Zustandsüberwachung mit Regelfahrzeugen

Die Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) bzw. das maschinelle Lernen ermöglicht neue Ansätze für die Zustandsüberwachung der Bahninfrastruktur im laufenden Betrieb. Dieser Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über Forschungsarbeiten des Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) und des Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt DLR e. V. zur Nutzung der Fahrzeug-Fahrweg-Interaktion zur Erkennung von Fehlzuständen an Schienen

The influence of addition of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis on the fermentation quality of silages from permanent grassland

Cieľom experimentu bolo zistiť vplyv prídavku Lactobacillus plantarum a Lactobacillus brevis na kvalitu fermentačného procesu siláží z trvalých trávnych porastov po 12 mesiacoch uskladnenia v silážnych vakoch. Vo fytomase trvalého trávneho porastu predstavoval podiel tráv 86% (s prevahou Arrhenatherum elatius), bylín 13% a ďatelinovín (1%). Experiment pozostával z dvoch variantov: variant C (kontrola - bez aditíva) a variant A s prídavkom biologického aditíva. V pokusnom variante A sa aplikoval biologický prípravok (Lactobacillus plantarum a Lactobacillus brevis 2*105 KTJ (kolónií tvoriacich jednotky)*g-1) na uvädnutú trávnu hmotu v dávke 1 liter na tonu. Silážovaná hmota sa pomocou lisu uskladnila do silážnych vakov s priemerom 2,7 m (jeden vak s hmotou bez aditíva - variant C a druhý vak s prídavkom aditíva -variant A). Po 12 mesiacoch uskladnenia sa odobrali priemerné vzorky siláží pre stanovenie parametrov fermentačného procesu. Aplikácia mikrobiálneho aditíva na báze homo a heterofermentatívnych baktérií mliečneho kvasenia (Lactobacillus plantarum a Lactobacillus brevis) ovplyvnila kvalitu siláží z trvalých trávnych porastov po 12 mesiacoch uskladnenia štatisticky preukazne nižším obsahom kyseliny octovej, maslovej, alkoholov, stupňom proteolýzy a nižšou hodnotou pH. Výsledky potvrdili, že prídavok Lactobacillus plantarum a Lactobacillus brevis pozitívne ovplyvnil kvalitu fermentačného procesu siláží z trvalých trávnych porastov.The aim of the experiment was to determine the influence of the addition of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis on the quality of the fermentation process of silage from the permanent grassland after 12 months of storage in silage bags. In the phytomas of the permanent grassland the proportion of grass was 86% (with the prevalence of Arrhenatherum elatius), herbs 13% and leguminous 1%. The experiment consisted of two variants: variant C (control-without additive) and variant A with the addition of additive. In experimental variant A, biological additive consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis 2*105 CFU (colony forming units)*g-1 was applied on wilted grass matter at a rate of 1 liter per ton. The silage matter was stored with a press in silo bags with a diameter of 2.7 m (first bag without additive - variant C and second bag with additive - variant A). After 12 months of storage, average samples of silages were taken to determine the parameters of fermentation process. Application of biological additive based on homofermentative and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis) influenced the quality of the silages from permanent grassland after 12 months of storage with statistically lower acetic and butyric acid content, alcohols, degree of proteolysis and lower pH value. The results confirmed, that the addition Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis had positive influence on the quality of the fermentation process of silage from the permanent grassland

The influence of addition of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis on the fermentation quality of silages from permanent grassland

Cieľom experimentu bolo zistiť vplyv prídavku Lactobacillus plantarum a Lactobacillus brevis na kvalitu fermentačného procesu siláží z trvalých trávnych porastov po 12 mesiacoch uskladnenia v silážnych vakoch. Vo fytomase trvalého trávneho porastu predstavoval podiel tráv 86% (s prevahou Arrhenatherum elatius), bylín 13% a ďatelinovín (1%). Experiment pozostával z dvoch variantov: variant C (kontrola - bez aditíva) a variant A s prídavkom biologického aditíva. V pokusnom variante A sa aplikoval biologický prípravok (Lactobacillus plantarum a Lactobacillus brevis 2*105 KTJ (kolónií tvoriacich jednotky)*g-1) na uvädnutú trávnu hmotu v dávke 1 liter na tonu. Silážovaná hmota sa pomocou lisu uskladnila do silážnych vakov s priemerom 2,7 m (jeden vak s hmotou bez aditíva - variant C a druhý vak s prídavkom aditíva -variant A). Po 12 mesiacoch uskladnenia sa odobrali priemerné vzorky siláží pre stanovenie parametrov fermentačného procesu. Aplikácia mikrobiálneho aditíva na báze homo a heterofermentatívnych baktérií mliečneho kvasenia (Lactobacillus plantarum a Lactobacillus brevis) ovplyvnila kvalitu siláží z trvalých trávnych porastov po 12 mesiacoch uskladnenia štatisticky preukazne nižším obsahom kyseliny octovej, maslovej, alkoholov, stupňom proteolýzy a nižšou hodnotou pH. Výsledky potvrdili, že prídavok Lactobacillus plantarum a Lactobacillus brevis pozitívne ovplyvnil kvalitu fermentačného procesu siláží z trvalých trávnych porastov.The aim of the experiment was to determine the influence of the addition of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis on the quality of the fermentation process of silage from the permanent grassland after 12 months of storage in silage bags. In the phytomas of the permanent grassland the proportion of grass was 86% (with the prevalence of Arrhenatherum elatius), herbs 13% and leguminous 1%. The experiment consisted of two variants: variant C (control-without additive) and variant A with the addition of additive. In experimental variant A, biological additive consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis 2*105 CFU (colony forming units)*g-1 was applied on wilted grass matter at a rate of 1 liter per ton. The silage matter was stored with a press in silo bags with a diameter of 2.7 m (first bag without additive - variant C and second bag with additive - variant A). After 12 months of storage, average samples of silages were taken to determine the parameters of fermentation process. Application of biological additive based on homofermentative and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis) influenced the quality of the silages from permanent grassland after 12 months of storage with statistically lower acetic and butyric acid content, alcohols, degree of proteolysis and lower pH value. The results confirmed, that the addition Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis had positive influence on the quality of the fermentation process of silage from the permanent grassland

Investigating lung responses with functional hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI in an ex vivo rat model of asthma

Purpose: Asthma is a disease of increasing worldwide importance that calls for new investigative methods. Ex vivo lung tissue is being increasingly used to study functional respiratory parameters independent of confounding systemic considerations but also to reduce animal numbers and associated research costs. In this work, a straightforward laboratory method is advanced to probe dynamic changes in gas inhalation patterns by using an ex vivo small animal ovalbumin (OVA) model of human asthma. Methods: Hyperpolarized (hp)129Xe was actively inhaled by the excised lungs exposed to a constant pressure differential that mimicked negative pleural cavity pressure. The method enabled hp129Xe MRI of airway responsiveness to intravenous methacholine (MCh) and airway challenge reversal through salbutamol. Results: Significant differences were demonstrated between control and OVA challenged animals on global lung hp129Xegas inhalation with P < 0.05 at MCh dosages above 460 µg. Spatial mapping of the regional hp gas distribution revealed an approximately three-fold increase in heterogeneity for the asthma model organs. Conclusion: The experimental results from this proof of concept work suggest that the ex vivo hp noble gas imaging arrangement and the applied image analysis methodology may be useful as an adjunct to current diagnostic techniques

Administration of M. leprae Hsp65 Interferes with the Murine Lupus Progression

The heat shock protein [Hsp] family guides several steps during protein synthesis, are abundant in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, and are highly conserved during evolution. The Hsp60 family is involved in assembly and transport of proteins, and is expressed at very high levels during autoimmunity or autoinflammatory phenomena. Here, the pathophysiological role of the wild type [WT] and the point mutated K409A recombinant Hsp65 of M. leprae in an animal model of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus [SLE] was evaluated in vivo using the genetically homogeneous [NZBxNZW]F1 mice. Anti-DNA and anti-Hsp65 antibodies responsiveness was individually measured during the animal's life span, and the mean survival time [MST] was determined. The treatment with WT abbreviates the MST in 46%, when compared to non-treated mice [p<0.001]. An increase in the IgG2a/IgG1 anti-DNA antibodies ratio was also observed in animals injected with the WT Hsp65. Incubation of BALB/c macrophages with F1 serum from WT treated mice resulted in acute cell necrosis; treatment of these cells with serum from K409A treated mice did not cause any toxic effect. Moreover, the involvement of WT correlates with age and is dose-dependent. Our data suggest that Hsp65 may be a central molecule intervening in the progression of the SLE, and that the point mutated K409A recombinant immunogenic molecule, that counteracts the deleterious effect of WT, may act mitigating and delaying the development of SLE in treated mice. This study gives new insights into the general biological role of Hsp and the significant impact of environmental factors during the pathogenesis of this autoimmune process

Improving Soft Real-time Performance of Fog Computing

Fog computing is a distributed computing paradigm that brings data processing from remote cloud data centers into the vicinity of the edge of the network. The computation is performed closer to the source of the data, and thus it decreases the time unpredictability of cloud computing that stems from (i) the computation in shared multi-tenant remote data centers, and (ii) long distance data transfers between the source of the data and the data centers. The computation in fog computing provides fast response times and enables latency sensitive applications. However, industrial systems require time-bounded response times, also denoted as RT. The correctness of such systems depends not only on the logical results of the computations but also on the physical time instant at which these results are produced. Time-bounded responses in fog computing are attributed to two main aspects: computation and communication.    In this thesis, we explore both aspects targeting soft RT applications in fog computing in which the usefulness of the produced computational results degrades with real-time requirements violations. With regards to the computation, we provide a systematic literature survey on a novel lightweight RT container-based virtualization that ensures spatial and temporal isolation of co-located applications. Subsequently, we utilize a mechanism enabling RT container-based virtualization and propose a solution for orchestrating RT containers in a distributed environment. Concerning the communication aspect, we propose a solution for a dynamic bandwidth distribution in virtualized networks

Improving Soft Real-time Performance of Fog Computing

Fog computing is a distributed computing paradigm that brings data processing from remote cloud data centers into the vicinity of the edge of the network. The computation is performed closer to the source of the data, and thus it decreases the time unpredictability of cloud computing that stems from (i) the computation in shared multi-tenant remote data centers, and (ii) long distance data transfers between the source of the data and the data centers. The computation in fog computing provides fast response times and enables latency sensitive applications. However, industrial systems require time-bounded response times, also denoted as RT. The correctness of such systems depends not only on the logical results of the computations but also on the physical time instant at which these results are produced. Time-bounded responses in fog computing are attributed to two main aspects: computation and communication.    In this thesis, we explore both aspects targeting soft RT applications in fog computing in which the usefulness of the produced computational results degrades with real-time requirements violations. With regards to the computation, we provide a systematic literature survey on a novel lightweight RT container-based virtualization that ensures spatial and temporal isolation of co-located applications. Subsequently, we utilize a mechanism enabling RT container-based virtualization and propose a solution for orchestrating RT containers in a distributed environment. Concerning the communication aspect, we propose a solution for a dynamic bandwidth distribution in virtualized networks