Avoiding the Alveolar Nerve Via a Real-Time Impedance Analysis: A Novel Method to Improve Implant Surgery Safety

Safe lower jaw implantations require precautions to avoid damaging the alveolar nerve.The prevailing methods are preoperative. In this study, we propose a novel approach to measure the distance between a pilot-drill and the alveolar nerve by employing highfrequency impedance measurements. The objective is to provide in vivo real-time information as an early warning of the proximity of the alveolar nerve. The method is examined and tested on animal samples. The impedance measurements were performed using a high-frequency network analyzer. Overall 40 pilot drillings were distributed over five sheep mandibles, with four on each side. Drillings were performed in three steps: inside the cortical layer, inside the spongiosa, and well inside the nerve canal. The inductance measurements were performed with a connected pilot drill, followed by an immediate 3D cone-beam computed tomography (CT) to measure the distance between the tip of the drill and the nerve canal. The measurements show that impedance information is a reliable indicator for proximity of the drill to the nerve. We observe a general trend of decreasing inductance as the drill approaches the nerve and find that at very high frequencies one can detect the closeness to the nerve from characteristic ratios of impedance at nearby frequencies. We report also that using phase information increases the reliability of this method. The findings provide a solid proof of concept for the proposed method. While the results are promising at this stage, the applicability for in vivo conditions requires further studies.:1. Einführung 3 - 11 2. Publikationsmanuskript 12 -19 3. Zusammenfassung 20 - 22 4. Literaturverzeichnis 23 - 25 5. Darstellung des eigenen Beitrags 26 6. Selbstständigkeitserklärung 27 7. Lebenslauf 28 - 29 8. Danksagung 3

Electrification of the automotive industry : examining the moderating effect of electrified vehicles on the relationship between well-known brands’ engagement in electrification and consumers’ brand valuations & purchase behavior

In an urge to mitigate negative impacts of combustion engines on the environment in terms of air pollution, traffic noise, and health, governments across the globe are demanding innovations in the mobility sector. As a result, automobile manufacturers are fostering on e-mobility options to provide long-term solutions to the worrying development of climate change and traffic congestion. More precisely, automobile brands are introducing electrified vehicles to resolve above-mentioned environmental issues, as well as offering consumers an alleged sustainable choice to their current selection of vehicles. Using prior academic literature as a foundation, an experimental study was conducted to examine the effect of well-known automobile brands’ engagement in electrification on consumers’ brand valuations and purchase behavior, as well as to elaborate the role of the type of electrified vehicle as a moderator on named relationship. Results indicate that brands’ engagement in electrification positively impacts perceived ethicality, brand image, brand trust, purchase intention and willingness to pay. Additionally, the type of electrified vehicle has a moderating effect on afore-mentioned relationship. Namely, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increase brand valuations and purchase behavior, whereas hybrid electric vehicles decrease those valuation metrics. Additionally, an extra analysis yields four regression models which evaluate purchase intention of electrified vehicles based on socio-demographic factors, where age and political orientation are found to have great predictive power. This study provides valuable theoretical and managerial implications towards automobile brands’ engagement in electrification, emphasizing positive evaluation with regards to consumer perceptions of electrification and, more specific, electrified vehicles.Para mitigar os impactos negativos dos motores de combustão no meio ambiente relacionados com poluição do ar, ruído do tráfego e saúde, vários governos exigem inovação no setor da mobilidade. As marcas de automóveis introduziram veículos elétricos para resolver as questões ambientais anteriormente mencionadas e ofereceram aos consumidores uma suposta seleção sustentável para a escolha de veículos. Com base em literatura científica, um estudo experimental foi conduzido para examinar o efeito do envolvimento de marcas de automóveis conhecidas na eletrificação nas avaliações de marca e comportamentos de compra dos consumidores, bem como para elaborar o papel do tipo de veículo eletrificado como moderador da relação mencionada. Os resultados indicam que o envolvimento das marcas na eletrificação impacta positivamente a ética, a imagem e a confiança da marca, tal como a sua intenção e disposição de compra. Também, o tipo de veículo elétrico tem um efeito moderador nesta relação. Ou seja, os veículos elétricos e os veículos elétricos híbridos plug-in melhoram as avaliações da marca e comportamentos de compra, enquanto os veículos elétricos híbridos diminuem estas métricas de avaliação. Além disso, uma análise extra produz quatro modelos de regressão que avaliam a intenção de compra de veículos eletrificados com base em fatores sociodemográficos, entre os quais a idade e orientação política apresentam grande poder preditivo. Este estudo fornece implicações teóricas para o envolvimento das marcas automóveis na eletrificação, enaltecendo uma avaliação positiva das perceções que o consumidor tem da eletrificação e, mais especificamente, dos veículos eletrificados

Origine et impact des risques biologiques, physiques et chimiques

La préservation de la santé des consommateurs est devenue une préoccupation majeure en ce début de nouveau millénaire marqué par le poids de la société civile en général et des ligues de consommateurs en particulier. Les exigences en termes de qualité sanitaire et de traçabilité, qui figurent non seulement dans des réglementations toujours plus strictes mais aussi dans des référentiels de qualité ou des cahiers de charge imposés aux producteurs, traduisent la volonté des consommateurs européens de savoir où, comment et quand les aliments qu'ils ont dans leur assiette ont été produits

No Dream in Georgia? Domestic quarrels and local elections show: "winner takes all" likely to continue

Even though the country is a regional frontrunner, Georgian democracy is not yet consolidated. Parliamentary elections in 2016 saw the governing Georgian Dream returned with a constitutional majority. The October 2017 local elections brought the ruling party another sweeping victory. Despite Georgian Dream’s overwhelming electoral successes, the country faces voter apathy. Alongside lack of parliamentary controls and a fragmentation of the party-political spectrum this does not bode well for consolidating democracy in the near future. (Autorenreferat

Germany’s strategy on security sector reform and gender: ensuring value-based and interministerial implementation

Gender equality is an important principle in the German Government’s Strategy to Support Security Sector Reform (SSR). In order to put this into practice, the ministries involved need to go beyond agreeing on specific goals and measures that should be reported on within the framework of Germany’s new National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. They must also confront conflicts in partner countries. Sensitivity to local context must not mean ignoring gender equality

Folded Interaction Systems and Their Application to the Survivability Analysis of Unbounded Systems

Modeling the fulfillment of global properties like survivability is a challenging problem in unbounded systems such as Grids, peer-to-peer systems, or swarms. This paper proposes Folded Interaction Systems (FIS), an extension of the classic I-Systems framework, to overcome the modeling issues. FIS is applied to a case of survivability assessment in Grids and demonstrates the identification of essential capabilities, the modeling of harmful incidents, and the derivation of standard strategies to sustain the survival of a system’s mission. FIS is not restricted to survivability, it can be used for investigating the preservation of any global property

A Concept for Attribute-Based Authorization on D-Grid Resources

In Germany's D-Grid project numerous Grid communities are working together to provide a common overarching Grid infrastructure. The major aims of D-Grid are the integration of existing Grid deployments and their interoperability. The challenge lies in the heterogeneity of the current implementations: three Grid middleware stacks and different Virtual Organization management approaches have to be embraced to achieve the intended goals. In this article we focus oil the implementation of an attribute-based authorization infrastructure that not only leverages the well-known VO attributes but also campus attributes managed by a Shibboleth federation