ADEPT - Next Generation Process Management Technology

In the ADEPT project we have been working on the design and implementation of a next generation process management technology for several years. Based on a conceptual framework for dynamic process changes, on innovative process support functions, and on advanced implementation concepts, the developed system enables the realization of adaptive, process-aware information systems (PAIS). Basically, process changes can take place at the process type as well as the process instance level: Changes of single process instances may have to be carried out in an ad-hoc manner (e.g., to deal with an exceptional situation) and must not affect system robustness and consistency. Process type changes, in turn, must be quickly accomplished in order to adapt the PAIS to business process changes. This may also include the migration of (thousands of) instances to the new process schema (if desired). Important requirements are to perform respective migrations on-the-fly, to preserve correctness, and to avoid performance penalties

ADEPT2 - Next Generation Process Management Technology

If current process management systems shall be applied to a broad spectrum of applications, they will have to be significantly improved with respect to their technological capabilities. In particular, in dynamic environments it must be possible to quickly implement and deploy new processes, to enable ad-hoc modifications of single process instances at runtime (e.g., to add, delete or shift process steps), and to support process schema evolution with instance migration, i.e., to propagate process schema changes to already running instances. These requirements must be met without affecting process consistency and by preserving the robustness of the process management system. In this paper we describe how these challenges have been addressed and solved in the ADEPT2 Process Management System. Our overall vision is to provide a next generation process management technology which can be used in a variety of application domains

Do cause and effect need to be temporally continuous? Learning to compensate for delayed vestibular feedback

Delaying the presentation of information to one modality relative to another (an intersensory temporal offset) impairs performance on a wide range of tasks. We have recently shown, however, that a few minutes exposure to delayed visual feedback induces sensorimotor temporal adaptation, returning performance to normal. Here, we examine whether adaptation to delayed vestibular feedback is possible. Subjects were placed on a motion platform, and were asked to perform a stabilization task. The task was similar to balancing a rod on the tip of your finger. Specifically, the platform acted as if it were on the end of an inverted pendulum, with subjects applying an acceleration to the platform via a joystick. The more difficulty one has in stabilizing the platform the more it will oscillate, increasing the variability in the platform's position. The experiment was divided into 3 sections. During the Baseline section (5 minutes), subjects performed the task with immediate vestibular feedback. They then were presented with a Training section, consisting of 4 sessions (5 minutes each) during which vestibular feedback was delayed by 500 ms. Finally, subjects were presented with a Post-test (two minutes) with no feedback delay. Subjects performed rather well in the Baseline section (average standard deviation of platform tilt was 1.37 degrees). The introduction of the delay greatly impaired performance (8.81 degrees standard deviation in the 1st Training session), but performance rapidly showed significant improvement (5.59 degrees standard deviation during the last training section, p<0.04). Subjects clearly learned to compensate, at least partially, for the delayed vestibular feedback. Performance during the Post-test was worse than during Baseline (2.48 degrees standard deviation in tilt). This decrease suggests that the improvement seen during training might be the result of intersensory temporal adaptation

ADEPT2 – Ein adaptives Prozess-Management-System der nächsten Generation.

Prozess-Management-Systeme müssen gegenüber dem heutigen Stand der Technik erheblich leistungsfähiger werden, um für ein wirklich breites Anwendungsspektrum einsetzbar zu sein: Neue Prozesse müssen sehr viel rascher implementierbar sein, zur Laufzeit müssen bei Bedarf Ad-hoc-Abweichungen vom modellierten Prozessschema unterstützt werden und bei Änderungen am Prozessschema selbst, müssen die bereits laufenden Prozessinstanzen – falls erforderlich – systemseitig auf das neue Schema migriert werden können; und dies alles unter systemseitiger Zusicherung von Konsistenz und Robustheit der (weiteren) Prozessausführung. Der Beitrag beschreibt, wie diese Herausforderungen und Probleme im ADEPT2-System adressiert bzw. gelöst werden

Interferon-stimulated gene (ISG)-expression screening reveals the specific antibunyaviral activity of ISG20

Bunyaviruses pose a significant threat to human health, prosperity and food security. In response to viral infections, interferons (IFNs) upregulate the expression of hundreds of interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) whose cumulative action can potently inhibit the replication of bunyaviruses. We used a flow cytometry-based method to screen the ability of ∼500 unique ISGs from humans and rhesus macaques to inhibit the replication of Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus (BUNV), the prototype of both the Peribunyaviridae family and Bunyavirales order. Candidates possessing antibunyaviral activity were further examined using a panel of divergent bunyaviruses. Interestingly, one candidate, ISG20, exhibited potent antibunyaviral activity against most viruses examined from the Peribunyaviridae, Hantaviridae and Nairoviridae families, whereas phleboviruses (Phenuiviridae) largely escaped inhibition. Similar to other viruses known to be targeted by ISG20, the antibunyaviral activity of ISG20 is dependent upon its functional ribonuclease activity. Through use of an infectious VLP assay (based on the BUNV minigenome system), we confirmed that gene expression from all 3 viral segments is strongly inhibited by ISG20. Using in vitro evolution, we generated a substantially ISG20-resistant BUNV and mapped the determinants of ISG20 sensitivity/resistance. Taken together, we report that ISG20 is a broad and potent antibunyaviral factor yet some bunyaviruses are remarkably ISG20 resistant. Thus, ISG20 sensitivity/resistance could influence the pathogenesis of bunyaviruses, many of which are emerging viruses of clinical or veterinary significance

Global observations of tropospheric BrO columns using GOME-2 satellite data

Measurements from the GOME-2 satellite instrument have been analyzed for tropospheric BrO using a residual technique that combines measured BrO columns and estimates of the stratospheric BrO content from a climatological approach driven by O&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; and NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; observations. Comparisons between the GOME-2 results and BrO vertical columns derived from correlative ground-based and SCIAMACHY nadir observations, present a good level of consistency. We show that the adopted technique enables separation of stratospheric and tropospheric fractions of the measured total BrO columns and allows quantitative study of the BrO plumes in polar regions. While some satellite observed plumes of enhanced BrO can be explained by stratospheric descending air, we show that most BrO hotspots are of tropospheric origin, although they are often associated to regions with low tropopause heights as well. Elaborating on simulations using the &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;-TOMCAT tropospheric chemical transport model, this result is found to be consistent with the mechanism of bromine release through sea salt aerosols production during blowing snow events. No definitive conclusion can be drawn however on the importance of blowing snow sources in comparison to other bromine release mechanisms. Outside polar regions, evidence is provided for a global tropospheric BrO background with column of 1–3 &amp;times; 10&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt; molec cm&lt;sup&gt;&amp;minus;2&lt;/sup&gt;, consistent with previous estimates

Ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) and related chemicals

The amended and adjusted Montreal Protocol continues to be successful at reducing emissions and atmospheric abundances of most controlled ozone-depleting substances (ODSs).Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Projec

A high-resolution infrared spectroscopic investigation of the halogen atom-HCN entrance channel complexes solvated in superfluid helium droplets

Rotationally resolved infrared spectra are reported for the X-HCN (X = Cl, Br, I) binary complexes solvated in helium nanodroplets. These results are directly compared with that obtained previously for the corresponding X-HF complexes [J. M. Merritt, J. K\"upper, and R. E. Miller, PCCP, 7, 67 (2005)]. For bromine and iodine atoms complexed with HCN, two linear structures are observed and assigned to the $^{2}\Sigma_{1/2}$ and $^{2}\Pi_{3/2}$ ground electronic states of the nitrogen and hydrogen bound geometries, respectively. Experiments for HCN + chlorine atoms give rise to only a single band which is attributed to the nitrogen bound isomer. That the hydrogen bound isomer is not stabilized is rationalized in terms of a lowering of the isomerization barrier by spin-orbit coupling. Theoretical calculations with and without spin-orbit coupling have also been performed and are compared with our experimental results. The possibility of stabilizing high-energy structures containing multiple radicals is discussed, motivated by preliminary spectroscopic evidence for the di-radical Br-HCCCN-Br complex. Spectra for the corresponding molecular halogen HCN-X$_{2}$ complexes are also presented.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures, 6 tables, RevTe