Surface morphology of polyimide thin film dip-coated on polyester filament for dielectric layer in fibrous organic field effect transistor

The idea of wearable electronics automatically leads to the concept of integrating electronic functions on textile substrates. Since this substrate type implies certain challenges in comparison with their rigid electronic companions, it is of utmost importance to investigate the application of materials for generating the electronic functions on the textile substrate. Only when interaction of materials and textile substrate is fully understood, the electronic function can be generated on the textile without changing the textile's properties, being flexible or stretchable. This research deals with the optimization of the dielectric layer in a fibrous organic field effect transistor (OFET). A transistor can act as an electrical switch in a circuit. In this work, the polyimide layer was dip-coated on a copper-coated polyester filament. After thoroughly investigating the process conditions, best results with minimal thickness and roughness at full insulation could be achieved at a dip-coating speed of 50 mm/min. The polyimide solution was optimal at 15w% and the choice for the solvent NMP was made. In this paper, details on the pre-treatment methods, choice of solvent and dip-coating speed and their effect on layer morphology and thickness, electrical properties and roughness are reported. Results show that the use of polyimide as a dielectric layer in the architecture of a fibrous OFET is promising. Further research deals with the application of the semiconductor layer within the mentioned architecture, to finally build an OFET on a filament for application in smart textiles

Curing spurious magneto-mechanical coupling in soft non-magnetic materials

The present work is concerned with the issue of spurious coupling effects that are pervasive in fully coupled magneto-mechanical finite element simulations involving very soft non-magnetic or air-like media. We first address the characterization of the spurious magneto-mechanical effects and their intuitive interpretation based on energy considerations. Then, as main contribution, we propose two new ways to prune the undesired spurious magneto-mechanical coupling in non-magnetic media. The proposed methods are compared with established methods in the context of magnetic bodies embedded in (i) air or vacuum and (ii) very soft elastic non-magnetic media. The comparison shows that the proposed approaches are accurate and effective. They, furthermore, allow for a consistent linearization of the coupled boundary value problems, which is crucial for the simulation of compliant structures. For reproducibility and accessibility of the proposed methods, we provide our implementations with Netgen/NGSolve as well as all codes necessary for the reproduction of our results as supplementary material.Comment: 31 pages, 17 figures, to be submitted to the International Journal of Numerical Methods in Engineering, supplementary material for this version hosted on zenodo with doi 10.5281/zenodo.712867

Synthesis and characterization of copper, polyimide and TIPS-pentacene layers for the development of a solution processed fibrous transistor

A study was performed for the development of a flexible organic field effect transistor starting from a polyester fibre as substrate material. Focus of subsequent layer deposition was on low temperature soluble processes to allow upscaling. Gate layer consists out of a pyrrole polymerization and copper coating step. Polyimide dielectric layer was deposited using dipcoating. Gold electrodes were vacuum evaporated and patterned via mask fibre shadowing. The active layer consisted of a soluble p-type TIPS-pentacene organic semiconductor. Different deposition techniques have been examined. Considerable progress in development of a transistor has been made

Das Budget für Arbeit. Eine explorative Studie zur Umsetzung von § 61 SGB IX in Berlin

Die UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention (UN-BRK) trat in Deutschland am 26. März 2009 in Kraft. Trotz der dort verankerten Verpflichtung der Vertragsstaaten, einen offenen, integrativen und für Menschen mit Behinderungen zugänglichen Arbeitsmarkt und ein ebensolches Arbeitsumfeld zu gewährleisten (Art. 27 UN-BRK), steigt die Anzahl der in Werkstätten für behinderte Menschen (WfbM) Beschäftigten seitdem an. Nach Ansicht der Bundesregierung spielen WfbM nach wie vor eine wichtige Rolle für die Teilhabe am Arbeitsleben. Der UN-Ausschuss für die Rechte von Menschen mit Behinderungen kritisierte Deutschland jedoch dafür, dass WfbM den Übergang auf den allgemeinen Arbeitsmarkt bislang nur unzureichend fördern. Um Übergänge zu fördern, wurde das Budget für Arbeit (BfA) am 01.01.2018 bundesweit eingeführt. Die Nutzer:innenzahlen liegen weit unter den Erwartungen der Bundesregierung. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die förderlichen und hemmenden Faktoren, die die Inanspruchnahme des Budgets für Arbeit bedingen. Für diese explorativ-qualitative Studie wurden Ende 2019 fünf Fokusgruppen und zwei problemzentrierte Einzelinterviews mit insgesamt 42 Interviewteilnehmenden durchgeführt. Befragte waren Leistungsberechtigte, Budgetnehmende, Arbeitgeber, Unterstützende sowie Leistungsträger. Die transkribierten Interviews wurden mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse in MAXQDA ausgewertet. Bei einem Großteil der Befragten, vor allem bei den Leistungsberechtigten, herrscht ein geringer Informationsstand zum BfA. Sie haben Zweifel an ihrer eigenen Leistungsfähigkeit und befürchten im Vergleich zur Beschäftigung in der WfbM Nachteile hinsichtlich der sozialen Sicherung und Renteneinbußen auf dem allgemeinen Arbeitsmarkt. Diese und weitere Faktoren hemmen die Inanspruchnahme. Praktika auf dem allgemeinen Arbeitsmarkt, die Anleitung und Begleitung sowie die Aussicht auf eine unbürokratische Rückkehr in die WfbM können Übergänge im Rahmen des Budgets für Arbeit erleichtern.The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) entered into force in Germany on 26/03/2009. Despite the obligation of the States Parties to the Convention to ensure an open, inclusive and accessible labour market and working environment for persons with disabilities (Art. 27 CRPD), the number of persons employed in sheltered workshops for persons with disabilities has been increasing ever since. In the view of the Federal Government, sheltered workshops continue to play an important role in participation in working life. However, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities criticised Germany for the fact that WfbMs have so far only insufficiently promoted the transition to the general labour market. In order to promote transitions, the Employment Budget was introduced nationwide on 01/01/2018. The number of users is still low and does not meet the expectations of the federal government. The study examines the factors that promote and hinder the use of the Employment Budget. For the explorative qualitative study, five focus groups and two problem-centred individual interviews were conducted at the end of 2019 with a total of 42 interview participants. The interviewees were beneficiaries, budget recipients, employers, supporters and service providers. The transcribed interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis in MAXQDA. The majority of respondents, especially those entitled to benefits, have a low level of information about the Employment Budget. They have doubts about their own ability to perform and fear disadvantages in terms of social security and pension losses on the general labour market compared to employment in the sheltered workshops. These and other factors inhibit them to claim the subsidy. Internships on the general labour market, guidance and support, as well as the prospect of a non-bureaucratic return to the sheltered workshops can facilitate transitions within the framework of the Employment Budget.Not Reviewe

Evaluation des Behindertengleichstellungsgesetzes: Abschlussbericht

Das Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz (BGG) ist am 1. Mai 2002 in Kraft getreten. Ziel des BGG ist, die Benachteiligung von behinderten Menschen zu beseitigen, ihre gleichberechtigte Teilhabe am Leben in der Gesellschaft zu gewährleisten und ihnen eine selbstbestimmte Lebensführung zu ermöglichen. Kernstück des BGG ist die Barrierefreiheit. Sie ist eine wesentliche Voraussetzung für eine selbstbestimmte und gleichberechtigte Teilhabe. Gut zehn Jahre nach seinem Inkrafttreten war es an der Zeit, das BGG im Rahmen des Nationalen Aktionsplans zur Umsetzung der UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention (UN-BRK) wissenschaftlich auf seine Wirkung zu überprüfen. Im Fokus standen dabei die Fragen, ob alle Gruppen von Menschen mit Behinderungen ausreichend berücksichtigt sind und sich die Instrumente des BGG bewährt haben. Bei der Evaluation waren die Vorgaben der UN-BRK zu berücksichtigen. Die Perspektive von Menschen mit Behinderungen wurde von Anfang an einbezogen

Design of drug-like hepsin inhibitors against prostate cancer and kidney stones

[[abstract]]Hepsin, a transmembrane serine protease abundant in renal endothelial cells, is a promising therapeutic target against several cancers, particularly prostate cancer. It is involved in the release and polymerization of uromodulin in the urine, which plays a role in kidney stone formation. In this work, we design new potential hepsin inhibitors for high activity, improved specificity towards hepsin, and promising ADMET properties. The ligands were developed in silico through a novel hierarchical pipeline. This pipeline explicitly accounts for off-target binding to the related serine proteases matriptase and HGFA (human hepatocyte growth factor activator). We completed the pipeline incorporating ADMET properties of the candidate inhibitors into custom multi-objective optimization functions. The ligands designed show excellent prospects for targeting hepsin via the blood stream and the urine and thus enable key experimental studies. The computational pipeline proposed is remarkably cost-efficient and can be easily adapted for designing inhibitors against new drug targets

Increased cardiovascular risk in rats with primary renal dysfunction; mediating role for vascular endothelial function

Primary chronic kidney disease is associated with high cardiovascular risk. However, the exact mechanisms behind this cardiorenal interaction remain unclear. We investigated the interaction between heart and kidneys in novel animal model for cardiorenal interaction. Normal Wistar rats and Munich Wistar Fromter rats, spontaneously developing renal dysfunction, were subjected to experimental myocardial infarction to induce cardiac dysfunction (CD) and combined cardiorenal dysfunction (CRD), respectively (N = 5–10). Twelve weeks later, cardiac- and renal parameters were evaluated. Cardiac, but not renal dysfunction was exaggerated in CRD. Accelerated cardiac dysfunction in CRD was indicated by decreased cardiac output (CD 109 ± 10 vs. CRD 79 ± 8 ml/min), diastolic dysfunction (E/e′) (CD 26 ± 2 vs. CRD 50 ± 5) and left ventricular overload (LVEDP CD 10.8 ± 2.8 vs. CRD 21.6 ± 1.7 mmHg). Congestion in CRD was confirmed by increased lung and atrial weights, as well as exaggerated right ventricular hypertrophy. Absence of accelerated renal dysfunction, measured by increased proteinuria, was supported by absence of additional focal glomerulosclerosis or further decline of renal blood flow in CRD. Only advanced peripheral endothelial dysfunction, as found in CRD, appeared to correlate with both renal and cardiac dysfunction parameters. Thus, proteinuric rats with myocardial infarction showed accelerated cardiac but not renal dysfunction. As parameters mimic the cardiorenal syndrome, these rats may provide a clinically relevant model to study increased cardiovascular risk due to renal dysfunction. Peripheral endothelial dysfunction was the only parameter that correlated with both renal and cardiac dysfunction, which may indicate a mediating role in cardiorenal interaction

Genetic studies of IgA nephropathy: past, present, and future

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide and an important cause of kidney disease in young adults. Highly variable clinical presentation and outcome of IgAN suggest that this diagnosis may encompass multiple subsets of disease that are not distinguishable by currently available clinical tools. Marked differences in disease prevalence between individuals of European, Asian, and African ancestry suggest the existence of susceptibility genes that are present at variable frequencies in these populations. Familial forms of IgAN have also been reported throughout the world but are probably underrecognized because associated urinary abnormalities are often intermittent in affected family members. Of the many pathogenic mechanisms reported, defects in IgA1 glycosylation that lead to formation of immune complexes have been consistently demonstrated. Recent data indicates that these IgA1 glycosylation defects are inherited and constitute a heritable risk factor for IgAN. Because of the complex genetic architecture of IgAN, the efforts to map disease susceptibility genes have been difficult, and no causative mutations have yet been identified. Linkage-based approaches have been hindered by disease heterogeneity and lack of a reliable noninvasive diagnostic test for screening family members at risk of IgAN. Many candidate-gene association studies have been published, but most suffer from small sample size and methodological problems, and none of the results have been convincingly validated. New genomic approaches, including genome-wide association studies currently under way, offer promising tools for elucidating the genetic basis of IgAN