Changes of bone-perfusion in osteosynthesis of the femur with a marrow-nail (author's transl)

The perfusion of the bone in the hind leg after osteosynthesis (nailing of the bone-marrow) was studied. In 11 shepherd dogs (bastards) an osteotomy of the femur was done; it was treated with a marrow-nail without boring the marrow-cavity. With the "tracer-microsphere"-method the perfusion of femur, tibia and talus of both hind legs was measured. Measurements were performed before and after surgery, in 10 dogs 2 weeks and in 8 dogs 6 weeks after surgery. Immediately after the operation the perfusion was reduced considerably in all the examined bones of the operated leg. Two weeks later the perfusion was increased in all bones of both hind limbs. In the cancellous bone of the femur the perfusion reached the original preoperative values after 6 weeks; in cortical bone a further increase of the perfusion was noted. This increase was most marked in the cortical bone of the operated femur; it was less in the cortical bone of the other bones.     

Determination of the pressurising period for stored cryogenic fluids

It is a normal operating condition for a lot of cryogenic storage vessels that no boil-off gas is vented over long periods, which leads to a simultaneous pressure increase of the stored fluid. One main reason therefore is to avoid product losses during transport or between withdrawals. At transport conditions the mixing of the fluid can be assumed to be ideally, which results in a maximum reachable pressurising period. At stationary conditions the pressurising period is expected to be shorter, because a stratification is rising up, so that the heat capacity of the stored fluid cannot be used completely.In a thermodynamic view, an isochore change of state takes place and the heat flux into the vessel rises the internal energy of the fluid. For the representation of the isochore change of state a new developed Δu/v-v-diagram with the 1 × 10⁵ Pa reference as a basis line is introduced. The basis line is linear for the filling rate and functionally connected with the specific volume.For the fluids He and H₂ e.g., Δu/v-v-diagrams are pointed out, using the u- and v-values on the saturation lines for the two phase region and those of some isobar lines for the region above the critical pressure.     

Advanced cold rolled steels for automotive applications

Advanced multiphase steels offer a great potential for bodies‐in‐white through their combination of formability and achievable component strength levels. They are first choice for strength and crash‐relevant parts of challenging geometry. The intensive development of high‐strength multiphase steels by ThyssenKrupp has led to hot dip galvanizing concepts with an outstanding forming potential. Hot rolled, hot dip galvanized complex phase steels are currently produced in addition to cold rolled DP and RA steels. New continuously annealed grades with tensile strength levels of up to 1000 MPa in combination with sufficient ductility for applications mainly in the field of structural automobile elements make use of the classic advantages of microalloying as well as the principles of DP and TRIP steels. Further improvement of properties will be reached by the new class of high manganese alloyed steels.     

Tribological behaviour of high alloy corrosionresistant steels and hard alloys undergoing oscillating sliding friction in water at 20 and 300°C

The coefficients of friction, the friction surface roughening and the mechanisms of wear for 11 metallic materials (high alloy steels and commercially available wear-resistant iron-, nickel- and cobalt-base alloys) were determined by friction tests performed in water at 20 and 300°C. The material combination 1.4550/1.4550 showed adhesive wear and coefficients of friction f of up to 1.6 at low surface pressures. Pure abrasive wear was found with seven hard alloy combinations. Typical curves of the coefficient of friction as a function of the number of friction cycles were obtained with both adhesive and abrasive wear. Short-term tests allowed the tendency of a material combination to adhesive wear to be determined. It was also found that the form of the curve of the coefficient of friction as a function of the number of friction cycles indicated which wear mechanism was operating.     

The Human Host Defense Ribonucleases 1, 3 and 7 Are Elevated in Patients with Sepsis after Major Surgery—A Pilot Study

Sepsis is the most common cause of death in intensive care units and associated with widespread activation of host innate immunity responses. Ribonucleases (RNases) are important components of the innate immune system, however the role of RNases in sepsis has not been investigated. We evaluated serum levels of RNase 1, 3 and 7 in 20 surgical sepsis patients (Sepsis), nine surgical patients (Surgery) and 10 healthy controls (Healthy). RNase 1 and 3 were elevated in Sepsis compared to Surgery (2.2- and 3.1-fold, respectively; both p < 0.0001) or compared to Healthy (3.0- and 15.5-fold, respectively; both p < 0.0001). RNase 1 showed a high predictive value for the development of more than two organ failures (AUC 0.82, p = 0.01). Patients with renal dysfunction revealed higher RNase 1 levels than without renal dysfunction (p = 0.03). RNase 1 and 3 were higher in respiratory failure than without respiratory failure (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.02, respectively). RNase 7 was not detected in Healthy patients and only in two patients of Surgery, however RNase 7 was detected in 10 of 20 Sepsis patients. RNase 7 was higher in renal or metabolic failure than without failure (p = 0.04 and p = 0.02, respectively). In conclusion, RNase 1, 3 and 7 are secreted into serum under conditions with tissue injury, such as major surgery or sepsis. Thus, RNases might serve as laboratory parameters to diagnose and monitor organ failure in sepsis.     

High-frequency electrical properties of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with a monolithically integrated electro-optical modulator

The high-frequency electrical properties of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with a monolithically integrated electro-optical modulator are studied using small-signal modulation analysis of the electroreflectance. The experimental data obtained are approximated using the suggested equivalent electrical circuit, which accounts for the formation of a nonequilibrium space charge in the carrier-depletion region of the modulator. The bandwidth of the high-frequency electrical-signal transfer to the electro-optical region, determined for the suggested equivalent electrical circuit of the modulator, is shown to be 3GHz.     

Investigation on PEM water electrolysis cell design and components for a HyCon solar hydrogen generator

Hydrogen as a secondary energy carrier promises a large potential as a long term storage for fluctuating renewable energies. In this sense a highly efficient solar hydrogen generation is of great interest especially in southern countries having high solar irradiation. The patented Hydrogen Concentrator (HyCon) concept yields high efficiencies combining multi-junction solar cells with proton exchange (PEM) membrane water electrolysis. In this work, a special PEM electrolysis cell for the HyCon concept was developed and investigated. It is shown that the purpose-made PEM cell shows a high performance using a titanium hybrid fiber sinter function both as a porous transport layer and flow field. The electrolysis cell shows a high performance with 1.83 V at 1 A/cm² and 24 °C working under natural convection with a commercially available catalyst coated membrane. A theoretical examination predicts a total efficiency for the HyCon module from sunlight to hydrogen of approximately 19.5% according to the higher heating value.