Objective Skin temperatures are known to increase cutaneous sensitivity. However, it is unclear whether the amount of improved sensitivity differs depending on the protocol of heat application. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of active (treadmill walking) and passive (infrared radiator) warming of the foot sole on vibration perception thresholds. Methods Sixty healthy and injury-free subjects voluntarily participated in this study. Vibration perception thresholds (200 Hz) and plantar temperatures were measured at the hallux and 1st metatarsal head. In experiment 1, warming and mechanically stimulating the skin was achieved by walking on a treadmill for 30 min. In a follow-up study (experiment 2), external plantar heat was administered via an infrared radiator (30 min). Results In both experiments, increasing temperatures led to increased plantar sensitivity. However, the amount of improved sensitivity was greater in experiment 1, although plantar temperature increases were lower compared to experiment 2. Conclusions Warming in conjunction with mechanical stimulation seems to have a greater potential to enhance plantar sensitivity compared to external heat supply only. Significance The possible influence of mechanical stimulation and warming towards superior plantar afferent feedback highlights its importance regarding human posture and fall prevention.

The understanding of the subjective experience of a visually stable world despite the occurrence of an observer's eye movements has been the focus of extensive research for over 20 years. These studies have revealed fundamental mechanisms such as anticipatory receptive field (RF) shifts and the saccadic suppression of stimulus displacements, yet there currently exists no single explanatory framework for these observations. We show that a previously presented neuro-computational model of peri-saccadic mislocalization accounts for the phenomenon of predictive remapping and for the observation of saccadic suppression of displacement (SSD). This converging evidence allows us to identify the potential ingredients of perceptual stability that generalize beyond different data sets in a formal physiology-based model. In particular we propose that predictive remapping stabilizes the visual world across saccades by introducing a feedback loop and, as an emergent result, small displacements of stimuli are not noticed by the visual system. The model provides a link from neural dynamics, to neural mechanism and finally to behavior, and thus offers a testable comprehensive framework of visual stability.

In the course of revitalizing the Poseidon Building in Frankfurt, an energetically optimized façade, made of architectural concrete was developed. The development of a fiber-reinforced architectural concrete had to consider the necessary mechanical strength, design technology and surface quality. The fiber-reinforced architectural concrete has a compressive strength of 104.1 MPa and a 3-point bending tensile strength of 19.5 MPa. Beyond that, it was ensured that the fiber-reinforced high-performance concrete had a high durability, which has been shown by the capillary suction of de-icing solution and freeze thaw test with a weathering of abrasion of 113 g/m² after 28 freeze-thaw cycles and a mean water penetration depth of 11 mm.

Background: The purpose of this study was the comparison of the calculated (MLSSC) and experimental power (MLSSE) in maximal lactate steady-state (MLSS) during cycling. Methods: 13 male subjects (24.2 ± 4.76 years, 72.9 ± 6.9 kg, 178.5 ± 5.9 cm, V_O2max: 60.4 ± 8.6 ml min−1 kg−1, V_ Lamax: 0.9 ± 0.19 mmol l-1 s-1) performed a ramp-test for determining the V_O2max and a 15 s sprint-test for measuring the maximal glycolytic rate (V_ Lamax). All tests were performed on a Lode-Cycle-Ergometer. V_O2max and V_ Lamax were used to calculate MLSSC. For the determination of MLSSE several 30 min constant load tests were performed. MLSSE was defined as the highest workload that can be maintained without an increase of blood-lactate-concentration (BLC) of more than 0.05 mmol l−1 min−1 during the last 20 min. Power in following constant-load test was set higher or lower depending on BLC. Results: MLSSE and MLSSC were measured respectively at 217 ± 51 W and 229 ± 47 W, while mean difference was −12 ± 20 W. Orthogonal regression was calculated with r = 0.92 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The difference of 12 W can be explained by the biological variability of V_O2max and V_ Lamax. The knowledge of both parameters, as well as their individual influence on MLSS, could be important for establishing training recommendations, which could lead to either an improvement in V_O2max or V_ Lamax by performing high intensity or low intensity exercise training, respectively. Furthermore the validity of V_ Lamax -test should be focused in further studies.

Listening to music usually elicits emotions that can vary considerably in their intensity over the course of listening. Yet, after listening to a piece of music, people are easily able to evaluate the music's overall emotional intensity. There are two different hypotheses about how affective experiences are temporally processed and integrated: (1) all moments' intensities are integrated, resulting in an averaged value; (2) the overall evaluation is built from specific single moments, such as the moments of highest emotional intensity (peaks), the end, or a combination of these. Here we investigated what listeners do when building an overall evaluation of a musical experience. Participants listened to unknown songs and provided moment-to-moment ratings of experienced intensity of emotions. Subsequently, they evaluated the overall emotional intensity of each song. Results indicate that participants' evaluations were predominantly influenced by their average impression but that, in addition, the peaks and end emotional intensities contributed substantially. These results indicate that both types of processes play a role: All moments are integrated into an averaged value but single moments might be assigned a higher value in the calculation of this average.

Reliable line production processes and simulation tools play a central role for the structural integration of thermoplastic composites in advanced lightweight constructions. Provided that material- adapted joining technologies are available, they can be applied in heavy-duty multi-material designs (MMD). A load-adapted approach was implemented into the new fully automatic and faulttolerant thermo mechanical flow drill joining (FDJ) concept. With this method it is possible to manufacture reproducible high strength FRP/metal-joints within short cycle times and without use of extra joining elements for the first time. The analysis of FDJ joints requires a simplified model of the joint to enable efficient numerical simulations. The present work introduces a strategy in modeling a finite-element based analogous-approach for FDJ-joints with glass fiber reinforced polypropylene and high-strength steel. Combined with a newly developed section-force related failure criterion, it is possible to predict the fundamental failure behavior in multi-axial stress states. The functionality of the holistic approach is illustrated by a demonstrator that represents a part of a car body-in-white structure. The comparison of simulated and experimentally determined failure loads proves the applicability for several combined load cases.

The mol­ecular structure of ruthenocenecarbo­nitrile, [Ru([eta]5-C5H4C[triple bond]N)([eta]5-C5H5)], exhibits point group symmetry m, with the mirror plane bis­ecting the mol­ecule through the C[triple bond]N substituent. The RuII atom is slightly shifted from the [eta]5-C5H4 centroid towards the C[triple bond]N substituent. In the crystal, mol­ecules are arranged in columns parallel to [100]. One-dimensional inter­molecular [pi]-[pi] inter­actions [3.363 (3) Å] between the C[triple bond]N carbon atom and one carbon of the cyclo­penta­dienyl ring of the overlaying mol­ecule are present.

Previous studies that examined human judgments of frequency and duration found an asymmetrical relationship: While frequency judgments were quite accurate and independent of stimulus duration, duration judgments were highly dependent upon stimulus frequency. A potential explanation for these findings is that the asymmetry is moderated by the amount of attention directed to the stimuli. In the current experiment, participants\' attention was manipulated in two ways: (a) intrinsically, by varying the type and arousal potential of the stimuli (names, low-arousal and high-arousal pictures), and (b) extrinsically, by varying the physical effort participants expended during the stimulus presentation (by lifting a dumbbell vs. relaxing the arm). Participants processed stimuli with varying presentation frequencies and durations and were subsequently asked to estimate the frequency and duration of each stimulus. Sensitivity to duration increased for pictures in general, especially when processed under physical effort. A large effect of stimulus frequency on duration judgments was obtained for all experimental conditions, but a similar large effect of presentation duration on frequency judgments emerged only in the conditions that could be expected to draw high amounts of attention to the stimuli: when pictures were judged under high physical effort. Almost no difference in the mutual impact of frequency and duration was obtained for low-arousal or high-arousal pictures. The mechanisms underlying the simultaneous processing of frequency and duration are discussed with respect to existing models derived from animal research. Options for the extension of such models to human processing of frequency and duration are suggested.

Memristive devices are popular among neuromorphic engineers for their ability to emulate forms of spike-driven synaptic plasticity by applying specific voltage and current waveforms at their two terminals. In this paper, we investigate spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) with a single pairing of one presynaptic voltage spike and one postsynaptic voltage spike in a BiFeO3 memristive device. In most memristive materials the learning window is primarily a function of the material characteristics and not of the applied waveform. In contrast, we show that the analog resistive switching of the developed artificial synapses allows to adjust the learning time constant of the STDP function from 25ms to 125μs via the duration of applied voltage spikes. Also, as the induced weight change may degrade, we investigate the remanence of the resistance change for several hours after analog resistive switching, thus emulating the processes expected in biological synapses. As the power consumption is a major constraint in neuromorphic circuits, we show methods to reduce the consumed energy per setting pulse to only 4.5 pJ in the developed artificial synapses.

Thin-walled, high-strength concrete elements exhibiting low system weight and great slenderness can be created with a large degree of lightweight structure using the textile-reinforced, load-bearing concrete (TRC) slab and a shell with a very high level of sound absorption. This was developed with the objective of lowering system weight, and then implemented operationally in construction. Arising from the specifications placed on the load-bearing concrete slab, the following took place: an adapted fine-grain concrete matrix was assembled, a carbon warp-knit fabric was modified and integrated into the fine concrete matrix, a formwork system at prototype scale was designed enabling noise barriers to be produced with an application-oriented approach and examined in practically investigations within the context of the project. This meant that a substantial lowering of the load-bearing concrete slab’s system weight was possible, which led to a decrease in transport and assembly costs.