Wi-Fi based indoor navigation in the context of mobile services

With the increased prevalence of smartphones and online mapping solutions like Google Maps, the next logical step is the mapping of indoor spaces. Especially, in large public buildings like airports and shopping malls, people may profit from these systems. There are a large number of mapping solutions available on the market today. Some of the most popular being Google Maps, OpenSteetMap, Bing Maps, and MapQuest. Google Maps and Bing Maps have both started offering indoor maps of a number of publicly accessible buildings, but these solutions are proprietary, and only data that is approved by these companies is accessible on their services. The goal of this thesis is to provide a framework upon which an indoor mapping solution with the following properties can be developed: Indoor positioning, map of the indoor space, smartphone application that can access the map data and the position service, and a routing system that can give a user firections between rooms or from the users position to a room

Contract Machines: An Engineer-friendly Specification Language for Mode-Based Systems

The first step in developing safe and functioning systems is the specification of the intended behavior. The development, validation, and verification depend on clear and unambiguous specifications. Building understandable specification tools requires adequate formalisms and representation to express the expected functional behavior. We present contract machines: a graphical specification language based on the well-known modeling concept of state machines and the intuitive semantics of assume-guarantee contracts. Contract machines (CMs) build upon the logical foundation of contract automata (CA) which are non-deterministic finite automata over alphabets of contracts, and provide the formal semantics of CMs. CAs can be processed by (semi-)automated verification and validation tools, such as model checkers or test case generators. In contrast to contract automata, contract machines offer a more high-level view of the system under scrutiny by providing more features to ease usability. We present features for effective controlling of non-determinism, using recurring specification patterns, e.g.\ for fault modes and error recovery behavior, and handling different versions and variants of systems

Entwurf und Implementierung eines Prozesses aus der Verwaltung am Beispiel einer Reisekostenabrechnung

Als Teil dieser Bachelorarbeit wurde der alltägliche Fall der Reisekostenabrechnung an der Universität Ulm untersucht. Der Prozess besteht aus dem Dienstreiseantrag und dem Antrag für die Reisekostenabrechnung. Nach einer Modellierung mittels der BPMN und einer darauf aufbauenden Optimierung wurde dann auf die AristaFlow Business Process Management Suite zurückgegriffen, um eine automatisierte Implementierung dieses Prozesses zu realisieren. Es wurden die Vorteile einer solchen Implementierung sowie weiter Optimierungsmöglichkeiten aufgezeigt

BPM to Go: Supporting Business Processes in a Mobile and Sensing World

The growing maturity of smart mobile devices has fostered their prevalence in a multitude of business areas. As a consequence, business process management (BPM) technologies need to be enhanced with sophisticated and configurable mobile task support. Along characteristic use cases from different application domains (e.g., healthcare and logistics), this chapter will give insights into the challenges, concepts and technologies relevant for integrating mobile task support with business processes. Amongst others, we will show how mobile task support can be enhanced with location-based data, sensor integration, and mobile task configuration support. The latter is based on a 3D model for configuring mobile tasks on smart mobile devices

Reliability of 3D planning and simulations of medial open wedge high tibial osteotomies

Purpose: In medial open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO) hinge axis and osteotomy plane influence the resulting anatomy, but accurate angular quantifications using 3D-planning-simulations are lacking. The objectives of this study were developing a standardized and validated 3D-planning method of an HTO and to perform several simulated realignments to explain unintended anatomy changes. Methods: The cutting direction of the main osteotomy was defined parallel to the medial tibial slope and the hinge axis 1.5 cm distal to the lateral plateau. For interobserver testing, this 3D planning was performed on 13 digital models of human tibiae by two observers. In addition, four different hinge axis positions and five differently inclined osteotomy planes each were simulated. The osteotomy direction ranged from medial 0°–30° anteromedial, while the tilt of the osteotomy plane compared to the tibial plateau was −10° to +10°. All anatomic angular changes were calculated using 3D analysis. Results: Multiple HTO plannings by two medical investigators using standardized procedures showed only minimal differences. In the 3D-simulation, each 10° rotation of the hinge axis resulted in a 1.7° significant increase in slope. Tilting the osteotomy plane by 10° resulted in significant torsional changes of 2°, in addition to minor but significant changes in the medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA). Conclusion: Standardized 3D-planning of the HTO can be performed with high reliability using two-observer planning. 3D-simulations suggest that control of the osteotomy plane is highly relevant to avoid unintended changes in the resulting anatomy, but this can be a helpful tool to modify specific angles in different pathologies in the HTO

Structures and reactivity of peroxy radicals and dimeric products revealed by online tandem mass spectrometry

Organic peroxy radicals (RO2) play a pivotal role in the degradation of hydrocarbons. The autoxidation of atmospheric RO2 radicals produces highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs), including low-volatility ROOR dimers formed by bimolecular RO2 + RO2 reactions. HOMs can initiate and greatly contribute to the formation and growth of atmospheric particles. As a result, HOMs have far-reaching health and climate implications. Nevertheless, the structures and formation mechanism of RO2 radicals and HOMs remain elusive. Here, we present the in-situ characterization of RO2 and dimer structure in the gas-phase, using online tandem mass spectrometry analyses. In this study, we constrain the structures and formation pathway of several HOM-RO2 radicals and dimers produced from monoterpene ozonolysis, a prominent atmospheric oxidation process. In addition to providing insights into atmospheric HOM chemistry, this study debuts online tandem MS analyses as a unique approach for the chemical characterization of reactive compounds, e.g., organic radicals.Peer reviewe

Measuring the Moment-to-Moment Variability of Tinnitus: The TrackYourTinnitus Smart Phone App

Tinnitus, the phantom perception of sound without a corresponding external sound, is a frequent disorder which causes significant morbidity. So far there is no treatment available that reliably reduces the tinnitus perception. The research is hampered by the large heterogeneity of tinnitus and the fact that the tinnitus perception fluctuates over time. It is therefore necessary to develop tools for measuring fluctuations of tinnitus perception over time and for analyzing data on single subject basis. However, this type of longitudinal measurement is difficult to perform using the traditional research methods such as paper-and-pencil questionnaires or clinical interviews. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) represents a research concept that allows the assessment of subjective measurements under real-life conditions using portable electronic devices and thereby enables the researcher to collect longitudinal data under real-life conditions and high cost efficiency. Here we present a new method for recording the longitudinal development of tinnitus perception using a modern smartphone application available for iOS and Android devices with no costs for the users. The TrackYourTinnitus (TYT) app is available and maintained since April 2014. A number of 857 volunteers with an average age of 44.1 years participated in the data collection between April 2014 and February 2016. The mean tinnitus distress at the initial measurement was rated on average 13.9 points on the Mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire (Mini-TQ; max. 24 points). Importantly, we could demonstrate that the regular use of the TYT app has no significant negative influence on the perception of the tinnitus loudness nor on the tinnitus distress. The TYT app can therefore be proposed as a safe instrument for the longitudinal assessment of tinnitus perception in the everyday life of the patient

3D osteotomies-improved accuracy with patient-specific instruments (PSI)

Purpose Three-dimensional (3D) printed patient-specific instruments (PSI) have been introduced to increase precision and simplify surgical procedures. Initial results in femoral and tibial osteotomies are promising, but validation studies on 3D planning, manufacturing of patient-specific cutting blocks and 3D evaluation of the attained results are lacking. Methods In this study, patient-specific cutting blocks and spacers were designed, fabricated, and used to perform a high tibial osteotomy (HTO). After segmentation of CT data sets from 13 human tibiae, 3D digital planning of the HTO was performed with a medial opening of 8 mm. These 3D models were used to fabricate patient-specific cutting blocks and spacers. After the surgical procedure, accuracy was evaluated measuring 3D joint angles and surface deviations. Results The lowest mean deviation was found to be 0.57 degrees (SD +/- 0.27) for the MPTA. Medial and lateral tibial slope deviated from the 3D planning by an average of 0.98 degrees (SD +/- 0.53) and 1.26 degrees (SD +/- 0.79), respectively, while tibial torsion deviated by an average of 5.74 degrees (SD +/- 3.24). Color analysis of surface deviations showed excellent and good agreement in 7 tibiae. Conclusion With 3D cutting blocks and spacers, the 3D planning of the HTO can be translated into reality with small deviations of the resulting joint angles. Within this study, the results of the individual steps are examined for errors and thus a critical evaluation of this new and promising method for performing patient-specific HTOs is presented

Human amnionic progenitor cell secretome mitigates the consequence of traumatic optic neuropathy in a mouse model

Traumatic optic neuropathy (TON) is a condition in which acute injury to the optic nerve from direct or indirect trauma results in vision loss. The most common cause of TON is indirect injury to the optic nerve caused by concussive forces that are transmitted to the optic nerve. TON occurs in up to 5% of closed-head trauma patients and there is currently no known effective treatment. One potential treatment option for TON is ST266, a cell-free biological solution containing the secretome of amnion-derived multipotent progenitor (AMP) cells. We investigated the efficacy of intranasal ST266 in a mouse model of TON induced by blunt head trauma. Injured mice treated with a 10-day regimen of ST266 showed an improvement in spatial memory and learning, a significant preservation of retinal ganglion cells, and a decrease in neuropathological markers in the optic nerve, optic tract, and dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. ST266 treatment effectively downregulated the NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated neuroinflammation pathway after blunt trauma. Overall, treatment with ST266 was shown to improve functional and pathological outcomes in a mouse model of TON, warranting future exploration of ST266 as a cell-free therapeutic candidate for testing in all optic neuropathies