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Distributed event-based systems have risen in significance over the last few years across many different application domains. Still, the configuration of available communication middleware solutions remains an elaborate task driven by technical terms and manual performance optimization. We present the M2etis Quality-of-service-aware Semantics Modeling Language (MATINEE), a domain-specific language for modeling the QoS requirements and semantic properties of event-based systems in the terminology of the application domain. No knowledge of the technical terms of the underlying middleware solution is required by the application developers to conduct the configuration. Embedded in a novel configuration methodology provided by the M2etis project, MATINEE specifications are interpreted to automatically derive optimal middleware configurations without the need for manual optimization. The purpose of MATINEE is to provide a flexible language that can easily be adapted to different application domains. We focus on the language specification of MATINEE, briefly sketch our configuration methodology and present related language approaches.

Denne masteroppgaven tar for seg naturfaget på ungdomstrinnet og første klasse på videregående skole, med spesielt fokus på fysikkfagets stilling innen dette faget. Oppgaven tar for seg naturfaget på tre nivåer; Formål, hovedområder og kompetansemål i læreplanen analyseres med bakgrunn i et kategoriskjema med de fem fagdisiplinene biologi, fysikk, geologi, kjemi og teknologi. Det samme kategoriskjemaet danner grunnlaget for en kvantitativ innholdsanalyse av de to mest brukte læreverkene i naturfag. Til sist er elever på 8. trinn og Vg1 spurt en rekke spørsmål rundt sine holdninger til og kunnskaper om fagdisiplinene nevnt ovenfor. Disse dataene er så analysert statistisk. Læreplanen legger ingen føringer for tids- eller ressursbruk mellom emnene. Men dersom vi tillegger alle hovedområder og kompetansemål lik vekt, vil resultatet av læreplananalysen i denne oppgaven tyde på at biologi og fysikk får størst plass, etterfulgt av kjemi og teknologi. Tendensen er den samme for lærebøkene i fordeling av sider mellom fagdisiplinene, men med teknologi og geofag som de store taperne. En opptelling av ord som inneholder fagnavnene gir dog helt motsatte resultater. Kjemi- og teknologiord brukes i langt større utstrekning enn fysikkord. Elevene ser på fysikk som en del av naturfaget det er viktig å lære om, men faget kommer likevel litt i skyggen av kjemi og biologi. Mange av elevene svarer at de vet hva fysikk er, men når de bes om å kategorisere typiske fysikkemner er det likevel mange som har problemer. Med bakgrunn i resultatene anbefales dagens naturfagslærere å være ekstra oppmerksomme på å gi elevene innsikt i hvilke emner som inngår i fagdisiplinene de senere skal velge. Fremtidige lærebokforfattere anbefales å styrke koblingen mellom fysikkfaglig stoff og fagnavnet fysikk, og i større grad benytte fagspesifikke titler istedenfor det nøytrale forsker. Dette for å gi elevene innsikt i fagdisiplinene de kan velge på videregående. Først da danner naturfaget et grunnlag for videre studievalg, slik læreplanen sier.

Perhaps like no other country, Germany has radically changed its policies towards regulating air pollution in the European context. Acting originally as a dragger in the 1970s to regulate transboundary air pollutants due to pessimism about the relationship between causes and effects, Germany responded very decisively to its own damage assessment in the early 1980s. In particular the adverse effects to forests (Waldsterben" or forest decline) led to the formulation of strict air pollution regulations in the domestic context, efforts to spread the regulatory system within the European Union, and activities within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to foster stronger, continent-wide emission reductions. Using three conceptual models (rational actor, domestic politics, and social learning), we show that Germany deviated strongly from the ideal policy cycle consisting of (i) domestic policy formulation, (ii) international negotiations, as well as (iii) implementation and compliance with the provisions of international environmental agreements. Both national policy-making as well as partial implementation have been well on the way towards compliance even before Germany entered international negotiations on substantive protocols. Therefore, one may conclude from this country study that push countries may use the results of their national policy processes to influence the policy of other countries.

ObjectivesWe sought to assess the safety and clinical efficacy of patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure under fluoroscopic guidance only, without intraprocedural echocardiography.BackgroundPercutaneous PFO closure has been shown to be safe and feasible using several devices. It is generally performed using simultaneously fluoroscopic and transesophageal or intracardiac echocardiographic guidance. Transesophageal echocardiography requires sedation or general anesthesia and intubation to avoid aspiration. Intracardiac echocardiography is costly and has inherent risks. Both lengthen the procedure. The Amplatzer PFO Occluder (AGA Medical Corporation, Golden Valley, Minnesota) can be safely implanted without echocardiographic guidance.MethodsA total of 620 patients (51 ± 12 years; 66% male) underwent PFO closure using the Amplatzer PFO Occluder for secondary prevention of presumed paradoxical embolism. Based on size and mobility of the PFO and the interatrial septum, an 18-mm device was used in 50 patients, a 25-mm device in 492, and a 35-mm device in 78.ResultsAll procedures were successful, with 5 procedural complications (0.8%): 4 arteriovenous fistulae requiring elective surgical correction, and 1 transient ischemic attack. Contrast transesophageal echocardiography at 6 months showed complete closure in 91% of patients, whereas a minimal, moderate, or large residual shunt persisted in 6%, 2%, and 1%, respectively. During a mean follow-up period of 3.0 ± 1.9 years (median: 2.6 years; total patient-years: 1,871), 5 ischemic strokes, 8 transient ischemic attacks, and no peripheral emboli were reported. Freedom from recurrent ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, or peripheral embolism was 99% at 1 year, 99% at 2 years, and 97% at 5 years.ConclusionsThe Amplatzer PFO Occluder affords excellent safety and long-term clinical efficacy of percutaneous PFO closure without intraprocedural echocardiography.