Investitionsgüterhersteller als Anbieter industrieller Lösungen – Bestandsaufnahme des Wandels anhand einer Umfrage

The article is dedicated to the empirical exploration of solution providers in the German capital goods industry. A model – consisting of six principles and success factors for solution management – is used to draw conclusions on the relevance and the need for action to manage the transition towards being a solution provider. The answers from 99 medium-sized companies reveal the following results: 1.) The solution concept offers the opportunity to gain competitive advantage 2.) The potential of providing solutions has been recognised, yet the implementation is lagging behind 3.) A consistent solution management process is a prerequisite for success 4.) Appropriate methods and tools are required along the whole process.     

OCEANcode: The complete set of algorithms and models for the level_2 processing of European CZCS historical data

A complete set of algorithms and models for the level_2 processing of the European CZCS historical data was integrated in the OCEANcode software package. The OCEANcode allows the calibration of the sensor-recorded signal taking into account the instrument sensitivity loss; the correction of the calibrated signal for atmospheric contamination and derive sub-surface reflectances; and then the estimation of the concentration of water constituents. The atmospheric correction is performed on the basis of a reflectance-model-based algorithm. The Rayleigh correction is applied consistently for all water pixels, using a multiple scattering approach, and introducing atmospheric pressure and Ozone concentration data in the computation. The marine aerosol correction uses a pixel-by-pixel iterative procedure, allowing successive estimates of both the marine reflectance in the red spectral region (670nm) and the Angstrom exponent, which links simple wavelengths ratios to reflectance ratios. For case 1 waters, the optical properties of which are essentially dominated by planktonic pigments, the interrelations between marine reflectances and reflectance ratios at various wavelengths are derived from modelled calculations. For identified case 2 waters, where water constituents other than planktonic pigments (i.e. dissolved organics and suspended sediments) dominate the water optical properties, the evaluation of marine reflectances is approximated by means of interpolated Angstrom exponent values computed over case 1 water pixels and of empirical relationships derived from in situ measurements. The computation of chlorophyll-like pigments is performed with algorithms based on blue/green (443-550nm) reflectance ratios, for lower pigment concentration, or on green/green (520-550nm) reflectance ratios, for higher pigment concentration. As for the case of atmospheric corrections, the inter-relations between pigment concentration and reflectance ratios are model-derived for case 1 waters, and empirically determined for case 2 waters.     

Sparse Approximation and the Pursuit of Meaningful Signal Models With Interference Adaptation

In the pursuit of a sparse signal model, mismatches between the signal and the dictionary, as well as atoms poorly selected by the decomposition process, can diminish the efficiency and meaningfulness of the resulting representation. These problems increase the number of atoms needed to model a signal for a given error, and they obscure the relationships between signal content and the elements of the model. To increase the efficiency and meaningfulness of a signal model built by an iterative descent pursuit, such as matching pursuit (MP), we propose integrating into its atom selection criterion a measure of interference between an atom and the model. We define interference and illustrate how it describes the contribution of an atom to modeling a signal. We show that for any nontrivial signal, the convergent model created by MP must have as much destructive as constructive interference, i.e., MP cannot avoid correction in the signal model. This is not necessarily a shortcoming of orthogonal variants of MP, such as orthogonal MP (OMP). We derive interference-adaptive iterative descent pursuits and show how these can build signal models that better fit the signal locally, and reduce the corrections made in a signal model. Compared with MP and its orthogonal variants, our experimental results not only show an increase in model efficiency, but also a clearer correspondence between the signal and the atoms of a representation.      

Collective-reward based approach for detection of semi-transparent objects in single images

Most computer and robot vision algorithms, be it for object detection, recognition, or reconstruction, are designed for opaque objects. Non-opaque objects have received less attention, although various special cases have been the subject of research efforts, especially the case of specular objects. The main objective of this paper is to provide a research work in the case of semi-transparent objects, i.e. objects that are transparent but also reflect light, typically objects made of glass. They are rather omnipresent in man-made environments (especially, windows and doors). Detection of these objects provides important information that can be used in a robot’s navigational strategies such as obstacle avoidance, detection of oil/water spills on the floor, localization, etc. In order to achieve the detection of semi-transparent objects we developed a novel approach using a collective-reward based technique on an image captured by an uncalibrated camera. Several experiments were conducted over different scenarios to test the efficacy of the algorithm.     

Amorphous Silicon Thin-Film Transistor Backplanes Deposited at 200 °C on Clear Plastic for Lamination to Electrophoretic Displays

The transition of thin-film transistor (TFT) backplanes from rigid plate glass to flexible substrates requires the development of a generic TFT backplane technology on a clear plastic substrate. To be sufficiently stable under bias stress, amorphous-silicon (a-Si:H) TFTs must be deposited at elevated temperatures, therefore the substrate must withstand high temperatures. We fabricated a-Si:H TFT backplanes on a clear plastic substrate at 200degC. The measured stability of the TFTs under gate bias stress was superior to TFTs fabricated at 150degC. The substrate was dimensionally stable within the measurement resolution of 1, allowing for well-aligned 8 times 8 and 32 times 32 arrays of pixels. The operation of the backplane is demonstrated with an electrophoretic display. This result is a step toward the drop-in replacement of glass substrates by plastic foil.     

Photoluminescence spectroscopy of localized excitons in Si1−xGex

We have recently found that high quantum efficiency can be achieved in strained Si_1−xGe_x alloy layers through the elimination of nonradiative channels. We observed a photoluminescence process in SiGe grown on 〈100232A; silicon by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition, which was attributed to free excitons localized by random fluctuations in alloy composition. The external quantum efficiency of this process was measured directly for a single Si_0.75Ge_0.25 quantum well and found to be extraordinarily high, about 11.5 ± 2%. In this paper, we present additional data on the localized exciton photoluminescence, including temperature dependence, time decay curves, and effects of sample annealing.     

Simultaneous detection of beta-galactosidase activity and surface antigen expression in viable haematopoietic cells

The quantitation of intracellular beta-galactosidase activity has been described for viable cells. By using the fluorogenic substrate fluorescein-di-beta-D-galactopyranoside (FDG) in conjunction with flow cytometry, the proportion of positive cells as well as the level of expression can be determined. In this paper we describe beta-galactosidase expression in lymphoid and myeloid cells from transgenic mice that widely express beta-galactosidase from an inserted lacZ transgene. Both foetal and adult haematopoietic tissues are able to express beta-galactosidase. The intracellular fluorescence reflecting beta-galactosidase activity can be readily combined with fluorescently labelled antibodies against cell surface antigens. Thus, beta-galactosidase can be used as a marker in transplantation experiments to study the development of lymphoid and myeloid precursor cells.     

Structure-function studies on positions 17, 18, and 21 replacement analogues of glucagon: the importance of charged residues and salt bridges in glucagon biological activity

We have designed and synthesized eight compounds 2-9 which incorporate various amino acid residues in positions 17, 18, and 21 of the glucagon molecule: 2, [Lys17]glucagon amide; 3, [Lys18]glucagon amide; 4, [Nle17,Lys18,Glu21]glucagon amide; 5, [Orn17,18, Glu21]glucagon amide; 6, [d-Arg17]glucagon; 7, [d-Arg18]glucagon; 8, [d-Phe17]glucagon; and 9, [d-Phe18]glucagon. Compared to glucagon (IC50 = 1.5 nM), analogues 2-9 were found to have binding affinity IC50 values (in nM) of 0.7, 4.1, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 25.0, 43.0, and 32.0, respectively. When these compounds were tested for their ability to stimulate adenylate cyclase (AC) activity, they were found to be full or partial agonists having maximum stimulation values of 100, 100, 100, 100, 87, 78, 94, and 100%, respectively. On the basis of the X-ray crystal structure of [Lys17,18,Glu21]glucagon amide reported here, the ability to form a salt bridge between Lys18 and Glu21 is probably key to their increased binding and second messenger activities. Among the eight analogues synthesized here, only analogue 4 preserves the ability to form a salt bridge between Lys18 and Glu21. However, since these modifications are minor they do not seem to change the amphiphilic character of the C-terminus, allowing these analogues to reach 78-100% stimulation in the adenylate cyclase assay. Biological data from analogues 6-9 supports the idea that position 18 of glucagon may influence binding only, while position 17 may influence both receptor recognition and transduction.     

Pregnant women as a reservoir of undetected sexually transmitted diseases in rural South Africa: implications for disease control

OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in pregnant women in rural South Africa and to determine the value of using abnormal urogenital symptoms to identify infected women. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 327 patients attending prenatal clinics. RESULTS: Of the 271 women with complete data, 141 (52%) had at least 1 STD and 49 (18%) had more than 1. Abnormal symptoms were common (n = 225; 83%), but associations were weak, and the positive predictive value of different symptoms for infection ranged from 2% to 54%. CONCLUSIONS: Most STDs in rural South African women remain undetected and untreated. As the scope for laboratory diagnosis in resource-poor settings is limited, presumptive treatment of pregnant women and their partners may be a cost-effective option to reduce transmission of STDs and HIV infection.