Electronic Business in traditional structures – new services as forerunner of cooperation exemplified in a network for textile design development

Seit dem ersten häufigeren Auftauchen des Begriffes "Internetökonomie" oder auch "New Economy" und dem vorläufigen Höhepunkt der Entwicklung entsprechender Konzepte und Technologien vergingen nur wenige Jahre, in denen wissenschaftliche Arbeiten und praxisorientierte Ratgeber und Erfahrungsberichte in großer Zahl erschienen. Vor allem die technologischen Innovationen erwiesen sich zu Beginn als Treiber dieser Entwicklungen. Faktoren wie Macht-, Wert-, und Investitionsneutralität erlaubten ein schnelles Umsetzen von Ideen in unterschiedliche Anwendungen bzw. Geschäftsmodelle. Dem rasanten Aufschwung folgte allerdings eine noch schnellere Phase der Ernüchterung, denn viele der neuen Spielregeln der "Internetökonomie" erwiesen sich als nicht haltbar und wenig erfolgversprechend. Der Internetökonomie werden als primäre Eigenschaften die Digitalität, die Vernetzung und die Globalität zugeschrieben. Der daraus resultierende orts- und zeitunabhängige Zugriff auf Daten und Informationen – eine Möglichkeit, die mit dem Begriff Ubiquität beschrieben wird – charakterisiert den Wandel von der postmodernen Industriegesellschaft hin zur Informationsgesellschaft. Insbesondere der Zugriff auf ein in dieser Form bisher nicht verfügbares Maß an Informationen, die bisher verteilt vorlagen, erlaubt neue Formen der Zusammenarbeit in neuen, aber vor allem auch in traditionellen Strukturen. Erschwerend für die Eingrenzung des Begriffes "Internetökonomie" ist seine Verwendung für volkswirtschaftliche Zusammenhänge einerseits und für betriebswirtschaftliche Anwendungen oder Geschäftsmodelle andererseits. Gerade mit Letzteren setzt sich die vorliegende Untersuchung ausführlich auseinander. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird der Bereich des Electronic Business (auch als „business-to-business“ bezeichnet) näher betrachtet und durch folgende konstituierende Elemente bestimmt: a) die digitale Abwicklung von Kommunikationsprozessen und Geschäftstransaktionen, b) die Fähigkeit, eine Alternative zu traditionellen Koordinationsmechanismen zu generieren und c) die Schaffung eines informationellen Mehrwertes. Neben der herausragenden Rolle, die das Vertrauen unter den Akteuren im Electronic Business spielt, werden die Entwicklungen bzw. Entwicklungsstufen im Electronic Business beschrieben. Unterschiedliche Rahmenmodelle bzw. Leitfäden und Implementierungsvorgaben können so voneinander – etwa über die umfassende Darstellung von Anwendungen und Geschäftsmodellen – abgegrenzt werden. Bislang erfolgt allerdings bei keinem dieser Rahmenmodelle oder Leitfäden eine systematische Zuordnung von Methoden oder Werkzeugen zu den entsprechenden Entwicklungsstufen und Anwendungen. Aus diesem Grund wird ein eigener Ansatz zur Beschreibung der Entwicklungsstufen des Electronic Business vorgestellt, wo den Stufen "Information", "Interaktion" sowie "Kooperation und Integration" unterschiedliche "Services" und damit auch Methoden und Werkzeuge zugeordnet werden. Diese "Services" können sowohl von Anwendungen in Unternehmen in Anspruch genommen werden als auch einzelne Geschäftsmodelle unterstützen, wie die Praxisbeispiele in Anhang 1 aufzeigen. Eine eigene Kategorisierung der Geschäftsmodelltypen wird durch Beispiele, vornehmlich aus der Textil- und Bekleidungsindustrie, illustriert. Die Arbeit liefert Anregungen für die unternehmerische Praxis, indem konzeptionelle Entwicklungsstufen dem Grad des Engagements der Unternehmen im Electronic Business in einem Portfolio einander gegenübergestellt werden. Die Entwicklung und Einführung eines "Intelligence Services" in traditionellen Strukturen wird in einem Textildesign-Netzwerk – im Rahmen des europäischen Forschungsprojektes CREATIV ("Commercial Retrieval for Fabrics and Design Patterns", IST-1999-20534) – erprobt. Durch die räumliche Trennung der Partner dieses Netzwerkes kann bei der Produktentwicklung der Prozess der Mustererstellung durch die Digitalisierung und die Nutzung des Internets für den Informationsaustausch vereinfacht, beschleunigt und kostengünstiger gestaltet werden.Since the emergence of the "Internet Economy" or "New Economy" and its preliminary summit regarding concepts and technologies, it has been only over a couple of years that a great deal of scientific articles and practical guidelines or codes of practice have been published. Especially in the beginning of the "Internet Economy" technological innovations proved to be drivers of development. Several factors like neutrality of power, neutrality of value and neutrality of capital investment permitted a fast implementation of ideas regarding both business applications and business models. However, this rapid boom was followed by an even faster period of disillusion and consolidation: most of the "new" rules of the "Internet Economy" were not valid in businesses in order to generate profit and success. The main characteristics of the "New Economy" are: being digital, being networked and being global. These characteristics point up the change from post-modern society to information society by providing the means to retrieve ubiquitously as many data and information as never before. By now there are ways to use huge amounts of data and information that were distributed before and however could not be retrieved. So new kinds of cooperation in newly arranged and in traditional structures are possible. It is difficult to give a sound definition the "Internet Economy" because of its use for economical questions, business applications and business models. In particular the latter are concerned here and will be analysed in detail. The present thesis focuses on Electronic Business (so-called "business-to-business"), which can be characterised by the following points: a) digital processing of communication processes and business transactions, b) realisation of alternatives regarding traditional mechanisms of coordination and c) creation of an informational added value. Besides the outstanding role of trust among the actors doing Electronic Business the thesis describes the evolutions, respectively developments, of Electronic Business. General Frameworks or guidelines can be distinguished - for instance by the extent applications and business models are described. So far none of these frameworks - and none of the guidelines and codes for practice - offer a consistent assignment of methods, tools or applications to the steps of their actual framework. Therefore an original conceptual framework has been created including the steps "information", "interaction" as well as "cooperation and integration", assigning to these steps different "services" (methods and tools). All those "Services" can be used either for supporting business applications or business models (examples of already established ones are shown in Annex 1). A categorisation of business models (and types of business models) using a new set of criteria is illustrated by examples of textile and apparel companies. Suggestions for entrepreneurial activities are made in a portfolio by classifying the steps of the conceptual framework and the engagement of entrepreneurs in Electronic Business. The development and implementation of an "Intelligence Service" in a network of cooperative product development of textile and apparel companies is presented, which has been tested within the frame of the project CREATIV ("Commercial Retrieval for Fabrics and Design Patterns", IST-1999-20534) funded by the European Commission. The European wide network showed to have potentials in the phase of making samples in order to improve the processing, the speed and the cost situation by using digitised samples and exchanging the needed information via the Internet. Moreover, this realisation exemplifies that there is no serious difference in the economic rules of the "New Economy" and the "Old Economy". Different impacts result basically from the particularity of production of goods and services, depending on the use of the new production factor (information), from the deployment of digitised exchange processes and the use of "Services" as well as from the associated possible (re-)organisation of the institutional arrangements

Investigation of Local Heat-transfer and Pressure Drag Characteristics of a Yawed Circular Cylinder at Supersonic Speeds

Local heat-transfer coefficients, temperature recovery factors, and pressure distributions were measured on the front side of a circular cylinder at a nominal Mach number of 3.9 over a range of free-stream Reynolds numbers from 2.1 x 10 to the 3rd power to 6.7 x 10 to the 3rd power and yaw angles from zero degrees to 44 degrees. Yawing the cylinder reduced the heat-transfer coefficients and the pressure drag coefficients. The amount of reduction may be predicted by a theory presented herein

Business Model Scenarios for Digital Textile Microfactories

In several industries the concept of Microfactories has been developed and their potentials are still subject of research and development. Also in the Textile and Clothing Industry this concept of a digitally networked end-to-end digital design and production process finds its first realizations in different applications. Such a Digital Textile Microfactory can cover a complete value creating chain comprising all design and production steps from the customer to the ready-made product. It relies on virtual models of the process steps involved, as well as of the materials, the products, and the customers. The digital backbone allows for speed, efficiency, high quality, and deep consumer interaction leading to a great innovation potential in a wide area of applications and Business Models. They range from B2B types, where they can support and speed up the prototyping phase of product development (sampling) up to B2C settings for the innovative production of individualized products, including reordering as well as event-driven production and locally centred production. But in spite of the potential benefits of a Digital Textile Microfactory, there are still just a few realizations seen in the industry due to investment risks and uncertainty with regards to new Business Models. The goal of this paper is to explore Business Model scenarios for a Digital Textile Microfactory that uses digital textile printing as a core process. We first describe the economic characteristics of the Textile and Clothing Industry, and then the digital technology and process underlying such a Digital Textile Microfactory. Based on this description, we then explore different B2B and B2C application scenarios – developed in previous European and German research projects – and settings for related Business Models

The impact of the length of total and intravenous systemic antibiotic therapy for the remission of diabetic foot infections

OBJECTIVE We investigated the impact of the total length of systemic antibiotic therapy (ABT) and its initial intravenous (IV) part on clinical failure (CF) and microbiological failure (MF) in diabetic foot infections (DFIs). METHODS In this single-center, retrospective, unmatched case-control study, we included DFI episodes treated with a combined surgical-antibiotic approach. RESULTS We included 721 DFI episodes, 537 with osteomyelitis (DFO). CF occurred in 191 (26.5%) and MF in 42 (5.8%) episodes. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that a short ABT of 8-21 days (hazard ratio [HR] 0.4; 95% CI 0.2-0.7) was inversely associated with CF. This was also applicable for IV ABT with relatively short durations of 2-7 days (HR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3-0.8) or 8-14 days (HR 0.6; 95% CI 0.4-0.9). We failed to detect a minimal threshold of total or IV ABT predictive for CF or MF. CONCLUSIONS Compared with total ABT of more than 84 days and IV therapy of more than 14 days, shorter total and IV ABT yielded no enhanced risk of CF or MF. Considering the "bias by indication" that is inherent to retrospective DFI studies, the best study design concerning the duration of ABT would be a stratified, prospective randomized trial, which is currently under way in our medical center

Forage silica and water content control dental surface texture in guinea pigs and provide implications for dietary reconstruction

Recent studies have shown that phytoliths are softer than dental enamel but still act as abrasive agents. Thus, phytolith content should be reflected in dental wear. Because native phytoliths show lower indentation hardness than phytoliths extracted by dry ashing, we propose that the hydration state of plant tissue will also affect dental abrasion. To assess this, we performed a controlled feeding experiment with 36 adult guinea pigs, fed exclusively with three different natural forages: lucerne, timothy grass, and bamboo with distinct phytolith/silica contents (lucerne < grass < bamboo). Each forage was fed in fresh or dried state for 3 weeks. We then performed 3D surface texture analysis (3DST) on the upper fourth premolar. Generally, enamel surface roughness increased with higher forage phytolith/silica content. Additionally, fresh and dry grass feeders displayed differences in wear patterns, with those of fresh grass feeders being similar to fresh and dry lucerne (phytolith-poor) feeders, supporting previous reports that "fresh grass grazers" show less abrasion than unspecialized grazers. Our results demonstrate that not only phytolith content but also properties such as water content can significantly affect plant abrasiveness, even to such an extent that wear patterns characteristic for dietary traits (browser-grazer differences) become indistinguishable

Multi-Parameter Laser Imaging Reveals Complex Microscale Biofilm Matrix in a Thick (4,000 μm) Aerobic Methanol Oxidizing Community

Although methanol has frequently been used as an inexpensive supplementary carbon source to support treatment processes, knowledge of the resultant microbial biofilms, their 3D architecture, microenvironments, exopolymer chemistry and populations remains limited. We supplied methanol as a supplementary carbon source to biofilms developing in rotating annular reactors. Analysis of circulation waters (1.0 l d−1) indicated that dissolved organic carbon was reduced by 25%, NO3-nitrogen by 95%, and total phosphorus by 70%. Analyses of populations using culture based techniques and fluorescence in situ hybridization indicated enrichment of nitrifiers, denitrifiers, and methylotrophic bacteria relative to reference biofilms not receiving methanol. The biofilms that developed were up to 4,000 μm thick. Staining with fluor conjugated lectins in combination with nucleic acid stains, revealed the presence of discrete bacterial cells inside complex globular polymeric structures. These structures were in turn surrounded by an interstitial polymer containing a variety of bacterial cell types. The globular structures bound FITC-conjugated lectins, from Canavalia ensiformis and Ulex europeaus. The FITC-lectin of Phaseolus vulgaris bound the surface of the globular structures and more generally within the matrix. Chemical analyses of the polymer paralleled the results of lectin analyses indicating that the dominant neutral sugars were glucose, galactose, mannose, rhamnose, with fucose and ribose as minor constituents. Amino sugars were not detected. Dual channel imaging with pH sensitive probes indicated that pH gradients from pH 4 to 7 occurred across the globular microcolonies. Critically for the maintenance of aerobic conditions throughout the thick biofilm it was extensively penetrated by a fine fissure network revealed by the location of fluorescent latex microbeads as detected by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Microelectrode studies confirmed the absence of any detectable Eh gradients within the biofilm. However, mobility of various size-fractionated fluorescent probes indicated that the basal region was only penetrated by the lowest molecular weight probes with a hydrated radius of 2.2 nm or less. These observations indicate the selection of a unique, thick (&gt;4,000 μm) microbial community in which a self-organized architecture promotes the maintenance of optimal conditions and metabolism throughout the biofilm community

Dust and grit matter: abrasives of different size lead to opposing dental microwear textures in experimentally fed sheep (Ovis aries)

External abrasives ingested along with the herbivore diet are considered main contributors to dental wear, though how the different sizes and concentrations of these abrasives influence wear remains unclear. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is an establishedmethod for dietary reconstructionwhich describes a tooth’s surface topography on a micrometre scale. The method has yielded conflicting results as to the effect of external abrasives. In the present study, a feeding experiment was performed on sheep (Ovis aries) fed seven diets of different abrasiveness. Our aim was to discern the individual effects of size (4, 50 and 130 μm) and concentration (0%,4% and 8% of dry matter) of abrasives on dental wear, applying DMTA to four tooth positions. Microwear textures differed between individual teeth, but surprisingly, showed no gradient along the molar tooth row, and the strongest differentiation of experimental groups was achieved when combining data of all maxillary molars. Overall, a pattern of increasing height, volume and complexity of the tooth’s microscopic surface appeared with increasing size of dietary abrasives, and when compared with the control, the small abrasive diets showed a polishing effect. The results indicate that the size of dietary abrasives is more important for dental microwear texture traces than their concentration, and that different sizes can have opposing effects on the dietary signal. The latter finding possibly explains conflicting evidence from previous experimental DMTA applications. Further exploration is required to understand whether and how microscopic traces created by abrasives translate quantitatively to tissue loss

A novel echocardiographic-based classification for the prediction of peri-device leakage following left atrial appendage occluder implantation

(1) Background: The assessment of residual peri-device leakages (PDL) after left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) remains crucial for post-procedural management. Our study aimed to verify a novel echocardiographic classification for the prediction of PDL. (2) Methods: Echocardiographic data of 72 patients who underwent percutaneous LAAO were evaluated. All echo images were analyzed by two independent investigators using standard analysis software (Image-Arena IA-4.6.4.44 by TomTec ® , Munich, Germany). A total number of 127 studies was evaluated. Forty-four patients had baseline studies, at 45 days and at 6 months post-implantation. We propose a morphological classification of LAA devices based on the amount of echodensity inside the devices into three types: type A showing complete homogenous thrombosis, type B incompletely thrombosed device with inhomogeneous echo-free space 50% of device in various planes, which we called the “ice-cream cone” sign. Each type was matched to the degree of PDL and clinical outcome parameters. (3) Results: Patients with type C had the highest percentage of PDL at 45 days follow-up (type A: 24%, type B: 31%, type C 100% PDL, p < 0.001) and at 6 months follow-up (type A: 7%, type B: 33%, type C 100% PDL, p < 0.001). Notably, device size in patients with PDL was larger than that in patients without PDL at 6 months follow-up (25.6 ± 3.5 mm vs. 28.7 ± 3.4 mm, p = 0.004). Device size in patients with type C appearance was the largest of the three types (type A: 25.9 ± 3.6 mm, type B: 25.8 ± 3.4 mm, type C 29.8 ± 3.0 mm, type A vs. C; p = 0.019; type B vs. C, p = 0.007). (4) Conclusions: In conclusion, PDL are common post-LAAO, and their frequency is underestimated and under-recognized. PDL are much more common in patients with larger LAA ostial sizes and likely lower longitudinal compression. Type C appearance of the LAAO devices (“ice-cream cone sign”) has a high positive predictive value for PDL. Further studies are needed for better delineation of the clinical importance of this proposed classification

Delayed improvement of depression and anxiety after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in stages of extended extra-valvular cardiac damage

Background: Depression and anxiety are frequently occurring and likely to be linked to the severity of cardiac diseases like aortic stenosis (AS). This seems to be of interest since a staging classification of extra-valvular cardiac damage in AS has been introduced and shown to be of prognostic relevance. Objective: The current study aimed to investigate the frequency of depression and anxiety in association to staging and their dynamics after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Methods: A total number of 224 AS patients undergoing TAVI were classified according to the 2017 staging classification into stage 0 to 4 and further dichotomized into group A (stage 0 to 2) and B (stage 3 and 4). Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D), patients were assigned to depressive versus non-depressive or anxious versus non-anxious per staging group respectively, and analyzed at baseline, 6 weeks, 6 months and 12 months after TAVI. Results: After dichotomization, 158 patients (70.5%) were assigned to group A and 66 patients (29.5%) to group B. The part showing pathologic values for depression was 25.4% (57/224 patients) in the entire collective, 26.6% (42/158 patients) in group A and 22.7% (15/66 patients) in group B (p = n.s.). The proportion showing pathologic values for anxiety was 26.8% (60/224 patients) in the entire collective and did not differ between group A (24.7%, 39/158 patients) and B (31.8%, 21/66 patients) (p = n.s.). In patients revealing pathologic values for depression or anxiety prior to TAVI, there were significant and stable improvements over time observable already in short-term (6 weeks) follow-up in group A, and likewise, but later, in long-term (6/12 months) follow-up in group B. Conclusions: Although of proven prognostic relevance, higher stages of extra-valvular cardiac damage are not associated with higher rates of pre-existing depression or anxiety. The TAVI procedure resulted in a persisting reduction of depression and anxiety in patients showing pathologic values at baseline. Notably, these improvements are timely delayed in higher stage

Prognostic relevance of mitral and tricuspid regurgitation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: Impact of follow-up time point for decision-making

Background: In patients with aortic stenosis treated by transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), mitral and tricuspid regurgitation (MR and TR) at baseline and after TAVI are likely to be of prognostic relevance, and questions such as whether and when treatment further improves prognosis in these patients arise. Aims: Against that background, the purpose of this study was to analyze a variety of clinical characteristics including MR and TR with respect to their potential value as predictors of 2-year mortality after TAVI. Methods: A cohort of 445 typical TAVI patients was available for the study and clinical characteristics were evaluated baseline, 6 to 8 weeks as well as 6 months after TAVI. Results: In 39% of the patients relevant (moderate or severe) MR and in 32% of the patients relevant (moderate or severe) TR could be detected at baseline. The rates were 27% for MR ( p  = 0.001, compared to baseline) and 35% for TR ( p  = n.s., compared to baseline) at the 6- to 8-week follow-up. After 6 months, relevant MR was observable in 28% ( p  = 0.036, compared to baseline) and relevant TR in 34% ( p  = n.s., compared to baseline) of the patients. As predictors of 2-year mortality, a multivariate analysis identified the following parameters for the different time points: sex, age, AS entity, atrial fibrillation, renal function, relevant TR, systolic pulmonary artery pressure (PAPsys), and 6-min walk distance at baseline; clinical frailty scale and PAPsys 6–8 weeks after TAVI and BNP and relevant MR 6 months after TAVI. There was a significantly worse 2-year survival in patients with relevant TR at baseline (68.4% vs. 82.6%, p  < 0.001; whole population, n  = 445) and in patients with relevant MR at 6 months (87.9% vs. 95.2%, p  = 0.042; landmark analysis: n  = 235). Conclusion: This real-life study demonstrated the prognostic relevance of repeated evaluation of MR and TR before and after TAVI. Choosing the right time point for treatment is a remaining clinical challenge, which should be further addressed in randomized trials