Nowadays mobility is a field of great importance. The fact of travelling or moving should not mean the rupture of the connection to the Internet. And the current objective is not only to be world-wide connected, it is also to be it always through the best available connection (ABC). It means the need to perform vertical handover to switch between different networks, while maintaining the same Internet connection. All this has to be done in a transparent way to the user. In order provide the highest Quality of Experience some tools are needed to enable checking the status and performance of the different available networks, measuring and collecting statistics, in order to take advantage of each one of them. This thesis presents the theoretical base for a measurement module by describing and analysing different metrics, with special emphasis on delay jitter, collecting and comparing different methods, and discussing their main characteristics and suitability for this goal.

The thesis is focused on the production of a seamless ring manufactured from low-alloyed steel 15 142, which fills the function as a large-dimensional bearing. On the basis of suitable production technologies analysis, the radial axial rolling method was chosen and a specific manufacturing process was proposed. During the manufacturing time, the creation of the forging defects in the transfers forms were occurred, which was totally undesirable. By changing the parameters of the machine, in particular the rolling curve and the temperature, the process was optimized and the production performed completely without defects.

This master's thesis deals with terrain rendering using a modern algorithm for adaptive level of detail. It describes two currently most used graphical application interfaces and high-level libraries that use them and summarizes principles and features of several level-of-detail algorithms for terrain rendering. In more detail it then describes the implementation of Seamless patches for GPU-based terrain rendering algorithm.

Die Unterteilung der Arzneimittelversorgung in einen ambulanten und stationären Sektor führt zu vermeidbaren arzneimittelbezogenen Problemen an den Versorgungsschnittstellen. Medikationspläne werden häufig zum Schließen von Informationslücken bei Krankenhausaufnahme genutzt. Diese wurden bisher noch nicht unter Routinebedingungen in einem multizentrischen Setting auf ihren Nutzen hin untersucht. Des Weiteren wird die Nachhaltigkeit der Informationsweitergabe bei Krankenhausentlassung wissenschaftlich kontrovers diskutiert. Von besonderer Relevanz für den Patienten sind stationäre Medikationsänderungen, die zur Aufhebung eines arzneimittelbezogenen Problems geführt haben. Für die Untersuchung dieser beiden Aspekte ist eine sektorenübergreifende Datenbasis notwendig, die ressourceneffektiv und möglichst frei von systematischen Bias ist. Das Ziel dieser Dissertation war daher unter Nutzung eines innovativen Datenlinkage aus Primär- und Sekundärdaten der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung, den Einfluss von Medikationsplänen auf die Arzneimittelkontinuität an den Versorgungsschnittstellen und die Nachhaltigkeit pharmazeutischer Interventionen in einem multizentrischen Setting zu bestimmen. Für die Untersuchung des Einflusses von Medikationsplänen wurden Medikationsprofile von 279 Studienteilnehmern ausgewertet. Dabei zeigte sich, dass Arzneimittel von Patienten mit Medikationsplan zur Krankenhausaufnahme stationär häufiger weiterverordnet wurden. Neben diesem Nutzen des Medikationsplans wurde auch Optimierungsbedarf aufgezeigt, da sich beispielsweise in Bezug auf den Ersteller sowie einzelner Arzneimittelgruppen kein Benefit eines Medikationsplanes darstellen ließ. Neu war ebenfalls die Beobachtung, dass sich beide Arzneimittelversorgungsschnittstellen hinsichtlich der Weiterverordnung von Arzneimittel statistisch signifikant voneinander unterscheiden. Folglich sind unterschiedliche Herangehensweisen für die Reduktion von arzneimittelbezogenen Problemen notwendig. Im Rahmen einer prospektiven, randomisierten, kontrollierten Interventionsstudie an 532 Patienten wurde die Informationsweitergabe zu arzneimittelbezogenen Problemen nach Krankenhausentlassung analysiert. Pharmazeutische Empfehlungen allein konnten dabei die Prävalenz von arzneimittelbezogenen Problemen nicht reduzieren. Kommunikationsbarrieren und sektorenspezifische Arzneimitteltherapien haben wahrscheinlich die Nachhaltigkeit reduziert. Die publizierten multizentrischen Studien zeigen zusammen die Probleme der sektorenübergreifenden Arzneimittelverordnung und die Limitationen bisheriger Lösungsstrategien auf. Durch diese Erkenntnisse ist es möglich, weiterführende Strategien zur Erhöhung der Arzneimitteltherapiesicherheit zu entwickeln und flächendeckend zu implementieren.:1. Zusammenfassung 1 2. Abstract 8 3. Einleitende Kapitel 14 3.1. Arzneimittelversorgung im deutschen Gesundheitssystem 14 3.2. Schließen von Informationslücken an Versorgungsschnittstellen durch Medikationspläne 15 3.3. Nachhaltige Lösung von arzneimittelbezogenen Problemen an Versorgungsschnittstellen 17 3.4. Anforderungen an die Datenerhebung an Versorgungsschnittstellen 20 3.5. Fragestellungen 22 4. Originalarbeit 1: Medikationspläne bei Krankenhausaufnahme – eine multizentrische Analyse unter Nutzung von Routinedaten einer gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung 24 5. Originalarbeit 2: Verwendung von Routinedaten der gesetzlichen Krankenkasse in einer Pilotstudie zur Evaluation pharmazeutischer Interventionen im Krankenhaus 34 6. Diskussion 44 6.1. Machbarkeit und Vorteile des Datenlinkage 46 6.2. Bedeutung des Medikationsplans für die Arzneimittelkontinuität 50 6.3. Unterschiede in der Weiterverordnung von Arzneimitteln bei Krankenhausaufnahme und -enlassung 55 6.4. Nachhaltigkeit pharmazeutischer Empfehlungen 57 7. Fazit und Ausblick 61 Literaturverzeichnis 62 Abkürzungsverzeichnis 67 Wissenschaftlicher Werdegang 68 Publikationsverzeichnis 69

To assess non-inferiority of an experimental product to an active control in a clinical trial, an ideal design is to include a placebo arm to ensure both the experimental product and the active control is superior to placebo. We aim to identify methodology to control Type I error rate and maintain adequate power in a superiority/non-inferiority seamless clinical trial defined as: 1. selecting the best experimental treatment dose vs. placebo out of multiple treatment doses in Stage I; and 2. assessing non-inferiority of the chosen experimental dose to an active control, after adding subjects to yield adequate power for non-inferiority, in Stage II. The trial design here is an antihypertensive trial with change in systolic blood pressure as the outcome. The trial has three experimental treatment doses arms of experimental, a placebo control arm, and an active control arm. A simulation study of 20,000 such trials was conducted. We apply multiple comparison methodologies in Stage I to detect the most beneficial experimental treatment dose versus placebo, and test non-inferiority of the selected experimental dose to the active control in Stage II. Simulated Type I error rate and power for claiming non-inferiority are calculated for various dose-response trends. The need to adjust alpha to control Type I error either stage is assessed, seeking the optimal approach for doing so. Next, type I error and power for various fixed and variable non-inferiority margins are evaluated, exploring a range of margins informed by the first stage results of the study. A variable non-inferiority margin informed completely by the first stage of the trial approach results in inflated error rate which cannot be controlled by suggested multiplicity adjustments. We assess a synthesis approach between the fixed and variable margins, to both control the family-wise error rates and reach adequate power, depending on a tuning parameter defined in our work. We conclude that well-designed and adequately controlled seamless superiority/non-inferiority trials are possible with appropriate multiple comparisons adjustments and could result in less development time and fewer subjects needed to assess efficacy than separate trials.

No description available.

A long-standing goal of computer-based entertainment is the creation of a story where a user is in control of portions of the storyline. These non-linear stories give a user an opportunity to adapt the story to his or her interests, schedule and needs. The Internet has made non-linear video a reality. Different approaches have been taken to create and play non-linear video stories. They suffer from lack of simplicity, smoothness, and television-like experience in story creation and presentation. Flexible Storylines provide a way to easily create and present non-linear video stories. The creation of these stories is done using a time-line based editor that mimics the way video stories are composed by film makers. The viewing experience of flexible stories is very similar to viewing a normal video with an introduction of the choice to see more or less of the current topic. This provides a highly variable experience with a simple, smooth and non-intrusive form of user interaction. We also provide a mechanism that lets a story flow smoothly despite the introduction of user interaction.

Facebook kan ses som ett exempel på den nya webb som följt de riktlinjer som sammanställdes i Web 2.0. I riktlinjerna lades tonvikt på sociala medier och en interaktiv webb, centrerad kring användaren och användarskapat innehåll. Sedan starten har Facebook News Feed implementerat en algoritmisk kuratering (eng. algorithmic curation ) för att ge användaren vad han eller hon söker baserat på tidigare interaktion. Studier har gjorts för att analysera hur användarna upplever den underliggande algoritmen. Dessa har visat att människor ofta utvecklar egna teorier om hur algoritmen fungerar och att detta påverkar hur en användare interagerar med nyhetsflödet. Det sätt algoritmisk kuratering används idag i applikationer är främst genom att tillämpa en sömlös designfilosofi. Detta görs för att förenkla användarupplevelsen genom att lägga en “svart låda” över de underliggande processerna. I vår studie intervjuade vi tio studenter om sina tankar om nyhetsflödet och hur mycket kontroll de har att anpassa flödet efter personliga preferenser. Vi ämnar även bidra till diskussionen gällande fördelar och nackdelar med en så kallad seamful design kontra en seamless design och hur användaren upplever resultatet av ett flöde som har implementerat en algoritmisk kuratering. Resultatet visar att vi kan se samband mellan bristande tillit till systemets anpassningsverktyg och låg transparens. Våra användare uttryckte att de kunde förstå varför de får de resultat de får, men vi fann även att den stora delen av innehållet var irrelevant för deras intressen och personliga preferenser. Våra resultat visar ett behov av att fortsätta forskningen på olika plattformar för att se om en något ökad insyn kommer att bidra till att lita på frågor och underlätta manuell anpassning av system för högre relevans. / Facebook can be seen as an example of the new web emerging with the rise of Web 2.0. The guidelines of this new web put emphasis on social media and an interactive web, heavily centered around the user and user created content. Since the start the Facebook News Feed has implemented an algorithmic curation to give the user what he or she wants based on prior interaction. Studies have been made analyzing how users experience the underlying algorithm. They have shown that people often are developing their own theories on how the algorithm work and that this also affect the way a user interacts with the feed. The way algorithmic curation is used today in applications is mainly by embracing a seamless design philosophy. This is done to simplify the user experience by putting a “black box” over the underlying processes. In our study we interviewed ten students on their thoughts about the News Feed and the amount of control they have to adapt the feed according to personal preferences. We aim to contribute to the discussion on the benefits and downsides with a so called seamful design in contrast to a seamless design and how users experience the results of a feed that has implemented an algorithmic curation. Our results show connections between a lack of trust in the systems tools to customize the feed and low transparency. Our users expressed that they could understand as to why they got the results that they get, but we found that the vast majority of content was irrelevant to their interests and personal preferences. Our results indicate that there is a need to continue the research on different platforms to see if a somewhat heightened transparency will help with trust issues and ease manual adaptation of systems for higher relevancy.

No description available.

<p>The objective of the thesis research is to design such vertical handoff decision algorithms in order for mobile field workers and other mobile users equipped with contemporary multimode mobile devices to communicate seamlessly in the NGWN. In order to tackle this research objective, we used fuzzy logic and fuzzy inference systems to design a suitable handoff initiation algorithm that can handle imprecision and uncertainties in data and process multiple vertical handoff initiation parameters (criteria) / used the fuzzy multiple attributes decision making method and context awareness to design a suitable access network selection function that can handle a tradeoff among many handoff metrics including quality of service requirements (such as network conditions and system performance), mobile terminal conditions, power requirements, application types, user preferences, and a price model / used genetic algorithms and simulated annealing to optimise the access network selection function in order to dynamically select the optimal available access network for handoff / and we focused in particular on an interesting use case: vertical handoff decision between mobile WiMAX and UMTS access networks. The implementation of our handoff decision algorithm will provide a network selection mechanism to help mobile users select the best wireless access network among all available wireless access networks, that is, one that provides always best connected services to users.</p>