bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A fast linear electro-optical effect in a non-chiral bent-core liquid crystal
Authors: Panarin Yu. P. , Sreenilayam S. P. , Vij J. K. , Lehmann A. , Tschierske C.
Published: November 2017

We report on the observation of an electro-optical effect for a linear rotation of the optical axis as a function of the electric field in a tilted liquid crystalline smectic phase of an achiral bent-core compound, attributed to a spontaneous helical state in its SmCSPF phase.
Carbidopa: a selective Ah receptor modulator (SAhRM)
Authors: Safe Stephen
Published: November 2017

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) was discovered as the intracellular receptor that bound with high affinity to the environmental toxicant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), and the AhR is required for mediating the toxicity induced by TCDD. Subsequent studies show that the AhR binds structurally diverse chemicals including plant-derived compounds that promote health and several AhR-active pharmaceuticals that exhibit anticancer activity. In this issue, there is a report that carbidopa, a drug used for treating Parkinson's disease, is also an AhR ligand, and this compound inhibits pancreatic cancer cell and tumor growth. These results are consistent with activities of other AhR-active compounds that inhibit carcinogenesis. Like carbidopa, these chemicals are selective AhR modulators with potential clinical applications that are AhR-dependent.
Inflammation-regulated mRNA stability and the progression of vascular inflammatory diseases
Authors: Herman Allison B. , Autieri Michael V.
Published: November 2017

Cardiovascular disease remains a major medical and socioeconomic burden in developed and developing societies, and will increase with an aging and increasingly sedentary society. Vascular disease and atherosclerotic vascular syndromes are essentially inflammatory disorders, and transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes play essential roles in the ability of resident vascular and inflammatory cells to adapt to environmental stimuli. The regulation of mRNA translocation, stability, and translation are key processes of post-transcriptional regulation that permit these cells to rapidly respond to inflammatory stimuli. For the most part, these processes are controlled by elements in the 3′-UTR of labile, proinflammatory transcripts. Since proinflammatory transcripts almost exclusively contain AU-rich elements (AREs), this represents a tightly regulated and specific mechanism for initiation and maintenance of the proinflammatory phenotype. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) recognize cis elements in 3′-UTR, and regulate each of these processes, but there is little literature exploring the concept that RBPs themselves can be directly regulated by inflammatory stimuli. Conceptually, inflammation-responsive RBPs represent an attractive target of rational therapies to combat vascular inflammatory syndromes. Herein we briefly describe the cellular and molecular etiology of atherosclerosis, and summarize our current understanding of RBPs and their specific roles in regulation of inflammatory mRNA stability. We also detail RBPs as targets of current anti-inflammatory modalities and how this may translate into better treatment for vascular inflammatory diseases.
South Asian Adults' Performance on Executive Function Tests
Authors: Kallambettu Veena , Burda Angela N. , Wakeman Nicole
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This study compared the performance of South Asian and White adults on the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS; Wilson, Alderman, Burgess, Emslie, & Evans, 1996) and the Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies (FAVRES; MacDonald, 2005), tests that can be used by speech-language pathologists to assess executive function (EF).

Method

Twenty South Asian and 20 White participants were administered the BADS and FAVRES. Raw scores were converted to profile scores on the BADS and to standard scores on the FAVRES. Analysis of covariance statistics were calculated to compare EF test performance.

Results

South Asian and White participants did not demonstrate significant performance differences on the BADS. On the FAVRES, Whites had significantly higher accuracy scores on 2 of the 4 subtests and significantly higher rationale scores on 3 subtests. South Asian adults who completed all of their formal education in India had lower accuracy and rationale scores on 2 of the 4 subtests versus South Asian adults who completed at least some of their formal education in North America. No significant differences occurred on the Time scores for any subtest or on the overall Reasoning score.

Conclusions

Performance differences on EF tests may exist between South Asian and White adults. Further research is necessary to determine the impact of cultural and linguistic differences on EF test performance in South Asian adults.
Development of Pointing Gestures in Children With Typical and Delayed Language Acquisition
Authors: Lüke Carina , Ritterfeld Ute , Grimminger Angela , Liszkowski Ulf , Rohlfing Katharina J.
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This longitudinal study compared the development of hand and index-finger pointing in children with typical language development (TD) and children with language delay (LD). First, we examined whether the number and the form of pointing gestures during the second year of life are potential indicators of later LD. Second, we analyzed the influence of caregivers' gestural and verbal input on children's communicative development.

Method

Thirty children with TD and 10 children with LD were observed together with their primary caregivers in a seminatural setting in 5 sessions between the ages of 12 and 21 months. Language skills were assessed at 24 months.

Results

Compared with children with TD, children with LD used fewer index-finger points at 12 and 14 months but more pointing gestures in total at 21 months. There were no significant differences in verbal or gestural input between caregivers of children with or without LD.

Conclusions

Using more index-finger points at the beginning of the second year of life is associated with TD, whereas using more pointing gestures at the end of the second year of life is associated with delayed acquisition. Neither the verbal nor gestural input of caregivers accounted for differences in children's skills.
Auditory Attentional Set-Shifting and Inhibition in Children Who Stutter
Authors: Eggers Kurt , Jansson-Verkasalo Eira
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether previously reported parental questionnaire-based differences in attentional shifting and inhibitory control (AS and IC; Eggers, De Nil, & Van den Bergh, 2010) would be supported by direct measurement of AS and IC using a computer task.

Method

Participants were 16 Finnish children who stutter (CWS; mean age = 7.06 years) and 16 Finnish children who do not stutter (mean age = 7.05 years). Participants were matched on age (±8 months) and gender. AS and IC were assessed by the auditory set-shifting task of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (De Sonneville, 2009).

Results

No group differences were found for the speed of auditory AS or IC. However, CWS, as a group, scored significantly lower on the accuracy (error percentage) of auditory AS. In addition, CWS, compared with the children who do not stutter, showed a higher increase in error percentages under AS and IC conditions.

Conclusions

The findings on error percentages partly corroborate earlier questionnaire-based findings showing difficulties in CWS on AS and IC. Moreover, it also seems to imply that CWS are less able to slow down their responses to achieve higher accuracy rates.
Frequency correlation of shadowing over TV bands in suburban area
Authors: Sato K. , Inage K. , Fujii T.
Published: November 2017

The frequency correlation characteristics of shadowing over television bands in a suburban area are evaluated. Some papers report that shadowing losses are high frequency correlated. However, although the frequency correlations can be modelled as a function of the frequency differences are expected, conventional works only present correlation analyses between two or three channels. The correlations have shown an exponential decrease in proportion to the frequency differences based on several massive datasets measured over the television bands. In addition, the empirical model for the characteristics of the frequency correlations is discussed. An empirical model that consists of two exponential decay models is proposed, and show the R‐squared value for the experimental value is ∼1.
QD floating gate NVRAM using QD channel for faster erasing
Authors: Lingalugari M. , Chan P.‐Y. , Heller E.K. , Chandy J. , Jain F.C.
Published: November 2017

A new pathway to design floating gate quantum dot (QD) non‐volatile RAM (QDNVRAM) cells that possess high‐speed low‐voltage Erase capabilities not possible with conventional floating gate NV memories is presented. This is achieved by directly accessing the QD floating gate layer with an additional drain (D2) during the Erase operation. Experimental data on fabricated long‐channel (10 μm/14 μm) QDNVRAM cell shows ‘Erase’ pulse duration of ∼4 μs at voltage of about 10 V using drain D2 which is over two‐order smaller than the ‘Write’ pulse value. Quantum mechanical simulations are also presented. QDNVRAM fabrication process is compatible with CMOS processing.
Relevance of two manual tumour volume estimation methods for diffuse low‐grade gliomas
Authors: Ben Abdallah Meriem , Blonski Marie , Wantz‐Mézières Sophie , Gaudeau Yann. , Taillandier Luc , Moureaux Jean‐Marie
Published: November 2017

Management of diffuse low‐grade glioma (DLGG) relies extensively on tumour volume estimation from MRI datasets. Two methods are currently clinically used to define this volume: the commonly used three‐diameters solution and the more rarely used software‐based volume reconstruction from the manual segmentations approach. The authors conducted an initial study of inter‐practitioners’ variability of software‐based manual segmentations on DLGGs MRI datasets. A panel of 13 experts from various specialties and years of experience delineated 12 DLGGs’ MRI scans. A statistical analysis on the segmented tumour volumes and pixels indicated that the individual practitioner, the years of experience and the specialty seem to have no significant impact on the segmentation of DLGGs. This is an interesting result as it had not yet been demonstrated and as it encourages cross‐disciplinary collaboration. Their second study was with the three‐diameters method, investigating its impact and that of the software‐based volume reconstruction from manual segmentations method on tumour volume. They relied on the same dataset and on a participant from the first study. They compared the average of tumour volumes acquired by software reconstruction from manual segmentations method with tumour volumes obtained with the three‐diameters method. The authors found that there is no statistically significant difference between the volumes estimated with the two approaches. These results correspond to non‐operated and easily delineable DLGGs and are particularly interesting for time‐consuming CUBE MRIs. Nonetheless, the three‐diameters method has limitations in estimating tumour volumes for resected DLGGs, for which case the software‐based manual segmentation method becomes more appropriate.
Mean curvature and texture constrained composite weighted random walk algorithm for optic disc segmentation towards glaucoma screening
Authors: Panda Rashmi , Puhan N.B. , Panda Ganapati
Published: November 2017

Accurate optic disc (OD) segmentation is an important step in obtaining cup‐to‐disc ratio‐based glaucoma screening using fundus imaging. It is a challenging task because of the subtle OD boundary, blood vessel occlusion and intensity inhomogeneity. In this Letter, the authors propose an improved version of the random walk algorithm for OD segmentation to tackle such challenges. The algorithm incorporates the mean curvature and Gabor texture energy features to define the new composite weight function to compute the edge weights. Unlike the deformable model‐based OD segmentation techniques, the proposed algorithm remains unaffected by curve initialisation and local energy minima problem. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified with DRIVE, DIARETDB1, DRISHTI‐GS and MESSIDOR database images using the performance measures such as mean absolute distance, overlapping ratio, dice coefficient, sensitivity, specificity and precision. The obtained OD segmentation results and quantitative performance measures show robustness and superiority of the proposed algorithm in handling the complex challenges in OD segmentation.
Improvement of induction motor operation using a new winding scheme for reduction of the magnetomotive force distortion
Authors: Asgharpour‐Alamdari Hossein , Alinejad‐Beromi Yousef , Yaghobi Hamid
Published: November 2017

In conventional methods, distributing and chording the winding of a motor can be used for controlling the harmonic contents of magnetomotive force (MMF). This solution may not be able to reduce the harmonic contents of motors to the desirable value that may cause unsuitable performance of the motor such as crawling phenomenon. Moreover, the harmonic contents of the MMF cause increase of the losses and reduction in efficiency of electrical motors. The effect of the new winding scheme was investigated to improve the induction motor operation by reducing the harmonic contents of the MMF. By applying the new winding pattern in an induction motor, the harmonic component groups of fifth (5, 11, etc.) and seventh (7, 13, etc.) were reduced considerably. A simulation approach alongside experimental results derived from a two‐pole, 400 V, 50 Hz, 200 W, three‐phase induction motor validate the improvement operation of the motor.
Correlation‐based synchro‐check relay for power systems
Authors: Allah Ragab Abd
Published: November 2017

The synchronisation is a critical process in power system. When closing a circuit breaker (CB) between two energised parts of the power system, match voltages on both CB sides before closing must be verified. Non‐synchronising conditions will result in a power system disturbance and equipment damage. The voltage magnitude, frequency and phase angle differences across the breaker must be closely monitored. In this study, the author suggests a synchro‐check relay based on correlation concept. The correlation is considered a proper statistical method for estimating the similarity between electrical signals. The three‐phase voltages and currents, measured from the two sub‐systems, are used in the proposed technique to check match voltages during normal operation conditions. The synchroniser can operate online and function in automatic mode for electrical networks with different voltage levels. In addition, it can be used to supervise CB closing for avoiding an incorrect operation. Two parts of a 19.57 kV/500 kV power system with real parameters are simulated using alternative transients program (ATP) software and MATLAB package to examine the suggested algorithm under different operating conditions. The simulation results show that the proposed approach is relatively simple, reliable, efficient and very promising in applications to generation plants and substation automation systems.
Faulted section identification for DC distribution systems using smart meter data
Authors: Mohanty Rabindra , Pradhan Ashok Kumar
Published: November 2017

The potential benefits of direct current (DC) network in low‐voltage system promote smart grids and facilitate increasing penetration of distributed generation (DG). Correct identification of faulted section of a distribution network by an automation system reduces power outage time and improves reliability indices of such systems. With the onset of a fault in a DC distribution system, data recorded at an outage management system are used to identify the faulted section. With DG units active in a distribution system, there will be bidirectional power flow and faulted section identification becomes challenging. Using voltage and current data from consumer‐end smart meters and the substation, a method is proposed to identify the faulted section in DC distribution system. The Hadamard product of fault‐affected sections (obtained from network topology and voltage status matrices) is used to identify the faulted section correctly. Using power systems computer‐aided design/electro‐magnetic transient design and control simulation, the accuracy of the proposed method is verified for different fault situations including simultaneous faults, fault close to a bus and with rooftop photovoltaic integration to a DC distribution system. The method has the capability to provide information on the fault segment that connects feeder pillar to the consumer end also.
Locality and context‐aware top‐down saliency
Authors: Li Junxia , Rajan Deepu , Yang Jian
Published: November 2017

In this study, the authors propose a novel framework for top‐down (TD) saliency detection, which is well suited to locate category‐specific objects in natural images. Saliency value is defined as the probability of a target based on its visual feature. They introduce an effective coding strategy called locality constrained contextual coding (LCCC) that enforces locality and contextual constraints. Furthermore, a contextual pooling operation is presented to take advantages of feature contextual information. Benefiting from LCCC and contextual pooling, the obtained feature representation has high discriminative power, which makes the authors' saliency detection method achieving competitive results with existing saliency detection algorithms. They also include bottom‐up cues into their framework to supplement the proposed TD saliency algorithm. Experimental results on three datasets (Graz‐02, Weizmann Horse and PASCAL VOC 2007) show that the proposed framework outperforms state‐of‐the‐art methods in terms of visual quality and accuracy.
Randomised visual secret sharing scheme for grey‐scale and colour images
Authors: Mhala Nikhil C. , Jamal Rashid , Pais Alwyn R.
Published: November 2017

Randomised visual secret sharing is an encryption technique that utilises block‐based progressive visual secret sharing and discrete cosine transform (DCT) based reversible data embedding technique to recover a secret image. The recovery method is based on progressive visual secret sharing, which recovers the secret image block by block. The existing block based schemes achieve the highest contrast level of 50% for noise‐like and meaningful shares. The proposed scheme achieves a contrast level of 70–90% for noise‐like and 70–80% for meaningful shares. The enhancement of contrast is achieved by embedding additional information in the shares using DCT‐based reversible data embedding technique. Experimental results showed that the proposed scheme restores the secret image with better visual quality in terms of human visual system based parameters.
Dual‐band meander‐line MIMO antenna with high diversity for LTE/UMTS router
Authors: Morsy Mohamed M. , Morsy Ahmed M.
Published: November 2017

A dual‐band multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna is presented. The proposed MIMO antenna consists of two elements of meander‐line antenna with an isolation improvement structure located between the two radiating antenna elements. The antennas operate in the 4G long‐term evolution (LTE) (699–798 MHz) band, and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) (Digital Cellular System (DCS)/Personal Communications Service (PCS)) bands (1920–2170 MHz) with |S11| = −6 dB (voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) = 3) matching criteria. The measured mutual coupling is lower than −15 and −22 dB at the LTE 700 bands, and UMTS bands, respectively. The diversity performance of the envelope correlation coefficient and the mean effective gain meets the diversity criteria for mobile communications. Total radiation efficiencies range between 60 and 90% over the operating frequency bands. A prototype antenna was fabricated and tested for design verification. The simulated results are in good agreement with the measurements.
Matrix pencil method‐based reference current generation for shunt active power filters
Authors: Terriche Yacine , Golestan Saeed , Guerrero Josep M. , Kerdoune Djallel , Vasquez Juan C.
Published: November 2017

In recent years, the shunt active power filters (SAPFs) have received much attention for compensating the harmonic pollution and also providing the reactive content. A crucial issue in controlling the SAPF is generating the reference compensating current (RCC). Typical approaches for this purpose are using the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) in the frequency domain or the instantaneous p–q theory and the synchronous reference frame in the time domain. The DFT, however, suffers from the picket‐fence effect and spectral leakage. On the other hand, the DFT takes at least one cycle of the nominal frequency. The time‐domain methods show a weakness under voltage distortion, which requires prior filtering techniques. The aim of this study is to present a fast yet effective method for generating the RCC for SAPFs. The proposed method, which is based on the matrix pencil method, has a fast dynamic response and works well under distorted and unbalanced voltage. Moreover, the proposed method can estimate the voltage phase accurately; this property enables the algorithm to compensate for both power factor and current unbalance. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified using simulation and experimental results, and compared with the standard methods.
Reverse‐recovery of diamond p‐i‐n diodes
Authors: Traoré Aboulaye , Nakajima Akira , Makino Toshiharu , Kuwabara Daisuke , Kato Hiromitsu , Ogura Masahiko , Takeuchi Daisuke , Yamasaki Satoshi
Published: November 2017

Diamond p‐i‐n diodes are one of the most advanced and promising diamond devices for high‐power applications. The electrical characteristics of diamond p‐i‐n diodes have been extensively investigated in the static state, but their switching properties are unknown, and the recovery waveform is the main concern. This study highlights the switching properties of diamond p‐i‐n diodes used as freewheeling diodes in a clamped inductive switching circuit. The recovery waveform was measured by a wide range of conduction current, reverse blocking voltage, and switching speed. For the basic device design used (without edge termination), the p‐i‐n diode could be switched from a conducting state at 850 A/cm2 to a blocking state at 400 V. The reverse recovery time was <150 ns. The reverse‐recovery depends on the on‐state current level, reverse voltage, and switching rate, illustrated the fast switching of diamond p‐i‐n diodes.
Contribution of auxiliary coherent radar receiver to target's velocity estimation
Authors: Cohen Itzik , Levanon Nadav
Published: November 2017

Recent progress in bistatic radar techniques can be used to improve performances of classical monostatic radar. A prominent limitation of coherent radar is its inability to measure the complete velocity vector (magnitude and direction) of a detected target. A single coherent detection can provide range‐rate only. At least two detections, separated in time, are needed to estimate the target's velocity vector. This study discusses how the velocity vector can be determined by two simultaneous detections spaced in distance. The second detection is obtained by an auxiliary distant bistatic coherent receiver; an approach proposed in the 1990s to enhance meteorological radar. Being a very simple case of a distributed radar system allows for a simple demonstration of how to calculate the target's position and velocity vector and how to analyse the estimation accuracy, including geometric dilution of precision plots of the velocity error. Also discussed are two methods to identify correct data association when more than one target is detected.
Fault line detection method based on the improved SVD de‐noising and ideal clustering curve for distribution networks
Authors: Wei Xiangxiang , Wen Boying , Yang Dechang , Wang Bin , Wang Xiaowei , Yang Xuefei , Gao Jie
Published: November 2017

This study proposes an adaptive fault line detection method based on the improved singular value decomposition (SVD) de‐noising and ideal clustering curve for distribution networks. First, the improved SVD algorithm is introduced to obtain the pure transient zero sequence current. Then, the fast Fourier transformation is employed to analyse the baseband signal and calculate the phase differences. After that, if the difference values are larger than the set threshold, the detection method based on the improved SVD and ideal clustering curve of baseband components is proposed; if not, the 1/4 cycle damping non‐periodic components are rearranged, then based on the first half waveform extreme values and the rearranging damping non‐periodic components, the detection method based on the ideal clustering curve of damping components is introduced. The simulation results prove the correctness of proposed selection method. After comparing with the existing methods, the advantages of proposed method are confirmed.
The impact of the hot tap water load pattern in the industrial hall on the energy yield from solar collectors
Authors: Fidorów-Kaprawy Natalia , Dudkiewicz Edyta
Published: November 2017

The systems using solar energy, popular in Poland, can be used to supply hot water for the installation used by employees of industrial halls. In manufacturing plants, employing a large number of people, the demand for hot water is practically constant throughout the year and is characterized by periodic use at the end of each work shift. Dynamics of the hot water consumption depends on the number of shifts as well as working days and holidays. Additionally the maximum hot tap water demand occurs in the whole period of installation operation. In polish climatic conditions the solar collectors’ systems have the largest capacity in the summer, while in winter they need to be assisted. Beside that the supply of renewable energy is uneven and depends on weather conditions. In the paper the one-hour step analysis concerning the dependence of the load pattern of the hot tap water preparation system on the energy yield from solar collectors had been performed.
Mitarbeiterführung: Bekommt man alle Generationen unter einen Hut?
Authors: Böckmann Klaus
Published: November 2017

Babyboomer und Generation X, Y und Z: Jede Generation hat ihre eigenen Vorstellungen von Leben und Arbeiten. Wie die verschiedenen Lebensmottos im Klinikalltag berücksichtigt werden können, beleuchtet Klaus Böckmann, Pflegedirektor am Rhein-Maas Klinikum.
Aneurysma-Therapie: Hirnarterien aus dem 3D-Drucker
Authors: Hantelmann Anna
Published: November 2017

Dr. André Kemmling, Neuroradiologe am Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, druckt erfolgreich 3D-Modelle von Hirnarterien für personalisierte Eingriffe bei Aneurysma-Patienten. Bei der OP-Planung sowie in der Forschung und Lehre kann sich der 3D-Druck in der Medizin bereits beweisen.
Herbstumfrage des BVMed: Sorgenvoller Blick in die Zukunft
Authors: Doelfs Guntram
Published: November 2017

Die Marktsituation der deutschen Medizintechnikbranche wird zunehmend schwieriger. Wie die Ergebnisse der aktuellen Herbstumfrage des Branchenverbandes BVMed zeigen, sinken die Umsätze im Inlandsgeschäft erneut, auch die Gewinne schmelzen. Zusätzliche Sorgen bereitet der Branche die Umsetzung der EU-Medizinprodukteverordnung.
3D-Mapping: Hochauflösende Entdeckungstour an der Herzwand
Authors: Rassaf Tienush , Wakili Reza
Published: November 2017

Schnellere Prozessoren, hochauflösende Bildschirme und ein immenser Fortschritt in der Katheter-Technik haben die Behandlungsmöglichkeiten bei Patienten mit Herzrhythmusstörungen zuletzt drastisch weiterentwickelt. Besonders die Ablationstherapie mithilfe des neuen Rhythmia-Mapping-Systems ist schonender, schneller und genauer als jemals zuvor.
Adipositas-Chirurgie: Ran an den Speck
Authors: König Romy
Published: November 2017

Die Zahlen der bariatrischen Operationen in Deutschland steigen – und mit ihnen die Spannungen zwischen den Akteuren: Kassen warnen, hier würden Indikationen ausgeweitet; Chirurgen werfen den Kostenträgern ihrerseits eine zu restriktive „Genehmigungspraxis“ vor.
Blockchain-Technologie: Hype oder digitaler Mehrwert?
Authors: Schwarz Maximilian
Published: November 2017

Als Idee im Umfeld der digitalen Währung Bitcoin bekannt geworden, verheißt die Blockchain-Technologie nichts anderes als eine kleine Revolution. Informationen können mit ihrer Hilfe verteilt und manipulationssicher abgespeichert werden, ohne eine zentrale Instanz als Aufsicht. Längst wird sie daher auch im Gesundheitswesen diskutiert. Doch noch ist unklar, ob in Kliniken der erhoffte Nutzen höher sein wird als die Kosten.
Medizininformatik-Initiative des BMBF: „Häppchenweise soll Interoperabilität entstehen“
Authors: Mau Jens
Published: November 2017

Derzeit läuft die Medizininformatik-Initiative des Bundesforschungsministeriums an. Das Ministerium stellt 150 Millionen Euro bereit – und weitere Gelder in Aussicht. kma sprach mit Sebastian Semler, dem Geschäftsführer der Technologie- und Methodenplattform für die vernetzte medizinische Forschung (TMF), über die Roadmap des Projekts und was am Ende dabei herauskommen soll.
Roboterassistierte Chirurgie: Aufbereitung von Instrumenten ist problematisch
Authors: Schulz-Stübner Sebastian
Published: November 2017

Operationsroboter haben in vielen chirurgischen Disziplinen Einzug gehalten. Mit der Komplexität des eingesetzten Instrumentariums ergeben sich aber auch spezielle technische Fragen zur Aufbereitung sowie erhöhte Anforderungen an das Fachpersonal in den zentralen Sterilgutversorgungsabteilungen (ZSVA).
Branche in Zahlen
Authors: Mewis Dirk
Published: November 2017

Dieser Artikel ist nur als PDF-Dokument verfügbar.
Kredite: „Wir nehmen häufig die Rolle des Konsortialführers wahr“
Authors: Mewis Dirk
Published: November 2017

Holger Wessling, Mitglied des Vorstands der Deutschen Apotheker- und Ärztebank (apoBank), über Finanzierungsinstrumente, attraktive Konditionen und Bankenkonsortien.
ÖVKT-Tagung 2017: Die Zukunft beginnt jetzt
Authors: Thalmayr Maria
Published: November 2017

„Wir sind bereits mitten in der Zukunft.“ Diese Erkenntnis zog sich als roter Faden durch die Vorträge der diesjährigen ÖVKT-Tagung in Pörtschach am Wörthersee. Die Technologien für ein Gesundheitswesen 4.0 stehen längst zur Verfügung: Jetzt gilt es, Innovationen möglichst nutzbringend und vor allem flächendeckend in die Prozesse und Arbeitsabläufe einzubinden
Prenatal and Postnatal Follow-up in Trisomies 13 and 18: A 20-Year Experience in a Tertiary Center
Authors: Ürel Demir Gizem , Arslan Umut , Şimşek-Kiper Pelin , Utine Gülen , Alikaşifoğlu Mehmet , Boduroğlu Koray , Akgün Doğan Özlem
Published: November 2017

Objective Trisomies 13 and 18 are among the most common autosomal aneuploidies associated with high mortality rates. Conventional management strategies offer to limit interventional support; however, some of the recent studies suggest that intervention does make a difference in terms of survival.

Study Design A retrospective cohort study was performed between January 1996 and January 2016, covering all cases with such trisomies. A total of 69 cases were reviewed for clinical aspects, outcome, and management strategies.

Results In almost all pregnancies with follow-up, at least one indication present for invasive testing (54/55). Invasive testing was not performed in 18.5% of such cases. All parents opted for termination in cases with prenatal diagnosis. None of the liveborns had prenatal diagnoses, thus, neonatal resuscitation and intensive care unit admission were not withheld in such infants. Major intervention was done in only one patient with full trisomy 13. Median survival for infants with full trisomies 13 and 18 was 36 and 60 days, respectively. Almost half the patients died within 1 month.

Conclusion To which extent the major interventions should be withheld is an issue of debate in managing such infants; however, current approaches are subject to change, given the technological advances.
Comparison of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Treatment with Sublingual Buprenorphine versus Conventional Opioids
Authors: Rice Ward , Folger Alonzo , Wexelblatt Scott , Hall Eric
Published: November 2017

Objective The objective of this study was to compare duration of opioid treatment and length of stay outcomes for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) using sublingual buprenorphine versus traditional weaning with methadone or morphine.

Study Design This retrospective cohort analysis evaluated infants treated for NAS at a single community hospital from July 2013 through June 2017. A standardized weaning protocol was introduced in June 2015, allowing for treatment with sublingual buprenorphine regardless of type of intrauterine opioid exposure. General linear models were used to calculate adjusted mean duration of opioid treatment and length of hospitalization with 95% confidence intervals for infants treated with buprenorphine compared with traditional weaning with either methadone or morphine.

Results A total of 360 infants were treated with either buprenorphine (n = 174) or a traditional opioid (n = 186). Infants treated with buprenorphine experienced a 3.0-day reduction in opioid treatment duration of 7.4 (6.3–8.5) versus 10.4 (9.3–11.5) days (p < 0.001) and a 2.8-day reduction in length of stay of 12.4 (11.3–13.6) versus 15.2 (14.1–16.4) days (p < 0.001).

Conclusion Our study provides an independent confirmation that among infants experiencing NAS following a wide array of intrauterine opioid exposures, buprenorphine weaning supports a shortened treatment duration compared with conventional weaning agents.
Congenital Disorders of Autophagy: What a Pediatric Neurologist Should Know
Authors: Ebrahimi-Fakhari Darius
Published: November 2017

Autophagy is a fundamental and conserved intracellular pathway that mediates the degradation of macromolecules and organelles in lysosomes. Proper autophagy function is important for central nervous system development and neuronal function. Over the last 5 years, several single gene disorders of the autophagy pathway have emerged: EPG5-associated Vici syndrome, WDR45-associated β-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration, SNX14-associated autosomal-recessive spinocerebellar ataxia 20, ATG5-associated autosomal-recessive ataxia syndrome, SQSTM1/p62-associated childhood-onset neurodegeneration, and several forms of the hereditary spastic paraplegias. This novel and evolving group of disorders is characterized by prominent central nervous system involvement leading to brain malformations, developmental delay, intellectual disability, epilepsy, movement disorders, and neurodegeneration. Predominant involvement of the long white matter tracts and the cerebellum are anatomic and imaging hallmarks, with common findings that include a thinning of the corpus callosum and cerebellar hypoplasia or atrophy. A storage disease phenotype by clinical or imaging criteria is present in some diseases. Most congenital disorders of autophagy are progressive and over time involve pathology in multiple brain regions. This review provides a detailed clinical, imaging and genetic characterization of congenital disorders of autophagy and highlights the importance of this pathway for childhood-onset neurological diseases.
Glutenfreie Ernährung – Update 2017
Authors: Leiß Ottmar
Published: November 2017

Eine glutenfreie Ernährung ist seit 60 Jahren die einzige Therapieoption für Patienten mit Zöliakie oder Dermatitis herpetiformis zur Normalisierung der Beschwerden und Verhinderung von Komplikationen. Eine glutenfreie Ernährung erfreut sich jedoch in jüngster Zeit zunehmender Beliebtheit wegen vermuteter Effekte auf Wohlbefinden und Leistungsfähigkeit sowie zur Kontrolle des Körpergewichts.

In der vorliegenden Übersicht wird auf gesicherte Indikationen für eine glutenfreie Ernährung, auf die Notwendigkeit einer eingehenden Beratung und Schulung des Patienten, auf Probleme und Schwierigkeiten bei der Umsetzung einer glutenfreien Ernährung in den täglichen Alltag und auf mögliche Nebenwirkungen unter Langzeittherapie eingegangen. Neue Methoden zur Überprüfung der Adhärenz zu einer glutenfreien Ernährung werden erörtert, die ernährungsmedizinische Qualität etlicher lebensmitteltechnologisch hergestellter glutenfreier Nahrungsmittel wird kritisch diskutiert.
Akutes Leberversagen als seltene Manifestation einer häufigen Erkrankung
Authors: Thiel Angela , Rissland Jürgen , Lammert Frank , Casper Markus
Published: November 2017

Eine 63-jährige Patientin wurde mit Verdacht auf akutes Leberversagen aufgenommen. Als Ursache konnte eine akute Hepatitis-C-Virus (HCV)-Infektion identifiziert werden. Im Verlauf kam es zu einer spontanen Ausheilung der Infektion mit Stabilisierung der Leberfunktion. Ein akutes Leberversagen auf dem Boden einer akuten HCV-Infektion ist sehr selten und wurde bisher kaum beschrieben. Dennoch muss die akute HCV-Infektion als seltene Differenzialdiagnose eines akuten Leberversagens beachtet werden.
‘Democracy’ in education: an omnipresent yet distanced ‘other’
Authors: Simpson Ashley , Dervin Fred
Published: November 2017

Like many concepts and notions used in various subfields of education, the idea of democracy is both floating and polysemic. It can also be a conveniently loose term that can be used by some to position themselves above others and to ‘teach them’ lessons about how to ‘do’ democracy, often creating unjustified hierarchies and moralistic judgements. Based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s concepts of 'authoritative discourse and internally persuasive discourse', this article examines how the contested idea of democracy is constructed and negotiated at a key International Conference on democratic education. Excerpts from talks given at the conference serve as case studies in this paper, without the intention to generalise about discourses of democracy in education. The results hint at uncritical attempts, often based on pathos, to totalise and generalise ‘democracy/the democratic’ especially within discourses on ‘democratic schools’. Such discourses can contribute to cultural othering and stereotyping, as well as, simplistic assumptions about how ‘democracy’ functions and comes-into-being. They can also help the utterer hide their sentiments. Thus, the aim of this paper is to deconstruct an essentialised and somewhat empty vision of democracy discourse in education. The fact that the idea of ‘freedom’ is often used as a synonym for ‘democracy’ during the conference is also discussed.
Solitary structures in an inhomogeneous plasma with pseudo-potential approach
Authors: Shan Shaukat Ali , Saleem Hamid
Published: November 2017

The set of nonlinear partial differential equations for the coupled ion acoustic and drift waves is reduced to the KdV equation, which is finally transformed into the form of energy integral equation of a pseudo particle in small amplitude limit. It is pointed out that this approach is convenient for choosing appropriate plasma parameters and numerically obtaining drift solitary wave profiles as compared to the solution of the KdV equation, particularly, in non-uniform plasmas. Electrons are assumed to follow the Kappa distribution function. It is found that the solitons amplitude decreases corresponding to steeper density and temperature gradients because of the restriction on the validity of local approximation. Deviation of electrons from thermal equilibrium distribution is supportive for the formation of electrostatic solitary structures by the coupled nonlinear ion acoustic and drift waves. The estimates of the width of the solitons formed by these coupled nonlinear electrostatic waves in the F-region ionosphere are found to be a few meters in agreement with the satellite observations.
Coincidence velocity map imaging using Tpx3Cam, a time stamping optical camera with 1.5 ns timing resolution
Authors: Zhao Arthur , van Beuzekom Martin , Bouwens Bram , Byelov Dmitry , Chakaberia Irakli , Cheng Chuan , Maddox Erik , Nomerotski Andrei , Svihra Peter , Visser Jan , Vrba Vaclav , Weinacht Thomas
Published: November 2017

We demonstrate a coincidence velocity map imaging apparatus equipped with a novel time-stamping fast optical camera, Tpx3Cam, whose high sensitivity and nanosecond timing resolution allow for simultaneous position and time-of-flight detection. This single detector design is simple, flexible, and capable of highly differential measurements. We show detailed characterization of the camera and its application in strong field ionization experiments.
Parametric design criteria of an updated thermoradiative cell operating at optimal states
Authors: Zhang Xin , Peng Wanli , Lin Jian , Chen Xiaohang , Chen Jincan
Published: November 2017

An updated mode of the thermoradiative cell (TRC) with sub-band gap and non-radiative losses is proposed, which can efficiently harvest moderate-temperature heat energy and convert a part of heat into electricity. It is found that when the TRC is operated between the heat source at 800 K and the environment at 300 K, its maximum power output density and efficiency can attain 1490 W m−2 and 27.2%, respectively. Moreover, the effects of some key parameters including the band gap and voltage output on the performance of the TRC are discussed. The optimally working regions of the power density, efficiency, band gap, and voltage output are determined. The maximum efficiency and power output density of the TRC operated at different temperatures are calculated and compared with those of thermophotovoltaic cells (TPVCs) and thermionic energy converters (TECs), and consequently, it is revealed that the maximum efficiency of the TRC operated at the moderate-temperature range is much higher than that of the TEC or the TPVC and the maximum power output density of the TRC is larger than that of the TEC but smaller than that of the TPVC. Particularly, the TRC is manufactured more easily than the near-field TPVC possessing a nanoscale vacuum gap. The results obtained will be helpful for engineers to choose the semiconductor materials, design and manufacture TRCs, and control operative conditions.
Phonons in a magnetized Coulomb crystal of ions with polarizable electron background
Authors: Baiko D. A. , Kozhberov A. A.
Published: November 2017

We have studied phonon modes of a body-centered cubic (bcc) Coulomb crystal of ions in the presence of a uniform magnetic field B taking into account the polarizability of the electron background (electron screening) described by the Thomas-Fermi formalism. For k≫κTF (k and κTF are the phonon wavevector and Thomas-Fermi wavenumber, respectively), electron polarizability is not important. At k≪κTF, the electron response results in a pronounced effect. One of the three available modes is acoustic. For orthogonal propagation (k⊥B), its frequency Ω is independent of B and κTF. For k∥B, Ω∝1/κTF and is independent of B. Another mode is quadratic. Its frequency is ∝1/(BκTF) for orthogonal propagation and ∝1/B and independent of κTF for the parallel case. The third mode is optic with Ω≈ωB (ωB is the ion cyclotron frequency). A general expression is derived for the dynamic matrix of a Coulomb crystal with a polarizable background and more than one ion in the primitive cell. It is employed for a study of a magnetized hexagonal close-packed Coulomb crystal. We have also presented an analysis of phonon polarization vectors in a magnetized bcc crystal with or without screening. The results obtained can be used for realistic calculations of electron-phonon scattering rates and electron thermal and electrical conductivities in neutron star crusts.
Nanodiamonds with photostable, sub-gigahertz linewidth quantum emitters
Authors: Tran Toan Trong , Kianinia Mehran , Bray Kerem , Kim Sejeong , Xu Zai-Quan , Gentle Angus , Sontheimer Bernd , Bradac Carlo , Aharonovich Igor
Published: November 2017

Single-photon emitters with narrow linewidths are highly sought after for applications in quantum information processing and quantum communications. In this letter, we report on a bright, highly polarized near infrared single photon emitter embedded in diamond nanocrystals with a narrow, sub-GHz optical linewidth at 10 K. The observed zero-phonon line at ∼780 nm is optically stable under low power excitation and blue shifts as the excitation power increases. Our results highlight the prospect for using new near infrared color centers in nanodiamonds for quantum applications.
Observation of enhanced magnetic transition in Pbnm SmFeO3
Authors: Wang Jiayu , Ivaturi Sameera , Wang Shanling , Corrias Anna , Boi Filippo S.
Published: November 2017

Rare-earth orthoferrite RFeO3 materials have recently attracted great attention for their intriguing technological potential. Among these materials, SmFeO3 holds great promise, not only for its excellent physical properties (fast magnetic switching, spin reorientation, and magnetization reversal), but also for its potential ferroelectric properties, which have been recently under debate. Here, we focus our attention on the T-dependent Zero Field Cooled and Field Cooled magnetization properties of micrometer scale crystals of SmFeO3 obtained by annealing methods. We report the observation of an enhanced magnetic transition at a temperature of approximately 139 K. From literature bulk susceptibility measurements, it has been suggested that below the temperature of about 140 K, Sm3+ moments begin to order antiparallel to the Fe-moments due to antiferromagnetic f-d exchange interactions. We attribute the observed transition to compensation effects induced by the appearance of long range ordering in Sm3+ spins. The magnetic-nature of the observed transition is confirmed by additional temperature dependent XRD analysis, which did not show structural changes in the samples in the same temperature range (from 298 K to 100 K). Due to residual small fractions of ferromagnetic α-Fe from the sample-growth, possible interactions between the magnetic moment of α-Fe and the SmFeO3 crystals at the compensation temperature cannot be excluded and could be at the origin of the enhanced magnetic signal reported in this work.
An analytical force balance model for dust particles with size up to several Debye lengths
Authors: Aussems D. U. B. , Khrapak S. A. , Doğan İ. , van de Sanden M. C. M. , Morgan T. W.
Published: November 2017

In this study, we developed a revised stationary force balance model for particles in the regime a/λD<10. In contrast to other analytical models, the pressure and dipole force were included too, and for anisotropic plasmas, a novel contribution to the dipole moment was derived. Moreover, the Coulomb logarithm and collection cross-section were modified. The model was applied on a case study where carbon dust is formed near the plasma sheath in the linear plasma device Pilot-PSI. The pressure force and dipole force were found to be significant. By tracing the equilibrium position, the particle radius was determined at which the particle deposits. The obtained particle radius agrees well with the experimentally obtained size and suggests better agreement as compared to the unrevised model.
Thermodynamic modelling of fast dopant diffusion in Si
Authors: Saltas V. , Chroneos A. , Vallianatos F.
Published: November 2017

In the present study, nickel and copper fast diffusion in silicon is investigated in the framework of the cBΩ thermodynamic model, which connects point defect parameters with the bulk elastic and expansion properties. All the calculated point defect thermodynamic properties (activation Gibbs free energy, activation enthalpy, activation entropy, and activation volume) exhibit temperature dependence due to the non-linear anharmonic behavior of the isothermal bulk modulus of Si. Calculated activation enthalpies (0.15–0.16 eV for Ni and 0.17–0.19 eV for Cu) are in agreement with the reported experimental results. Small values of calculated activation volumes for both dopants (∼4% of the mean atomic volume) are consistent with the interstitial diffusion of Ni and Cu in Si.