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According to the third-person effect or the influence of presumed media influence approach, the presumption that the media has strong effects on other people can affect individuals’ attitudes and behavior. For instance, if people believe in strong media influences on others, they are more likely to increase their communication activities or support demands for restrictions on media. A standardized online survey among German journalists (N = 960) revealed that the stronger the journalists perceive the political online influence on the public to be, the more frequently they contradict unwanted political views in their articles. Moreover, even journalists are more likely to approve of restrictions on the Internet’s political influence, the stronger they believe the effects of online media to be. The data reveal no connections between communication activities and demands for restrictions.
In this paper we describe the selection of a modern build automation tool for an industry research partner of ours, namely an insurance company. Build automation has become increasingly important over the years. Today, build automation became one of the central concepts in topics such as cloud native development based on microservices and DevOps. Since more and more products for build automation have entered the market and existing tools have changed their functional scope, there is nowadays a large number of tools on the market that differ greatly in their functional scope. Based on requirements from our partner company, a build server analysis was conducted. This paper presents our analysis requirements, a detailed look at one of the examined tools and a summarized comparison of two tools.
A Look at Service Meshes
(2021)
Service meshes can be seen as an infrastructure layer for microservice-based applications that are specifically suited for distributed application architectures. It is the goal to introduce the concept of service meshes and its use for microservices with the example of an open source service mesh called Istio. This paper gives an introduction into the service mesh concept and its relation to microservices. It also gives an overview of selected features provided by Istio as relevant to the above concept and provides a small sample setup that demonstrates the core features.
Cloud Computing: Serverless
(2021)
A serverless architecture is a new approach to offering services over the Internet. It combines BaaS (Backend-as-a-service) and FaaS (Function-as-a-service). With the serverless architecture no own or rented infrastructures are needed anymore. In addition, the company does not have to worry about scaling any longer, as this happens automatically and immediately. Furthermore, there is no need any longer for maintenance work on the servers, as this is completely taken over by the provider. Administrators are also no longer needed for the same reason. Finally, many ready-made functions are offered, with which the development effort can be reduced. As a result, the serverless architecture is very well suited to many application scenarios, and it can save considerable costs (server costs, maintenance costs, personnel costs, electricity costs, etc.). The company only must subdivide the source code of the application and upload it to the provider’s server. The rest is done by the provider.
In this paper, we present a novel approach for real-time rendering of soft eclipse shadows cast by spherical, atmosphereless bodies. While this problem may seem simple at first, it is complicated by several factors. First, the extreme scale differences and huge mutual distances of the involved celestial bodies cause rendering artifacts in practice. Second, the surface of the Sun does not emit light evenly in all directions (an effect which is known as limb darkening). This makes it impossible to model the Sun as a uniform spherical light source. Finally, our intended applications include real-time rendering of solar eclipses in virtual reality, which require very high frame rates. As a solution to these problems, we precompute the amount of shadowing into an eclipse shadow map, which is parametrized so that it is independent of the position and size of the occluder. Hence, a single shadow map can be used for all spherical occluders in the Solar System. We assess the errors introduced by various simplifications and compare multiple approaches in terms of performance and precision. Last but not least, we compare our approaches to the state-of-the-art and to reference images. The implementation has been published under the MIT license.
Background
Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) are common in general practice and usually treated with antibiotics. This contributes to increasing resistance rates of uropathogenic bacteria. A previous trial showed a reduction of antibiotic use in women with UTI by initial symptomatic treatment with ibuprofen. However, this treatment strategy is not suitable for all women equally. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (UU, bearberry extract arbutin) is a potential alternative treatment. This study aims at investigating whether an initial treatment with UU in women with UTI can reduce antibiotic use without significantly increasing the symptom burden or rate of complications.
Methods
This is a double-blind, randomized, and controlled comparative effectiveness trial. Women between 18 and 75 years with suspected UTI and at least two of the symptoms dysuria, urgency, frequency or lower abdominal pain will be assessed for eligibility in general practice and enrolled into the trial. Participants will receive either a defined daily dose of 3 × 2 arbutin 105 mg for 5 days (intervention) or fosfomycin 3 g once (control). Antibiotic therapy will be provided in the intervention group only if needed, i.e. for women with worsening or persistent symptoms. Two co-primary outcomes are the number of all antibiotic courses regardless of the medical indication from day 0–28, and the symptom burden, defined as a weighted sum of the daily total symptom scores from day 0–7. The trial result is considered positive if superiority of initial treatment with UU is demonstrated with reference to the co-primary outcome number of antibiotic courses and non-inferiority of initial treatment with UU with reference to the co-primary outcome symptom burden.
Discussion
The trial’s aim is to investigate whether initial treatment with UU is a safe and effective alternative treatment strategy in women with UTI. In that case, the results might change the existing treatment strategy in general practice by promoting delayed prescription of antibiotics and a reduction of antibiotic use in primary care.
Background
In Germany, up to 50% of nursing home residents are admitted to a hospital at least once a year. It is often unclear whether this is beneficial or even harmful. Successful interprofessional collaboration and communication involving general practitioners (GPs) and nurses may improve medical care of nursing home residents. In the previous interprof study, the six-component intervention package interprof ACT was developed to facilitate collaboration of GPs and nurses in nursing homes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the interprof ACT intervention.
Methods
This multicentre, cluster randomised controlled trial compares nursing homes receiving the interprof ACT intervention package for a duration of 12 months (e.g. comprising appointment of mutual contact persons, shared goal setting, standardised GPs’ home visits) with a control group (care as usual). A total of 34 nursing homes are randomised, and overall 680 residents recruited. The intervention package is presented in a kick-off meeting to GPs, nurses, residents/relatives or their representatives. Nursing home nurses act as change agents to support local adaption and implementation of the intervention measures. Primary outcome is the cumulative incidence of hospitalisation within 12 months. Secondary outcomes include admissions to hospital, days admitted to hospital, use of other medical services, prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication and quality of life. Additionally, health economic and a mixed methods process evaluation will be performed.
Discussion
This study investigates a complex intervention tailored to local needs of nursing homes. Outcomes reflect the healthcare and health of nursing home residents, as well as the feasibility of the intervention package and its impact on interprofessional communication and collaboration. Because of its systematic development and its flexible nature, interprof ACT is expected to be viable for large-scale implementation in routine care services regardless of local organisational conditions and resources available for medical care for nursing home residents on a regular basis. Recommendations will be made for an improved organisation of primary care for nursing home residents. In addition, the results may provide important knowledge and data for the development and evaluation of further strategies to improve outpatient care for elderly care-receivers.
Research question: In order to reduce fan aggression surrounding rivalry games, team sport organizations often try to placate fans by downplaying the importance of the game (e.g. ‘the derby is not a war’). Drawing on the intergroup conflict literature, this research derives dual identity statements and examines their effectiveness in reducing fan aggressiveness compared to the managerial practice of downplaying rivalry.
Research methods: Three field experimental studies (one face-to-face survey and two online surveys) tested the hypotheses. Established rivalries in the German soccer league Bundesliga served as the empirical setting of the studies. The data were analyzed using ANCOVA and linear regression analyses.
Results and findings: Dual identity statements reduce fan aggressiveness compared to both downplay statements and a no-statement control condition, independent of team identification and trait aggression. Importantly, the managerial practice of downplaying rivalry appears to be counterproductive. It produces even higher levels of fan aggressiveness than making no statement, an effect caused by psychological reactance.
Implications: Sport organizations should not alienate their fan base by attempting to play down the importance of rivalry, which is an integral part of fan identity. Instead, they should strengthen the supporters’ unique identity (as fans of a particular team) while at the same time facilitating identification with the rival at a superordinate level (e.g. as joint fans of a region).
Research question: Rivalries in team sports are commonly conceptualized as a threat to the fans’ identity. Therefore, past research has mainly focused on the negative consequences. However, theoretical arguments and empirical evidence suggest that rivalry has both negative and positive effects on fans’ self-concept. This research develops and empirically tests a model which captures and integrates these dual effects of rivalry.
Research methods: Data were collected via an on-site survey at home games of eight German Bundesliga football teams (N = 571). Structural equation modeling provides strong support for the proposed model.
Results and findings: In line with previous research, the results show that rivalry threatens fans’ identity as reflected in lower public collective self-esteem in relation to supporters of the rival team. However, the results also show that there are crucial positive consequences, such as higher perceptions of public collective self-esteem in relation to supporters of non-rival opponents, perceived ingroup distinctiveness and ingroup cohesion. These positive effects are mediated through increases in disidentification with the rival and perceived reciprocity of rivalry.
Implications: We contribute to the literature by providing a more balanced view of one of team sports’ key phenomena. Our results indicate that the prevalent conceptualization of rivalry as an identity threat should be amended by the positive consequences. Our research also offers guidance for the promotion of rivalries, where the managerial focus should be on creating a perception that a rivalry is reciprocal.
Background: To improve interprofessional collaboration between registered nurses (RNs) and general practitioners (GPs) for nursing home residents (NHRs), the interprof ACT intervention package was developed. This complex intervention includes six components (e.g., shared goal setting, standardized procedures for GPs’ nursing home visits) that can be locally adapted. The cluster‑randomized interprof ACT trial evaluates the effects of this intervention on the cumulative incidence of hospital admissions (primary outcome) and secondary outcomes (e.g., length of hospital stays, utilization of emergency care services, and quality of life) within 12 months. It also includes a process evaluation which is subject of this protocol. The objectives of this evaluation are to assess the implementation of the interprof ACT intervention package and downstream effects on nurse–physician collaboration as well as preconditions and prospects for successive implementation into routine care.
Methods: This study uses a mixed methods triangulation design involving all 34 participating nursing homes (clusters). The quantitative part comprises paper‑based surveys among RNs, GPs, NHRs, and nursing home directors at baseline and 12 months. In the intervention group (17 clusters), data on the implementation of preplanned implementation strategies (training and supervision of nominated IPAVs, interprofessional kick‑off meetings) and local implementation activities will be recorded. Major outcome domains are the dose, reach and fidelity of the implementation of the intervention package, changes in interprofessional collaboration, and contextual factors. The qualitative part will be conducted in a subsample of 8 nursing homes (4 per study group) and includes repeated non‑participating observations and semistructured interviews on the interaction between involved health professionals and their work processes. Quantitative and qualitative data will be descriptively analyzed and then triangulated by means of joint displays and mixed methods informed regression models.
Discussion: By integrating a variety of qualitative and quantitative data sources, this process evaluation will allow comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the interprof ACT intervention package, the changes induced in interprofessional collaboration, and the influence of contextual factors. These data will reveal expected and unexpected changes in the procedures of interprofessional care delivery and thus facilitate accurate conclusions for the further design of routine care services for NHRs.
Marketing, get ready to rumble — How rivalry promotes distinctiveness for brands and consumers
(2018)
Scholars typically advise brands to stay away from public conflict with competitors as research has focused on negative consequences - e.g., price wars, escalating hostilities, and derogation. This research distinguishes between rivalry between firms (inter-firm brand rivalry) and rivalry between consumers (inter-consumer brand rivalry). Four studies and six samples show both types of rivalry can have positive consequences for both firms and consumers. Inter-firm brand rivalry boosts perceived distinctiveness of competing brands independent of consumption, attitude, familiarity, and involvement. Inter-consumer brand rivalry increases consumer group distinctiveness, an effect mediated by brand identification and rival brand disidentification. We extend social identity theory by demonstrating that: 1) outside actors like firms can promote inter-consumer rivalry through inter-firm rivalry and 2) promoting such conflict can actually provide benefits to consumers as well as firms. The paper challenges the axiom “never knock the competition,” deriving a counter-intuitive way to accomplish one of marketing's premier objectives.
One of the main concerns of this publication is to furnish a more rational basis for discussing bioplastics and use fact-based arguments in the public discourse. Furthermore, “Biopolymers – facts and statistics” aims to provide specific, qualified answers easily and quickly for decision-makers in particular from public administration and the industrial sector. Therefore, this publication is made up like a set of rules and standards and largely foregoes textual detail. It offers extensive market-relevant and technical facts presented in graphs and charts, which means that the information is much easier to grasp. The reader can expect comparative market figures for various materials, regions, applications, process routes, agricultural land use, water use or resource consumption, production capacities, geographic distribution, etc.
We present a methodology based on mixed-integer nonlinear model predictive control for a real-time building energy management system in application to a single-family house with a combined heat and power (CHP) unit. The developed strategy successfully deals with the switching behavior of the system components as well as minimum admissible operating time constraints by use of a special switch-cost-aware rounding procedure. The quality of the presented solution is evaluated in comparison to the globally optimal dynamic programming method and conventional rule-based control strategy. Based on a real-world scenario, we show that our approach is more than real-time capable while maintaining high correspondence with the globally optimal solution. We achieve an average optimality gap of 2.5% compared to 20% for a conventional control approach, and are faster and more scalable than a dynamic programming approach.
Subclinical mastitis in heifers during early lactation affects udder health, future milk production and, therefore, the risk of premature culling. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify pre- and post-partum risk factors associated with a high heifer mastitis rate (HMR), and to find out which period (either pre- or post-partum) contains more risk factors and consequently should be the focus of mastitis control in heifers. A total of 77 herds were included in this study and the potential animal- and farm-related risk factors were recorded during a one-time farm visit. The HMR was provided by the dairy herd improvement test (DHI) as the annual average of the past 11 DHIs. For this study, data were analyzed in two models using generalized linear models. Each model examined the association between possible risk factors and HMR, one including only prepartum risk factors and the other one only post-partum risk factors. One identified pre-partum risk factor was the proportion of udder-healthy cows in the herd. Post-partum risk factors were the type of teat cleaning procedure before milking, teat disinfection, treatment of mastitis in heifers, a body condition score (BCS) of >3.0 in fresh heifers, and the combination of a teat cleaning procedure with a teat disinfectant. The results show the importance of the period shortly after calving for udder health in heifers, as four of the five significant risk factors were identified in this period and three of them were related to the milking process. However, further research with a higher number of herds is needed to minimize individual herd effects.
On November 30th, 2022, OpenAI released the large language model ChatGPT, an extension of GPT-3. The AI chatbot provides real-time communication in response to users’ requests. The quality of ChatGPT’s natural speaking answers marks a major shift in how we will use AI-generated information in our day-to-day lives. For a software engineering student, the use cases for ChatGPT are manifold: assessment preparation, translation, and creation of specified source code, to name a few. It can even handle more complex aspects of scientific writing, such as summarizing literature and paraphrasing text. Hence, this position paper addresses the need for discussion of potential approaches for integrating ChatGPT into higher education. Therefore, we focus on articles that address the effects of ChatGPT on higher education in the areas of software engineering and scientific writing. As ChatGPT was only recently released, there have been no peer-reviewed articles on the subject. Thus, we performed a structured grey literature review using Google Scholar to identify preprints of primary studies. In total, five out of 55 preprints are used for our analysis. Furthermore, we held informal discussions and talks with other lecturers and researchers and took into account the authors’ test results from using ChatGPT. We present five challenges and three opportunities for the higher education context that emerge from the release of ChatGPT. The main contribution of this paper is a proposal for how to integrate ChatGPT into higher education in four main areas.
Recent research efforts have highlighted the potential of hybrid composites in the context of additive manufacturing. The use of hybrid composites can lead to an enhanced adaptability of the mechanical properties to the specific loading case. Furthermore, the hybridization of multiple fiber materials can result in positive hybrid effects such as increased stiffness or strength. In contrast to the literature, where only the interply and intrayarn approach has been experimentally validated, this study presents a new intraply approach, which is experimentally and numerically investigated. Three different types of tensile specimens were tested. The non-hybrid tensile specimens were reinforced with contour-based fiber strands of carbon and glass. In addition, hybrid tensile specimens were manufactured using an intraply approach with alternating carbon and glass fiber strands in a layer plane. In addition to experimental testing, a finite element model was developed to better understand the failure modes of the hybrid and non-hybrid specimens. The failure was estimated using the Hashin and Tsai–Wu failure criteria. The specimens showed similar strengths but greatly different stiffnesses based on the experimental results. The hybrid specimens demonstrated a significant positive hybrid effect in terms of stiffness. Using FEA, the failure load and fracture locations of the specimens were determined with good accuracy. Microstructural investigations of the fracture surfaces showed notable evidence of delamination between the different fiber strands of the hybrid specimens. In addition to delamination, strong debonding was particularly evident in all specimen types.
We present a novel long short-term memory (LSTM) approach for time-series prediction of the sand demand which arises from preparing the sand moulds for the iron casting process of a foundry. With our approach, we contribute to qualify LSTM and its combination with feedback-corrected optimal scheduling for industrial processes.
The sand is produced in an energy intensive mixing process which is controlled by optimal scheduling. The optimal scheduling is solved for a fixed prediction horizon. One major influencing factor is the sand demand, which is highly disturbed, for example due to production interruptions. The causes of production interruptions are in general physically unknown. We assume that information about the future behavior of the sand demand is included in current and past process data. Therefore, we choose LSTM networks for predicting the time-series of the sand demand.
The sand demand prediction is performed by our multi model approach. This approach outperforms the currently used naive estimation, even when predicting far into the future. Our LSTM based prediction approach can forecast the sand demand with a conformity up to 38 % and a mean value accuracy of approximately 99%. Simulating the optimal scheduling with sand demand prediction leads to an improvement in energy savings of approximately 1.1% compared to the naive estimation. The application of our novel approach at the real production plant of a foundry proves the simulation results and verifies the capability of our approach.
The optimization of lubricated sealing systems with respect to the stick-slip effect requires a friction model that describes the complex friction behavior in the lubricated contact area. This paper presents an efficient dynamic friction model based on the Stribeck curve, which allows to investigate the influencing parameters through finite element (FE) simulations. The simulation of a tribometer test using this friction model proofs that the model correlates well with the tribometer test results. It is shown that the system stiffness has a significant influence on the stick-slip tendency of the system.
This paper reflects the content of the presentation “The Next Generation: Ethernet-APL for Safety Systems” at the NAMUR Annual General Meeting 2022. It deals with the use of the Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer (Ethernet-APL) in combination with the PROFINET/PROFIsafe protocol for safety applications. It describes the virtues of the digital communication between the field and safety system. In parallel the aspect of OT security for this use case is touched as well. The paper proposes a secure architecture, where safety- and non-safety field communications are still separated. At the end a set of requirements for the development of future APL devices is described.
Although Corynebacterium spp. can be regularly associated with subclinical and clinical mastitis cases in dairy cows, knowledge on their reservoirs in dairy farms is sparse. Therefore, samples were collected at 10 visits with 14 day intervals from bedding material (n = 50), drinking troughs (n = 20), different walking areas (n = 60), cow brushes (n = 8), fly traps (n = 4), the passage to pasture (n = 9) as well as milking liners (n = 80) and milker gloves (n = 20) in one dairy cow farm. Additionally, quarter foremilk samples from all lactating cows (approximately 200) were collected at each visit. All samples underwent microbiological examination and cultured isolates were identified using MALDI-TOF MS. Most Corynebacterium spp. that were cultivated from milk were also isolated from the housing environment and milking-related niches (C. amycolatum, C. confusum, C. stationis, C. variabile, C. xerosis) or from milking-related niches only (C. frankenforstense, C. pilosum, C. suicordis). C. bovis was not cultivated from any environmental niche, while being the dominant species in milk samples. This study demonstrates that many Corynebacterium spp. present in milk samples can also be isolated from the cows’ environment. For C. bovis, the most relevant Corynebacterium species with regard to intramammary infections, it indicates that environmental reservoirs are of little relevance.
We report velocity-dependent internal energy distributions of nitric oxide molecules, NO, scattered off graphene supported on gold to further explore the dynamics of the collision process between NO radicals and graphene. These experiments were performed by directing a molecular beam of NO onto graphene in a surface-velocity map imaging setup, which allowed us to record internal energy distributions of the NO radicals as a function of their velocity. We do not observe bond formation but (1) major contributions from direct inelastic scattering and (2) a smaller trapping–desorption component where some physisorbed NO molecules have residence times on the order of microseconds. This is in agreement with our classical molecular dynamics simulations which also observe a small proportion of two- and multi-bounce collisions events but likewise a small proportion of NO radicals trapped at the surface for the entire length of the molecular dynamics simulations (a few picoseconds). Despite a collision energy of 0.31 eV, which would be sufficient to populate NO(v = 1), we do not detect vibrationally excited nitric oxide.
Since textual user generated content from social media platforms contains valuable information for decision support and especially corporate credit risk analysis, automated approaches for text classification such as the application of sentiment dictionaries and machine learning algorithms have received great attention in recent user generated content based research endeavors. While machine learning algorithms require individual training data sets for varying sources, sentiment dictionaries can be applied to texts immediately, whereby domain specific dictionaries attain better results than domain independent word lists. We evaluate by means of a literature review how sentiment dictionaries can be constructed for specific domains and languages. Then, we construct nine versions of German sentiment dictionaries relying on a process model which we developed based on the literature review. We apply the dictionaries to a manually classified German language data set from Twitter in which hints for financial (in)stability of companies have been proven. Based on their classification accuracy, we rank the dictionaries and verify their ranking by utilizing Mc Nemar’s test for significance. Our results indicate, that the significantly best dictionary is based on the German language dictionary SentiWortschatz and an extension approach by use of the lexical-semantic database GermaNet. It achieves a classification accuracy of 59,19 % in the underlying three-case-scenario, in which the Tweets are labelled as negative, neutral or positive. A random classification would attain an accuracy of 33,3 % in the same scenario and hence, automated coding by use of the sentiment dictionaries can lead to a reduction of manual efforts. Our process model can be adopted by other researchers when constructing sentiment dictionaries for various domains and languages. Furthermore, our established dictionaries can be used by practitioners especially in the domain of corporate credit risk analysis for automated text classification which has been conducted manually to a great extent up to today.
The paper provides a comprehensive overview of modeling and pricing cyber insurance and includes clear and easily understandable explanations of the underlying mathematical concepts. We distinguish three main types of cyber risks: idiosyncratic, systematic, and systemic cyber risks. While for idiosyncratic and systematic cyber risks, classical actuarial and financial mathematics appear to be well-suited, systemic cyber risks require more sophisticated approaches that capture both network and strategic interactions. In the context of pricing cyber insurance policies, issues of interdependence arise for both systematic and systemic cyber risks; classical actuarial valuation needs to be extended to include more complex methods, such as concepts of risk-neutral valuation and (set-valued) monetary risk measures.
Mobile crowdsourcing refers to systems where the completion of tasks necessarily requires physical movement of crowdworkers in an on-demand workforce. Evidence suggests that in such systems, tasks often get assigned to crowdworkers who struggle to complete those tasks successfully, resulting in high failure rates and low service quality. A promising solution to ensure higher quality of service is to continuously adapt the assignment and respond to failure-causing events by transferring tasks to better-suited workers who use different routes or vehicles. However, implementing task transfers in mobile crowdsourcing is difficult because workers are autonomous and may reject transfer requests. Moreover, task outcomes are uncertain and need to be predicted. In this paper, we propose different mechanisms to achieve outcome prediction and task coordination in mobile crowdsourcing. First, we analyze different data stream learning approaches for the prediction of task outcomes. Second, based on the suggested prediction model, we propose and evaluate two different approaches for task coordination with different degrees of autonomy: an opportunistic approach for crowdshipping with collaborative, but non-autonomous workers, and a market-based model with autonomous workers for crowdsensing.
A semiparametric approach for meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies with multiple cut-offs
(2022)
The accuracy of a diagnostic test is often expressed using a pair of measures: sensitivity (proportion of test positives among all individuals with target condition) and specificity (proportion of test negatives among all individuals without targetcondition). If the outcome of a diagnostic test is binary, results from different studies can easily be summarized in a meta-analysis. However, if the diagnostic test is based on a discrete or continuous measure (e.g., a biomarker), several cut-offs within one study as well as among different studies are published. Instead of taking all information of the cut-offs into account in the meta-analysis, a single cut-off per study is often selected arbitrarily for the analysis, even though there are statistical methods for the incorporation of several cut-offs. For these methods, distributional assumptions have to be met and/or the models may not converge when specific data structures occur. We propose a semiparametric approach to overcome both problems. Our simulation study shows that the diagnostic accuracy is underestimated, although this underestimation in sensitivity and specificity is relatively small. The comparative approach of Steinhauser et al. is better in terms of coverage probability, but may lead to convergence problems. In addition to the simulation results, we illustrate the application of the semiparametric approach using a published meta-analysis for a diagnostic test differentiating between bacterial and viral meningitis in children.
Objective
Cyberknife robotic radiosurgery (RRS) provides single-session high-dose radiotherapy of brain tumors with a steep dose gradient and precise real-time image-guided motion correction. Although RRS appears to cause more radiation necrosis (RN), the radiometabolic changes after RRS have not been fully clarified. 18F-FET-PET/CT is used to differentiate recurrent tumor (RT) from RN after radiosurgery when MRI findings are indecisive. We explored the usefulness of dynamic parameters derived from 18F-FET PET in differentiating RT from RN after Cyberknife treatment in a single-center study population.
Methods
We retrospectively identified brain tumor patients with static and dynamic 18F-FET-PET/CT for suspected RN after Cyberknife. Static (tumor-to-background ratio) and dynamic PET parameters (time-activity curve, time-to-peak) were quantified. Analyses were performed for all lesions taken together (TOTAL) and for brain metastases only (METS). Diagnostic accuracy of PET parameters (using mean tumor-to-background ratio >1.95 and time-to-peak of 20 min for RT as cut-offs) and their respective improvement of diagnostic probability were analyzed.
Results
Fourteen patients with 28 brain tumors were included in quantitative analysis. Time-activity curves alone provided the highest sensitivities (TOTAL: 95%, METS: 100%) at the cost of specificity (TOTAL: 50%, METS: 57%). Combined mean tumor-to-background ratio and time-activity curve had the highest specificities (TOTAL: 63%, METS: 71%) and led to the highest increase in diagnosis probability of up to 16% p. – versus 5% p. when only static parameters were used.
Conclusions
This preliminary study shows that combined dynamic and static 18F-FET PET/CT parameters can be used in differentiating RT from RN after RRS.
Aim:
The most suitable method for assessment of response to peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) of neuroendocrine tumors (NET) is still under debate. In this study we aimed to compare size (RECIST 1.1), density (Choi), Standardized Uptake Value (SUV) and a newly defined ZP combined parameter derived from Somatostatin Receptor (SSR) PET/CT for prediction of both response to PRRT and overall survival (OS).
Material and Methods:
Thirty-four NET patients with progressive disease (F:M 23:11; mean age 61.2 y; SD ± 12) treated with PRRT using either Lu-177 DOTATOC or Lu-177 DOTATATE and imaged with Ga-68 SSR PET/CT approximately 10–12 weeks prior to and after each treatment cycle were retrospectively analyzed. Median duration of follow-up after the first cycle was 63.9 months (range 6.2–86.2). A total of 77 lesions (2–8 per patient) were analyzed. Response assessment was performed according to RECIST 1.1, Choi and modified EORTC (MORE) criteria. In addition, a new parameter named ZP, the product of Hounsfield unit (HU) and SUVmean (Standard Uptake Value) of a tumor lesion, was tested. Further, SUV values (max and mean) of the tumor were normalized to SUV of normal liver parenchyma. Tumor response was defined as CR, PR, or SD. Gold standard for comparison of baseline parameters for prediction of response of individual target lesions to PRRT was change in size of lesions according to RECIST 1.1. For prediction of overall survival, the response after the first and second PRRT were tested.
Results:
Based on RECIST 1.1, Choi, MORE, and ZP, 85.3%, 64.7%, 61.8%, and 70.6% achieved a response whereas 14.7%, 35.3%, 38.2%, and 29.4% demonstrated PD (progressive disease), respectively. Baseline ZP and ZPnormalized were found to be the only parameters predictive of lesion progression after three PRRT cycles (AUC ZP 0.753; 95% CI 0.6–0.9, p 0.037; AUC ZPnormalized 0.766; 95% CI 0.6–0.9; p 0.029). Based on a cut-off-value of 1201, ZP achieved a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 67%, while ZPnormalized reached a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 76% at a cut-off-value of 198. Median OS in the total cohort was not reached. In univariate analysis amongst all parameters, only patients having progressive disease according to MORE after the second cycle of PRRT were found to have significantly shorter overall survival (median OS in objective responders not reached, in PD 29.2 months; p 0.015). Patients progressive after two cycles of PRRT according to ZP had shorter OS compared to those responding (median OS for responders not reached, for PD 47.2 months, p 0.066).
Conclusions:
In this explorative study, we showed that Choi, RECIST 1.1, and SUVmax-based response evaluation varied significantly from each other. Only patients showing progressive disease after two PRRT cycles according to MORE criteria had a worse prognosis while baseline ZP and
ZPnormalized performed best in predicting lesion progression after three cycles of PRRT.
High-performance firms typically have two features in common: (i) they produce in more than one country and (ii) they produce more than one product. In this paper, we analyze the internationalization strategies of multi-product firms. Guided by several new stylized facts, we develop a theoretical model to determine optimal modes of market access at the firm–product level. We find that the most productive firmssell core varieties via foreign direct investment and export products with intermediate productivity. Shocks to trade costs and technology affect the endogenous decision to export or produce abroad at the product-level and, in turn, the relative productivity between parents and affiliates.
Background
Symptoms of depression are prevalent in people living with human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (PLWHA), and worsened by lack of physical activity/exercises, leading to restriction in social participation/functioning. This raises the question: what is the extent to which physical exercise training affected, symptoms of depression, physical activity level (PAL) and social participation in PLWHA compared to other forms of intervention, usual care, or no treatment controls?
Method
Eight databases were searched up to July 2020, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) protocol. Only randomised controlled trials involving adults who were either on HAART/HAART-naïve and reported in the English language, were included. Two independent reviewers determined the eligibility of the studies, extracted data, assessed their quality, and risk of bias using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) tool. Standardised mean difference (SMD) was used as summary statistics for the mean primary outcome (symptoms of depression) and secondary outcomes (PAL and social participation) since different measuring tools/units were used across the included studies. Summary estimates of effects were determined using a random-effects model (I2).
Results
Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria with 779 participants (n = 596 participants at study completion) randomised into the study groups, comprising 378 males, 310 females and 91 participants with undisclosed gender, and with an age range of 18–86 years. Across the studies, aerobic or aerobic plus resistance exercises were performed 2–3 times/week, at 40–60 min/session, and for between 6-24 weeks, and the risk of bias vary from high to low. Comparing the intervention to control groups showed significant difference in the symptoms of depression (SMD = − 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) − 1.01, − 0.48, p ≤ 0.0002; I2 = 47%; 5 studies; 205 participants) unlike PAL (SMD = 0.98, 95% CI − 0.25, 2.17, p = 0.11; I2 = 82%; 2 studies; 62 participants) and social participation (SMD = 0.04, 95% CI − 0.65, 0.73, p = 0.91; I2 = 90%; 6 studies; 373 participants).
Conclusion
Physical exercise training could have an antidepressant-like effect in PLWHA but did not affect PAL and social participation. However, the high heterogeneity in the included studies, implies that adequately powered randomised controlled trials with clinical/methodological similarity are required in future studies.
This study investigates the influence of traumatic events on the mental health of North Korean refugee women by examining the prevalence and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety in comparison with their male counterparts (women = 496; men = 131). Our results suggest that women are at greater risk of developing mental health problems than men. In particular, symptoms of PTSD and anxiety were higher among women who experienced forced repatriation to North Korea, which is operationalized as a constellation of gendered traumatic incidents such as sexual abuse, rape, witnessing infanticides, and forced abortion. The policy implications of our results and suggestions for future studies are discussed.
Context: Agile software development (ASD) sets social aspects like communication and collaboration in focus. Thus, one may assume that the specific work organization of companies impacts the work of ASD teams. A major change in work organization is the switch to a 4-day work week, which some companies investigated in experiments. Also, recent studies show that ASD teams are affected by the switch to remote work since the Covid 19 pandemic outbreak in 2020.
Objective: Our study presents empirical findings on the effects on ASD teams operating remote in a 4-day work week organization. Method: We performed a qualitative single case study and conducted seven semi-structured interviews, observed 14 agile practices and screened eight project documents and protocols of agile practices.
Results: We found, that the teams adapted the agile method in use due to the change to a 4-day work week environment and the switch to remote work. The productivity of the two ASD teams did not decrease. Although the stress level of the ASD team member increased due to the 4-day work week, we found that the job satisfaction of the individual ASD team members is affected positively. Finally, we point to affects on social facets of the ASD teams.
Conclusion: The research community benefits from our results as the current state of research dealing with the effects of a 4-day work week on ASD teams is limited. Also, our findings provide several practical implications for ASD teams working remote in a 4-day work week.
Context: Companies adapt agile methods, practices or artifacts for their use in practice since more than two decades. This adaptions result in a wide variety of described agile practices. For instance, the Agile Alliance lists 75 different practices in its Agile Glossary. This situation may lead to misunderstandings, as agile practices with similar names can be interpreted and used differently.
Objective: This paper synthesize an integrated list of agile practices, both from primary and secondary sources.
Method: We performed a tertiary study to identify existing overviews and lists of agile practices in the literature. We identified 876 studies, of which 37 were included.
Results: The results of our paper show that certain agile practices are listed and used more often in existing studies. Our integrated list of agile practices comprises 38 entries structured in five categories. Conclusion: The high number of agile practices and thus, the wide variety increased steadily over the past decades due to the adaption of agile methods. Based on our findings, we present a comprehensive overview of agile practices. The research community benefits from our integrated list of agile practices as a potential basis for future research. Also, practitioners benefit from our findings, as the structured overview of agile practices provides the opportunity to select or adapt practices for their specific needs.
This paper proposes an extended Petri net formalism as a suitable language for composing optimal scheduling problems of industrial production processes with real and binary decision variables. The proposed approach is modular and scalable, as the overall process dynamics and constraints can be collected by parsing of all atomic elements of the net graph. To conclude, we demonstrate the use of this framework for modeling the moulding sand preparation process of a real foundry plant.
Catholic Ownership, Physician Leadership and Operational Strategies: Evidence from German Hospitals
(2022)
Previous research has revealed that Catholic hospitals are more likely follow a strategy of horizontal diversification and maximization of the number of patients treated, whereas Protestant hospitals follow a strategy of horizontal specialization and focus on vertical differentiation. However, there is no empirical evidence pertaining to this mechanism. We conduct an empirical study in a German setting and argue that physician leadership mediates the relationship between ownership and operational strategies. The study includes the construction of a model combining data from a survey and publicly available information derived from the annual quality reports of German hospitals. Our results show that Catholic hospitals opt for leadership structures that ensure operational strategies in line with their general values, i.e., operational strategies of maximizing volume throughout the overall hospital. They prefer part-time positions for chief medical officers, as chief medical officers are identified to foster strategies of maximizing the overall number of patients treated. Hospital owners should be aware that the implementation of part-time and full-time leadership roles can help to support their strategies. Thus, our results provide insights into the relationship between leadership structures at the top of an organization, on the one hand, and strategic choices, on the other.
Background
The eResearch system “Prospective Monitoring and Management App (PIA)” allows researchers to implement questionnaires on any topic and to manage biosamples. Currently, we use PIA in the longitudinal study ZIFCO (Integrated DZIF Infection Cohort within the German National Cohort) in Hannover (Germany) to investigate e.g. associations of risk factors and infectious diseases. Our aim was to assess user acceptance and compliance to determine suitability of PIA for epidemiological research on transient infectious diseases.
Methods
ZIFCO participants used PIA to answer weekly questionnaires on health status and report spontaneous onset of symptoms. In case of symptoms of a respiratory infection, the app requested participants to self-sample a nasal swab for viral analysis. To assess user acceptance, we implemented the System Usability Scale (SUS) and fitted a linear regression model on the resulting score. For investigation of compliance with submitting the weekly health questionnaires, we used a logistic regression model with binomial response.
Results
We analyzed data of 313 participants (median age 52.5 years, 52.4% women). An average SUS of 72.0 reveals good acceptance of PIA. Participants with a higher technology readiness score at the beginning of study participation also reported higher user acceptance. Overall compliance with submitting the weekly health questionnaires showed a median of 55.7%. Being female, of younger age and being enrolled for a longer time decreased the odds to respond. However, women over 60 had a higher chance to respond than women under 60, while men under 40 had the highest chance to respond. Compliance with nasal swab self-sampling was 77.2%.
Discussion
Our findings show that PIA is suitable for the use in epidemiologic studies with regular short questionnaires. Still, we will focus on user engagement and gamification for the further development of PIA to help incentivize regular and long-term participation.
Coaxial Laser wire Direct Energy Deposition (L-DED) promises a direction-independent buildup due to a centric supply of the welding material. To fabricate Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs), a processing head was designed that is capable of supplying two wire materials into the processing zone. This study investigates the direction dependency of welding seams produced by two 1.4718 metal wires with a diameter of 0.8 mm in a coaxial laser setup using three separately controllable single laser beams with a maximum combined laser power of 660 W. The welding wires are supplied simultaneously to the laser spot under an incidence angle of 3.5° to the middle axis of the processing head. The seam geometry is investigated using a confocal laserscanning-microscope. A comparison of the height, width and macroscopic seam geometry reveals the influence of the welding direction on the seam geometry and quality in Laser Double wire Direct Energy Deposition (LD-DED).
Background: One of the major challenges in pediatric intensive care is the detection of life-threatening health conditions under acute time constraints and performance pressure. This includes the assessment of pediatric organ dysfunction (OD) that demands extraordinary clinical expertise and the clinician’s ability to derive a decision based on multiple information and data sources. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) offer a solution to support medical staff in stressful routine work. Simultaneously, detection of OD by using computerized decision support approaches has been scarcely investigated, especially not in pediatrics.
Objectives: The aim of the study is to enhance an existing, interoperable, and rulebased CDSS prototype for tracing the progression of sepsis in critically ill children by augmenting it with the capability to detect SIRS/sepsis-associated hematologic OD, and to determine its diagnostic accuracy.
Methods: We reproduced an interoperable CDSS approach previously introduced by our working group: (1) a knowledge model was designed by following the commonKADS methodology, (2) routine care data was semantically standardized and harmonized using openEHR as clinical information standard, (3) rules were formulated and implemented in a business rule management system. Data from a prospective diagnostic study, including 168 patients, was used to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of the rule-based CDSS using the clinicians’ diagnoses as reference
A proven method to enhance the mechanical properties of additively manufactured plastic parts is the embedding of continuous fibers. Due to its great flexibility, continuous fiber-reinforced material extrusion allows fiber strands to be deposited along optimized paths. Nevertheless, the fibers have so far been embedded in the parts contour-based or on the basis of regular patterns. The outstanding strength and stiffness properties of the fibers in the longitudinal direction cannot be optimally utilized. Therefore, a method is proposed which allows to embed fibers along the principal stresses into the parts in a load-oriented manner. A G-code is generated from the calculated principal stress trajectories and the part geometry, which also takes into account the specific restrictions of the manufacturing technology used. A distinction is made between fiber paths and the matrix so that the average fiber volume content can be set in a defined way. To determine the mechanical properties, tensile and flexural tests are carried out on specimens consisting of carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide. In order to increase the influence of the principal stress-based fiber orientation, open-hole plates are used for the tensile tests, as this leads to variable stresses across the cross section. In addition, a digital image correlation system is used to determine the deformations during the mechanical tests. It was found that the peak load of the optimized open-hole plates was greater by a factor of 3 and the optimized flexural specimens by a factor of 1.9 than the comparison specimens with unidirectional fiber alignment.
Background: Upsurge in cardiopulmonary dysfunctions in Enugu, Nigeria, involved mainly cement workers, automobile spray painters, woodworkers, and Cleaners and was worsened in the dry season, suggesting the need for an occupation-specific characterization of the disease features and seasonal evaluation of air quality for prevention and management.
Methods: We conducted a randomized cross-sectional study of eighty consenting participants (in Achara Layout, Enugu), comprising 20 cement workers (39.50 ± 14.95 years), 20 automobile spray painters (40.75 ± 9.85 years), 20 woodworkers (52.20 ± 9.77 years), and 20 cleaners (42.30 ± 9.06 years). The air quality, some haematological (fibrinogen-Fc, and C-reactive protein-CRP), and cardiopulmonary parameters were measured and analyzed using ANCOVA, at p < 0.05.
Results: The dry season particulate matter (PM) in ambient air exceeded the WHO standards in the New layout [PM10 = 541.17 ± 258.72 µg/m3; PM2.5 = 72.92 ± 25.81 µg/m3] and the University campus [PM10 = 244 ± 74.79 µg/m3; PM2.5 = 30.33 ± 16.10 µg/m3], but the former was twice higher. The PM differed significantly (p < 0.05) across the sites. Forced expiratory volume at the first second (FEV1) (F = 6.128; p = 0.001), and Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) (F = 5.523; p = 0.002), differed significantly across the groups. FEV1/FVC% was < 70% in cement workers (55.33%) and woodworkers (61.79%), unlike, automobile spray painters (72.22%) and cleaners (70.66%). FEV1 and work duration were significantly and negatively related in cement workers (r = -0.46; r2 = 0.2116; p = 0.041 one-tailed). CRP (normal range ≤ 3.0 mg/L) and Fc (normal range—1.5–3.0 g/L) varied in cement workers (3.32 ± 0.93 mg/L versus 3.01 ± 0.85 g/L), automobile spray painters (2.90 ± 1.19 mg/L versus 2.54 ± 0.99 mg/L), woodworkers (2.79 ± 1.10 mg/L versus 2.37 ± 0.92 g/L) and cleaners (3.06 ± 0.82 mg/L versus 2.54 ± 0.70 g/L).
Conclusion(s): Poor air quality was evident at the study sites, especially in the dry season. Cement workers and automobile spray painters showed significant risks of obstructive pulmonary diseases while woodworkers had restrictive lung diseases. Cement workers and cleaners recorded the highest risk of coronary heart disease (CRP ≥ 3.0 mg/L). The similarity in Fc and CRP trends suggests a role for the inflammation-sensitive proteins in the determination of cardiovascular risk in cement workers and cleaners. Therefore, there are occupation-specific disease endpoints of public health concern that likewise warrant specific preventive and management approaches among the workers.
We performed classical molecular dynamics simulations to model the scattering process of nitric oxide, NO, off graphene supported on gold. This is motivated by our desire to probe the energy transfer in collisions with graphene. Since many of these collision systems comprising of graphene and small molecules have been shown to scatter non-reactively, classical molecular dynamics appear to describe such systems sufficiently. We directed thousands of trajectories of NO molecules onto graphene along the surface normal, while varying impact position, but also speed, orientation, and rotational excitation of the nitric oxide, and compare the results with experimental data. While experiment and theory do not match quantitatively, we observe agreement that the relative amount of kineti cenergy lost during the collision increases with increasing initial kinetic energy of the NO. Furthermore, while at higher collision energies, all NO molecules lose some energy, and the vast majority of NO is scattered back, in contrast at low impact energies, the fraction of those nitric oxide molecules that are trapped at the surface increases, and some NO molecules even gain some kinetic energy during the collision process. The collision energy seems to preferentially go into the collective motion of the carbon atoms in the graphene sheet.
As part of the European Network for Optimization of Veterinary Antimicrobial Treatment (ENOVAT), a webinar on the topic “Mastitis Treatment in Lactation” was held, in which eight mastitis experts from different European countries (Spain, The Netherlands, Estonia, Ireland, Poland, Finland, Germany, and Italy) presented their treatment approaches for clinical mastitis in lactation. The aim of this study was to compare the therapeutic approaches to identify commonalities and differences. In all eight participating countries, the decision to start treatment is usually made by the veterinarians, while the farm personnel are responsible for treatment administration. Antibiotic treatment is then typically administered intramammarily. The treatment duration often depends on the label instructions and is frequently extended if Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus uberis is involved. Administering supportive therapy, especially non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is an established practice in all countries. Penicillin is the first-choice drug for the treatment of mastitis in an increasing number of countries. The use of critically important antimicrobials (CIAs) such as quinolones and third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins is at a low level in Finland and The Netherlands. In Estonia, Germany, Italy, and Spain, the use of CIAs is declining and is only allowed if milk samples are analyzed in advance following the legal framework. Systems for monitoring antibiotic use are being introduced in more and more countries. This exchange of different views will help the European countries to move towards a common high standard of antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary medicine.
Severe mastitis can lead to considerable disturbances in the cows’ general condition and even to septicemia and death. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify factors associated with the severity of the clinical expression of mastitis. Streptococcus (Str.) uberis (29.9%) was the most frequently isolated pathogen, followed by coliform bacteria (22.3%). The majority of all mastitis cases (n = 854) in this study were either mild or moderate, but 21.1% were severe. It can be deduced that the combination of coliform pathogens and increasing pathogen shedding of these showed associations with severe mastitis. Furthermore, animal-related factors associated with severe disease progression were stages of lactation, and previous diseases in the period prior to the mastitis episode. Cows in early lactation had more severe mastitis. Ketosis and uterine diseases in temporal relation to the mastitis were associated with more severe mastitis in the diseased cows. Hypocalcemia was significantly associated with milder mastitis. As another factor, treatment with corticosteroids within two weeks before mastitis was associated with higher severity of mastitis. Knowledge of these risk factors may provide the basis for randomized controlled trials of the exact influence of these on the severity of mastitis.
Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Material Extrusion with Hybrid Composites of Carbon and Aramid Fibers
(2022)
An existing challenge in the use of continuous fiber reinforcements in additively manufactured parts is the limited availability of suitable fiber materials. This leads to a reduced adaptability of the mechanical properties to the load case. The increased design freedom of additive manufacturing allows the flexible deposition of fiber strands at defined positions, so that even different fiber materials can be easily combined in a printed part. In this work, therefore, an approach is taken to combine carbon and aramid fibers in printed composite parts to investigate their effects on mechanical properties. For this purpose, tensile, flexural and impact tests were performed on printed composite parts made of carbon and aramid fibers in a nylon matrix with five different mixing ratios. The tests showed that the use of hybrid composites for additive manufacturing is a reasonable approach to adapt the mechanical properties to the loading case at hand. The experiments showed that increasing the aramid fiber content resulted in an increase in impact strength, but a decrease in tensile and flexural strength and a decrease in stiffness. Microstructural investigations of the fracture surfaces showed that debonding and delamination were the main failure mechanisms. Finally, Rule of Hybrid Mixture equations were applied to predict the mechanical properties at different mixture ratios. This resulted in predicted values that differed from the experimentally determined values by an average of 5.6%.
The purpose of this research is to explore results that are measured by social enterprises (= SEs) according to their mission and vision. Four SEs are examined for this reason. The status quo of aligned measurements was captured by conducting seven semi-structured interviews with persons from the middle and top management of the considered SEs. A conceptual framework, which categorizes output, outcome and impact measurements, is used as the basis for a structured content analysis. The findings imply that SEs’ measurements are not sufficiently aligned with their mission and vision. Outputs are measured by all considered SEs. However, they fail to measure outcomes with all its sublevels. Especially, measuring mindset change and behavior change outcomes are neglected by the examined SEs. That can lead to adjustments, where SEs only create more outputs but fail to create more outcomes and impact. Furthermore, neglecting outcome measurements makes existing but mostly unsystematic impact measurements invalid, since outputs, outcomes and impact build on each other. The research presented here provides one of the first investigations into the alignment of measurements with mission and vision in the context of SEs. Ultimately, the findings question SEs current measurements and aim to open further perspectives on improving the performance of SEs.
Image captions in scientific papers usually are complementary to the images. Consequently, the captions contain many terms that do not refer to concepts visible in the image. We conjecture that it is possible to distinguish between these two types of terms in an image caption by analysing the text only. To examine this, we evaluated different features. The dataset we used to compute tf.idf values, word embeddings and concreteness values contains over 700 000 scientific papers with over 4,6 million images. The evaluation was done with a manually annotated subset of 329 images. Additionally, we trained a support vector machine to predict whether a term is a likely visible or not. We show that concreteness of terms is a very important feature to identify terms in captions and context that refer to concepts visible in images.
Social skills are essential for a successful understanding of agile methods in software development. Several studies highlight the opportunities and advantages of integrating real-world projects and problems while collaborating with companies into higher education using agile methods. This integration comes with several opportunities and advantages for both the students and the company. The students are able to interact with real-world software development teams, analyze and understand their challenges and identify possible measures to tackle them. However, the integration of real-world problems and companies is complex and may come with a high effort in terms of coordination and preparation of the course. The challenges related to the interaction and communication with students are increased by virtual distance teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic as direct contact with students is missing. Also, we do not know how problem-based learning in virtual distance teaching is valued by the students. This paper presents our adapted eduScrum approach and learning outcome of integrating experiments with real-world software development teams from two companies into a Master of Science course organized in virtual distance teaching. The evaluation shows that students value analyzing real-world problems using agile methods. They highlight the interaction with real-world software development teams. Also, the students appreciate the organization of the course using an iterative approach with eduScrum. Based on our findings, we present four recommendations for the integration of agile methods and real world problems into higher education in virtual distance teaching settings. The results of our paper contribute to the practitioner and researcher/lecturer community, as we provide valuable insights how to fill the gap between practice and higher education in virtual distance settings.
Acute stroke care is a time-critical process. Improving communication
and documentation process may support a positive effect on medical outcome. To achieve this goal, a new system using a mobile application has been integrated into existing infrastructure at Hannover Medical School (MHH). Within a pilot project, this system has been brought into clinical daily routine in February 2022. Insights generated may support further applications in clinical use-cases.
The aim of the podcast Digitization of Medicine is to interest a broader audience and, in particular, young women, in research and work in the field of medical informatics. This article presents the usage figures and discusses their significance for further research on the success of science communication. By 24/02/2022, a total of 24,351 downloads had been made. There were slightly more female than male listeners, and they tended to be younger. Despite the importance podcast are gaining for science communication, little is known about the respective user group and further research is needed. In this context, this paper aims to help make the effectiveness of podcasts comparable.
Corynebacterium spp. are frequently detected in bovine quarter milk samples, yet their impact on udder health has not been determined completely. In this longitudinal study, we collected quarter milk samples from a dairy herd of approximately 200 cows, ten times at 14 d intervals. Bacteriologically, Catalase-positive and Gram-positive rods were detected in 22.7% of the samples. For further species diagnosis, colonies were analyzed by MALDITOF MS. Corynebacterium bovis, C. amycolatum, C. xerosis and 10 other Corynebacterium spp. were detected. The three aforementioned species accounted for 88.4%, 8.65% and 0.94% of all cultured Corynebacterium spp., respectively. For further evaluation of infection dynamics, the following three infection definitions were applied: A (2/3 consecutive samples positive for the same species), B (≥1000 cfu/mL in one sample), C (isolated from a clinical mastitis case). Infections according to definition B occurred most frequently and clinical mastitis with Corynebacterium spp. occurred once during sampling. Life tables were used to determine the duration of infection. According to infection definition A, infection durations of 111 d and 98 d were obtained for C. bovis and C. amycolatum, respectively. Exemplarily, longer lasting infections were examined for their strain diversity by RAPD PCR. A low strain diversity was found in the individual quarters that indicates a longer colonization of the udder parenchyma by C. bovis and C. amycolatum.
Rich literature abounds concerning the clinical effectiveness of programs aiming to produce weight gain/obesity prevention outcomes. However, there is very little evidence on how these outcomes are produced, and what interplay of factors made those programs effective (or not) in the environment that produced those effects. This study aims to describe the application of realistic evaluation in the field of obesity prevention, as an approach to unravel those components that influence the capacity of a program to produce its effects and to examine its significance in an effort to understand those components. The concepts of critical realism have informed the development of an interview topic guide, while three European programs were selected as case studies after a rigorous selection process. In total, 26 in-depth semi-structured interviews were taken, paired with personal observation and secondary data research. Several grounded context-mechanisms-outcomes (CMO) configurations were described within the respective context of each location, with the mechanisms introduced from each project resulting in distinctive outcomes. This study highlights the potential of realistic evaluation as a comprehensive framework to explain in which contextual circumstances of each program’s effects are produced, how certain underlying mechanisms produce those effects, and how to explicitly connect the context and the acting mechanisms into distinct outcome patterns, which will ultimately form unique configuration sets for each of the analyzed projects.
Dramatic increases in the number of cyber security attacks and breaches toward businesses and organizations have been experienced in recent years. The negative impacts of these breaches not only cause the stealing and compromising of sensitive information, malfunctioning of network devices, disruption of everyday operations, financial damage to the attacked business or organization itself, but also may navigate to peer businesses/organizations in the same industry. Therefore, prevention and early detection of these attacks play a significant role in the continuity of operations in IT-dependent organizations. At the same time detection of various types of attacks has become extremely difficult as attacks get more sophisticated, distributed and enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Detection and handling of these attacks require sophisticated intrusion detection systems which run on powerful hardware and are administered by highly experienced security staff. Yet, these resources are costly to employ, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To address these issues, we developed an architecture -within the GLACIER project- that can be realized as an in-house operated Security Information Event Management (SIEM) system for SMEs. It is affordable for SMEs as it is solely based on free and open-source components and thus does not require any licensing fees. Moreover, it is a Self-Contained System (SCS) and does not require too much management effort. It requires short configuration and learning phases after which it can be self-contained as long as the monitored infrastructure is stable (apart from a reaction to the generated alerts which may be outsourced to a service provider in SMEs, if necessary). Another main benefit of this system is to supply data to advanced detection algorithms, such as multidimensional analysis algorithms, in addition to traditional SIEMspecific tasks like data collection, normalization, enrichment, and storage. It supports the application of novel methods to detect security-related anomalies. The most distinct feature of this system that differentiates it from similar solutions in the market is its user feedback capability. Detected anomalies are displayed in a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the security staff who are allowed to give feedback for anomalies. Subsequently, this feedback is utilized to fine-tune the anomaly detection algorithm. In addition, this GUI also provides access to network actors for quick incident responses. The system in general is suitable for both Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) environments, while the detection algorithm must be specifically trained for each of these environments individually.
Background
Systematic reviews demonstrated that gait variables are the most reliable predictors of future falls, yet are rarely included in fall screening tools. Thus, most tools have higher specificity than sensitivity, hence may be misleading/detrimental to care. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the validity, and reliability of the velocity field diagram (VFD -a gait analytical tool), and the Timed-up-and-go test (TUG)-commonly used in Nigeria as fall screening tools, compared to a gold standard (known fallers) among community-dwelling older adults.
Method
This is a cross-sectional observational study of 500 older adults (280 fallers and 220 non-fallers), recruited by convenience sampling technique at community health fora on fall prevention. Participants completed a 7-m distance with the number of steps and time it took determined and used to compute the stride length, stride frequency, and velocity, which regression lines formed the VFD. TUG test was simultaneously conducted to discriminate fallers from non-fallers. The cut-off points for falls were: TUG times ≥ 13.5 s; VFD’s intersection point of the stride frequency, and velocity regression lines (E1) ≥ 3.5velots. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area under the curves (AUC) was used to explore the ability of the E1 ≥ 3.5velots to discriminate between fallers and non-fallers. The VFD’s and TUG’s sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were determined. Alpha was set at p < 0.05.
Results
The VFD versus TUG sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV were 71%, 27%, 55%, and 42%, versus 39%, 59%, 55%, and 43%, respectively. The ROC’s AUC were 0.74(95%CI:0.597,0.882, p = 0.001) for the VFD. The optimal categorizations for discrimination between fallers/non-fallers were ≥ 3.78 versus ≤ 3.78 for VFD (fallers versus non-fallers prevalence is 60.71% versus 95.45%, respectively), with a classification accuracy or prediction rate of 0.76 unlike TUG with AUC = 0.53 (95% CI:0.353,0.700, p = 0.762), and a classification accuracy of 0.68, and optimal characterization of ≥ 12.81 s versus ≤ 12.81 (fallers and non-fallers prevalence = 92.86% versus 36.36%, respectively).
Conclusion
The VFD demonstrated a fair discriminatory power and greater reliability in identifying fallers than the TUG, and therefore, could replace the TUG as a primary tool in screening those at risk of falls.
Recent developments in the field of deep learning have shown promising advances for a wide range of historically difficult computer vision problems. Using advanced deep learning techniques, researchers manage to perform high-quality single-image super-resolution, i.e., increasing the resolution of a given image without major losses in image quality, usually encountered when using traditional approaches such as standard interpolation. This thesis examines the process of deep learning super-resolution using convolutional neural networks and investigates whether the same deep learning models can be used to increase OCR results for low-quality text images.
Data and Information Science: Book of Abstracts at BOBCATSSS 2022 Hybrid Conference, 23rd - 25th of May 2022, Debrecen.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the BOBCATSSS. The BOBCATSSS is an international, annual symposium designed for librarians and information professionals in a rapidly changing environment. Over the past 30 years, the conference has included exciting topics, great venues, interested guests and engaging presenters.
This year we would like to introduce the topics of the many papers presented in the Book of Abstracts for the first time in presence at the University of Debrecen and hybrid. The Book of Abstracts provides an overview of all presentations given at BOBCATSSS. Presentations are listed in alphabetical order by title and include speeches, Pecha Kuchas, posters and workshops.
The theme of BOBCATSSS is Data and Information Science. Data and information are the basis for decisions and processes in business, politics and science. Particularly important in the current era of digital transformation. This is exactly where this year's subthemes come in. They deal with data science, openness as well as institutional roles.
We describe an experimental approach to the determination of the nascent internal state distribution of gas-phase products of a gas–liquid interfacial reaction. The system chosen for study is O(³P) atoms with the surface of liquid deuterated squalane, a partially branched long-chain saturated hydrocarbon, C₃₀D₆₂. The nascent OD products are detected by laser-induced fluorescence. Both OD (v′=0) and (v′=1) were observed in significant yield. The rotational distributions in both vibrational levels are essentially the same, and are characteristic of a Boltzmann distribution at a temperature close to that of the liquid surface. This contrasts with the distributions in the corresponding homogeneous gas-phase reactions. We propose a preliminary interpretation in terms of a dominant trapping-desorption mechanism, in which the OD molecules are retained at the surface sufficiently long to cause rotational equilibration but not complete vibrational relaxation. The significant yield of vibrationally excited OD also suggests that the surface is not composed entirely of –CD₃ endgroups, but that secondary and/or tertiary units along the backbone are exposed.
Energy- and angle-resolved photofragment distributions for ground-state Cl (²P₃/₂) and spin–orbit excited Cl* (²P₁/₂) have been recorded using the velocity map imaging technique after photodissociation of chloroform at wavelengths of 193 and ∼235 nm. Translational energy distributions are rather broad and peak between 0.6 and 1.0 eV. The spin–orbit branching ratios [Cl*]/[Cl] are 1 and 0.3 at 193 and 235 nm, respectively, indicating the involvement of two or more excited state surfaces. Considering the anisotropy parameters and branching ratios collectively, we conclude that the reaction at 193 nm takes place predominantly on the ¹Q₁ surface, while the ³Q₁ surface gains importance at lower dissociation energies around 235 nm.
We have combined the velocity map imaging technique with time-of-flight measurements to study the surface photochemistry of KBr single crystals. This approach yields 3-dimensional velocity distributions of Br atoms resulting from 193 nm photodesorption. The velocity distributions indicate that at least two non-thermal mechanisms contribute to the photodesorption dynamics. Our experimental geometry also allows us to measure the Br(²P₃⁄₂):Br(²P₁⁄₂) branching ratio, which is found to be 24:1.
The effects of surface temperature on the gas-liquid interfacial reaction dynamics of O(³P)+squalane
(2005)
OH/OD product state distributions arising from the reaction of gas-phase O(³P) atoms at the surface of the liquid hydrocarbon squalane C₃₀H₆₂/C₃₀D₆₂ have been measured. The O(³P) atoms were generated by 355 nm laser photolysis of NO₂ at a low pressure above the continually refreshed liquid. It has been shown unambiguously that the hydroxyl radicals detected by laser-induced fluorescence originate from the squalane surface. The gas-phase OH/OD rotational populations are found to be partially sensitive to the liquid temperature, but do not adapt to it completely. In addition, rotational temperatures for OH/OD(v′=1) are consistently colder (by 34±5 K) than those for OH/OD(v′=0). This is reminiscent of, but less pronounced than, a similar effect in the well-studied homogeneous gas-phase reaction of O(³P) with smaller hydrocarbons. We conclude that the rotational distributions are composed of two different components. One originates from a direct abstraction mechanism with product characteristics similar to those in the gas phase. The other is a trapping-desorption process yielding a thermal, Boltzmann-like distribution close to the surface temperature. This conclusion is consistent with that reached previously from independent measurements of OH product velocity distributions in complementary molecular-beam scattering experiments. It is further supported by the temporal profiles of OH/OD laser-induced fluorescence signals as a function of distance from the surface observed in the current experiments. The vibrational branching ratios for (v′=1)/(v′=0) for OH and OD have been found to be (0.07±0.02) and (0.30±0.10), respectively. The detection of vibrationally excited hydroxyl radicals suggests that secondary and/or tertiary hydrogen atoms may be accessible to the attacking oxygen atoms.
The authors describe the application of a combination of velocity map imaging and time-of-flight (TOF) techniques to obtain three-dimensional velocity distributions for surface photodesorption. They have established a systematic alignment procedure to achieve correct and reproducible experimental conditions. It includes four steps: (1) optimization of the velocity map imaging ion optics’ voltages to achieve optimum velocity map imaging conditions; (2) alignment of the surface normal with the symmetry axis (ion flight axis) of the ion optics; (3) determination of TOF distance between the surface and the ionizing laser beam; (4) alignment of the position of the ionizing laser beam with respect to the ion optics. They applied this set of alignment procedures and then measured Br(²P₃/₂) (Br) and Br(²P₁/₂) (Br∗) atoms photodesorbing from a single crystal of KBr after exposure to 193 nm light. They analyzed the velocity flux and energy flux distributions for motion normal to the surface. The Br∗ normal energy distribution shows two clearly resolved peaks at approximately 0.017 and 0.39 eV, respectively. The former is slightly faster than expected for thermal desorption at the surface temperature and the latter is hyperthermal. The Br normal energy distribution shows a single broad peak that is likely composed of two hyperthermal components. The capability that surface three-dimensional velocity map imaging provides for measuring state-specific velocity distributions in all three dimensions separately and simultaneously for the products of surface photodesorption or surface reactions holds great promise to contribute to our understanding of these processes.
In this paper we investigate how concreteness and abstractness are represented in word embedding spaces. We use data for English and German, and show that concreteness and abstractness can be determined independently and turn out to be completely opposite directions in the embedding space. Various methods can be used to determine the direction of concreteness, always resulting in roughly the same vector. Though concreteness is a central aspect of the meaning of words and can be detected clearly in embedding spaces, it seems not as easy to subtract or add concreteness to words to obtain other words or word senses like e.g. can be done with a semantic property like gender.
Recent progress that has been made towards understanding the dynamics of collisions at the gas–liquid interface is summarized briefly. We describe in this context a promising new approach to the experimental study of gas–liquid interfacial reactions that we have introduced. This is based on laser-photolytic production of reactive gas-phase atoms above the liquid surface and laser-spectroscopic probing of the resulting nascent products. This technique is illustrated for reaction of O(³P) atoms at the surface of the long-chain liquid hydrocarbon squalane (2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyltetracosane). Laser-induced fluorescence detection of the nascent OH has revealed mechanistically diagnostic correlations between its internal and translational energy distributions. Vibrationally excited OH molecules are able to escape the surface. At least two contributions to the product rotational distributions are identified, confirming and extending previous hypotheses of the participation of both direct and trapping-desorption mechanisms. We speculate briefly on future experimental and theoretical developments that might be necessary to address the many currently unanswered mechanistic questions for this, and other, classes of gas–liquid interfacial reaction.
Background: This basically anatomical study focuses on two items; firstly, the establishment of a system for the cartographic subdivision of the neopallium; secondly, the topographical correlation of extracranial landmarks and intracranial sites on the neopallium.
Materials and methods: The surface of the neopallium was subdivided into 15 sectors with reference to a newly introduced pattern of Primary Sulci. The topographical link between extracranial landmarks and certain intracranial sites (i.e. neopallium sectors) was elaborated by using a simple stereotactic device and a computer-assisted measurement device. Measurements were performed between points on the head's outer surface and on the isolated brain.
Results and Conclusions: The introduction of an anatomical three-dimensional coordinate system was an essential key issue for this investigation. This setting facilitated the measurements and calculations of the so-called indirect distances that were characterised by their alignment along the three orthogonal axes (x, y, z) of the anatomical coordinate system. The inter-individual comparison (16 adult horses [Equus caballus]) of the indirect distances revealed that each sector centre lay within a distinct morphometric residence area. The measured and calculated data also showed that each sector centre could be assigned to its proper extracranial landmark that - in comparison with other landmarks - was best suited for the optimal allocation of the sector centre point.
Visual effects and elements in video games and interactive virtual environments can be applied to transfer (or delegate) non-visual perceptions (e.g. proprioception, presence, pain) to players and users, thus increasing perceptual diversity via the visual modality. Such elements or efects are referred to as visual delegates (VDs). Current fndings on the experiences that VDs can elicit relate to specifc VDs, not to VDs in general. Deductive and comprehensive VD evaluation frameworks are lacking. We analyzed VDs in video games to generalize VDs in terms of their visual properties. We conducted a systematic paper analysis to explore player and user experiences observed in association with specifc VDs in user studies. We conducted semi-structured interviews with expert players to determine their preferences and the impact of VD properties. The resulting VD framework (VD-frame) contributes to a more strategic approach to identifying the impact of VDs on player and user experiences.
Molecular hydrogen production from amorphous solid water during low energy electron irradiation
(2017)
This work investigates the production of molecular hydrogen isotopologues (H2, HD, and D2) during low energy electron irradiation of layered and isotopically labelled thin films of amorphous solid water (ASW) in ultrahigh vacuum. Experimentally, the production of these molecules with both irradiation time and incident electron energy in the range 400 to 500 eV is reported as a function of the depth of a buried D2O layer in an H2O film. H2 is produced consistently in all measurements, reflecting the H2O component of the film, though it does exhibit a modest reduction in intensity at the time corresponding to product escape from the buried D2O layer. In contrast, HD and D2 production exhibit peaks at times corresponding to product escape from the buried D2O layer in the composite film. These features broaden the deeper the HD or D2 is formed due to diffusion. A simple random-walk model is presented that can qualitatively explain the appearance profile of these peaks as a function of the incident electron penetration.
Network convergence is an increasing trend in the automation domain. More and more plant owners strive for a unification of networks in their plants. This yields a seamless network structure, simplified supervision, and reduced training effort for the personnel, as only one unified network technology needs to be handled. Ethernet-APL is one piece of the puzzle for such a converged network, supporting various real time protocols like PROFINET, EtherNet, HART-IP as well as the middleware protocol OPC UA. This paper gives an overview on the impact of Ethernet-APL field devices to OT security and proposes how to ensure OT security for them.
Surface atomic relaxation and magnetism on hydrogen-adsorbed Fe(110) surfaces from first principles
(2016)
We have computed adsorption energies, vibrational frequencies, surface relaxation and buckling for hydrogen adsorbed on a body-centred-cubic Fe(110) surface as a function of the degree of H coverage. This adsorption system is important in a variety of technological processes such as the hydrogen embrittlement in ferritic steels, which motivated this work, and the Haber–Bosch process. We employed spin-polarised density functional theory to optimise geometries of a six-layer Fe slab, followed by frozen mode finite displacement phonon calculations to compute Fe–H vibrational frequencies. We have found that the quasi-threefold (3f) site is the most stable adsorption site, with adsorption energies of ∼3.0 eV/H for all coverages studied. The long-bridge (lb) site, which is close in energy to the 3f site, is actually a transition state leading to the stable 3f site. The calculated harmonic vibrational frequencies collectively span from 730 to 1220 cm−1, for a range of coverages. The increased first-to-second layer spacing in the presence of adsorbed hydrogen, and the pronounced buckling observed in the Fe surface layer, may facilitate the diffusion of hydrogen atoms into the bulk, and therefore impact the early stages of hydrogen embrittlement in steels.
The velocity distribution of He atoms evaporating from a slab of liquid dodecane has been simulated. The distribution composed of ∼10 000 He trajectories is shifted to fractionally faster velocities as compared to a Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution at the temperature of the liquid dodecane with an average translational energy of 1.05 × 2RT (or 1.08 × 2RT after correction for a cylindrical liquid jet), compared to the experimental work by Nathanson and co-workers (1.14 × 2RT) on liquid jets. Analysis of the trajectories allows us to infer mechanistic information about the modes of evaporation, and their contribution to the overall velocity distribution.
A novel method has been implemented to prepare metal oxide nanopowders covered with known quantities of adsorbed water; we subsequently studied the γ-radiolysis of ZrO2 nanopowders covered with H2O layers. H2 yields from the adsorbed water radiolysis are of importance in multiple industrial contexts – the nuclear industry being a prime example. Measured H2 yields at water coverages of just below and above one monolayer are around 350 times greater than for neat water, but these yields decrease rapidly with increasing water loading of the ZrO2 nanoparticles, approaching the yield of bulk water at coverages of tens of water layers. The observed plateau of the yields at 0.5 to 2.0 monolayers coverage can be explained by the ease with which electronic excitations in the ZrO2 can be transferred across the interface to the first one or two adsorbed water layers. However, with increasing water loading, energy transfer to water layers further away from the interface becomes less efficient, and above ~30 water layers, most of the water is not affected by any exciton formation in the ZrO2.
This study is concerned with the early stages of hydrogen embrittlement on an atomistic scale. We employed density functional theory to investigate hydrogen diffusion through the (100), (110) and (111) surfaces of γ-Fe. The preferred adsorption sites and respective energies for hydrogen adsorption were established for each plane, as well as a minimum energy pathway for diffusion. The H atoms adsorb on the (100), (110) and (111) surfaces with energies of ∼4.06 eV, ∼3.92 eV and ∼4.05 eV, respectively. The barriers for bulk-like diffusion for the (100), (110) and (111) surfaces are ∼0.6 eV, ∼0.5 eV and ∼0.7 eV, respectively. We compared these calculated barriers with previously obtained experimental data in an Arrhenius plot, which indicates good agreement between experimentally measured and theoretically predicted activation energies. Texturing austenitic steels such that the (111) surfaces of grains are preferentially exposed at the cleavage planes may be a possibility to reduce hydrogen embrittlement.
The adsorption of O atoms on the Fe(1 1 0) surface has been investigated by density functional theory for increasing degrees of oxygen coverage from 0.25 to 1 monolayer, to follow the evolution of the Osingle bondFe(1 1 0) system into an FeO(1 1 1)-like monolayer. We found that the quasi-threefold site is the most stable adsorption site for all coverages, with adsorption energies of ∼2.8–4.0 eV per O atom. Oxygen adsorption results in surface geometrical changes such as interlayer relaxation and buckling, the latter of which decreases with coverage. The calculated vibrational frequencies range from 265 to 470 cm−1 for the frustrated translational modes and 480–620 cm−1 for the stretching mode, and hence are in good agreement with the experimental values reported for bulk FeO wüstite. The hybridization of the oxygen 2p and iron 3d orbitals increases with oxygen coverage, and the partial density of states for the Osingle bondFe(1 1 0) system at full coverage resembles the one reported in the literature for bulk FeO. These results at full oxygen coverage point to the incipient formation of an FeO(1 1 1)-like monolayer that would eventually lead to the bulk FeO oxide layer.
AlphaGo’s victory against Lee Sedol in the game of Go has been a milestone in artificial intelligence. After this success, the team behind the program further refined the architecture and applied it to many other games such as chess or shogi. In the following thesis, we try to apply the theory behind AlphaGo and its successor AlphaZero to the game of Abalone. Due to limitations in computational resources, we could not replicate the same exceptional performance.
The effect of magnetism on hydrogen adsorption and subsurface diffusion through face-centred cubic (fcc) γ-Fe(0 0 1) was investigated using spin-polarised density functional theory (s-DFT). The non-magnetic (NM), ferromagnetic (FM), and antiferromagnetic single (AFM1) and double layer (AFMD) structures were considered. For each magnetic state, the hydrogen preferentially adsorbs at the fourfold site, with adsorption energies of 4.07, 4.12, 4.03 and 4.05 eV/H atom for the NM, FM, AFM1 and AFMD structures. A total barrier of 1.34, 0.90, 1.32 and 1.25 eV and a bulk-like diffusion barrier of 0.6, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.3 eV were calculated for the NM, FM, AFM1 and AFMD magnetic states. The Fe atoms nearest to the H atom exhibited a reduced magnetic moment, whereas the next-nearest neighbour Fe atoms exhibited a non-negligible local perturbation in the magnetic moment. The presence of magnetically ordered structures has a minimal influence on the minimum energy path for H diffusion through the lattice and on the adsorption of H atoms on the Fe(0 0 1) surface, but we computed a significant reduction of the bulk-like diffusion barriers with respect to the non-magnetic state of fcc γ-Fe.
Nitric oxide adsorption on a Au(100) single crystal has been investigated to identify the type of adsorption, the adsorption site, and the orientation and alignment of the adsorbed NO relative to the surface. This was done using a combination of 3D-surface velocity map imaging, near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory. NO was observed to be molecularly adsorbed on gold at ~200 K. Very narrow angular distributions and cold rotational distributions of photodesorbed NO indicate that NO adsorbs on high-symmetry sites on the Au crystal, with the N–O bond axis close to the surface normal. Our density functional theory calculations show that NO preferentially adsorbs on the symmetric bridge (2f) site, which ensures efficient overlap of the NO π* orbital with the orbitals on the two neighbouring Au atoms, and with the N–O bond axis aligned along the surface normal, in agreement with our conclusions from the rotational state distributions. The combination of XPS, which reveals the orientation of NO on gold, with 3D-surface velocity map imaging and density functional theory thus allowed us to determine the adsorption site, orientation and alignment of nitric oxide adsorbed on Au(100).
The reactivity of graphene at its boundary region has been imaged using non-linear spectroscopy to address the controversy whether the terraces of graphene or its edges are more reactive. Graphene was functionalised with phenyl groups, and we subsequently scanned our vibrational sum-frequency generation setup from the functionalised graphene terraces across the edges. A greater phenyl signal is clearly observed at the edges, showing evidence of increased reactivity in the boundary region. We estimate an upper limit of 1 mm for the width of the CVD graphene boundary region.
The use of vibrational sum-frequency spectroscopy (VSFS) to study transferred graphene, produced by chemical vapour deposition, is presented. The VSF spectrum shows a clear CeH stretching mode at ~2924 cm⁻¹, which is attributed to residue of the polymer used for the transfer. This makes VSFS a powerful tool to identify adsorbates and contaminants affecting the properties of graphene.
We report the unambiguous detection of phenyl groups covalently attached to functionalised graphene using non-linear spectroscopy. Sum-frequency generation was employed to probe graphene on a gold surface after chemical functionalisation using a benzene diazonium salt. We observe a distinct resonance at 3064 cm1 which can clearly be assigned to an aromatic C–H stretch by comparison with a self-assembled monolayer on a gold substrate formed from benzenethiol. Not only does sum-frequency generation spectroscopy allow one to characterise functionalised graphene with higher sensitivity and much better specificity than many other spectroscopic techniques, but it also opens up the possibility to assess the coverage of graphene with functional groups, and to determine their orientation relative to the graphene surface.
The ability to functionalize graphene with several methods, such as radical reactions, cycloadditions, hydrogenation, and oxidations, allows this material to be used in a large range of applications. In this framework, it is essential to be able to control the efficiency and stability of the functionalization process—this requires understanding how the graphene reactivity is affected by the environment, including the substrate. In this work we provide an insight on the substrate dependence of graphene reactivity towards hydrogenation by comparing three different substrates: silicon, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). Although MoS2 and h-BN have flatter surfaces than silicon, we found that the H coverage of graphene on h-BN is about half of the H coverage on graphene on both silicon and MoS2. Therefore, graphene shows strongly reduced reactivity towards hydrogenation when placed on h-BN. The difference in hydrogenation reactivity between h-BN and MoS2 may indicate a stronger van der Waals force between graphene and h-BN, compared to MoS2, or may be related to the chemical properties of MoS2, which is a well-known catalyst for hydrogen evolution reactions.
In this study, we calculated the energetics of hydrogen atoms adsorbing on and diffusing into the first few layers of γ-Fe for the (100), (110) and (111) surfaces and for the non-magnetic (NM), ferromagnetic (FM), and antiferromagnetic single (AFM1) and double layer (AFMD) structures. These studies are relevant as they atomistically simulate the early stages of hydrogen embrittlement in steels. We employed density functional theory to establish adsorption sites and energies for each plane and the minimum energy pathways for diffusion through the first few layers with associated activation barriers. Adsorption energies for all cases vary between ∼3.7 and 4.4 eV, and the energy barriers to diffusion in the bulk region vary between ∼0.2 and 1.2 eV for the twelve cases, with the highest and lowest bulk diffusion barriers occurring in the NM(111) and the FM(100) case, respectively. We conclude that the texturing of steels in order to expose certain cleavage planes or magnetic structures can decrease the likelihood of hydrogen embrittlement.
Companies worldwide have enabled their employees to work remotely as a consequence of the Covid 19 pandemic. Software development is a human-centered discipline and thrives on teamwork. Agile methods are focusing on several social aspects of software development. Software development teams in Germany were mainly co-located before the pandemic. This paper aims to validate the findings of existing studies by expanding on an existing multiple-case study. Therefore, we collected data by conducting semi-structured interviews, observing agile practices, and viewing project documents in three cases. Based on the results, we can confirm the following findings: 1) The teams rapidly adapted the agile practices and roles, 2) communication is more objective within the teams, 3) decreased social exchange between team members, 4) the expectation of a combined approach of remote and onsite work after the pandemic, 5) stable or increased (perceived) performance and 6) stable or increased well-being of team members.
Electrospinning with consequent thermal treatment consists in a carbon fiber production method that spins a polymer solution to create fibers with diameters around a few hundred nanometers. The thermal treatments are used for the cyclization and then carbonization of the material at 1700 °C for one hour. The unique structure of micro- and nano-carbon fibers makes them a promising material for various applications ranging from future battery designs to filtration. This work investigated the possibility of using milled gasification biochar, derived from a 20 kW fixed-bed gasifier fueled with vine pruning pellets, as an addictive in the preparation of electrospinning solutions. This study outlined that solvent cleaning and the consequent wet-milling and 32 µm sifting are fundamental passages for biochar preparation. Four different polyacrylonitrile-biochar shares were tested ranging from pure polymer to 50–50% solutions. The resulting fibers were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray and infrared spectroscopy. Results from the morphological analysis showed that biochar grains dispersed themselves well among the fiber mat in all the proposed shares. All the tested solutions, once carbonized, exceeded 97%wt. of carbon content. At higher carbonization temperatures, the inorganic compounds naturally showing in biochar such as potassium and calcium disappeared, resulting in an almost carbon-pure fiber matrix with biochar grains in between.
In the context of the ongoing digitization of interdisciplinary subjects, the need for digital literacy is increasing in all areas of everyday life. Furthermore, communication between science and society is facing new challenges, not least since the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to deal with these challenges and to provide target-oriented online teaching, new educational concepts for the transfer of knowledge to society are necessary. In the transfer project “Zukunftslabor Gesundheit” (ZLG), a didactic concept for the creation of E-Learning classes was developed. A key factor for the didactic concept is addressing heterogeneous target groups to reach the broadest possible spectrum of participants. The concept has already been used for the creation of the first ZLG E-Learning courses. This article outlines the central elements of the developed didactic concept and addresses the creation of the ZLG courses. The courses created so far appeal to different target groups and convey diverse types of knowledge at different levels of difficulty.
The impact of vertical and horizontal integration in the context of Industry 4.0 requires new concepts for the security of industrial Ethernet protocols. The defense in depth concept, basing on the combination of several measures, especially separation and segmentation, needs to be complimented by integrated protection measures for industrial real-time protocols. To cover this challenge, existing protocols need to be equipped with additional functionality to ensure the integrity and availability of the network communication, even in environments, where possible attackers can be present. In order to show a possible way to upgrade an existing protocol, this paper describes a security concept for the industrial Ethernet protocol PROFINET.
Growing up in high-risk environments is detrimental to children’s development of attachment security. Parenting behavior is hypothesized to be the mechanism through which risks exert their influence. However, risk influences can vary between individuals by gender. Aim of this study was to explore specific pathways of family risk on early attachment security and additionally examine the transmission via parenting behavior. The sample consisted of 197 children and their primary caregivers. Children’s age ranged between 10 and 21 months (M = 15.25, SD = 3.59). Data assessment included 21 distal and proximal family risk factors, children’s attachment security, and parental responsivity and supportive presence. Whereas distal risk factors had an adverse effect only on girls’ attachment security, proximal risks negatively affected only boys’ attachment security. Additionally, patterns of risk factors occurring in our sample were analyzed using an exploratory principal component analysis. Regardless of the child’s gender, a low socio-economic status was negatively related to attachment security of all children. Migration and crowding and a high emotional load of the primary caregiver both negatively predicted girls’ but not boys’ attachment security. However, the attachment security of boys was affected by a negative family climate. Most of the adverse risk effects on attachment security were mediated by parental responsivity and supportive presence so that the transmission of risk occurs through parenting behavior. Results revealed a different susceptibility of family risks for girls and boys. The consideration of a gender-sensitive approach in developmental psychopathology and interventions of developmental child welfare services is recommended.
At University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover, LON-CAPA is used as a learning management system beside Moodle. LON-CAPA has a strong focus on e-assessment in mathematics and sciences. We used LON-CAPA in Hannover mainly in mathematics courses.
Since theoretical computer science needs a lot of mathematics, this course is also well-suited for e-assessment in LON-CAPA. Beside this, we already used JFLAP as an interactive tool to deal with automata, machines and grammars in theoretical computer science. In LON-CAPA, there exists a possibility of using external graders to grade problems.
We decided to write a grading engine (with JFLAP inside) to grade automata, machines and grammars handed in by students and to couple this with LON-CAPA. This report describes the types of questions that are now possible with this grader and how they can be authored in LON-CAPA.
Decision support systems for traffic management systems have to cope with a high volume of events continuously generated by sensors. Conventional software architectures do not explicitly target the efficient processing of continuous event streams. Recently, event-driven architectures (EDA) have been proposed as a new paradigm for event-based applications. In this paper we propose a reference architecture for event-driven traffic management systems, which enables the analysis and processing of complex event streams in real-time and is therefore well-suited for decision support in sensor-based traffic control sys- tems. We will illustrate our approach in the domain of road traffic management. In particular, we will report on the redesign of an intelligent transportation management system (ITMS) prototype for the high-capacity road network in Bilbao, Spain.
M2M (machine-to-machine) systems use various communication technologies for automatically monitoring and controlling machines. In M2M systems, each machine emits a continuous stream of data records, which must be analyzed in real-time. Intelligent M2M systems should be able to diagnose their actual states and to trigger appropriate actions as soon as critical situations occur. In this paper, we show how complex event processing (CEP) can be used as the key technology for intelligent M2M systems. We provide an event-driven architecture that is adapted to the M2M domain. In particular, we define different models for the M2M domain, M2M machine states and M2M events. Furthermore, we present a general reference architecture defining the main stages of processing machine data. To prove the usefulness of our approach, we consider two real-world examples ‘solar power plants’ and ‘printers’, which show how easily the general architecture can be extended to concrete M2M scenarios.
Milk concentrates are used in the manufacturing of dairy products such as yogurt and cheese or are processed into milk powder. Processes for the nonthermal separation of water and valuable milk ingredients are becoming increasingly widespread at farm level. The technical barriers to using farm-manufactured milk concentrate in dairies are minimal, hence the suspicion that the practice of on-farm raw milk concentration is still fairly uncommon for economic reasons. This study, therefore, set out to investigate farmers’ potential willingness to adopt a raw milk concentration plant. The empirical analysis was based on discrete choice experiments with 75 German dairy farmers to identify preferences and the possible adoption of on-farm raw milk concentration. The results showed that, in particular, farmers who deemed the current milk price to be insufficient viewed on-farm concentration using membrane technology as an option for diversifying their milk sales. We found no indication that adoption would be impeded by a lack of trustworthy information on milk processing technologies or capital.
Complex Event Processing (CEP) is a modern software technology for the dynamic analysis of continuous data streams. CEP is able of searching extremely large data streams in real time for the presence of event patterns. So far, specifying event patterns of CEP rules is still a manual task based on the expertise of domain experts. This paper presents a novel batinspired swarm algorithm for automatically mining CEP rule patterns that express the relevant causal and temporal relations hidden in data streams. The basic suitability and performance of the approach is proven by extensive evaluation with both synthetically generated data and real data from the traffic domain.
In a cross-sectional study, impact of management in dairy farms on calf mortality rates and prevalence of rotavirus and Cryptosporidium parvum in feces of calves was investigated. Sixty-two commercial dairy herds in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, were stratified selected in 2019. We performed in-person interviews and fecal specimens in samples of all-female calves of age 7 up to 21 days. Management data were documented on farm level. A Multiscreen Ag-ELISA was performed to determine rotavirus and Cryptosporidium parvum. Associations between two calf mortality rates, detection of C. parvum and rotavirus, and predictors were examined with GLM models. In farms with routine vaccination against respiratory diseases, 31-days mortality rate was 4.2% +/-1.26 compared to 7.6% +/-0.97 (p = 0.040) on non-vaccinating farms. Six-months mortality was lower in farms that continued feeding milk to calves during periods of diarrhea compared to farms that did not (6.9% +/-0.8 vs. 12.4% +/-2.3). In case of a routine shifting of calves from the calving box into calf boxes less C. parvum was detected compared to an individual moving of calves (33.3% +/-2.6 vs. 19.6% +/-5.3; p = 0.024). Our model confirms a positive association between occurrence of aqueous feces and frequency of detection of C. parvum (45.4% +/-23.6 vs. 21.4% +/-18.7; p < 0.001). Frequency of detection of rotavirus was lower in farms that reported a defined amount of applicated colostrum per calf than in farms that presented a range of colostrum instead of a defined amount. This study indicates the potential for mitigation of risk factors for mortality in calves.
To optimise udder health at the herd level, identifying incurable mastitis cases as well as providing an adequate therapy and culling strategy are necessary. Cows with clinical mastitis should be administered antibiotic medication if it is most likely to improve mammary cure. The somatic cell count (SCC) in milk of the monthly implemented Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) test represents the most important tool to decide whether a cow has a promising mammary cure rate. Differential cell count (DCC) facilitates the specification of the immunological ability of defence, for example by characterising leukocyte subpopulations or cell viability. The aim of this study was to assess the DCC and cell viability in DHI milk samples regarding the cytological (CC) and bacteriological cure (BC) of the udder within a longitudinal study, thereby gaining a predictive evaluation of whether a clinical mastitis benefits from an antibiotic treatment or not. The cows enrolled in this study had an SCC above 200,000 cells/mL in the previous DHI test. Study 1 assessed the CC by reference to the SCC of two consecutive DHI tests and included 1010 milk samples: 28.4% of the mammary glands were classified as cytologically cured and 71.6% as uncured. The final mixed logistic regression model identified the total number of non-vital cells as a significant factor associated with CC. An increasing amount of non-vital cells was related to a lower individual ability for CC. Cows which were in the first or second lactation possessed a higher probability of CC than cows having a lactation number above two. If animals developed a clinical mastitis after flow cytometric investigation, the BC was examined in study 2 by analysing quarter foremilk samples microbiologically. Taking 48 milk samples, 81.3% of the mammary glands were classified as bacteriologically cured and 18.7% as uncured. The percentage of total non-vital cells tended to be lower for cows which were cured, but no significance could be observed. This study revealed that the investigation of the proportion of non-vital cells in DHI milk samples can enhance the prognosis of whether an antibiotic treatment of clinical mastitis might be promising or not. Prospectively, this tool may be integrated in the DHI tests to facilitate the decision between therapy or culling.
This Innovative Practice Full Paper presents our learnings of the process to perform a Master of Science class with eduScrum integrating real world problems as projects. We prepared, performed, and evaluated an agile educational concept for the new Master of Science program Digital Transformation organized and provided by the department of business computing at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Hochschule Hannover in Germany. The course deals with innovative methodologies of agile project management and is attended by 25 students. We performed the class due the summer term in 2019 and 2020 as a teaching pair. The eduScrum method has been used in different educational contexts, including higher education. During the approach preparation, we decided to use challenges, problems, or questions from the industry. Thus, we acquired four companies and prepared in coordination with them dedicated project descriptions. Each project description was refined in the form of a backlog (list of requirements). We divided the class into four eduScrum teams, one team for each project. The subdivision of the class was done randomly.
Since we wanted to integrate realistic projects into industry partners’ implementation, we decided to adapt the eduScrum approach. The eduScrum teams were challenged with different projects, e.g., analyzing a dedicated phenomenon in a real project or creating a theoretical model for a company’s new project management approach. We present our experiences of the whole process to prepare, perform and evaluate an agile educational approach combined with projects from practice. We found, that the students value the agile method using real world problems. However, the results are mainly based on the summer term 2019, this paper also includes our learnings from virtual distance teaching during the Covid 19 pandemic in summer term 2020. The paper contributes to the distribution of methods for higher education teaching in the classroom and distance learning.
Agile methods require constant optimization of one’s approach and leading to the adaptation of agile practices. These practices are also adapted when introducing them to companies and their software development teams due to organizational constraints. As a consequence of the widespread use of agile methods, we notice a high variety of their elements:
Practices, roles, and artifacts. This multitude of agile practices, artifacts, and roles results in an unsystematic mixture. It leads to several questions: When is a practice a practice, and when is it a method or technique? This paper presents the tree of agile elements, a taxonomy of agile methods, based on the literature and guidelines of widely used agile methods. We describe a taxonomy of agile methods using terms and concepts of software engineering, in particular software process models. We aim to enable agile elements to be delimited, which should help companies, agile teams, and the research community gain a basic understanding of the interrelationships and dependencies of individual components of agile methods.
In 2020, the world changed due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Containment measures to reduce the spread of the virus were planned and implemented by many countries and companies. Worldwide, companies sent their employees to work from home. This change has led to significant challenges in teams that were co-located before the pandemic. Agile software development teams were affected by this switch, as agile methods focus on communication and collaboration. Research results have already been published on the challenges of switching to remote work and the effects on agile software development teams. This article presents a systematic literature review. We identified 12 relevant papers for our studies and analyzed them on detail. The results provide an overview how agile software development teams reacted to the switch to remote work, e.g., which agile practices they adapted. We also gained insights on the changes of the performance of agile software development teams and social effects on agile software development teams during the pandemic.
This paper presents a cascaded methodology for enhancing the path accuracy of industrial robots by using advanced control schemes. It includes kinematic calibration as well as dynamic modeling and identification. This is followed by a centralized model-based compensation of robot dynamics. The implemented feed-forward torque control shows the expected improvements of control accuracy. However, external measurements show the influence of joint elasticities as systematic path errors. To further increase the accuracy an iterative learning controller (ILC) based on external camera measurements is designed. The implementation yields to significant improvements of path accuracy. By means of a kind of automated ”Teach-In”, an overall effective concept for the automated calibration and optimization of the accuracy of industrial robots in high-dynamic path-applications is realized.
Nowadays, problems related with solid waste management become a challenge for most countries due to the rising generation of waste, related environmental issues, and associated costs of produced wastes. Effective waste management systems at different geographic levels require accurate forecasting of future waste generation. In this work, we investigate how open-access data, such as provided from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), can be used for the analysis of waste data. The main idea of this study is finding the links between socioeconomic and demographic variables that determine the amounts of types of solid wastes produced by countries. This would make it possible to accurately predict at the country level the waste production and determine the requirements for the development of effective waste management strategies. In particular, we use several machine learning data regression (Support Vector, Gradient Boosting, and Random Forest) and clustering models (k-means) to respectively predict waste production for OECD countries along years and also to perform clustering among these countries according to similar characteristics. The main contributions of our work are: (1) waste analysis at the OECD country-level to compare and cluster countries according to similar waste features predicted; (2) the detection of most relevant features for prediction models; and (3) the comparison between several regression models with respect to accuracy in predictions. Coefficient of determination (R2), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), respectively, are used as indices of the efficiency of the developed models. Our experiments have shown that some data pre-processings on the OECD data are an essential stage required in the analysis; that Random Forest Regressor (RFR) produced the best prediction results over the dataset; and that these results are highly influenced by the quality of available socio-economic data. In particular, the RFR model exhibited the highest accuracy in predictions for most waste types. For example, for “municipal” waste, it produced, respectively, R2 = 1 and MAPE = 4.31 global error values for the test set; and for “household” waste, it, respectively, produced R2 = 1 and MAPE = 3.03. Our results indicate that the considered models (and specially RFR) all are effective in predicting the amount of produced wastes derived from input data for the considered countries.
During the European debt crisis, German and Greek media frequently reported on the political conflict between the two countries. This article examines to what extent the media coverage in one country about the other is considered by German and Greek citizens to be hostile (‘hostile media perception’) and influential (‘influence of presumed influence’). Data from a comparative survey in Germany (n = 492) and Greece (n = 484) show that news coverage by foreign media on the European debt crisis is perceived by respondents as hostile against their own country and as influential. Moreover, both media-related perceptions are linked with intensified perceptions of hostility, such as assumptions that an individual’s country is not respected in the other country or that the other country’s citizens are demanding that the individual’s country be punished. Based on these results, it is discussed whether media-related perceptions can have a conflict-intensifying effect in international crises.
Legal documents often have a complex layout with many different headings, headers and footers, side notes, etc. For the further processing, it is important to extract these individual components correctly from a legally binding document, for example a signed PDF. A common approach to do so is to classify each (text) region of a page using its geometric and textual features. This approach works well, when the training and test data have a similar structure and when the documents of a collection to be analyzed have a rather uniform layout. We show that the use of global page properties can improve the accuracy of text element classification: we first classify each page into one of three layout types. After that, we can train a classifier for each of the three page types and thereby improve the accuracy on a manually annotated collection of 70 legal documents consisting of 20,938 text elements. When we split by page type, we achieve an improvement from 0.95 to 0.98 for single-column pages with left marginalia and from 0.95 to 0.96 for double-column pages. We developed our own feature-based method for page layout detection, which we benchmark against a standard implementation of a CNN image classifier. The approach presented here is based on corpus of freely available German contracts and general terms and conditions.
Both the corpus and all manual annotations are made freely available. The method is language agnostic.
HOXA9 and MEIS1 are frequently upregulated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), including those with MLL‐rearrangement. Because of their pivotal role in hemostasis, HOXA9 and MEIS1 appear non‐druggable. We, thus, interrogated gene expression data of pre‐leukemic (overexpressing Hoxa9) and leukemogenic (overexpressing Hoxa9 and Meis1; H9M) murine cell lines to identify cancer vulnerabilities. Through gene expression analysis and gene set enrichment analyses, we compiled a list of 15 candidates for functional validation. Using a novel lentiviral multiplexing approach, we selected and tested highly active sgRNAs to knockout candidate genes by CRISPR/Cas9, and subsequently identified a H9M cell growth dependency on the cytosolic phospholipase A2 (PLA2G4A). Similar results were obtained by shRNA‐mediated suppression of Pla2g4a. Remarkably, pharmacologic inhibition of PLA2G4A with arachidonyl trifluoromethyl ketone (AACOCF3) accelerated the loss of H9M cells in bulk cultures. Additionally, AACOCF3 treatment of H9M cells reduced colony numbers and colony sizes in methylcellulose. Moreover, AACOCF3 was highly active in human AML with MLL rearrangement, in which PLA2G4A was significantly higher expressed than in AML patients without MLL rearrangement, and is sufficient as an independent prognostic marker. Our work, thus, identifies PLA2G4A as a prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for H9M‐dependent AML with MLL‐rearrangement.
Family risks are known to be detrimental to children’s attachment development. This study investigated whether parental sensitivity plays different roles in early attachment development in the context of risk: Sensitivity was hypothesized to mediate risk effects on attachment, as well as a moderator that shapes the relation between risk and attachment. Multiple family risks, parental sensitivity (defined as responsivity and supportive presence), and children’s attachment security of 197 infants and toddlers (Mage = 15.25 months) and their caregivers were assessed in a prospective study with a cohort-sequential-design in Germany. Caregivers’ sensitivity served as a mediator of risk effects on attachment as well as a moderator that buffers adverse consequences of risk. Early sensitivity might be relevant in setting the stage for attachment development supporting resilience.