Optimal space-time adaptive wavelet methods for degenerate parabolic PDEs

We analyze parabolic PDEs with certain type of weakly singular or degenerate time-dependent coefficients and prove existence and uniqueness of weak solutions in an appropriate sense. A localization of the PDEs to a bounded spatial domain is justified. For the numerical solution a space-time wavelet discretization is employed. An optimality result for the iterative solution of the arising systems can be obtained. Finally, applications to fractional Brownian motion models in option pricing are presente

Online market research on the stakeholder groups of businesses : suggestions for the design of performance measurement with a focus on service companies

Die Marktforschung steht gegenwärtig vor den Herausforderungen der Trends (1.) von der Transaktions- zur Beziehungsökonomie und (2.) hin zum Performance Measurement (insbes. Balanced Scorecard). Daraus leitet sich die Forderung nach einer kontinuierlichen Erhebung von Management-Informationen über zukunftsgerichtete Erfolgsmaßstäbe ab. Wissenschaft und Praxis beklagen jedoch das Fehlen entsprechender Stakeholder-Informationen, das vorrangig auf der hohen Komplexität der zur Datenerhebung notwendigen Marktforschungsmethodik basiert. Da die Online-Marktforschung hier Vorteile gegenüber konventionellen Methoden besitzt, wird sie auf ihre Eignung zur Erhebung der Stakeholder-Loyalität überprüft. Im Rahmen der Arbeit wird daher ein Instrumentarium zur regelmäßigen Messung der Beziehungsqualität gegenüber den Anspruchsgruppen der Unternehmung entwickelt, das auf Online-Marktforschungsmethoden basiert und einen Ansatz zur Ermittlung der Stakeholder-Loyalität einschließt.Market Research currently faces several challenges following from the trends (1) from a transaction to a relationship economy, and (2) towards Performance Measurement (particularly the Balanced Scorecard). Out of this, there is deducted the requirement of a continuous measurement of management informationen about future oriented performance measures. However, scientific and practical researchers claim a lack of adequate stakeholder information, which results primarily from the high complexity of the Market Research methods necessary to collect the data. Since Online Research offers advantages compared to traditional methods, the study verifies its applicability for surveying Stakeholder Loyalty. It develops a methodology for the regular measurement of the relationship quality of the Stakeholder Groups of a business, which is (1) based on Online Research methods and (2) proposes an approach for the performance of Stakeholder Loyalty

Benutzerforschung für zwei Teilbibliotheken der Universitätsbibliothek Graz

User studies for two branch libraries of the Graz University Library (translation of the title). In this paper a user study for two libraries of the University of Graz, namely the main library and the Law and Social and Economic Sciences Library, is presented. In detail, user structure, user behavior, and user satisfaction are evaluated by interviewing 276 library users. The results reveal that most users are students who use both libraries quite intensively and are quite satisfied with the existing offer

Progression of myopathology in Kearns-Sayre syndrome

We report on the progression of myopathology by comparing two biopsies from a patient with a Kearns-Sayre-Syndrome. The first biopsy was taken in 1979 and showed 10% ragged-red fibers. Myopathic changes were slight including internal nuclei and fiber splitting in 10% of the fibers. Electron microscopy revealed typical mitochondrial abnormalities with regard to number and shape. In 1989 a second biopsy was performed for an extended analysis of mitochondrial DNA. This time less than 5% of all fibers were ragged-red. Severe myopathic changes could be detected which so far has rarely been reported in mitochondrial cytopathy

Estimating sunspot number

An empirical method is developed to predict certain parameters of future solar activity cycles. Sunspot cycle statistics are examined, and curve fitting and linear regression analysis techniques are utilized

Application of the Hughes-LIU algorithm to the 2-dimensional heat equation

An implicit explicit algorithm for the solution of transient problems in structural dynamics is described. The method involved dividing the finite elements into implicit and explicit groups while automatically satisfying the conditions. This algorithm is applied to the solution of the linear, transient, two dimensional heat equation subject to an initial condition derived from the soluton of a steady state problem over an L-shaped region made up of a good conductor and an insulating material. Using the IIT/PRIME computer with virtual memory, a FORTRAN computer program code was developed to make accuracy, stability, and cost comparisons among the fully explicit Euler, the Hughes-Liu, and the fully implicit Crank-Nicholson algorithms. The Hughes-Liu claim that the explicit group governs the stability of the entire region while maintaining the unconditional stability of the implicit group is illustrated

Chronic Progressive External Ophthalmoplegia Is Associated with a Novel Mutation in the Mitochondrial tRNA(Asn) Gene

Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) is caused by a decreased oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) activity due to large-scale deletions of the mitochondrial genome in 50 % of the patients. The deletions encompass structural OXPHOS genes as well as tRNA genes, required for their expression so that the pathogenesis could be due to the deleted OXPHOS subunits or to an impaired mitochondrial translation. We have analyzed the mitochondrial genome of a patient presenting with CPEO for single base substitutions and discovered a novel heteroplasmic mutation in the tRNAAsn gene at position 5692 that converts a highly conserved adenine into a guanine. This mutation is unique because it is located at the transition of the anticodon loop to the anticodon stem and it leads to an additional base pair, thus reducing the number of loop-forming nucleotides from seven to five. Our findings suggest that CPEO can be caused by a single base substition in a mitochondrial tRNA gene so that the mitochondrial protein synthesis becomes the rate limiting step in OXPHOS fidelity