269 research outputs found
THE DRIVERS BEHIND ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT: A PROCESS-ORIENTED PERSPECTIVE
Over the last few years, organizations have increasingly been paying attention to the concept of enterprise content management (ECM), which refers to the strategies, methods, and technologies required for capturing, storing, retrieving, delivering, and retaining all types of digital information across the organization. While the market for ECM software is rapidly growing, information systems (IS) research has not paid much attention to the topic. At the same time, the boundaries between the emergent concept of ECM and the rather well-established management approach of business process management (BPM) are becoming increasingly blurred in practice. From an academic point of view, however, the role that content plays in the management of business processes, and vice versa, remains largely unexplored. In order to prepare the ground for IS researchers to theorize about the relationships between the two concepts this paper identifies contemporary challenges that drive ECM implementation from a process point of view. The findings are grounded in the analysis of qualitative data from two case studies and are categorized based on a content lifecycle model
Canine Brucellosis: Insights Into the Epidemiologic Situation in Europe
Brucella canis is one of many responsible pathogens of discospondylitis in dogs and infections require specific management. Little is known about the epidemiologic situation in Europe. The purpose of the study was to get insights into the occurrence of brucellosis in dogs in Europe. The database of a European veterinary laboratory was screened for Brucella positive samples. Additionally, medical records of a veterinary hospital in Germany were screened for diagnosis of discospondylitis and brucellosis. The laboratory received samples from 20 European countries for Brucella testing in dogs: 3.7% of submitted samples were Brucella spp. PCR-positive (61/1,657), and Brucella canis antibodies were identified in 5.4% of submitted samples (150/2,764). Brucella spp. PCR-positive samples originated from Spain (11.1% of submitted samples), Poland (6.7% of submitted samples) and rarely from Italy and France. Samples with Brucella canis antibodies originated from 13 European countries (Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Poland, France, Netherlands). Young dogs (0-24 months) had a 5.4-fold increased risk of PCR positive samples. The supplementary medical records search identified four young female dogs (7-30 months) with Brucella canis discospondylitis in Germany. The four dogs had been imported to Germany from Eastern European countries (Moldavia, Romania, Macedonia). In conclusion, infection with Brucella canis needs to be considered in dogs in Europe and diagnostics for Brucella canis infection appear indicated in young dogs with discospondylitis
Diffusion-limited reactions on disordered surfaces with continuous distributions of binding energies
We study the steady state of a stochastic particle system on a
two-dimensional lattice, with particle influx, diffusion and desorption, and
the formation of a dimer when particles meet. Surface processes are thermally
activated, with (quenched) binding energies drawn from a \emph{continuous}
distribution. We show that sites in this model provide either coverage or
mobility, depending on their energy. We use this to analytically map the system
to an effective \emph{binary} model in a temperature-dependent way. The
behavior of the effective model is well-understood and accurately describes key
quantities of the system: Compared with discrete distributions, the temperature
window of efficient reaction is broadened, and the efficiency decays more
slowly at its ends. The mapping also explains in what parameter regimes the
system exhibits realization dependence.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to: Journal of Statistical Mechanics:
Theory and Experimen
Luminosity-variation independent location of the circum-nuclear, hot dust in NGC 4151
After recent sensitivity upgrades at the Keck Interferometer (KI), systematic
interferometric 2um studies of the innermost dust in nearby Seyfert nuclei are
within observational reach. Here, we present the analysis of new
interferometric data of NGC 4151, discussed in context of the results from
recent dust reverberation, spectro-photometric and interferometric campaigns.
The complete data set gives a complex picture, in particular the measured
visibilities from now three different nights appear to be rather insensitive to
the variation of the nuclear luminosity. KI data alone indicate two scenarios:
the K-band emission is either dominated to ~90% by size scales smaller than
30mpc, which falls short of any dust reverberation measurement in NGC 4151 and
of theoretical models of circum-nuclear dust distributions. Or contrary, and
more likely, the K-band continuum emission is dominated by hot dust (>= 1300K)
at linear scales of about 50mpc. The linear size estimate varies by a few tens
of percent depending on the exact morphology observed. Our interferometric,
deprojected centro-nuclear dust radius estimate of 55+-5mpc is roughly
consistent with the earlier published expectations from circum-nuclear, dusty
radiative transfer models, and spectro-photometric modeling. However, our data
do not support the notion that the dust emission size scale follows the nuclear
variability of NGC 4151 as a R_dust \propto L_nuc^0.5 scaling relation. Instead
variable nuclear activity, lagging, and variable dust response to illumination
changes need to be combined to explain the observations.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
SIM PlanetQuest Key Project Precursor Observations to Detect Gas Giant Planets Around Young Stars
We present a review of precursor observing programs for the SIM PlanetQuest
Key project devoted to detecting Jupiter mass planets around young stars. In
order to ensure that the stars in the sample are free of various sources of
astrometric noise that might impede the detection of planets, we have initiated
programs to collect photometry, high contrast images, interferometric data and
radial velocities for stars in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. We
have completed a high contrast imaging survey of target stars in Taurus and the
Pleiades and found no definitive common proper motion companions within one
arcsecond (140 AU) of the SIM targets. Our radial velocity surveys have shown
that many of the target stars in Sco-Cen are fast rotators and a few stars in
Taurus and the Pleiades may have sub-stellar companions. Interferometric data
of a few stars in Taurus show no signs of stellar or sub-stellar companions
with separations of <5 mas. The photometric survey suggests that approximately
half of the stars initially selected for this program are variable to a degree
(1 sigma>0.1 mag) that would degrade the astrometric accuracy achievable for
that star. While the precursor programs are still a work in progress, we
provide a comprehensive list of all targets ranked according to their viability
as a result of the observations taken to date. By far, the observable that
moves the most targets from the SIM-YSO program is photometric variability.Comment: Accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society
of the Pacific, 25 pages, 9 figure
Ruling out Stellar Companions and Resolving the Innermost Regions of Transitional Disks with the Keck Interferometer
With the Keck Interferometer, we have studied at 2 um the innermost regions
of several nearby, young, dust depleted "transitional" disks. Our observations
target five of the six clearest cases of transitional disks in the
Taurus/Auriga star-forming region (DM Tau, GM Aur, LkCa 15, UX Tau A, and RY
Tau) to explore the possibility that the depletion of optically thick dust from
the inner disks is caused by stellar companions rather than the more typical
planet-formation hypothesis. At the 99.7% confidence level, the observed
visibilities exclude binaries with flux ratios of at least 0.05 and separations
ranging from 2.5 to 30 mas (0.35 - 4 AU) over >= 94% of the area covered by our
measurements. All targets but DM Tau show near-infrared excess in their SED
higher than our companion flux ratio detection limits. While a companion has
previously been detected in the candidate transitional disk system CoKu Tau/4,
we can exclude similar mass companions as the typical origin for the clearing
of inner dust in transitional disks and of the near-infrared excess emission.
Unlike CoKu Tau/4, all our targets show some evidence of accretion. We find
that all but one of the targets are clearly spatially resolved, and UX Tau A is
marginally resolved. Our data is consistent with hot material on small scales
(0.1 AU) inside of and separated from the cooler outer disk, consistent with
the recent SED modeling. These observations support the notion that some
transitional disks have radial gaps in their optically thick material, which
could be an indication for planet formation in the habitable zone (~ a few AU)
of a protoplanetary disk.Comment: 36 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of Microbial Natural Products against Bacterial Pathogens of Veterinary and Zoonotic Relevance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered one of the greatest threats to both human and animal health. Efforts to address AMR include implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs and introducing alternative treatment options. Nevertheless, effective treatment of infectious diseases caused by bacteria will still require the identification and development of new antimicrobial agents. Eight different natural products were tested for antimicrobial activity against seven pathogenic bacterial species (Brachyspira sp., Chlamydia sp., Clostridioides sp., Mannheimia sp., Mycobacterium sp., Mycoplasma sp., Pasteurella sp.). In a first pre-screening, most compounds (five out of eight) inhibited bacterial growth only at high concentrations, but three natural products (celastramycin A [CA], closthioamide [CT], maduranic acid [MA]) displayed activity at concentrations 16 µg/mL against Mannheimia for CA, CT, and MA, respectively. CA, CT, and MA exhibited higher MIC50 and MIC90 values against Pasteurella isolates with a known AMR phenotype against commonly used therapeutic antimicrobial agents than against isolates with unknown AMR profiles. This study demonstrates the importance of whole-cell antibacterial screening of natural products to identify promising scaffolds with broad- or narrow-spectrum antimicrobial activity against important Gram-negative veterinary pathogens with zoonotic potentia
Disentangling protostellar evolutionary stages in clustered environments using Spitzer-IRS spectra and comprehensive SED modeling
When studying the evolutionary stages of protostars that form in clusters,
the role of any intracluster medium cannot be neglected. High foreground
extinction can lead to situations where young stellar objects (YSOs) appear to
be in earlier evolutionary stages than they actually are, particularly when
using simple criteria like spectral indices. To address this issue, we have
assembled detailed SED characterizations of a sample of 56 Spitzer-identified
candidate YSOs in the clusters NGC 2264 and IC 348. For these, we use spectra
obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope and
ancillary multi-wavelength photometry. The primary aim is twofold: 1) to
discuss the role of spectral features, particularly those due to ices and
silicates, in determining a YSO's evolutionary stage, and 2) to perform
comprehensive modeling of spectral energy distributions (SEDs) enhanced by the
IRS data. The SEDs consist of ancillary optical-to-submillimeter
multi-wavelength data as well as an accurate description of the 9.7 micron
silicate feature and of the mid-infrared continuum derived from line-free parts
of the IRS spectra. We find that using this approach, we can distinguish
genuine protostars in the cluster from T Tauri stars masquerading as protostars
due to external foreground extinction. Our results underline the importance of
photometric data in the far-infrared/submillimeter wavelength range, at
sufficiently high angular resolution to more accurately classify cluster
members. Such observations are becoming possible now with the advent of the
Herschel Space Observatory.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Emergence and persistence of inefficient states
We present a theory of the emergence and persistence of inefficient states based on patronage politics. The society consists of rich and poor. The rich are initially in power, but expect to transition to democracy, which will choose redistributive policies. Taxation requires the employment of bureaucrats. By choosing an inefficient state structure, the rich may be able to use patronage and capture democratic politics, so reducing the amount of redistribution in democracy. Moreover, the inefficient state creates its own constituency and tends to persist over time. Intuitively, an inefficient state structure creates more rents for bureaucrats than would an efficient one. When the poor come to power in democracy, they will reform the structure of the state to make it more efficient so that higher taxes can be collected at lower cost and with lower rents for bureaucrats. Anticipating this, when the society starts out with an inefficient organization of the state, bureaucrats support the rich, who set lower taxes but also provide rents to bureaucrats. We obtain that the rich–bureaucrats coalition may also expand the size of bureaucracy excessively so as to generate enough political support. The model shows that an equilibrium with an inefficient state is more likely to arise when there is greater income inequality, when bureaucratic rents take intermediate values, and when individuals are sufficiently forward-lookin
Restauração ecológica de um solo decapitado sob intervenção antrópica há 17 anos: propriedades químicas
O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar as mudanças químicas em um solo decapitado que estava sob intervenção antrópica para recuperação há 17 anos, utilizando-se adubos verdes, calcário, gesso e pastagem. Os tratamentos implantados de 1992 até 1999 foram:
Solo mobilizado+vegetação espontânea; Mucuna-preta (MP); Guandu (G) até 1994, substituído por Feijão-de-porco (FP); Calcário+MP; Calcário+Gesso+G até 1994, substituído por FP; Calcário+Gesso+MP; Calcário+Gesso+G até 1994, substituído por FP e as testemunhas Solo exposto (sem técnica de recuperação) e Vegetação nativa de cerrado (com sementes das proximidades). Em 1999 implantou-se a Brachiaria decumbens em toda a área, menos nas testemunhas. Em 2011, nas camadas do solo de 0,00-0,10; 0,10-0,20 e 0,20-0,40 m foram estudados: fósforo, cátions trocáveis; N%, pH, matéria orgânica, acidez potencial e saturação por bases (V%). Concluiu-se que os tratamentos foram eficientes no processo de recuperação química do solo até a camada de 0,20 m.The objective of this study was to investigate the chemical changes in a decapitated soil that has been under human intervention to recover for 17 years, using green manure, limestone, gypsum and pasture. The treatments implanted from 1992 to 1999 were:
mobilized soil+spontaneous vegetation; Velvet bean (VB); Pigeonpea (P) until 1994, replaced by Jack bean (JB); Limestone+JB; Limestone+Gypsum+P until 1994, replaced by JB; Limestone+Gypsum+JB; Limestone+Gypsum+P until 1994, replaced by JB and exposed Soil witnesses (no recovery technique) and native cerrado Vegetation (with seeds in the vicinity). In 1999 the Brachiaria decumbens was implanted throughout the area, except for the witnesses. In 2011, on the soil layers of 0.00-0.10; 0.10-0.20 and 0.20-0.40 m were studied: phosphorus, exchangeable cations; N%, pH, organic matter, potential acidity and base saturation (V%). It was concluded that the treatments were effective in the chemical recovery process of the soil until the layer of 0.20 m.Eje A4: Ambiente, Naturaleza y AgroecologíaFacultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale
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