Regional networking facilitates flexible and individual integration of vocational programmes in medical rehabilitation. We present a pilot project of Theresienklinik II in cooperation with the Education centre for occupation and health (Bildungszentrum Beruf und Gesundheit) in Bad Krozingen. Orthopaedic and cardiac patients who are in danger to lose their capacity to work, participate in an integrated vocational reorientation programme during extended medical rehabilitation. The aim of the pilot project is an early assessment of motivation, work hardening, aptitude and interest, in order to accelerate vocational retraining and reintegration. Within one year 30 patients participated in the programme. Presented are the contents and course of the pilot project. First results show a high patient satisfaction with the programme.

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Electrical breakdown due to electro-mechanical instability is the main intrinsic failure mechanism of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA). The same mechanism may also be responsible for failure in soft insulating materials for other high voltage applications. We report on the validation of a model determining the electrical breakdown in dependence of material properties. The model includes hyper-elastic material behavior and includes a proper description of the experimental boundary condition.

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