Model-Based Biomechanical Exoskeleton Concept Optimization for a Representative Lifting Task in Logistics.

Occupational exoskeletons are a promising solution to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). However, there are no established systems that support heavy lifting to shoulder height. Thus, this work presents a model-based analysis of heavy lifting activities and subsequent exoskeleton concept optimization.

Interaction between honeybee mandibles and propolis.

In a biomimetic top-down process, challenging the problem of resin deposition on woodworking machine tools, an adequate biological model was sought, which hypothetically could have developed evolutionary anti-adhesive strategies. The honeybee () was identified as an analogue model since it collects and processes propolis, which largely consists of collected tree resin. Propolis is a sticky substance used by bees to seal their hive and protect the colony against pathogens.

Exoworkathlon: A prospective study approach for the evaluation of industrial exoskeletons.

Industrial exoskeletons have recently gained importance as ergonomic interventions for physically demanding work activities. The growing demand for exoskeletons is leading to a need for new knowledge on the effectiveness of these systems. The Exoworkathlon, as a prospective study approach, aims to assess exoskeletons in realistic use cases and to evaluate them neutrally in their entirety.

Biomechanical Analysis of Stoop and Free-Style Squat Lifting and Lowering with a Generic Back-Support Exoskeleton Model.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) induced by industrial manual handling tasks are a major issue for workers and companies. As flexible ergonomic solutions, occupational exoskeletons can decrease critically high body stress in situations of awkward postures and motions. Biomechanical models with detailed anthropometrics and motions help us to acquire a comprehension of person- and application-specifics by considering the intended and unintended effects, which is crucial for effective implementation.

Evaluation of Polyethylene Terephthalate Powder in High Speed Sintering.

Laser Sintering (LS) was the first Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) method for polymers and it is now quite an established process for rapid prototyping and even for the production of functional parts. High Speed Sintering (HSS) is a variant of PBF which was later developed and it has the potential to be more scalable than LS. Most of the work for HSS and LS has been conducted with polyamide-12 (PA 12).

Development of an abdominal phantom for the validation of an oligometastatic disease diagnosis workflow.

Purpose: The liver is a common site for metastatic disease, which is a challenging and life-threatening condition with a grim prognosis and outcome. We propose a standardized workflow for the diagnosis of oligometastatic disease (OMD), as a gold standard workflow has not been established yet. The envisioned workflow comprises the acquisition of a multimodal image data set, novel image processing techniques, and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT)-guided biopsy for subsequent molecular subtyping.

Somewhere I belong: phylogeny and morphological evolution in a species-rich lineage of ectoparasitic flatworms infecting cichlid fishes.

A substantial portion of biodiversity has evolved through adaptive radiation. However, the effects of explosive speciation on species interactions remain poorly understood. Metazoan parasites infecting radiating host lineages could improve our knowledge because of their intimate host relationships.

Comparison of Laboratory Standards.

The laboratory is a complex working environment, laboratory stuff need to manage and coordinate a multitude of processes, equipment, materials, samples, and people. Without agreements and definitions, long-term operation is economically inconceivable. Working with external partners and their systems would also not be possible without definitions.

Low-Energy Electron Irradiation of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Provides a Protective Inactivated Vaccine.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a zoonotic flavivirus which is endemic in many European and Asian countries. Humans can get infected with TBEV usually ticks, and possible symptoms of the infection range from fever to severe neurological complications such as encephalitis. Vaccines to protect against TBEV-induced disease are widely used and most of them consist of whole viruses, which are inactivated by formaldehyde.

Assessment of Thigh Angular Velocity by an Activity Monitor to Describe Sit-to-Stand Performance.

The assessment of sit-to-stand (STS) performance is highly relevant, especially in older persons, but testing STS performance in the laboratory does not necessarily reflect STS performance in daily life. Therefore, the aim was to validate a wearable sensor-based measure to be used under unsupervised daily life conditions. Since thigh orientation from horizontal to vertical is characteristic for STS movement, peak angular velocity (PAV) of the thigh was chosen as the outcome variable.

Low-Energy Electron Irradiation (LEEI) for the Generation of Inactivated Bacterial Vaccines.

Vaccines consisting of whole inactivated bacteria (bacterins) are generated by incubation of the pathogen with chemicals. This is a time-consuming procedure which may lead to less immunogenic material, as critical antigenic structures can be altered by chemical modification. A promising alternative approach is low-energy electron irradiation (LEEI).

Low Energy Electron Irradiation Is a Potent Alternative to Gamma Irradiation for the Inactivation of (CAR-)NK-92 Cells in ATMP Manufacturing.

Background: With increasing clinical use of NK-92 cells and their CAR-modified derivatives in cancer immunotherapy, there is a growing demand for efficient production processes of these "off-the-shelf" therapeutics. In order to ensure safety and prevent the occurrence of secondary tumors, (CAR-)NK-92 cell proliferation has to be inactivated before transfusion. This is commonly achieved by gamma irradiation.

Publisher Correction: Automated application of low energy electron irradiation enables inactivation of pathogen- and cell-containing liquids in biomedical research and production facilities.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Automated application of low energy electron irradiation enables inactivation of pathogen- and cell-containing liquids in biomedical research and production facilities.

Ionizing radiation is widely used to inactivate pathogens. It mainly acts by destroying nucleic acids but causes less damage to structural components like proteins. It is therefore highly suited for the sterilization of biological samples or the generation of inactivated vaccines.

Biomechanical Model-Based Development of an Active Occupational Upper-Limb Exoskeleton to Support Healthcare Workers in the Surgery Waiting Room.

Occupational ergonomics in healthcare is an increasing challenge we have to handle in the near future. Physical assistive systems, so-called exoskeletons, are promising solutions to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). Manual handling like pushing, pulling, holding and lifting during healthcare activities require practical and biomechanical effective assistive devices.

Low-Energy Electron Irradiation Efficiently Inactivates the Gram-Negative Pathogen -A New Method for the Generation of Bacterial Vaccines with Increased Efficacy.

Bacterial pathogens cause severe infections worldwide in livestock and in humans, and antibiotic resistance further increases the importance of prophylactic vaccines. Inactivated bacterial vaccines (bacterins) are usually produced via incubation of the pathogen with chemicals such as formaldehyde, which is time consuming and may cause loss of immunogenicity due to the modification of structural components. We evaluated low-energy electron irradiation (LEEI) as an alternative method to generate a bacterin.

iBEX: Modular Open-Source Software for Digital Radiography.

A device-independent software package, named iBEX, is developed to accelerate the research and development efforts for X-ray imaging setups such as chest radiography, linear and multidirectional tomography, and dental and skeletal radiography. Its extension mechanism makes the software adaptable for a wide range of digital X-ray imaging hardware combinations and provides capabilities for researchers to develop image processing plug-ins. Independent of the X-ray sensor technology, iBEX could integrate with heterogeneous communication channels of digital detectors.

CT and MRI compatibility of flexible 3D-printed materials for soft actuators and robots used in image-guided interventions.

Purpose: Three-dimensional (3D) printing allows for the fabrication of medical devices with complex geometries, such as soft actuators and robots that can be used in image-guided interventions. This study investigates flexible and rigid 3D-printing materials in terms of their impact on multimodal medical imaging.

Methods: The generation of artifacts in clinical computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was evaluated for six flexible and three rigid materials, each with a cubical and a cylindrical geometry, and for one exemplary flexible fluidic actuator.

Improving the Numerical Stability of the NAST Force Field for RNA Simulations.

The NAST force field is a popular tool for modeling RNA and is typical of low-resolution approaches. Unfortunately, some combinations of bond and dihedral angles can reach cliffs on the energy landscape which lead to numerical disasters. We describe changes to the formulation (NAST improved, NASTI) which smooth the dihedral energy term when neighboring angles become flat.

Automated microfluidic cell culture of stem cell derived dopaminergic neurons.

Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease characterised by dysfunction and death of selectively vulnerable midbrain dopaminergic neurons and the development of human in vitro cellular models of the disease is a major challenge in Parkinson's disease research. We constructed an automated cell culture platform optimised for long-term maintenance and monitoring of different cells in three dimensional microfluidic cell culture devices. The system can be flexibly adapted to various experimental protocols and features time-lapse imaging microscopy for quality control and electrophysiology monitoring to assess cellular activity.

A novel computational method to determine subject-specific bite force and occlusal loading during mastication.

The evaluation of three-dimensional occlusal loading during biting and chewing may assist in development of new dental materials, in designing effective and long-lasting restorations such as crowns and bridges, and for evaluating functional performance of prosthodontic components such as dental and/or maxillofacial implants. At present, little is known about the dynamic force and pressure distributions at the occlusal surface during mastication, as these quantities cannot be measured directly. The aim of this study was to evaluate subject-specific occlusal loading forces during mastication using accurate jaw motion measurements.

Linking imaging to omics utilizing image-guided tissue extraction.

Phenotypic heterogeneity is commonly observed in diseased tissue, specifically in tumors. Multimodal imaging technologies can reveal tissue heterogeneity noninvasively in vivo, enabling imaging-based profiling of receptors, metabolism, morphology, or function on a macroscopic scale. In contrast, in vitro multiomics, immunohistochemistry, or histology techniques accurately characterize these heterogeneities in the cellular and subcellular scales in a more comprehensive but ex vivo manner.

Hard Chrome-Coated and Fullerene-Doped Metal Surfaces in Orthopedic Bearings.

Metal-on-metal bearings for total hip replacements have been introduced as an alternative to polyethylene in young and more active patients. These have, however, been shown to be prone to implant malpositioning and have been limited by some specific design features. In that context, coatings present an option to increase wear resistance by keeping the high fracture strength of the metal substrate.

Wide-field autofluorescence-guided TUR-B for the detection of bladder cancer: a pilot study.

Purpose: The aim of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility and value of wide-field autofluorescence imaging (AFI) for the detection of bladder cancer during transurethral resection of the bladder (TUR-B).

Methods: For imaging, the D-Light/AF System (Karl Storz GmbH, Tuttlingen, Germany) and a customized band pass filter (≈ 480-780 nm) at the eyepiece of the endoscope were used. The excitation light wavelength was 440 nm.