Iron single crystal growth from a lithium-rich melt

\alpha-Fe single crystals of rhombic dodecahedral habit were grown from a melt of Li$_{84}$N$_{12}$Fe$_{\sim 3}$. Crystals of several millimeter along a side form at temperatures around $T \approx 800^\circ$C. Upon further cooling the growth competes with the formation of Fe-doped Li$_3$N. The b.c.c. structure and good sample quality of \alpha-Fe single crystals were confirmed by X-ray and electron diffraction as well as magnetization measurements and chemical analysis. A nitrogen concentration of 90\,ppm was detected by means of carrier gas hot extraction. Scanning electron microscopy did not reveal any sign of iron nitride precipitates.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Biological Markers of Auditory Gap Detection in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults

The capability of processing rapid fluctuations in the temporal envelope of sound declines with age and this contributes to older adults' difficulties in understanding speech. Although, changes in central auditory processing during aging have been proposed as cause for communication deficits, an open question remains which stage of processing is mostly affected by age related changes. We investigated auditory temporal resolution in young, middle-aged, and older listeners with neuromagnetic evoked responses to gap stimuli with different leading marker and gap durations. Signal components specific for processing the physical details of sound stimuli as well as the auditory objects as a whole were derived from the evoked activity and served as biological markers for temporal processing at different cortical levels. Early oscillatory 40-Hz responses were elicited by the onsets of leading and lagging markers and indicated central registration of the gap with similar amplitude in all three age groups. High-gamma responses were predominantly related to the duration of no-gap stimuli or to the duration of gaps when present, and decreased in amplitude and phase locking with increasing age. Correspondingly, low-frequency activity around 200 ms and later was reduced in middle aged and older participants. High-gamma band, and long-latency low-frequency responses were interpreted as reflecting higher order processes related to the grouping of sound items into auditory objects and updating of memory for these objects. The observed effects indicate that age-related changes in auditory acuity have more to do with higher-order brain functions than previously thought

How is Your Mood Today? - A Taxonomy-based Analysis of Apps for Depression

Depression is a serious disease that affects partners, families, friends, and societies. Applications for depression therapy support assist users in daily life to cope with depression challenges. While the services provided can be advantageous, the benefits and apps provided in the market can be overwhelming and fragmented for its intended users. A rigorous classification and clustering of this important domain is still missing. We deduce insights examining a taxonomy and conducting a cluster analysis. We classify 55 applications into eleven dimensions and 46 corresponding characteristics. We identify six clusters of archetypical application configurations. Our procedure classifies this application domain and enables directions towards more tailored research for this eHealth and mHealth artefacts. (Potential) users and application developers can use our results and findings to improve their usage and development and select the most suitable application for their medical needs and interests

Realizing availability-oriented business models in the capital goods industry

The validation results of a concept for the development of availability-oriented business models are addressed. The developed concept contains five steps by means of primarily design thinking methods. For the validation, the developed concept is applied at Lenze, a German innovative manufacturer of drive and automation solutions for materials handling, handling technology, packaging industry, robotics and automotive industry. Therefore, a use case is defined, business models, extended value networks, persona analyses and customer journey are elaborated. The results show the applicability of the concept for the development of availability-oriented business models for the capital goods industry. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

CELL-TO-CELL INTERACTION IN THE IMMUNE RESPONSE : VII. REQUIREMENT FOR DIFFERENTIATION OF THYMUS-DERIVED CELLS

Experiments were designed to test the possibility that thymus-derived (T) cells cooperate with nonthymus derived (B) cells in antibody responses by acting as passive carriers of antigen. Thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL) from fowl γG-tolerant mice were incubated in vitro with fowl anti-mouse lymphocyte globulin (FALG), which was shown not to be immunosuppressive in mice. On transfer into adult thymectomized, irradiated, and marrow protected (TxBM) hosts together with a control antigen, horse RBC, a response to horse RBC but not to fowl γG was obtained. By contrast, TxBM recipients of nontolerant, FALG-coated TDL responded to both antigens and the antibody-forming cells were shown to be derived from the host, not from the injected TDL. These findings suggested that, under the conditions of the experiment, triggering of unprimed B cells in the spleens of TxBM hosts was not achieved with antigen-coated tolerant lymphocytes. Another model utilized the ability of B cells to bind antibody-antigen complexes. Spleen cells from TxBM mice, incubated in vitro with anti-fowl γG-fowl γG·NIP, were injected with or without normal TDL (a source of T cells) into irradiated hosts. Only mice given both cell types could produce an anti-NIP antibody response. In a further experiment, spleen cells from HGG·NIP-primed mice were injected together with NIP-coated B cells (prepared as above) into irradiated hosts. A substantial anti-NIP antibody response occurred. If, however, the T cells in the spleens of HGG·NIP-primed mice were eliminated by treatment with anti-θ serum and complement, the NIP response was abolished. It was concluded that antigen-coated B cells could not substitute for T cells either in the primary or secondary response. Treatment of T cells from unprimed or primed mice with mitomycin C impaired their capacity to collaborate with B cells on transfer into irradiated hosts. Taken together these findings suggest that before collaboration can take place T cells must be activated by antigen to differentiate and in so doing may produce some factor essential for triggering of B cells