Part of a Book
Refine
Year of publication
Institute
- Fachbereich Medizintechnik und Technomathematik (43)
- Fachbereich Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik (38)
- IfB - Institut für Bioengineering (34)
- Fachbereich Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik (26)
- Fachbereich Energietechnik (25)
- Fachbereich Chemie und Biotechnologie (18)
- Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften (15)
- Solar-Institut Jülich (11)
- Fachbereich Maschinenbau und Mechatronik (8)
- INB - Institut für Nano- und Biotechnologien (8)
Has Fulltext
- no (195) (remove)
Language
- English (195) (remove)
Document Type
- Part of a Book (195) (remove)
Keywords
- Papierkunst (4)
- Wind Tunnel (3)
- Aktionskunst (2)
- Central receiver power plant (2)
- Central receiver system (2)
- Concentrated solar collector (2)
- Concentrated systems (2)
- Engineering optimization (2)
- Flight Test (2)
- Gas turbine (2)
- Pitching Moment (2)
- Seismic design (2)
- Solar concentration (2)
- Wave Drag (2)
- robotic process automation (2)
- 20 fossil-fueled power plants (1)
- 3D printing (1)
- Acceptance tests (1)
- Additive manufacturing (1)
- Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS/AD) (1)
- Aerodynamic Drag (1)
- Analytics (1)
- Autonomous mobile robots (1)
- BEV (1)
- Best practice sharing (1)
- Bioeconomy (1)
- Bioethanol (1)
- Biomolecular logic gate (1)
- Biorefinery (1)
- Biorefinery definitions (1)
- Bladder (1)
- Bone sawing (1)
- Business Models (1)
- Calorimetric gas sensor (1)
- Carsharing (1)
- Certification Rule (1)
- Change culture (1)
- Change management (1)
- Charging stations (1)
- Chemical imaging (1)
- Chimeric liver-humanized mice (1)
- Coat protein (1)
- Coefficient of ocular rigidity (1)
- Cognitive assistance system (1)
- Collaborative robot (1)
- Collagen fibrils (1)
- Components (1)
- Concentrating solar power (1)
- Connective tissues (1)
- Controller Parameter (1)
- Corneo-scleral shell (1)
- Cross-platform (1)
- DNA (1)
- Decentral (1)
- Design examples (1)
- Differential tonometry (1)
- Digital leadership (1)
- Digital manufacturing (1)
- Diversity management (1)
- Drag Reduction (1)
- Drug distribution (1)
- Drug metabolism (1)
- Dry surfaces (1)
- E-carsharing (1)
- E-mobility (1)
- Electrical vehicle (1)
- Energy efficiency (1)
- Engine Efficiency (1)
- Enzyme biosensor (1)
- Enzyme nanocarrier (1)
- Eurocode 8 (1)
- Evacuation Rule (1)
- Evaluation (1)
- Extracellular matrix (ECM) (1)
- Eyeball (1)
- FGF23 (1)
- Field-effect device (1)
- Field-effect sensor (1)
- Fresnel collector (1)
- Fresnel power plant (1)
- Friction Drag (1)
- Fully connected car (1)
- Gamification (1)
- Gearbox (1)
- Global optimization (1)
- Glucose biosensor (1)
- Glucose oxidase (1)
- Gold nanoparticle (1)
- Growth modelling (1)
- Gust wind response (1)
- Higher education (1)
- Human-Robot interaction (1)
- Human-centered work design (1)
- Human-robot collaboration (1)
- Hybridization (1)
- Hydraulic structures (1)
- Hydrogen peroxide (1)
- ISO 26262 (1)
- IT Products (1)
- Ice melting probe (1)
- Ice penetration (1)
- Icy moons (1)
- Illustration (1)
- Inclusive work climate (1)
- Inductive charging (1)
- Industrial units (1)
- Industry 4.0 (1)
- Information and communication technology (1)
- Integrated mobility (1)
- Interactive process mining (1)
- Introduction (1)
- Klotho (1)
- Knockout mice (1)
- Kommunikationsguerrilla (1)
- Leaderboard (1)
- Leading Edge Vortex (1)
- Lean thinking (1)
- Level Control System (1)
- Light-addressable potentiometric sensor (1)
- Lignocellulose feedstook (1)
- Limit analysis (1)
- MINLP (1)
- Mach Number (1)
- Machine learning (1)
- Mars (1)
- Mechanical (1)
- Mechanical simulation (1)
- Mechanical stability (1)
- Methodology (1)
- Microbial adhesion (1)
- Mixed-Methods Research (1)
- Mixed-integer nonlinear black-box optimization (1)
- Mixed-integer nonlinear problem (1)
- Mobile web (1)
- Mobility management (1)
- Multi-criteria optimization (1)
- Multi-robot systems (1)
- Multi-sensor system (1)
- Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (1)
- Multimode failure (1)
- Muscle fibers (1)
- Network (1)
- Niacin (1)
- Noise Exposure (1)
- Non-linear optimization (1)
- Objective data (1)
- Ocean worlds (1)
- On-site (1)
- Open channels (1)
- Optical and thermal analysis (1)
- Optimal Closed Loop (1)
- Optimal Topology (1)
- Optimization (1)
- Organizational culture (1)
- PTH (1)
- PWA (1)
- Paper recycling (1)
- Parabolized Stability Equation (1)
- Passenger compartment (1)
- Passive stretching (1)
- Path planning (1)
- Pelvic floor dysfunction (1)
- Pelvic muscle (1)
- Perception (1)
- Performance measurement (1)
- Phosphate (1)
- Physical modeling (1)
- Plant efficiency (1)
- Potentiometry (1)
- Power conversion systems (1)
- Powertrain (1)
- Pre-treatment (1)
- Pressure-volume relationship (1)
- Privacy (1)
- Process engineering (1)
- Process schemes (1)
- Product Management (1)
- Product family optimization (1)
- Progressive Web App (1)
- Psychological concepts (1)
- Pushover analysis (1)
- Quantitative research (1)
- RWTH Aachen University (1)
- Rapid manufacturing (1)
- Rapid prototyping (1)
- Reconstruction (1)
- Reliability analysis (1)
- Renewable resources (1)
- Response spectrum (1)
- Responsibility (1)
- Riboflavin (1)
- RoboCup (1)
- Robotic process automation (1)
- Safety concept (1)
- Safety of the intended functionality (SOTIF) (1)
- Safety-critical systems validation (1)
- Sampling methods (1)
- Severe Accident (1)
- Shakedown analysis (1)
- Silos (1)
- Similitude (1)
- Smart factory (1)
- Software development (1)
- Software testing (1)
- Solar dish (1)
- Sonic Boom (1)
- Specific Fuel Consumption (1)
- Spectral analysis (1)
- Stadtgestaltung (1)
- Strategic Business Planning (1)
- Streetart (1)
- Students (1)
- Studienarbeit (1)
- Supersonic Flow (1)
- Supersonic Wind Tunnel (1)
- Surface microorganisms (1)
- Swabbing (1)
- Tanks (1)
- Tapered ends (1)
- Technical Operation Research (1)
- Technology Challenge (1)
- Thermal Fatigue Testing (1)
- Thermal comfort (1)
- Thermal management (1)
- Thiamine (1)
- Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) (1)
- Toxicology (1)
- Transition (1)
- Urban areas (1)
- Ureter (1)
- Variable Geometry (1)
- Vitamin A (1)
- Vitamin B (1)
- Vitamin D (1)
- WLTP (1)
- Water (1)
- Wind turbulence (1)
- Workspace monitoring (1)
- applications (1)
- architectural education (1)
- artificial intelligence (1)
- attitude dynamics (1)
- bullying (1)
- business process automation (1)
- ceramics (1)
- commercial offthe- shelf solutions (1)
- culpability (1)
- currriculum (1)
- design research (1)
- dscipline (1)
- filtration (1)
- gas flow (1)
- hot gas cleanup (1)
- hybridity (1)
- lessons learned (1)
- liability (1)
- management (1)
- orbit control (1)
- orbital dynamics (1)
- policy recommendations (1)
- profession (1)
- recommendations for actions (1)
- research by design (1)
- research framework (1)
- research in architecture (1)
- sailcraft (1)
- software evaluation (1)
- software selection (1)
- solar sail (1)
- technology (1)
- the University of Sheffield (1)
- training simulator (1)
- virtual reality (1)
- Öffentlicher Raum (1)
Solar sails are large and lightweight reflective structures that are propelled by solar radiation pressure. This chapter covers their orbital and attitude dynamics and control. First, the advantages and limitations of solar sails are discussed and their history and development status is outlined. Because the dynamics of solar sails is governed by the (thermo-)optical properties of the sail film, the basic solar radiation pressure force models have to be described and compared before parameters to measure solar sail performance can be defined. The next part covers the orbital dynamics of solar sails for heliocentric motion, planetocentric motion, and motion at Lagrangian equilibrium points. Afterwards, some advanced solar radiation pressure force models are described, which allow to quantify the thrust force on solar sails of arbitrary shape, the effects of temperature, of light incidence angle, of surface roughness, and the effects of optical degradation of the sail film in the space environment. The orbital motion of a solar sail is strongly coupled to its rotational motion, so that the attitude control of these soft and flexible structures is very challenging, especially for planetocentric orbits that require fast attitude maneuvers. Finally, some potential attitude control methods are sketched and selection criteria are given.
Subject of this case is Deutsche Telekom Services Europe (DTSE), a service center for administrative processes. Due to the high volume of repetitive tasks (e.g., 100k manual uploads of offer documents into SAP per year), automation was identified as an important strategic target with a high management attention and commitment. DTSE has to work with various backend application systems without any possibility to change those systems. Furthermore, the complexity of administrative processes differed. When it comes to the transfer of unstructured data (e.g., offer documents) to structured data (e.g., MS Excel files), further cognitive technologies were needed.
Robotic process automation (RPA) has attracted increasing attention in research and practice. This chapter positions, structures, and frames the topic as an introduction to this book. RPA is understood as a broad concept that comprises a variety of concrete solutions. From a management perspective RPA offers an innovative approach for realizing automation potentials, whereas from a technical perspective the implementation based on software products and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are relevant. RPA is industry-independent and can be used, for example, in finance, telecommunications, and the public sector. With respect to RPA this chapter discusses definitions, related approaches, a structuring framework, a research framework, and an inside as well as outside architectural view. Furthermore, it provides an overview of the book combined with short summaries of each chapter.
Because of customer churn, strong competition, and operational inefficiencies, the telecommunications operator ME Telco (fictitious name due to confidentiality) launched a strategic transformation program that included a Business Process Management (BPM) project. Major problems were silo-oriented process management and missing cross-functional transparency. Process improvements were not consistently planned and aligned with corporate targets. Measurable inefficiencies were observed on an operational level, e.g., high lead times and reassignment rates of the incident management process.
Intelligent autonomous software robots replacing human activities and performing administrative processes are reality in today’s corporate world. This includes, for example, decisions about invoice payments, identification of customers for a marketing campaign, and answering customer complaints. What happens if such a software robot causes a damage? Due to the complete absence of human activities, the question is not trivial. It could even happen that no one is liable for a damage towards a third party, which could create an uncalculatable legal risk for business partners. Furthermore, the implementation and operation of those software robots involves various stakeholders, which result in the unsolvable endeavor of identifying the originator of a damage. Overall it is advisable to all involved parties to carefully consider the legal situation. This chapter discusses the liability of software robots from an interdisciplinary perspective. Based on different technical scenarios the legal aspects of liability are discussed.
The investigation of atomic resonance fluorescence has always been of special interest as a means for the determination of atomic parameters. In addition, information on the interaction mechanism between atoms and radiation can be obtained. In the standard fluorescence experiment the frequency distribution of the incident photons is larger than the natural width of the respective transition; as a consequence the correlation time in the photon-atom interaction is determined by the lifetime of the atoms in the excited state. With the development of lasers and especially of tunable dye lasers in recent years it became possible to study the case where the incident radiation has a spectral distribution which is narrower than the natural width. This corresponds to a correlation time of the incoming light wave which is much longer than the excited-state lifetime. In this chapter a survey of experiments on the resonance fluorescence of atoms in monochromatic laser fields will be given.
The FAYMONVILLE case study describes how the family-owned company Faymonville from eastern Belgium has succeeded in becoming one of the leading manufacturers in its sector. The targeted identification of new markets, the focus on relevant customer needs, and a consistent product policy with a coordinated manufacturing concept lay the foundations for success. In this case study, students can learn about how a company can successfully resolve the fundamental contradiction between economic and customized production.
A concept for the analysis and optimal design of reinforced concrete structures is described. It is based on a nonlinear optimization algorithm and a finite element program for linear and nonlinear analysis of structures. With the aim of minimal cost design a two stage optimization using efficient gradient algorithm is developed. The optimization problems on global (structural) and local (crosssectional) level are formulated. A parallelization concept for solving the two stage optimization problem in minimal time is presented. Examples are included to illustrate the practical use and the effectively of the parallelization in the area of engineering design.
Industrial units consist of the primary load-carrying structure and various process engineering components, the latter being by far the most important in financial terms. In addition, supply structures such as free-standing tanks and silos are usually required for each plant to ensure the supply of material and product storage. Thus, for the earthquake-proof design of industrial plants, design and construction rules are required for the primary structures, the secondary structures and the supply structures. Within the framework of these rules, possible interactions of primary and secondary structures must also be taken into account. Importance factors are used in seismic design in order to take into account the usually higher risk potential of an industrial unit compared to conventional building structures. Industrial facilities must be able to withstand seismic actions because of possibly wide-ranging damage consequences in addition to losses due to production standstill and the destruction of valuable equipment. The chapter presents an integrated concept for the seismic design of industrial units based on current seismic standards and the latest research results. Special attention is devoted to the seismic design of steel thin-walled silos and tank structures.
Thermal management in E-carsharing vehicles - preconditioning concepts of passenger compartments
(2015)
The issue of thermal management in electric vehicles includes the topics of drivetrain cooling and heating, interior temperature, vehicle body conditioning and safety. In addition to the need to ensure optimal thermal operating conditions of the drivetrain components (drive motor, battery and electrical components), thermal comfort must be provided for the passengers. Thermal comfort is defined as the feeling which expresses the satisfaction of the passengers with the ambient conditions in the compartment. The influencing factors on thermal comfort are the temperature and humidity as well as the speed of the indoor air and the clothing and the activity of the passengers, in addition to the thermal radiation and the temperatures of the interior surfaces. The generation and the maintenance of free visibility (ice- and moisture-free windows) count just as important as on-demand heating and cooling of the entire vehicle. A Carsharing climate concept of the innovative ec2go vehicle stipulates and allows for only seating areas used by passengers to be thermally conditioned in a close-to-body manner. To enable this, a particular feature has been added to the preconditioning of the Carsharing electric vehicle during the electric charging phase at the parking station.
Hydraulic modeling is the classical approach to investigate and describe complex fluid motion. Many empirical formulas in the literature used for the hydraulic design of river training measures and structures have been developed using experimental data from the laboratory. Although computer capacities have increased to a high level which allows to run complex numerical simulations on standard workstation nowadays, non-standard design of structures may still raise the need to perform physical model investigations. These investigations deliver insight into details of flow patterns and the effect of varying boundary conditions. Data from hydraulic model tests may be used for calibration of numerical models as well. As the field of hydraulic modeling is very complex, this chapter intends to give a short overview on capacities and limits of hydraulic modeling in regard to river flows and hydraulic structures only. The reader shall get a first idea of modeling principles and basic considerations. More detailed information can be found in the references.
Next Generation Manufacturing promises significant improvements in performance, productivity, and value creation. In addition to the desired and projected improvements regarding the planning, production, and usage cycles of products, this digital transformation will have a huge impact on work, workers, and workplace design. Given the high uncertainty in the likelihood of occurrence and the technical, economic, and societal impacts of these changes, we conducted a technology foresight study, in the form of a real-time Delphi analysis, to derive reliable future scenarios featuring the next generation of manufacturing systems. This chapter presents the organization dimension and describes each projection in detail, offering current case study examples and discussing related research, as well as implications for policy makers and firms. Specifically, we highlight seven areas in which the digital transformation of production will change how we work, how we organize the work within a company, how we evaluate these changes, and how employment and labor rights will be affected across company boundaries. The experts are unsure whether the use of collaborative robots in factories will replace traditional robots by 2030. They believe that the use of hybrid intelligence will supplement human decision-making processes in production environments. Furthermore, they predict that artificial intelligence will lead to changes in management processes, leadership, and the elimination of hierarchies. However, to ensure that social and normative aspects are incorporated into the AI algorithms, restricting measurement of individual performance will be necessary. Additionally, AI-based decision support can significantly contribute toward new, socially accepted modes of leadership. Finally, the experts believe that there will be a reduction in the workforce by the year 2030.
We present a new approach to the problem of optimal control of solar sails for low-thrust trajectory optimization. The objective was to find the required control torque magnitudes in order to steer a solar sail in interplanetary space. A new steering strategy, controlling the solar sail with generic torques applied about the spacecraft body axes, is integrated into the existing low-thrust trajectory optimization software InTrance. This software combines artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms to find steering strategies close to the global optimum without an initial guess. Furthermore, we implement a three rotational degree-of-freedom rigid-body attitude dynamics model to represent the solar sail in space. Two interplanetary transfers to Mars and Neptune are chosen to represent typical future solar sail mission scenarios. The results found with the new steering strategy are compared to the existing reference trajectories without attitude dynamics. The resulting control torques required to accomplish the missions are investigated, as they pose the primary requirements to a real on-board attitude control system.
The network approach towards the analysis of the dynamics of complex systems has been successfully applied in a multitude of studies in the neurosciences and has yielded fascinating insights. With this approach, a complex system is considered to be composed of different constituents which interact with each other. Interaction structures can be compactly represented in interaction networks. In this contribution, we present a brief overview about how interaction networks are derived from multivariate time series, about basic network characteristics, and about challenges associated with this analysis approach.
For pelvic floor disorders that cannot be treated with non-surgical procedures, minimally invasive surgery has become a more frequent and safer repair procedure. More than 20 million prosthetic meshes are implanted each year worldwide. The simple selection of a single synthetic mesh construction for any level and type of pelvic floor dysfunctions without adopting the design to specific requirements increase the risks for mesh related complications. Adverse events are closely related to chronic foreign body reaction, with enhanced formation of scar tissue around the surgical meshes, manifested as pain, mesh erosion in adjacent structures (with organ tissue cut), mesh shrinkage, mesh rejection and eventually recurrence. Such events, especially scar formation depend on effective porosity of the mesh, which decreases discontinuously at a critical stretch when pore areas decrease making the surgical reconstruction ineffective that further augments the re-operation costs. The extent of fibrotic reaction is increased with higher amount of foreign body material, larger surface, small pore size or with inadequate textile elasticity. Standardized studies of different meshes are essential to evaluate influencing factors for the failure and success of the reconstruction. Measurements of elasticity and tensile strength have to consider the mesh anisotropy as result of the textile structure. An appropriate mesh then should show some integration with limited scar reaction and preserved pores that are filled with local fat tissue. This chapter reviews various tissue reactions to different monofilament mesh implants that are used for incontinence and hernia repairs and study their mechanical behavior. This helps to predict the functional and biological outcomes after tissue reinforcement with meshes and permits further optimization of the meshes for the specific indications to improve the success of the surgical treatment.
Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is characterized by the failure of the levator ani (LA) muscle to maintain the pelvic hiatus, resulting in the descent of the pelvic organs below the pubococcygeal line. This chapter adopts the modified Humphrey material model to consider the effect of the muscle fiber on passive stretching of the LA muscle. The deformation of the LA muscle subjected to intra-abdominal pressure during Valsalva maneuver is compared with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of a nulliparous female. Numerical result shows that the fiber-based Humphrey model simulates the muscle behavior better than isotropic constitutive models. Greater posterior movement of the LA muscle widens the levator hiatus due to lack of support from the anococcygeal ligament and the perineal structure as a consequence of birth-related injury and aging. Old and multiparous females with uncontrolled urogenital and rectal hiatus tend to develop PFDs such as prolapse and incontinence.
Information technologies, such as big data analytics, cloud computing,
cyber physical systems, robotic process automation, and the internet of things, provide a sustainable impetus for the structural development of business sectors as well as the digitalization of markets, enterprises, and processes. Within the consulting industry, the proliferation of these technologies opened up the new segment of digital transformation, which focuses on setting up, controlling, and implementing projects for enterprises from a broad range of sectors. These recent developments raise the question, which requirements evolve for IT consultants as important success factors of those digital transformation projects. Therefore, this empirical contribution provides indications regarding the qualifications and competences necessary for IT consultants in the era of digital transformation from a labor market perspective. On the one hand, this knowledge base is interesting for the academic education of consultants, since it supports a market-oriented design of adequate training measures. On the other hand, insights into the competence requirements for consultants are considered relevant for skill and talent management processes in consulting practice. Assuming that consulting companies pursue a strategic human resource management approach, labor market information may also be useful to discover strategic behavioral patterns.
The benefits of robotic process automation (RPA) are highly related to the usage of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products that can be easily implemented and customized by business units. But, how to find the best fitting RPA product for a specific situation that creates the expected benefits? This question is related to the general area of software evaluation and selection. In the face of more than 75 RPA products currently on the market, guidance considering those specifics is required. Therefore, this chapter proposes a criteria-based selection method specifically for RPA. The method includes a quantitative evaluation of costs and benefits as well as a qualitative utility analysis based on functional criteria. By using the visualization of financial implications (VOFI) method, an application-oriented structure is provided that opposes the total cost of ownership to the time savings times salary (TSTS). For the utility analysis a detailed list of functional criteria for RPA is offered. The whole method is based on a multi-vocal review of scientific and non-scholarly literature including publications by business practitioners, consultants, and vendors. The application of the method is illustrated by a concrete RPA example. The illustrated
structures, templates, and criteria can be directly utilized by practitioners in their real-life RPA implementations. In addition, a normative decision process for selecting RPA alternatives is proposed before the chapter closes with a discussion and outlook.
BIG KARL and COSY
(1995)
The methodological discourse of mixed-methods research offers general procedures to combine quantitative and qualitative methods for investigating complex fields of research such as higher education. However, integrating different methods still poses considerable challenges. To move beyond general recommendations for mixed-methods research, this chapter proposes to discuss methodological issues with respect to a particular research domain. Taking current studies on the transition to higher education as an example, the authors first provide an overview of the potentials and limitations of quantitative and qualitative methods in the research domain. Second, they show the need for a conceptual framework grounded in the theory of the research object to guide the integration of different methods and findings. Finally, an example study that investigates transition with regard to the interplay of the individual student and the institutional context serves to illustrate the guiding role of theory. The framework integrates different theoretical perspectives on transition, informs the selection of the research methods, and defines the nexus of the two strands that constitute the mixed-methods design. As the interplay of individual and context is of concern for teaching and learning in general, the example presented may be fruitful for the wider field of higher education research.
Like all preceding transformations of the manufacturing industry, the large-scale usage of production data will reshape the role of humans within the sociotechnical production ecosystem. To ensure that this transformation creates work systems in which employees are empowered, productive, healthy, and motivated, the transformation must be guided by principles of and research on human-centered work design. Specifically, measures must be taken at all levels of work design, ranging from (1) the work tasks to (2) the working conditions to (3) the organizational level and (4) the supra-organizational level. We present selected research across all four levels that showcase the opportunities and requirements that surface when striving for human-centered work design for the Internet of Production (IoP). (1) On the work task level, we illustrate the user-centered design of human-robot collaboration (HRC) and process planning in the composite industry as well as user-centered design factors for cognitive assistance systems. (2) On the working conditions level, we present a newly developed framework for the classification of HRC workplaces. (3) Moving to the organizational level, we show how corporate data can be used to facilitate best practice sharing in production networks, and we discuss the implications of the IoP for new leadership models. Finally, (4) on the supra-organizational level, we examine overarching ethical dimensions, investigating, e.g., how the new work contexts affect our understanding of responsibility and normative values such as autonomy and privacy. Overall, these interdisciplinary research perspectives highlight the importance and necessary scope of considering the human factor in the IoP.
The problem of creation and use of sorption materials is of current interest for the practice of the modern medicine and agriculture. Practical importance is production of a biostimulant using a carbon sorbent for a significant increase in productivity, which is very relevant for the regions of Kazakhstan. It is known that a plant phytohormone—fusicoccin—in nanogram concentrations transforms cancer cells to the state of apoptosis. In this regard, there is a scientific practical interest in the development of a highly efficient method for producing fusicoccin from extract of germinated wheat seeds. According to the results of computer modeling, cleaning composite components of fusicoccin using microporous carbon adsorbents not suitable as the size of the molecule of fusicoccin more than micropores and the optimum pore size for purification of constituents of fusicoccin was determined by computer simulation.
Producing fresh water from saline water has become one of the most difficult challenges to overcome especially with the high demand and shortage of fresh water. In this context, as part of a collaboration with Germany, the authors propose a design and implementation of a pilot multi-stage solar desalination system (MSD), remotely controlled, at Douar Al Hamri in the rural town of Boughriba in the province of Berkane, Morocco. More specifically, they present their contribution on the remote control and supervision system, which makes the functioning of the MSD system reliable and guarantees the production of drinking water for the population of Douar. The results obtained show that the electronic cards and computer communication software implemented allow the acquisition of all electrical (currents, voltages, powers, yields), thermal (temperatures of each stage), and meteorological (irradiance and ambient temperature), remote control and maintenance (switching on, off, data transfer). By comparing with the literature carried out in the field of solar energy, the authors conclude that the MSD and electronic desalination systems realized during this work represent a contribution in terms of the reliability and durability of providing drinking water in rural and urban areas.
Mechanical forces/tensile stresses are critical determinants of cellular growth, differentiation and migration patterns in health and disease. The innovative “CellDrum technology” was designed for measuring mechanical tensile stress of cultured cell monolayers/thin tissue constructs routinely. These are cultivated on very thin silicone membranes in the so-called CellDrum. The cell layers adhere firmly to the membrane and thus transmit the cell forces generated. A CellDrum consists of a cylinder which is sealed from below with a 4 μm thick, biocompatible, functionalized silicone membrane. The weight of cell culture medium bulbs the membrane out downwards. Membrane indentation is measured. When cells contract due to drug action, membrane, cells and medium are lifted upwards. The induced indentation changes allow for lateral drug induced mechanical tension quantification of the micro-tissues. With hiPS-induced (human) Cardiomyocytes (CM) the CellDrum opens new perspectives of individualized cardiac drug testing. Here, monolayers of self-beating hiPS-CMs were grown in CellDrums. Rhythmic contractions of the hiPS-cells induce membrane up-and-down deflections. The recorded cycles allow for single beat amplitude, single beat duration, integration of the single beat amplitude over the beat time and frequency analysis. Dose effects of agonists and antagonists acting on Ca2+ channels were sensitively and highly reproducibly observed. Data were consistent with published reference data as far as they were available. The combination of the CellDrum technology with hiPS-Cardiomyocytes offers a fast, facile and precise system for pharmacological and toxicological studies. It allows new preclinical basic as well as applied research in pharmacolgy and toxicology.
Pure analytical or experimental methods can only find a control strategy for technical systems with a fixed setup. In former contributions we presented an approach that simultaneously finds the optimal topology and the optimal open-loop control of a system via Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP). In order to extend this approach by a closed-loop control we present a Mixed Integer Program for a time discretized tank level control. This model is the basis for an extension by combinatorial decisions and thus for the variation of the network topology. Furthermore, one is able to appraise feasible solutions using the global optimality gap.
Gearboxes are mechanical transmission systems that provide speed and torque conversions from a rotating power source. Being a central element of the drive train, they are relevant for the efficiency and durability of motor vehicles. In this work, we present a new approach for gearbox design: Modeling the design problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP) allows us to create gearbox designs from scratch for arbitrary requirements and—given enough time—to compute provably globally optimal designs for a given objective. We show how different degrees of freedom influence the runtime and present an exemplary solution.
Because of its minor environmental impact, electricity generation using wind power is getting remarkable. The further growth of the wind industry depends on technological solutions to the challenges in production and construction of the turbines. Wind turbine tower vibrations, which limit power generation efficiency and cause fatigue problems with high maintenance costs, count as one of the main structural difficulties in the wind energy sector. To mitigate tower vibrations auxiliary measures are necessary. The effectiveness of tuned mass damper is verified by means of a numeric study on a 5 MW onshore reference wind turbine. Hereby, also seismic-induced vibrations and soil–structure interaction are considered. Acquired results show that tuned mass damper can effectively reduce resonant tower vibrations and improve the fatigue life of wind turbines. This chapter is also concerned with tuned liquid column damper and a semiactive application of it. Due to its geometric versatility and low prime costs, tuned liquid column dampers are a good alternative to other damping measures, in particular for slender structures like wind turbines.
RGB-D sensors such as the Microsoft Kinect or the Asus Xtion are inexpensive 3D sensors. A depth image is computed by calculating the distortion of a known infrared light (IR) pattern which is projected into the scene. While these sensors are great devices they have some limitations. The distance they can measure is limited and they suffer from reflection problems on transparent, shiny, or very matte and absorbing objects. If more than one RGB-D camera is used the IR patterns interfere with each other. This results in a massive loss of depth information. In this paper, we present a simple and powerful method to overcome these problems. We propose a stereo RGB-D camera system which uses the pros of RGB-D cameras and combine them with the pros of stereo camera systems. The idea is to utilize the IR images of each two sensors as a stereo pair to generate a depth map. The IR patterns emitted by IR projectors are exploited here to enhance the dense stereo matching even if the observed objects or surfaces are texture-less or transparent. The resulting disparity map is then fused with the depth map offered by the RGB-D sensor to fill the regions and the holes that appear because of interference, or due to transparent or reflective objects. Our results show that the density of depth information is increased especially for transparent, shiny or matte objects.
The treatment of septic wounds with curative dressings based on biocomposites containing sage and marigold phytoextracts was effective in in vitro and in vivo experiments. These dressings caused the purification of the wound surface from purulent-necrotic masses three days earlier than in the other experimental groups. The consequence of an increase in incidents of severe course of the wound and the observed tendency to increase the number of adverse effects is the development of long-term recurrent wound processes. To treat purulent wounds, the following tactics were used: The purulent wounds of animals were covered with the examined wound dressing, and then the next day samples were taken, the procedure was performed once in 2 days. To obtain the active nanostructured sorbents such as carbonized rice husks, they are functionalized with biologically active components possessing antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitoxic, immunomodulating, antiallergic and other types of properties.
Vitamin D plays an essential role in calcium and inorganic phosphate (Pi) homeostasis, maintaining their optimal levels to assure adequate bone mineralization. Vitamin D, as calcitriol (1,25(OH)2D), not only increases intestinal calcium and phosphate absorption but also facilitates their renal reabsorption, leading to elevated serum calcium and phosphate levels. The interaction of 1,25(OH)2D with its receptor (VDR) increases the efficiency of intestinal absorption of calcium to 30–40% and phosphate to nearly 80%. Serum phosphate levels can also influence 1,25 (OH)2D and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) levels, i.e., higher phosphate concentrations suppress vitamin D activation and stimulate parathyroid hormone (PTH) release, while a high FGF23 serum level leads to reduced vitamin D synthesis. In the vitamin D-deficient state, the intestinal calcium absorption decreases and the secretion of PTH increases, which in turn causes the stimulation of 1,25(OH)2D production, resulting in excessive urinary phosphate loss. Maintenance of phosphate homeostasis is essential as hyperphosphatemia is a risk factor of cardiovascular calcification, chronic kidney diseases (CKD), and premature aging, while hypophosphatemia is usually associated with rickets and osteomalacia. This chapter elaborates on the possible interactions between vitamin D and phosphate in health and disease.
The recent advances in microbiology have shed light on understanding the role of vitamins beyond the nutritional range. Vitamins are critical in contributing to healthy biodiversity and maintaining the proper function of gut microbiota. The sharing of vitamins among bacterial populations promotes stability in community composition and diversity; however, this balance becomes disturbed in various pathologies. Here, we overview and analyze the ability of different vitamins to selectively and specifically induce changes in the intestinal microbial community. Some schemes and regularities become visible, which may provide new insights and avenues for therapeutic management and functional optimization of the gut microbiota.
We present new numerical results for shape optimization problems of interior Neumann eigenvalues. This field is not well understood from a theoretical standpoint. The existence of shape maximizers is not proven beyond the first two eigenvalues, so we study the problem numerically. We describe a method to compute the eigenvalues for a given shape that combines the boundary element method with an algorithm for nonlinear eigenvalues. As numerical optimization requires many such evaluations, we put a focus on the efficiency of the method and the implemented routine. The method is well suited for parallelization. Using the resulting fast routines and a specialized parametrization of the shapes, we found improved maxima for several eigenvalues.