bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Implications of Alireza Noruzi’s Laws of the Web for Library Web-Based Services
Authors: Onohwakpor Josephine Eruterio , Adogbeji Benson Oghenevwogaga
Published: August 2010

This chapter deals with implications of Alireza Noruzi’s Laws of the Web for library web-based services. It highlights the benefits of the Web to libraries services, the five laws of the web, the implication of the Alireza’s laws of the web for library web- based services as well as future of trends.
National Interoperability Approach for Social Services Information Management in Finland
Authors: Mykkänen Juha , Hyppönen Konstantin , Kortelainen Pekka , Lehmuskoski Antero , Hotti Virpi
Published: August 2010

In this chapter, the authors introduce and discuss the approach for defining IT interoperability solutions on national level for social services in Finland. Goals and phases of the national initiative are presented, and various projects related to the transformation and unification of various aspects of supporting social services via interoperability solutions are illustrated. In addition, the path from general e-Government requirements through the definition of domain-specific information and documentation down to the development of technology solutions and dissemination plan is presented. The authors highlight several success factors and issues for the organization of multipartite collaboration, the specification of architectural and information management approach, the selection and definition of technology standards to support the domain-specific information needs and specifications and strategic alternatives for central information repositories.
From Hydrological Models to Policy-Relevant Decision Support Systems (DSSs)
Authors: Hashemi Mukhtar , O’Connell Enda
Published: August 2010

Since the advent of modern computing platforms in the 1960s and despite scepticisms and uncertainties, modelling systems have become indispensable tools in water resources management. They have been postulated to support the decision-making process and hence the term decision support systems (DSSs) emerged. Hydroinformatics is a recent term compared to computational hydraulics and hydrological watershed modelling but it is an encompassing cross disciplinary concept covering hydraulics, hydrology, environmental engineering, socioeconomic and political (institutional) disciplines and it uses information and communication technologies to provide evidences for decision-makers. The aims of this chapter are two fold: (a) to review the current trends in modelling activities based on historical precedence; and (b) to present a conceptual framework for development of a comprehensive DSS using a case study approach. Hence, this chapter consists of three main parts: (1) a historical account of the DSSs, starting from early single process models to current integrated comprehensive basin-wide DSSs; (2) having established a historical perspective, case studies from Iranian experience are presented to outline a methodological (conceptual) framework for developing a comprehensive DSS. Examples of policy-relevant DSSs from the latest research are also presented. It is concluded that there would be a greater demand in the future to develop integrated policy-relevant DSSs comprising not only the technical and engineering aspects but to include the socioeconomic and political sciences as well. The new DSSs should be able to deal with uncertainties such as climate change (i.e. to have scenario analysis capabilities), be able to compare different management strategies using multi-criteria analysis tools and to include socio-economic, institutional and environmental sustainability criteria.
Flow-Based Structural Modelling and Dynamic Simulation of Lake Water Levels
Authors: Adero Nashon Juma , Kiema John Bosco Kyalo
Published: August 2010

The continuing decline in lake water levels is both a concern and daunting challenge to scientists and policymakers in this era, demanding a rethinking of technological and policy interventions in the context of broader political and socio-economic realities. It is self-evident that diverse factors interact in space and time in complex dynamics to cause these water-level changes. However, the major question demanding sound answers is how these factors interact and by what magnitude they affect lake water balance with time. This chapter uses Lake Victoria’s hydrological system to shed light on the extensive and flexible modelling and simulation capabilities availed by modern computer models to understand the bigger picture of water balance dynamics. The study used the 1950-2000 hydrological data and riparian population growth to develop a dynamic simulation model for the lake’s water level. The intuitive structure of the model provided clear insights into the combined influence of the main drivers of the lake’s water balance. The falling lake water levels appeared to be mainly due to dam outflows at the outlet and reduced rainfall over the lake. The ensuing conclusions stressed the need for checks against over-release of lake water for hydropower production and measures for sustainable land and water management in the entire basin.
The Status of Lake Victoria Environment
Authors: Gichuki J. , Getabu A. , Ezekiel C. , Mkumbo O.C.
Published: August 2010

This chapter discusses the environmental conditions in Lake Victoria and how they impacts on the fish stocks. Results show that in last 4 decades Secchi disc visibility decreased by about 75%. Oxycline depth decreased by 50% indicating that a large body of the lake water in the deeper waters cannot support life. Chlorophyll a has increased three times as compared to historical values. Results show that the redfield ratio has decreased to 8.2:1 (N: P). Low oxygen conditions in the deep water causes rapid denitrification with subsequent loss of nitrogen. Primary productivity has doubled over the period and algal biomass increased by 8-10 folds. The algal biomass is currently dominated by Cyanophyta. Zooplankton communities have changed to smaller sized species and a dominance of rotifers while Caridina nilotica has a higher abundance in inshore waters compared to offshore waters. Environmental changes have influenced changes in herbivorous and Zooplanktovore fish species resulting to increase in “Dagaa” Rastrineobola argentea, and decline of carnivore species. Changes in ecological interactions due to species introduction, predation accelerated by the environmental changes and increased fishing pressure have further complicated the ecosystem dynamics of Lake Victoria and pose serious uncertainties on the lakes future stability and sustainability of the fisheries resources. Lake Victoria’s future sustainability requires effective management of fishing effort and phosphorous loading.
Optimal Assignment Kernels for ADME in Silico Prediction
Authors: Fröhlich Holger
Published: August 2010

Prediction models for absorption, distribution, metabolic and excretion properties of chemical compounds play a crucial rule in the drug discovery process. Often such models are derived via machine learning techniques. Kernel based learning algorithms, like the well known support vector machine (SVM) have gained a growing interest during the last years for this purpose. One of the key concepts of SVMs is a kernel function, which can be thought of as a special similarity measure. In this Chapter the author describes optimal assignment kernels for multi-labeled molecular graphs. The optimal assignment kernel is based on the idea of a maximal weighted bipartite matching of the atoms of a pair of molecules. At the same time the physico-chemical properties of each single atom are considered as well as the neighborhood in the molecular graph. Later on our similarity measure is extended to deal with reduced graph representations, in which certain structural elements, like rings, donors or acceptors, are condensed in one single node of the graph. Comparisons of the optimal assignment kernel with other graph kernels as well as with classical descriptor based models show a significant improvement in prediction accuracy.
Learning Binding Affinity from Augmented High Throughput Screening Data
Authors: Angelopoulos Nicos , Hadjiprocopis Andreas , Walkinshaw Malcolm D.
Published: August 2010

In high throughput screening a large number of molecules are tested against a single target protein to determine binding affinity of each molecule to the target. The objective of such tests within the pharmaceutical industry is to identify potential drug-like lead molecules. Current technology allows for thousands of molecules to be tested inexpensively. The analysis of linking such biological data with molecular properties is thus becoming a major goal in both academic and pharmaceutical research. This chapter details how screening data can be augmented with high-dimensional descriptor data and how machine learning techniques can be utilised to build predictive models. The pyruvate kinase protein is used as a model target throughout the chapter. Binding affinity data from a public repository provide binding information on a large set of screened molecules. The authors consider three machine learning paradigms: Bayesian model averaging, Neural Networks, and Support Vector Machines. The authors apply algorithms from the three paradigms to three subsets of the data and comment on the relative merits of each. They also used the learnt models to classify the molecules in a large in-house molecular database that holds commercially available chemical structures from a large number of suppliers. They discuss the degree of agreement in compounds selected and ranked for three algorithms. Details of the technical challenges in such large scale classification and the ability of each paradigm to cope with these are put forward. The application of machine learning techniques to binding data augmented by high-dimensional can provide a powerful tool in compound testing. The emphasis of this work is on making very few assumptions or technical choices with regard to the machine learning techniques. This is to facilitate application of such techniques by non-experts.
Learning Methodologies for Detection and Classification of Mutagens
Authors: Lodhi Huma
Published: August 2010

Predicting mutagenicity is a complex and challenging problem in chemoinformatics. Ames test is a biological method to assess mutagenicity of molecules. The dynamic growth in the repositories of molecules establishes a need to develop and apply effective and efficient computational techniques to solving chemoinformatics problems such as identification and classification of mutagens. Machine learning methods provide effective solutions to chemoinformatics problems. This chapter presents an overview of the learning techniques that have been developed and applied to the problem of identification and classification of mutagens.
Audition
Authors: Andringa Tjeerd C.
Published: August 2010

This chapter addresses the functional requirements of auditory systems, both natural and artificial, to be able to deal with the complexities of uncontrolled real-world input. The demand to function in uncontrolled environments has severe implications for machine audition. The natural system has addressed this demand by adapting its function flexibly to changing task demands. Intentional processes and the concept of perceptual gist play an important role in this. Hearing and listening are seen as complementary processes. The process of hearing detects the existence and general character of the environment and its main and most salient sources. In combination with task demands these processes allow the pre-activation of knowledge about expected sources and their properties. Consecutive listening phases, in which the relevant subsets of the signal are analyzed, allow the level of detail required by task- and system-demands. This form of processing requires a signal representation that can be reasoned about. A representation based on source physics is suitable and has the advantage of being situation independent. The demand to determine physical source properties from the signal imposes restrictions on the signal processing. When these restrictions are not met, systems are limited to controlled domains. Novel signal representations are needed to couple the information in the signal to knowledge about the sources in the signal.
Probabilistic Modeling Paradigms for Audio Source Separation
Authors: Vincent Emmanuel , Jafari Maria G. , Abdallah Samer A. , Plumbley Mark D. , Davies Mike E.
Published: August 2010

Most sound scenes result from the superposition of several sources, which can be separately perceived and analyzed by human listeners. Source separation aims to provide machine listeners with similar skills by extracting the sounds of individual sources from a given scene. Existing separation systems operate either by emulating the human auditory system or by inferring the parameters of probabilistic sound models. In this chapter, the authors focus on the latter approach and provide a joint overview of established and recent models, including independent component analysis, local time-frequency models and spectral template-based models. They show that most models are instances of one of the following two general paradigms: linear modeling or variance modeling. They compare the merits of either paradigm and report objective performance figures. They also,conclude by discussing promising combinations of probabilistic priors and inference algorithms that could form the basis of future state-of-the-art systems.
Face Searching in Large Databases
Authors: De Marsico Maria , De Marsico Maria , Nappi Michele , Nappi Michele , Riccio Daniel , Riccio Daniel , Vitulano Sergio , Vitulano Sergio
Published: August 2010

Both government agencies and private companies are investing significant resources to improve local/remote access security. Badge or password-based procedures have proven to be too vulnerable, while biometric research has significantly grown, mostly due to technological progresses that allow using increasingly efficient techniques, yet at decreasing costs. Suitable devices capture images of user’s face, iris, etc., or other biometric elements such as fingerprints or voice. Each biometry calls for specific procedures. Measures from user’s data make up the so called biometric key, which is stored in a database (enrolment) or used for recognition (testing). During recognition, a subject’s key is matched against those in the database, producing a similarity score for each match. However, some drawbacks exist. For example, iris scanning is very reliable but presently too intrusive, while fingerprints are more socially accepted but not applicable to non-consentient people. On the other hand, face recognition represents a good solution even under less controlled conditions. In the last decade, many algorithms based on linear/non-linear methods, neural networks, wavelets, etc. have been proposed. Nevertheless, during Face Recognition Vendor Test 2002 most of them encountered problems outdoors. This lowers their reliability compared to other biometries, and underlines the need for more research. This chapter provides a survey of recent outcomes on the topic, addressing both 2D imagery and 3D models, to provide a starting reference to potential investigators. Tables containing different collections of parameters (such as input size, recognition rate, number of addressed problems) simplify comparisons. Some future directions are finally proposed.
Transform Based Feature Extraction and Dimensionality Reduction Techniques
Authors: Jadhav Dattatray V. , Dattatray V. Jadhav , Holambe Raghunath S. , Raghunath S. Holambe
Published: August 2010

Various changes in illumination, expression, viewpoint, and plane rotation present challenges to face recognition. Low dimensional feature representation with enhanced discrimination power is of paramount importance to face recognition system. This chapter presents transform based techniques for extraction of efficient and effective features to solve some of the challenges in face recognition. The techniques are based on the combination of Radon transform, Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). The property of Radon transform to enhance the low frequency components, which are useful for face recognition, has been exploited to derive the effective facial features. The comparative study of various transform based techniques under different conditions like varying illumination, changing facial expressions, and in-plane rotation is presented in this chapter. The experimental results using FERET, ORL, and Yale databases are also presented in the chapter.
Probabilistic Methods for Face Registration and Recognition
Authors: Li Peng , Li Peng , Prince Simon J. D. , Prince Simon J. D.
Published: August 2010

In this chapter the authors review probabilistic approaches to face recognition and present extended treatment of one particular approach. Here, the face image is decomposed into an additive sum of two parts: a deterministic component, which depends on an underlying representation of identity and a stochastic component which explains the fact that two face images from the same person are not identical. Inferences about matching are made by comparing different probabilistic models rather than comparing distance to an identity template in some projected space. The authors demonstrate that this model comparison is superior to distance comparison. Furthermore, the authors show that performance can be further improved by sampling the feature space and combining models trained using these feature subspaces. Both random sampling with and without replacement significantly improves performance. Finally, the authors illustrate how this probabilistic approach can be adapted for keypoint localization (e.g. finding the eyes, nose and mouth etc.). The keypoints can either be (1) explicitly localized by evaluating the likelihood of all the possible locations in the given image, or (2) implicitly localized by marginalizing over possible positions in a Bayesian manner. The authors show that recognition and keypoint localization performance are comparable to using manual labelling.
Privacy Inference Disclosure Control with Access-Unrestricted Data Anonymity
Authors: Li Zude
Published: August 2010

This chapter introduces a formal study on access-unrestricted data anonymity. It includes four aspects: (1) it analyzes the impacts of anonymity on data usability; (2) it quantitatively measures privacy disclosure risks in practical environment; (3) it discusses the potential factors leading to privacy disclosure; and (4) it proposes the improved anonymity solutions within typical k-anonymity models, which can effectively prevent privacy disclosure that is related with the published data properties, anonymity principles, and anonymization rules. The experiments have found these potential privacy inference violations and shown the enhanced privacy-preserving effect of the new anti-inference policies to access-unrestricted data publication.
Enhancing Intelligent Tutoring Systems with the Agent Paradigm
Authors: Bai Xin , Black John B.
Published: August 2010

A cognitive framework called REflective Agent Learning environment (REAL) is developed in this study. REAL is a reusable framework that allows researchers to develop a simulation-based learning environment where users can learn through passing their thoughts to some computer-based agents and observe how the agents embodying their knowledge behave as the result of their instruction. Our research benefits from the research in Intelligent Tutoring Systems, game based learning systems, and agent technologies, stressing reflection as part of the thinking processes. It focuses on the design of the framework and the testing of its usability. The external evaluation of specific implementations serves as the guidance for the future design of the REAL applications. We hope, by grounding themselves in the needs of local practice, the REAL applications can give us opportunities to understand how theoretical claims about teaching and learning can be effectively transformed into meaningful learning.
The Teams of Leaders (Tol) Concept
Authors: von Lubitz Dag
Published: August 2010

The revolution in computer, information, and telecommunication sciences facilitated revolution in “the way we do business.” Despite the wealth of new actionable information and actionable knowledge that this revolution created in healthcare, it was not enough to break the barriers of thought, bureaucracy, and politics. Thus, although the knowledge and professional expertise that are required to avert the threatening collapse of global healthcare are readily available, they remain locked in isolated pools separated by historical barriers, increasing intra- and interdisciplinary specialization, and by stiflingly narrow perception of healthcare complexity. Based on maximum integration of CT, IT, IM, KM, and multidimensional human expertise, the concept of “Teams of Leaders” (ToL) has been employed with rapidly growing success. Implementation of ToL leads to the development of “actionable understanding” that converts highly capable but isolated islands of creative power, into unified mission and task oriented “swarms” endowed with a vastly expanded, collective expertise and operational capabilities. With its roots deep in the advanced technologies of IT/IM/KM, Teams of Leaders transcend bureaucracies and politics, and the collaborative outputs generated through ToL-based operations may constitute one of the pivotal elements of the desperately needed healthcare restructuring.
Grid Architecture and Components in Diagnostic Pathology
Authors: García Gloria Bueno , Rojo Marcial García , Morales Roberto González , Suárez Oscar Déniz , González Jesús García
Published: August 2010

The Grid vision has been described as a world in which computational power (resources, services, data) is as readily available as different utilities. They are available to users by means of computational, data, application, information and knowledge services at different levels and areas. These services can interact to perform specified tasks in an efficient and secure way. Their main applications include large-scale computational and data intensive problems in science and engineering. Therefore, Grids are likely to have a deep impact on health related applications. Moreover, they seem to be suitable for tissue-based diagnosis. This chapter analyzes the general structures and functions of a Grid environment implemented for tissue-based diagnosis on digital images. Moreover, it describes the web-based automated image analysis system developed by the authors for diagnostic pathology.
Gridifying Neuroscientific Pipelines
Authors: Manset David
Published: August 2010

In recent times, innovative new e-Infrastructures have materialized all around the globe to address the compelling and unavoidably increasing demand on computing power and storage capacity. All fields of science have entered an era of digital explosion and thus need to face it with appropriate and scalable instruments. Amongst century’s cutting-edge technologies, the grid has become a tangible candidate which several initiatives have harnessed and demonstrated the added value of. Turning the concept into a concrete solution for Neurosciences, the neuGRID project aims to establish a grid-based e-Infrastructure providing neuroscientists with a powerful tool to address the challenge of developing and testing new markers of neurodegenerative diseases. In order to optimize the resulting grid and to deliver a user-friendly environment, neuGRID has engaged the process of migrating existing imaging and data mining toolkits to the grid, the so-called gridification, while developing a surrounding service oriented architecture of agnostic biomedical utilities. This chapter reports on a preliminary analysis of the issues faced in the gridification of neuroimaging pipelines and attempts to sketch an integration model able to cope with the several and heterogeneous applications used by neuroscientists.
Computational Grids
Authors: Hazin Ribhi , Qaddoumi Ibrahim , Pedrosa Francisco
Published: August 2010

A network of interconnected computers, or “computational grids,” can facilitate the ability of users to complete complex computational tasks that would be virtually impossible with a single computer. By leveraging the computational strength of grids, individual users can efficiently disseminate, exchange, and retrieve information as easily as if it were stored locally. As the authors found in this study, the possibilities computational grids present for highly specialized medical fields such as neuro-oncology are limitless. By harnessing the power of grids, neuro-oncologists can link to sophisticated interactive medical images around the world, perform complicated statistical analyses, create larger collaborative research projects, and improve delivery of care to patients around the globe. Thus, utilization of grid computing modules will inevitably lead to marked improvements in clinicians’ ability to detect, manage, and prevent complications associated with brain tumors.
A Model for Building Trust in E-Government
Authors: Mutula Stephen M.
Published: August 2010

E-government is a new and complex field which is yet to be clearly understood because of lack of a well developed theoretical framework. E-government provides a platform for different forms of interactions such as business to business (B2B), citizens to government (C2G), government to government (G2G), business to government (B2G), etc. These interactions raise several ethical issues which have implications on citizens’ trust in e-government. This chapter proposes a model for building trust of citizens in e-government. The proposed model is premised on five trust pillars: ethical/human; information/content; technical; policy/legal; and political/governance. Each of these pillars has several dimensions adapted from various existing user satisfaction tools or frameworks such as Service Quality (SERVQUAL), trust formation framework, technology acceptance model, information systems success model, and many more. The chapter also covers history of e-government; models of e-government interactions; e-government trust related models; theoretical basis of trust; causes of distrust in e-government; challenges of applications of ICT in e-government; framework for building trust in e-government; and future trends of trust in e-government.
Emerging Information and Communication Technology Policy Framework for Africa
Authors: Zulu Saul F.C.
Published: August 2010

While emerging information and communications technologies (ICTs) offer possible solutions to some of the problems of applying ICTs in Africa, there are many challenges that have to be addressed in order to create an environment that is conducive for harnessing these technologies. This chapter, therefore, reviews emerging ICTs and their potential for application in leveraging Africa’s efforts towards meeting its development efforts. The Chapter highlights the digital divide barriers that may inhibit emergent ICTs in Africa. A review of current ICT policies of selected African countries indicates that the policies are geared towards application of ICTs other than their production. The review also reveals a lack of appreciation for emerging ICTs in Africa, both at the national as well as the sub-regional economic bloc levels. The chapter proposes policy frameworks for emerging ICTs for Africa that are necessary for creating an enabling environment for harnessing the emerging ICTs that will propel the continent into the 21st Century and beyond. The barriers to ICTs cut across many different issues. As such, they require multi-pronged policy approaches to address them. And that an emerging ICT environment must be anchored on a number of strategic policy frameworks including the legal, regulatory/administrative institutional framework, infrastructure, technology advocacy, financial, human resources, education and research frameworks. It concludes that Africa can prepare for its future by creating an appropriate environment for fostering the adoption and application of emerging technologies
A Framework for Considering the Market and Political Value of E-Government Websites
Authors: Downey Ed
Published: August 2010

This chapter starts with the assumption that E-Government implementation requires public administrators to respond to stakeholder value considerations. A theoretical value framework is described that is based on market and political value concepts. After describing the value framework the chapter narrows its focus to active political value, defined in terms of civic engagement, in E-Government web sites. Three recent studies are discussed that show that the active political value on E-Government web sites is underdeveloped in the U.S. at the State, County, and City levels of government. The chapter concludes with some suggestions as to why the active political value is underdeveloped and suggests how public administrators might go about determining how and whether or not it should be enhanced on E-Government web sites.
Serving Constituents with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in the U.S.
Authors: McDonald J. Scott , Merwin Gerald A. , Merwin Keith A. , Morris Regina K. , Brannen Edris L.
Published: August 2010

This chapter evaluates the implementation by local government websites of President William Jefferson Clinton’s Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) (Clinton, 2000). The purpose of Executive Order 13166 is to facilitate access to federally funded services. In the U.S., local governments are the most important basic service providers. This assessment is fundamentally important in light of the growing number of non-English speakers who reside in the country. The chapter looks at a diverse set of local governments and focuses on availability of information in Spanish, by far the predominant non-English language, spoken in about 12 percent of households in the U.S. in 2006. Government Web pages are assessed in terms of the degree to which 10 key government service areas are accessible in Spanish. The chapter identifies best practices for governments to make sites accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency.
Breaking the Bureaucratic Inertia
Authors: Haque Akhlaque
Published: August 2010

E-Government’s effectiveness depends not on the technological supremacy of government but on how encompassing it is to reach the maximum number of citizens at the grass roots level. This requires a greater appreciation and understanding of inter-organizational and institutional factors beyond technology and human skills that shape the relationship between the government and its citizenry. Using the context of Bangladesh, the chapter highlights the promises of E-Government reform in Bangladesh with the caveat that whether at the agency level or individual level, E-Government focus should be from the ground up. Bureaucratic inertia is more prominent at the lower level of agency hierarchy than at the top. Given the successes of social entrepreneurship via civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bangladesh, the study suggests governmental partnerships with CSOs in providing E-Government services. As one of the primary communication devices of the 21st century, mobile phones offer a clear advantage to computers in bringing government to citizen’s finger tips.
An Assessment Study of Indian State Government Portals
Authors: Bhattacharya Debjani , Gulla Umesh , Gupta M. P.
Published: August 2010

Does the e-readiness of a country or a state give any insight into the success of their e-government projects? Does scaling up of e-readiness help to measure the acceptance of e-government projects by citizens? Research has failed to provide a direct answer to these questions. While an e-readiness index summarizes the infrastructural condition of a state or country in terms of network readiness and availability of hardware facility; e-government readiness implies the acceptance of e-government projects by the citizens in a state or a country. So, the e-readiness index cannot clearly depict the e-government readiness of a country. Since e-government projects are broadly categorized as Government to Citizen, Government to Business and Government to Government, it becomes difficult to quantify the satisfaction level of the stakeholders. For analysing the acceptance of e-government business models particularly the web based ones, researchers (Yang, 2002; Kašubiene & Vanagas, 2007; Janssen, Kuk & Wagenaar, 2008; Morgeson & Mithas, 2009) often adopted the quality criteria used in evaluating service offered by of e-commerce sites. The most pervasive concept of quality in use is the extent to which a web service meets and/or exceeds a citizen’s/customer’s expectations. Portals at the Federal Government level in India were developed with the idea to form a ‘single window’ access to the facilities provided by the states or union territories to the citizens in an integrated platform. The idea behind such investment on state wise portals was to serve the citizens better but there was hardly any attempt from the government side to assess the acceptance of the portals. Some of the portals have counters to keep a track of visitors and email facilities have been provided to serve queries of the visitors. So the effectiveness of the portals has become a questionable issue today. In this study we have tried to concentrate on Indian State government portals and assess the service quality provided by them. It was observed that State wise Service Quality issues in e-government differ significantly when global parameters like usability, adequacy of information, navigation facility interactivity are considered. So, to evaluate the portals a conceptual framework based on previous research works was proposed. Quality dimensions were identified to assess service quality of government portals and each of the state and the union territory portal was audited based on the parameters proposed like usefulness of information, adequacy of information, citizen centric information, usability, accessibility, interaction, privacy, security and citizen participation.
E-Government Gateway Development in Turkey
Authors: Balci Asim , Medeni Tunç Durmus
Published: August 2010

This chapter aims to elaborate on the development of the E-Government Gateway (EGG) in Turkey, and the underlying issues of citizen-oriented e-Government. First, background information on the academic perspective of citizen-oriented e-Government development is provided. Then the historical development and current status of e-Government in Turkey, as well as detailed information about EGG are shared, offering a country-specific and practical perspective to the literature. Future direction of EGG and e-Government development in Turkey that emphasizes the citizen perspective is also elaborated. It is hoped that the good practices, lessons-learned, suggestions and prospects regarding this EGG case will shed light on previous experience and pave the way for further progress for citizen-oriented e-Government development not only in Turkey but also in other nations.
Accuracy of an Immunochromatographic Diagnostic Test (ICT Malaria Combo Cassette Test) Compared to Microscopy among under Five-Year-Old Children when Diagnosing Malaria in Equatorial Guinea
Authors: Portero José-Luis , Rubio-Yuste Maria , Descalzo Miguel Angel , Raso Jose , Lwanga Magdalena , Obono Jaquelina , Nseng Gloria , Benito Agustin , Cano Jorge
Published: August 2010

Conventional malaria diagnosis based on microscopy raises serious difficulties in weak health systems. Cost-effective and sensitive rapid diagnostic tests have been recently proposed as alternatives to microscopy. In Equatorial Guinea, a study was conducted to assess the reliability of a rapid diagnostic test compared to microscopy. The study was designed in accordance with the directives of the Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy Initiative (STARD). Peripheral thick and thin films for the microscopy diagnosis and a rapid immunochromatographic test (ICT Malaria Combo Cassette Test) were performed on under five-year-old children with malaria suspicion. The ICT test detected Plasmodium spp. infection with a sensitivity of 81.5% and a specificity of 81.9% while P. falciparum diagnosis occurred with a sensitivity of 69.7% and a specificity of 73.7%. The sensitivity of the ICT test increased with higher parasitemias. The general results showed little concordance between the ICT test and microscopy (kappa = 0.28, se: 0.04). In Equatorial Guinea, the ICT Malaria Combo Cassette Test has proven to be an acceptable test to detect high P. falciparum parasitemias. However, the decrease of sensitivity at medium and low parasitemias hampers that ICT can replace properly performed microscopy at present in the diagnosis of malaria in children.
Practical Applications of Sperm Selection Techniques as a Tool for Improving Reproductive Efficiency
Authors: Morrell J. M. , Rodriguez-Martinez H.
Published: August 2010

Modern biotechnologies are used extensively in the animal breeding industry today. Therefore, it is essential that sperm handling procedures do not modulate the normal physiological mechanisms occurring in the female reproductive tract. In this paper, the different selection mechanisms occurringin vivoare described briefly, together with their relevance to artificial insemination, followed by a detailed description of the different selection processes used in reproductive biotechnologies. These selection methods included fractionated semen collection, cryopreservation, biomimetic sperm selection, selection based on hyaluronic acid binding, and last, but not least, sperm sex selection. Biomimetic sperm selection for AI or for cryopreservation could improve pregnancy rates and help to reverse the decline in fertility seen in several domestic species over the recent decades. Similarly, selection for hyaluronic acid binding sites may enable the most mature spermatozoa to be selected for IVF or ICSI.
Long-range pollution transport during the MILAGRO-2006 campaign: a case study of a major Mexico City outflow event using free-floating altitude-controlled balloons
Authors: Voss P. B. , Zaveri R. A. , Flocke F. M. , Mao H. , Hartley T. P. , DeAmicis P. , Deonandan I. , Contreras-Jiménez G. , Martínez-Antonio O. , Figueroa Estrada M. , Greenberg D. , Campos T. L. , Weinheimer A. J. , Knapp D. J. , Montzka D. D. , Crounse J. D. , Wennberg P. O. , Apel E. , Madronich S. , de Foy B.
Published: August 2010

Abstract. One of the major objectives of the Megacities Initiative: Local And Global Research Observations (MILAGRO-2006) campaign was to investigate the long-range transport of polluted Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) outflow and determine its downwind impacts on air quality and climate. Six research aircraft, including the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130, made extensive chemical, aerosol, and radiation measurements above MCMA and more than 1000 km downwind in order to characterize the evolution of the outflow as it aged and dispersed over the Mesa Alta, Sierra Madre Oriental, Coastal Plain, and Gulf of Mexico. As part of this effort, free-floating Controlled-Meteorological (CMET) balloons, commanded to change altitude via satellite, made repeated profile measurements of winds and state variables within the advecting outflow. In this paper, we present an analysis of the data from two CMET balloons that were launched near Mexico City on the afternoon of 18 March 2006 and floated downwind with the MCMA pollution for nearly 30 h. The repeating profile measurements show the evolving structure of the outflow in considerable detail: its stability and stratification, interaction with other air masses, mixing episodes, and dispersion into the regional background. Air parcel trajectories, computed directly from the balloon wind profiles, show three transport pathways on 18–19 March: (a) high-altitude advection of the top of the MCMA mixed layer, (b) mid-level outflow over the Sierra Madre Oriental followed by decoupling and isolated transport over the Gulf of Mexico, and (c) low-level outflow with entrainment into a cleaner northwesterly jet above the Coastal Plain. The C-130 aircraft intercepted the balloon-based trajectories three times on 19 March, once along each of these pathways; in all three cases, peaks in urban tracer concentrations and LIDAR backscatter are consistent with MCMA pollution. In comparison with the transport models used in the campaign, the balloon-based trajectories appear to shear the outflow far more uniformly and decouple it from the surface, thus forming a thin but expansive polluted layer over the Gulf of Mexico that is well aligned with the aircraft observations. These results provide critical context for the extensive aircraft measurements made during the 18–19 March MCMA outflow event and may have broader implications for modelling and understanding long-range transport.
Role of aldehyde chemistry and NOx concentrations in secondary organic aerosol formation
Authors: Chan A. W. H. , Chan M. N. , Surratt J. D. , Chhabra P. S. , Loza C. L. , Crounse J. D. , Yee L. D. , Flagan R. C. , Wennberg P. O. , Seinfeld J. H.
Published: August 2010

Abstract. Aldehydes are an important class of products from atmospheric oxidation of hydrocarbons. Isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene), the most abundantly emitted atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbon, produces a significant amount of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) via methacrolein (a C4-unsaturated aldehyde) under urban high-NOx conditions. Previously, we have identified peroxy methacryloyl nitrate (MPAN) as the important intermediate to isoprene and methacrolein SOA in this NOx regime. Here we show that as a result of this chemistry, NO2 enhances SOA formation from methacrolein and two other α, β-unsaturated aldehydes, specifically acrolein and crotonaldehyde, a NOx effect on SOA formation previously unrecognized. Oligoesters of dihydroxycarboxylic acids and hydroxynitrooxycarboxylic acids are observed to increase with increasing NO2/NO ratio, and previous characterizations are confirmed by both online and offline high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques. Molecular structure also determines the amount of SOA formation, as the SOA mass yields are the highest for aldehydes that are α, β-unsaturated and contain an additional methyl group on the α-carbon. Aerosol formation from 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO232) is insignificant, even under high-NO2 conditions, as PAN (peroxy acyl nitrate, RC(O)OONO2) formation is structurally unfavorable. At atmospherically relevant NO2/NO ratios (3–8), the SOA yields from isoprene high-NOx photooxidation are 3 times greater than previously measured at lower NO2/NO ratios. At sufficiently high NO2 concentrations, in systems of α, β-unsaturated aldehydes, SOA formation from subsequent oxidation of products from acyl peroxyl radicals+NO2 can exceed that from RO2+HO2 reactions under the same inorganic seed conditions, making RO2+NO2 an important channel for SOA formation.
Possible shift of spectral response function of the MODIS 6.8 μm water vapor channel causing a cold bias up to 3 K
Authors: Sohn B. J. , Kim B.-R. , Lee S.-S.
Published: August 2010

Abstract. The calibration of the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 6.8 μm water vapor (WV) channel was assessed by comparing Terra/MODIS measurements with the WV channel brightness temperatures equivalent to Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) measurements for June 2007 and December 2007. IASI spectral information was transferred to the Japanese Multifunctional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)-1R WV channel and then to the MODIS WV channel. Results indicate that the MODIS WV channel is biased low up to 3 K, likely caused by the shift of the spectral response function by about +11 cm−1. This finding is particularly important because the bias of −3 K can cause about +30% relative errors in the retrieval of upper tropospheric humidity (UTH). In other words, the current MODIS measurements may result in higher UTH values, showing relative errors up to +30%.
IMOGEN: an intermediate complexity model to evaluate terrestrial impacts of a changing climate
Authors: Huntingford C. , Booth B. B. B. , Sitch S. , Gedney N. , Lowe J. A. , Liddicoat S. K. , Mercado L. M. , Best M. J. , Weedon G. P. , Fisher R. A. , Good P. , Zelazowski P. , Spessa A. C. , Jones C. D.
Published: August 2010

Abstract. We present a computationally efficient modelling system, IMOGEN, designed to undertake global and regional assessment of climate change impacts on the physical and biogeochemical behaviour of the land surface. A pattern-scaling approach to climate change drives a gridded land surface and vegetation model MOSES/TRIFFID. The structure allows extrapolation of General Circulation Model (GCM) simulations to different future pathways of greenhouse gases, including rapid first-order assessments of how the land surface and associated biogeochemical cycles might change. Evaluation of how new terrestrial process understanding influences such predictions can also be made with relative ease.
The potential for remote sensing and hydrologic modelling to assess the spatio-temporal dynamics of ponds in the Ferlo Region (Senegal)
Authors: Soti V. , Puech C. , Lo Seen D. , Bertran A. , Vignolles C. , Mondet B. , Dessay N. , Tran A.
Published: August 2010

Abstract. In the Ferlo Region in Senegal, livestock depend on temporary ponds for water but are exposed to the Rift Valley Fever (RVF), a disease transmitted to herds by mosquitoes which develop in these ponds. Mosquito abundance is related to the emptying and filling phases of the ponds, and in order to study the epidemiology of RVF, pond modelling is required. In the context of a data scarce region, a simple hydrologic model which makes use of remote sensing data was developed to simulate pond water dynamics from daily rainfall. Two sets of ponds were considered: those located in the main stream of the Ferlo Valley whose hydrological dynamics are essentially due to runoff, and the ponds located outside, which are smaller and whose filling mechanisms are mainly due to direct rainfall. Separate calibrations and validations were made for each set of ponds. Calibration was performed from daily field data (rainfall, water level) collected during the 2001 and 2002 rainy seasons and from three different sources of remote sensing data: 1) very high spatial resolution optical satellite images to access pond location and surface area at given dates, 2) Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data to estimate pond catchment area and 3) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data for rainfall estimates. The model was applied to all ponds of the study area, the results were validated and a sensitivity analysis was performed. Water height simulations using gauge rainfall as input were compared to water level measurements from four ponds and Nash coefficients >0.7 were obtained. Comparison with simulations using TRMM rainfall data gave mixed results, with poor water height simulations for the year 2001 and good estimations for the year 2002. A pond map derived from a Quickbird satellite image was used to assess model accuracy for simulating pond water areas for all the ponds of the study area. The validation showed that modelled water areas were mostly underestimated but significantly correlated, particularly for the larger ponds. The results of the sensitivity analysis showed that parameters relative to pond shape and catchment area estimation have less effects on model simulation than parameters relative to soil properties (rainfall threshold causing runoff in dry soils and the coefficient expressing soil moisture decrease with time) or the water loss coefficient. Overall, our results demonstrate the possibility of using a simple hydrologic model with remote sensing data to track pond water heights and water areas in a homogeneous arid area.