Röntgendiagnostik plasma‐gestützt abgeschiedener dünner Schichten

X‐ray diagnostics of plasma deposited thin layers Grazing incidence x‐ray diffractometry (GIXD) and x‐ray reflectometry (XR) have been introduced as well suited tools for investigations of plasma deposited thin layers. They are non‐destructive techniques, therefore a sample can be reused and measured with other techniques. A combination of GIXD and XR can give a range of interesting information about chemical, physical and crystallographic properties of thin films. Conclusions can be drawn how plasma deposition techniques and plasma parameters influence the film growth. In three examples we present the analysis of phase and chemical composition, defect structure and measurements of kinetic process parameters.     

Oxidative stress complex syndrome: The dark side of the malnutrition‐inflammation complex syndrome

Patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD) have a high prevalence of protein‐energy malnutrition and inflammation. As these 2 conditions often occur concomitantly in HD patients, they have been referred to together as the ‘malnutrition‐inflammation complex syndrome’ (MICS) or ‘malnutrition‐inflammation atherosclerosis’ (MIA) syndrome to emphasize its important association with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Oxidative stress, which results from an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidant defense mechanisms, is well established in HD subjects and could contribute to the poor clinical outcome of these patients. The aim of the present review is to discuss in more detail the common consequences of MICS and oxidative stress and their possible relationships with the long‐term complications of HD patients, leading to the conclusion that a complex syndrome similar to the MICS or MIA is the oxidative stress‐inflammation association, which may be called the “oxidative stress complex syndrome.”     

Rollover Prevention of Mobile Manipulators using Invariance Control and Recursive analytic Zmp Gradients

We present a rollover prevention control law for wheeled mobile manipulators based on the invariance control framework, and that makes use of recursively calculated analytic gradients of the mobile manipulator’s zero moment point. Our controller relaxes many of the assumptions made in existing approaches, and enhances robustness through the use of exact gradient information. Numerical experiments demonstrate the improved performance of our controller vis-à-vis existing rollover prevention schemes.     

Design of a flight control architecture using a non-convex bundle method

We design a feedback control architecture for longitudinal flight of an aircraft. The multi-level architecture includes the flight control loop to govern the short-term dynamics of the aircraft, and the autopilot to control the long-term modes. Using $H_\infty $ performance and robustness criteria, the problem is cast as a non-convex and non-smooth optimization program. We present a non-convex bundle method, prove its convergence, and show that it is apt to solve the longitudinal flight control problem.     

金属标准物质中杂质的辉光放电质谱法溯源分析

标准物质定值分析的溯源性要求比常规分析高很多。在常规分析中,有证标准物质（CRM）可用于校准以及建立可溯源性。尽管与标准物质生产和认定相关的ISO导则并没有十分明确地提到校准,但众多标准物质生产者在定值分析时却不接受基准标准物质用于校准。这些要求制约了标准物质定值方法的使用,因为这些方法可以采用已知高纯度的标准物质、化学计量法及已知高纯度标准物质的混合物进行校准。有效的固体取样技术,例如通常使用的块状标准物质进行校准的辉光放电质谱法（GD MS）或火花源发射光谱法（spark OES）,似乎不太适合定值分析。尤其是固体样品中痕量元素分析测定的有力工具辉光放电质谱法,除金属杂质外,使用特定气体混合物,这种方法也可以分析相关的非金属杂质如硫和磷。我们开发了一种可以使用已知高纯度的标准物质混合物和化学计量法的校准方法,这种校准方法同样可用于辉光放电质谱法。与溶液中基体匹配技术类似,此校准方法基于掺杂的粉末压片。本文还结合铜和钢标准物质的定值分析结果进行了陈述。     

The reliability and validity of the Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Social Comfort Questionnaire (SCQ) among an adult burn survivor sample.

In this study, 361 adult burn survivors completed the Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire (PSQ), the Social Comfort Questionnaire (SCQ), and other measures. Both the PSQ and SCQ had good internal consistency indices. Factor analysis of the PSQ yielded 3 factors (absence of friendly behavior, confused/staring behavior, and hostile behavior). The SCQ had 1 factor. Conjoint factor analysis with measures of related constructs (body esteem, body-esteem importance, depression, social support) suggested that PSQ and SCQ measure distinct constructs. Correlations with the related psychosocial constructs and burn characteristics suggested the PSQ and SCQ have good convergent and discriminant validity. Limitations of the study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantitative detection of lactic acid bacteria in dried sourdoughs using real-time PCR

A real-time PCR system with 16S rRNA gene-targeted group-specific primers was developed to quantitatively detect lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of the genera Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, and Weissella in different types of commercially available dried sourdoughs. Despite a high degree of degradation in the DNA isolated from the doughs, the 341-bp 16S rRNA gene fragment of the sourdough LAB biota could specifically be amplified. For dried sourdoughs, the resulting calculated LAB cell counts were determined to be up to 3.7 × 10⁷ cells/g fresh dough, whereas in non-fermented dough acidifiers, used as a control, the calculated LAB cell counts did not exceed 3.6 × 10⁴ cells/g fresh dough. Moreover, the effect of low pH and/or high lactic acid concentrations prevailing in the doughs on the detectability of LAB cells in spray- and roller-dried sourdoughs by PCR was investigated. Drying of non-acidified sourdoughs still permitted to detect the LAB cells by PCR, whereas drying of acidified doughs reduced the detectable cell counts by approximately 5 (spray dried) and 2 (roller dried) orders of magnitudes. Incubation of acidified doughs for 24 h did not affect the detectability of LAB cells in spray-dried doughs but further reduced the detectable cell counts in roller-dried doughs by additional 2 orders of magnitude.     

Maximum Spreading of Urea Water Solution during Drop Impingement

Droplet impingement of urea water solution (UWS) is a common source for liquid film and solid deposits formed in the tailpipe of diesel engines. In order to better understand and predict wetting phenomena on the tailpipe wall, this study focuses on droplet spreading dynamics of urea water solution. Impingement of single droplets is investigated under defined conditions by high‐speed imaging using shadowgraphy technique. The experimental studies are complemented by numerical simulations with a phase‐field method. Computational results are in good agreement with experimental data for the advancing phase of spreading and the maximum and terminal spreading radius, whereas for the receding phase notable differences occur. For the maximum spreading radius, an empirical correlation derived for glycerol‐water‐ethanol mixtures is found to be valid for millimeter‐sized UWS droplets as well. A numerical simulation for a much smaller droplet however indicates that this correlation is not valid for the tiny droplets of UWS sprays in technical applications.     

Induction time studies of calcium carbonate in ethylene glycol and water

Induction time for precipitation of calcium carbonate precipitated in mono ethylene glycol and water has been studied by conductivity measurements at ethylene glycol concentrations of 0–90 wt% and temperatures from 25 to 80 °C. The supersaturation ratios, S, were in the range of 3–10. The effect of the solvent was separated from the effect of the supersaturation and temperature. Increasing the concentration of ethylene glycol prolongs the induction times for precipitation of CaCO₃ considerably although the supersaturation actually increases, especially at lower temperatures. It was shown that this effect cannot be explained by the change in the interfacial tension. Induction time studies in seeded and unseeded experiments were performed in order to separate changes in the nucleation rate from the impact of the growth time in the varying solvent compositions. The results show that crystal growth is retarded, causing the increased induction time in ethylene glycol containing solutions, and hence that the nucleation rate is actually promoted by ethylene glycol. The nucleation rates determined by measured particle numbers and induction times from unseeded experiments were underestimated for the same reason, thereby illustrating the complexity of nucleation rate investigations in mixed solvents.     

Design of LTCC with High Thermal Expansion

New applications of low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC), such as pressure sensors or integrated functional layers, require materials that possess higher coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE). To fabricate LTCC with elevated CTE, two methods of material design are examined: firstly, glass ceramic composites (GCC), which consist of >50 vol% glass in the starting powder, and, secondly, glass-bonded ceramics (GBC), where glass is added as a sintering aid only. The CTE of GBC is mainly determined by the crystalline component. For GCC, the CTE can be well predicted, if CTE and elastic data of each phase in the microstructure are known. A nonlinear characteristic of the CTE versus phase composition was found with increasing E _crystals/ E _glass ratio and absolute CTE difference between the components. The glass composition and glass amount can be used to compensate the fixed properties of a crystalline material in a desired way. However, because the CTE and permittivity of a glass cannot be chosen independently, an optimum glass composition has to be found. For a given LTCC, it is possible to control the devitrification by shifting the glass composition. In this way, the resulting CTE values can be predicted more exactly and tailoring becomes possible. Different LTCC materials, based on the crystalline compounds Ba(La,Nd)₂Ti₄O₁₂, ZrO₂ (Y-TZP), SiO₂ (quartz), and specially developed glasses, possessing an elevated CTE of around 10 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ while showing permittivity ɛ_r between 6 and 63, are introduced.