corr2D: Implementation of Two-Dimensional Correlation Analysis in R

In the package corr2D two-dimensional correlation analysis is implemented in R. This paper describes how two-dimensional correlation analysis is done in the package and how the mathematical equations are translated into R code. The paper features a simple tutorial with executable code for beginners, insight into the calculations done before the correlation analysis, a detailed look at the parallelization of the fast Fourier transformation based correlation analysis and a speed test of the calculation. The package corr2D offers the possibility to preprocess, correlate and postprocess spectroscopic data using exclusively the R language. Thus, corr2D is a welcome addition to the toolbox of spectroscopists and makes two-dimensional correlation analysis more accessible and transparent

Three-body structure of low-lying 18Ne states

We investigate to what extent 18Ne can be descibed as a three-body system made of an inert 16O-core and two protons. We compare to experimental data and occasionally to shell model results. We obtain three-body wave functions with the hyperspherical adiabatic expansion method. We study the spectrum of 18Ne, the structure of the different states and the predominant transition strengths. Two 0+, two 2+, and one 4+ bound states are found where they are all known experimentally. Also one 3+ close to threshold is found and several negative parity states, 1-, 3-, 0-, 2-, most of them bound with respect to the 16O excited 3- state. The structures are extracted as partial wave components, as spatial sizes of matter and charge, and as probability distributions. Electromagnetic decay rates are calculated for these states. The dominating decay mode for the bound states is E2 and occasionally also M1.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures (version to appear in EPJA

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Different energetic techniques for modelling traction drives

In this paper the traction system of an automatic subway isdescribed using four different energetic graphical techniques:Bond-Graph (BG), Energetic Macroscopic Representation (EMR),Power-Oriented Graphs (POG) and Vectorial Bond-Graph (VBG). Theaim of this paper is to highlight the analogies and thedifferences between these modelling techniques in the analysis andsimulation of the considered system

Erarbeitung eines Hochbarriereverbundes für flexible Verpackungen

Die Technik der Vakuum-Bandbedampfung von Polymerfolien, insbesondere die der sogenannten Metallisierung (Bedampfung mit Aluminium) hat sich in den letzten 50 Jahren einen großen Markt erobert. Speziell im Verpackungsbereich liegen die Vorteile des wirtschaftlichen und umweltfreundlichen Verfahrens bei den erzielbaren hohen Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeiten, den benötigten geringen Materialmengen (Schichtdicken: 20-100 nm) und den erreichbaren Barriereeigenschaften der flexiblen Verbunde gegenüber Gasen, Dämpfen und Aromen. Jedoch sind die erreichbaren Eigenschaften insbesondere nach mechanischer Belastung in vielen Fällen im Bereich der Lebensmittel- und Pharmaverpackung noch nicht ausreichend, so dass hier immer noch auf aufwendige Verbunde z.B. mit Aluminiumfolie (Dicke: 3-20 µm) zurückgegriffen werden muss. Diese Verbunde zeichnen sich durch eine schwierige Verarbeitbarkeit aus; sie sind in ihrer Herstellung teurer, zeigen ein erschwertes bzw. nicht durchführbares Materialrecycling und sind insgesamt gesehen ökologisch weniger vorteilhaft. In Vorversuchen wurde gefunden, dass sich die Barrierewirkung sowohl vor als auch nach mechanischer Belastung durch eine Kaschierung von SiOx-bedampften Trägerfolien mit anorganisch-organischen Hybridpolymeren (ORMOCERen®: Markenzeichen der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V., München) erheblich steigern lässt. Im geplanten Forschungsvorhaben sollte dieser Effekt auch für aluminiumbedampfte Folien bestätigt, optimiert und zur Technikumsreife entwickelt werden. Der Industriepartner stellte die bedampften Folien zur Verfügung und nahm die Kaschierung auf eigenen Anlagen vor. Das Fraunhofer ISC hat geeignete ORMOCER®-Rezepturen entwickelt, das Fraunhofer IVV deren Verarbeitungsverhalten sowie die Barrierefunktion überprüft