Overlay-Netze als Innovationsmotor im Internet Spontane virtuelle Netze: auf dem Weg zum Internet der Zukunft

Das Internet ist heute eine globale Infrastruktur, deren st?ndige Verfügbarkeit mehr oder weniger als gegeben angenommen wird. Die Einführung neuer Technologien (z. B. Multicast, IPv6) in diese Infrastruktur erweist sich aus unterschiedlichen Gründen als schwierig. Vielmehr haben sich Overlay-Netze in diesem Kontext als Innovationsmotor etabliert. Diese werden von Endger?ten am Netzrand aufgespannt, ben?tigen somit keine neuen Komponenten in der Netzinfrastruktur und lassen sich selbstorganisierend sowie skalierbar einsetzen. Interessant sind diese Eigenschaften auch für den Overlay-basierten Aufbau und Betrieb von Kommunikationsnetzen an sich, mit dem Ziel, unbeeinflusst von Mobilit?t, Multi-Homing und Heterogenit?t der Protokolle und Zugangsnetze nahtlose Konnektivit?t zwischen Endger?ten herzustellen. Dieser Artikel zeigt anhand von Beispielen auf, wie Overlays die Entwicklung neuer Dienste im Internet vorantreiben k?nnen. Als Beispiel für eine Overlay-basierte Netzarchitektur, welche die Realisierung neuer Dienste und Anwendungen erm?glicht, wird die Architektur zur Realisierung von Spontanen Virtuellen Netzen (SpoVNet) und deren Netzabstraktionsschicht ariba detailliert vorgestellt.     

Sources and nature of secondary school teachers’ education in computer-related ergonomics

Teachers’ knowledge of computer-related ergonomics in education will have an effect on the learning process and the work practices of their students. However little is known about teacher education in this area. The study aimed to investigate the sources and nature of secondary school teachers’ education about computer-related ergonomics. It also investigated the use of computers by secondary school children. The study included all secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland. The findings suggest that computers are widely available and are used frequently by students and teachers. However, there is evidence that teachers are not receiving information on computer-related ergonomics. Teachers were generally dissatisfied with this and would welcome information on the subject. The study discusses the implications of the findings and makes recommendations to meet the needs of the teachers.     

Knowledge visualization for evaluation tasks

Although various methods for the evaluation of intelligent systems have been proposed in the past, almost no techniques are present that support the manual inspection of knowledge bases by the domain specialist. Manual knowledge base inspection is an important and frequently applied method in knowledge engineering. Since it can hardly be performed in an automated manner, it is a time-consuming and costly task. In this paper, we discuss a collection of appropriate visualization techniques that help developers to interactively browse and analyze the knowledge base in order to find deficiencies and semantic errors in their implementation. We describe standard visualization methods adapted to specifically support the analysis of the static knowledge base structure, but also of the usage of knowledge base objects such as questions or solutions. Additionally, we introduce a novel visualization technique that supports the validation of the derivation and interview behavior of a knowledge system in a semi-automatic manner. The application of the presented methods was motivated by the daily practice of knowledge base development.     

Inhibitory deficits in older adults: List-method directed forgetting revisited.

In list-method directed forgetting, participants are cued to intentionally forget a previously studied list while remembering a subsequently presented 2nd list. Results from prior research are inconclusive on whether older adults show deficits in this type of task. In 3 experiments, the authors reexamined the issue and compared younger and older adults' responsiveness to the forget cue. Across the experiments, the forget cue was varied within and between participants, the 2 lists were unrelated and related to each other, and recall of the lists was required simultaneously and successively. In none of the 3 experiments did any age-related difference in directed forgetting performance emerge. List-method directed forgetting is assumed to reflect retrieval inhibition. The present results thus challenge the proposal of a general inhibitory deficit in older adults' memory performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Czech project in history of mathematics

The paper describes the Czech project in the history of mathematics which was initiated at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in Prague at the end of the eighties of the 20th century. Its main aim is to map the development of mathematical research in the Czech lands in the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. The main result of this project is the production of monographs. These chart out the life and work of some prominent Czech personalities-mathematicians who have had substantial influence on the development of Czech mathematics. The aim of the project, the structure of the monographs and the general method are discussed in the paper.     

The PINK1 p.Asn521Thr Variant Is Associated with Earlier Disease Onset in GRN/C9orf72 Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration

Genetic frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is characterized by heterogeneous phenotypic expression, with a disease onset highly variable even in patients carrying the same mutation. Herein we investigated if variants in lysosomal genes modulate the age of onset both in FTLD due to GRN null mutations and C9orf72 expansion. In a total of 127 subjects (n = 74 GRN mutations and n = 53 C9orf72 expansion carriers), we performed targeted sequencing of the top 98 genes belonging to the lysosomal pathway, selected based on their high expression in multiple brain regions. We described an earlier disease onset in GRN/C9orf72 pedigrees in subjects carrying the p.Asn521Thr variant (rs1043424) in PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1), a gene that is already known to be involved in neurodegenerative diseases. We found that: (i) the PINK1 rs1043424 C allele is significantly associated with the age of onset; (ii) every risk C allele increases hazard by 2.11%; (iii) the estimated median age of onset in homozygous risk allele carriers is 10–12 years earlier than heterozygous/wild type homozygous subjects. A replication study in GRN/C9orf72 negative FTLD patients confirmed that the rs1043424 C allele was associated with earlier disease onset (−5.5 years in CC versus A carriers). Understanding the potential mechanisms behind the observed modulating effect of the PINK1 gene in FTLD might prove critical for identifying biomarkers and/or designing drugs to modify the age of onset, especially in GRN/C9orf72-driven disease.     

Cobalt Ferrite Magnetic Nanoparticles for Tracing Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Tissue: A Preliminary Study

Therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is promising in many diseases. Evaluation of their efficacy depends on adequate follow-up of MSCs after transplantation. Several studies have shown that MSCs can be labeled and subsequently visualized with magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). We investigated the homing of MSCs labeled with magnetic cobalt ferrite NPs in experimentally induced acute kidney injury in mice. To explore the homing of MSCs after systemic infusion into mice, we developed a pre-infusion strategy for optimal tracing and identification of MSCs with polyacrylic acid-coated cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) NPs by light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in various organs of mice with cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury and control mice. By correlative microscopy, we detected MSCs labeled with NPs in the lungs, spleen, kidney, and intestine of cisplatin-treated mice and in the lungs and spleen of control mice. Our results confirm that labeling MSCs with metal NPs did not affect the ultrastructure of MSCs and their ability to settle in various organs. This study demonstrates the usefulness of cobalt ferrite NPs in ex vivo visualization of MSCs and offers correlative microscopy as a useful method in routine histopathology laboratories for tracing MSCs in paraffin-embedded tissue.     

Tumor-Microenvironment Characterization of the MB49 Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder-Cancer Orthotopic Model towards New Therapeutic Strategies

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) instillations for the treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients can result in significant side effects and treatment failure. Immune checkpoint blockade and/or decreasing tumor-infiltrating myeloid suppressor cells may be alternative or complementary treatments. Here, we have characterized immune cell infiltration and chemoattractant molecules in mouse orthotopic MB49 bladder tumors. Our data show a 100-fold increase in CD45⁺ immune cells from day 5 to day 9 tumors including T cells and mainly myeloid cells. Both monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor-cells (M-MDSC) and polymorphonuclear (PMN)-MDSC were strongly increased in day 9 tumors, with PMN-MDSC representing ca. 70% of the myeloid cells in day 12 tumors, while tumor associated macrophages (TAM) were only modestly increased. The kinetic of PD-L1 tumor expression correlated with published data from patients with PD-L1 expressing bladder tumors and with efficacy of anti-PD-1 treatment, further validating the orthotopic MB49 bladder-tumor model as suitable for designing novel therapeutic strategies. Comparison of chemoattractants expression during MB49 bladder tumors grow highlighted CCL8 and CCL12 (CCR2-ligands), CCL9 and CCL6 (CCR-1-ligands), CXCL2 and CXCL5 (CXCR2-ligands), CXCL12 (CXCR4-ligand) and antagonist of C5/C5a as potential targets to decrease myeloid suppressive cells. Data obtained with a single CCR2 inhibitor however showed that the complex chemokine crosstalk would require targeting multiple chemokines for anti-tumor efficacy.     

The Role of the Choroid in Stargardt Disease

Stargardt disease is the commonest juvenile macular dystrophy. It is caused by genetic mutations in the ABCA4 gene. Diagnosis is not always straightforward, and various phenocopies exist. Late-onset disease can be misdiagnosed with age-related macular disease. A correct diagnosis is particularly critical because of emergent gene therapies. Stargardt disease is known to affect retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors. Many studies have also highlighted the importance of the choroid in the diagnosis, pathophysiology, and progression of the disease. The choroid is in an integral relationship with the retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors, and its possible involvement during the disease should be considered. The purpose of this review is to analyze the current diagnostic tools for choroidal evaluation and the extrapolation of useful data for ophthalmologists and researchers studying the disease.