SEMPA – Ein Ansatz des Semantischen Prozessmanagements zur Planung von Prozessmodellen

Currently process modeling is mostly done manually. Therefore, the initial design of process models as well as changes to process models which are frequently necessary to react to new market developments or new regulations are time-consuming tasks. In this paper we introduce SEMPA, an approach for the partly automatic planning of process models. Using ontologies to semantically describe actions – as envisioned in Semantic Business Process Management –, a process model for a specified problem setting can be created automatically. In comparison to existing planning algorithms our approach creates process models including control structures and is able to cope with complex and numerical input and output parameters of actions. The prototypical implementation as well as an example taken from the financial services domain illustrate the practical benefit of our approach.     

The process map as an instrument to standardize processes: design and application at a financial service provider

The standardization of processes and the identification of shared business services in a service-oriented architecture (SOA) are currently widely discussed. Above all in practice, however, there still is a lack of appropriate instruments to support these tasks. In this paper an approach for a process map is introduced which allows for a systematic presentation—as complete as possible—of the processes in an enterprise (division). After a consistent refinement of the process has taken place by means of aggregation/disaggregation respectively, generalization/specialization relations, it is possible to identify primarily functional similarities of the detailed sub-processes. The application of the process map at a financial service provider (FSP) highlights how these similarities can be taken as a basis to standardize processes and to identify shared services.     

Service integrators in business networks—the importance of relationship values

To realise the potentials of CRM (customer relationship management), relationship-specific processes need to be designed and implemented in companies. This is all the more important and complicated in business networks where two or more actors collaborate to serve the customers. A good collaboration within business networks is the basis for understanding the customer process and identifying customer needs. But, even in these days of customer orientation, transaction orientation is still a matter of strong interest, and the following questions remain to be answered: What is the difference between relationship-oriented processes and transaction-oriented processes, and how can relationship-oriented processes be designed for a business network? The authors give first answers to both questions by using a systematic, goal-oriented specialisation of generic actions. To give an example, one relationship-oriented process will be designed and specified for a certain customer process in the course of this paper.     

Spatially Varying Mixtures Incorporating Line Processes for Image Segmentation

Spatially varying mixture models are characterized by the dependence of their mixing proportions on location (contextual mixing proportions) and they have been widely used in image segmentation. In this work, Gauss-Markov random field (MRF) priors are employed along with spatially varying mixture models to ensure the preservation of region boundaries in image segmentation. To preserve region boundaries, two distinct models for a line process involved in the MRF prior are proposed. The first model considers edge preservation by imposing a Bernoulli prior on the normally distributed local differences of the contextual mixing proportions. It is a discrete line process model whose parameters are computed by variational inference. The second model imposes Gamma prior on the Student’s-t distributed local differences of the contextual mixing proportions. It is a continuous line process whose parameters are also automatically estimated by the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. The proposed models are numerically evaluated and two important issues in image segmentation by mixture models are also investigated and discussed: the constraints to be imposed on the contextual mixing proportions to be probability vectors and the MRF optimization strategy in the frameworks of the standard and variational EM algorithm.     

Pulsed laser deposition of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 thin films on LiNbO3 and surface acoustic wave studies

Surface Acoustic Waves on piezoelectric substrates can be used to investigate the dynamic conductivity of thin films in a non-contact and very sensitive way, especially at low conductivities. Here, we report on such surface acoustic wave studies to characterize thin manganite film like La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃, exhibiting a Jan Teller effect with a strong electron phonon interaction and a metal insulator transition at high temperatures.

We report on the deposition of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ on piezoelectric substrates (LiNbO₃ in different crystal cuts, employing a pulsed laser deposition technique. The structural quality of the thin films are examined by X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscope and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. For the electrical characterization, we employ the surface acoustic wave technique, accompanied by conventional direct current resistance measurements for comparison.     

Nonmonotonic reasoning with multiple belief sets

In complex reasoning tasks it is often the case that there is no single, correct set of conclusions given some initial information. Instead, there may be several such conclusion sets, which we will call belief sets. In the present paper we introduce nonmonotonic belief set operators and selection operators to formalize and to analyze structural aspects of reasoning with multiple belief sets. We define and investigate formal properties of belief set operators as absorption, congruence, supradeductivity and weak belief monotony. Furthermore, it is shown that for each belief set operator satisfying strong belief cumulativity there exists a largest monotonic logic underlying it, thus generalizing a result for nonmonotonic inference operations. Finally, we study abstract properties of selection operators connected to belief set operators, which are used to choose some of the possible belief sets. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Stress transmission through three-dimensional granular crystals with stacking faults

We explore the effect of stacking fault defects on the transmission of forces in three-dimensional face-centered-cubic granular crystals. An external force is applied to a small area at the top surface of a crystalline packing of granular beads containing one or two stacking faults at various depths. The response forces at the bottom surface are measured and found to correspond to predictions based on vector force balance within the geometry of the defects. We identify the elementary stacking fault as a boundary between two pure face-centered-cubic crystals with different stacking orders. Other stacking faults produce response force patterns that can be viewed as resulting from repetitions of this basic defect. As the number of stacking faults increases, the intensity pattern evolves toward that of an hexagonal-close-packed crystal. This leads to the conclusion that the force pattern of that crystal structure can be viewed as the extreme limit of a face-centered-cubic crystal with a stacking fault at every layer.This work was supported by NSF-CTS 0090490 and by the NSF MRSEC Program under DMR-0213745. MJS acknowledges support by the University of Chicago MRSEC Summer 2002 REU program.     

OLN-93: a new permanent oligodendroglia cell line derived from primary rat brain glial cultures

We have established a new permanent cell line (OLN-93), derived from spontaneously transformed cells in primary rat brain glial cultures. In growth medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum a doubling time of 16-18 hr was determined. OLN-93 cells in their antigenic properties resemble primary oligodendrocytes in culture. As analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence, the A2B5 surface marker is absent, they express galactocerebroside and myelin-specific proteins, such as myelin basic protein (MBP), myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG), proteolipidprotein (PLP), and Wolfgram protein (WP), but do not exhibit astrocytic properties, such as the expression of vimentin or the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). In their morphological features they resemble bipolar O-2A-progenitor cells and, when grown at low density or on poly-L-lysine-coated culture dishes under low serum conditions, immature oligodendrocytes with a more arborized cell morphology. The cellular processes contain microfilaments, while N-CAM/D2 immunoreactivity is localized on the cell surface of the somata and processes. Immunoblot analysis further confirmed the presence of MAG, WP and MBP immunoreactivity, and the absence of vimentin and GFAP. Only a single MBP isoform (approximately 14 kDa) was detectable in the cellular extracts. PLP mRNA expression was studied by RT-PCR. The two proteolipid-specific mRNAs, DM20 and PLP, were present in OLN-93 cell extracts. Comparisons with embryonic rat cerebral cells in culture and primary oligodendrocytes suggest that OLN-93 cells in their morphological features and their antigenic properties resemble 5- to 10-day-old (postnatal time) cultured rat brain oligodendrocytes. Thus, the new cell line described in this study should provide a useful model system to investigate the specific mechanisms regulating the proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocytes in vitro, and the molecular interactions with other cells of the nervous system.     

Erfahrungen mit der Auswaschung von Kartoffelreibsel ohne Wasserzusatz

Experience in Potato Pulp Washing without Water Addition. In order to reduce the quantity of waste water from potato starch factories many have tried to keep the amount of water, required for washing out the starch from the pulp as low as possible. Our process is based on utilization of the water contained in the potatoes (approx. 80%, including soluble components) for starch extraction, in such a way that undiluted fruit water is separated and further treatment can be carried out in a comparatively economical way. Most of today's starch factories are tied up with production methods that make it impossible to utilize the water contained in the potatoes, as there is firstly no possibility of recirculating the fruit water and secondly there are foaming problems causing a negative effect on the efficiency. A continuous process guaranteeing a direct flow, excluding accumulation of foam, was installed and tested in both a Swedish and in a Dutch factory. The experience obtained showed that starch extraction with fruit water has no negative influence on the efficiency of the extraction (approx. 1 % free starch in the pulp DS/DS) and that up to 80% of the fruit water could be removed in a concentrated form. By extending the extraction process, and by using 300 l of process water from the refining section per ton of potatoes, separation of the fruit water can be increased up to 97%.     

Generation and Selection of Specific Aptamers Targeting Brucella Species through an Enhanced Cell-SELEX Methodology

Brucellae are Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile coccobacilli causing brucellosis in man and animals. The disease is one of the most significant yet neglected global zoonoses. Especially in developing countries, brucellosis is causing public health problems and economic losses to private animal owners and national revenues. Composed of oligonucleotides, aptamers are chemical analogues of antibodies that are promising components for developing aptamer-based rapid, sensitive, and specific tests to identify the Brucella group of bacteria. For this purpose, aptamers were generated and selected by an enhanced protocol of cell systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (cell-SELEX). This enhanced cell-SELEX procedure involved the combination of both conventional and toggle cell-SELEX to boost the specificity and binding affinity to whole Brucella cells. This procedure, combined with high-throughput sequencing of the resulting aptamer pools, comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, and wet lab validation assays, led to the selection of a highly sensitive and specific aptamer for those Brucella species known to circulate in Egypt. The isolated candidate aptamer showed dissociation constant (K_D) values of 43.5 ± 11, 61.5 ± 8, and 56 ± 10.8 nM for B. melitensis, B. abortus, and B. suis, respectively. This is the first development of a Brucella-specific aptamer using an enhanced combination of conventional and toggle cell-SELEX to the authors’ best knowledge.