In Wissenschaft und Praxis herrscht Einigkeit über die Notwendigkeit der Unterstützung von Dienstleistungen durch mobile Informationssysteme (IS). Der primäre Untersuchungsgegenstand der vorliegenden Dissertation ist die Gestaltung eines mobilen IS zur Unterstützung produktbegleitender Dienstleistungen. Innovativ an der im Rahmen dieses Promotionsverfahrens entwickelten Lösung ist die Verwendung der neu auf dem Markt erschienenen Smart Glasses, die u. a. dadurch, dass sie freihändig bedient werden können, einen Mehrwert zur Unterstützung während der Dienstleistungserbringung bieten. Ziel der Arbeit ist die Entwicklung von Gestaltungswissen zum Design, zur Implementierung und zur Evaluation mobiler Informationssysteme. Die Bearbeitung der Zielsetzung beinhaltet (1) die multi-methodische Analyse zentraler Anforderungen an das IS in Form der zu deckenden Informationsbedarfe der Leistungserbringer und der zu implementierenden Anwendungsfälle. (2) Die fachlichen Anforderungen adressierend, wird das Design, die Implementierung und die Evaluation des mobilen Informationssystems selbst durchgeführt. Hierzu werden zusätzlich technische Funktionalitäten der Smart Glasses erfasst. (3) Aus der Analyse, dem Design und der Evaluation des mobilen Informationssystems wird anschließend methodisches Gestaltungswissen abgeleitet. (4) Abschließend erfolgt die Anwendung des Gestaltungswissens innerhalb weiterer Dienstleistungssektoren (Logistikdienstleistungen, Gesundheitsdienstleistungen). Hierbei werden ein Smart Glasses-basiertes IS für die Unterstützung von Logistikdienstleistungen und eine Smartphone-Applikation zur Unterstützung von Gesundheitsdienstleistungen für das Entwicklungsland Papua-Neuguinea konzipiert. Die vorliegende Dissertation leistet einen Beitrag zum Service Systems Engineering als Teildisziplin der Wirtschaftsinformatik. Sie füllt die Forschungslücke zu evidenzbasiertem Gestaltungswissen in der Disziplin, indem durch einen gestaltungsorientierten Ansatz sowohl mobile Informationssysteme selbst, als auch methodische Erkenntnisse generiert werden.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Pharmacodynamics (PD) studies the relationship between drug concentration and drug effect on target sites. This field has recently gained attention as studies involving PD Drug-Drug interactions (DDI) assure discovery of multi-targeted drug agents and novel efficacious drug combinations. A PD drug combination could be synergistic, additive or antagonistic depending upon the summed effect of the drug combination at a target site. The PD literature has grown immensely and most of its knowledge is dispersed across different scientific journals, thus the manual identification of PD DDI is a challenge. In order to support an automated means to extract PD DDI, we propose Pharmacodynamics Miner (PD-Miner). PD-Miner is a text-mining tool, which is capable of identifying PD DDI from in vitro PD experiments. It is powered by two major features, i.e., collection of full text articles and in vitro PD ontology. The in vitro PD ontology currently has four classes and more than hundred subclasses; based on these classes and subclasses the full text corpus is annotated. The annotated full text corpus forms a database of articles, which can be queried based upon drug keywords and ontology subclasses. Since the ontology covers term and concept meanings, the system is capable of formulating semantic queries. PD-Miner extracts in vitro PD DDI based upon references to cell lines and cell phenotypes. The results are in the form of fragments of sentences in which important concepts are visually highlighted. To determine the accuracy of the system, we used a gold standard of 5 expert curated articles. PD-Miner identified DDI with a recall of 75% and a precision of 46.55%. Along with the development of PD Miner, we also report development of a semantically annotated in vitro PD corpus. This corpus includes term and sentence level annotations and serves as a gold standard for future text mining.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Polypharmacy is a general clinical practice, there is a high chance that multiple administered drugs will interfere with each other, such phenomenon is called drug-drug interaction (DDI). DDI occurs when drugs administered change each other's pharmacokinetic (PK) or pharmacodynamic (PD) response. DDIs in many ways affect the overall effectiveness of the drug or at some times pose a risk of serious side effects to the patients thus, it becomes very challenging to for the successful drug development and clinical patient care. Biomedical literature is rich source for in-vitro and in-vivo DDI reports and there is growing need to automated methods to extract the DDI related information from unstructured text. In this work we present an ontology (PK ontology), which defines annotation guidelines for annotation of PK DDI studies. Using the ontology we have put together a corpora of PK DDI studies, which serves as excellent resource for training machine learning, based DDI extraction algorithms. Finally we demonstrate the use of PK ontology and corpora for extracting PK DDIs from biomedical literature using machine learning algorithms.

The zebrafish has emerged as an important genetic model system for the study of vertebrate development. However, while genetics is a powerful tool for the study of early gene functions, the approach is more limited when it comes to understanding later functions of genes that have essential roles in early embryogenesis. There is thus a need to manipulate gene expression at different times, and ideally only in some regions of the developing embryo. Methods for conditional gene regulation have been established in Drosophila, C.elegans and the mouse, utilizing conditional gene activation systems such as the Gal4-UAS system (fly) and the cre/lox recombination system (mouse). While these tools are also being developed in zebrafish, the accessibility of the zebrafish embryo makes other approaches both possible and desirable. We have taken advantage of a heat-shock inducible system that uses the hsp70 promoter that is activated by cellular stress, such as heat. Having established that this global heat shock method allows temporal control of gene expression, we aimed to spatially control gene expression by applying controlled thermal heat to only a small region of the embryo. This would allow us to determine cell- and tissue-autonomous roles for developmentally important genes in an embryo with otherwise normal gene function. We have now developed a device that uses a laser to heat a defined region of the embryo, and thus activate the hsp70 promoter only in restricted regions of the embryo. The output of a 75 mW red laser pointer was focused into the 50 µm diameter core of an optical fiber, whose cleaved and coated end was used to heat, and thus induce, gene expression in a defined area. We have established conditions that allow controlled heating and trans-gene activation in small regions of the embryo without inducing cell death. This new tool will allow us to study the cell-autonomous roles of embryonic signaling molecules in cell differentiation, proliferation, and survival in a variety of tissues and at different times.

Literature shows that production of cottonseed adhesives is feasible to develop an environmentally friendly and competitive bio-based wood adhesive. Defatted cottonseed and water-washed cottonseed meals were prepared from glandless cottonseed and were used in adhesive formulations to produce three-ply yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) plywood panels as the first objective. These two cottonseed meals were compared with the properties of plywood panels made with an adhesive formulated from a commercial soybean meal, as a control. Adhesive resins were prepared from each protein meal with sodium metabisulfite (Na2S2O5) and one of two polyamido-amine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) wet strength agents, and the plywood panels were produced by hot pressing for 7, 8.5 and 10 minutes at 135°C with a constant pressure of 1.241 MPa. Panels prepared from three protein meals had comparable shear strengths. The combinations of the two cottonseed preparations and the two wet strength agents produced panels with acceptable wet resistant properties, whereas the soybean meal only produced acceptable panels with one of the wet strength agents. Because the panels prepared from the two cottonseed meals had comparable properties, there appears to be no benefit to including a water-washing step to increase the meal’s protein level. The second objective of this research was to reduce the hot press time and develop cottonseed meals into adhesives to become comparable to commercial soybean-based adhesives. New cottonseed, water-washed cottonseed, and commercial in-house soybean meals were separately prepared with deionized water, sodium metabisulfite, and PAE to produce three-ply yellow poplar plywood panels. The panels were hot pressed for 4, 5, and 6 minutes at 135°C with a constant pressure of 1.241 MPa. Panels prepared from the three meals and commercial soybean plywood panels had comparable mechanical shear strengths and water resistance properties. Results indicated that press time, meal types, and interactions were statistically significant. Shear strength results indicate that cottonseed could be used alternatively to soybean. The new cottonseed panels were more resistant to delamination than soybean. The cottonseed meals showed great promise for applicability as a formaldehyde-free, bio-based, and environmentally friendly hardwood plywood wood-based adhesives product for use in interior type applications.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial disease agent worldwide, and, though frequently asymptomatic, can cause extreme pathology including infertility. Chlamydial species exhibit a unique biphasic developmental cycle. Once attached to a cell surface, infectious elementary bodies (EB) are internalized within an inclusion, the membrane-bound structure in which EB transform to noninfectious, replicable reticulate bodies (RB). After multiple rounds of division, RB condense to form EB, which are released and can infect new host cells. In culture, exposure to stressors, such as beta-lactam antibiotics, induce chlamydiae to reversibly detour from normal development into a noninfectious, viable state termed persistence. Cell culture data suggest that persistent forms are resistant to azithromycin (AZM), a front-line antibiotic, and are able to alter the host transcriptome. Though persistence has been described in culture for over 50 years, whether or not it: i) occurs in vivo; and ii) influences chlamydial pathogenesis, transmission and therapy has remained unresolved. To address these questions, we developed an animal model of persistent chlamydial infection using amoxicillin (AMX) treatment. AMX exposure decreased shedding of infectious chlamydiae in C. muridarum-infected mice without affecting chlamydial viability, demonstrating the presence of persistent chlamydiae. Shedding of infectious EB resumed following AMX cessation. Shedding data and microarray analyses suggested that host immunity might limit chlamydia’s exit from persistence in our model. Thus, we hypothesized that cyclophosphamide (CTX) treatment would increase the magnitude of chlamydial shedding observed after AMX-treatment cessation. CTX treatment increased post-AMX shedding by more than 10-fold compared to AMX-only controls. To determine whether persistent chlamydiae are resistant to antibiotic eradication in vivo, we induced persistence by administering AMX and treated mice with various AZM dosing regimes. Persistently infected mice demonstrated increased treatment failure following AZM therapy compared to productively infected controls. These data suggest that persistent chlamydiae are refractory to treatment in vivo and provide an explanation for the observation that treatment fails in some patients. In addition to creating the first fully characterized, experimentally tractable, in vivo model of chlamydial persistence, these experiments provide evidence that persistent/stressed chlamydial forms may serve as a long-term reservoir of infectious organisms in vivo.

Studien undersökte vilka centrala designprinciper inom ärendehantering och tidsplanering som kan appliceras vid utveckling av ett anpassat ERP-system (Enterprise Resource Planning system) inom SMF:er (Små och Medelstora Företag). Anpassning av ERP-system inom SMF:er är ett komplext område med många komplikationer vilket gör det till en problemklass. Två SMF:er som upplever problem med ärendehantering och tidsplanering var involverade i studien och användes som grund för att utveckla ett anpassat ERP-system. Ett antal wicked problems identifierades utifrån de problemområden som företagen upplevde. Undersökningen utfördes genom en ADR (Action Design Research) forskningsansats med kvalitativ insamlad data under en nio veckor lång period, där fem iterationer av utveckling och utvärdering utfördes med en veckas tidsspann var. Studien resulterade i ett anpassat ERP-system som inkluderar ärendehantering och tidsplanering med en god system-till-arbete passform inom företagen. Sex designprinciper utvecklades under ADR-arbetet och fastställdes när systemet var fullt fungerande och godkänt av involverade företag. Designprinciperna besvarade de identifierade wicked problems och kan användas av andra vid anpassning av ERP-system inom SMF:er / The study examined which central design principles in case management and time planning can be applied in the development of a customized ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning system) within SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). Customization of ERP systems within SMEs is a complex field with many complications which makes it a problem class. Two SMEs experiencing problems with case management and planning were involved in the study and were used as a basis for developing a custom ERP system. Several wicked problems were identified based on the problem areas that the companies experienced. The study was conducted through an ADR (Action Design Research) approach with qualitative collected data over a nine-week period, where five iterations of development and evaluation were performed with a time span of one week each. The study resulted in a custom ERP system that includes case management and time planning with a good system-to-work fit within the companies. Six design principles were developed during the ADR work and established when the system was fully functional and approved by the involved companies. The design principles answered the identified wicked problems and can be used by others when adapting ERP systems within SMEs.

Quality chest compressions during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) are vital to maintaining adequate perfusion of oxygenated blood to the organs of the body to sustain life. Over the years, the compression rate recommended in Basic Life Support (BLS)/ Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) protocols for the best possible outcome has risen, and with that increase there are questions regarding rescuer fatigue and the effectiveness of compressions. Layperson and professional rescuers, answering to an emergency, both maintain continuous chest compressions until advanced life support arrives. Depending on the location, this arrival time would most likely be longer than the two minute standard time given to rotate rescuers before fatigue compromises performance. The objective of this research was to investigate the level of rescuer fatigue associated with continuous compressions, varying compression rates, physical fitness, gender, and among layperson versus professional rescuers. Sixty-one participants performed uninterrupted chest compressions on a manikin for 15 minutes. Before performing compressions, physical fitness was evaluated using a YMCA bench press for an assessment of upper body strength/endurance and a 3-minute step test to evaluate aerobic fitness. Subjects performed two trials at compression rates of greater or equal to 80 and greater or equal to 100 per minute with a 5-minute rest between trials. Male professional rescuers had a greater strength/endurance, and thus were able to perform compressions for a longer period of time compared to their female counterparts. Compression duration and the YMCA Bench Press test score were significantly correlated (p = .0135). Cardiocerebral Resuscitation providers should maintain an adequate upper body strength, particularly if they may be required to perform continuous chest compressions at high rates for more than a few minutes.

Die Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelt zwingt zur Innovation ingenieurwissenschaftlicher Lehre. Während sich technologische, personelle und organisatorische Aspekte dieses Wandels in den Lerninhalten wiederfinden, wird das Potenzial für die kompetenzorientierte Digitalisierung von Lehr- und Lernprozessen noch unzureichend genutzt. In der vorliegenden Dissertation wird ein Vorgehensmodell anhand des Design Science Research entwickelt und erprobt, das zwei Anforderungen kombiniert: die systematische Handlungsleitung im Gestaltungsprozess innovativer technologiebasierter Lehr-Lernformate sowie den Aufbau einer digitalen Gestaltungskompetenz der ausführenden Lehrenden. Hierfür werden die Potenziale des User-centered Design und Usability Engineering adaptiert. Aus der iterativen Evaluation des Vorgehensmodells werden Empfehlungen für den Aufbau von kompetenzförderlichen Gestaltungsprozessen für hybride Lehr-Lernarchitekturen (hLA) abgeleitet, in denen die Vorteile digitaler und analoger Lernformate verschmelzen. Praktisches Ergebnis ist ein gebrauchstaugliches Vorgehensmodell mit erprobter hLA. Die hierbei gewonnenen Erkenntnisse werden als Konzept der hLA in der ingenieurwissenschaftlicher Hochschullehre sowie als Präzisierung einer digitalen Lehrgestaltungskompetenz in die Wissensbasis zurückgespielt.:1 Einleitung 2 Forschungsdesign 3 Innovative Lehrgestaltung - Stand der Wissenschaft 4 Entwicklung des Leifadens zur Gestaltung von hLA 5 Iterative Evaluation des Vorgehensmodells 6 Schlussbetrachtung

Fatigue testing of stretch sensors often focuses on high amplitude, low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior; however, when used for orthopaedic, athletic, or ergonomic assessments, stretch sensors are subjected to low amplitude, high-cycle fatigue (HCF) conditions. As an added layer of complexity, the fatigue testing of stretch sensors is not only focused on the life of the material comprising the sensor, but also on the reliability of the signal produced during the extension and relaxation of the sensor. Research into the development of a smart sock that can be used to measure the range of motion (ROM) of the ankle joint during athletic practices and competitions using stretch sensors is ongoing at Mississippi State University. The current smart sock prototype utilizes StretchSense™ StretchFABRIC capacitive dielectric elastomer sensors. These sensors are no longer manufactured, and FlexSense stretch sensors are being investigated as a potential replacement. To assess the reliability of the signal of the StretchFABRIC sensors currently used in the prototype, two sensors were subjected to 25,000 cycles of fatigue, under with simultaneous capture of the capacitance. The capacitances of the fatigued sensors were then compared to the capacitance of an unfatigued StretchFABRIC sensor during participant trials. Participants completed four static movements and six dynamic gait trials using either the fatigued or unfatigued sensor. Following completion of the initial static and dynamic movements, the movements were repeated using the opposite sensor. Comparison of the fatigued sensor to the unfatigued sensor revealed an upward drift in the capacitance of the fatigued sensor for all trials. Two FlexSense sensors were then subjected to either 450,000 or 250,000 cycles of fatigue with simultaneous capture of the signal from the sensor. To assess the signal, the peak capacitance recorded during the fatigue test was compared to the peak stretch percentage produced by the sensor. The peak displacement remained tight about the mean, while the peak stretch percentage exhibited a high level of scatter. From a materials standpoint, the sensors conformed to the Rabinowitz-Beardmore model of polymer fatigue where an initial monotonic overload of the material is followed by a transition to cyclic stability of the material.