Multiscale Finite Element Formulations for 2D/1D Problems

Multiscale finite element methods for 2D/1D problems have been studied in this work to demonstrate their excellent ability to solve real-world problems. These methods are much more efficient than conventional 3D finite element methods and just as accurate. The 2D/1D multiscale finite element methods are based on a magnetic vector potential or a current vector potential. Known currents for excitation can be replaced by the Biot-Savart-field. Boundary conditions allow to integrate planes of symmetry. All presented approaches consider eddy currents, an insulation layer and preserve the edge effect. A segment of a fictitious electrical machine has been studied to demonstrate all above options, the accuracy and the low computational costs of the 2D/1D multiscale finite element methods.Comment: 7 pages, 18 figure

At the Gates of Fortress Europe. Historical and Contemporary Representations of the Neighbouring 'Other' in Eastern Germany and Southern Spain

The present paper addresses the question how ethnocentrism operates on the local level in two distinct European border cities, how representations of the ‘Other’ are formed and transformed, and how they structure perceptions of the Self and of everyday life. More specifically, the author investigates in how far we can speak of a continuity or discontinuity of historical prejudice regarding Poles and Moroccans respectively, from the times of nationbuilding in Germany and Spain to the present. Adopting a historical and comparative perspective, the paper sets out to understand the absence of reference made to German-Polish and Spanish-Moroccan history in focus groups with high school students. To this end, the concept of collective memory (historical memory or memory politics) is recurred to. The author argues that only if being ‘not Polish’ is part of the German and ‘being not Moroccan’ part of the Spanish Self-definition, we can understand that historical prejudice is absorbed by the students through their mere ‘being there’ in everyday life in their particular home countries and cities. In order to sustain this hypothesis, the paper traces how both Germany and Spain have been able to constitute themselves as nation-states only after having subjected their respective neighbours to the East and South to significant territorial loss and public defamation

Accumulation of mutations in antibody and CD8 T cell epitopes in a B cell depleted lymphoma patient with chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection

Antibodies against the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can drive adaptive evolution in immunocompromised patients with chronic infection. Here we longitudinally analyze SARS-CoV-2 sequences in a B cell-depleted, lymphoma patient with chronic, ultimately fatal infection, and identify three mutations in the spike protein that dampen convalescent plasma-mediated neutralization of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, four mutations emerge in non-spike regions encoding three CD8 T cell epitopes, including one nucleoprotein epitope affected by two mutations. Recognition of each mutant peptide by CD8 T cells from convalescent donors is reduced compared to its ancestral peptide, with additive effects resulting from double mutations. Querying public SARS-CoV-2 sequences shows that these mutations have independently emerged as homoplasies in circulating lineages. Our data thus suggest that potential impacts of CD8 T cells on SARS-CoV-2 mutations, at least in those with humoral immunodeficiency, warrant further investigation to inform on vaccine design