Operation of Modular Smart Grid Applications Interacting through a Distributed Middleware

IoT-functionality can broaden the scope of distribution system automation in terms of functionality and communication. However, it also poses risks regarding resource consumption and security. This article presents a field approved IoT-enabled smart grid middleware, which allows for flexible deployment and management of applications within smart grid operation. In the first part of the work, the resource consumption of the middleware is analyzed and current memory bottlenecks are identified. The bottlenecks can be resolved by introducing a new entity that allows to dynamically load multiple applications within one JVM. The performance was experimentally tested and the results suggest that its application can significantly reduce the applications' memory footprint on the physical device. The second part of the study identifies and discusses potential security threats, with a focus on attacks stemming from malicious software applications within the framework. In order to prevent such attacks a proxy based prevention mechanism is developed and demonstrated

A multicentre, patient- and assessor-blinded, non-inferiority, randomised and controlled phase II trial to compare standard and torque teno virus-guided immunosuppression in kidney transplant recipients in the first year after transplantation:TTVguideIT

Background: Immunosuppression after kidney transplantation is mainly guided via plasma tacrolimus trough level, which cannot sufficiently predict allograft rejection and infection. The plasma load of the non-pathogenic and highly prevalent torque teno virus (TTV) is associated with the immunosuppression of its host. Non-interventional studies suggest the use of TTV load to predict allograft rejection and infection. The primary objective of the current trial is to demonstrate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of TTV-guided immunosuppression. Methods: For this purpose, a randomised, controlled, interventional, two-arm, non-inferiority, patient- and assessor-blinded, investigator-driven phase II trial was designed. A total of 260 stable, low-immunological-risk adult recipients of a kidney graft with tacrolimus-based immunosuppression and TTV infection after month 3 post-transplantation will be recruited in 13 academic centres in six European countries. Subjects will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio (allocation concealment) to receive tacrolimus either guided by TTV load or according to the local centre standard for 9 months. The primary composite endpoint includes the occurrence of infections, biopsy-proven allograft rejection, graft loss, or death. The main secondary endpoints include estimated glomerular filtration rate, graft rejection detected by protocol biopsy at month 12 post-transplantation (including molecular microscopy), development of de novo donor-specific antibodies, health-related quality of life, and drug adherence. In parallel, a comprehensive biobank will be established including plasma, serum, urine and whole blood. The date of the first enrolment was August 2022 and the planned end is April 2025. Discussion: The assessment of individual kidney transplant recipient immune function might enable clinicians to personalise immunosuppression, thereby reducing infection and rejection. Moreover, the trial might act as a proof of principle for TTV-guided immunosuppression and thus pave the way for broader clinical applications, including as guidance for immune modulators or disease-modifying agents.</p

Enabling scalable collaboration by introducing platform-independent communication for the Peer Model

Trotz der enormen technischen Entwicklungen der Computerhardware und den dadurch ermöglichten Fähigkeiten in den letzten Jahrzehnten werden auch weiterhin viele Aufgaben nicht von einer Maschine alleine bewältigbar sein. Die Integration von Systemen zu einem verteilten System zur kooperativen Bewältigung einer Aufgabe ist jedoch durch die Heterogenität der Maschinen, beispielsweise bei Hardware oder Betriebssystem, eine komplexe Angelegenheit. Diese Diplomarbeit stellt die Enterprise-Java-Implementierung des Peer Models vor, das von der Space Based Computing Group am Institut für Computersprachen an der Technischen Universität Wien erfunden und spezifiziert wurde. Das Peer Model ist ein datengetriebenes Modell für die Koordination von heterogenen Systemen, welches auf den Konzepten der Timed und Colored Petri-Netzen basiert. Eine der wichtigsten Anforderungen für die Kollaboration zwischen Maschinen ist die Kommunikation zwischen diesen. Die Diplomarbeit evaluiert daher einige Serialisierungsund Kommunikationsformate, um plattformunabhängige Mechanismen für das Auffinden von Peer-Model-Instanzen im Netzwerk, sowie den Datenaustausch mit diesen zu ermöglichen. Dies erlaubt die Entwicklung von skalierbaren und verteilten Lösungen, wobei die involvierten Peer-Model-Instanzen nicht notwendigerweise in der selben Programmiersprache entwickelt sein müssen. Zusätzlich können mit dieser Implementierung während der Laufzeit der Peer-Model-Instanz dynamisch Komponenten hinzugefügt und entfernt werden. Die Implementierung wird in eine im Aufbau befindliche Toolchain integriert, die verschiedene Werkzeuge und Systeme im Peer-Model-Kontext bereitstellt. Mehrere Diplomarbeiten und eine Dissertation verwenden oder erweitern diese Implementierung bereits für deren Anwendungsfälle.Despite enormous technical developments on computer hardware and the resulting abilities in the last decades, many applications are still not and will never be computable by one machine alone. For collaboration, various machines are thus assembled to distributed systems; however, as these machines may be heterogeneous in hardware and operating systems, this integration shows to be a challenging task. The contribution of this diploma thesis is an enterprise Java implementation of the Peer Model, a data-driven model for collaboration of heterogeneous systems based on the concepts of Timed and Colored Petri Nets, introduced and specified by the Space Based Computing Group of the Institute for Computer Languages, TU Wien. One of the primary requirements of collaboration between machines is to enable communication between them. To that end, the thesis evaluates several serialization and communication formats and defines a platform-independent mechanism of instance discovery and data exchange between Peer Model instances. Thus, it allows to build up scalable and distributed solutions while not requiring the Peer Model instances executed on the collaborating machines being implemented in the same programming language. Furthermore, the implementation allows to add and remove entities during the runtime of the Peer Model instance and thus enables dynamic adaptions while being executed. The implementation is integrated into a developing toolchain composed of various tools and systems in the Peer Model context. Furthermore, a few diploma theses and one PhD thesis are already using or extending this implementation for their use cases.15

Constructing Hierarchical Porous Zeolites via Kinetic Regulation

Zeolites are crystalline inorganic solids with microporous structures, having widespread applications in the fields of catalysis, separation, adsorption, microelectronics, and medical diagnosis. A major drawback of zeolites is the mass transfer limitation due to the small size of the micropores (less than 1 nm). Numerous efforts have been dedicated to integrating mesopores with the microporous zeolite structures by using templating and/or destructive approaches. Here we provide a new strategy for hierarchical pore size zeolite synthesis, without using supramolecular or hard templates. The branching epitaxial growth behavior, as a result of aluminum-zoning, contributes to the formation of the hierarchical porous zeolite structures

Actes de la conférence CAID 2021 (Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Defense)

6th European Cyber Week (6ème semaine européenne de la cybersécurité et de la cyberdéfense