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Highest precision in short cycle time – highly sensitive thin fiim strain gauges produced in an industrial high‐rate‐sputtering system Commonly, sputtered strain gauges are already used for highly precise pressure sensors. By using special highly sensitive piezoresistive nanocomposites consisting of metal nanoparticles embedded in an insulating matrix made from diamond‐like carbon (DLC) the sensitivity to strain can be significantly increased. Essential parameters for the characterization of the thin films used as sensor layer are the strain sensitivity (described by the gauge factor) and the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). Conventionally used NiCr alloys have a gauge factor of approximately 2. By using metal‐DLC nanocomposite films a factor 5 to 10 higher strain sensitivity in combination with a TCR close to zero was reached on laboratory scale. At first, the highly sensitive films were produced by static deposition using a box coater which led to quite long process times. By using a dynamic deposition process in the same machine the throughput of samples was slightly increased. But for using these highly sensitive films on industrial scale much higher cost and process efficiency is necessary. Hence, the process was transferred to a highrate sputtering system. A 20 times higher throughput of samples was reached in combination with a higher strain sensitivity compared to the dynamic process in the box coater. The used high‐rate sputtering system is also commercially available with enlarged process chambers which enables for a further up‐scaling for efficiently industrial production.     

Is fish a major source of fluorinated surfactants and repellents in humans living on the Baltic Coast?

Concentrations of 19 perfluorochemicals have been quantified in human blood and in some marine food resources from the region of the Gulf of Gda?sk at the Baltic Sea south coast in Poland. We indicate that in addition to PFOS and PFOA, a further 8 perfluorochemicals bioaccumulate in the human body. Food chain is an important route of exposure for all 10 perfluoroalkyl compounds detected in nonoccupationally exposed humans. Individuals who declared to have a high fish intake in their diet (mainly Baltic fish) on average contained the highest load of all 10 fluorochemicals when compared with the other human subpopulations. Baltic seafood has been found to highly influence human body burden of PFHxS, PFOS, PFOSA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, and PFDoDA, and to a lesser extent PFOA.     

A fluorine scan at the catalytic center of thrombin: C--F, C--OH, and C--OMe bioisosterism and fluorine effects on pKa and log D values

A series of 16 tricyclic thrombin inhibitors was prepared by using the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides derived from 3- or 4-hydroxyproline and 4-bromobenzaldehyde, with N-(4-fluorobenzyl)maleimide as the key step. The terminal pyrrolidine ring of the inhibitors was systematically substituted to explore the potential bioisosteric behavior of C-F, C-OH, and C-OMe residues pointing into the environment of the catalytic center of a serine protease. X-ray crystal structure analyses revealed a distinct puckering preference of this ring. Substitution by F, HO, and MeO has a strong effect on the basicity of the adjacent pyrrolidine nitrogen center which originates from two sigma-inductive pathways between this center and the electronegative O and F atoms. gem-Difluorination decreases the pKa value of this tertiary amine center to <2, making the conjugated ammonium ion a moderately strong acid. Unexpectedly, F substitution next to the nitrogen center reduced the lipophilicity of the ligands, as revealed by measurements of the logarithmic partition coefficient log D. The biological assays showed that all compounds are thrombin inhibitors with activities between Ki=0.08 and 2.17 microM. Bioisosteric behavior of F, HO, and MeO substituents was observed. Their electronegative F and O atoms undergo energetically similar polar interactions with positively polarized centers, such as the N atom of His 57 which is hydrogen bonded to the catalytic Ser 195. However, for energetically similar polar interactions of C-F, C-OH, and C-OMe to occur, sufficient space is necessary for the accommodation of the Me group of the C-OMe residue, and a H-bond acceptor must be present to prevent unfavorable desolvation of the C-OH residue.     

Physicochemical properties and thermal stability of Lep w 1, the major allergen of whiff

Whiff (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis) is a fish frequently consumed in Spain. Lep w 1, its major allergen, is a calcium‐binding β‐parvalbumin. The resistance of Lep w 1 to heat denaturation and to digestion were studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy and by in vitro gastric digestion systems. Purified Lep w 1 was thermally stable up to 65°C at neutral pH. Calcium depletion resulted in a change of its structure as determined by circular dichroism spectroscopy. A partial loss of structure was also observed at acidic pH; however, the allergen retained its full IgE‐binding ability. The partially denatured Lep w 1 was easily digested by pepsin within 2 min. Further, the IgE reactivity of proteins extracted from cooked fish and their stability to proteolysis were analyzed. The extract revealed a higher number of IgE reactive bands than an extract from uncooked fish. IgE binding to these proteins could not be inhibited by an extract from uncooked fish. In contrast to a raw fish extract, the cooked extract showed higher resistance to pepsinolysis. The stability of Lep w 1 to thermal denaturation and digestion explains the high allergenicity of whiff.     

Robustness optimization of the position of an anti-roll bar link to avoid the toggling of a rear axle stabilizer

The task is to find a position for the upper and lower attachment points of the pendulum-linked anti-roll bar link (ARB-link) where the toggling tendency of the rear axle stabilizer can be avoided. For this purpose opposite wheel travel analyses are performed with an ADAMS/Car rear axle model with the objective to maximize the number of simulation time steps until toggling occurs. In the first step a nominal optimization is performed. The resulting optimized point shows no toggling, but a Monte Carlo simulation reveals that this point is not robust. Small variations of the locations lead to toggling either in front or rear direction. Hence, robustness optimization is applied to push the distribution of time steps to higher values as far as possible. Two strategies are used and tested to find such a robust solution. First, robustness optimization based on a Kriging model is carried out. Additionally, an ANOVA is applied to identify the most important design variables. As an alternative, a simple “pushing-away” strategy is introduced, and the quality of the corresponding result is compared to the optimum of the Kriging based optimization.     

Understanding Similarity: A Joint Project for Psychology, Case-Based Reasoning, and Law

Case-based Reasoning (CBR) began as a theory of human cognition, but has attracted relatively little direct experimental or theoretical investigation in psychology. However, psychologists have developed a range of instance-based theories of cognition and have extensively studied how similarity to past cases can guide categorization of new cases. This paper considers the relation between CBR and psychological research, focussing on similarity in human and artificial case-based reasoning in law. We argue that CBR, psychology and legal theory have complementary contributions to understanding similarity, and describe what each offers. This allows us to establish criteria for assessing existing CBR systems in law and to establish what we consider to be the crucial goals for further research on similarity, both from a psychological and a CBR perspective.     

Authoring vs. Configuring Affective Agents for Interactive Storytelling

Autonomous characters in interactive storytelling can be supported by using affective agent architectures. The configuration of most current tools for controlling agents is, however, implementation specific and not tailored to the needs of authors. Based on literature review, a questionnaire evaluation of authors’ preferences for character creation, and a case study of an author’s conceptualization of this process, we investigate the different methods of configuration available in current agent architectures, reviewing discrepancies and matches. Given these relations, promising approaches to configuration are identified, based on initial inner states, “global” parameters of characters, libraries of stock characters, and selections of backstory experiences.     

Termination Criteria for DPO Transformations with Injective Matches

Reasoning about graph and model transformation systems is an important means to underpin model-driven software engineering, such as Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) and Model Integrated Computing (MIC). Termination criteria for graph and model transformation systems have become a focused area recently. This paper provides termination criteria for graph and model transformation systems with injective matches and finite input structure. It proposes a treatment for infinite sequences of rule applications, and takes attribute conditions, negative application conditions, and type constraints into account. The results are illustrated on case studies excerpted from real-world transformations, which show the termination properties of the frequently used "transitive closure" and "leaf collector" transformation idioms. An intuitive comparison with other approaches is also given.