Effects of secondary compounds from cactus and acacias trees on rumen microbial profile changes performed by Real-Time PCR

Plant rich secondary compounds had antimicrobial effects by acting against different rumen microbial populations. The current study investigated the influence of spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus indica f. inermis), Acacia nilotica and A. saligna on rumen microbial fermentation, using in vitro gas production technique, and microbial population profile changes, using a molecular-based technique (Real-Time PCR). The acacias and Opuntia reduced significantly total gas production (p<0.01), rumen CH4 production (p?0.01) and ammonia concentration (p<0.001). At 24h of incubation, Fungi population was 0.30- and 0.03 -fold reduced with A.nilotica and Opuntia as compared to 0h, but 2-and 1.24- fold higher with A.cyanophylla .Increases in the abundance of F.succinogenes were observed in all substrates; however, the tanniferous plants and Opuntia reduced the relative abundance of R.flavefaciens. Methanogenic population was increased with all substrates, except for Opuntia (0. 90- fold lower than the control). There was a significant reduction (p<0.05) in rumen protozoa count with A.cyanophylla, Opuntia and A.nilotica (3.68; 5.59 and 5.34 times, respectively). Results suggested that tannin sources from A.nilotica and A.cyanophylla had an indirect effect on methanogenesis. This study showed an antimicrobial activity of oxalates content of O. ficus indica

Fiskalische Kosten einer steuerlichen Förderung von Forschung und Entwicklung in Deutschland - Eine empirische Analyse verschiedener Gestaltungsoptionen

Der Beitrag berechnet die Aufkommensausfälle verschiedener Gestaltungsmodelle für eine steuerliche Forschungsförderung in Deutschland auf Basis eines Mikrosimulationsmodells. Die fiskalischen Kosten betragen zwischen 464 Mio. € und 5.701 Mio. €. Eine Erstattungsoption der Steuergutschrift über die Gewerbe- und Körperschaftsteuerschuld hinaus ist unerlässlich, da sonst etwa ein Drittel der Unternehmen nicht oder nur teilweise in den Genuss der Förderung kommen würde und sich dadurch starke Verzerrungen zwischen ertragsstarken und ertragsschwachen Unternehmen ergeben. Eine Differenzierung der Fördersätze für KMU und große Unternehmen kann die Aufkommensausfälle wirksam begrenzen. Eine Kappungsgrenze in Höhe eines absoluten Betrages ist wegen der Verzerrungen innerhalb der Gruppe großer Unternehmen ungünstig. Als besonders pragmatisch erscheint eine Verrechnung der Steuergutschrift mit der abzuführenden Lohnsteuer

A survey of preferences for respiratory support in the intensive care unit for patients with acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.Background: When caring for mechanically ventilated adults with acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure (AHRF), clinicians are faced with an uncertain choice between ventilator modes allowing for spontaneous breaths or ventilation fully controlled by the ventilator. The preferences of clinicians managing such patients, and what motivates their choice of ventilator mode, are largely unknown. To better understand how clinicians' preferences may impact the choice of ventilatory support for patients with AHRF, we issued a survey to an international network of intensive care unit (ICU) researchers. Methods: We distributed an online survey with 32 broadly similar and interlinked questions on how clinicians prioritise spontaneous or controlled ventilation in invasively ventilated patients with AHRF of different severity, and which factors determine their choice. Results: The survey was distributed to 1337 recipients in 12 countries. Of these, 415 (31%) completed the survey either fully (52%) or partially (48%). Most respondents were identified as medical specialists (87%) or physicians in training (11%). Modes allowing for spontaneous ventilation were considered preferable in mild AHRF, with controlled ventilation considered as progressively more important in moderate and severe AHRF. Among respondents there was strong support (90%) for a randomised clinical trial comparing spontaneous with controlled ventilation in patients with moderate AHRF. Conclusions: The responses from this international survey suggest that there is clinical equipoise for the preferred ventilator mode in patients with AHRF of moderate severity. We found strong support for a randomised trial comparing modes of ventilation in patients with moderate AHRF.Peer reviewe

Die optimale Ausnutzung des PPI-Radarbildschirmes durch Übertragungssystem mit Frequenzbandkompression

The theoretical analysis starts from the screen display and is based on the conventional radial display. Under the simplifying assumption that the luminous density is distributed over the luminous spot according to a Gaussian curve, the radial and azimuthal resolution of the screen display is calculated in a general form.Die vom Schirmbild ausgehenden theoretischen Betrachtungen legen den üblichen radialen Rasteraufbau zugrunde. Unter der vereinfachenden Annahme einer Leuchtdichteverteilung im Leuchtfleck nach. einer Gauß-Kurve wird die radiale und azimutale Auflösung des Schirmbildes in allgemeiner Form durchgerechnet. Die Rechnung ergibt einen „Frequenzgang” für die radiale Auflösung und mit Rücksicht auf die Speichenbildung am Bildrand eine minimale Speichenzahl pro Umlauf für die azimutale Auflösung. Die durch eine sinusförmige Strahlwobbelung erreichbare Herabsetzung der minimalen Speichenanzahl wird ermittelt. Ferner ist in die Untersuchung der Einfluß der Antenne auf die azimutale Auflösung einbezogen. Die Ergebnisse der Rechnung werden in einer normierten Form im praktisch interessierenden Parameterbereich in Diagrammen dargestellt. © 1960, Walter de Gruyter. Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Konfiguration verteilter Workflow-Management-Systeme mit Leistungsgarantien

Diese Dissertation präsentiert mathematisch fundierte Methoden für die Konfigurierung von verteilten WFMS mit dem Ziel, die Gesamtkosten der Systemkonfiguration unter Einhaltung anwendungsspezifischer Leistungs- und Verfügbarkeitsanforderungen zu minimieren. Der Freiheitsgrad, den sich die Methoden zu Nutzen machen, ist die Replikation von Software-Komponenten - Workflow-Server und Applikations-Server unterschiedlicher Typen sowie Kommunikations-Server - auf mehreren Rechnern, um die Verfügbarkeit zu erhöhen und anfallende Lasten skalierbar aufteilen zu können. Das mathematische Fundament der Methoden sind Markov-Modelle, die von den Workflow-Spezifikationen der Anwendung abgeleitet werden. Sie erlauben die Abschätzung des Verhaltens des WFMS bei geänderten Replikationsgraden bezüglich seiner Leistung, seiner Verfügbarkeit und auch seiner Performiability bei transienten Ausfällen von Server-Replikaten. Durch Iteration über eine Menge in Frage kommender Systemkonfigurationen und durch analytische Abschätzung der von einer Konfiguration erzielten Leistung liefern die entwickelten Methoden eine Systemkonfiguration, die die geforderten Leistungs- und Verfügbarkeitsziele einhält und niedrige Kosten verursacht. Die Methoden sind in einem Konfigurationswerkzeug für verteiltes WFMS implementiert.Workflow management systems (WFMS) that are geared for the orchestration of business processes across multiple organizations are complex distributed systems: they consist of multiple workflow engines, application servers, and communication middleware servers such as ORBs, where each of these server types can be replicated on multiple computers for scalability and availability.Finding an appropriate system configuration with guaranteed application-specific quality of service in terms of throughput, response time, and tolerable downtime is a major challenge for human system administrators. This paper presents a tool that largely automates the task of configuring a distributed WFMS. Based on a suite of mathematical models, the tool derives the necessary degrees of replication for the various server types in order to meet specified goals for performance and availability as well as "performability" when service is degraded due to outages of individual servers. The paper describes the configuration tool, with emphasis on how to capture the load behavior of workflows in a realistic manner. We also present extensive experiments that evaluate the accuracy of the tool's underlying models and demonstrate the practical feasibility of automating the task of configuring a distributed WFMS. The experiments use a detailed simulation which in turn has been validated through measurements with the Mentor-lite prototype system

Konfiguration verteilter Workflow-Management-Systeme mit Leistungsgarantien

Diese Dissertation präsentiert mathematisch fundierte Methoden für die Konfigurierung von verteilten WFMS mit dem Ziel, die Gesamtkosten der Systemkonfiguration unter Einhaltung anwendungsspezifischer Leistungs- und Verfügbarkeitsanforderungen zu minimieren. Der Freiheitsgrad, den sich die Methoden zu Nutzen machen, ist die Replikation von Software-Komponenten - Workflow-Server und Applikations-Server unterschiedlicher Typen sowie Kommunikations-Server - auf mehreren Rechnern, um die Verfügbarkeit zu erhöhen und anfallende Lasten skalierbar aufteilen zu können. Das mathematische Fundament der Methoden sind Markov-Modelle, die von den Workflow-Spezifikationen der Anwendung abgeleitet werden. Sie erlauben die Abschätzung des Verhaltens des WFMS bei geänderten Replikationsgraden bezüglich seiner Leistung, seiner Verfügbarkeit und auch seiner Performiability bei transienten Ausfällen von Server-Replikaten. Durch Iteration über eine Menge in Frage kommender Systemkonfigurationen und durch analytische Abschätzung der von einer Konfiguration erzielten Leistung liefern die entwickelten Methoden eine Systemkonfiguration, die die geforderten Leistungs- und Verfügbarkeitsziele einhält und niedrige Kosten verursacht. Die Methoden sind in einem Konfigurationswerkzeug für verteiltes WFMS implementiert.Workflow management systems (WFMS) that are geared for the orchestration of business processes across multiple organizations are complex distributed systems: they consist of multiple workflow engines, application servers, and communication middleware servers such as ORBs, where each of these server types can be replicated on multiple computers for scalability and availability.Finding an appropriate system configuration with guaranteed application-specific quality of service in terms of throughput, response time, and tolerable downtime is a major challenge for human system administrators. This paper presents a tool that largely automates the task of configuring a distributed WFMS. Based on a suite of mathematical models, the tool derives the necessary degrees of replication for the various server types in order to meet specified goals for performance and availability as well as "performability" when service is degraded due to outages of individual servers. The paper describes the configuration tool, with emphasis on how to capture the load behavior of workflows in a realistic manner. We also present extensive experiments that evaluate the accuracy of the tool\u27s underlying models and demonstrate the practical feasibility of automating the task of configuring a distributed WFMS. The experiments use a detailed simulation which in turn has been validated through measurements with the Mentor-lite prototype system

Towards an Image-based Indicator for PAD Classification and Localization

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) is an often occurring problem caused by narrowed veins. With this type of disease, mostly the legs receive an insufficient supply of blood to sustain their functions. This can result in an amputation of extremities or strokes. In order to quantify the risks, doctors onsult a classification table which is based on the pain response of a patient. This classification is subjective and does not indicate the exact origin of the PAD symptoms. Resulting from this, complications can occur unprompted. We present the first results for an image-based indicator assisting medical doctors in estimating the stage of PAD and its location. Therefore, a segmentation tree is utilized to compare the changes in a healthy versus diseased leg. We provide a highlighting mechanism that allows users to review the location of changes in selected structures. To show the effectiveness of the presented approach, we demonstrate a localization of the PAD and show how the presented technique can be utilized for a novel image-based indicator of PAD stages

Beyond Scheme F

Traffic classification techniques were evaluated using data from a 1993 investigation of the traffic flow patterns on I-20 in Georgia. First we improved the data by sifting through the data base, checking against the original video for questionable events and removing and/or repairing questionable events. We used this data base to critique the performance quantitatively of a classification method known as Scheme F. As a context for improving the approach, we show in this paper that scheme F can be represented as a McCullogh-Pitts neural network, oar as an equivalent decomposition of the plane. We found that Scheme F, among other things, severely misrepresents the number of vehicles in Class 3 by labeling them as Class 2. After discussing the basic classification problem in terms of what is measured, and what is the desired prediction goal, we set forth desirable characteristics of the classification scheme and describe a recurrent neural network system that partitions the high dimensional space up into bins for each axle separation. the collection of bin numbers, one for each of the axle separations, specifies a region in the axle space called a hyper-bin. All the vehicles counted that have the same set of in numbers are in the same hyper-bin. The probability of the occurrence of a particular class in that hyper- bin is the relative frequency with which that class occurs in that set of bin numbers. This type of algorithm produces classification results that are much more balanced and uniform with respect to Classes 2 and 3 and Class 10. In particular, the cancellation of errors of classification that occurs is for many applications the ideal classification scenario. The neural network results are presented in the form of a primary classification network and a reclassification network, the performance matrices for which are presented