Aspektorientierte Datenhaltung in Produktkonfiguratoren: Anforderungen, Konzepte und Realisierung

Seit Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts äußert sich der weltweite soziokulturelle Prozess der Individualisierung auch im geänderten Konsumverhalten. Dabei sehen sich Unternehmen zunehmend mit dem Wunsch nach kundenindividuellen Produkten zum Preis eines äquivalenten Massenprodukts konfrontiert. Während durch produktionsspezifische Konzepte wie Modularisierung und Baukastenprinzip zwar eine enorme Variantenvielfalt erreicht werden kann, sind zur Beherrschung der damit verbundenen Komplexität jedoch Produktkonfiguratoren als unterstützende IT-Anwendungssysteme notwendig. Diese werden im ersten Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit eingeführt und klassifiziert. Aufgrund des meist webbasierten Einsatzes von Produktkonfiguratoren müssen sie sich auch den Anforderungen der Globalisierung stellen. Dabei wirken sich die regionalen Unterschiede bezüglich Sprache oder Preispolitik nicht nur auf die Nutzeroberfläche aus, sondern haben auch Einfluss auf die Struktur und Speicherung der Produkte. Zur Gewährleistung von Datenunabhängigkeit ist zudem eine generische und orthogonale Integration jener als funktionale Aspekte bezeichneten Dimensionen erstrebenswert. Hierfür werden im zweiten Teil das Paradigma der aspektorientierten Datenhaltung formuliert und Möglichkeiten zur Persistierung analysiert. Im dritten Teil erfolgt der Entwurf eines allgemeinen Referenzmodells für die aspektorientierte Datenhaltung auf Basis des relationalen Datenmodells aufgrund der hohen Praxisrelevanz für Datenbanksysteme. Darüber hinaus findet auch der Vergleich geeigneter Zugriffstechniken für die Auswertung jener Strukturen im Referenzmodell statt. Abschließend wird die Praxistauglichkeit des definierten Modells unter Beweis gestellt. Dazu erfolgt zunächst die Beschreibung einer prototypischen Implementierung der als Anwendungsbibliothek ausgelegten Zugriffsschicht. Deren Bewertung durch einen umfangreichen Performancetest bescheinigt letztlich ein effizientes Laufzeitverhalten

A non-BRICHOS surfactant protein c mutation disrupts epithelial cell function and intercellular signaling

We show that I73T mutation leads to impaired processing of proSP-C in alveolar type II cells, alters their stress tolerance and surfactant lipid composition, and activates cells of the immune system. In addition, we show that some of the mentioned cellular aspects behind the disease can be modulated by application of pharmaceutical drugs commonly applied in the ILD therapy

A large kindred of pulmonary fibrosis associated with a novel ABCA3 gene variant

Background: Interstitial lung disease occurring in children is a condition characterized by high frequency of cases due to genetic aberrations of pulmonary surfactant homeostasis, that are also believed to be responsible of a fraction of familial pulmonary fibrosis. To our knowledge, ABCA3 gene was not previously reported as causative agent of fibrosis affecting both children and adults in the same kindred. Methods: We investigated a large kindred in which two members, a girl whose interstitial lung disease was first recognized at age of 13, and an adult, showed a diffuse pulmonary fibrosis with marked differences in terms of morphology and imaging. An additional, asymptomatic family member was detected by genetic analysis. Surfactant abnormalities were investigated at biochemical, and genetic level, as well as by cell transfection experiments. Results: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis of the patients revealed absence of surfactant protein C, whereas the gene sequence was normal. By contrast, sequence of the ABCA3 gene showed a novel homozygous G > A transition at nucleotide 2891, localized within exon 21, resulting in a glycine to aspartic acid change at codon 964. Interestingly, the lung specimens from the girl displayed a morphologic usual interstitial pneumonitis-like pattern, whereas the specimens from one of the two adult patients showed rather a non specific interstitial pneumonitis-like pattern. Conclusions: We have detected a large kindred with a novel ABCA3 mutation likely causing interstitial lung fibrosis affecting either young and adult family members. We suggest that ABCA3 gene should be considered in genetic testing in the occurrence of familial pulmonary fibrosis

The surfactant protein C mutation A116D alters cellular processing, stress tolerance, surfactant lipid composition, and immune cell activation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Surfactant protein C (SP-C) is important for the function of pulmonary surfactant. Heterozygous mutations in <it>SFTPC</it>, the gene encoding SP-C, cause sporadic and familial interstitial lung disease (ILD) in children and adults. Mutations mapping to the BRICHOS domain located within the SP-C proprotein result in perinuclear aggregation of the proprotein. In this study, we investigated the effects of the mutation A116D in the BRICHOS domain of SP-C on cellular homeostasis. We also evaluated the ability of drugs currently used in ILD therapy to counteract these effects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>SP-C^A116Dwas expressed in MLE-12 alveolar epithelial cells. We assessed in vitro the consequences for cellular homeostasis, immune response and effects of azathioprine, hydroxychloroquine, methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Stable expression of SP-C^A116Din MLE-12 alveolar epithelial cells resulted in increased intracellular accumulation of proSP-C processing intermediates. SP-C^A116Dexpression further led to reduced cell viability and increased levels of the chaperones Hsp90, Hsp70, calreticulin and calnexin. Lipid analysis revealed decreased intracellular levels of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and increased lyso-PC levels. Treatment with methylprednisolone or hydroxychloroquine partially restored these lipid alterations. Furthermore, SP-C^A116Dcells secreted soluble factors into the medium that modulated surface expression of CCR2 or CXCR1 receptors on CD4⁺lymphocytes and neutrophils, suggesting a direct paracrine effect of SP-C^A116Don neighboring cells in the alveolar space.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We show that the A116D mutation leads to impaired processing of proSP-C in alveolar epithelial cells, alters cell viability and lipid composition, and also activates cells of the immune system. In addition, we show that some of the effects of the mutation on cellular homeostasis can be antagonized by application of pharmaceuticals commonly applied in ILD therapy. Our findings shed new light on the pathomechanisms underlying SP-C deficiency associated ILD and provide insight into the mechanisms by which drugs currently used in ILD therapy act.</p

Nutritional Value of the Duckweed Species of the Genus Wolffia (Lemnaceae) as Human Food

Species of the genus Wolffia are traditionally used as human food in some of the Asian countries. Therefore, all 11 species of this genus, identified by molecular barcoding, were investigated for ingredients relevant to human nutrition. The total protein content varied between 20 and 30% of the freeze-dry weight, the starch content between 10 and 20%, the fat content between 1 and 5%, and the fiber content was ~25%. The essential amino acid content was higher or close to the requirements of preschool-aged children according to standards of the World Health Organization. The fat content was low, but the fraction of polyunsaturated fatty acids was above 60% of total fat and the content of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was higher than that of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in most species. The content of macro- and microelements (minerals) not only depended on the cultivation conditions but also on the genetic background of the species. This holds true also for the content of tocopherols, several carotenoids and phytosterols in different species and even intraspecific, clonal differences were detected in Wolffia globosa and Wolffia arrhiza. Thus, the selection of suitable clones for further applications is important. Due to the very fast growth and the highest yield in most of the nutrients, Wolffia microscopica has a high potential for practical applications in human nutrition

Search for Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at 183 GeV

The data collected by the OPAL experiment at sqrts=183 GeV were used to search for Higgs bosons which are predicted by the Standard Model and various extensions, such as general models with two Higgs field doublets and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of approximately 54pb-1. None of the searches for neutral and charged Higgs bosons have revealed an excess of events beyond the expected background. This negative outcome, in combination with similar results from searches at lower energies, leads to new limits for the Higgs boson masses and other model parameters. In particular, the 95% confidence level lower limit for the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson is 88.3 GeV. Charged Higgs bosons can be excluded for masses up to 59.5 GeV. In the MSSM, mh > 70.5 GeV and mA > 72.0 GeV are obtained for tan{beta}>1, no and maximal scalar top mixing and soft SUSY-breaking masses of 1 TeV. The range 0.8 < tanb < 1.9 is excluded for minimal scalar top mixing and m{top} < 175 GeV. More general scans of the MSSM parameter space are also considered.Comment: 49 pages. LaTeX, including 33 eps figures, submitted to European Physical Journal

A Measurement of the Product Branching Ratio f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) in Z0 Decays

The product branching ratio, f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X), where Lambda_b denotes any weakly-decaying b-baryon, has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. Lambda_b are selected by the presence of energetic Lambda particles in bottom events tagged by the presence of displaced secondary vertices. A fit to the momenta of the Lambda particles separates signal from B meson and fragmentation backgrounds. The measured product branching ratio is f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (2.67+-0.38(stat)+0.67-0.60(sys))% Combined with a previous OPAL measurement, one obtains f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (3.50+-0.32(stat)+-0.35(sys))%.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps figs included, submitted to the European Physical Journal

Measurement of the Michel Parameters in Leptonic Tau Decays

The Michel parameters of the leptonic tau decays are measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. The Michel parameters are extracted from the energy spectra of the charged decay leptons and from their energy-energy correlations. A new method involving a global likelihood fit of Monte Carlo generated events with complete detector simulation and background treatment has been applied to the data recorded at center-of-mass energies close to sqrt(s) = M(Z) corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 155 pb-1 during the years 1990 to 1995. If e-mu universality is assumed and inferring the tau polarization from neutral current data, the measured Michel parameters are extracted. Limits on non-standard coupling constants and on the masses of new gauge bosons are obtained. The results are in agreement with the V-A prediction of the Standard Model.Comment: 32 pages, LaTeX, 9 eps figures included, submitted to the European Physical Journal

Determination of the b Quark Mass at the Z Mass Scale

In hadronic decays of Z bosons recorded with the OPAL detector at LEP, events containing b quarks were selected using the long lifetime of b flavoured hadrons. Comparing the 3-jet rate in b events with that in d u,s and c quark events, a significant difference was observed. Using Order(alpha_s squared) calculations for massive quarks, this difference was used to determine the b quark mass in the MSbar renormalisation scheme at the scale of the Z boson mass. By combining the results from seven different jet finders the running b quark mass was determined to be mb(MZ) = (2.67 +/- 0.03(stat) +0.29/-0.37(syst) +/- 0.19(theo.)) GeV. Evolving this value to the b quark mass scale itself yields mb(mb) = (3.95 +0.52/-0.62) GeV, consistent with results obtained at the b quark production threshold. This determination confirms the QCD expectation of a scale dependent quark mass. A constant mass is ruled out by 3.9 standard deviations

A Study of One-Prong Tau Decays with a Charged Kaon

From an analysis of the ionisation energy loss of charged particles selected from 110326 e+e- -> tau+tau- candidates recorded by the OPAL detector at e+e- centre-of-mass energies near the Z0 resonance, we determine the one-prong tau decay branching ratios: Br(tau- -> nu_tau K- >=0h0) = 1.528 +- 0.039 +- 0.040 % Br(tau- -> nu_tau K-) = 0.658 +- 0.024 +- 0.029 % where the h0 notation refers to a pi0, an eta, a K^0_S, or a K^0_L, and where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.From an analysis of the ionisation energy loss of charged particles selected from 110326 e+e- -> tau+tau- candidates recorded by the OPAL detector at e+e- centre-of-mass energies near the Z0 resonance, we determine the one-prong tau decay branching ratios: Br(tau- -> nu_tau K- >=0h0) = 1.528 +- 0.039 +- 0.040 % Br(tau- -> nu_tau K-) = 0.658 +- 0.024 +- 0.029 % where the h0 notation refers to a pi0, an eta, a K^0_S, or a K^0_L, and where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic