Standardized code quality benchmarking for improving software maintainability

We provide an overview of the approach developed by the Software Improvement Group for code analysis and quality consulting focused on software maintainability. The approach uses a standardized measurement model based on the ISO/IEC 9126 definition of maintainability and source code metrics. Procedural standardization in evaluation projects further enhances the comparability of results. Individual assessments are stored in a repository that allows any system at hand to be compared to the industry-wide state of the art in code quality and maintainability. When a minimum level of software maintainability is reached, the certification body of TüV Informationstechnik GmbH issues a Trusted Product Maintainability certificate for the software product.     

Science and technology in the region: The output of regional science and technology, its strengths and its leading institutions

Summary We operationalize scientific output in a region by means of the number of articles (as in the SciSearch database) per year and technology output by means of the number of patent applications (as in the database of the European Patent Office) per priority year. All informetric analyses were done using the DIALOG online-system. The main research questions are the following: Which scientific and technological fields or topics are most influent within a region and which institutions or companies are mainly publishing articles or holding patents? Do the distributions of regional science and technology fields and of publishing institutions follow the well-known informetric function? Are there - as it is expected - only few fields and few institutions which dominate the region? Is there a connection between the economic power of a region and the regional publication and patent output? Examples studied in detail are seven German regions: Aachen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Köln (Cologne), Leipzig - Halle - Dessau, München (Munich), and Stuttgart. Three different indicators were used, science and technology attraction of a region (number of scientific articles and patents), science and technology intensity (articles and patents per 1,000 inhabitants), and science and technology density (articles and patents per 1 billion EURO gross value added). Top region concerning both attraction and intensity is Munich, concerning density it is Aachen.     

Production Rate‐Dependent Key Performance Indicators for a Systematic Design of Biochemical Downstream Processes

Key performance indicators have become a common tool in bioprocess development, as they allow an objective and independent rating and ranking of process alternatives screened. A disadvantage of all key performance indicators developed so far is their strong focus on costs, which makes them neglect the influence of the production rate on the profit of the process. But, since both production costs and production rate have an equally strong impact, both should be considered when decisions have to be made. Therefore, two new key performance indicators are introduced in this work, one for batch and one for continuous processing. They combine product yield, purity performance, variable manufacturing costs, and production rate to one objective. Thereby, misguided trade‐offs between these four individual measures can be replaced by one key performance indicator. This ensures a systematic development of biochemical downstream processes.     

Oxygen permeation of various archetypes of oxygen membranes based on BSCF

Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3‐δ tubes, capillaries, capillary modules, and asymmetric membranes were prepared and tested for oxygen permeation in a dead‐end vacuum operation mode at temperatures up to 850^°C. The capillary module was built up by reactive air brazing using seven capillaries and a supply tube. Two machined discs were used as an end cap and as a connector plate. The oxygen permeation behaves according to Wagner at small driving forces, but significant negative deviations were observed for asymmetric membranes and single capillaries at higher ones. This is caused by pressure drops at the vacuum side for single capillaries. The highest oxygen flux was revealed for the capillary module with 175.5 mL(STP)/min at a low‐vacuum pressure of 0.042 bar at 850^°C, but the asymmetric membrane showing a little bit higher flux at moderate vacuum pressures above 0.07 bar. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 3195–3202, 2012     

Cost-benefit analysis for disruption prevention in low-volume assembly

Manufacturing companies face rising pressure due to increased competition. Traditionally, companies have merely concentrated on offering impeccable, cost-efficient products. Today, however, flexibility and on-time delivery are additional requirements to satisfy the customers. At the same time, disruptions in production, especially in low-volume assembly, still frequently occur, leading to economic losses and delayed customer deliveries. The approach proposed in this paper strives for improving the disruption situation in low-volume assemblies. A detailed disruption management methodology has been developed, aiming at realizing an efficient reduction of disruptions, while at the same time considering the specific characteristics of low-volume assembly. The methodology is supported by a catalog of pre-emptive measures. These measures are known to reduce the disruptions’ occurrence or to diminish their consequences. In general, the approach pursues the basic idea to implement particularly those measures, which have the best cost-benefit-ratio. Based on the analysis of the cost-benefit-ratio of each measure, the developed methodology aims at improving the disruption situation in assembly and thus providing a high on-time delivery rate. The usability of the methodology for the low-volume assembly context has been confirmed by assembly experts on the basis of an application of the methodology in an exemplary case study.     

Biosynthetic Plasticity Enables Production of Fluorinated Aurachins

Enzyme promiscuity has important implications in the field of biocatalysis. In some cases, structural analogues of simple metabolic building blocks can be processed through entire pathways to give natural product derivatives that are not readily accessible by chemical means. In this study, we explored the plasticity of the aurachin biosynthesis pathway with regard to using fluoro- and chloroanthranilic acids, which are not abundant in the bacterial producers of these quinolone antibiotics. The incorporation rates of the tested precursor molecules disclosed a regiopreference for halogen substitution as well as steric limitations of enzymatic substrate tolerance. Three previously undescribed fluorinated aurachin derivatives were produced in preparative amounts by fermentation and structurally characterized. Furthermore, their antibacterial activities were evaluated in comparison to their natural congener aurachin D.     

Aktuelle Aktivitäten zu den europäischen Rohstoff-Initiativen

The European Initiatives manifested in the Communications of the European Commission on Raw Materials, in the Strategic Implementation Plan of the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials and in the 2014 Call of the European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT) for a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) on Raw Materials lead to manifold Austrian activities on Government level and on level of the Montanuniversitaet Leoben. The ESEE Region, thus East- and Southeast Europe has a special role.     

Rumination activity of dairy cows in the 24 hours before and after calving

Monitoring rumination behavior serves multiple purposes in feeding and herd management of dairy cows. The process of calving is a major event for cows, and a detailed understanding of alterations in behavioral patterns of animals in the time around calving is important in calving detection. The objective of this study was to describe the short-term changes in rumination patterns in dairy cows immediately before and after parturition. In total, 17 cows were fitted with rumination sensors that were able to monitor rumination time, number of rumination boli, and number of rumination jaw movements. Rumination time was decreased in the last 4 h antepartum and in the first 8 h postpartum. Cows stopped ruminating 123 ± 58 min (mean ± standard deviation) before calving and resumed ruminating 355 ± 194 min after calving. The number of rumination jaw movements and boli per day were decreased in the 24-h period postpartum. Rumination rate, the number of rumination jaw movements per rumination minute, and the number of boli per rumination minute changed little around calving. The calving event primarily influenced the duration and frequency of various rumination characteristics but not rumination intensity. Among detected characteristics, rumination time showed the greatest potential for monitoring of calving events.