Comparative life cycle assessment of light frame timber and reinforced concrete masonry structural systems for single-family houses in Luxembourg.

The building sector's significant greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption present added challenges to meeting European climate commitments amidst rapid population growth. In Luxembourg, single-family houses dominate the residential buildings, noticeably contributing to construction waste and CO emissions. This study compares the environmental impacts of a three-story reinforced concrete masonry single-family house and an identical timber building in Luxembourg, emphasizing greenhouse gas emissions and embodied energy.

Exogenous humanin and MOTS-c function as protective agents against gentamicin-induced hair cell damage.

Loss of hair cells can lead to irreversible sensorineural hearing loss. Therefore, hair cell preservation is critical for hearing. Mitochondrial derived peptides (MDPs) are bioactive peptides and prominent members of this family are humanin (HN) and the mitochondrial-open-reading frame of the twelve S c (MOTS-c).

Chemoselective Electrosynthesis Using Rapid Alternating Polarity.

Challenges in the selective manipulation of functional groups (chemoselectivity) in organic synthesis have historically been overcome either by using reagents/catalysts that tunably interact with a substrate or through modification to shield undesired sites of reactivity (protecting groups). Although electrochemistry offers precise redox control to achieve unique chemoselectivity, this approach often becomes challenging in the presence of multiple redox-active functionalities. Historically, electrosynthesis has been performed almost solely by using direct current (DC).

Modelling of mineral construction and demolition waste dynamics through a combination of geospatial and image analysis.

As the construction sector is shifting towards circular economy models, the role of mineral construction materials as main waste fraction in terms of volumes is crucial. A characterization of this mineral stock, as well as the waste derived from it is decisive in ensuring the application of the best practices of circular economy. This paper describes a methodology for assessing the mineral building stock through a combination of geospatial and image analysis.

Transient activation of spinal trigeminal neurons in a rat model of hypoxia-induced headache.

The mechanisms underlying headaches attributed to hypoxia are poorly known. The activation of spinal trigeminal neurons with meningeal afferent input is believed to be responsible for the generation of headaches. In the caudal spinal trigeminal nucleus of anaesthetized and ventilated rats, the spontaneous firing of neurons with input from the exposed parietal dura mater and the activity evoked by mechanical stimuli to the dura and the adjacent periosteum were recorded, whereas the O2 fraction of the ventilation gas was stepwise reduced by omitting O2 and adding nitrogen.

Biomechanical properties of five different currently used implants for open-wedge high tibial osteotomy.

Background: As several new tibial osteotomy plates recently appeared on the market, the aim of the present study was to compare mechanical static and fatigue strength of three newly designed plates with gold standard plates for the treatment of medial knee joint osteoarthritis.

Methods: Sixteen fourth-generation tibial bone composites underwent a medial open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO) according to standard techniques, using five TomoFix standard plates, five PEEKPower plates and six iBalance implants. Static compression load to failure and load-controlled cyclic fatigue failure tests were performed.

Use of a Computed Tomography Based Approach to Validate Noninvasive Devices to Measure Rotational Knee Laxity.

The purpose of this study is to validate a noninvasive rotational knee laxity measuring device called "Rotameter P2" with an approach based on Computed Tomography (CT). This CT-approach using X-rays is hence invasive and can be regarded as a precise reference method that may also be applied to similar devices. An error due to imperfect femur fixation was observed but can be neglected for small torques.

Design, Repeatability, and Comparison to Literature Data of a New Noninvasive Device Called "Rotameter" to Measure Rotational Knee Laxity.

The present paper deals with the design, the repeatability, and the comparison to literature data of a new measuring device called "Rotameter" to characterize the rotational knee laxity or the tibia-femoral rotation (TFR). The initial prototype P1 of the Rotameter is shortly introduced and then modified according to trials carried out on a prosthetic leg and on five healthy volunteers, leading therefore to an improved prototype P2. A comparison of results obtained from P1 and P2 with the same male subject shows the enhancements of P2.

Dislocations in bilayer graphene.

Dislocations represent one of the most fascinating and fundamental concepts in materials science. Most importantly, dislocations are the main carriers of plastic deformation in crystalline materials. Furthermore, they can strongly affect the local electronic and optical properties of semiconductors and ionic crystals.

Robust graphene membranes in a silicon carbide frame.

We present a fabrication process for freely suspended membranes consisting of bi- and trilayer graphene grown on silicon carbide. The procedure, involving photoelectrochemical etching, enables the simultaneous fabrication of hundreds of arbitrarily shaped membranes with an area up to 500 μm(2) and a yield of around 90%. Micro-Raman and atomic force microscopy measurements confirm that the graphene layer withstands the electrochemical etching and show that the membranes are virtually unstrained.

Tailoring the graphene/silicon carbide interface for monolithic wafer-scale electronics.

Graphene is an outstanding electronic material, predicted to have a role in post-silicon electronics. However, owing to the absence of an electronic bandgap, graphene switching devices with high on/off ratio are still lacking. Here in the search for a comprehensive concept for wafer-scale graphene electronics, we present a monolithic transistor that uses the entire material system epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (0001).

Electron-electron interaction in the magnetoresistance of graphene.

We investigate the magnetotransport in large area graphene Hall bars epitaxially grown on silicon carbide. In the intermediate field regime between weak localization and Landau quantization, the observed temperature-dependent parabolic magnetoresistivity is a manifestation of the electron-electron interaction. We can consistently describe the data with a model for diffusive (magneto)transport that also includes magnetic-field-dependent effects originating from ballistic time scales.

Bottom-gated epitaxial graphene.

High-quality epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (SiC) is today available in wafer size. Similar to exfoliated graphene, its charge carriers are governed by the Dirac-Weyl Hamiltonian and it shows excellent mobilities. For many experiments with graphene, in particular for surface science, a bottom gate is desirable.

Mechanical behaviour of standardized, endoskeleton-including hip spacers implanted into composite femurs.

Two-stage reconstruction using an antibiotic loaded cement spacer is the preferred treatment method of late hip joint infections. Hip spacers maintain stability of the joint and length of the limb during treatment period. However, as the material strength of bone cement (PMMA) is limited, spacer fractures led to serious complications in the past.

Development of a reinforced PMMA-based hip spacer adapted to patients' needs.

Two-stage reimplantation using an interval hip prosthesis (spacer) of antibiotic-impregnated bone cement has become a well-accepted method to eradicate infection and prevent limb shortening. However, custom made as well as prefabricated spacers share a weakness of limited strength and hence several fractures of spacers have been observed, even for partial weight bearing. The purpose of this study was therefore to improve the strength of the custom made spacer, used at the Orthopaedic Department of the Saarland University Hospital (Germany).

Towards wafer-size graphene layers by atmospheric pressure graphitization of silicon carbide.

Graphene, a single monolayer of graphite, has recently attracted considerable interest owing to its novel magneto-transport properties, high carrier mobility and ballistic transport up to room temperature. It has the potential for technological applications as a successor of silicon in the post Moore's law era, as a single-molecule gas sensor, in spintronics, in quantum computing or as a terahertz oscillator. For such applications, uniform ordered growth of graphene on an insulating substrate is necessary.

5,6-Epoxidation of All-trans-retinoic Acid with Soybean Lipoxygenase-2 and -3.

Cooxidation activity of highly purified soybean lipoxygenase-2 and -3 was investigated with all-trans-retinoic acid as a co-substrate. Both the isoenzymes rapidly degraded retinoic acid in the presence of linoleic acid, but lipoxygenase-2 had more cooxidation activity than lipoxygenase-3. During cooxidation, 5, 6-epoxyretinoic acid was formed as a major product.

Endoscopic percutaneous cecostomy (EPC).

Endoscopic decompression of the distended colon has become a useful method of treating non-obstructive colonic ileus. We propose a method of establishing a cecal fistula by means of percutaneous puncture of the colon and pull-through of a Pezzer catheter. Although until now we have only performed this procedure twice, it seems to be a valuable therapeutic approach in cases of paralytic distension of the large bowel.

Comparison of preoperative sonography with intraoperative findings in congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

In 17 infants with hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, the pyloric diameter was measured preoperatively by ultrasound. The mean pyloric diameter was 15.12 +/- 2.

[Real-time controlled pleural puncture in surgical intensive care patients].

The sensitivity of ultrasonographic diagnosis of pleural fluid accumulations and the value of ultrasonography guided thoracentesis were studied prospectively. 110 patients were investigated after abdominal operation and chest trauma. Most investigations were performed in a half sitting position.

[Primary management of newborn infants with respiratory failure due to a congenital defect of the diaphragm].

The authors report on 36 premature and term infants with congenital defects of the diaphragm, including 17 patients who developed a severe respiratory insufficiency either immediately after birth or during the first 30 minutes of life. The overall mortality rate was 64%; the results of treatment were marked by a particularly high mortality rate among the patients with early respiratory insufficiency: out of 17 patients, 12 died. The evaluation of the courses confirmed that adequate preoperative primary care is of major prognostic importance in patients with early respiratory insufficiency.