Lebenswissenschaften und Ethik
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Seit den Aufmärschen von „Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes“ (Pegida) und den Wahlerfolgen der Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) beschäftigt das Phänomen des Rechtspopulismus und -extremismus Öffentlichkeit und Politik. Tatsächlich ist dieses jedoch älter als die Aufgeregtheit der Diskussion glauben macht. In diesem Sinne bemerkt beispielsweise der renommierte Konfliktforscher Wilhelm Heitmeyer, der mit seiner Forscher_innengruppe seit langem auf die Verbreitung von rechten Einstellungen in Deutschland hinweist, dass ihn der Erfolg der AfD keineswegs wundere (vgl. Interview in der Berliner Zeitung vom 22.10.16).
"Don't be evil"
(2009)
"Gender, Pflege und Technik"
(2017)
"How to ...?" - Methodische Anregungen für quantitative Erhebungen mit Jugendlichen mit Behinderung.
(2019)
"Mach mal ’ne App"
(2021)
Die Entwicklung qualitativ hochwertiger Apps zur Gesundheitsversorgung erfordert einen aufwendigen Entwicklungsprozess, an den sich eine Evaluation der App-gestützten Maßnahme anschließen sollte, um Aussagen zur Wirksamkeit treffen und somit den App-Einsatz begründen zu können. In diesem Beitrag wird die nutzerzentrierte Entwicklung der App BaSeTaLK vorgestellt, mit der eine Tablet-gestützte Stimulation biographisch orientierter Gespräche bei älteren Menschen zur Verbesserung des psychischen Wohlbefindens ermöglicht werden soll. Nach erfolgreicher Evaluation könnten LogopädInnen als MultiplikatorInnen den Einsatz der App vermitteln.
"Medizin und Pflege 4.0"
(2017)
Nicht alles, was statistisch signifikant ist, ist auch klinisch relevant. Statistische Signifikanz vorausgesetzt, kann die Frage der Relevanz für die meisten Problemstellungen nur individuell beantwortet werden. Die entscheidende Kennzahl dafür ist die Effektgröße einer Maßnahme, wie sie sich vor allem aus randomisiert kontrollierten Studien ergibt. Kleine Therapieeffekte können im Individualfall relevant sein, auch wenn sie für die meisten Patienten entbehrlich sind – und umgekehrt. In diesem Artikel geht es um quartäre Prävention: die Verhinderung irrelevanter oder nutzloser Medizin. Die Unterscheidung zwischen „illness“ (Leiden des Patienten) und „disease“ (Diagnose des Arztes) ermöglicht ein besseres Verständnis der präventiven Aufgaben der Primärmedizin und erleichtert die Abgrenzung von sinnvoller zu nutzloser Medizin. Man kann mithilfe dieser Differenzierung die Prävention in vier Formen einteilen: Primäre Prävention – der Einsatz medizinischer Maßnahmen, obwohl der Patient kein Leiden verspürt und auch keine Diagnose vorliegt, wie zum Beispiel Impfungen. Sekundäre Prävention – Früherkennungsmaßnahmen bei Personen mit Risikofaktoren, die aber bisher nicht krank sind. Tertiäre Prävention – Verhinderung weiterer Ereignisse bei bereits erkrankten Patienten. Die quartäre Prävention meint im weiteren Sinne die Verhinderung nutzloser Medizin und bezieht sich auf die in der Primärmedizin häufige Situation, dass zwar ein Leiden vorliegt, ärztlicherseits jedoch keine behandlungsbedürftige Krankheit diagnostiziert werden kann (und man deshalb mit Diagnostik und Therapie besonders zurückhaltend sein sollte).
"Topographic Shift": a new digital approach to evaluating topographic changes of the female breast
(2021)
Purpose
To assess precise topographic changes of the breast, objective documentation and evaluation of pre- and postoperative results are crucial. New technologies for mapping the body using digital, three-dimensional surface measurements have offered novel ways to numerically assess the female breast. Due to the lack of clear demarcation points of the breast contour, the selection of landmarks on the breast is highly dependent on the examiner, and, therefore, is prone to error when conducting before-after comparisons of the same breast. This study describes an alternative to volumetric measurements, focusing on topographic changes of the female breast, based on three-dimensional scans.
Method
The study was designed as an interventional prospective study of 10 female volunteers who had planned on having aesthetic breast augmentation with anatomical, textured implants. Three dimensional scans of the breasts were performed intraoperatively, first without and then with breast implants. The topographic change was determined as the mean distance between two three-dimensional layers before and after augmentation. This mean distance is defined as the Topographic Shift. Results The mean implant volume was 283 cc (SD = 68.6 cc, range = 210-395 cc). The mean Topographic Shift was 7.4 mm (SD = 1.9 mm, range = 4.8-10.7 mm). The mean Topographic Shifts per quadrant were: I: 8.0 mm (SD = 3.3 mm); II: 9.2 mm (SD = 3.1 mm); III: 6.9 mm (SD = 3.5 mm); IV: 1.9 mm (SD = 4.3 mm).
Conclusion
The Topographic Shift, describing the mean distance between two three-dimensional layers (for example before and after a volume changing therapy), is a new approach that can be used for assessing topographic changes of a body area. It was found that anatomical, textured breast implants cause a topographic change, particularly on the upper breast, in quadrant II, the decollete.
"Vom Glauben und Pflegen"
(2016)
"Wer pflegt in Zukunft?"
(2018)
"Wie sehen Sie das?"
(2015)
Fachkräfte der Sozialen Arbeit berichten in unterschiedlichen Kontexten von zeitlichen Herausforderungen, die sie im Berufsalltag bewältigen müssen. Dass in sozialen (Dienstleistungs-)Berufen Zeit ein knappes Gut ist und Zeitdruck herrscht, belegen Studien zu den Arbeitsbedingungen in verschiedenen Branchen, aber auch in der Sozialen Arbeit selbst.
Vor diesem Hintergrund setzt sich der Autor zunächst mit der Bedeutung von Zeit sowie den Ursachen und Folgen von Zeitknappheit und Zeitdruck für die Soziale Arbeit anhand theoretischer und empirischer Perspektiven auseinander. Im Anschluss daran stellt er die Frage nach dem Umgang mit zeitlichen Herausforderungen in der Praxis am Beispiel von Zeitkompetenz und Zeitpolitik, um Möglichkeiten des politischen Handelns zur Gestaltung der zeitlichen Rahmenbedingungen auszuloten.
Background:
Over the past ten years, we carried out several comprehensive studies in the area of entrepreneurship education using business games that simulate the business processes of startups. The studies researched the learning effects of these games on German university students.
Aim:
The studies we present investigated if the simulation game-based educational entrepreneurship programs in Germany reached their goals. These goals included the fostering of participants’ entrepreneurial competencies and desire to create a startup.
Method:
We show traditional summative output-oriented results and more profound results based on our theory-based evaluation approach. A so-called logic model provides a framework for the interpretation of what takes place during the entrepreneurship business simulations. Currently, we have conducted research on more than 50 regular university courses with more than 1000 students. Another part of our studies is the evaluation of entrepreneurship education in the German national business game-based competition, EXIST priME Cup (further called EPC). More than 12,000 students attended more than 500 of these cup seminars. We also show new results from an online survey that was carried out to measure the long-term effects of the startup simulation-based seminars.
Results:
The results of five studies are summarized, and show an overall increase in the participants’ knowledge of business administration and business plan preparation skills (required in start-up context). Apart from other results, significant gender-based differences are identified. The differences relate to entrepreneurial attitudes and motivation. Some test scenarios with cup seminars for women only with extended debriefing seem to reduce this decrease in the motivation of women; further research with larger samples is necessary. A new study on the long-term effects shows a very high acceptance rate and demonstrates the satisfaction of former students. The simulation game-based program resulted in participants starting startups at a rate that is approximately twice as high (around 16%) as the normal rate in Germany.
Objectives
Germany has one of the highest numbers of coronary angiography worldwide. Nevertheless, we find a great variation between German regions for both, diagnostic coronary angiographies and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). We assume that this variation is not only due to variation in morbidity but also reflects factors such as guideline adherence, physician-patient communication and access to care.
In this mixed method project, we aim to first describe the variation of coronary angiographies and PCIs in different German regions. Secondly, we explore current practices and motives for (non-)adherences to guidelines in the diagnostic process of patients with suspected CHD. Based on these results, we consequently plan to develop a complex intervention (treatment pathway) to improve guideline adherence and thus appropriateness of coronary angiography.
Method
The projects will be organized according to the recommendation of the Medical Research Council for the development and evaluation of complex interventions. The first study will use descriptive methods based on routine data of three German Health Care Insurances and registry data to describe status quo and associated factors of coronary angiography. The second study will use qualitative methods to understand barriers and facilitators of guideline adherence and medical decision making. Furthermore, we will discuss variations in care and thereby identify implementation targets for the planned treatment pathway. Based on this information, we will develop local treatment pathways in four selected regions. Relevant peers will develop the local pathway in group discussions. Using this bottom-up approach, we directly address implementation challenges.
Germany received around 300,000 refugee newcomers ages 16–25 in 2015. Educational participation is a key process for the integration of these young people. This is especially true for the German vocational education and training (VET) system that provides opportunities for a fast and successful transition into the labor market. The few extant studies on migrant students in Germany have shown considerable problems in achieving educational equity. Based on the theoretical assumption that systemic discrimination creates important barriers to educational equity, we investigate how institutional and systemic factors infl uence the educational participation of refugee-background youth and how these youth cope with such barriers. Using a two-case study in the cities of Hamburg and Munich, we performed a meta-analysis of research reports, complemented by secondary analysis of primary data. Results show institutional barriers in both the education and asylum systems, and that youth cope with these barriers through high educational aspirations.
In 2015 we began a sub-challenge at the EndoVis workshop at MICCAI in Munich using endoscope images of exvivo tissue with automatically generated annotations from robot forward kinematics and instrument CAD models. However, the limited background variation and simple motion rendered the dataset uninformative in learning about which techniques would be suitable for segmentation in real surgery. In 2017, at the same workshop in Quebec we introduced the robotic instrument segmentation dataset with 10 teams participating in the challenge to perform binary, articulating parts and type segmentation of da Vinci instruments. This challenge included realistic instrument motion and more complex porcine tissue as background and was widely addressed with modfications on U-Nets and other popular CNN architectures [1].
In 2018 we added to the complexity by introducing a set of anatomical objects and medical devices to the segmented classes. To avoid over-complicating the challenge, we continued with porcine data which is dramatically simpler than human tissue due to the lack of fatty tissue occluding many organs.
BACKGROUND:
Due to their corrugated profile, dragonfly wings have special aerodynamic characteristics during flying and gliding. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to create a realistic 3D model of a dragonfly wing captured with a high-resolution micro-CT. To represent geometry changes in span and chord length and their aerodynamic effects, numerical investigations are carried out at different wing positions. METHODS:
The forewing of a Camacinia gigantea was captured using a micro-CT. After the wing was adapted an error-free 3D model resulted. The wing was cut every 5 mm and 2D numerical analyses were conducted in Fluent® 2020 R2 (ANSYS, Inc., Canonsburg, PA, USA). RESULTS: The highest lift coefficient, as well as the highest lift-to-drag ratio, resulted at 0 mm and an angle of attack (AOA) of 5∘. At AOAs of 10∘ or 15∘, the flow around the wing stalled and a Kármán vortex street behind the wing becomes
CONCLUSIONS:
The velocity is higher on the upper side of the wing compared to the lower side. The pressure acts vice versa. Due to the recirculation zones that are formed in valleys of the corrugation pattern the wing resembles the form of an airfoil.
Backround
Scaphoidectomy and midcarpal fusion can be performed using traditional fixation methods like K-wires, staples, screws or different dorsal (non)locking arthrodesis systems. The aim of this study is to test the Aptus four corner locking plate and to compare the clinical findings to the data revealed by CT scans and semi-automated segmentation.
Methods:
This is a retrospective review of eleven patients suffering from scapholunate advanced collapse (SLAC) or scaphoid non-union advanced collapse (SNAC) wrist, who received a four corner fusion between August 2011 and July 2014. The clinical evaluation consisted of measuring the range of motion (ROM), strength and pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Additionally, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) and the Mayo Wrist Score were assessed. A computerized tomography (CT) of the wrist was obtained six weeks postoperatively. After semi-automated segmentation of the CT scans, the models were post processed and surveyed.
Results
During the six-month follow-up mean range of motion (ROM) of the operated wrist was 60°, consisting of 30° extension and 30° flexion. While pain levels decreased significantly, 54% of grip strength and 89% of pinch strength were preserved compared to the contralateral healthy wrist. Union could be detected in all CT scans of the wrist. While X-ray pictures obtained postoperatively revealed no pathology, two user related technical complications were found through the 3D analysis, which correlated to the clinical outcome.
Conclusion
Due to semi-automated segmentation and 3D analysis it has been proved that the plate design can keep up to the manufacturers’ promises. Over all, this case series confirmed that the plate can compete with the coexisting techniques concerning clinical outcome, union and complication rate.
3D rat brain tumors
(2005)
9x Ofra: Technikunterstütztes Wohnen als Beitrag zur Verbesserung der kommunalen Daseinsvorsorge
(2023)
The problem description comes to the fore when the wide-ranging subject area of electrical engineering is combined and analyzed with different types of schools. It is becoming increasingly rare for elementary school children to come to grips with technology in the sense of recognizing functional interrelationships and understanding modes of action in the context of technical-practical confrontation. The picture at secondary schools is also rather sobering. Here, a strong focus on facts and knowledge and too little emphasis on modeling, application and problem solving lead to insufficient results in the cognitive area. In addition, a massive
shortage of engineers and specialists with a technical and scientific orientation has been predicted for years and is being increasingly observed. The motivation of students in traditional lectures is decreasing and in general there is a decline of university students in technical subjects. These problems are not only known throughout Germany, but also internationally. Especially in developing countries,
additional problems make technical education more difficult, regardless of the type of school. Therefore, this master thesis is evaluated in South Africa in order to consider as many influencing factors as possible.
"Learning is experience. Everything else is simply information." - Methods and concepts developed in the thesis build upon this quote of Albert Einstein. Teaching methods are elaborated and applied for three different age groups and school types, depending on known influencing factors. The aim of this thesis is not to produce further findings in the sense of basic research, but to show ways
in which the current situation can be steered in a different direction.
It has been shown that technology lessons in elementary/secondary schools inspire interest in technical professions in the field of electrical engineering. Furthermore, the combination of frontal teaching, for a necessary theoretical background, together with student-active, action-oriented teaching shows advantages in terms of learning efficiency and an increase in performance levels for all three
age groups. However, it could also be observed that factors such as social background, family influence and gender have partial effects on the promotion and education in the field of electrical engineering.
Jeśli koncepcja sprawiedliwości i równości z uwzględnieniem płci ma zostać włączona do etyki mediów, należy wyjaśnić, jaka koncepcja sprawiedliwości i/lub równości ma zostać zaadaptowana z szerokiego spektrum filozofii politycznej i społecznej. W niektórych teoriach sprawiedliwości pojęcie równości odgrywa ważną rolę, podczas gdy inne zaprzeczają, że sprawiedliwość idzie w parze z równością. W artykule zarysowano tę złożoność i niejednoznaczność, aby pokazać, jak koncepcje sprawiedliwości i równości wpływają na istotne dla płci debaty w mediach i etykę mediów. W tym celu należy jednak ustalić, jakimi dobrami społecznymi należałoby się zająć, jeśli sprawiedliwość i równość miałyby zostać włączone do etyki mediów. W ramach podsumowania należy zauważyć, że włączenie do etyki mediów koncepcji sprawiedliwości i równości z uwzględnieniem płci jako etyki zawodowej dziennikarstwa może prowadzić do zakwestionowania norm i wartości właściwych dla tego zawodu, a tym samym do zakwestionowania samego zawodu.
Natural and technological hazards have a major impact on environmental and human safety. Risk assessment plays an essential role in the risk management of the effects of such hazards. This contribution summarizes first the general formulation of risk depending on two parameters: hazard probability and associated consequences. Problems faced in industrial applications based on the experience of the author are discussed. Risk acceptance criteria for the contributors to risk i.e. human, economic and environment are critically reviewed. Resilience based criteria are also included and conclusions for future developments are provided.
The paper presents a penetration testing framework for automotive IT security education and evaluates its realization. The automotive sector is changing due to automated driving functions, connected vehicles, and electric vehicles. This development also creates new and more critical vulnerabilities. This paper addresses a possible countermeasure, automotive IT security education. Some existing solutions are evaluated and compared with the created Automotive Penetration Testing Education Platform (APTEP) framework. In addition, the APTEP architecture is described. It consists of three layers representing different attack points of a vehicle. The realization of the APTEP is a hardware case and a virtual platform referred to as the Automotive Network Security Case (ANSKo). The hardware case contains emulated control units and different communication protocols. The virtual platform uses Docker containers to provide a similar experience over the internet. Both offer two kinds of challenges.
The first introduces users to a specific interface, while the second combines multiple interfaces, to a complex and realistic challenge. This concept is based on modern didactic theories, such as constructivism and problem-based/challenge-based learning.
Computer Science students from the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (OTH) Regensburg experienced the challenges as part of a elective subject. In an online survey evaluated in this paper, they gave positive feedback. Also, a part of the evaluation is the mapping of the ANSKo and the maturity levels in the Software Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM) practice Education & Guidance as well as the SAMM practice Security Testing. The scientific contribution of this paper is to present an APTEP, a corresponding learning concept and an evaluation method.
Virtual training of bone milling requires realtime and realistic haptics of the interaction between the ”virtual mill” and a ”virtual bone”. We propose an exponential abrasion model between a virtual one and the mill bit and combine it with a coarse representation of the virtual bone and the mill shaft for collision detection using the Bullet Physics Engine. We compare our exponential abrasion model to a widely used linear abrasion model and evaluate it quantitatively and qualitatively. The evaluation results show, that we can provide virtual milling in real-time, with an abrasion behavior similar to that proposed in the literature and with a realistic feeling of five different surgeons.
The progress of medical genetics leads to a significant increase in genetic knowledge and a vast expansion of genetic diagnostics. However, it is still unknown how these changes will be integrated into medical practice and how they will change patients' and healthy persons' perception and evaluation of genetic diagnoses and genetic knowledge. Therefore, we carried out a comprehensive questionnaire survey with more than 500 patients, clients seeking genetic counseling, health care staff, and healthy persons (N = 523). The questionnaire survey covered detailed questions on the value of genetic diagnoses for the different groups of study participants, the right to know or not to know genetic diagnoses, possible differences between genetic and other medical diagnoses, and the practical use and implications of genetic knowledge with a special focus on hereditary neuropsychiatric diseases. A huge majority of the participants (90.7%) stated to have a right to learn every aspect of her or his genetic make-up. Similarly, study participants showed high interest (81.8%) in incidental health care findings-independent of whether the diseases are treatable or not. One can derive from the data outcome that study participants did not follow the implications of a "genetic exceptionalism" and often considered genetic findings as equivalent in relation to other medical diagnoses.
Although adopting Low Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) promises significant efficiency and effectiveness improvements for application development, its adoption still needs further empirical research. This paper uses a combinatorial approach to research LCDP adoption and presents the results of a multiple mini case study with 36 cases on LCDP adoption. A combination of the Socio-Technical Systems theory and the Technology-Organisational-Environment model is used as a theoretical lens. In this paper, we show that LCDP adoption is a multifaceted phenomenon and identify three archetypes for LCDP adoption (i.e., IT Resource Shortage Mitigators, Application Development Democratisers, and Synergy Realisers) and one archetype for LCDP non-adoption (i.e., Intricacy Adversaries). Each archetype can be interpreted as an individual path towards LCDP (non-)adoption. Based on these archetypes, we derive seven starting points for practitioners to adopt LCDPs in work systems. Moreover, by using the theoretical lenses, the paper shows that for an LCDP adoption to occur, an optimisation of the social and technical sub-systems is required.
We propose a new permanent magnet system for Kibble balance experiments, which combines advantages of the magnet designs invented by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). The goal of the proposed magnet system is to minimize the coil-current effect and to optimize the shielding at the same time. In the proposed design, a permanent magnet system with two gaps, each housing a coil, is employed to minimize the coil current effect, by reducing the linear coil-current dependence reported for the single air gap design by at least one order of magnitude. Both air gaps of the magnet are completely surrounded by high-permeability material, and hence the coils are shielded from outside magnetic fields and no magnetic field leaks outside of the magnet system. An example of the new magnet system is given and the analysis shows that the magnetic field in the air gap can be optimized to meet the requirement to be used in Kibble balances.
The AnyBody™ Modeling System (AMS) [1], is an universally used musculoskeletal simulation software using inverse dynamics. Until now, no complete human hand model is known in the AMS. Also considering other musculoskeletal software platforms, just one detailed entire hand model is recently published [2] but is only based on one subject. The aim of this work is to implement a full detailed hand model for the AMS including all extrinsic and intrinsic muscles using data by the UWB gained through an anatomical study of ten cadaver hands.
The AnyBody™ Modeling System (AMS) [1], is an universally used musculoskeletal simulation software using inverse dynamics. Until now, no complete human hand model is known in the AMS. Also considering other musculoskeletal software platforms, just one detailed entire hand model is recently published [2] but is only based on one subject. The aim of this work is to implement a full detailed hand model for the AMS including all extrinsic and intrinsic muscles using data by the UWB gained through an anatomical study of ten cadaver hands.
Background
Breast reconstruction is an important coping tool for patients undergoing a mastectomy. There are numerous surgical techniques in breast reconstruction surgery (BRS). Regardless of the technique used, creating a symmetric outcome is crucial for patients and plastic surgeons. Three-dimensional surface imaging enables surgeons and patients to assess the outcome’s symmetry in BRS. To discriminate between autologous and alloplastic techniques, we analyzed both techniques using objective optical computerized symmetry analysis. Software was developed that enables clinicians to assess optical breast symmetry using three-dimensional surface imaging.
Methods
Twenty-seven patients who had undergone autologous (n = 12) or alloplastic (n = 15) BRS received three-dimensional surface imaging. Anthropomorphic data were collected digitally using semiautomatic measurements and automatic measurements. Automatic measurements were taken using the newly developed software. To quantify symmetry, a Symmetry Index is proposed.
Results
Statistical analysis revealed that there is no dif- ference in the outcome symmetry between the two groups (t test for independent samples; p = 0.48, two-tailed).
Conclusion
This study’s findings provide a foundation for qualitative symmetry assessment in BRS using automatized digital anthropometry. In the present trial, no difference in the outcomes’ optical symmetry was detected between autologous and alloplastic approaches.
Background
There is a wide range of mechanical properties of spinal ligaments documented in literature. Due to the fact that ligaments contribute in stabilizing the spine by limiting excessive intersegmental motion, those properties are of particular interest for the implementation in musculoskeletal models. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of varying ligament stiffness on the kinematic behaviour of the lumbar spine.
Methods
A musculoskeletal model with a detailed lumbar spine was modified according to fluoroscopic recordings and corresponding data files of three different subjects. For flexion, inverse dynamics analysis with a variation of the ligament stiffness matrix were conducted. The influence of several degrees of ligament stiffness on the lumbar spine model were investigated by tracking ligament forces, disc forces and resulting moments generated by the ligaments. Additionally, the kinematics of the motion segments were evaluated.
Results
An increase of ligament stiffness resulted in an increase of ligament and disc forces, whereas the relative change of disc force increased at a higher rate at the L4/L5 level (19 %) than at the L3/L4 (10 %) level in a fully flexed posture. The same behaviour applied to measured moments with 67 % and 45 %. As a consequence, the motion deflected to the lower levels of the lumbar spine and the lower discs had to resist an increase in loading.
Conclusions
Higher values of ligament stiffness over all lumbar levels could lead to a shift of the loading and the motion between segments to the lower lumbar levels. This could lead to an increased risk for the lower lumbar parts.
A proposal for the classification of dental alloys according to their resistance to corrosion
(2007)
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to establish a method to compare and classify dental alloys in relation to their resistance to corrosion.
Methods
Alloy samples and pure metal samples were prepared and tested in chemical and electrochemical corrosion according to ISO 10271. For electrochemical test, the rest potential versus time and a potentiodynamic scan were recorded. After chemical corrosion test, the ions released were analyzed by ICP (induced coupled plasma) spectroscopy.
Results
High gold alloys had a similar polarization curve than gold. The same effect was observed for Pd–base alloys, their curves were similar to the one of palladium. The ions released during chemical corrosion were non-precious metallic ions. Thereby Ni–Cr alloys were found to release the most ions. Au–Pt alloys showed the highest release of ions compared with other precious alloys but low compared with Ni–Cr. Electrochemical corrosion was more aggressive than chemical corrosion and every type of elements was etched, the higher the precious metal content, the higher the resistance to corrosion of the alloy.
Discussion
Using the recorded data, a classification system for electrochemical corrosion was developed and discussed to judge the results. Hereby were gold and zinc used as reference materials. The applied classification system defines five classes and it is proposed that alloys of class V are not acceptable. For chemical corrosion resistance, three classes were distinguished according to the quantity of metallic ions released and it is proposed that class III (100–1000 μg/cm2 week) is not acceptable. Palladium and Pd–base alloys showed a higher electrochemical and chemical corrosion resistance than gold.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects millions of people worldwide, causing mental and mainly motor dysfunctions. The negative impact on the patient's daily routine has moved the science in search of new techniques that can reduce its negative effects and also identify the disease in individuals. One of the main motor characteristics of PD is the hand tremor faced by patients, which turns out to be a crucial information to be used towards a computer-aided diagnosis. In this context, we make use of handwriting dynamics data acquired from individuals when submitted to some tasks that measure abilities related to writing skills. This work proposes the application of recurrence plots to map the signals onto the image domain, which are further used to feed a Convolutional Neural Network for learning proper information that can help the automatic identification of PD. The proposed approach was assessed in a public dataset under several scenarios that comprise different combinations of deep-based architectures, image resolutions, and training set sizes. Experimental results showed significant accuracy improvement compared to our previous work with an average accuracy of over 87%. Moreover, it was observed an improvement in accuracy concerning the classification of patients (i.e., mean recognition rates above to 90%). The promising results showed the potential of the proposed approach towards the automatic identification of Parkinson's disease.
Cybersecurity is of capital importance in a world where economic and social processes increasingly rely on digital technology. Although the primary ethical motivation of cybersecurity is prevention of informational or physical harm, its enforcement can also entail conflicts with other moral values. This contribution provides an outline of value conflicts in cybersecurity based on a quantitative literature analysis and qualitative case studies. The aim is to demonstrate that the security-privacy-dichotomy—that still seems to dominate the ethics discourse based on our bibliometric analysis—is insufficient when discussing the ethical challenges of cybersecurity.
Furthermore, we want to sketch how the notion of contextual integrity could help to better understand and mitigate such value conflicts.
The growing complexity of the digital ecosystem in combination with increasing global risks has created the following dilemma. Overemphasizing cybersecurity may violate fundamental values
like equality, fairness, freedom, or privacy but neglecting cybersecurity could undermine citizens’ trust and confidence in the digital infrastructure as well as in policy makers and state authorities. In order to increase our understanding of this dilemma, this contribution aims to provide an overview on value conflicts in cybersecurity based on a systematic review on the ethical, legal and
technological literature on cybersecurity. It shall be emphasized that a focus on the opposition of cybersecurity vs. privacy is insufficient for understanding the ethical complexity of cybersecurity.
A key requirement in both native knee joints and total knee arthroplasty is a stable capsular ligament complex. However, knee stability is highly individual and ranges from clinically loose to tight. So far, hardly any in vivo data on the intrinsic mechanical of the knee are available. This study investigated if stiffness of the native ligament complex may be determined in vivo using a standard knee balancer. Measurements were obtained with a commercially available knee balancer, which was initially calibrated in vitro. 5 patients underwent reconstruction of the force-displacement curves of the ligament complex. Stiffness of the medial and lateral compartments were calculated to measure the stability of the capsular ligament complex. All force-displacement curves consisted of a non-linear section at the beginning and of a linear section from about 80 N onwards. The medial compartment showed values of 28.4 ± 1.2 N/mm for minimum stiffness and of 39.9 ± 1.1 N/mm for maximum stiffness; the respective values for the lateral compartment were 19.9 ± 0.9 N/mm and 46.6 ± 0.8 N/mm. A commercially available knee balancer may be calibrated for measuring stiffness of knee ligament complex in vivo, which may contribute to a better understanding of the intrinsic mechanical behaviour of knee joints.
For many students learning to program is a crucial task. In this research, we took a glance into the current literature and identified most ocurring cognitive deficits. Thereby we identified three elements that apear most significant throughout the study. We think that these deficits are fundamental basics for learning how to program. The stu-dents' education of cognitive abilities in programming needs revision and should receive far more training. In future research we want to establish a guideline for promoting these deficits through adequate teaching and learning arrangements in pre-programming education.
This work presents a systematic review concerning recent studies and technologies of machine learning for Barrett's esophagus (BE) diagnosis and treatment. The use of artificial intelligence is a brand new and promising way to evaluate such disease. We compile some works published at some well-established databases, such as Science Direct, IEEEXplore, PubMed, Plos One, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Springer, and Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Each selected work has been analyzed to present its objective, methodology, and results. The BE progression to dysplasia or adenocarcinoma shows a complex pattern to be detected during endoscopic surveillance. Therefore, it is valuable to assist its diagnosis and automatic identification using computer analysis. The evaluation of the BE dysplasia can be performed through manual or automated segmentation through machine learning techniques. Finally, in this survey, we reviewed recent studies focused on the automatic detection of the neoplastic region for classification purposes using machine learning methods.
Background and objective:
In this work, we present a systematic review concerning the recent enabling technologies as a tool to the diagnosis, treatment and better quality of life of patients diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (PD), as well as an analysis of future trends on new approaches to this end.
Methods:
In this review, we compile a number of works published at some well-established databases, such as Science Direct, IEEEXplore, PubMed, Plos One, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Springer and Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Each selected work has been carefully analyzed in order to identify its objective, methodology and results.
Results:
The review showed the majority of works make use of signal-based data, which are often acquired by means of sensors. Also, we have observed the increasing number of works that employ virtual reality and e-health monitoring systems to increase the life quality of PD patients. Despite the different approaches found in the literature, almost all of them make use of some sort of machine learning mechanism to aid the automatic PD diagnosis.
Conclusions:
The main focus of this survey is to consider computer-assisted diagnosis, and how effective they can be when handling the problem of PD identification. Also, the main contribution of this review is to consider very recent works only, mainly from 2015 and 2016.
This paper investigates DevOps adoption, emphasizing its cultural dimensions in the context of the information systems domain. Utilizing a robust systematic literature review methodology, we discerned nine salient success factors and delineated three stage models instrumental for a smooth transition into DevOps-centric projects. Despite the increasing breadth of research in the DevOps area, the absence of a consolidated definition remains a challenge, underscoring the importance of a unified interpretative framework. This research notably extends the current body of knowledge by focusing on the cultural dynamics of DevOps adoption. As a result, it offers a refined lens through which both practitioners involved in the adoption process and academic researchers can comprehend the nuances and implications of cultural shifts in the evolving landscape of DevOps within information systems.
The growing number of publications on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine underlines the enormous importance and potential of this emerging field of research.
In gastrointestinal endoscopy, AI has been applied to all segments of the gastrointestinal tract most importantly in the detection and characterization of colorectal polyps. However, AI research has been published also in the stomach and esophagus for both neoplastic and non-neoplastic disorders.
The various technical as well as medical aspects of AI, however, remain confusing especially for non-expert physicians.
This physician-engineer co-authored review explains the basic technical aspects of AI and provides a comprehensive overview of recent publications on AI in gastrointestinal endoscopy. Finally, a basic insight is offered into understanding publications on AI in gastrointestinal endoscopy.
Biological applications like vesicle membrane analysis involve the precise segmentation of 3D structures in noisy volumetric data, obtained by techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or laser scanning microscopy (LSM). Dealing with such data is a challenging task and requires robust and accurate segmentation methods. In this article, we propose a novel energy model for 3D segmentation fusing various cues like regional intensity subdivision, edge alignment and orientation information. The uniqueness of the approach consists in the definition of a new anisotropic regularizer, which accounts for the unbalanced slicing of the measured volume data, and the generalization of an efficient numerical scheme for solving the arising minimization problem, based on linearization and fixed-point iteration. We show how the proposed energy model can be optimized globally by making use of recent continuous convex relaxation techniques. The accuracy and robustness of the presented approach are demonstrated by evaluating it on multiple real data sets and comparing it to alternative segmentation methods based on level sets. Although the proposed model is designed with focus on the particular application at hand, it is general enough to be applied to a variety of different segmentation tasks.
Writing, with no doubt, is besides reading a core competency which allows us to "exploit" knowledge in general. It also makes possible the exploration of software engineering's core issues. Especially within this context it is necessary to master the reading of complex texts as well as to be able to write in an appropriate academic expression. With regard to studies in software engineering this seems to be obvious, but in fact the opposite is the reality. Therefore measures to improve these skills seemed to be necessarily applied. At the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (OTH, University of Applied Sciences, Regensburg) a new format, the so called c*lab, was installed during the winter semester 2017. This was a course which followed the principle of "Writing Across the Curriculum" (WAC). Organized parallel to a lecture of learning how to program the language C, and addressing students of the first semester, the course was a complete voluntary offer in addition to the general standard courses and lectures of the faculty. Students who participated not only reflected on C and its principles, nor only on writing as a self purpose, but they also learned to express technical thoughts and ideas by the use of didactic methods. The idea to transfer also basic LTeX concepts to write a paper based on the IEEE bare_conf.tex-template were also planned. The course followed the idea of student's-centred learning. This paper presents the main structure, goals, and means of the c*lab, and the theory behind. It also embeds the course within the horizon of experiences of teaching writing skills at the Laboratory for Safe and Secure Systems (LaS 3 ) at the faculty of electronic and information engineering at the OTH Regensburg. First experiences have shown that participants increase writing skills and their idea of the importance of writing.
Absolvent 2000
(2002)
Das Ziel der Studie ist es gewesen, Informationen über den Berufseinstieg und beruflichen Werdegang von AbsolventInnen der Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften und Philosophie der Universität Leipzig zu erlangen. Dabei haben sich die folgenden thematischen Schwerpunkte als besonders interessant herausgestellt: (1) relevante Faktoren für einen erfolgreichen Berufseinstieg, im Besonderen den Einfluss sozialer Netzwerke, (2) Evaluation des Studiums und den Einfluss studienbezogener Merkmale auf den Studienerfolg, (3) Gründe für einen Studienabbruch bzw. Studienortswechsel. Da die Studie im Rahmen eines Forschungspraktikums am Institut für Soziologie durchgeführt wurde, interessierte die Teilnehmer insbesondere der berufliche Werdegang ehemaliger Soziologiestudenten.
Currently, it is common practice to use three-dimensional (3D) printers not only for rapid prototyping in the industry, but also in the medical area to create medical applications for training inexperienced surgeons. In a clinical training simulator for minimally invasive bone drilling to fix hand fractures with Kirschner-wires (K-wires), a 3D printed hand phantom must not only be geometrically but also haptically correct. Due to a limited view during an operation, surgeons need to perfectly localize underlying risk structures only by feeling of specific bony protrusions of the human hand.
Pixel-level classification is an essential part of computer vision. For learning from labeled data, many powerful deep learning models have been developed recently. In this work, we augment such supervised segmentation models by allowing them to learn from unlabeled data. Our semi-supervised approach, termed Error-Correcting Supervision, leverages a collaborative strategy. Apart from the supervised training on the labeled data, the segmentation network is judged by an additional network.
Der Online-Handel gilt vielen Einzelhändlern als Rettung. Insbesondere Nischenanbieter und spezialisierte, kleinere Anbieter gehen ihre ersten Schritte über eine Online-Marktplattform. Berater sollten ihre Mandanten aber auf die Risiken dieses am Anfang einfachen Vertriebswegs hinweisen und die Abwehrmaßnahmen mit in den Geschäftsplan aufnehmen.
Academic entrepreneurship education aims to train and raise awareness amongst students about entrepreneurial activity, thereby increasing the number of academic start-ups and spin-offs. However, as yet, there are very few findings on the gender-specific differences amongst potential entrepreneurs. Building on the current state of research, gender-specific differences in the form of various different components of entrepreneurial competence are examined. This study focuses in particular on (1) entrepreneurial knowledge, (2) domain-specific interest in entrepreneurship, (3) interest in leadership roles, and (4) entrepreneurial and (5) intrapreneurial intention. Based on an online survey of 281 students of a German and Czech university, the mean differences show that there are statistically significant lower values for female students than for male students for all the variables investigated, that is with exception to intrapreneurial intention. These findings underline the need for targeted promotion of female entrepreneurship within the context of academic entrepreneurship education.
Clot formation within membrane oxygenators (MOs) remains a critical problem during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The composition of the clots-in particular, the presence of von Willebrand factor (vWF)-may be an indicator for prevalent nonphysiological flow conditions, foreign body reactions, or coagulation abnormalities in critically ill patients. Mats of interwoven gas exchange fibers from randomly collected MOs (PLS, Maquet, Rastatt, Germany) of 21 patients were stained with antibodies (anti-vWF and anti-P-selectin) and counterstained with 4 ',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. The extent of vWF-loading was correlated with patient and technical data. While 12 MOs showed low vWF-loadings, 9 MOs showed high vWF-loading with highest accumulations close to crossing points of adjacent gas fibers. The presence and the extent of vWF-fibers/"cobwebs," leukocytes, platelet-leukocyte aggregates (PLAs), and P-selectin-positive platelet aggregates were independent of the extent of vWF-loading. However, the highly loaded MOs were obtained from patients with a significantly elevated SOFA score, severe thrombocytopenia, and persistent liver dysfunction. The coagulation abnormalities of these critically ill patients may cause an accumulation of the highly thrombogenic and elongated high-molecular-weight vWF multimers in the plasma which will be trapped in the MOs during the ECMO therapy.
Clot formation within membrane oxygenators (MOs) remains a critical problem during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The composition of the clots—in particular, the presence of von Willebrand factor (vWF)—may be an indicator for prevalent nonphysiological flow conditions, foreign body reactions, or coagulation abnormalities in critically ill patients. Mats of interwoven gas exchange fibers from randomly collected MOs (PLS, Maquet, Rastatt, Germany) of 21 patients were stained with antibodies (anti‐vWF and anti‐P‐selectin) and counterstained with 4′,6‐diamidino‐2‐phenylindole. The extent of vWF‐loading was correlated with patient and technical data. While 12 MOs showed low vWF‐loadings, 9 MOs showed high vWF‐loading with highest accumulations close to crossing points of adjacent gas fibers. The presence and the extent of vWF‐fibers/“cobwebs,” leukocytes, platelet–leukocyte aggregates (PLAs), and P‐selectin‐positive platelet aggregates were independent of the extent of vWF‐loading. However, the highly loaded MOs were obtained from patients with a significantly elevated SOFA score, severe thrombocytopenia, and persistent liver dysfunction. The coagulation abnormalities of these critically ill patients may cause an accumulation of the highly thrombogenic and elongated high‐molecular‐weight vWF multimers in the plasma which will be trapped in the MOs during the ECMO therapy.
esearch was and still is involved in the controversial issue about innate talent or extensive practice as the determinants of excellent performance in a range of domains. This study aims to contribute by presenting an analysis of practice activities in a domain that appears to be particularly suitable—orchestral conducting. Most conductors usually attain expertise in instrument playing prior to commencing conducting studies. Twenty-seven students of German study programs of orchestral conducting (approximately 18.7% of the population) responded to a questionnaire about their practice activities in conducting programs and their instrumental experiences. Descriptive results show the wealth of prestudy experiences conducting students have. A clear influence on practice activities cannot be stated. During study, students rated conducting-specific practice activities as more demanding and devoted more time to them than to general music practice activities. Therefore, conducting-specific practice activities might have been practiced more deliberately than general music practice activities.
Introduction
International studies show a relation between functional dysphonia and mental disorders. The aim of this study was to determine a correlation between functional dysphonia, anxiety and depression for Germany. Methods
A cross-sectional study including 66 patients with functional voice disorder was conducted. The data was collected using standardized self-reported instruments for measuring voice disorders (VHI-30), anxiety and depression (HADS-D, STADI (T)).
Results
High self-assessment values for dysphonia indicate a higher probability of anxiety and depression. A high value in HADS-D predict a high value in VHI-30.
Conclusion
For this sample a relation between voice disorders, anxiety and depression has been proven.
Adieu Einwilligung?
(2017)
Bei Nutzung neuer Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien ergeben sich Herausforderungen bezüglich informationeller Selbstbestimmung, da etablierte Prinzipien neu bewertet werden müssen. Anhand eines konkreten Szenarios werden rechtliche und technische Problemfelder bei der Nutzung von Big Data-Technologien aufgezeigt, um ein Konzept zur technisch unterstützten Verwaltung von Einwilligungen und damit zur Stärkung der informationellen Selbstbestimmung im Big Data-Kontext herzuleiten.
We propose a method for an efficient optimization of experimental designs, using a combination of discrete adjoint computations, Taylor arithmetic and matrix calculus. Compared to the state of the art of using finite differences or the forward mode of automatic differentiation, our proposed approach leads to a reduction of the relative temporal complexity from linear to constant time in the number of control variables and measurement weights. We demonstrate that the advantageous complexity results are not only of theoretical nature, but lead to significant speedups in practice as well. With our implementation we are very close to the theoretical bound of the cheap gradient principle. We present one academic (spatially discretized heat equation) and two industrial application examples (biochemical process/Diesel-oxidation catalysis process) where we achieve speedups that range between 10 and 100. In addition to our core results, we also describe an efficient adjoint approach for the treatment of differential algebraic equations and present adjoint formulas for constrained least-squares problems.
Age and Absenteeism
(2010)
This chapter explores absenteeism using two different kinds of data. One is a unique data set of workers in a German truck assembly plant where the chapter identifies workers who work together in a team on a daily basis. Thus, the chapter is able to relate the probability of absence of a worker to characteristics of the work team. Characteristics of the work team in this study include team size, and measures of diversity with respect to age, nationality, education, and age. The second data set is a Finnish survey based on a representative sample of persons in paid employment. Besides working conditions, personal characteristics, and work experience, it includes information on the number and duration absences.
This chapter presents and compares results from two studies that analyse the same research questions with different data sets. The first study analyses data on productivity at the level of work teams in one single plant. The tasks in this plant are rather homogeneous and age-productivity profiles can be estimated fairly precisely. But the results cannot be generalized to other parts of the economy. The other study analyses the Finnish Linked Employer Employee Data (FLEED), which provide information on productivity at the plant level for the Finnish economy. At this aggregate level, age-productivity profiles are obviously cruder. On the other hand, the results apply to a large part of the entire Finnish economy and can easily be generalized to other developed economies. The linked data also make it possible to compare productivity and wage profiles by age.
Age and Working Capacity
(2010)
This chapter examines how the subjective assessment of work capacity is related to age using the Finnish Quality of Working Life Survey (QWLS) from the year 2003. The results provide clear evidence that employees' own assessment of their working capacity falls with age while there is no corresponding decline in wages by age. However, the fall in working capacity is not dramatic, as the majority of the older age groups still consider their working capacity to be relatively high in a scale from 0 to 10. Age affects working capacity, as least to the extent that the employees themselves think so.
Zunehmende Volatilität, Unsicherheit, Komplexität und Ambiguität prägen die heutige Welt. Vorhersagbarkeit und Planungssicherheit verlieren immer mehr an Bedeutung. Dies hat weitreichende Konsequenzen für Unternehmen. Um wettbewerbsfähig zu bleiben, müssen Firmen in der Lage sein, Entscheidungen schnell zu treffen und Ressourcen umzuschichten, um von neuen Chancen profitieren bzw. Risiken reduzieren zu können. Agilität ist die Antwort auf eine zunehmende Umweltdynamik. Das gilt nicht nur für die Linienarbeit, sondern in besonderem Maße auch für die Projektarbeit. Die Verbreitung agiler Methoden ist bereits in vollem Gange. In Zukunft wird die Kombination aus klassisch, agil und hybrid gemanagten Projekten das „New Normal“ im Projektmanagement sein. Ein unternehmens- oder bereichsweites Projektportfolio-Management muss die agil und hybrid geführten Projekte sinnvoll integrieren. In dem Beitrag wird diese Herausforderung für alle Phasen des Projektportfolio-Managements – von der Projektidentifikation über die -auswahl bis zur Projektportfoliosteuerung und -kontrolle – diskutiert und die Frage beantwortet, ob agile Methoden gar als Game Changer für das Projektportfolio-Management dienen.
Aims
Evaluation of the add-on effect an artificial intelligence (AI) based clinical decision support system has on the performance of endoscopists with different degrees of expertise in the field of Barrett's esophagus (BE) and Barrett's esophagus-related neoplasia (BERN).
Methods
The support system is based on a multi-task deep learning model trained to solve a segmentation and several classification tasks. The training approach represents an extension of the ECMT semi-supervised learning algorithm. The complete system evaluates a decision tree between estimated motion, classification, segmentation, and temporal constraints, to decide when and how the prediction is highlighted to the observer. In our current study, ninety-six video cases of patients with BE and BERN were prospectively collected and assessed by Barrett's specialists and non-specialists. All video cases were evaluated twice – with and without AI assistance. The order of appearance, either with or without AI support, was assigned randomly. Participants were asked to detect and characterize regions of dysplasia or early neoplasia within the video sequences.
Results
Standalone sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the AI system were 92.16%, 68.89%, and 81.25%, respectively. Mean sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of expert endoscopists without AI support were 83,33%, 58,20%, and 71,48 %, respectively. Gastroenterologists without Barrett's expertise but with AI support had a comparable performance with a mean sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 76,63%, 65,35%, and 71,36%, respectively.
Conclusions
Non-Barrett's experts with AI support had a similar performance as experts in a video-based study.
Akademische Weiterbildung im sozialen Bereich erfordert innovative Konzepte, die sich an der Lebenswirklichkeit der Studierenden orientieren. Berufsbegleitende Bachelorformate reagieren auf den Bedarf an grundständiger akademischer Bildung, die Mischung von Präsenz- und digitalen Lehr- und Lernformaten schafft Flexibilität im Studium und eine dezentrale Organisation ermöglicht wohnortnahe Präsenzlehre in Kleingruppen, die durch Kooperation mit Sozialträgern in den Regionen ergänzt wird. Ein Ansatz ist der berufsbegleitende Bachelorstudiengang Soziale Arbeit (BABS) an der OTH Regensburg, der sich mit einem grundständigen Studienangebot an Erzieher:innen, Heilpädagog:innen und Heilerziehungspfleger:innen richtet und neben anderen Modellen in diesem Sammelband untersucht wird. In Beiträgen zu Theorie, Empirie und Praxis reflektieren die Autor:innen die Konzepte und schildern Erfahrungen mit berufsbegleitendem Studium im sozialen Bereich.