Doubly Charged Coronene Clusters – Much Smaller than Previously Observed

The smallest doubly charged coronene cluster ions reported so far, Cor152+, were produced by charge exchange between bare coronene clusters and He2+ [H. A. B. Johansson et al., Phys. Rev. A 84, 043201 (2011)]. These dications are at least five times larger than the estimated Rayleigh limit, i.e., the size at which the activation barrier for charge separation vanishes. Such a large discrepancy is unheard of for doubly charged atomic or molecular clusters. Here we report the mass spectrometric observation of doubly charged coronene trimers, produced by electron ionization of helium nanodroplets doped with coronene. The observation implies that Cor32+ features a non-zero fission barrier too large to overcome under the present experimental conditions. The height of the barriers for the dimer and trimer has been estimated by means of density functional theory calculations. A sizeable barrier for the trimer has been revealed in agreement with the experimental findings

Machine-learning guided Venom Induced Dermonecrosis Analysis tooL: VIDAL

Snakebite envenoming is a global public health issue that causes significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in low-income regions of the world. The clinical manifestations of envenomings vary depending on the snake's venom, with paralysis, haemorrhage, and necrosis being the most common and medically relevant effects. To assess the efficacy of antivenoms against dermonecrosis, a preclinical testing approach involves in vivo mouse models that mimic local tissue effects of cytotoxic snakebites in humans. However, current methods for assessing necrosis severity are time-consuming and susceptible to human error. To address this, we present the Venom Induced Dermonecrosis Analysis tooL (VIDAL), a machine-learning-guided image-based solution that can automatically identify dermonecrotic lesions in mice, adjust for lighting biases, scale the image, extract lesion area and discolouration, and calculate the severity of dermonecrosis. We also introduce a new unit, the dermonecrotic unit (DnU), to better capture the complexity of dermonecrosis severity. Our tool is comparable to the performance of state-of-the-art histopathological analysis, making it an accessible, accurate, and reproducible method for assessing dermonecrosis in mice. Given the urgent need to address the neglected tropical disease that is snakebite, high-throughput technologies such as VIDAL are crucial in developing and validating new and existing therapeutics for this debilitating disease

Auslegung von Regelungssystemen industrieller Gleichspannungs-Mikronetze

Der elektrische Energiebezug in der Industrie wird zu rund zwei Dritteln mit elektrischen Maschinen in mechanische Energie umgewandelt. Ein wachsender Anteil dieser Antriebe wird mit Leistungswandlern betrieben, deren verlustbehaftete Energiewandlung Gleichstrom als eine Zwischenstufe nutzt. Motiviert durch das Potenzial, diese Verluste an den Wandlungsstellen zu reduzieren, Energie aus Produktionsprozessen in das Versorgungssystem zurückzuführen - und somit Energie einzusparen - sowie regenerative Energiequellen vor Ort in das Versorgungssystem zu integrieren, kommt der Einsatz von industriellen Gleichstrom-Mikronetze als Lösungsansatz auf. Erst der Ausgleich von Leistungsbezug und -erzeugung stellt die Versorgungsaufgabe eines elektrischen Netzes sicher. Die von Lasten bezogene Leistung und die Einspeiseleistung muss aktiv in ein Gleichgewicht geführt werden. Ein Regelungssystem ist notwendig. Das Regelungssystem des Wechselstrom-Verbundnetzes liegt in der Hand der Übertragungsnetzbetreiber und betrachtet industrielle Endverbraucher als volatile Lasten, sodass industrielle Wechselspannungsanlagen heutzutage kein lokales Regelungssystem betreiben. Die Gleichspannungszwischenkreise von Antriebssystemen in Produktionsanlagen besitzen ein Regelungssystem, das aber keine lokalen und parallel betriebenen Energiequellen einbezieht. Soll nun lokal, in einer Produktionshalle oder für ein ganzes Industriewerk ein Mikronetz eingesetzt werden, um Wandlungsverluste einzusparen und/oder lokale Energiequellen einzubinden, ist es notwendig, ein Regelungssystem dafür zu entwickeln. Neben der grundlegenden Regelungsarchitektur muss das Regelungssystem individuell je nach Anwendungsfall ausgelegt werden. Daher beschäftigt sich diese Arbeit mit der zentralen Forschungsfrage: Wie kann ein Regelungssystem für ein industrielles Gleichspannungs-Mikronetz ausgelegt werden mit dem Ziel, Leistungsgleichgewicht und Leistungsaufteilung zu erreichen? Die Arbeit führt zunächst in elektrische Versorgungssysteme und den Einsatz von Leistungselektronik in der Industrie ein. Die Problemstellung und der Forschungsbedarf werden dargelegt und die Zielsetzung sowie die Forschungsfragen, die den Aufbau der Arbeit leiten, vorgestellt. In den Grundlagen wird der Betrachtungsrahmen der Arbeit definiert und in wesentliche Theorien eingeführt. Anhand verwandter und übertragbarer Ansätze zur Regelung von Gleichspannungs-Mikronetzen werden die Anforderungen an das Regelungssystem und die Auslegung abgeleitet. Der sich daraus ergebende Handlungsbedarf wird diskutiert. Zur Beantwortung der zentralen Forschungsfrage wird ein Vorgehensmodell zur Auslegung entworfen. Dieses wird anschließend in den Fallbeispielen einer Roboterzelle und einer Hallenversorgung erprobt. Die Arbeit schließt mit der Bewertung der Anforderungen und der zusammenfassenden Beantwortung der Forschungsfragen. Der gefundene Lösungsansatz umfasst neun Prozeduren: Auslegungsmodell erzeugen, Systemverhalten identifizieren, funktionale Zustände entwerfen, Regelkennlinien bestimmen, Primärregler entwerfen, Großsignalstabilität prüfen, Netzresonanzen entkoppeln, Umschaltpunkte analysieren und Übergangsstabilität sicherstellen. Die technischen Zusammenhänge werden detailliert beschrieben und lösungsorientierte Hilfsmittel für die Auslegungsaufgabe vorgestellt. Diese werden zunächst theoretisch behandelt, wobei die wesentlichen Auslegungsregeln hergeleitet und vorgestellt werden. Für zwei reale Fallbeispiele werden die Parameter des Regelungssystems bestimmt. Theoretisches und reales Verhalten werden experimentell abgeglichen. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeit zeigen, dass die gefundene Lösung das reale Verhalten des Regelungssystems außerordentlich gut vorhersagen kann. Die gefundene Methode reduziert die Komplexität der Auslegung des Regelungssystems maßgeblich, da die Auslegung auf die wesentlichen Schritte reduziert wird. Die detaillierte Darstellung der physikalischen Zusammenhänge und die exakte Begründung der empfohlenen Grenzen erlaubt es, die Methode für den jeweiligen Anwendungsfall abzuwandeln. Die Methode bietet dem Projektierer einen einfachen Zugang zu relevantem Wissen bzgl. der Auslegung des Regelungssystems. Sie ermöglicht, definierte Problemstellungen des jeweiligen Anwendungsfalles zu bewerten und die notwendigen Werkzeuge zielführend und lösungsorientiert anzuwenden.The overall electric energy consumption in industry, is converted by 67.5 percent into mechanical energy with electric drives. A growing proportion of these drives are powered by power converters, whose energy conversion uses direct current as an intermediate stage. Driven by the potential to reduce conversion points, to feed energy from production processes back into the supply system – and thus save energy – and to integrate on-site regenerative energy sources into the supply system, direct current microgrids are emerging as solution. Only if power draw and generation is balanced, the supply task of an electrical network is fulfilled. The power drawn from loads and the power fed into the grid must be actively balanced. A control system is necessary. The control system of the AC interconnected grid is in the hands of the transmission system operators and considers industrial end users as volatile loads, so that industrial AC systems do not operate a local control system today. The DC link circuits of drive systems have a control system, but it does not include local and parallel power sources. For the successful implementation of a DC microgrid, it is necessary to develop a control system. Besides the basic control architecture, the control system has to be designed individually for each application. Therefore, this thesis addresses the central research question: How can a distributed control system be designed for an industrial DC microgrid with the target to reach power balance and shared power infeed? First the thesis thematizes the state of the art for electrical supply systems and the use of power electronics in industry. The problem and the research gap and the objective are introduced as well as the research questions, which guide the structure of the work. In the groundwork, the scope of the thesis is defined and essential theories are listed. Based on related and transferable approaches to the control of DC microgrids, the requirements for the control system and the design are derived. The resulting need for action is discussed. To answer the central research question, a procedure for the design is derrived. The procedure is tested in two case studies, one including a robot cell and a second including a hall supply. The thesis concludes with an evaluation of the requirements and summarizes the answers to the research questions. The solution approach found comprises nine procedures: generate design model, identify system behavior, design functional states, determine control characteristics, design primary controller, check large-signal stability, decouple network resonances, analyze switching points and ensure transition stability. The technical interrelationships are described in detail and solution-oriented tools for the design task are presented. There are firstly described in theory, and the essential design rules are derived and presented. The parameters of the control system are determined for two real case studies. Theoretical and real behavior are compared experimentally. The results of the work show that the solution found can predict the real behavior of the control system. The found procedure reduces the complexity of the control system design significantly, since the process is reduced to the essential steps. The detailed presentation of the physical relationships and the exact justification of the recommended limits, allows the method to be modified for each particular application. The method gives the designer an easy access to the relevant knowledge for the design of the control system. It allows to evaluate known problems for the respective application case and to apply the necessary tools in a target-oriented and solution-oriented way

Simulative analysis of a flexible, robust and sustainable energy supply through industrial Smart-DC-Grid with distributed grid management

The industrial energy supply of the production with direct current offers the chances of higher energy efficiency, better integration of generative energy and at the same time robust power supply. In addition to the technological challenges for electrical devices, an intelligent grid management, which regulates the load flow between the participants, is crucial. The distributed grid management supports a scalable, modular network with a hierarchical structure. The paper defines a direct current (DC) grid management by the different roles of every participant. Each role provides special services, needed for a stable grid operation. These services are described and a simulative analysis is carried out. The simulation shows that network stability is ensured and at the same time, the possibility of optimizing the operation management is maintained. The presented results are part of the DC-INDUSTRIE research project, funded by the German government

Netzmanagement für ein industrielles DC-Smart Grid: Dezentraler Netzmanagementansatz zur effizienten Sicherung der Energieversorgung

Due to an increasing volatility in the energy supply, industrial companies are faced with the challenge of flexibly adapting their energy consumption to the energy supply. A new approach to an industrial power grid, that meets the future requirements of industrial production, is the conversion of the classic AC power supply to a DC power supply. A DC power supply provides numerous advantages for an industrial plant. Intelligent network management is the key to react flexibly and robustly to fluctuating power quality and energy supply

Energiespeicher für Rekuperation in Industriemaschinen: Untersuchung eines Anwendungsszenarios für den Einsatz von Stromspeichern

The increasing share of renewable energy in Germany destabilizes the electric power supply due to its volatile character. Industrial consumers are faced with an increasing risk of disruptions and shortfalls in their electric supply. This study is to show the potential for recuperation in the DC link of a production machine. Processes with a high recovery rate gain efficiency by utilizing an electric storage system. The use of energy storage systems reduces the grid energy consumption of the analyzed high-rack storage load profile by up to 15 %

Elevated Prostate Health Index (phi) and Biopsy Reclassification During Active Surveillance of Prostate Cancer

The Prostate Health Index (phi) has been FDA approved for decision-making regarding prostate biopsy. Phi has additionally been shown to positively correlate with tumor volume, extraprostatic disease and higher Gleason grade tumors. Here we describe a case in which an elevated phi encouraged biopsy of a gentleman undergoing active surveillance leading to reclassification of his disease as high risk prostate cancer

Terrestrial venomous animals, the envenomings they cause, and treatment perspectives in the Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and Northern Africa, collectively known as the MENA region, are inhabited by a plethora of venomous animals that cause up to 420,000 bites and stings each year. To understand the resultant health burden and the key variables affecting it, this review describes the epidemiology of snake, scorpion, and spider envenomings primarily based on heterogenous hospital data in the MENA region and the pathologies associated with their venoms. In addition, we discuss the venom composition and the key medically relevant toxins of these venomous animals, and, finally, the antivenoms that are currently in use to counteract them. Unlike Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, scorpion stings are significantly more common (approximately 350,000 cases/year) than snakebites (approximately 70,000 cases/year) and present the most significant contributor to the overall health burden of envenomings, with spider bites being negligible. However, this review also indicates that there is a substantial lack of high-quality envenoming data available for the MENA region, rendering many of these estimates speculative. Our understanding of the venoms and the toxins they contain is also incomplete, but already presents clear trends. For instance, the majority of snake venoms contain snake venom metalloproteinases, while sodium channel-binding toxins and potassium channel-binding toxins are the scorpion toxins that cause most health-related challenges. There also currently exist a plethora of antivenoms, yet only few are clinically validated, and their high cost and limited availability present a substantial health challenge. Yet, some of the insights presented in this review might help direct future research and policy efforts toward the appropriate prioritization of efforts and aid the development of future therapeutic solutions, such as next-generation antivenoms

Terrestrial venomous animals, the envenomings they cause, and treatment perspectives in the Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and Northern Africa, collectively known as the MENA region, are inhabited by a plethora of venomous animals that cause up to 420,000 bites and stings each year. To understand the resultant health burden and the key variables affecting it, this review describes the epidemiology of snake, scorpion, and spider envenomings primarily based on heterogenous hospital data in the MENA region and the pathologies associated with their venoms. In addition, we discuss the venom composition and the key medically relevant toxins of these venomous animals, and, finally, the antivenoms that are currently in use to counteract them. Unlike Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, scorpion stings are significantly more common (approximately 350,000 cases/year) than snakebites (approximately 70,000 cases/year) and present the most significant contributor to the overall health burden of envenomings, with spider bites being negligible. However, this review also indicates that there is a substantial lack of high-quality envenoming data available for the MENA region, rendering many of these estimates speculative. Our understanding of the venoms and the toxins they contain is also incomplete, but already presents clear trends. For instance, the majority of snake venoms contain snake venom metalloproteinases, while sodium channel–binding toxins and potassium channel–binding toxins are the scorpion toxins that cause most health-related challenges. There also currently exist a plethora of antivenoms, yet only few are clinically validated, and their high cost and limited availability present a substantial health challenge. Yet, some of the insights presented in this review might help direct future research and policy efforts toward the appropriate prioritization of efforts and aid the development of future therapeutic solutions, such as next-generation antivenoms

Machine-learning guided Venom Induced Dermonecrosis Analysis tooL : VIDAL

Snakebite envenoming is a global public health issue that causes significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in low-income regions of the world. The clinical manifestations of envenomings vary depending on the snake's venom, with paralysis, haemorrhage, and necrosis being the most common and medically relevant effects. To assess the efficacy of antivenoms against dermonecrosis, a preclinical testing approach involves in vivo mouse models that mimic local tissue effects of cytotoxic snakebites in humans. However, current methods for assessing necrosis severity are time-consuming and susceptible to human error. To address this, we present the Venom Induced Dermonecrosis Analysis tooL (VIDAL), a machine-learning-guided image-based solution that can automatically identify dermonecrotic lesions in mice, adjust for lighting biases, scale the image, extract lesion area and discolouration, and calculate the severity of dermonecrosis. We also introduce a new unit, the dermonecrotic unit (DnU), to better capture the complexity of dermonecrosis severity. Our tool is comparable to the performance of state-of-the-art histopathological analysis, making it an accessible, accurate, and reproducible method for assessing dermonecrosis in mice. Given the urgent need to address the neglected tropical disease that is snakebite, high-throughput technologies such as VIDAL are crucial in developing and validating new and existing therapeutics for this debilitating disease