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Die Qualitätssicherung ist ein überaus zentrales Thema in der Fertigungsindustrie, da sie unmittelbar mit der Produktqualität und der Kundenzufriedenheit zusammenhängt. Fortschritte in Algorithmen und modernen Kommunikationstechnologien im Kontext von Industrie 4.0 haben dazu beigetragen, dass traditionelle Fertigungsindustrien Deep-Learning-Modelle zur Kontrolle der Produktionsqualität einsetzen. Allerdings stellen industrielle Anwendungen hohe Anforderungen an die Effizienz von Algorithmen. Zudem fehlen in praktischen Anwendungen häufig umfangreiche, gelabelte Daten für das Training von Deep-Learning-Modellen. Um diesen Herausforderungen zu begegnen, haben wir in diesem Artikel ein auf maschinellem Lernen basierendes Modell zur Qualitätserkennung entwickelt. Unser Modell nutzt eine effizientere Hesse-Matrix-Erkennungsmethode, um direkt die lokalen Maxima im Skalenraum des Eingangsbildes zu identifizieren, ohne zahlreiche Gauss-Differenzbilder berechnen zu müssen. Darüber hinaus wenden wir Methoden der Bildverarbeitung an, um die Trainingsdaten zu erweitern, sodass das Modell auch bei geringen Trainingsdatenmengen eine hohe Genauigkeit erreicht. Unsere experimentellen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das vorgeschlagene Modell die höchste Genauigkeit und Effizienz im Vergleich zu gängigen Methoden aufweist. Abschließend haben wir in diesem Artikel auch eine benutzerfreundliche Schnittstelle für unser Modell erstellt und dieses in das elektronische Kanban der Werkstatt integriert. Unsere empirischen Studien haben ergeben, dass die entwickelten Systeme in der industriellen Praxis anwendbar sind und die Fehlerquote senken sowie die Produktqualität erhöhen können.

Redox-active conjugated oligo(quinoxaline)s as potential visible light-transparent charge transport building blocks were synthesized, purified, and characterized. The Suzuki–Miyaura catalyst-transfer polymerization (SCTP) in the presence of an excess of monofunctional aryl halide led to quantitative α-end-group fidelity, as confirmed by end-group analysis via MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry. A new low-pressure preparative SEC protocol was explored that can be assembled from conventional flash chromatography equipment, switching valves, and self-packed preparative SEC columns with minimal investment costs. The switching conditions in the twin-column recycling configuration enable the automated quantitative fractionation up to the octamer. The optical and electrochemical analysis of the isolated oligomers confirmed high visible light transparency (above 420 nm) and mild reduction potentials (−2.12 V vs ferrocene), which serves in combination with the facile fractionation as a starting point to efficiently prepare functional (macro-)molecular quinoxaline-based architectures. In addition, the low-pressure protocol also enables a simple and reproducible method to remove low/high molar mass shoulders in various polymer distributions.

Zusammenfassung: Etwa 25% der Ovarialkarzinome werden im FIGO-Stadium I, etwa 7% im Stadium IIA diagnostiziert. Die Verdachtsdiagnose eines Ovarialkarzinoms macht immer eine operative Abklärung mit histologischer Diagnosesicherung durch Laparotomie oder evtl. Laparoskopie notwendig, da es präoperativ unmöglich ist, mit halbwegs akzeptabler Sicherheit abzuschätzen, dass es sich um ein Frühstadium eines Ovarialkarzinoms handelt. Der Nachweis eines einzigen positiven Lymphknotens bedeutet, dass die Erkrankung einem FIGO-Stadium IIIc zuzuordnen ist. Im klinischen Stadium I oder II liegt in 31% tatsächlich ein höheres Stadium vor, da sich intraoperativ Metastasen im Omentum majus, Peritoneum oder den Lymphknoten finden. Die Primäroperation umfasst ein operatives Staging per Abdominallängsschnitt und eine Radikaloperation mit dem Ziel der Feststellung des Ausmaßes der Erkrankung sowie einer primären maximalen Tumorreduktion im Becken und Abdomen einschließlich pelviner und paraaortaler Lymphadenektomie. Ungünstige Prognosefaktoren beim FIGO-Stadium I sind v. a. eine intraoperative Kapselruptur und ein Grading G3.

A geologically rapid Neoproterozoic oxygenation event is commonly linked to the appearance of marine animal groups in the fossil record. However, there is still debate about what evidence from the sedimentary geochemical record—if any—provides strong support for a persistent shift in surface oxygen immediately preceding the rise of animals. We present statistical learning analyses of a large dataset of geochemical data and associated geological context from the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic sedimentary record and then use Earth system modelling to link trends in redox-sensitive trace metal and organic carbon concentrations to the oxygenation of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. We do not find evidence for the wholesale oxygenation of Earth’s oceans in the late Neoproterozoic era. We do, however, reconstruct a moderate long-term increase in atmospheric oxygen and marine productivity. These changes to the Earth system would have increased dissolved oxygen and food supply in shallow-water habitats during the broad interval of geologic time in which the major animal groups first radiated. This approach provides some of the most direct evidence for potential physiological drivers of the Cambrian radiation, while highlighting the importance of later Palaeozoic oxygenation in the evolution of the modern Earth system.

Insight into how extinct animals responded to injuries developmental malfunctions and pathologies can be derived by examining malformed specimens. Trilobites are an ideal group for understanding how a completely extinct group of arthropods responded to and recovered from these conditions, as their biomineralised exoskeletons preserves malformations. Here we consider a slab containing eight individuals of the asaphid trilobite Pseudogygites latimarginatus from the Collingwood Member of the Lindsay Formation, Canada. Examining this slab, two individuals with malformations are documented. These malformations are considered injuries and used to demonstrate how P. latimarginatus recovered from failed predation attacks, allowing us to consider possible predator groups. The cluster is interpreted as possible evidence for an in situ biological aggregation that was preserved prior to a moulting event. Implications for this gregarious behaviour are considered, presenting more insight into the palaeoecology of Ordovician asaphid trilobites.

Abstract: This study aims to explore the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the resolution of sustainability challenges, with a specific focus on environmental studies. Given the rapidly evolving nature of this field, there is an urgent need for more frequent and dynamic reviews to keep pace with the innovative applications of AI. Through a systematic analysis of 191 research articles, we classified AI techniques applied in the field of sustainability. Our review found that 65% of the studies applied supervised learning methods, 18% employed unsupervised learning, and 17% utilized reinforcement learning approaches. The review highlights that artificial neural networks (ANN), are the most commonly applied AI techniques in sustainability contexts, accounting for 23% of the reviewed methods. This comprehensive overview of AI techniques identifies key trends and proposes new research avenues to address the complex issue of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Graphic abstract:

AbstractEvidence of successful predation or scavenging in the fossil record represents important palaeobiological data to more thoroughly understanding extinct ecosystems. Shelly coprolites are particularly useful indications of durophagous predation in deposits, as they can have a higher preservational potential than their producers. Here we present a new shelly coprolite from the Silurian (Přídolí) Wallace Shale of New South Wales, Australia. This specimen contains abundant fragments of the trilobite Denckmannites rutherfordiSherwin, 1968 that show limited disarticulation across exoskeletal sections. We propose that a pterygotid eurypterid was the most likely producer of this coprolite, although trilobites and fishes are not completely excluded as possible trace-makers. In documenting this specimen, we highlight that the Wallace Shale likely preserves a more complex palaeoecosystem than previously thought and renewed efforts to understand this deposit are needed in light of this new insight.R.D.C. Bicknell [rdcbicknell@gmail.com], Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351, Australia;P.M. Smith [Patrick.Smith@austmus.gov.au], Palaeontology Department, Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia; Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia;J. Kimmig [julien.kimmig@smnk.de], Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, 76133, Germany.

The ability of industrial X-ray computed tomography (CT) to scan an object with several internal and external features at once causes increasing adoption in dimensional metrology. In order to evaluate the quality of a measurement value, the task-specific measurement uncertainty has to be determined. Currently, VDI/VDE 2630 part 2.1 gives a guideline to determine the uncertainty of CT measurements experimentally by conducting repeated measurements. This is costly and time-consuming. Thus, the aim is to determine the task-specific measurement uncertainty numerically by simulations (e. g. according to the guide to expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM) Supplement 1). To achieve that, a digital twin is necessary. This contribution presents a simple first approach how a digital twin can be built. In order to evaluate this approach, a study comparing measurements and simulations of different real CT systems was carried out by determining the differences between the measurement results of the digital twin and of the measurement results of the real-world CT systems. The results have shown a moderate agreement between real and simulated data. To improve on this aspect, a standardized method to characterize CT systems and methods to implement CT parameters into the simulation with sufficient accuracy will be developed.

Im Rahmen der Mammahyperplasie stellt sich ein vielfältiges Beschwerdebild dar, neben den körperlichen Beschwerden leiden Patientinnen häufig unter psychischen Beschwerden. Die Mammareduktionsplastik ist nach wie vor eine der am häufigsten durchgeführten plastischen Operationen an der weiblichen Brust, sie wird von den Krankenkassen aber in vielen Fällen nicht bezahlt. Ziel dieser monozentrischen retrospektiven Studie war die Evaluation des Einflusses der Mammareduktionsplastik auf die Beschwerden der Patientinnen. Es zeigte sich postoperativ eine signifikante Reduktion der Rückenschmerzen, 50 % der Patientinnen waren postoperativ beschwerdefrei. Einhergehend hiermit kam es ebenfalls zu einer signifikanten Reduktion von Kopf- und Nackenschmerzen, muskulären Verspannungen sowie Schulterschmerzen, und es kam zu einer signifikanten Verbesserung von Haltungsfehlern. Cutisveränderungen und Entzündungen traten signifikant weniger postoperativ auf. Positiv wurde der Effekt durch die Operation auf den psychischen Leidensdruck bewertet, es zeigte sich eine signifikante Verbesserung von Selbstbewusstsein, Körperbild und Wohlbefinden und es resultierte ebenfalls eine Verbesserung der Situation im Berufsleben. Zusammenfassend zeigt sich eine signifikante Verbesserung der körperlichen und psychischen Beschwerden.

The heterogeneity of each individual oncologic disease can be mirrored by molecular analysis of a simple blood draw in real time. Liquid biopsy testing has been shown useable for cancer detection, proof of minimal residual disease, therapy decision making and monitoring. However, an individual blood analyte does not present a comprehensive picture of the disease. It was recently shown that multi-modal/multi-parametric/multi-analyte liquid biopsy testing has the advantage of generating a high-resolution snapshot of the disease complexity. The different blood analytes such as circulating tumor cells, circulating immune cells, tumor-educated platelets, extracellular vesicles, cell-free DNA, cell-free RNA and circulating proteins complement each other and have additive value for clinical cancer management. We, here, like to review the studies leading to these promising conclusions and like to, at the end, mention that many challenges lie ahead before the translation into the clinic can be accomplished, including issues concerning clinical utility, method standardization, cost reimbursement and data management.

The self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers into worm-like micelles represents a versatile approach to create hydrogels, where interactions and functionalities are widely customizable by the chemistry of the hydrophilic block. However, processing options for such gels remain a bottleneck as fragmentation is often irreversible due to the limited dynamics of the assemblies. We demonstrate here that shear-thinning hydrogels can reversibly be formed by amphiphilic polymers, which assemble into supramolecular polymer nanofibers due to additional directing hydrogen bonds. The addition of bifunctional cross-linkers resulted in robust gels, which feature a surprisingly strong shear-thinning character but recover fully in the absence of shear stress despite the lack of a dynamic exchange of individual building blocks. In addition to increasing the concentration, the strength of the gel can be tuned by varying the content or the length of the bivalent cross-linker. Low viscosities under shear load and the rapid recovery (<5 s) after relief of the strain facilitates an effortless extrusion through even thin needles and subsequent formation of self-supporting structures in a printing process. The polymer covered fiber structure further bestows the gels with an excellent stability in various conditions and good biocompatibility while minimizing cell adhesion. The mesh sizes of the gel allow even large macromolecules to diffuse, but retardation is nevertheless observed for small molecules due to the dense polymer brush structure. This unique set of properties renders these polymer fiber hydrogels a versatile and easily processable scaffold for future applications, for example as an adaptable cell scaffold or injectable drug depots.

Variant-specific loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analyses may be useful to classify BRCA1/2germline variants of unknown significance (VUS). The sensitivity and specificity of this approach, however, remains unknown. We performed comparative next-generation sequencing analyses of the BRCA1/2genes using blood-derived and tumour-derived DNA of 488 patients with ovarian cancer enrolled in the observational AGO-TR1 trial (NCT02222883). Overall, 94 pathogenic, 90 benign and 24 VUS were identified in the germline. A significantly increased variant fraction (VF) of a germline variant in the tumour indicates loss of the wild-type allele; a decreased VF indicates loss of the variant allele. We demonstrate that significantly increased VFs predict pathogenicity with high sensitivity (0.84, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.91), poor specificity (0.63, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.73) and poor positive predictive value (PPV; 0.71, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.79). Significantly decreased VFs predict benignity with low sensitivity (0.26, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.35), high specificity (1.0, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.00) and PPV (1.0, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.00). Variant classification based on significantly increased VFs results in an unacceptable proportion of false-positive results. A significantly decreased VF in the tumour may be exploited as a reliable predictor for benignity, with no false-negative result observed. When applying the latter approach, VUS identified in four patients can now be considered benign. Trial registration numberNCT02222883.

Industrie 4.0 gilt als einer der Trends des letzten Jahrzehnts, stellt bisher jedoch im Wesentlichen eine digitale Innovation dar. Für eine volle Ausschöpfung des Potenzials müssen auch hardwareseitig die Produktionsmaschinen und -systeme der Zukunft grundlegend neu gedacht werden. Das Forschungsvorhaben Wertstromkinematik (kurz: WSK) setzt an dieser Stelle an. Dieses neuartige Produktionskonzept sieht die Gestaltung ganzer Produktionen anhand der Verkettung mehrerer Maschinen einer baugleichen, roboterähnlichen Kinematik vor. Die daraus resultierende Wandlungsfähigkeit ermöglicht eine volle Ausschöpfung des Potenzials von Industrie 4.0. Nachdem im ersten Teil dieses Beitrags der Schwerpunkt auf der Planung und Steuerung der roboterähnlichen Kinematiken lag, steht in dem hier vorliegenden zweiten Teil die Planung ganzer Produktionsanlagen im Fokus.

Kürzere Produktlebenszyklen und der fortschreitende Trend zur Individualisierung von Produktionsgütern mit immer kleineren Losgrößen führen zu der Notwendigkeit eines wiederkehrenden Prozesses, der die Auswahl und Konfiguration von Produktionssystemen beinhaltet. Produktionssysteme werden dabei auf Basis der Produktanforderungen aus einer großen Zahl komplexer Einzelmaschinen und Komponenten zusammengestellt, was zu einem hohen Integrationsaufwand führt. In diesem Beitrag wird daher ein Ansatz zur nutzerindividuellen, modellbasierten Auswahl von Maschinen und Anlagen vorgestellt, der im Rahmen eines deutsch-chinesischen Industrie-4.0-Forschungsprojekts entwickelt wurde.

To supply chemical structures of polymers for machine learning applications, decoding is necessary. Here, we present a protocol for generating polymer fingerprints (PFPs), which are representations of molecular structures, using a polymer-specific decoder. We outline steps for downloading, installing, and basic application of the software. Moreover, we present procedures for processing and analyzing polymer structure data and the preparation for integration into machine learning methods. On this basis, we explain how artificial neural networks can be utilized to predict polymer properties.

A new shell-bearing organism with preserved soft tissue, Armilimax pauljamisonin. gen. n. sp., is reported from the middle Cambrian (Miaolingian: Wuliuan) Miners Hollow locality of the Spence Shale of northern Utah. The described organism is known from a single articulated specimen and preserves a prominent shell, a slug-like body, as well as a U-shaped digestive tract. Its overall appearance is similar to halkieriids, but it does not preserve sclerites. The possible affinities of the new taxon and potential reasons for the presence of a U-shaped gut are discussed. Armilimax pauljamisoniis the first shell-bearing animal of its kind from the Great Basin and extends the diversity of body plans in the Spence Shale Fossil-Lagerstätte.

Im täglichen Stadtbetrieb sollte die Stromversorgung unterbrechungsfrei sein, was das moderne Energiemanagement vor Herausforderungen stellt. Die Prognose des Energiebedarfs kann die Strategie des Energiemanagements optimieren und die Energieeffizienz verbessern. Das traditionelle LSTM-Modell, das auf einer Codierungs-Decodierungs-Struktur basiert, codiert alle historischen Informationen als Vektor fester Länge, was zum Informationsverlust führt, wenn der vorhergesagte Wert von den Merkmalen abhängt die weit in der Vergangenheit liegen. Dies ist bei Energieprognosen aufgrund der Periodizität des Energieverbrauchs üblich. Um das oben genannte Problem zu lösen und das Potenzial der Betriebsdaten von Kraftwerken für Energievorhersagen vollständig auszuschöpfen, wird in diesem Artikel ein Energievorhersagemodell vorgeschlagen, das auf dem Aufmerksamkeitsmechanismus basiert. Ausgehend von der traditionellen Codierungs-Decodierungs-Architektur wird der räumliche und zeitliche Aufmerksamkeitsmechanismus eingeführt, um die räumlichen und zeitlichen Eigenschaften, die für den vorhergesagten Wert am relevantesten sind, adaptiv auszuwählen. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass bei der Vorhersage des Strombedarfs von Shanghai für die nächsten 100 Tage, der Fehler des Hybridmodells 25,8 % niedriger ist als der des traditionellen LSTM-Modells. Darüber hinaus zeigt der Fehlertrend des Hybridmodells im Laufe der Zeit auch eine stärkere Stabilität als das herkömmliche Modell.

Sphenopalatine ganglion stimulation increased cerebral collateral blood flow, stabilised the blood–brain barrier, and reduced infarct size, in preclinical models of acute ischaemic stroke, and showed potential benefit in a pilot randomised trial in humans. The pivotal ImpACT-24B trial aimed to determine whether sphenopalatine ganglion stimulation 8–24 h after acute ischaemic stroke improved functional outcome.

Patients suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are often insulin resistant and at elevated risk for developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The aim of this study was to explore afamin, which can be determined preconceptionally to indicate patients who will subsequently develop GDM. Serum concentrations of afamin are altered in conditions of oxidative stress like insulin resistance (IR) and correlate with the gold standard of IR determination, the HOMA index.Afamin serum concentrations and the HOMA index were analyzed post hocin 63 PCOS patients with live births. Patients were treated at Essen University Hospital, Germany, between 2009 and 2018. Mann–Whitney Utest, Ttest, Spearman’s correlation, linear regression models and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed for statistical analysis.Patients who developed GDM showed significantly higher HOMA and serum afamin values before their pregnancy (P< 0.001, respectively). ROCs for afamin concentrations showed an area under the curve of 0.78 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65–0.90) and of 0.77 (95% CI 0.64–0.89) for the HOMA index. An afamin threshold of 88.6 mg/L distinguished between women who will develop GDM and those who will not with a sensitivity of 79.3% and a specificity of 79.4%. A HOMA index of 2.5 showed a sensitivity of 65.5% and a specificity of 88.2%.The HOMA index and its surrogate parameter afamin are able to identify pre-pregnant PCOS patients who are at risk to develop GDM. Serum afamin concentrations are independent of fasting status and therefore an easily determinable biomarker.