From Reports to Maps

In this paper, we will sketch a project in progress. The project aims at an application of a command and control system. The application is meant to process military reports written in natural language. It exploits computer linguistic techniques, especially information extraction and ontological augmentation. A prototype has already be completed. A real world application of report processing has to go beyond pure syntactic parsing. Semantic analysis is needed and the meaning of the report has to be constructed. Even more, the meaning has to be represented in a format such that it can be visualized within the so called ``common operational picture'' (COP). The COP is an interactive map displaying information. COP standards are provided by NATO. Since military operations of our days -- war operations as well as peace-keeping and nation building ones -- involve forces of many nations, the COP serves as main tool for synchronizing actions and plans. The paper at hand will provide some insights what kind of problems come along if language processing has to result in map visualization. It also will describe some solutions to overcome these problems

Gespräche über Bilder : [Interviews mit Mario Kramer, Jochen Kuhn und Günther Jockel]

Gespräche über Bilder Interviews mit Mario Kramer, Jochen Kuhn, Günther Jockel. Hinweise zur Form und Geschichte des Interviews. Interviews geführt von Andreas Becker, Constantin Grudda, Tristan Wendt, herausgegeben von Andreas Becke

Pedagogical practice and research: Like heads and tails. Both different, both necessary, better together

In this guest lecture, Brett gave an overview of the benefits of and approaches to pedagogical research

Winterraps in der Fruchtfolge des Ökologischen Landbaus

The cropping of rape seed is rather uncommon in organic farming. Still, rape seed cropping can contribute to efficient nutrient utilization (especially of nitrogen) in a crop rotation. This paper presents results on nitrogen dynamics after perennial clover grass as affected by rape seed cropping compared to winter wheat. It could be shown, that Nmin amounts in the soil are lowered by rape seed compared to winter wheat

Untersuchung neuroprotektiver Effekte der intrathekalen Baclofenapplikation

Cerebral-ischämische Erkrankungen nehmen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Versorgung neurologischer und neurochirurgischer Patienten ein. Sie sind darüberhinaus ein enormer gesundheitsökonomischer Faktor. Während die Erkenntnisse über die Pathophysiologie dieser Erkrankungen in den letzten Jahrzehnten rasch zugenommen haben, stagniert die Umsetzung pharmakologischer Therapieansätze aus verschiedenen Gründen. Dies macht die Notwendigkeit der Erprobung neuer, klinisch anwendbarer Substanzen in der Klasse der Neuroprotektiva deutlich. Baclofen, ein selektiver Agonist am GABAB-Rezeptor, stellt ein seit ca. drei Jahrzehnten probates Pharmakon bei der Behandlung der spastischen Muskeltonuserhöhung dar. Neben der oralen oder intravenösen Darreichungsform kommt der intrathekalen Gabe von Baclofen eine zunehmend größere Bedeutung bei der Behandlung von Patienten mit Spastiken zu. Ergänzend zu dieser Indikation kristallisierten sich während der letzten Jahre neue Anwendungsgebiete für diese Substanz heraus. Darunter auch die intrathekale Gabe von Baclofen bei Patienten mit schweren und schwersten Hirnverletzungen, während deren intensivmedizinischer Behandlung es zu nicht anders beeinflussbaren vegetativen Entgleisungen kam. Die vorliegende Arbeit versucht, einen Beitrag zur Aufklärung der Wirksamkeit von Baclofen als Neuroprotektivum zu leisten. An einem eigens entwickelten Modell der reversiblen, transienten, globalen Hirnischämie der Ratte wurde der Einfluß von intrathekal appliziertem Baclofen in einer Dosis von 6 μg/kg KG 30 Minuten vor und nach Durchführung einer zehnminütigen cerebralen Ischämie untersucht. Als Zielregion der Untersuchung diente das CA1-Areal des Hippocampus, in dem die Zellschädigung anhand der Anteile geschädigter vs. ungeschädigter Neurone bestimmt wurde. Verglichen wurden Baclofen-behandelte Tiere mit Kontrolltieren die dem gleichen Procedere unterzogen wurden, jedoch anstatt des Verums eine entsprechende Menge physiologischer Kochsalzlösung verabreicht bekamen. Untersucht wurden zusätzlich noch die Parameter Blutglukoseserumspiegel, Körperkern- und Kranialtemperatur, mittlerer arterieller Blutdruck, arterieller Sauerstoff-, Kohlendioxidpartialdruck und pH-Wert. In dem präischämischen Versuchsarm konnte keine neuroprotektive Wirkung für Baclofen festgestellt werden. Im Gegenteil, zeigte doch das Ausmaß der Zellschädigung einen zwar nicht signifikanten, jedoch deutlich erhöhten Anteil geschädigter Neurone. Diese Beobachtung konnte bei den postischämisch mit Baclofen behandelten Tieren nicht gemacht werden. Hier wurde eine geringfügig verminderte Zellschädigung beobachtet, ohne dass diese jedoch ein signifikantes Niveau erreicht hätte. In beiden Versuchsarmen kam es nach Applikation von Baclofen zu einer kurzzeitigen Blutdrucksenkung, die jedoch insbesondere im Fall des präischämischen Versuchsarms keinen Einfluß auf das intraischämische Blutdruckniveau mehr hatte. Allerdings ließ sich bei den präischämisch behandelten Tieren eine deutliche Ventilationseinschränkung mit Ausbildung einer respiratorischen Azidose und Hyperkapnie nachweisen. Dabei sollte bedacht werden, dass Baclofen als Agonist am GABA-Rezeptor mit Atemdepression und Sedierung vergleichbare substanzgruppenspezifische Nebenwirkungen besitzt, die auch anderen GABA-Agonisten, z.B. den Benzodiazepinen, eigen sind. Aufgrund der vorliegenden Ergebnisse lassen sich zunächst keine weiteren Rückschlüsse bezüglich der Fragestellung ziehen. Eine neurotoxische Wirkung von Baclofen kann genauso wenig ausgeschlossen werden wie ein neuroprotektiver Einfluß nachgewiesen werden kann. Zur weiteren Evaluation der Fragestellung müssen zusätzliche Untersuchungen durchgeführt werden. Diese sollten eine Dosis-Wirkungsstudie einschließen, ebenso wie die mechanische Ventilation der Tiere zum Ausschluß respiratorischer Einflüsse auf die neuronale Schädigung

Auswirkung intracerebroventrikulärer Baclofenapplikation auf Glutamat-, Aspartat- und Glycinfreisetzung und das Dopaminerge System im Ncl. paraventricularis hypothalami der Ratte

Eine Studie über den Einfluß intracerebroventrikulärer Baclofenapplikation auf Glutamat-, Aspartat- und Glycinfreisetzung und das Dopaminerge System im Ncl. paraventricularis hypothalami der Ratte. Tierxperimentelle Arbeit am Zentrum für Neurochirurgie

Effective Compiler Error Message Enhancement for Novice Programming Students

Programming is an essential skill that all computing students must master. However programming can be difficult to learn. Compiler error messages are crucial for correcting errors, but are often difficult to understand and pose a barrier to progress for many novices. High frequencies of errors, particularly repeated errors, have been shown to be indicators of students who are struggling with learning to program. This study involves a custom IDE that enhances Java compiler error messages, intended to be more useful to novices than those supplied by the compiler. The effectiveness of this approach was tested in an empirical control/intervention study of approximately 200 students generating almost 50,000 errors. The design allows for direct comparisons between enhanced and non-enhanced error messages. Results show that the intervention group experienced reductions in the number of overall errors, errors per student, and several repeated error metrics. This work is important for two reasons. First, the effects of error message enhancement have been recently debated in the literature. This study provides substantial evidence that it can be effective. Second, these results should be generalizable at least in part, to other programming languages, students and institutions, as we show that the control group of this study is comparable to several others using Java and other languages

How Many Methods Do We Need? – A Multiple Case Study Exploration into the Use of Business Process Modeling Methods in Industry

Business process models have been researched for decades and process modeling methods exist in abundance. They satisfy different purposes and are applied in numerous Business Process Management (BPM) projects. Organizations apply different methods for their specific needs, often using several different modeling methods at the same time. BPM activities are supported either by specialized modeling software, or by standard software tools. However, no conception of the actual handling of purpose and method plurality in organizations has been achieved so far. We aim to close this gap by conceptualizing and empirically investigating different types of method plurality based on four in-depth case studies of industrial organizations. Furthermore, we provide a framework for studying method plurality, and identify contextual parameters which influence the emergence of modeling method plurality

Population biology of Carlina vulgaris and Hypochoeris radicata in fragmented European grasslands

The ongoing anthropogenic impact on our landscape, e.g. by intensification of agricultural use and abandonment of extensively used farmland, strongly affects the persistence of many plant and animal species and populations. Many formerly connected habitats were destroyed or became fragmented. As a consequence many populations became extinct and remnant populations became smaller in size and more isolated. These small and isolated populations are at a higher risk of extinction because they are more sensitive to demographic, environmental and genetic stochasticity. Genetic stochasticity, i.e. genetic drift, and inbreeding in small and isolated populations might lead to reduced individual fitness in the short term. In the long term the ability to react to changing environmental conditions might decrease. Moreover, the environmental conditions in remnant habitats might be of lower quality, e.g. due to increasing edge effects. As species become restricted to remnant habitats, effective management for long-term conservation requires a quantitative understanding of the effects of habitat fragmentation on population viability. Most recent studies of the effects of habitat fragmentation were carried out at relatively small geographical scales. In this thesis I present four studies of the effects of habitat fragmentation on plant performance that investigate offspring performance, quantitative genetic variation and local adaptation in populations at a large geographical scale. Populations were studied in several European regions (in Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Switzerland). The target species Carlina vulgaris L. and Hypochoeris radicata L. have contrasting life histories with respect to dispersal ability and the frequency of flowering, but both species are widespread in species-rich semi-natural grasslands throughout Europe. Species-rich grasslands have dramatically declined in number and size in the last decades and are thus an excellent system to study effects of habitat fragmentation. In Chapter 2 I study the effects of habitat conditions and population size and isolation on the performance of C. vulgaris from 74 populations in seven European regions, both in natural populations and in a common garden. In the common garden several measures of performance were reduced in plants from small populations and plant size decreased with increasing isolation of the populations, indicating genetic drift and inbreeding depression in small and isolated populations. In the field, only seed set was reduced in small populations. Environmental variables explained most of the variation in plant size among populations in the field. The results suggest that reproduction and offspring performance may be reduced in small populations of C. vulgaris across Europe due to genetic deterioration, and because pollen quality and quantity might be reduced. In Chapter 3 I analyse the variation in several quantitative genetic traits in offspring grown in a common garden from 74 populations of Carlina vulgaris from seven geographical regions and 32 populations of Hypochoeris radicata from three geographical regions. In both species, most traits varied considerably among seed families within populations, among populations within regions and among regions. The overall proportion of phenotypic genetic variation among populations was higher in C. vulgaris (75.8 %) than in H. radicata (50.7 %), suggesting less gene flow between populations in the poorly dispersed C. vulgaris. The results suggest that at the small scale genetic drift or environmental differences that are not related to geographical distances drive population differentiation, whereas at the large scale selective forces closely related to geographical distances are most important for population differentiation. In Chapter 4 population differentiation and local adaptation in Carlina vulgaris is studied at the European scale. Reciprocal transplant experiments were carried out among (regional scale) and within (local scale) five European regions. Only at the regional scale, the individual fitness of C. vulgaris and several other measures of the plant performance were highest if plants grew in their home region. Furthermore, performance of plants decreased with increasing transplant distance. At the local scale, genotype x environment interactions were far less pronounced and were not related to geographical distance between the population of origin and the transplant site. The results of our study suggest that C. vulgaris consists of regionally adapted genotypes and that distance is a good predictor of the extent of adaptive differentiation at large (> 200 km), but not at small scales. Thus, patterns of local adaptation have to be taken into account for the efficient preservation of genetic resources. In Chapter 5 I present a study on the effects of cross-proximity on seed production and offspring performance of Hypochoeris radicata from Germany, Czechia and The Netherlands. Crosses were carried out within plants (selfing), and between plants from the same seed family, from the same population, from different populations of the same region and from different regions. Seed set and germination after inbreeding and crosses between populations were lower than after within population crosses, indicating inbreeding and outbreeding depression. However, crosses between regions resulted in higher seed set than within population crosses. For late traits, there was regional variation in the effects of inbreeding and interpopulation crosses. Our results suggest that outbreeding depression does not necessarily increase with interpopulation distance and that the sensitivity of populations to introgression may vary among regions

Enzymhistochemischer Nachweis der Dihydroorotat-Dehydrogenase/ Oxidase in verschiedenen Säugerorganen

Enzymhistochemischer Nachweis der Dihydroorotat-Dehydrogenase/ Oxidase in verschiedenen Säugerorganen