Abstract The German energy industry is rapidly changing and especially small and mid-sized companies are facing various challenges. Currently, there is no structured method to support business process management of these companies by means of a business process reference model. Therefore, within the project “Smart Watts” such a model is being developed for municipal utilities processes with end customer interaction.

The German energy industry is rapidly changing and especially small and mid-sized companies are facing various challenges. Currently, there is no structured method to support business process management of these companies by means of a business process reference model. Therefore, within the project "Smart Watts" such a model is being developed for municipal utilities processes with end customer interaction.

Background Antibody against CD40 is effective in enhancing immune responses to vaccines when chemically conjugated to the vaccine antigen. Unfortunately the requirement for chemical conjugation presents some difficulties in vaccine production and quality control which are compounded when multivalent vaccines are required. We explore here an alternative to chemical conjugation, involving the co-encapsulation of CD40 antibody and antigens in liposomal vehicles. Methodology/Principal Findings Anti-mouse CD40 mAb or isotype control mAb were co-entrapped individually in cationic liposomal vehicles with pneumococcal polysaccharides or diphtheria and tetanus toxoids. Retention of CD40 binding activity upon liposomal entrapment was assessed by ELISA and flow cytometry. After subcutaneous immunization of BALB/c female mice, anti-polysaccharide and DT/TT responses were measured by ELISA. Simple co-encapsulation of CD40 antibody allowed for the retention of CD40 binding on the liposome surface, and also produced vaccines with enhanced imunogenicity. Antibody responses against both co-entrapped protein in the form of tetanus toxoid, and Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular polysaccharide, were enhanced by co-encapsulation with CD40 antibody. Surprisingly, liposomal encapsulation also appeared to decrease the toxicity of high doses of CD40 antibody as assessed by the degree of splenomegaly induced. Conclusions/Significance Liposomal co-encapsulation with CD40 antibody may represent a practical means of producing more immunogenic multivalent vaccines and inducing IgG responses against polysaccharides without the need for conjugation.

This paper presents a framework of new telemedical services for home-based rehab. The importance of home rehab is fast growing due to increasing cost pressure. A sustainable treatment at home is currently ineffective. By deploying an integrated usage of information and microsystem-based technology a sustainable rehab is getting possible at acceptable costs. This paper presents such a network oriented approach including patients, rehab clinics, family doctor and medical service providers (MSP). Latter are responsible for collecting, summarizing and editing of the patient's data. Vital signs such as blood pressure or pulse are measured by micro sensors and transferred into a central database. Authorized network participants, such as the rehab clinic or the patient itself, continuously monitor these parameters. Beyond the medical and cost advantages, this also creates new service offers and business models for telemedical application and service providers.

In Germany the EMS sector has to face many difficulties in the near future among which the long-ranging shortage of emergency physicians and the constant monetary burden are just the most prominent. The solution to these problems is seen in the development and employment of an eHealth telemetric support system for EMS. The long-term success of such a system is determined by human, organisational and technological factors. Hence an integrated approach for the development of an eHealth system for EMS has to be applied. In this context the paper focuses on the development of an appropriated business model. It examines the methodology for business modelling in the eHealth sector and gives first insights to the market for EMS eHealth services.