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To advance meaningful guidelines in the design of electrocatalytically active catalysts, a knowledge of the nature of active sites is the starting point. However, multiple factors such as material composition, site coordination, electrolyte effects, the support material, surface strain, and others influence catalytic behavior. Therefore, the identification of active sites can be complex. A substantial contributor can be in-situ experiments, which are able to identify active centers in a specific system while the reaction takes place. An example of such a technique is electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM), which relates locally confined noise features to local electrocatalytic activity. In this work, we spotlight recent achievements of this technique with respect to palladium (Pd) surfaces for the hydrogen reduction reaction, where strain due to hydride formation comes into play in addition to surface coordination. Secondly, we demonstrate the high resolution of the technique on graphite-based surfaces. Here, edge sites are particularly active. Thus, with the EC-STM technique, we take strain effects (like on Pd) or effects of coordination (like on carbon) into account. Therefore, we can determine active sites with great accuracy under reaction conditions.

The histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) is widely used for image description and proves to be very effective. In many vision problems, rotation-invariant analysis is necessary or preferred. Popular solutions are mainly based on pose normalization or learning, neglecting some intrinsic properties of rotations. This paper presents a method to build rotation-invariant HOG descriptors using Fourier analysis in polar/spherical coordinates, which are closely related to the irreducible representation of the 2D/3D rotation groups. This is achieved by considering a gradient histogram as a continuous angular signal which can be well represented by the Fourier basis (2D) or spherical harmonics (3D). As rotation-invariance is established in an analytical way, we can avoid discretization artifacts and create a continuous mapping from the image to the feature space. In the experiments, we first show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art in a public dataset for a car detection task in aerial images. We further use the Princeton Shape Benchmark and the SHREC 2009 Generic Shape Benchmark to demonstrate the high performance of our method for similarity measures of 3D shapes. Finally, we show an application on microscopic volumetric data.

Synthetic oligonucleotides are the main cost factor for studies in DNA nanotechnology, genetics and synthetic biology, which all require thousands of these at high quality. Inexpensive chip-synthesized oligonucleotide libraries can contain hundreds of thousands of distinct sequences, however only at sub-femtomole quantities per strand. Here we present a selective oligonucleotide amplification method, based on three rounds of rolling-circle amplification, that produces nanomole amounts of single-stranded oligonucleotides per millilitre reaction. In a multistep one-pot procedure, subsets of hundreds or thousands of single-stranded DNAs with different lengths can selectively be amplified and purified together. These oligonucleotides are used to fold several DNA nanostructures and as primary fluorescence in situ hybridization probes. The amplification cost is lower than other reported methods (typically around US$ 20 per nanomole total oligonucleotides produced) and is dominated by the use of commercial enzymes. Synthetic oligonucleotides are the main cost factor for studies in DNA nanotechnology. Here, the authors present a selective oligonucleotide amplification method, based on three rounds of rolling-circle amplification, that produces nanomole amounts of single-stranded oligonucleotides per millilitre reaction.

PurposeThe dynamic nature of production environments with uncertainty about future tasks places a high demand on the flexibility for assigning tasks to a fleet of Automated Guided Vehicles. The goal of our research is to reduce the number of required vehicles compared to the traditional approach while achieving the same throughput for economic and sustainability reasons by enabling a more intelligent battery management.Design/methodology/approachOur proposed approach considers charging as an option during robot task assignment. We extend a previously presented sequential single-item auction algorithm for online scheduling using utility functions to compare the options for performing tasks or charging. This enables a more intelligent decision, depending on the current system state, focusing on improved availability in phases with high demand and efficiency. A material flow simulation highlights potential issues when disregarding battery management and validates the proposed methods.FindingsDespite the advancements in modern battery technologies, battery management remains an important aspect for continuous operation without breaks for charging in between shifts. Additionally, frequently driving to charging stations for opportunity charging can generate significant additional movement and power consumption. It is demonstrated that our approach improves system performance while reducing the total number of charging operations, which allows a reduction in required vehicle count.Originality/valueOur approach represents a deeper integration of battery management aspects into the robot-task assignment problem. The proposed online scheduler is very flexible, as any number of system states can be considered in the form of additional utilities, enabling potential for further optimization.

Autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias are hereditary neurodegenerative disorders that are known as spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) in genetic nomenclature. In the pregenomic era, ataxias were some of the most poorly understood neurological disorders; the unravelling of their molecular basis enabled precise diagnosis in vivo and explained many clinical phenomena such as anticipation and variable phenotypes even within one family. However, the discovery of many ataxia genes and loci in the past decade threatens to cause more confusion than optimism among clinicians. Therefore, the provision of guidance for genetic testing according to clinical findings and frequencies of SCA subtypes in different ethnic groups is a major challenge. The identification of ataxia genes raises hope that essential pathogenetic mechanisms causing SCA will become more and more apparent. Elucidation of the pathogenesis of SCA hopefully will enable the development of rational therapies for this group of disorders, which currently can only be treated symptomatically.

Introduction Breast cancer is the most common cancer disease of women in industrialized countries. Neurotoxic chemotherapy drugs are known to harm peripheral nerves and cause a chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). CIPN is one of the most common adverse events associated with Paclitaxel chemotherapy and may remain present long after the termination of chemotherapy. Thus, it reduces the patients’ quality of life (QoL) both during chemotherapy and onwards, and can impose a danger on breast cancer survivors due to an increased risk of falling and fall-related injuries. Methods The aim of this randomized-controlled trial (RCT) ( n  = 36) (IG: intervention group, n  = 17) (CG: control group, n  = 19) was to determine whether sensorimotor exercises have a positive effect on physical and psychological parameters in breast cancer patients undergoing neurotoxic chemotherapy (Paclitaxel). Results As a result, we were able to show significant improvements in postural stability in monopedal stance [left leg 16.17 ± 3.67 vs. 21.55 ± 5.33 ( p  < 0.001) and right leg 15.14 ± 2.30 vs. 20.85 ± 5.05 ( p  < 0.001)] and in bipedal stance [T1 vs. T0, − 0.49 (IG) vs. + 1.14 (CG) p  = 0.039]. Discussion These results in posturography correlate with the clinical presentation with intervention group patients scoring significantly better on the Fullerton Advanced Balance Scale [37.71 ± 2.73 vs. 34.47 ± 3.98 ( p  = 0.004)]. Moderate strength training successfully prevented a strength loss in the IG that was remarkable in the CG (− 1.60 vs. 0.60, p  = 0.029). Concerning the psychological parameters assessed via EORTC- and MFI-questionnaires, no significant improvements were found. Conclusion Future studies should focus on the correlation of clinical and posturometry findings and subjective QOL such as the long-term-development of CIPN.

Background Patients suffering from cancer often make use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Only few data exist on the prevalence and clinical significance of interactions of a biological CAM method and conventional drugs. Methods From February 2014 to March 2016, consecutive patients from five oncological practices in Germany were asked to fulfill a standardized questionnaire regarding use of CAM. Data on diagnosis, date of first diagnosis, ECOG and the past and current treatment were derived from the patients’ files. Interactions were evaluated by systematically using a database on potential interactions. Results From 1000 patients asked to participate, we received a total of 720 questionnaires of which 711 were completed and eligible for evaluation. 29% of the patients reported any CAM usage. Women showed a significantly higher use of CAM with 35.6 versus 23.6% of men. For 54.9% of CAM users (15.9% of all patients), we found a combination of conventional drugs and biological based CAM methods with a risk for interactions. Vitamins A, C and E were the most frequently used CAM substances in these cases (39.3%), followed by herbs with 17.5%. Conclusion There was a risk of interactions between a biological CAM method and conventional drugs in 54.9% of the patients using CAM. To raise knowledge on interactions a better training for doctors with respect to CAM is strongly needed. Furthermore, patients’ awareness should also be raised and communication between physician and patient on the topic improved.

A proof‐of‐principle device for axial high‐resolution operation that combines a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) origami with a functionalized graphene layer is presented, analyzed by nanoscopy. Along the DNA origami structure, ATTO‐488 fluorophores are bound at specific distances from graphene, from where specific fluorescence lifetime values are expected due to nearfield energy transfer processes. These are characterized by Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM). Through modulation of the electrostatic potential of graphene under electrical gating, changes in the fluorescence lifetimes are observed. These are understood as the result of changed energy transfer coupling conditions between the fluorophore and graphene's electronic states, combined with a vertical displacement of the DNA origami structure that matches molecular dimensions. A hybrid architecture is provided whose nanoscale operation depends on the applied voltage regime. A potential application of these findings may be envisioned for biocompatible sensing approaches, in medical or environmental sensing. A hybrid DNA origami‐graphene architecture is employed in a nearfield sensing device for optical distance assessment in biosensors and biorecognition purposes. Using Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM), a nearfield quenching model is verified and test the device response under several electrostatic gating conditions, which leads to changes in the detected fluorescence lifetimes.

We develop a one-dimensional notion of affine processes under parameter uncertainty, which we call nonlinear affine processes. This is done as follows: given a set Θ of parameters for the process, we construct a corresponding nonlinear expectation on the path space of continuous processes. By a general dynamic programming principle, we link this nonlinear expectation to a variational form of the Kolmogorov equation, where the generator of a single affine process is replaced by the supremum over all corresponding generators of affine processes with parameters in Θ. This nonlinear affine process yields a tractable model for Knightian uncertainty, especially for modelling interest rates under ambiguity.We then develop an appropriate Itô formula, the respective term-structure equations, and study the nonlinear versions of the Vasiček and the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) model. Thereafter, we introduce the nonlinear Vasiček-CIR model. This model is particularly suitable for modelling interest rates when one does not want to restrict the state space a priori and hence this approach solves the modelling issue arising with negative interest rates.

Shot-noise processes generalize compound Poisson processes in the following way: a jump (the shot) is followed by a decline (noise). This constitutes a useful model for insurance claims in many circumstances; claims due to natural disasters or self-exciting processes exhibit similar features. We give a general account of shot-noise processes with time-inhomogeneous drivers inspired by recent results in credit risk. Moreover, we derive a number of useful results for modeling and pricing with shot-noise processes. Besides this, we obtain some highly tractable examples and constitute a useful modeling tool for dynamic claims processes. The results can in particular be used for pricing Catastrophe Bonds (CAT bonds), a traded risk-linked security. Additionally, current results regarding the estimation of shot-noise processes are reviewed.