Improving e-commerce fraud investigations in virtual, inter-institutional teams: Towards an approach based on Semantic Web technologies

There is a dramatic shift in credit card fraud from the offline to the online world. Large online retailers have tried to establish countermeasures and transaction data analysis technologies to lower the rate of fraudulent transactions to a manageable amount. But as retailers will always have to make a trade-off between the performance of the transaction processing, the usability of the web shop, and the overall security of it, one can assume that e-commerce fraud will still happen in the future. Thus, retailers have to collaborate with relevant business partners on the incident to find a common ground and take coordinated (legal) actions against it. Trying to combine the information from different stakeholders will face issues due to different wordings and data formats, competing incentives of the stakeholders to participate on information sharing, as well as possible sharing restrictions that prevent them from making the information available to a larger audience. Moreover, as some of the information might be confidential or business-critical to at least one of the parties involved, a centralized system (e.g. a service in the public cloud) can not be used. This Master Thesis is therefore analysing how far a computer supported collaborative work system based on peer-to-peer communication and Semantic Web technologies can improve the efficiency and effectivity of e-commerce fraud investigations within an inter-institutional team

Regelung von direktangetriebenen elektrischen Maschinen für Verbrennungsmotoren

Diese Arbeit handelt von der Regelung von elektrischen Maschinen, welche an einem Verbrennungsmotor direkt gekoppelt sind. Zu Beginn werden einige Grundlagen zur Regelung von permanent erregten Synchronmaschinen (PMSM) und die Funktionsweise von Vier-Takt-Ottomotoren erläutert. Es folgen dann die verschiedenen Versuchsaufbauten, die in dieser Arbeit genutzt wurden, um verschiedene mittelwert und dynamikbasierte Regelverfahren zu validieren. Zu den mittelwertbasierten Regelverfahren werden Verfahren gezählt, welche keine hochdynamische Drehmomentänderung innerhalb der vier Takte des Verbrennungsmotors benötigen. Hierzu gehört unter anderem die drosselklappenaktorlose Leistungsregelung. Das zu regelnde System ist nichtlinear. Zur Regelung des Systems wurde es zum einen mithilfe einer Taylorannäherung und zum anderen mit einer Ausgangsrückführung linearisiert. Zu dem linearisierten System konnte anschließend ein Regler ausgelegt werden. Ein weiteres mittelwertbasiertes Regelverfahren ist die winkelgeberlose Regelung. Hierbei wurden verschiedene Winkelschätzverfahren für die PMSM angewendet, um den elektrischen Winkel und das Drehmoment desVerbrennungsmotors zu schätzen, welches mit einem theoretischen Kompressionsdrehmoment verglichen wird, um den Kurbelwinkel zum elektrischen Winkel zu referenzieren. Die dynamikbasierten Regelverfahren sind Verfahren, welche innerhalb der vier Takte den Drehmoment-/ Kraftverlauf der elektrischen Maschine stark verändern. Hierdurch ist es unter anderem möglich, den Kolbenhubverlauf bei einem Verbrennungsmotor mit Kurbelwelle und bei einem Freikolbenmotor anzupassen. Außerdem kann die Einprägung eines hochdynamischen Drehmoments auf einer Nockenwelle dazu genutzt werden, um die Ventilsteuerzeiten zu variieren. Weiterhin wird eine hohe Regeldynamik benötigt, wenn eine nahezu konstante Drehzahl erforderlich ist. Hierfür muss ein Drehmoment eingeprägt werden, was das Drehmoment des Verbrennungsmotors kompensiert. Dies wird als Drehmomentdämpfung/-kompensation bezeichnet. Es wurden verschiedene Drehmomentdämpfungsmethoden getestet und die Ergebnisse nach Implementierungsaufwand und benötigten Sensoren verglichen.This work deals with the control of electrical machines that are directly coupled to an internal combustion engine. At the beginning, some basics for the control of permanently excited synchronous machines and the functioning of four-strokegasoline engines are explained. This is followed by the various test setups that were used in this work to validate various average and dynamics-based control procedures. The average value-based control methods include methods that do not require a highly dynamic change in torque within the four cycles of the internal combustion engine. This includes throttle actuator-free power control. The system is nonlinear. To control the system, it was linearized on the one hand by using a Taylorapproximation and on the other hand by using a feedback linearization. A controller could then be designed for the linearized system. Another control method, based on average values, is the control without an angle encoder. Here, angle estimationmethods for the PMSM were used to estimate the electrical angle and the torque of the internal combustion engine, which is compared with a theoretical compression torque in order to reference the crank angle to the electrical angle.The dynamics-based control methods are methods that change the torque / force curve of the electrical machine significantly within the four cycles. This makes it possible, among other things, to adapt the piston stroke in an internal combustionengine with a crankshaft and in a free piston engine. In addition, the injection of a highly dynamic torque on a camshaft can be used to adjust the valve timing. High control dynamics are also necessary when an almost constant speed is required. Forthis, a torque must be applied, which compensates the torque of the internal combustion engine. This is known as torque damping / compensation. Different torque damping methods were tested and the results compared according to implementation effort and required sensors

Tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives: a new perspective on monoaminergic dysfunction in children with ADHD?

BACKGROUND: The dopamine-derived tetrahydroisoquinolines (TIQ) synthesized endogeneously from aldehydes and catecholamines have shown to modulate neurotransmission, central metabolism and motor activity. Converging evidence has implicated abnormalities of the dopamine metabolism to the pathophysiology of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Therefore, four TIQ derivatives involved in central dopamine metabolism (salsolinol, N-methyl-salsolinol, norsalsolinol, N-methyl-norsalsolinol) have been analyzed for the first time in children and adolescents with ADHD and healthy controls. METHODS: 42 children and adolescents with ADHD and 24 controls from three sites participated in this pilot study. Free and bound amounts of salsolinol, N-methyl-salsolinol, norsalsolinol, N-methyl-norsalsolinol have been analyzed in urine. RESULTS: In the ADHD group, free and total amounts of the four TIQ derivatives in urine were significantly higher compared to urine levels of healthy controls. For N-methyl-salsolinolfree, most of the ADHD patients were identified correctly with a sensitivity of 92.5% (specificity 94.4%). CONCLUSION: Urine levels of salsolinol, N-methyl-salsolinol, norsalsolinol and N-methyl-norsalsolinol are elevated in children and adolescents with ADHD and point to a new perspective on catecholaminergic dysfunction in ADHD. However, replication and extension of this pilot study would progress this innovative and promising field

Assessing Non-Invasive Liver Function in Patients With Intestinal Failure Receiving Total Parenteral Nutrition-Results From the Prospective PNLiver Trial

Liver abnormalities in intestinal failure (IF) patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) can progress undetected by standard laboratory tests to intestinal failure associated liver disease (IFALD). The aim of this longitudinal study is to evaluate the ability of non-invasive liver function tests to assess liver function following the initiation of PN. Twenty adult patients with IF were prospectively included at PN initiation and received scheduled follow-up assessments after 6, 12, and 24 months between 2014 and 2019. Each visit included liver assessment (LiMAx [Liver Maximum Capacity] test, ICG [indocyanine green] test, FibroScan), laboratory tests (standard laboratory test, NAFLD [non-alcoholic fatty liver disease] score, FIB-4 [fibrosis-4] score), nutritional status (bioelectrical impedance analysis, indirect calorimetry), and quality of life assessment. The patients were categorized post-hoc based on their continuous need for PN into a reduced parenteral nutrition (RPN) group and a stable parenteral nutrition (SPN) group. While the SPN group (n = 9) had significantly shorter small bowel length and poorer nutritional status at baseline compared to the RPN group (n = 11), no difference in liver function was observed between the distinct groups. Over time, liver function determined by LiMAx did continuously decrease from baseline to 24 months in the SPN group but remained stable in the RPN group. This decrease in liver function assessed with LiMAx in the SPN group preceded deterioration of all other investigated liver function tests during the study period. Our results suggest that the liver function over time is primarily determined by the degree of intestinal failure. Furthermore, the LiMAx test appeared more sensitive in detecting early changes in liver function in comparison to other liver function tests

Der Stage-Gate-Prozess als Instrument in der Entrepreneurship Education

Der Stage-Gate-Prozess ist in der Lage, als wirkungsstarke Klammer von Theorie und Praxis in der Entrepreneurship Education zu dienen. Der gestaffelte Prozessablauf lässt Lehrenden genug Raum, um offene Fragestellungen durch individuelle Themenschwerpunkte hervorzuheben. Gleichzeitig aber bietet der Stage-Gate-Prozess den Studierenden die Möglichkeit der selbständigen interdisziplinären Anwendung der im Studium erlernten Kenntnisse. Der Stage-Gate-Prozess ermöglicht es, erste Erfahrungen in unternehmerischen Entscheidungen und Handlungen im geschützten Hochschulraum zu erleben. Er vermittelt gerade auch den Studierenden, die bis dahin noch nicht über eine Unternehmensgründung nachgedacht haben, einen praxisnahen Einblick in die Potenziale und Herausforderungen der Produktentwicklung mit der Perspektive einer innovationsbasierten Unternehmensgründung. 19.06.2015 | Andreas Gerlach & Lars Bollweg (Soest

Structural and enzymatic analysis of TarM from <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> reveals an oligomeric protein specific for the glycosylation of wall teichoic acid.

Anionic glycopolymers known as wall teichoic acids (WTAs) functionalize the peptidoglycan layers of many Gram-positive bacteria. WTAs play central roles in many fundamental aspects of bacterial physiology, and they are important determinants of pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance. A number of enzymes that glycosylate WTA in Staphylococcus aureus have recently been identified. Among these is the glycosyltransferase TarM, a component of the WTA de novo biosynthesis pathway. TarM performs the synthesis of α-O-N-acetylglycosylated poly-5′-phosphoribitol in the WTA structure. We have solved the crystal structure of TarM at 2.4 Å resolution, and we have also determined a structure of the enzyme in complex with its substrate UDP-GlcNAc at 2.8 Å resolution. The protein assembles into a propeller-like homotrimer in which each blade contains a GT-B-type glycosyltransferase domain with a typical Rossmann fold. The enzymatic reaction retains the stereochemistry of the anomeric center of the transferred GlcNAc-moiety on the polyribitol backbone. TarM assembles into a trimer using a novel trimerization domain, here termed the HUB domain. Structure-guided mutagenesis experiments of TarM identify residues critical for enzyme activity, assign a putative role for the HUB in TarM function, and allow us to propose a likely reaction mechanism

Corynebacterium diphtheriae invasion-associated protein (DIP1281) is involved in cell surface organization, adhesion and internalization in epithelial cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Corynebacterium diphtheriae</it>, the causative agent of diphtheria, is well-investigated in respect to toxin production, while little is known about <it>C. diphtheriae </it>factors crucial for colonization of the host. In this study, we investigated the function of surface-associated protein DIP1281, previously annotated as hypothetical invasion-associated protein.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Microscopic inspection of DIP1281 mutant strains revealed an increased size of the single cells in combination with an altered less club-like shape and formation of chains of cells rather than the typical V-like division forms or palisades of growing <it>C. diphtheriae </it>cells. Cell viability was not impaired. Immuno-fluorescence microscopy, SDS-PAGE and 2-D PAGE of surface proteins revealed clear differences of wild-type and mutant protein patterns, which were verified by atomic force microscopy. DIP1281 mutant cells were not only altered in shape and surface structure but completely lack the ability to adhere to host cells and consequently invade these.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data indicate that DIP1281 is predominantly involved in the organization of the outer surface protein layer rather than in the separation of the peptidoglycan cell wall of dividing bacteria. The adhesion- and invasion-negative phenotype of corresponding mutant strains is an effect of rearrangements of the outer surface.</p

Support Vector Machine Analysis of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Interoception Does Not Reliably Predict Individual Outcomes of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

Background: The approach to apply multivariate pattern analyses based on neuro imaging data for outcome prediction holds out the prospect to improve therapeutic decisions in mental disorders. Patients suffering from panic disorder with agoraphobia (PD/AG) often exhibit an increased perception of bodily sensations. The purpose of this investigation was to assess whether multivariate classification applied to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) interoception paradigm can predict individual responses to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in PD/AG. Methods: This analysis is based on pretreatment fMRI data during an interoceptive challenge from a multicenter trial of the German PANIC-NET. Patients with DSM-IV PD/AG were dichotomized as responders (n = 30) or non-responders (n = 29) based on the primary outcome (Hamilton Anxiety Scale Reduction ≥50%) after 6 weeks of CBT (2 h/week). fMRI parametric maps were used as features for response classification with linear support vector machines (SVM) with or without automated feature selection. Predictive accuracies were assessed using cross validation and permutation testing. The influence of methodological parameters and the predictive ability for specific interoception-related symptom reduction were further evaluated. Results: SVM did not reach sufficient overall predictive accuracies (38.0–54.2%) for anxiety reduction in the primary outcome. In the exploratory analyses, better accuracies (66.7%) were achieved for predicting interoception-specific symptom relief as an alternative outcome domain. Subtle information regarding this alternative response criterion but not the primary outcome was revealed by post hoc univariate comparisons. Conclusion: In contrast to reports on other neurofunctional probes, SVM based on an interoception paradigm was not able to reliably predict individual response to CBT. Results speak against the clinical applicability of this technique

A genetic validation study reveals a role of vitamin D metabolism in the response to interferon-alfa-based therapy of chronic hepatitis C

Background: To perform a comprehensive study on the relationship between vitamin D metabolism and the response to interferon-α-based therapy of chronic hepatitis C. Methodology/Principal Findings: Associations between a functionally relevant polymorphism in the gene encoding the vitamin D 1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1-1260 rs10877012) and the response to treatment with pegylated interferon-α (PEG-IFN-α) and ribavirin were determined in 701 patients with chronic hepatitis C. In addition, associations between serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25[OH]D3) and treatment outcome were analysed. CYP27B1-1260 rs10877012 was found to be an independent predictor of sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients with poor-response IL28B genotypes (15% difference in SVR for rs10877012 genotype AA vs. CC, p = 0.02, OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.061–2.188), but not in patients with favourable IL28B genotype. Patients with chronic hepatitis C showed a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (25[OH]D3<20 ng/mL) during all seasons, but 25(OH)D3 serum levels were not associated with treatment outcome. Conclusions/Significance: Our study suggests a role of bioactive vitamin D (1,25[OH]2D3, calcitriol) in the response to treatment of chronic hepatitis C. However, serum concentration of the calcitriol precursor 25(OH)D3 is not a suitable predictor of treatment outcome