bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improvement of Restaurant Operation by Sharing Order and Customer Information
Authors: Shimmura Takeshi , Takenaka Takeshi , Akamatsu Motoyuki
Published: April 2012

In full-service restaurants, it is important to share customer information among staff members in real time in order to perform complicated operations. Conventional point of sale (POS) systems in restaurants was developed to improve the verification and transmission of order information passed from the dining hall to the kitchen. However, POS systems have remained insufficient to share customers’ order information among many staff members in different positions. This paper introduces an information sharing system for full-service restaurants using an advanced POS system with which staff members can share order information in real time. Using this system, kitchen staff members can grasp the total number of orders and the elapsed time for preparation of each order. Moreover, service staff members can grasp the status of each customer quickly. Using this system in a large-scale restaurant, preparation processes can be made more efficient and reduce customer complaints.
Assimilating and Optimizing Software Assurance in the SDLC
Authors: Adeniji Aderemi O. , Lee Seok-Won
Published: April 2012

Software Assurance is the planned and systematic set of activities that ensures software processes and products conform to requirements while standards and procedures in a manner that builds trusted systems and secure software. While absolute security may not yet be possible, procedures and practices exist to promote assurance in the software lifecycle. In this paper, the authors present a framework and step-wise approach towards achieving and optimizing assurance by infusing security knowledge, techniques, and methodologies into each phase of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).
Integrating Access Control into UML for Secure Software Modeling and Analysis
Authors: Doan Thuong , Demurjian Steven , Michel Laurent , Berhe Solomon
Published: April 2012

Access control models are often an orthogonal activity when designing, implementing, and deploying software applications. Role-based access control (RBAC) which targets privileges based on responsibilities within an application and mandatory access control (MAC) that emphasizes the protection of information via security tags are two dominant approaches in this regard. The integration of access control into software modeling and analysis is often loose and significantly lacking, particularly when security is such a high-priority concern in applications. This paper presents an approach to integrate RBAC and MAC into use-case, class, and sequence diagrams of the unified modeling language (UML), providing a cohesive approach to secure software modeling that elevates security to a first-class citizen in the process. To insure that a UML design with security does not violate RBAC or MAC requirements, design-time analysis checks security constraints whenever a new UML element is added or an existing UML element is modified, while post-design analysis checks security constraints across the entire design for conflicts and inconsistencies. These access control extensions and security analyses have been prototyped within a UML tool.
CONFU
Authors: Dai Huning , Murphy Christian , Kaiser Gail E.
Published: April 2012

Many software security vulnerabilities only reveal themselves under certain conditions, that is, particular configurations and inputs together with a certain runtime environment. One approach to detecting these vulnerabilities is fuzz testing. However, typical fuzz testing makes no guarantees regarding the syntactic and semantic validity of the input, or of how much of the input space will be explored. To address these problems, the authors present a new testing methodology called Configuration Fuzzing. Configuration Fuzzing is a technique whereby the configuration of the running application is mutated at certain execution points to check for vulnerabilities that only arise in certain conditions. As the application runs in the deployment environment, this testing technique continuously fuzzes the configuration and checks “security invariants’’ that, if violated, indicate vulnerability. This paper discusses the approach and introduces a prototype framework called ConFu (CONfiguration FUzzing testing framework) for implementation. Additionally, the results of case studies that demonstrate the approach’s feasibility are presented along with performance evaluations.
Towards Tool-Support for Usable Secure Requirements Engineering with CAIRIS
Authors: Faily Shamal , Fléchais Ivan
Published: April 2012

Understanding how to better elicit, specify, and manage requirements for secure and usable software systems is a key challenge in security software engineering, however, there lacks tool-support for specifying and managing the voluminous amounts of data the associated analysis yields. Without these tools, the subjectivity of analysis may increase as design activities progress. This paper describes CAIRIS (Computer Aided Integration of Requirements and Information Security), a step toward tool-support for usable secure requirements engineering. CAIRIS not only manages the elements associated with task, requirements, and risk analysis, it also supports subsequent analysis using novel approaches for analysing and visualising security and usability. The authors illustrate an application of CAIRIS by describing how it was used to support requirements analysis in a critical infrastructure case study.
Review of Kansei Research in Japan
Authors: Inokuchi Seiji
Published: April 2012

This paper gives a historical review of Kansei-based media technologies in Japan. Kansei is a Japanese word, the meaning of which covers sensibility, sentiment, emotion, and feeling. Kansei research started in the field of music, because music is the most acceptable of the arts to computer science. In the 1990s, the applications of Kansei machine vision became widespread in many industrial fields, including electronic production, automobile manufacture, steel-making, the chemical industry, the food industry, and office appliances, among others. Kansei technologies are also applied to human interface systems, including the field of brain science, for human communication.
Effects of Polite Behaviors Expressed by Robots
Authors: Nomura Tatsuya , Saeki Kazuma
Published: April 2012

A psychological experiment was conducted to straightforwardly investigate the effects of polite behaviors expressed by robots in Japan, using a small-sized humanoid robot that performed four types of behaviors with voice task instructions. Results of the experiment suggested that the subjects who experienced “deep bowing” motion of the robot felt it more extrovert than those who experienced “just standing” motion. Subjects who experienced “lying” motion of the robot felt the robot less polite than those who experienced the other motions. Female subjects more strongly feeling the robot extrovert replied for the task instruction from the robot faster, although no such trend was found in the male subjects. However, the male subjects who did not perform the task felt the robot less polite than the male subjects who performed the task and the female subjects who did not perform the task.
Recent Advances in Polymeric Heart Valves Research
Authors: Kuan Yee Han , Dasi Lakshmi Prasad , Yoganathan Ajit , Leo Hwa Liang
Published: April 2012

Heart valve replacement is fast becoming a routine surgery worldwide, and heart valve prostheses are today considered among the most widely used cardiovascular devices. Mechanical and bioprostheses have been the traditional choices to the replacement surgeries. However, such valves continue to expose patients to risks including thrombosis, infection and limited valve durability. In recent years, advances in polymer science give rise to an important new class of artificial heart valve made predominantly of polyurethane-based materials, which show improved biocompatibility and biostability. These polymeric heart valves have demonstrated excellent hemodynamic performance and good durability with excellent fatigue stress resistance. Advancements in the designs and manufacturing methods also suggested improved in the durability of polymeric heart valves. Animal studies with these valves have also shown good biocompatibility with minimal calcification of the valve leaflets. With these promising progresses, polymeric heart valves could be a viable alternative in the heart valve replacement surgeries in the near future.
Development of Photocrosslinkable Urethane-Doped Polyester Elastomers for Soft Tissue Engineering
Authors: Zhang Yi , Tran Richard T. , Gyawali Dipendra , Yang Jian
Published: April 2012

Finding an ideal biomaterial with the proper mechanical properties and biocompatibility has been of intense focus in the field of soft tissue engineering. This paper reports on the synthesis and characterization of a novel crosslinked urethane-doped polyester elastomer (CUPOMC), which was synthesized by reacting a previously developed photocrosslinkable poly (octamethylene maleate citrate) (POMC) prepolymers (pre-POMC) with 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) followed by thermo- or photo-crosslinking polymerization. The mechanical properties of the CUPOMCs can be tuned by controlling the molar ratios of pre-POMC monomers, and the ratio between the prepolymer and HDI. CUPOMCs can be crosslinked into a 3D network through polycondensation or free radical polymerization reactions. The tensile strength and elongation at break of CUPOMC synthesized under the known conditions range from 0.73±0.12MPa to 10.91±0.64MPa and from 72.91±9.09% to 300.41±21.99% respectively. Preliminary biocompatibility tests demonstrated that CUPOMCs support cell adhesion and proliferation. Unlike the pre-polymers of other crosslinked elastomers, CUPOMC pre-polymers possess great processability demonstrated by scaffold fabrication via a thermally induced phase separation method. The dual crosslinking methods for CUPOMC pre-polymers should enhance the versatile processability of the CUPOMC used in various conditions. Development of CUPOMC should expand the choices of available biodegradable elastomers for various biomedical applications such as soft tissue engineering.
MeghaOS
Authors: Srinivasa K. G. , S. Harish RaddiC. , H. Mohan KrishnaS. , Venkatesh Nidhi
Published: April 2012

Cloud computing is becoming relevant due to increase in speed of Internet and reduction in its access cost. Desktop computing demands expensive hardware and software suits which become obsolete too often. Ownership of Personal Computers has always remained low in developing countries mainly due to its prohibitive cost. Alternate models of Computer usage like Public-Access Kiosks and low cost Laptops have been tried with limited success. Issues like security and privacy are major concerns in pubic computing. Laptops and other mobile devices lack required hardware support to run computing intensive applications. Increased penetration of Internet and mobile phones are providing new opportunities to bring computing closer to people. Cloud based Operating Systems are an effort in this direction. The present system, named MeghaOS, provides a framework for Desktop-like Operating System (OS) on a Web Browser. The Cloud becomes a metaphor for Operating System services accessed though Internet. Unlike traditional Operating System, MeghaOS can be accessed on any device having just a Web Browser. Since applications developed using this framework will be cached in Client’s machine, network utility will be low. Since data and applications are hosted remotely users can use them without transferring data into local device. MeghaOS provides scalable, multi-device compatible, browser accessible framework for Cloud based Operating System demonstrating next generation computing paradigm.
Peer Feedback on Second Language Writing through Blogs
Authors: Nguyen Phuong Thi Tuyet
Published: April 2012

This study explores how Vietnamese EFL students view blogs as tools with which to practise writing, examines whether student comments assist in peer revision, and evaluates whether peer comments result in substantive revisions of written drafts. Participants in this study included 11 students in an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classroom in Vietnam. Data collected included students’ first and final drafts for two writing topics, comments posted online, and student responses to a questionnaire. Student responses to the questionnaire were analysed and their comments were coded as revision-oriented or non-revision-oriented (Liu & Sadler, 2003). This study’s findings indicate that most students expressed positive attitudes toward using blogs to practise second language (L2) writing and that most students made revision-oriented comments on their peers’ drafts. There is also evidence that students used their peers’ comments to revise their own final drafts. The implications of this study for language teaching practice are discussed.
A Corpus-Driven Approach to English Expressions Based on Comparison
Authors: Furuta Yae
Published: April 2012

English expressions based on comparisons such as not so much A as B and not so much A but B (henceforth, not so much A as/but B) is one of the most problematic areas for Japanese learners of English. These structures not only enable a variety of expressions to be used in place of A and B, but also have many variations. Based on a corpus-driven approach, this paper focuses on not so much A as/but B, examines the ways in which they occur, and describes their main patterns and variations, as well as their functions. When it is clear in what contexts these expressions are used, it becomes much easier to grasp these complicated structures. This study revealed that these expressions have four main patterns and several variations. They are frequently used to clarify or illuminate a point in the domains where personal perspectives are important, and where the topic is often of a serious nature. Understanding typical usage patterns and functions of these complicated structures leads to more confidence in learning and teaching these structures as part of English language acquisition.
Rotation Invariant Texture Image Retrieval with Orthogonal Polynomials Model
Authors: Krishnamoorthi R. , Devi S. Sathiya
Published: April 2012

The exponential growth of digital image data has created a great demand for effective and efficient scheme and tools for browsing, indexing and retrieving images from a collection of large image databases. To address such a demand, this paper proposes a new content based image retrieval technique with orthogonal polynomials model. The proposed model extracts texture features that represent the dominant directions, gray level variations and frequency spectrum of the image under analysis and the resultant texture feature vector becomes rotation and scale invariant. A new distance measure in the frequency domain called Deansat is proposed as a similarity measure that uses the proposed feature vector for efficient image retrieval. The efficiency of the proposed retrieval technique is experimented with the standard Brodatz, USC-SIPI and VisTex databases and is compared with Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Tree Structured Wavelet Transform (TWT) and Gabor filter based retrieval schemes. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method outperforms well with less computational cost.
Challenges in Monitoring Cyberarms Compliance
Authors: Rowe Neil C. , Garfinkel Simson L. , Beverly Robert , Yannakogeorgos Panayotis
Published: April 2012

A cyberweapon can be as dangerous as any weapon. Fortunately, recent technology now provides some tools for cyberweapons control. Digital forensics can be done on computers seized during or after hostilities. Cyberweapons differ significantly from other software, especially during development, and recent advances in summarizing the contents of storage media can locate possible cyberweapons quickly. Use of cyberweapons can be distinguished in the usual malicious Internet traffic by being aimed at targets associated with political, social, and cultural issues that are often known in advance, and those targets can then be monitored. Cyberweapons are relatively unreliable compared to other kinds of weapons because they are susceptible to flaws in software; therefore, cyberweapons require considerable testing, preferably against live targets. Thus, international “cyberarms agreements” could provide for forensics on cyberweapons and usage monitoring. Agreements also encourage more responsible cyberweapons use by stipulating attribution and reversibility. The authors discuss the kinds of international agreements that are desirable, and examine the recent interest of the U.S. government in such agreements.
Vague Correlation Coefficient of Interval Vague Sets
Authors: Robinson P. John , Amirtharaj E. C. Henry
Published: April 2012

Various attempts have been made by researchers on the study of vagueness of data through intuitionistic fuzzy sets and vague sets, and also it was shown that vague sets are intuitionistic fuzzy sets. But there are algebraic and graphical differences between vague sets and intuitionistic fuzzy sets. In this paper an attempt is made to define the correlation coefficient of interval vague sets lying in the interval [0, 1], and a new method for computing the correlation coefficient of interval vague sets lying in the interval [-1, 1] using a-cuts over the vague degrees through statistical confidence intervals is presented by an example. The new method proposed in this paper produces a correlation coefficient in the form of an interval.
Intelligent Decision Support System for Osteoporosis Prediction
Authors: Moudani Walid , Shahin Ahmad , Chakik Fadi , Rajab Dima
Published: April 2012

The healthcare environment is generally perceived as being information rich yet knowledge poor. The healthcare industry collects huge amounts of healthcare data which, unfortunately, are not “mined” to discover hidden information. However, there is a lack of effective analysis tools to discover hidden relationships and trends in data. The information technology may provide alternative approaches to Osteoporosis disease diagnosis. This study examines the potential use of classification techniques on a massive volume of healthcare data, particularly in prediction of patients that may have Osteoporosis Disease (OD) through its risk factors. The paper proposes to develop a dynamic rough sets solution approach in order to generate dynamic reduced subsets of features associated with a classification model using Random Forest (RF) decision tree to identify the osteoporosis cases. There has been no research in using the afore-mentioned algorithm for Osteoporosis patients’ prediction. The reduction of the attributes consists of enumerating dynamically the optimal subsets of the most relevant attributes by reducing the degree of complexity. An intelligent decision support system is developed for this purpose. The study population consisted of 2845 adults. The performance of the proposed model is analyzed and evaluated based on a set of benchmark techniques applied in this classification problem.
Model of E-Reading Process for E-School Book in Libya
Authors: Abubaker Azza , Lu Zhongyu (Joan)
Published: April 2012

Defining the stages which the reader follows when reading e-resources is one of several factors which can provide significant insights into actual reading behaviours and cognitive processes of readers. Two different samples of students who study in Libyan primary schools, aged 9 to 12, were selected to investigate how students use and interact with both print and digital school books, identify the e-reading process, outline the aims of using the internet and technology, and define what students like and dislike in both versions. Furthermore, students found using the e-textbook to be more difficult than paper book and a significant difference is found in the reading process between paper books and electronic books. In addition, two reading strategies were used to read school book in both versions (electronic and paper): (1) view the text then answer the questions, or (2) view the questions than search for the correct answers.
The Effect of Online Communication on Corporate Brand Image
Authors: El Gazzar Nagwa , Mourad Maha
Published: April 2012

This study assists Higher Education Institutions to gain a better understanding of the online communication strategies that influence students in developing a brand image of their universities. First, the concept of online communication strategies in HE was defined and supported by the literature review. Then, a conceptual framework that links brand equity of the university with its online strategy was developed and empirically tested through a survey questionnaire. The survey was distributed to a sample of 200 students in two different types of universities representing the foreign and private universities in Egypt. Results support the idea that the website is a simple reflection of the university’s image and activities. Results also indicate that there is a strong correlation between the website strategy and the corporate brand image of the university. Brand loyalty was found to be positive among the sample. The overall corporate image of the university was highly dependent on students’ evaluation of the university website. Research results can be used as a useful tool to enhance brand image and to improve interactivity within the online communication strategies adopted by the Egyptian Higher Education Institutions.
Facilitating and Augmenting Collaboration in the Biomedical Domain
Authors: Karacapilidis Nikos , Tzagarakis Manolis , Christodoulou Spyros , Tsiliki Georgia
Published: April 2012

This paper reports on a Web 2.0 tool that aims to facilitate and augment collaboration and decision making in data-intensive and cognitively-complex biomedical settings. The proposed tool exploits prominent high-performance computing paradigms and large data processing technologies to meaningfully search, analyze and aggregate data existing in diverse, extremely large and rapidly evolving sources. It can be viewed as an innovative workbench incorporating and orchestrating a set of interoperable services that reduce the data-intensiveness and complexity overload at critical decision points to a manageable level, thus permitting stakeholders to be more productive and concentrate on creative activities. Through a particular collaboration scenario, we explore various possibilities and challenges of managing biomedical collaboration with the use of the proposed tool. Much attention is given at the increase of volume, rate of production and complexity of the associated data types.
Recruiters’ Preferences for B-School Campus Placement
Authors: Maheswaran S. , Jena R. K.
Published: April 2012

Placement has been a vital factor for future existence of b-schools in India. B-schools are trying their best to prepare their students for getting best placements available. This study explores the preference by recruiters in the campus recruitment process in India. Again, this study will useful to both recruiters and B-schools to enhance industry-institution interface.
A Roadmap to the Introduction of Pervasive Information Systems in Healthcare
Authors: Kitsios Fotis , Papadopoulos Thanos , Angelopoulos Spyros
Published: April 2012

Pervasive healthcare is an emerging research discipline, which focuses on the development of pervasive and ubiquitous computing technology for healthcare environments. Information and Communication Technologies have dramatically evolved during the last decade, laying a solid foundation for the future generation of Ubiquitous Internet access. As a result, current efforts in research and development in the areas of pervasive healthcare, promote the formation of inter-disciplinary international teams of experts, scientists, researchers and engineers to create a new generation of applications and technologies that will facilitate the fully automated information cyberspace systems. The authors discuss the current state-of-the-art in the world of Telecommunications and Internet Technologies as well as new technological trends in the Internet and Automation Industries, while promoting research and development in the interdisciplinary projects conducted by multinational teams worldwide.
Secure and Private Service Discovery in Pervasive Computing Environments
Authors: Zhu Feng , Zhu Wei
Published: April 2012

With the convergence of embedded computers and wireless communication, pervasive computing has become the inevitable future of computing. Every year, billions of computing devices are built. They are ubiquitously deployed and are gracefully integrated with people and their environments. Service discovery is an essential step for the devices to properly discover, configure, and communicate with each other. Authentication for pervasive service discovery is difficult. In this chapter, we introduce a user-centric service discovery model, called PrudentExposure, which automates authentication processes. It encodes hundreds of authentication messages in a novel code word form. Perhaps the most serious challenge for pervasive service discovery is the integration of computing devices with people. A critical privacy challenge can be expressed as a “chicken-andegg problem”: both users and service providers want the other parties to expose sensitive information first. We discuss how a progressive and probabilistic model can protect both users’ and service providers’ privacy.
Dynamic Spectrum Auction and Load Balancing Algorithm in Heterogeneous Network
Authors: Jiang Yan
Published: April 2012

Mobile communication plays an important role in the future of communication systems. To meet personalized and intelligent requirements, mobile communication has evolved from single wireless cellular network to heterogeneous mobile communication network, including wireless cellular network, wireless local network, and wireless personal network. In the heterogeneous communication system, to entirely fulfill the spectrum resource complementary advantages of such a heterogeneous wireless network, the spectrum resource trade algorithm has attracted tremendous research efforts. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of dynamic spectrum allocation and load balancing are discussed and spectrum auction takes the place of spectrum allocation to maximize the operation revenue. The authors design a joint spectrum auction and load balancing algorithm (SALB) based on heterogeneous network environment to develop a more flexible and efficient spectrum management. The simulation result shows that SALB increases the operation profit significantly.
Towards a Data Quality Framework for Decision Support in a Multidimensional Context
Authors: Poeppelmann Daniel , Schultewolter Christian
Published: April 2012

Data quality is defined as fitness for use; meaning it is strongly influenced by contextual factors. None of the proposed methods for data quality assessment considers the management level and decision process phase as important contextual factors. Each combination of different management levels and decision process phases can be described as the overall context in which data quality is to be assessed and leads to a certain information demand. The information demand can in turn be described by a set of features whose values depend on the overall context. A context-sensitive assessment of data quality should therefore be based on data quality dimensions related with certain features characterizing the information demand and their values. This paper proposes a framework for data quality assessment based on the contextual factors management level and decision process phase which allows a decision maker to relate data quality dimensions to values of features of the information demand. Based on this individual assignment of dimensions, the user can access situation specific information regarding data quality.
Cortical 3D Face and Object Recognition Using 2D Projections
Authors: Rodrigues João , Lam Roberto , du Buf Hans
Published: April 2012

Empirical studies concerning face recognition suggest that faces may be stored in memory by a few canonical representations. In cortical area V1 exist double-opponent colour blobs, also simple, complex and end-stopped cells which provide input for a multiscale line/edge representation, keypoints for dynamic feature routing, and saliency maps for Focus-of-Attention. All these combined allow faces to be segregated. Events of different facial views are stored in memory and combined to identify the view and recognise a face, including its expression. In this paper, the authors show that with five 2D views and their cortical representations it is possible to determine the left-right and frontal-lateral-profile views, achieving a view-invariant recognition rate of 91%. The authors also show that the same principle with eight views can be applied to 3D object recognition when they are mainly rotated about the vertical axis.
An Image Region Description Method Based on Step Sector Statistics and its Application in Image Copy-Rotate/Flip-Move Forgery Detection
Authors: Chen Likai , Lu Wei , Ni Jiangqun
Published: April 2012

A robust method for local image region feature description based on step sector statistics is proposed in this paper. The means and the standard deviations along the radial direction of the circle image region are extracted through the sector masks, and the rearrangement of these statistics makes this image region description method rotation-robust. The proposed description method is applied in the detection of copy-rotate-move forgery, and it can detect the exact rotation angle between the duplicate regions. With minor extension, the proposed description method can also be applied in the detection of copy-flip-move forgery. The experimental results show that the proposed description method can work well for the detection of copy-rotate/flip-move forgery.
What is the Conversation About?
Authors: Sommer Stefan , Schieber Andreas , Heinrich Kai , Hilbert Andreas
Published: April 2012

In Social Commerce customers evolve to be an important information source for companies. Customers use the communication platforms of Web 2.0, for example Twitter, in order to express their sentiments about products or discuss their experiences with them. These sentiments can be very important for the development of products or the enhancement of marketing strategies. The research goal is to analyze customer sentiments in Twitter. The first step in the research is the detection of topics in Twitter entries which contain patterns of interest. For the topic detection, the authors use Latent Dirichlet Allocation for topic modeling. The authors found event based topics in the exemplary context of Sony’s 3D TV sets. In future work, the authors will implement sentiment analysis algorithms in order to determine sentiments in the entries corresponding to the detected topics.
A Modified Watershed Segmentation Method to Segment Renal Calculi in Ultrasound Kidney Images
Authors: Tamilselvi P. R. , Thangaraj P.
Published: April 2012

Segmentation of stones from abdominal ultrasound images is a unique challenge to the researchers because these images have heavy speckle noise and attenuated artifacts. In the previous renal calculi segmentation method, the stones were segmented from the medical ultra sound kidney stone images using Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). But, the method lacks in sensitivity and specificity measures. The segmentation method is inadequate in its performance in terms of these two parameters. So, to avoid these drawbacks, a new segmentation method is proposed in this paper. Here, new region indicators and new modified watershed transformation is utilized. The proposed method is comprised of four major processes, namely, preprocessing, determination of outer and inner region indictors, modified watershed segmentation with ANFIS performance. The method is implemented and the results are analyzed in terms of various statistical performance measures. The results show the effectiveness of proposed segmentation method in segmenting the kidney stones and the achieved improvement in sensitivity and specificity measures. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed technique is evaluated by comparing with the other segmentation methods.
Node Stability Index
Authors: Meghanathan Natarajan
Published: April 2012

In this paper, the author proposes an algorithm to determine a stable Connected Dominating Set (CDS) for Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) based on the notion of a metric called the Node Stability Index (NSI) of a node, defined as the sum of the predicted expiration times of the links (LETs) with the neighbor nodes that are not yet covered by a CDS node. The proposed algorithm prefers, to include to the CDS, a covered node that has the largest NSI value. A covered node is eligible for inclusion into the NSI-CDS if it has at least one uncovered neighbor node. Through extensive simulations, the author observes that the NSI-CDS is significantly stable (the tradeoff being a modest increase in the CDS Node Size) and its lifetime is about 2.5-3.5 times more than the lifetime of a maximum-density based CDS (MaxD-CDS) and 1.5-2 times more than the lifetime of an ID-based CDS.
Distributed Cooperative Synchronization for Large-Scale 4G Wireless Sensor Networks Using CAZAC Sequences
Authors: Saedy Mahdy , Kelley Brian
Published: April 2012

Clock synchronization is an important requirement of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Synchronization is crucial to maintain data consistency, coordination, and perform fundamental operations. Many application scenarios exist where external clock synchronization may be required because WSN itself may not consist of an infrastructure for distributing the clock reference. In distributed systems the clock of a reference node is synchronized with GPS time tag or UTC as conventional external clock sources. The rest of the nodes estimate the offset and drift based on a synchronization protocol. For vast WSN, where the topology introduces propagation delay and fast drift rate of clock over sampling periods, synchronizing the WSN nodes and maintaining the synchronization is difficult. To maintain an accurate synchronization across the WSN, the authors propose a cooperative synchronization method, which uses Constant Amplitude Zero Auto Correlation (CAZAC) sequences for OFDM symbols. The proposed method is part of a class of distributed methods known as Gossip or Consensus. These protocols are robust and self-correcting to topology changes and link failure. In this paper, the authors introduce a specific type of power-law topology called scale-free and compare the synchronization performance of the proposed method in random and scale-free topologies.
A Generic QoS Model for Web
Authors: Rahman Wan Nurhayati Wan Ab. , Meziane Farid
Published: April 2012

The development, registration, discovery, and invocation of quality Web services are vital for the successful implementation of applications using Web services. Considerable research focuses on quality for Web services. Unfortunately, current research on Quality of Service (QoS) for Web services is concentrated on service users and the implementation stage. This research highlights the importance of incorporating QoS at the design and development stages; the authors propose the introduction of QoS at the same time as functional requirements. However, Web Service Description Language (WSDL) describes the functional elements of a Web service, and QoS is significant for this description. Therefore, the authors propose an extension to the WSDL through a generic QoS metamodel, incorporating QoS specifications into the functionalities. This paper begins by defining the required QoS specifications for the development of quality Web services and explores the potential of the Unified Modeling Language as a technique and notation to specify QoS. To properly integrate QoS in the design, the authors propose extensions to the existing UML QoS profile. The paper concludes with the evaluation of the proposed framework and summarises its advantages.
BioTextRetriever
Authors: Gonçalves Célia Talma , Camacho Rui , Oliveira Eugénio
Published: April 2012

Whenever new sequences of DNA or proteins have been decoded it is almost compulsory to look at similar sequences and papers describing those sequences in order to both collect relevant information concerning the function and activity of the new sequences and/or know what is known already about similar sequences. In current web sites and data bases of sequences there are, usually, a set of curated paper references linked to each sequence. Those links are a good starting point to look for relevant information related to a set of sequences. One way to implement such approach is to do a blast with the new decoded sequences, and collect similar sequences. Then one looks at the papers linked with the similar sequences. Most often the number of retrieved papers is small and one has to search large data bases for relevant papers. This paper proposes a process of generating a classifier based on the initially set of relevant papers. First, the authors collect similar sequences using an alignment algorithm like Blast. Then, the authors use the enlarges set of papers to construct a classifier. Finally a classifier is used to automatically enlarge the set of relevant papers by searching the MEDLINE using the automatically constructed classifier.
Trend Analysis of Length of Stay Data via Phase-Type Models
Authors: Le Truc Viet , Kwoh Chee Keong , Lee Kheng Hock , Teo Eng Soon
Published: April 2012

The populations in many developed countries throughout the world are aging rapidly and the number of geriatric patients is expected to rise steeply in those countries. This will exert greater pressures on the management of hospital resources as a result. Hospital length of stay (LOS) is an important indicator of hospital activity and management because of its direct relation to resource consumption. Planning of hospital resources according to identified trends of LOS is, thus, an effective way to meet such future needs. In this paper, the authors propose a method to analyze the temporal trends of LOS based on the Coxian phase-type distributions, a special type of continuous-time Markov process. By fitting and regressing the probabilities of discharge from each phase of the distribution on time, the authors have found a growing trend in the proportion of long-staying patients in their sample of stroke patients from a general hospital in Singapore. The authors compare the yearly, quarterly and monthly trends over the same period to see the common pattern. The datasets were also robustified by bootstrapping to aid the analysis.
A Secure Architecture for Nomadic User in IMS Network
Authors: El Kalam A. Abou , Maachaoui M. , Idboufker N. , Lahcen H. Ait , Ouahman A.Ait
Published: April 2012

The IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) is a basis for a significant new architecture which offers network operators the opportunity to expand their services, by integrating voice and multimedia communications and delivering them into new environments with new purposes. Basically, the IMS is an overlay network on top of IP layer that uses Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) as the primary signaling mechanism. SIP works at the application layer in IP networks. It is thus faced to not only the IP-networks security issues, but also to new issues which are related to the SIP protocol directly. Consequently, using IMS bears several new security challenges. This paper presents the most relevant SIP-related security vulnerabilities and threats, and the implementation and simulation test bed to experiment two versions of the SIP Asterisk software to emphasize these threats. The different security mechanisms that can be deployed to overcome the SIP security issues while putting emphasis the most important ones are discussed. Afterwards, the authors propose adaptable solutions to the SIP threats already identified for a specific service (access information from anywhere) in IMS context. Finally, conclusions are drawn and some perspectives are introduced to improve the security of multimedia applications.
Combined Queue Management and Scheduling Mechanism to Improve Intra-User Multi-Flow QoS in a Beyond 3,5G Network
Authors: Berqia Amine , Hanini Mohamed , Haqiq Abdelkrim
Published: April 2012

Packet scheduling and buffer management are the two important functions adopted in networks design to ensure the Quality of Service (QoS) when different types of packets with different needs of quality share the same network resources. The Packet scheduling policy determines packet service priorities at the output link, it can reduce packet delay and delay jitter for high-priority traffic. The buffer management involves packet dropping and buffer allocation. The overall goal of such schemes proposed in High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is to take advantage of the channel variations between users and preferably schedule transmissions to a user when the channel conditions are advantageous; it does not take in consideration the characteristics of the flows composing the transmitted traffic to the user. This paper compares two queue management mechanisms with thresholds applied for packets transmitted to an end user in HSDPA network. Those mechanisms are used to manage access packets in the queue giving priority to the Real Time (RT) packets and avoiding the Non Real Time (NRT) packets loss. The authors show that the performance parameters of RT packets are similar in the two mechanisms, where as the second mechanism improves the performance parameters of the NRT packets.
Virtual Reality in Interior Design Education
Authors: Meggs Susan Martin , Greer Annette , Collins Sharon
Published: April 2012

This paper describes an implementation process of Second Life (SL) virtual reality as a pedagogical tool in an interior design foundations course. SL was found to advance learning, collaboration, engagement, and critical thinking among students who brought disparate levels of preparation. The case study presented represents a process evaluation approach, documenting and analyzing the development and implementation of the curriculum within an environment that was new to most stakeholders. Output measures reported include student evaluations of the course, peer evaluations of student products, and final grades. Important to successful incorporation of SL in interior design instruction is ensuring that the training students receive in SL align with the assignments they are expected to complete. Also important is the ongoing, cooperative support of university technical staff in providing the needed training and developing the virtual environment. Effective, informative hard-copy and on-line visual aids for students unfamiliar with SL or other virtual reality applications are also necessary. Alignment of SL activities and the course curriculum into a workable sequence was achieved by trial and error during two years of development. Since incorporating SL, the researchers have found that virtual reality enhances student engagement and outcomes.
Semantic-Based Access to Composite Mobile Services
Authors: Yang Xu , Bouguettaya Athman , Liu Xumin
Published: April 2012

In this paper, the authors propose novel access methods and a multi-channel organization for mobile users to effectively access composite M-services in wireless broadcast networks. The authors first propose a broadcast-based infrastructure to address the challenges of efficient usages of composite M-services. They then define a few semantics for accessing broadcast based M-services and discuss the strategies of efficiently accessing M-services based on the semantics. The authors also propose several channel organization that are suitable for the broadcast-based M-service structure and provide analytical models for them. They conduct a comprehensive experimental study on the proposed access methods.
Primary and secondary sources of formaldehyde in urban atmospheres: Houston Texas region
Authors: Parrish D. D. , Ryerson T. B. , Mellqvist J. , Johansson J. , Fried A. , Richter D. , Walega J. G. , Washenfelder R. A. , de Gouw J. A. , Peischl J. , Aikin K. C. , McKeen S. A. , Frost G. J. , Fehsenfeld F. C. , Herndon S. C.
Published: April 2012

Abstract. We evaluate the rates of secondary production and primary emission of formaldehyde (CH2O) from petrochemical industrial facilities and on-road vehicles in the Houston Texas region. This evaluation is based upon ambient measurements collected during field studies in 2000, 2006 and 2009. The predominant CH2O source (92 ± 4% of total) is secondary production formed during the atmospheric oxidation of highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOCs) emitted from the petrochemical facilities. Smaller contributions are primary emissions from these facilities (4 ± 2%), and secondary production (~3%) and primary emissions (~1%) from vehicles. The primary emissions from both sectors are well quantified by current emission inventories. Since secondary production dominates, control efforts directed at primary CH2O emissions cannot address the large majority of CH2O sources in the Houston area, although there may still be a role for such efforts. Ongoing efforts to control alkene emissions from the petrochemical facilities, as well as volatile organic compound emissions from the motor vehicle fleet, will effectively reduce the CH2O concentrations in the Houston region. We do not address other emission sectors, such as off-road mobile sources or secondary formation from biogenic hydrocarbons. Previous analyses based on correlations between ambient concentrations of CH2O and various marker species have suggested much larger primary emissions of CH2O, but those results neglect confounding effects of dilution and loss processes, and do not demonstrate the causes of the observed correlations. Similar problems must be suspected in any source apportionment analysis of secondary species based upon correlations of ambient concentrations of pollutants.