Spectrum of Tendon Pathologies: Triggers, Trails and End-State

The biggest compartment of the musculoskeletal system is the tendons and ligaments. In particular, tendons are dense tissues connecting muscle to bone that are critical for the integrity, function and locomotion of this system. Due to the increasing age of our society and the overall rise in engagement in extreme and overuse sports, there is a growing prevalence of tendinopathies. Despite the recent advances in tendon research and due to difficult early diagnosis, a multitude of risk factors and vague understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms involved in the progression of tendon injuries, the toolbox of treatment strategies remains limited and non-satisfactory. This review is designed to summarize the current knowledge of triggers, trails and end state of tendinopathies

Stochastik anschaulich erfahrbar im Physikpraktikum

Die Studierenden der Fakultät Physik an der LMU München absolvieren im ersten Semester ein physikalisches Grundpraktikum, in dem Versuche aus der Mechanik durchgeführt werden. Der Versuch „Statistische Verteilungen“ ist eine Ausnahme, er soll anhand von experimentell gewonnenen Messdaten die Notwendigkeit von Kenntnissen aus der Stochastik aufzeigen. Im Vorbereitungsskript werden neben elementaren Begriffen, verschiedene Verteilungen und der zentrale Grenzwertsatz behandelt. Zu Beginn generieren die Studierenden mit dem Galton-Brett eine Binomialverteilung. Im Folgenden dient die natürliche Radioaktivität zur Aufnahme einer Poissonverteilung, um darauf aufbauend den zentralen Grenzwertsatz zu veranschaulichen. Zur Visualisierung und Auswertung der Messreihen dient das Softwareprogramm MATLAB. Eine anschließende Evaluation ergab, dass das entwickelte Versuchskonzept trotz seines bereichsübergreifenden Umfangs von den Studierenden sehr positiv aufgenommen wird

Stochastik anschaulich erfahrbar im Physikpraktikum

Die Studierenden der Fakultät Physik an der LMU München absolvieren im ersten Semester ein physikalisches Grundpraktikum, in dem Versuche aus der Mechanik durchgeführt werden. Der Versuch „Statistische Verteilungen“ ist eine Ausnahme, er soll anhand von experimentell gewonnenen Messdaten die Notwendigkeit von Kenntnissen aus der Stochastik aufzeigen. Im Vorbereitungsskript werden neben elementaren Begriffen, verschiedene Verteilungen und der zentrale Grenzwertsatz behandelt. Zu Beginn generieren die Studierenden mit dem Galton-Brett eine Binomialverteilung. Im Folgenden dient die natürliche Radioaktivität zur Aufnahme einer Poissonverteilung, um darauf aufbauend den zentralen Grenzwertsatz zu veranschaulichen. Zur Visualisierung und Auswertung der Messreihen dient das Softwareprogramm MATLAB. Eine anschließende Evaluation ergab, dass das entwickelte Versuchskonzept trotz seines bereichsübergreifenden Umfangs von den Studierenden sehr positiv aufgenommen wird

Rechnergestützte Datenauswertung als Lernziel im Physikpraktikum

Gegenstand dieses Beitrags ist ein Selbstlernskript für MATLAB, das an Teilnehmer des physikalischen Grundpraktikums im ersten Semester (Schwerpunkt Mechanik) gerichtet ist. In einem dieser Versuche soll neben den physikalischen Inhalten zum Thema „Statistische Verteilungen“ auch die Verwendung einer Software zur rechnergestützten Messwerterfassung und Auswertung erlernt werden. Durch die Entscheidung für MATLAB wurden neben dem unmittelbaren Nutzen im Praktikum auch die Einsatzmöglichkeiten im weiteren Studium sowie die Verbreitung an den Lehrstühlen berücksichtigt.Eine besondere Herausforderung bei der inhaltlichen Ausgestaltung dieses Lernskripts bestand darin, ein  Gleichgewicht zwischen zielführenden Informationen zur  Auswertung des Praktikumsversuchs, motivierenden Beispielen und Ausblicken auf andere Anwendungsgebiete zu schaffen. Im Skript wird nicht nur die grafische Benutzeroberfläche    behandelt, sondern auch dargestellt, wie man mittels Eingabe einfacher Befehle innerhalb der Kommandozeile ein gegebenes Problem selbstständig lösen kann

Bacteria-responsive multilayer coatings comprising polycationic nanospheres for bacteria biofilm prevention on urinary catheters

This work reports on the development of infection-preventive coatings on silicone urinary catheters that contain in their structure and release on demand antibacterial polycationic nanospheres. Polycationic aminocellulose conjugate was first sonochemically processed into nanospheres to improve its antibacterial potential compared to the bulk conjugate in solution (ACSol). Afterwards the processed aminocellulose nanospheres (ACNSs) were combined with the hyaluronic acid (HA) polyanion to build a layer-by-layer construct on silicone surfaces. Although the coating deposition was more effective when HA was coupled with ACSol than with ACNSs, the ACNSs-based coatings were thicker and displayed smoother surfaces due to the embedment of intact nanospheres. The antibacterial effect of the ACNSs multilayers was by 40 % higher compared to the ACSol coatings. This fact was further translated into more effective prevention of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation. The coatings were stable in absence of bacteria, whereas their disassembling occurred gradually during incubation with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and thus eradicate the biofilm upon release of antibacterial agents. Only 5 bilayers of HA/ACNSs were sufficient to prevent the biofilm formation, in contrast to the 10 bilayers of ACSol required to achieve the same effect. The antibiofilm efficiency of (HA/ACNSs)10 multilayer construct built on a Foley catheter was additionally validated under dynamic conditions using a model of catheterized bladder in which the biofilm was grown during seven days.M.M.F. acknowledges the support of the European Commissionunder the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship (IEF) Program (Grant Agreement ‘‘NanoQuench” FP7-331416)

Three-dimensional structure determination from a single view

The ability to determine the structure of matter in three dimensions has profoundly advanced our understanding of nature. Traditionally, the most widely used schemes for 3D structure determination of an object are implemented by acquiring multiple measurements over various sample orientations, as in the case of crystallography and tomography (1,2), or by scanning a series of thin sections through the sample, as in confocal microscopy (3). Here we present a 3D imaging modality, termed ankylography (derived from the Greek words ankylos meaning 'curved' and graphein meaning 'writing'), which enables complete 3D structure determination from a single exposure using a monochromatic incident beam. We demonstrate that when the diffraction pattern of a finite object is sampled at a sufficiently fine scale on the Ewald sphere, the 3D structure of the object is determined by the 2D spherical pattern. We confirm the theoretical analysis by performing 3D numerical reconstructions of a sodium silicate glass structure at 2 Angstrom resolution and a single poliovirus at 2 - 3 nm resolution from 2D spherical diffraction patterns alone. Using diffraction data from a soft X-ray laser, we demonstrate that ankylography is experimentally feasible by obtaining a 3D image of a test object from a single 2D diffraction pattern. This approach of obtaining complete 3D structure information from a single view is anticipated to find broad applications in the physical and life sciences. As X-ray free electron lasers (X-FEL) and other coherent X-ray sources are under rapid development worldwide, ankylography potentially opens a door to determining the 3D structure of a biological specimen in a single pulse and allowing for time-resolved 3D structure determination of disordered materials.Comment: 30 page

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011

Measurements of Higgs boson production and couplings in diboson final states with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements are presented of production properties and couplings of the recently discovered Higgs boson using the decays into boson pairs, H →γ γ, H → Z Z∗ →4l and H →W W∗ →lνlν. The results are based on the complete pp collision data sample recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 25 fb−1. Evidence for Higgs boson production through vector-boson fusion is reported. Results of combined fits probing Higgs boson couplings to fermions and bosons, as well as anomalous contributions to loop-induced production and decay modes, are presented. All measurements are consistent with expectations for the Standard Model Higgs boson

Measurement of the top quark-pair production cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at \sqrt{s}=7\TeV

A measurement of the production cross-section for top quark pairs(\ttbar) in $pp$ collisions at \sqrt{s}=7 \TeV is presented using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in two different topologies: single lepton (electron $e$ or muon $\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least four jets, and dilepton ($ee$, $\mu\mu$ or $e\mu$) with large missing transverse energy and at least two jets. In a data sample of 2.9 pb-1, 37 candidate events are observed in the single-lepton topology and 9 events in the dilepton topology. The corresponding expected backgrounds from non-\ttbar Standard Model processes are estimated using data-driven methods and determined to be $12.2 \pm 3.9$ events and $2.5 \pm 0.6$ events, respectively. The kinematic properties of the selected events are consistent with SM \ttbar production. The inclusive top quark pair production cross-section is measured to be \sigmattbar=145 \pm 31 ^{+42}_{-27} pb where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The measurement agrees with perturbative QCD calculations.Comment: 30 pages plus author list (50 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, CERN-PH number and final journal adde

Measurement of the top quark pair cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV using final states with an electron or a muon and a hadronically decaying τ lepton

A measurement of the cross section of top quark pair production in proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is reported. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.05 fb -1. Events with an isolated electron or muon and a τ lepton decaying hadronically are used. In addition, a large missing transverse momentum and two or more energetic jets are required. At least one of the jets must be identified as originating from a b quark. The measured cross section, σtt-=186±13(stat.)±20(syst.)±7(lumi.) pb, is in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction