Sleep Disorders Reduce Health-Related Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis (Nottingham Health Profile Data in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis)

Quality of Life (QoL) is decreased in multiple sclerosis (MS), but studies about the impact of sleep disorders (SD) on health-related quality of Life (HRQoL) are lacking. From our original cohort, a cross-sectional polysomnographic (PSG) study in consecutive MS patients, we retrospectively analysed the previously unpublished data of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Those MS patients suffering from sleep disorders (n = 49) showed significantly lower HRQoL compared to MS patients without sleep disorders (n = 17). Subsequently, we classified the patients into four subgroups: insomnia (n = 17), restless-legs syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder and SD due to leg pain (n = 24), obstructive sleep apnea (n = 8) and patients without sleep disorder (n = 17). OSA and insomnia patients showed significantly higher NHP values and decreased HRQoL not only for the sleep subscale but also for the “energy” and “emotional” area of the NHP. In addition, OSA patients also showed increased NHP values in the “physical abilities” area. Interestingly, we did not find a correlation between the objective PSG parameters and the subjective sleep items of the NHP. However, this study demonstrates that sleep disorders can reduce HRQoL in MS patients and should be considered as an important confounder in all studies investigating HRQoL in MS.     

The organization of Patent databanks at the Ilmenau Institute of Technology

With the establishment of the Polytechnical Patent Library at the Ilmenau Institute of Technology in April 1981, an efficient patent information centre was set up for the southern districts of the German Democratic Republic (Suhl, Gera, Erfurt). First, the manual methods of search were complemented by two subsystems of the automized patent pre-search system, namely the selective dissemination of information and the field-oriented patent family service. In 1985, the set-up of patent databanks was begun. The present paper explains their specific features, thus complementing the conception of the patent pre-search system presented in previous papers.^(1,2) The information services are rendered by order of the Inventions and Patent Office.     

Long-term stability of an Au/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by incipient wetness in continuous-flow glucose oxidation

A 0.3% Au/Al₂O₃ catalyst prepared by the incipient wetness (IW) method was investigated in the continuous-flow liquid-phase glucose oxidation. Therefore, a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system equipped with an ultrasonic separator was used. The continuous-flow glucose oxidation was carried out at 40 °C, pH 9 and 1 bar oxygen partial pressure. Residence time and glucose concentration were varied. The IW gold catalyst showed very high activity and selectivity to gluconic acid within its 110 days of operation and, thus, an excellent long-term stability. Even after severe microbial contaminations of the catalyst, its activity could be completely restored by in situ regeneration with 2-propanol.     

A formal model for the interoperability of service clouds

Large-scale service-oriented computing is based on the idea that services from various servers are combined into one distributed application. Referring to a collection of services on one server as a ??service cloud??, the problem investigated in this paper is to define formal high-level specifications of such distributed applications and to enable the location of suitable services for them. Based on the language-independent model of Abstract State Services (AS²s), which serves as a universal integrated model for data and software as services, we extend AS²s by high-level action schemes called ??plots?? as a means to specify permitted sequences of service operations. On these grounds, we develop a model for service mediators, that is, specifications of composed services in which service slots have to be filled by actual services, and investigate matching conditions for slots of mediators and services. For a services to match a slot in a mediator, a (generalised) projection of the mediator must comply with the plot of the service. Furthermore, the service must be semantically adequate, which requires the use of a service ontology.     

The landing gear case study: challenges and experiments

International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer -     

Neutron Diffraction and Neutron Radiography Investigation into Powder Sintering of Ti/Al and TiH2/Al Compacts

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Sintering behaviors of two types of powder compact, i.e., Ti/Al and TiH2/Al, under vacuum were studied using in situ neutron diffraction, in situ...     

Eine Methode zur Quantitativen Verfolgung von Festphasenreaktionen in der Peptidsynthese

A Method for the Quantitative Control of Solid Phase Reactions in the Peptide Synthesis A quantitative control-method of partial steps of a solid phase peptide synthesis is described, based on a hydrazinolytic cleavage of protected peptides from the solid support. A separation of the peptide hydrazides by gelchromatography on sephadex G 15 in dimethylformamide and a quantitative evaluation of the hydrazide-content in the elution fractions is reported, which permits the control of the Nα-deprotection step in the same way as the evaluation of the coupling yields of the desired sequence. The new method is discussed for the example of two solid phase syntheses of the pentapeptide N-tert.-butyl-oxycarbonyl-L -valyl-S-benzyl-L -cysteinyl-L -alanyl-L - leucyl-O-benzyl-L -tyrosine hydrazide.