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Owners or operators of offshore wind farms perform inspections to collect information on the condition of the wind turbine support structures and perform repairs if required. These activities are costly and should be optimized. Risk-based methods can be applied to identify inspection and repair strategies that ensure an optimal balance between the expected total service life cost of inspection and repair, and the achieved risk reduction. Such an optimization requires explicit modeling of repairs. In this paper, the impact of different repair models on the results of a risk-based optimization of inspection and repair strategies is quantified in a numerical example considering a jacket-type steel frame subject to high-cycle fatigue. The example showed that, in this specific application, there is no need for detailed modeling of the behavior of repaired welded connections.
The round robin test investigated the reliability users can expect for AlSi10Mg additive manufactured specimens by laser powder bed fusion through examining powder quality, process parameter, microstructure defects, strength and fatigue. Besides for one outlier, expected static material properties could be found. Optical microstructure inspection was beneficial to determine true porosity and porosity types to explain the occurring scatter in properties. Fractographic analyses reveal that the fatigue crack propagation starts at the rough as-built surface for all specimens. Statistical analysis of the scatter in fatigue using statistical derived safety factors concludes that at a stress of 36.87 MPa the fatigue limit of 107 cycles could be reached for all specimen with a survival probability of 99.999 %.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health problem with the environment being an important compartment for the evolution and transmission of AMR. Previous studies showed that de-novo mutagenesis and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) by conjugation or transformation – important processes underlying resistance evolution and spread - are affected by antibiotics, metals and pesticides. However, natural microbial communities are also frequently exposed to biocides used as material preservatives, but it is unknown if these substances induce mutagenesis and HGT. Here, we show that active substances used in material preservatives can increase rates of mutation and conjugation in a species- and substance-dependent manner, while rates of transformation are not increased. The bisbiguanide chlorhexidine digluconate, the quaternary ammonium compound didecyldimethylammonium chloride, the metal copper, the pyrethroid-insecticide permethrin, and the azole-fungicide propiconazole increase mutation rates in Escherichia coli, whereas no increases were identified for Bacillus subtilis and Acinetobacter baylyi.
Benzalkonium chloride, chlorhexidine and permethrin increased conjugation in E. coli. Moreover, our results show a connection between the RpoS-mediated general stress and the RecA-linked SOS response with increased rates of mutation and conjugation, but not for all biocides. Taken together, our data show the importance of assessing the contribution of material preservatives on AMR evolution and spread.
Biocides used as material preservatives are in contact with various environments during direct application or passive leaching from protected materials [1]. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health problem and the environment is an important compartment for the evolution and transmission of AMR [2,3]. Soil is an environment with a large reservoir of natural microbial communities and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. Those natural microbial communities are frequently exposed to biocides used as material preservatives. Previous studies have shown that antibiotics, metals and pesticides affect the underlying processes of resistance evolution and spread; namely de novo mutagenesis and horizontal gene transfer by conjugation and transformation in microbial communities. However, it is unknown if active substances used in material preservatives are involved in these processes. We show that biocides used as material preservatives affect rates of mutation and conjugation in microorganism in a species- and substance-dependent manner, while rates of transformation are not directly affected. Our data highlights the importance of assessing the contribution of material preservatives on AMR evolution and spread in the environment.
Biocides are in contact with soils through direct application and passive leaching from protected materials. Consequently, soil microorganisms are exposed to biocides even though they are not their primary targets. Soil is a large reservoir of microbial diversity and has been hypothesized to be a crucial factor for the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Currently, there is little knowledge on how biocides used to protect materials affect the evolution and spread of resistance. Thus, our aim is to investigate the risk for the evolution of biocide resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics. In addition, we aim to elucidate the affect of biocides on the spread of resistance via horizontal gene transfer (HGT).
In adaptive laboratory evolution experiments we cultured selected model soil microorganism with representative biocides under selection regimes with increasing and stable biocide concentrations followed by antibiotic and biocide cross-resistance determination. Moreover, we investigate if the selected biocides affect the rates of de novo mutations and HGT of plasmids that carry resistance genes among soil microorganism.
Our results show only small increases of biocide resistance during serial transfers under increasing biocide concentrations. One reason for this might be the narrow selective window for biocide resistance due to steep dose-response relationships. Furthermore, our results indicate that a stable low-level biocide regime did not select for high level cross-resistance to antibiotics and other biocides.
Moreover, material preservatives affected the rates of HGT via conjugation and the mutation rates at sub-inhibitory concentrations. The results will enable future risk assessment regarding resistance evolution for biocides used as material preservatives.
Question:
Biocides are in contact with soils through direct application and passive leaching from protected materials. Consequently, soil microorganisms are exposed to toxic biocides even though they are not their primary targets. Soil is a large reservoir of microbial diversity and has been hypothesized to be a crucial factor for the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is little knowledge on how biocides used to protect materials affect the evolution and spread of resistance. Thus, our aim is to investigate the risk for the evolution of biocide resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics. In addition, we aim to elucidate the affect of biocides on the spread of resistance via horizontal gene transfer (HGT).
Methods:
In laboratory evolution experiments we culture selected model soil microorganism with representative biocides followed by antibiotic cross-resistance determination and genome sequencing. Moreover, we investigate if the selected biocides affect the HGT frequency of plasmids that carry resistance genes among soil microorganism and the consequences for survival of the affected populations.
Results:
Our initial results show only small increases of biocide resistance during serial transfers in the presence of biocides. One reason for this might be the narrow selective window for biocide resistance due to steep dose-response relationships. Furthermore, we will present results from ongoing experiments on the effects of material preservatives on HGT frequencies facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress.
Conclusions:
The results will enable future risk assessment regarding resistance evolution for biocides used as material preservatives.
Question:
Biocides are in contact with soils through direct application and passive leaching from protected materials. Consequently, soil microorganisms are exposed to toxic biocides even though they are not their primary targets. Soil is a large reservoir of microbial diversity and has been hypothesized to be a crucial factor for the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is little knowledge on how biocides used to protect materials affect the evolution and spread of resistance. Thus, our aim is to investigate the risk for the evolution of biocide resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics. In addition, we aim to elucidate the affect of biocides on the spread of resistance via horizontal gene transfer (HGT).
Methods:
In laboratory evolution experiments we culture selected model soil microorganism with representative biocides followed by antibiotic cross-resistance determination and genome sequencing. Moreover, we investigate if the selected biocides affect the HGT frequency of plasmids that carry resistance genes among soil microorganism and the consequences for survival of the affected populations.
Results:
Our initial results show only small increases of biocide resistance during serial transfers in the presence of biocides. One reason for this might be the narrow selective window for biocide resistance due to steep dose-response relationships. Furthermore, we will present results from ongoing experiments on the effects of material preservatives on HGT frequencies facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress.
Conclusions:
The results will enable future risk assessment regarding resistance evolution for biocides used as material preservatives.
Questions:
Biocides are in contact with soils through direct application and passive leaching from protected materials. Consequently, soil microorganisms are exposed to toxic biocides even though they are not their primary targets. Soil is a large reservoir of microbial diversity and has been hypothesized to be a crucial factor for the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is little knowledge on how biocides used to protect materials affect the evolution and spread of resistance. Thus, our aim is to investigate the risk for the evolution of biocide resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics. In addition, we aim to elucidate the affect of biocides on the spread of resistance via horizontal gene transfer (HGT).
Methods:
In laboratory evolution experiments we culture selected model soil microorganism with representative biocides followed by antibiotic cross-resistance determination and genome sequencing. Moreover, we investigate if the selected biocides affect the HGT frequency of plasmids that carry resistance genes among soil microorganism and the consequences for survival of the affected populations.
Results:
Our initial results show only small increases of biocide resistance during serial transfers in the presence of biocides. One reason for this might be the narrow selective window for biocide resistance due to steep dose-response relationships. Furthermore, we will present results from ongoing experiments on the effects of material preservatives on HGT frequencies facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress.
Conclusions:
The results will enable future risk assessment regarding resistance evolution for biocides used as material preservatives.
Soil microbes are exposed to different environmental stressors originating from various sources. Biocides used as material preservatives can represent environmental stressors since they are in direct contact with the environment including soil. Microorganism in soils can adapt to stress by different mechanisms; for example, by transferring mobile genetic elements via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Here, we hypothesize that material preservatives can cause increased frequencies of HGT (i.e. altered community permissiveness) facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress. Furthermore, we hypothesize that soil microbial communities are primed by biocide exposure facilitating the response to different types of stresses. We will incubate soil mesocosms with selected biocides to investigate if these compounds promote HGT of plasmids that carry resistance genes in soil microbial communities. Subsequently, we will prime the soil microbial community with sub-inhibitory concentrations of biocides followed by exposure to toxic biocide concentrations or other types of common environmental stresses including metals, antibiotics, and salt. Using suitable control experiments, a shift in the functional response of the primed as compared to the non-primed community would indicate that biocides prime microbial communities via HGT. Together these results will elucidate the effect of biocides on HGT-mediated adaptation to environmental stressors in soil microbial communities.
Soil microbes are exposed to different environmental stressors originating from various sources. Biocides used as material preservatives can represent environmental stressors since they are in direct contact with the environment including soil. Microorganism in soils can adapt to stress by different mechanisms; for example, by transferring mobile genetic elements via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Here, we hypothesize that material preservatives can cause increased frequencies of HGT (i.e. altered community permissiveness) facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress. Furthermore, we hypothesize that soil microbial communities are primed by biocide exposure facilitating the response to different types of stresses. We will incubate soil mesocosms with selected biocides to investigate if these compounds promote HGT of plasmids that carry resistance genes in soil microbial communities. Subsequently, we will prime the soil microbial community with sub-inhibitory concentrations of biocides followed by exposure to toxic biocide concentrations or other types of common environmental stresses including metals, antibiotics, and salt. Using suitable control experiments, a shift in the functional response of the primed as compared to the non-primed community would indicate that biocides prime microbial communities via HGT. Together these results will elucidate the effect of biocides on HGT-mediated adaptation to environmental stressors in soil microbial communities.
Soil microbes are exposed to different environmental stressors originating from various sources. Biocides used as material preservatives can represent environmental stressors since they are in direct contact with the environment including soil. Microorganism in soils can adapt to stress by different mechanisms; for example, by the evolution of resistance by de novo mutations or acquisition of resistance genes via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Here, we hypothesize that material preservatives could enhance the evolution of biocide resistance enabling the potential for cross-resistance to antibiotics. Furthermore, we hypothesize that material preservatives can cause increased frequencies of HGT (i.e. altered community permissiveness) facilitating microbial community adaptation to stress. We will culture soil microorganism with increasing concentrations of selected biocides followed by antibiotic susceptibility determination. Moreover, we will incubate soil mesocosms with selected biocides to investigate if these compounds promote HGT of plasmids that carry resistance genes in soil microbial communities. Together these results will elucidate the potential for the evolution of biocide resistance and cross-resistance to antibiotics as well as the effect of biocides on adaptation to environmental stressors in soil microbial communities.
Smouldering fires and explosions arising from self-ignition of coal dust deposits represent a serious hazard for human being, environment and industry. It is essential for plant operators to know the conditions (temperature, duration and quantity) at which storage will be safe. In this work, self-ignition behaviour of three bituminous coal dusts in large scales are theoretically studied, based on the experimental data via a standardized hot-basket apparatus. A comprehensive 2-D transient model is developed, using a 2nd-order reaction kinetics considering both coal and oxygen consumptions, to investigate self-ignition parameters of coal dust accumulations. The numerical model shows a less conservative prediction compared with the steady-state methods. The computational self-ignition temperature and ignition delay time show a satisfaction agreement with lab-scale experimental results. In addition, the influences of ambient temperature and moisture content are analysed. The result shows that the moisture content delays the ignition and a small variation of the ambient temperature nearby the critical condition will lead to a large difference of the ignition delay time.
In the present talk the basics of the Raman spectroscopy and particularly of Raman microscopy are explained. Advantages and disadvantages of the method are highlighted through selected case studies. In the second part of the lecture examples of correlative imaging with electron, X-ray, ion and optical microscopies from micro- to the nanoscale are highlighted.
Raman microspectroscopy enables imaging of the distributions of mineral phases as well as physical properties of materials, such as crystal orientations and crystallinities, with down to sub-micrometre resolution. In a combination with other spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, this approach was applied to the analysis and elucidation of ancient production technologies of stucco fragments made of high-fired gypsum mortar and Egyptian blue pigment discovered on a monochrome wall painting fragment originating from the Early Medieval (5th/6th century AD) construction phase of the church St. Peter above Gratsch in South Tyrol (Northern Italy).
Faser-Bragg-Gitter (FBG) werden als Dehnungssensoren zur Bestimmung der Bauteilverformung dort eingesetzt, wo herkömmliche elektrische Dehnungsmesstechnik an ihre Grenzen stößt (z. B. im Hochspannungsbereich, bei starken elektromagnetischen Feldern, in der Medizintechnik, in sicherheitsrelevanten und strahlungsbelasteten Bereichen). Die Applizierung dieser Sensoren auf Oberflächen verschiedener Materialien und die Qualifizierung der FBG als Dehnungssensoren sind Gegenstand dieser Arbeit. Bisher ist für oberflächenapplizierte FBGDehnungssensoren kein geprüftes und zertifiziertes Applizierungsverfahren bekannt. Die Bestimmung der Dehnungsübertragung und die Definition eines Dehnungsübertragungskoeffizienten aus der Änderung der Bragg- Wellenlänge in Relation zur Dehnung des Messobjekts sind bisher mit keinem experimentellen Prüfverfahren validiert worden. Diese Arbeit behandelt die Entwicklung einer Messmethodik zur Bestimmung der Dehnungsübertragung zwischen Messobjekt und FBG- Dehnungssensor durch ein physikalisch unabhängiges optisches Referenzverfahren. Die auf die Dehnungsübertragung Einfluss nehmenden Parameter wurden zunächst experimentell quantifiziert und die Wellenlängenänderung der FBG-Dehnungssensoren in Relation zur Dehnungsmessung mit Dehnungsmessstreifen analysiert. Einige Werkstoffkennwerte der eingesetzten Klebstoffe wurden bestimmt. Auf Basis dieser Untersuchungen wurde im Rahmen dieser Arbeit eine Prüfeinrichtung für oberflächenapplizierte FBG-Dehnungssensoren aufgebaut. Die Funktionsfähigkeit der Messmethodik wird aufgezeigt. Untersuchungen, die die Charakterisierung der Prüfeinrichtung und die Validierbarkeit von FBG-Dehnungssensoren durch die hier entwickelte Messmethode zum Ziel haben, sind in dieser Arbeit begonnen worden. Für den Spezialfall der Dehnungsermittlung an einem Rotorblatt sind oberflächen- applizierbare FBG-Patches entwickelt und ihr charakteristisches Verhalten untersucht worden. Es wurde zusätzlich eine Integrationstechnik für FBG-Dehnungssensoren während der Rotorblattherstellung entwickelt. Als ersten Schritt in Richtung Standardisierung der zu prüfenden Kenngrößen bei der Ermittlung der Dehnungsübertragung und der Spezifizierung von Einfluss nehmenden Parametern auf den Dehnungsübertragungskoeffizienten ist unter Mitwirkung der Autorin dieser Arbeit eine Richtlinie für den Umgang mit oberflächenapplizierten FBG- Dehnungssensoren entstanden.
Aim: To observe the variation in accumulation of Fusarium and Alternaria mycotoxins across a topographically heterogeneous field and tested biotic (fungal and bacterial abundance) and abiotic (microclimate) parameters as explanatory variables.
Methods and Results: We selected a wheat field characterized by a diversified topography, to be responsible for variations in productivity and in canopy-driven microclimate. Fusarium and Alternaria mycotoxins where quantified in wheat ears at three sampling dates between flowering and harvest at 40 points.
Tenuazonic acid (TeA), alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), tentoxin (TEN), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN) and deoxynivalenol-3-Glucoside (DON.3G) were quantified. In canopy temperature, air and soil humidity were recorded for each point with data-loggers. Fusarium spp. as trichothecene producers, Alternaria spp. and fungal abundances were assessed using qPCR. Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria were quantified with a culture based method. We only found DON, DON.3G, TeA and TEN to be ubiquitous across the whole field, while AME, AOH and ZEN were only occasionally detected. Fusarium was more abundant in spots with high soil humidity, while Alternaria in warmer and drier spots. Mycotoxins correlated differently to the observed explanatory variables: positive correlations between DON accumulation, tri 5 gene and Fusarium abundance were clearly detected.
The correlations among the others observed variables, such as microclimatic conditions, varied among the sampling dates. The results of statistical model identification do not exclude that species coexistence could influence mycotoxin production.
Conclusions: Fusarium and Alternaria mycotoxins accumulation varies heavily across the field and the sampling dates, providing the realism of landscapescale studies. Mycotoxin concentrations appear to be partially explained by biotic and abiotic variables.
Significance and Impact of the Study: We provide a useful experimental design and useful data for understanding the dynamics of mycotoxin biosynthesis in wheat.
This study investigates the non-destructive detection of delaminations in concrete plates using non-contact laser ablation, instead of the conventional hammer excitation, as part of the impact echo method. We performed tests on five concrete specimens of different sizes, two of which contained artificial delaminations. A range of steel ball hammers was used as reference impulse sources, the responses of which were compared with wave excitation generated by a 7 ns pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser with 150 mJ pulse energy. Signals were recorded by surface-mounted accelerometers and two contactless methods: microphones and a laser Doppler vibrometer. The laser generates frequencies across a broad range of frequencies (0 to 150 kHz) but with much less energy than the hammers' narrower frequency spectra; the laser pulse energy transferred into the specimen is 0.07 mJ, corresponding to about 0.5 ‰ of the impulse source energy. Because of this, the thick intact plates' characteristic thickness stretch resonance frequency can be reliably detected by the hammer excitations but not when using laser excitation. However, the laser can excite low-frequency flexural vibration modes over a shallow delamination at 3 cm depth. The low-frequency flexural vibration results are verified by numerical natural frequency analysis.
The Burning of Plastics
(2021)
The burning of a polymer is a physico–chemical process strongly influenced by the coupling of a chemical reaction – oxidation of fuel – in the gas phase with a chemical decomposition reaction – pyrolysis – in the condensed phase via heat and mass transfer. The heat and mass flux control the intensity of fire and the ablation of fuel. Indeed, the temperature profile as a function of time may be one of the most important responses of a specimen to understand its burning behavior. Further, several physical phenomena, such as the heat absorption of the materials, thermal conductivity, and also melt flow and dripping, play a major role in determining ignition, flammability, and fire behavior. The burning of a polymer is very complex. The various phenomena interact with each other, e. g., pyrolysis also influences the viscosity of the melt, and, thus, whether dripping or charring results in a protective layer, increasing the shielding effect of the residual protective layer. Only a detailed and comprehensive description opens the door to a well-founded understanding of the burning behavior of polymeric materials.
While noncovalent interactions at two-dimensional nanobiointerfaces are extensively investigated, less knowledge about covalent interactions at this interface is available. In this work, boronic acid-functionalized 2D MoS2 was synthesized and its covalent multivalent interactions with bacteria and nematodes were investigated. Polymerization of glycidol by freshly exfoliated MoS2 and condensation of 2,5-thiophenediylbisboronic acid on the produced platform resulted in boronic acid-functionalized 2D MoS2. The destructive interactions between 2D MoS2 and bacteria as well as nematodes were significantly amplified by boronic acid functional groups. Because of the high antibacterial and antinematodal activities of boronic acid-functionalized 2D MoS2, its therapeutic efficacy for diabetic wound healing was investigated. The infected diabetic wounds were completely healed 10 days after treatment with boronic acid-functionalized 2D MoS2, and a normal structure for recovered tissues including different layers of skin, collagen, and blood vessels was detected.
The maximum explosion overpressure and the maximum rate of pressure rise, which characterize thedust explosion severity, are commonly measured in apparatuses and under specific conditions defined byinternational standards. However, those standards conditions, designed for micropowders, may not befully adapted to nanoparticles. Investigations were conducted on different nanopowders (nanocellulose,carbon black, aluminum) to illustrate their specific behaviors and highlight the potential inadequacyof the standards. The influence of the sample preparation was explored. Various testing procedureswere compared, focusing on the dust cloud turbulence and homogeneity. Dust dispersion experimentsevidenced the importance of the characterization of the dust cloud after dispersion, due to the frag-mentation of agglomerates, using metrics relevant with nanoparticles reactivity (e.g. surface diameterinstead of volume diameter). Moreover, the overdriving phenomenon (when the experimental resultsbecome dependent of the ignition energy), already identified for micropowders, can be exacerbated fornanoparticles due to their low minimum ignition energy and to the high energy used under standardconditions. It was evidenced that for highly sensitive nanopowders, pre-ignition phenomenon can occur.Finally, during severe explosions and due to a too long opening delay of the ‘fast acting valve’, the flamecan go back to the dust container.
The development of a test to evaluate the degradation of semi-volatile fuels as diesel by microorganisms is presented. This method is based on the principles described in the CEC-L-103 Standard procedure that is exclusively meant for testing the biodegradability of non-volatile lubricants. Therefore, significant modifications involve aseptic conditions for testing specific microorganisms and conducting the test in closed vessels avoiding evaporation losses, while fuel quantification using gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) is retained. It is suggested that the modified procedure should enable routine application for semi-volatile hydrocarbon-based fuels. GC-FID provides additionally valuable information on the alteration of fuel component patterns during biodegradation. The procedure was successfully tested using two bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Sphingomonas sp.) and two yeasts (Moesziomyces sp. and Candida sp.) isolated from real diesel contamination cases. All tested microorganisms caused a significant degradation of diesel fuel achieving hydrocarbon degradation percentages ranging from 23% to 35%. Specific aspects on the test modification and prospects for further modification regarding targeted investigations in the field of fuel contamination by microorganisms are briefly discussed.
Introduction on BAM developments in the project “Microbially Induced Corrosion” (MIC) for new analytical tool, surface modifications and bacterial biofilm developments in the course of the ICBM-Colloquia at the Institut für Chemie und Biologie des Meeres (ICBM) of the Carl-von-Ossietzky-University in Oldenburg.
Presentation of the MIC-project (Microbially Induced Corrosion) within the focus area Materials of the BAM. Strategies, developments and innovations in the area of analytical tools, surface modifications, polymer stability and biofilm-enhanced deteriorations of materials in the context of microbially induced corrosion processes.
Microbially induced corrosion (MIC) is a severe cost and risk factor for the oil and gas industry, water heat- and cooling systems, waste water management, and infrastructural constructions. The industrial preventions management of MIC focuses on eliminating present microorganisms, which leads to the repeated and time-consuming application of biocides. However, biocides are often only minor effective for microorganisms that live protected from these agents in a biofilm matrix formed on material surfaces. In recent years, microbiologist have renewed our vision on the electrochemical processes underlying material corrosion induced by sulfate reducing bacteria, but the knowledge at the level of multispecies biofilm formation and the effects of material’s properties are still rather scarce.
Therefore, an interdisciplinary team of material scientists, chemists and microbiologists, established a MIC-research platform at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) to study the effects of material’s properties and biofilm formation on MIC. Using femtosecond laser pulse technology steel surfaces with defined nanostructures were manufactured. The test pieces were incubated using a flow-through chambers setup with different organisms relevant for biofilm studies. Our studies showed, that nanoscale structures severely affect the biofilm thickness and, hence, growth for health threatening organisms like E. coli and S. aureus, but also for MIC-relevant bacteria such as Fe(III)-reducing Shewanella spec.
Another aspect of the biofilm matrix is the establishment of microscale environments with conditions, such as anaerobic or acidic microenvironments, which promotes a diverse multispecies community. However, the detection and visualization of such small-scale microenvironments is rather challenging. Further, it could directly indicate the activity of microorganism influencing or inducing corrosion processes. Therefore, dye-stained nanoscale particles, bearing pH-responsive fluorophores at the surface, were developed to measure the pH at the biofilm’s surface and within the matrix using confocal laser scanning microcopy. The particles will be further advanced to measure other environmentally relevant parameters, including oxygen concentration, and concentrations of selected metal ions indicative of corrosion of e.g., materials used for water pipelines. In the future, our platform and its analytical tools will be employed to study the formation of biofilms in dependency of the respective support material, its surface properties like roughness, and the microbial community.
In the rapidly expanding composite industry, novel inspection methods have been developed in recent years. Particularly promising for air-coupled testing are cellular polypropylene transducers which offer better impedance matching to air than piezoelectric transducers. Furthermore, broadband transmitters (laser-induced ultrasound and thermoacoustic emitters) and receivers (optical microphones) have opened a completely new chapter for advanced contact-free ultra-sound inspection. X-ray dark-field radiography offers a different approach to detect porosity and microcracks, employing small angle X-ray scattering. These innovative ultrasonic and radiographic alternatives were evaluated in comparison with well-established inspection techniques. We applied thirteen different non-destructive methods to inspect the same specimen (a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminate with induced impact damage): air-coupled ultrasound testing (using piezoelectric transducers, broadband optical microphones, cellular polypropylene transducers, and a thermoa-
coustic emitter), laser-induced ultrasound testing, ultrasonic immersion testing, phased array ultrasonic testing, optically excited lock-in thermography, and X-ray radiography (projectional absorption and dark-field, tomosynthesis, and micro-computed tomography). The inspection methods were qualitatively characterized by comparing the scan results. The conclusions are advantageous for a decision on the optimal method for certain testing constraints.
The present work is focused on the study of the spectroscopic and complexometric behavior of different ion-sensitive fl uorescent probes. Three of the four types of probes studied follow a conventional principle of signal generation and their molecular constitution corresponds to either a fl uorescent ligand ( BP(OH)2), so-called intrinsic charge transfer (ICT) fl uorescent probes (donor- acceptor-substituted chalcones), or electron transfer (ET) fl uorescent probes (substituted triaryl-Δ2- pyrazolines). The latter two systems are designed in a modular way and thus, both the signal generating fl uorophore and the complexing receptor can be carefully tuned. Whereas in the case of the ICT probes both units are electronically conjugated, these moieties are more or less electronically decoupled in the ET probes and signal generation is based on the modifi cation of a long range electron transfer process. The fourth type of probe investigated, a boron dipyrromethene derivative (BDP), is also designed in a modular way. But here, due to the highly pretwisted constitution of the molecule, fl uorophore and receptor are only “virtually” decoupled. Besides employing this alternative mechanism of signal generation, control of the selectivity by carefully directed receptor design and improvement of the selectivity and sensitivity of fl uorometric metal ion analysis by recording time resolved emission spectra (TRES) were the main aims of these investigations. Furthermore, with the aid of various model compounds, NMR spectroscopy as well as quantum chemical calculations, a fundamental understanding of the photophysical behavior of the different classes of dyes was obtained. In accordance with its parent compound 2,2‘- bipyridyl, the fl uorescent ligand BP(OH)2 shows complexation induced changes of its absorption and emission behavior in the presence of heavy and transition metal ions. Whereas paramagnetic ions such as CuII or NiII (and also HgII) lead to static fl uorescence quenching, the diamagnetic ions ZnII and CdII form strongly fl uorescent complexes with ion specifi c fl uorescence lifetimes in the ns time range. Both complexes are stable in the excited state which is manifested by a strongly reduced rate constant of non radiative deactivation compared to that of the free ligand. Both the absorption and emission spectra of the complexes largely overlap and a discrimination with steady-state fl uorometry is very limited. Nevertheless, with time resolved fl uorometry a separation of both components is possible and for a series of synthetic ZnII/CdII containing samples this gain in selectivity by global analysis of the time resolved emission spectra (TRES) could be demonstrated. The intrinsic fl uorescent probes of chalcone type contain a cation selective receptor in the donor part of the molecule and show a strong decrease of the intramolecular charge transfer process due to complexation induced weakening of the donor. Depending on molecular probe design and solvent polarity, the fl uorescence of the uncomplexed molecule occurs either from a polar directly exicted (E*) or a highly polar charge transfer state (A*) which is populated via an excited state reaction involving single bond twisting. Here, competing processes include population of a non emissive polar (K*) or weakly polar (P*) transient state. Furthermore, the fl uorescence of these dyes can be quenched by energetically close lying nπ* states (in apolar solvents) or by enhanced internal conversion due to the decreasing energy gap between ground and excited state (in highly polar solvents). As mentioned above, the donor strength is reduced upon cation complexation in polar solvents and a moderate fl uorescence enhancement occurs. Besides increased fl uorescence quantum yields, this effect results in ion specifi c fl uorescence lifetimes of the complexes. Upon exchanging the aza oxa for an aza thia macrocycle in the receptor part of the system, the cation selectivity could be tuned from alkali and alkaline earth metal ions to the thiophilic metal ions AgI and HgII. Here, especially the fl uorescence enhancement in the presence of the well-known quencher HgII is analytically valuable. Upon cation binding the ET probes of the triaryl-Δ2-pyrazoline type show very small spectral shifts but much larger fl uorescence enhancement compared to the ICT probes. Again, by problem specifi c use of different receptors, the selectivities can be controlled. Based on a detailed investigation, for the 5-p-N,N-dialkylanilino-3-benzthiazol-1-phenyl-Δ2-pyrazolines, the intramolecular processes which lead to fl uorescence quencing in the unbound state and “switching on” of the fl uorescence in the complexed state could be identifi ed. For these molecules, the intramolecular charge transfer in the basic chromophore occurs in the sub ps time range and is quenched by an electron transfer process from the largely electronically decoupled receptor to the acceptor part of the basic chromophore on the ps time scale in highly polar solvents. “Virtually” decoupling fl uorophore and receptor in the BDP derivative fi nally makes it possible to yield extremely high complexation induced fl uorescence enhancement signals. For these highly pretwisted donor acceptor biaryls, the directly excited emissive state (LE) forms a highly polar, twisted charge separated charge transfer state (CT) in polar solvents. Emission of the latter is strongly forbidden and, depending on solvent polarity, is largely red shifted compared to the LE fl uorescence. Thus, a largely separated dual fl uorescence is already observed in solvents of medium polarity and in highly polar solvents both fl uorescence bands are nearly completely quenched. Metal ion complexation blocks off the CT process and leads to a “switching on” of the LE emission yielding fl uorescence enhancement factors > 1000. This process is so sensitive that for most of the cation complexes studied, two emissive complex conformers with strongly overlapping absorption and emission spectra occur which could be distinguished by their fl uorescence lifetimes.
Bei der Qualitätsbewertung von Schneidwaren aus nichtrostenden martensitischen Chrom-Stählen stellt die Überprüfung der Korrosionsbeständigkeit ein wichtiges Kriterium dar. Allgemein üblich sind Wechseltauchversuche mit relativ hohem zeitlichem und auswertungsbedingtem Aufwand, die noch dazu zerstörend sind und teilweise fragwürdige Ergebnisse liefern. In den letzten Jahren wurden neue Ansatze der Prüfung geschaffen, die eine nahezu zerstörungsfreie Kurzzeit-Korrosionsprüfung erlauben. Es wird gezeigt, dass mit dem elektrochemischen Rauschen sehr empfindlich Einflüsse des Härtens und der Oberflächenbehandlung auf die Korrosionsbeständigkeit nachgewiesen werden können, wodurch eine schnelle und objektive Qualitätsbewertung innerhalb des Fertigungsprozesses und der Endkontrolle von Produkten möglich ist. Das für die Prüfmethodik ausgenutzte Phänomen des elektrochemischen Rauschens zielt darauf ab, den Beginn der Korrosion empfindlich und schnell zu detektieren, ohne die Prüfbedingungen maßlos zu verschärfen und Produkte damit zu zerstören. Neben der Funktionalität der Prüfung stehen aber auch die Anwenderfreundlichkeit und somit die Akzeptanz bei den Herstellern im Vordergrund. Aus diesem Grund wurde zusätzlich ein Indikatortest (KorroPad) als praxistaugliche Alternative zum elektrochemischen Rauschen angewendet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine gute Übereinstimmung beider Methoden und ermöglichen eine effektive betriebliche Qualitätsüberwachung von Schneidwaren.
Welded components of P91 9% Cr steel demand for careful welding fabrication with necessary post weld heat treatment (PWHT). Before the PWHT, a hydrogen removal heat treatment is necessary for avoidance of hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC). In this context, the microstructure and temperature-dependent hydrogen diffusion is important, and reliable diffusion coefficients of P91 weld metal are rare. For that reason, the diffusion behavior of P91 multi-layer weld metal was investigated for as-welded (AW) and PWHT condition by electrochemical permeation experiments at room temperature and carrier gas hot extraction (CGHE) from 100 to 400 °C. Hydrogen diffusion coefficients were calculated, and the corresponding hydrogen
concentration was measured. It was ascertained that both heat treatment conditions show significant differences. At room
temperature the AW condition showed significant hydrogen trapping expressed by to seven times lower diffusion coefficients. A preferred diffusion direction was found in perpendicular direction expressed by high permeability. The CGHE experiments
revealed lower diffusion coefficients for the AW condition up to 400 °C. In this context, a hydrogen concentration of approximately 21 ml/100 g was still trapped at 100 °C. For that reason, a certain HAC susceptibility of as-welded P91 weld metal cannot
be excluded, and hydrogen removal should be done before PWHT.
The overall interest in nanotoxicity, triggered by the increasing use of nanomaterials in the material and life sciences, and the synthesis of an ever increasing number of new functional nanoparticles calls for standardized test procedures1,2 and for efficient approaches to screen the potential genotoxicity of these materials. Aiming at the development of fast and easy to use, automated microscopic methods for the determination of the genotoxicity of different types of nanoparticles, we assess the potential of the fluorometric γH2AX assay for this purpose. This assay, which can be run on an automated microscopic detection system, relies on the detection of DNA double strand breaks as a sign for genotoxicity3. Here, we provide first results obtained with broadly used nanomaterials like CdSe/CdS and InP/ZnS quantum dots as well as iron oxide, gold, and polymer particles of different surface chemistry with previously tested colloidal stability and different cell lines like Hep-2 and 8E11 cells, which reveal a dependence of the genotoxicity on the chemical composition as well as the surface chemistry of these nanomaterials. These studies will be also used to establish nanomaterials as positive and negative genotoxicity controls or standards for assay performance validation for users of this fluorometric genotoxicity assay. In the future, after proper validation, this microscopic platform technology will be expanded to other typical toxicity assays.
(Bio)geochemical cycling of gold (Au) has been demonstrated in present-day (semi)-arid, (sub)-tropical and temperate environment. Hereby biofilms on Au-bearing mineral- and Au-particle surfaces drive Au dispersion and reconcentration, thereby (trans)forming the particles. However, it is unknown if biogeochemical cycling of Au occurs in polar environments, where air temperatures can reach −40 °C and soils remain frozen for much of the year. Therefore, placer Au-particles, soils and waters were collected at two placer mining districts in arctic Finland, i.e., the Ivalojoki and Lemmenjoki goldfields. Sites were chosen based on contrasting settings ((glacio)-fluvial vs. glacial-till deposits) and depths (surface to 5m below current surface). Gold particles were studied using a combination of tagged 16S rRNA gene next generation sequencing and electron microscopic/microanalytical techniques. Across all sites a range of Au-particle morphologies were observed, including morphotypes indicative of Au dissolution and aggregation. Elevated Au concentrations indicative of Au mobility were detected in placer particle bearing soils at both districts. Typically Au-particles were coated by polymorphic biofilm layers composed of living and dead cells embedded in extracellular polymeric substances. Intermixed were biominerals, clays and iron-sulfides/oxides and abundant secondary Au morphotypes, i.e., nano-particles, microcrystals, sheet-like Au, branched Au networks and overgrowths and secondary rims. Biofilms communities were composed of Acidobacteria (18.3%), Bacteroidetes (15.1%) and Proteobacteria (47.1%), with β-Proteobacteria (19.5%) being the most abundant proteobacterial group. Functionally, biofilms were composed of taxa contributing to biofilm establishment, exopolymer production and nutrient cycling, abundant taxa capable of Au mobilization, detoxification and biomineralization, among them Cupriavidus metallidurans, Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas spp., were detected. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that placer Au-particle transformation and Au dispersion occur in cold, arctic environments. This corroborates the existence of biogeochemical Au cycling in present-day cold environments.
Glass powders are promising candidates for manufacturing a broad diversity of sintered materials like sintered glass-ceramics, glass matrix composites, glass bonded ceramics or pastes. Powder processing, however, can substantially affect sinterability, e.g. by promoting surface crystallization. On the other hand, densification can be hindered by gas bubble formation for slow crystallizing glass powders. Against this background, we studied sintering and foaming of silicate glass powders with different crystallization tendency for wet milling and dry milling in air, Ar, N2, and CO2 by means of heating microscopy, DTA, Vacuum Hot Extraction (VHE), SEM, IR spectroscopy, XPS, and ToF-SIMS. In any case, foaming activity increased significantly with progressive milling. For moderately milled glass powders, subsequent storage in air could also promote foaming. Contrarily, foaming could be substantially reduced by milling in water and 10 wt% HCl. Although all powder compacts were uniaxially pressed and sintered in air, foaming was significantly affected by different milling atmosphere and was found most pronounced for milling in CO2 atmosphere. Conformingly, VHE studies revealed that foaming is mainly driven by carbonaceous species, even for powders milled in other gases. Current results of this study thus indicate that foaming is caused by carbonaceous species trapped on the glass powder surface.
Singlet oxygen can severely damage biological tissue, which is exploited in photodynamic therapy (PDT). In PDT, the effective range is limited by the distribution of the photosensitizer (PS) and the illuminated area. However, no distinction is made between healthy and pathological tissue, which can cause undesired damage. This encouraged us to exploit the more acidic pH of cancerous tissue and design pH-controllable singlet oxygen-generating boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes. A pH sensitivity of the dyes is achieved by the introduction of an electronically decoupled, photoinduced electron transfer (PET)-capable subunit in meso-position of the BODIPY core. To favor triplet-state formation as required for singlet Oxygen generation, iodine substituents were introduced at the chromophore core. The resulting pH-controlled singlet oxygen-generating dyes with pKa values in the physiological range were subsequently assessed regarding their potential as pH-controlled PS for PDT.
Using HeLa cells, we could successfully demonstrate markedly different pH-dependent cytotoxicities upon illumination.
A set of highly fluorescent, pH-responsive boron dipyrromethene dyes covering the pH range of 5-12 is presented for broad range pH measurements in mixed aqueous-organic median and polymer matrices. Readout in the intensity Domain with low cost and miniaturized Instrumentation utilizes reversible protonation induced switching ON of their initially completely quenched flourescence mediated by photoinduced electron Transfer. All dyes, rationally designed to reveal closely matching Absorption and Emission properties, are accessible via facile two-step reactions in Overall yields of up to 20%. By modifying the Substitution pattern of the meso-Aryl substiuent, the pKa values could be fine-tuned from 6 to 11. Integration of these molecules into polymeric films by a simple mixing procedure yielded reversible and longterm stable pH sensors for naked eye detection.
We report on the temperature- and structural-dependent optical properties and photophysics of a set of boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes with different substitution patterns of their meso-aryl subunit. Single-crystal Xray diffraction analysis of the compounds enabled a classification of the dyes into a sterically hindered and a unhindered group. The steric hindrance refers to a blocked rotational motion of the aryl subunit around the bond connecting this moiety to the meso-position of the BODIPY core. The energy barriers related to this rotation were simulated by DFT calculations. As follows from the relatively low rotational barrier calculated to about 17 kcal/mol, a free rotation is only possible for sterically unhindered compounds. Rotational barriers of more than 40 kcal/mol determined for the sterically hindered compounds suggest an effective freezing of the rotational motion in These molecules. With the aid of temperature-dependent spectroscopic measurements, we could show that the ability to rotate directly affects the optical properties of our set of BODIPY dyes. This accounts for the strong temperature dependence of the fluorescence of the sterically unhindered compounds which show a drastic decrease in fluorescence quantum yield and a significant shortening in fluorescence lifetime upon heating. The optical properties of the sterically hindered compounds, however, are barely affected by temperature. Our results suggest a nonradiative deactivation of the first excited singlet state of the sterically unhindered compounds caused by a conical intersection of the potential energy surfaces of the Ground and first excited state which is accessible by rotation of the meso-subunit. This is in good agreement with previously reported deactivation mechanisms. In addition, our results suggest the presence of a second nonradiative depopulation pathway of the first excited singlet state which is particularly relevant for the sterically hindered compounds.
We present the design and fabrication of pH responsive ratiometric dual component sensor systems based on multicolor emissive upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) and pH sensitive BODIPY dyes with tunable pKa values embedded into a polymeric hydrogel matrix. The use of NIR excitable NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ UCNPs enables background free read-out. Furthermore, the spectrally matching optical properties of the UCNPs and the dyes allow the UCNPs to serve as excitation light source for the analyteresponsive BODIPY as well as intrinsic reference. The blue upconversion luminescence (UCL) of NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ UCNPs excited at 980 nm, that overlaps with the absorption of the pH-sensitive fluorophore, provides reabsorption based excitation of the dye, the spectrally distinguishable green fluorescence of which is switched ON upon protonation, preventing photoinduced electron transfer (PET) within the dye moiety, and the pH-inert red UCL act as reference. The intensities ratios of the dye’s fluorescence and the analyte-inert red Tm3+ UCL correlate directly with pH, which was successfully utilized for Monitoring timedependent pH changes of a suspension of quiescent E. coli metabolizing D-glucose.
Kurzpräsentation zur Vorstellung der Promotionsthematik während der SpringSchool der UpCon2016 in Polen.
With the aim of improving limits of detection (LOD) of trace elements in a matrix with adjacent fluorescence energies, a simple double dispersive X-ray fluorescence detection system (D2XRF) was constructed to operate at the beamlines BAMline and the mySpot @ BESSY II. This system is based on the combination of a crystal analyzer with an energy resolving single photon counting pnCCD. Without further collimators, the efficient suppression of the background by the pnCCD and the good energy resolution of the crystal results in improved LOD. In first order reflections, an energy resolution of 13 eV for Cu Kα was reached, and an energy range of 1 keV was covered in one shot.
This new system was applied to the detection of platinum (Pt) in gold leaves with a LOD of 0.9 mg/kg, which is the lowest attained by totally non-destructive methods nowadays. The presence of Pt in gilded objects from Abydos and Byzantine mosaics provides vital information, as it indicates the alluvial origin of the gold for these examples.
In order to study the time- and temperature-dependent long-term behavior of metal seals, experimental investigations on special metal seals have been carried out at five different temperatures in a temperature range between 20 and 150°C for more than 7 years. Experimental results indicate a noticeable change of relevant sealing properties like seal force and usable resilience depending on time and temperature. In this study, the metal seals are treated as a homogeneous material block so that the identified decrease in seal force can be treated as a material relaxation effect. For the time-dependent behavior of seal force, an enhanced power-law model is introduced for the first time and is compared with the currently used power-law model. Additionally, regarding the influence of temperature, the timetemperature superposition principle is applied to metal seals for the first time with a clearly defined process. Thus, possible mistakes in the application of principle could be avoided. The introduced method is widely available for different applications regarding effects the principle with time and temperature.
The influence of second phase arrangements on the corrosion resistance of extruded Mg97Y2Zn1 alloy has been evaluated in a 0.1 M NaCl solution. The microstructure of the alloy consists of a high volume fraction of coarse elongated particles of a long period stacking ordered phase aligned along the extrusion direction. Corrosion rate of transversal sections is lower than that of longitudinal sections. Such difference is attributed to the different orientation of second phases in longitudinal and transversal sections. The corrosion front advances mainly perpendicular to the surface in transversal samples while perpendicular and lateral growth occur in longitudinal samples
Methane emission by terrestrial invertebrates is restricted to millipedes, termites, cockroaches, and scarab beetles. The arthropod-associated archaea known to date belong to the orders Methanobacteriales, Methanomassiliicoccales, Methanomicrobiales, and Methanosarcinales, and in a few cases also to nonmethanogenic Nitrososphaerales and Bathyarchaeales. However, all major host groups are severely undersampled, and the taxonomy of existing lineages is not well developed. Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences and genomes of arthropod-associated archaea are scarce, reference databases lack resolution, and the names of many taxa are either not validly published or under-classified and require revision. Here, we investigated the diversity of archaea in a wide range of methane-emitting arthropods, combining phylogenomic analysis of isolates and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) with amplicon sequencing of full-length 16S rRNA genes. Our results allowed us to describe numerous new species in hitherto undescribed taxa among the orders Methanobacteriales (Methanacia, Methanarmilla, Methanobaculum, Methanobinarius, Methanocatella, Methanoflexus, Methanorudis, and Methanovirga, all gen. nova), Methanomicrobiales (Methanofilum and Methanorbis, both gen. nova), Methanosarcinales (Methanofrustulum and Methanolapillus, both gen. nova), Methanomassiliicoccales (Methanomethylophilaceae fam. nov., Methanarcanum, Methanogranum, Methanomethylophilus, Methanomicula, Methanoplasma, Methanoprimaticola, all gen. nova), and the new family Bathycorpusculaceae (Bathycorpusculum gen. nov.). Reclassification of amplicon libraries from this and previous studies using this new taxonomic framework revealed that arthropods harbor only CO2 and methyl-reducing hydrogenotrophic methanogens.
Numerous genus-level lineages appear to be present exclusively in arthropods,suggesting long evolutionary trajectories with their termite, cockroach, and millipede hosts, and a radiation into various microhabitats and ecological nichesprovided by their digestive tracts (e.g., hindgut compartments, gut wall, or anaerobic protists). The distribution patterns among the different host groups are often complex, indicating a mixed mode of transmission and a parallel evolution of invertebrate and vertebrate-associated lineages.
Four donor-acceptor boron difluoride complexes based on the carbazole electron donor and the [1,3,5,2]oxadiazaborinino[3,4-a][1,8]naphthyridine acceptor were designed, synthesized, and systematically spectroscopically investigated in solutions, in the solid states, and dye-doped polymer films. The dyes exhibit an intense blue to red solid-state emission with photoluminescence quantum yields of up to 56% in pure dye samples and 86% in poly(methyl methacrylate) films. All boron complexes show aggregation-induced emission and reversible mechanofluorochromism. The optical properties of these dyes and their solid state luminescence can be tuned by substitution pattern, i.e., the substituents at the naphthyridine unit. Exchange of CH3- for CF3-groups does not only increase the intramolecular charge transfer character, but also provides a crystallization-induced emission enhancement.
Mechanisms of olivine dissolution by rock-inhabiting fungi explored using magnesium stable isotopes
(2019)
To unravel the dissolution mechanisms of olivine by a rock-inhabiting fungus we determined the stable isotope ratios of Mg on solutions released in a laboratory experiment. We found that in the presence of the fungus Knufia petricola the olivine dissolution rates were about seven-fold higher (1.04×10−15 mol cm−2 s−1) than those in the abiotic experiments (1.43×10−16 mol cm−2 s−1) conducted under the same experimental condition (pH 6, 25 °C, 94 days). Measured element concentrations and Mg isotope ratios in the supernatant solutions in both the biotic and the abiotic experiment followed a dissolution trend in the initial phase of the experiment, characterized by non-stoichiometric release of Mg and Si and preferential release of 24Mg over 26Mg. In a later phase, the data indicates stoichiometric release of Mg and Si, as well as isotopically congruent Mg release. We Attribute the initial non-stoichiometric phase to the rapid replacement of Mg2+ in the olivine with H+ along with simultaneous polymerization of Si tetrahedra, resulting in high dissolution rates, and the stoichiometric phase to be influenced by the accumulation of a Si-rich amorphous layer that slowed olivine dissolution. We attribute the accelerated dissolution of olivine during the biotic experiment to physical attachment of K. petricola to the Si-richamorphous layer of olivine which potentially results in ist direct exposure to protons released by the fungal cells. These additional protons can diffuse through the Si-rich amorphous layer into the crystalline olivine. Our results also indicate the ability of K. petricola to dissolve Fe precipitates in the Si-rich amorphous layer either by protonation, or by Fe(III) chelation with siderophores. Such dissolution of Fe precipitates increases the porosity of the Si-rich amorphous layer and hence enhances olivine dissolution. The acceleration of mineral dissolution in the presence of a rock-dissolving fungus further suggests that its presence in surficial CO2 sequestration plants may aid to accelerate CO2 binding.
The therapeutic value of antibiotics depends on the susceptibility of the infecting microorganism and the pharmacological profile of the drugs. To assess the value of an antibiotic combination of polymyxin B and miconazole this study examined the in vitro synergistic potential of the two drugs on Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and yeast. Antifungal and antibacterial activity was tested by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of broth macrodilution and urea broth microdilution, by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Synergism was calculated using the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICi). With Staphylococcus intermedius as target we found up to an eightfold reduction of the individual MICs when both drugs were combined. However, the FICi was 0.63 suggesting no real interaction between the two drugs. With Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Malassezia pachydermatis as targets the antimicrobial drug combination reduced the MICs of polymyxin B and miconazole from fourfold to hundredfold resulting in FICi between 0.06 and 0.5 which defines a synergistic action. Thus, if polymyxin B and miconazole are combined their effect is greater than the sum of the effects observed with polymyxin B and miconazole independently, revealing bactericidal and fungicidal synergism. Our results indicate a strong therapeutic value for the combination of these antimicrobial agents against Gram-negative bacteria and yeast and a weaker value against Gram positive bacteria for clinical situations where these pathogens are involved.
Antimicrobial touch surfaces have been introduced in healthcare settings with the aim of supporting existing hygiene procedures, and to help combat the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance. However, concerns have been raised over the potential selection pressure exerted by such surfaces, which may drive the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. This review highlights studies that indicate risks associated with resistance on antimicrobial surfaces by different processes, including evolution by de-novo mutation and horizontal gene transfer, and species sorting of inherently resistant bacteria dispersed on to antimicrobial surfaces. The review focuses on antimicrobial surfaces made of copper, silver and antimicrobial peptides because of the practical application of copper and silver, and the promising characteristics of antimicrobial peptides. The available data point to a potential for resistance selection and a subsequent increase in resistant strains via cross-resistance and co-resistance conferred by metal and antibiotic resistance traits. However, translational studies describing the development of resistance to antimicrobial touch surfaces in healthcare-related environments are rare, and will be needed to assess whether and how antimicrobial surfaces lead to resistance selection in These settings. Such studies will need to consider numerous variables, including the antimicrobial concentrations present in coatings, the occurrence of biofilms on surfaces, and the humidity relevant to dry-surface environments. On-site tests on the efficacy of antimicrobial Coatings should routinely evaluate the risk of selection associated with their use.
Introduction: Biofilms are regarded as a common cause of chronic infections on medical devices. Preventive and therapeutic strategies against biofilm infections commonly involve applications of multiple antimicrobial substances: antimicrobial coatings on the implanted biomaterials in combination with systemically administered antibiotics. While this practice of combination therapy harbours the risk of developing cross-resistance, it might also provide the possibility to implement specific antimicrobial-antibiotic combinations (AACs) that can slow down the selection of antibiotic resistant strains.
Hypothesis and aims: Specific AACs can exert combinatorial effects on the growth of susceptible and antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa that either suppress or increase their individual effects.
Our aim is to identify AACs with antagonistic or synergistic effects on pseudomonal biofilms and to understand their impact on selection of resistant strains. Specifically, we want to identify AACs that select for and against antibiotic resistance during biofilm formation.
Methodology: We screened for AACs that cause antagonistic or synergistic effects on planktonic P. aeruginosa.
To study the effect of antimicrobial-antibiotic exposure on resistance selection in bacterial biofilms, we will grow resistant and sensitive strains on PDMS surfaces with and without antimicrobial coatings and expose them to antibiotics.
Results: Several combinations with synergistic or antagonistic interaction on the growth rate of P. aeruginosa were detected. We observed a strong antagonism when combining the antimicrobial substance chlorhexidine with the carbapenem drug meropenem. A meropenem-resistant mutant showed a selection advantage in low concentrations of chlorhexidine combined with a sub-inhibitory concentration of meropenem over the wild-type. No antagonistic effect was observed for the same combination when E. coli was exposed to chlorhexidine and meropenem, suggesting a non-chemical basis for the observed effect on P. aeruginosa.
Conclusion: Gaining a better understanding about resistance selection during biofilm formation on biomedical surfaces will enable us to mitigate against biofilm-associated antimicrobial resistance.
Selection of resistance in bacteria grown on antimicrobial surfaces in a multidrug environment
(2018)
Bacterial biofilms are regarded as the most common cause of chronic infections and are often associated with medical devices, such as implants and catheters. Bacteria growing in biofilms produce a protective, extracellular matrix, which enables them to tolerate much higher antimicrobial concentrations than free-living bacteria and survive long enough to acquire antimicrobial resistance. Preventive and therapeutic strategies against biofilm infections in clinical settings commonly involve the application of multiple antimicrobials: antimicrobial coatings on the biomaterials and systemically administered antibiotics. This frequent practice harbors the risk of the development of cross-resistance via shared resistance mechanisms between antimicrobials used in material coatings and administered antibiotics.
Our goal is to determine how population dynamics within biofilms affect the transmission of resistance mutations. Specifically, we want to identify antimicrobial-antibiotic-combinations that select for and against antibiotic resistance in biofilms by following the population dynamics of resistant and susceptible strains in competition assays. Gaining a better understanding about resistance development and spread in persistent biofilm infections will enable us to provide clinical recommendations for improved administration of antibiotics/antimicrobials in combination with medical device materials to mitigate against biofilm associated antimicrobial resistance.
Here, we will discuss our first findings on the effects of combinations of the carbapenem drug meropenem and various antimicrobials.
The growing need to implement sensors such as NIR or Raman spectroscopy for the in-situ monitoring of bioprocesses which follows the standards of Quality by Design is either restricted by the impact of the huge water signal or by a disturbing fluorescence background originating from compounds in the culture media. Furthermore, the characterization of the bioprocess samples is challenging due to changing conditions in course of cultivation.
Here we evaluate two different process-suitable Raman spectroscopic approaches, namely time-gated Raman which bears the potential to extract the Raman signal from the fluorescence background, and cw- Raman with NIR excitation in combination with Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy- (SERS) to investigate cell-free supernatants of Escherichia coli sampled over the course of a cultivation. A confocal Raman microscope was used as a reference for the process devices. The concentration of the analytes, glucose, acetate as well as metabolites such as cAMP, AMP and amino-acids were determined by offline by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to serve as reference for the calibration of the Raman and SERS spectral data.
Multivariate evaluation of the Raman and SERS spectra by Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) yielded for most of the analytes robust correlations at each sampling point. Repeated investigation of the off-line samples over a larger experimental period suggested not only a high reliability of the Raman data in general but also a high repeatability of the SERS experiments. Similar spectral features in different quality and signal/noise ratios were measured with all three set-ups. Major results of the comparison of the different Raman spectroscopic approaches and their combination with SERS are summarized and conclusions are drawn on which approach provides the most accurate concentration data among the target analytes.
Acknowledgement
The authors kindly thank Mario Birkholz (IHP, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany) for the opportunity to use a confocal Raman microscope, Alex Bunker and Tapani Viitala (Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Centre for Drug Research, University of Helsinki, Finland).
The evolutionary success of termites has been driven largely by a complex communication system operated by a rich set of exocrine glands. As many as 20 different exocrine organs are known in termites. While some of these organs are relatively well known, only anecdotal observations exist for others. One of the exocrine organs that has received negligible attention so far is the labral gland. In this study, we examined the structure and ultrastructure of the Labrum in soldiers of 28 termite species. We confirm that the labral gland is present in all termite species, and comprises two secretory regions located on the ventral side of the labrum and the dorso-apical part of the hypopharynx. The Labrum of Neoisoptera has a hyaline tip, which was secondarily lost in Nasutitermitinae, Microcerotermes and species with snapping soldiers. The epithelium of the gland generally consists of class 1 secretory cells, with an addition of class 3 secretory cells in some species. A common feature of the secretory cells is the abundance of smooth endoplasmic reticulum, an organelle known to produce lipidic and often volatile secretions. Our observations suggest that the labral gland is involved in communication rather than defence as previously suggested. Our study is the first to provide a comprehensive picture of the structure of the labral gland in soldiers across all Termite taxa.
Die Material Acceleration Platform der BAM (MAPz@BAM) bündelt unsere Automatisierungs-Expertise auf dem Gebiet der Materialwissenschaft und -prüfung. Wir entwickeln modulare Experimentmodule, automatische Prüf- und Auswerteverfahren und setzen künstliche Intelligenz für eine effiziente und autonome Versuchsplanung, - vorhersage und Datenanalyse ein.
We present a new high resolution X-ray imager based on a pnCCD detector and a polycapillary optics. The properties of the pnCCD like high quantum efficiency, high energy resolution and radiation hardness are maintained, while color corrected polycapillary lenses are used to direct the fluorescence photons from every spot on a sample to a corresponding pixel on the detector. The camera is sensitive to photons from 3 to 40 keV with still 30% quantum efficiency at 20 keV. The pnCCD is operated in split frame mode allowing a high frame rate of 400 Hz with an energy resolution of 152 eV for Mn Kα (5.9 keV) at 450 kcps. In single-photon counting mode (SPC), the time, energy and position of every fluorescence photon is recorded for every frame. A dedicated software enables the visualization of the elements distribution in real time without the need of post-processing the data. A description of the key components including detector, X-ray optics and camera is given. First experiments show the capability of the camera to perform fast full-field X-Ray Fluorescence (FF-XRF) for element analysis. The imaging performance with a magnifying optics (3×) has also been successfully tested.
The development of the microbiologically influenced corrosion ( MIC ) -specific inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometry ( ICP-ToF-MS ) analytical method presented here, in combination with the investigation of steel-MIC interactions, contributes significantly to progress in instrumental MIC analysis. For this, a MIC-specific staining procedure was developed, which ensures the analysis of intact cells. It allows the analysis of archaea at a single cell level, which is extremely scarce compared to other well-characterized organisms. The detection method revealed elemental selectivity for the corrosive methanogenic strain Methanobacterium -affiliated IM1. Hence, the possible uptake of individual elements from different steel samples was investigated and results showed the cells responded at a single-cell level to the different types of supplemented elements and displayed the abilities to uptake chromium, vanadium, titanium, cobalt, and molybdenum from solid metal surfaces. The methods developed and information obtained will be used in the future to elucidate underlying mechanisms, compliment well-developed methods, such as SEM-EDS, and develop novel material protection concepts.
Deciphering microbiological influenced corrosion processes on steel with single cell-ICP-ToF-MS
(2022)
Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a highly unpredictable process dictated by the environment, microorganisms, and the respective electron source. Interaction pathways between cells and the metal surface remain unclear. The development of this novel single cell-inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometry analytical method and a MIC-specific staining procedure facilitate the investigation of steel-MIC interactions. With this it is possible to analyze the multi-elemental fingerprint of individual cells. The detection method revealed elemental selectivity for the corrosive methanogenic archaeal strain Methanobacterium-affiliated IM1. The interface between material and environmental analysis thus receives special attention, e.g., when considering MIC on solid steel. Hence, the possible uptake of individual elements from different steel samples is investigated. Results showed the cells responded at a single-cell level to the different types of supplemented elements and displayed the abilities to interact with chromium, vanadium, titanium, cobalt, and molybdenum from solid metal surfaces. The information obtained will be used in the future to elucidate underlying mechanisms and develop possible material protection concepts, thus combining modern methods of analytical sciences with materials research.
Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a highly unpredictable process dictated by the environment, microorganisms, and the respective electron source. Interaction pathways between cells and the metal surface remain unclear. The development of this novel single cell-inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometry analytical method and a MIC-specific staining procedure facilitate the investigation of steel-MIC interactions. With this it is possible to analyze the multi-elemental fingerprint of individual cells. The detection method revealed elemental selectivity for the corrosive methanogenic archaeal strain Methanobacterium-affiliated IM1. The interface between material and environmental analysis thus receives special attention, e.g., when considering MIC on solid steel. Hence, the possible uptake of individual elements from different steel samples is investigated. Results showed the cells responded at a single-cell level to the different types of supplemented elements and displayed the abilities to interact with chromium, vanadium, titanium, cobalt, and molybdenum from solid metal surfaces. The information obtained will be used in the future to elucidate underlying mechanisms and develop possible material protection concepts, thus combining modern methods of analytical sciences with materials research.
Deciphering microbiological influenced corrosion processes on steel with single cell-ICP-ToF-MS
(2022)
Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a highly unpredictable process dictated by the environment, microorganisms, and the respective electron source. Interaction pathways between cells and the metal surface remain unclear. The development of this novel single cell-inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometry analytical method and a MIC-specific staining procedure facilitate the investigation of steel-MIC interactions. With this it is possible to analyze the multi-elemental fingerprint of individual cells. The detection method revealed elemental selectivity for the corrosive methanogenic archaeal strain Methanobacterium-affiliated IM1. The interface between material and environmental analysis thus receives special attention, e.g., when considering MIC on solid steel. Hence, the possible uptake of individual elements from different steel samples is investigated. Results showed the cells responded at a single-cell level to the different types of supplemented elements and displayed the abilities to interact with chromium, vanadium, titanium, cobalt, and molybdenum from solid metal surfaces. The information obtained will be used in the future to elucidate underlying mechanisms and develop possible material protection concepts, thus combining modern methods of analytical sciences with materials research.
References.
Inductively coupled plasma-time of flight-mass spectrometry (ICP-ToF-MS) enables the analysis of the multi-element fingerprint of individual cells due to a (quasi-)simultaneous detection of about 70 elements of the periodic table. The interface between material and environmental analysis thus receives special attention, e.g., when considering corrosion processes. Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a highly unpredictable phenomenon due to the influence of the environment, microbial communities involved and the respective electron source. However, the interaction pathway between cells and the metal surface remains unclear. The development of the MIC-specific ICP-ToF-MS analytical method presented here, in combination with the investigation of steel-MIC interactions, contributes significantly to progress in instrumental MIC analysis and will enable clarification of the processes taking place. For this, a MIC-specific staining procedure was developed which ensures the analysis of intact cells. It allows the studies of archaea at a single cell level which is extremely scarce compared to other well characterized organisms. Additionally, the single cell ICP-ToF-MS is used for the analysis of archaea involved in MIC of steel. Hence, the possible uptake of individual elements from different steel samples is investigated - the information obtained will be used in the future to elucidate underlying mechanisms and develop possible material protection concepts, thus combining modern methods of analytical sciences with materials research.
Microbial communities in the immediate environment of socialized invertebrates can help to suppress pathogens, in part by synthesizing bioactive natural products. Here we characterized the core microbiomes of three termite species (genus Coptotermes) and their nest material to gain more insight into the diversity of termite-associated bacteria.
Sampling a healthy termite colony over time implicated a consolidated and highly stable microbiome, pointing toward the fact that beneficial bacterial phyla play a major role in termite fitness. In contrast, there was a significant shift in the composition of the core microbiome in one nest during a fungal infection, affecting the abundance of wellcharacterized Streptomyces species (phylum Actinobacteria) as well as less-studied bacterial phyla such as Acidobacteria. High-throughput cultivation in microplates was implemented to isolate and identify these less-studied bacterial phylogenetic group.
Amplicon sequencing confirmed that our method maintained the bacterial diversity of the environmental samples, enabling the isolation of novel Acidobacteriaceae and expanding the list of cultivated species to include two strains that may define new species within the genera Terracidiphilus and Acidobacterium.
The ageing of Fe-Cr model alloys in 0.5 % SO2 and 99.5 % Ar atmosphere was investigated to aim in a fundamental and systematic analysis of the combined oxidation and sulfidation mechanism. The crystallization and reaction paths for oxide and sulfide formation were followed in-situ by energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) in an early stage of corrosion (30 s – 24 h). For this technique, high energetic white synchrotron X-ray radiation (10-100 keV) was used as radiation source. Diffraction pattern were collected continuously in an early stage of corrosion up to 24 h during the complete ageing experiment.
The crystalline phases, growing on top of the coupons, were identified directly via their specific dhkl values. The evolution of the extracted integral intensities of specific reflections of the corrosion products as a function of time access direct information about the kinetics of the nucleation and growth. The results presented here show for iron with 2 wt% Cr wuestite formation first. Wuestite vanishes after 10 min of reaction only and magnetite and hematite appear. Magnetite formation proceeds simultaneously with sulfide formation. Sulfides growth proceeds after an incubation time, which differs for low alloyed (2 wt% Cr) and high alloyed (9 wt% Cr) material.
Measurement of changes of pH at various intracellular compartments has potential to solve questions concerning the processing of endocytosed material, regulation of the acidification process, and also acidification of vesicles destined for exocytosis. To monitor these events, the nanosized optical pH probes need to provide ratiometric signals in the optically transparent biological window, target to all relevant intracellular compartments, and to facilitate imaging at subcellular resolution without interference from the biological matrix. To meet these criteria we sensitize the surface conjugated pH sensitive indicator via an upconversion process utilizing an energy transfer from the nanoparticle to the indicator. Live cells were imaged with a scanning confocal microscope equipped with a low-energy 980 nm laser excitation, which facilitated high resolution and penetration depth into the specimen, and low phototoxicity needed for long-term imaging. Our upconversion nanoparticle resonance energy transfer based sensor with polyethylenimine-coating provides high colloidal stability, enhanced cellular uptake, and distribution across cellular compartments. This distribution was modulated with membrane integrity perturbing treatment that resulted into total loss of lysosomal compartments and a dramatic pH shift of endosomal compartments. These nanoprobes are well suited for detection of pH changes in in vitro models with high biological background fluorescence and in in vivo applications, e.g., for the bioimaging of small animal models.
Biocides used as disinfectants are important to prevent the transmission of pathogens, especially during the current antibiotic resistance crisis. This crisis is exacerbated by phenotypically tolerant persister subpopulations that can survive transient antibiotic Treatment and facilitate resistance evolution. Here, we show that E. coli displays persistence against a widely used disinfectant, benzalkonium chloride (BAC). Periodic, persister-mediated failure of disinfection rapidly selects for BAC tolerance, which is associated with reduced cell Surface charge and mutations in the lpxM locus, encoding an enzyme for lipid A biosynthesis.
Moreover, the fitness cost incurred by BAC tolerance turns into a fitness benefit in the presence of antibiotics, suggesting a selective advantage of BAC-tolerant mutants in antibiotic environments. Our findings highlight the links between persistence to disinfectants and resistance evolution to antimicrobials.
Biocides used as disinfectants are important to prevent the transmission of pathogens, especially during the current antibiotic resistance crisis. This crisis is exacerbated by phenotypically tolerant persister subpopulations which can survive transient antibiotic treatment and facilitate resistance evolution. Despite the transient nature of disinfection, knowledge concerning persistence to disinfectants and its link to resistance evolution is currently lacking. Here, we show that E. coli displays persistence against a widely used disinfectant benzalkonium chloride (BAC). Periodic, persister-mediated failure of disinfection rapidly selects for BAC tolerance. BAC tolerance is associated with reduced cell surface charge and mutations in the novel tolerance locus lpxM. Moreover, the fitness cost incurred by BAC tolerance turned into a fitness benefit in the presence of antibiotics, suggesting a selective advantage of BAC-tolerant mutants in antibiotic environments. Our findings provide a mechanistic underpinning for the faithful application of disinfectants to prevent multi-drug-resistance evolution and to steward the efficacy of biocides and antibiotics.
Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are widely used as active agents in disinfectants, antiseptics, and preservatives. Despite being in use since the 1940s, there remain multiple open questions regarding their detailed mode-of-action and the mechanisms, including phenotypic heterogeneity, that can make bacteria less susceptible to QACs. To facilitate studies on resistance mechanisms towards QACs, we synthesized a fluorescent quaternary ammonium compound, namely N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethyl-[2-[(4-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-7-yl)amino]ethyl]azanium-iodide (NBD-DDA). NBD-DDA is readily detected by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy with standard GFP/FITC-settings, making it suitable for molecular and single-cell studies. As a proof-of-concept, NBD-DDA was then used to investigate resistance mechanisms which can be heterogeneous among individual bacterial cells. Our results reveal that the antimicrobial activity of NBD-DDA against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa is comparable to that of benzalkonium chloride (BAC), a widely used QAC, and benzyl-dimethyl-dodecylammonium chloride (BAC12), a mono-constituent BAC with alkyl-chain length of 12 and high structural similarity to NBD-DDA. Characteristic time-kill kinetics and increased tolerance of a BAC tolerant E. coli strain against NBD-DDA suggest that the mode of action of NBD-DDA is similar to that of BAC. As revealed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), NBD-DDA is preferentially localized to the cell envelope of E. coli, which is a primary target of BAC and other QACs. Leveraging these findings and NBD-DDA‘s fluorescent properties, we show that reduced cellular accumulation is responsible for the evolved BAC tolerance in the BAC tolerant E. coli strain and that NBD-DDA is subject to efflux mediated by TolC. Overall, NBD-DDA’s antimicrobial activity, its fluorescent properties, and its ease of detection render it a powerful tool to study resistance mechanisms of QACs in bacteria and highlight its potential to gain detailed insights into its mode-of-action.
The exposure to antimicrobial substances drives the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. Biocides are antimicrobials used as disinfectants, antiseptics and preservatives. They find application on a large scale in the industrial and medical sector, but also in private households. In terms of mass, the worldwide use of biocides exceeds that of antibiotics. Thus, despite their important role in preventing the spread of pathogens, due to their ubiquity, biocides are suspected to be drivers of the antimicrobial resistance crisis. In our work at BAM we try to understand how biocides contribute to the emergence of AMR, what the underlying adaptation principles and mechanisms are and how they compare to those found for antibiotics. Within our group, I mainly focus on the following two questions: How does phenotypic heterogeneity in bacteria affect the ability to survive treatment with biocides? And what are the consequences of phenotypic heterogeneity for the evolution of resistance to biocides and antibiotics?
I will share published and unpublished results which demonstrate that phenotypic heterogeneity can enable the survival of biocide treatment and, through this, facilitate the evolution of AMR. On the other hand, we find that adaptation to a biocide can unexpectedly impair the ability to evolve resistance against an antibiotic.
Phenotypic heterogeneity in disinfection: sources and consequences for antimicrobial resistance
(2022)
A summary of projects here at BAM which investigate the influence of phenotypic heterogeneity on the outcome of disinfection and the influence on antimicrobial resistance. This presentation was given in the Theory Seminar of the Quantitative and Theoretical Biology group of Prof. Oliver Ebenhöh at HHU Düsseldorf
The exposure to antimicrobial substances drives the evolution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Biocides are antimicrobials used as disinfectants, antiseptics and preservatives. They find application on a large scale in the industrial and medical sector, but also in private households. In terms of mass, the worldwide use of biocides exceeds that of antibiotics. Thus, despite their important role in preventing the spread of pathogens, due to their ubiquity, biocides are suspected to be drivers of the antimicrobial resistance crisis. In our work we try to understand how biocides contribute to the emergence of AMR, what the underlying adaptation principles and mechanisms are and how they compare to those found for antibiotics.
Here, I present results which demonstrate that phenotypic heterogeneity in E. coli, namely the formation of tolerant persister cells, can enable the survival of disinfection and consequentially facilitate the evolution of AMR. Using experimental evolution that selects for tolerance, we find that mutations in lipid A biosynthesis arise following periodic treatment with benzalkonium chloride (BAC), a widely used disinfectant. BAC tolerance is associated with additional, diverse mutations as well as changes in the susceptibility to antibiotics from different classes and changes in motility and biofilm formation, suggesting extensive regulatory re-wiring in the evolved clones. Remarkably, we find that fitness costs (growth rate reduction) incurred by BAC tolerance are alleviated in the presence of antibiotics. These findings demonstrate the complexity underlying the adaptation to antimicrobials and highlight the links between persistence to disinfectants and resistance evolution to antimicrobials.
Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to human health. The prevalence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria is predicted to increase in the future requiring robust control strategies. One cornerstone to prevent the spread of MDR bacteria in clinical settings is the application of disinfectants to improve hygiene standards. However, bacteria can evolve resistance to disinfectants, which in turn can confer cross-resistance to antibiotics. Additionally, clonal bacterial populations can display phenotypic heterogeneity with respect to the tolerance of antibiotic stress leading to a prolonged survival of a sub-population; this phenomenon is termed persistence. Persistence to antibiotics is an evolvable trait and can serve as a stepping stone for the evolution of genetically encoded resistance. Until now, there is a lack of systematic studies that investigate if bacterial populations establish persister subpopulations that tolerate disinfectant stress longer than the majority of the population. Our results in E. coli indicate that persistence is a bacterial survival strategy against benzalkonium chloride, a widely used disinfectant.
In future experiments, we will investigate the evolution of persistence in the face of fluctuating exposure to disinfectants and whether persistence facilitates resistance against disinfectants. Lastly, we will test how tolerance and resistance against disinfectants affects susceptibility against antibiotics.
The global rise of antibiotic resistance has made the proper use of disinfectants more important than ever. Their application in clinical l settings is an integral part of antibiotics stewardship by preventing the occurrence and spread of infections. However, improper use of disinfectants also harbours the risk for the evolution of tolerance and resistance to disinfectants, but also to antibiotics. It is therefore crucial to understand whether and how bacteria can survive chemical disinfection and which conditions facilitate the evolution of tolerance and resistance.
Here, we study the heterogeneity in the response of isogenic E. coli populations exposed to different levels of commonly used disinfectants. At concentrations below the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), we find that certain disinfectants induce prolonged lag times in individual cells, a phenotype that has been associated with persistence against antibiotics. At concentrations above the MIC, we find heterogeneous killing for a range of the tested substances. Interestingly, for the three cationic surfactants that were tested, we find kill kinetics revealing the presence of a tolerant subpopulation that can withstand disinfection longer than most of the population. We will present results from an ongoing evolution experiment in which we test the potential for evolution of population-wide tolerance and resistance through intermittent exposure to lethal doses of a cationic surfactant.
Glutaraldehyde (GTA) is commonly used to disinfect medical equipment, in animal husbandry and in hydraulic fracturing. Its wide use bears the risk that microorganisms in different environments are exposed to potentially non-lethal doses of glutaraldehyde. To date, little is known about the effects of glutaraldehyde on the susceptibility of bacteria to antibiotics and its role in the selection of tolerant phenotypes.
Objectives
• To determine the effect of glutaraldehyde exposure on the survival of E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa to antibiotics
• To find the mechanistic basis for antibiotic tolerance upon glutaraldehyde exposure
Materials & Methods
Four bacterial isolates were exposed to sub-inhibitory glutaraldehyde. Antibiotic tolerance was determined by time-kill assays. Regrowth dynamics (lag times) were determined with ScanLag. E. coli was further investigated, using RNAseq to identify genes and processes involved in antibiotic tolerance. Mutants of candidate genes were screened for their antibiotic tolerance and heterogeneous target gene expression under stressed and unstressed conditions.
Results
Short-term exposure to sub-inhibitory levels of glutaraldehyde induced tolerance to high doses of bactericidal antibiotics. Tolerance to antibiotics was associated with highly heterogeneous regrowth dynamics and global transcriptome remodeling. Differentially expressed genes represented diverse biological functions and cellular components, including antibiotic efflux, metabolic processes, and the cell envelope. The heterogeneous regrowth dynamics and the diversity of the differentially expressed genes are likely related to the unspecific mode-of-action of glutaraldehyde. Among the many differentially expressed genes, several genes were identified that were not previously associated with antibiotic tolerance or persistence, which, when overexpressed alone, increased antibiotic tolerance.
Conclusion
Our results highlight how the big advantage of a disinfectant, its unspecific mode-of-action, can induce transient tolerance to antibiotics in bacteria. These findings have implications for 1.) settings where disinfectants and antibiotics are used in proximity, such as hospitals and animal husbandry, and 2.) for the selection dynamics of tolerant bacteria in fluctuating environments because of the trade-off that arises from overcoming the lag phase as fast as possible and maintaining antibiotic tolerance.
Glutaraldehyde is widely used as a disinfectant and preservative, but little is known about its effects on bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics and the selection of tolerant phenotypes. We found that short-term exposure to sub-inhibitory levels of glutaraldehyde makes E. coli resistant to high doses of bactericidal antibiotics from different classes. This tolerance is associated with delayed, heterogeneous regrowth dynamics and global transcriptome remodeling. We identified over 1200 differentially expressed genes, including those related to antibiotic efflux, metabolic processes, and the cell envelope. The cells entered a disrupted state likely due to the unspecific mode-of-action of glutaraldehyde. Despite this unregulated response, we identified several differentially expressed genes not previously associated with antibiotic tolerance or persistence that induce antibiotic tolerance when overexpressed alone. These findings highlight how the unspecific mode-of-action of disinfectants can make bacteria temporarily resistant to antibiotics. They have implications for settings where disinfectants and antibiotics are used in close proximity, such as hospitals and animal husbandry, and for the selection dynamics of tolerant pheno- and genotypes in fluctuating environments where microorganisms are exposed to these substances, such as sewage systems. A trade-off arises from overcoming the disrupted state as quickly as possible and maintaining antibiotic tolerance.
Glutaraldehyde is widely used as a disinfectant and preservative, but little is known about its effects on bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics and the selection of tolerant phenotypes. We found that short-term exposure to sub-inhibitory levels of glutaraldehyde makes E. coli resistant to high doses of bactericidal antibiotics from different classes. This tolerance is associated with delayed, heterogeneous regrowth dynamics and global transcriptome remodeling. We identified over 1200 differentially expressed genes, including those related to antibiotic efflux, metabolic processes, and the cell envelope. The cells entered a disrupted state likely due to the unspecific mode-of-action of glutaraldehyde. Despite this unregulated response, we identified several differentially expressed genes not previously associated with antibiotic tolerance or persistence that induce antibiotic tolerance when overexpressed alone. These findings highlight how the unspecific mode-of-action of disinfectants can make bacteria temporarily resistant to antibiotics. They have implications for settings where disinfectants and antibiotics are used in close proximity, such as hospitals and animal husbandry, and for the selection dynamics of tolerant pheno- and genotypes in fluctuating environments where microorganisms are exposed to these substances, such as sewage systems. A trade-off arises from overcoming the disrupted state as quickly as possible and maintaining antibiotic tolerance.
Recent DNA-based studies have shown that the built environment is surprisingly rich in fungi. These indoor fungi – whether transient visitors or more persistent residents – may hold clues to the rising levels of human allergies and other medical and building-related health problems observed globally. The taxo¬nomic identity of these fungi is crucial in such pursuits. Molecular identification of the built mycobiome is no trivial undertaking, however, given the large number of unidentified, misidentified, and technically compromised fungal sequences in public sequence databases. In addition, the sequence metadata required to make informed taxonomic decisions – such as country and host/substrate of collection – are often lacking even from reference and ex-type sequences. Here we report on a taxonomic annotation workshop (April 10–11, 2017) organized at the James Hutton Institute/University of Aberdeen (UK) to facilitate reproducible studies of the built mycobiome. The 32 participants went through public fungal ITS bar¬code sequences related to the built mycobiome for taxonomic and nomenclatural correctness, technical quality, and metadata availability. A total of 19,508 changes – including 4,783 name changes, 14,121 metadata annotations, and the removal of 99 technically compromised sequences – were implemented in the UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi (https://unite.ut.ee/) and shared with a range of other databases and downstream resources. Among the genera that saw the largest number of changes were Penicillium, Talaromyces, Cladosporium, Acremonium, and Alternaria, all of them of significant importance in both culture-based and culture-independent surveys of the built environment.
This paper presents, the investigation of tunable components based on LTCC technology, implementing ferroelectric tunable thick-film dielectric. The tunable loaded line phase shifters are fabricated with metal-insulator-metal (MIM) varactors to demonstrate the capabilities of this method for packaging of the tunable components. The MIM varactors consist of one tunable dielectric paste layer that is printed between two silver layers. The tunable ferroelectric paste is optimized for LTCC sintering temperature around 850°C. The phase shifters are fabricated in two different process. They were achieved a figure of merit of 24°/dB (phase shift 192°) at 3 GHz and 18°/dB (phase shift 98°) at 4.4 GHz by using seven unit cells that each unit cell consisting of two MIM varactors.
Die Endlichkeit fossiler Brennstoffe und das steigende Umweltbewusstsein sind die immer stärker werdenden Motivationen für die Entwicklung von effizienteren Gasturbinen und Triebwerken zur Energieerzeugung oder zum Antrieb von Land-, Luft- und Seefahrzeugen. Eins der dafür entwickelten Konzepte ist das der thermischen Schutzschichten. Dabei kann durch den Auftrag einer keramischen Schicht die thermische Belastung der beschichteten Bauteile reduziert werden. In dieser Arbeit wird die Möglichkeit der Nutzung einer Laser-Thermoschock-Prüfeinrichtung zur Durchführung von thermo-zyklischen Versuchen an thermischen Schutzschichten untersucht. Die Probenerwärmung erfolgt hierbei durch einen fokussierten Laserstrahl, mit dem durch die gewählte Trajektoriengeometrie und Anpassung der Laserleistung eine homogene Temperaturverteilung auf der Oberflache erzeugt wird. Die für die Durchführung von zyklischen Versuchen notwendigen Erweiterungen der vorhandenen Prüfeinrichtung werden beschrieben, wozu die Entwicklung eines neuen Probenhalters und einer Test- und Auswerteroutine für die Experimente gehört. Zur Begutachtung der Entstehung und des Fortschritts von Schädigungen werden Schallemissionstechniken und thermografische Methoden eingesetzt, deren Möglichkeiten und Grenzen für die Nutzung im Rahmen der Experimente bestimmt werden. Außerdem umfasst die Arbeit eine umfassende temperaturabhängige Charakterisierung des für die thermische Schutzschicht verwendeten keramischen Materials. Hierbei ist besonders die Messung des E-Moduls mittels der dynamischen Resonanzmethode hervorzuheben, die eine selten genutzte Technik ist. Bei der Charakterisierung zeigen sich keine besonderen Abweichungen von den erwarteten Werten. Lediglich eine geringere Porosität als vom Hersteller erwartet und eine unveränderte Phasenzusammensetzung nach isothermer Auslagerung wurden beobachtet. Die bei den zyklischen Experimenten angestrebten Oberflächentemperaturen von über 1000 °C machen es nötig, die Absorption der Proben durch eine zusätzliche Beschichtung mit Magnetit zu erhöhen. Zur Messung der Temperaturverteilung auf der Probenoberfläche wird eine Infrarot- Kamera genutzt, die für diese Zwecke kalibriert wird. Die eingebaute aktive Druckluftkühlung der Probenruckseite erlaubt die Steuerung des Temperaturgradienten, besitzt aber noch Verbesserungspotenzial. Schon ohne aktive Kühlung der Proben ist ein Versuchsregime realisierbar, bei dem die thermischen Belastungen mit hoher Präzision reproduzierbar sind und mit dem die realen Einsatzbedingungen von keramischen Schutzschichten nachempfunden werden können. Die Entstehung und der Fortschritt von Schädigungen in Form von Delaminationen kann mit thermografischen Methoden und Schallemissionstechniken beobachtet werden. Bei der Ortung der Schallsignale zeigen sich die Grenzen der vorhandenen Ausrüstung. Eine relativ genaue Ortung der Quelle ist mit einer zeitaufwendigen manuellen Routine möglich, deren Ergebnis eine starke Abhängigkeit von der Signalqualität zeigt. Eine reduzierte Zonenortung mit einer automatischen Auswertung zeigt zufriedenstellende Ergebnisse. Eine Kombination der Ergebnisse der Zonenortung, der Analyse der Schallsignale und den thermografischen Analysen der Daten der Infrarot-Kamera ermöglicht eine sehr gute Visualisierung der Schädigungsentwicklung. Während erster Versuche konnten Delaminationsrisse in der keramischen Dammschicht erzeugt werden, die in der Nähe der Dammschicht-Haftschicht-Grenzschicht liegen. Dies entspricht einem Schadensbild, das durch eine hohe zyklische Belastung der Proben erreicht wird. Durch die Nutzung eines fokussierten Laserstrahls kommt es zu einer Temperaturüberhöhung im Bereich des Laserspots. Dies bewirkt, dass die thermozyklische Belastung der Proben noch um einen Thermoschockbeitrag erweitert wird.
Die beiden in dieser Arbeit dargestellten Beispiele zeigen, dass sich die Low-strain-Pfahlintegritätsprüfung noch über den bisherigen, schon sehr erfolgreichen Stand hinaus entwickeln kann. Der Einsatz von Vibratortechnik und passender mathematischer Methoden bietet das Potential, Prüfungen auch unter bisher nicht lösbaren Randbedingungen durchzuführen. Dazu gehören sehr schlanke Pfähle und Messungen bei hohem Störpegel. Der erhöhte Mess- und Auswerteaufwand ist jedoch im Einzelfall gegenüber dem erzielbaren Erfolg abzugleichen. Apparativ müssen noch Entwicklungsarbeiten geleistet werden, um einen einfachen und zuverlässigen Einsatz in der Praxis zu ermöglichen. Die Messung mit mehreren Sensoren entlang des Pfahls kann schon heute in der Praxis eingesetzt werden. In vielen Fällen lassen sich damit auch Messungen an Pfählen im Bestand durchführen, bei denen die konventionelle Pfahlprüfung aufgrund von überlagernden Signalen aus der aufgehenden Struktur versagt.
Parallel Seismic was introduced about four decades ago for foundation length estimation. As the borehole required by this test is in most cases more expensive than the test itself, the usage is limited so far. In addition the graphical Interpretation technique which is still state of the art tends to overestimate the length and neglects several geometrical Parameters. New Interpretation algorithms have been recently introduced rely on model based travel time curve Utting. They improve the accuracy and extend the maximum ränge (distance pile to borehole) of the method. Borehole or pile inclination as well as soil layering can be considered. If the location is properly chosen, several piles can be tested using a single borehole.
The capabilities and limitations of the methods have been tested using simulations and measurements at the BAM-TTS test site in Horstwalde south of Berlin and several commercial projects involving piles, pile secant walls and sheet piles. To improve the accuracy of the method as well as to provide additional Parameters to the geotechnical engineer it is recommended to use the borehole for Downhole Seismic measurements. Determination of compressional and shear wave velocities can be used to determine the dynamic elastic properties of the subsoil. The approach is evaluated again on the BAM-TTS test site. The affectivity of this kind of combiuation can be further enhanced by using a seismic cone.
A 400 m² soil test field with gas injection system was built up for the purpose of large-scale validation, optimization, and characterization of a novel comprehensive monitoring method for underground gas storage areas. The method combines gas sensing technology with linear form factor for in-situ monitoring of gases in soil with the mapping capabilities of Computed Tomography (CT) to reconstruct time-series of gas distribution maps based on samples of orthogonally-aligned linear gas sensors. Several injection experiments with carbon dioxide (CO2) at different days with varying boundary conditions indicates the potential of the method for, e.g., rapid leakage detection with respect to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) issues.
The Micro Structure of Traditional Brazilian Lime Plasters - The Custom House of Florianopolis
(2005)
The lecture focuses on the mechanisms of non-desired gas bubble formation and foaming during the sintering of glass powder compacts. It is shown that foaming is driven by carbon gases and that carbonates, encapsulated in micropores or mechaniacally dissolved beneath the glass surface, provide the major foaming source.
Glass powders are promising candidates for manufacturing a broad diversity of sintered materials like sintered ¬glass-ceramics, glass matrix composites or glass bonded ceramics with tailored mechanical, thermal, electrical and optical properties and complex shape. Its wide and precise adjustability makes this class of materials a key component for advanced technologies. Processing of glass or composite powders often allow even more flexibility in materials design. At the same time, however, processing can have substantial effects on the glass powder surface and sinterability. Thus, mechanical damage and surface contamination can strongly enhance surface crystallization, which may retard or even fully prevent densification. Whereas sintering and concurrent crystallization have been widely studied, partially as cooperative effort of the TC7 of the ICG, and although glass powder sintering is predominantly applied for glasses of low crystallization tendency, sintering is also limited by gas bubble formation or foaming. The latter phenomenon is much less understood and can occur even for slow crystallizing glass powders. The lecture illustrates possible consequences of glass powder processing on glass sintering, crystallization and foaming.
Glass powders are promising candidates for manufacturing a broad diversity of sintered materials like sintered glass-ceramics, glass matrix composites or glass bonded ceramics with properties and complex shape. Powder processing, however, can substantially affect sinterability, e.g. by promoting surface crystallization. On the other hand, densification can be hindered by gas bubble formation for slow crystallizing glass powders. Against this background, we studied sintering and foaming of silicate glass powders with different crystallization tendency for wet milling and dry milling in air, Ar, N2, and CO2 by means of heating microscopy, DTA, Vacuum Hot Extraction (VHE), SEM, IR spectroscopy, XPS, and ToF-SIMS. In any case, foaming activity increased significantly with progressive milling. For moderately milled glass powders, subsequent storage in air could also promote foaming. Contrarily, foaming could be substantially reduced by milling in water and 10 wt% HCl. Although all powder compacts were uniaxially pressed and sintered in air, foaming was significantly affected by different milling atmosphere and was found most pronounced for milling in CO2 atmosphere. Conformingly, VHE studies revealed that foaming is mainly driven by carbonaceous species, even for powders milled in other gases. Current results of this study thus indicate that foaming is caused by carbonaceous species trapped on the glass powder surface.
The paper presents a new multi-parametric protein microarray embracing the multi-analyte capabilities of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The combination of high throughput reverse phase protein microarrays with element tagged antibodies and LA-ICP-MS makes it possible to detect and quantify many proteins or biomarkers in multiple samples simultaneously. A proof of concept experiment is performed for the analysis of cytochromes particularly of cytochrome P450 enzymes, which play an important role in the metabolism of xenobiotics such as toxicants and drugs. With the aid of the LA-ICP-MS based multi-parametric reverse phase protein microarray it was possible to analyse 8 cytochromes in 14 different proteomes in one run. The methodology shows excellent detection limits in the lower amol range and a very good linearity of R² ≥ 0.9996 which is a prerequisite for the development of further quantification strategies.
Applying data-driven AI systems makes it possible to extract patterns from given data, generate predictions and helps making decisions. Material research and testing holds a plethora of AI-based applications, for example, for the automatized search and synthesis of new materials, the detection of materials defects, or the prediction of process and materials parameters (inverse problems). However, AI algorithms can often only be as good as the training data from which the corresponding models are learned. Therefore, it is also indispensable to develop measures for the standardization and quality assurance of such data.
For this purpose, we develop and implement methods from transferring data from various sources into a homogeneous data repository with uniform data descriptions. Through the standardization and corresponding machine-readable interfaces, research data can be made usable and reusable for further data analyses. In addition to the technical implementation of integrative platforms, it is crucial that quality-assured research data management is recognized and implemented as an integral part of daily scientific work. Finally, we provide a vision of how the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing can benefit from data-driven AI systems. We discuss early applications and take a peek at future research.
Reliable measurement of the size of polydisperse, complex-shaped commercial nanopowders is a difficult but necessary task, e.g., for regulatory requirements and toxicity risk assessment. Suitable methods exist for the accurate characterization of the size of non-aggregated, stabilized, spherical and monodisperse nanoparticles. In contrast, industrial nanoscale powders usually require dedicated sample preparation procedures developed for the analysis method of choice. These nano-powders tend to agglomerate and/or aggregate, a behavior which in combination with an innate broad particle size distribution and irregular shape often significantly alters the achievable accuracy of the measured size parameters. The present study systematically tests two commercially available nanoscale powders using different sample preparation methods for correlative analysis by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, Brunauer–Emmet–Teller method and differential mobility analysis. One focus was set on the sample preparation by embedding nanoparticles in carbon-based hot-mounting resin. Literature on this topic is scarce and the accuracy of the data extracted from cross sections of these particles is unclearly stated. In this paper systematic simulations on the deviation of the size parameters of well-defined series of nanoparticles with different shapes from the nominal value were carried out and the contributing factors are discussed.
Thanks to its good strength/mass ratio, a glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite is a common material widely used in aviation, power production, automotive and other industries. In its turn, active infrared (IR) nondestructive testing (NDT) is a common inspection technique for detecting and characterizing structural defects in GFRP. Materials to be tested are typically subjected to optical heating which is supposed to occur on the material surface. However, GFRP composite is semitransparent for optical radiation of both visual and IR spectral bands. Correspondingly, the inspection process represents a certain combination of both optical and thermal phenomena. Therefore, the known characterization algorithms based on pure heat diffusion cannot be applied to semi-transparent materials. In this study, the phenomenon of GFRP semi-transparency has been investigated numerically and experimentally in application to thermal NDT. Both Xenon flash tubes and a laser have been used for thermal stimulation of opaque and semi-transparent test objects. It has been shown that the Penetration of optical heating radiation into composite reduces detectability of shallower defects, and the signal-to-noise ratio can be enhanced by applying the technique of thermographic signal reconstruction (TSR). In the inspection of the semi-transparent GFRP composite, the most efficient has been the laser heating followed by the TSR data processing. The perspectives of defect characterization of semi-transparent materials by using laser heating are discussed. A neural network has been used as a candidate tool for evaluating defect depth in composite materials, but its training should be performed in identical with testing conditions.
Only a few myxobacteria are known to date that are classified as marine, owing to their salt
dependency. In this study, the salt tolerance mechanism of these bacteria was investigated.
To this end, a growth medium was designed in which the mutated Escherichia coli strain
BKA13 served as sole food source for the predatory, heterotrophic myxobacteria. This enabled
measurement of the osmolytes without any background and revealed that the closely related
strains Enhygromyxa salina SWB007 and Plesiocystis pacifica SIR-1 developed different
strategies to handle salt stress. Ple. pacifica SIR-1, which was grown between 1 and 4% NaCl,
relies solely on the accumulation of amino acids, while Enh. salina SWB007, which was grown
between 0.5 and 3% NaCl, employs, besides betaine, hydroxyectoine as the major compatible
solute. In accordance with this analysis, only in the latter strain was a locus identified that codes
for genes corresponding to the biosynthesis of betaine, ectoine and hydroxyectoine.
Only a few myxobacteria are known to date that are classified as marine, owing to their salt dependency. In this study, the salt tolerance mechanism of these bacteria was investigated. To this end, a growth medium was designed in which the mutated Escherichia coli strain BKA13 served as sole food source for the predatory, heterotrophic myxobacteria. This enabled measurement of the osmolytes without any background and revealed that the closely related strains Enhygromyxa salina SWB007 and Plesiocystis pacifica SIR-1 developed different strategies to handle salt stress. Ple. pacifica SIR-1, which was grown between 1 and 4% NaCl, relies solely on the accumulation of amino acids, while Enh. salina SWB007, which was grown between 0.5 and 3% NaCl, employs, besides betaine, hydroxyectoine as the major compatible solute. In accordance with this analysis, only in the latter strain was a locus identified that codes for genes corresponding to the biosynthesis of betaine, ectoine and hydroxyectoine.
The flammable hydrogen-blended methane–air and natural gas–air mixtures raise specific safety and environmental issues in the industry and transportation; therefore, their explosion characteristics such as the explosion limits, explosion pressures, and rates of pressure rise have significant importance from a safety point of view. At the same time, the laminar burning velocities are the most useful parameters for practical applications and in basic studies for the validation of reaction mechanisms and modeling turbulent combustion. In the present study, an experimental and numerical study of the effect of hydrogen addition on the laminar burning velocity (LBV) of methane–air and natural gas–air mixtures was conducted, using mixtures with equivalence ratios within 0.90 and 1.30 and various hydrogen fractions rH within 0.0 and 0.5. The experiments were performed in a 14 L spherical vessel with central ignition at ambient initial conditions. The LBVs were calculated from p(t) data, determined in accordance with EN 15967, by using only the early stage of flame propagation. The results show that hydrogen addition determines an increase in LBV for all examined binary flammable mixtures. The LBV variation versus the fraction of added hydrogen, rH, follows a linear trend only at moderate hydrogen fractions. The further increase in rH results in a stronger variation in LBV, as shown by both experimental and computed LBVs. Hydrogen addition significantly changes the thermal diffusivity of flammable CH4–air or NG–air mixtures, the rate of heat release, and the concentration of active radical species in the flame front and contribute, thus, to LBV variation.
The aim of this chapter is to give an overview of basic and advanced state-of-the-art microstructural and spectroscopic analytics to investigate inorganic material corrosion in the context of biochemically aggressive sewers. The chapter covers optical methods, electron beam, X-ray and neutron techniques (SEM, MLA, XRF, XRD, CT, Neutron radiography and tomography), and spectroscopic methods (MAS-NMR, FT-IR, and Raman). For each technique, a short section on the fundamental scientific background of the method precedes and examples of data output from the latter in respect to the corrosion of cementitious materials including reinforced concrete is presented.
A volumetric source based CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) model for estimating the wind and gravity driven spread of an elevated released dense hazardous cloud on a flat terrain without and with obstacles is demonstrated. The model considers the development of a worst-case scenario similar to that occurred at Bhopal. Fully developed clouds of a dense gas having different densities, under ABL (Atmospheric Boundary Layer) with calm ground wind conditions are first obtained. These clouds are then allowed to spread under ABL with different ground wind speeds and gravity conditions. The developed model is validated by performing the grid independent study, the fluid dynamical evidences, post-disaster facts, the downwind MIC (Methyl Isocynate) concentrations estimated by earlier models and experiments on dense plume trajectories. It is shown that in case of an active dispersion under calm wind conditions the lateral spread would prevail over the downwind spread. The presence of a dense medium behaves like a weak porous media and initiates turbulence at much smaller downwind distances than that normally would occur without the dense medium. The safety distances from toxic exposures of MIC are predicted by specifying an isosurface of a minimum concentration above the ground surface. Discrepancies in near-field predictions still exist. However, the far-field predictions agree well with data published before.
Formgedächtnispolymere werden durch thermomechanische Vorbehandlung, die Programmierung, in eine temporäre Form überführt. In die Ursprungsform kehren sie dann erst nach externer Stimulierung, durch Auslösen des Formgedächtniseffekts, wieder zurück. Um diesen Effekt zu optimieren, werden in dieser Arbeit thermomechanische Designoptionen analysiert und Stellschrauben der Programmierung diskutiert. Quantifiziert wird das Materialverhalten eines physikalisch vernetzten Polyurethans mit semikristalliner Polyester-Weichsegmentphase (PEU) in thermomechanischen Messungen, in denen das Polymer Dehnungen bis über 1000% fixiert.
Deformationen im breiten Schmelzübergangsbereich der Weichsegmentphase ermöglichen die präzise Kontrolle über die Temperaturen der Dehnungs- und Spannungsrückstellung, den bekannten Temperaturgedächtniseffekt (TGE). Erst durch eine neuartige Programmierung wird jedoch der Beginn der Rückstellung einstellbar. Für diesen Onset-TGE wird das PEU direkt nach dem Recken entlastet und danach unter die Kristallisationstemperatur abgekühlt. In situ Röntgenstreuung zeigt, dass durch den frühen Entlastungszeitpunkt nur der Teil der kristallinen Weichsegmentphase zur Fixierung beiträgt, der auch beim Recken kristallin ist. Die Kristallinität bietet daher eine Stellschraube, um das thermomechanische Verhalten zu veredeln. Über die Optimierungsparameter Reckrate, Temperaturhaltezeit und maximale Dehnung erzielt das PEU hohe Fixierbarkeiten und Rückstellspannungen, ohne die Rückstellung und den Onset-TGE zu beeinträchtigen. Durch die Erweiterung der Programmierung des Onset-TGEs hin zu einer zweiten Deformation und Entlastung innerhalb des Schmelzübergangs zeigt das PEU einen bisher nicht berichteten zweistufigen Spannungsanstieg während der Rückstellung. Ein Temperaturlimit für den Onset-TGE stellt die Peak-Schmelztemperatur aus der dynamischen Differenzkalorimetrie dar. Durch die verbleibende Kristallinität oberhalb dieser Temperatur führt die Deformation und Entlastung direkt zur thermoreversiblen Aktuation mit Dehnungsänderungen bis zu 28%.
Die Ergebnisse werden auf einen Miniaturisierungsansatz für schaltbare Informationsträger übertragen, mit denen eine maschinenlesbare Information von nichtlesbar nach lesbar geschaltet werden kann. In einer Machbarkeitsstudie wird der für Sensoranwendungen vielversprechende Onset-TGE genutzt, um die Lesbarkeit der Informationsträger bei einer vordefinierten Temperatur zu schalten. Das erweitert das potentielle Anwendungsfeld der Technologie vom Produkt- und Markenschutz zur Überwachung von Kühlketten.
Shrinkage measurements of miniaturized low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) samples under load typically lead to collapsing of the samples, which hampers the characterization of shrinkage up to full densification. In this paper, a measurement setup is presented, which allows for in situ shrinkage measurements of practical, large LTCC panels during pressure-assisted sintering in a sintering press. The shrinkage behavior of two commercial LTCC systems (GreenTape 951 and Ceramtape GC) has been measured under loads of up to 1 MPa. No crushing of the specimens was observed and reproducible characterization of shrinkage up to full densification has been performed. Based on comparisons to thermomechanical analyzer measurements in this and other studies, it was found that the in situ approach is much better suited for shrinkage characterization of LTCC under load.
Reproducibility and accuracy of the method are discussed and practical as well as more academic applications are proposed.
Pressure-assisted sintering (PAS) is an established procedure for the production of low-temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) without lateral shrinkage and minimal shrinkage tolerances for automotive and high-frequency applications. To develop a feasible model for the prediction of densification during that process, master sintering curves (MSCs) for the commercial LTCC DP951 were generated from thermomechanical analysis (TMA) data in the pressure regime from 2 to 500 kPa. Strain mainly related to creep deformation of the LTCC was identified by evaluation of the strain rate and was discarded for the determination of MSC parameters. It was found that no creep occurred at any pressure up to a relative density of 0.9. Different pressure levels can be modeled with the same activation energy of 400 kJ/mol. Densification curves predicted by the model were in good agreement with experimental data. Based on MSCs, the pressure-assisted master sintering surface was compiled to illustrate the influence of pressure on densification. The results show that the MSC approach is a suitable method to feasibly predict the densification of LTCC during PAS.
In-plane shear behaviour of earthen materials panels strengthened with polyester fabric strips
(2016)
An experimental investigation was carried out to study the in-plane shear behaviour of earthen material Panels strengthened with polyester fabric strips. Strengthened panels were developed to exploit the strength potential of earthen materials and to solve its lack of tensile strength, significantly improving not only strength but also ductility. Three earthen materials were considered: cob, earth block masonry (EBM) and rammed earth (RE). As first approach the strengthening configuration, based on different adhesive materials, was tested only for cob panels. As part of the study the results of a big testing campaign of unstrengthened Panels were considered. Seven strengthened panels were tested in diagonal compression/shear.A unique reinforcement orientation was used. The results of these tests are presented in this paper, and include the load-displacement behaviours, crack patterns, failure modes. The results showed that the reinforcement was the most effective in EBM panels, with increase in strength and ductility observed. In RE and cob panels the reinforcement did not likely contribute significantly to the shear resistance, due to a lack of embedment length of the strips. Instead, in EBM it was likely that the vertical reinforcement acted in tension to restrain shear induced dilation and to restrain sliding.
Biofilm formation on materials leads to high costs in industrial processes, as well as in medical applications. This fact has stimulated interest in the development of new materials with improved surfaces to reduce bacterial colonization. Standardized tests relying on statistical evidence are indispensable to evaluate the quality and safety of these new materials. We describe here a flow chamber system for biofilm cultivation under controlled conditions with a total capacity for testing up to 32 samples in parallel. In order to quantify the surface colonization, bacterial cells were DAPI (4‘,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole)-stained and examined with epifluorescence microscopy. More than 100 images of each sample were automatically taken and the surface coverage was estimated using the free open source software g’mic, followed by a precise statistical evaluation. Overview images of all gathered pictures were generated to dissect the colonization characteristics of the selected model organism Escherichia coli W3310 on different materials (glass and implant steel). With our approach, differences in bacterial colonization on different materials can be quantified in a statistically validated manner. This reliable test procedure will support the design of improved materials for medical, industrial, and environmental (subaquatic or subaerial) applications.
Abgespannte Stahlrohrmaste zur Rundfunkübertragung wurden in den 1950er- und 60er-Jahren häufig mit Paralleldrahtbündeln errichtet. Diese Seile werden seit geraumer Zeit wegen Korrosionsschäden sukzessive gegen vollverschlossene Spiralseile ausgetauscht. Infolge der damit einhergehenden Veränderung der Steifigkeiten ist mit dem Austausch oft eine Neuberechnung erforderlich. Unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen Normen können nicht immer alle Nachweise erfüllt werden, selbst wenn das Bauwerk weitgehend noch intakt erscheint. Rohrschaftsanierungen sind extrem aufwändig und können den wirtschaftlichen Totalschaden darstellen, d. h., dem Bauwerk droht Abriss und Neubau. Für die Sanierung des 231 m hohen abgespannten Stahlrohrmastes am Standort Berlin Scholzplatz wurden minimalinvasive Materialuntersuchungen vorgenommen, basierend auf In-situ- und Labortests. In den statistischen Auswertungen konnte belegt werden, dass gegenüber den Angaben der Bauwerksdokumentation höhere Festigkeiten vorlagen. Durch präzise Lastannahmen und für das Bauwerk optimierte Seilvorspannungen konnten aufwändige Verstärkungsmaßnahmen des Rohrschaftes vermieden werden.
Materials are key for our modern communities. In particular metals play important roles in all areas of our daily life - from building materials to high tech products.
Due to the increasing consumption of metals and corresponding waste production, an elevated release into the environment takes place. Furthermore, metals in direct contact with the environment undergo corrosion leading to a release into the (aquatic) environment. Thus, lifespan of products/buildings are substantially reduced – hence unnecessary economic costs arise. Thus, research in this regard is needed within the force field of metal/material - environment.
Evaluating the environmental impact of materials as well as developing “safe” materials, new analytical methods are highly needed. One promising powerful tool is single cell-ICP-ToF-MS for multi-elemental analysis on a single cell/organism level.
Within this presentation the concept, strength as well as challenge of single cell-ICP-MS are briefly introduced. Two application examples are presented: (i) assessing the environmental impact of metals and (ii) the impact of the environment on metal-based materials and the derivation of potential environmental-friendly material protection strategies. These applications highlight the strength of new analytical approaches to explore the durability and safety of newly developed materials. Thus, analytical chemistry is one corner stone to transformation of modern society into circular economy (CEco).
(i) Diatoms are located at the bottom of the food chain. Thus, toxicological relevant metals taken up by diatoms possibly accumulate within the food web causing harmful effects. Diatoms are common test system in ecotoxicology. To investigate potential metal uptake and effects, we developed an on-line single cell-ICP-ToF-MS approach for multi-elemental diatom analysis. Our approach is a new potential tool in ecotoxicological testing for metal-based materials.
(ii) Next to classical corrosion processes, microorganisms are responsible for so called microbially influenced corrosion (MIC). MIC is a highly unpredictable process relying on interaction pathways between cells and the metal surface. Sheding light on MIC processes and derivate potential protection strategies, we applied single cell-ICP-ToF-MS for MIC research on a single bacteria/archaea level. It turned out that microorganism are taking up particular metals from alloys - thus, single bacteria-ICP-ToF-MS will enable development of corrosion protection strategies.
Materials in contact with the environment release e.g., metal-ions, elemental species and/or (nano-)particles. Once these species and/or particles are released, they are ingested by organisms and cells and thus, might have a negative impact on the environment. Thus, identification as well as quantification of potentially harmful substances is of utmost importance and highly needed to assess ecotoxicological impact of (emerging) pollutants.
The oral presentation provides an overview on the power of elemental analytical techniques, in particular ICP-MS as well as HR-CS-GFMAS in environmental research. Current research topics from Division 1.1 @ BAM - Inorganic trace analysis will be highlighted:
i) Elemental Speciation & Isotope analysis - new tools:
Among elemental species separation and quantification, one of the main challenges in environmental elemental speciation analysis is the distinction between anthropogenic and natural elemental species. The on-line combination of elemental speciation and isotope analysis combines “the best from both worlds” - species specific isotopic information becomes available.
As an application example the analysis of current anti-fouling agents via CE/MCICP-MS will be highlighted.
ii) HR-CS-GFMAS for PFC analysis:
Per- and polyfluorinated compounds (PFC) are emerging contaminants in particular in soil and surface water samples. Due to the large number of compounds (>4700), target analytical methods are not sufficient and sum parameter methods for organically bound fluorine are highly needed.
High resolution-continuum source-graphite furnace molecular absorption spectroscopy (HR-CS-GFMAS) based methods for organically bound fluorine analysis will be presented. Application examples (soil and surface water) will be highlighted.
iii) Single cell-ICP-ToF-MS - ecotox. assessment:
Single cell and single organism analysis for e.g. ecotoxicological/medicinal assessment are hot topics in the research field of ICP-MS. In particular ICP-ToF-MS is a powerful, emerging techniques in terms of single cell/particle analysis.
Automated single cell/diatom-ICP-ToF-MS as a potential tool in ecotoxicological testing will be presented.