The effects of network factors on the performance of 3G UMTS applications

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-148).3G is the wireless network technology expected to allow wireless applications to perform on par with wired applications. However 3G has factors which limit its performance. These factors include both device factors such as small screens, limited battery power and life, as well as network factors such as high delay networks and low bandwidths. This thesis investigates the following: how network factors affect the performance of 3G UMTS applications; which network factors have the most significant impact on a specific application; whether there are any minimum requirements needed for an application. Eight popular 3G applications were investigated: FTP, email, MMS, SMS, HTTP web browsing, broadcast media, video calling and streaming media

Promoting medical competencies through international exchange programs: benefits on communication and effective doctor-patient relationships

Background: Universities are increasingly organizing international exchange programs to meet the requirements of growing globalisation in the field of health care. Analyses based on the programs' fundamental theoretical background are needed to confirm the learning value for participants. This study investigated the extent of sociocultural learning in an exchange program and how sociocultural learning affects the acquisition of domain-specific competencies. Methods: Sociocultural learning theories were applied to study the learning effect for German medical students from the LMU Munich, Munich, Germany, of participation in the medical exchange program with Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia. First, we performed a qualitative study consisting of interviews with five of the first program participants. The results were used to develop a questionnaire for the subsequent, quantitative study, in which 29 program participants and 23 matched controls performed self-assessments of competencies as defined in the Tuning Project for Health Professionals. The two interrelated studies were combined to answer three different research questions. Results: The participants rated their competence significantly higher than the control group in the fields of doctor-patient relationships and communication in a medical context. Participant responses in the two interrelated studies supported the link between the findings and the suggested theoretical background. Conclusion: Overall, we found that the exchange program affected the areas of doctor-patient relationships and effective communication in a medical context. Vygotsky's sociocultural learning theory contributed to explaining the learning mechanisms of the exchange program

Executing model-based software development for embedded I4.0 devices properly

Technical interoperability in “Industrie 4.0” scenarios is currently being achieved by standards such as OPC UA. Such standards allow operators to use a common communication interface for heterogeneous production devices. However, production flexibility (e.g. self-configuration or dynamic self-adaptation) can only be achieved if system structure and engineering processes change. At the moment, traditional engineering processes for embedded systems generate communication interfaces from software. This stands in stark contrast to component-based software engineering approaches. In this paper, we introduce a tool-based software engineering approach that puts models back at the core of embedded system development. This approach enables flexible production scenarios by bringing together process-oriented software development and operator-oriented interface construction

Improving the browsing and cataloguing experience of the District Six museum archives

The LogosFlow system used by the District Six museum to capture and browse artefact collections is neither user-friendly nor intuitive. It was decided that an entirely new system be built and a user-centered design approach be taken to achieve this. Meetings were held with the collections staff, problems with the previous system identified and possible solutions brainstormed. Human-computer interaction methodologies were applied to the user interfaces and the usability of the resulting interfaces was subsequently tested by the staff. It was found that the proposed system was more intuitive and much easier to use than the LogosFlow system and that with the addition of minor extensions it might be a suitable replacement for the current system

Assessing concordance between Campylobacter prevalence in broilers and human cases before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lower Saxony, Germany, considering fresh chicken meat consumption patterns

As the most common foodborne disease, number of campylobacteriosis decreased in Germany with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As the consumption of fresh chicken meat is a major risk factor for human infection, this study investigated the relationship between Campylobacter contamination levels on chicken carcasses and human cases in Lower Saxony, Germany and observed fresh chicken meat consumption patterns between 2018 and 2021 including the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Campylobacter levels in broilers and human cases were classified based on the median and descriptively analysed per week using contingency tables. Before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018 and 2019), high Campylobacter contamination levels on neck samples and many human cases were more present, whereas with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021), low contamination levels on chicken carcasses and few human cases were more present. Lowest concordance between both parameters was shown in 2018 (Cohen’s cappa coefficient: 0.37) and 2020 (0.38). The highest concordance was examined in 2021 (0.69). The private consumption of fresh chicken meat in Lower Saxony increased significantly with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 by 63.9 tonnes compared to 2019 to an average of 453.5 tonnes per week. Public health measures and a reduced number of medical treatments have undoubtedly had an impact on less reported human cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, number of human cases remained at a low level in Germany in 2023 while chicken meat consumption increased. Thus, further risk assessments regarding the risk of campyloabcteriosis due to chicken meat consumption should include the country of origin, as the level of contamination of chicken carcasses varies between European countries

The association of hypoglycemia with outcome of critically ill children in relation to nutritional and blood glucose control strategies

Abstract Background Withholding parenteral nutrition (PN) until one week after PICU admission facilitated recovery from critical illness and protected against emotional and behavioral problems 4 years later. However, the intervention increased the risk of hypoglycemia, which may have counteracted part of the benefit. Previously, hypoglycemia occurring under tight glucose control in critically ill children receiving early PN did not associate with long-term harm. We investigated whether hypoglycemia in PICU differentially associates with outcome in the context of withholding early PN, and whether any potential association with outcome may depend on the applied glucose control protocol. Methods In this secondary analysis of the multicenter PEPaNIC RCT, we studied whether hypoglycemia in PICU associated with mortality (N = 1440) and 4-years neurodevelopmental outcome (N = 674) through univariable comparison and multivariable regression analyses adjusting for potential confounders. In patients with available blood samples (N = 556), multivariable models were additionally adjusted for baseline serum NSE and S100B concentrations as biomarkers of neuronal, respectively, astrocytic damage. To study whether an association of hypoglycemia with outcome may be affected by the nutritional strategy or center-specific glucose control protocol, we further adjusted the models for the interaction between hypoglycemia and the randomized nutritional strategy, respectively, treatment center. In sensitivity analyses, we studied whether any association with outcome was different in patients with iatrogenic or spontaneous/recurrent hypoglycemia. Results Hypoglycemia univariably associated with higher mortality in PICU, at 90 days and 4 years after randomization, but not when adjusted for risk factors. After 4 years, critically ill children with hypoglycemia scored significantly worse for certain parent/caregiver-reported executive functions (working memory, planning and organization, metacognition) than patients without hypoglycemia, also when adjusted for risk factors including baseline NSE and S100B. Further adjustment for the interaction of hypoglycemia with the randomized intervention or treatment center revealed a potential interaction, whereby tight glucose control and withholding early PN may be protective. Impaired executive functions were most pronounced in patients with spontaneous or recurrent hypoglycemia. Conclusion Critically ill children exposed to hypoglycemia in PICU were at higher risk of impaired executive functions after 4 years, especially in cases of spontaneous/recurrent hypoglycemia