In this article a Novikov engine with fluctuating hot heat bath temperature is presented. Based on this model, the performance measure maximum expected power as well as the corresponding efficiency and entropy production rate is investigated for four different stationary distributions: continuous uniform, normal, triangle, quadratic, and Pareto. It is found that the performance measures increase monotonously with increasing expectation value and increasing standard deviation of the distributions. Additionally, we show that the distribution has only little influence on the performance measures for small standard deviations. For larger values of the standard deviation, the performance measures in the case of the Pareto distribution are significantly different compared to the other distributions. These observations are explained by a comparison of the Taylor expansions in terms of the distributions’ standard deviations. For the considered symmetric distributions, an extension of the well known Curzon–Ahlborn efficiency to a stochastic Novikov engine is given.

Background: In many European countries including Germany, migrants utilize preventive services less frequently than the majority population. This is also true for the utilization of dental checkups. Little is known about which demographic, social, behavioral, and health-related factors influence the decision of migrants to seek preventive dental health care and how these factors differ from those in non-migrants. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of these factors among migrants and non-migrants residing in Germany. Methods: Data from cross-sectional national health surveys are used, providing information on preventive dental health behavior from n = 41,220 individuals, of which 15.0% are migrants. Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use is the conceptual framework of the investigation. Multiple logistic regression models were applied to examine the role of different predisposing and enabling factors. Interaction terms were included in order to examine whether determinants differ between migrants and non-migrants. Average marginal effects (AMEs) are reported in addition to odds ratios (ORs) as measures of effect size which are robust against bias arising from unobserved heterogeneity. Results: Migrants are at an about 36% lower chance of utilizing regular dental checkups than non-migrants [OR = 0.64 (95% confidence interval, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.68); AME = −0.081 (95% CI = −0.093, −0.069)]. Differences are partly explained by the influence of demographic, social, behavioral, and health-related factors [adjusted OR = 0.69 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.73); AME = −0.065 (95% CI = −0.076, −0.053)]. Younger age, being male, lower socioeconomic status, a non-statutory health insurance, not living in a relationship, living in the Western part of Germany and in an urban setting, and poor limited social support were associated with a lower chance of utilizing regular dental checkups. Interaction effects could be observed for age and for the type of health insurance. Discussion: The study identifies different enabling and predisposing factors that are relevant for the utilization of dental checkups among the population in Germany, some of which differ between migrants and non-migrants. Differences are particularly pronounced for younger ages. This differs from findings on other preventive services where older migrants tend to be more disadvantaged. Additional explanatory factors such as barriers that migrants experience in the dental health care system need to be considered in order to implement patient-oriented services and to reduce disparities in access to dental prevention.

In binocular rivalry, paradigms have been proposed for unobtrusive moment-by-moment readout of observers' perceptual experience (“no-report paradigms”). Here, we take a first step to extend this concept to auditory multistability. Observers continuously reported which of two concurrent tone sequences they perceived in the foreground: high-pitch (1008 Hz) or low-pitch (400 Hz) tones. Interstimulus intervals were either fixed per sequence (Experiments 1 and 2) or random with tones alternating (Experiment 3). A horizontally drifting grating was presented to each eye; to induce binocular rivalry, gratings had distinct colors and motion directions. To associate each grating with one tone sequence, a pattern on the grating jumped vertically whenever the respective tone occurred. We found that the direction of the optokinetic nystagmus (OKN)—induced by the visually dominant grating—could be used to decode the tone (high/low) that was perceived in the foreground well above chance. This OKN-based readout improved after observers had gained experience with the auditory task (Experiments 1 and 2) and for simpler auditory tasks (Experiment 3). We found no evidence that the visual stimulus affected auditory multistability. Although decoding performance is still far from perfect, our paradigm may eventually provide a continuous estimate of the currently dominant percept in auditory multistability.

Accelerometers and gyroscopes are used to detect foot strike (FS), i.e., the moment when the foot first touches the ground. However, it is unclear whether different conditions (footwear hardness or foot strike pattern) influence the accuracy and precision of different FS detection methods when using such micro-electromechanical sensors (MEMS). This study compared the accuracy of four published MEMS-based FS detection methods with each other and the gold standard (force plate) to establish the most accurate method with regard to different foot strike patterns and footwear conditions. Twenty-three recreational runners (12 rearfoot and 11 forefoot strikers) ran on a 15-m indoor track at their individual running speed in three footwear conditions (low to high hardness). MEMS and a force plate were sampled at a rate of 3750 Hz. Individual accuracy and precision of FS detection methods were found which were dependent on running styles and footwear conditions. Most of the methods were characterized by a delay which generally increased from rearfoot to forefoot strike pattern and from high to low midsole hardness. It can be concluded that only one of the four methods can accurately determine FS in a variety of conditions.

Objectives Rehabilitation following medical conditions is largely offered as in-patient service in Germany. Foreign-national residents use rehabilitative services less often than Germans and attain less favourable treatment outcomes. These differences are independent of demographic, socioeconomic and health characteristics. Satisfaction with different aspects of rehabilitative care presumably affects the effectiveness of rehabilitative services. We compared the degree of satisfaction with different domains of the rehabilitative care process between Germans and non-German nationals residing in Germany. Methods We used data from a cross-sectional rehabilitation patient survey annually conducted by the German Statutory Pension Insurance Scheme. The sample comprises 274 513 individuals undergoing medical rehabilitation in 642 hospitals during the years 2007–2011. Participants rated their satisfaction with different domains of rehabilitation on multi-item scales. We dichotomised each scale to low/moderate and high satisfaction. For each domain, a multilevel adjusted logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine differences in the levels of satisfaction between German and non-German nationals. Average marginal effects (AMEs) and 99.5% CI were computed as effect estimates. AMEs represent differences in the probability for the occurrence of the outcome. Results Turkish nationals had a higher probability for being less satisfied with most aspects of their rehabilitation, with AMEs ranging between 0.05 (99.5% CI 0.00 to 0.09) for ‘satisfaction with psychological care’ and 0.11 (99.5% CI 0.08 to 0.14) for ‘satisfaction with treatments during rehabilitation’. Patients from former Yugoslavia and from Portugal/Spain/Italy/Greece were as satisfied as Germans with most aspects of their rehabilitation. Conclusions Turkish nationals are less satisfied with their rehabilitative care than other population groups. This may be attributable to the diversity of the population in terms of its expectations towards rehabilitation. Rehabilitative care institutions need to provide services that are sensitive to the needs of all clients. Diversity management can contribute to this process.

The calculation of frequency-dependent cable parameters is essential for simulations of transient phenomena in electrical power systems. The simulation of transients is more complicated than the calculation of currents and voltages in the nominal frequency range. The model has to represent the frequency dependency and the wave propagation behavior of cable lines. The introduced model combines an improved subconductor method for the determination of the frequency-dependent parameters and a PI section wave propagation model. The subconductor method considers the skin and proximity effect in all conductors for frequency ranges up to few megahertz. The subconductor method method yields accurate results. The wave propagation part of the cable model is based on a cascaded PI section model. A modal transformation technique has been used for the calculation in the time domain. The frequency-dependent elements of the related modal transformation matrices have been fitted with rational functions. The frequency dependence of cable parameters has been reproduced using a vector fitting algorithm and has been implemented into an resistor-inductor-capacitor network (RLC network) for each PI section. The proposed full model has been validated with measured data.

In recent years, research on embodied cognition has inspired a number of studies on multimedia learning and instructional psychology. However, in contrast to traditional research on education and multimedia learning, studies on embodied learning (i.e., focusing on bodily action and perception in the context of education) in some cases pose new problems for the measurement of cognitive load. This review provides an overview over recent studies on embodied learning in which cognitive load was measured using surveys, behavioral data, or physiological measures. The different methods are assessed in terms of their success in finding differences of cognitive load in embodied learning scenarios. At the same time, we highlight the most important challenges for researchers aiming to include these measures into their study designs. The main issues we identified are: (1) Subjective measures must be appropriately phrased to be useful for embodied learning; (2) recent findings indicate potentials as well as problematic aspects of dual-task measures; (3) the use of physiological measures offers great potential, but may require mobile equipment in the context of embodied scenarios; (4) meta-cognitive measures can be useful extensions of cognitive load measurement for embodied learning.

Gyroscopes have been used in previous studies to measure the peak angular velocity of the shoe or foot in the frontal plane (evVel). However, it is not clear whether different test conditions (footwear hardness or locomotion speed) can influence the accuracy of evVel. The purpose of the present study was to compare the accuracy of gyroscopes and electrogoniometers when measuring evVel and the time until evVel (t_evVel) in 12 different conditions using a single axis gyroscope attached to the heel cap. Twenty-four recreational runners were instructed to walk and run on a 15-m indoor track at four locomotion speeds (1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 m/s, and individual running speed) and in three footwear conditions (low to high hardness). The gyroscope data and electrogoniometer data were sampled at a rate of 1000 Hz. Comparisons between both measurement devices showed small mean differences up to 49.8 ± 46.9 deg/s for evVel and up to 5.3 ± 3.5 ms for t_evVel. Furthermore, strong relationships between gyroscope and electrogoniometer data were found for evVel as well as for t_evVel for all conditions. It can be concluded that gyroscopes can be used to accurately determine evVel and t_evVel under a variety of conditions.

In psychological research, many questionnaires use verbal response scales with vague linguistic terms (e.g., frequency expressions). The words’ meanings can be formalized and evaluated using fuzzy membership functions (MFs), which allow constructing distinct and equidistant response scales. The discriminatory power value of MFs indicates how distinct the functions and, hence, the verbal expressions are. The present manuscript interrogates the threshold of discriminatory power necessary to indicate a sufficient difference in meaning. Using an empirical validation procedure, participants (N = 133) estimated (1) three correspondence values for verbal expressions to determine MFs, and (2) similarities of words by pairwise comparison ratings. Results show a non-linear relationship between discriminatory power and similarity, and fuzzy MFs, as well as the searched-for threshold value for discriminatory power. Implications for the selection of verbal expressions and the construction of verbal categories in questionnaire response scales are discussed.

Die Professur für Innovationsforschung und Technologiemanagement der Technischen Universität Chemnitz freut sich die zweite Auflage des Posterbands zum Thema „Ökologische, ökonomische und soziale Nachhaltigkeit an der TU Chemnitz“ vorlegen zu können. Beteiligten sich 2015 elf Akteure an unserem Aufruf zur Einreichung eines Posters und Abstracts, sind es 2017 zehn Akteure, wobei zwei Akteure (Professur Innovationsforschung und Technologiemanagement sowie NATUC, das Referat für Ökologie und Nachhaltigkeit des StuRa der TU Chemnitz) aktualisierte Beiträge eingereicht haben. Somit können wir nun Aktivitäten im Bereich der Nachhaltigkeit von 19 Akteuren der TU Chemnitz in diesem aktualisierten Band präsentieren. Die vorgestellten Aktivitäten werden dabei von verschiedenen Professuren, Forschungsbereichen, administrativen Einheiten und studentischen Initiativen durchgeführt oder beziehen sich auf Forschungsprojekte und Bildungsveranstaltungen. Die Vorstellung der einzelnen Aktivitäten in diesem Band erfolgt alphabetisch nach den Akteuren. Unsere Intention für den ersten Band 2015 war die Erhebung und Analyse von nachhaltigen Aktivitäten verschiedener Akteure der TU Chemnitz im Rahmen eines studentischen Forschungsprojektes. Ziel der Analyse war es u.a. die mögliche Implementierung eines/einer Nachhaltigkeitsbeauftragten an der TU Chemnitz zu untersuchen und potentielle Tätigkeitsbereiche zu beschreiben. Neben dieser ersten Intention war aber auch die Kooperation mit der studentischen Initiative NATUC ein wichtiger Faktor, um zu zeigen, dass auch Akteure aus Lehre, Forschung und Administration der TU Chemnitz Engagement in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit zeigen. Die in diesem Band vorgestellten Poster von 2017 wurden im Rahmen des „Go Next!“ Tages der Nachhaltigkeit, eine Kooperation der NATUC sowie des Studentenwerkes Chemnitz-Zwickau, am 22. Juni 2017 in der Mensa der TU Chemnitz präsentiert. Leitfragen bei der Postererstellung waren wie auch schon 2015 „Welche Maßnahmen und Projekte setzen Sie als Akteur im Rahmen der ökologischen, ökonomischen und sozialen Nachhaltigkeit um?“ und „Welche Definition bzw. Konzept oder Leitbild von Nachhaltigkeit legen Sie diesen Maßnahmen und Projekten zugrunde?“. Ein Abstract bot den einzelnen Akteuren dann noch mal die Gelegenheit die einzelnen Aktivitäten detaillierter darzustellen. Der „Go Next!“ Tag der Nachhaltigkeit findet jährlich im Juni statt. Wir an der Professur für Innovationsforschung und Technologiemanagement haben uns entschieden in einem zweijährigen Rhythmus zur Einreichung von Postern und Abstracts zum „Go Next!“ Tag der Nachhaltigkeit aufzurufen, da wir hoffen dann auch vermehrt aktualisierte Beiträge präsentieren zu können. Was hat sich nun an der TU Chemnitz in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit getan seit 2015? Als ein erstes Ergebnis würden wir als Professur für Innovationsforschung und Technologiemanagement eine verbesserte Vernetzung in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit an der TU Chemnitz konstatieren. So sind wir als Professur mit anderen treibenden Kräften in Kontakt gekommen und konnten an einzelnen Initiativen partizipieren. Zu nennen wäre der von der Professur Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte (vertreten durch Dr. Sebastian Liebold) und der Sächsischen Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Gesellschaft initiierte „Tag der Nachhaltigkeit“ am 2. Juni 2016 oder die von der NATUC 2015 gestartete Initiative, die TU Chemnitz als Fairtrade-University von TransFair, Verein zur Förderung des Fairen Handels mit der „Einen Welt“ e.V., auszeichnen zu lassen. Ebenfalls haben wir uns mit der NATUC, dem Netzwerk N sowie der Professur Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte in einem Arbeitskreis getroffen um die Implementierung von Nachhaltigkeit als Institution an der TU Chemnitz voranzutreiben. In Bezug auf die Institutionalisierung ist seitdem leider nicht viel mehr geschehen. Hier offenbart sich wieder, dass das Thema Nachhaltigkeit viel (freiwilliges) Engagement verschiedener Akteure erfordert. Daher hoffen wir, dass die Akteure der TU Chemnitz weiterhin in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit aktiv bleiben und wir die Vernetzung weiter vorantreiben können. Wir wollen uns auch noch einmal bei allen Akteuren bedanken, die sich an unserem Band „Ökologische, ökonomische und soziale Nachhaltigkeit an der TU Chemnitz“ mit Beiträgen beteiligt haben. Besonderer Dank geht auch noch einmal an die NATUC, die uns zum einen bei der Initiierung des Posterbandes halfen und zum anderen durch Ihr Engagement die Möglichkeit boten, die Poster am „Go Next!“ Tag der Nachhaltigkeit zu präsentieren.:Grußwort zur zweiten Auflage 2017 S. 1 Vorwort zur ersten Auflage 2015 S. 2 Kritik zur ersten Auflage 2015 S. 3 Einleitung S. 4 Professur Betriebliche Umweltökonomie 2017 S. 6 Forschungsbereich Biopolymere und Naturfaserverbunde 2015 S. 8 Forschungsprojekt ECoMobility 2017 S. 12 Professur Energie und Hochspannungstechnik 2015 S. 15 Professur Innovationsforschung und Technologiemanagement 2017, aktualisiert S. 19 Forschungsprojekt JointExpertise 2017 S. 22 Professur Makroökonomie 2017 S. 25 Bundesexzellenzcluster MERGE 2015 S. 28 Professur Nachrichtentechnik 2015 S. 31 Referat NATUC 2017, aktualisiert S. 34 Professur Personal und Führung 2015 S. 37 Professur Praktische Informatik 2017 S. 41 Professur Privatrecht und Recht des geistigen Eigentums 2015 S. 44 Forschungsprojekt Reflexiver Ressourceneinsatz als Tätigkeit 2017 S. 48 Gründernetzwerk SAXEED 2015 S. 50 Studentenwerk 2015 S. 54 Sustainable Textile School 2017 S. 58 Universitätsbibliothek 2015 S. 61 Forschungsprojekt Urban Sustainability 2017 S. 65