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The study from Mehrazin et al. in HJNM 2011; 14(3): 243-50 on the neuropsychology, morphological computerized tomography (CT) and functional neuroimaging with 99mTc-labelled ethylene cystein-ate dimer single-photon emission tomography (SPET) in mild trau-matic brain injury (MTBI) is an interesting new approach to a disease condition which is often neglected or denied. Related to the above, we may note that the French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), who suffered from Pick ́s disease with primary progressive apha-sia, had a taxi accident in 1932, with a mild concussion, perhaps an MTBI. Apart from the dysphasia and beginning apraxia, which Rav-el had already 5 years prior to the taxi accident, these symptoms exacerbated-the dysphasia became a progressive aphasia-and he developed additional severe deficits in concentration and atten-tion after the accident. It has also been suspected that this accident may have triggered Ravel ́s agraphia the unability to write down any new composition beyond the date of the taxi accident, a condi-tion that Ravel himself described as unacceptable and which made him feel very sad as his mind was full of ideas. Due to the deterio-ration of his health, which can also be seen in his appearance on late photographs, Ravel consulted the famous neurosurgeon Prof. Clovis Vincent. Vincent, who suspected a hydrocephalus, opened Ravel ́s skull on December 19, 1937, showing a normal brain. Soon after surgery Ravel died. In conclusion, a SPET/CT approach com-bined with a brain perfusion analysis using statistical parametric mapping might be the recommendable approach today for mild traumatic brain injury.
Memento mori!
(2022)
Das plötzliche Ende des romantischen Komponisten Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847) gibt uns auch heute noch Rätsel auf. Einiges deutet auf ein rupturiertes zerebrales Aneurysma mit konsekutiver Subarachnoidalblutung hin. Das Quellenmaterial zu den Symptomen seiner Todeskrankheit wird in dieser Arbeit ausführlich vorgestellt und diskutiert. Eine mögliche familiäre Disposition im Sinne eines Ehlers-Danlos-Syndroms Typ IV wird erörtert.
The famous violin virtuoso Nicolò Paganini (born on 27 October 1782 in Genoa, died on 27 May 1840 in Nice) left us with many puzzles. An interesting aspect is his hair: In the 19th century, hair given away as a token of friendship or romantic love became very popular, and Paganini also seems to have made use of this fad. In 2009, a lock of hair, purportedly that of Paganini, kept in a locked presentation box together with a bilingual autograph inscription saying: "Alla Signora Chatterton avec les compliments de Nicolò Paganini" was bought at an auction. From this hair lock a sample was taken and was investigated morphologically by using digital light microscopy (digital microscope VHX-100, Keyence) in reflected and transmitted light with and without polarization at different magnifications up to 1:5,000. The sample was then compared with a hair sample from the possession of the Paganini family, which had been microscopically examined in 2012 by the co-author of this paper yielding numerous figures with measurement results that had been stored and could be retrieved for direct comparison. The hair sample consisted of ten strands of hair or hair fragments and was investigated with great effort for the following parameters: exogenous hair damage, especially feeding traces caused by parasites, modeling and angulation of hairs, hair thickness, medulla and pigmentation, curling and mercury load on the trace material. After evaluation of all findings not only a non-exclusion of identity can be determined, but due to the broad match of also rare findings there is no reasonable doubt about their identity. In addition, the findings suggest that the studied hair samples are in fact from Paganini's head. The present case of Nicolò Paganini's hair lock is also an excellent starting point for reflections on the probative value of trace hair investigations. This point is also critically discussed in the paper. Finally, this study shows that said lock of hair had probably really been dedicated and given to Eliza Davenport Latham (born on 25 November 1806, died on 9 January 1877), the future wife of the, at that time, best-known and most famous English harpist John Balsir Chatterton (born on 25 November 1804, died on 9 April 1871). Paganini must have met her on his concert tour 1831/32, where he had travelled to Paris, London, the rest of England, Scotland and Ireland.
All you need is sleep
(2016)
In 21st century, the century when the humanity hopes to embark on interplanetary travel, we are yet to fully reach an understanding of our very own idiosyncratic terra incognita – the human sleep. Sleep is a highly conserved evolutionary process that constitutes approximately one third of our life, and the lack or inadequate sleep may lead to impairment across multiple cognitive domains (Tononi and Cirelli, 2014; Lim and Dinges, 2010). Sleep deprivation also leads to aberrant brain functioning, immunological and metabolic collapse, and if it is sufficiently prolonged it will ultimately lead to death (Tononi and Cirelli, 2014).
In this study, we tested the function of a replica of the over 500-year-old original of the
famous Franconian Imperial Knight Götz von Berlichingen’s first “iron hand”, which we
reconstructed by computer-aided design (CAD) and recently printed using a multi-material
3D printer. In different everyday tasks, the artificial hand prosthesis proved to be remarkably
helpful. Thus, the hand could hold a wine glass, some grapes, or a smartphone. With a
suitable pencil, even writing was possible without any problem. Although for all these
functions the healthy other hand was necessary to assist at the beginning, the artificial hand
is an astonishing mechanical aid with many possibilities. Therefore, in certain cases, the
non-invasive approach of a passive mechanical hand replacement, which is an individual,
quick and cheap solution due to modern 3D printing, may always be worth considering
also for today’s requirements.
Routine nuclear cardiology examinations indicate heart rate, cardiac rhythm, the height of cardiac pulse and respiration rhythm. It would be of interest to study whether these data, especially if the same tests are repeated, can indicate patients’ well being in the future and perhaps patients’ life span, other factors being equal. Related old theories and suggestions are mentioned. Furthermore, some drugs like I-f channel antagonists and stress tests testing cardiac reserves could support such a study.
A disturbed synchronization of the ventricular contraction can cause a highly developed systolic heart failure in affected patients with reduction of the left ventricular ejection fraction, which can often be explained by a diseased left bundle branch block (LBBB). If medication remains unresponsive, the concerned patients will be treated with a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) system. The aim of this study was to integrate His-bundle pacing into the Offenburg heart rhythm model in order to visualize the electrical pacing field generated by His-Bundle-Pacing. Modelling and electrical field simulation activities were performed with the software CST (Computer Simulation Technology) from Dessault Systèms. CRT with biventricular pacing is to be achieved by an apical right ventricular electrode and an additional left ventricular electrode, which is floated into the coronary vein sinus. The non-responder rate of the CRT therapy is about one third of the CRT patients. His- Bundle-Pacing represents a physiological alternative to conventional cardiac pacing and cardiac resynchronization. An electrode implanted in the His-bundle emits a stronger electrical pacing field than the electrical pacing field of conventional cardiac pacemakers. The pacing of the Hisbundle was performed by the Medtronic Select Secure 3830 electrode with pacing voltage amplitudes of 3 V, 2 V and 1,5 V in combination with a pacing pulse duration of 1 ms. Compared to conventional pacemaker pacing, His-bundle pacing is capable of bridging LBBB conduction disorders in the left ventricle. The His-bundle pacing electrical field is able to spread via the physiological pathway in the right and left ventricles for CRT with a narrow QRS-complex in the surface ECG.
In der Planungs- und Betriebspraxis herrscht im Bereich der Betriebsführung von thermisch aktivierten Bauteilsystemen und insbesondere der thermisch trägen Bauteilaktivierung noch große Unsicherheit. Trotz einer weiten Verbreitung dieser Systeme im Neubau von Nichtwohngebäuden hat sich bis heute keine einheitliche Betriebsführungsstrategie durchgesetzt. Vielmehr kritisieren Bauherren und Nutzer regelmäßig zu hohe bzw. niedrige Raumtemperaturen in den Übergangsjahreszeiten und bei Wetterwechsel sowie generell eine mangelhafte Regelbarkeit. Demgegenüber weisen Monitoringprojekte immer wieder einen hohen thermischen Komfort in diesen Gebäuden nach. Offensichtlich unterscheiden sich hier subjektiv empfundene Behaglichkeit und objektiv gemessener Komfort. Gleichzeitig sind Heiz- und Kühlkonzepte mit Flächentemperierung dann besonders energieeffizient, wenn das Regelkonzept auf deren thermische Trägheit angepasst ist. Eine gute Regelung gewährleistet also einen hohen thermischen Komfort und sorgt für einen möglichst niedrigen Energieeinsatz. Das Rechenverfahren mit Anlagenaufwandszahlen (in Anlehnung an DIN V 18599) bietet eine gute Möglichkeit, Anlagenkonzepte inklusive deren Betriebsführungsstrategie zu bewerten. Damit ist es möglich, eine auf das Gebäude angepasste Betriebsführungsstrategie für die Bauteilaktivierung zu finden und einheitlich zu bewerten.
Mit der Messung des Wärme- und Kälteverbrauchs im Labor gelingt es, sowohl thermisch träge als auch agile Flächentemperiersysteme unter praxisnahen, dynamischen Bedingungen messtechnisch zu bewerten. Werden Nutzwärme- und Nutzkältebedarf berechnet und ins Verhältnis zu den gemessenen Verbräuchen gesetzt, können die Aufwandzahlen für die Nutzenübergabe ece für verschiedene Flächentemperiersysteme und in Kombinationen mit anderen Übergabesystemen unter verschiedenen Nutzungsbedingungen und für unterschiedliche Betriebsführungsstrategien bestimmt werden. Damit stehen Aufwandszahlen auf Basis kalorischer Messungen zur Verfügung, die je nach Aufgabenstellung entweder produkt- oder objektbezogen in der Planung komplexer Energiekonzepte verwendet werden können und die tatsächlichen Aufwandszahlen eh, ce für den Heizfall bzw. ec, ce für den Kühlfall genauer als Literaturwerte bzw. projektbezogen beschreiben
Unter dem europäischen Programm Intelligent Energy for Europe (IEE) fanden sich acht europäische Partner zusammen, um im Rahmen des Projektes ThermCo Lüftungs‐ und Kühlenergiekonzepte für Nichtwohngebäude mit niedrigem Energieeinsatz im Hinblick auf die Energieeffizienz und den thermischen Raumkomfort zu bewerten (siehe Teil 1 dieser Veröffentlichung in Bauphysik 34 (2012), Heft 6. Mit Hilfe einer Simulationsstudie für ein typisches Bürogebäude wird das Potenzial unterschiedlicher Lüftungs‐ und Kühlstrategien unter Berücksichtigung von Energieeffizienz und Raumkomfort für verschiedene europäische Klimazonen bewertet. Die Ergebnisse weisen eine hohe Wirksamkeit von Nachtlüftungskonzepten im nord‐europäischen Sommerklima mit verhältnismäßig niedrigen Außentemperaturen nach. Im mitteleuropäischen Sommerklima bietet das Erdreich ein ausreichend niedriges Temperaturniveau für den effizienten Einsatz von wassergeführten Flächentemperiersystemen. Im südeuropäischen Sommerklima kann eine aktive Kühlung über Luft die hohen und schnell fluktuierenden Kühllasten effizient abführen.
Thermisch angetriebene (Adsorptions-)Kältemaschinen können mit einem verhältnismäßig geringen elektrischen Energieaufwand bzw. mit einer hohen elektrischen Leistungszahl Kälte bereitstel-len. Wird die zum Antrieb erforderliche Wärme aus industrieller Abwärme bereitgestellt, ist diese Kältebereitstellung energetisch effizienter als die Kältebereitstellung über eine Kompressionskäl-temaschine. Wird die Wärme jedoch in Kraft-Wärme-Kopplung bereitgestellt, ist die primärenergetische Bewertung sowohl von mehreren Teilwirkungsgraden als auch den Primärenergiefaktoren für den eingesetzten Brennstoff und die erzeugte bzw. bezogene elektrische Energie abhängig. Eine umfangreiche Messkampagne im Sommer 2018 liefert unter realitätsnahen Randbedingungen in einer Labor umgebung detaillierte Energiekennzahlen für einen typischen Tagesgang des Kältebedarfs. Damit gelingt es, Teilenergiekennwerte für die Planungspraxis abzuleiten und das Gesamtsystem energetisch mit einer konventionellen Kompressionskältemaschine zu vergleichen.
The aim of this study was to develop a biomechanically validated finite element model to predict the biomechanical behaviour of the human lumbar spine in compression.
For validation of the finite element model, an in vitro study was performed: Twelve human lumbar cadaveric spinal segments (six segments L2/3 and six segments L4/5) were loaded in axial compression using 600 N in the intact state and following surgical treatment using two different internal stabilisation devices. Range of motion was measured and used to calculate stiffness.
A finite element model of a human spinal segment L3/4 was loaded with the same force in intact and surgically altered state, corresponding to the situation of biomechanical in vitro study.
The results of the cadaver biomechanical and finite element analysis were compared. As they were close together, the finite element model was used to predict: (1) load-sharing within human lumbar spine in compression, (2) load-sharing within osteoporotic human lumbar spine in compression and (3) the stabilising potential of the different spinal implants with respect to bone mineral density.
A finite element model as described here may be used to predict the biomechanical behaviour of the spine. Moreover, the influence of different spinal stabilisation systems may be predicted.
A laser-operated, angle-tunable transducer was employed to excite selectively elastic waves guided along the apex of a solid wedge. The propagation of wedge waves at anisotropic monocrystalline silicon edges with different symmetry properties was studied by optical detection. The reduced symmetry in crystals, as compared to isotropic media, causes a number of new features, such as the existence of supersonic leaky wedge waves, tilted spatial pulse profiles, and other peculiarities of their localization. Experimental and theoretical results are presented for three different types of symmetry configurations: the wedge symmetric about its midplane, the wedge symmetric about the plane normal to its apex line, and the wedge symmetric about one of its faces. The experiments include accurate measurements of the phase velocity and the wave field distribution, providing information on localization and coupling of wedge waves with other waves. Theoretically, the wedge waves were treated by the Laguerre function method, extended to modes that are not localized at the tip of the wedge. This approach allowed an accurate description of the observed localized and leaky wedge waves in anisotropic wedges.
Surface acoustic waves are propagated toward the edge of an anisotropic elastic medium (a silicon crystal), which supports leaky waves with a high degree of localization at the tip of the edge. At an angle of incidence corresponding to phase matching with this leaky wedge wave, a sharp peak in the reflection coefficient of the surface wave was found. This anomalous reflection is associated with efficient excitation of the leaky wedge wave. In laser ultrasound experiments, surface acoustic wave pulses were excited and their reflection from the edge of the sample and their partial conversion into leaky wedge wave pulses was observed by optical probe-beam deflection. The reflection scenario and the pulse shapes of the surface and wedge-localized guided waves, including the evolution of the acoustic pulse traveling along the edge, have been confirmed in detail by numerical simulations.
In numerical calculations, guided acoustic waves, localized in two spatial dimensions, have been shown to exist and their properties have been investigated in three different geometries, (i) a half-space consisting of two elastic media with a planar interface inclined to the common surface, (ii) a wedge made of two elastic media with a planar interface, and (iii) the free edge of an elastic layer between two quarter-spaces or two wedge-shaped pieces of a material with elastic properties and density differing from those of the intermediate layer.
For the special case of Poisson media forming systems (i) and (ii), the existence ranges of these 1D guided waves in parameter space have been determined and found to strongly depend on the inclination angle between surface and interface in case (i) and the wedge angle in case (ii). In a system of type (ii) made of two materials with strong acoustic mismatch and in systems of type (iii), leaky waves have been found with a high degree of spatial localization of the associated displacements, although the two materials constituting these structures are isotropic.
Both the fully guided and the leaky waves analyzed in this work could find applications in non-destructive evaluation of composite structures and should be accounted for in geophysical prospecting, for example.
A critical comparison is presented of the two computational approaches employed, namely a semi-analytical finite element scheme and a method based on an expansion of the displacement field in a double series of special functions.
Propagation of acoustic waves is considered in a system consisting of two stiff quarter-spaces connected by a planar soft layer. The two quarter-spaces and the layer form a half-space with a planar surface. In a numerical study, surface waves have been found and analyzed in this system with displacements that are localized not only at the surface, but also in the soft layer. In addition to the semi-analytical finite element method, an alternative approach based on an expansion of the displacement field in a double series of Laguerre functions and Legendre polynomials has been applied.
It is shown that a number of branches of the mode spectrum can be interpreted and remarkably well described by perturbation theory, where the zero-order modes are the wedge waves guided at a rectangular edge of the stiff quarter-spaces or waves guided at the edge of a soft plate with rigid surfaces.
For elastic moduli and densities corresponding to the material combination PMMA–silicone–PMMA, at least one of the branches in the dispersion relation of surface waves trapped in the soft layer exhibits a zero-group velocity point.
Potential applications of these 1D guided surface waves in non-destructive evaluation are discussed.
DEM–FEA estimation of pores arrangement effect on the compressive Young’s modulus for Mg foams
(2015)
This work reports the study of the effect of the pore arrangement on the compressive behavior of Mg foams with regular pore size and porosities ranging from 25% to 45%. Pore arrangements were modeled using Finite Element Analysis (FEA), with random and ordered models, and compared to the estimations obtained for a previous work. The coordinates of the random pore arrangements were firstly generated using Discrete Element Method (DEM), and used in a second stage for modeling the pores by FEA. Estimations were also compared to the experimental results for Mg foams obtained by means of powder metallurgy. Results show important drops in the Young’s moduli as the porosity increases for both, experimental results and FEA estimations. Estimations obtained using ordered pore arrangements presented significant differences when compared to the estimations acquired from models with random arrangements. The randomly arranged models represent more accurately the real topologies of the experimental metallic foams. The Young’s moduli estimated using these models were in excellent agreement with the experiments, whilst the estimations obtained using ordered models presented relative errors significantly higher. The importance of the use of more realistic FEA models for improving the predicting ability of this method was probed, for the study of the mechanical properties of metallic foams.
There are some existing Java benchmarks, application benchmarks as well as micro benchmarks or mixture both of them,such as: Java Grande, Spec98, CaffeMark, HBech, etc. But none of them deal with behaviors of multi tasks operating systems. As a result, the achieved outputs are not satisfied for performance evaluation engineers. Behaviors of multi tasks operating systems are based on a schedule management which is employed in these systems. Different processes can have different priority to share the same resources. The time is measured by estimating from applications started to it is finished does not reflect the real time value which the system need for running those programs. New approach to this problem should be done. Having said that, in this paper we present a new Java benchmark, named FHOJ benchmark, which directly deals with multi tasks behaviors of a system. Our study shows that in some cases, results from FHOJ benchmark are far more reliable in comparison with some existing Java benchmarks.
Lithium-ion batteries exhibit a well-known trade-off between energy and power, which is problematic for electric vehicles which require both high energy during discharge (high driving range) and high power during charge (fast-charge capability). We use two commercial lithium-ion cells (high-energy [HE] and high-power) to parameterize and validate physicochemical pseudo-two-dimensional models. In a systematic virtual design study, we vary electrode thicknesses, cell temperature, and the type of charging protocol. We are able to show that low anode potentials during charge, inducing lithium plating and cell aging, can be effectively avoided either by using high temperatures or by using a constant-current/constant-potential/constant-voltage charge protocol which includes a constant anode potential phase. We introduce and quantify a specific charging power as the ratio of discharged energy (at slow discharge) and required charging time (at a fast charge). This value is shown to exhibit a distinct optimum with respect to electrode thickness. At 35°C, the optimum was achieved using an HE electrode design, yielding 23.8 Wh/(min L) volumetric charging power at 15.2 min charging time (10% to 80% state of charge) and 517 Wh/L discharge energy density. By analyzing the various overpotential contributions, we were able to show that electrolyte transport losses are dominantly responsible for the insufficient charge and discharge performance of cells with very thick electrodes.
Objective: To quantify the effect of inhaled 5% carbon-dioxide/95% oxygen on EEG recordings from patients in non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE).
Methods: Five children of mixed aetiology in NCSE were given high flow of inhaled carbogen (5% carbon dioxide/95% oxygen) using a face mask for maximum 120s. EEG was recorded concurrently in all patients. The effects of inhaled carbogen on patient EEG recordings were investigated using band-power, functional connectivity and graph theory measures. Carbogen effect was quantified by measuring effect size (Cohen's d) between "before", "during" and "after" carbogen delivery states.
Results: Carbogen's apparent effect on EEG band-power and network metrics across all patients for "before-during" and "before-after" inhalation comparisons was inconsistent across the five patients.
Conclusion: The changes in different measures suggest a potentially non-homogeneous effect of carbogen on the patients' EEG. Different aetiology and duration of the inhalation may underlie these non-homogeneous effects. Tuning the carbogen parameters (such as ratio between CO2 and O2, duration of inhalation) on a personalised basis may improve seizure suppression in future.
A printed electronics technology has the advantage of additive and extremely low-cost fabrication compared with the conventional silicon technology. Specifically, printed electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGFETs) are attractive for low-cost applications in the Internet-of-Things domain as they can operate at low supply voltages. In this paper, we propose an empirical dc model for EGFETs, which can describe the behavior of the EGFETs smoothly and accurately over all regimes. The proposed model, built by extending the Enz-Krummenacher-Vittoz model, can also be used to model process variations, which was not possible previously due to fixed parameters for near threshold regime. It offers a single model for all the operating regions of the transistors with only one equation for the drain current. Additionally, it models the transistors with a less number of parameters but higher accuracy compared with existing techniques. Measurement results from several fabricated EGFETs confirm that the proposed model can predict the I-V more accurately compared with the state-of-the-art models in all operating regions. Additionally, the measurements on the frequency of a fabricated ring oscillator are only 4.7% different from the simulation results based on the proposed model using values for the switching capacitances extracted from measurement data, which shows more than 2× improvement compared with the state-of-the-art model.
Printed Electronics technology is a key-enabler for smart sensors, soft robotics, and wearables. The inkjet printed electrolyte-gated field effect transistor (EGFET) technology is a promising candidate for such applications due to its low-power operation, high field-effect mobility, and on-demand fabrication. Unlike conventional silicon-based technologies, inkjet printed electronics technology is an additive manufacturing process where multiple layers are printed on top of each other to realize functional devices such as transistors and their interconnections. Due to the additive manufacturing process, the technology has limited routing layers. For routing of complex circuits, insulating crossovers are printed at the intersection of routing paths to isolate them. The crossover can alter the electrical properties of a circuit based on specific location on a routing path. In this work, we propose a crossover-aware placement and routing (COPnR) methodology for inkjet-printed circuits by integrating the crossover constraints in our design framework. Our proposed placement methodology is based on a state-of-the-art evolutionary algorithm while the routing optimization is done using a genetic algorithm. The proposed methodology is compared with the industrial standard placement and routing (PnR) tools. On average, the proposed methodology has 38% fewer crossovers and 94% fewer failing paths compared to the industrial PnR tools applied to printed circuit designs.
In this paper, the influence of the material hardening behavior on plasticity-induced fatigue crack closure is investigated for strain-controlled loading and fully plastic, large-scale yielding conditions by means of the finite element method. The strain amplitude and the strain ratio are varied for given Ramberg–Osgood material properties representing materials with different hardening behavior. The results show a pronounced influence of the hardening behavior on crack closure, while no significant effect is found from the considered strain amplitude and strain ratio. The effect of the hardening behavior on the crack opening stress cannot be described by existing crack opening stress equations.
Adsorption of N2 and CO2 on Activated Carbon, AlO(OH) Nanoparticles, and AlO(OH) Hollow Spheres
(2015)
Adsorption behaviors of nitrogen and CO2 on Norit R1 Extra and AlO(OH) nanoparticles and hollow spheres were measured under different temperature and pressure conditions using a magnetic suspension balance. Independent from the substrate investigated, all isotherms increase at lower pressure, reach a maximum, and then decrease with increasing pressure. In addition, selected experimental data were correlated with different model approaches and compared with reliable literature data. In case of CO2 on AlO(OH), capillary condensation was observed at two defined temperatures. The results suggest that the conversion of the liquid into a supercritical adsorbate phase does not take place suddenly.
Background
Internal tibial loading is influenced by modifiable factors with implications for the risk of stress injury. Runners encounter varied surface steepness (gradients) when running outdoors and may adapt their speed according to the gradient. This study aimed to quantify tibial bending moments and stress at the anterior and posterior peripheries when running at different speeds on surfaces of different gradients.
Methods
Twenty recreational runners ran on a treadmill at 3 different speeds (2.5 m/s, 3.0 m/s, and 3.5 m/s) and gradients (level: 0%; uphill: +5%, +10%, and +15%; downhill: –5%, –10%, and –15%). Force and marker data were collected synchronously throughout. Bending moments were estimated at the distal third centroid of the tibia about the medial–lateral axis by ensuring static equilibrium at each 1% of stance. Stress was derived from bending moments at the anterior and posterior peripheries by modeling the tibia as a hollow ellipse. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance were conducted using both functional and discrete statistical analyses.
Results
There were significant main effects for running speed and gradient on peak bending moments and peak anterior and posterior stress. Higher running speeds resulted in greater tibial loading. Running uphill at +10% and +15% resulted in greater tibial loading than level running. Running downhill at –10% and –15% resulted in reduced tibial loading compared to level running. There was no difference between +5% or –5% and level running.
Conclusion
Running at faster speeds and uphill on gradients ≥+10% increased internal tibial loading, whereas slower running and downhill running on gradients ≥–10% reduced internal loading. Adapting running speed according to the gradient could be a protective mechanism, providing runners with a strategy to minimize the risk of tibial stress injuries.
Chronic insomnia is defined by difficulties in falling asleep, maintaining sleep, and early morning awakening, and is coupled with daytime consequences such as fatigue, attention deficits, and mood instability. These symptoms persist over a period of at least 3 months (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 criteria). Chronic insomnia can be a symptom of many medical, neurological, and mental disorders. As a disorder, it incurs substantial health-care and occupational costs, and poses substantial risks for the development of cardiovascular and mental disorders, including cognitive deficits. Family and twin studies confirm that chronic insomnia can have a genetic component (heritability coefficients between 42% and 57%), whereas the investigation of autonomous and central nervous system parameters has identified hyperarousal as a final common pathway of the pathophysiology, implicating an imbalance of sleep–wake regulation consisting of either overactivity of the arousal systems, hypoactivity of the sleep-inducing systems, or both. Insomnia treatments include benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine-receptor agonists, and cognitive behavioural therapy. Treatments currently under investigation include transcranial magnetic or electrical brain stimulation, and novel methods to deliver psychological interventions.
For an elastic medium containing a homogeneous distribution of micro-cracks, an effective one-dimensional stress-strain relation has been determined with finite element simulations. In addition to flat micro-cracks, voids were considered that contain a Hertzian contact, which represents an example for micro-cracks with internal structure. The orientation of both types of micro-cracks was fully aligned or, for flat micro-cracks, totally random. For micro-cracks with Hertzian contacts, the case of random orientation was treated in an approximate way. The two types of defects were found to give rise to different degrees of non-analytic behavior of the effective stress-strain relation, which governs the nonlinear propagation of symmetric (S0) Lamb waves in the long-wavelength limit. The presence of flat micro-cracks causes even harmonics to grow linearly with propagation distance with amplitudes proportional to the amplitude of the fundamental wave, and gives rise to a static strain. The presence of the second type of defects leads to a linear growth of all harmonics with amplitudes proportional to the power 3/2 of the fundamental amplitude, and to a strain-dependent velocity shift. Simple expressions are given for the growth rates of higher harmonics of S0 Lamb waves in terms of the parameters occurring in the effective stress-strain relation. They have partly been determined quantitatively with the help of the FEM results for different micro-crack concentrations.
Energy management in distribution grids is one of the key challenges that needs to be overcome to increase the share of fluctuating renewable energies. Current control systems for energy management mainly demonstrate centralized- or decentralized-hierarchical control structures. Very few systems manifest a fully decentralized multiagent-based control structure. Multiagent-based control systems promise to be an advantageous approach for the future distributed energy supply system because no central control entity is necessary, which eases parameterization in case of grid topology changes, and the agents are more stable against failures and changes of control topologies. Research is necessary to prove these benefits. In this study, we introduce a design of a multiagent-based voltage control system for low-voltage grids. In detail we introduce cooperative decision-making processes and software solutions that allow the agents to perceive and control their environment, the agent-discovery and localization in different types of communication networks, agent-to-agent communication, and the integration of the multiagent system in existing grid-control infrastructures. Furthermore, the study proposes how different existing technologies can be combined into an applicable multiagent-based voltage control system: the Java/OSGi-based OpenMUC framework allows a generic field–device interaction; peer-to-peer discovery and session establishment functionalities are combined with the agent communication defined by the Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA). The ripple control-signal technology is applied as a fallback communication between the agent and a central grid-control center.
Cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) is a device-based therapy for the treatment of systolic left ventricular chronic heart failure. Unlike other device-based therapies for heart failure, CCM delivers non-excitatory pacing signals to the myocardium. This leads to an extension of the action potential and to an improved contractility of the heart. The modeling and simulation was done with the electromagnetic simulation software CST. Three CCM electrodes were inserted into the Offenburg heart rhythm model and subsequently simulated the electric field propagation in CCM therapy.
In addition, simulations of CCM have been performed with electrodes from other device-based therapies, such as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and implantable cardioverter / defibrillator (ICD) therapy. At the same distance to the simulation electrode, the electric field is slightly stronger in CCM therapy than in CCM therapy with additionally implanted CRT or ICD electrodes. In addition, there is a change in the electric field propagation at the electrodes of the CRT and the shock electrode of the ICD.
By simulating several different therapy procedures on the heart, it is possible to check how they affect their behavior during normal operation. CCM heart rhythm model simulation allows the evaluation the individual electrical pacing and sensing field during CCM.
Precisely synchronized communication is a major precondition for many industrial applications. At the same time, hardware cost and power consumption need to be kept as low as possible in the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. While many wired solutions on the market achieve these requirements, wireless alternatives are an interesting field for research and development. This article presents a novel IEEE802.11n/ac wireless solution, exhibiting several advantages over state-of-the-art competitors. It is based on a market-available wireless System on a Chip with modified low-level communication firmware combined with a low-cost field-programmable gate array. By achieving submicrosecond synchronization accuracy, our solution outperforms the precision of low-cost products by almost four orders of magnitude. Based on inexpensive hardware, the presented wireless module is up to 20 times cheaper than software-defined-radio solutions with comparable timing accuracy. Moreover, it consumes three to five times less power. To back up our claims, we report data that we collected with a high sampling rate (2000 samples per second) during an extended measurement campaign of more than 120 h, which makes our experimental results far more representative than others reported in the literature. Additional support is provided by the size of the testbed we used during the experiments, composed of a hybrid network with nine nodes divided into two independent wireless segments connected by a wired backbone. In conclusion, we believe that our novel Industrial IoT module architecture will have a significant impact on the future technological development of high-precision time-synchronized communication for the cost-sensitive industrial IoT market.
Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is the most promising time-deterministic wired communication approach for industrial applications. To extend TSN to "IEEE 802.11" wireless networks two challenging problems must be solved: synchronization and scheduling. This paper is focused on the first one. Even though a few solutions already meet the required synchronization accuracies, they are built on expensive hardware that is not suited for mass market products. While next Wi-Fi generation might support the required functionalities, this paper proposes a novel method that makes possible high-precision wireless synchronization using commercial low-cost components. With the proposed solution, a standard deviation of synchronization error of less than 500 ns can be achieved for many use cases and system loads on both CPU and network. This performance is comparable to modern wired real-time field busses, which makes the developed method a significant contribution for the extension of the TSN protocol to the wireless domain.
Der Endkundenvertrieb ist für die Bewahrung und Weiterentwicklung des Kundenstamms eines Energieversorgers essenziell. Doch um knappe Mittel im Vertrieb möglichst wirkungsvoll einsetzen zu können, wird Wissen darüber benötigt, wie sich die durchschnittlich erzielbaren Strompreise und die zu erwartende Kundenbindungsdauer zwischen verschiedenen Vertriebskanälen unterscheiden. Leitet man anhand dieser Informationen den Wert eines Kunden je Vertriebskanal ab, lässt sich treffsicherer über einzusetzende Marketing-Budgets entscheiden.
Since 2003, most European countries established heat health warning systems to alert the population to heat load. Heat health warning systems are based on predicted meteorological conditions outdoors. But the majority of the European population spends a substantial amount of time indoors, and indoor thermal conditions can differ substantially from outdoor conditions. The German Meteorological Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) extended the existing heat health warning system (HHWS) with a thermal building simulation model to consider heat load indoors. In this study, the thermal building simulation model is used to simulate a standardized building representing a modern nursing home, because elderly and sick people are most sensitive to heat stress. Different types of natural ventilation were simulated. Based on current and future test reference years, changes in the future heat load indoors were analyzed. Results show differences between the various ventilation options and the possibility to minimize the thermal heat stress during summer by using an appropriate ventilation method. Nighttime ventilation for indoor thermal comfort is most important. A fully opened window at nighttime and the 2-h ventilation in the morning and evening are more sufficient to avoid heat stress than a tilted window at nighttime and the 1-h ventilation in the morning and the evening. Especially the ventilation in the morning seems to be effective to keep the heat load indoors low. Comparing the results for the current and the future test reference years, an increase of heat stress on all ventilation types can be recognized.
With the growing share of renewable energies in the electricity supply, transmission and distribution grids have to be adapted. A profound understanding of the structural characteristics of distribution grids is essential to define suitable strategies for grid expansion. Many countries have a large number of distribution system operators (DSOs) whose standards vary widely, which contributes to coordination problems during peak load hours. This study contributes to targeted distribution grid development by classifying DSOs according to their remuneration requirement. To examine the amendment potential, structural and grid development data from 109 distribution grids in South-Western Germany, are collected, referring to publications of the respective DSOs. The resulting data base is assessed statistically to identify clusters of DSOs according to the fit of demographic requirements and grid-construction status and thus identify development needs to enable a broader use of regenerative energy resources. Three alternative algorithms are explored to manage this task. The study finds the novel Gauss-Newton algorithm optimal to analyse the fit of grid conditions to regional requirements and successfully identifies grids with remuneration needs. It is superior to the so far used K-Means algorithm. The method developed here is transferable to other areas for grid analysis and targeted, cost-efficient development.
Inadequate mechanical compliance of orthopedic implants can result in excessive strain of the bone interface, and ultimately, aseptic loosening. It is hypothesized that a fiber-based biometal with adjustable anisotropic mechanical properties can reduce interface strain, facilitate continuous remodeling, and improve implant survival under complex loads. The biometal is based on strategically layered sintered titanium fibers. Six different topologies are manufactured. Specimens are tested under compression in three orthogonal axes under 3-point bending and torsion until failure. Biocompatibility testing involves murine osteoblasts. Osseointegration is investigated by micro-computed tomography and histomorphometry after implantation in a metaphyseal trepanation model in sheep. The material demonstrates compressive yield strengths of up to 50 MPa and anisotropy correlating closely with fiber layout. Samples with 75% porosity are both stronger and stiffer than those with 85% porosity. The highest bending modulus is found in samples with parallel fiber orientation, while the highest shear modulus is found in cross-ply layouts. Cell metabolism and morphology indicate uncompromised biocompatibility. Implants demonstrate robust circumferential osseointegration in vivo after 8 weeks. The biometal introduced in this study demonstrates anisotropic mechanical properties similar to bone, and excellent osteoconductivity and feasibility as an orthopedic implant material.
Energy consumption for cooling is growing dramatically. In the last years, electricity peak consumption grew significantly, switching from winter to summer in many EU countries. This is endangering the stability of electricity grids. This article outlines a comprehensive analysis of an office building performances in terms of energy consumption and thermal comfort (in accordance with static – ISO 7730:2005 – and adaptive thermal comfort criteria – EN 15251:2007 –) related to different cooling concepts in six different European climate zones. The work is based on a series of dynamic simulations carried out in the Trnsys 17 environment for a typical office building. The simulation study was accomplished for five cooling technologies: natural ventilation (NV), mechanical night ventilation (MV), fan-coils (FC), suspended ceiling panels (SCP), and concrete core conditioning (CCC) applied in Stockholm, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Milan, Rome, and Palermo. Under this premise, the authors propose a methodology for the evaluation of the cooling concepts taking into account both, thermal comfort and energy consumption.
Research is often conducted to investigate footwear mechanical properties and their effects on running biomechanics, but little is known about their influence on runner satisfaction, or how well the shoe is perceived. A tool to predict runner satisfaction in a shoe from its mechanical properties would be advantageous for footwear companies. Data in this study were from a database (n = 615 subject-shoe pairings) of satisfaction ratings (gathered after participants ran on a treadmill), and mechanical testing data for 87 unique subjects across 61 unique shoes. Random forest and elastic net logistic regression models were built to test if footwear mechanical properties and subject characteristics could predict runner satisfaction in 3 ways: degree-of-satisfaction on a 7-point Likert scale, overall satisfaction on a 3-point Likert scale, and willingness-to-purchase the shoe (yes/no response). Data were divided into training and validation sets, using an 80–20 split, to build the models and test their accuracy, respectively. Model accuracies were compared against the no-information rate (i.e. proportion of data belonging to the largest class). The models were not able to predict degree-of-satisfaction or overall satisfaction from footwear mechanical properties but could predict runner’s willingness to purchase with 68–75% accuracy. Midsole Gmax at the heel and forefoot appeared in the top five of variable importance rankings across both willingness-to-purchase models, suggesting its role as a major factor in purchase decisions. The negative regression coefficient for both heel and forefoot Gmax indicated that softer midsoles increase the likelihood of a shoe purchase. Future models to predict satisfaction may improve accuracy with the addition of more subject-specific parameters, such as running goals or foot proportions.
Optimisation based economic despatch of real-world complex energy systems demands reduced order and continuously differentiable component models that can represent their part-load behaviour and dynamic responses. A literature study of existing modelling methods and the necessary characteristics the models should meet for their successful application in model predictive control of a polygeneration system are presented. Deriving from that, a rational modelling procedure using engineering principles and assumptions to develop simplified component models is applied. The models are quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated against experimental data and their efficacy for application in a building automation and control architecture is established.
Drawing off the technical flexibility of building polygeneration systems to support a rapidly expanding renewable electricity grid requires the application of advanced controllers like model predictive control (MPC) that can handle multiple inputs and outputs, uncertainties in forecast data, and plant constraints amongst other features. In this original work, an economic-MPC-based optimal scheduling of a real-world building energy system is demonstrated and its performance is evaluated against a conventional controller. The demonstration includes the steps to integrate an optimisation-based supervisory controller into a standard building automation and control system with off-the-shelf HVAC components and usage of state-of-art algorithms for solving complex nonlinear mixed integer optimal control problems. With the MPC, quantitative benefits in terms of 6–12% demand-cost savings and qualitative benefits in terms of better controller adaptability and hardware-friendly operation are identified. Further research potential for improving the MPC framework in terms of field-level stability, minimising constraint violations, and inter-system communication for its deployment in a prosumer-network is also identified.