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Background and ObjectivesThe choroid plexus has been shown to play a crucial role in CNS inflammation. Previous studies found larger choroid plexus in multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with healthy controls. However, it is not clear whether the choroid plexus is similarly involved in MS and in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the choroid plexus volume in MS and NMOSD.MethodsIn this retrospective, cross-sectional study, patients were included by convenience sampling from 4 international MS centers. The choroid plexus of the lateral ventricles was segmented fully automatically on T1-weighted MRI sequences using a deep learning algorithm (Multi-Dimensional Gated Recurrent Units). Uni- and multivariable linear models were applied to investigate associations between the choroid plexus volume, clinically meaningful disease characteristics, and MRI parameters.ResultsWe studied 180 patients with MS and 98 patients with NMOSD. In total, 94 healthy individuals and 47 patients with migraine served as controls. The choroid plexus volume was larger in MS (median 1,690 µL, interquartile range [IQR] 648 µL) than in NMOSD (median 1,403 µL, IQR 510 µL), healthy individuals (median 1,533 µL, IQR 570 µL), and patients with migraine (median 1,404 µL, IQR 524 µL; all p < 0.001), whereas there was no difference between NMOSD, migraine, and healthy controls. This was also true when adjusted for age, sex, and the intracranial volume. In contrast to NMOSD, the choroid plexus volume in MS was associated with the number of T2-weighted lesions in a linear model adjusted for age, sex, total intracranial volume, disease duration, relapses in the year before MRI, disease course, Expanded Disability Status Scale score, disease-modifying treatment, and treatment duration (beta 4.4; 95% CI 0.78–8.1; p = 0.018).DiscussionThis study supports an involvement of the choroid plexus in MS in contrast to NMOSD and provides clues to better understand the respective pathogenesis.

The multimodal nature of lifelog data collections poses unique challenges for multimedia management and retrieval systems. The Lifelog Search Challenge (LSC) offers an annual evaluation platform for such interactive retrieval systems. They compete against one another in finding items of interest within a set time frame. In this paper, we present the multimedia retrieval system vitrivr-VR, the latest addition to the vitrivr stack, which participated in the LSC in recent years. vitrivr-VR leverages the 3D space in virtual reality (VR) to offer novel retrieval and user interaction models, which we describe with a special focus on design decisions taken for the participation in the LSC.

In a previous proof-of-concept study we have demonstrated that visual exposure to specific colors results in pruritic or antipruritic effects. To determine the effect of "antipruritic" colors when using immersive virtual reality (VR) and to assess whether psychometric values correlate with the response to the color exposure. In this cross-sectional interventional single-center study, itch patients were exposed to their subjective "antipruritic color" (defined by the Manchester Color Wheel) in a virtual monochromatic room for 10 min using a head-mounted display. Itch intensity rating (0-10 numerical rating scale [NRS]) was repeated at 1-min intervals. Additionally, dermatology life quality index, itch-related quality of life and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaires were completed. Twenty-two patients (mean age 51.9 ± 23 years, 13 females) participated in the study. Following color exposure for 10 min itch intensity was significantly reduced compared to baseline (exact Wilcoxon signed-rank test, mdn-NRS 4.5 vs 3.0; z = -3.025, p = 0.001), confirmed by the area under the curve (z = -3.118; p = 0.001). No significant correlation between itch reduction and questionnaire scores was found (Spearman's Rho for all questionnaires). Visual exposure to the "antipruritic color" using immersive VR resulted in a significant decrease in itch intensity. This aligns with previous findings on the influence of colors on itch perception. The response of the intervention appeared independent of psychometric values. Thus, color exposure using immersive VR is a promising, low-cost, rapidly-acting, easily-applicable, non-pharmacological experimental antipruritic method.

In the research of video retrieval systems, comparative assessments during dedicated retrieval competitions provide priceless insights into the performance of individual systems. The scope and depth of such evaluations is unfortunately hard to improve, due to the limitations by the set-up costs, logistics and organization complexity of large events. We show that this easily impairs the statistical significance of the collected results, and the reproducibility of the competition outcomes. In this paper, we present a methodology for remote comparative evaluations of content-based video retrieval systems and demonstrate that such evaluations scale-up to sizes that reliably produce statistically robust results, and propose additional measures that increase the replicability of the experiment. The proposed remote evaluation methodology forms a major contribution towards open science in interactive retrieval benchmarks. At the same time, the detailed evaluation reports form an interesting source of new observations about many subtle, previously inaccessible aspects of video retrieval.

Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged and developed as a new modality to interact with multimedia data. In this paper, we present vitrivr-VR, a prototype of an interactive multimedia retrieval system in VR based on the open source full-stack multimedia retrieval system vitrivr. We have implemented query formulation tailored to VR: Users can use speech-to-text to search collections via text for concepts, OCR and ASR data as well as entire scene descriptions through a video-text co-embedding feature that embeds sentences and video sequences into the same feature space. Result presentation and relevance feedback in vitrivr-VR leverages the capabilities of virtual spaces.

In the present day, unmanned aerial vehicles become seemingly more popular every year, but, without regulation of the increasing number of these vehicles, the air space could become chaotic and uncontrollable. In this work, a framework is proposed to combine self-aware computing with multirotor formations to address this problem. The self-awareness is envisioned to improve the dynamic behavior of multirotors. The formation scheme that is implemented is called platooning, which arranges vehicles in a string behind the lead vehicle and is proposed to bring order into chaotic air space. Since multirotors define a general category of unmanned aerial vehicles, the focus of this thesis are quadcopters, platforms with four rotors. A modification for the LRA-M self-awareness loop is proposed and named Platooning Awareness. The implemented framework is able to offer two flight modes that enable waypoint following and the self-awareness module to find a path through scenarios, where obstacles are present on the way, onto a goal position. The evaluation of this work shows that the proposed framework is able to use self-awareness to learn about its environment, avoid obstacles, and can successfully move a platoon of drones through multiple scenarios.

Die hohe Attraktivitat von Grosstadten fuhrt nicht nur in Deutschland zu einer Verdrangung von Unternehmensimmobilien in stark prosperierenden Raumen. Sie geht volkswirtschaftlich zulasten der Kommunen, da mit der Ansiedlung von Unternehmensimmobilien oftmals erhebliche externe (Nutzen‑)Effekte einhergehen. Die Vermeidung dieser Verdrangungsproblematik dient im folgenden Beitrag als Ausgangspunkt fur die Entwicklung einer innovativen Methodik zur systematischen Landeignungsprufung. Unter Ausnutzung der aktuellen Geodaten-Initiativen in Deutschland gelingt es hiermit erstmals, die vorhandenen Geodatenbestande in einem Geographischen Informationssystem auf der Basis des Compromise Programming zu einem multidimensionalen Entscheidungsunterstutzungssystem fur die Immobilien- und Stadtentwicklung in Deutschland zusammenzufuhren. Angewandt auf die Grosstadt Dusseldorf lasst sich der Mehrwert dieser neuen Methodik empirisch verifizieren: Durch die systematische Analyse und Bewertung des gesamten Stadtgebiets mittels multidimensionaler und GIS-basierter Landeignungsprufung lassen sich nicht nur neue und wesentlich mehr Flachenpotenziale fur private Investoren und Projektentwickler von Unternehmensimmobilien identifizieren. Daruber hinaus konnen auch fur Stadtplaner und Kommunalpolitiker raumliche Schwerpunkte durch ein solches GIS-Modell transparent gemacht werden, welche als Schutzzonen fur industrielle Flachennutzungen kunftig die Verdrangung wichtiger Immobilientypen aus dem Stadtgebiet verhindern. Die Methodik leistet daher einen wichtigen Beitrag zu einer empirisch fundierten Gewerbeplanung, indem der interdisziplinare Austausch zwischen den privaten und offentlichen Akteuren der Immobilien- und Stadtentwicklung unterstutzt wird.