Tevatron - probing TeV-scale gravity today

The production of black holes at Tevatron and LHC in spacetimes with compactified space-like large extra dimensions is studied. Either black holes can already be observed in ¯ pp collisions at s = 1.8 TeV or the fundamental gravity scale has to be above 1.4 TeV. At LHC the creation of a large number of quasi-stable black holes is predicted, with lifetimes beyond several hundred fm/c. A cut-off in the high-PT jet cross section is shown to be a unique signature of black hole production. This signal is compared to the jet plus missing energy signature due to graviton production in the final state as proposed by the ATLAS collaboration

Suppression of high-P T jets as a signal for large extra dimensions and new estimates of lifetimes for meta stable micro black holes : from the early universe to future colliders

We address the production of black holes at LHC in space times with compactified space-like large extra dimensions (LXD). Final state black hole production leads to suppression of high-PT jets, i.e. a sharp cut-o in (pp!jet+X). This signal is compared to the jet plus missing energy signature due to graviton production in the final state as proposed by the ATLAS collaboration. Time evolution and lifetimes of the newly created black holes are calculated based on the micro- canonical formalism. It is demonstrated that previous lifetime estimates of micro black holes have been dramatically underestimated. The creation of a large number of quasi-stable black holes is predicted with life times of hundred fm/c at LHC. Medium modifications of the black holes evaporation rate due to the quark gluon plasma in relativistic heavy ion collisions as well as provided by the cosmic fluid in the early universe are studie

Q-SEA - a tool for quality assessment of ethics analyses conducted as part of health technology assessments

Introduction: Assessment of ethics issues is an important part of health technology assessments (HTA). However, in terms of existence of quality assessment tools, ethics for HTA is methodologically under-developed in comparison to other areas of HTA, such as clinical or cost effectiveness.Objective: To methodologically advance ethics for HTA by: (1) proposing and elaborating Q-SEA, the first instrument for quality assessment of ethics analyses, and (2) applying Q-SEA to a sample systematic review of ethics for HTA, in order to illustrate and facilitate its use. Methods: To develop a list of items for the Q-SEA instrument, we sys-tematically reviewed the literature on methodology in ethics for HTA, reviewed HTA organizations’ websites, and solicited views from 32 ex-perts in the field of ethics for HTA at two 2-day workshops. We sub-sequently refined Q-SEA through its application to an ethics analysis conducted for HTA.Results: Q-SEA instrument consists of two domains – the process do-main and the output domain. The process domain consists of 5 ele-ments: research question, literature search, inclusion/exclusion criteria, perspective, and ethics framework. The output domain consists of 5 elements: completeness, bias, implications, conceptual clarification, and conflicting values.Conclusion: Q-SEA is the first instrument for quality assessment of ethics analyses in HTA. Further refinements to the instrument to enhance its usability continue

10351 Executive Summary -- Modelling, Controlling and Reasoning About State

From 29 August 2010 to 3 September 2010, the Dagstuhl Seminar 10351 ``Modelling, Controlling and Reasoning About State \u27\u27 was held in Schloss Dagstuhl~--~Leibniz Center for Informatics. 44 researchers, with interests and expertise in many different aspects of modelling and reasoning about mutable state, met to present their current work and discuss ongoing projects and open problems. This executive summary provides a general overview of the goals of the seminar and of the topics discussed

10351 Abstracts Collection -- Modelling, Controlling and Reasoning About State

From 29 August 2010 to 3 September 2010, the Dagstuhl Seminar 10351 ``Modelling, Controlling and Reasoning About State \u27\u27 was held in Schloss Dagstuhl~--~Leibniz Center for Informatics. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. Links to extended abstracts or full papers are provided, if available

Evaluation of a commercial ELISA as alternative to plaque reduction neutralization test to detect neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

High-throughput detection of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 presents a valuable tool for vaccine trials or investigations of population immunity. We evaluate the performance of the first commercial surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT, GenScript Biotech) against SARS-CoV-2 plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) in convalescent and vaccinated individuals. We compare it to five other ELISAs, two of which are designed to detect neutralizing antibodies. In 491 pre-vaccination serum samples, sVNT missed 23.6% of PRNT-positive samples when using the manufacturer-recommended cutoff of 30% binding inhibition. Introducing an equivocal area between 15 and 35% maximized sensitivity and specificity against PRNT to 72.8–93.1% and 73.5–97.6%, respectively. The overall diagnostic performance of the other ELISAs for neutralizing antibodies was below that of sVNT. Vaccinated individuals exhibited higher antibody titers by PRNT (median 119.8, IQR 56.7–160) and binding inhibition by sVNT (median 95.7, IQR 88.1–96.8) than convalescent patients (median 49.1, IQR 20–62; median 52.9, IQR 31.2–76.2). GenScript sVNT is suitable to screen for SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies; however, to obtain accurate results, confirmatory testing by PRNT in a equivocal area is required. This equivocal area may require adaptation for use in vaccinated individuals, due to higher antibody titers.Peer Reviewe

Remembering Words in Context as Predicted by an Associative Read-Out Model

Interactive activation models (IAMs) simulate orthographic and phonological processes in implicit memory tasks, but they neither account for associative relations between words nor explicit memory performance. To overcome both limitations, we introduce the associative read-out model (AROM), an IAM extended by an associative layer implementing long-term associations between words. According to Hebbian learning, two words were defined as “associated” if they co-occurred significantly often in the sentences of a large corpus. In a study-test task, a greater amount of associated items in the stimulus set increased the “yes” response rates of non-learned and learned words. To model test-phase performance, the associative layer is initialized with greater activation for learned than for non-learned items. Because IAMs scale inhibitory activation changes by the initial activation, learned items gain a greater signal variability than non-learned items, irrespective of the choice of the free parameters. This explains why the slope of the z-transformed receiver-operating characteristics (z-ROCs) is lower one during recognition memory. When fitting the model to the empirical z-ROCs, it likewise predicted which word is recognized with which probability at the item-level. Since many of the strongest associates reflect semantic relations to the presented word (e.g., synonymy), the AROM merges form-based aspects of meaning representation with meaning relations between words

Unlocking longevity: the role of telomeres and its targeting interventions

Average life expectancy has been steadily increasing in developed countries worldwide. These demographic changes are associated with an ever-growing social and economic strain to healthcare systems as well as society. The aging process typically manifests as a decline in physiological and cognitive functions, accompanied by a rise in chronic diseases. Consequently, strategies that both mitigate age-related diseases and promote healthy aging are urgently needed. Telomere attrition, characterized by the shortening of telomeres with each cell division, paradoxically serves as both a protective mechanism and a contributor to tissue degeneration and age-related ailments. Based on the essential role of telomere biology in aging, research efforts aim to develop approaches designed to counteract telomere attrition, aiming to delay or reduce age-related diseases. In this review, telomere biology and its role in aging and age-related diseases is summarized along with recent approaches to interfere with telomere shortening aiming at well- and healthy-aging as well as longevity. As aging research enters a new era, this review emphasizes telomere-targeting therapeutics, including telomerase activators and tankyrase inhibitors, while also exploring the effects of antioxidative and anti-inflammatory agents, along with indirectly related approaches like statins

Model-Based Engineering mit Industriesteuerungen

Das durchgängige Engineering über den gesamten Lebenszyklus ist neben der horizontalen und vertikalen Vernetzung die dritte Säule von Industrie 4.0. Durchgängigkeit im Engineering bedeutet dabei insbesondere Wiederverwendung von Modellen aus vorherigen Entwicklungsphasen. Beispiele hierfür sind die virtuelle Inbetriebnahme sowie die Codegenerierung. Dieser Beitrag stellt dar, wie diese modernen Engineering-Methoden bei der Verwendung von Rexroth Komponenten angewendet werden können. Die Kosten für die Inbetriebnahme neuer technischer Systeme beanspruchen heute einen erheblichen Anteil des Projektbudgets. Insbesondere die Optimierung des Steuerungscodes der Anlage erfordert einen hohen Zeitaufwand. So werden bis zu 70% der Zeit, die für die Inbetriebnahme der Steuerungstechnik benötigt wird, für das Finden und Beheben von Softwarefehlern aufgewendet. Um die Anzahl der Prozessdurchläufe beim Kunden zu reduzieren, kann heute ein großer Anteil dieser Aufgaben virtuell gelöst werden. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Software-Framework für die virtuelle Inbetriebnahme vorgestellt. Dieses Framework kann für mechatronische Systeme, die von Rexroth Komponenten angetrieben werden, eingesetzt werden. Exemplarisch wird dies am Beispiel eines Deltaroboters aus dem Packaging-Bereich präsentiert. Dafür wird die reale SPS-Steuerung der Anlage mit einem Simulationsmodell des Deltaroboters gekoppelt. Zur einfacheren Interpretation der Simulationsergebnisse werden diese mittels einer 3D-Visualisierung graphisch dargestellt. Die Modellierung des Deltaroboters erfolgt in der Modellierungssprache Modelica. Diese eignet sich besonders für domänenübergreifende Systeme. Außerdem erlaubt der objektorientierte Ansatz eine hohe Wiederverwendbarkeit der verwendeten Modelle. Die Kopplung von Rexroth Industriesteuergeräten und der Simulation wurde mit Hilfe des OpenCore-Interfaces realisiert. Die entwickelten Modelle wurden durch Messungen mit verschiedenen Bewegungsabläufen des Deltaroboters bestätigt. Somit ist es möglich, zukünftige Anlagen dieses Typs virtuell in Betrieb zu nehmen und die Anzahl der Iterationen, während der Inbetriebnahme, deutlich zu reduzieren. Dies setzt voraus, dass das imulationsmodell das dynamische Verhalten der Anlage ausreichend genau abbildet. Neben der virtuellen Inbetriebnahme ist die Codegenerierung eine wichtige Technologie, um vorhandene Modelle in weitere Entwicklungsphasen zu übernehmen. Insbesondere erlaubt die Codegenerierung die Übernahme von Modellen in die Betriebsphase des Systems. Der wohl bekannteste Anwendungsfall der Codegenerierung ist das Rapid Control Prototyping. Neben der Möglichkeit zur Generierung von Steuerungscode gibt es jedoch auch Use-Cases, die die Simulation eines physikalischen Systems auf dem Steuergerät voraussetzen. Hierzu zählt beispielsweise die modellbasierte Diagnose, die modellbasierte Regelung oder die virtuelle Inbetriebnahme auf Basis einer Simulation auf dem Steuergerät. In diesem Beitrag wird eine Toolchain zur Generierung von Code aus Modelica, der auf Rexroth Steuergeräten ausgeführt werden kann, vorgestellt