bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Randomly Reinforced Urn Designs with Prespecified Allocations
Authors: Aletti Giacomo , Ghiglietti Andrea , Paganoni Anna Maria
Published: June 2013

We construct a response adaptive design, described in terms of a two-color urn model, targeting fixed asymptotic allocations. We prove asymptotic results for the process of colors generated by the urn and for the process of its compositions. An application of the proposed urn model is presented in an estimation problem context.
Phase Changes in the Topological Indices of Scale-Free Trees
Authors: Feng Qunqiang , Hu Zhishui
Published: June 2013

A scale-free tree with the parameter β is very close to a star if β is just a bit larger than −1, whereas it is close to a random recursive tree if β is very large. Through the Zagreb index, we consider the whole scene of the evolution of the scale-free trees model as β goes from −1 to + ∞. The critical values of β are shown to be the first several nonnegative integer numbers. We get the first two moments and the asymptotic behaviors of this index of a scale-free tree for all β. The generalized plane-oriented recursive trees model is also mentioned in passing, as well as the Gordon-Scantlebury and the Platt indices, which are closely related to the Zagreb index.
The Taxidermic Arts’, or, why is taxidermy not art?
Authors: Prottas Nathaniel
Published: June 2013

When world’s most famous taxidermist, Carl Akeley, died in 1926, many obituaries cited his consummate skill and innovative technique, often arguing that he had elevated taxidermy from a craft to an art. Such claims notwithstanding, taxidermy tends still to be considered as a craft. While scholars have studied the various ways in which taxidermy has been deployed within art practices – to critique gender, colonialism and concepts of mortality – late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century attempts to classify it as a fine art failed. This critical and historical asymmetry frames the following article, which explores what it tells us about how art is conceived today. I argue that taxidermy ‘failed’ as a form of art not because its procedures were distasteful, nor because its practice lacked the skill and vision an art might require. Rather, taxidermy remains outside of art due to a confluence of historical shifts in art practice and theory in the late nineteenth century, particularly those associated with the rise of instant photography and the advent of the snapshot. In this context, the making and display of taxidermied specimens entailed tensions – between ideal and real, type and example, multiple and singular, index and object – that were and remain central to photography and art. But, unlike photography, around which art historians have developed a sophisticated discourse, taxidermy lacks a critical vocabulary. Importantly, I argue, the taxidermied animal’s status involves no author-function, thus throwing into question methods of production and display. And, in light of this, I delineate taxidermy’s ‘failure’ in order to elucidate some of the tacit exclusions enacted by art history, particularly with regard to works that simultaneously reveal and negate their own manufacture.
The Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties of Ba0.4Co4Sb11.7Te0.3 Prepared by the High-Pressure and High-Temperature Method
Authors: Hao Song , Ma Hong An , Deng Le , Jie Kai Kai , Liu Zhe , Jia Xiao Peng , Ren Guo Zhong
Published: June 2013

Polycrystalline skutterudite Ba0.4Co4Sb11.7Te0.3 with a bcc crystal structure was prepared by the High-Pressure and High-Temperature (HPHT) method. The study explored a chemical method for introducing Ba atoms into the voids of CoSb3 to optimize the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT in the system of Ba0.4Co4Sb11.7Te0.3. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe analysis, and thermoelectric properties measurement. The electrical resistivity, Seebeck coefficients and thermal conductivities of the samples were measured in the temperature range of 300–743 K. The power factor and the figure of merit, ZT, of the samples all increased with the increasing temperature. A dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit of 0.87 at 743 K was achieved for n-type Ba0.4Co4Sb11.7Te0.3 at last. The results indicated Ba-filled CoSb3 prepared by HPHT method is an effective method to greatly enhance the thermoelectric properties of skutterudite compounds.
Alsó végtagi ischaemiás-reperfusiós károsodás hosszú távú tüdőszövődményeinek megelőzése posztkondicionálással
Authors: Garbaisz Dávid , Turóczi Zsolt , Fülöp András , Rosero Olivér , Arányi Péter , Ónody Péter , Lotz Gábor , Rakonczay Zoltán , Balla Zsolt , Harsányi László , Szijártó Attila
Published: June 2013

Absztrakt

Bevezetés:Az infrarenalis aortaszakaszon végzett érműtétek utáni alsó végtagi ischaemiás-reperfusiós (IR) károsodás lokális és szisztémás szövődmények forrása. A folyamatban a tüdőszövet jelentős mértékben érintett.Célkitűzés:Az alsó végtagi IR károsodás hosszú távú tüdőszövődményeinek csökkentése posztkondicionálással.Anyagok és mód-szerek:Hím Wistar-patkányokon, 180 perces bilateralis alsó végtagi ischaemiát hoztunk létre. Az állatokat Áloperált, IR és Posztkondicionált (PostC, 6×10 sec) csoportokra osztottuk. A reperfusiós időtartamok alapján (24 és 72 óra) további alcsoportokat hoztunk létre. Szövettani vizsgálat, szérum szabadgyök-, IL-6-, szöveti Hsp72-szint, illetve a szöveti nedvességarány (W/D) és myeloperoxidáz (MPO) meghatározása történt.Eredmények:A detektálható tüdőkárosodás a PostC csoportok metszetein kedvezőbb képet mutat. A PostC csoport tüdő MPO aktivitása nem mutatott jelentős különbséget, a W/D arány mindkét időpontban szignifikánsan alacsonyabb volt (68% vs. 65%; 72% vs. 68%;p< 0,05). A PostC csoportokban a szabadgyök-szint (42,9 ± 8,0 vs. 6,4 ± 3,4; 27,3 ± 4,4 vs. 8,3 ± 4,0 RLU%) szignifikánsan alacsonyabb volt; az IL-6- (238,4 ± 31,1 vs. 209,1 ± 18,8; 190,0 ± 8,8 vs. 187,0 ± 14,9 pg/ml) és Hsp72-szint nem mutatott szignifikáns eltérést.Következtetés:A posztkondicionálás csökkentheti az alsó végtagi nagyérműtétek utáni hosszú távú tüdőkárosodást.
Biologia da mosca‑das‑frutas sul‑americana em frutos de mirtilo, amoreira‑preta, araçazeiro e pitangueira
Authors: Bisognin Maicon , Nava Dori Edson , Lisbôa Heitor , Bisognin Alexandre Zandoná , Garcia Mauro Silveira , Valgas Ricardo Alexandre , Diez‑Rodríguez Gabriela Inés , Botton Marcos , Antunes Luis Eduardo Corrêa
Published: June 2013

O objetivo deste trabalho foi descrever a biologia de Anastrepha fraterculus em frutos de mirtilo (Vaccinium ashei), amoreira‑preta (Rubus spp.), araçazeiro (Psidium cattleyanum) e pitangueira (Eugenia uniflora). O experimento foi realizado em laboratório, em condições controladas de temperatura (25±2ºC), umidade relativa (70±10%) e fotófase (12 horas), para determinação dos parâmetros biológicos do inseto nos estágios de desenvolvimento imaturos e adultos. Anastrepha fraterculus completa o ciclo biológico em todos hospedeiros estudados, embora os frutos nativos (pitanga e araçá) ofereçam melhores condições para seu desenvolvimento. Os parâmetros biológicos determinados para as fases imaturas foram semelhantes nos quatro hospedeiros. Insetos criados em pitanga e araçá apresentam, na fase adulta, maior período de oviposição, fecundidade e longevidade de fêmeas, em comparação aos criados em mirtilo e amora‑preta. O ritmo diário de oviposição é mais prolongado e uniforme nos insetos criados em araçá e pitanga, o que mostra que A. fraterculus está mais bem adaptada a estas frutas, nativas da região Sul.
Effect of Low‐Dose Doxycycline on Serum Oxidative Status, Gingival Antioxidant Levels, and Alveolar Bone Loss in Experimental Periodontitis in Rats
Authors: Yağan Akın , Kesim Servet , Liman Narin
Published: June 2013

Background: Subantibiotic doses of doxycycline (low‐dose doxycycline [LDD]) have been widely used in periodontal treatment for enzymatic inhibition and related anti‐inflammatory properties. The aim of the present study is to verify the possible effects of LDD on oxidative stress in relation to periodontal attachment loss associated with ligature‐induced experimental periodontal disease in rats.

Methods: Thirty female Wistar albino rats were divided into three study groups as follows: 1) control (C) rats; 2) rats with experimental periodontitis (PED); and 3) rats with PED that were treated with doxycycline (PED + LDD). PED was induced by placing ligatures around the cervix of the maxillary second molars for 21 days. The PED + LDD group was treated orally with doxycycline (6 mg/kg) for 21 days after the ligature was placed. After 21 days, the rats were euthanized, and samples of the right maxilla were defleshed and used for histologic and morphometric analyses. The gingival tissue of the left maxilla was used for the analysis of lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde [MDA]) and antioxidant enzymes (catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase). Levels of serum total antioxidant status (TAS)/total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) were also analyzed.

Results: Alveolar bone loss was significantly higher in the PED group compared with the PED + LDD and C groups (P <0.05). Doxycycline exhibited the most prominent inhibition on gingival tissue levels of MDA and antioxidant enzymes (P <0.05). Doxycycline also significantly reduced TOS and OSI levels (P <0.05) but increased the TAS level.

Conclusion: Doxycycline helps to prevent periodontal tissue breakdown by inhibiting local and systemic oxidative stress.
Fate and mass balances of triclosan (TCS), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and tribromobisphenol A (tri-BBPA) during the municipal wastewater treatment process
Authors: McPhedran Kerry , Seth Rajesh , Song Min , Chu Shaogang , Letcher Robert J.
Published: June 2013

Municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs) are impacted by down-the-drain influents of anthropogenic chemicals. These chemicals are in consumer products and include the flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and antimicrobial triclosan (TCS). Characterization of the distribution of TBBPA, TCS and the TBBPA product tribromobisphenol A (tri-BBPA) was determined at five stages along the treatment process of a typical Canadian MWTP facility. Overall, the TCS concentrations for both liquid (influents, primary effluents and final effluents (FEs)) and solid samples (primary and waste activated sludges) were similar to reported ranges in the literature. In contrast to TCS, both TBBPA and tri-BBPA concentrations were scarcely available in the literature. The TBBPA concentrations were within literature ranges for both influents and sludges, while the tri-BBPA sludge concentrations were markedly higher than a single available previous study. Mass balances for TCS, TBBPA and tri-BBPA indicated 7, 9 and 42%, respectively, of each chemical remaining in the FEs. The resultant annual mass loadings into the Detroit River were estimated to be 3.3 kg, 6.57 g, and 21.5 g for TCS, TBBPA and tri-BBPA, respectively.
Study of factors controlling the sorption of diclofenac on a calcined synthetic hydrotalciteÉtude des facteurs contrôlant la sorption du diclofénac sur une hydrotalcite de synthèse calcinée
Authors: Khatem Rachid , Bakhti Abdellah
Published: June 2013

The removal of diclofenac by sorption on a synthetic hydrotalcite and on its calcined product was investigated. The solid [Mg-Al-CO3], prepared by coprecipitation at constant pH, was characterized by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The interaction of these materials with diclofenac shows that the kinetics of sorption is fast and follows the second order model. The effects on the sorption process of the diclofenac concentration in the solution, the sorbent concentration and the temperature were studied. The treatment of solutions containing from 0.02 to 2 mmole L−1 of diclofenac produced good results. The sorption capacity of the calcined hydrotalcite is close to 1.9 mmole g−1. The study of the reversibility of the sorption of diclofenac shows that the recycling of these calcined materials is possible, thus suggesting their possible use as supports for the removal of diclofenac. Recycling by restitution and calcination-rebuilding should make possible the recovery of this pollutant.
Can Persistent Identifiers Be Cool?
Authors: Bazzanella Barbara , Bortoli Stefano , Bouquet Paolo
Published: June 2013

The fast growth of scientific and non-scientific digital data, as well as the proliferation of new types of digital content, has led â€“ among many other things â€“ to a lot of innovative work on the concept of the identifier. Digital identifiers have become the key to preserving and accessing content, just as physical identifier tags have been the key to accessing paper-based content and other physical entities for millennia. Two main schools of thought have emerged: on the one hand, librarians and public repositories have pushed the concept of the Persistent Identifier (PI) as a way to guarantee long term identification and (sometimes) access; on the other hand, the extraordinary success of the web has led several researchers and web experts to push the concept of the Cool URI as the universal mechanism for identifying and accessing digital content. Both views have their pros and cons, but so far (with only a few exceptions) the two visions have developed in parallel, sometimes with a subtle underlying hostility.In this paper, we present the evolution of the Entity Name System (ENS), an open service-based platform developed as part of the OKKAM EU co-funded project, which can reconcile these two approaches. The new system, called ENS2.0, is currently under development and will enable data creators and curators to combine the technical strengths and opportunities of the (Semantic) Web vision with the organizational, economical and social requirements legitimately raised by the PI community and stakeholders.
Distributed Digital Preservation in the Cloud
Authors: Rosenthal David S. H. , Vargas Daniel L.
Published: June 2013

The LOCKSS system is a leading technology in the field of Distributed Digital Preservation. Libraries run LOCKSS boxes to collect and preserve content published on the Web in PC servers with local disk storage. They form nodes in a network that continually audits their content and repairs any damage. Libraries wondered whether they could use cloud storage for their LOCKSS boxes instead of local disks. We review the possible configurations, evaluate their technical feasibility, assess their economic feasibility, report on an experiment in which we ran a production LOCKSS box in Amazonâ€™s cloud service, and describe some simulations of future costs of cloud and local storage. We conclude that current cloud storage services are not cost-competitive with local hardware for long term storage, including for LOCKSS boxes.
Generation of a Skeleton Corpus of Digital Objects for the Validation and Evaluation of Format Identification Tools and Signatures
Authors: Spencer Ross
Published: June 2013

To preserve digital information it is vital that the format of that information can be identified, in-perpetuity. This is the major focus of research within the field of Digital Preservation. The National Archives of the UK called for the Digital Preservation and Digital Curation communities to develop a test corpus of digital objects to help further develop tools to aid this purpose. Following that call, an attempt has been made to develop the suite.This paper initially outlines a methodology to generate a skeleton corpus using simple user-generated digital objects. It then explores the lessons learnt in the generation of a corpus using scripting language techniques from the file format signatures described in The National Archives PRONOM technical registry. It will also discuss the use of the digital signature for this purpose, the benefits of developing a test corpus using this technique. Finally, this paper will outline a methodology for future research before exploring how the community can best make use of the output of this project and how this project needs to be taken forward to completion.
Lies, Damned Lies and Research Data: Can Data Sharing Prevent Data Fraud?
Authors: Doorn Peter , Dillo Ingrid , Van Horik RenÃ©
Published: June 2013

After a spectacular case of data fraud in the field of social psychology surfaced in The Netherlands in September 2011, the Dutch research community was confronted with a number of questions. Is this an isolated case or is scientific fraud with data more common? Is the scientific method robust enough to uncover the results of misconduct and to withstand the breach of trust that fraud causes? How responsible and reliable are researchers when they collect, process, analyse and report on data? How can we prevent data fraud? Do we need to adapt the codes of conduct for researchers or do we need stricter rules for data management and data sharing?This paper discusses the conclusions and recommendations of two reports that were published recently in consequence of this data fraud. The reports are relevant for scientific integrity and trustworthy treatment of research data. Next, this paper reports on the outcomes of enquiries in data cultures in a number of scientific disciplines. The concluding section of this paper contains a number of examples that show that the approach towards data sharing is improving gradually. The data fraud case can be regarded as a wake-up call.
Skeletal and dental effects of tooth-borne versus hybrid devices for mandibular symphyseal distraction osteogenesis
Authors: Niculescu Julia A. , King John W. , Lindauer Steven J.
Published: June 2013

Objective:

To evaluate and compare, retrospectively, the skeletal and dental effects of mandibular symphyseal distraction osteogenesis (MSDO) achieved through the use of tooth-borne versus hybrid distractors.

Materials and Methods:

Pretreatment (T1), predistraction (T2), postdistraction (T3), and posttreatment (T4) orthodontic records were collected and analyzed for 47 patients (20 tooth-borne, 27 hybrid). At each time point, records included intraoral photographs, study models, postero-anterior cephalometric radiographs, and lateral cephalometric radiographs. Submental vertex radiographs were taken at T2, T3, and T4. Changes in a total of 18 measurements were analyzed to compare patients undergoing tooth-borne versus hybrid distraction.

Results:

The cumulative effects of orthodontics and MSDO produced similar gains in measured arch widths, with a decreased irregularity index in both groups (P > .05). However, there were differences in the timing during which the expansion was achieved. The hybrid distractor group gained space during the distraction phase of treatment. The tooth-borne group showed greater gains during pre- and postdistraction orthodontics. Comparisons of intercanine and interbone marker widths demonstrated a more parallel separation of bone during distraction with the hybrid distractor (P < .001). Distraction with the tooth-borne distractor was disproportionate, with greater separation of the canines in alveolar bone than of the bone markers in basal bone. During postdistraction orthodontics, the tooth-borne distractor group showed statistically greater increases in measurements.

Conclusion:

Both skeletal and dental expansion was achieved with both appliances. Greater skeletal expansion was achieved with a hybrid distractor. Greater dental expansion was achieved with a tooth-borne distractor.
Impact of Quantity of Resin, C-factor, and Geometry on Resin Composite Polymerization Shrinkage Stress in Class V Restorations
Authors: Borges ALS , Borges AB , Xavier TA , Bottino MC , Platt JA
Published: June 2013

Objective

This study evaluated the effect of quantity of resin composite, C-factor, and geometry in Class V restorations on shrinkage stress after bulk fill insertion of resin using two-dimensional finite element analysis.

Methods

An image of a buccolingual longitudinal plane in the middle of an upper first premolar and supporting tissues was used for modeling 10 groups: cylindrical cavity, erosion, and abfraction lesions with the same C-factor (1.57), a second cylindrical cavity and abfraction lesion with the same quantity of resin (QR) as the erosion lesion, and then all repeated with a bevel on the occlusal cavosurface angle. The 10 groups were imported into Ansys 13.0 for two-dimensional finite element analysis. The mesh was built with 30,000 triangle and square elements of 0.1 mm in length for all the models. All materials were considered isotropic, homogeneous, elastic, and linear, and the resin composite shrinkage was simulated by thermal analogy. The maximum principal (MPS) and von Mises stresses (VMS) were analyzed for comparing the behavior of the groups.

Results

Different values of angles for the cavosurface margin in enamel and dentin were obtained for all groups and the higher the angle, the lower the stress concentration. When the groups with the same C-factor and QR were compared, the erosion shape cavity showed the highest MPS and VMS values, and abfraction shape, the lowest. A cavosurface bevel decreased the stress values on the occlusal margin. The geometry factor overcame the effects of C-factor and QR in some situations.

Conclusion

Within the limitations of the current methodology, it is possible to conclude that the combination of all variables studied influences the stress, but the geometry is the most important factor to be considered by the operator.
Role of inflammasomes and their regulators in prostate cancer initiation, progression and metastasis
Authors: Veeranki Sudhakar
Published: June 2013

Prostate cancer is one of the main cancers that affect men, especially older men. Though there has been considerable progress in understanding the progression of prostate cancer, the drivers of its development need to be studied more comprehensively. The emergence of resistant forms has also increased the clinical challenges involved in the treatment of prostate cancer. Recent evidence has suggested that inflammation might play an important role at various stages of cancer development. This review focuses on inflammasome research that is relevant to prostate cancer and indicates future avenues of study into its effective prevention and treatment through inflammasome regulation. With regard to prostate cancer, such research is still in its early stages. Further study is certainly necessary to gain a broader understanding of prostate cancer development and to create successful therapy solutions.
Modeling of a Point Absorber for Energy Conversion in Italian Seas
Authors: Bozzi Silvia , Miquel Adrià , Antonini Alessandro , Passoni Giuseppe , Archetti Renata
Published: June 2013

In the present paper, we investigate the feasibility of wave electricity production in Italian seas by the deployment of the Seabased wave energy converter (WEC). A numerical model of the coupled buoy-generator system is presented, which simulates the behavior of the wave energy converter under regular waves of different wave heights and periods. The hydrodynamic forces, including excitation force, radiation impedance and hydrostatic force, are calculated by linear potential wave theory, and an analytical model is used for the linear generator. Two buoys of different radii are considered to explore the effect of buoy dimension on energy conversion and device efficiency. The power output is maximized by adding a submerged object to the floating buoy, in order to bring the system into resonance with the typical wave frequencies of the sites. The simulation results show a very good agreement with the published data on the Seabased WEC. The model is used to estimate energy production at eight Italian offshore locations. The results indicate that the degree of utilization of the device is higher than 20% at the two most energetic Italian sites (Alghero and Mazara del Vallo) and that it can be considerably increased if the floating body is connected to a submerged object, thanks to the resonant behavior of the WEC. In this case, the degree of utilization of the device would be higher than 40% at most of the study sites, with the highest value at Mazara del Vallo. The work enlarges the perspective, to be confirmed by experimental tests and more accurate numerical modeling, on clean electric power production from ocean waves in the Italian seas.
Autolysis of Bacterial Cells Leads to Formation of Empty Sheaths by Leptothrix spp.
Authors: Suzuki Tomoko , Ishihara Hiromichi , Toyoda Kazuhiro , Shiraishi Tomonori , Kunoh Hitoshi , Takada Jun
Published: June 2013

The aquatic, Fe-oxidizing bacteria Leptothrix spp. produce uniquely shaped extracellular sheaths composed of organic bacterial polymers encrusted with inorganic elements from its aquatic environments. At the initial stage of sheath formation, bacterial cells were aligned in the sheath, but later most sheaths became empty. Here, we studied the mechanism of sheath hollowing by examining an isolate of Leptothrix sp. strain OUMS1 cultured in either artificial medium or natural groundwater. After 3 days in the medium, most sheaths at the initial stage surrounded a line of live cells, while some cells in the line were dead regardless of their position in a sheath. In sheaths where cells and/or their remnants were barely distinguishable by differential interference contrast microscopy (DIC), a vital stain and a stain specific for nucleic acids occasionally revealed dead cells and/or nucleic acid remnants, while sheaths that lacked a positive response to these reagents looked transparent when viewed with DIC. In specimens cultured in the medium for 7 days, dead cells increased in number regardless of their position in the sheath. Almost the same phenomena occurred in specimens cultured in natural groundwater until day 7. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that cells degenerated, leading to autolysis of bacterial cells in the sheath. These observations led us to conclude that autolysis of bacterial cells could be a major cause of sheath hollowing.
A Comparison of Patient Knowledge of Clinical Trials and Trialist Priorities
Authors: Cameron P. , Pond G.R. , Xu R.Y. , Ellis P.M. , Goffin J.R.
Published: June 2013

Background: Recruitment to clinical trials remains poor, and patient knowledge of clinical trials is one barrier to recruitment. To identify knowledge deficits, we conducted and compared surveys measuring actual patient knowledge and clinical trialist priorities for patient knowledge. Methods: Consenting patients at a tertiary cancer centre answered a survey that included (i) 2 opinion questions about their own knowledge and willingness to join a trial, and (ii) 22 knowledge questions. Clinical researchers at the centre were asked 13 questions about the importance of various trials factors. Results: Of 126 patients surveyed, 16% had joined a clinical trial, and 42% had a secondary school education or less. The mean correct response rate on the knowledge questions was 58%. Higher rates of correct responses were associated with lower age (p = 0.05), greater education (p = 0.006), prior trial participation (p < 0.001), agreement or strong agreement with perceived understanding of trials (p < 0.001), and willingness to join a clinical trial (p = 0.002). Trialists valued an understanding of the rationale for clinical trials and of randomization, placebo, and patient protection, but those particular topics were poorly understood by patients. Conclusions: Patient knowledge about clinical trials is poor, including knowledge of several concepts ranked important by clinical trialists. The findings suggest that when developing education interventions, emphasis should be placed on the topics most directly related to patient care, and factors such as age and education level should be considered.
Staying Safe: Re-examining Workplace Violence in Acute Psychiatric Settings
Authors: Allen Diane E.
Published: June 2013

An educational program for staff in an acute, involuntary inpatient setting has led to positive change by challenging the widely held belief that getting hurt is an expected part of the job in acute psychiatric care settings. The Staying Safe program encouraged staff to think differently about their roles and to explore alternative responses to patient behaviors. Cultural change takes time: Staff have requested that the program be repeated multiple times over the past 5 years, and key concepts have been incorporated into employee orientation and refresher programs. During that same time, staff have learned to call for help more often and to have a plan for such help before physically intervening with patients. The strategies described in this program have resulted in decreased number of assaults on staff, injuries from assaults, and lost work time from those injuries. [
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 51(9),
37–41.]
A Roadmap for Software Engineering for the Cloud
Authors: Sharma Abhishek , Maurer Frank
Published: June 2013

This chapter presents the results of a systematic review from existing literature in software engineering for cloud-based applications and describes what the research community thinks about the effects of introducing cloud computing into a software development process. In this systematic review, the authors describe the challenges cloud computing poses for software development. They particularly investigate whether agile methodologies are beneficial or not in developing software that will be deployed in the cloud. In their results, they found that industry practitioners in their blogs and self-reported reviews indicate that agile development and cloud computing goes well together and that further investigation is required to confirm this claim.
A Review of Software Quality Methodologies
Authors: Saeed Saqib , Khawaja Farrukh Masood , Mahmood Zaigham
Published: June 2013

Pervasive systems and increased reliance on embedded systems require that the underlying software is properly tested and has in-built high quality. The approaches often adopted to realize software systems have inherent weaknesses that have resulted in less robust software applications. The requirement of reliable software suggests that quality needs to be instilled at all stages of a software development paradigms, especially at the testing stages of the development cycle ensuring that quality attributes and parameters are taken into account when designing and developing software. In this respect, numerous tools, techniques, and methodologies have also been proposed. In this chapter, the authors present and review different methodologies employed to improve the software quality during the software development lifecycle.
Addressing Highly Dynamic Changes in Service-Oriented Systems
Authors: Metzger Andreas , Di Nitto Elisabetta
Published: June 2013

This chapter sets out to introduce relevant foundations concerning evolution and adaptation of service-oriented systems. It starts by sketching the historical development of software systems from monolithic and mostly static applications to highly-dynamic, service-oriented systems. Then, it provides an overview and more thorough explanation of the various kinds of changes that may need to be faced by service-oriented systems. To understand how such changes could be addressed, the chapter introduces a reference service life-cycle model which distinguishes between evolution, viz. the manual modification of the specification and implementation of the system during design-time, and (self-)adaptation, viz. the autonomous modification of a service-oriented system during operation. Based on the discussion of the key activities prescribed by that life-cycle, the chapter elaborates on the need for agility in both adaptation and evolution of service-oriented systems.
Requirements Engineering Process Improvement and Related Models
Authors: Solemon Badariah , Sahibuddin Shamsul , Ghani Abdul Azim Abd
Published: June 2013

Requirements Engineering (RE) is a key discipline in software development, and several standards and models are available to help assess and improve RE processes. However, different standards and models can also help achieve different improvement goals. Thus, organizations are challenged to select these standards and models to best suit their specific context and available resources. This chapter presents a review of selected RE-specific and generic process improvement models that are available in the public domain. The review aims to provide preliminary information that might be needed by organizations in selecting these models. The chapter begins with analyses of how RE maturity is addressed in the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) for Development. Then, it describes the principal characteristics of, and the assessment and improvement framework applied in four RE-specific process assessment and improvement models: the Requirements Engineering Good Practice Guide (REGPG), the Requirements Engineering Process Maturity(REPM), the Requirements Capability Maturity Model (R-CMM), and the Market-Driven Requirements Engineering Process Model (MDREPM). This chapter also examines the utility and lesson learned of these models.
Component-Based Modeling for Information Systems Reengineering
Authors: Talla Malleswara , Valverde Raul
Published: June 2013

An Information System can be envisioned as a set of interdependent components that provide the intended services. The component based modeling serves as a tool for collecting requirements of an Information System in user perspective and business perspective at various stages of software development. The chapter presents a methodology for component based modeling and development of an Information System, starting from the requirements definition phase, arriving at candidate components and creation of final components and their interfaces. The methodology aims at clarifying the intricate details and usage of an Information System via business type models and use-case models. The chapter presents the interaction diagrams in order to describe interactions among objects in systems perspective, and context diagrams for reflecting upon the business domain. Finally, the chapter proposes component replacement as a methodology for system reengineering, and model-view-control framework for component refinement and evolution in order to achieve a reengineered information system that reflects upon current requirements in business domain. The reengineering techniques proposed in this chapter can be applied to legacy systems to turn them into a component-oriented reengineered system.
Tool Based Integration of Requirements Modeling and Validation into Business Process Modeling
Authors: Feja Sven , Witt Sören , Speck Andreas
Published: June 2013

Business process models (BPM) are widely used for specification of software systems, as the basis for model driven software development. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that these BPMs fulfill the requirements they have to comply with. These requirements may originate from various domains. Many may be considered non-functional requirements. They are affecting privacy, security, as well as compliance or economic aspects. In order to avoid error-prone manual checking, automated checking techniques should be applied wherever possible. This requires expressing requirements in a formal manner. The common textual representations for such formal requirements are not well accepted in the modeling domain, since they are settled on a lower level of abstraction, compared to BPMs. In this chapter, the authors present the Business Application Modeler (BAM), which integrates formal requirement specification and automated checking with process modeling. On the one hand BAM supports different notations for process modeling. On the other hand a graphical notation, called G-CTL, for the formal specification of requirements is provided. G-CTL is based on temporal logic, and statements are expressed on the level of abstraction of the graphical process models. Furthermore BAM provides the ability to define selective views on process models. This allows complex domain specific annotations of processes as well as the assignment of responsibilities regarding functional domains. Moreover, BAM integrates into common requirements engineering processes.
Project Contexts and the Possibilities for Mixing Software Development and Systems Approaches
Authors: Petkov D. , Alter S. , Wing J. , Singh A. , Petkova O. , Andrew T. , Sewchurran K.
Published: June 2013

It is widely agreed that no single approach for software or systems development addresses all problems and contexts. This chapter summarizes three software development and systems approaches that are often viewed as somewhat unrelated: soft system methodology (SSM), work system method (WSM), and agile development. Next it presents a framework linking stakeholder interests and problem contexts known as the System of Systems Methodologies (SOSM) from Jackson and Keys (1984) and frameworks from Bustard and Kennan (2005) and Alter and Browne (2005) for visualizing various Information Systems (IS) contexts. It uses SOSM to position and explore alternative sets of IS project contexts described by Bustard and Kennan (2005) and Alter and Browne (2005) using their own frameworks. Comparison of these contexts in relation to SOSM leads to observations about the suitability of SSM, WSM, and agile development in different project contexts. Contributions of this research include identifying and comparing alternative contexts for software and system development and identifying possibilities for including within one project combinations of methodologies that are often viewed as unrelated.
Data Mining Techniques for Software Quality Prediction
Authors: Mishra Bharavi , Shukla K. K.
Published: June 2013

In the present time, software plays a vital role in business, governance, and society in general, so a continuous improvement of software productivity and quality such as reliability, robustness, etc. is an important goal of software engineering. During software development, a large amount of data is produced, such as software attribute repositories and program execution trace, which may help in future development and project management activities. Effective software development needs quantification, measurement, and modelling of previous software artefacts. The development of large and complex software systems is a formidable challenge which requires some additional activities to support software development and project management processes. In this scenario, data mining can provide a helpful hand in the software development process. This chapter discusses the application of data mining in software engineering and includes static and dynamic defect detection, clone detection, maintenance, etc. It provides a way to understand the software artifacts and processes to assist in software engineering tasks.
Modelling Situation Awareness Information and System Requirements for the Mission using Goal-Oriented Task Analysis Approach
Authors: Onwubiko Cyril
Published: June 2013

This chapter describes work on modelling situational awareness information and system requirements for the mission. Developing this model based on Goal-Oriented Task Analysis representation of the mission using an Agent Oriented Software Engineering methodology advances current information requirement models because it provides valuable insight on how to effectively achieve the mission’s requirements (information, systems, networks, and IT infrastructure), and offers enhanced situational awareness within the Computer Network Defence environment. Further, the modelling approach using Secure Tropos is described, and model validation using a security test scenario is discussed.
Pragmatic Software Engineering for Computational Science
Authors: Worth David , Greenough Chris , Chin Shawn
Published: June 2013

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce scientific software developers to software engineering tools and techniques that will save them much blood, sweat, and tears and allow them to demonstrate the quality of their software. By introducing ideas around the software development life cycle, source code analysis, documentation, and testing, and touching on best practices, this chapter demonstrates ways in which scientific software can be improved and future developments made easier. This is not a research article on current software engineering methods, nor does it attempt to specify best practices. Its aim is to introduce components that can be built into a tailored process. The chapter draws upon ideas of best practice current in software engineering, but recommends using these only selectively. This is done by presenting details of tools that can be used to implement these ideas and a set of case studies to demonstrate their use.
Towards an Integrated Personal Software Process and Team Software Process Supporting Tool
Authors: Choi Ho-Jin , Lee Sang-Hun , Fahmi Syed Ahsan , Ibrahim Ahmad , Shin Hyun-Il , Park Young-Kyu
Published: June 2013

Personal Software Process (PSP) and Team Software Process (TSP) have been developed and used to help individual developers and teams make high-quality products through improving their personal and team software development processes. For the PSP and TSP practices, data collection and analysis of software metrics need to be done at fine-grained levels. These tasks are not trivial, requiring tool support. This chapter aims to discuss issues to building such a tool, and introduce our on-going endeavor towards an integrated PSP and TSP supporting tool. In particular, features of sensor-based automated data collection for PSP, utilization of Six Sigma techniques into PSP and TSP activities, and incorporation of electronic process guide will be paid attention.
Security Risks in Cloud Computing
Authors: Zapata Belén Cruz , Alemán José Luis Fernández
Published: June 2013

Any software system is exposed to potential attack. The recent and continuous appearance of vulnerabilities in software systems makes security a vital issue if these systems are to succeed. The detection of potential vulnerabilities thus signifies that a set of policies can be established to minimize their impact. This therefore implies identifying the risks and data to be protected, and the design of an action plan with which to manage incidents and recovery. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an analysis of the most common vulnerabilities in recent years, focusing on those vulnerabilities which are specific to cloud computing. These specific vulnerabilities need to be identified in order to avoid them by providing prevention mechanisms, and the following questions have therefore been posed: What kinds of vulnerabilities are increasing? Has any kind of vulnerability been reduced in recent years? What is the evolution of their severity?
User-Centered Business Process Modeling and Pattern-Based Development for Large Systems
Authors: Takaki O. , Seino T. , Izumi N. , Hasida K.
Published: June 2013

In agile software development, it is imperative for stakeholders such as the users and developers of an information system to collaborate in designing and developing the information system, by sharing their knowledge. Especially in development of a large-scale information system, such collaboration among stakeholders is important, but difficult to achieve. This chapter introduces a modeling method of business processes for requirements analysis and a development framework based on Web-process architectures. The modeling method makes it easier for stakeholders to agree upon requirements. It also employs a formal method to allow business process models to satisfy both understandability and accuracy. On the other hand, the development framework above enables rapid spiral development of short-term cycles through the collaboration of developers and users. This chapter also introduces an example that compares the workloads of two requirement analyses of large-scale system developments for a government service and a financial accounting service, in order to evaluate the advantages of the proposed modeling method.
Μίνθα
Authors: Süß Jörn Guy , Robinson Neil , Carrington David , Strooper Paul
Published: June 2013

Implementation of railway controller application logic is a highly safety-critical and time-consuming task carried out individually for each client and station by specialised signalling engineers, with corresponding high costs. Μίνθα is a software development framework designed to create code generators for application logic for the client railway companies of Ansaldo STS that use the Microlok II controller to lower the cost and increase repeatability. This chapter describes the evolution of Μίνθα from prototype to framework, and introduces the software engineering approaches of object-oriented meta-modelling and framework development along the way. It also presents known limitations and further application areas of the framework.
A Game Theoretic Solution for the Optimal Selection of Services
Authors: Merad Salah , de Lemos Rogério , Anderson Tom
Published: June 2013

This chapter considers the problem of optimally selecting services during run-time with respect to their non-functional attributes and costs. Commercial pressures for reducing the cost of managing complex software systems are changing the way in which systems are designed and built. The reason behind this shift is the need for dealing with changes efficiently and effectively, which may include removing the human operator from the process of decision-making. In service-oriented computing, in particular, the run-time selection and integration of services may soon become a reality since services are readily available. Assuming that each component service has a specific functional and non-functional profile, the challenge now is to define a decision maker that is able to select services that satisfy the system requirements and optimise the quality of services under cost constraints. The approach presented in this chapter describes a game theoretic solution by formulating the problem as a bargaining game.
Managing Software Projects with Team Software Process (TSP)
Authors: Hamid Salmiza Saul , Nasir Mohd Hairul Nizam Md , Sahibuddin Shamsul , Nor Mustaffa Kamal Mohd
Published: June 2013

Despite the widespread use of sound project management practices and process improvement models over the last several years, the failure of software projects remains a challenge to organisations. As part of the attempt to address software industry challenges, several models, frameworks, and methods have been developed that are intended to improve software processes to produce quality software on time, under budget, and in accordance with previously stipulated functionalities. One of the most widely practised methods is the Team Software Process (TSP). The TSP was designed to provide an operational framework for establishing an effective team environment and guiding engineering teams in their work. This chapter provides an overview of the TSP and its associated structures and processes. It also highlights how the TSP operational framework can assist project manager and software development team to deliver successful projects by controlling and minimizing the most common software failure factors. Comparative analysis between the TSP and conventional project management has also been presented. Additionally, the results of TSP implementation in industrial settings are highlighted with particular reference to scheduling, quality, and productivity. The last section indicates additional advantages of TSP and comments on the future of TSP in the global software development project.
Resolving Conflict in Code Refactoring
Authors: Kaur Lakhwinder , Kaur Kuljit , Gupta Ashu
Published: June 2013

Refactoring is a process that attempts to enhance software code quality by using small transforming functions and modifying the structure of the program through slightly different algorithm. It is important to analyze the design pattern of the software code as well as the impact and possibility of the application of some conflicting refactorings on it. The objective of this chapter is to present an approach for analyzing software design patterns in order to avoid the conflict in application of available refactoring techniques. This chapter discusses the mechanism to study software code or design patterns to automate the process of applying available refactorings while addressing the problem of conflict in their application.