Open Access

Visual modeling languages for discrete behavior modeling allow the modeler to describe how systems develop over time during system runs. Models of these languages are the basis for simulation with the purpose to validate the model with respect to its requirements. Graph transformation systems have shown to be suitable for the definition of various kinds of visual modeling languages. They define a modelpsilas operational semantics as the set of all transformations of a model which are specified by graph transformation rules. For automatic simulation, rules have to be structured to control their application order. During simulation, the state changes after each rule application should be visualized in the concrete syntax of the modeling language. In this paper, we propose a generic approach to specify simulation environments based on a modelpsilas concrete syntax definition and suitable rule structuring techniques. We implement our approach using TIGER, a tool for defining visual languages based on graph transformation, and generate the specified simulation environment as plug-in for ECLIPSE. We demonstrate our approach by a case study for automatic simulation of Rubikpsilas Clock, a mechanical two-sided puzzle of clocks controlled by rotating wheels.

Phasenkontrastmessungen haben sich als hilfreich bei der Kantenfindung von Strukturen mit nur geringem Absorptionskontrast erwiesen. Solche Messungen können besonders gut mit monochromatischer Röntgenstrahlung hoher räumlicher Kohärenz durchgeführt werden, wie sie bei der Synchrotron- Computertomographie (SY-CT) benutzt wird. Nachteilig wirken sich allerdings die Phasenverschiebung des Synchrotronstrahls über das Strahlprofil und damit die Kantenverbreiterung in den zu untersuchenden Strukturen aus. Daher ist ein dimensionelles Messen mit normalen Rekonstruktionsverfahren nicht möglich. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden neue Filterverfahren zur Korrektur der Phasenverschiebung unter Beibehaltung des erhöhten Kontrastes bei der Rekonstruktion angewandt, um ausgewählte einkomponentige Referenzobjekte hinsichtlich der dimensionellen Messeigenschaften zu untersuchen. Als Referenz werden rückgeführte Messungen mit taktilen Koordinatenmessmaschinen herangezogen. Die Untersuchungen wurden im freien Strahl durch Variation des Abstandes zwischen Objekt und Detektor am Strahlrohr der BAM am Helmholtz- Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie - Speicherring BESSY II durchgeführt.

Analyzing damages at concrete structures due to physical, chemical, and mechanical exposures need the application of innovative non-destructive testing methods that are able to trace spatial changes of microstructures. Here, the utility of three different crack detection methods for the analysis of computed tomograms of various cementitious building materials is evaluated. Due to the lack of reference samples and standardized image quality evaluation procedures, the results are compared with manually segmented reference data sets. A specific question is how automatic crack detection can be used for the quantitative characterization of damage processes, such as crack length and volume. The crack detection methods have been integrated into a scientific visualization system that allows displaying the tomography images as well as presenting the results.

Despite their enormous diversity, the bauplan of adult winged insects (pterygotes) is remarkably conservative since the Lower Devonian: a five-segmented head, a three-segmented thorax with three pairs of walking legs and an eleven-segmented abdomen without any non-sexual appendages 1 and 2. The only known exceptions are the abdominal appendages of adult male sepsid flies on the fourth segment; however, these are also used as copulatory organs and are supposedly maintained through sexual selection [3]. Here, we report a rod-like paired appendage from the third and fourth abdominal segments in adults of the Southeast-Asian Hemiptera taxon Bennini (Figure 1A,B; Supplemental information). These are fully musculated, innervated, and movable and bear highly organized sensory and secretory units. The appendages, termed LASSO (lateral abdominal sensory and secretory organs), are consistent in topology and structure in all species studied and not sexually dimorphic. The existence of these non-sexual abdominal appendages reveals the potential of the 300 million year old conserved bauplan of insects.