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In this study, we investigate the use of artificial neural networks as a potentially efficient method to determine the rate capability of electrodes for lithium-ion batteries with different porosities. The performance of a lithium-ion battery is, to a large extent, determined by the microstructure (i.e., layer thickness and porosity) of its electrodes. Tailoring the microstructure to a specific application is a crucial process in battery development. However, unravelling the complex correlations between microstructure and rate performance using either experiments or simulations is time-consuming and costly. Our approach provides a swift method for predicting the rate capability of battery electrodes by using machine learning on microstructural images of electrode cross-sections. We train multiple models in order to predict the specific capacity based on the batteries’ microstructure and investigate the decisive parts of the microstructure through the use of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methods. Our study shows that even comparably small neural network architectures are capable of providing state-of-the-art prediction results. In addition to this, our XAI studies demonstrate that the models are using understandable human features while ignoring present artefacts.
Future lunar exploration will be based on in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques. The most abundant raw material on the Moon is lunar regolith, which, however, is very scarce on Earth, making the study of simulants a necessity. The objective of this study is to characterize and investigate the sintering behavior of EAC-1A lunar regolith simulant. The characterization of the simulant included the determination of the phase assemblage, characteristic temperatures determination and water content analysis. The results are discussed in the context of sintering experiments of EAC-1A simulant, which showed that the material can be sintered to a relative density close to 90%, but only within a very narrow range of temperatures (20–30 °C). Sintering experiments were performed for sieved and unsieved, as well as for dried and non-dried specimens of EAC-1A. In addition, an analysis of the densification and mechanical properties of the sintered specimens was done. The sintering experiments at different temperatures showed that the finest fraction of sieved simulant can reach a higher maximum sintering temperature, and consequently a higher densification and biaxial strength. The non-dried powder exhibited higher densification and biaxial strength after sintering compared to the dried specimen. This difference was explained with a higher green density of the non-dried powder during pressing, rather than due to an actual influence on the sintering mechanism. Nevertheless, drying the powder prior to sintering is important to avoid the overestimation of the strength of specimens to be fabricated on the Moon.
Laser melting manufacturing of large elements of lunar regolith simulant for paving on the Moon
(2023)
The next steps for the expansion of the human presence in the solar system will be taken on the Moon. However, due to the low lunar gravity, the suspended dust generated when lunar rovers move across the lunar soil is a significant risk for lunar missions as it can affect the systems of the exploration vehicles. One solution to mitigate this problem is the construction of roads and landing pads on the Moon. In addition, to increase the sustainability of future lunar missions, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques must be developed. In this paper, the use of concentrated light for paving on the Moon by melting the lunar regolith is investigated. As a substitute of the concentrated sunlight, a high-power CO2 laser is used in the experiments. With this set-up, a maximum laser spot diameter of 100 mm can be achieved, which translates in high thicknesses of the consolidated layers. Furthermore, the lunar regolith simulant EAC-1A is used as a substitute of the actual lunar soil. At the end of the study, large samples (approximately 250 × 250 mm) with interlocking capabilities were fabricated by melting the lunar simulant with the laser directly on the powder bed. Large areas of lunar soil can be covered with these samples and serve as roads and landing pads, decreasing the propagation of lunar dust. These manufactured samples were analysed regarding their mineralogical composition, internal structure and mechanical properties.
Based on a data-driven approach, a computer-assisted workflow for the quantitative analysis of optical Kerr microscopy images of sintered FeNdB-type permanent magnets was developed. By analyzing the domain patterns visible in the Kerr image with data-driven approaches such as traditional machine learning and advanced deep learning, we can quantify grain orientation and size with a better trade-off between accuracy and higher throughput than electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The key distinction between traditional machine learning and advanced deep learning lies in feature extraction. Traditional methods require manual, user-dependent feature extraction from input data, while advanced deep learning achieves this automatically. The predictions from the trained models were compared to the measurements from EBSD for performance evaluation. The proposed data-driven model is trained on the dataset created from the correlative microscopy technique, which requires the images of grains extracted from the Kerr microscopy and corresponding EBSD grain orientation data (Euler angles). The fine-tuned deep learning model shows better generalization ability than the traditional machine learning models trained on the manually extracted features and resulted in a mean absolute error of less than 5° for grain orientation of the anisotropic magnet samples when evaluated against the measured EBSD values. The developed approach has reduced the measurement effort for grain orientation by 5 times and have sufficient accuracy when compared to the EBSD.
The surface topography of biodegradable polymer foils is modified by mechanical imprinting on a submillimeter length scale. The created patterns strongly influence the wetting behavior and allow the preparation of hydrophobic surfaces with controlled solid-liquid interaction. A detailed analysis of anisotropic surface patterns reveals that the observed effect arises from a combination of topographical and compositional changes that are introduced to the surface. As a main result it is found that an individual combination of material and structure is required for the production of water-repellent biopolymer foils that are highly attractive for packaging applications.
Soft magnetic Fe-Al alloys have been a subject of research in the past. However, they never saw the same reception in technical applications as the Fe-Si or Fe-Ni alloys, which is, to some extent, due to a low ductility level and difficulties in manufacturing. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology could be a way to avoid issues in conventional manufacturing and produce soft magnetic components from these alloys, as has already been shown with similarly brittle Fe-Si alloys. While AM has already been applied to certain Fe-Al alloys, no magnetic properties of AM Fe-Al alloys have been reported in the literature so far. Therefore, in this work, a Fe-12Al alloy was additively manufactured through laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) and characterized regarding its microstructure and magnetic properties. A comparison was made with the materials produced by casting and rolling, prepared from melts with an identical chemical composition. In order to improve the magnetic properties, a heat treatment at a higher temperature (1300 °C) than typically applied for conventionally manufactured materials (850–1150 °C) is proposed for the AM material. The specially heat-treated AM material reached values (HC: 11.3 A/m; µmax: 13.1 × 103) that were close to the heat-treated cast material (HC: 12.4 A/m; µmax: 20.3 × 103). While the DC magnetic values of hot- and cold-rolled materials (HC: 3.2 to 4.1 A/m; µmax: 36.6 to 40.4 × 103) were not met, the AM material actually showed fewer losses than the rolled material under AC conditions. One explanation for this effect can be domain refinement effects. This study shows that it is possible to additively manufacture Fe-Al alloys with good soft magnetic behavior. With optimized manufacturing and post-processing, further improvements of the magnetic properties of AM L-PBF Fe-12Al may still be possible.
Transformations in the work–nonwork interface highlight the importance of effectively managing the boundaries between life domains. However, do the ways individuals manage the boundaries between work and nonwork life change from one day to the next? If so, which antecedents may explain these intra-individual fluctuations in boundary management? Drawing on boundary management, spillover, and resource theories, we investigate daily changes in segmentation preferences and integration enactments as a function of experiencing strain in work and nonwork life. Assuming that changes in segmentation preferences reflect an individual’s strategy to regulate negative cross-role spillover, we suppose that strain increases individuals’ segmentation preferences; at the same time, however, it could force individuals to enact more integration.
Identification and quantitative segmentation of individual blood vessels in mice visualized with preclinical imaging techniques is a tedious, manual or semiautomated task that can require weeks of reviewing hundreds of levels of individual data sets. Preclinical imaging, such as micro-magnetic resonance imaging (μMRI) can produce tomographic datasets of murine vasculature across length scales and organs, which is of outmost importance to study tumor progression, angiogenesis, or vascular risk factors for diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Training a neural network capable of accurate segmentation results requires a sufficiently large amount of labelled data, which takes a long time to compile. Recently, several reasonably automated approaches have emerged in the preclinical context but still require significant manual input and are less accurate than the deep learning approach presented in this paper—quantified by the Dice score. In this work, the implementation of a shallow, three-dimensional U-Net architecture for the segmentation of vessels in murine brains is presented, which is (1) open-source, (2) can be achieved with a small dataset (in this work only 8 μMRI imaging stacks of mouse brains were available), and (3) requires only a small subset of labelled training data. The presented model is evaluated together with two post-processing methodologies using a cross-validation, which results in an average Dice score of 61.34% in its best setup. The results show, that the methodology is able to detect blood vessels faster and more reliably compared to state-of-the-art vesselness filters with an average Dice score of 43.88% for the used dataset.
In the fast-growing but also highly competitive market of battery-powered power tools, cell-pack-cooling systems are of high importance, as they guarantee safety and short charging times. A simulation model of an 18 V power tool battery pack was developed to be able to evaluate four different pack-cooling systems (two heat-conductive polymers, one phase change material, and non-convective air as reference) in an application scenario of practical relevance (the intensive use of a power tool followed by cooling down and charging steps). The simulation comprises battery models of 21700 cells that are commercially available as well as heat transfer models. The study highlights the performance of the different cooling materials and their effect on the maximum pack temperature and total charging cycle time. Key material parameters and their influence on the battery pack temperature and temperature homogeneity are discussed. Using phase change materials and heat-conductive polymers, a significantly lower maximum temperature during discharge (up to 26%) and a high shortening potential of the use/charging cycle (up to 32%) were shown. In addition to the cooling material sweep, a parameter sweep was performed, varying the external temperature and air movement. The high importance of the conditions of use on the cooling system’s performance was illustrated.
Purpose: The aim is to be able to advise patients on the choice of sports and exercises regarding the effects on the intraocular pressure.
Methods: The search engines Google Scholar and PubMed were used to search for suitable studies. The studies were summarized, and the most important data were collected in one table for each study. The effect on the IOP was extracted or, if not given in the article, calculated by the difference of means of the IOP after or during exercise, and the baseline IOP before, whenever these values were available.
Findings: A total of 47 studies out of the years 1990 to 2020 that investigated the influence on the IOP of the most popular sports actively practiced in Germany were reviewed and summarized: twelve for running, sixteen for fitness/ weight training, one for swimming/diving, twelve for cycling, four for hiking, and two for yoga.
Conclusions: Throughout all studies and sports it was seen that physical fitness stabilized the IOP. Higher
intensity of exercise led to higher fluctuations of the IOP. Moderate endurance training keeps the IOP fluctuations low and may lead to a lower baseline IOP if practiced on a regular base. Fitness and weight training lead to fluctuations of the IOP in a pronounced manner when performed at moderate and high intensity. Therefore, only a moderate training can be recommended if there is need to keep the IOP stable. Isometric exercise is not recommended as it provokes a rise of the IOP even when performed with light loads. The Valsalva Maneuver should always be avoided as it leads to additional fluctuations of the IOP. Also, the IOP behaved more stable during resistance training when higher fitness was present.
Strategy development is one of the crucial factors for a firm's performance. For it
to be developed, a strategic analysis has to be conducted first. It enables
companies to gain a deeper understanding of their internal and external
environment. In the present work, the specialty coffee market is closely analyzed through a strategic analysis. The focus of this study is the young company Tikuna, a coffee producer that aims to enter the German market. In this context, Tikuna's possible entry into the German market and the companies competitive capacities are analyzed. In order to implement the different tools of the analysis, extensive literature research, as well as one expert interview and a survey were conducted.
It was found that Tikuna possesses all characteristics to enter the German
market. However, due to the lack of a differentiation factor in Tikuna's value
proposition, its competitive capacity is limited to a short period of time. In this
sense, different recommendations are given in order to ensure long term success
in the market. The central one being that Tikuna has to use its main strength and
bring innovation to the market.
Novel myopia control spectacle lenses induce peripheral contrast reduction via optical diffusion. It is suggested, that the contrast reduction alters retinal processes in the low-level neural circuity, leading to an inhibition of eye growth. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the influence of full-field contrast reduction on low-level neural processing of the retina, described by the edge contrast sensitivity.
The direct ophthalmoscope is a retinal screening tool that has been in existence and development for more than 150 years, yet, the rapid influence of technological evolution in screening tools, has left the direct ophthalmoscope untouched. The main purpose of this master thesis is to determine if the direct ophthalmoscope has reached its maximum potential of development and, additionally, to determine if a further development, including a more electronic input, would be feasible.
This research project is of particular importance since there is a lack of adequate data on pediatric eye and vision disorders in Russia, particularly in the Volga region. In the present study, we estimate the prevalence of vision disorders among school-aged children who participated in a vision screening program in Samara, Russia. The relationship between learning-related visual dysfunctions is explored in depth, such to illustrate the connection between vision and learning. Hence, a key feature in this study is the inclusion of binocular vision disorders among the conditions tested.
The present study deals with the topic how a town can use its cultural heritage or,
more precisely, its industrial culture as a means to market itself as an innovative
business location and to foster a more pronounced sense of civic cohesion among
residents. Economic theory suggests that, nowadays, traditional location factors
such as access to resources and a performant infrastructure are less important than
in the industrial age. Recently, factors like a city’s potential to generate and retain
human and creative capital have emerged. Accordingly, the economic and social
role of cities has shifted – from a place where workers lived and manufactured
goods towards a deeply interwoven ecosystem of knowledge-intense value creation.
The question at the root of the present study is how Heidenheim’s rich industrial
cultural heritage can be used as a future-pointing source of power for rebranding
the town. This rebranding concept has to be developed according to the town’s role
in past, present and future, thus creating actual economic and societal value.
Industrial culture bears branding potential and is closely related to various aspects
of modern life and work. The study examines possibilities to create awareness for
these relations connecting past, present and future. Their relevance shall be
emphasized in order to establish both points of orientation and authenticity of place
in times when macroeconomic and societal trends are difficult to predict. Ideally,
residents shall be given a sort of local identification to hold on to, and potential
investors and entrepreneurs shall be encouraged to sustainably experience the
innovation-based DNA of Heidenheim. Therefore, the study searches for a value
proposition that takes into account the points mentioned above on terms of an
innovative theoretic framework. As a result of this thesis, precise suggestions for
the implementation of a new branding strategy based on the conceptual guidelines
developed in this study will be proposed to the municipality of Heidenheim and, in
addition, an interface using principles of virtual and augmented reality will be
introduced.
The increasing prevalence of myopia throughout the industrialized world in recent decades has caused costs and problems for the eye health. Changed lifestyle and behavior are the main causes. For the pathogenesis of myopia, the amount of time spent outdoor and near activities play an important role. Various options for the treatment of myopia have been described as effective in the literature. Normal single vision glasses and contact lenses can only provide clear vision, but do not reduce myopia progression. Orthokeratology shows a slowing of axial growth, but has an increased risk of infectious keratitis. Low-dose atropine (0.01%) is currently the best pharmacological option. It proved safe, effective and showed the least rebound effect with negligible side effects. Other options for the treatment of myopia include special glasses, behavioral changes and prolonged outdoor exposure (to prevent the onset of myopia), as well as other methods. An increasingly important myopia management option is multifocal contact lenses, that provide a peripheral treatment zone producing myopic defocus. Such myopia control lenses are available as customized or as daily or monthly lenses. Children benefit from wearing contact lenses more than just having refractive error correction and myopia control, they have a better self-esteem and improved quality of life. The numerous findings on the safety and efficacy of soft multifocal distance center contact lenses in children to reduce the progression of myopia suggest that this modality should be considered as a main treatment option. Less, but similar to orthokeratology, when wearing soft lenses there is a risk of developing potentially serious complications such as microbial keratitis. The introduction of child-appropriate risk minimization strategies, and patient and parent education with regular monitoring is essential and leads to successful contact lens wear. This literature review summarized the actual knowledge about myopia management, prevalence, etiology and the visual and healthy consequences of myopia.
The three currently most important strategies for slowing the progression of myopia are soft multifocal distance center contact lenses, Orthokeratology and low-dose atropine ophthalmic drops.
Purpose: Recent studies found a reduction of myopia progression with multifocal contact lenses, however, with yet unclear mechanism. This raises the hypothesis that the addition zones of the multifocal contact lenses induce myopic defocus on the retina, which consequentially leads to choroidal thickening and therefore inhibited eye growth. We tested the effect of the optical design of multifocal contact lenses on choroidal thickness.
Methods: 18 myopic students wore four different contact lenses ((1) single-vision lens corrected for distance, (2) single-vision lens with +2.50 D full-field defocus, (3) “Multifocal center-distance” design, addition +2.50 D, (4) “Multifocal center-near” design, addition +2.50 D) for each 30 minutes on their right eye. Automated analysis of the macular choroidal thickness, vitreous chamber depth and eccentric photorefraction were performed before and after each contact lens.
Results: Choroidal thickness and vitreous chamber depth showed no significant differences to baseline with none of the contact lenses. Choroidal thickness increased the most with the “Multifocal center-distance” and the full-field defocus lens, followed by the “Multifocal center-near” and the single-vision contact lens (+2.1 ± 11.1 μm, +2.0 ± 11.1 μm, +1.6 ± 11.3 μm, +0.9 ± 11.2 μm, respectively). The “Multifocal center-distance” design showed an overall more myopic refractive profile than the other lenses. Changes of vitreous chamber depth occurred in anti-phase to these of choroidal thickness.
Conclusion: Multifocal contact lenses have no significant influence on choroidal thickness and after short-term wear. Therefore, it is assumed that it is not the main contributor to the protective effect of multifocal contact lenses in myopia control.
This research looks into the question of where and how Artificial Intelligence and Big Data can be usefully implemented into Affiliate Marketing. By consulting relevant literature and qualified experts, this work identifies 6 areas, where Artificial Intelligence can be beneficial. These areas were found to be Affiliate Recruitment, Affiliate Management, Product Data Feed Optimization, Tracking, Attribution and Forecasting.
The implementation of Artificial Intelligence in these areas revealed 3 advantages to the Affiliate Marketing channel: Saving of time, support of decision-making, and incentivizing of publishers. While a more detailed study of this research topic would be necessary for validating the results, the findings show that the implementation of Artificial Intelligence technology can help a business gain competitive advantage.
This paper describes an application analysis of one important topic of diversity
marketing – gender marketing. With the help of two surveys and content analyses
in two different media sectors – television and print media – the general trend of
gender representation in advertising could be located. While most survey
respondents are still using characteristics for males and females which were
shaped by traditional gender roles, most of them believe that the roles from the
1950s are outdated and that the media should adapt to the changes in societies in
regard to gender roles. However, the content analyses have shown that the
marketers have already adapted and are primarily presenting the viewers
contemporary images of men and women instead of the stereotyped ones from the
1950s. The only issue that has not changed yet is the color coding which starts to
differentiate between males and females since childhood. The findings of this
paper suggest that the perception and the reality do not always correspond with
each other and that, although the adoption of the change of gender roles is
advancing, it is still not completed yet.