Thromboelastography in healthy dairy cows

Thromboelastography is a whole blood-based coagulation assay that can be used to investigate hypocoagulability and hypercoagulability, as seen with thromboembolic diseases and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Numerous coagulopathies due to different causes are reported in cows. The objective was to establish reference intervals for thromboelastography using the TEG 5000 (Haemonetics GmbH, Munich, Germany) with citrated whole blood samples and kaolin activation in dairy cows and to investigate possible thromboelastographic changes between cows in different lactation periods. An additional objective was to test the stability of samples for up to 100 h. Sixty blood samples from healthy Holstein-Friesian cows were examined. The samples were allocated to 3 different lactation groups (≤30 d postcalving, 31–99 d postcalving, ≥100 d postcalving). Thromboelastography was performed by using the TEG 5000 analyzer with citrated whole blood samples with kaolin activation. The calculated reference intervals were as follows: reaction time = 2.2 to 6.2 min, coagulation time = 0.8 to 2.0 min, angle α = 58.2 to 81.8°, maximum amplitude = 64.3 to 89.2 mm, and clot rigidity = 9.2 to 41.2 dyn/cm². The 3 different lactation groups showed no significant differences in TEG parameters. No significant difference was seen in samples stored for up to 48 h at room temperature, which indicates that delays in processing samples, such as those arising during transit, are not an issue.     

Dustiness Quantification of Powders by the Fractional Release Rate

The handling of dispersed solids may lead to undesirable release of dust particles. Size and quantity of the particles transferred into the gas with time depend on the binding and separating forces in the powder. These in turn are determined by characteristic parameters of the powder and of the process. Analogous to the well‐known “fractional collection efficiency” describing the dust separation, a newly defined “fractional release rate” to quantify the release of dust is introduced. The application is demonstrated by an example and the way to further development of this innovative approach is demonstrated.     

Information quality,user satisfaction,and the manifestation of workarounds: a qualitative and quantitative study of enterprise content management system users

In this paper, we focus on a critical aspect of work in organizations: using information in work tasks which is provided by information systems (IS) such as enterprise content management (ECM) systems. Our study based on the IS success model, 34 interviews, and an empirical study of 247 ECM system users at a financial service provider indicates that it is appropriate to differentiate between contextual and representational information quality as two information quality dimensions. Furthermore, we reveal that in addition to system quality, the two information quality dimensions are important in determining end-user satisfaction, which in turn influences the manifestation of workarounds. Our study also finds that employees using workarounds to avoid an ECM system implemented several years is negatively related to individual net benefits of the ECM system. Hence, we conclude that when investigating large-scale IS such as ECM systems, it is important to differentiate among information quality dimensions to more deeply understand end-user satisfaction and the resulting manifestation of workarounds. Moreover, this research guides organizations in implementing the most appropriate countermeasures based on the importance of either contextual or representational information quality.     

Nano-Design für Makroschichten

Nano design for macroscopic coatings – new application potentials by PVD coatings up to 100 μm thickness Non-homogeneous coatings still limit the application of thicker layers due to defect growth and irregular layer thickness distribution along the surface of complex shaped components. Therefore, the layer thickness is usually limited to about 10 μm. In order to limit the surface roughness by the growing layer, multilayer coating systems are deposited by highly ionized plasmas. This allows significantly smoother layers to be produced, which until now could only be produced by mechanical finishing. Furthermore, by combining selected material systems and targeted parameter selection, structures can be deposited during coating, especially on edges, which result in a reduction of the cutting edge radius. In future, edge geometries should therefore be able to be specifically adjusted through the coating process.