A new innovative satellite mission, the Innovative CubeSat for Education (InnoCube), is addressed. The goal of the mission is to demonstrate “the wireless satellite”, which replaces the data harness by robust, high-speed, real-time, very short-range radio communications using the SKITH (SKIpTheHarness) technology. This will make InnoCube the first wireless satellite in history. Another technology demonstration is an experimental energy-storing satellite structure that was developed in the previous Wall#E project and might replace conventional battery technology in the future. As a further payload, the hardware for the concept of a software-based solution for receiving signals from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) will be developed to enable precise position determination of the CubeSat. Aside from technical goals this work aims to be of use in the teaching of engineering skills and practical sustainable education of students, important technical and scientific publications, and the increase of university skills. This article gives an overview of the overall design of the InnoCube.

This paper proposes a 3-D local pose estimation system for a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a weight limit of 200 g and a very small footprint of 10 cm×10cm. The system is realized by fusing 3-D position estimations from an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) transceiver network with Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor data and data from a barometric pressure sensor. The 3-D position from the UWB network is estimated using Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) and range measurements between the transceivers. The range measurements are obtained using Double-Sided Two-Way Ranging (DS-TWR), thus eliminating the need for an additional clock synchronization mechanism. The sensor fusion is accomplished using a loosely coupled Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) architecture. Extensive evaluation of the proposed system shows that a position accuracy with a Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) of 0.20cm can be obtained. The orientation angle can be estimated with an RMSE of 1.93°.

Calcium phosphate cements (CPC) represent valuable synthetic bone grafts, as they are self-setting, biocompatible, osteoconductive and in their composition similar to the inorganic phase of human bone. Due to their long shelf-life, neutral setting and since water is sufficient for setting, hydroxyapatite (HA) forming cements are processed in different paste formulations. Those comprise dual setting, Ca2+ binding and premixed cement systems. With dual setting formulations, both dissolution and precipitation of the cement raw powder occur simultaneously to the polymerization of water-soluble monomers to form a hydrogel. Chelating agents are able to form complexes with Ca2+ released from the raw powder. Premixed systems mostly contain the raw powder of the cement and a non-aqueous binder liquid which delays the setting reaction until application in the moist physiological environment. In the present work, two of those reaction mechanisms allowed the development of HA based cement applications. Drillable cements are of high clinical interest, as the quality of screw and plate osteosynthesis techniques can be improved by cement augmentation. A drillable, dual setting composite from HA and a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogel was analyzed with respect to the influence of monomer content and powder-to-liquid ratio on setting kinetics and mechanical outcome. While the conversion to HA and crystal growth were constantly confined with increased monomer amount, a minimum concentration of 50 % was required to see impressive ameliorations including a low bending modulus and high fracture energy at improved bending strength. Increasing the liquid amount enabled injection of the paste as well as drilling after 10 min of pre-setting. While classic bone wax formulations have drawbacks such as infection, inflammation, hindered osteogenesis and a lack of biodegradability, the as-presented premixed formulation is believed to exhibit outmatching properties. It consisted of HA raw powders and a non-aqueous, but water-miscible carrier liquid from poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The bone wax was proved to be cohesive and malleable, it withstood blood pressure conditions and among deposition in an aqueous environment, PEG was exchanged such that porous, nanocrystalline HA was formed. Incorporation of a model antibiotic proved the suitability of the novel bone wax formulation for drug release purposes. Prefabricated laminates from premixed carbonated apatite forming cement and poly(ε-caprolactone) fiber mats with defined pore architecture were presented as a potential approach for the treatment of 2-dimensional, curved cranial defects. They are flexible until application and were produced in a layer-by-layer approach from both components such that the polymer scaffold prevents the cement from flowing. It was demonstrated that solution electrospinning with a patterned collector for the fabrication of perforated fiber mats was suitable, as high fiber volume contents in combination with an appropriate interface enabled the successful fabrication of mechanically reinforced laminates. Mild immersion of the scaffolds under alkaline conditions additionally improved the interphase followed by an increase in bending-strength. Since few years, magnesium phosphate cements (MPC) have attracted increasing attention for bone replacement. Compared to CPC, MPC exhibit a higher degradation potential and high early strength and they release biologically valuable Mg2+. However, common systems offer some challenges while using them in non-classic cement formulations such as the need for foreign ion supply, the potential acidity of the reaction or the fast setting kinetics. Here, it was possible to develop a chelate-setting MPC paste with a broad spectrum of potential applications. The general mechanism of the novel setting principle was tested in a proof-of-principle manner. The cement paste consisted of farringtonite with differently concentrated phytic acid solution for chelate formation with Mg2+ from the raw powder. Adjusting the phytic acid content and adding a magnesium oxide as setting regulator to compensate its retarding effect resulted in drillable formulations. Additionally, there is a strong clinical demand for well working bone adhesives especially in a moist environment. Mostly the existing formulations are non-biodegradable. Ex vivo adhesion of the above presented MPC under wet conditions on bone demonstrated over a course of 7 d shear strengths of 0.8 MPa. Further, the hardened cement specimens showed a mass loss of 2 wt.% within 24 d in an aqueous environment and released about 0.17 mg/g of osteogenic Mg2+ per day. Together with the demonstrated cytocompatibility towards human fetal osteoblasts, this cement system showed promising characteristics in terms of degradable biocements with special application purposes.

In der hier präsentierten retrospektiven Studie wurden Daten zur prä- und posttherapeutischen Anamnese von 141 Patienten mit der Diagnose „Lärm-trauma nach Disco- bzw. Rockkonzertbesuch― analysiert und bezüglich des Alters und Geschlechts mit einem Gesamtkollektiv von 4265 Patienten, die aufgrund einer Innenohrerkrankung im Zeitraum vom 20.02.1993 bis 06.12.2003 an der Universitäts-HNO-Klinik in Würzburg stationär behandelt wurden, verglichen. Hinsichtlich des Geschlechts zeigte sich kein Unterschied in beiden Gruppen. Das Verhältnis war fast ausgeglichen (51% männlich, 49% weiblich). Da überwiegend jüngere Menschen Diskotheken oder Rockkonzerte besuchen, lag das Durchschnittsalter mit im Mittel 22,3 Jahren deutlich unter dem des Vergleichskollektivs dieser Studie (44,6 Jahre). Von den 141 Lärmtraumapatienten nach Disco- bzw. Rockkonzertbesuch erlitten 56,7% ein beidseitiges Lärmtrauma. Bis auf ein Patient litten alle unter einseitigem (42,5%) oder beidseitigem (56,7%) Tinnitus. Eine subjektive Hör-minderung lag bei 45,4% der Patienten vor, ein Druck- oder Taubheitsgefühl wurde dagegen seltener, bei ungefähr 6% der Patienten, angegeben. Schwin-delsymptome traten immerhin bei 4% der Patienten auf. Die Auswertung der Audiogramme ergab, dass der Hörverlust im Frequenzbe-reich zwischen 3-6 kHz am größten war. Er betrug im Durchschnitt 21,2 dB bei 4 kHz. Einen Unterschied zwischen den Geschlechtern konnte bezüglich des Hörverlustes nicht festgestellt werden, jedoch fiel dieser bei älteren Patienten höher aus. Als Therapie der ersten Wahl kam ein Schema zum Einsatz, das an das von Prof. Dr. Stennert ursprünglich für die Behandlung der akuten idiopathischen Fazialisparese entwickelte antiphlogistisch-rheologische Infusionsschema angelehnt war. Bei 19 Patienten (13%) sprach diese Therapie nicht an und wurde deshalb modifiziert. Anstelle des Pentoxifyllins und Prednisolons rückte die intravenöse Gabe des Lokalanästhetikums Procain (Novocain). Zum Zeitpunkt der Entlassung konnte bei 32,6% der Patienten subjektive Beschwerdefreiheit und bei 55,4% eine Besserung erreicht werden. Nur knapp 12% empfanden zu diesem Zeitpunkt keine Besserung. Es zeigte sich, dass 4 0 Patienten mit frühem Therapiebeginn signifikant häufiger Beschwerdefreiheit zum Zeitpunkt der Klinikentlassung angaben. Bei 45 von 141 Patienten (31,9%) erfolgte im Mittel 5,64 Monate nach Klinikent-lassung eine Nachkontrolle. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt gaben 71% der Patienten einen persistierenden Tinnitus und 3% eine bestehende subjektive Hörminde-rung an. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie verdeutlichen, dass es zwar zu keiner manifesten Schwerhörigkeit, jedoch zu relevanten Schädigungen der Ohren junger Men-schen kam, die mit einer Erhöhung der Empfindlichkeit für zukünftige Hörschä-den einhergeht. Bei vier Patienten lag auch zum Zeitpunkt der Nachkontrolle noch eine messbare Hörminderung vor. Immerhin 32 Patienten klagten zu diesem Zeitpunkt über einen persistierenden Tinnitus. Frühzeitig sollte daher mit der Aufklärung über mögliche Folgen dieser irreversiblen Vorschädigung begonnen werden. Es gilt dabei, den Einfluss der Dauer, Häufigkeit und Stärke des einwirkenden Schalls auf das Gehörschadenpotential sowie die notwendi-gen Erholungsphasen für das Gehör im Rahmen der Prävention zu verdeutli-chen. Die Adressaten solcher Kampagnen sollten neben den Jugendlichen auch die Betreiber von Diskotheken oder Veranstalter von Konzerten sein. Eine staatlich geregelte Schallpegelbegrenzung, wie sie in anderen Ländern üblich ist, wäre ein erster wichtiger Schritt in die richtige Richtung.