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Now showing 1 - 10 of 23
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    Biomaterial based strategies to reconstruct the nigrostriatal pathway in organotypic slice co-cultures
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2021) Ucar, Buket; Kajtez, Janko; Foidl, Bettina M.; Eigel, Dimitri; Werner, Carsten; Long, Katherine R.; Emnéus, Jenny; Bizeau, Joëlle; Lomora, Mihai; Pandit, Abhay; Newland, Ben; Humpel, Christian
    Protection or repair of the nigrostriatal pathway represents a principal disease-modifying therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease (PD). Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) holds great therapeutic potential for PD, but its efficacious delivery remains difficult. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of different biomaterials (hydrogels, microspheres, cryogels and microcontact printed surfaces) for reconstructing the nigrostriatal pathway in organotypic co-culture of ventral mesencephalon and dorsal striatum. The biomaterials (either alone or loaded with GDNF) were locally applied onto the brain co-slices and fiber growth between the co-slices was evaluated after three weeks in culture based on staining for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Collagen hydrogels loaded with GDNF slightly promoted the TH+ nerve fiber growth towards the dorsal striatum, while GDNF loaded microspheres embedded within the hydrogels did not provide an improvement. Cryogels alone or loaded with GDNF also enhanced TH+ fiber growth. Lines of GDNF immobilized onto the membrane inserts via microcontact printing also significantly improved TH+ fiber growth. In conclusion, this study shows that various biomaterials and tissue engineering techniques can be employed to regenerate the nigrostriatal pathway in organotypic brain slices. This comparison of techniques highlights the relative merits of different technologies that researchers can use/develop for neuronal regeneration strategies. © 2020
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    Automated meshing of electron backscatter diffraction data and application to finite element micromagnetics
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2019) Gusenbauer, Markus; Fischbacher, Johann; Kovacs, Alexander; Oezelt, Harald; Bance, Simon; Zhao, Panpan; Woodcock, Thomas George; Schrefl, Thomas
    This paper gives a procedure for automatically generating finite element meshes with an adaptive mesh size from Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) data. After describing the procedure in detail, including preliminary and image processing steps, an example application is given. The method was used to carry out finite element (FE) micromagnetic simulations based on real microstructures in the hard magnetic material, MnAl. A fast micromagnetic solver was used to compute hysteresis properties from the finite element mesh generated automatically from EBSD data. The visualization of the magnetization evolution showed that the reversal is governed by domain wall pinning at twin boundaries. The calculated coercive fields are very sensitive to changes of the Gilbert damping constant, even for low field rates. © 2019 The Authors
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    Measurements of Streams Agitated by Fluid Loaded SAW-devices Using a Volumetric 3-component Measurement Technique (V3V)
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2015) Kiebert, Florian; König, Jörg; Kykal, Carsten; Schmidt, Hagen
    Utilizing surface acoustic waves (SAW) to induce tailored fluid motion via the acoustic streaming requires detailed knowledge about the acoustic bulk wave excitation. For the first time, the Defocus Digital Particle Image Velocimetry is used to measure the fluid motion originating from a fluid loaded SAW-device. With this flow measurement technique, the acoustic streaming-induced fluid motion can be observed volumetrically, which is attractive not only for application, but also for simulation in order to gain deeper insights regarding three-dimensional acoustic effects.
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    Visualization of Bulk Magnetic Properties by Neutron Grating Interferometry
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2015) Betz, B.; Rauscher, P.; Siebert, R.; Schaefer, R.; Kaestner, A.; Van Swygenhoven, H.; Lehmann, E.; Grünzweig, C.
    The neutron Grating Interferometer (nGI) is a standard user instrument at the cold neutron imaging beamline ICON (Kaestner, 2011) at the neutron source SINQ at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerland. The setup is able to deliver simultaneously information about the attenuation, phase shift (DPC) (Pfeiffer, 2006) and scattering properties in the so-called dark-field image (DFI) (Grünzweig, 2008-I) of a sample. Since neutrons only interact with the nucleus they are often able to penetrate deeper into matter than X-rays, in particular heavier materials. A further advantage of neutrons compared to X-rays is the interaction of the neutron's magnetic moment with magnetic structures that allows for the bulk investigation of magnetic domain structures using the nGI technique (Grünzweig, 2008-II). The nGI-setup and its technique for imaging with cold neutrons is presented in this contribution. The main focus will be on magnetic investigations of electrical steel laminations using the nGI technique. Both, grain-oriented (GO) and non-oriented (NO) laminations will be presented. GO-laminations are widely used in industrial transformer applications, while NO-sheets are common in electrical machines. For grain-oriented sheet, domain walls were visualized individually,spatially resolved, while in NO-sheet a relative density distribution is depicted.
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    Laser Patterning of CIGS thin Films with 1550 nm Nanosecond Laser Pulses
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2016) Ehrhardt, Martin; Lorenz, Pierre; Bayer, Lukas; Zagoranskiy, Igor; Zimmer, Klaus
    The results of laser scribing experiments of CIGS thin films deposited on Mo-coated stainless steel sheets, using laser pulses with a wavelength of 1550 nm and a pulse duration of 6 ns, are presented in this study. It is shown that a removal of the CIGS from the Mo film is possible without edge melting of the CIGS or damaging of the Mo. The critical parameter for inducing the delamination lift-off process of the CIGS from the Mo was identified to be the scribing speed of the laser. In dependence on the laser parameters two different material removal processes were found. For a low pulse overlap the laser pulse penetrates the CIGS film and is absorbed in the interface between the CIGS and the Mo causing a lift-off process of the CIGS from the Mo back contact. For a high pulse overlap an ablation process starting from the top side of the CIGS film was found. The composition and morphology of the sample material after the laser patterning were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and micro-Raman spectroscopy.
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    Three-Dimensional Imaging of Magnetic Domains with Neutron Grating Interferometry
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2015) Manke, I.; Kardjilov, N.; Schäfer, R.; Hilger, A.; Grothausmann, R.; Strobl, M.; Dawson, M.; Grünzweig, Ch.; Tötzke, Ch.; David, Ch.; Kupsch, A.; Lange, A.; Hentschel, M.P.; Banhart, J.
    This paper gives a brief overview on3D imaging of magnetic domains with shearing grating neutron tomography. We investigated the three-dimensional distribution of magnetic domain walls in the bulk of a wedge-shaped FeSi single crystal. The width of the magnetic domains wasanalyzed at different locations within the crystal. Magnetic domains close to the tip of the wedge are much smaller than in the bulk. Furthermore, the three-dimensional shape of individual domains wasinvestigated. We discuss prospects and limitations of the applied measurement technique.
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    Determination of Bulk Magnetic Volume Properties by Neutron Dark-Field Imaging
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2015) Grünzweig, Christian; Siebert, René; Betz, Benedikt; Rauscher, Peter; Schäfer, Rudolf; Lehmann, Eberhard
    For the production of high-class electrical steel grades a deeper understanding of the magnetic domain interaction with induced mechanical stresses is strongly required. This holds for non-oriented (NO) as well as grain-oriented (GO) steels. In the case of non-oriented steels the magnetic property degeneration after punching or laser cutting is essential for selecting correct obstructing material grades and designing efficient electrical machines. Until now these effects stay undiscovered due to the lack of adequate investigation methods that reveal local bulk information on processed laminations. Here we show how the use of a non-destructive testing method based on a neutron grating interferometry providing the dark-field image contrast delivers spatially-resolved transmission information about the local bulk domain arrangement and domain wall density. With the help of this technique it is possible to visualize magnetization processes within the NO laminations. Different representative manufacturing techniques are compared in terms of magnetic flux density deterioration such as punching, mechanically cutting by guillotine as well as laser fusion cutting using industrial high power laser beam sources. For GO steel laminations the method is applicable on the one hand to visualize the internal domain structure without being hindered by the coating layer. On the other hand, we can show the influence of the coating layer onto the underlying domain structure.
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    Nanostructuring of Fused Silica Assisted by Laser-shaped Metal Triangles Using a Nanosecond Laser
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2016) Lorenz, Pierre; Grüner, Christoph; Ehrhardt, Martin; Bayer, Lukas; Zimmer, Klaus
    Self-organized processes are of special interest for the laser-induced nanostructuring of surfaces. In this study we combined two self-organized processes: the microsphere lithography and the molten phase transformation for the nanostructuring of dielectrics. A fused silica substrate was covered with periodically ordered polystyrene (PS) spheres and the system was subsequently covered with 30 nm chromium. Afterwards the PS spheres were removed and the bare and resultant periodic Cr triangles were irradiated in two steps using a KrF excimer laser. First step: A low laser fluence treatment results in a melting and shape transformation of the triangles. Second step: A high laser fluence treatment of the pre-treated surface results in a nanostructuring of the dielectric surface (and removal of the metal). The surface topography was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the different steps were simulated and compared with the experimental results.
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    Addition of Iridium to the Biopolymer Mediated Synthesis of YBa2Cu3O7 δ
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2012) Wimbush, Stuart C.; Marx, Werner; Barth, Andreas; Hall, Simon R.
    This work represents the first study into the addition of iridium into the solgel synthesis of the high temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7δ (Y123). Through a biopolymermediated synthetic approach, the homogeneous nature of the precursor sol and the preferred nucleation and growth of Y123 phases allow for a high yield of superconducting nanoparticles with no suppression of the superconducting critical temperature, even at high levels (40 wt%) of iridium addition. We attribute this to iridium not substituting into the Y123 crystal lattice, instead forming an associate phase.
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    Significance of the Resonance Condition for Controlling the Seam Position in Laser-assisted TIG Welding
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2016) Emde, B.; Huse, M.; Hermsdorf, J.; Kaierle, S.; Wesling, V.; Overmeyer, L.; Kozakov, R.; Uhrlandt, D.
    As an energy-preserving variant of laser hybrid welding, laser-assisted arc welding uses laser powers of less than 1 kW. Recent studies have shown that the electrical conductivity of a TIG welding arc changes within the arc in case of a resonant interaction between laser radiation and argon atoms. This paper presents investigations on how to control the position of the arc root on the workpiece by means of the resonant interaction. Furthermore, the influence on the welding result is demonstrated. The welding tests were carried out on a cooled copper plate and steel samples with resonant and non-resonant laser radiation. Moreover, an analysis of the weld seam is presented.