Data Transfer Using a Camera and a Three-Dimensional Code

One- and two-dimensional barcodes have become very popular in past years and are widely used to identify products as well as services. Recently, 2D barcodes, likeQRcodes, are also used to optically transfer a dedicated hyperlink. All 2D barcodes share one major limitation: the storage capacity. To overcome that, time can be introduced as a third dimension. Instead of one, a sequence of barcodes is used to transfer a larger amount of data. The main goal of the present work was to design, implement, and especially evaluate the entire workflow for such a QR codebased, three-dimensional (3D) transmission system on the receiver side, such as a SmartPhone, being able to "read” from a sender, represented by a screen. The steps comprise the capturing of the 3D barcode, the recognition and reading of the sequence of 2D barcodes, and the final retrieval of the original content. Furthermore, adversarial conditions had to be identified, tested, and documented in detail. The prototype achieves a theoretical throughput of 12,288 Byte for 30 seconds transmission intervals, which results in approximately 3,280 bit/s. Future work may focus on increasing the throughput of the system as well as the transmission reliability by applying error detection and correction technique

Report on the 4th International Conference on Autonomous Infrastructures, Management, and Security (AIMS 2010) and the International Summer School on Network and Service Management (ISSNSM 2010)

This article contains the report on AIMS 2010, which was held June 23-25, 2010 at the Department of Informatics (IFI), University of Zürich, Switzerland and which was driven by the theme "Mechanisms for Autonomous Management of Networks and Services”. Furthermore, the report also synopsizes ISSNSM 2010, which was run June 21-23, 2010 at the same location and which offered a practical summer school on selected topics in network and service managemen

Evaluation of an Accounting Model for Dynamic Virtual Organizations

Accounting of Grid resource and service usage determines the central support activity for Grid systems to be adopted as a means for service-oriented computing in Dynamic Virtual Organizations (DVO). An all-embracing study of existing Grid accounting systems has revealed that these approaches focus primarily on technical precision, while they lack a foundation of appropriate economic accounting principles and the support for multi-provider scenarios or virtualization concepts. Consequently, a new, flexible, resource-based accounting model for DVOs was developed, combining technical and economic accounting by means of Activity-based Costing. Driven by a functional evaluation, this paper pursues a full-fledged evaluation of the new, generically applicable Grid accounting model. This is done for the specific environment of the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) in Garching, Germany. Thus, a detailed evaluation methodology and evaluation environment is outlined, leading to actual model-based cost calculations for a defined set of considered Grid services. The results gained are analyzed and respective conclusions on model applicability, optimizations, and further extensions are draw

Telecommunication Economics — Summary on the Dagstuhl Perspectives Seminar No. 08043

The telecommunications sector and the Internet section of Internet Service Providers (ISP) have become a dynamic key area for the economic development of industrialized nations in the world. It is in constant evolution. Because of intense competition, telecommunications companies and ISPs are forced to diversify their offers and thus to propose an increasing number of services. However, economic analysis often ignores important technical aspects of telecommunications and is not aware of new developments. Engineering models often ignore economic factors. Thus, the design and deployment of future networks that incorporate new services are subject to uncertainties such as equipment and capacity prices (due to technological innovation), demand and supply for services (due to competition). Seeing leading researchers bringing together with various backgrounds, all working on innovative aspects of technical, techno-economic, social, and regulatory issues, lead to the following four main areas that have been partially tackled in an integrated manner: Architectural side, Social side, Economic and business side, and Regulatory side

Semi-automated computed tomography Volumetry can predict hemihepatectomy specimens’ volumes in patients with hepatic malignancy

Background: One of the major causes of perioperative mortality of patients undergoing major hepatic resections is post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF). For preoperative appraisal of the risk of PHLF it is important to accurately predict resectate volume and future liver remnant volume (FLRV). The objective of our study is to prospectively evaluate the accuracy of hemihepatectomy resectate volumes that are determined by computed tomography volumetry (CTV) when compared with intraoperatively measured volumes and weights as gold standard in patients undergoing hemihepatectomy. Methods: Twenty four patients (13 women, 11 men) scheduled for hemihepatectomy due to histologically proven primary or secondary hepatic malignancies were included in our study. CTV was performed using a semi-automated module (S, hereinafter) (syngo.CT Liver Analysis VA30, Siemens Healthcare, Germany). Conversion factors between CT volumes on the one side and intraoperative volumes and weights on the other side were calculated using the method of least squares. Absolute and relative disagreements between CT volumes and intraoperative volumes were determined. Results: A conversion factor of c = 0.906 most precisely predicted intraoperative volumes of exsanguinated hemihepatectomy specimens from CT volumes in all patients with mean absolute and relative disagreements between CT volumes and intraoperative volumes of 57 ml and 6.3%. The use of operation-specific conversion factors yielded even better results. Conclusions: CTV performed with S accurately predicts intraoperative volumes of hemihepatectomy specimens when applying conversion factors which compensate for exsanguination. This allows to precisely estimate the FLRV and thus minimize the risk of PHLF in patients undergoing major hepatic resections

Generation of PLZF+ CD4+ T cells via MHC class II–dependent thymocyte–thymocyte interaction is a physiological process in humans

Human thymocytes, unlike mouse thymocytes, express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules on their surface, especially during the fetal and perinatal stages. Based on this observation, we previously identified a novel developmental pathway for the generation of CD4+ T cells via interactions between MHC class II–expressing thymocytes (thymocyte–thymocyte [T–T] interactions) with a transgenic mouse system. However, the developmental dissection of this T–T interaction in humans has not been possible because of the lack of known cellular molecules specific for T–T CD4+ T cells. We show that promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein (PLZF) is a useful marker for the identification of T–T CD4+ T cells. With this analysis, we determined that a substantial number of fetal thymocytes and splenocytes express PLZF and acquire innate characteristics during their development in humans. Although these characteristics are quite similar to invariant NKT (iNKT) cells, they clearly differ from iNKT cells in that they have a diverse T cell receptor repertoire and are restricted by MHC class II molecules. These findings define a novel human CD4+ T cell subset that develops via an MHC class II–dependent T–T interaction

Future therapeutic targets in rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by persistent joint inflammation. Without adequate treatment, patients with RA will develop joint deformity and progressive functional impairment. With the implementation of treat-to-target strategies and availability of biologic therapies, the outcomes for patients with RA have significantly improved. However, the unmet need in the treatment of RA remains high as some patients do not respond sufficiently to the currently available agents, remission is not always achieved and refractory disease is not uncommon. With better understanding of the pathophysiology of RA, new therapeutic approaches are emerging. Apart from more selective Janus kinase inhibition, there is a great interest in the granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor pathway, Bruton's tyrosine kinase pathway, phosphoinositide-3-kinase pathway, neural stimulation and dendritic cell-based therapeutics. In this review, we will discuss the therapeutic potential of these novel approaches