The Arch electrode: a novel dry electrode concept for improved wearing comfort. - In: Frontiers in neuroscience, ISSN 1662-453X, Bd. 15 (2021), 748100, S. 1-14
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.748100
On a class of integral systems. - In: Complex analysis and operator theory, ISSN 1661-8262, Bd. 15 (2021), 6, 103, insges. 39 S.
We study spectral problems for two-dimensional integral system with two given non-decreasing functions R, W on an interval [0, b) which is a generalization of the Krein string. Associated to this system are the maximal linear relation Tmax and the minimal linear relation Tmin in the space L2(dW) which are connected by Tmax=T*min. It is shown that the limit point condition at b for this system is equivalent to the strong limit point condition for the linear relation Tmax. In the limit circle case the Evans-Everitt condition is proved to hold on a subspace T*N of Tmax characterized by the Neumann boundary condition at b. The notion of the principal Titchmarsh-Weyl coefficient of this integral system is introduced. Boundary triple for the linear relation Tmax in the limit point case (and for T*N in the limit circle case) is constructed and it is shown that the corresponding Weyl function coincides with the principal Titchmarsh-Weyl coefficient of the integral system. The notion of the dual integral system is introduced by reversing the order of R and W and the formula relating the principal Titchmarsh-Weyl coefficients of the direct and the dual integral systems is proved. For every integral system with the principal Titchmarsh-Weyl coefficients q a canonical system is constructed so that its Titchmarsh-Weyl coefficient Q is the unwrapping transform of q: Q(z)=zq(z2).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11785-021-01148-w
C60 fullerene against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus: an in silico insight. - In: Scientific reports, ISSN 2045-2322, Bd. 11 (2021), 17748, S. 1-12
Based on WHO reports the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is currently widespread all over the world. So far > 162 million cases have been confirmed, including > 3 million deaths. Because of the pandemic still spreading across the globe the accomplishment of computational methods to find new potential mechanisms of virus inhibitions is necessary. According to the fact that C60 fullerene (a sphere-shaped molecule consisting of carbon) has shown inhibitory activity against various protein targets, here the analysis of the potential binding mechanism between SARS-CoV-2 proteins 3CLpro and RdRp with C60 fullerene was done; it has resulted in one and two possible binding mechanisms, respectively. In the case of 3CLpro, C60 fullerene interacts in the catalytic binding pocket. And for RdRp in the first model C60 fullerene blocks RNA synthesis pore and in the second one it prevents binding with Nsp8 co-factor (without this complex formation, RdRp can't perform its initial functions). Then the molecular dynamics simulation confirmed the stability of created complexes. The obtained results might be a basis for other computational studies of 3CLPro and RdRp potential inhibition ways as well as the potential usage of C60 fullerene in the fight against COVID-19 disease.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97268-6
Ocular direct current stimulation affects retinal ganglion cells. - In: Scientific reports, ISSN 2045-2322, Bd. 11 (2021), 17573, S. 1-9
Ocular current stimulation (oCS) with weak current intensities (a few mA) has shown positive effects on retinal nerve cells, which indicates that neurodegenerative ocular diseases could be treated with current stimulation of the eye. During oCS, a significant polarity-independent reduction in the characteristic P50 amplitude of a pattern-reversal electroretinogram was found, while no current stimulation effect was found for a full field electroretinogram (ffERG). The ffERG data indicated a trend for a polarity-dependent influence during oCS on the photopic negative response (PhNR) wave, which represents the sum activity of the retinal ganglion cells. Therefore, an ffERG with adjusted parameters for the standardized measurement of the PhNR wave was combined with simultaneous oCS to study the potential effects of direct oCS on cumulative ganglion cell activity. Compared with that measured before oCS, the PhNR amplitude in the cathodal group increased significantly during current stimulation, while in the anodal and sham groups, no effect was visible (α = 0.05, pcathodal = 0.006*). Furthermore, repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a significant difference in PhNR amplitude between the anodal and cathodal groups as well as between the cathodal and sham groups (p* ≤ 0.0167, pcathodal - anodal = 0.002*, pcathodal - sham = 0.011*).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96401-9
MNP-enhanced microwave medical imaging by means of pseudo-noise sensing. - In: Sensors, ISSN 1424-8220, Bd. 21 (2021), 19, 6613, insges. 23 S.
https://doi.org/10.3390/s21196613
Advances in friction stir welding by separate control of shoulder and probe. - In: Welding in the world, ISSN 1878-6669, Bd. 65 (2021), 10, S. 1931-1941
Friction stir welding (FSW) has developed into a reliable and increasing used industrial joining technology. Various tool configurations can be used for FSW, each of which has advantages and challenges. State-of-the-art FSW employs various tool configurations, including the conventional, the stationary shoulder, and the dual-rotational configuration which is characterized by separate control of shoulder and probe. In this study, an innovative method to combine various tool configurations was developed by a novel FSW spindle stack construction. With an additional servomotor, existing FSW systems can be extended by separate control of shoulder and probe so that varying rotational speeds and rotational directions can be set. This allows enhanced possibilities (a) to adjust frictional heat generation and (b) to apply several tool configurations. The main advantages of this enhanced type of FSW are demonstrated in three ways: increased weld penetration depth, reduction of undesirable machine vibrations, and the combination of varying tool configurations such as stationary shoulder and conventional FSW. The investigations were carried out with 2-mm EN AA 5754 H22 sheets and performed on a robotized FSW setup.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-021-01136-w
Micro flow photochemical synthesis of Ca-sensitive fluorescent sensor particles. - In: Engineering in life sciences, ISSN 1618-2863, Bd. 21 (2021), 8/9, S. 518-526
Fluorescence probes have widely been used for detecting and imaging Ca2+-enriched parts of cells but more rarely for quantitative determination of concentrations. In this study we show how this can be achieved by a novel approach using hydrogel particles. In a microfluidic co-flow arrangement spherical droplets were generated from an aqueous solution of acrylamide, N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide crosslinker and photoinitiator and subsequently photo-cured in situ yielding gel particles in a sub millimeter range. These particles were separated, dried under reduced pressure and re-swollen in water containing Rhod-5N tri potassium salt as calcium ion selective fluorescence probe. After that the particles were dried again and stored for further investigations. Upon exposure of dried particles to calcium chloride solutions they swell and take up Ca2+-ions forming a strong fluorescing complex with Rhod-5N. Thus, fluorescence intensity increases with calcium ion concentration. Up to ca. 0.50 mM the enhancement effect is strong and then becomes considerably weaker. The intensity-concentration-dependence is well described by an equation derived from the equilibrium of the formation of a 1:1 Ca2+:Rhod-5N complex. The particles allow for a fast optical determination of Ca2+-concentrations up to 0.50 mM in analyte volumes down to below 10 [my]L.
https://doi.org/10.1002/elsc.202100023
Foreword to the special issue on "Tip- and laser-based 3D nanofabrication in extended macroscopic working areas". - In: Nanomanufacturing and metrology, ISSN 2520-8128, Bd. 4 (2021), 3, S. 131
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41871-021-00113-7
PatchIndex: exploiting approximate constraints in distributed databases. - In: Distributed and parallel databases, ISSN 1573-7578, Bd. 39 (2021), 3, S. 833-853
Cloud data warehouse systems lower the barrier to access data analytics. These applications often lack a database administrator and integrate data from various sources, potentially leading to data not satisfying strict constraints. Automatic schema optimization in self-managing databases is difficult in these environments without prior data cleaning steps. In this paper, we focus on constraint discovery as a subtask of schema optimization. Perfect constraints might not exist in these unclean datasets due to a small set of values violating the constraints. Therefore, we introduce the concept of a generic PatchIndex structure, which handles exceptions to given constraints and enables database systems to define these approximate constraints. We apply the concept to the environment of distributed databases, providing parallel index creation approaches and optimization techniques for parallel queries using PatchIndexes. Furthermore, we describe heuristics for automatic discovery of PatchIndex candidate columns and prove the performance benefit of using PatchIndexes in our evaluation.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10619-021-07326-1
The battle of YouTube, TV and Netflix: an empirical analysis of competition in audiovisual media markets. - In: SN business & economics, ISSN 2662-9399, Bd. 1 (2021), 9, 116, insges. 26 S.
The world of audiovisual online markets is rapidly changing. Not long ago, it was dominated by linear television, transmitted terrestrially, through cable networks or via satellite. Recently, streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime and others have emerged as new suppliers of audiovisual content. In this quickly changing industry, competition interrelations between such different formats such as traditional TV, videos on YouTube, and streaming via Netflix are subject to controversy. In particular, doubt is cast on services such as YouTube exerting competitive pressure on services such as Netflix and traditional TV. Based upon a survey with 2920 participants, we provide an empirical analysis of consumption behavior of audiovisual contents. Using descriptive and analytical statistics, including multiple equation models, we show that there are specific areas within audiovisual content markets, where YouTube exerts considerable competitive pressure on both Netflix and classic TV, for instance, through prime time video entertainment. However, our analysis yields differentiated results as we also identify areas, where competition intensity between different service types appear to be low, for instance, through daytime and regarding the intention to shorten waiting time.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s43546-021-00122-0