. In this study, the electro-fermentative production of biobutanol with C. acetobutylicum without the use of exogenous mediators is investigated regarding the medium composition and the reactor design. It is shown that the use of an optimized synthetic culture medium allows higher product concentrations, increased biofilm formation, and higher conductivities compared to a synthetic medium supplemented with yeast extract. Moreover, the optimization of the reactor system results in a doubling of the maximum product concentrations for fermentation products. When a working electrode is polarized at −600 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, a shift from butyrate to acetone and butanol production is induced. This leads to an increased final solvent yield of Yᴀᴃᴇ = 0.202 gg⁻¹ (control 0.103 gg⁻¹), which is also reflected in a higher carbon efficiency of 37.6% compared to 23.3% (control) as well as a fourfold decrease in simplified E-factor to 0.43. The results are promising for further development of biobutanol production in bioelectrochemical systems in order to fulfil the principles of Green Chemistry.
BACKGROUND
Immunosuppression is often considered as an indication for antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent surgical site infections (SSI) while performing skin surgery. However, the data on the risk of developing SSI after dermatologic surgery in immunosuppressed patients are limited.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
All patients of the Department of Dermatology and Allergology at the University Hospital of RWTH Aachen in Aachen, Germany, who underwent hospitalization for a dermatologic surgery between June 2016 and January 2017 (6 months), were followed up after surgery until completion of the wound healing process. The follow-up addressed the occurrence of SSI and the need for systemic antibiotics after the operative procedure. Immunocompromised patients were compared with immunocompetent patients. The investigation was conducted as a retrospective analysis of patient records.
RESULTS
The authors performed 284 dermatologic surgeries in 177 patients. Nineteen percent (54/284) of the skin surgery was performed on immunocompromised patients. The most common indications for surgical treatment were nonmelanoma skin cancer and malignant melanomas. Surgical site infections occurred in 6.7% (19/284) of the cases. In 95% (18/19), systemic antibiotic treatment was needed. Twenty-one percent of all SSI (4/19) were seen in immunosuppressed patients.
CONCLUSION
According to the authors' data, immunosuppression does not represent a significant risk factor for SSI after dermatologic surgery. However, larger prospective studies are needed to make specific recommendations on the use of antibiotic prophylaxis while performing skin surgery in these patients.
The available data on complications after dermatologic surgery have improved over the past years. Particularly, additional risk factors have been identified for surgical site infections (SSI). Purulent surgical sites, older age, involvement of head, neck, and acral regions, and also the involvement of less experienced surgeons have been reported to increase the risk of the SSI after dermatologic surgeries.1 In general, the incidence of SSI after skin surgery is considered to be low.1,2 However, antibiotics in dermatologic surgeries, especially in the perioperative setting, seem to be overused,3,4 particularly regarding developing antibiotic resistances and side effects.
Immunosuppression has been recommended to be taken into consideration as an additional indication for antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent SSI after skin surgery in special cases.5,6 However, these recommendations do not specify the exact dermatologic surgeries, and were not specifically developed for dermatologic surgery patients and treatments, but adopted from other surgical fields.6 According to the survey conducted on American College of Mohs Surgery members in 2012, 13% to 29% of the surgeons administered antibiotic prophylaxis to immunocompromised patients to prevent SSI while performing dermatologic surgery on noninfected skin,3 although this was not recommended by Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Advisory Statement. Indeed, the data on the risk of developing SSI after dermatologic surgery in immunosuppressed patients are limited. However, it is possible that due to the insufficient evidence on the risk of SSI occurrence in this patient group, dermatologic surgeons tend to overuse perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis.
To make specific recommendations on the use of antibiotic prophylaxis in immunosuppressed patients in the field of skin surgery, more information about the incidence of SSI after dermatologic surgery in these patients is needed. The aim of this study was to fill this data gap by investigating whether there is an increased risk of SSI after skin surgery in immunocompromised patients compared with immunocompetent patients.
For fuel flexibility enhancement hydrogen represents a possible alternative gas turbine fuel within future low emission power generation, in case of hydrogen production by the use of renewable energy sources such as wind energy or biomass. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) has research and development projects for future hydrogen society; production of hydrogen gas, refinement and liquefaction for transportation and storage, and utilization with gas turbine / gas engine for the generation of electricity. In the development of hydrogen gas turbines, a key technology is the stable and low NOx hydrogen combustion, especially Dry Low Emission (DLE) or Dry Low NOx (DLN) hydrogen combustion. 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 DLE hydrogen combustion. Thus, the development of DLE hydrogen combustion technologies is an essential and challenging task for the future of hydrogen fueled gas turbines. The DLE Micro-Mix combustion principle for hydrogen fuel has been in development for many years 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 flashback and the low NOx-emissions due to a very short residence time of the reactants in the flame region of the micro-flames.
On the flight performance impact of landing gear drag reduction methods for unmanned air vehicles
(2018)
The flight performance impact of three different landing gear configurations on a small, fixed-wing UAV is analyzed with a combination of RANS CFD calculations and an incremental flight performance algorithm. A standard fixed landing gear configuration is taken as a baseline, while the influence of retracting the landing gear or applying streamlined fairings is investigated. A retraction leads to a significant parasite drag reduction, while also fairings promise large savings. The increase in lift-to-drag ratio is reduced at high lift coefficients due to the influence of induced drag. All configurations are tested on three different design missions with an incremental flight performance algorithm. A trade-off study is performed using the retracted or faired landing gear's weight increase as a variable. The analysis reveals only small mission performance gains as the aerodynamic improvements are negated by weight penalties. A new workflow for decision-making is presented that allows to estimate if a change in landing gear configuration is beneficial for a small UAV.
Background
Impairment of neurovascular coupling (NVC) was recently reported in the context of subarachnoid hemorrhage and may correlate with disease severity and outcome. However, previous techniques to evaluate NVC required invasive procedures. Retinal vessels may represent an alternative option for non-invasive assessment of NVC.
Methods
A prototype of an adapted retinal vessel analyzer was used to assess retinal vessel diameter in mice. Dynamic vessel analysis (DVA) included an application of monochromatic flicker light impulses in predefined frequencies for evaluating NVC. All retinae were harvested after DVA and electroretinograms were performed.
Results
A total of 104 retinal scans were conducted in 21 male mice (90 scans). Quantitative arterial recordings were feasible only in a minority of animals, showing an emphasized reaction to flicker light impulses (8 mice; 14 scans). A characteristic venous response to flicker light, however, could observed in the majority of animals. Repeated measurements resulted in a significant decrease of baseline venous diameter (7 mice; 7 scans, p < 0.05). Ex-vivo electroretinograms, performed after in-vivo DVA, demonstrated a significant reduction of transretinal signaling in animals with repeated DVA (n = 6, p < 0.001).
Conclusions
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first non-invasive study assessing murine retinal vessel response to flicker light with characteristic changes in NVC. The imaging system can be used for basic research and enables the investigation of retinal vessel dimension and function in control mice and genetically modified animals.
The light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) and scanning photo-induced impedance microscopy (SPIM) are two closely related methods to visualise the distributions of chemical species and impedance, respectively, at the interface between the sensing surface and the sample solution. They both have the same field-effect structure based on a semiconductor, which allows spatially resolved and label-free measurement of chemical species and impedance in the form of a photocurrent signal generated by a scanning light beam. In this article, the principles and various operation modes of LAPS and SPIM, functionalisation of the sensing surface for measuring various species, LAPS-based chemical imaging and high-resolution sensors based on silicon-on-sapphire substrates are described and discussed, focusing on their technical details and prospective applications.
Algal polysaccharides (extracellular polysaccharides) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were adsorbed on dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide Langmuir monolayers to serve as a matrix for the incorporation of urease. The physicochemical properties of the supramolecular system as a monolayer at the air–water interface were investigated by surface pressure–area isotherms, surface potential–area isotherms, interfacial shear rheology, vibrational spectroscopy, and Brewster angle microscopy. The floating monolayers were transferred to hydrophilic solid supports, quartz, mica, or capacitive electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor (EIS) devices, through the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique, forming mixed films, which were investigated by quartz crystal microbalance, fluorescence spectroscopy, and field emission gun scanning electron microscopy. The enzyme activity was studied with UV–vis spectroscopy, and the feasibility of the thin film as a urea sensor was essayed in an EIS sensor device. The presence of CNT in the enzyme–lipid LB film not only tuned the catalytic activity of urease but also helped to conserve its enzyme activity. Viability as a urease sensor was demonstrated with capacitance–voltage and constant capacitance measurements, exhibiting regular and distinctive output signals over all concentrations used in this work. These results are related to the synergism between the compounds on the active layer, leading to a surface morphology that allowed fast analyte diffusion owing to an adequate molecular accommodation, which also preserved the urease activity. This work demonstrates the feasibility of employing LB films composed of lipids, CNT, algal polysaccharides, and enzymes as EIS devices for biosensing applications.
Monitoring of organic acids (OA) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) is crucial for the control of anaerobic digestion. In case of unstable process conditions, an accumulation of these intermediates occurs. In the present work, two different enzyme-based biosensor arrays are combined and presented for facile electrochemical determination of several process-relevant analytes. Each biosensor utilizes a platinum sensor chip (14 × 14 mm²) with five individual working electrodes. The OA biosensor enables simultaneous measurement of ethanol, formate, d- and l-lactate, based on a bi-enzymatic detection principle. The second VFA biosensor provides an amperometric platform for quantification of acetate and propionate, mediated by oxidation of hydrogen peroxide. The cross-sensitivity of both biosensors toward potential interferents, typically present in fermentation samples, was investigated. The potential for practical application in complex media was successfully demonstrated in spiked sludge samples collected from three different biogas plants. Thereby, the results obtained by both of the biosensors were in good agreement to the applied reference measurements by photometry and gas chromatography, respectively. The proposed hybrid biosensor system was also used for long-term monitoring of a lab-scale biogas reactor (0.01 m³) for a period of 2 months. In combination with typically monitored parameters, such as gas quality, pH and FOS/TAC (volatile organic acids/total anorganic carbonate), the amperometric measurements of OA and VFA concentration could enhance the understanding of ongoing fermentation processes.
Background
Culture media containing complex compounds like yeast extract or peptone show numerous disadvantages. The chemical composition of the complex compounds is prone to significant variations from batch to batch and quality control is difficult. Therefore, the use of chemically defined media receives more and more attention in commercial fermentations. This concept results in better reproducibility, it simplifies downstream processing of secreted products and enable rapid scale-up. Culturing bacteria with unknown auxotrophies in chemically defined media is challenging and often not possible without an extensive trial-and-error approach. In this study, a respiration activity monitoring system for shake flasks and its recent version for microtiter plates were used to clarify unknown auxotrophic deficiencies in the model organism Bacillus pumilus DSM 18097.
Results
Bacillus pumilus DSM 18097 was unable to grow in a mineral medium without the addition of complex compounds. Therefore, a rich chemically defined minimal medium was tested containing basically all vitamins, amino acids and nucleobases, which are essential ingredients of complex components. The strain was successfully cultivated in this medium. By monitoring of the respiration activity, nutrients were supplemented to and omitted from the rich chemically defined medium in a rational way, thus enabling a systematic and fast determination of the auxotrophic deficiencies. Experiments have shown that the investigated strain requires amino acids, especially cysteine or histidine and the vitamin biotin for growth.
Conclusions
The introduced method allows an efficient and rapid identification of unknown auxotrophic deficiencies and can be used to develop a simple chemically defined tailor-made medium. B. pumilus DSM 18097 was chosen as a model organism to demonstrate the method. However, the method is generally suitable for a wide range of microorganisms. By combining a systematic combinatorial approach based on monitoring the respiration activity with cultivation in microtiter plates, high throughput experiments with high information content can be conducted. This approach facilitates media development, strain characterization and cultivation of fastidious microorganisms in chemically defined minimal media while simultaneously reducing the experimental effort.
False spectra formation in the differential two-channel scheme of the laser Doppler flowmeter
(2018)
Noise in the differential two-channel scheme of a classic laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) instrument was studied. Formation of false spectral components in the output signal due to beating of electrical signals in the differential amplifier was found out. The improved block-diagram of the flowmeter was developed allowing to reduce the noise.
Synthetic mimics of natural high-performance structural materials have shown great and partly unforeseen opportunities for the design of multifunctional materials. For nacre-mimetic nanocomposites, it has remained extraordinarily challenging to make ductile materials with high stretchability at high fractions of reinforcements, which is however of crucial importance for flexible barrier materials. Here, highly ductile and tough nacre-mimetic nanocomposites are presented, by implementing weak, but many hydrogen bonds in a ternary nacre-mimetic system consisting of two polymers (poly(vinyl amine) and poly(vinyl alcohol)) and natural nanoclay (montmorillonite) to provide efficient energy dissipation and slippage at high nanoclay content (50 wt%). Tailored interactions enable exceptional combinations of ductility (close to 50% strain) and toughness (up to 27.5 MJ m⁻³). Extensive stress whitening, a clear sign of high internal dynamics at high internal cohesion, can be observed during mechanical deformation, and the materials can be folded like paper into origami planes without fracture. Overall, the new levels of ductility and toughness are unprecedented in highly reinforced bioinspired nanocomposites and are of critical importance to future applications, e.g., as barrier materials needed for encapsulation and as a printing substrate for flexible organic electronics.
As with most high-velocity free-surface flows, stepped spillway flows become self-aerated when the drop height exceeds a critical value. Due to the step-induced macro-roughness, the flow field becomes more turbulent than on a similar smooth-invert chute. For this reason, cascades are oftentimes used as re-aeration structures in wastewater treatment. However, for stepped spillways as flood release structures downstream of deoxygenated reservoirs, gas transfer is also of crucial significance to meet ecological requirements. Prediction of mass transfer velocities becomes challenging, as the flow regime differs from typical previously studied flow conditions. In this paper, detailed air-water flow measurements are conducted on stepped spillway models with different geometry, with the aim to estimate the specific air-water interface. Re-aeration performances are determined by applying the absorption method. In contrast to earlier studies, the aerated water body is considered a continuous mixture up to a level where 75% air concentration is reached. Above this level, a homogenous surface wave field is considered, which is found to significantly affect the total air-water interface available for mass transfer. Geometrical characteristics of these surface waves are obtained from high-speed camera investigations. The results show that both the mean air concentration and the mean flow velocity have influence on the mass transfer. Finally, an empirical relationship for the mass transfer on stepped spillway models is proposed.
The chemical imaging sensor is a semiconductor-based chemical sensor capable of visualizing pH and ion distributions. The spatial resolution depends on the lateral diffusion of photocarriers generated by illumination of the semiconductor substrate. In this study, two types of optical setups, one based on a bundle of optical fibers and the other based on a binocular tube head, were developed to project a hybrid illumination of a modulated light beam and a ring-shaped constant illumination onto the sensor plate. An improved spatial resolution was realized by the ring-shaped constant illumination, which suppressed lateral diffusion of photocarriers by enhanced recombination due to the increased carrier concentration.
Sleep scoring is a necessary and time-consuming task in sleep studies. In animal models (such as mice) or in humans, automating this tedious process promises to facilitate long-term studies and to promote sleep biology as a data-driven f ield. We introduce a deep neural network model that is able to predict different states of consciousness (Wake, Non-REM, REM) in mice from EEG and EMG recordings with excellent scoring results for out-of-sample data. Predictions are made on epochs of 4 seconds length, and epochs are classified as artifactfree or not. The model architecture draws on recent advances in deep learning and in convolutional neural networks research. In contrast to previous approaches towards automated sleep scoring, our model does not rely on manually defined features of the data but learns predictive features automatically. We expect deep learning models like ours to become widely applied in different fields, automating many repetitive cognitive tasks that were previously difficult to tackle.
In this work, we report on our attempt to design and implement an early introduction to basic robotics principles for children at kindergarten age. One of the main challenges of this effort is to explain complex robotics contents in a way that pre-school children could follow the basic principles and ideas using examples from their world of experience. What sets apart our effort from other work is that part of the lecturing is actually done by a robot itself and that a quiz at the end of the lesson is done using robots as well. The humanoid robot Pepper from Softbank, which is a great platform for human–robot interaction experiments, was used to present a lecture on robotics by reading out the contents to the children making use of its speech synthesis capability. A quiz in a Runaround-game-show style after the lecture activated the children to recap the contents they acquired about how mobile robots work in principle. In this quiz, two LEGO Mindstorm EV3 robots were used to implement a strongly interactive scenario. Besides the thrill of being exposed to a mobile robot that would also react to the children, they were very excited and at the same time very concentrated. We got very positive feedback from the children as well as from their educators. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of only few attempts to use a robot like Pepper not as a tele-teaching tool, but as the teacher itself in order to engage pre-school children with complex robotics contents.