Wind turbine induced seismic signals: the large‐scale SMARTIE1 experiment and a concept to define protection radii for recording stations

Wind turbines produce mechanical energy that can propagate to the ground and disturb sensitive measurements such as seismic recordings. The aim of the large-scale experiment Seismic Monitoring And Research of wind Turbine Induced Emissions (SMARTIE1) at a single wind turbine in Pfinztal (SW Germany) is to understand how wind turbines emit seismic signals under different operating conditions and how these seismic signals propagate through the local subsurface. Themain objectives of SMARTIE1 are the investigation of wind turbine induced seismic signals, the characteristics of their propagation behaviour, as well as the radiation pattern of a single wind turbine as defined using particle motions. Moreover, we quantify the emission of the wind turbine induced seismic signals with respect to the wind speed. The combination of the wind turbine’s emission into the subsurface and the attenuation behaviour of the seismic signals (ground motion velocity) can be used to estimate protection radii around seismic stations to ensure the recording of seismic signals without noticeable influences of the wind turbines. In this study, we detect several discrete wind turbine induced frequency peaks ranging from 1 to 10 Hz. We identify a radiation pattern of the wind turbine, which could give further insights into the interaction between the movement of the wind turbine’s nacelle and the generation of the wind turbine induced seismic signals. Using profile measurements with a maximum distance of almost 3 km each, we fit a power-law decay for power spectral density proportional to 1/r$^{b}$. The attenuation factor, b, ranges from 0.7 to 1.3 for lower frequencies between 1 and 4 Hz, and increases to b = 2.3 for the higher frequency peak around 5.25 Hz. Finally, we present an example estimation of a protection radius around the seismic station of the Collm Observatorium that is part of the German Regional Seismic Network. The example protection radius around Collm Observatorium regarding this single wind turbine is reached at a minimum distance of 3.7 km

Designing Functional 2D and 3D Structures: From Ultrathin Coatings to Laser Lithography

Die Gestaltung von neuartigen und funktionalen zweidimensionalen (2D) und dreidimensionalen (3D) Strukturen repräsentiert ein wichtiges gegenwärtiges Forschungsgebiet für die Entwicklung von hochspezialisierten Systemen für substratunabhängige Beschichtungen, die Modifizierung von Oberflächen, Klebstoffe, 3D Druck Anwendungen im mikroskopischen und makroskopischen Bereich, Metamaterialien, gezielten Wirkstofftransport und biotechnologische Gewebebearbeitung. Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit beschäftigt sich mit einer neu konzipierten organischen Verbindung, die für die Herstellung von monomolekularen Schichten verwendet wurde. Die innovative Idee ermöglichte die Beschichtung und vielfältige Modifizierungsmöglichkeiten auf verschiedenen Trägermaterialien. Die Immobilisierung beruht auf der Verankerung von Catechol Gruppen eines multifunktionalen und präzise definierten zyklischen Catechol Materials (CyCat). Zur Herstellung wurde o Dimethoxylbenzol in einer Phenolharz-analogen Synthese umgesetzt. Um die gewünschte Catechol Gruppe zu erhalten, wurde die Entschützung der Hydroxylgruppen durchgeführt. Die chemische Struktur des CyCat wurde mit Hilfe von Matrix-unterstützter Laser-Desorption/Ionisation Flugzeitmassenspektrometrie (MALDI-TOF), hochauflösender Elektrospray-Ionisations-Massenspektrometrie (ESI MS), Kernspinresonanzspektroskopie (NMR) und diffusionsaufgelöster NMR-Spektroskopie (DOSY) untersucht. Anhand der Messungen konnten Makrozyklen mit bis zu 32 Catechol Einheiten nachgewiesen werden. Das CyCat bildete kolloidale Aggregate in basischer Lösung aus und ihre zeitabhängige Veränderung wurde mittels dynamischer Lichtstreuung (DLS) analysiert. Die Aggregate wurden darüber hinaus anhand Kelvinsondenkraftmikroskopie (KPFM) untersucht, indem gelöstes CyCat auf eine hochorientierte pyrolytische Graphitoberfläche (HOPG) aufgebracht wurde. Um das Absorptionsverhalten des CyCat in Echtzeit zu analysieren, wurden Oberflächenplasmonenresonanz (SPR) Messungen mit beschichteten Gold (Au) Oberflächen durchgeführt. Die dünnen Beschichtungen (1.6-2.1 nm) wurden des Weiteren mit Hilfe von spektroskopischer Ellipsometrie (SE) und Röntgenphotoelektronen-spektroskopie (XPS) analysiert. Rasterkraftmikrosopie (AFM) Messungen zeigten, dass die zuvor in Lösung nachgewiesenen Aggregate nicht in die Beschichtungen eingeschlossen werden. Zusätzlich wurde nachgewiesen, dass die Oberflächenstruktur des Trägermaterials perfekt nachgebildet wurde. Um den funktionalen Charakter der CyCat beschichteten Oberflächen zu zeigen, wurden Amin funktionalisierte Verbindungen, ein kleines organisches Molekül und ein Polymer, zur Reaktion gebracht. Der Einsatz eines multifunktionalen Amin Derivats ermöglichte die Bildung von mehrlagigen Beschichtungen durch abwechselndes Eintauchen der Proben in Lösungen mit CyCat und dem Amin-basierten Linker. Dickere Beschichtungen (bis zu 12 nm) wurden erhalten und erneut mit kleinen organischen Verbindungen und Polymeren funktionalisiert. Hierzu wurden „grafting-to“ und „grafting-from“ Methoden verwendet. Letztere bediente sich Funktionalitäten, die zuvor durch die Anbindung von einem Initiator bereitgestellt wurden, der zur radikalischen Polymerisation unter Atomtransfer (ATRP) geeignet ist. In vielen Anwendungsbereichen spielt die gezielte Entfernung von zuvor ausgehärtetem Material eine entscheidende Rolle. Hierzu gehören die Herstellung von komplexen Bauteilen, die ortsaufgelöste Abscheidung von beispielsweise Metallfilmen und das Ablösen von Zellen nach der Kultivierung in Gerüststrukturen. Die Gestaltung eines multifunktionalen Phenacyl Sulfid Linkers (PSL) ermöglichte die Herstellung eines spaltbaren Photolacks, der für die Mikrostrukturierung mittels direktem Laserschreiben (DLW) eingesetzt wurde. Die Photoaktivierung führt zu der Bildung von reaktiven Thioaldehyden, die in einer radikalfreien Stufenwachstumsreaktion mit Thiol funktionalisierten Verknüpfer-Molekülen umgesetzt werden können. Die Quervernetzungen in den erhaltenen Netzwerken bestehen ausschließlich aus Disulfidbrücken. Die Verbindungsknüpfung wurde in Lösung mit Hilfe eines monofunktionalen Thiol Derivats durch ESI MS nachgewiesen. Die reversible Natur der Bindung wurde in einer Thiol-Disulfid-Austauschreaktion mit dem chemischen Auslöser Dithiothreitol (DTT) genutzt, um die Disulfid basierten Netzwerke zu spalten. Die milden Bedingungen, die hierfür notwendig sind, beeinträchtigten die Qualität von benachbarten Objekten auf Acrylatbasis nicht. Um diesen Aspekt hervorzuheben, wurden Disulfid basierte Netzwerke mit Acrylat basierte Gerüststrukturen verbunden. Um die Disulfide gezielt zu spalten, musste die Probe lediglich in eine DTT Lösung eingetaucht werden und die Acrylat-basierten Objekte wurden einwandfrei zurückerhalten. Um die laterale Auflösung des Photolaks zu bestimmen, wurden wohldefinierte Linienarrays mit einem Linienabstand von 300 nm gedruckt. Um der Allgemeinheit der 3D-Druck Nutzer gerecht zu werden, die viele Chemie-fremde Anwendungsbereiche einschließt, wurde die Entwicklung eines weiteren spaltbaren Photolacks in Angriff genommen. Alle verwendeten Komponenten sollten hierbei kommerziell erhältlich sein. Um die hohe Auswahl an multifunktionalen Alkenverbindungen mit chemisch spaltbaren Funktionalitäten nutzen zu können, wurde die photoinduzierte radikalische Thiol En Polymerisation angewendet. Das Eigenschaftenprofil der Photolacke konnte durch das einfache Austauschen der Komponenten schnell verändert werden. Darüber hinaus wurde ein kommerziell erhältlicher Stereolithographie (SLA) 3D Drucker verwendet, der die Herstellung von makroskopischen Objekten ermöglichte. Dies wäre im Falle von synthetisch herzustellenden Komponenten mit einem gewaltigen Zeitaufwand einhergegangen. Die Spaltung der 3D gedruckten mikroskopischen und makroskopischen Strukturen wurde durch das Eintauschen der Proben in eine Ethanolamin-haltige Lösung bewerkstelligt, die eine rückstandslose Entfernung des Materials ermöglichte. Durch die Verwendung von Zeitrafferaufnahmen konnten die Prozesse beim Auflösen in Echtzeit verfolgt werden. Zusätzlich wurden die Veränderungen bei der Spaltung mit 1H NMR und Fourier-Transformations-Infrarotspektroskopie (FT-IR) Messungen untersucht. Nanoindentation ermöglichte die Bestimmung der mechanischen Eigenschaften der SLA gedruckten Objekte. Darüber hinaus wurde der einfache Zugang zu freischwebenden Geometrien anhand eines DLW Modelles gezeigt: Eine mikroskopisch kleine Hängebrücke konnte durch den Einsatz von Stützstrukturen auf Basis des auflösbaren Thiol-En Photolacks erfolgreich gedruckt werden

Proteomic analysis of endothelial cold-adaptation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding how human cells in tissue culture adapt to hypothermia may aid in developing new clinical procedures for improved ischemic and hypothermic protection. Human coronary artery endothelial cells grown to confluence at 37°C and then transferred to 25°C become resistant over time to oxidative stress and injury induced by 0°C storage and rewarming. This protection correlates with an increase in intracellular glutathione at 25°C. To help understand the molecular basis of endothelial cold-adaptation, isolated proteins from cold-adapted (25°C/72 h) and pre-adapted cells were analyzed by quantitative proteomic methods and differentially expressed proteins were categorized using the DAVID Bioinformatics Resource.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cells adapted to 25°C expressed changes in the abundance of 219 unique proteins representing a broad range of categories such as translation, glycolysis, biosynthetic (anabolic) processes, NAD, cytoskeletal organization, RNA processing, oxidoreductase activity, response-to-stress and cell redox homeostasis. The number of proteins that decreased significantly with cold-adaptation exceeded the number that increased by 2:1. Almost half of the decreases were associated with protein metabolic processes and a third were related to anabolic processes including protein, DNA and fatty acid synthesis. Changes consistent with the suppression of cytoskeletal dynamics provided further evidence that cold-adapted cells are in an energy conserving state. Among the specific changes were increases in the abundance and activity of redox proteins glutathione S-transferase, thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase, which correlated with a decrease in oxidative stress, an increase in protein glutathionylation, and a recovery of reduced protein thiols during rewarming from 0°C. Increases in S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase and nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase implicate a central role for the methionine-cysteine transulfuration pathway in increasing glutathione levels and the NAD salvage pathway in increasing the reducing capacity of cold-adapted cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Endothelial adaptation to mild-moderate hypothermia down-regulates anabolic processes and increases the reducing capacity of cells to enhance their resistance to oxidation and injury associated with 0°C storage and rewarming. Inducing these characteristics in a clinical setting could potentially limit the damaging effects of energy insufficiency due to ischemia and prevent the disruption of integrated metabolism at low temperatures.</p

Artificial Intelligence in Multiphoton Tomography: Atopic Dermatitis Diagnosis

The diagnostic possibilities of multiphoton tomography (MPT) in dermatology have already been demonstrated. Nevertheless, the analysis of MPT data is still time-consuming and operator dependent. We propose a fully automatic approach based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to fully realize the potential of MPT. In total, 3,663 MPT images combining both morphological and metabolic information were acquired from atopic dermatitis (AD) patients and healthy volunteers. These were used to train and tune CNNs to detect the presence of living cells, and if so, to diagnose AD, independently of imaged layer or position. The proposed algorithm correctly diagnosed AD in 97.0 ± 0.2% of all images presenting living cells. The diagnosis was obtained with a sensitivity of 0.966 ± 0.003, specificity of 0.977 ± 0.003 and F-score of 0.964 ± 0.002. Relevance propagation by deep Taylor decomposition was used to enhance the algorithm’s interpretability. Obtained heatmaps show what aspects of the images are important for a given classification. We showed that MPT imaging can be combined with artificial intelligence to successfully diagnose AD. The proposed approach serves as a framework for the automatic diagnosis of skin disorders using MPT

Improving Post-Operative Outcomes in Aged and Diabetic Obese Mice

Due to their small size, high metabolic rate, and large surface to volume ratio, mice are a challenge to work with surgically and peri-operatively. Working with mice that are more susceptible to anesthetic agents, aged, or obese (e.g., diabetic mice), provides even more challenges. In two separate studies, we found simple that supportive care measures during and after surgery improved post-operative outcomes

Skin Regeneration Using Dermal Substrates that Contain Autologous Cells and Silver Nanoparticles to Promote Antibacterial Activity: In Vitro Studies

We hypothesized that the addition of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) to a dermal substrate would impart antibacterial properties without inhibiting the proliferation of contained cells. Our in vitro model was based on the commercial substrate, Integra. The substrate was prepared by simple immersion into 0 to 1% suspension of AgNP (75 or 200 nm diameter) followed by rinsing for 20 minutes and sterilization under an ultraviolet C lamp. A total of 107 human adipose stem cells per cubic centimeter were injected and after 1 hour, 6 × 105 keratinocytes/cm2 were seeded and cultured for up to 14 days. Constructs were evaluated using a metabolic assay (WST-1), and hematoxylin and eosin and immunoperoxidase staining. Bactericidal activity was measured using a log reduction assay against bacteria that are prevalent in burns. The presence of AgNP did not significantly change the metabolic activity of constructs after 14 days of culture, and the distribution of cells within the substrate was unchanged from the controls that did not have AgNP. Antibacterial activity of Integra containing AgNP (75 nm diameter) was concentration dependent. In conclusion, the addition of AgNP to the dermal substrate suppressed bacterial growth but did not significantly affect cell proliferation, and may represent an important property to incorporate into a future clinical skin regeneration system

Translation of two-photon microscopy to the clinic: multimodal multiphoton CARS tomography of in vivo human skin

Two-photon microscopes have been successfully translated into clinical imaging tools to obtain high-resolution optical biopsies for in vivo histology. We report on clinical multiphoton coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) tomography based on two tunable ultrashort near-infrared laser beams for label-free in vivo multimodal skin imaging. The multiphoton biopsies were obtained with the compact tomograph “MPTflex-CARS” using a photonic crystal fiber, an optomechanical articulated arm, and a four-detector-360 deg measurement head. The multiphoton tomograph has been employed to patients in a hospital with diseased skin. The clinical study involved 16 subjects, 8 patients with atopic dermatitis, 4 patients with psoriasis vulgaris, and 4 volunteers served as control. Two-photon cellular autofluorescence lifetime, second harmonic generation (SHG) of collagen, and CARS of intratissue lipids/proteins have been detected with single-photon sensitivity, submicron spatial resolution, and picosecond temporal resolution. The most important signal was the autofluorescence from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide [NAD(P)H]. The SHG signal from collagen was mainly used to detect the epidermal–dermal junction and to calculate the ratio elastin/collagen. The CARS/Raman signal provided add-on information. Based on this view on the disease-affected skin on a subcellular level, skin areas affected by dermatitis and by psoriasis could be clearly identified. Multimodal multiphoton tomographs may become important label-free clinical high-resolution imaging tools for in vivo skin histology to realize rapid early diagnosis as well as treatment control

Distinct Effects of Adipose-derived Stem Cells and Adipocytes on Normal and Cancer Cell Hierarchy

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) have received considerable attention in oncology because of the known direct link between obesity and cancer as well as the use of ASCs in reconstructive surgery after tumor ablation. Previous studies have documented how cancer cells commandeer ASCs to support their survival by altering extracellular matrix composition and stiffness, migration, and metastasis. This study focused on delineating the effects of ASCs and adipocytes on the self-renewal of stem/progenitor cells and hierarchy of breast epithelial cells. The immortalized breast epithelial cell line MCF10A, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cell lines MCF10DCIS.com and SUM225, and MCF10A-overexpressing SRC oncogene were examined using a mammosphere assay and flow cytometry for the effects of ASCs on their self-renewal and stem-luminal progenitor-differentiated cell surface marker profiles. Interestingly, ASCs promoted the self-renewal of all cell types except SUM225. ASC coculture or treatment with ASC conditioned media altered the number of CD49fhigh/EpCAMlow basal/stem-like and CD49fmedium/EpCAMmedium luminal progenitor cells. Among multiple factors secreted by ASCs, IFNγ and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) displayed unique actions on epithelial cell hierarchy. IFNγ increased stem/progenitor-like cells while simultaneously reducing the size of mammospheres, whereas HGF increased the size of mammospheres with an accompanying increase in luminal progenitor cells. ASCs expressed higher levels of HGF, whereas adipocytes expressed higher levels of IFNγ. As luminal progenitor cells are believed to be prone for transformation, IFNγ and HGF expression status of ASCs may influence susceptibility for developing breast cancer as well as on outcomes of autologous fat transplantation on residual/dormant tumor cells. Implications: This study suggests that the ratio of ASCs to adipocytes influences cancer cell hierarchy, which may impact incidence and progression

A paper-based in vitro model for on-chip investigation of the human respiratory system

Culturing cells at the air–liquid interface (ALI) is essential for creating functional in vitro models of lung tissues. We present the use of direct-patterned laser-treated hydrophobic paper as an effective semi-permeable membrane, ideal for ALI cell culture. The surface properties of the paper are modified through a selective CO2 laser-assisted treatment to create a unique porous substrate with hydrophilic regions that regulate fluid diffusion and cell attachment. To select the appropriate model, four promising hydrophobic films were compared with each other in terms of gas permeability and long-term strength in an aqueous environment (wet-strength). Among the investigated substrates, parchment paper showed the fastest rate of oxygen permeability (3 times more than conventional transwell cell culture membranes), with the least variation in its dry and wet tensile strengths (124 MPa and 58 MPa, remaining unchanged after 7 days of submersion in PBS).The final paper-based platform provides an ideal, robust, and inexpensive device for generating monolayers of lung epithelial cells on-chip in a high-throughput fashion for disease modelling and in vitro drug testing