Bibliotheken sind »smart« geworden : ein Plädoyer für ein bewusstes »smart« machen in den nächsten Jahren

Vor mehr als zehn Jahren haben RFID-Systeme Einzug in die deutsche Bibliothekswelt gehalten. Heute kann konstatiert werden, dass rund 1000 öffentliche und wissenschaftliche Einrichtungen damit ausgestattet und rund 20 Millionen Medien »smart geworden« sind. Der folgende Beitrag soll auf Basis des Innovations- und Technologiemanagements aufzeigen, welche Mechanismen zu dieser Entwicklung geführt haben und welche Erkenntnisse für eine weitere, bedarfsorientierte Technologisierung des Bibliothekswesens daraus gezogen werden können; für ein bewusstes »smart« machen

Qualitätsbestimmung von RFID-Komponenten auf der Basis von allgemein anerkannten Normen und Richtlinien – Vereinfachung von Ausschreibungen

Der Einsatz von RFID Systemen in Bibliotheken wird längst nicht mehr nur in der Gruppe der sogenannten »Early Adopters« diskutiert, sondern ist auf der Tagesordnung, wenn es um die Modernisierung von Bibliotheken geht. Seit kurzem werden Richtlinienarbeiten zum Einsatz von RFID-Systemen auf den Weg gebracht. Ziel ist es, ausgehend von einer ausschreibungsrelevanten Leistungsmetrik auch praktikable Abnahme- und Testverfahren abzuleiten, die gemäß dem Stand der Technik branchenweite Anerkennung finden. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, ist es zum einen von Bedeutung, die Anwender eng einzubinden, zum anderen alle weltweit bedeutenden Herstellerunternehmen zu involvieren. Ebenso sollte die Erarbeitung ganzheitlich erfolgen, indem Methoden des Qualitätsmanagements berücksichtigt werden. Nicht zuletzt müssen Beschreibungen des Stands der Technik formal seitens offizieller Standardisierungsinstitutionen möglichst international publizierbar sein. Es wird ein Stufenmodell vorgestellt, das eine sofort verwertbare, deutsch-englische VDI-Richtlinie enthält, die direkt zur Unterstützung von Ausschreibungen genutzt werden kann und darauf aufbauend über die geeigneten Wege in den Standardisierungsprozess ISO integriert werden kann

The Relationship of Psychological Capital and Burnout with Training and Performance

This study explores the associations of Psychological Capital consisting of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience) and Burnout of nonprofit leaders in the Participation in Standards for Excellence® Institute training program (“Standards for Excellence”) and Compliance with Standards for Excellence. Data were collected from 119 executive directors in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Maryland through a one-time online survey. In addition, other independent variables of Grit, Perceived Support for Innovation and Learning, Resistance to Change, Flourishing, and Perceived External Prestige were examined for their relationship to Participation in Standards for Excellence and Compliance with Standards for Excellence. Using analysis of covariance, levels of Psychological Capital and Burnout were not found to be statistically significant in those who had Participated in Standards for Excellence from those who had not. Secondly, as the level of the Psychological Capital increased for the executive directors, their level of Burnout decreased, (r = - .649, p < .01). Psychological Capital was shown to moderate Compliance with Standards for Excellence (β = .258, p < .01) while controlling for the variable of the size of the organization’s annual operating, though Burnout was not. What is clear from these results is that it is the size of the organization and the level of Psychological Capital that the executive director possesses that ultimately results in Compliance with the Standards for Excellence. Implications for future Standards for Excellence Institute training efforts of nonprofit leaders will be discussed

Iterative Next Boundary Detection for Instance Segmentation of Tree Rings in Microscopy Images of Shrub Cross Sections

We address the problem of detecting tree rings in microscopy images of shrub cross sections. This can be regarded as a special case of the instance segmentation task with several unique challenges such as the concentric circular ring shape of the objects and high precision requirements that result in inadequate performance of existing methods. We propose a new iterative method which we term Iterative Next Boundary Detection (INBD). It intuitively models the natural growth direction, starting from the center of the shrub cross section and detecting the next ring boundary in each iteration step. In our experiments, INBD shows superior performance to generic instance segmentation methods and is the only one with a built-in notion of chronological order. Our dataset and source code are available at http://github.com/alexander-g/INBD.Comment: CVPR 202

Nonparametric estimation of the stationary density and the transition density of a Markov chain

In this paper, we study first the problem of nonparametric estimation of the stationary density $f$ of a discrete-time Markov chain $(X_i)$. We consider a collection of projection estimators on finite dimensional linear spaces. We select an estimator among the collection by minimizing a penalized contrast. The same technique enables to estimate the density $g$ of $(X_i, X_{i+1})$ and so to provide an adaptive estimator of the transition density $\pi=g/f$. We give bounds in $L^2$ norm for these estimators and we show that they are adaptive in the minimax sense over a large class of Besov spaces. Some examples and simulations are also provided

The long-term variability of FeNO in pregnant asthmatic women with controlled asthma

 INTRODUCTION: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is considered as a useful, noninvasive marker of airway inflammation in asthma and allergic rhinitis. It has also been suggested that anti-inflammatory treatment guided by monitoring of exhaled NO could improve overall asthma control. However, long-term intra-subject variability of this parameter as well as the rate of its change, which can be clinically significant, have not been established yet. The aim of our study was to assess the long-term variability of FeNO in pregnant asthmatic women with controlled asthma.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pregnant, non-smoking women with asthma were recruited between 3 and 6 months of gestation. Exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) spirometric parameters were measured, and the asthma control test (ACT) was completed during monthly visits up to delivery. The data of 26 subjects with well-controlled asthma during pregnancy (ACT values within the range 20–25, normal spirometric parameters, stable treatment) were analysed. The variability of FeNO values was assessed using the variation coefficient CV (standard deviation x 100%/arithmetic mean).RESULTS: The median level of FeNO coefficient of variation (CV) was: 33.8% (range 11.3 to 121.9) in all subjects with well-controlled asthma during pregnancy. There were no statistically significant differences in FeNO variability between groups of patients who had at least one measurement of FeNO higher than 50ppb (39%; 11.8–121.9%) and those with all FeNO values below 50ppb (29.9%; 11.3–71.8%), as well as between atopic (35.7%; 11.8–121.9%) and nonatopic (24.2%; 11.3–71.8%) pregnant asthmatics (p = 0.95 and 0.11, respectively).CONCLUSIONS: High long-term variability of fractional exhaled nitric oxide values revealed in pregnant women with well-controlled asthma indicates that changes in this parameter should be interpreted with caution while being used for asthma treatment monitoring.  WSTĘP: Pomiar stężenia tlenku azotu w wydychanym powietrzu (FeNO) jest uważany za dobry i nieinwazyjny marker zapalenia dróg oddechowych w astmie i alergicznym nieżycie nosa. Istnieją także sugestie, że dobierając dawkę kortykosteroidów na podstawie stężenia FeNO, można poprawić stopień kontroli astmy. Jednak dotychczas nie oszacowano wiarygodnie długoterminowej wewnątrzosobniczej zmienności FeNO oraz nie ustalono eksperymentalnie, jaka zmiana tego parametru powinna być uważana za klinicznie znamienną.Celem pracy była ocena długoterminowej zmienności FeNO w grupie kobiet ciężarnych z astmą kontrolowaną.MATERIAŁ I METODY: Do badania kwalifikowano ciężarne w 2.–6. miesiącu ciąży, w wieku 19–36 lat, niepalące papierosów, chorujące na astmą oskrzelową. Co 4 tygodnie do daty porodu wykonywano badanie spirometryczne, oznaczano stężenie tlenku azotu FeNO i ACT (test kontroli astmy). Do analizy zakwalifikowano 26 kobiet leczonych stałą dawką kortykosteroidówwziewnych, u których nie obserwowano istotnego pogorszenia samopoczucia (ACT 20–25 pkt) lub upośledzenia parametrów spirometrycznych podczas całego okresu obserwacji. Zmienność parametru FeNO oceniono za pomocą współczynnika zmienności (odchylenie standardowe x 100%/średnia).WYNIKI: U wszystkich badanych chorych wykazano dużą zmienność wartości stężenia tlenku azotu: (mediana 33,8%; min. 11,3%; maks. 121,9%). Porównano zmienność FeNO w grupie ciężarnych, które miały przynajmniej jeden pomiar FeNO powyżej 50 ppb (39,2%; 11,8–121,9%) ze zmiennością FeNO w grupie kobiet, u których wartości FeNO nie przekroczyły progu 50 ppb (29,9%; 11,3–71,8%). Nie stwierdzono różnicy istotnej statystycznie w żadnej z badanych populacji (p = 0,95). Porównując również współczynnik zmienności w grupie chorych na astmę IgE-zależną i IgE-niezależną, nie wykazano istotnych różnic (odpowiednio 35,7%; 11,8–121,9% i 24,2%; 11,3–71,8; p = 0,11).WNIOSKI: Pomiary FeNO charakteryzują się dużą zmiennością w czasie u ciężarnych chorych z kontrolowaną astmą, co wskazuje, że zmiany stężenia tlenku azotu w wydychanym powietrzu powinny być ostrożnie interpretowane.

Haplotypes of DNA repair and cell cycle control genes, X-ray exposure, and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

[[abstract]]Background: Acute leukemias of childhood are a heterogeneous group of malignancies characterized by cytogenetic abnormalities, such as translocations and changes in ploidy. These abnormalities may be influenced by altered DNA repair and cell cycle control processes. Methods: We examined the association between childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 32 genes in DNA repair and cell cycle pathways using a haplotype-based approach, among 377 childhood ALL cases and 448 controls enrolled during 1995-2002. Results: We found that haplotypes in APEX1, BRCA2, ERCC2, and RAD51 were significantly associated with total ALL, while haplotypes in NBN and XRCC4, and CDKN2A were associated with structural and numerical change subtypes, respectively. In addition, we observed statistically significant interaction between exposure to 3 or more diagnostic X-rays and haplotypes of XRCC4 on risk of structural abnormality-positive childhood ALL. Conclusions: These results support a role of altered DNA repair and cell cycle processes in the risk of childhood ALL, and show that this genetic susceptibility can differ by cytogenetic subtype and may be modified by exposure to ionizing radiation. To our knowledge, our study is the first to broadly examine the DNA repair and cell cycle pathways using a haplotype approach in conjunction with X-ray exposures in childhood ALL risk. If confirmed, future studies are needed to identify specific functional SNPs in the regions of interest identified in this analysis