Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / No presente trabalho investigou-se o desenvolvimento de novos procedimentos analíticos para a determinação simultânea de paracetamol (PAR), propifenazona (PRO) e cafeína (CAF) em formulações farmacêuticas. Três métodos foram desenvolvidos usando as técnicas de voltametria de onda quadrada (SWV) e amperometria de múltiplos pulsos (MPA) e diamante dopado com boro (BDD) como eletrodo de trabalho. Empregando a SWV, duas estratégias de análise foram desenvolvidas: (I) uso de uma célula eletroquímica convencional (modo estacionário) e o método de adição de padrão; (II) uso de análise por injeção em batelada com detecção por voltametria de onda quadrada (BIA-SWV) e o método de calibração externa. Os métodos propostos foram desenvolvidos usando como eletrólito de suporte H2SO4 0,1 mol L-1 e os parâmetros otimizados da SWV foram: potencial de condicionamento: -1,5 V durante 20 s; frequência: 60 s-1; amplitude: 50 mV e incremento de potencial: 4 mV. No método proposto empregando BIA-SWV, o volume e a velocidade de injeção otimizados foram de 100 μL e 28 μL s-1, respectivamente. Um terceiro método proposto para determinação simultânea de PAR, PRO e CAF, o procedimento de análise por injeção em batelada com detecção por amperometria de múltiplos pulsos (BIA-MPA) foi empregado. Três pulsos de potenciais foram selecionados para realização da análise: +0,90 V /50 ms: apenas o PAR foi oxidado sem a interferência dos outros dois compostos; +1,20 V /50 ms: oxidação do PAR e da PRO livre da interferência da CAF; +1,60 V /50 ms: oxidação dos três compostos (PAR, PRO e CAF). A seletividade na detecção da PRO e CAF foi obtida mediante subtração de correntes entre os amperogramas adquiridos nos potenciais selecionados e o uso de fatores de correção (FCs). Todos os procedimentos de análise desenvolvidos mostraram-se estáveis (DPR < 4,1%) e lineares (r > 0,997). O método empregando uma célula eletroquímica convencional apresentou frequência analítica de 20 análises h-1 e limites de detecção de 0,005, 0,009 e 0,006 mg L-1 para PAR, PRO e CAF, respectivamente. Os métodos BIA-SWV e BIA-MPA apresentaram frequência analítica muito superior: 80 e 75 análises h-1, respectivamente. Os limites de detecção foram de 0,3, 0,2 e 0,3 mg L-1 (BIA-SWV) e 0,2, 0,3 e 0,1 mg L-1 (BIA-MPA) para PAR, PRO e CAF, respectivamente. / In this work we investigated the development of new analytical procedures for simultaneous determination of paracetamol (PAR), propyphenazone (PRO) and caffeine (CAF) in pharmaceutical formulations. Three methods was developed using of Square wave voltammetry (SWV), multiple pulse amperometry (MPA) and boron doped diamond (BDD) with work electrode. Employing SWV, two analysis strategies were developed (I) Use of a conventional electrochemical cell (stationary mode) and the standard addition method; (II) use of batch injection analysis with detection by square wave voltammetry (BIA-SWV) and external calibration method. The proposed methods were developed using H2SO4 0.1 mol L-1 as supporting electrolyte and optimized parameters of the SWV: Conditioning potential: -1.5 V during 20 s; frequency: 60 s-1; amplitude: 50 mV and step potential: 4 mV. In the proposed method using BIA-SWV, volume and speed of optimized injection were 100 μL e 28 μL s-1, respectively. On the third method proposed for simultaneous determination of the PAR, PRO and CAF, the batch injection analysis procedure with multiple pulse amperometry detection (BIA-MPA) was employed. Three potentials pulses were selected for the analysis: +0.90 V/50 ms: only PAR was oxidized without the interference of the other two compounds; +1.20 V/50 ms: oxidation PAR and PRO without the interference of the CAF; +1.60 V/50 ms: oxidation of the three compounds (PAR, PRO and CAF). The selectivity in the detection of PRO and CAF was obtained by subtracting currents between the amperograms acquired in the selected potentials and the use of correction factors (CFs). All developed analysis procedures remained stable (RSD < 4.1%) and linear (r > 0.997). The method using a conventional electrochemical cell showed an analytical frequency of 20 analysis h-1 and limits of detection of 0.005, 0.009, and 0.006 mg L-1 for PAR, PRO, and CAF, respectively. The BIA-SWV and BIA-MPA methods presented higher analytical frequency: 80 and 75 analysis h-1, respectively. The limits of detection were 0.3, 0.2, and 0.3 mg L-1 (BIA-SWV) and 0.2, 0.3, and 0.1 mg L-1 (BIA-MPA) for PAR, PRO and CAF, respectively. / Dissertação (Mestrado)

This work is focused on physical activity, diet, daily routine and dietary habits of adolescents at two high schools in České Budějovice. In selected folder also finds occurence of obesity and anorexia. Research was attended by a total of 311 students aged 15 to 19 years. Each of the students has filled a questionnaire on nutrition and exercise and was subject to measure body weight, height and subcutaneous fat. Collected data were processed by BMI and BIA methods and then compared with data from measurements made in 2008. The results indicate 16% of overweight students and only 1% with obesity according to BMI method. BIA method measured 4% with obesity and 9% overweight. Compared to 2008 research there is decrease of students with obesity, but increased numbers with overweight.

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / This work presents the electrochemical study of the chemically modified electrode with carbon nanotubes (CNT) and nanostructured zinc oxide aiming the selective and sensitive detection and quantification of phenolic compounds, such as dopamine (DA), hydroquinone (HQ) and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). Two types of CNTs of different diameters (110-170 nm x 5-9 &#956;m e 6-9 nm x 5 &#956;m), as well as ZnO nanoparticles of three different morphologies (nanoflower, spherical, and irregular morphologies), were evaluated in the formation of a composite material applied to the electrochemical oxidation of DA, HQ and TBHQ by cyclic voltammetry. First, the CNTs were characterized by Raman spectroscopy in order to verify the relation of structural defects with CNT diameter, and X-ray diffraction to verify the possible presence of metals into the CNTs, which can present electrocatalysis effect. The active area was estimated applying the Randles-Sevcik equation for the reversible electrochemical system, [Fe(CN)&#8326;]3&#8722;/[Fe(CN)&#8326;]4&#8722;, using an unmodified glassy carbon, and modified with CNT and with CNT/ZnO composite, which presented the higher active area. The composite formed by ZnO and CNT of higher diameter resulted in higher oxidation currents for the studied compounds. Scanning electron microscopy measurements were performed in order to characterize the morphologies of ZnO and the respective CNT/ZnO composites and correlated with the electrochemical activity of the different modified surfaces. Nanoflower-shape ZnO (ZnO A) resulted in a faster alternative way for charge transfer, which resulted in higher currents in comparison with spherical (ZnO B) and irregular (ZnO C) ZnO structures. A linear relation of the anodic and cathodic currents in function of the square root of scan rate values was verified, which indicates the limiting step in all the electrochemical processes is diffusional. It was observed in cyclic voltammetry measurements that the pH of solutions influenced the &#916;E values for each analyte, and the lowest values were observed in 0.1 mol L-1 perchloric acid, which indicates higher electrochemical reversibility. Finally, the modified electrode was evaluated using batch-injection analysis (BIA) using 0.1 mol L-1 perchloric acid as electrolyte for the determination of HQ, TBHQ and DA. Applying the constant potential of 0.6 V, this system presented wide linear range (2-1000 &#956;mol L-1) for the three analytes, with detection and quantification limits in the range of 0,01 0,14 &#956;mol L-1 and 0,04 0,47 &#956;mol L-1, respectively. The BIA method presented satisfactory repeatability with RSD value lower than 1.6%, elevated analytical frequency (85 h-1) and increase in sensitivity up to 130 times in comparison with the bare glassy carbon electrode. The prepared chemically modified electrodes presented special characteristics such as elevated sensitivity and stability for the determination of phenolic compounds and, therefore, open new perspectives to the analysis of clinical, pharmaceutical and environmental interests. / Este trabalho apresenta o estudo eletroquímico de eletrodo quimicamente modificado (EQM) com nanotubos de carbono (NTC) e óxido de zinco nanoestruturado visando à detecção e quantificação seletiva e sensível de compostos fenólicos, como dopamina (DA), hidroquinona (HQ) e terc-butilhidroquinona (TBHQ). Dois tipos de NTCs de diferentes diâmetros (110-170 nm x 5-9 &#956;m e 6-9 nm x 5 &#956;m), assim como nanopartículas de ZnO com três morfologias diferentes (nanoflor, esférica e morfologia irregular), foram avaliados na formação de um material compósito aplicado à oxidação eletroquímica de DA, HQ e TBHQ por voltametria cíclica. Primeiramente os NTC foram caracterizados por espectroscopia Raman, para verificar a relação do diâmetro dos NTC com os defeitos estruturais do material, e por difração de raios X, para verificar a possível presença de metais nos NTCs, os quais poderiam estar auxiliando em uma possível eletrocatálise nas amostras analisadas. A área ativa do eletrodo foi estimada aplicando a equação de Randles-Sevcik para o sistema redox reversível, [Fe(CN)&#8326;]3&#8722;/[Fe(CN)&#8326;]4&#8722;, utilizando o eletrodo de carbono vítreo (GCE) não modificado, GCE modificado com NTC e modificado com o compósito NTC/ZnO, e observou-se maior área ativa para os eletrodos modificados com NTC/ZnO. O compósito formado entre ZnO e NTC de maior diâmetro resultou em maiores correntes de oxidação para os compostos estudados. Foram feitas análises por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) com o intuito de caracterizar as morfologias do ZnO e do compósito de NTC/ZnO a fim de correlacionar as morfologias com a atividade eletroquímica nas diferentes superfícies modificadas. O ZnO em forma de nanoflor (ZnO A) resultou num caminho alternativo mais rápido para o transporte de carga, o que resultou em maior corrente em relação a morfologia esférica (ZnO B) e irregular (ZnO C). Verificou-se também uma relação linear entre as correntes de pico anódica e catódica e a raiz quadrada da velocidade de varredura indicando que a etapa determinante de todos os processos eletroquímicos estudados é difusional. Observou-se nos voltamogramas cíclicos que o pH da solução tem influência na variação dos valores de &#916;E de cada analito, sendo que estes valores foram sempre menores em ácido perclórico 0,1 mol L-1, o que indica maior reversibilidade eletroquímica. Ao final, o eletrodo modificado foi avaliado em sistema de análise por injeção em batelada (BIA) com detecção amperométrica empregando ácido perclórico 0,1 mol L-1 como eletrólito para a determinação de HQ, TBHQ e DA. Aplicando o potencial constante de 0,6 V, este sistema apresentou uma elevada faixa linear (2-1000 &#956;mol L-1) para os analitos, com limite de detecção e quantificação nas faixas de 0,01 0,14 &#956;mol L-1 e 0,04 0,47 &#956;mol L-1, respectivamente. O método BIA apresentou repetibilidade satisfatória com desvio padrão relativo inferior a 1,6 %, elevada frequência analítica (85 h-1) e ganho de sensibilidade em até 130 vezes em comparação ao GCE não modificado. Os EQMs preparados apresentam características diferenciadas tais como elevada sensibilidade e estabilidade para a determinação de compostos fenólicos e, portanto, abre novas perspectivas para a análise de amostras de interesse clínico, farmacêutico e ambiental. / Mestre em Química

Cognate words have a shared orthographic and semantic representation across languages: kniv (‘knife’) in Danish means the same as kniv in Swedish. Their shared form and meaning give cognates a special status in the bilingual mental lexicon and there is robust evidence that because of this special status they are processed faster than non-cognate words. This effect is called the Cognate Facilitation Effect and represents strong evidence that bilinguals do not have two separate mental lexicons, but rather one integrated lexicon for both of their languages with nonselective access. The present study is a replication of Vanlangendonck et al. (2020) with a different language constellation. For the aims of this project, early and late Danish-Swedish bilinguals were recruited to examine the effect of stimulus list composition on the Cognate Facilitation Effect by means of two experiments: one language-specific visual lexical decision task that contained control words from the participants’ L2 (Swedish), a set of cognates, interlingual homographs and pseudowords, and a second task in which half of the pseudowords were replaced by Danish (L2) words that had to evoke a “no” response. This change from a pure to a mixed list was expected to increase response competition and turn cognate facilitation into inhibition. However, the results showed a null Cognate Facilitation Effect both for early and for late bilinguals. These findings are discussed in terms of the assumptions of the BIA+ model of bilingual lexical processing and it is suggested that the presence of language-specific diacritics in the stimulus list has hindered the emergence of the Cognate Facilitation Effect.

Este trabalho propõe diretrizes de Gestão de Continuidade de Negócios (GCN) para a tecnologia de Ensino Presencial Mediado por Recursos Tecnológicos (EPMRT), que conta, para a realização de suas atividades acadêmicas, com um sistema complexo para transmissão de aulas e exige um grande esforço para o controle das suas operações e das respostas coordenadas diante de erros, falhas e defeitos, ou quaisquer incidentes que resultem na interrupção das suas atividades. A manutenção deste ambiente tecnológico está relacionada com a implantação de processos eficientes de gestão de risco e do ciclo de melhoria contínua em ambiente de TI com a adoção do ITIL® e através da construção das diretrizes de um Plano de Continuidade de Negócios (PCN), documentado por meio de elementos da UML, utilizando a Análise de Impacto nos Negócios (BIA), a Avaliação dos Riscos (RA) e os atributos de Dependabilidade para os elementos tecnológicos: disponibilidade, confiabilidade, segurança, confidencialidade, integridade e manutenibilidade. / This paper proposes guidelines for Business Continuity Management (BCM) that uses a technology called Education System Mediated Classroom Resources Technology (SPMRT), which needs, for the achievement of their academic activities, a complex system for transmission of lessons and requires a great effort to control their operations and coordinated fast responses in case of errors, faults, attacks and defects, or any incidents that result in the disruption of their activities. Maintaining this technological environment is related to the implementation of efficient processes of risk management and continuous improvement cycle in the IT environment with the adoption of ITIL® and through the construction of a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), documented by elements of the UML using the Business Impact Analysis (BIA), Risk Assessment (RA) and the attributes of Dependability: availability, reliability, security, confidentiality, integrity and maintainability.

Este trabalho propõe diretrizes de Gestão de Continuidade de Negócios (GCN) para a tecnologia de Ensino Presencial Mediado por Recursos Tecnológicos (EPMRT), que conta, para a realização de suas atividades acadêmicas, com um sistema complexo para transmissão de aulas e exige um grande esforço para o controle das suas operações e das respostas coordenadas diante de erros, falhas e defeitos, ou quaisquer incidentes que resultem na interrupção das suas atividades. A manutenção deste ambiente tecnológico está relacionada com a implantação de processos eficientes de gestão de risco e do ciclo de melhoria contínua em ambiente de TI com a adoção do ITIL® e através da construção das diretrizes de um Plano de Continuidade de Negócios (PCN), documentado por meio de elementos da UML, utilizando a Análise de Impacto nos Negócios (BIA), a Avaliação dos Riscos (RA) e os atributos de Dependabilidade para os elementos tecnológicos: disponibilidade, confiabilidade, segurança, confidencialidade, integridade e manutenibilidade. / This paper proposes guidelines for Business Continuity Management (BCM) that uses a technology called Education System Mediated Classroom Resources Technology (SPMRT), which needs, for the achievement of their academic activities, a complex system for transmission of lessons and requires a great effort to control their operations and coordinated fast responses in case of errors, faults, attacks and defects, or any incidents that result in the disruption of their activities. Maintaining this technological environment is related to the implementation of efficient processes of risk management and continuous improvement cycle in the IT environment with the adoption of ITIL® and through the construction of a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), documented by elements of the UML using the Business Impact Analysis (BIA), Risk Assessment (RA) and the attributes of Dependability: availability, reliability, security, confidentiality, integrity and maintainability.

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / In this work we investigated the potentiality of batch injection analysis with square-wave voltammetry (BIA-SWV) detection for simultaneous determination of Zn and naphazoline (NAF) and batch injection analysis with multiple pulse amperometric (BIA-MPA) detection for simultaneous determination of NAF and pheniramine (FEN) or NAF and chlorpheniramine (CLO). In both methods, boron-doped diamond (BDD) was used as working electrode. For the simultaneous determination of Zn and NAF by BIA-SWV, the following conditions have been optimized: supporting electrolyte: acetate buffer 0.05 mol L-1 (pH = 4.7), injection volume: 100 μL, deposition time (Zn): 5 s, deposition potential (Zn) -1.5 V, : 100 s-1, a: 60 mV, ΔEs: 6 mV. Under these conditions, the method showed linear response range between 10 and 60 μmol L-1 for Zn (r = 0.992) and between 3.0 e 21 μmol L-1 for NAF (r = 0.999), high analytical frequency (70 injections h-1) and LOD of 0.126 μmol L-1 and 0.04 μmol L-1 for Zn and NAF, respectively. In the study of repeatability (n = 20), the calculated RSD were 0.98% and 0.97% for Zn and NAF, respectively. The simultaneous determination of NAF and FEN or NAF and CLO by BIA-MPA was performed with the application of three sequential pulses in function of time to the BDD electrode using Britton-Robinson Buffer solution 0.12 mol L-1 (pH = 10.0) as supporting electrolyte. At +1.1 V/50 ms, FEN or CLO was detected (oxidation) without interference of NAF. At +1.3 V/50 ms, both compounds (FEN + NAF or CLO + NAF) were oxidized. The current of NAF can then be obtained by subtraction of the currents detected during application of both potential pulses using a correction factor. The proposed method presented good ability (RSD = 1.7 and 4.0% for FEN and NAF; 2.1% and 3.6% for CLO and NAF, respectively; n=20); high analytical frequency (110 injections h-1), linear concentration range between 16 e 100 μmol L-1 for FEN and CLO (r > 0.996) and between 2 e 15 μmol L-1 for NAF (r > 0.997). The LOD calculated were 0.367, 0.361 e 0.148 μmol L-1, for FEN, CLO and NAF, respectively. The proposed methods were used for determination of these compounds in pharmaceutical samples. The obtained results were statistically similar to that obtained by HPLC (NAF, FEN and CLO) and atomic spectroscopy (Zn). / No presente trabalho investigou-se a potencialidade do sistema de análise por injeção em batelada com detecção por voltametria de onda quadrada (BIA-SWV) para determinação simultânea de Zn e nafazolina (NAF) e do sistema análise por injeção em batelada com detecção por amperometria de múltiplos pulsos (BIA-MPA) para determinação simultânea de NAF e feniramina (FEN) ou NAF e clorfeniramina (CLO). Em ambos os métodos, diamante dopado com boro (BDD) foi usado como eletrodo de trabalho. Para determinação simultânea de Zn e NAF empregando BIA-SWV, as seguintes condições foram otimizadas: eletrólito de suporte: tampão acetato 0,05 mol L-1 (pH = 4,7), volume de injeção: 100 μL, tempo de deposição (Zn): 5 s, potencial de deposição (Zn): -1,5 V, : 100 s-1, a: 60 mV, ΔEs: 6 mV. Nestas condições, o método apresentou faixa linear de resposta entre 10 e 60 μmol L-1 para Zn (r = 0,992) e entre 3,0 e 21 μmol L-1 para NAF (r = 0,999), frequência analítica de 70 injeções h-1 e limites de detecção de 0,126 μmol L-1e 0,04 μmol L-1 para Zn e NAF, respectivamente. No estudo de repetibilidade (n = 20), os DPRs foram calculados 0,98% e 0,97% para Zn e NAF, respectivamente. A determinação simultânea de NAF e FEN ou NAF e CLO por BIA-MPA foi realizada através da aplicação de dois pulsos de potenciais em função do tempo ao eletrodo de BDD usando tampão BR 0,12 mol L-1 (pH = 10) como eletrólito suporte. Em +1,1 V/50 ms, FEN ou CLO foram oxidadas livre da interferência de NAF. Em +1,3 V/50ms, ambos os compostos (NAF + FEN ou NAF + CLO) foram oxidados. A corrente proveniente da oxidação da NAF foi obtida pela subtração entre as correntes detectadas em ambos os pulsos de potenciais com auxílio de um fator de correção (FC). O método proposto apresentou boa estabilidade (DPR = 1,7 e 3,95% para FEN e NAF; 2,1 e 3,6% para CLO e NAF, respectivamente; n=20), alta frequência analítica (110 injeções h-1), faixa linear de resposta entre 16 e 100 μmol L-1 para FEN e CLO (r > 0,996) e entre 2 e 15 μmol L-1 para NAF (r > 0,997). Os limites de detecção foram de 0,367, 0,361 e 0,148 μmol L-1 para FEN, CLO e NAF, respectivamente. Os métodos propostos foram usados na determinação destes compostos em formulações farmacêuticas. Os resultados obtidos com os métodos propostos foram estatisticamente similares aos obtidos por HPLC (NAF, FEN e CLO) ou absorção atômica (Zn). / Mestre em Química

This dissertation investigates how cognates are organized in the bilingual mental lexicon and examines whether orthography in one language, via phonological representations, influences the processing of cognates and false friends in the other language. In light of the framework of two well-known models of bilingual visual word recognition, the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA) and the Bilingual Interactive Activation Plus (BIA+), the premise is that there is activation from orthography to phonology across a bilingual’s two languages and that this activation is modulated by the degree of orthographic and phonological code overlap. Two objective metrics were used to assess crosslinguistic similarity of Portuguese-English cognates and false friends that were selected for a cross-language lexical decision task with masked priming. Dynamic time warping (DTW), an algorithm that was originally conceived to compare different speech patterns in automatic speech recognition and to measure acoustic similarity between two time-dependent sequences, was used to compute crosslinguistic phonological similarity. The Normalized Levenshtein Distance (NLD), an algorithm that calculates the minimum number of single-character insertions, deletions or substitutions required to change one word into another and normalizes the result by their lengths, was used to compute crosslinguistic orthographic similarity. Portuguese-English bilinguals who acquired their second language after reaching puberty, and English functional monolinguals who grew up speaking primarily English were recruited to participate in the experimental task. Based on collected reaction time and accuracy data, mixed-effects models analyses are used to estimate the individual effects of crosslinguistic orthographic, phonological and semantic similarity and the role each of them, along with English proficiency, word frequency and length play in the organization of the Portuguese-English bilingual mental lexicon.

O veneno do T.nattereri induz uma resposta de memória com a diferenciação de células B B220neg, indicativo de células produtoras de anticorpos de vida longa (ASC). Para avaliar o efeito do veneno na diferenciação de ASCs, camundongos BALB/c foram imunizados e sacrificados nos dias 21, 28, 48, 74 e 120 para avaliação de anticorpos plasmáticos e células B no peritônio, baço e medula óssea. O veneno induziu intensa esplenomegalia, formação de centros germinativos e persistentes níveis de anticorpos específicos IgG1, IgG2a e IgE anafilática. Células B1a e ASC apareceram rapidamente e a população de ASC CD138pos foi dividida em três subtipos (B220highCD43high, B220lowCD43low, e B220negCD43high) que persistiram em diferentes níveis em todos compartimentos. Finalmente, por métodos de neutralização nós sugerimos um papel importante da IL-5 e IL-17 A no desenvolvimento de ASC B220neg e na população B1a e mais ainda, a produção de TNF-a, IL-1b, IL-6, KC bem como a retenção do veneno nas células dendríticas foliculares parece promover os mecanismos para manutenção das ASCs. / T. nattereri fish venom induces a memory immune response with the differentiation of B cells B220neg, an indicative of long-lived antibody-secreting cells - ASC. To assess the effect of the venom on differentiation of ASCs, BALB/c mice were immunized with venom and sacrificed at days 21, 28, 48, 74 and 120 to evaluate plasmatic antibodies and B cell subtypes in peritoneum, spleen and bone marrow. The venom promoted splenomegaly, germinal centers formation and persistent levels of specific antibodies IgG1, IgG2a and anaphylactic IgE. B1a cells and ASC emerged rapidly and CD138pos ASCs can be divided into three subsets (B220high CD43high, B220low CD43low, and B220neg CD43high) that persist at different levels in all compartments. Finally, by neutralization methods we suggested an important role for IL-5 and IL-17A on development of B220neg ASCs and B1a population and moreover the production of TNF-a, IL-1b, IL-6, KC as well as the venom retained in follicular dendritic cells seem to provide mechanisms to explain the maintenance of ASCs.

Die folgende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Alltagstauglichkeit moderner Massendatenverarbeitung, insbesondere mit dem Problem der Assoziationsregelanalyse. Vorhandene Datenmengen wachsen stark an, aber deren Auswertung ist für ungeübte Anwender schwierig. Daher verzichten Unternehmen auf Informationen, welche prinzipiell vorhanden sind. Assoziationsregeln zeigen in diesen Daten Abhängigkeiten zwischen den Elementen eines Datenbestandes, beispielsweise zwischen verkauften Produkten. Diese Regeln können mit Interessantheitsmaßen versehen werden, welche dem Anwender das Erkennen wichtiger Zusammenhänge ermöglichen. Es werden Ansätze gezeigt, dem Nutzer die Auswertung der Daten zu erleichtern. Das betrifft sowohl die robuste Arbeitsweise der Verfahren als auch die einfache Auswertung der Regeln. Die vorgestellten Algorithmen passen sich dabei an die zu verarbeitenden Daten an, was sie von anderen Verfahren unterscheidet. Assoziationsregelsuchen benötigen die Extraktion häufiger Kombinationen (EHK). Hierfür werden Möglichkeiten gezeigt, Lösungsansätze auf die Eigenschaften moderne System anzupassen. Als Ansatz werden Verfahren zur Berechnung der häufigsten $N$ Kombinationen erläutert, welche anders als bekannte Ansätze leicht konfigurierbar sind. Moderne Systeme rechnen zudem oft verteilt. Diese Rechnerverbünde können große Datenmengen parallel verarbeiten, benötigen jedoch die Vereinigung lokaler Ergebnisse. Für verteilte Top-N-EHK auf realistischen Partitionierungen werden hierfür Ansätze mit verschiedenen Eigenschaften präsentiert. Aus den häufigen Kombinationen werden Assoziationsregeln gebildet, deren Aufbereitung ebenfalls einfach durchführbar sein soll. In der Literatur wurden viele Maße vorgestellt. Je nach den Anforderungen entsprechen sie je einer subjektiven Bewertung, allerdings nicht zwingend der des Anwenders. Hierfür wird untersucht, wie mehrere Interessantheitsmaßen zu einem globalen Maß vereinigt werden können. Dies findet Regeln, welche mehrfach wichtig erschienen. Der Nutzer kann mit den Vorschlägen sein Suchziel eingrenzen. Ein zweiter Ansatz gruppiert Regeln. Dies erfolgt über die Häufigkeiten der Regelelemente, welche die Grundlage von Interessantheitsmaßen bilden. Die Regeln einer solchen Gruppe sind daher bezüglich vieler Interessantheitsmaßen ähnlich und können gemeinsam ausgewertet werden. Dies reduziert den manuellen Aufwand des Nutzers. Diese Arbeit zeigt Möglichkeiten, Assoziationsregelsuchen auf einen breiten Benutzerkreis zu erweitern und neue Anwender zu erreichen. Die Assoziationsregelsuche wird dabei derart vereinfacht, dass sie statt als Spezialanwendung als leicht nutzbares Werkzeug zur Datenanalyse verwendet werden kann. / The importance of data mining is widely acknowledged today. Mining for association rules and frequent patterns is a central activity in data mining. Three main strategies are available for such mining: APRIORI , FP-tree-based approaches like FP-GROWTH, and algorithms based on vertical data structures and depth-first mining strategies like ECLAT and CHARM. Unfortunately, most of these algorithms are only moderately suitable for many “real-world” scenarios because their usability and the special characteristics of the data are two aspects of practical association rule mining that require further work. All mining strategies for frequent patterns use a parameter called minimum support to define a minimum occurrence frequency for searched patterns. This parameter cuts down the number of patterns searched to improve the relevance of the results. In complex business scenarios, it can be difficult and expensive to define a suitable value for the minimum support because it depends strongly on the particular datasets. Users are often unable to set this parameter for unknown datasets, and unsuitable minimum-support values can extract millions of frequent patterns and generate enormous runtimes. For this reason, it is not feasible to permit ad-hoc data mining by unskilled users. Such users do not have the knowledge and time to define suitable parameters by trial-and-error procedures. Discussions with users of SAP software have revealed great interest in the results of association-rule mining techniques, but most of these users are unable or unwilling to set very technical parameters. Given such user constraints, several studies have addressed the problem of replacing the minimum-support parameter with more intuitive top-n strategies. We have developed an adaptive mining algorithm to give untrained SAP users a tool to analyze their data easily without the need for elaborate data preparation and parameter determination. Previously implemented approaches of distributed frequent-pattern mining were expensive and time-consuming tasks for specialists. In contrast, we propose a method to accelerate and simplify the mining process by using top-n strategies and relaxing some requirements on the results, such as completeness. Unlike such data approximation techniques as sampling, our algorithm always returns exact frequency counts. The only drawback is that the result set may fail to include some of the patterns up to a specific frequency threshold. Another aspect of real-world datasets is the fact that they are often partitioned for shared-nothing architectures, following business-specific parameters like location, fiscal year, or branch office. Users may also want to conduct mining operations spanning data from different partners, even if the local data from the respective partners cannot be integrated at a single location for data security reasons or due to their large volume. Almost every data mining solution is constrained by the need to hide complexity. As far as possible, the solution should offer a simple user interface that hides technical aspects like data distribution and data preparation. Given that BW Accelerator users have such simplicity and distribution requirements, we have developed an adaptive mining algorithm to give unskilled users a tool to analyze their data easily, without the need for complex data preparation or consolidation. For example, Business Intelligence scenarios often partition large data volumes by fiscal year to enable efficient optimizations for the data used in actual workloads. For most mining queries, more than one data partition is of interest, and therefore, distribution handling that leaves the data unaffected is necessary. The algorithms presented in this paper have been developed to work with data stored in SAP BW. A salient feature of SAP BW Accelerator is that it is implemented as a distributed landscape that sits on top of a large number of shared-nothing blade servers. Its main task is to execute OLAP queries that require fast aggregation of many millions of rows of data. Therefore, the distribution of data over the dedicated storage is optimized for such workloads. Data mining scenarios use the same data from storage, but reporting takes precedence over data mining, and hence, the data cannot be redistributed without massive costs. Distribution by special data semantics or user-defined selections can produce many partitions and very different partition sizes. The handling of such real-world distributions for frequent-pattern mining is an important task, but it conflicts with the requirement of balanced partition.