Messtechnische Überwachung extern vorgespannter Betonbrücken

Monitoring of reinforced concrete bridges retrofitted by external tendons An established retrofitting method for bridges with deficits in their load bearing capacity is the installation of external tendons to increase the lifespan of the structure. A critical detail of the retrofitting is the anchorage block, where significant forces have to be introduced into the existing superstructure. Therefore, the anchorage blocks of three bridges in Hessen were monitored. They were fitted with extensometers, strain gauges were installed on prestressing rods and the temperature was recorded. Furthermore alert protocols were established, to detect potentially critical situations. The effects of different construction stages were tracked. The influence of short‐ and long‐term temperature changes on the readings was assessed. In summary, the monitoring provided valuable insights into the structural interaction between the existing superstructure and the elements of the retrofitting.     

A Validated RP-HPLC-DAD Method for the Determination of l-Theanine in Tea

l-Theanine, an amino acid occurring in the leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) possesses several beneficial pharmacologic effects. Its effects on the central nervous system are most widely studied, in addition, other activities (potential anticancer, cardiovascular) also stress the significance of this compound. However, analytical methods for the quantification of l-theanine in tea based on the application of HPLC are scarce in the literature. Considering the chemical characteristics of the molecule (high polarity, lack of chromophore group), derivatization and the application of special stationary phases have been preferred for reliable analysis. Here, we report the development and validation of an eligible RP-HPLC-DAD method without the need of pre- or post-column derivatization and using a buffer-free mobile phase (chromatographic separation of l-theanine with water, eluting other compounds with water–acetonitrile gradient) for the determination of l-theanine. The elaborated method provides quick (analysis time 15 mins) and reliable (mean intraday precision 0.94 RSD%, interday precision 0.48 %, recovery >96.1 %, LOQ?=?0.38 mg theanine/g dry tea leaf weight) quantification of this amino acid in aqueous tea extracts.     

Improving software reliability forecasting

This work investigates some methods for software reliability forecasting. A supermodel is presented as a suited tool for prediction of reliability in software project development. Also, times series forecasting for cumulative interfailure time is proposed and illustrated.     

The nutritive value of egg by‐products and their potential bactericidal activity: in vitro and in vivo studies

Technical‐grade egg albumen (TA) and whole egg (WE) by‐products are produced in substantial quantities by egg‐breaking facilities across North America. TA and WE products are recovered during processing but are not approved for human consumption. Both products are known to be rich in fat, maternal antibodies, protein and lysozyme, a bactericidal enzyme. The objective of this research was to explore the potential for egg by‐products to be used as a valuable protein, energy and bactericidal supplement in animal nutrition. To improve the nutritive value of TA and WE, spray‐dried samples were heat treated at various temperatures and their digestible protein content was determined in vitro using a pepsin/pancreatin digestion/dialysis system. In addition, enhancement of lysozyme activity towards Gram‐negative bacteria (GNB) by heat or irradiation was examined. Optimal protein digestibility for TA averaged 80% following heat treatment at 105–110 °C for 10 min. In contrast, protein digestibility of spray‐dried TA was only 55%. Heat treatment (100–122 °C) of spray‐dried WE or hot room storage of spray‐dried TA and WE products at 70 °C for up to 14 days had a minimal effect on protein digestibility in vitro. Heat treatment or γ‐irradiation of lysozyme for at least 20 min at 80 °C or 0.5 kGy, respectively, increased antimicrobial activity towards GNB. When compared with either the heat or radiation control treatments, reductions in Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium populations increased by at least 1 and 0.5 log₁₀, respectively. In contrast, the effect of irradiation (2 kGy) on the antimicrobial activity of spray‐dried TA was less pronounced. In a feeding trial, rats fed spray‐dried TA and spray‐dried TA subjected to either radiation (1.8 kGy) or heat (80 °C, 20 min) treatment exhibited a body weight gain and protein utilisation equal to or higher than the control (casein diet). In contrast, feeding spray‐dried WE or TA and WE previously maintained in a hot room (70 °C) for 3 days had a negative effect on rat growth and protein utilisation. In the case of WE products this was substantiated by poor digestibility of essential amino acids, including lysine, threonine and, to some extent, methionine. When compared with the control treatments, inclusion of heat‐treated or irradiated TA in the rat diets reduced the population of Enterobacteriaceae. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

hERG Optimization of Benzofuro−Pyridine and Pyrazino−Indole Derivatives as MCHR1 Antagonists

Obesity is a global epidemic associated with multiple severe diseases. Several pharmacotherapies have been investigated including the antagonists of melanin concentrating hormone receptor 1 (MCHR1). The design, synthesis, and biological studies of novel MCHR1 antagonists based on benzofuro−pyridine and pyrazino−indole scaffold was performed. We confirmed that fine-tuning lipophilicity and basic pK_a by modifying the benzyl group and introducing different substituents on the aliphatic nitrogen sidechain decreases both hERG inhibition and metabolic clearance. We have succeeded to develop excellent in vitro parameters in the case of compounds 17 (4-[(5-chloropyridin-2-yl)methoxy]-1-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-8-oxa-4-azatricyclo[7.4.0.0²,⁷]trideca-1(13),2(7),9,11-tetraen-11-yl]-1,2-dihydropyridin-2-one monohydrochloride) and 23 g (4-[(5-chloropyridin-2-yl)methoxy]-1-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrazino[1,2-a]indol-8-yl)pyridin-2(1H)-one monohydrochloride), which can be considered as valuable tools for further pharmacological investigation.     

A generalized Schur-type algorithm for the joint factorization of a structured matrix and its inverse

A Schur-type algorithm is presented for the simultaneous triangular factorization of a given (non-degenerate) structured matrix and its inverse. The algorithm takes the displacement generator of a Hermitian, strongly regular matrixR as an input, and computes the displacement generator of the inverse matrixR ⁻¹ as an output. From these generators we can directly deduce theLD ⁻¹ L ^* (lower-diagonal-upper) decomposition ofR, and theUD ⁻¹ U ^* (upper-diagonallower) decomposition ofR ⁻¹. The computational complexity of the algorithm isO(rn ²) operations, wheren andr denote the size and the displacement rank ofR, respectively. Moreover, this method is especially suited for parallel (systolic array) implementations: usingn processors the algorithm can be carried out inO(n) steps.     

Detecting moving and standing objects using cellular neural networks

The general framework of motion detection based on discrete time samples of the moving image is defined. Four types of motion detection problem are studied. the simplest one is a model resembling the famous Hubel-Wiesel experiment with a cat's retina for detecting the motion of an object having a given speed in a given direction. the most complicated case is the determination of the vertical and horizontal velocity components of a moving image. Various cloning template sequences are proposed for detecting different types of motion. In the sampled mode the consecutive black-and-white snapshots are fed to the input and to the initial state nodes of the cellular neural network respectively. After the transients have decayed, the output gives the information necessary for detecting the presence or absence of a specific motion as well as for estimating the direction and magnitude of the velocity vector. In continuous mode the sampling process is eliminated by the use of delay-type templates. Conditions are analysed under which the detection is correct. the circuit realization of some motion detectors is discussed and the use of a programmable dual-CNN structure is proposed.