bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative study of the effect of ethanolic extract of swietenia mahagoni seeds with rosiglitazone on experimentally induced diabetes mellitus in rats
Authors: Hasan SMMMA , Khan MI , Kumar BU , Sadeque MZ
Published: July 2013

The study was performed to compare the blood glucose lowering effect of Swietenia mahagoni seeds with an oral antidiabetic drug, rosiglitazone in experimentally induced diabetic rats. Twentyfour healthy Long Evans Norwegian strain of rats were included in the study and divided into four groups (A, B, C and D) comprising 6 rats each. Group A (control group) received standard rat food for 14 days. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal administration of alloxan 120mg/kg body weight in Group B, C and D. Group B was given standard food for 10 days and considered as diabetic control. Group C and D were treated with ethanolic extract of Swietenia mahagoni seeds 1000mg/kg and rosiglitazone 10mg/kg orally respectively. Administration of ethanolic extract of Swietenia mahagoni seeds in group C and rosiglitazone in group D produced a significant reduction in blood glucose level as compared to diabetic control (group B). Histological examination of pancreas showed destruction of beta cells in Islets of pancreas in group B whereas retaining of islets and few degranulations of beta cells of pancreas found in group C and group D. The observations and results of the present study provide information that ethanolic extract of Swietenia mahagoni seeds has hypoglycaemic effect in experimentally induced diabetic rats which requires further investigation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmrcb.v39i1.15790 Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2013; 39: 6-10
Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology: a sensitive diagnostic tool for diagnosis of intra-abdominal lesions
Authors: Islam T , Hossain F , Rumpa AP , Sikder NH , Bhuiyan MA , Karim E , Hossain A
Published: July 2013

Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology is widely accepted as a safe diagnostic procedure in various neoplastic and non-plastic disorders. This study was conducted to determine the usefulness and diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of intraabdominal lesions. This cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of Radiology and Imaging, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Sylhet, Bangladesh during the period of June 2007 to June 2009. A total 78 patients with intra abdominal lesions were included in this study. Fifty nine (75.6%) were males and 19(24.4%) were females. Out of total aspirates 29(37.2%) were categorized as benign, 41(52.6%) were malignant and 8(10.3%) were non-representative, as it contained only blood. Most of the benign lesions were liver abscess 19(24.4%). A diagnosis of primary malignancy was established in 26(33.3%) and that of secondary in 15(19.2%). The results showed a sensitivity of 89.7%. Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology is a sensitive diagnostic tool in a wide spectrum of intra-abdominal neoplastic and non-neoplastic disorders. It is a simple, safe, rapid and inexpensive technique. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmrcb.v39i1.15792 Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2013; 39: 14-17
Normal value of pulsatility index of umbilical artery in second and third trimester of pregnancy
Authors: Ferdous MA , Sharif MM , Mohiuddin AS , Shegufta F
Published: July 2013

This cross sectional study was carried out on 60 pregnant Bangladeshi women in the department of Radiology and Imaging, BIRDEM for measurement of Pulsatility Index (PI) of umbilical artery of their fetuses by duplex colour Doppler sonography during 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancies. Considering total 2nd and 3rd trimesters the mean PI value of umbilical artery was 1.24 (SD±0.27). While considering the gestational in separate trimesters, study showed that the value of PI in 2nd trimester was 1.33 (SD±0.29) and in 3rd trimester PI was 1.18 (SD±0.25). Paired t test shows there was a highly significant (t=35.79, df=59, Level of significance=0.001) difference between mean values of PI in different gestational ages. It was observed that there was gradual decrease of PI value with increase of gestational age (r= -0.207) but this decrease of PI was not statistically significant (p=0.113). Regression analysis between dependent PI value and independent gestational age showed linear negative relationship but this was not statistically significant (p=0.11). This study revealed that the Pulsatility index of umbilical artery was decreased with increase of gestational age from 2nd to 3rd trimester. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmrcb.v39i1.15809 Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2013; 39: 42-44
Becoming-Animal: Becoming-Wolf in Wolf Totem
Authors: Yin Jing
Published: July 2013

Wolf Totem is not a novel which advocates ‘molar’ wolf characteristics such as violence, brutality and bloodthirstiness, and ‘molar’ wolf laws such as the law of the jungle and the law of profiting at others’ expense, but a novel which reveals to readers a brand new life experience, different affects possessed by the ‘molecular’ wolf, and the becoming-wolf of human beings. Becoming-wolf is not to imitate the above-mentioned characteristics of the ‘molar’ wolf, but to see or imagine what affects the ‘molecular’ wolf has, and make the life force or the assumed life force possessed by the ‘molecular’ wolf transverse a person, so that he or she can also have those affects. Becoming-wolf is to find a line of flight between man and wolf, to get rid of all the restraints imposed by the Confucian culture on the law-abiding, abjectly obedient people, and thus regaining the force of the ‘impersonal, inorganic’ life, so as to become different by endless desiring productions, and enhance mankind's power.
The Melodic Landscape: Chinese Mountains in Painting-Poetry and Deleuze/Guattari's Refrains
Authors: Wong Kin Yuen
Published: July 2013

By melodic landscape, this paper points to natural milieus such as mountains whose motifs are caught up in contrapuntal relations. With Merleau-Ponty, the structure of the world is a symphony, and the production of life which implicates both organism and environment as unfurling of Umwelt is ‘a melody that sings itself’. For the Chinese culture, mountains have been deemed virtuous in Confucianism, immortal by Daoists, and spiritual for a Buddhist to reach a substrate level of pure stream of a-subjective consciousness. A Chinese painter-poet within the ‘mountain-water’ genre would consider mountains as performance of events, a concert of vibration of light, shape and sound, movement and rest. Insofar as art is to create energy transfer, Chinese artists of mountains aim at concerting with nature as organised by rhythms and conspecifics, unfolding contrapuntal melodies with all kinds of counterpoints. As Deleuze and Guattari's notion of refrains are the three forces or tempos of chaos, earth and world confronting/converging one another, this paper endeavours to find out, first, how Deleuze and Guattari's geological, organic and alloplastic stratifications can be put alongside mountains, animals, plants and arts, and second, how this notion can contribute to our new appreciation of the way Chinese mountains in arts can give out music.
Deleuze's Conception of Desire
Authors: Gao Jihai
Published: July 2013

Desire is a key concept in Deleuzian philosophy. Deleuze's desire is quite different from that of other thinkers. Both in the West and in China, in the past as well in the present, desire is usually understood as something abnormal, avaricious and excessive, the opposite of rationality, to be controlled and suppressed in man. Deleuze's desire is much wider, referring not only to man, but also to animals, objects and social institutions. In Deleuze's view, desire is not a psychic existence, not lack, but an active and positive reality, an affirmative vital force. Desire has neither object, nor fixed subject. It is like labour in essence, productive and actualisable only through practice. This paper discusses the formation, evolution and limitation of Deleuzian desire.
Organic and Conventional Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis A. St. Hil) Improves Metabolic Redox Status of Liver and Serum in Wistar Rats
Authors: Branco Cátia , Scola Gustavo , Rodrigues Adriana , Cesio Verónica , Heinzen Horacio , Godoy Alessandra , Funchal Cláudia , Coitinho Adriana , Salvador Mirian
Published: July 2013

Organic and conventional yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is widely used in South America to prepare nonalcoholic drinks rich in polyphenols. These compounds are able to prevent the generation of reactive species, thus minimizing the incidence of several diseases. In this perspective, we hypothesized that yerba mate may have protective effects against pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced oxidative damage in liver and serum of rats. Animals (n = 42) received distilled water (control) or yerba mate (organic or conventional) for fifteen days. Then, half of the rats of each group received 60 mg/kg PTZ intraperitoneally or saline solution. After 30 min the animals were euthanized and the liver and blood were collected. The results showed that organic and conventional yerba mate avoided PTZ-induced oxidative damage and nitric oxide production in the liver and serum of the rats. Moreover, both kinds of yerba mate prevented the decrease in enzymatic (superoxide dismutase and catalase) and non-enzymatic (sulfhydryl protein content) defenses in the liver and serum. In addition, histopathologic analysis of the liver showed that yerba mate reduced PTZ-induced cell damage. These findings indicate that yerba mate provides hepatoprotection and improves antioxidant status in the serum, which may contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies using nutraceuticals drinks.
New Evidence on the Information and Predictive Content of the Baltic Dry Index
Authors: Apergis Nicholas , Payne James
Published: July 2013

This empirical study analyzes the information and predictive content of the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) with respect to a range of financial assets and the macroeconomy. By using panel methodological approaches and daily data spanning the period 1985–2012, the empirical analysis documents the joint predictability capacity of the BDI for both financial assets and industrial production. The results reveal the role of the BDI in predicting the future course of the real economy, yielding a link between financial asset markets and the macroeconomy.
How Can Plant DNA Viruses Evade siRNA-Directed DNA Methylation and Silencing?
Authors: Pooggin Mikhail
Published: July 2013

Plants infected with DNA viruses produce massive quantities of virus-derived, 24-nucleotide short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which can potentially direct viral DNA methylation and transcriptional silencing. However, growing evidence indicates that the circular double-stranded DNA accumulating in the nucleus for Pol II-mediated transcription of viral genes is not methylated. Hence, DNA viruses most likely evade or suppress RNA-directed DNA methylation. This review describes the specialized mechanisms of replication and silencing evasion evolved by geminiviruses and pararetoviruses, which rescue viral DNA from repressive methylation and interfere with transcriptional and post-transcriptional silencing of viral genes.
Functional Diversity of RNAi-Associated sRNAs in Fungi
Authors: Nicolás Francisco , Ruiz-Vázquez Rosa
Published: July 2013

Yeast and filamentous fungi have been essential model systems for unveiling the secrets of RNA interference (RNAi). Research on these organisms has contributed to identifying general mechanisms and conserved eukaryotic RNAi machinery that can be found from fungi to mammals. The development of deep sequencing technologies has brought on the last wave of studies on RNAi in fungi, which has been focused on the identification of new types of functional small RNAs (sRNAs). These studies have discovered an unexpected diversity of sRNA, biogenesis pathways and new functions that are the focus of this review.
Addition of Aliskiren to Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Improves Ambulatory Blood Pressure Profile and Cardiorenal Function Better than Addition of Benazepril in Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Ohsawa Masato , Tamura Kouichi , Kanaoka Tomohiko , Wakui Hiromichi , Maeda Akinobu , Dejima Toru , Azushima Kengo , Uneda Kazushi , Kobayashi Ryu , Tsurumi-Ikeya Yuko , Toya Yoshiyuki , Fujikawa Tetsuya , Umemura Satoshi
Published: July 2013

An altered ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) profile is related to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiorenal syndrome. In this study, we examined the effects of aliskiren, when added to angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers, on ambulatory BP and cardiorenal function in CKD. Thirty-six hypertensive CKD patients were randomly assigned to the aliskiren add-on group (n = 18) or the benazepril add-on group (n = 18). Ambulatory BP and cardiorenal function parameters were measured at baseline and 24 weeks after treatment. Compared with the benazepril group, nighttime systolic BP variability in the aliskiren group was lower after treatment. Albuminuria was decreased in the aliskiren group, but not in the benazepril group. In addition, left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was significantly lower in the aliskiren group than in the benazepril group after treatment. In the aliskiren group, multivariate linear regression analysis showed an association between changes in albuminuria and changes in nighttime systolic BP. Furthermore, there were associations between changes in LVMI and changes in daytime HR variability, as well as between changes in LVMI and changes in plasma aldosterone concentration. These results suggest that aliskiren add-on therapy may be beneficial for suppression of renal deterioration and pathological cardiac remodeling through an improvement that is effected in ambulatory BP and HR profiles.
Halogen Bonding in (Z)-2-Iodocinnamaldehyde
Authors: Bovonsombat Pakorn , Caruso Francesco , Jdaydani Andrew , Rossi Miriam
Published: July 2013

Based on the bulkiness of the iodine atom, a non-planar conformation was expected for the title compound. Instead, its molecular structure is planar, as experimentally determined using single crystal X-ray diffraction, and confirmed theoretically by DFT calculations on the single molecule and the halogen pair paired molecules, therefore ruling out crystal packing forces as a principal factor leading to planarity. Indeed, planarity is ascribed to the carbonyl double bond, as when this bond is saturated on forming the related alcohol derivative, the molecule loses planarity. The X-ray molecular structure shows an intermolecular separation between the iodine and the oxygen of the carbonyl shorter than the corresponding van der Waals distance suggesting a weak halogen bond interaction. DFT minimization of this 2-molecule arrangement shows the iodine--oxygen distance much shorter than that observed in the crystal interaction and confirming its stronger halogen bond nature. A trend between increasing I•••O(carbonyl) separation and decreasing C-I•••O(carbonyl) angle is demonstrated, further confirming the existence of a halogen bond.
Oligo-Carrageenans Enhance Growth and Contents of Cellulose, Essential Oils and Polyphenolic Compounds in Eucalyptus globulus Trees
Authors: González Alberto , Contreras Rodrigo , Moenne Alejandra
Published: July 2013

Eucalyptus globulus (Myrtaceae) originated in Australia and has been introduced in countries with temperate weather in order to obtain wood for cellulose extraction and building purposes. In this work, we analyzed the potential stimulation of growth in height and trunk diameter as well as the content of holo-cellulose, α-cellulose (long cellulose chains), essential oils and polyphenolic compounds (PPCs) in E. globulus trees treated with oligo-carrageenans (OCs) kappa, lambda and iota, at 1 mg mL−1, once a week, four times in total and then cultivated for three additional years without further treatment. Eucalyptus treated with OCs kappa, lambda and iota showed an increase in height, mainly with OCs kappa and iota by 58% and 47%, respectively, and in trunk diameter by 44% and 40%, respectively. In addition, OCs induced an increase in the contents of holo-cellulose and α-cellulose, mainly OCs kappa and iota which increased holo-cellulose by 8% and 5%, respectively, and α-cellulose by 16 and 13%, respectively. Moreover, OCs increased the content of essential oils, mainly OCs kappa and iota by 67% and 39%, respectively. Furthermore, OCs decreased the concentration of total phenolic compounds but differentially changed the concentration of several PPCs such as genistein, rutin, ellagic acid, morin, luteolin and quercetin with potential antimicrobial activities. Thus, marine algae OCs kappa, lambda and iota stimulate growth of E. globulus trees by enhancing height and trunk diameter as well as the content of α-cellulose, total essential oils, and some PPCs with potential antimicrobial activities.
Superficial cement hydration within active solutions
Authors: Triviño Vázquez F.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Concrete disintegration due to an aggregate containing pirrotite
Authors: Triviño Vázquez F.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Cement corrosion in sulphate containing liquid media
Authors: Mtschedlow-Petrossian O. U. , Kurtjatschaja V. A. , Olginski A. G. , Tschernjawski W. L. , Charkow -
Published: July 2013

Not available
Contribution to Portland cement hemihydrite and gypsum content determination
Authors: Moreno Arús F. , Pérez Alonso J.
Published: July 2013

Not available
CO2 effect on porous concrete
Authors: Sauman Zdenek
Published: July 2013

Not available
Consultas Técnicas
Authors: García de Paredes y Gaibrois Pablo
Published: July 2013

Not available
Hydrated Portland cement paste
Authors: Fernández París J. M.,
Published: July 2013

Not available
Concrete protection from tine viewpoint of the building painter
Authors: Grunau B.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Environiment, contamination, energy and materials
Authors: Kreijger P. C.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Basic document for the discussion of a norm on the quality of ceramic bricks for building
Authors: Editorial Equipo
Published: July 2013

Not available
Initial clinker hydration
Authors: Kittl P. , Castro J. H.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Some remarks on the presence of metallic sulphurs in aggregates
Authors: Gaspar-Tebar Demetrio
Published: July 2013

Not available
Contribution to the determination of gypsum and hemihydrates content in Portland cements
Authors: Moreno Arús Fernando , Pérez Alonso Julio
Published: July 2013

Not available
Charcoal briquettes as substitute of blas furnace coal. I - Compound carbón bodies
Authors: Sabesinsky Felperin M. , Mayer Ricardo A.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Environmental influence in construction materials
Authors: Fernández París José M.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Relation between Portland cement carbonation, range of clinker burning and some expansive phenomena in the autoclave test
Authors: Ruiz de Cauna A.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Comportamiento del gel de sílice en el ensayo de puzolanicidad
Authors: Pilar de Luxán M.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Identificación y clasificación de aditivos del hormigón por espectroscopia infrarroja y otros métodos de análisis físicos y químicos Partes 1 y 2
Authors: Diem P. , Krehl K.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Ciencia y técnica española del I.E.T.c.c. en Iberoamérica
Authors: Calleja José
Published: July 2013

Not available
Determinación del contenido de compuestos de cromo en el cemento portland por espectrofotometría de absorción atómica. Primera parte
Authors: Gaspar-Tebar Demetrio , Triviño-Vázquez Fernando , Álvarez-Puente Vicente
Published: July 2013

Not available
Las nuevas normas españolas para cemento
Authors: Calleja José
Published: July 2013

Not available
Determinación del contenido de compuestos de cromo en el cemento portland por espectrofotometría de absorción atómica. Segunda parte
Authors: Gaspar-Tebar Demetrio , Triviño-Vázquez Fernando , Álvarez-Puente Vicente
Published: July 2013

Not available
Nuevo método gravimétrico, esencialmente modificado, para la determinación de sílice en silicatos atacables por ácido, basado en los nuevos conocimientos descubiertos en el estudio del comportamiento de los geles de sílice deshidratados en soluciones ácid
Authors: Goma F.
Published: July 2013

Not available
Description of a new sepioline species, Sepiola bursadhaesa n. sp. (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae), from the Catalan Sea, with remarks and identification key for the Sepiola atlantica group
Authors: Bello Giambattista
Published: July 2013

Diversity among members of the genus Sepiola (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae) in the NE Atlantic-Mediterranean area is fairly high; 10 species have been recorded. In this paper, a new species, Sepiola bursadhaesa n. sp., is described based on ten specimens from the Catalan Sea. They are lodged in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales of Madrid. The new species is compared with the closely related species Sepiola affinis Naef, 1912 and Sepiola intermedia Naef, 1912, the latter of which is possibly its sister species. Male Sepiola bursadhaesa n. sp. differs from Sepiola intermedia in having a very wrinkled and outward projecting tubercle on the copulatory apparatus, and the first three (rather than two) suckers of the dorsal row of the distal part of the hectocotylus enlarged. The middle sucker of the three suckers is the largest. In female S. bursadhaesa n. sp., unlike all other species in the genus, the bursa copulatrix is fused throughout its posterior rim to the inner side of the mantle. The relationships between the species of the Sepiola atlantica group sensu Naef (1923), to which S. bursadhaesa n. sp. belongs, are described. An identification key for this group is provided.
Load Balancing Aware Multiparty Secure Group Communication for Online Services in Wireless Mesh Networks
Authors: Kumar Neeraj
Published: July 2013

The internet offers services for users which can be accessed in a collaborative shared manner. Users control these services, such as online gaming and social networking sites, with handheld devices. Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are an emerging technology that can provide these services in an efficient manner. Because services are used by many users simultaneously, security is a paramount concern. Although many security solutions exist, they are not sufficient. None have considered the concept of load balancing with secure communication for online services. In this paper, a load aware multiparty secure group communication for online services in WMNs is proposed. During the registration process of a new client in the network, the Load Balancing Index (LBI) is checked by the router before issuing a certificate/key. The certificate is issued only if the value of LBI is less than a predefined threshold. The authors evaluate the proposed solution against the existing schemes with respect to metrics like storage and computation overhead, packet delivery fraction (PDF), and throughput. The results show that the proposed scheme is better with respect to these metrics.
Toward a Theory of E-Government Interorganizational Collaboration
Authors: Luna-Reyes Luis Felipe , Andersen David F.
Published: July 2013

In this chapter, the authors present a series of causal maps that constitute an initial effort in the creation of a generic theory of interorganizational cross-boundary electronic government (e-Government) projects. Such causal structures are the result of a simulation-based study in which they explored the interactions and social processes associated with the development of trust and knowledge sharing in the development of an interorganizational e-Government application in New York State: the Homeless Information Management System (HIMS). The chapter includes the main theoretical and practical implications of the modeling and simulation work, as well as discussion of some paths to continue the exploration of collaboration in this specific context. The causal maps are organized around three themes that emerged during the modeling process. The first theme is related to trust development, and its recursive interactions with knowledge sharing and learning. The second theme is related to the importance of achieving stakeholder engagement by establishing a trusting environment as opposed to the use of authority or coercive mechanisms. The last theme is associated with the understanding of requirement definition as a social process of learning and knowledge transfer. The authors believe that these recursive structures constitute an alternative to the factor approach to understanding success and failure in digital government.
Modeling IT Evolution in E-Government
Authors: Ganapati Sukumar , Reddick Christopher G.
Published: July 2013

This chapter is a critical review of the models of e-government in adopting Information Technology (IT). The authors acknowledge that the models are useful and are important for providing a conceptual delineation of IT adaptation in e-government. However, they argue that the models do not sufficiently encompass existing and emerging information technologies, fall short on considering the institutional context, and do not take into consideration the nature of e-government services. The authors provide an alternative roadmap of modeling the IT adoption that builds on the elements of existing e-government models and takes into account the three dimensions of technology, institutions, and services.
Anthropological Thinking about E-Government Evaluation
Authors: Hébert Marc K.
Published: July 2013

E-government evaluative practices are examined here anthropologically by questioning their theoretical and methodological assumptions. The scope of analysis focuses on the manner by which e-government evaluation is conducted, the objectivity it invokes, and the discourse around which its findings are generalized to the broader public. The intended audience of this chapter is policy workers and academic researchers who rely on online surveys to assess the citizen-experience of e-government and seek to expand their evaluative repertoire ethnographically. Practical recommendations are offered in an effort to enhance the e-government evaluator’s toolbox.
Exploring the Socio-Political Determinants of Open Budget
Authors: Sayogo Djoko Sigit , Harrison Teresa
Published: July 2013

In a study of budgetary transparency and accountability, this chapter examines how a country’s disclosure of budget information is related to a set of socio-political factors. The authors analyze data from the biennial Open Budget Survey conducted by the International Budget Partnership for the years of 2008 and 2010. The study compares three types of disclosure practices: online, hardcopy, and unpublished distribution for six types of budgets: pre-budget proposal, executive budget, citizens’ budget, mid-year review, end-year review, and audit report. They find that the level of democracy in a given nation has considerable impact on its level of budgetary transparency and accountability, when these qualities are defined in terms of types of budgetary documents that are available to the public online. It is clear that online publication, most probably in the context of e-government efforts, is key to making this information available. The quality of governance is found to be critical for the availability of a citizens’ budget online, and the numbers of Internet users is related to the online availability of the executive budget.
Delineating Three Dimensions of E-Government Success
Authors: Roman Alexandru V.
Published: July 2013

This chapter draws upon the historical evolution of e-government and at the extant body of knowledge in order to delineate the dimensions that are critical for the success of the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) for purposes of governance. Evaluating the impacts of technology adoption in the public sector is an intrinsically complex process. However, given that currently governmental spending on ICT projects rivals and at times even surpasses allocations for capital developments, the need for an evaluative framework becomes rather obvious. Based on multiple scholarly accounts and practical examples, this chapter suggests that the success of e-government should be examined along three chief dimensions: security, functionality, and transformation. All three vectors are highly interdependent, and it can be argued that the success of e-government in the long run is not possible if significant shortcomings are observed along any one of the three aspects.
Criteria for Assessing the Success of E-Government Projects
Authors: Bouaziz Fatma , Chaabouni Jamil
Published: July 2013

In this chapter, the authors examine the criteria to use in assessing the success of e-government projects. Through an empirical enquiry based on case studies of e-government projects by Tunisian government agencies, they found that the interviewees distinguish between the project management success and the success of the deliverable. This empirical enquiry also revealed that the interviewees have made an emphasis on the success of the products delivered while the success of the project management process was relegated to a second order. The findings are used to propose a grid of the metrics to assess the success of e-government projects.
Assessing E-Government Success Strategies using Internet Search Data
Authors: Boland Katherine M. , McNutt John G.
Published: July 2013

Evaluating e-government programs can be a challenging task. While determining program features and capacity are relatively straightforward processes, exploring the more dynamic nature of citizen response to e-government is difficult. Fortunately, recent advances in Internet search technology offer researchers new opportunities to address these research questions. Innovations, such as Google Trends and Google Insights for Search, have made longitudinal data on Internet searches accessible to scholars. The availability of this data opens a number of possible research avenues regarding e-government.
Applying Open Innovation Strategies to eGovernment for Better Public Services
Authors: Christos Georgousopoulos , Xenia Ziouvelou , Antonis Ramfos , Panagiotis Kokkinakos , Jain Anshu , Gangadharan G. R. , Yehia Taher
Published: July 2013

Globalization, increasing automation, and the growth of the Internet are setting up a services-driven world at a scale and pace never before witnessed in history whose novelty is the proactive engagement of service recipients in the process of service delivery. Such change-driving forces will inevitably drive Government enterprises to reconsider the way that they deliver public services. As it has been realized in the industry, the transition of Government enterprises to the services-driven world will call for fundamental transformation in the provision of public services in the future, and a complete new way for Governments to work and interact with their citizens. Towards this direction, the authors propose an open innovation model through a process of democratic engagement between service providers and service recipients, where citizenship is reinstated at the heart of public service delivery. A service engineering methodology to support the proposed citizen-driven participatory design of public sector services is also provided.
The Strategic Value of Consumer Information Systems
Authors: Scifleet Paul , Lin Angela
Published: July 2013

When consumers are a source of innovation and value creation, and when information is increasingly produced and reproduced by consumers we need to reconsider the scope of information systems and their role in supporting companies to create value. The development of consumer information systems in recent years can potentially help companies to create platforms that facilitate and support company-consumer collaborations that create value. This chapter discusses the theories, concepts and practices informing new modes of consumer co-creation and co-production in business and the role of consumer information systems in supporting those processes. The chapter uses Nike as a case study to illustrate how both the company and consumers are able to derive benefits from value co-creation process supported by consumer information systems.
PhET Interactive Simulations
Authors: Hensberry Karina K. R. , Paul Ariel J. , Moore Emily B. , Podolefsky Noah S. , Perkins Katherine K.
Published: July 2013

This chapter focuses on the design and use of interactive simulations as a powerful tool for learning mathematics. Since 2002, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder (http://phet.colorado.edu) has been developing and studying the use of interactive simulations in teaching and learning STEM. While the project’s initial work focused on science learning, the project now includes a significant effort in mathematics learning. In this chapter, the authors describe the PhET project, including theoretical perspective, design goals, and research-based simulation design principles. They demonstrate how these design principles are applied to simulations, describe how they support achievement of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), and provide supporting evidence from individual student interviews. Finally, the authors discuss various approaches to using these simulations in class and provide guidance on leveraging their capabilities to support knowledge construction in mathematics in a uniquely engaging and effective way.
A Framework for Developing Robust Online Professional Development Materials to Support Teacher Practice under the Common Core
Authors: Kopcha Theodore , Valentine Keri Duncan
Published: July 2013

The purpose of this chapter is to present a framework for developing online professional development materials to support teachers as they adopt the Common Core standards. The framework builds conceptually from the principles associated with successful mathematics professional development on the teaching practices that support productive mathematical discourse in the classroom. The framework was applied to online materials developed from an emergent perspective (Cobb & Yackel, 1996) in the context of the Common Core fractions standards at the elementary level. Implications for the use of the framework to guide the selection, development, and implementation of mathematics professional development are discussed.
Digitizing Students’ Voices
Authors: Browning Christine , Edson Alden , Rogers Diane
Published: July 2013

This chapter focuses on how assessment for learning can be used to promote the development of student understanding of mathematics and mathematical practices as described in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics while emphasizing the affordances of digital technologies. The mathematical focus centered on the families of functions connected to the mathematical practice of constructing viable arguments when using the digital technology tool, VoiceThread. The chapter describes an iterative model for implementing assessment for learning practices where VoiceThread gave voice to preservice teachers’ mathematical justifications. Findings are taken from a study set in an algebra course designed for preservice elementary teachers working towards a minor in mathematics. Preservice teachers noted the positive impacts of using VoiceThread in improving their justification skills and the benefits of assessment for learning practices on their learning process.
TPACK Pathways that Facilitate CCSS Implementation for Secondary Mathematics Teacher Candidates
Authors: Borchelt Nathan , Faughn Axelle , Jaqua Kathy , Best Kate
Published: July 2013

Implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics has provided teacher educators a great opportunity to reexamine whether teacher preparation programs adequately provide the experiences to develop the base of knowledge and 21st century skills necessary to be effective teachers. The Mathematics TPACK Framework provides a roadmap for a series of pathways to integrate three knowledge components that are essential in teacher development: content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge. In this chapter, the authors examine how a teacher preparation program has evolved to integrate meaningful uses of digital technologies in content and pedagogy that are relevant to the teaching and learning of mathematics through the lens of implementing the Common Core State Standards.
Applications of Data Mining in Dynamic Social Network Analysis
Authors: Kumar Manish
Published: July 2013

Social Networks are nodes consisting of people, groups and organizations growing dynamically. The growth is horizontal as well as vertical in terms of size and number. Social network analysis has gained success due to online social networking and sharing sites. The accessibility of online social sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Hi5, Friendster, SkyRock and Beb offer sharing and maintaining large amount of different data. Social network analysis is focused on mining such data i.e. generating pattern of people’s interaction. The analysis involves the knowledge discovery that helps the sites as well as users in terms of usage and business goals respectively. Further it is desired that the process must be privacy preserving. This chapter describes the various mining techniques applicable on social networks data.
New Trends in Fuzzy Clustering
Authors: Sen Zekâi
Published: July 2013

Fuzzy methodologies show progress day by day towards better explanation of various natural, social, engineering and information problem solutions in the best, economic, fast and effective manner. This chapter provides cluster analyses from probabilistic, statistical and especially fuzzy methodology points of view by consideration of various classical and innovative cluster modeling and inference systems. After the conceptual assessment explanation of fuzzy logic thinking fundamentals various clustering methodologies are presented with brief revisions but innovative trend analyses as k-mean-standard deviation, cluster regression, relative clustering for depiction of trend components that fall within different clusters. The application of fuzzy clustering methodology is presented for lake time series and earthquake modeling for rapid hazard assessment of existing buildings.
Defining the Factors that Effect User Interest on Social Network News Feeds via Fuzzy Association Rule Mining
Authors: Öztaysi Basar , Onar Sezi Çevik
Published: July 2013

Social networking became one of the main marketing tools in the recent years since it’s a faster and cheaper way to reach the customers. Companies can use social networks for efficient communication with their current and potential customers but the value created through the usage of social networks depends on how well the organizations use these tools. Therefore a support system which will enhance the usage of these tools is necessary. Fuzzy Association rule mining (FARM) is a commonly used data mining technique which focuses on discovering the frequent items and association rules in a data set and can be a powerful tool for enhancing the usage of social networks. Therefore the aim of the chapter is to propose a fuzzy association rule mining based methodology which will present the potential of using the FARM techniques in the field of social network analysis. In order to reveal the applicability, an experimental evaluation of the proposed methodology in a sports portal will be presented.
Topology Aggregating Routing Architecture (TARA)
Authors: Hummel Heiner
Published: July 2013

TARA (Topology Aggregating Routing Architecture) is a novel architecture which allows to generate a map of the Internet. TARA allows to maintain and compute a precise topology of the near surrounding and lesser zoomed topologies the more remote they are. In the context of TARA, nodes are identified with “locators” which are derived from longitude/latitude degrees/minutes/seconds. TARA is designed to satisfy advanced traffic engineering such as computing QoS-inferred paths or non congested paths. TARA achieves these goals without requiring an increase of RIBs and FIBs. TARA solves also the issues of dynamic update churn as currently experienced in BGP-based Internet. TARA is also designed with mobility requirements in mind. Indeed, Mobility is supported without requiring dependency on home agents or care-of-address servers. Note, the Time-To-Live mechanism is neither needed nor used in TARA-forwarding. TARA supports various multicast, broadcast, MP2P (multipoint-to-point), anycast and MP2MP (multipoint-to-multipoint) communication schemes. In particular a stateless concept for multicast is outlined; this concept may serve as a pattern for anycast and MP2MP applications. TARA is fully prepared to cope with the IPv4-unicast address depletion issue.
An Information Visualization-Based Approach for Exploring Databases
Authors: Guimarães da Silva Celmar
Published: July 2013

Learning Management Systems (LMS) may use Information Visualization techniques and concepts for presenting their large amounts of data, in order to ease the monitoring and analysis of students learning process problems. Nonetheless, the generally adopted approaches are based on presenting data obtained by predefined database queries only, which does not consider unforeseen situations derived from final user’s knowledge about e-learning domain. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to provide a resource for LMS users to define and execute queries related to these unforeseen situations. This resource is a prototype by which users may access a remote LMS database, create their own queries by selecting database attributes they want to analyze, and represent query results by means of automatically selected interactive graphical representations. User evaluations indicate that the approach is appropriate and points out possible enhancements.
Decision-Making and Decision Support in Acute Care
Authors: Taylor Brett W.
Published: July 2013

Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) are information tools intended to optimize medical choice, promising better patient outcomes, faster care, reduced resource expenditure, or some combination of all three. Clinical trials of CDSS have provided only insipid evidence of benefit to date. This chapter reviews the theory of medical decision-decision making, identifying the different decision support needs of novices and experts, and demonstrates that discipline, objective and setting, and affect of the nature of support that is required. A discussion on categorization attempts to provide metrics by which systems can be compared and evaluated, in particular with regard to decision support mechanics and function. Throughout, the common theme is the placement of clinical decision makers at the center of the design or evaluation process.
Informatics and Health Services
Authors: Ravka Nelson
Published: July 2013

Personal electronic health records are seen as a key component to improved health care for patients, empowering motivated patients by giving them access to their own records resulting in increased self-care, shared decision making, and better clinical outcomes. Benefits through electronic record keeping would also accrue to health care providers through the availability and retrievability of data, reduced duplication of medical tests, more effective physician diagnosis and treatment, reduced incidence of prescription errors, and flagging inappropriate drug combinations. Utilizing information technology could also moderate the cost of health care services. Electronic health records would also improve clinical research through access to a large database of patient electronic records for research and determining best practices. Although potential benefits are considerable, many challenges to implementation must be addressed and resolved before this potential of improved health care provision and cost efficiency can be realized.
The Administrative Policy Quandary in Canada’s Health Service Organizations
Authors: Paterson Grace I. , MacDonald Jacqueline M. , Mensink Naomi Nonnekes
Published: July 2013

This chapter examines the process for administrative health service policy development with respect to information sharing and decision-making as well as the relationship of policy to decision making. The challenges experienced by health service managers are identified. The administrative health policy experience in Nova Scotia is described. There is a need for integrated policy at multiple levels (public, clinical, and administrative). The quandary is that while working to share health information systems, most Canadian health service organizations continue to individually develop administrative health policy, expending more resources on policy writing than on translation/education, monitoring, or evaluation. By exploring the importance and nature of administrative policy as a foundation for quality improvement in healthcare delivery, a case is made for greater use of health informatics tools and processes.
Normalizing Cross-Border Healthcare in Europe via New E-Prescription Paradigms
Authors: Berler Alexander , Apostolakis Ioannis
Published: July 2013

The 21st century started with some significant efforts globally in the e-health sector. This was mainly pushed as a generic strategy from many nations and international organizations in order to cope with issues such as ageing population, demographic shift, social security limitations, and financial instability. A second reason was the introduction of new technologies such as cloud computing, Web interoperability standards, mobile health, and social media that are steadily changing the way healthcare has been seen in the last decades. In addition to that, globalization, commuting, immigration, and increased mobility raised the issue of cross-border healthcare and the right to access normalized healthcare services anywhere, anytime. In that context, the authors analyze the technological offerings and result of the epSOS (European Patient Smart Open Services) framework and how it has affected strategic decisions in electronic prescription in Greece, thus creating a new useful e-health national application. They prove that by rethinking healthcare, reusing established standards such as HL7 CDA (Health Level Seven Clinical Document Architecture) and IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) profiles, it is possible to propose a new innovative system that is in fact based upon new technological propositions such as REST (Representational State Transfer) architecture and cloud computing.