MODIS: ein Expertensystem zur Erstellung von Reparaturdiagnosen für den Ottomotor und seine Aggregate

MODIS ("motor-diagnosis-system") is a fully implemented, interactive knowledge-based expert system for diagnosing faults for internal combustion engines and associated aggregates (fuel-, Carburetor-, ignition-, starter-, lubrication-, exhaustion-, and cooling system; electrical installations only as far as the engine is affected). MODIS is based on some 2100 rules, using the meta-level-diagnosis system MEDl as a shell. Following MEDl, generating and checking diagnostic hypotheses proceeds along several levels of abstraction, with each level providing guidance for those taking more detailed views. MODIS has been field-tested with service-personnel of a major manufacturer, demonstrating satisfactory performance w.r.t. correctness, completeness, efficiency, as well as appropriateness in results, performance, and user interaction.MODIS ("Motor-Diagnose-System") ist ein benutzungsfähiges, interaktives, wissensbasiertes Expertensystem zur Diagnostik von Fehlern in Ottomotoren und damit unmittelbar zusammenhängenden Aggregaten (Kraftstoff-, Vergaser-, Zünd-, Start, Schmier-, Auspuff- und Kühlanlage; elektrische Anlage nur soweit für den Motorbetrieb erforderlich): MODIS arbeitet mit über 2100 Regeln, die in das als Metasystem genommene Meta-Ebenen-Diagnostik-System MEDl eingefügt wurden. Erzeugung und Überprüfung von Verdachtsdiagnosen erfolgt über mehrere Abstraktionsebenen, wobei jede Ebene die Kontrollsteuerung für Ebenen mit größerem Detaillierungsgrad unterstützt. MODIS wurde Feldversuchen mit erfahrenen Kfz-Mechanikern einer Werkstatt eines großen Herstellers unterzogen. Dabei erwiesen sich gute Leistungen in der Korrektheit, Vollständigkeit und Effizienz in der Ableitung der Resultate, sowie Adäquatheit im Verhalten gegenüber dem Benutzer

Refinement of the crystal structure of palladium gallium (1:1), PdGa

PdGa, cubic, P2(1)3 (no. 198), a = 4.89695(6) angstrom, V = 117.

Health-Enabling Technologies for Telerehabilitation of the Shoulder: A Feasibility and User Acceptance Study

BACKGROUND: After discharge from a rehabilitation center the continuation of therapy is necessary to secure already achieved healing progress and sustain (re-)integration into working life. To this end, home-based exercise programs are frequently prescribed. However, many patients do not perform their exercises as frequently as prescribed or even with incorrect movements. The telerehabilitation system AGT-Reha was developed to support patients with shoulder diseases during their home-based aftercare rehabilitation. OBJECTIVES: The presented pilot study AGT-Reha-P2 evaluates the technical feasibility and user acceptance of the home-based telerehabilitation system AGT-Reha. METHODS: A nonblinded, nonrandomized exploratory feasibility study was conducted over a 2-year period in patients' homes. Twelve patients completed a 3-month telerehabilitation exercise program with AGT-Reha. Primary outcome measures are the satisfying technical functionality and user acceptance assessed by technical parameters, structured interviews, and a four-dimensional questionnaire. Secondary endpoints are the medical rehabilitation success measured by the active range of motion and the shoulder function (pain and disability) assessed by employing the Neutral-0 Method and the standardized questionnaire "Shoulder Pain and Disability Index" (SPADI), respectively. To prepare an efficacy trial, various standardized questionnaires were included in the study to measure ability to work, capacity to work, and subjective prognosis of work capacity. The participants have been assessed at three measurement points: prebaseline (admission to rehabilitation center), baseline (discharge from rehabilitation center), and posttherapy. RESULTS: Six participants used the first version of AGT-Reha, while six other patients used an improved version. Despite minor technical problems, all participants successfully trained on their own with AGT-Reha at home. On average, participants trained at least once per day during their training period. Five of the 12 participants showed clinically relevant improvements of shoulder function (improved SPADI score > 11). The work-related parameters suggested a positive impact. All participants would recommend the system, ten participants would likely reuse it, and seven participants would have wanted to continue their use after 3 months. CONCLUSION: The findings show that home-based training with AGT-Reha is feasible and well accepted. Outcomes of SPADI indicate the effectiveness of aftercare with AGT-Reha. A controlled clinical trial to test this hypothesis will be conducted with a larger number of participants

Collaborative multi-scale 3D city and infrastructure modeling and simulation

Computer-aided collaborative and multi-scale 3D planning are challenges for complex railway and subway track infrastructure projects in the built environment. Many legal, economic, environmental, and structural requirements have to be taken into account. The stringent use of 3D models in the different phases of the planning process facilitates communication and collaboration between the stake holders such as civil engineers, geological engineers, and decision makers. This paper presents concepts, developments, and experiences gained by an interdisciplinary research group coming from civil engineering informatics and geo-informatics banding together skills of both, the Building Information Modeling and the 3D GIS world. New approaches including the development of a collaborative platform and 3D multi-scale modelling are proposed for collaborative planning and simulation to improve the digital 3D planning of subway tracks and other infrastructures. Experiences during this research and lessons learned are presented as well as an outlook on future research focusing on Building Information Modeling and 3D GIS applications for cities of the future

Structural complexity of the intermetallic compound o-Al13Co4

The crystal structure of the complex intermetallic phase o-Al13Co4 was first investigated in 1994, but some open questions still remained. The new refinement of the crystal structure using high-resolution X-ray diffraction data resulted in a much more complex model including a large number of split positions (space group Pnm21, a = 8.1590(6) Å, b = 12.349(1) Å, c = 14.453(1) Å). The model is interpreted in terms of local violation of the translational symmetry, which is confirmed by HRTEM and HRSTEM investigations. Chemical bonding between two partial structures in o-Al13Co4 - three-dimensional framework and linear Co–Al–Co groups in cages of the latter – along with the stacking faults (local twinning) are discussed as possible reasons for such an extended disorder. Previous article in issu

The influence of extratropical cross-tropopause mixing on the correlation between ozone and sulfate aerosol in the lowermost stratosphere

The composition of the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region (UTLS) is influenced by horizontal transport, vertical transport within convective systems and warm conveyor belts, rapid turbulent mixing, as well as photochemical production or loss of species. This results in the formation of the extratropical transition layer (ExTL), which has been defined by the vertical structure of CO profiles and studied by now mostly by means of trace gas correlations. Here, we extend the analysis to aerosol particles and derive the ozone to sulfate aerosol correlation in Central Europe from aircraft in-situ measurements during the CAFE-EU/BLUESKY mission, probing the UTLS during the COVID-19 period with significant reduced anthropogenic emissions. We operated a compact time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (C-ToF-AMS) to measure the chemical composition of non-refractory aerosol particles in the size range from about 40 to 800 nm. In our study, we find a correlation between the ozone mixing ratio (O3) and the sulfate mass concentration in the lower stratosphere. The correlation exhibits some variability over the measurement period exceeding the background sulfate to ozone correlation. Especially during one flight, we observed enhanced mixing ratios of sulfate aerosol in the lowermost stratosphere, where the analysis of trace gases shows tropospheric influence. Also, back trajectories indicate, that no recent mixing with tropospheric air occurred within the last 10 days. In addition, we analyzed satellite SO2 retrievals from TROPOMI for volcanic plumes and eruptions. From these analyses, we conclude that gas-to-particle conversion of volcanic SO2 leads to the observed enhanced sulfate aerosol mixing ratios

Ruthenium-Alloyed Iron Phosphide Single Crystal with Increased Fermi Level for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

Transition metal phosphide alloying is an effective approach for optimizing the electronic structure and improving the intrinsic performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, obtaining 3d transition metal phosphides alloyed with noble metals is still a challenge owing to their difference in electronegativity, and the influence of their electronic structure modulated by noble metals on the HER reaction also remains unclear. In this study, we successfully incorporated Ru into an Fe2P single crystal via the Bridgeman method and used it as a model catalyst, which effectively promoted HER. Hall transport measurements combined with first-principles calculations revealed that Ru acted as an electron dopant in the structure and increased the Fermi level, leading to a decreased water dissociation barrier and an improved electron-transfer Volmer step at low overpotentials. Additionally, the (21̅1) facet of Ru–Fe2P was found to be more active than its (001) facet, mainly due to the lower H desorption barrier at high overpotentials. The synergistic effect of Ru and Fe sites was also revealed to facilitate H* and OH* desorption compared with Fe2P. Therefore, this study elucidates the boosting effect of Ru-alloyed iron phosphides and offers new understanding about the relationship between their electronic structure and HER performance