bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Craniotomy for anterior cranial fossa meningiomas: historical overview
Authors: Morales-Valero Saul F. , Van Gompel Jamie J. , Loumiotis Ioannis , Lanzino Giuseppe
Published: April 2014

The surgical treatment of meningiomas located at the base of the anterior cranial fossa is often challenging, and the evolution of the surgical strategy to resect these tumors parallels the development of craniotomy, and neurosurgery in general, over the past century. Early successful operations to treat these tumors were pioneered by prominent figures such as Sir William Macewen and Francesco Durante. Following these early reports, Harvey Cushing made significant contributions, allowing a better understanding and treatment of meningiomas in general, but particularly those involving the anterior cranial base. Initially, large-sized unilateral or bilateral craniotomies were necessary to approach these deep-seated lesions. Technical advances such as the introduction of electrosurgery, the operating microscope, and refined microsurgical instruments allowed neurosurgeons to perform less invasive surgical procedures with better results. Today, a wide variety of surgical strategies, including endoscopic surgery and radiosurgery, are used to treat these tumors. In this review, the authors trace the evolution of craniotomy for anterior cranial fossa meningiomas.
From the notch to a glioma grading system: the neurological contributions of James Watson Kernohan
Authors: Safavi-Abbasi Sam , Maurer Adrian J. , Archer Jacob B. , Hanel Ricardo A. , Sughrue Michael E. , Theodore Nicholas , Preul Mark C.
Published: April 2014

During his lifetime and a career spanning 42 years, James Watson Kernohan made numerous contributions to neuropathology, neurology, and neurosurgery. One of these, the phenomenon of ipsilateral, false localizing signs caused by compression of the contralateral cerebral peduncle against the tentorial edge, has widely become known as “Kernohan's notch” and continues to bear his name. The other is a grading system for gliomas from a neurosurgical viewpoint that continues to be relevant for grading of glial tumors 60 years after its introduction. In this paper, the authors analyze these two major contributions in detail within the context of Kernohan's career and explore how they contributed to the development of neurosurgical procedures.
Odilon Marc Lannelongue (1840–1911) and strip craniectomy for craniosynostosis
Authors: Bir Shyamal C. , Ambekar Sudheer , Notarianni Christina , Nanda Anil
Published: April 2014

In the 19th century, Dr. Odilon Marc Lannelongue was a pioneering French surgeon who introduced a surgical technique for the treatment of craniosynostosis. In 1890, Dr. Lannelongue performed correction of sagittal synostosis by strip craniectomy. From his procedure, multiple techniques have been developed and endorsed for this condition, ranging from simple suturectomies to extensive calvarial vault remodeling. In addition, even today, endoscopically aided strip craniectomy is performed as a surgical treatment of craniosynostosis. This article describes the life and works of the surgeon who revolutionized the management of craniosynostosis.
Berengario's drill: origin and inspiration
Authors: Chorney Michael A. , Gandhi Chirag D. , Prestigiacomo Charles J.
Published: April 2014

Craniotomies are among the oldest neurosurgical procedures, as evidenced by early human skulls discovered with holes in the calvaria. Though devices change, the principles to safely transgress the skull are identical. Modern neurosurgeons regularly use electric power drills in the operating theater; however, nonelectric trephining instruments remain trusted by professionals in certain emergent settings in the rare instance that an electric drill is unavailable. Until the late Middle Ages, innovation in craniotomy instrumentation remained stunted without much documented redesign. Jacopo Berengario da Carpi's (c. 1457–1530 CE) text Tractatus de Fractura Calvae sive Cranei depicts a drill previously unseen in a medical volume. Written in 1518 CE, the book was motivated by defeat over the course of Lorenzo II de'Medici's medical care. Berengario's interchangeable bit with a compound brace (“vertibulum”), known today as the Hudson brace, symbolizes a pivotal device in neurosurgery and medical tool design. This drill permitted surgeons to stock multiple bits, perform the craniotomy faster, and decrease equipment costs during a period of increased incidence of cranial fractures, and thus the need for craniotomies, which was attributable to the introduction of gunpowder. The inspiration stemmed from a school of thought growing within a population of physicians trained as mathematicians, engineers, and astrologers prior to entering the medical profession. Berengario may have been the first to record the use of such a unique drill, but whether he invented this instrument or merely adapted its use for the craniotomy remains clouded.
The Reverend Russell H. Conwell, W. Wayne Babcock, and the “soup bone” cranioplasties of 1915
Authors: Sandler Adam L. , Biswas Arundhati , Goodrich James Tait
Published: April 2014

In 1915, faced with 2 patients with large skull defects, W. Wayne Babcock, an obstetrician-gynecologist-turned-general surgeon, operating in a modest North Philadelphia hospital, did something extraordinary: he went to the hospital kitchen to look for a cranial graft. Based heavily on archival and other primary sources, the authors tell the remarkable tale of the “soup bone” cranioplasties of the Samaritan Hospital and place these operations within the context of the early modern American hospital.
Popularizing marine natural history in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain
Authors: Moore P. G.
Published: April 2014

The literary and pedagogic style of books popularizing marine natural history for the British public shifted during the nineteenth century. Previously, natural history books had been written largely by men, with notable exceptions like Isabella Gifford, Mary Gatty and Mary Roberts. Gentlemen naturalists tended to be clerics or medics; educated men conventionally viewing their interest as revelatory of the Divine in nature. Typically, women were less well educated than men but some from clerical backgrounds, having better access to learning, became significant popularizers of natural history. Gosse's works promoting aquaria and “rock-pooling” (typically among the middle classes), helped to develop a ready market for the plethora of popular seashore books appearing in the 1850s; with coastal access being facilitated by expansion of the railways. Controversies concerning evolution rarely penetrated works aimed at a popular readership. However, the style adopted by marine natural history writers had changed noticeably by the end of the nineteenth century. The earlier conversational dialogue or narrative forms gave way to a more terse scientific style, omitting references to the Divine. Evolutionary ideas were affecting populist texts on littoral natural history, even if only covertly.
The early scientific history of Galapagos iguanas
Authors: Olson Storrs L.
Published: April 2014

The oldest known specimen of Galapagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), now in the University Museum, Oxford, was originally thought to have come from Mexico. A plausible history of its origin with sealers in the Galapagos Islands about 1824 and transportation to and across Mexico is advanced. The naturalists David Douglas and John Scouler, on James (Santiago) Island in January 1825, encountered and attempted unsuccessfully to preserve specimens of the land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) but only a Scouler specimen of marine iguana made it back to England, and it has since disappeared. Published and previously unpublished journal entries from the voyage of HMS Blonde, which had shore parties at Albemarle (Isabela) and Narborough (Fernandina) islands in March 1825, establish that the specimens on which the original description of Amblyrhynchus (later Conolophus) subcristatus J. E. Gray, 1831 , was based originated in the voyage of the Blonde. Banks Bay, Albemarle Island, is here designated as the type locality for Conolophus subcristatus. Specimens of the marine iguana were also brought back by the Blonde. The published accounts of Scouler and the voyage of the Blonde established the Galapagos as the true home of the marine iguana well before the return of Charles Darwin and HMS Beagle in 1836.
From the Editors: De Ethica. A Journal of Philosophical, Theological and Applied Ethics (English)
Authors: Almond Brenda
Published: April 2014

No abstract available.
Information in Biological Systems and the Fluctuation Theorem
Authors: Demirel Yaşar
Published: April 2014

Some critical trends in information theory, its role in living systems and utilization in fluctuation theory are discussed. The mutual information of thermodynamic coupling is incorporated into the generalized fluctuation theorem by using information theory and nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Thermodynamically coupled dissipative structures in living systems are capable of degrading more energy, and processing complex information through developmental and environmental constraints. The generalized fluctuation theorem can quantify the hysteresis observed in the amount of the irreversible work in nonequilibrium regimes in the presence of information and thermodynamic coupling.
Transesterification Kinetics of Waste Vegetable Oil in Supercritical Alcohols
Authors: Sanjel Nawaraj , Gu Jae , Oh Sea
Published: April 2014

The kinetic analysis method using the non-isothermal technique was proposed to determine the kinetic parameters for the transesterification reaction of waste vegetable oil (WVO) in supercritical alcohols. To investigate the transesterification of WVO, experiments have been carried out with WVO and alcohols at three molar ratios of 1:6, 1:12 and 1:18 for both supercritical ethanol (SCE) and supercritical methanol (SCM) at temperatures between 210 °C and 350 °C in a 25 mL batch reactor. The products were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). To verify the effectiveness of the proposed kinetic analysis method, the experimental values were compared with the values calculated using the kinetic parameters obtained from this work. It was found that the proposed kinetic analysis method gave reliable kinetic parameters for the transesterification of WVO in supercritical alcohols. It was also seen that SCM was a better solvent than SCE for the transesterification of WVO.
Correction: Márquez-Domínguez, S.; Sørensen, J.D. Fatigue Reliability and Calibration of Fatigue Design Factors for Offshore Wind Turbines. Energies 2012, 5, 1816–1834
Authors: Márquez-Domínguez Sergio , Sørensen John
Published: April 2014

The authors wish to make the following correction to this paper [1]. [...]
Silencing of Ether à Go-Go 1 by shRNA Inhibits Osteosarcoma Growth and Cell Cycle Progression
Authors: Wu Jin , Zhong Daixing , Fu Xijin , Liu Qingjun , Kang Liangqi , Ding Zhenqi
Published: April 2014

Recently, a member of the voltage-dependent potassium channel (Kv) family, the Ether à go-go 1 (Eag1) channel was found to be necessary for cell proliferation, cycle progression and tumorigenesis. However, the therapeutic potential of the Eag1 channel in osteosarcoma remains elusive. In the present study, a recombinant adenovirus harboring shRNA against Eag1 was constructed to silence Eag1 expression in human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells. We observed that Eag1-shRNA inhibited the proliferation and colony formation of MG-63 cells due to the induction of G1 phase arrest. Moreover, in vivo experiments showed that Eag1-shRNA inhibited osteosarcoma growth in a xenograft nude mice model. In addition, selective inhibition of Eag1 significantly decreased the expression levels of cyclin D1 and E. Taken together, our data suggest that the Eag1 channel plays a crucial role in regulating the proliferation and cell cycle of osteosarcoma cells, and represents a new and effective therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.
Water Extract of Acer tegmentosum Reduces Bone Destruction by Inhibiting Osteoclast Differentiation and Function
Authors: Ha Hyunil , Shim Ki-Shuk , Kim Taesoo , An Hyosun , Lee Chung-Jo , Lee Kwang , Ma Jin
Published: April 2014

The stem of Acer tegmentosum has been widely used in Korea for the treatment of hepatic disorders. In this study, we investigated the bone protective effect of water extract of the stem of Acer tegmentosum (WEAT). We found that WEAT inhibits osteoclast differentiation induced by receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL), an essential cytokine for osteoclast differentiation. In osteoclast precursor cells, WEAT inhibited RANKL-induced activation of JNK, NF-κB, and cAMP response element-binding protein, leading to suppression of the induction of c-Fos and nuclear factor of activated T cells cytoplasmic 1, key transcription factors for osteoclast differentiation. In addition, WEAT inhibited bone resorbing activity of mature osteoclasts. Furthermore, the oral administration of WEAT reduced RANKL-induced bone resorption and trabecular bone loss in mice. Taken together, our study demonstrates that WEAT possesses a protective effect on bone destruction by inhibiting osteoclast differentiation and function.
Initial Investigations of Intra-Day News Flow of S&P500 Constituents
Authors: Liew Jim , Zhou Zhechao
Published: April 2014

In this work, we examine Thomas Reuters News Analytics (TRNA) data. We found several fascinating discoveries. First, we document the phenomenon that we label “Jam-the-Close”: The last half hour of trading (15:30 to 16:00 EST) contains a substantial and statistically significant amount of news sentiment releases. This finding is robust across years and months of the year. Next, upon further investigations we found that the “novelty” score is on average 0.67 in this period vs. 2.09 prior to midday. This indicates that “new” news is flowing at a rapid pace prior to the close. Finally, we discuss the implication of such phenomena in the context of existing financial literature.
Phylogeny, character evolution, and biogeography of Cuscuta (dodders; Convolvulaceae) inferred from coding plastid and nuclear sequences
Authors: García Miguel A. , Costea Mihai , Kuzmina Maria , Stefanović Saša
Published: April 2014

• Premise of the study: The parasitic genus Cuscuta, containing some 200 species circumscribed traditionally in three subgenera, is nearly cosmopolitan, occurring in a wide range of habitats and hosts. Previous molecular studies, on subgenera Grammica and Cuscuta, delimited major clades within these groups. However, the sequences used were unalignable among subgenera, preventing the phylogenetic comparison across the genus.

• Methods: We conducted a broad phylogenetic study using rbcL and nrLSU sequences covering the morphological, physiological, and geographical diversity of Cuscuta. We used parsimony methods to reconstruct ancestral states for taxonomically important characters. Biogeographical inferences were obtained using statistical and Bayesian approaches.

• Key results: Four well‐supported major clades are resolved. Two of them correspond to subgenera Monogynella and Grammica. Subgenus Cuscuta is paraphyletic, with section Pachystigma sister to subgenus Grammica. Previously described cases of strongly supported discordance between plastid and nuclear phylogenies, interpreted as reticulation events, are confirmed here and three new cases are detected. Dehiscent fruits and globose stigmas are inferred as ancestral character states, whereas the ancestral style number is ambiguous. Biogeographical reconstructions suggest an Old World origin for the genus and subsequent spread to the Americas as a consequence of one long‐distance dispersal.

• Conclusions: Hybridization may play an important yet underestimated role in the evolution of Cuscuta. Our results disagree with scenarios of evolution (polarity) previously proposed for several taxonomically important morphological characters, and with their usage and significance. While several cases of long‐distance dispersal are inferred, vicariance or dispersal to adjacent areas emerges as the dominant biogeographical pattern.
L'ergonomie prospective : fondements et enjeux
Authors: Brangier Éric , Robert Jean-Marc
Published: April 2014

À partir d’une analyse de la prospective et de l’intégration d’éléments de celle-ci à l’ergonomie, les auteurs proposent de reconnaître l’ergonomie prospective (EP) comme une nouvelle modalité d’intervention ergonomique permettant de travailler sur le futur. Leur objectif est d’amener l’ergonomie à s’intéresser aux futurs besoins et usages humains et à la création de futurs produits, procédés et services, et à le faire sous l’angle des facteurs humains et organisationnels qui sont toujours à la base de son action. Les connaissances et méthodes de la prospective, de l’ergonomie et de la créativité sont mises à profit pour rechercher et créer. Une intervention prospective est proactive, spéculative et inventive. Elle se situe en amont de la conception dans les projets où les besoins précèdent la technologie, et elle donne l’occasion à l’ergonome de travailler au niveau stratégique des entreprises. Les auteurs discutent les enjeux et défis de l’EP et décrivent les grandes lignes des huit articles de ces deux numéros spéciaux.
Concevoir une technologie ambiante pour le maintien à domicile : une démarche prospective par la prise en compte des systèmes d'activité
Authors: Bobillier-Chaumon Marc-Éric , Cuvillier Bruno , Durif-Bruckert Christine , Cros Florence , Vanhille Mohini , Bekkadja Salima
Published: April 2014

Cet article présente une démarche psycho-ergonomique à orientation prospective visant à évaluer l’intégration d’un environnement pervasif de téléassistance (CIRDO) dans le milieu de vie des personnes âgées dépendantes maintenues à domicile. L’objectif de cet environnement est de favoriser l’autonomie de ces personnes en détectant automatiquement les chutes (via des capteurs audio et vidéo) et le cas échéant d’alerter l’entourage. A partir du modèle des systèmes d’activité, nous proposons une démarche prospective en situation réelle de vie qui vise à prévoir ces usages et à évaluer la manière dont chaque acteur du domicile se saisit du futur système. Nous montrons que la mise du œuvre du dispositif peut avoir des incidences sur les systèmes d’activité de chaque acteur en présence (personne âgée, famille, aidant professionnel) et qu’il peut également redéfinir les relations entre ces différents Systèmes d’activité, obligeant chaque protagoniste à repositionner ses pratiques, son statut et son engagement dans la sphère de l’habitat. Dans ce cadre, notre apport consiste non seulement à imaginer les usages, mais également à prospecter la fonction sociale associée à ce nouvel outil.
Propionic acid and its esterified derivative suppress the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus USA300
Authors: Wang Y. , Dai A. , Huang S. , Kuo S. , Shu M. , Tapia C.P. , Yu J. , Two A. , Zhang H. , Gallo R.L. , Huang C.-M.
Published: April 2014

Previously, we demonstrated that Propionibacterium acnes, a human skin commensal bacterium, ferments glycerol into short-chain fatty acids, including propionic acid. Propionic acid suppressed the growth of Staphylococcus aureus USA300, a community-acquired methicillin-resistant bacterium, in vitro and in vivo. In this study, it is demonstrated that the anti-USA300 activity of propionic acid persisted after buffering the acid with 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1- piperazineethanesulfonic acid. This suggests that the growth suppression of USA300 mainly resulted from the antimicrobial activity of propionic acid per se and not from the acidity of the medium. In addition, proprionic acid significantly reduced the intracellular pH of USA300 and exhibited broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. P. acnes showed a higher tolerance to propionic acid. Next, an esterified derivative of propionic acid was synthesised. Propionic acid and the esterified derivative were equivalent in their efficacy to suppress the growth of USA300 in vitro. The esterified derivative thus provides an alternative to propionic acid as an antimicrobial agent against S. aureus.
São Tomé e Principe, as ilhas do meio do mundo: avaliação crítica sobre sua geografia política
Authors: Sanguin André-Louis
Published: April 2014

São Tomé e Príncipe, Estado soberano localizado no Golfo da Guiné, é o exemplo clássico de problemas de geografia política enfrentados por um microestado formado por um conjunto de ilhas. Em relação ao continente africano que lhe faz face, suas características originais residem na sua lusofonia e na criolidade. A super-insularidade1 exerce um peso muito importante sobre o funcionamento do país. A vulnerabilidade e a dependência constituem questões recorrentes. Desde sua independência, em 1975, este microestado tem enfrentado um problema de má governança crônico. Sua zona econômica exclusiva e sua zona de desenvolvimento conjunto, compartilhada coma Nigéria, oferecem uma oportunidade direcionada ao ‘boom’ econômico do setor petrolífero. Entretanto, por hora, o desenvolvimento do petróleo ainda é uma potencialidade hipotética. Um diagnóstico territorial é proposto com base na pesquisa de campo executada pelo autor, que está em consonância com as observações de alguns especialistas em microestados insulares intertropicais no geral e sobre São Tomé e Príncipe em particular.
A Hierarchy of Metadata Elements for Business Intelligence Information Resource Retrieval
Authors: Foshay Neil , Boyle Todd , Mather Jacob
Published: April 2014

Effectively managing information resources is an important activity contributing to the competitive advantage of modern organizations. Organizational knowledge workers must be able to search for pertinent information quickly and effectively. This research identifies the relative usefulness of the metadata elements associated with the Dublin Core metadata standard for the effective retrieval of three different information resources – structured business intelligence reports, structured spreadsheet reports, and unstructured reports in formats such as Word and PowerPoint. A survey of knowledge workers was conducted to determine the relative usefulness of the metadata elements for each of the three information resources and to develop a framework outlining where metadata tag requirements differ between such resources. Overall, the study and resulting framework emphasize the need for system developers and database management personnel to be cognizant of the type of information resources being used, and ensure that search metadata elements that are appropriate for these specific resources are in place.
Determinants of Process Change Outcome
Authors: Hill-Esler Chelsey
Published: April 2014

This research looks to explore business process change within an institutional framework to determine its applicability in identifying determinants of success and failure in Business Process Change efforts. While there are many reasons suggested for failure, elements of the process involving the human factor are the primary area of concern for this study. An extensive literature review of 63 Business Process Change(BPC), including Business Process Reengineering(BPR), Total Quality Management(TQM), Lean Manufacturing(LM), Six Sigma and Continuous Process Improvement(CPI) case studies was conducted to determine the preliminary success/failure factors. The factors that are being investigated in this study are: industry type, number of employees, process change type, change response type, upper management support, lower echelon support, performance measurements, initial change focus and downsizing made during process change. The target variable is the process change outcome. The primary purpose of this study is to examine possible factors that either promote or inhibit success in process change efforts. The factors chosen for inclusion are those that are most closely associated with institutional theory and the human elements associated with process change in the workplace. This information will contribute to the existing research suggesting the congruence between Institutional Theory and Organization Change Theory.
Innovative System for Measuring SMEs Performance
Authors: Ahmed Abdel Moneim M. B. , Abonamah Abdullah A.
Published: April 2014

This paper refers to the increasing interest in the development of theoretical frameworks in the area of measuring business performance, companies of all sizes have used them to test different business policies and strategies. Literature shows that these frameworks do not provide an effective and robust system, which is needed in today's dynamic market. For example, the existing frameworks do not relate to the actual strategies in place. Also, none can be considered generic, which makes any attempt of integrating measures and performance indicators virtually impossible. The authors discuss this problem and propose an efficient and flexible system for measuring small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) performance. A computer-based tool to select the appropriate measures and performance indicators to support the implementation process of company's strategic goals is also presented.
Establishing a Hierarchy Model for Evaluating Integrated Marketing Communications Services of Newspaper Groups in Taiwan
Authors: Lin Ya-Han , Hsu Pi-Fang , Tsai Chia-Wen
Published: April 2014

This study aimed to build an evaluation model for integrated marketing communications services of newspaper groups. First, researchers obtained the proper evaluation criteria by using related documents and the modified Delphi method to condense experts' opinions. Then, AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) was applied to determine the weights of these criteria, allowing researchers to order the alternatives and find the most suitable newspaper group to implement integrated marketing communications services. The model was then applied to a real case of a famous financial holding company in Taiwan, which was looking for a newspaper group as its partner to promote its company image. According to the research results, the criteria that the advertisers cared about, in order of importance, were as follows: scale of the newspaper organization, ability of planning and implementation, ability of resource integration, and choice of communication tools. This model can provide advertisers with an objective and efficient method of choosing the most suitable newspaper group, and is of certain value and contribution in academic circles and practices.
Impact Evaluation of Customer Knowledge Process On Customer Knowledge Acquisition
Authors: Alhawari Samer
Published: April 2014

This paper examines how Jordanian banks use the Customer Knowledge process to support Customer Knowledge Acquisition (CKA) and how they foster it. The empirical study is based on a sample of the data collected from 165 respondents, drawn randomly from six banks. The results showed that the six selected factors (Need for Customer Knowledge, Identify Source of Customer Knowledge, Verify Source of Customer Knowledge, Capture of Customer Knowledge, Apply of Knowledge about Customer, and Verify of Knowledge about Customer) have a significant impact on customer knowledge acquisition. On the other hand, the (Analysis of Customer Knowledge) is not a significant impact on customer knowledge acquisition in Jordanian banks. For this reason, the purpose of this paper is to study how Jordanian Banks use the Customer Knowledge process to support Customer Knowledge Acquisition. The empirical findings will certainly help both researchers and practitioners in future customer knowledge process, and Customer Knowledge Acquisition research.
The Public Cloud for e-Government
Authors: Zwattendorfer Bernd , Tauber Arne
Published: April 2014

Cloud computing and its flexible business model of consuming IT resources such as computing power or data storage just on demand promises a lot of benefits and advantages. These advantages also the public sector and governments can benefit from. Hence, cloud computing is already on the agenda of governmental policy and decision makers. Additionally, various countries have already adapted their IT strategies to support cloud computing for their governmental and public services. However, within the public sector the private cloud model currently constitutes the dominant deployed approach. Although this model offers high control it does not take full advantage of the economic benefits of cloud computing. Therefore, based on an evaluation of different cloud models and a comparison of different national cloud computing strategies the authors argue and show that public clouds are worth more than a peek for e-Government because of their tremendous cost savings potential.
Collaborative Web-Based System for Knowledge Transfer to Distributed Groups of Users Within Strategic Noise Mapping Domain
Authors: Dąbrowski Marcin
Published: April 2014

The Environmental Noise Directive (Directive 2002/49/EC) obliged competent authorities to prepare strategic noise maps (SNM) and actions plans (AP) for the major roads, railways, airports and agglomerations with more than 100 000 inhabitants. Both SNM and AP have to be updated every five years, that is why procedures of creating, using and administrating of SNM and AP can be considered as constant processes. These processes are very complex and require specialized knowledge and practical skills within noise mapping area and connected with them proper experience of SNM usage and AP enforcement. Unfortunately as experience shows, Polish administrators of SNM are not competent enough to meet these requirements. The problem outlined above has become the basis to develop web-based system for knowledge transfer to SNM administrators, covering such key issues as: the preparation of guidelines for SAM, gathering the appropriate input data for acoustic model and the subsequent verification of developed SAM.
Collaborative Services for Fault Tolerance in Hierarchical Data Grid
Authors: Meroufel B. , Belalem G.
Published: April 2014

As fault tolerance is the ability of a system to perform its function correctly even in the presence of faults. Therefore, different fault tolerance techniques are critical for improving the efficient utilization of expensive resources in high performance data grid systems. One of the most popular strategies of fault tolerance is the replication, it creates multiple copies of resources in the system and it has been proved to be an effective way to achieve data availability and system reliability. In this paper the authors propose a new adaptive dynamic replication that combines between a replication based on availability and replication based on popularity. The authors' adaptive dynamic replication uses two types of replicas (primary and ordinary) and two types of placement nodes (best client and best responsible nodes) for the new replicas. In addition to the replication, we used other strategies such as fault detection, fault prediction, dynamicity management, self-stabilization. All these services are grouped in one fault tolerance box named Collaborative Services for Fault Tolerance (CSFT) that structure them in hierarchical services and organize the relationships between them.
Discovering Complex Relationships of Drugs over Distributed Knowledgebases
Authors: Li Juan , Sharma Ranjana , Bai Yan
Published: April 2014

Drug discovery is a lengthy, expensive and difficult process. Indentifying and understanding the hidden relationships among drugs, genes, proteins, and diseases will expedite the process of drug discovery. In this paper, we propose an effective methodology to discover drug-related semantic relationships over large-scale distributed web data in medicine, pharmacology and biotechnology. By utilizing semantic web and distributed system technologies, we developed a novel hierarchical knowledge abstraction and an efficient relation discovery protocol. Our approach effectively facilitates the realization of the full potential of harnessing the collective power and utilization of the drug-related knowledge scattered over the Internet.
Service-Oriented Development of Workflow-Based Semantic Reasoning Applications
Authors: Cheptsov Alexey , Wesner Stefan , Koller Bastian
Published: April 2014

The modern Semantic Web scenarios require reasoning algorithms to be flexible, modular, and highly-configurable. A solid approach, followed in the design of the most currently existing reasoners, is not sufficient when dealing with today's challenges of data analysis across multiple sources of heterogeneous data or when the data amount grows to the “Big Data” sizes. The “reasoning as a workflow” concept has attracted a lot of attention in the design of new-generation Semantic Web applications, offering a lot of opportunities to improve both flexibility and scalability of the reasoning process. Considering a single workflow component as a service offers a lot of opportunities for a reasoning algorithm to target a much wider range of potentially enabled Semantic Web use cases by taking benefits of a service-oriented and component-based implementation. We introduce a technique for developing service-oriented Semantic Reasoning applications based on the workflow concept. We also present the Large Knowledge Collider - a software platform for developing workflow-based Semantic Web applications, taking advantages of on-demand high performance computing and cloud infrastructures.
A Framework for Structuring Learning Assessment in a Massively Multiplayer Online Educational Game
Authors: Conrad Shawn , Clarke-Midura Jody , Klopfer Eric
Published: April 2014

Educational games offer an opportunity to engage and inspire students to take interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) subjects. Unobtrusive learning assessment techniques coupled with machine learning algorithms can be utilized to record students' in-game actions and formulate a model of the students' knowledge without interrupting the students' play. This paper introduces “Experiment Centered Assessment Design” (XCD), a framework for structuring a learning assessment feedback loop. XCD builds on the “Evidence Centered Assessment Design” (ECD) approach, which uses tasks to elicit evidence about students and their learning. XCD defines every task as an experiment in the scientific method, where an experiment maps a test of factors to observable outcomes. This XCD framework was applied to prototype quests in a massively multiplayer online (MMO) educational game. Future work would build upon the XCD framework and use machine learning techniques to provide feedback to students, teachers, and researchers.
Parallelization of a Modified Firefly Algorithm using GPU for Variable Selection in a Multivariate Calibration Problem
Authors: de Paula Lauro C. M. , Soares Anderson S. , Soares Telma W. L. , Delbem Alexandre C. B. , Coelho Clarimar J. , Filho Arlindo R. G.
Published: April 2014

The recent improvements of Graphics Processing Units (GPU) have provided to the bio-inspired algorithms a powerful processing platform. Indeed, a lot of highly parallelizable problems can be significantly accelerated using GPU architecture. Among these algorithms, the Firefly Algorithm (FA) is a newly proposed method with potential application in several real world problems such as variable selection problem in multivariate calibration. The main drawback of this task lies in its computation burden, as it grows polynomially with the number of variables available. In this context, this paper proposes a GPU-based FA for variable selection in a multivariate calibration problem. Such implementation is aimed at improving the computational efficiency of the algorithm. For this purpose, a new strategy of regression coefficients calculation is employed. The advantage of the proposed implementation is demonstrated in an example involving a large number of variables. In such example, gains of speedup were obtained. Additionally the authors also demonstrate that the FA, in comparison with traditional algorithms, can be a relevant contribution for the variable selection problem.
Engineers' Abilities Improved Thanks to a Quality WIL Model in Coordination with the Industry for Two Decades
Authors: Nuninger Walter , Chatelet Jean-Marie
Published: April 2014

The authors' work-integrated training process leads to chartered engineers in the production field and was first created in coordination with companies in 1992. The public were already employees of the company (CVT) who wanted to improve their position. Both public and actors have changed through the years and recruitment includes now younger graduates (IVT) wishing better employability. Elder now focus on diploma instead of skills acquisition. “Digital natives” with quick access to knowledge just wish turnkey solutions; not old enough to make positive criticism of information and reluctant to analyze what requires effort. Firms face crisis, cost reduction and retirement of experts with no efficient skill planning. University itself faces changing rules (private versus public), European and world competition. But the training remains efficiency thanks to a proper organization; it respects consistency of practices with sustainable development and complete congruence with the environment constraint and evolution; quality, optimization, innovation, continuous development and value management.
Online Virtual Learning Environments
Authors: Adamo-Villani Nicoletta , Dib Hazar
Published: April 2014

This article is an overview of online virtual learning environments for discovery learning. The paper defines Virtual Learning Environments and discusses literature findings on the benefits of using web-based VEs for self-directed learning. It gives an overview of the latest technologies/platforms used to develop online VEs, discusses development and delivery challenges posed by complex, information-rich web-based 3D environments, and describes possible solutions that can be adopted to overcome current limitations. The paper also presents and discusses two 3D web-deliverable virtual learning environments that were recently developed by the authors: the “Virtual Tour of the Muscatatuck State Hospital Historic District (MSHHD)” and the “VELS: Virtual Environment for Learning Surveying”. The “Interactive 3D Tour of MSHHD” is a web-based digital heritage application that uses Virtual Reality as a tool to document and preserve historic sites and educate the public about them; the “VELS” is an online virtual learning environment whose objective is to help undergraduate students learn surveying concepts and practices.
Natural Language Processing
Authors: Yilmaz A. Egemen
Published: April 2014

Requirement analysis is the very first and crucial step in the software development processes. On the other hand, as previously addressed by other researchers, it is the Achilles' heel of the whole process since the requirements lie on the problem space, whereas other software artifacts are on the solution space. Stating the requirements in a clear manner eases the following steps in the process as well as reducing the number of potential errors. In this paper, techniques for the improvement of the requirements expressed in the natural language are revisited. These techniques try to check the requirement quality attributes via lexical and syntactic analysis methods sometimes with generic, and sometimes domain and application specific knowledge bases.
Myth, Metaphor, and the Evolution of Self-Awareness
Authors: Marks-Tarlow Terry
Published: April 2014

Classic myths survive generation after generation, because they teach people how to perceive and respond to the surrounding world. Myths supply a set of embodied metaphors to live by. This paper examines the relationship between myth, metaphor, and self-awareness. The myth of Oedipus is revisited using lenses of interpersonal neurobiology and second-order cybernetics, where observers become self-referentially entangled with the observed. Whereas Freud interpreted the Oedipus story literally, this paper examines the myth self-referentially. By looking inward rather than outward, early relational trauma plus implicit learning provide clues to life's external riddles and uncertainties. Wisdom gleaned from this ancient myth lines up with contemporary computational studies, when the capacity for self-reference is interpreted as a Universal Turing Machine with full memory—both implicit and explicit—for its own past. A cybernetic perspective dovetails with research on the neurobiology of memory and cognitive studies from developmental psychology. The same mental skills required for self-reference and metaphorical thinking within individuals signal internal complexity and mature cognition collectively necessary to enter the modern arena of self-reflective consciousness.
An 802.11p Compliant System Prototype Supporting Road Safety and Traffic Management Applications
Authors: Leligou Helen C. , Chatzimisios Periklis , Sarakis Lambros , Orphanoudakis Theofanis , Karkazis Panagiotis , Zahariadis Theodore
Published: April 2014

During the last decades Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have been attracting the interest of an increasing number of researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs, as well as citizens and civil authorities, since they can contribute towards improving road transport safety and efficiency and ameliorate environmental conditions and life quality. Emerging technologies yield miniaturized sensing, processing and communication devices that enable a high degree of integration and open the way for a large number of smart applications that can exploit automated fusion of information and enable efficient decisions by collecting, processing and communicating a large number of data in real-time. The cornerstone of these applications is the realization of an opportunistic wireless communication system between vehicles as well as between vehicles and infrastructure over which the right piece of information reaches the right location on time. In this paper, the authors present the design and implementation of representative safety and traffic management applications. Specifically the authors discuss the hardware and software requirements presenting a use case based on the NEC Linkbird-MX platform, which supports IEEE 802.11p based communications. The authors show how the functionality of IEEE 802.11p can be exploited to build efficient road safety and traffic management applications over mobile opportunistic systems and discuss practical implementation issues.
Survey and Evaluation of Advanced Mobility Management Schemes in the Host Identity Layer
Authors: Bokor László , Faigl Zoltán , Imre Sándor
Published: April 2014

This paper is committed to give an overview of the Host Identity Protocol (HIP), to introduce the basic ideas and the main paradigms behind it, and to make an exhaustive survey of mobility management schemes in the Host Identity Layer. The authors' goal is to show how HIP emerges from the list of potential alternatives with its wild range of possible usability, complex feature set and power to create a novel framework for future Mobile Internet architectures. In order to achieve this, the authors also perform an extensive simulation evaluation of four selected mobility solutions in the Host Identity Layer: the standard HIP mobility/multihoming (RFC5206), a micromobility solution (µHIP), a network mobility management scheme (HIP-NEMO) and a proactive, cross-layer optimized, distributed proposal designed for flat architectures (UFA-HIP).
Choosing the Best Evidence to Guide Clinical Practice: Application of AACN Levels of Evidence
Authors: Peterson Mary H. , Barnason Susan , Donnelly Bill , Hill Kathleen , Miley Helen , Riggs Lisa , Whiteman Kimberly
Published: April 2014

Evidence-based nursing care is informed by research findings, clinical expertise, and patients’ values, and its use can improve patients’ outcomes. Use of research evidence in clinical practice is an expected standard of practice for nurses and health care organizations, but numerous barriers exist that create a gap between new knowledge and implementation of that knowledge to improve patient care. To help close that gap, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses has developed many resources for clinicians, including practice alerts and a hierarchal rating system for levels of evidence. Using the levels of evidence, nurses can determine the strength of research studies, assess the findings, and evaluate the evidence for potential implementation into best practice. Evidence-based nursing care is a lifelong approach to clinical decision making and excellence in practice.
JAK2-STAT3 Blockade by AG490 Suppresses Autoimmune Arthritis in Mice via Reciprocal Regulation of Regulatory T Cells and Th17 Cells
Authors: Park Jin-Sil , Lee Jennifer , Lim Mi-Ae , Kim Eun-Kyung , Kim Sung-Min , Ryu Jun-Geol , Lee Jae Ho , Kwok Seung-Ki , Park Kyung-Su , Kim Ho-Youn , Park Sung-Hwan , Cho Mi-La
Published: April 2014

IL-6–mediated STAT3 signaling is essential for Th17 differentiation and plays a central role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the antirheumatic effects and T cell regulatory effects of STAT3 inhibition, we studied the effects of the JAK 2 inhibitor AG490 on Th17 cell/regulatory T cell (Treg) balance and osteoclastogenesis. AG490 was administered to mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) via i.p. injection, and its in vivo effects were determined. Differential expression of proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-17A, IL-1β, and IL-6, was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Levels of phosphorylated STAT3 and STAT5 and differentiation of Th17 cells and Tregs after AG490 treatment in our CIA model were analyzed by immunostaining. In vitro development of Th17 cells and Tregs was analyzed by flow cytometry and real-time PCR. AG490 ameliorated the arthritic phenotype in CIA and increased the proportion of Foxp3+ Tregs. In contrast, the proportion of IL-17A–producing T cells and levels of inflammatory markers were reduced in AG490-treated mice. Numbers of p-STAT3+ CD4+ T cells and p-STAT5+ CD4+ T cells were reduced and elevated, respectively, after treatment with AG490. Furthermore, AG490 markedly increased the expression of molecules associated with Treg development (ICOS, programmed cell death protein 1, ICAM-1, and CD103). The development and function of osteoclasts were suppressed by AG490 treatment. Our results suggest that AG490, specifically regulating the JAK2/STAT3 pathway, may be a promising treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
TLR-Mediated Secretion of Endoplasmic Reticulum Aminopeptidase 1 from Macrophages
Authors: Goto Yoshikuni , Ogawa Kenji , Nakamura Takahiro J. , Hattori Akira , Tsujimoto Masafumi
Published: April 2014

Macrophages play an important role in host defense under several immunological, inflammatory, and/or infectious conditions. In our previous work, we demonstrated that endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) was secreted from macrophages in response to LPS and IFN-γ, and it enhanced their phagocytic activity. In this study, we analyzed the mechanism of LPS/IFN-γ–induced ERAP1 secretion. LPS/IFN-γ–induced secretion of the enzyme from the murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7 was suppressed by polymyxin B. Several agonists of TLRs, such as Pam3CSK4, FSL-1, and ODN1826, induced its secretion. In contrast, neutralizing Abs to IFN-β and TNF-α receptor type 1 suppressed its secretion. Using murine peritoneal macrophages derived from TNF-α and type 1 IFNR knockout mice, we confirmed the involvement of these two cytokines in ERAP1 secretion. In addition, secretion of ERAP1 from both RAW264.7 cells and murine peritoneal macrophages was induced by A23187 and thapsigargin and inhibited by BAPTA-AM and the calmodulin inhibitor W7. These results suggest that LPS/IFN-γ–induced secretion of ERAP1 is mediated by TLRs via induction of intermediate cytokines such as IFN-β and TNF-α, which in turn lead to enhanced cytosolic Ca2+ levels and calmodulin activation.