Anforderungen an ein Next-Generation-System (NGS) : untersucht am Beispiel des Landesbibliothekszentrums Rheinland-Pfalz (LBZ)

Das Landesbibliothekszentrum Rheinland-Pfalz (LBZ) erfüllt die Funktion einer wissenschaftlichen Landesbibliothek für das Land Rheinland-Pfalz und ist zugleich Fördereinrichtung für das landesweite Bibliothekswesen. Für die Erfüllung dieser heterogenen Dienstleistungen werden derzeit unterschiedliche Bibliothekssysteme eingesetzt. Die ständig wachsenden und sich wandelnden Erwartungen an das Bibliothekswesen erfordern neue Lösungsstrategien der IT, wofür Next Generation Systeme (NGS) als innovative Produkte der Softwarehersteller stehen. Die Anforderungen des LBZs an ein NGS werden im Rahmen dieser Masterarbeit definiert und in ein Lastenheft unter Rückgriff auf die bestehenden Anforderungskataloge des OLE-Projektteams VZG und hbz überführt. Ausgangspunkt der Überlegungen ist ein künftiges Dienstleistungsportfolio des LBZs, das auf aktuelle Dienstleistungen aufbaut. Hinzu kommen weitere Impulse, die aus der Bestandsaufnahme der Dienstleistungen vergleichbarer Landesbibliotheken und aus der Betrachtung sonstiger Dienstleistungen im Bibliothekswesen resultieren. Die sich anschließende Marktbeobachtung prüft die in Deutschland bereits eingeführten NGS-Lösungen auf Kompatibilität mit dem erarbeiteten Lastenheft.Landesbibliothekszentrum Rheinland-Pfalz (LBZ) is the regional library center of Rhineland-Palatinate. It also functions as the state public library service center. Because of the manifold tasks it has to fulfill, LBZ makes use of different library software systems. The steadily growing and changing expectations on librarianship, however, require new IT approaches in terms of NGS as innovative products of software producers. In the following master thesis the demands that LBZ put on NGS are defined and a software requirements specification document is devel-oped. These requirements revert to existing specifications provided by the OLE-project group VZG and hbz. Basic idea is to establish a future service portfolio of LBZ, standing on services that already exist. Furthermore, services offered by other regional and state libraries are being taken into account as much as some other ideas that seemed applicable. The following market observation examines recent NGS solutions in terms of compatibility with the requirements specifications

Exponential Tracking Control Using Backstepping Approach for Voltage-Based Control of a Flexible Joint Electrically Driven Robot

This paper addresses the design of exponential tracking control using backstepping approach for voltage-based control of a flexible joint electrically driven robot (EFJR), to cope with the difficulty introduced by the cascade structure in EFJR dynamic model, to deal with flexibility in joints, and to ensure fast tracking performance. Backstepping approach is used to ensure global asymptotic stability and its common algorithm is modified such that the link position and velocity errors converge to zero exponentially fast. In contrast with the other backstepping controller for electrically driven flexible joint robot manipulators control problem, the proposed controller is robust with respect to stiffness uncertainty and allows tracking fast motions. Simulation results are presented for both single link flexible joint electrically driven manipulator and 2-DOF flexible joint electrically driven robot manipulator. These simulations show very satisfactory tracking performances and the superiority of the proposed controller to those performed in the literature using simple backstepping methodology

Unique Signatures of Long Noncoding RNA Expression in Response to Virus Infection and Altered Innate Immune Signaling

Studies of the host response to virus infection typically focus on protein-coding genes. However, non-protein-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are transcribed in mammalian cells, and the roles of many of these ncRNAs remain enigmas. Using next-generation sequencing, we performed a whole-transcriptome analysis of the host response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection across four founder mouse strains of the Collaborative Cross. We observed differential expression of approximately 500 annotated, long ncRNAs and 1,000 nonannotated genomic regions during infection. Moreover, studies of a subset of these ncRNAs and genomic regions showed the following. (i) Most were similarly regulated in response to influenza virus infection. (ii) They had distinctive kinetic expression profiles in type I interferon receptor and STAT1 knockout mice during SARS-CoV infection, including unique signatures of ncRNA expression associated with lethal infection. (iii) Over 40% were similarly regulated in vitro in response to both influenza virus infection and interferon treatment. These findings represent the first discovery of the widespread differential expression of long ncRNAs in response to virus infection and suggest that ncRNAs are involved in regulating the host response, including innate immunity. At the same time, virus infection models provide a unique platform for studying the biology and regulation of ncRNAs

Toward a Systematic Approach to Generating Demand for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Insights and Results From Field Studies

By the end of 2014, an estimated 8.5 million men had undergone voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) for HIV prevention in 14 priority countries in eastern and southern Africa, representing more than 40% of the global target. However, demand, especially among men most at risk for HIV infection, remains a barrier to realizing the program's full scale and potential impact. We analyzed current demand generation interventions for VMMC by reviewing the available literature and reporting on field visits to programs in 7 priority countries. We present our findings and recommendations using a framework with 4 components: insight development; intervention design; implementation and coordination to achieve scale; and measurement, learning, and evaluation. Most program strategies lacked comprehensive insight development; formative research usually comprised general acceptability studies. Demand generation interventions varied across the countries, from advocacy with community leaders and community mobilization to use of interpersonal communication, mid- and mass media, and new technologies. Some shortcomings in intervention design included using general instead of tailored messaging, focusing solely on the HIV preventive benefits of VMMC, and rolling out individual interventions to address specific barriers rather than a holistic package. Interventions have often been scaled-up without first being evaluated for effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. We recommend national programs create coordinated demand generation interventions, based on insights from multiple disciplines, tailored to the needs and aspirations of defined subsets of the target population, rather than focused exclusively on HIV prevention goals. Programs should implement a comprehensive intervention package with multiple messages and channels, strengthened through continuous monitoring. These insights may be broadly applicable to other programs where voluntary behavior change is essential to achieving public health benefits

Comprehensive analysis of blood cells and plasma identifies tissue-specific miRNAs as potential novel circulating biomarkers in cattle

Abstract Background The potential of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of tissue function, both in health and disease, has been extensively demonstrated in humans. In addition, circulating miRNA biomarkers offer significant potential towards improving the productivity of livestock species, however, such potential has been hampered by the absence of information on the nature and source of circulating miRNA populations in these species. In addition, many miRNAs originally proposed as robust biomarkers of a particular tissue or disease in humans have been later shown not to be tissue specific and thus to actually have limited biomarker utility. In this study, we comprehensively analysed miRNA profiles in plasma and cell fractions of blood from cattle with the aim to identify tissue-derived miRNAs which may be useful as biomarkers of tissue function in this important food animal species. Results Using small RNA sequencing, we identified 92 miRNAs with significantly higher expression in plasma compared to paired blood cell samples (n = 4 cows). Differences in miRNA levels between plasma and cell fractions were validated for eight out of 10 miRNAs using RT-qPCR (n = 10 cows). Among miRNAs found to be enriched in plasma, we confirmed miR-122 (liver), miR-133a (muscle) and miR-215 (intestine) to be tissue-enriched, as reported for other species. Profiling of additional miRNAs across different tissues identified the human homologue, miR-802, as highly enriched specifically in liver. Conclusions These results provide novel information on the source of bovine circulating miRNAs and could significantly facilitate the identification of production-relevant tissue biomarkers in livestock. In particular, miR-802, a circulating miRNA not previously identified in cattle, can reportedly regulate insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism, and thus could potentially provide a specific biomarker of liver function, a key parameter in the context of post-partum negative energy balance in dairy cows

Association of plasma microRNA expression with age, genetic background and functional traits in dairy cattle

Abstract A number of blood circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are proven disease biomarkers and have been associated with ageing and longevity in multiple species. However, the role of circulating miRNAs in livestock species has not been fully studied. We hypothesise that plasma miRNA expression profiles are affected by age and genetic background, and associated with health and production traits in dairy cattle. Using PCR arrays, we assessed 306 plasma miRNAs for effects of age (calves vs mature cows) and genetic background (control vs select lines) in 18 animals. We identified miRNAs which were significantly affected by age (26 miRNAs) and genetic line (5 miRNAs). Using RT-qPCR in a larger cow population (n = 73) we successfully validated array data for 12 age-related miRNAs, one genetic line-related miRNA, and utilised expression data to associate their levels in circulation with functional traits in these animals. Plasma miRNA levels were associated with telomere length (ageing/longevity indicator), milk production and composition, milk somatic cell count (mastitis indicator), fertility, lameness, and blood metabolites linked with body energy balance and metabolic stress. In conclusion, circulating miRNAs could provide useful selection markers for dairy cows to help improve health, welfare and production performance

Changes in circulating microRNA levels can be identified as early as day 8 of pregnancy in cattle

<div><p>Poor reproductive performance remains a major issue in the dairy industry, with low conception rates having a significant impact on milk production through extended calving intervals. A major limiting factor is the lack of reliable methods for early pregnancy diagnosis. Identification of animals within a herd that fail to conceive within 3 weeks after insemination would allow early re-insemination and shorten calving intervals. In a previous study, we found an increase in plasma miR-26a levels in Day 16-pregnant relative to non-pregnant heifers, however changes in miRNA levels that early during pregnancy were very small which likely prevented the identification of robust biomarkers. In this study, we extended our analyses to a wider interval during pregnancy (Days 8 to 60, n = 11 heifers) with the rationale that this may facilitate the identification of additional early pregnancy miRNA biomarkers. Using small RNA sequencing we identified a total of 77 miRNAs that were differentially expressed on Day 60 relative to Day 0 of pregnancy. We selected 14 miRNAs for validation by RT-qPCR and confirmed significant differences in the expression of let-7f, let-7c, miR-30c, miR-101, miR-26a, miR-205 and miR-143 between Days 0 and 60. RT-qPCR profiling throughout Days 0, 8, 16 and 60 of pregnancy showed a distinct increase in circulating levels of miR-26a (3.1-fold, P = 0.046) as early as Day 8 of pregnancy. In summary, in contrast to earlier stages of pregnancy (≤ Day 24), marked differences in the levels of multiple miRNAs can be detected in circulation by Day 60 in cattle. Retrospective analyses showed miR-26a levels to be increased in circulation as early as Day 8, sooner than previously reported in any species, suggesting a biological role for this miRNA in the very early events of pregnancy.</p></div