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The detrimental impacts of climate variability on water, agriculture, and food resources in East Africa underscore the importance of reliable seasonal climate prediction. To overcome this difficulty RARIMAE method were evolved. Applications RARIMAE in the literature shows that amalgamating different methods can be an efficient and effective way to improve the forecasts of time series under consideration. With these motivations, attempt have been made to develop a multiple linear regression model (MLR) and a RARIMAE models for forecasting seasonal rainfall in east Africa under the following objectives:
1. To develop MLR model for seasonal rainfall prediction in East Africa.
2. To develop a RARIMAE model for seasonal rainfall prediction in East Africa.
3. Comparison of model's efficiency under consideration
In order to achieve the above objectives, the monthly precipitation data covering the period from 1949 to 2000 was obtained from Climate Research Unit (CRU). Next to that, the first differenced climate indices were used as predictors.
In the first part of this study, the analyses of the rainfall fluctuation in whole Central- East Africa region which span over a longitude of 15 degrees East to 55 degrees East and a latitude of 15 degrees South to 15 degrees North was done by the help of maps. For models’ comparison, the R-squared values for the MLR model are subtracted from the R-squared values of RARIMAE model. The results show positive values which indicates that R-squared is improved by RARIMAE model. On the other side, the root mean square errors (RMSE) values of the RARIMAE model are subtracted from the RMSE values of the MLR model and the results show negative value which indicates that RMSE is reduced by RARIMAE model for training and testing datasets.
For the second part of this study, the area which is considered covers a longitude of 31.5 degrees East to 41 degrees East and a latitude of 3.5 degrees South to 0.5 degrees South. This region covers Central-East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), north of Burundi, south of Uganda, Rwanda, north of Tanzania and south of Kenya. Considering a model constructed based on the average rainfall time series in this region, the long rainfall season counts the nine months lead of the first principal component of Indian sea level pressure (SLP_PC19) and the nine months lead of Dipole Mode Index (DMI_LR9) as selected predictors for both statistical and predictive model. On the other side, the short rainfall season counts the three months lead of the first principal component of Indian sea surface temperature (SST_PC13) and the three months lead of Southern Oscillation Index (SOI_SR3) as predictors for predictive model. For short rainfall season statistical model SAOD current time series (SAOD_SR0) was added on the two predictors in predictive model. By applying a MLR model it is shown that the forecast can explain 27.4% of the total variation and has a RMSE of 74.2mm/season for long rainfall season while for the RARIMAE the forecast explains 53.6% of the total variation and has a RMSE of 59.4mm/season. By applying a MLR model it is shown that the forecast can explain 22.8% of the total variation and has a RMSE of 106.1 mm/season for short rainfall season predictive model while for the RARIMAE the forecast explains 55.1% of the total variation and has a RMSE of 81.1 mm/season.
From such comparison, a significant rise in R-squared, a decrease of RMSE values were observed in RARIMAE models for both short rainfall and long rainfall season averaged time series. In terms of reliability, RARIMAE outperformed its MLR counterparts with better efficiency and accuracy. Therefore, whenever the data suffer from autocorrelation, we can go for MLR with ARIMA error, the ARIMA error part is more to correct the autocorrelation thereby improving the variance and productiveness of the model.
Ubiquitination is a posttranslational modification with immense impact on a wide range of cellular processes, including proteasomal degradation, membrane dynamics, transcription, translation, cell cycle, apoptosis, DNA repair and immunity. These diverse functions stem from the various ubiquitin chain types, topologies, and attachment sites on substrate proteins. Substrate recruitment and modification on lysine, serine or threonine residues is catalyzed by ubiquitin ligases (E3s). An important E3 that decides about the fate of numerous substrates is the HECT-type ubiquitin ligase HUWE1. Depending on the substrate, HUWE1 is involved in different processes, such as cell proliferation and differentiation, DNA repair, and transcription. One of the transcription factors that is ubiquitinated by HUWE1 is the MYC interacting zinc finger protein 1 (MIZ1). MIZ1 is a BTB/POZ (Bric-à-brac, Tramtrack and Broad-Complex/Pox virus and zinc finger) zinc finger (ZF) protein that binds to DNA through its 13 C2H2-type zinc fingers and either activates or represses the transcription of target genes, including genes involved in cell cycle arrest, such as P21CIP1 (CDKN1A). The precise functions of MIZ1 depend on its interactions with the MYC-MAX heterodimer, but also its heterodimerization with other BTB-ZF proteins, such as BCL6 or NAC1. How MIZ1 interacts with HUWE1 has not been studied and, as a consequence, it has not been possible to rationally develop tools to manipulate this interaction with specificity in order to better understand the effects of the interaction on the transcriptional function of MIZ1 on target genes or processes downstream. One aspect of my research, therefore, aimed at characterizing the MIZ1-HUWE1 interaction at a structural level. I determined a crystal structure of the MIZ1-BTB-domain in complex with a peptide, referred to as ASC, derived from a C terminal region of HUWE1, previously named ‘activation segment’. The binding mode observed in this crystal structure could be validated by binding and activity assays in vitro and by cell-based co-IP experiments in the context of N-terminally truncated HUWE1 constructs. I was not able to provide unambiguous evidence for the identified binding mode in the context of full-length HUWE1, indicating that MIZ1 recognition by HUWE1 requires yet unknown regions in the cell. While the structural details of the MIZ1-HUWE1 interaction remains to be elucidated in the context of the full-length proteins, the binding mode between MIZ1BTB and ASC revealed an interesting, atypical structural feature of the BTB domain of MIZ1 that, to my knowledge, has not been described for other BTB-ZF proteins: The B3 region in MIZ1BTB is conformationally malleable, which allows for a HUWE1-ASC-peptide-mediated β-sheet extension of the upper B1/B2-strands, resulting in a mixed, 3 stranded β-sheet. Such β-sheet extension does not appear to occur in other homo- or heterodimeric BTB-ZF proteins, including MIZ1-heterodimers, since these proteins typically possess a pre-formed B3-strand in at least one subunit. Instead, BCL6 co repressor-derived peptides (SMRT and BCOR) were found to extend the lower β-sheet in BCL6BTB by binding to an adjacent ‘lateral groove’. This interaction follows a 1:1 stoichiometry, whereas the MIZ1BTB-ASC-complex shows a 2:1 stoichiometry. The crystal structure of the MIZ1BTB-ASC-complex I determined, along with comparative binding studies of ASC with monomeric, homodimeric, and heterodimeric MIZ1BTB variants, respectively, suggests that ASC selects for MIZ1BTB homodimers. The structural data I generated may serve as an entry point for the prediction of additional interaction partners of MIZ1 that also have the ability to extend the upper β-sheet of MIZ1BTB. If successful, such interaction partners and structures thereof might aid the design of peptidomimetics or small-molecule inhibitors of MIZ1 signaling. Proof-of-principle for such a structure-guided approach targeting BTB domains has been provided by small-molecule inhibitors of BCL6BTB co-repressors interactions. If a similar approach led to molecules that interfere with specific interactions of MIZ1, they would provide intriguing probes to study MIZ1 biology and may eventually allow for the development of MIZ1-directed cancer therapeutics.
The present thesis concerns the molecular imaging of opioid receptors and human butyrylcholinesterase with the aid of tailored probes, which are suitable for the respective applied imaging techniques. The first part focusses on imaging of opioid receptors with selective probes using total internal reflection- and single molecule fluorescence microscopy. Design and synthesis of the ligands are presented and their pharmacological characterization and application in microscopy experiments are shown. The second part of this thesis focused on the development of 18F-labeled, selective radiotracers for imaging of butyrylcholinesterase via positron emission tomography. The design and synthesis of each a reversible and pseudoirreversible 18F-labeled tracer are presented. After evaluation of the binding properties of each tracer, their initial application in ex vivo autoradiography- and preliminary in vivo microPET studies is described and analyzed.
In eukaryotes, the enormously long DNA molecules need to be packaged together with histone proteins into nucleosomes and further into compact chromatin structures to fit it into the nucleus. This nuclear organisation interferes with all phases of transcription that require the polymerase to bind to DNA. During transcription – the process in which the hereditary information stored in DNA is transferred to many transportable RNA molecules - nucleosomes form a physical obstacle for polymerase progression. Thus, transcription is usually accompanied by processes mediating nucleosome destabilisation, including post-translational histone modifications (PTMs) or exchange of canonical histones by their variant forms. To the best of our knowledge, acetylation of histones has the highest capability to induce chromatin opening. The lysine modification can destabilise histone-DNA interactions within a nucleosome and can serve as a binding site for various chromatin remodelers that can modify the nucleosome composition. For example, H4 acetylation can impede chromatin folding and can stimulate the exchange of canonical H2A histone by its variant form H2A.Z at transcription start sites (TSSs) in many eukaryotes, including humans. As histone H4, H2A.Z can be post-translationally acetylated and as acetylated H4, acetylated H2A.Z is enriched at TSSs suggested to be critical for transcription. However, thus far, it has been difficult to study the cause and consequence of H2A.Z acetylation.
Even though, genome-wide chromatin profiling studies such as ChIP-seq have already revealed the genomic localisation of many histone PTMs and variant proteins, they can only be used to study individual chromatin marks and not to identify all factors important for establishing a distinct chromatin structure. This would require a comprehensive understanding of all marks associated to a specific genomic locus. However, thus far, such analyses of locus-specific chromatin have only been successful for repetitive regions, such as telomeres.
In my doctoral thesis, I used the unicellular parasite Trypanosoma brucei as a model system for chromatin biology and took advantage of its chromatin landscape with TSSs comprising already 7% of the total T. brucei genome (humans: 0.00000156%). Atypical for a eukaryote, the protein-coding genes are arranged in long polycistronic transcription units (PTUs). Each PTU is controlled by its own ~10 kb-wide TSS, that lies upstream of the PTU. As observed in other eukaryotes, TSSs are enriched with nucleosomes containing acetylated histones and the histone variant H2A.Z. This is why I used T. brucei to particularly investigate the TSS-specific chromatin structures and to identify factors involved in H2A.Z deposition and transcription regulation in eukaryotes. To this end, I established an approach for locus-specific chromatin isolation that would allow me to identify the TSSs- and non-TSS-specific chromatin marks. Later, combining the approach with a method for quantifying lysine-specific histone acetylation levels, I found H2A.Z and H4 acetylation enriched in TSSs-nucleosomes and mediated by the histone acetyltransferases HAT1 and HAT2. Depletion of HAT2 reduced the levels of TSS-specific H4 acetylation, affected targeted H2A.Z deposition and shifted the sites of transcription initiation. Whereas HAT1 depletion had only a minor effect on H2A.Z deposition, it had a strong effect on H2A.Z acetylation and transcription levels. My findings demonstrate a clear link between histone acetylation, H2A.Z deposition and transcription initiation in the early diverged unicellular parasite T. brucei, which was thus far not possible to determine in other eukaryotes. Overall, my study highlights the usefulness of T. brucei as a model system for studying chromatin biology. My findings allow the conclusion that H2A.Z regardless of its modification state defines sites of transcription initiation, whereas H2A.Z acetylation is essential co-factor for transcription initiation. Altogether, my data suggest that TSS-specific chromatin establishment is one of the earliest developed mechanisms to control transcription initiation in eukaryotes.
Reactive hydrocarbon species are important in a multitude of different scientific areas. In this thesis, the vibrational spectra of hydrocarbon radicals, biradicals and their reaction product have been studied in a gas-phase environment. The specific molecules investigated here, are of particular importance in the field of combustion and astrochemistry. They were produced from suitable precursors in a pyrolytically heated micro-reactor and subsequently seeded in an appropriate carrier gas. As methodology, IR/UV ion dip spectroscopy has been utilized, which delivers massselected gas-phase IR spectra of all ionizable species detectable in the molecular beam. These, with the help of DFT calculations, allow for determination of the fingerprint IR spectra, identification of mass carriers and formulation of potential reaction mechanisms. All studies have been conducted in collaboration with the group of Prof. Dr. Anouk M. Rjis and the necessary potent IR radiation has been provided by the free-electron laser FELIX. Thus, the IR/UV measurements have been executed at the FELIX Laboratory of the Radboud University in Nijmegen. The first study presented in this thesis is the investigation of ortho-benzyne in Chapter 3.1. This molecule is of particular interest due to its uncommon electronic structure and its role in high-temperature reactions. Although, the infrared spectrum of o-C6H4 was not accessible, a number of reaction products were identified via their fingerprint spectra. Masses in the range from 78 - 228 were assigned to their respective carrier. The identified species include typical PAHs like naphthalene, phenanthrene, up to triphenylene. The identified masses further suggest a PAH growth heavily influenced by diradical 1,4-cycloaddition followed by fragmentation, as well as by classical HACA- and PAC-like mechanisms. These results were augmented by threshold photoionization measurements from Engelbert Reusch, who identified lighter reaction products, which have insufficient IR absorption or unsuitable ionization characteristics to be identified in the IR/UV experiment. An interesting observation is the identification of m/z = 152. This carrier has been assigned differently by the IR and TPES experiments. Whereas the IR spectrum clearly identifies the species as 2-ethynylnaphthalene, the TPES evidently is in great agreement with biphenylene. This is a good example how different experimental methodologies can benefit from each other to gain a deeper insight into the actual science of a particular system. Probably, the prime example for an aromatically resonance stabilized radical is benzyl. This radical is of high importance for many combustion studies, as it represents the primary high-temperature decomposition product of toluene. The goal of the study was the identification of the benzyl self reaction products and the results are discussed in Section 3.2. The radical was pyrolytically produced by its respective nitrite precursor. The mass spectrum showed that the benzyl self reaction formed two products with C11 and three with C14 constitution. All mass peaks were evenly spaced by two mass units, respectively, which suggests a close relation in formation. Indeed, the C11 products were identified as diphenylmethane and fluorene, which are simply connected via cyclization. The heaviest product was identified as phenanthrene, which is formed via the cyclization of bibenzyl to 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene and subsequent elimination of hydrogen. This result was quiet interesting as the intermediate of this reaction was often assumed to be stilbene, which was not observed in the study. Hence, the reaction seems to undergo cyclization first before phenanthrene is finally formed via hydrogen elimination. Expanding the molecular frame of benzyl by an additional methyl group leads to the xylyl radicals and its decomposition product the xylylenes. Also important in combustion research, xylyl radicals represent the preferred decomposition products of xylene, a frequently used anti-knock agent in modern gasoline blends. After further hydrogen elimination the xylyl radicals can then form their respective xylylenes. The results of the xylyl experiments are discussed in Section 3.3. Here the gas-phase vibrational spectrum in the fingerprint region for all three isomers has been recorded for the first time in isolation. Although, all isomers have a very similar structure and symmetry, and consequently similar vibrational bands, the resolution of the experimental data was exceedingly sufficient for a clear assignment. Additionally, the dimerization products of meta- and para-xylyl could also be identified. A similar approach was taken to determine the fingerprint spectra for the xylylenes. Here, only para-xylylene could be unambiguously identified as the carrier of mass 104. For both ortho- and meta-xylylene precursors, only isomerization products were observed as the carriers of mass 104; benzocyclobutene and styrene, respectively. A possible explanation is elaborated upon in the troubleshooting Sec- tion 3.4.3.5. In the final experimental section a study on the decomposition of phthalide is presented. The objective of this experiment was mainly focused around the formation of C7 species, particularly the fulvenallenyl radical C7H5. In fact, the first experimental fingerprint spectrum of isolated C7H5 in the gas-phase was measured and is displayed in Fig. 3.45. Furthermore, the experiment demonstrates that the pyrolysis products of phthalide are excellent soot precursors, as many heavier reaction products have been identified. These include typical PAH species like naphthalene and phenanthrene as well as their methylated isomers. A large number of molecules with terminal ethynyl moieties indicate a strong influence of HACA growth in the experimental environment. However, many formation pathways of products have been discussed, which are formed involving experiment specific species, like C5H5 and C7H5, and often include expansion steps from 5- to 6-membered rings.
The use of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) for cell-based therapeutic approaches, in terms of repair and regeneration of various tissues and organs, offers an alternative therapeutic tool in the field of regenerative medicine. The ability of ASCs to differentiate along mesenchymal lineages is not the only property that makes these cells particularly attractive for therapeutic purposes. Their promising functions in promoting angiogenesis, reducing inflammation as well as in functional tissue restoration are largely related to the trophic effects of a broad panel of secreted cytokines and growth factors. However, in cell-based approaches, the cell-loaded construct often is exposed to an ischemic microenvironment characterized by severe oxidative and nutritional stress after transplantation due to the initial lack of vascular connection, resulting in reduced cell viability and altered cell behaviour. Therefore, the effective use of ASCs in regenerative medicine first requires a comprehensive characterization of the cells in terms of their viability, differentiation capacity and especially their secretory capabilities under ischemia-mimicking conditions in order to better understand their beneficial role. Accordingly, in the first part of this work, ASCs were investigated under different ischemic conditions, in which cells were exposed to both glucose and oxygen deprivation, with respect to viability and secretory function. Using mRNA gene expression analysis, significantly higher expression of selected angiogenic, anti-apoptotic and immunomodulatory factors (IL-6, VEGF, STC-1) could be demonstrated under harsh ischemic conditions. These results were reflected at the protein expression level by a significantly increased secretion of these factors. For stanniocalcin-1 (STC-1), a factor not yet described in ASCs, a particularly high expression with significant secreted amounts of the protein could be demonstrated under harsh ischemic conditions. Thus, the first part of this work, in addition to the characterization of the viability, provided first insights into the secretory response of ASCs under ischemic conditions.
The response of ASCs to glucose deficiency in combination with severe hypoxia has been little explored to date. Thus, the focus of the second part of this work was on a more detailed investigation of the secretory response of ASCs under glucose and oxygen deprivation. For a more comprehensive analysis of the secretion profile, a cytokine antibody array was performed, which allowed the detection of a broad panel of secreted angiogenic factors
(IL-8, ANG), matrix-regulating proteins (TIMP-1, TIMP-2), chemokines (MCP-1/CCL2,
IP-10/CXCL 10) and other factors under ischemic conditions. To verify these results, selected factors were examined using ELISA. The analysis revealed that the secretion of individual factors (e.g., STC-1, VEGF) was significantly upregulated by the combination of glucose and oxygen deprivation compared to oxygen deprivation alone.
In order to investigate the impact of the secretome of ischemic ASCs on cell types involved in tissue regeneration, the effect of conditioned medium of ischemia-challenged ASCs on both endothelial cells and fibroblasts was investigated in subsequent experiments. Significantly increased viability and tube formation of endothelial cells as well as activated migration of fibroblasts by the secreted factors of ischemic ASCs could be demonstrated. A direct correlation of these effects to STC-1, which was significantly upregulated under ischemic conditions and has been described as a regulator of key cellular functions, could not be verified.
The particular secretory capacity of ASCs provides a valuable tool for cell-based therapies, such as cell-assisted lipotransfer (CAL), where by enriching fat grafts with isolated ASCs, a significantly improved survival rate of the transplanted construct is achieved with less resorption of the fat tissue as well as a reduction in adverse implications, such as fibrosis and cyst formation. In order to better understand the function of ASCs in CAL, an autologous transwell-based lipograft-ASC co-culture was established in the last part of this work, in which first investigations showed a markedly increased secretion of VEGF compared to lipografts without added ASCs. As the stability rate of the fat tissue and thus the success of CAL is presumably also dependent on the preparation of the tissue before transplantation, the conventional preparation method of fat tissue for vocal fold augmentation in laryngoplasty was additionally evaluated in vitro in a pilot experiment. By analyzing the viability and tissue structure of the clinically prepared injection material, a large number of dead cells and a clearly damaged tissue structure with necrotic areas could be demonstrated. In comparison, the preparation method of the fat tissue established in this work as small tissue fragments was able to provide a clearly intact, vital, and vascularized tissue structure. This type of adipose tissue preparation represents a promising alternative for clinical vocal fold augmentation.
In conclusion, the results of this work contribute to a comprehensive characterization of ASCs under ischemic conditions, such as those prevalent at the transplantation site or in tissue regeneration. The results obtained, especially on the secretory capacity of ASCs, provide new insights into how ASCs mediate regenerative effects in an ischemic milieu and why their use for therapeutic purposes is highly attractive and promising.
After examining suitable parameters for a newly designed system, dynamic SIPGP could be developed. For the first time, SIPGP was performed while applying a constant flow of monomer solution through the reaction system. This added a new parameter: the flow rate (rfl). Accordingly, this parameter was examined, comparing dynamic to static SIPGP. It could be shown, that by applying higher rfl to the system, the contact angle increases, which indicates a slower coating. The flow patterns inside the reactor were then modelled and calculated. These calculations indicated, that, due to higher flow velocities, the contact angle on the coated samples would be lower on the sides of the sample and higher in the middle. This finding was verified by contact angle measurements. The influence of dynamic SIPGP on the temperature inside the reaction chamber during the reaction was examined by temperature sensors inside the reactor. This showed, that the constant flow of monomer solution can be utilized to decrease the warming of the reaction solution during the reaction. Finally it was shown, that dynamic SIPGP can decrease the formation of bulk polymer on the sample, which is forming during the reaction. This enables SIPGP to fabricate more homogeneous coatings by applying a constant monomer flow.
Articular cartilage damage caused by sports accidents, trauma or gradual wear and tear can lead to degeneration and the development of osteoarthritis because cartilage tissue has only limited capacity for intrinsic healing. Osteoarthritis causes reduction of mobility and chronic pain and is one of the leading causes of disability in the elderly population. Current clinical treatment options can reduce pain and restore mobility for some time, but the formed repair tissue has mostly inferior functionality compared to healthy articular cartilage and does not last long-term. Articular cartilage tissue engineering is a promising approach for the improvement of the quality of cartilage repair tissue and regeneration. In this thesis, a promising new cell type for articular cartilage tissue engineering, the so-called articular cartilage progenitor cell (ACPC), was investigated for the first time in the two different hydrogels agarose and HA-SH/P(AGE-co-G) in comparison to mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). In agarose, ACPCs´ and MSCs´ chondrogenic capacity was investigated under normoxic (21 % oxygen) and hypoxic (2 % oxygen) conditions in monoculture constructs and in zonally layered co-culture constructs with ACPCs in the upper layer and MSCs in the lower layer. In the newly developed hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel HA-SH/P(AGE-co-G), chondrogenesis of ACPCs and MSCs was also evaluated in monoculture constructs and in zonally layered co-culture constructs like in agarose hydrogel. Additionally, the contribution of the bioactive molecule hyaluronic acid to chondrogenic gene expression of MSCs was investigated in 2D monolayer, 3D pellet and HA-SH hydrogel culture. It was shown that both ACPCs and MSCs could chondrogenically differentiate in agarose and HA-SH/P(AGE-co-G) hydrogels. In agarose hydrogel, ACPCs produced a more articular cartilage-like tissue than MSCs that contained more glycosaminoglycan (GAG), less type I collagen and only little alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Hypoxic conditions did not increase extracellular matrix (ECM) production of ACPCs and MSCs significantly but improved the quality of the neo-cartilage tissue produced by MSCs. The creation of zonal agarose constructs with ACPCs in the upper layer and MSCs in the lower layer led to an ECM production in zonal hydrogels that lay in general in between the ECM production of non-zonal ACPC and MSC hydrogels. Even though zonal co-culture of ACPCs and MSCs did not increase ECM production, the two cell types influenced each other and, for example, modulated the staining intensities of type II and type I collagen in comparison to non-zonal constructs under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. In HA-SH/P(AGE-co-G) hydrogel, MSCs produced more ECM than ACPCs, but the ECM was limited to the pericellular region for both cell types. Zonal HASH/P(AGE-co-G) hydrogels resulted in a native-like zonal distribution of ECM as MSCs in the lower zone produced more ECM than ACPCs in the upper zone. It appeared that chondrogenesis of ACPCs was supported by hydrogels without biological attachment sites such as agarose, and that chondrogenesis of MSCs benefited from hydrogels with biological cues like HA. As HA is an attractive material for cartilage tissue engineering, and the HA-based hydrogel HA-SH/P(AGE-co-G) appeared to be beneficial for MSC chondrogenic differentiation, the contribution of HA to chondrogenic gene expression of MSCs was investigated. An upregulation of chondrogenic gene expression was found in 2D monolayer and 3D pellet culture of MSCs in response to HA supplementation, while gene expression of osteogenic and adipogenic transcription factors was not upregulated. MSCs, encapsulated in a HA-based hydrogel, showed upregulation of gene expression for chondrogenic, osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation markers as well as for stemness markers. In a 3D bioprinting process, using the HA-based hydrogel, gene expression levels of MSCs mostly did not change. Nevertheless, expression of three tested genes (COL2A1, SOX2, CD168) was downregulated in printed in comparison to cast constructs, underscoring the importance of closely monitoring cellular behaviour during and after the printing process. In summary, it was confirmed that ACPCs are a promising cell source for articular cartilage engineering with advantages over MSCs when they were cultured in a suitable hydrogel like agarose. The performance of the cells was strongly dependent on the hydrogel environment they were cultured in. The different chondrogenic performance of ACPCs and MSCs in agarose and HA-SH/P(AGE-co-G) hydrogels highlighted the importance of choosing suitable hydrogels for the different cell types used in articular cartilage tissue engineering. Hydrogels with high polymer content, such as the investigated HA-SH/P(AGE-co-G) hydrogels, can limit ECM distribution to the pericellular area and should be developed further towards less polymer content, leading to more homogenous ECM distribution of the cultured cells. The influence of HA on chondrogenic gene expression and on the balance between differentiation and maintenance of stemness in MSCs was demonstrated. More studies should be performed in the future to further elucidate the signalling functions of HA and the effects of 3D bioprinting in HA-based hydrogels. Taken together, the results of this thesis expand the knowledge in the area of articular cartilage engineering with regard to the rational combination of cell types and hydrogel materials and open up new possible approaches to the regeneration of articular cartilage tissue.
Remote sensing time series is the collection or acquisition of remote sensing data in a
fixed equally spaced time period over a particular area or for the whole world. Near
daily high spatial resolution data is very much needed for remote sensing applications
such as agriculture monitoring, phenology change detection, environmental
monitoring and so on. Remote sensing applications can produce better and accurate
results if they are provided with dense and accurate time series of data. The current
remote sensing satellite architecture is still not capable of providing near daily
or daily high spatial resolution images to fulfill the needs of the above mentioned
remote sensing applications. Limitations in sensors, high development, operational
costs of satellites and presence of clouds blocking the area of observation are some
of the reasons that makes near daily or daily high spatial resolution optical remote
sensing data highly challenging to achieve. With developments in the optical sensor
systems and well planned remote sensing satellite constellations, this condition
can be improved but it comes at a cost. Even then the issue will not be completely
resolved and thus the growing need for high temporal and high spatial resolution
data cannot be fulfilled entirely. Because the data collection process relies on satellites
which are physical system, these can fail unpredictably due to various reasons
and cause a complete loss of observation for a given period of time making a gap
in the time series. Moreover, to observe the long term trend in phenology change
due to rapidly changing environmental conditions, the remote sensing data from
the present is not just sufficient, the data from the past is also important. A better
alternative solution for this issue can be the generation of remote sensing time series
by fusing data from multiple remote sensing satellite which has different spatial and
temporal resolutions. This approach will be effective and efficient. In this method
a high temporal low spatial resolution image from a satellite such as Sentinel-2 can
be fused with a low temporal and high spatial resolution image from a satellite such
as the Sentinel-3 to generate a synthetic high temporal high spatial resolution data.
Remote sensing time series generation by data fusion methods can be applied to
the satellite images captured currently as well as the images captured by the satellites
in the past. This will provide the much needed high temporal and high spatial
resolution images for remote sensing applications. This approach with its simplistic
nature is cost effective and provides the researchers the means to generate the
data needed for their application on their own from the limited source of data available
to them. An efficient data fusion approach in combination with a well planned
satellite constellation can offer a solution which will ensure near daily time series of
remote sensing data with out any gap. The aim of this research work is to develop
an efficient data fusion approaches to achieve dense remote sensing time series.
In deafness, which is caused by the malfunctioning of the inner ear, an implantation of a cochlear implant (CI) is able to restore hearing. The CI is a neural prosthesis that is located within the cochlea. It replaces the function of the inner hair cells by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve fibers. The CI enables many deaf or severe hearing-impaired people to achieve a good speech perception. Nevertheless, there is a lot of potential for further improvements. Compared to normal-hearing listeners rate pitch discrimination is much worse. Rate pitch discrimination is the ability to distinguish the pitch of two stimuli with two different pulse rates. This ability is important for enjoying music as well as speech perception (in noise). Further, the small dynamic range in electrical hearing (compared to normal-hearing listeners) and therefore the small intensity resolution limits the performance of CI users. Both, rate pitch coding and dynamic range were investigated in this doctoral thesis.
For the first issue, a pitch discrimination task was designed to determine the just-noticeable-difference (JND) in pitch with 200 and 400 pps as reference. Additionally to the default biphasic pulse (single pulse) the experiment was performed with double pulses. The double pulse consists out of two biphasic pulses directly after each other and a small interpulse interval (IPI) in between. Three different IPIs (15, 50, and 150 µs) were tested. The statistical analysis of JNDs revealed no significant effects between stimulation with single-pulse or double-pulse trains.
A follow-up study investigated an alternating pulse train consisting of single and double pulses. To investigate if the 400 pps alternating pulse train is comparable in pitch with the 400 pps single-pulse train, a pairwise pitch comparison test was conducted. The alternating pulse train was compared with single-pulse trains at 200, 300 and 400 pps. The results showed that the alternating pulse train is for most subjects similar in pitch with the 200 pps single-pulse train. Therefore, pitch perception seemed to be dominated by the double pulses within the pulse train.
Accordingly, double pulses with different amplitudes were tested. Based on the facilitation effect, a larger neuronal response was expected by stimulating with two pulses with a short IPI within the temporal facilitation range. In other studies, this effect was shown to be maximal in CIs of the manufacturer Cochlear, with first pulse amplitudes set at or slightly below the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) threshold. The second pulse amplitude did not influence the facilitation effect and therefore could be choose at will. Similarly, this effect was tested in this thesis with CIs of the manufacturer MED-EL. Nevertheless, to achieve a proper signal-to-noise ratio, technical issues had to be addressed like a high noise floor, resulting in incorrect determination of the ECAP threshold. After solving this issues, the maximum facilitation effect was around the ECAP threshold as in the previous study with Cochlear. For future studies this effect could be used in a modified double pulse rate pitch experiment with the first pulse amplitude at ECAP threshold and the second pulse amplitude variable to set the most comfortable loudness level (MCL).
The last study within this thesis investigated the loudness perception at two different loudness levels and the resulting dynamic range for different interphase-gaps (IPG). A larger IPG can reduce the amplitude at same loudness level to save battery power. However, it was unknown if the IPG has an influence on the dynamic range. Different IPGs (10 and 30 µs) were compared with the default IPG (2.1 µs) in a loudness matching experiment. The experiment was performed at the most comfortable loudness level (MCL) of the subject and the amplitude of half the dynamic range (50%-ADR). An upper dynamic range was calculated from the results of MCL and 50%-ADR (therefore not the whole dynamic range was covered). As expected from previous studies a larger IPG resulted in smaller amplitudes. However, the observed effect was larger at MCL than at 50%-ADR which resulted in a smaller upper dynamic range. This is the first time a decrease of this dynamic range was shown.