The Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau ('TH Wildau' for short) is the largest of five universities of applied sciences in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany. TH Wildau was founded as a technical university of applied sciences in 1991, but its connection to engineering education dates back further to the late 1940s. Today it sits on a modern and compact campus, with direct S-Bahn access to Germany's capital city, Berlin.
The increasing demand for energy worldwide has led to the development of supercapacitors, which are energy storage devices known for their high-power density, quick charging and discharging capabilities, large capacity, long lifespan, and environmental benefits. Here, we discuss the method for synthesizing manganese oxide/carbon composite materials through a one-step electrolysis process for potential application as supercapacitive electrode materials. The deposition of manganese oxide on graphite, together with the exfoliation of carbon flakes from the graphite electrodes induced by gas evolution during water electrolysis, led to the electrogeneration of a manganese oxide–carbon composite powder. After investigation of physical properties, the powder of manganese oxides/carbon composite was coated onto planar indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. Evaluation of the electrochemical performance and charge storage capacity revealed that ITO electrodes modified with the electrogenerated composite exhibited superior electrochemical performance compared with those modified only with a physical mixture of manganese oxide and carbon nanotubes.
The dataset described in this article was constructed using the results of laser Doppler vibrometry experiments conducted on an aluminum plate having four bolts. The database captures the variation in the vibration characteristics of the plate as a function of changes in tightening torque on the bolts. In total, there were 18 different states for the tightening torque, ranging from a situation where all bolts are tightened to all bolts being loose. Other possible combinations include states with varying torque applied to just one bolt, and those involving multiple loose bolts. Data consist of 1,836 files exported from Polytec PSV-500, categorized as amplitude and phase data, for frequency ranges spanning 1 Hz to 51,200 Hz at intervals of 1 Hz. The identified zones were analyzed at 51 scan points for all states of torque. Supporting documents included specifications of the test plate, scan point and torque state information, selected resonance peaks tables, measured frequencies for seven resonance groups, correlation values for all FRF, visualizations, and code scripts.
Full-field laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) can reveal how bolt torque loss redistributes a frequency response function (FRF) over an entire structure rather than only at a few sensor positions. This work presents a screening procedure for a four-bolt aluminum plate using pointwise amplitude and phase exports of scanned H1 FRFs. Candidate resonances were selected from the all-tight spatial RMS spectrum and tracked in four single-bolt 0 Nm cases. Seven baseline responses remained trackable within prescribed group-specific search windows and were retained as experimental resonance groups RG1-RG7; a dimensionless plate-frequency coefficient was reported alongside each measured frequency. Global changes were quantified using amplitude-only and complex, phase-retaining modal-assurance dissimilarities, and local changes were evaluated using matched-window FRAC-deficit maps and a normalized hotspot-area fraction. The retained groups separate into low-, intermediate-, and high-distortion responses, while the local maps distinguish compact joint-centered changes from distributed FRF redistribution. The workflow therefore links global FRF distortion with spatially resolved interpretation without relying on a trained classifier or specimen-specific node labels.
Plastic pollution is known to impact the biophysical characteristics of soil. However, there is currently limited knowledge regarding the sequence of events that occur at the foundational levels of terrestrial ecosystems. This encompasses changes in the abiotic properties of soil and their subsequent effects on various aspects of soil-plant interactions, including soil microbial communities and plant characteristics. This study aims to investigate the influence of four different types of plastic pellets - polylactic acid (PLA), polyamide six (PA6), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) - on various indicators that reflect soil quality, as well as the growth and development of mangold (Beta vulgaris var. cicla). The study found that the presence of plastic pellets in soil led to significant changes in various parameters, such as the biomass of the plants, the elemental composition of tissues, and root characteristics. The biomass of the plants was reduced in the presence of plastic pellets, indicating that plastic pollution in soil can have a negative impact on plant growth and development. The elemental composition of tissues was found to be altered, which could potentially affect the nutritional quality of the crops. The study revealed changes in root characteristics, which can have implications for nutrient uptake and water absorption.
This study presents a new mathematical model for determining the specific growth rate of biomass in biotechnological production processes, which aims to optimize the production of biotechnological products such as the advanced material polyhydroxyalkanoates. The specific growth rate is classified by the FDA as a critical process parameter that affects product quality and quantity, but is difficult for laboratory personnel to determine. Therefore, a simple and robust method for real-time monitoring and control is crucial. According to the current state of the art, the established Luedeking-Piret model for determining the specific growth rate requires the determination of the biomass as an absolute value to initialize the model and to determine two further model parameters. However, determining the biomass is time-consuming and error-prone. The new relative model replaces this value with the relative change in biomass, which can be easily recorded using standard laboratory methods such as optical density measurement. This eliminates the need for time-consuming and resource-intensive preliminary work. Despite this simplification, simulation tests have shown that the new model delivers identical results to the established model. It represents an independent, precise alternative and offers advantages in terms of handling. The results underline the model's potential to make bioprocesses more sustainable and efficient. Especially in research, material consumption, laboratory time and costs can be reduced compared to the established model. Future experiments will further investigate the performance of the new approach compared to the established model.
