bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inmunoterapia y terapia génica como nuevos tratamientos contra el cáncer
Authors: Rangel-Sosa Martha Montserrat , Aguilar-Córdova Estuardo , Rojas-Martínez Augusto
Published: December 2017

El sistema inmune interactúa íntimamente con los tumores durante el proceso del desarrollo de la enfermedad y su progresión a metástasis. Esta compleja comunicación entre el sistema inmune y las células tumorales puede prevenir o promover el crecimiento del tumor. Los nuevos enfoques terapéuticos que aprovechan los mecanismos inmunológicos, ya sea por el bloqueo de señales inhibitorias o por la activación directa de células efectoras, han mostrado resultados prometedores. El bloqueo de puntos de control inmunológicos (immune-checkpoints) con anticuerpos monoclonales dirigidos contra receptores que normalmente inhiben el sistema inmune, como CTLA-4 o PD-1, ha resultado ser un tratamiento exitoso para pacientes con melanoma avanzado. El fármaco ipilimumab es un anticuerpo anti-CTLA-4 que ha demostrado buenos resultados terapéuticos en pacientes con melanoma. Por otro lado, la terapia génica también ha mostrado resultados prometedores en ensayos clínicos. En especial, la administración de la enzima timidina quinasa del virus Herpes simplex (HSV-TK) en combinación con el fármaco ganciclovir (GCV) ha mostrado ser una terapia suicida muy efectiva para la destrucción de diferentes neoplasias incluyendo glioblastomas y tumores prostáticos, por un mecanismo que involucra el reclutamiento de linfocitos infiltrantes de tumor. Es importante la búsqueda de nuevas estrategias o la combinación de terapias innovadoras, con el fin de involucrar tanto la atracción de linfocitos citotóxicos así como el empleo de moléculas que inhiban la inmunotolerancia del tejido tumoral para mejorar la eficiencia de los tratamientos contra el cáncer.
Ten-year Experience with Percutaneous Cholecystostomy for Acute Cholecystitis in Men
Authors: Grisotti Gabriella , King Joseph T. , Bhattacharya Bishwajit , Schlessel Robert B. , Gunabushanam Gowthaman , Perkal Melissa F.
Published: December 2017

Objective:

To retrospectively analyze the treatment outcomes of male patients who underwent emergent percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) for biliary decompression in acute cholecystitis.

Methods:

A single-institution retrospective analysis of 132 patients from 2003 to 2013. Outcome measures were survival, cholecystostomy drain outcomes, and definitive treatment with surgical cholecystectomy.

Results:

The patient population was all male, with a mean age of 70.6 years. 79 patients (59.9%) were admitted for biliary disease and 34 patients (25.8%) were in an intensive care unit (ICU) when diagnosed. 18 patients (13.6%) died within 30 days of PC, an additional 12 (9%) died within 6 months of PC, and the median survival was 4.9 years. Multivariate logistic regression showed a direct relationship between 1 month and 6-month mortality with total bilirubin and an inverse relationship with hematocrit. Cox regression analysis for long-term survival revealed increased mortality associated with respiratory failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.40, P = 0.023) and total bilirubin (HR: 1.11, P < 0.001); lower mortality was associated with a primary diagnosis of cholecystitis (HR: 0.29, P = 0.010), higher hematocrit (HR: 0.89, P < 0.001), and ICU (HR: 0.17, P = 0.003) and floor (HR: 0.34, P = 0.029) diagnosis location. Only 55 patients (41.7%) proceeded to surgical cholecystectomy. Outcomes at 1 year (n = 110) were 40% alive after surgery, 25.5% alive without surgery or a drain, 2.7% alive without surgery but with a drain, and 31.8% dead.

Conclusions:

Although PC is associated with a high early mortality, 25.5 % of our patients were definitively treated with cholecystostomy alone. Certain biomarkers and patient characteristics may help model survival after PC.
Reversible Silver Electrodeposition from Boron Cluster Ionic Liquid (BCIL) Electrolytes
Authors: Spokoyny Alexander , Dziedzic Rafal M. , Waddington Mary A. , Lee Sarah E. , Kleinsasser Jack , Plumley John B. , Ewing William C. , Bosley Beth D. , Lavallo Vincent , Peng Thomas L.
Published: December 2017

Electrochemical systems offer a versatile means for creating adaptive devices. However, the utility of electrochemical deposition is inherently limited by the properties of the electrolyte. The development of ionic liquids enables electrodeposition in high-vacuum environments and presents opportunities for creating electrochemically adaptive and regenerative spacecraft components. In this work we developed a silver-rich, boron cluster ionic liquid (BCIL) for reversible electrodeposition of silver films. This air and moisture stable electrolyte was used to deposit metallic films in an electrochemical cell to tune the emissivity of the cell in situ, demonstrating a proof-of-concept design for spacecraft thermal control.
Drug induced micellization into ultra-high capacity and stable curcumin nanoformulations: Comparing in vitro 2D and 3D-tumor model of triple-negative breast cancer
Authors: Lübtow Michael M. , Nelke Lena C. , Brown Anna , Sahay Gaurav , Dandekar Gudrun , Luxenhofer Robert
Published: December 2017

This manuscript describes a ultra-high loaded nanoformulation of curcumin. This compound is extremely water insoluble but could be dissolved using poly(2-oxazoline)/poly(2-oxazine) based polymer amphiphiles. The resulting formulations were thoroughly characterized in solution and solid form by NMR, dynamic light scattering, electron microscopy, HPLC zeta potential measurements, XRD, respectively. Biological activity was ensured and compared in 2D and 3D cell culture.
pH-mediated molecular differentiation for fluorimetric quantification of chemotherapeutic drugs in human plasma
Authors: Serrano Luis A , Yang Ye , Salvati Elisa , Stellacci Francesco , Krol Silke , Guldin Stefan
Published: December 2017

At present, drug dosage is based on standardised approaches that disregard pharmakokinetic differences between patients and lead to non-optimal efficacy and unnecessary side effects. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of pH-mediated fluorescence spectroscopy for therapeutic drug monitoring in complex media. We apply this principle to the simultaneous quantification of the chemotherapeutic prodrug Irinotecan and its active metabolite SN-38 from human plasma across the clinically relevant concentration range, i.e. from micromolar to nanomolar at molar ratios of up to 30:1.
Mitigation of Scintillation Effects in WDM FSO System using Multibeam Technique
Authors: Grover Marvi , Singh Preeti , Kaur Pardeep
Published: December 2017

Free Space Optical communication (FSO) has engrossed a large section of researchers in recent times due to its wide bandwidth, effortless deployment and immune links making it appropriate for communication purposes. This wireless optical technique requires clear and non-turbulent atmospheric conditions for efficient transmission. In this paper, authors aim at reducing the effect of turbulent atmospheric conditions like scintillation effect on FSO. Multibeam technique, which uses spatially diverse transmitters for transmission, has been used for increasing the achievable link distance of the FSO system. Parameters like quality factor and bit error rate have been used to check the received signal quality.
Comparing Crowdsourced Near-Miss and Collision Cycling Data and Official Bike Safety Reporting
Authors: Branion-Calles Michael , Nelson Trisalyn , Winters Meghan
Published: December 2017

Official sources of cyclist safety data suffer from underreporting and bias. Crowdsourced safety data have the potential to supplement official sources and to provide new data on near-miss incidents. BikeMaps.org is a global online mapping tool that allows cyclists to record the location and details of near misses and collisions they experience. However, little is known about how the characteristics of near-miss and collision events compare. Further, the question remains whether the characteristics of crowdsourced collision data are similar to those of collision data captured by official insurance reports. The objectives of this study were twofold: ( a) to assess similarities and differences in near misses and collisions reported to BikeMaps.org and ( b) to assess similarities and differences in collisions reported to BikeMaps.org and to an official insurance data set. Logistic regression was used first to model the odds of crowdsourced near-miss reports as opposed to collision reports and then to model the odds of crowdsourced as opposed to official insurance collision reports, as a function of incident circumstances. The results indicated higher odds of crowdsourced reports of near misses than of crowdsourced collision reports for commute trips, interactions with motor vehicles, and in locations without bicycle-specific facilities. In addition, relative to insurance reports, crowdsourced collision reports were associated with peak traffic hours, nonintersection locations, and locations where bicycle facilities were present. These analyses indicated that crowdsourced collision data have potential to fill in gaps in reports to official collision sources and that crowdsourced near-miss reporting may be influenced by perceptions of risk.
Bicycle Backlash: Qualitative Examination of Aggressive Driver–Bicyclist Interactions
Authors: Piatkowski Daniel P. , Marshall Wesley , Johnson Aaron S.
Published: December 2017

This research investigated aggressive driver–bicyclist interactions. Individuals who identified themselves as both a driver and a bicyclist were asked about their behavior when they encountered a bicyclist on the road while they were driving a car. Open-ended survey responses were analyzed from individuals who reported a propensity for driving too closely to a bicyclist who they felt was not staying to the side of the road. The data were drawn from a snowball-sampled, online survey specifically targeted to elicit responses about rare (i.e., deviant or illegal) behaviors. Little research exists on why individuals would choose to intimidate a bicyclist while they were driving. Applicable theories from sociology and behavioral economics (i.e., theories of crime as social control and as altruistic punishment) were drawn on in this study to help understand why individuals might do so. This paper argues that aggressive driving behavior directed at bicyclists in the sample population could be characterized with two general themes: “teaching them a lesson” and “they had it coming.” In both cases, individuals deflected the blame for their aggressive behavior away from themselves. Instead, they cast themselves as serving a social good by teaching bicyclists how they should behave or by punishing bicyclists for behaving in ways with which the drivers disagreed. The study reported here was an initial step in an effort to identify testable hypotheses through qualitative methods to explain such behaviors and eventually to mitigate them. The intent is to inform actionable directions to address dangerous on-street interactions that act as barriers to a safe transportation system that accommodates all users.
Low-Stress Bicycle Network Mapping: The District of Columbia’s Innovative Approach to Applying Level of Traffic Stress
Authors: Semler Conor , Sanders Meredyth , Buck Darren , Graham James , Pochowski Alek , Dock Stephanie
Published: December 2017

Washington, D.C., has been a national leader in the adoption of innovative bicycle facilities. However, with much of the low-hanging fruit already plucked (i.e., bicycle facilities already in place), the District Department of Transportation (DOT) needed a mechanism to prioritize investments. Thus the District DOT developed a bicycle level of traffic stress (LTS) map as part of a Multimodal Congestion Management Study. Existing roadway information, combined with an innovative geographic information system approach, was used to create the map and to prioritize and expedite the collection of supplemental roadway information. The results confirmed existing perceptions about the availability of bicycle facilities in the District and identified previously unidentified gaps in the overall bicycle network. In addition, the methodology used to develop the LTS network map provided a proof-of-concept for other jurisdictions to use as they look to develop their own LTS network maps. With this information, the District DOT can now prioritize future bicycle infrastructure investments. It also has a mechanism to update the LTS map as additional data are collected and new facilities are constructed.
Cycling in Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Route Choice Behavior and Implications for Infrastructure Planning
Authors: Li Siyuan , Muresan Matthew , Fu Liping
Published: December 2017

This research investigated the route choice behavior of cyclists in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with data collected from a smartphone application deployed to many cyclists in the city. For the study, 4,556 cyclists registered and logged more than 30,000 commuting trips over 9 months. In addition to the time-stamped, second-by-second GPS readings on each trip, information on age, gender, and rider history was collected on a voluntary basis. Multinomial logit route choice models were estimated for the commuting cycling trips. The results revealed the critical importance of cycling facilities (e.g., bike lanes, cycling paths and trails) on cyclists’ route choice decisions, and provided valuable information for use in Toronto’s ongoing bicycle network planning.
Dwelling Type Matters: Untangling the Paradox of Intensification and Bicycle Mode Choice
Authors: Ledsham Trudy , Farber Steven , Wessel Nate
Published: December 2017

Urban intensification is believed to result in a modal shift away from automobiles to more active forms of transportation. This study extended the understanding of bicycle mode choice and the influence of built form through an analysis of dwelling type, density, and mode choice. Apartment dwelling and active transportation are related to intensification, but an understanding of the impact of increased density on bicycling is muddied by the lack of isolation of cycling from walking in many studies and by the lack of controls for the confounding effects of dwelling type. This study examined the relationship between dwelling type and mode choice in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In this study of 223,232 trips, 25 variables were controlled for, and multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to estimate relative risk ratios. Strong evidence was found that a trip that originated from an apartment-based household was less than half as likely to be taken by bicycle as a similar trip that originated from a house-based household in Toronto in 2011. Increased population density of the household location had a positive impact on the likelihood that a trip would be taken by walking and a negligible and uncertain impact on the likelihood that it would be taken by transit. However, increased population density had a negative impact on bicycling. Further analysis found that the negative impact of density did not seem to apply to those who lived in single detached housing but rather only to the likelihood that apartment and townhouse dwellers would cycle. Further research is required to identify the exact barriers to cycling that apartment dwellers experience.
Observations of Public Bikesharing: Experiences from Ningbo, China
Authors: Lu Chenxi , Xu Feifei , Dong Sheng , Bie Jing
Published: December 2017

This paper reports the experience of a bikeshare operation in Ningbo, China. For analysis of the characteristics of the system operation, system log data were collected for a month, and these data were supplemented by questionnaire data from 1,856 respondents. It was found that the Ningbo bikeshare operation, when compared with that of other cities, had a higher car substitution rate of 16.1% and a higher public bike usage rate of 3.7 trips per bike per day. Together, these contributed to a higher than average reduction in car travel of 756.0 km per bike per year. Although the system was successful in terms of reduced car travel and user satisfaction, it still suffered from the problem of rent–return imbalance, especially during the morning and afternoon peak travel hours. It was also found that rainy weather discouraged the use of public bikes. Moreover, the survey showed that 70% of bike riders took bikes as the sole mode to reach their destination and only 30% of them used bikes as a “last mile” means to transfer to other transit modes. This factor is in contrast to the initial expectation that public bikes would mainly fulfill the last mile demand. It is suggested that the bikeshare system should be well planned, designed, and operated to cope with the negative effects of the imbalance problem and rainy weather conditions. The aim of the bikeshare system may need to be repositioned from a last mile solution to an independent public transportation system that supplements metro, bus, and taxi systems.
Keep ’Em Separated: Desire Lines Analysis of Bidirectional Cycle Tracks in Montreal, Canada
Authors: Wexler Michael Seth , El-Geneidy Ahmed
Published: December 2017

As cities worldwide try to increase the adoption of the bicycle as a legitimate mode of urban transportation, the perception of danger plays a significant role in deterring potential new users. In a study conducted in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, bicycle users claimed to perceive intersections with bidirectional cycle tracks twice as negatively as they perceived either similar protected facilities midblock or intersections with painted bicycle lanes. This study aimed to understand this negative perception through a fine-grained analysis and observation of the interplay between infrastructure design and bicycle users’ behavior at these intersections. Researchers used the Desire Lines Analysis tool pioneered by Copenhagenize Design Company and developed recommendations and design interventions for two intersections with bidirectional facilities in the city of Montreal. Study results demonstrated that most users followed the prescribed routes of the street design through each intersection and shone light on users who did not—more than a quarter of users. The trajectories of bicycle users that were questionably legal resulted in observed conflicts at both bidirectional intersections. Conflicts were grouped into three major observed themes: counterflow interactions, priority confusion, and directional awareness. Recommendations made in this paper aim to address each one of these observed themes with appropriate designs that are choreographic, prioritized, and predictable for all road users. Planners, engineers, and urban designers can gain significant insight into best-practice bicycle infrastructure through techniques, such as desire lines analysis, that observe behavior and design accordingly.
Classification Criteria and Application of Level of Service for Bicycle Lanes in China
Authors: Chen Xiaohong , Fang Xueli , Ye Jianhong , Luttinen Tapio
Published: December 2017

The bicycle is an important part of the urban transportation system in China. Traditional research on bicycle levels of service concentrated on the cyclists’ perspective and neglected bicyclists’ particularity and diversity. The objectives of this research were to propose bicycle level-of-service (BLOS) models from the users’ perspective and to develop a new BLOS criterion on the basis of a new classification of persons. The key influential factors of BLOS were classified into three categories: safety, comfort, and air quality. The stepwise regression analysis was employed to develop the BLOS models on the basis of influential factors and volunteers’ ratings. To isolate the significant difference of the BLOS requirements, cyclists were divided into four groups: users with special requirements, attempters, frequent users, and enthusiasts. New BLOS criteria corresponding to the classification of cyclists and BLOS models were developed. Results showed that the nonmotorized vehicle lane width, the form of separation between motorized and nonmotorized vehicle lanes, moped speed, and proportion of roadside planting were the significant influential factors of the corresponding models. The fact that the developed BLOS models and classification criteria could improve cycling facilities proved to be quite applicable and reasonable. Results can be used to draw two classification maps of BLOS on the bike lanes of main roads in China as an example of an application. The results described in this paper can help decision makers find significant factors affecting cyclists’ satisfaction at road segments and determine the order of the improvements to be made in the nonmotorized vehicle lane.
Typologies of Urban Cyclists: Review of Market Segmentation Methods for Planning Practice
Authors: Félix Rosa , Moura Filipe , Clifton Kelly J.
Published: December 2017

Following global guidelines, several cities are investing in urban cycling. Cities are in different stages of cycling development and have adopted different approaches and packages of policies that are likely to be most effective at each stage. Urban cycling plans include investment in infrastructure, promotion, and education supporting the adoption of active modes for urban mobility. Some investments aim to meet current cyclists’ needs and others those of potential bicycle adopters. With respect to urban cyclists, several studies propose typologies, usually related to frequency, trip purpose, or motivation. This paper compares a set of cyclist typologies and the corresponding categorization methods and reviews 20 studies that considered different cyclists’ profiles. Most studies relied on expert judgment approaches or rule-based decisions; five considered multivariate analysis techniques for clustering groups, on the basis of data from surveys. Despite the variety of group categorizations, commonalities were found in most cases and divided cyclists into three main types: current cyclists (typically more proficient riders), potential cyclists (willing but not convinced), and noncyclists (unaware of or unwilling to shift to cycling). Dividing the population of potential cyclists into different typologies can better inform the different stages of planning for cycling infrastructure development by targeting more accurately the needs and requirements of different types of users. This is a key element in the management of a cycling network and cycling infrastructure, which are intended to be built on the basis of effective solutions and decisions to achieve desirable bicycle modal shares of regular trips.
The Reach of Bicycling in Rural, Small, and Low-Density Places
Authors: McAndrews Carolyn , Okuyama Kenta , Litt Jill S.
Published: December 2017

Lessons derived from the urban experience of bicycling may not be broadly supportive of bicycling in rural, small, and low-density (RSLD) places because of differences in built environment, social, and political contexts. In this study, the hypothesis that bicycling was primarily an urban activity was investigated. Binary logistic regression was used to compare the frequency of bicycling and the population characteristics of bicyclists across urban and RSLD places. Multiple operational definitions of urban–rural continua were used to examine whether the results were sensitive to how RSLD places were defined. The data for bicycling were from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey, which was designed to represent the population of the United States. Bicycling was found to be primarily, but not exclusively, an urban activity. Moreover, women and youths were more likely to bicycle in RSLD places compared with urban places. These findings suggest that an urban perspective on bicycling could limit the success of initiatives aiming to increase the diversity of populations that bicycle. Developing a base of empirical knowledge of bicycling in RSLD places is a necessary step toward developing more inclusive and effective multimodal transportation strategies.
Investigation of Alternative Bicycle Pavement Markings with the Use of a Bicycle Simulator
Authors: Brown Henry , Sun Carlos , Qing Zhu
Published: December 2017

The past decade has seen increased public interest in sustainable transportation modes in the United States. However, there is a relative lack of guidance regarding standards and specifications for bicycle facilities compared with the highway mode. This project sought to address this deficiency through the investigation of alternative pavement markings for bicycle wayfinding and proper bicycle placement at signalized intersections as part of the federal Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program in Columbia, Missouri. This evaluation was accomplished with a bicycle simulator study and postsimulator survey with 27 participants. A network of 37 intersections with characteristics similar to intersections in Columbia was created with the ZouSim simulator. The survey included questions regarding bicycling habits and preferences for the alternative markings. For wayfinding, two alternative types of pavement markings and the signage recommended by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) were evaluated. Both the survey and the simulator results indicated that the Type 2 wayfinding markings with a green circle performed better with respect to visibility and delineating the bicycle route. The bicycle placement portion of the study investigated three alternative types of markings as well as the MUTCD markings and signage to help riders position their bicycle at the correct location to receive a green signal. The bicycle placement results indicated that the Type 1 and Type 2 experimental detector markings resulted in the fewest number of missed detections, while the Type 1 marking was the preferred alternative of the survey participants.
Existence and Use of Low-Pollution Route Options for Observed Bicycling Trips
Authors: Broach Joseph , Bigazzi Alexander Y.
Published: December 2017

Do routes with lower doses of air pollution exist in real-world bicycling networks, and do bicyclists actually use those routes? Low-pollution-dose alternative routes for a sample of urban cycling trips were modeled and compared with shortest paths. Bicyclists’ actual route choices on the same trips were observed with the use of GPS data and compared with the low-dose and shortest paths alternatives. With use of past studies of pollution exposure levels and simplified ventilation rates, link-inhaled doses of air pollution were estimated. Findings suggest that a majority of trips have lower-dose alternatives to the shortest path, with a 12% average dose reduction. Cyclists tend to choose routes with pollution concentrations between those of shortest paths and minimum-dose routes, but they also travel considerably farther, leading to total inhaled doses that are higher than on either alternative route. People’s seeming avoidance of nontraffic factors such as hills, excess turns, and difficult intersections leads to longer than optimal detours from a pollution avoidance perspective. Bike paths and bike boulevards (traffic-calmed streets with bicycle priority), as well as denser street grids, appear to provide effective low-pollution alternatives, although such routes tend to encourage excess detours that can add to total inhaled dose. Bike lanes can draw cyclists onto more polluted routes in some circumstances, with poor pollution inhalation outcomes. Overall, excess doses did seem to be a common problem for this sample of cyclists on a real-world network. The study’s findings support policies that provide dense networks of attractive facilities that encourage cyclists to choose direct, lower-pollution routes.
Impacts of Level of Traffic Stress on Bikeshare Ridership in the Case of Capital Bikeshare in Montgomery County, Maryland
Authors: Prabhakar Ranjani , Rixey R. Alexander
Published: December 2017

This research explored the relationship between level of traffic stress (LTS) and bikeshare ridership within the Capital Bikeshare (CB) network in Montgomery County, Maryland. Linear regression was used to build a model that could predict the relationship between bikeshare ridership and low-stress bicycle connections between stations, enhanced by various demographic and built environment variables that helped to define the regional context. Linear regression models were used to estimate total trips per year and to inform further studies that sought to increase ridership through improved bicycle facilities and environments. On the basis of the varying land uses within Montgomery County and the geography of CB stations in the county, two separate data sets were created to measure the ridership propensity within the northern part of the county around Rockville and Shady Grove and the southern part of the county around Bethesda and Silver Spring. The models illustrated the utility of LTS measures in identifying the effect of low-stress bicycle connections on bikeshare ridership. The models indicated that bikeshare station pairs that were connected by links with a higher percentage of low-stress facilities were correlated with higher bikeshare ridership. Station pairs that required a longer detour to achieve a low-stress route relative to a shortest-path route were correlated with lower bikeshare ridership. Application of the linear regression tool to estimate ridership on the basis of LTS and other context variables is transferable to other similar networks to draw conclusions about the relationship between quality bicycle connections and the level of bikeshare ridership.
Gestion stratégique des compétences en PME
Authors: Bootz Jean-Philippe , Schenk Éric , Sonntag Michel
Published: December 2017

Ce travail cherche à éclairer la manière dont s’opère la relation entre stratégie et gestion des compétences dans une PME marquée par une culture tacite et par la prédominance du dirigeant. Les auteurs mènent pour cela une recherche-intervention au sein d’une PME industrielle, fournisseur de rang 2 de la filière automobile. Ils mettent en évidence que la formalisation des processus métier constitue un élément clé de la gestion des compétences en PME. Cette formalisation permet en effet d’identifier des compétences clés jusque-là invisibles, qui alimentent la vision stratégique du dirigeant. Il apparaît en outre que l’articulation entre stratégie et gestion des compétences s’opère à travers un processus séquentiel impliquant successivement un modèle déduit (top-down) puis un modèle émergent (bottom-up).
La technologie-totem
Authors: Dudézert Aurélie , Bossard-Préchoux Véronique , Grimand Amaury
Published: December 2017

Le métier de chercheur en entreprise qui a fortement évolué ces dernières années, questionnant l’identité métier des ces praticiens. Élément fédérateur de l’action collective, l’identité au travail est pourtant un moyen d’orchestration du travail en entreprise. Dans ce contexte de mutation professionnelle, cet article1explore le rôle que jouent les technologies de l’information (TI) mises à la disposition des chercheurs dans l’affirmation de leur identité au travail. Par une étude de cas au sein d’un centre de recherche d’une entreprise française de télécommunications, l’article montre que les acteurs peuvent mobiliser les dimensions symboliques des TI pour en faire des dispositifs d’affirmation identitaire. Les auteurs explorent la métaphore de l’objet-totem pour mieux comprendre ces dynamiques sociales qui entourent l’appropriation des TI.
Commoning in New York City, Barcelona, and Paris
Authors: Susser Ida
Published: December 2017

Based on fieldwork in New York City, Barcelona, and Paris, this article
explores recent Occupy events and how these represent a claim for an urban
commons, and the building of a new political consciousness. The article analyzes
commoning in the three cities as a form of popular education that transforms
space, time, and language. The reemergence of commoning is seen as a response
to neoliberal policies, the creation of a temporary and insecure workforce (or precariat),
and the need to develop different approaches to power and transformation.
Although clearly reflective of historical experiences, commoning can be seen as a
newly significant form of protest that brings together and creates a shared culture
among fragmented progressive groups often divided by issues of identity and topic.
Theorizing the urban housing commons
Authors: Nonini Don
Published: December 2017

This article theorizes the making and unmaking of the urban housing commons in Amsterdam. The article reviews the literature on the urban housing commons, sets out the analytics of use values and exchange values for housing, and situates these analytics within the transition from dominance of industrial to finance capital in the Netherlands during neoliberalization from the mid-1970s to the present. A vibrant housing commons in Amsterdam came into existence by the 1980s because of two social movements that pressed the Dutch state to institutionalize this commons—the New Left movement within the Dutch Labor Party, and the squatters’ movement in Amsterdam. The subsequent shift in dominance from industrial to finance capital has led to the decline of both movements and the erosion of the housing commons.
Incipient “commoning” in defense of the public?
Authors: Morgen Sandra , Erickson Jennifer
Published: December 2017

This article examines the development of competing forms of fiscal citizenship
in Oregon tax-related ballot initiative campaigns between 1970 and 2010.
Antitax advocates constructed a “taxpayer identity politics” that positioned a privatized
“taxpayer” against representatives of the state, recipients of public services,
and public sector unions. In response, a progressive coalition produced an alternative
citizen—the “Oregonian,” a socially responsible taxpayer/citizen who supports
and defends public services and values a “common good.” “Incipient commoning”
emerges as support for “the common good” through discourse about community
and belonging that is more and other than, though in relation to, the state. Attention
to how “publics” conceive of themselves suggests that concepts like the
“the commons” already circulate in the imaginaries and vocabularies of advocates
resisting neoliberal policies.
Effective and scalable kernel-based language learning via stratified Nyström methods
Authors: Croce Danilo , Filice Simone , Basili Roberto
Published: December 2017

Expressive but complex kernel functions, such as Sequence or Tree kernels, are usually underemployed in NLP tasks as for their significant computational cost in both learning and classification stages. Recently, the Nyström methodology for data embedding has been proposed as a viable solution to scalability problems. It improves scalability of learning processes acting over highly structured data, by mapping data into low-dimensional compact linear representations of kernel spaces. In this paper, a stratification of the model corresponding to the embedding space is proposed as a further highly flexible optimization. Nyström embedding spaces of increasing sizes are combined in an efficient ensemble strategy: upper layers, providing higher dimensional representations, are invoked on input instances only when the adoption of smaller (i.e., less expressive) embeddings provides uncertain outcomes. Experimental results using different models of such an uncertainty show that state-of-the-art accuracy on three semantic inference tasks can be obtained even when one order of magnitude fewer kernel computations is carried out.
Towards a unifying framework for conceptual represention and reasoning in cognitive systems
Authors: Lieto Antonio , Radicioni Daniele , Rho Valentina , Mensa Enrico
Published: December 2017

In this paper we present the rationale adopted for the integration of the knowledge level of DUAL-PECCS, a cognitive system for conceptual representation and categorization, with two different cognitive architectures: SOAR and LIDA. In previous works we already showed how the representational and reasoning framework adopted in DUAL-PECCS was integrable with diverse cognitive architectures, i.e. ACT-R and CLARION, making different representational assumptions and adopting diverse knowledge processing mechanisms. The additional integrations presented here suggest that the underlying knowledge representation and reasoning structure adopted in DUAL-PECCS can be used as a unifying framework for the knowledge level of agents endowed with different cognitive architectures. The current version of the system has been experimentally assessed in a task of conceptual categorization where a target concept illustrated by a simple common-sense linguistic description had to be identified by resorting to a mix of categorization strategies. The output has then been compared to human and artificial responses. The novel integration allowed us to extend our previous evaluation.
Disjunctive temporal networks with uncertainty via SMT: Recent results and directions
Authors: Micheli A.
Published: December 2017

Many Planning and Scheduling systems are designed assuming that the system under control is able to decide the duration of all the activities being executed. However, in many application scenarios this assumption is not acceptable because the actual timing of actions is not under direct control of the plan executor. Hence, new Planning and Scheduling techniques are needed to deal with this temporal uncertainty explicitly.

In this paper, we summarize and systematize a series of works in which we addressed this uncertainty problem in the realm of temporal network scheduling. We show how Satisfiability Modulo Theory (SMT) solvers can be exploited to quickly solve different kinds of query in this setting. In particular, we focus on the framework of Disjunctive Temporal Networks with Uncertainty and address the three degrees of controllability for the fully-disjunctive class of problems, solving several open problems in the literature and experimentally showing the performance of the developed techniques. Finally, we outline and discuss several foreseeable directions of research in this field.
Is Genetic Mobilization Considered When Using Bacteriophages in Antimicrobial Therapy?
Authors: Rodríguez-Rubio Lorena , Jofre Joan , Muniesa Maite
Published: December 2017

The emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria has undermined our capacity to control bacterial infectious diseases. Measures needed to tackle this problem include controlling the spread of antibiotic resistance, designing new antibiotics, and encouraging the use of alternative therapies. Phage therapy seems to be a feasible alternative to antibiotics, although there are still some concerns and legal issues to overcome before it can be implemented on a large scale. Here we highlight some of those concerns, especially those related to the ability of bacteriophages to transport bacterial DNA and, in particular, antibiotic resistance genes.
Context-Aware Recommender System: A Review of Recent Developmental Process and Future Research Direction
Authors: Haruna Khalid , Akmar Ismail Maizatul , Suhendroyono Suhendroyono , Damiasih Damiasih , Pierewan Adi , Chiroma Haruna , Herawan Tutut
Published: December 2017

Intelligent data handling techniques are beneficial for users; to store, process, analyze and access the vast amount of information produced by electronic and automated devices. The leading approach is to use recommender systems (RS) to extract relevant information from the vast amount of knowledge. However, early recommender systems emerged without the cognizance to contextualize information regarding users’ recommendations. Considering the historical methodological limitations, Context-Aware Recommender Systems (CARS) are now deployed, which leverage contextual information in addition to the classical two-dimensional search processes, providing better-personalized user recommendations. This paper presents a review of recent developmental processes as a fountainhead for the research of a context-aware recommender system. This work contributes by taking an integrated approach to the complete CARS developmental process, unlike other review papers, which only address a specific aspect of the CARS process. First, an in-depth review is presented pertaining to the state-of-the-art and classified literature, considering the domain of the application models, filters, extraction and evaluation approaches. Second, viewpoints are presented relating to the extraction of literature with analysis on the merit and demerit of each, and the evolving processes between them. Finally, the outstanding challenges and opportunities for future research directions are highlighted.
A New Compact Octagonal Shape Perfect Metamaterial Absorber for Microwave Applications
Authors: Hossain Mohammad , Faruque Mohammad , Islam Mohammad , Mat Kamarulzaman
Published: December 2017

A new compact octagonal shape perfect metamaterial absorber (PMA) design, numerical simulation, fabrication, and investigational verification of unit cell that is based on a simple structure are presented in this paper. The suggested structure comprised of three layers, in which interact to produce the plasmonic resonances. The finite-integration technique (FIT) based Computer Simulation Technology (CST) microwave electromagnetic simulator was utilized to examine the design parameters and conduct absorption analysis. The design structure exhibited peak absorption values as 99.64% and 99.95% at frequencies 8.08 GHz and 11.41 GHz, respectively. The absorption characteristics were analysed using the polarization angle of the structure, layer thickness, PMA with resistive load, and number of rings. An N5227A vector network analyser was used for the measurement. The measured results of the fabricated prototype were in good agreement with the simulation results. The suggested perfect absorber structure enables innumerable application aimed at X-band for applications like, defence, security, and stealth technology.
A Review of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture RADAR (InSAR) Multi-Track Approaches for the Retrieval of Earth’s Surface Displacements
Authors: Pepe Antonio , Calò Fabiana
Published: December 2017

Synthetic Aperture RADAR Interferometry (InSAR) provides a unique tool for the quantitative measurement of the Earth’s surface deformations induced by a variety of natural (such as volcanic eruptions, landslides and earthquakes) and anthropogenic (e.g., ground-water extraction in highly-urbanized areas, deterioration of buildings and public facilities) processes. In this framework, use of InSAR technology makes it possible the long-term monitoring of surface deformations and the analysis of relevant geodynamic phenomena. This review paper provides readers with a general overview of the InSAR principles and the recent development of the advanced multi-track InSAR combination methodologies, which allow to discriminate the 3-D components of deformation processes and to follow their temporal evolution. The increasing availability of SAR data collected by complementary illumination angles and from different RADAR instruments, which operate in various bands of the microwave spectrum (X-, L- and C-band), makes the use of multi-track/multi-satellite InSAR techniques very promising for the characterization of deformation patterns. A few case studies will be presented, with a particular focus on the recently proposed multi-track InSAR method known as the Minimum Acceleration (MinA) combination approach. The presented results evidence the validity and the relevance of the investigated InSAR approaches for geospatial analyses.
Joint QoS and Congestion Control Based on Traffic Prediction in SDN
Authors: Tajiki Mohammad , Akbari Behzad , Shojafar Mohammad , Mokari Nader
Published: December 2017

Due to the various network requirements of applications, quality of service (QoS)-aware routing plays an important role in the networks. Recently proposed resource allocation algorithms focus on the current traffic matrix, which is not applicable for dynamic networks. In this paper, we exploit an estimation of flow matrix that gives our scheme the ability to sufficiently reduce the total packet loss and simultaneously raise the network throughput. In this way, we mathematically formulate the QoS-aware resource reallocation in software-defined networking (SDN) networks based on the traffic prediction. To solve this optimization problem, two schemes are proposed: (i) exact solution; and (ii) fast suboptimal one. The proposed schemes are compared with the accuracy perspective. Moreover, the impact of prediction on resource reallocation is discussed. In this regard, it is shown that, compared with the conventional scheme, the proposed scheme decreases the packet loss and increases the throughput significantly.
An All-Glass Microfluidic Network with Integrated Amorphous Silicon Photosensors for on-Chip Monitoring of Enzymatic Biochemical Assay
Authors: Costantini Francesca , Tiggelaar Roald , Salvio Riccardo , Nardecchia Marco , Schlautmann Stefan , Manetti Cesare , Gardeniers Han , De Cesare Giampiero , Caputo Domenico , Nascetti Augusto
Published: December 2017

A lab-on-chip system, integrating an all-glass microfluidics and on-chip optical detection, was developed and tested. The microfluidic network is etched in a glass substrate, which is then sealed with a glass cover by direct bonding. Thin film amorphous silicon photosensors have been fabricated on the sealed microfluidic substrate preventing the contamination of the micro-channels. The microfluidic network is then made accessible by opening inlets and outlets just prior to the use, ensuring the sterility of the device. The entire fabrication process relies on conventional photolithographic microfabrication techniques and is suitable for low-cost mass production of the device. The lab-on-chip system has been tested by implementing a chemiluminescent biochemical reaction. The inner channel walls of the microfluidic network are chemically functionalized with a layer of polymer brushes and horseradish peroxidase is immobilized into the coated channel. The results demonstrate the successful on-chip detection of hydrogen peroxide down to 18 μM by using luminol and 4-iodophenol as enhancer agent.
Experimental Tests on a Dowel-Type Timber Connection and Validation of Numerical Models
Authors: Solarino Fabio , Giresini Linda , Chang Wen-Shao , Huang Haoyu
Published: December 2017

This paper examines the dynamic behaviour of timber framed buildings under wind and dynamic loads, focusing on the role of connections being experimentally tested. The main aim of this manuscript is to analyze the in-service dynamic behaviour of a semi-rigid moment-resisting dowel-type connection between timber beam and column. For this purpose, two laboratory tests have been performed, the first on a connection and another one on a portal frame. The results are used to validate a numerical model of the simple portal frame, analyzed in OpenSees. The obtained relationships are also discussed and compared with Eurocode rules. The main result is that the joint stiffness is calculated through the Eurocode (EC) formulation underestimates the experimental one. A mutual agreement is obtained between the numerical model, validated from the experimental stiffness value for the connections, and the experimental results on the portal frame.