Low Code Development Platform Adoption: A Research Model

Although Low Code Development Platforms (LCDP) promise efficiency and effectiveness improvements for organisations when adopted, research on LCDP adoption lacks a theoretical foundation. This research-in-progress paper proposes a research model to explain LCDP adoption. The research model combines two theoretical lenses, including social and technical factors referring to the socio-technical systems theory, complementing the environmental factors captured in the Technology – Environment – Organisation model. As single factors may not be sufficient to explain LCDP adoption, this paper introduces combinations of factors that balance social, technical, and environmental factors. In this stage, the paper’s contribution to research is a first theoretically grounded but tentative model to explain LCDP adoption. The expected results of this study provide combinations of factors to indicate one or more paths for LCDP adoption

Pop-up SLAM: Semantic Monocular Plane SLAM for Low-texture Environments

Existing simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms are not robust in challenging low-texture environments because there are only few salient features. The resulting sparse or semi-dense map also conveys little information for motion planning. Though some work utilize plane or scene layout for dense map regularization, they require decent state estimation from other sources. In this paper, we propose real-time monocular plane SLAM to demonstrate that scene understanding could improve both state estimation and dense mapping especially in low-texture environments. The plane measurements come from a pop-up 3D plane model applied to each single image. We also combine planes with point based SLAM to improve robustness. On a public TUM dataset, our algorithm generates a dense semantic 3D model with pixel depth error of 6.2 cm while existing SLAM algorithms fail. On a 60 m long dataset with loops, our method creates a much better 3D model with state estimation error of 0.67%.Comment: International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 201

Improving validation of predictive tools for injector-coupled combustion instabilities

This paper summarises work conducted within an ESA TDE project addressing the development of predictive tools for the avoidance of injector-coupled combustion instabilities during the design phase of cryogenic rocket engines. A new experimental combustion chamber was operated for the first time to generate validation data for numerical tools. The chamber was operated at pressures from 40 to 70 bar, at load points both sub- and supercritical for oxygen. The single injection element is representative of those found in number in lower stage engines in terms of dimension and propellant flow rate. Tests have been performed in the frame of the current project with LOX and hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures. The chamber is well instrumented with pressure and temperature sensors, and extraordinarily large optical access windows facilitate the application of highspeed visualisation techniques to resolve the spatial and temporal response of the flame. Achieved experimental conditions were modelled to benchmark existing numerical tools. Different modelling approaches were compared, including the industrial state-of-the-art in hybrid combination of lower order methods, and unsteady CFD of the reacting. flow field. While the hybrid approach is efficient and fast with acceptable accuracy for design purposes, CFD allowed the nature of the coupled modes to be studied in detail, and the dynamic flame response to be predicted

Case report: Psychosis and catatonia in an adolescent patient with adipsic hypernatremia and autoantibodies against the subfornical organ.

This is the first description of a patient in which adipsic hypernatremia, a rare autoimmune encephalitis, presented in combination with complex psychiatric symptomatology, including psychosis and catatonia. Adipsic hypernatremia is characterized by autoantibodies against the thirst center of the brain. These autoantibodies cause inflammation and apoptosis in key regions of water homeostasis, leading to lack of thirst and highly increased serum sodium. To date, the symptoms of weakness, fatigue and drowsiness have been associated with adipsic hypernatremia, but no psychiatric symptomatology. Here, we showcase the first description of an adolescent patient, in which severe and complex psychiatric symptoms presented along with adipsic hypernatremia. The patient experienced delusion, hallucinations, restlessness and pronounced depression. Further, he showed ritualized, aggressive, disinhibited and sexualized behavior, as well as self-harm and psychomotor symptoms. Due to his severe condition, he was hospitalized on the emergency unit of the child and adolescent psychiatry for 8 months. Key symptoms of the presented clinical picture are: childhood-onset complex and treatment-resistant psychosis/catatonia, pronounced behavioral problems, fatigue, absent thirst perception, hypernatremia and elevated prolactin levels. This case report renders first evidence speaking for a causal link between the autoimmune adipsic hypernatremia and the psychotic disorder. Moreover, it sheds light on a new form of autoimmune psychosis

Bistable swirled flames and influence on flame transfer functions

Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are used to study a lean swirl-stabilized gas turbine burner where the flow exhibits two stable states. In the first one, the flame is attached to the central bluff body upstream of the central recirculation zone which contains burnt gases. In the second one the flame is detached from the central bluff body downecirculation zone which is filled by cold unburnt gases and dominated by a strong Precessing Vortex Core (PVC). The existence of these two states has an important effect on the dynamic response of the flame (FTF): both gain and phase of the FTF change significantly in the detached case compared to the attached one, suggesting that the stability of the machine to thermoacoustic oscillations will differ, depending on the flame state. Bifurcation diagrams show that the detached flame cannot be brought back to an attached position with an increased fuel flow rate, but it can be re-attached by forcing it at high amplitudes. The attached flame however, behaves inversely: it can be brought back to the detached position by both decreasing or increasing the pilot mass flow rate, but it remains attached at all forcing amplitudes

Cortical thickness and resting-state cardiac function across the lifespan: a cross-sectional pooled mega analysis

Understanding the association between autonomic nervous system [ANS] function and brain morphology across the lifespan provides important insights into neurovisceral mechanisms underlying health and disease. Resting state ANS activity, indexed by measures of heart rate [HR] and its variability [HRV] has been associated with brain morphology, particularly cortical thickness [CT]. While findings have been mixed regarding the anatomical distribution and direction of the associations, these inconsistencies may be due to sex and age differences in HR/HRV and CT. Previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes, which impede the assessment of sex differences and aging effects on the association between ANS function and CT. To overcome these limitations, 20 groups worldwide contributed data collected under similar protocols of CT assessment and HR/HRV recording to be pooled in a mega-analysis (N = 1,218 (50.5% female), mean age 36.7 years (range: 12-87)). Findings suggest a decline in HRV as well as CT with increasing age. CT, particularly in the orbitofrontal cortex, explained additional variance in HRV, beyond the effects of aging. This pattern of results may suggest that the decline in HRV with increasing age is related to a decline in orbitofrontal CT. These effects were independent of sex and specific to HRV; with no significant association between CT and HR. Greater CT across the adult lifespan may be vital for the maintenance of healthy cardiac regulation via the ANS – or greater cardiac vagal activity as indirectly reflected in HRV may slow brain atrophy. Findings reveal an important association between cortical thickness and cardiac parasympathetic activity with implications for healthy aging and longevity that should be studied further in longitudinal research

Trapped in a Glass Bell Jar: Neural Correlates of Depersonalization and Derealization in Subjects at Clinical High-Risk of Psychosis and Depersonalization–Derealization Disorder

Background Depersonalization (DP) and derealization (DR) are symptoms of a disruption of perceptual integration leading to an altered quality of subjective experiences such as feelings of unreality and detachment from the self (DP) or the surroundings (DR). Both DP and DR often occur in concert with other symptoms, for example in subjects at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis, but also appear isolated in the form of DP/DR disorder. Despite evidence that DP/DR causes immense distress, little is known about their neurobiological underpinnings. Therefore, we investigated the neural correlates of DP/DR using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling MRI. Methods We evaluated the frequency of DP/DR symptoms in a clinical sample (N = 217) of help-seeking individuals from the Early Detection and Intervention Centre for Mental Crisis (CHR, n = 97; clinical controls (CC), n = 91; and first-episode psychosis (FEP), n = 29). Further, in a subsample of those CHR subjects who underwent MRI, we investigated the resting-state regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Here, individuals with (n = 21) and without (n = 23) DP/DR were contrasted. Finally, rCBF was measured in a small independent second sample of patients with DP/DR disorder (n = 6) and healthy controls (HC, n = 6). Results In the complete clinical sample, significantly higher frequency of DP/DR was found in CHR compared to CC (50.5 vs. 16.5%; χ2(2) = 24.218, p ≤ 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.359) as well as in FEP compared to CC (37.9 vs. 16.5%; χ2(2) = 5.960, p = 0.015, Cramer’s V = 0.223). In MRI, significantly lower rCBF was detected in the left orbitofrontal cortex in CHR with vs. without DP/DR (x/y/z = −16/42/−22, p < 0.05, FWE corrected). In patients with DP/DR disorder, significantly higher rCBF was detected in the left caudate nucleus (x/y/z = −18/−32/18, p < 0.05) compared to HC. Conclusions This study shows that DP/DR symptoms are frequently found in CHR subjects. Investigating two separate DP/DR populations with an identical neuroimaging technique, our study also indicates that there may be divergent pathophysiological mechanisms—decreased neuronal activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, but increased activity within the caudate nucleus—leading to a final common pathway with similar psychopathological symptoms. This suggests that both top-down (orbitofrontal cortex) and bottom-up (caudate nucleus) mechanisms could contribute to the emergence of DP/D

Multiple relative pose graphs for robust cooperative mapping

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-78).This thesis describes a new representation and algorithm for cooperative and persistent simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) using multiple robots. Recent pose graph representations have proven very successful for single robot mapping and localization. Among these methods, iSAM (incremental smoothing and mapping) gives an exact incremental solution to the SLAM problem by solving a full nonlinear optimization problem in real-time. In this paper, we present a novel extension to iSAM to facilitate multi-robot mapping based on multiple pose graphs. Our main contribution is a relative formulation of the relationship between multiple pose graphs. Our formulation avoids the initialization problem and leads to an efficient solution when compared to a completely global solution. Efficient access to covariances at any time for relative parameters is also provided, facilitating data association and loop closing. Each individual pose graph still uses a global parameterization, so that the overall system provides a globally consistent multi-robot solution. The performance of the technique is illustrated on a publicly available multi-robot data set as well as other data including a helicopter-ground robot combination.by Been Kim.S.M

Functional and structural correlates of abnormal involuntary movements in psychosis risk and first episode psychosis

Background: Abnormal involuntary movements (AIM) may occur throughout the course of psychosis. While AIM are thought to indicate striatal abnormalities, the functional and structural correlates of increased AIM remain elusive. Here, we examined the prevalence of AIM in patients with clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR), first episode psychosis (FEP) and clinical controls (CC). Furthermore, we tested the association of AIM with regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), grey matter volume (GMV), and premorbid IQ. Methods: We conducted a video-based analysis of AIM in patients with CHR (n = 45), FEP (n = 10) and CC (n = 39), recruited in the Early Detection and Intervention Center, Bern. Premorbid intelligence was evaluated using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary test. Additionally, arterial spin labeling MRIs and structural MRIs were acquired in a subgroup of the sample to investigate the association of AIM with rCBF and GMV. Results: Higher total AIM scores were detected in CHR (p = 0.02) and FEP (p = 0.04) as compared to CC. When separated for different muscle groups, lips and perioral movements were significantly increased in CHR patients as compared to CC (p = 0.009). AIM scores correlated positively with rCBF in the premotor cortex, Brodmann area 6 (p < 0.05, FWE corrected). Negative correlations were found between AIM and GMV of the corresponding caudal middle frontal gyrus (p = 0.04, FWE corrected) and premorbid intelligence (p = 0.02). Conclusions: AIM were more frequent in the psychosis spectrum than in clinical controls. Neuroimaging findings indicate an involvement of cortical motor areas in abnormal motor behavior, instead of pure basal ganglia pathology