Estimation of odour intensity of indoor air pollutants from building materials with a multi-gas sensor system

This study shows an approach to estimate odour intensity in an indoor environment with a multi-gas sensor system. The sensor system uses 38 non-specific gas sensors, each of which responds to a wide range of different volatile compounds. Due to the complexity of indoor air pollution, the study focuses on emissions of building products as one of the major contributors to indoor air quality. The system has been calibrated and tested, combining measurements from gas sensor systems and assessments of odour intensity by a human panel. To find a relation between the sensor signal and the odour intensity, a data processing model has been developed comprising a classification and a class-specific regression method. The model is able to map the odour intensity to the sensor signal pattern in order to predict the odour intensity caused by the investigated building products. Investigations with varying relative humidity have shown a significant influence by the humidity level, which will be considered for future measurements.     

Towards the co-evolution of industrial products and its production systems by combining models from development and hardware/software deployment in cyber-physical systems

Industrial production systems and industrially manufactured products are constantly evolving due to technical innovations and customers’ demands. Therefore, ensuring an optimized co-evolution of both becomes an important yet challenging task. Approaches for model-based systems engineering have been widely investigated and have already had significant impact on industrial practice. However, existing model-based approaches mostly are focusing on particular aspects of a production system and do not provide a holistic approach for optimizing automated production systems, their deployment, and their co-evolution with the product. As a first step towards this direction, this contribution proposes the combination of an engineering approach for aPS based on systems modeling language with models and techniques for deployment of software and hardware to cyber-physical system architectures, which have been investigated in the field of computer science, and motivates the possibilities of a combined approach.     

Intrinsic isotopic C labelling of polyphenols

The intrinsic isotopic labelling of plants with ¹³CO₂ is an effective method to generate highly labelled compounds using photosynthesis and avoiding labour-intensive complex organic syntheses. In this study, the intrinsic isotopic labelling of polyphenols in parsley, spinach and peppermint is shown for the first time. The plants were grown in an atmosphere where ¹²CO₂ was replaced by ¹³CO₂, in order to generate highly labelled compounds. The total content of ¹³C as well as the individual polyphenols were analysed by Isotopic Ratio-MS and HPLC–Iontrap-MSⁿ.     

Bolus ingestion of white and green tea increases the concentration of several flavan‐3‐ols in plasma,but does not affect markers of oxidative stress in healthy non‐smokers

White tea (WT) is rich in flavan‐3‐ols as green tea (GT) and might provide health protective effects due to the strong antioxidant properties of flavan‐3‐ols. Since intervention studies with WT are lacking, we evaluated the effects of WT consumption on antioxidant status, antioxidant capacity and biomarkers of oxidative stress compared to water and GT. After an overnight fast, 70 healthy non‐smokers were randomized to consume 600 mL of WT, GT or water (control). Plasma (epi‐)catechin and epi(gallo)catechingallate, antioxidant capacity (Folin assay, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity test), 8‐iso‐prostaglandin F_2α, ascorbic acid and uric acid were determined before and several times within 8 h after consumption. DNA strand breaks were measured in vivo and ex vivo (H₂O₂ stimulation) in leukocytes. Plasma flavan‐3‐ols significantly increased after WT and GT ingestion. Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity was lower after 5 h in controls versus WT (p=0.031) and GT (p=0.005). Folin‐Ciocalteu reducing capacity, ascorbic and uric acid as well as markers of oxidative stress (8‐iso‐prostaglandin‐F_2α, DNA strand breaks) were not affected by the beverages. A short‐term increase of catechins does not change plasma antioxidant capacity in healthy subjects. Conclusions with respect to health protective effects of WT and GT on the basis of these biomarkers can, thus, not be drawn.     

Cuticular hydrocarbons of Tetramorium ants from central Europe: analysis of GC-MS data with self-organizing maps (SOM) and implications for systematics

Cuticular hydrocarbons were extracted from workers of 63 different nests of five species of Tetramorium ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Austria, Hungary, and Spain. The GC-MS data were classified (data mining) by self-organizing maps (SOM). SOM neurons derived from primary neuron separation were subjected to hierarchical SOM (HSOM) and were grouped to neuron areas on the basis of vicinity in the hexagonal output grid. While primary neuron separation and HSOM resulted in classifications on a level more sensitive than species differences, neuron areas resulted in chemical phenotypes apparently of the order of species. These chemical phenotypes have implications for systematics: while the chemical phenotypes for T. ferox and T. moravicum correspond to morphological determination, in T. caespitum and T. impurum a total of six chemical phenotypes is found. Three hypotheses are discussed to explain this disparity between morphological and chemical classifications, including in particular the possibility of hybridization and the existence of cryptic species. Overall, the GC-MS profiles classified by SOM prove to be a practical alternative to morphological determination (T. ferox, T. moravicum) and indicate the need to revisit systematics (T. caespitum, T. impurum).     

Evaluation of structural similarity based on reduced dimensionality representations of protein structure

Protein similarity estimations can be achieved using reduced dimensional representations and we describe a new application for the generation of two-dimensional maps from the three-dimensional structure. The code for the dimensionality reduction is based on the concept of pseudo-random generation of two-dimensional coordinates and Monte Carlo-like acceptance criteria for the generated coordinates. A new method for calculating protein similarity is developed by introducing a distance-dependent similarity field. Similarity of two proteins is derived from similarity field indices between amino acids based on various criteria such as hydrophobicity, residue replacement factors and conformational similarity, each showing a one factor Gaussian dependence. Results on comparisons of misfolded protein models with data sets of correctly folded structures show that discrimination between correctly folded and misfolded structures is possible. Tests were carried out on five different proteins, comparing a misfolded protein structure with members of the same topology, architecture, family and domain according to the CATH classification.     

Computational probabilistic noninterference

Information flow and noninterference are popular concepts for expressing confidentiality and integrity properties. We present the first general definition of probabilistic noninterference in reactive systems that includes a computational case. This case is essential for coping with real cryptography since noninterference properties can usually only be guaranteed if the underlying cryptographic primitives have not been broken. This might happen, but only with negligible probability. We show that our noninterference definition is maintained under simulatability, the notion of secure implementation of modern cryptography. This allows secure composition of systems and yields a general strategy for including cryptographic primitives in information-flow proofs. As an example we study a cryptographic firewall guarding two honest users from their environment.