Data analysis with R in an experimental physics environment

A software package has been developed to bridge the R analysis model with the conceptual analysis environment typical of radiation physics experiments. The new package has been used in the context of a project for the validation of simulation models, where it has demonstrated its capability to satisfy typical requirements pertinent to the problem domain.Comment: IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium 201

Generator Power Optimisation for a More-Electric Aircraft by Use of a Virtual Iron Bird

A prodedure is developed to minimise the generator design power within the electric power system of a future more-/ all-electric aircraft. This allows to save weight on the generators and on other equipment of the electic power system. Execution of the optimisation procedure by hand demonstrates the complexity of the problem. An automation of the process shows the capabilities of integrated modelling, simulation and optimisation tools

Untersuchungen zum Einsatz alternativer Stoffe zur Regulierung des Apfelschorfes

Falllaubzerstörende Maßnahmen im Sinne einer offensiven Bekämpfung des Apfelschorfes, Venturia inaequalis, führen zu einer Abtötung oder Schwächung pilzlicher Strukturen, die im Frühjahr für die epidemiologisch entscheidenden primären Infektionen verantwortlich sind. Die Projektidee war, durch die Verwendung mikrobiologischer Nährmedien und von Enzymen die natürlichen Mikroben zu fördern und einen zusätzlichen enzymatischen Blattabbau zu erreichen. Bei der Blattzersetzung und insbesondere beim Ascosporenpotential waren durch die applizierten Medien deutliche Effekte zu verzeichnen, wobei eine Korrelation zwischen Zersetzungsrad und vermindertem Ascosporenpotential die Ausnahme war. 19 Medien bewirkten eine überwiegend deutliche Reduktion des Ascosporenpotentials mit einer Verringerung von bis zu 93 %. Die zellwandabbauenden Enzyme hatten alleine eine deutliche und zusammen mit einigen Medien eine verbesserte Wirkung. Eine direkte Förderung der Askosporenausschleuderung war geringfügig durch einen Extrakt aus Saponaria officinalis und durch einen Rhamnus frangula-Rindenextrakt zu erzielen, während eine schwache Hemmung durch Citrus-Extrakt und eine starke Hemmung durch Kupfer, zuckerartige Stoffe und spezifische Inhibitoren vorlag. In Gewächshausversuchen zur direkten Schorfbekämpfung zeigten Extrakte aus Inula viscosa, Quillaja saponaria-Rinde, Citrus-species und S. officinalis eine deutliche Wirkung. ELOT-VIS, CHITOPLANT, COMCAT, LEBERMOOSER, SILIOPLANT und FZB 24 hatten bei den gewählten Zeitabständen zur Infektion keine ausreichende Wirkung. Kombinationen aus Quillaja-Saponin und Netzschwefel reduzierten den Schorfbefall sehr stark. In einem Versuch zur Regenstabilität wiesen der Citrus-Extrakt und das Quillaja-Saponin bereits bei einer simulierten Regenmenge von 5 mm Schwächen in der Wirkung auf. Kombinationen von Citrus-extrakt mit GREEMAX und BIOPLUSS als Haftmittel waren in ihrer Wirkung vergleichbar mit einer Mittelmenge Kupferoxychlorid entsprechend 400 g Reinkupfer je ha

MultiCQA: Zero-Shot Transfer of Self-Supervised Text Matching Models on a Massive Scale

We study the zero-shot transfer capabilities of text matching models on a massive scale, by self-supervised training on 140 source domains from community question answering forums in English. We investigate the model performances on nine benchmarks of answer selection and question similarity tasks, and show that all 140 models transfer surprisingly well, where the large majority of models substantially outperforms common IR baselines. We also demonstrate that considering a broad selection of source domains is crucial for obtaining the best zero-shot transfer performances, which contrasts the standard procedure that merely relies on the largest and most similar domains. In addition, we extensively study how to best combine multiple source domains. We propose to incorporate self-supervised with supervised multi-task learning on all available source domains. Our best zero-shot transfer model considerably outperforms in-domain BERT and the previous state of the art on six benchmarks. Fine-tuning of our model with in-domain data results in additional large gains and achieves the new state of the art on all nine benchmarks.Comment: EMNLP-202

Morphological identification of right ventricular failure in cases of fatal pulmonary thromboembolism

Pulmonary thromboembolism is a life-threatening event potentially determining right ventricular failure. Even if the pathophysiology of this phenomenon has been widely investigated, no morphological demonstration of right ventricular ischemic damage determining right ventricular failure in cases of fatal pulmonary embolism has been reported till now. We performed an immunohistochemical investigation with the markers fibronectin and C5b-9 in 26 cases of fatal pulmonary thromboembolism (16 ♀, 10 ♂, mean age 56.4years), as well as in 25 cases of myocardial infarction (16♀, 9♂, mean age 60.8years) and 20 cases of hanging (3♀, 17♂, mean age 40.8years). In each case, at least one tissue slide from both cardiac ventricles (free wall of the right ventricle, anterior and/or posterior wall of the left ventricle) was prepared. The reactions were semiquantitatively classified and the groups compared. In the study group, the occurrence of ischemic changes at the right ventricle was significantly higher than in cases of myocardial infarction and global hypoxia due to hanging. The determining aspect of the immunohistochemical examination is the identification of the prevalent ischemic lesion at the right ventricle compared to the left one. This may indicate the primary involvement of the right ventricle thus demonstrating a right ventricular failur

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the retina: therapeutic implications

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) belong to the superfamily of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The family of mAChRs is composed of five subtypes, M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5, which have distinct expression patterns and functions. In the eye and its adnexa, mAChRs are widely expressed and exert multiple functions, such as modulation of tear secretion, regulation of pupil size, modulation of intraocular pressure, participation in cell-to-cell signaling and modula-tion of vascular diameter in the retina. Due to this variety of functions, it is reasonable to assume that abnormalities in mAChR signaling may contribute to the development of various ocular diseases. On the other hand, mAChRs may offer an attractive therapeutic target to treat ocular diseases. Thus far, non-subtype-selective mAChR ligands have been used in ophthalmology to treat dry eye disease, myopia and glaucoma. However, these drugs were shown to cause various side-effects. Thus, the use of subtype-selective ligands would be useful to circumvent this problem. In this review, we give an overview on the localization and on the functional role of mAChR subtypes in the eye and its adnexa with a special focus on the retina. Moreover, we describe the pathophysiological role of mAChRs in retinal diseases and discuss potential therapeutic approaches

Periodontitis, age-related diseases and diabetes in an endocrinological outpatient setting (PARADIES): a cross-sectional analysis on predictive factors for periodontitis in a German outpatient facility

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor for periodontitis. Data on risk-modifying factors for periodontitis in diabetes patients are limited. Aims We tested whether sex, age, type of diabetes, metabolic state, comorbidities, complications, measures of well-being and quality of life are predicting periodontitis in a German diabetes outpatient cohort. Methods In total, 1180 out of 1293 participating DM patients completed questionnaires on quality of life, dental hygiene and health. All patients also filled out a modified version of the periodontitis risk questionnaire by the American Association for Periodontology, from which the status of "assumed periodontitis" was deducted. In a subset of participants (n = 461), we measured or inquired the most recent Community Parodontal Index (CPI), providing an objective measure for clinically diagnosed periodontitis. For all subjects, DM history and phenotype, major metabolic parameters (HbA1c, BMI, LDL and total cholesterol levels), general health risk factors, comorbidities and medication were collected. Results Clinically diagnosed (CPI > 2) and assumed periodontitis was detected in 60-67% of our patients. Male sex and oral health-related quality of life were associated with clinically diagnosed periodontitis. Male sex, age, smoking, dental hygiene, dental control and diabetes-related quality of life independently predicted assumed periodontitis. Conclusion In DM patients, quality of life and lifestyle factors which systemically alter microvascular and immunological functions seem to predict periodontitis. Further studies are needed for replication and for pathomechanistic clarification