bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fate of Ingested Aristolactams from Aristolochia chilensis in Battus polydamas archidamas (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)
Authors: Urzúa Alejandro , Olguín Angel , Santander Rocío
Published: October 2013

We performed a sequestration study of aristolactams (ALs) from Aristolochia chilensis in Battus polydamas archidamas (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) by examining the AL content of the plant, fifth instar larvae, osmeterial secretion, pupae, exuviae and feces. Aristolactam-I (AL-I) and aristolactam-II (AL-II) present in A. chilensis are sequestered by fifth instar larvae of B. polydamas archidamas. There is a preferential sequestration of AL-II, or a more efficient metabolization and excretion of AL-I, by the larva. No ALs were found in the osmeterial secretion, pupae and exuviae; in addition, little AL-I and no AL-II were found in larval frass. The two lactams, particularly AL-I, are extensively metabolized to other products in the larva. A reasonable hypothesis is that the ingested ALs are oxidized to their respective aristolochic acids.
MIMO Underwater Acoustic Communications in Ports and Shallow Waters at Very High Frequency
Authors: Real Gaultier , Beaujean Pierre-Philippe , Bouvet Pierre-Jean
Published: October 2013

Hermes is a Single-Input Single-Output (SISO) underwater acoustic modem that achieves very high-bit rate digital communications in ports and shallow waters. Here, the authors study the capability of Hermes to support Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. A least-square channel estimation algorithm is used to evaluate multiple MIMO channel impulse responses at the receiver end. A deconvolution routine is used to separate the messages coming from different sources. This paper covers the performance of both the channel estimation and the MIMO deconvolution processes using either simulated data or field data. The MIMO equalization performance is measured by comparing three relative root mean-squared errors (RMSE), obtained by calculations between the source signal (a pseudo-noise sequence) and the corresponding received MIMO signal at various stages of the deconvolution process; prior to any interference removal, at the output of the Linear Equalization (LE) process and at the output of an interference cancellation process with complete a priori knowledge of the transmitted signal. Using the simulated data, the RMSE using LE is −20.5 dB (where 0 dB corresponds to 100% of relative error) while the lower bound value is −33.4 dB. Using experimental data, the LE performance is −3.3 dB and the lower bound RMSE value is −27 dB.
Functional Metabolomics Uncovers Metabolic Alterations Associated to Severe Oxidative Stress in MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells Exposed to Ascididemin
Authors: Morvan Daniel
Published: October 2013

Marine natural products are a source of promising agents for cancer treatment. However, there is a need to improve the evaluation of their mechanism of action in tumors. Metabolomics of the response to anti-tumor agents is a tool to reveal candidate biomarkers and metabolic targets. We used two-dimensional high-resolution magic angle spinning proton-NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics to investigate the response of MCF7 breast cancer cells to ascididemin, a marine alkaloid and lead molecule for anti-cancer treatment. Ascididemin induced severe oxidative stress and apoptosis within 48 h of exposure. Thirty-three metabolites were quantified. Metabolic response involved downregulation of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and phospholipid metabolism alterations. Candidate metabolic biomarkers of the response of breast cancer cells to ascididemin were proposed including citrate, gluconate, polyunsaturated fatty acids, glycerophospho-choline and -ethanolamine. In addition, candidate metabolic targets were identified. Overall, the response to Asc could be related to severe oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory effects.
Antimicrobial and Selected In Vitro Enzyme Inhibitory Effects of Leaf Extracts, Flavonols and Indole Alkaloids Isolated from Croton menyharthii
Authors: Aderogba Mutalib , Ndhlala Ashwell , Rengasamy Kannan , Van Staden Johannes
Published: October 2013

Croton species are used in folk medicine in the management of infections, inflammation and oxidative stress-related diseases. In order to isolate, characterize and evaluate the bioactive constituents of Croton menyharthii Pax leaf extracts, repeated column fractionation of the ethyl acetate fraction from a 20% aqueous methanol crude extract afforded three flavonols identified by NMR (1D and 2D) spectroscopic methods as myricetrin-3-O-rhamnoside (myricetrin, 1), quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside (2) and quercetin (3) along with an indole alkaloid, (E)-N-(4-hydroxycinnamoyl)-5-hydroxytryptamine, [trans-N-(p-coumaroyl) serotonin, 4]. All the compounds are reported from the leaf extract of this plant for the first time. The crude extracts, four solvent fractions (hexane, DCM, ethyl acetate and butanol) and isolated compounds obtained from the leaves were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on selected bacteria, a fungus (Candida albicans), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Amongst the compounds, quercetin (3) was the most active against Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans while myricetrin-3-O-rhamnoside (1) and trans-N-(p-coumaroyl) serotonin (4) were the most active compounds against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus. The inhibitory activity of myricetrin-3-O-rhamnoside (1) against COX-2 was insignificant while that of the other three compounds 2–4 was low. The AChE inhibitory activity of the alkaloid, trans-N-(p-coumaroyl) serotonin was high, with a percentage inhibitory activity of 72.6% and an IC50 value of 15.0 µg/mL. The rest of the compounds only had moderate activity. Croton menyharthii leaf extracts and isolated compounds inhibit α-glucosidase at very low IC50 values compared to the synthetic drug acarbose. Structure activity relationship of the isolated flavonols 1–3 is briefly outlined. Compounds 1–4 and the leaf extracts exhibited a broad spectrum of activities. This validates the ethnomedicinal use of the plant in folk medicine.
Food Predictors of Plasma Carotenoids
Authors: Hendrickson Sara , Willett Walter , Rosner Bernard , Eliassen A.
Published: October 2013

Empirical prediction models that weight food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) food items by their relation to nutrient biomarker concentrations may estimate nutrient exposure better than nutrient intakes derived from food composition databases. Carotenoids may especially benefit because contributing foods vary in bioavailability and assessment validity. Our objective was to develop empirical prediction models for the major plasma carotenoids and total carotenoids and evaluate their validity compared with dietary intakes calculated from standard food composition tables. 4180 nonsmoking women in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) blood subcohort with previously measured plasma carotenoids were randomly divided into training (n = 2787) and testing (n = 1393) subsets. Empirical prediction models were developed in the training subset by stepwise selection from foods contributing ≥0.5% to intake of the relevant carotenoid. Spearman correlations between predicted and measured plasma concentrations were compared to Spearman correlations between dietary intake and measured plasma concentrations for each carotenoid. Three to 12 foods were selected for the α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin, lycopene, and total carotenoids prediction models. In the testing subset, Spearman correlations with measured plasma concentrations for the calculated dietary intakes and predicted plasma concentrations, respectively, were 0.31 and 0.37 for α-carotene, 0.29 and 0.31 for β-carotene, 0.36 and 0.41 for β-cryptoxanthin, 0.28 and 0.31 for lutein/zeaxanthin, 0.22 and 0.23 for lycopene, and 0.22 and 0.27 for total carotenoids. Empirical prediction models may modestly improve assessment of some carotenoids, particularly α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin.
Drug Repositioning: An Opportunity to Develop Novel Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Corbett Anne , Williams Gareth , Ballard Clive
Published: October 2013

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, affecting approximately two thirds of the 35 million people worldwide with the condition. Despite this, effective treatments are lacking, and there are no drugs that elicit disease modifying effects to improve outcome. There is an urgent need to develop and evaluate more effective pharmacological treatments. Drug repositioning offers an exciting opportunity to repurpose existing licensed treatments for use in AD, with the benefit of providing a far more rapid route to the clinic than through novel drug discovery approaches. This review outlines the current most promising candidates for repositioning in AD, their supporting evidence and their progress through trials to date. Furthermore, it begins to explore the potential of new transcriptomic and microarray techniques to consider the future of drug repositioning as a viable approach to drug discovery.
Influence of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Tween 80 on Carbamazepine–Nicotinamide Cocrystal Solubility and Dissolution Behaviour
Authors: Li Mingzhong , Qiao Ning , Wang Ke
Published: October 2013

The influence of the surfactants of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and Tween 80 on carbamazepine–nicotinamide (CBZ–NIC) cocrystal solubility and dissolution behaviour has been studied in this work. The solubility of the CBZ–NIC cocrystal was determined by measuring the eutectic concentrations of the drug and the coformer. Evolution of the intrinsic dissolution rate (IDR) of the CBZ–NIC cocrystal was monitored by the UV imaging dissolution system during dissolution. Experimental results indicated that SLS and Tween 80 had little influence upon the solubility of the CBZ–NIC cocrystal but they had totally opposite effects on the IDR of the CBZ–NIC cocrystal during dissolution. SLS significantly increased the IDR of the CBZ–NIC cocrystal while Tween 80 decreased its IDR.
CHO Quasispecies—Implications for Manufacturing Processes
Authors: Wurm Florian
Published: October 2013

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are a source of multi-ton quantities of protein pharmaceuticals. They are, however, immortalized cells, characterized by a high degree of genetic and phenotypic diversity. As is known for any biological system, this diversity is enhanced by selective forces when laboratories (no sharing of gene pools) grow cells under (diverse) conditions that are practical and useful. CHO cells have been used in culture for more than 50 years, and various lines of cells are available and have been used in manufacturing. This article tries to represent, in a cursory way, the history of CHO cells, particularly the origin and subsequent fate of key cell lines. It is proposed that the name CHO represents many different cell types, based on their inherent genetic diversity and their dynamic rate of genetic change. The continuing remodeling of genomic structure in clonal or non-clonal cell populations, particularly due to the non-standardized culture conditions in hundreds of different labs renders CHO cells a typical case for “quasispecies”. This term was coined for families of related (genomic) sequences exposed to high mutation rate environments where a large fraction of offspring is expected to carry one or more mutations. The implications of the quasispecies concept for CHO cells used in protein manufacturing processes are significant. CHO genomics/transcriptomics may provide only limited insights when done on one or two “old” and poorly characterized CHO strains. In contrast, screening of clonal cell lines, derived from a well-defined starting material, possibly within a given academic or industrial environment, may reveal a more narrow diversity of phenotypes with respect to physiological/metabolic activities and, thus, allow more precise and reliable predictions of the potential of a clone for high-yielding manufacturing processes.
Tissue Discrimination by Uncorrected Autofluorescence Spectra: A Proof-of-Principle Study for Tissue-Specific Laser Surgery
Authors: Stelzle Florian , Knipfer Christian , Adler Werner , Rohde Maximilian , Oetter Nicolai , Nkenke Emeka , Schmidt Michael , Tangermann-Gerk Katja
Published: October 2013

Laser surgery provides a number of advantages over conventional surgery. However, it implies large risks for sensitive tissue structures due to its characteristic non-tissue-specific ablation. The present study investigates the discrimination of nine different ex vivo tissue types by using uncorrected (raw) autofluorescence spectra for the development of a remote feedback control system for tissue-selective laser surgery. Autofluorescence spectra (excitation wavelength 377 ± 50 nm) were measured from nine different ex vivo tissue types, obtained from 15 domestic pig cadavers. For data analysis, a wavelength range between 450 nm and 650 nm was investigated. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) were used to discriminate the tissue types. ROC analysis showed that PCA, followed by QDA, could differentiate all investigated tissue types with AUC results between 1.00 and 0.97. Sensitivity reached values between 93% and 100% and specificity values between 94% and 100%. This ex vivo study shows a high differentiation potential for physiological tissue types when performing autofluorescence spectroscopy followed by PCA and QDA. The uncorrected autofluorescence spectra are suitable for reliable tissue discrimination and have a high potential to meet the challenges necessary for an optical feedback system for tissue-specific laser surgery.
Utilisation dramatique des espaces chez Apollonios de Rhodes. Portes et zones de transition
Authors: Rougier-Blanc Sophie
Published: October 2013

Architectural terms are not only used in the epic of Homer to describe the components of houses but they belong to central themes and help to the progress of the drama both in the Iliad and in the Odyssey. Apollonius Rhodius does the same in the Argonautica, as far as the transitional areas are concerned (πρόδομος, αἴθουσα, θύρα, πύλη). Each term is connected with the emotional state of the main character : Medea. Some others (προμολή and παστός, unknown by Homer but present in the alexan- drian poetry) are used in the same way : it shows that Apollonius imitates but also creates his own dramatic space.
Deux décrets hellénistiques de Colophon-sur-Mer
Authors: Gauthier Philippe
Published: October 2013

Publication, traduction et commentaire de deux décrets de Colophon-sur-Mer, du me siècle a.C, découverts en 1953 et en 1959 lors des fouilles dirigées par L. et J. Robert dans le sanctuaire de Claros : l'un honore un officier lagide, Sôsias, fils de Sôkratès, Héracléote, vraisemblablement au service de Ptolémée III Évergète, l'autre un Mytilénien, Hermônax, fils de Satyros. En annexe, réédition d'un décret fragmentaire de la même cité pour un Temnitain qui avait dénoncé des sacrilèges.
Le « Péan de Berlin » : une relecture
Authors: Bélis Annie
Published: October 2013

Cet article réexamine le papyrus inv. n° 6870 conservé au Musée Égyptien de Berlin. Elle fait l'hypothèse que le document latin était disposé au recto en deux colonnes centrées, et que le péan du verso, de douze lignes, adoptait un rythme traditionnel de péan à cinq temps, ce qui restitue au morceau toute sa cohérence et toute sa subtilité, qu'on peut proposer d'attribuer à Mésomède de Crète.
Studies on the photodegradation of red, green and blue phosphorescent OLED emitters
Authors: Schmidbauer Susanna , Hohenleutner Andreas , König Burkhard
Published: October 2013

The photodegradation behavior of four well-established iridium emitters was investigated. Irradiation of the samples in different solvents and under atmospheric as well as inert conditions helped to identify several pathways that can contribute to the deterioration of these compounds. Degradation via singlet oxygen or the excited states of the emitters as well as the detrimental influence of halogenated solvents are discussed for the different investigated iridium complexes. Some of the resulting degradation products could be identified by using LC–MS or other analytical techniques. The results show how even small structural changes can have a huge influence on rate and mechanism of the photodegradation. The observations from this study may help to better understand degradation processes occurring during the handling of the materials, but also during device processing and operation.
« Perúpetro est ton ami » : un gouvernement des contestataires en Amazonie péruvienne
Authors: Buu-Sao Doris
Published: October 2013

En Amazonie péruvienne, les acteurs de l’extraction pétrolière se saisissent de l’appareil de la participation de manière à pacifier les conflits suscités par leur activité. Les mécanismes participatifs se présentent comme des instruments adaptables aux modalités de contestation. Ils vont de pair avec les techniques des compagnies privées pour établir des relations « harmonieuses » avec les populations locales. L’ethnographie d’un de ces interstices institutionnels de la participation, où des acteurs publics et privés du secteur extractif tissent des relations d’« amitié » avec certaines élites locales, donne à voir un « gouvernement des contestataires », producteur d’un leadership indigène technique qui consent et participe à l’extraction pétrolière.
Palestine : l'histoire avance plus vite que les idées
Authors: Nusseibeh Sari
Published: October 2013

Le processus d’Oslo a échoué. La solution classique à deux États n’est plus envisageable en raison du morcellement de la Cisjordanie et de l’absorption de Jérusalem-Est par Israël. Pour sortir de l’ornière, une nouvelle solution doit être envisagée, celle d’une confédération de deux États aux frontières poreuses. Une telle solution n’a de chance de conduire à la paix que si la partie forte, Israël, accepte de considérer que le statu quo conduira à l’échec du projet sioniste.
La guerre, toujours recommencée
Authors: David Dominique
Published: October 2013

Le monde des conflits n’est pas un : il juxtapose des espaces, des logiques, des acteurs très divers. Pour l’heure, aucune logique transnationale, ou de puissance, ne semble pouvoir réguler ces conflits. Leurs causes demeurent multiples, les acteurs susceptibles de peser sur le système international se font plus nombreux et les puissances peinent à maîtriser l’éventail des affrontements possibles. Le monde des conflits du xxi e  siècle sera ainsi à la fois familier et inédit.
Le Nigeria à l'épreuve de l'islamisme
Authors: Pérouse de Montclos Marc-Antoine
Published: October 2013

Le Nigeria est le sixième pays au monde à l’aune du nombre de musulmans. La croissance démographique des populations musulmanes pourrait leur permettre de devenir majoritaires à l’horizon 2030. Contrairement à ce que disent certains médias, l’application de la charia dans une partie du Nord n’est pas une nouveauté. En outre, la probabilité que le terrorisme de groupes comme Boko Haram évolue en véritable guerre civile est faible.
La stratégie algérienne face à AQMI
Authors: Lounnas Djallil
Published: October 2013

La stratégie algérienne face à Al-Qaida au Maghreb islamique (AQMI) est construite sur l’héritage de la guerre civile des années 1990. Elle consiste à combattre par les armes les éléments terroristes les plus radicaux et à tendre la main aux modérés, susceptibles de renoncer à la violence. Alger a cherché à appliquer ce mélange de répression et de dialogue à la crise malienne. Le double jeu d’Ansar Dine a conduit les autorités algériennes à apporter leur aide à l’intervention militaire de la France.
Comme des pépins de grenade dispersés
Authors: Uysal Ayşen
Published: October 2013

Cet article analyse l’impact de la répression sur le militantisme en se focalisant sur le devenir des militants politiques turcs des années 1970 suite au coup d’État militaire de 1980. Nous nous demandons quel impact la répression militaire a eu sur une organisation de masse précise, Devrimci-Yol (DY), comment les trajectoires militantes ont été affectées par la répression, tout en nous demandant plus généralement en quoi et comment elle a pu modifier les formes et l’intensité de l’engagement. C’est l’étude de la construction sociale de l’ exit et de la voice face à la répression subie par les militants de la DY qui constitue le fil directeur de cette contribution, en tentant de tenir ensemble trois niveaux d’analyse : contextuel, organisationnel et individuel. Cet article entend démontrer que les effets de la répression tiennent autant aux formes de la répression elle-même qu’aux ressources initiales des militants victimes, à l’espace de mobilisation dans lequel ils s’inscrivent et aux transformations sociopolitiques que connaît la Turquie dans la période.
La genèse d'une mobilisation partisane : continuités et politisation du militantisme caritatif et religieux au sein du FIS
Authors: Aït-Aoudia Myriam
Published: October 2013

Cet article examine la façon dont les dirigeants d’un parti nouvellement créé, dénués de toute expérience partisane, mettent en place des activités de mobilisation. Dans le contexte inédit de démocratisation en Algérie, les directions nationale et départementales du FIS (Front islamique du salut) investissent fortement le militantisme caritatif. Dans une perspective compréhensive, à la croisée de la sociologie des partis et de la sociologie du militantisme, nous entendons montrer comment des activités militantes, ici caritatives, qui trouvent leur origine dans les engagements religieux antérieurs de leurs initiateurs, sont transformées et déplacées dans la sphère politique.
Community, Rights and the Self: Comparing Critical Realism, George Herbert Mead and Beth Singer
Authors: Pratten Stephen
Published: October 2013

Résumé Ce document examine les liens entre la manière de rendre compte de la réalité sociale esquissée par George Herbert Mead et développée par Beth Singer et la contrepartie que l’on trouve chez les promoteurs du réalisme critique. Que ce soit principalement dans l’optique d’une défense de la pertinence des contributions de Mead ou dans la perspective d’un raffinement de l’ontologie sociale associée au réalisme critique, les auteurs qui ont déjà comparé ces perspectives ont considéré avant tout les différences. Dans cet article, je soutiens qu’il existe des similitudes importantes entre la manière de rendre compte de la collectivité, des normes et des droits chez Mead et Singer et les thèses récentes énoncées de certains partisans du réalisme critique. En outre, je suggère que dans les cas mêmes où les limitations de l’analyse de Mead sont évidentes, par exemple dans sa description par trop « socialisée » du soi, diverses réponses aux critiques peuvent être apportée et plus d’une se trouve en cohérence avec des aspects centraux du réalisme critique.
Time, Mechanisms and Technology: Challenges of Abstraction and Decision in Realist Economic Theory
Authors: Johnson Mark William
Published: October 2013

Résumé Cet article soutient que la causalité au sens humien (mettant en relief la succession) qui fut la principale cible des critiques du Réalisme Critique de Bhaskar, demeure très présente dans le concept même de “mécanisme”. En effet, le concept de mécanisme implique une abstraction newtonienne du temps ignorée par le Réalisme Critique. Il s’agit cependant d’un problème plus large d’abstraction mécaniste, que cet article analyse simultanément sous l’angle du Réalisme Critique et de la discipline ayant pour objet l’étude des mécanismes, la cybernétique. Comment des descriptions de mécanismes causals peuvent-elles se réconcilier avec leurs propres abstractions? En réponse nous proposons une dissolution du problème du temps au travers de l’expérience vécue. Par ailleurs, nous traitons également des questions liées à la pédagogie de l’enseignement des abstractions, à la mise au point de nouveaux contextes d’interaction et au rôle des technologies dans la mise en place des contextes ludiques. Enfin, nous dégageons des implications plus profondes pour la recherche réaliste, et soulignons la nécessité de traiter conjointement les problèmes d’abstraction et les problèmes pédagogiques et technologiques.
Interactive Books in Augmented Reality for Mobile Devices
Authors: Corrêa Ana Grasielle Dionísio
Published: October 2013

One of the methods of teaching that has brought significant contributions to the field of education is augmented reality. This technology transformed learning into a more motivating, enjoyable, fun, and interesting activity. This chapter contributes an augmented reality application for mobile devices that complements and supports the learning of geometric figures. The application, called AGeRA, consists of a geometry book and software capable of reading special markers inserted into the book's content. When this book is placed in front of the camera of a mobile device, 3D objects, sounds, animations, and other interactive elements leap from book pages making learning more fun and exciting. Preliminary tests were made with teachers and students and showed good acceptance of the application to support the teaching of geometry.
An Introduction to Multiformalism Modeling
Authors: Gribaudo Marco , Iacono Mauro
Published: October 2013

The fundamental need for models in every field of design stems from the absolute and essential necessity for complexity domination. The prediction and verification competence is a must-have ability to allow an efficient and effective design cycle, as much as the complexity of the requirements, in specification, extension or criticalness of the design object, grows. Researchers and practitioners have developed different modeling languages to suit the needs of special classes of problems, such as general formalism like Fault Trees for dependability and availability models, several Petri Nets variants for performance and correctness evaluation, or dedicated modeling languages that map model elements onto domain entities. Richness and variety of formalisms, each of which tailored on a specific problem, empowers the modeling process, but also results in the explosion of many different submodels when coping with a complex and articulated system. These models are logically correlated and are used to take local decisions about single aspects of the overall problem. In practice they might not be aligned to each other and the mutual influences connecting them could be lost, compromising the general results. Multiformalism is an approach to modeling that aims to enable modelers to exploit together different formalisms for different aspects of the same system, while keeping the coherence and the mutual influences of the different parts of the overall model. Different concepts and interpretation of multiformalism modeling (and related problems, such multiparadigm and multisolution) have been experimented and are documented in literature. In this chapter, the main ideas and results in the field are introduced, together with an analysis and comparison.
Multi-Modeling, Meta-Modeling, and Workflow Languages
Authors: Levis Alexander H. , Abu Jbara Ahmed
Published: October 2013

Models, created using different modeling formalisms or techniques, usually serve different purposes and provide unique insights. While each modeling technique might be capable of answering specific questions, complex problems require multiple models interoperating to complement/supplement each other. This Multi-Modeling approach for solving complex problems is full of syntactic and semantic challenges. In this chapter, a systematic methodology for addressing Multi-Modeling problems is presented. The approach is domain specific: domain identification and domain analysis are the first steps in which the multi-modeling concepts and modeling techniques associated with a domain of interest are identified and analyzed. Then a new Domain Specific Multi-Modeling Workflow Language supported with a domain ontology is used to construct the workflow that defines the interoperation of the selected models. The domain ontology provides semantic guidance to affect valid model interoperation. This general approach is illustrated using a case study from the Drug Interdiction and Intelligence application domain. Analysis of diverse intelligence and sensor data using various modeling techniques is essential in identifying the best courses of action. For this example, the created workflow focuses on the interoperation of Social Networks, Timed Influence Nets, and Geospatial Models.
Privacy and Security of Wireless Communication Networks
Authors: Sadkhan Sattar B. , Abbas Nidaa A.
Published: October 2013

Wireless networks are inherently more vulnerable than their wired counterparts. In addition, complications arise in the presence of node mobility and dynamic network topology. Moreover, intermittent connectivity, whether caused by mobility or periodic node sleep, brings about additional challenges. At the same time, node resource constraints make direct adoption of existing security solutions difficult, if not impossible. Wireless Communication Network Security and Privacy analyze important problems in the realms of wireless networks and mobile computing. The Security aspects relate to authentication, access control and authorization, nonrepudation, privacy and confidentiality, integrity, and auditing. Privacy is an essential feature of any product or service.
Agent-Based Resource Management for Mobile Cloud
Authors: Sun Zhili , Yang Yichao , Zhou Yanbo , Cruickshank Haitham
Published: October 2013

Mobile cloud computing is a new computing paradigm to integrate cloud computing technology into the mobile environment. It takes full advantages of cloud computing with great potential to transform a large part of the IT industry. The objectives of mobile cloud computing are to meet user demand, efficiently utilize a pool of resources, including mobile network, storage, and computation resources, and optimize energy on mobile devices. Here, the authors review the current mobile cloud computing technologies, highlight the main issues and challenges for the future development, and focus on resource management. Then, combining the current agent architectures and resource optimization strategies, they present an agent-based resource management to deal with multiple data and computation intensive applications of user demand. The chapter offers a promising solution of selecting the best service provider and efficiently utilizing mobile network resources given the user’s request constraint.
Mobile Video Cloud Networks
Authors: Wang Qi , Nightingale James , Wang Runpeng , Ramzan Naeem , Grecos Christos , Wang Xinheng , Amira Abbes , Luo Chunbo
Published: October 2013

Mobile multimedia computing has become ubiquitous in everyday life. However, mobile device users involved in resource-demanding visual applications such as video streaming often encounter performance degradations due to their mobile devices’ intrinsic constraints in processing power, storage, and battery capacity. Cloud computing can be explored to circumvent such problems thanks to the vast resources available in the cloud. Mobile video cloud computing has thus emerged as an important research and development topic to achieve high-performance, innovative networked video applications. This chapter discusses the recent advances in mobile video cloud technologies and applications. The authors investigate mobile video cloud systems starting with the various mobile cloud paradigms and then present challenges and solutions of mobile video cloud management for mobility, context, and security. Furthermore, the authors examine the latest video coding standards and explore methods based on parallelisation and scalability for their optimised application over mobile clouds, followed by three highlighted mobile cloud video applications including streaming, transcoding, and gaming. Finally, future directions in this area are envisioned.
Application of Mobile Cloud-Based Technologies in News Reporting
Authors: Dimoulas Charalampos , Veglis Andreas , Kalliris George
Published: October 2013

Cloud Computing is one of the most rapidly evolving technologies available today that offers the possibility of multimedia content exploitation with rich media experience. Cloud computing users have the flexibility to enjoy media content independently of time and space. Multimedia cloud computing encompasses technology, multimedia data, and community contribution, offering augmented multimodal interaction and advanced processing services to the users. Mobile multimedia resources can now be accessed through the cloud practically at anytime and from anywhere, facing contemporary demands for information access and process, thus perfectly matching to the nature of news media. Such features are very favorable in online journalism and specifically in news reporting services. This chapter presents technological and application-oriented trends in cloud-based mobile news reporting both at journalists’ (news producers) and users’ (news consumers) sides. Future and emerging perspectives, such as ubiquitous and pervasive computing, incorporating context and location-aware services in semantic interaction modes, are also described from the news-reporting point of view.
Fuzzy Rules for Risk Assessment and Contingency Estimation within COCOMO Software Project Planning Model
Authors: Manalif Ekananta , Capretz Luiz Fernando , Ho Danny
Published: October 2013

Software development can be considered to be the most uncertain project when compared to other projects due to uncertainty in the customer requirements, the complexity of the process, and the intangible nature of the product. In order to increase the chance of success in managing a software project, the project manager(s) must invest more time and effort in the project planning phase, which involves such primary and integrated activities as effort estimation and risk management, because the accuracy of the effort estimation is highly dependent on the size and number of project risks in a particular software project. However, as is common practice, these two activities are often disconnected from each other and project managers have come to consider such steps to be unreliable due to their lack of accuracy. This chapter introduces the Fuzzy-ExCOM Model, which is used for software project planning and is based on fuzzy technique. It has the capability to not only integrate the effort estimation and risk assessment activities but also to provide information about the estimated effort, the project risks, and the effort contingency allowance necessary to accommodate the identified risk. A validation of this model using the project’s research data shows that this new approach is capable of improving the existing COCOMO estimation performance.
Evaluation of Spatio-Temporal Microsimulation Systems
Authors: Kopp Christine , Kochan Bruno , May Michael , Pappalardo Luca , Rinzivillo Salvatore , Schulz Daniel , Simini Filippo
Published: October 2013

The increasing expressiveness of spatio-temporal microsimulation systems makes them attractive for a wide range of real world applications. However, the broad field of applications puts new challenges to the quality of microsimulation systems. They are no longer expected to reflect a few selected mobility characteristics but to be a realistic representation of the real world. In consequence, the validation of spatio-temporal microsimulations has to be deepened and to be especially moved towards a holistic view on movement validation. One advantage hereby is the easier availability of mobility data sets at present, which enables the validation of many different aspects of movement behavior. However, these data sets bring their own challenges as the data may cover only a part of the observation space, differ in its temporal resolution, or not be representative in all aspects. In addition, the definition of appropriate similarity measures, which capture the various mobility characteristics, is challenging. The goal of this chapter is to pave the way for a novel, better, and more detailed evaluation standard for spatio-temporal microsimulation systems. The chapter collects and structure’s various aspects that have to be considered for the validation and comparison of movement data. In addition, it assembles the state-of-the-art of existing validation techniques. It concludes with examples of using big data sources for the extraction and validation of movement characteristics outlining the research challenges that have yet to be conquered.
Responsibility, Jurisdiction, and the Future of “Privacy by Design”
Authors: Pagallo Ugo
Published: October 2013

This chapter focuses on some of the most relevant issues in today’s data protection: responsibility and jurisdiction are examined in the light of the principle of “privacy by design.” On one hand, both from the substantial and procedural points of view, national legal systems determine differently rights and duties in the field of data protection. On the other hand, these divergences can be overcome to some extent, by preventing privacy infringements through the incorporation of data protection safeguards in information and communication technologies. Although it is unlikely that “privacy by design” can offer the one-size-fits-all solution to the problems emerging in the field, it is plausible that the principle will be the key to understand how today’s data protection-issues are being handled. By embedding privacy safeguards in places and spaces, products and processes, such as Information Systems in hospitals, video surveillance networks in public transports, or smart cards for biometric identifiers, the aim should be to strengthen people’s rights and widen the range of their choices. On this basis, we can avert both paternalism modelling individual behavior and chauvinism disdaining different national provisions of current legal systems.
Ethics and Legal Aspects of Virtual Worlds
Authors: Power Andrew , Kirwan Gráinne
Published: October 2013

The development of a legal environment for virtual worlds presents issues of both law and ethics. The cross-border nature of online law and particularly law in virtual environments suggests that some lessons on its formation can be gained by looking at the development of international law, specifically the ideas of soft law and adaptive governance. In assessing the ethical implications of such environments the network of online regulations, technical solutions and the privatization of legal remedies offer some direction. While legal systems in online virtual worlds require development, the ethical acceptability of actions in these worlds is somewhat clearer, and users need to take care to ensure that their behaviors do not harm others.
The Feature Parametric Design of Crankshaft for Reciprocating Compressor
Authors: Ba Peng , Zhang Shu Tian , Zhang Xiu Heng
Published: October 2013

For shorten the product design cycle and saved the cost, the 2.5L reciprocating compressor crankshaft is parametric designed by Pro/E. stress analysis about crankshaft during a revolution was done to check each dangerous cross-section based on dynamics, materials mechanics. The result shows that the feature parametric designs obviously shorten the design cycle and saved the design cost of different specifications crankshafts for reciprocating compressor.
Analysis on Characters of Contactless Power Transferring Systems in Undersea Applications
Authors: Li Ze Song , Wang Hai Rong , Zhang Ying , Li De Jun
Published: October 2013

In undersea applications, contactless power transferring (CPT) systems are surrounded by seawater, and show very different characters versus those used in air. To improve the transferring capacity and stability of CPT systems used in seawater, a new model was established in this paper, and the parasitic capacitance across the coupled coils was considered in this model. By using two-port network method, the model was analyzed to demonstrate the transferring properties of the system. Coupling parameters and parasitic capacitances of a physical prototype were measured, and the data were used to compare the two models inner characters. Conclusions of this research can be used in more in-depth studies.
State of Charge Estimation for LFP Battery Using the Hybrid Method
Authors: Chang Wen Yeau
Published: October 2013

A method to accurately estimate the state of charge (SOC) for LiFePO4(LFP) batteries is urgently required, to address the issues associated with the increased use of LPF batteries for portable devices. This paper proposes a hybrid method that combines a radial basis function (RBF) neural network and enhanced particle swarm optimization (EPSO) algorithm for SOC estimating. With a RBF neural network structure, the EPSO algorithm is used to tune the parameters of the RBF neural network, including the centers and widths of the RBF and the connection weights. The trained RBF neural network is then used to estimate the SOC of a LFP battery. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed estimation method, the method is tested using 12.6V, 52Ah LFP batteries under varied discharging condition. The effectiveness of the proposed method is compared with the Coulomb integration method and the back propagation (BP) neural network. The results show that the proposed method outperforms the other methods.
Research on Control Strategy of Differential Assisted Steering of Distributed Drive Electric Vehicle
Authors: Chen Yi , Liu Jun
Published: October 2013

The distributed drive electric vehicle was studied in this paper. According to the advantages of the controllable and accurate wheel speed and torque the ideal differential assisted characteristic curve was designed under different vehicle speed as well as a control strategy for differential power steering, a vehicle dynamics model based on CarSim/Simulink and simulation experiments were conducted. The experimental results indicated that on the premise to guarantee the road feeling, the control strategy for differential power steering decreased the steering wheel torque, angle and reduced driver's work-load , improved markedly the steering portability of the distributed drive electric vehicle.
3D Environment Mapping and Pothole Detection for a Mobile Robot
Authors: Perng Jau Woei , Tai Chia Hui , Kuo Chia Hao , Ma Li Shan
Published: October 2013

This paper proposes a 3D environment mapping and pothole detection system by using a laser range finder for a mobile robot. The robot also equips two rotary encoders and an inertial measurement unit to deal with dead reckoning (DR). Through the coordinate transform method from 2D to 3D, each point in 3D coordinate could be calculated. This method is called mobile mapping system (MMS). In addition, the result for road damage is often caused by potholes. Therefore, the pothole detection is considered here by using a laser range finder and a camera. A human-machine interface is designed to record the data on the road including the location and environment. The experiment has been tested on the university road.
Distortion Correction of a Quick Response Code Image
Authors: Cheng Xue Min , Hao Qun , Zhang Chao , Ma Jian She
Published: October 2013

Distortion typically occurs when images are captured from the surface of a cylindrical object. This problem is obvious in Quick Response (QR) code images, which necessitate distortion correction for subsequent information reading. Based on a detailed analysis of this distortion, we divided it into linear distortion along the generatrix direction and curl distortion perpendicular to the generatrix direction, and proposed a unified method to correct the distortion of both components. Experimental results are given to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of the method.
Design of DC Power Line Communication System Using Time-Division Multiplexing
Authors: Sung Gang Neng , Wu Chien Ming , Chen Wen Ching , Huang Chun Ming
Published: October 2013

This work investigates a power line communication (PLC) in a DC power management system comprising master-slave control networks. Microcontroller-based master and slave units are designed with serial ports for communication with a controller and a transmission port to couple the signal to modems at both ends. However, coupling data signals to power line through modulation interfacing circuits is a challenging task. In this work, we used time-division multiplexing (TDM) technique to divide into two timings, Powering Time and Communication Time, on the DC power line and can reduce the complexity of the master-slave network and noise effect on the power line.
Preliminary Study of WO3 Nanostructures Produced via Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis Process for CO2 Sensing
Authors: Rashid Amirul Abd , Saad Nor Hayati , Bien Chia Sheng Daniel , Lee Wai Yee , Haniff M.A.S.M.
Published: October 2013

Tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanostructure with aspect ratio of 20 (length/diameter) have been successfully synthesized by single step hydrothermal reaction at moderate temperature of 180 °C. The crystal structure and morphology evolution are characterized by SEM and Raman while the carbon dioxide (CO2) sensing capability was tested by simple sensor fabrication .It was observed that the nanorods were initially coalesce in bundles before breaking up loosely towards the end of the hydrothermal process. A response measurement reveals that the sensor was able to detect CO2 at room temperature with the sensitivity around 13ohm/100 ppm. The detection performance of such nanostructure provides a positive indication that it can be a competitive sensor element candidate not only for CO2 applications in particular but can be expanded to other gas sensing application such as O2, C2H4 and NO2.
Random Walk Monte Carlo Simulation of Diffusive Ferromagnetic Ising Spin under Lennard-Jones Interaction
Authors: Reungyos Jutarop , Laosiritaworn Yongyut
Published: October 2013

This work investigated properties of diffusive magnetic particles. Random walk Monte Carlo method was used to simulate the Ising spin diffusing and flipping to examine the properties of the system. The Ising spins interact among themselves via Lennard-Jones interaction. Metropolis algorithm was employed to update spins configuration on the continuous space. The volume of Ising spins, magnetization and magnetic susceptibility, were investigated as functions of temperature, number of Ising spins in the system and simulation time. It was found that, at low temperatures, the Ising spins tend to stay close even at long simulation time, where finite magnetization was found suggesting the ferromagnetic preference. However, at high temperatures, paramagnetic behavior reveals as ferromagnetic interaction ceases with time passing. This is due to role of spin diffusing which causes the spins to disperse and hence ferromagnetic interaction among spins reduces.
Physical, Structural and Luminescence Properties of ZnO-Bi2O3-B2O3 Glass System
Authors: Yasaka Patarawagee , Boonin K. , Limsuwan P. , Chewpraditkul W. , Pattanaboonmee N. , Kaewkhao J.
Published: October 2013

The ZnO-Bi2O3-B2O3(ZBB) glasses with different concentrations of Bi2O3have been prepared by a conventional melt quenching technique and investigated the effect of Bi2O3on the physical, structural and luminescence properties. The density and hardness of glasses are also measured and found to increase with increase of Bi2O3concentration. The IR studies indicate that these glasses are made up of [BiO3], [BO3], [BO4] and [B basic structural units. From optical spectra, the cut-off wavelengths were shifted from 423 nm to 447 nm as the content of Bi2O3increases from 15 to 30 mol%. The photoluminescence spectra exhibit characteristic peaks at 602 nm corresponding to3P11S0transitions of Bi3+. The decay time for3P1level of Bi3+increases with increase of Bi2O3concentration.