Hypermedia Learning Objects System - On the Way to a Semantic Educational Web

While eLearning systems become more and more popular in daily education, available applications lack opportunities to structure, annotate and manage their contents in a high-level fashion. General efforts to improve these deficits are taken by initiatives to define rich meta data sets and a semanticWeb layer. In the present paper we introduce Hylos, an online learning system. Hylos is based on a cellular eLearning Object (ELO) information model encapsulating meta data conforming to the LOM standard. Content management is provisioned on this semantic meta data level and allows for variable, dynamically adaptable access structures. Context aware multifunctional links permit a systematic navigation depending on the learners and didactic needs, thereby exploring the capabilities of the semantic web. Hylos is built upon the more general Multimedia Information Repository (MIR) and the MIR adaptive context linking environment (MIRaCLE), its linking extension. MIR is an open system supporting the standards XML, Corba and JNDI. Hylos benefits from manageable information structures, sophisticated access logic and high-level authoring tools like the ELO editor responsible for the semi-manual creation of meta data and WYSIWYG like content editing.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Running Neutrino Mass Parameters in See-Saw Scenarios

We systematically analyze quantum corrections in see-saw scenarios, including effects from above the see-saw scales. We derive approximate renormalization group equations for neutrino masses, lepton mixings and CP phases, yielding an analytic understanding and a simple estimate of the size of the effects. Even for hierarchical masses, they often exceed the precision of future experiments. Furthermore, we provide a software package allowing for a convenient numerical renormalization group analysis, with heavy singlets being integrated out successively at their mass thresholds. We also discuss applications to model building and related topics.Comment: 49 pages, 9 figures; minor corrections in Sec. 6.5.1; the accompanying software packages REAP/MPT can be downloaded from http://www.ph.tum.de/~rg

Renormalization Group Evolution in the type I + II seesaw model

We carefully analyze the renormalization group equations in the type I + II seesaw scenario in the extended standard model (SM) and minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). Furthermore, we present analytic formulae of the mixing angles and phases and discuss the RG effect on the different mixing parameters in the type II seesaw scenario. The renormalization group equations of the angles have a contribution which is proportional to the mass squared difference for a hierarchical spectrum. This is in contrast to the inverse proportionality to the mass squared difference in the effective field theory case.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; corrected error due to wrong superfield normalization in RG equations (24-28,C1-4) as well as error in RG equations of mixing parameters (38,43); RG equations of mixing angles depend on Majorana phase

On the deployment of Mobile Trusted Modules

In its recently published TCG Mobile Reference Architecture, the TCG Mobile Phone Work Group specifies a new concept to enable trust into future mobile devices. For this purpose, the TCG devises a trusted mobile platform as a set of trusted engines on behalf of different stakeholders supported by a physical trust-anchor. In this paper, we present our perception on this emerging specification. We propose an approach for the practical design and implementation of this concept and how to deploy it to a trustworthy operating platform. In particular we propose a method for the take-ownership of a device by the user and the migration (i.e., portability) of user credentials between devices.Comment: To appear in: Proceedings of the Wireless Communications and Networking Conference, IEEE WCNC 2008, Las Vegas, USA, 31 March - 2 April 200

Efficient Implementation of Parallel Path Planning Algorithms on GPUs

In robot systems several computationally intensivetasks can be found, with path planning being one of them.Especially in dynamically changing environments, it is difficult tomeet real-time constraints with a serial processing approach. Forthose systems using standard computers, a promising option is toemploy a GPGPU as a coprocessor in order to offload those taskswhich can be efficiently parallelized. We implemented selectedparallel path planning algorithms on NVIDIA's CUDA platformand were able to accelerate all of these algorithms efficientlycompared to a multi-core implementation. We present the resultsand more detailed information about the implementation of thesealgorithms

Focus Alignment Method for Laser Manufacturing at Sub-micron Positional Accuracy

AbstractAccurate positioning of a sample is one of the major challenges in the laser micro manufacturing – especially if the requirements on tolerances are high as in ultrafast laser micromachining. There are a number of methods that allow detection of the surface position, however only few of them use the beam of the processing laser as a basis for the measurement. These methods have an advantage that any changes in the structuring beam will be inherently accommodated for. This work describes a direct contact free method to accurately determine the surface position with respect to the structuring beam focal plane. The method makes alignment of unique samples precise and time efficient due to ease of automation and provides a reproducibility of surface detection of less than 1μm

Infection after Acute Ischemic Stroke: Risk Factors, Biomarkers, and Outcome

Background. The activation of inflammatory cascades triggered by ischemic stroke may play a key role in the development of infections. Methods. Patients admitted with ischemic stroke within 24 hours were prospectively enrolled. Biomarkers of infection were measured on days 1, 3, and 5. The patients were continuously monitored for predefined infections. Results. Patients with infection were older (OR 1.06 per year, 95% CI 1.01–1.11) and had a higher National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Score (NIHSS, OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10–1.34), localization in the insula, and higher stroke volumes on diffusion-weighted imaging. The maximum temperature on days 1 and 3, leukocytes, interleukin-6, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein on days 1, 3, and 5, C-reactive protein on days 3 and 5, and procalcitonin on day 5 were higher and HLA-DR-expression on monocytes on days 1, 3, and 5 lower in patients with infection. Age and NIHSS predicted the development of infections. Infection was an independent predictor of poor functional outcome. Conclusions. Severe stroke and increasing age were shown to be early predictors for infections after stroke