bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In vitro bacterial fermentation of tropical fruit fibres
Authors: Vong M.H. , Stewart M.L.
Published: July 2013

Tropical fruits such as mango, papaya, pineapple and banana are rich sources of dietary fibre. However, few studies have examined the potential physiological effects of fibre from these tropical fruits. The aim of this study was to characterise the fermentability of dietary fibre found in banana, papaya, pineapple and mango as an estimate of the physiological effects of consuming these fruits. Freeze-dried fruit was subjected to in vitro digestion to remove digestible carbohydrates. Digestion residues were freeze-dried prior to fermentation. In vitro fermentation was carried for 24 h under anaerobic conditions to simulate conditions in the large intestine. Gas volume, pH and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) concentration were measured at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h. SCFAs were analysed by gas chromatography. There was no gas production from 0 to 8 h time points for all samples. Mango fibre resulted in more gas at 12 and 24 h than pineapple, papaya and banana fibres. The slurry pH was significantly lower for mango fibre at 12 and 24 h compared to other samples. Mango fibre resulted in significantly more propionate at 8 h compared to papaya and pineapple fibres. Butyrate concentrations were only significantly different at 4 h. At 24 h total and individual SCFA production did not differ among samples. All fruit fibres were fermentable, with mango fibre being the most rapidly fermented. Additional work is necessary to confirm a benefit on digestive health.
Oral application of bacterial lysate in infancy diminishes the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in children at risk for atopy
Authors: Lau S.
Published: July 2013

Numerous interventions such as avoidance of food allergens, prolonged breast feeding and supplementation of pro-and/or prebiotics have been tried as primary prevention of atopic dermatitis. Recent data suggest that prevention of infantile eczema is possible in a subgroup of children by feeding bacterial lysates early in life. Bacterial lysates of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis were found to impair allergic immune responses in rats. An interventional trial in 606 infants at risk for atopy showed a reduction of atopic dermatitis at the end of the treatment phase (month 2 until month 7) of 50% in a subgroup of children with single heredity for atopy. This was even more pronounced in the group of children with paternal heredity for atopy. This effect was still seen at age 1 year. There was no effect on food sensitisation. In conclusion, an immune modulation in terms of prevention of atopic dermatitis in infancy if single atopic family history is present seems to be possible by feeding bacterial lysates early in life.
What Went Wrong?
Authors: Bhalla Bhavna
Published: July 2013

This case is about the interaction that takes place between Chetan and Bhagat. Chetan is a freelance trainer who grooms the corporate trainees on various aspects of communication and soft skills. He also takes sessions on successful interview strategy and selection criterion for the post of market representative. Bhagat, one of his acquaintances, needs feedback for the interview that he just appeared for. During the conversation he puts forward what he did during the day to understand the nitty-gritties of the interview. The context of this conversation is to understand where Bhagat faltered. The scope of discussion covers the flow from preparation to execution to be successful in any interview.
A Line in Water
Authors: Padhi Chandra Shekhar
Published: July 2013

According to C. K. Prahlad and Venkatram Ramaswamy, “The competence that customers bring is a function of the knowledge and skills they possess, their willingness to learn and experiment, and their ability to engage in active dialogue.” This case examines the necessity of these functions in order to bring delight in the minds of the customer and give them an experience as a whole. The case outlines few failures which results due to poor planning in the strategy of a new product launch. The case also casts light on the distance which is generated between the sales force and the company. These distances occur due to various factors like resistance to change by the sales force, pressure from higher management on strategic compliance, and inefficient communication strategies between the two. The case helps in understanding the fragile bridge which connects the higher management of the company to the sales team on field.
Always Trust the Customer
Authors: Viardot Eric
Published: July 2013

This case study illustrates the effectiveness of pursuing a customer centric marketing approach in order to achieve long term strategic success and market leadership in the fashion industry. The case study provides the most significant elements of Zara’s history. Then it describes the competitive environment. Next it reveals how Zara has set up a unique, lean, and agile supply chain strategy in order to deliver new products on a very frequent basis and faster than any of its competitors, as fashion customers expect constant changes. Then the case study details the customer centric marketing strategy, with the use of customers as the source of the inspiration for fashion design, the central role of the stores to build a very high level of trust with its customers, which is used by Zara to make a distinctive brand strategy. Finally, the case study discusses the new challenges that Zara customer centric marketing strategy is meeting when confronted with the expansion on the Chinese market and the online market.
Consumer Behavior Perspective for Fairness Creams
Authors: Mahfooz Yasser , Mahfooz Faisal
Published: July 2013

The market for fairness creams around the globe was an untouched territory till mid-1970s. No cream was available which could claim an effect on the fairness of skin. The first product for this market was Fair & Lovely (Fair & Lovely) by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Hindustan Unilever Ltd.:HUL) which was launched in India in 1975. It was a turning point for the fairness cream business and several companies followed soon. Fair & Lovely didn’t take much time to become a household name with more and more women putting their trust in the product for giving them the much needed fair skin they always desired. A product which started as another addition to the product line, acquired the status of a super brand by 2004. It became a part of the customer’s persona. In a society where the general population is genetically brown in skin color, yet has resentment to it; fair color of skin is an obsession and is equated with beauty, happiness and success. This craze for fair skin is marketed aggressively and a range of products are available in the market, which gratify the likes of teenagers as well as grown women. The following case on the product Fair & Lovely gives a background of the market for fairness creams in India and focuses on different aspects of behavior of women as consumers of this product.
Delhi Bank of India
Authors: Puri Sandeep , Ranjan Jayanthi
Published: July 2013

Delhi Bank of India (DBI) is a leading private banking and financial services organization in India. DBI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital, and asset management. It has entered the banking consortia of over 30 corporations for providing working capital finance, trade services, corporate finance, and merchant banking. DBI is also providing sophisticated product structures in areas of foreign exchange and derivatives, money markets and debt trading, and equity research. Dwarka Branch of DBI has not been doing well since its inception in March 2008. It is having a very low customer base and many customers have shifted their accounts to other banks because of dissatisfaction with the bank. In the last 6 months, the number of customers has reduced to 2875 from 2900. This branch is having allocation of 1.50 Crores only for loan disbursements during Jan-March, 2011 period but the loan applications are for 2.20 crore. There are six applicants with different backgrounds and this amount cannot be increased. Bank manager Siddhant, needed to take the call for final disbursements.
Price Effectiveness in Hotels
Authors: Chowdhry Nidhi
Published: July 2013

This case study focuses on the mid-size hotel industry in India. It will analyze the extent to which the pricing strategies are adopted in order to optimize revenues. The mid-size segment is comprised of three and four star hotels, which cater to the average foreign and domestic leisure travelers. Pricing is the single greatest challenge facing independent hotels today. It is studied how determining optimal rates based on the patterns of price sensitivity of demand still remains the biggest challenge for these hotels. Price sensitivity and its impact on revenue are examined. To determine and analyze this challenge faced by mid-size hotel industry, the case will focus on pricing strategies and challenges faced by a midscale chain hotel and a stand-alone economy hotel in New Delhi. The hotels have been taken from National Capital Region (New Delhi) which is the largest hotel market in the country both in terms of active assets under development and potential projects in planning.
Concentra BPO
Authors: Dhingra Shreya
Published: July 2013

This case study is about “Concentra”, started by an entrepreneur along with his wife and colleagues who were later the part of the management. They started by providing BPO for financial services, contact center services, loyalty and customer retention. They started from a small company with limited manpower but grow up into big company spreading in many countries in lesser span of time. As the BPO expands, the management came across many problems in the company. One of the main problems which they came across was the employee dissatisfaction which resulted into lower customer satisfaction. The impact was so bad that they started loosing their customers and their business. This case study explains how a company can increase customer’s satisfaction just by understanding and treating their employees as the first customers of the organization to be served.
A Case Study on Customer Experiential Management at High Five Hotels Pvt. Ltd, Nashik
Authors: Gadekar Sonali , Gadekar Sushil
Published: July 2013

Experiential Marketing is an extension of consumer orientation marketing. The organizations can use Experiential Marketing as one of models which has vast potential to serve as a link between improved customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. It can be described as one of the innovative ways of delivering the consumption experiences to the consumers before they buy a product or actually use the service. It works on the simple principle that the memories of experiences get preserved in the minds of prospective customers as well as repeat consumers which induces them to visit again and again for the same product or service. In this case study of High Five Hotel Pvt. Ltd., this innovative marketing strategy, known as experiential marketing, was applied by the management to establish itself in the market as a reputed brand. This case study presents various innovative promotional strategies followed in the hospitality industry. The ultimate outcome and the results after applying this ‘experiential techniques’ were excellent in terms of financial returns as well as customer satisfaction.
Case Study on Customer’s Ambidextrous Nature of Trust in Internet Banking
Authors: Adapa Sujana , Valenzuela Fredy-Roberto
Published: July 2013

This case study provides information related to the Australian retail-banking sector and specifically about the electronic banking service delivery channels. As a Western nation, Australia is classified as a developed country with well-developed infrastructure, gross domestic product, per capita income, and economic status. A cross-sectional mall intercept survey was conducted in order to explore the trust related perceptions of the Australian consumers’ towards the internet banking service delivery channel. Trust is an important variable because of its high relevance to the success and/or failure of many businesses, products, and service offerings. Although there exists several benefits attached to the internet banking transactions, the survey carried out, indicates that there are a significant number of customers in Australia, who do not perform internet banking transactions due to lack of trust in the bank (or bank personnel or internet service delivery channel etc.). Consequently, results also indicate that a majority of the customers preferred to use internet banking transactions due to the trust that they have in carrying out these electronic banking methods. Therefore, this study provides information related to the ambidextrous nature of the trust component and how the aforesaid affects the consumer’s perception levels towards the adoption/non-adoption of internet banking in the Australian context. Moreover, this study provides results obtained through a cross-sectional mall intercept survey carried out in the Australian context and verbatim quotes obtained from the respondents in the form of open-ended comments. Furthermore, the implications related to bank managers, government, and policy-makers are presented.
Should Corporate Political Lobbying Come under Scanner by Regulatory Mechanism?
Authors: Jayachandran S.
Published: July 2013

Marketing is more political in the free market economy today than ever and firms need to apply social power and public relations either to enter into a new market or to operate more successfully in the existing market. Often, they apply reward power and political lobbying as marketing strategic tools. The Indian telecom market is booming fast and becoming highly competitive. Accordingly, there is an aggressively, rushed bid for 2G spectrum license. In the mean time, the telecom ministry’s decision of, “First come, First serve,” instead of an auction method, paved the way for political lobbying. At the end of 2G spectrum allocation, there was widespread allegation that the cellular operators fraudulently secured licenses from the telecom ministry by using power and public relations and in doing so played an important role on behalf of its clients. The apex court monitored the investigation of 2G scam and ordered cancelling of all licenses granted in 2008. This case raises four vital points for discussion as the backdrop of the changing marketing environment: 1.) Should marketing facilitating agents bother with the ideals of morality? 2.) Is it wrong that Vaishnavi Corporate Communication exploited weak and corrupt system of governance in favor of its clients? 3.) Are the actions of government watchdog agents justifiable, when an issue is concerned with public interest? 4.) Should political lobbying come under scanner by a regulatory mechanism to contain adverse implications of firms’ marketing strategy? If so, what should be the modus operandi of the regulatory mechanism?
Maximizing Employee On-Boarding
Authors: Kalia Shalini , Mittal Neha , Arora Rohit
Published: July 2013

A pharmaceutical company faced with the challenge of high attrition of new hires, took the initiative of revamping its employee on-boarding program. The gaps in the existing processes were identified by the HR team and customized solutions were implemented ranging from operational to strategic solutions.
Towards a Certified Electronic Mail System
Authors: Draper-Gil Gerard , Ferrer-Gomila Josep-Lluís , Hinarejos M. Francisca , Tauber Arne
Published: July 2013

Most of the existent certified electronic mail proposals (found in scientific papers) have been designed without considering their deployment into traditional e-mail infrastructure (e.g., Internet mail system). In fact, there is not any implementation used for commercial purposes of those proposals. On the other hand, in different countries, private companies and public administrations have developed their own applications for certified electronic mail, but these solutions are tailored to their needs and present serious drawbacks. They consider the mail providers as Trusted Third Parties (TTPs), but without being verifiable (if they cheat or fail, users cannot prove it). In most cases, users (typically recipients) cannot choose their mail provider; it is imposed, and even worse, sometimes a message is considered to have been delivered when it has been deposited in the recipient’s mailbox (and perhaps, he will not be able to access it). In this chapter, the authors give a broad picture on the current state of certified e-mail, including a brief description of the current e-mail architecture and the need of certified e-mail services, and a definition of the security requirements needed for such a service. Next, they review the scientific and existent proposals. Finally, the authors give some guidelines for developing practical solutions for certified e-mail services that meet all the security requirements.
A Polling Booth-Based Electronic Voting Scheme
Authors: Based Md. Abdul
Published: July 2013

A Polling booth-based Electronic Voting Scheme (PEVS) is presented in this chapter. The scheme allows only eligible voters to cast their ballots inside polling booths, and the ballots cast by the eligible voters are inalterable and non-reusable. The scheme provides vote-privacy and receipt-freeness. The scheme is modeled to fend off forced-abstention attacks, simulation attacks, or randomization attacks. Thus, the scheme is coercion-resistant. The scheme also satisfies voter verifiability, universal verifiability, and eligibility verifiability requirements. The ProVerif tool is used to formally analyze soundness, vote-privacy, receipt-freeness, and coercion-resistance of the scheme. The analysis shows that PEVS satisfies these properties. PEVS is the first electronic voting scheme (polling booth-based) that satisfies all the requirements listed above.
Challenges and Solutions for DNS Security in IPv6
Authors: Rafiee Hosnieh , von Löwis Martin , Meinel Christoph
Published: July 2013

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a necessary component of the Internet that allows hosts on the Internet to communicate with other hosts without needing to know their cryptic IP addresses. When this protocol was first introduced it did not contain robust security features because scalability was an issue. One of the useful features added to DNS was the DNS update mechanism that allowed other hosts to dynamically change DNS entries. This feature, though, exposed new vulnerabilities to DNS servers which necessitated the implementation of new security protocols. Some of the security protocols introduced to address these issues were Transaction SIGnature (TSIG) and DNS Security Extension (DNSSEC). Although, in IPv4, these mechanisms did resolve most of the security issues dealing with authentication between a node and a DNS server, they are not viable in IPv6 networks. This is because the Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP) introduced to organize the large IPv6 address space automatically does not support DNS authentication or have an option for secure DNS updating. In this chapter, the authors first explain the common approaches used in IPv4 to address these security issues. Then they explain the differences between the use of these approaches in IPv4 and IPv6, where the focus is on new research with regard to authentication mechanisms between hosts and DNS servers.
Host–Based Intrusion Detection Systems
Authors: Bukač Vít , Matyáš Vashek
Published: July 2013

In this chapter, the reader explores both the founding ideas and the state-of-the-art research on host-based intrusion detection systems. HIDSs are categorized by their intrusion detection method. Each category is thoroughly investigated, and its limitations and benefits are discussed. Seminal research findings and ideas are presented and supplied with comments. Separate sections are devoted to the protection against tampering and to the HIDS evasion techniques that are employed by attackers. Existing research trends are highlighted, and possible future directions are suggested.
Developing Secure, Unified, Multi-Device, and Multi-Domain Platforms
Authors: Atzeni Andrea , Lyle John , Faily Shamal
Published: July 2013

The need for integrated cross-platform systems is growing. Such systems can enrich the user experience, but also lead to greater security and privacy concerns than the sum of their existing components. To provide practical insights and suggest viable solutions for the development, implementation, and deployment of complex cross-domain systems, in this chapter, the authors analyse and critically discuss the security-relevant decisions made developing the Webinos security framework. Webinos is an EU-funded FP7 project, which aims to become a universal Web application platform for enabling development and usage of cross domain applications. Presently, Webinos runs on a number of different devices (e.g. mobile, tables, PC, in-car systems, etc.) and different Operating Systems (e.g. various Linux distributions, different Windows and MacOSx versions, Android 4.x, iOS). Thus, Webinos is a representative example of cross-platform framework, and even if yet at beta level, is presently one of the most mature, as a prototype has been publicly available since February 2012. Distilling the lessons learned in the development of the Webinos public specification and prototype, the authors describe how potential threats and risks are identified and mitigated, and how techniques from user-centred design are used to inform the usability of security decisions made while developing the alpha and beta versions of the platform.
Comparative Brucella abortus antibody prevalence in cattle under contrasting husbandry practices in Uganda
Authors: Nizeyimana Gerald , Mwiine Frank N. , Ayebazibwe Chrisostom
Published: July 2013

A study was conducted in the Luwero and Nakasongola districts in central Uganda to determine and compare the prevalence and distribution of antibodies against Brucella abortus in cattle under contrasting husbandry practices, using two serological tests. Three hundred and fifteen serum samples were systematically sampled from 29 farms and subsequently tested using the Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and Indirect Antibody Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (I-ELISA). The overall prevalence of antibodies against Brucella abortus in the Nakasongola and Luwero districts was 2.4% and 4.7% on RBPT, compared with 1.2% and 3.34 % on I-ELISA. There was no significant difference between the results obtained by RBPT and indirect antibody ELISA (p 0.05). It was noted that antibodies against Brucella abortus were widely spread over different farms regardless of the cattle grazing system (p 0.05). Based on the findings, it is feasible to use RBPT as a cheaper screening alternative for brucellosis. A comprehensive national brucellosis study should be undertaken to study the epidemiology and prevalence of brucellosis in Uganda.
Heritability of beef tenderness at different aging times and across breed comparisons
Authors: Zwambag Andrew , Kelly Matthew , Schenkel Flavio , Mandell Ira , Wilton James , Miller Stephen
Published: July 2013

Zwambag, A., Kelly, M., Schenkel, F., Mandell, I., Wilton, J. and Miller, S. 2013. Heritability of beef tenderness at different aging times and across breed comparisons. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 93: 307–312. The heritability of shear force at 7, 14 and 21 d was estimated from a crossbred population of beef cattle. The population consisted of approximately 1400 crossbred cattle that were predominantly the offspring of Angus, Simmental, Gelbvieh and Piedmontese sires bred to predominantly Angus and Simmental females. Significant breed effects on tenderness were found within each aging time and no effect of heterosis was detected. The heritability of shear force declined from 0.194 to 0.048 as aging time increased from 7 to 21 d, highlighting the effectiveness of aging as a tool to improve tenderness. The repeatability of shear force was also found to be moderate (0.53). However, as energy prices increase it may be attractive to reduce aging times, thus breeding animals that are more tender at shorter aging times would be beneficial. The heritability of tenderness found at shorter aging times would indicate that improvement in this trait would be possible within a population where phenotypes are available.
Changes in tenderness and cathepsins activity during post mortem ageing of yak meat
Authors: Tian Jia-Chun , Han Ling , Yu Qun-Li , Shi Xi-Xiong , Wang Wen-Ting
Published: July 2013

Tian, J.-C., Han, L., Yu, Q.-L., Shi, X.-X. and Wang, W.-T. 2013. Changes in tenderness and cathepsins activity during post mortem ageing of yak meat. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 93: 321–328. Very little research has been conducted on yak meat tenderization. In this study we investigated the changes in physical characteristics (e.g., pH, water-holding capacity, texture profile analysis, shear force) and cathepsins L, B and H activities in the tenderization process. These traits were quantified in longissimus dorsi muscle from 10 yaks during 192 h post mortem. Samples were aged at 4°C for 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 120, 168 and 192 h. pH decreased (P<0.05) from 6.84 to 5.54 in the first 72 h and did not change significantly during the next 120 h. Water-holding capacity showed an overall decreasing trend (P<0.05). Shear force decreased? (P<0.05) and myofibrillar fragmentation index increased? (P<0.05), and it was concluded that ageing can improve yak meat tenderness. Our results on texture profile analysis showed a decrease in hardness (P<0.05), springiness (P<0.05) and chewiness (P<0.05), reflected in a progressive softening during ageing (P<0.05). Cathepsins L, B and H activity showed an increased trend (P<0.05). In conclusion, our results show potential roles for cathepsins L, B and H in the tenderization process. This study provides further insights into the tenderization process of yak meat, which may ultimately be used for the advantageous manipulation of the process.
How an Occupational Therapist Should Conceptualise Self-Awareness following Traumatic Brain Injury in Childhood — A Literature Review
Authors: Wales Lorna , Hawley Carol , Sidebotham Peter
Published: July 2013

Introduction:

The development of self-awareness across childhood is a complex and protracted phenomenon. Little is known about the consequences of an interruption to development as a result of a traumatic brain injury in childhood. The aim of this paper was to review the available literature on self-awareness in children following a traumatic brain injury and relate the findings to occupational therapy practice with this group of children and young people.

Method:

A comprehensive search of the current literature relating to self-awareness following a traumatic brain injury.

Findings:

A small amount of theoretical and qualitative literature was sourced and critically appraised using appropriate tools. Although only nine relevant papers were identified, those that were evaluated were found to be of a high quality. The findings were supplemented with additional material from developmental psychology and adult brain injury literature.

Conclusion:

Occupational therapists are encouraged to conceptualise self-awareness in childhood traumatic brain injury within a developmental context. A fuller understanding of self-awareness in childhood and the consequences of an interruption to its development will help to establish age-appropriate interventions.
Cross-National and Multi-Language Qualitative Research: Challenges and Recommendations
Authors: Haak Maria , Himmelsbach Ines , Granbom Marianne , Löfqvist Charlotte
Published: July 2013

Interest in cross-national partnership is increasing in Europe, a situation very much reflected in calls for funding. Multi-language qualitative research methodologies need to be strengthened in order to support this growing trend toward the promotion of cross-national collaboration. This practice analysis reports on our experience of carrying out cross-national and multi-language based qualitative research. Based on this, we recommend taking into account the potential challenges of language and national culture from the planning phase onwards, handling them in a structured, predefined way throughout the research process and using software to assist with the challenges brought about in a multi-language environment.
Risk Assessment: Enabler or Barrier?
Authors: Gallagher Aideen
Published: July 2013

Are occupational therapists using risk assessment to its fullest potential? Taking part in activities of daily living can introduce significant risk for someone overcoming disabilities and risk assessment is regularly utilised to confirm where harm is liable to occur. In this opinion piece, risk assessment is promoted as a valuable addition to the therapist's ‘toolbox’ — allowing, rather than hindering, occupational therapy practice. In offering therapists the opportunity to engage creatively in finding novel solutions to problems, risk assessment can, in fact, avoid a focus on what cannot be done in favour of what can be done with greater certainty, accountability and transparency.
Zivilgesellschaft – zwischen Wirtschaft und Staat. Eine institutionenoekonomische Interpretation
Authors: Priddat Birger P.
Published: July 2013

"Civil society" seems like a new myth, but to explain it we need an institutional design, developed by Buchanan, Dixit and Barzel: third party enforcement (TPE). Traditionally TPE means the role of the state as a regulator or mediator of all transactional parties on the marketplace. In the context of the civil society TPE demonstrates the non-governmental role of governance, monitoring and governing the relationship between state and society or state and economy – by a third party: NGO i.e., other states, or international institutions like the UN etc. The text explains the institutional design of TPE and its relevance.
Editorial: Finanzpolitik – internationale Perspektiven
Authors: Hein Eckhard , Heise Arne , Truger Achim
Published: July 2013

First paragraph

Die deutsche Finanzpolitik steckt schon seit Jahren in einer tiefen Krise. Trotz beständiger Kürzungen der Ausgabenansätze in den öffentlichen Haushalten – insbesondere bei den öffentlichen Investitionen – wird Deutschland 2004 zum dritten Mal in Folge die Defizitobergrenze des Europäischen Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspaktes (SWP) von drei Prozent des BIP überschreiten. Und auch für 2005 wird dieses Kriterium wieder verfehlt werden. Der Versuch, in der Konjunkturkrise durch pro-zyklische Finanzpolitik die Haushalte zu konsolidieren, ist offensichtlich gescheitert und hat mit zur längsten Stagnation in der deutschen Nachkriegsgeschichte beigetragen. Die gleiche Erfahrung machen immer mehr Staaten der Europäischen Währungsunion. Nachdem das Sanktionsverfahren des SWP gegen Deutschland und Frankreich im Herbst 2003 ausgesetzt wurde, scheint die Restriktionsverpflichtung des SWP de facto ausgehöhlt, und die Finanzpolitik in der Europäischen Union ist endlich wieder Gegenstand einer breiteren öffentlichen Diskussion. Unter fortschrittlicheren europäischen und deutschen ÖkonomInnen ist dabei längst klar, dass eine Konsolidierungspolitik, die nicht auf die konjunkturelle Situation Rücksicht nimmt, mit schädlichen Rückwirkungen für Wachstum, Beschäftigung und die Haushaltskonsolidierung selbst rechnen muss. Sie suchen daher auch nach Alternativen zum »neu-monetaristischen« (Arestis/Sawyer 1998) SWP (vgl. Arestis et al. 2001, Buti et al. 2003, Blanchard / Giavazzi 2003 und Bofinger 2003).
Basic Redress or Incremental Adjustment? On Recent Debates about the Reform of the Stability and Growth Pact
Authors: Schelkle Waltraud
Published: July 2013

In a substantive paper, Buti et al. (2003) discuss various criticisms of the European Stability and Growth Pact and propose a number of amendments. The bottom line of their review is that reform requires internal adjustment only, keeping the norm of relying on rule-based fiscal consolidation and automatic stabilisation. By contrast, I argue that their proposals imply not merely internal adjustment but a basic redress of the Pact's thrust. If implemented they would turn the existing disciplinarian device confined to national budget consolidation into an insurance arrangement for collective stabilisation. This insurance perspective suggests to go further down that route to make coordination sustainable.
Physical-biological interactions to the west of Hawaiian Islands: impact of submesoscale dynamics on biological productivity
Authors: Xiu P. , Chai F.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. Abundant energetic eddies and frontal processes occur frequently to the west of Hawaiian Islands. Their impacts on biological productivity, however, are ambiguous because satellite-measured surface chlorophyll often shows a completely different pattern to eddy kinetic energy field. Our study suggests a new mechanism of how those oceanic eddies and frontal processes affect phytoplankton dynamics by changing their physiological conditions. Due to eddy–eddy or eddy–front interactions, high eddy activity creates regions with enhanced shear and straining that leads to rapid upper ocean restratification and submesoscale vertical motions. The restratification process deceases mixed layer depth that increases the mean exposure of the phytoplankton cells to light, thus resulting in enhanced photosynthetic carbon-based production. In contrast, increased light in the surface layer could either decrease phytoplankton chlorophyll due to the photoacclimation effect or increase chlorophyll when light is a limiting factor for phytoplankton growth. Combined with another two competing processes for vertical nutrient flux, ocean restratification and submesoscale upward motions, it introduces different responses and uncertainties of observed chlorophyll-based production to eddy activity and frontal processes.
Equivalent sensor radiance generation and remote sensing from model parameters – Part 1: Equivalent sensor radiance formulation
Authors: Wind G. , da Silva A. M. , Norris P. M. , Platnick S.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. In this paper we describe a general procedure for calculating equivalent sensor radiances from variables output from a global atmospheric forecast model. In order to take proper account of the discrepancies between model resolution and sensor footprint the algorithm takes explicit account of the model subgrid variability, in particular its description of the probability density function of total water (vapor and cloud condensate). The equivalent sensor radiances are then substituted into an operational remote sensing algorithm processing chain to produce a variety of remote sensing products that would normally be produced from actual sensor output. This output can then be used for a wide variety of purposes such as model parameter verification, remote sensing algorithm validation, testing of new retrieval methods and future sensor studies. We show a specific implementation using the GEOS-5 model, the MODIS instrument and the MODIS Adaptive Processing System (MODAPS) Data Collection 5.1 operational remote sensing cloud algorithm processing chain (including the cloud mask, cloud top properties and cloud optical and microphysical properties products). We focus on clouds and cloud/aerosol interactions, because they are very important to model development and improvement.
Model-based estimation of pesticides and transformation products and their export pathways in a headwater catchment
Authors: Gassmann M. , Stamm C. , Olsson O. , Lange J. , Kümmerer K. , Weiler M.
Published: July 2013

Abstract. Pesticides applied onto agricultural fields are frequently found in adjacent rivers. To what extent and along which pathways they are transported is influenced by intrinsic pesticide properties such as sorption and degradation. In the environment, incomplete degradation of pesticides leads to the formation of transformation products (TPs), which may differ from the parent compounds regarding their intrinsic fate characteristics. Thus, the export processes of TPs in catchments and streams may also be different. In order to test this hypothesis, we extended a distributed hydrological model by the fate and behaviour of pesticides and transformation products and applied it to a small, well-monitored headwater catchment in Switzerland. The successful model evaluation of three pesticides and their TPs at three sampling locations in the catchment enabled us to estimate the quantity of contributing processes for pollutant export. Since all TPs were more mobile than their parent compounds (PCs), they exhibited larger fractions of export via subsurface pathways. However, besides freshly applied pesticides, subsurface export was found to be influenced by residues of former applications. Export along preferential flow pathways was less dependent on substance fate characteristics than soil matrix export, but total soil water flow to tile drains increased more due to preferential flow for stronger sorbing substances. Our results indicate that runoff generation by matrix flow to tile drains gained importance towards the end of the modelling period whereas the contributions from fast surface runoff and preferential flow decreased. Accordingly, TPs were to a large extent exported under different hydrological conditions than their PCs, due to their delayed formation and longer half-lives. Thus, not only their different intrinsic characteristics but also their delayed formation could be responsible for the fact that TPs generally took different pathways than their PCs. We suggest that these results should be considered in risk assessment for the export of agricultural chemicals to adjacent rivers and that models should be extended to include both PCs and TPs.
Rock Composition and Recomposition inThe Departed’s Soundscape
Authors: Stokes Jordan
Published: July 2013

Research on pop music in film has emphasized the transformative effect of the song on the film. Using examples from Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, I argue that songs, too, are transformed by films, formally altered by a series of transformations I have labeled "Juxtaposition," "Truncation," and "Extension."
Physico-Chemical Indices, Iso-alpha-Acid, Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Activity of Commercial Beers
Authors: Baiano Antonietta , Terracone Carmela
Published: July 2013

The effects of brewing style on physicochemical indices, iso-a-acids and antioxidant contents of commercial beers were investigated. A great variability was highlighted for all the considered parameters (sugar and alcohol contents, density, pH, titratable acidity, iso-a-acids, phenolic content, antioxidant activity). The beers having the highest iso-a-acids contents were Guinness Special Export Stout (which also showed the highest phenolic content), Chimay Pères Trappistes Triple, and Greene King IPA whereas the lowest values were detected in Cuveè De Ranke, Heineken Premium Quality Lager, and Riedenburger Brauhaus gluten free. The latter also had the lowest phenolic concentration. The antioxidant activity values strictly correlated with the total phenolic content but not with the iso-?-acid amount. The Principal Component Analysis failed in distinguishing beers based on their declared type/styles. This was a predictable result since the beer styles don’t represent a compositional classification but they are rather used to indicate commercial types.
A Modular Approach for a Family of Ground Mobile Robots
Authors: Quaglia Giuseppe , Oderio Riccardo , Bruzzone Luca , Razzoli Roberto
Published: July 2013

This paper deals with Epi.q, a family of mobile robots whose main characteristic is a wheel-legged hybrid locomotion. These multi-purpose robots can be successfully exploited for security and surveillance tasks. The document presents state of the art security robotics, the Epi.q mechanical architecture, the concept behind the robot driving unit, three prototypes and the design of a new one.
Using Bounding-Surrounding Boxes Method for Fish Tracking in Real World Underwater Observation
Authors: Shiau Yi-Haur , Chen Chaur-Chin , Lin Sun-In
Published: July 2013

The purpose of this paper is to present a rapid and efficient fish tracking method suitable for real world automatic underwater fish observation. Based on fish tracking, biologists are able to observe fish and their ecological environment. A distributed real-time underwater video stream system has been developed in Taiwan for large-scale, long-term ecological observation. In addition, not only does the system archive video data, but also incorporates data analysis. However, it is difficult to discriminate moving fish from drift water plants due to the severe drift of water plants caused by the water flow in real world underwater environments. Thus, fish tracking is complicated in unconstrained water. In order to overcome this problem, we propose a bounding-surrounding boxes method, which enables integration with state-of-the-art tracking methods for fish tracking in this paper. According to the method, fixing cameras must be used so that the moving fish are classified as foreground objects and are tracked, whereas the drifting water plants are classified as the background objects and are removed from the tracked objects. It enables the efficient, rapid removal of irrelevant information (non-fish objects) from large-scale fish video data. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to achieve high accuracy.
Whole-Body Motion Planning for Humanoid Robots by Specifying Via-Points
Authors: Sung ChangHyun , Kagawa Takahiro , Uno Yoji
Published: July 2013

We design a framework about the planning of whole body motion for humanoid robots. Motion planning with various constraints is essential to success the task. In this research, we propose a motion planning method corresponding to various conditions for achieving the task. We specify some via-points to deal with the conditions for target achievement depending on various constraints. Together with certain constraints including task accomplishment, the via-point representation plays a crucial role in the optimization process of our method. Furthermore, the via-points as the optimization parameters are related to some physical conditions. We applied this method to generate the kicking motion of a humanoid robot HOAP-3. We have confirmed that the robot was able to complete the task of kicking a ball over an obstacle into a goal in addition to changing conditions of the location of a ball. These results show that the proposed motion planning method using via-point representation can increase articulation of the motion.
Cluster Ensemble-Based Image Segmentation
Authors: Wang Xiaoru , Du Junping , Wu Shuzhe , Li Xu , Li Fu
Published: July 2013

Image segmentation is the foundation of computer vision applications. In this paper, we propose a new cluster ensemble-based image segmentation algorithm, which overcomes several problems of traditional methods. We make two main contributions in this paper. First, we introduce the cluster ensemble concept to fuse the segmentation results from different types of visual features effectively, which can deliver a better final result and achieve a much more stable performance for broad categories of images. Second, we exploit the PageRank idea from Internet applications and apply it to the image segmentation task. This can improve the final segmentation results by combining the spatial information of the image and the semantic similarity of regions. Our experiments on four public image databases validate the superiority of our algorithm over conventional single type of feature or multiple types of features-based algorithms, since our algorithm can fuse multiple types of features effectively for better segmentation results. Moreover, our method is also proved to be very competitive in comparison with other state-of-the-art segmentation algorithms.
Omniphobic “RF Paper” Produced by Silanization of Paper with Fluoroalkyltrichlorosilanes
Authors: Glavan Ana C. , Martinez Ramses V. , Subramaniam Anand Bala , Yoon Hyo Jae , Nunes Rui M. D. , Lange Heiko , Thuo Martin M. , Whitesides George M.
Published: July 2013

The fabrication and properties of “fluoroalkylated paper” (“RF paper”) by vapor‐phase silanization of paper with fluoroalkyl trichlorosilanes is reported. RF paper is both hydrophobic and oleophobic: it repels water (θappH2O>140°), organic liquids with surface tensions as low as 28 mN m‐1, aqueous solutions containing ionic and non‐ionic surfactants, and complex liquids such as blood (which contains salts, surfactants, and biological material such as cells, proteins, and lipids). The propensity of the paper to resist wetting by liquids with a wide range of surface tensions correlates with the length and degree of fluorination of the organosilane (with a few exceptions in the case of methyl trichlorosilane‐treated paper), and with the roughness of the paper. RF paper maintains the high permeability to gases and mechanical flexibility of the untreated paper, and can be folded into functional shapes (e.g., microtiter plates and liquid‐filled gas sensors). When impregnated with a perfluorinated oil, RF paper forms a “slippery” surface (paper slippery liquid‐infused porous surface, or “paper SLIPS“) capable of repelling liquids with surface tensions as low as 15 mN m‐1. The foldability of the paper SLIPS allows the fabrication of channels and flow switches to guide the transport of liquid droplets.
Colorimetric Sensor Based on Self‐Assembled Polydiacetylene/Graphene‐Stacked Composite Film for Vapor‐Phase Volatile Organic Compounds
Authors: Wang Xiaona , Sun Xiuling , Hu Ping An , Zhang Jia , Wang Lifeng , Feng Wei , Lei Shengbin , Yang Bin , Cao Wenwu
Published: July 2013

A portable litmus‐type chemosensor is developed for the effective detection of environmentally hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using polydiacetylene (PDA) and graphene stacked within a composite film. The graphene is exploited as a transparent and efficient supporter for the highly ordered PDA monolayer. This colorimetric sensor exhibits a sensitive response to low concentrations of VOCs (∼0.01%), including tetrahydrofuran (THF), chloroform (CHCl3), methanol (CH3OH), and dimethylformamide (DMF). The color change that is caused by relatively high concentrations of VOCs can be perceived by the naked eye, and it is noteworthy that a logarithmic relationship is observed between the chromatic response and the VOC concentration in the range of ∼0.01%–10%. The structural conformation changes of the PDA molecules, caused by interactions with VOCs, are directly observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), which reveals the intrinsic mechanism of the chromatic variety at the molecular level.
Quadratic Stabilizability for Polytopic Uncertain Switched Linear Systems via Switched Observer
Authors: Soga T. , Otsuka N.
Published: July 2013

In this paper, we study a quadratic stabilizability problem via switched observer for uncertain continuous‐time switched linear systems in the sense that the subsystem's matrices are represented as a polytopic linear combination of vertex matrices. Firstly, sufficient conditions for polytopic uncertain continuous‐time switched linear systems to be quadratically stabilizable via state feedback are summarized. Next, sufficient conditions for polytopic uncertain switched linear systems to be quadratically stabilizable via switched observer are given under the assumption that output matrices of subsystems have no uncertainties. Further, a numerical example is also investigated.