bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regional Innovation Strategies
Authors: Tiryakioglu Murad , Alcin Sinan
Published: April 2012

Regional innovation strategies which emerged during the mid 90s and were implemented especially in the developing regions of the world are significant for the transformation of both the knowledge produced in the regional scale and the added value it created into competitive power in the national and global scale. These strategies which have successfully been implemented in different parts of the world are a great opportunity for a country like Turkey which has a large young population and stands out among the other developing countries with her strategic location and potentials for human resources, agriculture and commerce. Focusing on these strategies and exploring national and regional innovation systems, this chapter both investigates the leader implementations in Europe and examines the first implementations of regional innovation strategies in Turkey. This chapter suggests that by transforming her regional innovation skills into products and services that have added value, Turkey will have a potential to achieve rapid social and economic development and therefore increase her significance for the national and international innovative investors.
Using Soclab for a Rigorous Assessment of the Social Feasibility of Agricultural Policies
Authors: Adreit Françoise , Roggero Pascal , Sibertin-Blanc Christophe , Vautier Claude
Published: April 2012

This paper presents a theoretical and methodological framework to take into consideration the social dimension in a sustainable development project. To do this, the authors have developed the SocLab software environment, which implements a formalization of a well-established sociological theory, and enables the modeling of social organizations, to analyze their properties and to simulate social actors’ behaviors. SocLab was used to assess the social acceptability of new agricultural practices more in line with the preservation of water resources and natural environments, in a well defined context. The paper shows how it was used and presents the main results.
Eco-Municipalities and Municipal Applications for Sustainability
Authors: Bostanci Seda H.
Published: April 2012

The eco-municipality models and municipal applications for sustainability are criticized for not yet finding a sustainable development model for Turkish municipalities. In the improvement of the sustainable municipality concept, some common decision had been taken and defined the related standards. LA21, EMAS for municipalities, and ISO standards are the examples coming forward. The methodology is based on literature review of experiences of the eco-projects that have been made in municipalities and SWOT analyses for these projects. In Turkey, the first step has been taken in LA21 processes to adopt the eco-municipal approach in transformation. For the further steps, the need for establishing an integrated model among the different applications has been concluded.
Dynamics in a Non-Scale R&D Endogenous Economic Growth for Chinese Development
Authors: He Qiong
Published: April 2012

By introducing nonlinear technology gap into Jones (1995b), this chapter constructs an R&D non-scale growth model that includes endogenous human capital and technological progress. The goal is to take the model’s implications to the data to explaining the Chinese economic development experiences at period 1979-2004. Our model suggests that the technology gap has the block neck effect on the economic development. The market competitive equilibrium solution shows that R&D and technology spillover can enhance the steady state growth rate. The mode’s transitional dynamics is also analyzed on the effects of human capital, capital, technological progress and intersectional labor movements on economic growth, technological progress has the most effect on the economic development, and more human capital shift into R&D sector from final goods sector.
Study on Environmental Tax
Authors: Li Huifeng , Zhang Xuanwei
Published: April 2012

Since the industrial age, along with the promotion of economic development, problems of ecological destruction and environmental pollution are becoming more serious. To solve this problem, the implementation of environmental tax is an effective measure. Based on the analysis of the theoretical foundation of environmental taxes, international practice and experience in environmental tax system, in this paper, the authors describe the status quo of China’s environmental tax system, and frames the further step strategy in building China’s environmental tax system.
Emerging Trends in Tourism Industry in Oman
Authors: Baporikar Neeta
Published: April 2012

Tourism industry is the largest industry world wide and is the main source of economic development of countries like Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai. It is also the main source of income generation for countries like Mauritius, Spain etc. Oman being the second largest country in the Middle East possessing wealth of natural resources has everything to offer to the tourists. It has a long coastline with pristine beaches, beautiful mountains, and world’s best deserts with rolling sand dunes. With breath taking Khareef festival of Salalah, Musundam in the Khasab region which is referred to as Norway of Arabia and Bhala with its forts and castles being listed in the UNESCO world heritage monuments, Oman is one among the best ten countries of the world for tourists to travel (International Travel Magazine). This chapter attempts to review the strategic approach adopted for tourism development, gives the SWOT analysis for the tourism industry and discusses the emerging trends of tourism and related sectors like hospitality, travel and aviation, training and education with special reference to Sultanate of Oman.
Enhancing Social Networks with Agent and Semantic Web Technologies
Authors: Bergenti Federico , Franchi Enrico , Poggi Agostino
Published: April 2012

In this chapter, the authors describe the relationships between multi-agent systems, social networks, and the Semantic Web within collaborative work; they also review how the integration of multi-agent systems and Semantic Web technologies and techniques can be used to enhance social networks at all scales. The chapter first provides a review of relevant work on the application of agent-based models and abstractions to the key ingredients of our work: collaborative systems, the Semantic Web, and social networks. Then, the chapter discusses the reasons current multi-agent systems and their foreseen evolution might be a fundamental means for the realization of the future Semantic Social Networks. Finally, some conclusions are drawn.
Knowledge Worker Performance in a Cross-Industrial Perspective
Authors: Erne Rainer
Published: April 2012

Knowledge workers in specific professional domains form the fastest increasing workforce in OECD countries. Since this fact has been realised by management researchers, they have focussed on the question of how to measure and enhance the productivity of said workforce. According to the author’s cross-industrial research undertaken in five different knowledge-intensive organisations, it is, however, not productivity in the traditional meaning of the term which is to be regarded as the crucial performance indicator in knowledge work. There rather exist multiple performance indicators, each of which is, moreover, differently graded as to its importance by different stakeholders. These findings, firstly, indicate the need for an alternative definition of productivity when the term is applied to knowledge work. Secondly, they indicate the need for alternative definitions of the specific challenges that might be involved in making knowledge workers productive. Thirdly, they imply different consequences for the management of knowledge workers. This chapter closes abovementioned research gaps by summarising the indicators employed in five knowledge-intensive organisations from different business sectors for the assessment of knowledge workers’ performance, by subsequently deducing the specific challenges involved in the management of knowledge workers and by further delineating consequences for the management of knowledge workers – consequences affecting various knowledge-intensive industries.
Bebras Contest and Digital Competence Assessment
Authors: Cartelli Antonio , Dagiene Valentina , Futschek Gerald
Published: April 2012

The paper is made of two parts. The first part discusses the importance of informal education environments supported by IT/ICT in students’ learning, followed by reports of some international competitions and the role they have in improving students’ interest and use of Informatics and related disciplines. At the end of the section, it describes the Bebras contest, an international competition supporting students’ Information and Communication Technology competences with emphasis on cross discipline competences, which are useful to solve real life problems. In the second part of the paper, the outcomes of a research study on the features of a framework for digital competence assessment are reported. Based on this, some criticisms emerging from the analysis of the answers that students gave to a questionnaire built on the guidelines of the mentioned framework are analysed. They are integrated by the comments that teachers, colleagues and researchers made on the structure of the hypothesized framework. At last, a new model for digital literacy assessment is proposed. In the conclusion, the necessary elements for making the last framework effective are outlined and its suitability for the construction of the yearly questionnaire of the Bebras contest is discussed.
Digital Literacy for Health
Authors: Klecun Ela
Published: April 2012

This paper outlines and challenges expectations and promises regarding the potential of the internet and Web 2.0 for empowering patients and citizens. It focuses on literacies required to make a meaningful (to the individual) use of these technologies for health and health care related purposes. The author briefly discusses how these should be taught and concludes that these literacies, including digital literacy and health literacy, are complex and challenging to many while the empowering claims are over-stated. Traditional sources of information and advice will remain essential to maintaining quality of health care.
Achieving Competitive Advantage through Innovation
Authors: Song Wei
Published: April 2012

Innovation in the service/retail sector has not been fully examined in the non-Western literature. This preliminary work presents a study that was conducted in Shanghai, China. Three sets of the literature are consulted: Porter’s Generic Strategies Model, Hunt’s Resource Advantage Theory (R-A), and previous studies in the service and retail sectors. Findings developed from six selected successful Chinese supermarket companies have identified three types of innovation adopted by Chinese retailers: Technology based, non-technology based, and resource based innovation. The study takes a qualitative approach by using the methods of documentation survey and in-depth interviews with a panel of ten supermarket experts. Some managerial implications are explicated, and the limitations of the study and directions for future studies are discussed.
Cross-Layer Adaptive Packet Scheduling over Fading Channel
Authors: Karmokar Ashok K. , Anpalagan Alagan
Published: April 2012

Cross-layer adaptive resource allocation techniques are found to be powerful techniques for achieving high throughput and high reliability over wireless fading channels. Recently, it has been revealed in the literature that cross-layer adaptation and optimization techniques can improve the overall system level Quality of Service (QoS) performance significantly over separate single layer adaptation and optimization techniques. In this chapter, the authors discuss the novel cross-layer techniques that jointly consider the physical layer channel gain as well as the upper layer buffer occupancy and traffic information in order to find transmission rate and power policies that jointly optimize transmission power, buffer delay, and packet overflow for an application specific bit error rate. They provide a conceptual study on the cross-layer adaptation and optimization techniques, which fuels necessary motivation and direction on how to implement them in different wireless standards and devices. The authors discuss the associated system modeling, problem formulation, and solution techniques as well as show the benefits of cross-layer adaptation and optimization techniques as compared to single-layer counterpart with numerical results.
Cross-Layer Monitoring in Cloud Computing
Authors: Calero Jose M. Alcaraz , König Benjamin , Kirschnick Johannes
Published: April 2012

This book chapter describes the different aspects related to designing a suitable monitoring architecture for Cloud Computing, aiming to support cross-layer monitoring across all layers available in the Cloud stack. For this purpose, the importance of monitoring services in Cloud scenarios is outlined, followed by a comprehensible analysis of a wide set of distributed monitoring solutions. After that, the particular requirements related to cross-layer monitoring for Cloud Computing architectures are identified and explained. Then, diverse aspects which may fit a monitoring architecture for fulfilling such requirements are explained. Finally, some future research directions and conclusions are highlighted.
Information Security Management Based on Linguistic Sharing Techniques
Authors: Ogiela Marek R. , Ogiela Urszula
Published: April 2012

Secure information splitting is used in many tasks of the intelligent sharing of secrets and key data in business organisations. The significance of information splitting depends on its nature, while the significance of information sharing may depend on its importance and the meaning it has for the organisation or institution concerned. This chapter presents models for multi-level information splitting and information management with the use of the linguistic approach and formal grammars. Such methods constitute a secure enhancement of traditional secret splitting algorithms and introduce an additional stage at which information is coded using the appropriately defined regular or context-free grammar. The many possible applications of such methods include their use for the intelligent management of important or confidential information in government institutions or businesses. Algorithms of multi-level information splitting allow information that is not available to all employees of a given organisation or its environment to be securely split or shared.
Security in Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Codes
Authors: Zboril Frantisek , Horacek Jan , Drahansky Martin , Hanacek Petr
Published: April 2012

Security of wireless sensor networks (WSN) relates in many aspects to security of distributed systems. On the first sight WSNs form a large distributed ad-hoc system with lot of tiny devices that sense some phenomena and communicate wirelessly. Due to some limitations, among which the energy consumption problem is the most important one, security issues could demand different solutions than those used in the area of ordinary distributed systems. In this chapter, the authors briefly introduce the hardware and software approach to WSN design first, and then they define the main security aspects in such systems. Then some security mechanisms are presented, and their connection to possible countermeasures of the identified risks is described.
Towards a Trust Management Enabled Identity Metasystem
Authors: Zhao Weiliang , Yang Jian
Published: April 2012

Existing identity metasystems provide enabling tools to manage, select, and control of digital identities but they have not provided the support of trust management that should cover how trust requirements associated with digital identities are modeled, how runtime conditions for trust are evaluated, and how the results of trust evaluation are consumed by systems/applications. In this paper, the authors propose an approach toward a trust management enabled identity metasystem that covers the analysis of trust requirements and the development of trust management system in a consistent manner. The proposed trust management architecture extends the existing identity metasystems by introducing computing components for carrying out typical trust management tasks associated with digital identities. The computing components in proposed architecture provide intelligent services for these tasks. The proposed high level architecture targets the automation of the development of the trust management layer for digital identities.
A Social Bookmarking-Based People Search Service
Authors: Huang Jeff J.S. , Yang Stephen J.H. , Chen Jeng C.C , Li Irene Y.S. , Hsiao Indy Y.T.
Published: April 2012

The emergence of Web 2.0 has brought along the trend of community. It is also the trend that contributes to socialization of the Internet. The essence of Web 2.0 is creation and sharing which give rise to social networking communities such as Blog, Wikipedia and Facebook. Through Wikipedia, Blogs, Facebook and other kinds of social networking websites, interactive relationship and bridge of knowledge sharing have been built up successfully. This paper attempts to propose an effective way to locate people with shared interests. By using Internet resources bookmarked by the users, the similarity of interests between them can be analyzed. Based on this relationship, people could build communities. Also, through community activities, the innovation and exchange of collective intelligence are accomplished.
The Computing of Digital Ecosystems
Authors: Briscoe Gerard , De Wilde Philippe
Published: April 2012

A primary motivation this research in digital ecosystems is the desire to exploit the self-organising properties of biological ecosystems. Ecosystems are thought to be robust, scalable architectures that can automatically solve complex and dynamic problems. However, the computing technologies that contribute to these properties have not been made explicit in digital ecosystems research. In this paper, the authors discuss how different computing technologies can contribute to providing the necessary self-organising features, including Multi-Agent Systems (MASs), Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs), and distributed evolutionary computing (DEC). The potential for exploiting these properties in digital ecosystems is considered, suggesting how several key features of biological ecosystems can be exploited in Digital Ecosystems, and discussing how mimicking these features may assist in developing robust, scalable self-organising architectures. An example architecture, the Digital Ecosystem, is considered in detail. The Digital Ecosystem is then measured experimentally through simulations, which consider the self-organised diversity of its evolving agent populations relative to the user request behaviour.
A Tool Support for Secure Software Integration
Authors: Khan Khaled M. , Han Jun
Published: April 2012

This paper presents a tool for the integration of security-aware services based applications that is constructed on the principles of security characterization of individual software services. The tool uses the technique of reasoning between the ensured security properties of the services and the security requirements of the user’s system. Rather than reporting the research outcomes, in this paper the authors describe the architecture and capabilities of the tool for secure software integration. The main objective of this paper is to show that an automatic tool support could assist the process of security-aware service based software integration.
Modeling the Experience of Emotion
Authors: Broekens Joost
Published: April 2012

Affective computing has proven to be a viable field of research comprised of a large number of multidisciplinary researchers, resulting in work that is widely published. The majority of this work consists of emotion recognition technology, computational modeling of causal factors of emotion and emotion expression in virtual characters and robots. A smaller part is concerned with modeling the effects of emotion on cognition and behavior, formal modeling of cognitive appraisal theory and models of emergent emotions. Part of the motivation for affective computing as a field is to better understand emotion through computational modeling. In psychology, a critical and neglected aspect of having emotions is the experience of emotion: what does the content of an emotional episode look like, how does this content change over time and when do we call the episode emotional. Few modeling efforts in affective computing have these topics as a primary focus. The launch of a journal on synthetic emotions should motivate research initiatives in this direction, and this research should have a measurable impact on emotion research in psychology. In this paper, I show that a good way to do so is to investigate the psychological core of what an emotion is: an experience. I present ideas on how computational modeling of emotion can help to better understand the experience of emotion, and provide evidence that several computational models of emotion already address the issue.
Automatic, Dimensional and Continuous Emotion Recognition
Authors: Gunes Hatice , Pantic Maja
Published: April 2012

Recognition and analysis of human emotions have attracted a lot of interest in the past two decades and have been researched extensively in neuroscience, psychology, cognitive sciences, and computer sciences. Most of the past research in machine analysis of human emotion has focused on recognition of prototypic expressions of six basic emotions based on data that has been posed on demand and acquired in laboratory settings. More recently, there has been a shift toward recognition of affective displays recorded in naturalistic settings as driven by real world applications. This shift in affective computing research is aimed toward subtle, continuous, and context-specific interpretations of affective displays recorded in real-world settings and toward combining multiple modalities for analysis and recognition of human emotion. Accordingly, this paper explores recent advances in dimensional and continuous affect modelling, sensing, and automatic recognition from visual, audio, tactile, and brain-wave modalities.
Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Rehabilitator
Authors: Jijo Jisha , R. Divya , Anthony Helena Nerin , Venugopalan Pooja , Satheeskumar Sruthi , Uthaman Upana
Published: April 2012

The proposed device is a rehabilitation aid for the prevention of secondary diseases usually associated with Spinal Cord Injury. In such patients the calf muscles are degenerated and there is abnormality in systemic blood circulation. Thus there is a high risk of the patient being subjected to death. For faster recovery in such a patient, it is medically recommended that he or she is given continuous passive motion for a longer duration. This is done by a physiotherapist using his manual power. The movements usually given are: adduction and abduction, flexion and extension, plantar-flexion and dorsi-flexion. The outcome of such a process will be very limited as it is a laborious task. Thus the main objective behind this project is to provide continuous movement so as to improve the patient’s joint mobility and muscle flexibility thereby enhancing the blood circulation and neuro muscular activity in a low-cost technique. The device automatizes all the movements provided by a physiotherapist. Three different motors are used to control each of the movements listed. Basically, it is a mechanical model in which speed, torque, angle and time of each of the movements can be adjusted. The device is battery-powered and provides complete patient-circuit isolation and is inclusive of all patient safety parameters.
The Open Definition of Cyber
Authors: Lehto Martti , Huhtinen Aki-Mauri , Jantunen Saara
Published: April 2012

Security strategy work requires a definition for ’cyberspace’. This article discusses national definitions and analyses their contents. Defining what cyberspace is equals the exercise of political power. Therefore, it is important to discuss what the definitions mean in practice - whether cyberspace is seen as a restricted mathematical-technological domain or a social construction. Government publications highlight the technological aspect of cyberspace, whereas threats stem from human behaviour. For some, cyberspace is a primary operational environment for national security that must be protected with defensive and offensive military means. For others, cyberspace is primarily a digital civil society in which the free flow and usability of information and the identity and anonymity of citizens must be secured. Cyberspace can also be seen as a place for business, where material and immaterial products and services can be offered. The authors argue for the broad definition of cyberspace, incorporating both technological and social concepts. But cyberspace may never be comprehensively defined. If only a strictly technology-oriented approach is used to define cyberspace, many of its risks and problems cannot be addressed. Cyberspace allows the exercise of power; therefore, its definition should not be reduced to pure technology.
Research on Open Innovation in China
Authors: Naixiao Zhu , Chunhua Huang
Published: April 2012

This paper concentrates on how to effectively protect and efficiently use intellectual property under an open innovation model in China. A variety of strategic choices of intellectual property use under an open innovation model are proposed to promote the healthy development of intellectual property operations of enterprises in China.
Generating Test Case for Object-Oriented Software Using Genetic Algorithm and Mutation Testing Method
Authors: Ben Ali Yamina Mohamed , Benmaiza Fatma
Published: April 2012

This paper presents an automatic creation of software test cases based on the use of a genetic algorithm and a mutation testing technique. The aim of this work is then the optimization of a score function in order to give the best set of optimal test case needed for testing an oriented-object program. Therefore, the proposed search-based approach generates in a first time a set of mutants according to an input program for testing the output of methods belonging in the tested class. On the second time, the output of the mutants and the input program are compared to evaluate the performance of all chromosomes in the genetic population. Finally, at the end of the chromosomes evolution the best test case in retrieved as the optimal one.
3-D Video based Disparity Estimation and Object Segmentation
Authors: Gao Tao
Published: April 2012

Stereo video object segmentation is a critical technology of the new generation of video coding, video retrieval and other emerging interactive multimedia fields. Determinations of distinctive depth of a frame features have become more popular in everyday life for automation industries like machine vision and computer vision technologies. This paper examines the evaluation of depth cues through dense of two frame stereo correspondence method. Experimental results show that the method can segment the stationary and moving objects with better accuracy and robustness. The contributions have higher accuracy in matching and reducing time of convergence.
A Study of Workforce Training Challenges Faced by a US Community College and a Comparable Chinese Institution
Authors: Hou Harry , Oliver Diane E.
Published: April 2012

This qualitative comparative case study examines the workforce training programs offered in a US community college and the vocational and technical programs offered in a comparable Chinese postsecondary institution. The study sought to identify transferable qualities and characteristics that could contribute to improving the workforce training programs in both countries. Globalization makes international collaboration between institutions and programs ever more important, particularly considering the many shared problems and potential for shared solutions. The study’s findings resulted in four primary recommendations that could be adopted by both the US and Chinese case institutions: (a) create timely new programs and courses, (b) seek new funding sources and alternatives for reducing operational costs, (c) recruit qualified full-time or part-time faculty who have industry experience, and (d) add a critical thinking component in all courses. Moreover, recommendations for each of the institutions were developed.
Polygonal Mesh Comparison Applied to the Study of European Portuguese Sounds
Authors: Martins Paula , Silva Samuel , Oliveira Catarina , Ferreira Carlos , Silva Augusto , Teixeira António
Published: April 2012

The purpose of the authors’ study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a mesh comparison tool in the study of European Portuguese speech sounds. A large 3D MRI database from several speakers, including various sounds and contexts has been acquired. Segmentation, visualization, and analysis of such a large database are complex, time-consuming tasks, preventing the use of manual segmentation techniques. A more efficient semi-automatic method was devised to accomplish that task. After tongue segmentation, meshes were created from the segmented volumes and polygonal mesh comparison was used to assess differences between different sounds, vocalic contexts, syllabic positions and speakers. This is the first study using such an approach to analyze and compare tongue shape. This comparison method provides a qualitative measure enabling further insight into the main differences between speech sounds.
Spam 2.0 State of the Art
Authors: Hayati Pedram , Potdar Vidyasagar
Published: April 2012

Spam 2.0 is defined as the propagation of unsolicited, anonymous, mass content to infiltrate legitimate Web 2.0 applications. A fake eye-catching profile in social networking websites, a promotional review, a response to a thread in online forums with unsolicited content, or a manipulated Wiki page are examples of Spam 2.0. In this paper, the authors provide a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art, detection-based, prevention-based and early-detection-based Spam 2.0 filtering methods.
Operational Strategies of Ethnic Mobile Virtual Network Operators
Authors: Singh N. P.
Published: April 2012

An MVNO that targets a specific community is called an ethnic MVNOs. It operates in highly saturated telecom markets with sizable expat population. Its basic objective is to further enhance competition in saturated mobile telecom markets. It is becoming popular among expat/migrant communities due to the low cost services of MVNOs in their native language. The paper presents an analysis of sixteen ethnic MVNOs with respect to their operating and marketing strategies, areas of operations, targeted communities, and their MNO partners. Further, the paper presents customer relation management strategies of ethnic MVNOs. The author also discusses a distant possibility of ethnic MVNO scenario in India with the introduction of MVNO regulation by government.
Domain Ontology Design and Reasoning for Resource Matchmaking in Emergency Response Systems
Authors: Zeng Qingtian , Sun Jian , Lu Faming , Feng Sen , An Jiufang , Zhao Ke
Published: April 2012

In an emergency response system (ERS), resource matchmaking schema (RMS) consists of emergency impact assessment, resource utility classification and mapping between impact and utility. These tasks serve the resource allocation and must be done before launching rescue activities. However, related concepts and relations have little explication. Consequently, an adequate knowledge structure is necessary. In this paper, a domain ontology for RMS (RMS_Ontology) is formally defined, on which impact-utility mapping and rule-based reasoning process are implemented. Based on the ontology defined, the authors illustrate how RMS is realized and the way reasoning process works in the ERS application of highway network under severe weather conditions. Finally, a prototype system has been developed to facilitate knowledge management and to improve the performance of emergency disposal procedures.
Delivery of Unified Communications over Thin-IMS
Authors: Rachidi T. , Mourhir A. , Chaatit F.
Published: April 2012

This paper describes the architecture, design patterns, and implementation of a Unified Communications Solution (UCS) over a home grown thin implementation of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). This thin-IMS implementation makes use of IMS core components, and can serve as a first step towards migration to full IMS. The unified communications solution offers a rich set of services including duplex VoIP, video conferencing, instant messaging, media sharing, child position tracking, active contacts, and email reading. Subscriber profile is leveraged by a targeted video advertisement preview service as a payment method for calls terminating at landline or mobile networks. Subscribers can also use prepaid service for calls terminating outside of the IP networks. In addition to system and software design patterns, the paper addresses critical deployment issues, such as scalability, NAT traversal, network interconnect, ease of service provisioning and administration, and last but not least, user experience. Finally, the paper contrasts the thin-IMS platform to 3GPP standard IMS release 7 specifications.
Qualitative Reasoning Approach to a Driver’s Cognitive Mental Load
Authors: Sega Shinichiro , Iwasaki Hirotoshi , Hiraishi Hironori , Mizoguchi Fumio
Published: April 2012

This paper explores applying qualitative reasoning to a driver’s mental state in real driving situations so as to develop a working load for intelligent transportation systems. The authors identify the cognitive state that determines whether a driver will be ready to operate a device in car navigation. In order to identify the driver’s cognitive state, the authors will measure eye movements during car-driving situations. Data can be acquired for the various actions of a car driver, in particular braking, acceleration, and steering angles from the experiment car. The authors constructed a driver cognitive mental load using the framework of qualitative reasoning. The response of the model was checked by qualitative simulation. The authors also verified the model using real data collected by driving an actual car. The results indicated that the model could represent the change in the cognitive mental load based on measurable data. This means that the framework of this paper will be useful for designing user interfaces for next-generation systems that actively employ user situations.
A Computational Logic Application Framework for Service Discovery and Contracting
Authors: Alberti Marco , Cattafi Massimiliano , Chesani Federico , Gavanelli Marco , Lamma Evelina , Mello Paola , Montali Marco , Torroni Paolo
Published: April 2012

In Semantic Web technologies, searching for a service means identifying components that can potentially satisfy user needs in terms of inputs and outputs (discovery) and devise a fruitful interaction with the customer (contracting). In this paper, the authors present an application framework that encompasses both the discovery and the contracting steps in a unified search process. In particular, the authors accommodate service discovery by ontology-based reasoning and contracting by reasoning about behavioural interfaces, published in a formal language. To this purpose, the authors consider a formal approach grounded on Computational Logic. They define, illustrate, and evaluate a framework, called SCIFF Reasoning Engine (SRE), which can establish if a Semantic Web Service and a requester can fruitfully inter-operate, by computing a possible interaction plan based on the behavioural interfaces of both. The same operational machinery used for contracting can be used for runtime verification.
Aplastic anaemia with microfilaria in marrow aspirate
Authors: Tejwnai Narender , Tyagi Seema , Dass Jasmita
Published: April 2012

Wuchereria bancrofti is endemic in many parts of of south east asia including india. The parasite is reported previously in many aspirate cytology smears, however its rare to find this parasite in bone marrow aspirate smear and even rare is it association with aplastic anemia. We report here a case presenting with symptoms related to bone marrow failure and incidentally detected to have microfilaria of Wuchereria bancrofti. The case is reported because of this rare association.
Quantification of ammonia oxidation rates and ammonia‐oxidizing archaea and bacteria at high resolution in the Gulf of California and eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean
Authors: Michael Beman J. , Popp Brian N. , Alford Susan E.
Published: April 2012

Ammonia‐oxidizing microorganisms compete with phytoplankton for reduced nitrogen in the euphotic zone and provide oxidized nitrogen to other microbes present in the sea. We report 15NH4+ oxidation rate measurements made at 5–20‐m resolution using an in situ array and quantification of ammonia‐oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in corresponding samples from the upper water column and oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the Gulf of California (GOC) and eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean (ETNP). 15NH4+ oxidation rates varied substantially with depth and between stations: they were greatest at the base of the euphotic zone, and maximum rates were up to 28‐fold greater than rates measured within 5–10 m. Pyrosequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reactions (QPCR) indicated that AOA were present throughout the water column at all latitudes and always outnumbered AOB. AOB constituted only 39 of 432,240 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene sequences produced via pyrosequencing but were more abundant at greater depths and higher latitudes. 15NH4+ oxidation rates were correlated with AOA abundance at some stations and were detectable in 96% of samples, including depths where oxygen concentrations were < 5 µmol kg−1 and depths within the euphotic zone, where up to 42% of ammonia oxidation occurred. Ammonia is rapidly oxidized within discrete depth intervals in the GOC and ETNP; while pyrosequencing and QPCR demonstrate that AOB are confined to deeper portions of the water column, AOA appear to be active within the euphotic zone, where they may quickly respond to nitrogen inputs.
Effects of business-as-usual anthropogenic emissions on air quality
Authors: Pozzer A. , Zimmermann P. , Doering U.M. , van Aardenne J. , Tost H. , Dentener F. , Janssens-Maenhout G. , Lelieveld J.
Published: April 2012

Abstract. The atmospheric chemistry general circulation model EMAC has been used to estimate the impact of anthropogenic emission changes on global and regional air quality in recent and future years (2005, 2010, 2025 and 2050). The emission scenario assumes that population and economic growth largely determine energy and food consumption and consequent pollution sources with the current technologies ("business as usual"). This scenario is chosen to show the effects of not implementing legislation to prevent additional climate change and growing air pollution, other than what is in place for the base year 2005, representing a pessimistic (but feasible) future. By comparing with recent observations, it is shown that the model reproduces the main features of regional air pollution distributions though with some imprecisions inherent to the coarse horizontal resolution (~100 km) and simplified bottom-up emission input. To identify possible future hot spots of poor air quality, a multi pollutant index (MPI), suited for global model output, has been applied. It appears that East and South Asia and the Middle East represent such hotspots due to very high pollutant concentrations, although a general increase of MPIs is observed in all populated regions in the Northern Hemisphere. In East Asia a range of pollutant gases and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is projected to reach very high levels from 2005 onward, while in South Asia air pollution, including ozone, will grow rapidly towards the middle of the century. Around the Arabian Gulf, where natural PM2.5 concentrations are already high (desert dust), ozone levels are expected to increase strongly. The per capita MPI (PCMPI), which combines demographic and pollutants concentrations projections, shows that a rapidly increasing number of people worldwide will experience reduced air quality during the first half of the 21st century. Following the business as usual scenario, it is projected that air quality for the global average citizen in 2050 would be almost comparable to that for the average citizen in the East Asia in the year 2005, which underscores the need to pursue emission reductions.
Halogen activation via interactions with environmental ice and snow
Authors: Abbatt J. P. D. , Thomas J. L. , Abrahamsson K. , Boxe C. , Granfors A. , Jones A. E. , King M. D. , Saiz-Lopez A. , Shepson P. B. , Sodeau J. , Toohey D. W. , Toubin C. , von Glasow R. , Wren S. N. , Yang X.
Published: April 2012

Abstract. The role of ice in the formation of chemically active halogens in the environment requires a full understanding because of its role in atmospheric chemistry, including controlling the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. In particular, ice and snow are important for facilitating multiphase oxidative chemistry and as media upon which marine algae live. This paper reviews the nature of environmental ice substrates that participate in halogen chemistry, describes the multiphase reactions that occur on such substrates, presents the field evidence for ice-mediated halogen activation, summarizes our best understanding of ice-halogen activation mechanisms, and describes the current state of modeling these processes at different scales. Given the rapid pace of developments in the field, this paper largely addresses advances made in the past five years, with emphasis given to the polar boundary layer. The integrative nature of this field is highlighted in the presentation of work from the molecular to the regional scale, with a focus on understanding fundamental processes. This is essential for developing realistic parameterizations and descriptions of these processes for inclusion in larger scale models that are used to determine their regional and global impacts.
Investigation of source attributions of pollution to the Western Arctic during the NASA ARCTAS field campaign
Authors: Bian H. , Colarco P. , Chin M. , Chen G. , Douglass A. R. , Rodriguez J. M. , Liang Q. , Warner J. , Chu D. A. , Crounse J. , Cubison M. J. , da Silva A. , Dibb J. , Diskin G. , Fuelberg H. E. , Huey G. , Jimenez J. L. , Kondo Y. , Nielsen J. E. , Pawson S. , Wei Z.
Published: April 2012

Abstract. We present analysis of simulations using the NASA GEOS-5 chemistry and transport model to quantify contributions from different continents to the Western Arctic pollution, to investigate pollution sources and to identify transport pathways. We compare DC-8 airborne measurements of CO, SO2, BC and SO4 from the NASA Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) field campaigns (spring and summer, 2008) and observations from the AIRS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite to demonstrate the strengths and limitations of our simulations and to support this application of the model. Comparisons of measurements along the flight tracks with regional averages show that the along-track measurements are representative of the region in April but not in July. Our simulations show that most Arctic pollutants are due to Asian anthropogenic emissions during April. Boreal biomass burning emissions and Asian anthropogenic emissions are of similar importance in July. European sources make little contribution to pollution in the campaign domain during either period. The most prevalent transport pathway of the tracers is from Asia to the Arctic in both April and July, with the transport efficiency stronger in spring than in summer.
Delusional Parasitosis: A Rare Cause of Pruritus in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Trigka Konstantina , Dousdampanis Periklis , Fourtounas Costas
Published: April 2012

Uremic pruritus is a common symptom in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis, but its exact pathogenesis remains rather unclear. However, severe or “intractable” pruritus may be the manifestation of another underlying disease or disorder other than uremia.

Delusional parasitosis, or Ekbom syndrome, is a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by the false conviction of being infested with parasites, and it can be primary, or secondary to several medical and psychiatric disorders. We report 2 elderly HD patients who presented one after another, with delusional parasitosis. At some point in time, the delusional beliefs of the first patient were adopted by the second patient who was waiting to start his HD session on the same bed and HD machine, on a subsequent shift. They were both diagnosed with Ekbom syndrome and described as having monosymptomatic hypochondriac delusion. They were both prescribed antipsychotic medications. During follow-up they admitted feeling better than before; however, they remained concerned about the “insects/parasites.”
Morbilidad materna extrema aguda por preeclampsia severa
Authors: Editorial Comité , Hernández Carlos Mata , Aguilar Nolvia
Published: April 2012

Palabras claves: preeclampsia severa; morbilidad materna extrema; complicaciones; prevenibilidadDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/rmpm.v13i3.625  Revista de los Postgrados de Medicina UNAH Vol. 13 N° 3 Agosto-Octubre 2010
Suplementación con Zinc en pacientes pediátricos críticamente enfermos: Estudiodoble ciego.
Authors: Editorial Comité , Rivera Belinda Leticia Velásquez , Díaz José Rigoberto Mejía , Matamoros Marta , Rivera María Félix
Published: April 2012

Palabras clave: zinc; mortilidad; inmunidadDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/rmpm.v13i3.634Revista de los Postgrados de Medicina UNAH Vol. 13 N° 3 Agosto-Octubre 2010
Macroscopic Hematuria—A Leading Urological Problem in Patients on Anticoagulant Therapy: Is the Common Diagnostic Standard Still Advisable?
Authors: Antoniewicz Artur A. , Zapała Łukasz , Poletajew Sławomir , Borówka Andrzej
Published: April 2012

All urological standards of care are based on the past definition of the clinical importance of macroscopic hematuria. The aim of the study was to assess the phenomenon of iatrogenic hematuria in current clinical practice and analyze its origins in patients receiving anticoagulant drugs. Retrospective analysis of clinical documentation of 238 patients that were consulted for hematuria in 2007–2009 by 5 consultant urologists was performed. In the group of 238 patients with hematuria, 155 (65%) received anticoagulants. Abnormalities of urinary tract were found in 45 (19%) patients. Estimated cost of a single neoplasm detection reached the value of 3252 Euro (mean 3-day hospitalization). The strong correlation between the presence of hematuria and anticoagulant treatment was observed. Authors suggest to redefine the present and future role of hematuria from a standard manifestation of serious urological disease to a common result of a long-term anticoagulant therapy.
Ancient water quality: Roman engineering of the Barbegal Mill
Authors: Lorenz Wayne F. , Wolfram Phillip J.
Published: April 2012

Studying mineral deposits in rocklike layers formed over millennia can reveal the makeup of ancient water sources as well as form a picture of their uses.