Universitätsbibliothek
Weimar Open Access

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top ten threats to public health worldwide. In addition to public health, AMR also poses a major threat to food security and economic development. Current sanitation systems contribute to the emergence and spread of AMR and lack effective AMR mitigation measures. This study assesses source separation of blackwater as a mitigation measure against AMR. A source-separation-modified combined sanitation system with separate collection of blackwater and graywater is conceptually described. Measures taken at the source, such as the separate collection and discharge of material flows, were not considered so far on a load balance basis, i.e., they have not yet been evaluated for their effectiveness. The sanitation system described is compared with a combined system and a separate system regarding AMR emissions by means of simulation. AMR is represented in the simulation model by one proxy parameter each for antibiotics (sulfamethoxa-zole), antibiotic-resistant bacteria (extended-spectrum beta-lactamase E. Coli), and antibiotic re-sistance genes (blaTEM). The simulation results suggest that the source-separation-based sanitation system reduces emissions of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes into the aquatic environment by more than six logarithm steps compared to combined systems. Sulfa-methoxazole emissions can be reduced by 75.5% by keeping blackwater separate from graywater and treating it sufficiently. In summary, sanitation systems incorporating source separation are, to date, among the most effective means of preventing the emission of AMR into the aquatic envi-ronment.

Multi-user virtual reality systems enable collocated as well as distributed users to perform collaborative activities in immersive virtual environments. A common activity in this context is to move from one location to the next as a group to explore the environment together. The simplest solution to realize these multi-user navigation processes is to provide each participant with a technique for individual navigation. However, this approach entails some potentially undesirable consequences such as the execution of a similar navigation sequence by each participant, a regular need for coordination within the group, and, related to this, the risk of losing each other during the navigation process. To overcome these issues, this thesis performs research on group navigation techniques that move group members together through a virtual environment. The presented work was guided by four overarching research questions that address the quality requirements for group navigation techniques, the differences between collocated and distributed settings, the scalability of group navigation, and the suitability of individual and group navigation for various scenarios. This thesis approaches these questions by introducing a general conceptual framework as well as the specification of central requirements for the design of group navigation techniques. The design, implementation, and evaluation of corresponding group navigation techniques demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework. As a first step, this thesis presents ideas for the extension of the short-range teleportation metaphor, also termed jumping, for multiple users. It derives general quality requirements for the comprehensibility of the group jumping process and introduces a corresponding technique for two collocated users. The results of two user studies indicate that sickness symptoms are not affected by user roles during group jumping and confirm improved planning accuracy for the navigator, increased spatial awareness for the passenger, and reduced cognitive load for both user roles. Next, this thesis explores the design space of group navigation techniques in distributed virtual environments. It presents a conceptual framework to systematize the design decisions for group navigation techniques based on Tuckman's model of small-group development and introduces the idea of virtual formation adjustments as part of the navigation process. A quantitative user study demonstrates that the corresponding extension of Multi-Ray Jumping for distributed dyads leads to more efficient travel sequences and reduced workload. The results of a qualitative expert review confirm these findings and provide further insights regarding the complementarity of individual and group navigation in distributed virtual environments. Then, this thesis investigates the navigation of larger groups of distributed users in the context of guided museum tours and establishes three central requirements for (scalable) group navigation techniques. These should foster the awareness of ongoing navigation activities as well as facilitate the predictability of their consequences for all group members (Comprehensibility), assist the group with avoiding collisions in the virtual environment (Obstacle Avoidance), and support placing the group in a meaningful spatial formation for the joint observation and discussion of objects (View Optimization). The work suggests a new technique to address these requirements and reports on its evaluation in an initial usability study with groups of five to ten (partially simulated) users. The results indicate easy learnability for navigators and high comprehensibility for passengers. Moreover, they also provide valuable insights for the development of group navigation techniques for even larger groups. Finally, this thesis embeds the previous contributions in a comprehensive literature overview and emphasizes the need to study larger, more heterogeneous, and more diverse group compositions including the related social factors that affect group dynamics. In summary, the four major research contributions of this thesis are as follows: - the framing of group navigation as a specific instance of Tuckman's model of small-group development - the derivation of central requirements for effective group navigation techniques beyond common quality factors known from single-user navigation - the introduction of virtual formation adjustments during group navigation and their integration into concrete group navigation techniques - evidence that appropriate pre-travel information and virtual formation adjustments lead to more efficient travel sequences for groups and lower workloads for both navigators and passengers Overall, the research of this thesis confirms that group navigation techniques are a valuable addition to the portfolio of interaction techniques in multi-user virtual reality systems. The conceptual framework, the derived quality requirements, and the development of novel group navigation techniques provide effective guidance for application developers and inform future research in this area.

Modern cryptography has become an often ubiquitous but essential part of our daily lives. Protocols for secure authentication and encryption protect our communication with various digital services, from private messaging, online shopping, to bank transactions or exchanging sensitive information. Those high-level protocols can naturally be only as secure as the authentication or encryption schemes underneath. Moreover, on a more detailed level, those schemes can also at best inherit the security of their underlying primitives. While widespread standards in modern symmetric-key cryptography, such as the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), have shown to resist analysis until now, closer analysis and design of related primitives can deepen our understanding. The present thesis consists of two parts that portray six contributions: The first part considers block-cipher cryptanalysis of the round-reduced AES, the AES-based tweakable block cipher Kiasu-BC, and TNT. The second part studies the design, analysis, and implementation of provably secure authenticated encryption schemes. In general, cryptanalysis aims at finding distinguishable properties in the output distribution. Block ciphers are a core primitive of symmetric-key cryptography which are useful for the construction of various higher-level schemes, ranging from authentication, encryption, authenticated encryption up to integrity protection. Therefore, their analysis is crucial to secure cryptographic schemes at their lowest level. With rare exceptions, block-cipher cryptanalysis employs a systematic strategy of investigating known attack techniques. Modern proposals are expected to be evaluated against these techniques. The considerable effort for evaluation, however, demands efforts not only from the designers but also from external sources. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is one of the most widespread block ciphers nowadays. Therefore, it is naturally an interesting target for further analysis. Tweakable block ciphers augment the usual inputs of a secret key and a public plaintext by an additional public input called tweak. Among various proposals through the previous decade, this thesis identifies Kiasu-BC as a noteworthy attempt to construct a tweakable block cipher that is very close to the AES. Hence, its analysis intertwines closely with that of the AES and illustrates the impact of the tweak on its security best. Moreover, it revisits a generic tweakable block cipher Tweak-and-Tweak (TNT) and its instantiation based on the round-reduced AES. The first part investigates the security of the AES against several forms of differential cryptanalysis, developing distinguishers on four to six (out of ten) rounds of AES. For Kiasu-BC, it exploits the additional freedom in the tweak to develop two forms of differential-based attacks: rectangles and impossible differentials. The results on Kiasu-BC consider an additional round compared to attacks on the (untweaked) AES. The authors of TNT had provided an initial security analysis that still left a gap between provable guarantees and attacks. Our analysis conducts a considerable step towards closing this gap. For TNT-AES - an instantiation of TNT built upon the AES round function - this thesis further shows how to transform our distinguisher into a key-recovery attack. Many applications require the simultaneous authentication and encryption of transmitted data. Authenticated encryption (AE) schemes provide both properties. Modern AE schemes usually demand a unique public input called nonce that must not repeat. Though, this requirement cannot always be guaranteed in practice. As part of a remedy, misuse-resistant and robust AE tries to reduce the impact of occasional misuses. However, robust AE considers not only the potential reuse of nonces. Common authenticated encryption also demanded that the entire ciphertext would have to be buffered until the authentication tag has been successfully verified. In practice, this approach is difficult to ensure since the setting may lack the resources for buffering the messages. Moreover, robustness guarantees in the case of misuse are valuable features. The second part of this thesis proposes three authenticated encryption schemes: RIV, SIV-x, and DCT. RIV is robust against nonce misuse and the release of unverified plaintexts. Both SIV-x and DCT provide high security independent from nonce repetitions. As the core under SIV-x, this thesis revisits the proof of a highly secure parallel MAC, PMAC-x, revises its details, and proposes SIV-x as a highly secure authenticated encryption scheme. Finally, DCT is a generic approach to have n-bit secure deterministic AE but without the need of expanding the ciphertext-tag string by more than n bits more than the plaintext. From its first part, this thesis aims to extend the understanding of the (1) cryptanalysis of round-reduced AES, as well as the understanding of (2) AES-like tweakable block ciphers. From its second part, it demonstrates how to simply extend known approaches for (3) robust nonce-based as well as (4) highly secure deterministic authenticated encryption.

Electric trains are considered one of the most eco-friendly and safest means of transportation. Catenary poles are used worldwide to support overhead power lines for electric trains. The performance of the catenary poles has an extensive influence on the integrity of the train systems and, consequently, the connected human services. It became a must nowadays to develop SHM systems that provide the instantaneous status of catenary poles in- service, making the decision-making processes to keep or repair the damaged poles more feasible. This study develops a data-driven, model-free approach for status monitoring of cantilever structures, focusing on pre-stressed, spun-cast ultrahigh-strength concrete catenary poles installed along high-speed train tracks. The pro-posed approach evaluates multiple damage features in an unfied damage index, which leads to straightforward interpretation and comparison of the output. Besides, it distinguishes between multiple damage scenarios of the poles, either the ones caused by material degradation of the concrete or by the cracks that can be propagated during the life span of the given structure. Moreover, using a logistic function to classify the integrity of structure avoids the expensive learning step in the existing damage detection approaches, namely, using the modern machine and deep learning methods. The findings of this study look very promising when applied to other types of cantilever structures, such as the poles that support the power transmission lines, antenna masts, chimneys, and wind turbines.

Encapsulation-based self-healing concrete has received a lot of attention nowadays in civil engineering field. These capsules are embedded in the cementitious matrix during concrete mixing. When the cracks appear, the embedded capsules which are placed along the path of incoming crack are fractured and then release of healing agents in the vicinity of damage. The materials of capsules need to be designed in a way that they should be able to break with small deformation, so the internal fluid can be released to seal the crack. This study focuses on computational modeling of fracture in encapsulation-based selfhealing concrete. The numerical model of 2D and 3D with randomly packed aggreates and capsules have been developed to analyze fracture mechanism that plays a significant role in the fracture probability of capsules and consequently the self-healing process. The capsules are assumed to be made of Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA) and the potential cracks are represented by pre-inserted cohesive elements with tension and shear softening laws along the element boundaries of the mortar matrix, aggregates, capsules, and at the interfaces between these phases. The effects of volume fraction, core-wall thickness ratio, and mismatch fracture properties of capsules on the load carrying capacity of self-healing concrete and fracture probability of the capsules are investigated. The output of this study will become valuable tool to assist not only the experimentalists but also the manufacturers in designing an appropriate capsule material for self-healing concrete.