Method for the semantic indexing of concept hierarchies, uniform representation, use of relational database systems and generic and case-based reasoning

This paper presents a method for semantic indexing and describes its application in the field of knowledge representation. Starting point of the semantic indexing is the knowledge represented by concept hierarchies. The goal is to assign keys to nodes (concepts) that are hierarchically ordered and syntactically and semantically correct. With the indexing algorithm, keys are computed such that concepts are partially unifiable with all more specific concepts and only semantically correct concepts are allowed to be added. The keys represent terminological relationships. Correctness and completeness of the underlying indexing algorithm are proven. The use of classical relational databases for the storage of instances is described. Because of the uniform representation, inference can be done using case-based reasoning and generic problem solving methods

Investigation of fluorine-based release agents for structural adhesive bonding of carbon fibre reinforced plastics

Abstract Peel plies can be used during the manufacture of fibre-reinforced plastics for two reasons: to protect the surface during transport and storing the parts as well as during subsequent work steps, such as adhesive bonding, the removal of the peel ply can result in bondable surface with required surface characteristics. However, the use of peel plies is not straightforward. It can be difficult to remove peel plies and a surface produced by a peel ply is altered in terms of roughness and elemental composition. In the present work, the influence of fluorine-based release agents on adhesive joining of carbon fibre reinforced composites is investigated. Within the scope of the screening, 14 fluorine-based release agents—ETFE release films, PTFE coated glass fabrics as well as fabrics made of PTFE fibres—were investigated. Preliminary studies (Meer, in: Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2014, Augsburg, 2015) have shown that ETFE films have advantages in terms of adhesion. The study covers a number of aspects: the determination of the tear strength of the release agent by peel test; the determination of the element composition (XPS) and surface characteristics (SEM) before and after atmospheric pressure plasma pre-treatment, characterization the topology and the characterization of the adhesive strength by centrifugal adhesion test

Ligand-dependent Inhibition of CD1d-restricted NKT Cell Development in Mice Transgenic for the Activating Receptor Ly49D

In addition to their CD1d-restricted T cell receptor (TCR), natural killer T (NKT) cells express various receptors normally associated with NK cells thought to act, in part, as modulators of TCR signaling. Immunoreceptor-tyrosine activation (ITAM) and inhibition (ITIM) motifs associated with NK receptors may augment or attenuate perceived TCR signals respectively, potentially influencing NKT cell development and function. ITIM-containing Ly49 family receptors expressed by NKT cells are proposed to play a role in their development and function. We have produced mice transgenic for the ITAM-associated Ly49D and ITIM-containing Ly49A receptors and their common ligand H2-Dd to determine the importance of these signaling interplays in NKT cell development. Ly49D/H2-Dd transgenic mice had selectively and severely reduced numbers of thymic and peripheral NKT cells, whereas both ligand and Ly49D transgenics had normal numbers of NKT cells. CD1d tetramer staining revealed a blockade of NKT cell development at an early precursor stage. Coexpression of a Ly49A transgene partially rescued NKT cell development in Ly49D/H2-Dd transgenics, presumably due to attenuation of ITAM signaling. Thus, Ly49D-induced ITAM signaling is incompatible with the early development of cells expressing semi-invariant CD1d-restricted TCRs and appropriately harmonized ITIM–ITAM signaling is likely to play an important role in the developmental program of NKT cells

Multiparametric Characterization of Intracranial Gliomas Using Dynamic [18F]FET-PET and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

Both static and dynamic O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine-(FET)-PET and 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are useful tools for grading and prognostication in gliomas. However, little is known about the potential of multimodal imaging comprising both procedures. We therefore acquired NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios in multi-voxel MRS as well as FET-PET parameters in 67 glioma patients and determined multiparametric parameter combinations. Using receiver operating characteristics, differentiation between low-grade and high-grade glioma was possible by static FET-PET (area under the curve (AUC) 0.86, p = 0.001), time-to-peak (TTP; AUC 0.79, p = 0.049), and using the Cho/Cr ratio (AUC 0.72, p = 0.039), while the multimodal analysis led to improved discrimination with an AUC of 0.97 (p = 0.001). In order to distinguish glioblastoma from non-glioblastoma, MRS (NAA/Cr ratio, AUC 0.66, p = 0.031), and dynamic FET-PET (AUC 0.88, p = 0.001) were superior to static FET imaging. The multimodal analysis increased the accuracy with an AUC of 0.97 (p < 0.001). In the survival analysis, PET parameters, but not spectroscopy, were significantly correlated with overall survival (OS, static PET p = 0.014, TTP p = 0.012), still, the multiparametric analysis, including MRS, was also useful for the prediction of OS (p = 0.002). In conclusion, FET-PET and MRS provide complementary information to better characterize gliomas before therapy, which is particularly interesting with respect to the increasing use of hybrid PET/MRI for brain tumors

User Label Leakage from Gradients in Federated Learning

Federated learning enables multiple users to build a joint model by sharing their model updates (gradients), while their raw data remains local on their devices. In contrast to the common belief that this provides privacy benefits, we here add to the very recent results on privacy risks when sharing gradients. Specifically, we propose Label Leakage from Gradients (LLG), a novel attack to extract the labels of the users' training data from their shared gradients. The attack exploits the direction and magnitude of gradients to determine the presence or absence of any label. LLG is simple yet effective, capable of leaking potential sensitive information represented by labels, and scales well to arbitrary batch sizes and multiple classes. We empirically and mathematically demonstrate the validity of our attack under different settings. Moreover, empirical results show that LLG successfully extracts labels with high accuracy at the early stages of model training. We also discuss different defense mechanisms against such leakage. Our findings suggest that gradient compression is a practical technique to prevent our attack

Activation of neuropeptide Y receptors is neuroprotective against excitotoxicity in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures

Glutamate and NPY have been implicated in hippocampal neuropathology in temporal lobe epilepsy. Thus, we investigated the involvement of NPY receptors in mediating neuroprotection against excitotoxic insults in organotypic cultures of rat hippocampal slices. Exposure of hippocampal slice cultures to 2 μM AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole-4- propionate) induced neuronal degeneration, monitored by propidium iodide uptake, of granule cells and CA1 pyramidal cells. For dentate granule cells, selective activation of Y1, Y2, or Y5 receptors with 1 μM [Leu31,Pro34]NPY, 300 nM NPY13–36 or 1 μM 500 nM NPY(19–23)- 1 3 4 6 31 32 34 (Gly ,Ser ,Gln ,Thr ,Ala ,Aib ,Gln )-PP, respectively, had a neuroprotective effect against AMPA, whereas only the activation of Y2 receptors was effective for CA1 pyramidal cells. When the slice cultures were exposed to 6 μM kainate, the CA3 pyramidal cells displayed significant degeneration, and in this case the activation of Y1, Y2, and Y5 receptors was neuroprotective. For the kainic acid-induced degeneration of CA1 pyramidal cells, it was again found that only the Y2 receptor activation was effective. Based on the present findings, it was concluded that Y1, Y2, and Y5 receptors effectively can modify glutamate receptor-mediated neurodegeneration in the hippocampu

Effects of inpatient energy management education and high-intensity interval training on health-related quality of life in persons with multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled superiority trial with six-month follow-up.

BACKGROUND Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) and impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A multidisciplinary rehabilitation approach is recommended for the treatment of fatigue in pwMS. However, high-quality evidence exists only for unimodal interventions, such as physical therapies/exercise or energy/fatigue management programmes. The primary objective of the current study was to test the hypothesis that a combination of inpatient energy management education (IEME) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is superior to a combination of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and moderate continuous training (MCT) for improving HRQoL at 6-month follow-up in fatigued pwMS. METHODS A randomized (1:1) controlled superiority trial with fatigued pwMS >18 years of age, with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score ≤6.5, recruited at the Valens clinic, Switzerland. Participants in the experimental group performed IEME twice and HIIT 3 times per week and those in the usual care group performed PMR twice and MCT 3 times per week, during a 3-week inpatient rehabilitation stay. Primary outcome was HRQoL (Physical and Mental Component Scales of the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)), assessed at entry to the clinic (T0), after 3 weeks' rehabilitation (T1) and 4 (T2) and 6 (T3) months after T0. Secondary outcomes included SF-36 subscales, fatigue (Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions (FSMC)), mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)), self-efficacy for performing energy conservation strategies (Self-Efficacy for Performing Energy Conservation Strategies Assessment (SEPECSA)), self-perceived competence in activities of daily living (Occupational Self Assessment (OSA)) and cardiorespiratory fitness (peak oxygen consumption (VȮ2peak)). Data were analysed using a mixed model for repeated measures approach. RESULTS A total of 106 pwMS (age (years): 49.75 (9.87), 66% female, EDSS: 4.64 (1.32)) were recruited. There were no significant group × time interaction effects in the primary and secondary outcomes. There were significant between-group differences in the pairwise comparisons of the group × time interaction in favour of the IEME + HIIT group at: (i) T1 in cardiorespiratory fitness (p = 0.011) and SEPECSA (p = 0.032); (ii) T2 in SF-36 mental health subscale (p = 0.022), HADS anxiety subscale (p = 0.014) and SEPECSA (p = 0.040); (iii) T3 in SF-36 physical functioning subscale (p = 0.012) and SEPECSA (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION IEME + HIIT was not superior to PMR + MCT regarding the effects on HRQoL (SF-36 Physical and Mental Component Scales) at 6-month follow-up in pwMS. However, there were significant between-group differences in favour of IEME + HIIT in physical functioning and mental health (SF-36 subscales), anxiety (HADS), cardiorespiratory fitness (VȮ2peak) and self-efficacy (SEPECSA) at different measurement time-points that need to be considered in clinical practice

Influence of combined functional resistance and endurance exercise over 12 weeks on matrix metalloproteinase-2 serum concentration in persons with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis-a community-based randomized controlled trial

Background: The relevance of regular moderate to intense exercise for ameliorating psychomotor symptoms in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) is becoming increasingly evident. Over the last two decades, emerging evidence from clinical studies and animal models indicate immune regulatory mechanisms in both periphery and the central nervous system that may underlie these beneficial effects. The integrity of the blood-brain barrier as the main structural interface between periphery and brain seems to play an important role in MS. Reducing the secretion of proteolytic matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), i.e. MMP-2, as disruptors of blood-brain barrier integrity could have profound implications for MS. Methods: In this two-Armed randomized controlled trial 64 participants with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (EDSS 0-4.0) will be allocated to either an intervention group or a passive wait list control group. The intervention group will perform 60 min of combined functional resistance and endurance exercises 3x per week over a period of 12 weeks in a community-based and publicly available setting. Changes in serum concentration of MMP-2 will be the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes are numbers of immune cell subsets, soluble (anti-) inflammatory factors, physical capacity, cognitive performance, physical activity behavior, gait performance, and patient-reported outcomes. All outcome measures will be assessed at baseline and after week 12 with an additional blood sampling before, during and immediately after a single training session in week 6. Discussion: To our knowledge, this will be the first RCT to investigate both the acute and chronic effects of a community-based intense functional resistance and endurance exercise regimen in persons with RRMS. Combining analysis of biological and cognitive or psychological outcomes may provide a better understanding of the MS-specific symptomology. Trial registration: DRKS00017091; 05th of April, 2019; International Clinical Trials Registry Platform

Design of the Magnet System of the Neutron Decay Facility PERC

The PERC (Proton and Electron Radiation Channel) facility is currently under construction at the research reactor FRM II, Garching. It will serve as an intense and clean source of electrons and protons from neutron beta decay for precision studies. It aims to contribute to the determination of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark-mixing element $V_{ud}$ from neutron decay data and to search for new physics via new effective couplings. PERC's central component is a 12m long superconducting magnet system. It hosts an 8m long decay region in a uniform field. An additional high-field region selects the phase space of electrons and protons which can reach the detectors and largely improves systematic uncertainties. We discuss the design of the magnet system and the resulting properties of the magnetic field.Comment: Proceedings of the International Workshop on Particle Physics at Neutron Sources PPNS 2018, Grenoble, France, May 24-26, 201