Open Access

This paper focuses on designing a robust interface solution for synchronizing critical delivery dates during a complex ERP migration phase, necessitated by the parallel operation of a legacy system and a new target system. The core challenge is that automatic rollback operations triggered between the synchronized ERP systems—due to technical errors—are systematically not communicated to the downstream PPC systems (Production Planning and Control systems). This data inconsistency leads to significant business risks, including production disruptions, delivery delays, and increased inventory costs. The developed solution implements an API-centric approach based on Microservices principles to ensure loose coupling between the systems. It utilizes a two-stage synchronization mechanism to proactively resolve these inconsistencies. First, a time-delayed individual validation employs a strategic 30-minute buffer time to guarantee that potential ERP rollback operations are completed before consistency checks with the PPC system begin. Second, a comprehensive nightly consistency validation systematically reviews all business-relevant delivery dates within a defined time window and initiates automatic corrections. The system's status-based processing model, combined with comprehensive logging and a "Live-Feed" Web Interface, guarantees transaction security and complete traceability. This approach successfully minimizes business risks during the critical transition and offers an effective design pattern for handling rollback situations in similar complex, heterogeneous integration projects.

The purpose of the study is to examine how international cooperation contributes to strengthening Kazakhstan's position as an educational hub. Although global academic partnerships are widely recognized major pillars of higher education modernization, few studies have explored Kazakhstan's strategic positioning and the management mechanisms supporting its internationalization efforts. This study introduces a novel comparative framework analyzing how Kazakhstan’s internationalization strategies differ from regional counterparts and evaluates the governance mechanisms shaping its academic partnerships.The methodology consists of a mixed-method approach, including statistical analysis, comparative assessment of universities rankings, as well as content analysis of academic reports. It uses a pragmatic research framework that combines quantitative and qualitative insights in understanding international cooperation: however, its impact faces challenges, including the limitations of secondary data since they can hardly showcase some of the vital institutional obstacles surrounding global academic collaboration.The novelty lies in the systematic evaluation of management strategies that further international partnerships in higher education in Kazakhstan. In contrast to past studies that largely dealt with the overall consequences of internationalization, this study additionally explores feedback mechanisms and strategic approaches that enable and enhance global engagements for universities.The findings show international partnerships improve the quality of education, curriculum development, influence research output, and attract foreign students and faculty. The study reveals that Kazakhstani universities are expanding their international networks even further despite the bureaucratic barriers and unequal institutional participation in international partnerships.This research contributes to the current discourse on higher education internationalization by means of taking Kazakhstan as a concrete case to demonstrate how targeted management strategies could make national education systems stronger in developing countries. Findings suggest specific practices for universities to enhance competitiveness and ensure sustainable growth in international academic cooperation.

Background: Pregnancy care in the USA is in crisis, particularly in rural areas. Shortages and maldistribution of care are contributing factors. Family medicine (FM) physicians could be crucial to addressing the crisis. Objectives: This study compared pregnancy and rural practice intentions of FM residents and FM obstetrics (FMOB) fellows, and current practices of FMOB fellowship alumni. Method: In this cross-sectional survey study, 25 FM residents, 7 FMOB fellows, and 37 FMOB fellowship alumni completed practice intentions or actual practice surveys. Variables of interest included intention or practice in rural locations and medically underserved areas, and pregnancy-care intentions or practice, including items on delivery types and advanced obstetrics. We used Fisher’s exact test to compare residents, fellows, and alumni. Results: Trainee intention and alumni practice were similar in practice characteristics except a higher rate of residents (80%) and fellows (100%) intended to practice in a medically underserved area (MUA) than alumni (29%) who practiced in an MUA (P < .001 and P = .001, respectively). Specific to pregnancy care, fellows and alumni respectively intended and provided low-risk, high-risk, and cesarean deliveries, and advanced obstetrics at higher rates than resident intentions. Discussion: Results suggest FMOB fellows are more likely intend to provide pregnancy-related care compared to FM residents, and alumni provide pregnancy-related care at rates similar to fellow intentions. Few FM residents complete obstetrics fellowships. FMOB fellowships alone cannot sufficiently address care shortages. Expanding and promoting FMOB fellowships would increase the pregnancy -care workforce, but more is needed for FM to realize its potential to resolve the crisis.

Optimierung von Geschäftsprozessen ist ein wichtiges Thema in der Praxis und in der Ausbildung für (Wirtschafts‑)Informatiker. Gegenwärtig konzentrieren sich Beiträge in der Fachliteratur zur Prozessoptimierung hauptsächlich auf die Perspektiven von Prozesseigentümern und Management, die Zeit- und Kosteneinsparungen anstreben. Dadurch kann der Aspekt der In- und Exklusion von Personen bei der Digitalisierung von Geschäftsprozessen leicht aus dem Fokus geraten. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt eine Methode vor, die die Teilnehmer an Diskussionen zu Prozessverbesserungen dazu bringt, frühzeitig Aspekte der Zugänglichkeit in die Betrachtungen einzuschließen und in der Folge beim Prozessdesign zu berücksichtigen. Dazu wurde ein Satz von Karten entwickelt, die mögliche Beweggründe dafür beleuchten, eine digitale Anwendung nicht nutzen zu können oder zu wollen. Das Nachvollziehen dieser Beweggründe soll helfen, das Design von Prozessen und Anwendungen zu verbessern. Insbesondere wird über positive Erfahrungen beim Einsatz des Kartensatzes in der Hochschullehre im Fach Informatik berichtet.

Cold Atmospheric Plasma-Aerosol (CAP-A) technology has emerged as a novel, contactless approach for antimicrobial treatment. This study evaluates the in vivo efficacy of CAP-A in reducing microbial contamination on human skin, building on obligatory in vitro testing. In vitro results demonstrated consistent 3–4.5 log unit microbial reductions across five standard organisms. In vivo evaluation using Escherichia coli revealed a mean log reduction factor of 4.77 (SD ± 0.44), exceeding the 4-log threshold considered clinically relevant. Notably, CAP-A showed comparable efficacy to an alcohol-based reference disinfection method (p = 0.134), without associated drawbacks such as thermal effects or ozone accumulation. Results suggest that CAP-A offers equivalent in vivo efficacy compared to previously documented CAP methods while minimizing tissue damage, thermal changes, and discomfort. The results underscore the potential of CAP-A as an effective and tolerable alternative to established CAP approaches, warranting further comparative research under standardized conditions. Future studies should examine both CAP and CAP-A technologies, broadening the spectrum of tested microorganisms, incorporating additional parameters, and rigorously assessing benefits and risks. This research could elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving differences in efficacy and side effect profiles, ultimately contributing to the optimization of plasma-based treatments in clinical and industrial settings.

Introduction: Dermatophytosis is a common fungal skin infection in horses, particularly affecting young and immunocompromised animals. Traditional treatments often involve antifungal medications with potential side effects. Here, we present a case report that evaluated the efficacy of cold atmospheric plasma-aerosol (CAP-A) as a standalone treatment for equine dermatophytosis. Methods: A 2-year-old Westphalian warmblood stallion presented with confirmed dermatophyte lesions restricted to the left side of the mouth which were treated with CAP-A. Treatment was administered 2 times daily for 12 consecutive days; each session consisted of two 3-min fogging cycles. Microbiological samples were collected before and after the treatment period. Daily photographic documentation was maintained. Results: Initial microbiological examination identified Trichophyton ssp. (Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton benhamiae, Trichphyton erinacei, Trichophyton tonsurans, Trichophyton equinum, Trichophyton verrucosum, or Trichophyton rubrum) as the definitive aetiology. Post-treatment samples were negative for all of the tested dermatophytes including Trichophyton spp., Microsporum canis, and Nannizzia ssp. Clinical progression was documented through photographic evidence. The horse showed no signs of discomfort during or after the treatment sessions. Discussion: CAP - A therapy demonstrated promising results as a non-pharmacological treatment option for equine dermatophytosis, achieving both clinical and microbiological resolution without adverse effects. This single case report will need to be followed up by a prospective study in a larger sample to draw definite conclusions about the efficacy of the treatment.

The need for disinfection in ambulances is high as medical procedures are performed inside the cars and patients may have open wounds that pose a high risk of infection. The application of reactive products from air's oxygen and water vapor, brought to reaction through cold plasma, can be a solution to the discrepancy in surface hygiene. The cell membrane of the microorganisms is perforated by the charged particles of the cold plasma. This is impossible in human cells because proteins in the form of enzymes break down the cold plasma and protect the cells. An ambulance was contaminated in 8 places. Samples were taken at each site and two surfaces of approximately 8x8 cm were sealed and marked. Both surfaces were contaminated with an Enterococcus faecium suspension of 8.5x107CFU/mL by applying the suspension with a sterile cotton swab. Then, the disinfection process was applied. The PLASMOCAR® device was placed in the front work surface and operated for 30 minutes using the vehicle's onboard voltage. During operation, doors and windows were closed and the vehicle's air conditioning was active. The surfaces for bacterial counts were sampled after the disinfection process was completed. A reduction of 3.73 log levels in initial bacteria was achieved in the rescue vehicle for Enterococcus faecium, equivalent to a 10-4-fold reduction in bacteria, eliminating up to 99.99% of the initial microorganisms. This makes the process suitable as a continuously "background" procedure to support and relieve established disinfection procedures. The established disinfection procedures per hygiene plan should be recognized as soon as mechanical cleaning of surfaces is needed. The use of PLASMOCAR® provides additional security and significantly reduces the background risk of transmitting microorganisms through cross-contamination and aerosols, a relevant benefit for staff and patients.

Kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) stehen vor der Herausforderung, in einer zunehmend datengetriebenen Wirtschaft wettbewerbsfähig zu bleiben, verfügen jedoch häufig über begrenzte Ressourcen für den Aufbau von Datenkompetenzen. Um diese Unternehmen zu unterstützen, wurde das Projekt DataLab WestSax als Reallabor, ein Testraum für Datennutzungsideen, zur Förderung datenbasierter Innovationen eingerichtet. Auf Basis der Erkenntnisse aus den dort entstandenen Kooperationen zwischen Forschung und Industrie wird in diesem Beitrag diskutiert, wie KMU erfolgreich datenbasierte Wertschöpfung implementieren können. Methodisch stützt sich die Untersuchung auf das Konzept des Engaged Scholarship. Aus der Analyse von sieben ausgewählten Kooperationsprojekten (den sogenannten Realexperimenten) im Rahmen von DataLab WestSax werden vier zentrale Prinzipien für erfolgreiche datenbasierte Wertschöpfung in KMU abgeleitet: grundlegende Datenkompetenz für alle Mitarbeiter, präzise Datenkommunikation, Nutzung von Wissenstransfer und opportunistischer Aufbau von Datenwertschöpfungskapazitäten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass KMU oft einen Prozess der „Datenbricolage“ durchlaufen – eine pragmatische und kreative Nutzung vorhandener Ressourcen. Dies steht im Kontrast zu oft propagierten, stark formalisierten und ressourcenintensiven Ansätzen der Datenwertschöpfung, die für viele KMU nicht realisierbar sind. Datenbricolage erweist sich daher als ein notwendiger Schritt für viele KMU auf dem Weg zur Professionalisierung ihrer Datenwertschöpfung. Die im Beitrag vorgestellten Prinzipien können KMU dabei als Leitfaden dienen, um ihre Infrastruktur zu entwickeln, ihre Datenkompetenz zu erhöhen und letztendlich ihre Wettbewerbsfähigkeit in einer zunehmend datengetriebenen Wirtschaft zu stärken.