SIRM 2017

This volume contains selected papers presented at the 12th International Conference on vibrations in rotating machines, SIRM, which took place February 15-17, 2017 at the campus of the Graz University of Technology. By all meaningful measures, SIRM was a great success, attracting about 120 participants (ranging from senior colleagues to graduate students) from 14 countries. Latest trends in theoretical research, development, design and machine maintenance have been discussed between machine manufacturers, machine operators and scientific representatives in the field of rotor dynamics. SIRM 2017 included thematic sessions on the following topics: Rotordynamics, Stability, Friction, Monitoring, Electrical Machines, Torsional Vibrations, Blade Vibrations, Balancing, Parametric Excitation, and Bearings. The papers struck an admirable balance between theory, analysis, computation and experiment, thus contributing a richly diverse set of perspectives and methods to the audience of the conference

Politische Ordnungsbildung wider Willen - ein Forschungsprogramm zu transnationalen Konflikten und Institutionen

"In diesem Discussion-paper wird das Forschungsprogramm der Abteilung 'Transnationale Konflikte und internationale Institutionen' (TKI) vorgestellt. Das Forschungsprogramm richtet den Blick auf eine Entwicklungsdynamik, die durch die Errichtung der internationalen Institutionen nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg ausgelöst wurde und im Ergebnis zu einer politischen Ordnung jenseits des Nationalstaates in einer normativ gehaltvollen Bedeutung führen kann. Im ersten Teil des Papiers werden zunächst die Erfolge und Misserfolge internationaler Institutionen nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg in den Blick genommen. Darauf aufbauend werden die beiden zentralen Forschungsthesen des Programms entwickelt. Der ersten These zufolge hat die Verlagerung des Regierens auf internationale Institutionen einen nicht intendierten Trend zur Supra- und Transnationalisierung der politischen Steuerung zur Folge. Die zweite These geht davon aus, dass die zunehmende Eingriffstiefe und der Bedeutungszuwachs von trans- und supranationalen Organisationen im Laufe der Zeit zu einer gesellschaftlichen Politisierung und zu Legitimationsproblemen politischer Steuerung jenseits des Nationalstaats führen. Im letzten Teil des Papiers werden schließlich die geplanten und bereits begonnenen Forschungsprojekte vorgestellt, die die beiden Thesen mit unterschiedlicher Schwerpunktsetzung überprüfen. Dabei erheben die einzelnen Projekte nicht den Anspruch, das vorliegende Forschungsprogramm als Ganzes abzubilden. Vielmehr konzentrieren sie sich auf einzelne Aspekte, die jedoch in der Summe empirisch abgestützte Aussagen zu den Kernthesen ermöglichen." (Autorenreferat)"This discussion paper introduces the new program of the research unit, 'Transnational Conflicts and International Institutions' (TKI) at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB). The research program focuses on the developmental dynamics that were initiated with the creation of international institutions following the Second World War and which may lead to the establishment of a new, normatively significant political order beyond the nation-state. The first part of the paper considers the successes and failures of post-World-War-II institutions and, based on these results, develops the two core theses of the program. The first thesis is that the shift of governance and governing to international institutions results in a trend toward the transnationalization or supranationalization of policies, as an unintended side-effect. The second thesis is that the increasing depth of intervention, and the steady accumulation and concentration of power by supranational organizations will, over time, result in the politicizing of society and subsequent problems of legitimacy for forms of governance beyond the nation-state. The final part of the paper discusses the projects that have been initiated in the research unit, or are in the planning stages, each of which analyzes a different aspect of this problem in order to test our main hypotheses. The cumulative research will provide sufficient collective empirical evidence to probe our core theses." (author's abstract

Experimental Comparison of Fiducial Markers Used in Proton Therapy: Study of Different Imaging Modalities and Proton Fluence Perturbations Measured With CMOS Pixel Sensors

Fiducial markers are used for image guidance to verify the correct positioning of the target for the case of tumors that can suffer interfractional motion during proton therapy. The markers should be visible on daily imaging, but at the same time, they should produce minimal streak artifacts in the CT scans for treatment planning and induce only slight dose perturbations during particle therapy. In this work, these three criteria were experimentally investigated at the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center. Several small fiducial markers with different geometries and materials (gold, platinum, and carbon-coated ZrO₂) were evaluated. The streak artifacts on treatment planning CT were measured with and without iMAR correction, showing significantly smaller artifacts from markers lighter than 6 mg and a clear improvement with iMAR correction. Daily imaging as X-ray projections and in-room mobile CT were also performed. Markers heavier than 6 mg showed a better contrast in the X-ray projections, whereas on the images from the in-room mobile CT, all markers were clearly visible. In the other part of this work, fluence perturbations of proton beams were measured for the same markers by using a tracker system of several high spatial resolution CMOS pixel sensors. The measurements were performed for single-energy beams, as well as for a spread-out Bragg peak. Three-dimensional fluence distributions were computed after reconstructing all particle trajectories. These measurements clearly showed that the ZrO₂ markers and the low-mass gold/platinum markers (0.35mm diameter) induce perturbations being 2–3 times lower than the heavier gold or platinum markers of 0.5mm diameter. Monte Carlo simulations, using the FLUKA code, were used to compute dose distributions and showed good agreement with the experimental data after adjusting the phase space of the simulated proton beam compared to the experimental beam

Targeted PI3K/AKT-hyperactivation induces cell death in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Current therapeutic approaches for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) focus on the suppression of oncogenic kinase signaling. Here, we test the hypothesis that targeted hyperactivation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate/AKT (PI3K/AKT)-signaling pathway may be leveraged to trigger CLL cell death. Though counterintuitive, our data show that genetic hyperactivation of PI3K/AKT-signaling or blocking the activity of the inhibitory phosphatase SH2-containing-inositol-5'-phosphatase-1 (SHIP1) induces acute cell death in CLL cells. Our mechanistic studies reveal that increased AKT activity upon inhibition of SHIP1 leads to increased mitochondrial respiration and causes excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in cell death in CLL with immunogenic features. Our results demonstrate that CLL cells critically depend on mechanisms to fine-tune PI3K/AKT activity, allowing sustained proliferation and survival but avoid ROS-induced cell death and suggest transient SHIP1-inhibition as an unexpectedly promising concept for CLL therapy

Nutritional Value of the Duckweed Species of the Genus Wolffia (Lemnaceae) as Human Food

Species of the genus Wolffia are traditionally used as human food in some of the Asian countries. Therefore, all 11 species of this genus, identified by molecular barcoding, were investigated for ingredients relevant to human nutrition. The total protein content varied between 20 and 30% of the freeze-dry weight, the starch content between 10 and 20%, the fat content between 1 and 5%, and the fiber content was ~25%. The essential amino acid content was higher or close to the requirements of preschool-aged children according to standards of the World Health Organization. The fat content was low, but the fraction of polyunsaturated fatty acids was above 60% of total fat and the content of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was higher than that of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in most species. The content of macro- and microelements (minerals) not only depended on the cultivation conditions but also on the genetic background of the species. This holds true also for the content of tocopherols, several carotenoids and phytosterols in different species and even intraspecific, clonal differences were detected in Wolffia globosa and Wolffia arrhiza. Thus, the selection of suitable clones for further applications is important. Due to the very fast growth and the highest yield in most of the nutrients, Wolffia microscopica has a high potential for practical applications in human nutrition

Radiolucent lines in low-contact-stress mobile-bearing total knee arthroplasty: a blinded and matched case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Low-contact-stress (LCS) mobile-bearing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) (Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ; previously: DePuy, Warsawa, USA) provides excellent functional results and wear rates in long-term follow-up analyses. Radiological analysis shows radiolucent lines (RLL) appearing immediately or two years after primary implantation, indicative of poor seat. Investigations proved RLL to be more frequent in uncemented TKA, resulting in a consensus to cement the tibial plateau, but their association with clinical findings and patients discomfort and knee pain is still unknown.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>553 patients with 566 low-contact-stress (LCS) total knee prostheses were screened for continuous moderate knee pain. We compared tibial stress shielding classified by Ewald in patients suffering from pain with a matched, pain-free control group on blinded X-rays. We hypothesized a positive correlation between pain and radiolucency and higher frequency of such radiolucent lines in the most medial and most lateral zones of the tibial plateau.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-eight patients suffered from knee pain in total. Radiolucencies were detected in 27 of these cases and in six out of 28 matched controls without knee pain. We could demonstrate a significant correlation of knee pain and radiolucencies, which appeared significantly more frequently in the outermost zones of the tibial plateau.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that radiolucent lines, representing poor implant seat, about the tibial plateau are associated with knee pain in LCS patients. Radiolucencies are observed more often in noncemented LCS, and cementing the tibial plateau might improve implant seat and reduce both radiolucent lines and associated knee pain.</p

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation