Towards a Secure Smart Grid Storage Communications Gateway

This research in progress paper describes the role of cyber security measures undertaken in an ICT system for integrating electric storage technologies into the grid. To do so, it defines security requirements for a communications gateway and gives detailed information and hands-on configuration advice on node and communication line security, data storage, coping with backend M2M communications protocols and examines privacy issues. The presented research paves the road for developing secure smart energy communications devices that allow enhancing energy efficiency. The described measures are implemented in an actual gateway device within the HORIZON 2020 project STORY, which aims at developing new ways to use storage and demonstrating these on six different demonstration sites.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Use of mesenchymal stem cells for preconditioning of kidney grafts in an ex-vivo kidney perfusion model

Introduction: One of the biggest issues in transplantation today is the lack of suitable transplantable organs for an increasing number of patients on the transplant waiting lists. Efforts to address this problem are made by the including organs from extended-criteria and donation-after-cardiac death donors, however these organs show inferior outcomes. Advances in organ preservation are needed to focus on techniques to assess and optimise organ viability prior to transplantation. Methods: This research focuses on organ preconditioning using hypothermic- and normothermic ex-vivo machine perfusion technology in combination with stem cell treatment. A transplational approach ranging from small animal models via porcine to human models was used with an intent to facilitate translation of findings into clinical practice. A portable rapid sampling micro-dialysis (rsMD) device was tested which might enable live monitoring of kidney grafts during preconditioning periods and help estimate the condition of organs. Results: In the first head to head comparison between hypothermic and normothermic machine perfusion for organ preconditioning ex-vivo, an advantage for hypothermic perfusion was detected in the porcine model. Contrary to this, in the transplational model using human organs, the outcome was dependent on demographic backgrounds of the organs; especially the cold ischemia time organs were exposed to had an impact on which perfusion modality was better for an organ. RsMD can successfully provide detailed real-time information on tissue and organ viability at all timepoints of organ preservation. Delivery of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) into grafts ex-vivo by machine perfusion was possible for the hypothermic- as well as the normothermic setting. MSCs could be traced within the grafts, but did not immediately alter their function. Conditioned Mesenchymal Stem Cell media can influence the phenotype of immune cells, e.g. macrophages. Dependent on the genetic background of MSCs, the obtained conditioned media showed to influence macrophages in different ways. Conclusion: This research has been successful in its overall objective to introduce Mesenchymal Stem Cells into ex-vivo machine perfusion settings. By doing so the goal would be to alleviate ischemia reperfusion injury of organs for transplantation and to thereby expand the pool of acceptable donor organs.Open Acces

Isolation, characterisation and structure analysis of bioactive natural products from rainforest flora

Diese Arbeit entstand durch die Zusammenarbeit von INBio und dem Department für Pharmakognosie der Universität Wien. 30 Pflanzen wurden auf ihre biologische Aktivität getestet und anhand dieser Kriterien wurden 2 Pflanzen für weiterführende Untersuchungen ausgesucht. Ausgangspunkt der durchgeführten Untersuchungen waren gereinigte Extrakte von Amyris pinnata Kuhnt und Maianthemum palludicola. Es werden generelle Themen der Gewinnung natürlicher Produkte besprochen mit besonderem Augenmerk der Tätigkeiten von INBio, Heredia. Schwerpunkte der Arbeit sind: 1.Wie sieht der chemische Fingerabdruck der Pflanzen aus und welche chemischen Strukturen verbergen sich dahinter? 2.Welcher der chemischen Inhaltsstoffe ist für die biologische Aktivität verantwortlich? Der Extrakt von Amyris pinnata wurde mittels MPLC Chromatographie aufgetrennt, wobei jede dieser 7 Fraktionen durch Dünnschichtchromatographie und Kernspinresonanz überprüft wurde. Weiters wurde mit Hilfe von Hochleistungsflüssigkeitschromatographie, präparativer Dünnschichtchromatographie und Umkristallisation weitere Reinigungsschritte durchgeführt, was zu 3 reinen Verbindungen führte. Die gereinigten Verbindungen wurden mittels verschiedener Kernspinresonanztechniken gemessen und die Ergebnisse diskutiert. Der Autor schlägt Scopoletin, Luvangetin und die Möglichkeit von Ulupterol als Hauptinhaltsstoffe vor, wobei Luvangetin und Ulupterol noch nicht in dieser Pflanze gefunden wurde. Der Maianthemum palludicola Extrakt wurde mittels Sephadex LH-20 Chromatographie aufgetrennt, 154 Fraktionen gesammelt und jede dieser Fraktionen wurde mittels Dünnschichtchromatographie überprüft. Der Autor erhielt eine komplexe Mischung von Saponinen, die durch partielle saure Hydrolyse gespalten und mittels Kernspinresonanz gemessen wurde. Auf Grund von Zeitproblemen wurden die Untersuchungen an diesem Punkt beendet und werden durch andere Mitarbeiter des Projekts wiederaufgenommen.The matter in hand thesis emerged on the collaboration of INBio and the University of Vienna. INBio tested 30 plants on their bioactivity and as a result of this screenings, two of this plants were decided to be investigated on. Base of the research work done were the two purified extracts of Amyris pinnata Kuhnt and Maianthemum palludicola. The author describes general issues on natural products discovery and special points on the bioprospecting work of INBio, Heredia. Main focuses on the work were: 1.What is the constitution of the plant's chemical fingerprint and how do the chemical structures look like? 2.Which of the compounds is responsible for the bioactivity measured for this plant? The Amyris pinnata extract was pre-separated using Medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC), gaining 7 main fractions. Each fraction was examined using Thin layer chromatography (TLC) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) techniques. The gained fractions were further processed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), preparative Thin layer Chromatography and recrystallization methods resulting in 3 purified compounds. This compounds were analyzed using different NMR experiments with the results being discussed. The author suggests the three Compounds Scopoletin, Luvangetin and the possibility of Ulupterol, with Luvangetin and Ulupterol being new reported for this plant. The Maianthemum palludicola extract was separated using a Sephadex LH-20 Chromatography, gaining 154 fractions with each Fraction monitored using Thin layer Chromatography. A complex mixture of saponins was gained, which were taken to partial acid hydrolysis in order to make a further separation and monitored on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Due to time issues, the investigation stops at this point and will be readopted by other persons involved in this project

Modellbasierte Entzerrung von Analog/Digital-Wandler-Systemen

Software Defined Radio/Radar ist als Kennzeichnung moderner Kommunikations- und Radarsysteme ein stehender Begriff geworden. Auf diesem Weg stellt der ADC die kritische Komponente am Übergang von der analogen zur digitalen Signalverarbeitung dar. Die Dissertation untersucht neue Systemansätze, die das Potential analoger und digitaler Möglichkeiten gleichermaßen ausschöpfen, und für Radarempfänger der nächsten Generation optimierte und verbesserte Lösungen versprechen

An Overview of Wireless IoT Protocol Security in the Smart Home Domain

While the application of IoT in smart technologies becomes more and more proliferated, the pandemonium of its protocols becomes increasingly confusing. More seriously, severe security deficiencies of these protocols become evident, as time-to- market is a key factor, which satisfaction comes at the price of a less thorough security design and testing. This applies especially to the smart home domain, where the consumer-driven market demands quick and cheap solutions. This paper presents an overview of IoT application domains and discusses the most important wireless IoT protocols for smart home, which are KNX-RF, EnOcean, Zigbee, Z-Wave and Thread. Finally, it describes the security features of said protocols and compares them with each other, giving advice on whose protocols are more suitable for a secure smart home.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

A p38MAPK/MK2 signaling pathway leading to redox stress, cell death and ischemia/reperfusion injury

Background Many diseases and pathological conditions are characterized by transient or constitutive overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are causal for ischemia/reperfusion (IR)-associated tissue injury (IRI), a major contributor to organ dysfunction or failure. Preventing IRI with antioxidants failed in the clinic, most likely due to the difficulty to timely and efficiently target them to the site of ROS production and action. IR is also characterized by changes in the activity of intracellular signaling molecules including the stress kinase p38MAPK. While ROS can cause the activation of p38MAPK, we recently obtained in vitro evidence that p38MAPK activation is responsible for elevated mitochondrial ROS levels, thus suggesting a role for p38MAPK upstream of ROS and their damaging effects.<p></p> Results Here we identified p38MAPKα as the predominantly expressed isoform in HL-1 cardiomyocytes and siRNA-mediated knockdown demonstrated the pro-oxidant role of p38MAPKα signaling. Moreover, the knockout of the p38MAPK effector MAPKAP kinase 2 (MK2) reproduced the effect of inhibiting or knocking down p38MAPK. To translate these findings into a setting closer to the clinic a stringent kidney clamping model was used. p38MAPK activity increased upon reperfusion and p38MAPK inhibition by the inhibitor BIRB796 almost completely prevented severe functional impairment caused by IR. Histological and molecular analyses showed that protection resulted from decreased redox stress and apoptotic cell death.<p></p> Conclusions These data highlight a novel and important mechanism for p38MAPK to cause IRI and suggest it as a potential therapeutic target for prevention of tissue injury.<p></p&gt

Subchronic Pulmonary Pathology, Iron Overload, and Transcriptional Activity after Libby Amphibole Exposure in Rat Models of Cardiovascular Disease

Background: Surface-available iron (Fe) is proposed to contribute to asbestos-induced toxicity through the production of reactive oxygen species

Lysophosphatidic Acid Receptors 1 and 2 Play Roles in Regulation of Vascular Injury Responses but Not Blood Pressure

Phenotypic modulation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) is essential for the development of intimal hyperplasia. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a serum component that can promote phenotypic modulation of cultured SMC, but an endogenous role for this bioactive lipid as a regulator of SMC function in vivo has not been established. Ligation injury of the carotid artery in mice increased levels in the vessel of both autotaxin, the lysophospholipaseD enzyme responsible for generation of extracellular LPA, and two LPA responsive G-protein coupled receptors 1 (LPA1) and 2 (LPA2). LPA1-/-2-/- mice were partially protected from the development of injury-induced neointimal hyperplasia, whereas LPA1-/- mice developed larger neointimal lesions after injury. Growth in serum, LPA-induced ERK activation, and migration to LPA and serum were all attenuated in SMC isolated from LPA1-/-2-/- mice. In contrast, LPA1-/- SMCs exhibited enhanced migration resulting from an upregulation of LPA3. However, despite their involvement in intimal hyperplasia, neither LPA1 nor LPA2 were required for dedifferentiation of SMC following vascular injury or dedifferentiation of isolated SMC in response to LPA or serum in vitro. Similarly, neither LPA1 nor LPA2 were required for LPA to elicit a transient increase in blood pressure following intravenous administration of LPA to mice. These results identify a role for LPA and two defined LPA receptors in regulating SMC migratory responses in the context of vascular injury, but suggest that additional LPA receptor subtypes are required for other LPA-mediated effects in the vasculature

Assessing the feasibility of density estimation methodologies for African forest elephant at large spatial scales:estimating density of forest elephants using spatial capture-recapture

Effective wildlife management requires information on population status and distribution. Survey methods that provide estimates of these population parameters can vary greatly in effort required, area covered, precision of estimates, and cost. Trade-offs are required, because increasing precision and area coverage generally requires increasing field effort and incurs a higher cost. We compare DNA- and camera trap based-spatial capture-recapture approaches (DNA-SCR and CT-SCR) to the widely-used, dung-based line transect distance sampling (LTDS) method to assess their performance when applied to three relatively large populations of forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis (>500 individuals), in order to evaluate their feasibility for future use at national and regional scales. Six of the nine surveys had a coefficient of variation below 20%; area coverage via DNA-SCR and LTDS was comparable and greatly exceeded that of the CT-SCR as applied; overall cost was highest for the LTDS surveys compared to the other two methods. We designed a new metric with which to compare survey methods: an integrated feasibility index (IFI). This combines three typical survey components: total area covered, level of precision achieved, and cost. The IFI suggests that DNA-SCR and LTDS are equally acceptable in terms of the combination of the three survey components, and that either survey method is suitable for large (national or regional) spatial scales for forest elephant density estimation. CT-SCR provides more precise estimates, but has double the IFI, due to the high cost per km2. DNA-SCR in particular, given the improvements highlighted in this study, is now being used at a national scale in Gabon. In conclusion, we recommend that the use of these spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methods, and their development, continue. Future findings and improvements should be compiled across studies to ensure their robust evolution as an option for monitoring the African forest elephant across its range and inform strategies and action for its conservation