bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Numerical Simulations of the 3D Unsteady Flow in a Bluff-Body Combustor
Authors: Sivakumar R. , Babu V.
Published: April 2010

In this work, results from numerical investigations of a bluff body stabilized flame are reported. Here, the fuel is injected a short distance upstream of the bluff body within the combustor, as is the case in practical ramjets and afterburners. In this situation, both the mixing of the fuel and air as well as the subsequent combustion stabilized at the bluff body are altered by the acoustic field excited by unsteady heat release in the combustion zone. The present study focuses on the unsteady flow in this geometry for different combustor configurations. These configurations correspond to different axial locations of the bluff body and different combustor lengths. Numerical simulations of the non-reacting as well as reacting flow in the bluff body combustor have been carried out for selected configurations using FLUENT. Both realizable k - ε and SST k - ω model have been used for modelling turbulence. Chemistry is modelled using a laminar 3 step model. Second order accurate spatial as well as temporal discretization has been used. DFT of the pressure-time data have been performed to extract the dominant frequencies of the oscillations. Numerically predicted frequencies are compared with experimental values (reported in a companion paper) and the predictions are seen to agree reasonably well with the experimental data. It is also shown that the present calculations are able to predict both the duct acoustic modes as well as the vortex shedding mode.
FlexM: Designing a Physical Construction Kit for 3d Modeling
Authors: Eng Markus , Camarata Ken , Do Ellen Yi-Luen , Gross Mark D
Published: April 2010

We have designed a hub and strut kit that interfaces to a 3D graphics application. FlexM is a prototype flexible physical interface for manipulating and building 3D geometry. Using the FlexM hub and strut components, designers can build and explore 3D geometry with the ease of a toy and the power of a computer. The hubs transmit the model's topology and geometry to the computer, where the model is rendered on the screen in real time. The paper reports on the iterative development of several versions of the project.
Energy Cube and Energy Magnets
Authors: Camarata Ken , Do Ellen Yi-Luen , Gross Mark D
Published: April 2010

Combining the easy to use characteristics of tangible interfaces with the peripheral representation of ambient displays, two prototype energy displays – Energy Cube and Energy Magnets – were designed to help people become aware of their home energy consumption patterns. This paper reports on the design and evaluation of those two displays.
A Tool for the Design of Fabric Structures
Authors: MacBain Keith , Spillers William R.
Published: April 2010

This paper describes the development of a tool, now available for use over the Internet, for the preliminary design of a class of fabric structures. This tool is based on the so-called grid method in which vertical equilibrium over a grid in the horizontal plane is used to determine shape for a cable net. It can subsequently be combined with other analysis routines to produce a detailed structural design.
Detailed 3D Modelling of Castles
Authors: El-Hakim Sabry , Gonzo Lorenzo , Voltolini Francesca , Girardi Stefano , Rizzi Alessandro , Remondino Fabio , Whiting Emily
Published: April 2010

Digitally documenting complex heritage sites such as castles is a desirable yet difficult task with no established framework. Although 3D digitizing and modelling with laser scanners, Photogrammetry, and computer aided architectural design (CAAD) are maturing, each alone is inadequate to model an entire castle in details. We present a sequential approach that combines multiple techniques, each where best suited, to capture and model the fine geometric detail of castles. We provide new contributions in several areas: an effective workflow for castle 3D modelling, increasing the level of automation and the seamless integration of models created independently from different data sets. We tested the approach on various castles in Northern Italy and the results demonstrated that it is effective, accurate, and creates highly detailed models suitable for interactive visualization. It is also equally applicable to other types of large complex architectures.
Time-Dependent Illumination and Animation of Virtual Hagia-Sophia
Authors: Foni Alessandro E. , Papagiannakis George , Cadi-Yazli Nedjma , Magnenat-Thalmann Nadia
Published: April 2010

This paper presents a case study centered on the virtual restitution and virtual life simulation of a highly complex and endangered heritage edifice: the church of Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul, Turkey. The goal of this article is to describe the techniques used in order to achieve a real time rendering and animation of the selected space and its characters, as well as to point out the challenges and solutions that such a work implies at different stages in production. Most of these issues are focused on the reconstruction of the architecture of the site; however, in order to achieve an accurate simulation, the social aspect is not to be omitted. The importance of a heritage site resides as well in the historical characters and the social interactions that were taking place there: this information allows a better understanding of the function and the importance of the selected site in connection with the cultural aspects of the life at a certain time. In order to strengthen the feeling of immersion in a heritage edifice virtually restituted, it is important to recreate virtual life and describe the timely evolutionary aspects of the edifice as well.
Geometry, Light, and Cosmology in the Church of Hagia Sophia
Authors: Jabi Wassim , Potamianos Iakovos
Published: April 2010

Designed by a physicist and a mathematician, the Hagia Sophia church in Istanbul, Turkey acted as an experimental test case in which advanced knowledge of geometrical constructs, sophisticated understanding of light behavior, and religious and cosmological beliefs combined to create a magnificent structure. While some of its design concepts are known, many remain hidden. Earthquakes have demolished parts of the church—such as the original dome. Researchers have in the past misinterpreted their observations and perpetuated false conclusions. Lastly, the lack of digital tools has until now prevented verification and analysis of prior findings. In this paper, we integrate traditional historical research, parametric digital analysis, and lighting simulation to analyze several aspects of the church. In particular, we focus on the geometry of the floor plan, the geometry of the apse, and light behavior in the original dome. Our findings point to the potential of digital tools in the discovery of a structure's hidden features and design rules.
Multimodal Mixed Reality Interfaces for Visualizing Digital Heritage
Authors: White Martin , Petridis Panagiotis , Liarokapis Fotis , Plecinckx Daniel
Published: April 2010

We have developed several digital heritage interfaces that utilize Web3D, virtual and augmented reality technologies for visualizing digital heritage in an interactive manner through the use of several different input devices. We propose in this paper an integration of these technologies to provide a novel multimodal mixed reality interface that facilitates the implementation of more interesting digital heritage exhibitions. With such exhibitions participants can switch dynamically between virtual web-based environments to indoor augmented reality environments as well as make use of various multimodal interaction techniques to better explore heritage information in the virtual museum. The museum visitor can potentially experience their digital heritage in the physical sense in the museum, then explore further through the web, visualize this heritage in the round (3D on the web), take that 3D artifact into the augmented reality domain (the real world) and explore it further using various multimodal interfaces.
Digital Resource Semantic Management of Islamic Buildings Case Study on Isfahan Islamic Architecture Digital Collection
Authors: Okamura Tomoaki , Fukami Naoko , Robert Charles , Andres Frederic
Published: April 2010

This article describes an innovative way to facilitate and to provide a collaborative semantic management of digital resources of Islamic historical buildings. The approach combines a topic maps-based semantic support to the 5W1H model (Where, Who, When, What, Who and How) with objective of enabling comprehensive semantics of digital contents for research and education purposes. The topic maps-based semantic support enables to reduce the problems of semantic gaps among different communities (cultural, linguistic ambiguities among various types of multi-disciplinary experts). Furthermore, a multi-faceted resource category management, applied to metadata sets and related semantic features, allows metadata optimization of the description of the cultural resources. This innovative approach has been used to build the Isfahan Islamic Architecture Database (IIAD) Collection as a case study. The research demonstrates that a topic maps-based semantic model applied to collaborative metadata management paradigms can be easily exploited as a tool to enhance traditional architectural and cross-disciplinary studies.
Mobile Augmented Heritage: Enabling Human Life in Ancient Pompeii
Authors: Papagiannakis George , Magnenat-Thalmann Nadia
Published: April 2010

We propose a new methodology for real-time mobile mixed reality systems that feature realistic simulations of animated virtual human actors (clothes, body, skin, face) who augment real environments and re-enact staged storytelling dramas. Although initially targeted at Cultural Heritage Sites, the paradigm is by no means limited to such subjects. The abandonment of traditional concepts of static cultural artifacts or rigid geometrical and 2D textual augmentations with 3D, interactive, augmented historical character-based event representations in a mobile and wearable setup, is the main contribution of the described work as well as the proposed extensions to AR Enabling technologies: a VR/AR character simulation kernel framework with character to object interaction, a markerless camera tracker specialized for non-invasive geometrical registration on heritage sites and a PRT mixed reality illumination model for more consistent real-virtual real-time rendering. We demonstrate a real-time case study on the actual site of ancient Pompeii.
Doing Cultural Heritage Using the Torque Game Engine: Supporting Indigenous Storytelling in a 3D Virtual Environment
Authors: Wyeld Theodor G. , Carroll Joti , Gibbons Craig , Ledwich Brendan , Leavy Brett , Hills James , Docherty Michael
Published: April 2010

Digital Songlines (DSL) is an Australasian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID) project that is developing protocols, methodologies and toolkits to facilitate the collection, education and sharing of indigenous cultural heritage knowledge. This paper outlines the goals achieved over the last three years in the development of the Digital Songlines game engine (DSE) toolkit that is used for Australian Indigenous storytelling. The project explores the sharing of indigenous Australian Aboriginal storytelling in a sensitive manner using a game engine. The use of the game engine in the field of Cultural Heritage is expanding. They are an important tool for the recording and re-presentation of historically, culturally, and sociologically significant places, infrastructure, and artefacts, as well as the stories that are associated with them. The DSL implementation of a game engine to share storytelling provides an educational interface. Where the DSL implementation of a game engine in a CH application differs from others is in the nature of the game environment itself. It is modelled on the ‘country’ (the ‘place’ of their heritage which is so important to the clients' collective identity) and authentic fauna and flora that provides a highly contextualised setting for the stories to be told. This paper provides an overview on the development of the DSL game engine.
Oakland Blues: Virtual Preservation of Seventh Street's 1950'5 Jazz Scene
Authors: Kalay Yehuda E. , Grabowicz Paul
Published: April 2010

Digital technologies are becoming a popular vehicle for the re-creation and dissemination of cultural heritage, in the form of modeling buildings, people, and their activities. Video game engines can be used to let user virtually “inhabit” the digitally recreated worlds made accessible via the Internet, opening them up to people who otherwise would never be exposed to these cultural sites. Yet, like every medium ever used to preserve cultural heritage, digital media is not neutral: it impacts the represented content and the ways the audience interprets it. Perhaps more than any older technology, it has the potential to affect the very meaning of the represented content in terms of the cultural image it creates. This paper examines the applications and implications of digital media for the recreation and communication of cultural heritage, drawing on the lessons learned from a project to recreate the thriving jazz and blues club scene in West Oakland, California, in the 1940s and 1950s.
Implementations and Applications of DesignMap: Case Studies to Manage an Online Database of Visual Designs
Authors: Kobayashi Yoshihiro , Abdelhameed Wael A.
Published: April 2010

This research introduces state-of-the-art techniques in the areas of online libraries, communities, and forums. The research endeavours to describe a computer system called DesignMap that could be categorized as a visual design forum. This system encourages networking and can also be applied as a visual design library. The DesignMap system, which manages and displays a massive number of visual designs in two and three dimensions, was presented and discussed in a previous research. This project, however, is concerned with the application of DesignMap as a tool to search, visualize, modify, and then add designs in a map; these designs are classified based on their formal properties of object relationships. DesignMap users have access to any part or category in the map. The resulting design series created by users of this system present a new and unique form of design collaboration. The research also investigates several applications of the DesignMap system.
Urban Projects Database Based on Alexander's Pattern Language: The Case of Favela-Bairro
Authors: Silva Erivelton M. , Paraizo Rodrigo C.
Published: April 2010

This paper describes a system for searching and retrieving urban design drawings developed or contracted by public or governmental entities. We assume that in governmental public programs with similar goals recreating solutions is a daily action, which is, clearly, an unnecessary waste of time and resources. The system presented in this paper aims at concentrating and organizing this information in order to allow urban planners and designers to search for existing solutions to their projects and answers to their current needs.
Noncopyright and the Digital Interface to Support the Autonomous Production of Dwellings
Authors: Baltazar Ana Paula , Kapp Silke , Nascimento Denise Morado , Gonçalves Rodrigo Marcandier , Lino Sulamita Fonseca , Coelho Mara Lidia Rodrigues , Olalquiaga Amanda Alves , Gontijo Felipe José , da Silva Joana Vieira , Magalhães Pedro Arthur Novaes
Published: April 2010

This paper presents the discussions on intellectual property crucial for the research group MOM to develop the system IDA (digital interface for supporting autonomous production of dwellings). It first introduces IDA, its conceptual framework, its database and its interactive interface. Then, it examines the arguments for copyright, identifying them as myths or disguises of other intentions, usually based on perpetuating privileges. From that it discusses the way IDA approaches interaction as a means to break the usual logic of perpetuating privileges in digital systems. This leads to examining some anti-copyright movements concluding that they follow the same logic of register of the copyright. Thus, noncopyright seems to be the best means to protest against the current logic and for conveying information towards autonomy of users in their processes of production of space. It also points to an alternative use of computers in architecture as proposed in IDA, which is not based on representation but on interaction.
Design Flow and Ideation
Authors: Dorta Tomás
Published: April 2010

In the last year, we developed the Hybrid Ideation Space (HIS), an innovative immersive sketching and model-making system that augments analog tools with digital capabilities, for continue and direct reflective conversation with the representation. The system enables designers to sketch and make models all around them in real-time and real scale using a digital tablet (sketches), image capture (physical models) and a spherical projection device (immersion). Teams of industrial design students participated in the study working on the initial stages of the design of a car. This is a comparative study putting side by side the HIS, analog tools and hybrid modeling techniques. We developed the notion of Design Flow to assesses the design ideation process. The students reported being in the state of flow more often in the HIS than with digital or physical modeling.
Digital Design and Manufacture Based on Chiloean Boats
Authors: Dujovne David Butelmann , Montoya Claudio Labarca
Published: April 2010

This paper proposes a design methodology for the manufacture of complex, double-curved surfaces based on the digital reconstruction of traditional structural and constructive elements of Chiloean boats. It also suggests a beneficial association between digital design and CAD CAM for manufacture using locally crafted construction techniques.

The incorporation of innovated contemporary digital design and fabrication tools into traditional construction systems, aims to optimize and perpetuate traditional artisanal craft construction of complex shapes developed in the south of Chile. The importance of this research in budget-restricted economies, lies in the possibility of applying local construction and assembly techniques to new sophisticated designs that may satisfy the country's architectural needs. Scale models are used to record the design process and constructive development while information flow charts document the design methodology for the construction of complex geometries.
From Design Concepts to Design Descriptions
Authors: Kotsopoulos Sotirios D.
Published: April 2010

The paper examines the process of articulation and development of design concepts from a computational standpoint. The context of the research is the architectural studio and the process of designing from scratch. The scope of the research is educational. Shape grammar formalism is used in a retrospective analysis, to show how the concept of “porosity” was used by architect Steven Holl and his team in designing Simmons Hall, a 350-unit student residence, at MIT.
Design inside the Chinese Room
Authors: Terzidis Kostas
Published: April 2010

The Chinese Room paradox is about the role of intentionality and consciousness in human decision making. Here I reflect on the possibilities opened up by this paradox in the world of design and its continuous computerization.
Career Development of Expert Coaches
Authors: Nash Christine S. , Sproule John
Published: April 2010

Careers in coaching are a relatively new phenomenon in the UK and at present appear to be limited to the performance coach. This study, using an interview approach, examined the transition of expert coaches (n = 9) through various stages in their careers. The main aim of this study was to ascertain if expert coaches could explain the process of their development to perceived expert status. The interviewed coaches could offer no real insight into their designation as experts. They did raise some questions regarding the value of current coach education provision, especially as it related to their current role as coaches of elite athletes. Their methods of development were considered to be informal, with networking with other coaches of like mind believed to be essential to their progress. The ability to contextualise knowledge and information to suit both the individual and situation, as well as appropriate mentors at the initial stages of their coaching careers were also regarded as vital.
A Comparison of Video and Accelerometer Based Approaches Applied to Performance Monitoring in Swimming
Authors: Callaway Andrew J , Cobb Jon E , Jones Ian
Published: April 2010

The aim of this paper is to present a comparison of video- and sensor-based studies of swimming performance. The video-based approach is reviewed and contrasted to the newer sensor-based technology, specifically accelerometers based upon Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. Results from previously published swim performance studies using both the video and sensor technologies are summarised and evaluated against the conventional theory that upper arm movements are of primary interest when quantifying free-style technique. The authors conclude that multiple sensor-based measurements of swimmers' acceleration profiles have the potential to offer significant advances in coaching technique over the traditional video based approach.
Unfolding the Practical Knowledge of an Expert Strength and Conditioning Coach
Authors: Dorgo Sandor
Published: April 2010

To define the professional knowledge base used in practice, the purpose of this study was to reveal the content of practical knowledge of an expert strength and conditioning coach. A qualitative case study design was used. The participating coach met a list of criteria typically associated with expert coaches. Data collection included observations, interviews, and document analyses. Following the data analysis, ten major knowledge categories emerged, which were separated into the Foundational Practical Knowledge and Applied Practical Knowledge clusters. It appeared that the participant's set of practical knowledge was structured in several layers and was only partially built on the Foundational Disciplinary Knowledge originating from formal education. Analysis suggested that most aspects of the participant's practical knowledge were developed through field experience, real-life practices, and other professionals. The present study suggests that coaching educational programs should be expanded and modified to reflect all aspects of knowledge used in practice.
It's Not What They Do, It's How They Do It: Athlete Experiences of Great Coaching
Authors: Becker Andrea J.
Published: April 2010

The primary purpose of this study was to explore athlete experiences of great coaching. A total of 18 in-depth phenomenological interviews were conducted with elite level athletes (9 female; 9 male) representing a variety of sports (i.e., baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, volleyball, and water polo). Participants ranged in age from 22 to 42 years (M = 29.11, SD = 5.52). Interviews lasted between 30–90 minutes and were transcribed verbatim. Analyses of the transcripts revealed a total of 1,553 meaning units that were further grouped into sub-themes and general themes. This led to the development of a final thematic structure revealing six major dimensions characterizing athlete experiences of great coaching: Coach Attributes, The Environment, Relationships, The System, Coaching Actions, and Influences.
On the Birth of Micro Air Vehicles
Authors: Mueller Thomas J.
Published: April 2010

The history of micro air vehicles really began with the development of model airplanes in the 19th century and the development of radio controlled model airplanes in the 20th century. The improvement in propulsion systems from rubber bands to liquid fuel internal combustions engines and later battery powered electric motors made it possible to produce longer and longer flights. The development of miniature radio receivers and control components in the 1990s also had a large impact on the ability to design a very small flying vehicle. Once the aerodynamics and control of small aircraft models with a mass less that 100 grams were better understood, the micro-air-vehicle was born. This paper traces the history of these events.
Flight Dynamics of a Flapping-Wing Air Vehicle
Authors: Krashanitsa Roman Y. , Silin Dmitro , Shkarayev Sergey V. , Abate Gregg
Published: April 2010

The research and development efforts presented in this paper address the flight dynamics of a flapping-wing air vehicle (ornithopter). The 74-cm-wing-span ornithopter was equipped with an automatic flight control system that provides stability augmentation and navigation of the vehicle and flight data acquisition. Wind tunnel tests were conducted with the control surfaces fixed in the trimmed position and flapping motion of the wings activated by a motor at a constant throttle setting. Coefficients of vertical and horizontal force, and pitching moment were determined at a free stream velocity of 7.25 m/sec, and the angle of the stroke plane varied from 0 to 40 degrees. A series of flight tests were conducted with fixed controls, demonstrating ornithopter stability in all axes. Proportional control laws were programmed into the autopilot for the closed-loop controls. A number of flights of the autonomous ornithopter were conducted with the telemetry acquisition. During the autonomous flights, the ornithopter performed waypoint and altitude navigation, demonstrating stable performance.
Multi-Objective Topology Optimization of Wing Skeletons for Aeroelastic Membrane Structures
Authors: Stanford Bret , Ifju Peter
Published: April 2010

This work considers the multi-objective aeroelastic optimization of a membrane micro air vehicle wing through topology optimization. The low aspect ratio wing is discretized into panels: a two material formulation on the wetted surface is used, where each panel can be membrane (wing skin) or carbon fiber (laminate reinforcement). An analytical sensitivity analysis of the aeroelastic system is used for the gradient-based optimization of aerodynamic objective functions. An explicit penalty is added, as needed, to force the structure to a 0–1 distribution. Pareto trade-off curves are constructed by considering convex combinations of two disparate lift, drag, or pitching moment-based objective functions. The general relationship between spatial stiffness distribution (wing topology) and aerodynamic performance is discussed, followed by the Pareto optimality of the computed designs over a series of baseline wing structures. The work concludes with an experimental validation of the superiority of select optimal designs.
Valuing Money and Things: Why a $20 Item Can Be Worth More and Less Than $20
Authors: McGraw A. Peter , Shafir Eldar , Todorov Alexander
Published: April 2010

The study of risky decision making has long used monetary gambles to study choice, but many everyday decisions do not involve the prospect of winning or losing money. Monetary gambles, as it turns out, may be processed and evaluated differently than gambles with nonmonetary outcomes. Whereas monetary gambles involve numeric amounts that can be straightforwardly combined with probabilities to yield at least an approximate “expectation” of value, nonmonetary outcomes are typically not numeric and do not lend themselves to easy combination with the associated probabilities. Compared with monetary gambles, the evaluation of nonmonetary prospects typically proves less sensitive to changes in the probability range (inside the extremes of certainty and impossibility), which, among other things, can yield preference reversals. Generalizing on earlier work that attributed similar findings to the role of affect in the evaluation process (Rottenstreich, Y., C. K. Hsee. 2001. Money, kisses, and electric shocks: An affective psychology of risk. Psych. Sci. 12(3) 185–190), we attribute the observed patterns to a fundamental difference in the evaluation of monetary versus nonmonetary outcomes. Potential pitfalls in the use of monetary gambles to study choice are highlighted, and implications and future directions are discussed.
Hierarchical Structure and Search in Complex Organizations
Authors: Mihm Jürgen , Loch Christoph H. , Wilkinson Dennis , Huberman Bernardo A.
Published: April 2010

Organizations engage in search whenever they perform nonroutine tasks, such as the definition and validation of a new strategy, the acquisition of new capabilities, or new product development. Previous work on search and organizational hierarchy has discovered that a hierarchy with a central decision maker at the top can speed up problem solving, but possibly at the cost of solution quality compared with results of a decentralized search. Our study uses a formal model and simulations to explore the effect of an organizational hierarchy on solution stability, solution quality, and search speed. Three insights arise on how a hierarchy can improve organizational search: (1) assigning a lead function that “anchors” a solution speeds up problem solving; (2) local solution choice should be delegated to the lowest level; and (3) structure matters little at the middle management level, but it matters at the front line; front-line groups should be kept small. These results highlight the importance for every organization of adapting its hierarchical structure to its search requirements.
Quick Response and Retailer Effort
Authors: Krishnan Harish , Kapuscinski Roman , Butz David A.
Published: April 2010

The benefits of supply chain innovations such as quick response (QR) have been extensively investigated. This paper highlights a potentially damaging impact of QR on retailer effort. By lowering downstream inventories, QR may compromise retailer incentives to exert sales effort on a manufacturer's product and may lead instead to greater sales effort on a competing product. Manufacturer-initiated quick response can therefore backfire, leading to lower sales of the manufacturer's product and, in some cases, to higher sales of a competing product. Evidence from case studies and interviews shows that some manufacturers view high retailer inventory as a means of increasing retailer commitment (“a loaded customer is a loyal customer”). By implication, manufacturers should recognize the effect we highlight in this paper: the potential of QR to lessen retailer sales effort. We show that relatively simple distribution contracts such as minimum-take contracts, advance-purchase discounts, and exclusive dealing, when adopted in conjunction with QR, can remedy the distortionary impact of QR on retailers' incentives. In two recent antitrust cases we find evidence that, consistent with our theory, manufacturers adopted exclusive dealing at almost the same time that they were making QR-type supply chain improvements.
On the Optimal Product Line Selection Problem with Price Discrimination
Authors: Schön Cornelia
Published: April 2010

Product line design decisions are determinant for a firm's market success and, simultaneously, very costly to implement and change. To evaluate the profitability of a design, a number of mathematical programming approaches have been proposed in the last three decades—typically nonlinear integer optimization problems that can only be tackled heuristically for real-world instances. Recently, Chen and Hausman (2000) efficiently exploited the fractional programming properties of a stylized model for product line and price selection with the objective to maximize contribution given homogeneous customer behavior by an aggregate multinomial logit choice model. We extend the approach of Chen and Hausman (Chen, K. D., W. H. Hausman. 2000. Technical note: Mathematical properties of the optimal product line selection problem using choice-based conjoint analysis. Management Sci. 46(2) 327–332) to determine an optimal product line under a personalized or group pricing strategy in markets with multiple heterogeneous consumers such that total profit (including fixed costs) is maximized. Personalized/group pricing is a growing discrimination strategy that more and more businesses are realizing is not only very profitable, but also often implementable in the era of e-business. Our problem formulation allows to incorporate commonly applied attraction choice models including the multinomial logit, the Bradley–Terry–Luce, and approximately the first choice model. Though the problem is generally nonlinear, we show that the fractional substructure resulting from attraction choice models can still be exploited to globally solve real-world instances in reasonable time.
Attention and its coupling to action
Authors: Humphreys Glyn W. , Yoon Eun Young , Kumar Sanjay , Lestou Vaia , Kitadono Keiko , Roberts Katherine L. , Riddoch M. Jane
Published: April 2010

We discuss two commentaries that we have received on our target article (Humphreys et al., 2010). We elaborate on the evidence for action effects on extinction and discuss whether these effects occur pre or post the selection of a response. In addition, we discuss the neural basis of the effects of action relations on extinction and on the generalization of results on action relations to real‐world examples.
Challenges in the Diagnosis of the Antiphospholipid Syndrome
Authors: Devreese Katrien , Hoylaerts Marc F
Published: April 2010

Background: The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an important cause of acquired thromboembolic complications and pregnancy morbidity. Its diagnosis is based on clinical and laboratory criteria, defined by strict guidelines. The original clinical and laboratory criteria for the identification of APS patients were published in 1999, in the so-called Sapporo criteria. In 2006 these criteria were revised, and recently more precise guidelines for analysis of the lupus anticoagulant have been provided. However, several questions related to the diagnosis of APS remain unanswered.

Content: In addition to providing a historical perspective, this review covers several challenges in the diagnosis of APS with respect to clinical and laboratory features, while highlighting pathogenic pathways of the syndrome. We discuss ongoing dilemmas in the diagnosis of this complex disease. Although antiphospholipid antibodies are found in association with various clinical manifestations, the older established clinical criteria were not substantively altered in the 2006 update. Several laboratory tests recommended in the latest criteria, including phospholipid-dependent coagulation tests for the detection of the lupus anticoagulant and ELISAs for measuring anticardiolipin and β2-glycoprotein I antibodies, still show methodological and diagnostic shortcomings. In addition, antiphospholipid antibodies have been described against other antigens, but their clinical role remains uncertain.

Conclusions: Despite updated APS criteria, diagnosis of this syndrome remains challenging. Further research on clinically relevant antibodies and standardization of their detection are needed to improve clinical risk assessment in APS.
Messianic Movements and Failed Prophecies in Israel: Five Case Studies
Authors: Inbari Motti
Published: April 2010

This article examines several examples of messianic individuals and movements in Israel that have had to confront the failure of their predictions of imminent collective Redemption. These case studies suggest that individuals who expect Messiah's immediate coming, but who do not share this conviction with others, may experience greater freedom to reinterpret their prophecy and then proselytize a new vision of Redemption. When a small group's predictions are publicized widely and then fail, its members may find themselves facing a particularly sharp crisis of faith because of social pressure and may decide to abandon both the prophecy and group membership. Participants in large and diffuse messianic movements may become anxious when events begin to indicate that their predicted Redemption will fail, thus they are likely to adjust the prophecy and take steps to actualize it.
GNRH analog therapy in girls with early puberty is associated with the achievement of predicted final height but also with increased risk of polycystic ovary syndrome
Authors: Chiavaroli Valentina , Liberati Marco , D'Antonio Francesco , Masuccio Fabio , Capanna Rita , Verrotti Alberto , Chiarelli Francesco , Mohn Angelika
Published: April 2010

Objective

GNRH analog (GNRHa) therapy has not been supported by beneficial effects on adult stature in girls with early puberty. Furthermore, an increased prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been described in girls treated for central precocious puberty. Women with PCOS are at increased risk of cardiometabolic dysfunctions and infertility. Our aim was to assess GNRHa effectiveness on reaching adult stature and the risk of PCOS in girls with early puberty.

Design

Longitudinal study of GNRHa-treated and GNRHa-untreated girls at baseline and at final height.

Methods

Twenty-five GNRHa-treated girls and 55 controls were compared. Insulin resistance (IR; homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) and glucose-to-insulin ratio (G/I)), the effect of GNRHa on final height, and the prevalence of PCOS were assessed.

Results

In GNRHa-treated girls, no significant difference was found between predicted final height and final height, whereas a significant difference was detected in untreated girls (P=0.0001). At final height, GNRHa-treated girls showed higher HOMA-IR and lower G/I (P=0.03 for both) as well as higher DHEAS and androstenedione levels (P=0.02 andP=0.01 respectively) than untreated girls. The prevalence of PCOS and hyperandrogenemia was significantly higher in GNRHa-treated adolescents than in untreated adolescents (36 and 14.5% respectively,P=0.04; 56 and 23.6% respectively,P=0.01). Finally, gonadotropin-suppressive therapy was significantly related to PCOS during adolescence (P=0.03).

Conclusions

In girls with early puberty, GNRHa therapy is associated with the achievement of predicted final height; nevertheless, this treatment seems to act as an independent risk factor for the development of PCOS already during adolescence.
Embryonic stem cells as models of trophoblast differentiation: progress, opportunities, and limitations
Authors: Golos Thaddeus G , Giakoumopoulos M , Garthwaite M A
Published: April 2010

While the determination of the trophoblast lineage and the facilitation of placental morphogenesis by trophoblast interactions with other cells of the placenta are crucial components for the establishment of pregnancy, these processes are not tractable at the time of human implantation. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) provide an embryonic surrogate to derive insights into these processes. In this review, we will summarize current paradigms which promote trophoblast differentiation from ESCs, and potential opportunities for their use to further define signals directing morphogenesis of the placenta following implantation of the embryo into the endometrium.
Neonatal Informatics—Dream of a Paperless NICU: Part Four: Integrating Caregiving, Automated Process Management, and Clinical Decision Support
Authors: Drummond Willa H.
Published: April 2010

Bedside physicians, neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs), clinical bedside nurses, respiratory therapists, and unit clerks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) work as the team primarily responsible for integrating clinical data, updating diagnoses, judging infant stability, acting on treatment decisions, and placing orders in their individual areas of professional expertise. Current hospital computerization is fragmented, with poorly integrated, department-based computer systems communicating by local programming workarounds or by human-to-computer retyping. Existing clinical installations are unnecessarily time-consuming, create serious distractions, and disrupt real-time, “multisynchronicity” (N)ICU workflows. (1)(2)

Critical results must be communicated to the proper caregiver in time to effect care changes. Situational communication delays occur because of the time of day (physician and nursing shift change), hospital information system (HIS) downtimes, patient admission surges in the larger hospital, and local unit emergencies (eg, stat delivery of preterm triplets).

Automating and streamlining processes could help caregivers avoid problems that contribute to suboptimal patient care, such as relieving critical caregivers of time-consuming clerical work involving data gathering from multiple fragmented systems and aggregating all “electronically charted” information into cognitively meaningful clinical formats. Clinical decision support for complex clinical systems can help prevent system breakdowns that occur when nurses, doctors, and ancillary support staff are distracted by more acutely urgent situations. Time-pressured clinicians need systems that have been designed using human factors engineering principles, tested for usability, and monitored for ongoing system performance. (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) Human factors-based failures occur when context-based reconciliation jobs are bypassed in laboratory and drug ordering loops by poorly designed and implemented computerized physician order entry, nurse charting, or other hospital systems, especially ones that slow caregivers’ workflow during emergencies. (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)

Changes in complex systems reverberate, altering outcomes. Therefore, change responses must involve solutions that improve critical care computerization, patient care, and safety and lower costs of wasted resources (staff time, products, length of stay, and quality measures derived from administratively defined modeling methodologies). Effective systems change is important for overall integrity of the United States health-care system.
Biochemical Basis of Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
Authors: Delivoria-Papadopoulos Maria , Marro Peter J.
Published: April 2010

Despite improved methods of intrapartum monitoring and advances in neonatal care and treatment, neonatal hypoxic-ischemic injury continues to produce significant morbidity and mortality, often leading to long-term neurologic consequences. Hypoxia creates an imbalance in metabolic demand and cellular energy supply, resulting in the disruption of critical cellular functions and the activation of excitatory neurotransmitters. In addition, the structure, function, and modification of cellular processes, such as the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and intracellular calcium regulation, are affected. Nuclear calcium signals control critical nuclear functions, including regulation of transcription factors and cell cycle, gene transcription, DNA replication, and nuclear envelope breakdown. Nitric oxide synthase and the generation of nitric oxide during hypoxia may contribute significantly to altered cell function, disruption in calcium homeostasis, and the activation of caspases, leading to programmed cell death. The biochemical mechanisms involved in hypoxic-ischemic neuronal injury and death are exceedingly complex and interdependent. This discussion focuses primarily on some of the major cellular and molecular mechanisms of hypoxic neuronal injury in the newborn brain.
End-of-life Care in the NICU: A Family-centered Approach
Authors: Harris Leslie L. , Douma Caryn
Published: April 2010

Providing compassionate, family-centered end-of-life care to infants and their families in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is challenging for caregivers. Quality end-of-life care is a process that requires clear and consistent communication delivered by a compassionate multidisciplinary team within a framework of shared decision-making. The knowledge and communication skills of the interdisciplinary team can greatly influence the ability of the parents to cope effectively with their loss around the time of death and after they return home. Structured bereavement follow-up and staff support programs provide ongoing support for families and caregivers.
Myasthenia Gravis in the Neonate
Authors: Hassoun Mossaab , El Turjuman Ulfat , Chokr Imad , Fakhoury Hassan
Published: April 2010

Myasthenia gravis (MG) in the neonate is usually an autoimmune disorder, although some neonates have congenital MG, which most commonly seems to be due to an autosomal recessive disorder. The most common form of MG in the neonate is transient and results from placentally transferred antibodies to acetylcholine. In this article, we review MG affecting both mothers and infants and use a case of transient neonatal MG to demonstrate the clinical features of the disorder. The infant was born to an apparently asymptomatic mother.
Hyperglycaemia confers resistance to chemotherapy on breast cancer cells: the role of fatty acid synthase
Authors: Zeng L , Biernacka K M , Holly J M P , Jarrett C , Morrison A A , Morgan A , Winters Z E , Foulstone E J , Shield J P , Perks C M
Published: April 2010

The prognosis for women with breast cancer is adversely affected by the comorbidities of obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM), which are conditions associated with elevated levels of circulating fatty acids, hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia. We investigated the effects of exposure of non-malignant and malignant human breast epithelial cells to elevated levels of fatty acids and glucose on their growth, survival and response to chemotherapeutic agents. We found that palmitate induced cell death in the non-malignant cells but not in the malignant cells, which was abrogated through the inhibition of ceramide production and by oleate but not by IGF1. Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is responsible for the de novo synthesis of fatty acids from sugars, and is over-expressed in many epithelial cancers. Abundance of FAS was higher in malignant cells than in non-malignant cells, and was up-regulated by IGF1 in both cell types. IGF-induced growth of non-malignant cells was unaffected by suppression of FAS expression, whereas that of malignant cells was blocked as was their resistance to palmitate-induced cell death. Palmitate did not affect cell proliferation, whereas oleate promoted the growth of non-malignant cells but had the opposite effect, that is, inhibition of IGF1-induced growth of malignant cells. However, when the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway was inhibited, oleate enhanced IGF1-induced growth in both cell types. Hyperglycaemia conferred resistance on malignant cells, but not on non-malignant cells, to chemotherapy-induced cell death. This resistance was overcome by inhibiting FAS or ceramide production. Understanding the mechanisms involved in the associations between obesity, DM and breast cancer may lead to more effective treatment regimens and new therapeutic targets.
Transferring irrigation management to farmer's associations: Evidence from the Philippines
Authors: Bandyopadhyay Sushenjit , Shyamsundar Priya , Xie Mei
Published: April 2010

Irrigation management transfer (IMT) is an important strategy among donors and governments that aims to strengthen farmer control over water and irrigation infrastructure. In this study, we use data from a survey of 68 irrigator associations (IAs) and 1020 farm households in the Philippines to examine the impact of IMT on irrigation association performance and on rice yields. We find that the presence of IMT is associated with an increase in maintenance activities undertaken by irrigation associations. While associations with and without IMT contracts undertake canal maintenance, the frequency of maintenance in IMT IAs is higher. IMT presence is also associated with an increase in farm yields by about 6%; rice production in IMT areas is higher even after we control for various differences amongst rice farmers in IMT and non-IMT areas. Finally, IMT may even give poorer farmers a small boost in terms of rice yields. We speculate that this boost may be a result of improved water delivery and better resolution of conflicts related to illegal use.