bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of E-Retail Environment Characteristics on E-Satisfaction and Purchase Intent
Authors: Kim Jung-Hwan , Kim Minjeong , Kandampully Jay
Published: February 2013

The purpose of this research is to determine the key dimensions of e-retail environment characteristics which affect consumer e-satisfaction and purchase intent and to examine the mediating role of e-satisfaction and the moderating effects of consumers’ previous e-shopping experience on the relationship between e-retail environment characteristics and consumer responses. The study focused on young adults ranging in age from 18 to 25. The results showed that convenience, customization, security/privacy, web appearance and entertainment value were the key characteristics of e-retail environment impacting e-satisfaction. E-satisfaction fully mediated the effects of e-retail environment characteristics on online purchase intent. Prior e-shopping experience was found to moderate the relationships among the key dimensions of e-retail environment, e-satisfaction, and e-purchase intent. The findings of this study add to the existing literature on e-service quality by focusing on e-retail environment characteristics beyond products and prices, and further by providing e-retailers with practical implications as to how they can improve their website environments for successful e-retailing business.
A Study on Relationships Among Software Engineering Capabilities in Japan Using Panel Analysis
Authors: Kadono Yasuo
Published: February 2013

To understand how software engineering capabilities relate to IT vendors’ business performance and business environment, the author designed social research on software engineering excellence (SEE) and administered it in 2005, 2006 and 2007 with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The author measured the SEE survey results with regard to seven factors including service science characteristics: deliverables, project management, quality assurance, process improvement, research and development, human development, and contact with customers. This paper integrates 233 responses to the SEE surveys into a new database and identified 151 unique IT firms. Based on the results of the panel analysis, most SEE factors for a year had significant positive influences on the same factors the next year. Three paths existed to improving the level of deliverables through project management, quality assurance and research and development. Some SEE factors had significant positive influence on different factors in the following year diagonally. Some negative paths existed, implying that effort put toward a particular factor did not pay off during the research. These efforts may have longer-term effects on other SEE factors. In comparison to the overall structure, stratified analysis on the relationships among the seven factors suggested that year-to-year relationships of the independent vendors tend to be strengthened due to enhancement of series correlation.
A Business Model Approach for Service Engineering in the Internet of Services
Authors: Kett Holger
Published: February 2013

In all major industrialized countries, the service sector is the largest economic segment maintaining the highest growth rate. A current trend in the Internet of Services is to develop and offer software as a service (SaaS). Some research activities, such as Theseus/TEXO (http://theseus-programm.de/en/914.php), focus on the design and development of Web-based service ecosystems based on Web-platforms which allow offering, trading, and executing of services over the Internet. This paper is based on the Integrated Service Engineering (ISE) methodology, an interdisciplinary methodology for developing electronic services. The focus of this work is laid on the development of business models from a strategic-/market-oriented perspective, prior to consider the service business processes and the underlying IT-oriented service concept. The role of the business strategist and its objectives is introduced. The methodology has been developed in the Theseus/TEXO project which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology.
A Method for the Management of Service Innovation Projects in Mature Organizations
Authors: Schindlholzer Bernhard , Uebernickel Falk , Brenner Walter
Published: February 2013

The ability to design innovative services is an important capability for organizations in the 21st century. Although innovation is the fundamental force to create a sustainable business, many organizations, especially mature organizations, struggle to develop innovative services. This paper offers a method for managing service innovation projects in mature organizations. The method is described using the elements of method engineering. Its relevance is evaluated through an exploratory case study at the intersection of business and IT, focusing on a German financial services provider that sought to develop new IT-based service innovations. Information technology plays a major role as an enabler for a broad range of innovative services, and IT organizations are in a unique position to design services in collaboration with business units to address evolving customer requirements. The key finding of this case study is that while processes, methods, and tools are important for managing service innovation projects, socio-technical aspects such as context, environment, team management, and project setup also are essential for the successful design of innovative services. The current literature provides rudimentary guidance in these areas, yet a thorough description of these factors and their integration into a complete method has not yet been documented.
Mobile Emergency Management Services Targeting Large Public Events
Authors: Zibuschka Jan , Roßnagel Heiko , Muntermann Jan , Scherner Tobias
Published: February 2013

In recent years, natural disasters and terrorist attacks have been quite numerous, and broadly reported in the media. The tourism industry has been especially impacted by these emergencies. In order to mitigate the effects of such events, guaranteeing an adequate level of preparedness is essential. However, despite the extreme disrupting events that large-scale disasters such as tsunamis have had on tourism in specific areas, few tourism organizations have properly developed emergency strategies as an integral part of their business plans. Several national and supra-national initiatives are currently working on possibilities to employ mobile communication networks for emergency management systems. The success of such systems depends on users being familiar with the service though, which is difficult to achieve if the system is solely used for emergency management. Therefore, the authors propose a reference architecture that allows the integration of mobile value-adding services, allowing for broad usage outside of emergency cases and thus an increased familiarity. The authors also present a specific system design focusing on the case of large public events as an instantiation of the reference architecture, describe the implementation in some detail, and present the evaluation of the prototype implementation in a simulation study at a large public event.
uRun
Authors: Chapko Alexandra , Emrich Andreas , Flake Stephan , Golatowski Frank , Gräßle Marc , Kohlos Andreas , Laum Nico , Lerche Christian , Rust Carsten , Tacken Jürgen , Werth Dirk , Zoth Carsten
Published: February 2013

This article presents a framework which enables end users to create small, sharply focused mobile services directly on a mobile device. By this, end users are no longer only consumers of mobile services; they also become producers and providers of mobile services. The domain of mobile health and fitness applications has been chosen to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. The article presents the underlying platform for easy creation of mobile services and describes the implementation of a Web-based editor for easy mobile service creation as well as our solution to access device capabilities out of Web applications.
An Information and Cooperation Portal for Supporting Public Authorities and Organizations with Safety and Security Responsibilities Before and During Large Public Events
Authors: Frings Sandra , Remondes David López , Engelbach Wolf
Published: February 2013

Large public events are quite common and lead to peak usage of urban transport systems. Clear planning and communication processes which involve relevant parties for event management, traffic and security issues are needed due to the increasing number and complexity of events. When planning an event, overall organizational and technical issues as well as the preparation for unexpected incidents are asked for to plan for maximum safety and security. Within the research project VeRSiert1, a web-based information and cooperation portal was designed for the region of Cologne and implemented for these purposes. Its intention is to support collaboration of the participating organizations prior to, during execution and post-event analysis of a large public event, while taking into account unplanned risks ranging from storms to acts of terrorism.
Comparative Study between Japan and the UK on Shifting the Third Sector–Government Relationships
Authors: Tsukamoto Ichiro , Nishimura Mariko
Published: February 2013

The aim of this research is to examine and compare the shifting relationships between third sector organizations and local government under the current public service reforms in Japan and the UK. In both cases, institutional isomorphic tendency amongst third sector organizations can be found. However, in the case of UK, more formalized partnership frameworks set by central government as well as contractual relationships has an impact on this tendency. Contrastingly, Japan partnerships tend to be individualized. In this regard, the contracting framework seems to have more impact on behavior of the third sector organizations than partnership frameworks. In addition, the aspect of co-governance of the third sector organizations has been less developed than in the third sector in the UK. This affinity seems to be associated with the lack of sense of identity as a sector and also the lack of strong third sector organizations.
How Would a Ban on Prescriber-Identifying Information Impact Pharmaceutical Marketing?
Authors: Walker Doug
Published: February 2013

Recent legal proceedings have addressed pharmaceutical firms’ access to physician and brand level prescribing data. Proponents of the use of the data for marketing purposes claim constitutional protection as freedom of speech. Opponents maintain that distribution of the data compromises privacy. From the perspective of Granger-causality, this study investigates the extent to which pharmaceutical firms use this data to adjust detailing levels at the physician level. Important firm and public policy implications result. Consistent with the findings of previous work, detailing appears to Granger-cause prescription writing for a significant subset of physicians. However, the evidence that prescription writing Granger-causes adjustments in detailing levels is weak.
The Hybridized Nature of America’s Health Care System
Authors: Gaughan Monica
Published: February 2013

The theoretical perspective of Bozeman’s publicness work is used to frame a two-part case study of the health insurance system in the United States. It begins with a historical overview of the incremental changes to the system over the past 70 years, illustrating how competing economic and political authorities have combined to create a uniquely expensive and poorly performing system. The empirical lens then focuses on one component of the US system, the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled. It shows how a fully public system has become increasingly privatized through a series of policy reforms starting in the 1990s. This analysis is timely in light of the recent Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the continuing efforts of the US Congress to limit the growth of entitlements such as Medicare.
Primary Health Services Utilization and Inequality
Authors: Chan Raymond K. H. , Hu Kang
Published: February 2013

Hong Kong’s health services have shown signs of development in recent decades. The provision of public low-cost universal health services acts as a safety net, but its quality and quantity is sometimes questionable. Citizens’ health service needs often must be met by the supplementary private health services, especially the primary health services. Nevertheless, criticisms have been expressed regarding access to, and utilization of, these health services. This paper examines the utilization, in terms of accessibility, affordability, and primary health services for Hong Kong residents. Based on a survey data collected in 2009, findings revealed that the respondents were, on the whole, satisfied with the primary health services and that this attitude is positively correlated with their satisfaction in their own health status. Nevertheless, the findings also show that health services utilization varies according to social class which deserves attention.
Fatal disseminated toxoplasmosis in an immunocompetent cat
Authors: Nagel Susanna S. , Williams June H. , Schoeman Johannes P.
Published: February 2013

A 10-year-old domestic short hair cat was referred for investigation of anorexia and polydipsia of 3 days’ duration. Clinically the cat was obese, pyrexic (39.8 °C), had acute abdominal pain and severe bilirubinuria. Haematology and serum biochemistry revealed severe panleukopenia, thrombocytopenia, markedly elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and five-fold increased pre-prandial bile acids. Ultrasonographic evaluation of the abdomen did not identify any abnormalities. Serum tests for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) were negative. Broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment for infectious hepatitis was to no avail; the cat deteriorated and died 72 h after admission. Necropsy revealed mild icterus and anaemia, severe multifocal hepatic necrosis, serofibrinous hydrothorax, pulmonary oedema and interstitial pneumonia. Histopathology confirmed the macroscopic findings and revealed multifocal microgranulomata in the brain and myocardium, as well as areas of necrosis in lymph nodes and multifocally in splenic red pulp. Long bone shaft marrow was hyperplastic with a predominance of leukocyte precursors and megakaryocytes and splenic red pulp showed mild extramedullary haemopoiesis. Immunohistochemical staining for Toxoplasma gondii was strongly positive, with scattered cysts and tachyzoites in the liver, lymph nodes, spleen, lungs, brain, salivary glands and intracellularly in round cells in occasional blood vessels. Immunohistochemical staining for corona virus on the same tissues was negative, ruling out feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on formalin-fixed paraffin-wax embedded tissues was positive for Toxoplasma sp., but attempts at sequencing were unsuccessful. This was the first case report of fulminant disseminated toxoplasmosis in South Africa, in which detailed histopathology in an apparently immunocompetent cat was described.
Concentration-weighted trajectory approach to identifying sources of Speciated Atmospheric Mercury at an Urban Coastal Site in Nova Scotia, Canada
Authors: Cheng I. , Zhang L. , Blanchard P. , Dalziel J. , Tordon R.
Published: February 2013

Abstract. Regional and local sources contributing to gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM), and particle-bound mercury (PBM) at an urban coastal site in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada were investigated using the Concentration-Weighted Trajectory model (CWT) and Conditional Probability Function. From 2010–2011, GEM, GOM, and PBM concentrations were 1.67 ± 1.01 ng m−3, 2.07 ± 3.35 pg m−3, and 2.32 ± 3.09 pg m−3, respectively. Seasonal variability was observed, with statistically higher GEM and PBM concentrations in winter and spring and higher GOM in spring. In the CWT, concentrations are the weighting factors for the trajectory residence time in modeled grid cells, which results in the identification of source areas based on the CWT values in the grid cells. Source areas were identified in regions with known industrial Hg sources particularly in the fall season, but also in regions without these sources (e.g. Atlantic Ocean, northern Ontario and Quebec). CWTs for GOM and PBM that were associated with ≥5 kg industrial Hg emissions from 2010–2011 were statistically larger than those with zero Hg emissions, despite a lack of strong correlations. A large proportion of elevated CWTs (85–97%) was in regions with zero industrial Hg sources indicating the potential role of non-point sources, natural emissions, and residential-scale combustion. Analysis of wind data suggests that a commercial harbour and vehicular traffic were potential local sources. Evaluating modeled source areas against Hg emissions inventories was not an ideal method for assessing the CWT model accuracy because of insufficient data on Hg emissions at more precise locations.
Aerosol classification from airborne HSRL and comparisons with the CALIPSO vertical feature mask
Authors: Burton S. P. , Ferrare R. A. , Vaughan M. A. , Omar A. H. , Rogers R. R. , Hostetler C. A. , Hair J. W.
Published: February 2013

Abstract. Aerosol classification products from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-1) on the NASA B200 aircraft are compared with coincident V3.01 aerosol classification products from the CALIOP instrument on the CALIPSO satellite. For CALIOP, aerosol classification is a key input to the aerosol retrieval, and must be inferred using aerosol loading-dependent observations and location information. In contrast, HSRL-1 makes direct measurements of aerosol intensive properties, including the lidar ratio, that provide information on aerosol type. In this study, comparisons are made for 109 underflights of the CALIOP orbit track. We find that 62% of the CALIOP marine layers and 54% of the polluted continental layers agree with HSRL-1 classification results. In addition, 80% of the CALIOP desert dust layers are classified as either dust or dusty mix by HSRL-1. However, agreement is less for CALIOP smoke (13%) and polluted dust (35%) layers. Specific case studies are examined, giving insight into the performance of the CALIOP aerosol type algorithm. In particular, we find that the CALIOP polluted dust type is overused due to an attenuation-related depolarization bias. Furthermore, the polluted dust type frequently includes mixtures of dust plus marine aerosol. Finally, we find that CALIOP's identification of internal boundaries between different aerosol types in contact with each other frequently do not reflect the actual transitions between aerosol types accurately. Based on these findings, we give recommendations which may help to improve the CALIOP aerosol type algorithms.
Finding immune gene expression differences induced by marine bacterial pathogens in the deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus
Authors: Martins E. , Queiroz A. , Serrão Santos R. , Bettencourt R.
Published: February 2013

Abstract. The deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus lives in a natural environment characterized by extreme conditions of hydrostatic pressure, temperature, pH, high concentrations of heavy metals, methane and hydrogen sulphide. The deep-sea vent biological systems represent thus the opportunity to study and provide new insights into the basic physiological principles that govern the defense mechanisms in vent animals and to understand how they cope with microbial infections. Hence, the importance of understanding this animal's innate defense mechanisms, by examining its differential immune gene expressions toward different pathogenic agents. In the present study, B. azoricus mussels were infected with single suspensions of marine bacterial pathogens, consisting of Vibrio splendidus, Vibrio alginolyticus, or Vibrio anguillarum, and a pool of these Vibrio strains. Flavobacterium suspensions were also used as an irrelevant bacterium. Gene expression analyses were carried out using gill samples from animals dissected at 12 h and 24 h post-infection times by means of quantitative-Polymerase Chain Reaction aimed at targeting several immune genes. We also performed SDS-PAGE protein analyses from the same gill tissues. We concluded that there are different levels of immune gene expression between the 12 h and 24 h exposure times to various bacterial suspensions. Our results from qPCR demonstrated a general pattern of gene expression, decreasing from 12 h over 24 h post-infection. Among the bacteria tested, Flavobacterium is the microorganism species inducing the highest gene expression level in 12 h post-infections animals. The 24 h infected animals revealed, however, greater gene expression levels, using V. splendidus as the infectious agent. The SDS-PAGE analysis also pointed at protein profile differences between 12 h and 24 h, particularly around a protein area, of 18 KDa molecular mass, where most dissimilarities were found. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that immune genes, as well as experimental infections, clustered in discrete groups in accordance with the patterns observed in gene expression changes induced by bacterial pathogens.
Volcanic forcing for climate modeling: a new microphysics-based dataset covering years 1600–present
Authors: Arfeuille F. , Weisenstein D. , Mack H. , Rozanov E. , Peter T. , Brönnimann S.
Published: February 2013

Abstract. As the understanding and representation of the impacts of volcanic eruptions on climate have improved in the last decades, uncertainties in the stratospheric aerosol forcing from large eruptions are now not only linked to visible optical depth estimates on a global scale but also to details on the size, latitude and altitude distributions of the stratospheric aerosols. Based on our understanding of these uncertainties, we propose a new model-based approach to generating a volcanic forcing for General-Circulation-Model (GCM) and Chemistry-Climate-Model (CCM) simulations. This new volcanic forcing, covering the 1600–present period, uses an aerosol microphysical model to provide a realistic, physically consistent treatment of the stratospheric sulfate aerosols. Twenty-six eruptions were modeled individually using the latest available ice cores aerosol mass estimates and historical data on the latitude and date of eruptions. The evolution of aerosol spatial and size distribution after the sulfur dioxide discharge are hence characterized for each volcanic eruption. Large variations are seen in hemispheric partitioning and size distributions in relation to location/date of eruptions and injected SO2 masses. Results for recent eruptions are in good agreement with observations. By providing accurate amplitude and spatial distributions of shortwave and longwave radiative perturbations by volcanic sulfate aerosols, we argue that this volcanic forcing may help refine the climate model responses to the large volcanic eruptions since 1600. The final dataset consists of 3-D values (with constant longitude) of spectrally resolved extinction coefficients, single scattering albedos and asymmetry factors calculated for different wavelength bands upon request. Surface area densities for heterogeneous chemistry are also provided.
Joint impact of rainfall and tidal level on flood risk in a coastal city with a complex river network: a case study of Fuzhou City, China
Authors: Lian J. J. , Xu K. , Ma C.
Published: February 2013

Abstract. Coastal cities are particularly vulnerable to flood under multivariable conditions, such as heavy precipitation, high sea levels, and storms. The combined effect of multiple sources and the joint probability of extremes should be considered to assess and manage flood risk better. This paper aims to study the combined effect of rainfall and the tidal level of the receiving water body on flood probability and severity in Fuzhou City, which has a complex river network. Flood severity under a range of precipitation intensities, with return periods (RPs) of 5 yr to 100 yr, and tidal levels was assessed through a hydrodynamic model verified by data observed during Typhoon Longwang in 2005. According to the percentages of the river network where flooding occurred, the threshold conditions for flood severity were estimated in two scenarios: with and without working pumps. In Fuzhou City, working pumps efficiently reduce flood risk from precipitation within a 20-yr RP. However, the pumps may not work efficiently when rainfall exceeds a 100-yr RP because of the limited conveyance capacity of the river network. Joint risk probability was estimated through the optimal copula. The joint probability of rainfall and tidal level both exceeding their threshold values is very low, and the greatest threat in Fuzhou comes from heavy rainfall. However, the tidal level poses an extra risk of flood. Given that this extra risk is ignored in the design of flood defense in Fuzhou, flood frequency and severity may be higher than understood during design.
Geometrically exact Cosserat rods with Kelvin–Voigt type viscous damping
Authors: Linn J. , Lang H. , Tuganov A.
Published: February 2013

Abstract. We present the derivation of a simple viscous damping model of Kelvin–Voigt type for geometrically exact Cosserat rods from three-dimensional continuum theory. Assuming moderate curvature of the rod in its reference configuration, strains remaining small in its deformed configurations, strain rates that vary slowly compared to internal relaxation processes, and a homogeneous and isotropic material, we obtain explicit formulas for the damping parameters of the model in terms of the well known stiffness parameters of the rod and the retardation time constants defined as the ratios of bulk and shear viscosities to the respective elastic moduli. We briefly discuss the range of validity of the Kelvin–Voigt model and illustrate its behaviour for large bending deformations with a numerical example.
X-band COSMO-SkyMed wind field retrieval, with application to coastal circulation modeling
Authors: Montuori A. , de Ruggiero P. , Migliaccio M. , Pierini S. , Spezie G.
Published: February 2013

Abstract. In this paper, X-band COSMO-SkyMed© synthetic aperture radar (SAR) wind field retrieval is investigated, and the obtained data are used to force a coastal ocean circulation model. The SAR data set consists of 60 X-band Level 1B Multi-Look Ground Detected ScanSAR Huge Region COSMO-SkyMed© SAR data, gathered in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea during the summer and winter seasons of 2010. The SAR-based wind vector field estimation is accomplished by resolving both the SAR-based wind speed and wind direction retrieval problems independently. The sea surface wind speed is retrieved by means of a SAR wind speed algorithm based on the azimuth cut-off procedure, while the sea surface wind direction is provided by means of a SAR wind direction algorithm based on the discrete wavelet transform multi-resolution analysis. The obtained wind fields are compared with ground truth data provided by both ASCAT scatterometer and ECMWF model wind fields. SAR-derived wind vector fields and ECMWF model wind data are used to construct a blended wind product regularly sampled in both space and time, which is then used to force a coastal circulation model of a southern Tyrrhenian coastal area to simulate wind-driven circulation processes. The modeling results show that X-band COSMO-SkyMed© SAR data can be valuable in providing effective wind fields for coastal circulation modeling.
Problems of Sport Biomechanics and Robotics
Authors: Erdmann Wlodzimierz S.
Published: February 2013

This paper presents many common areas of interest of different specialists. There are problems described from sport, biomechanics, sport biomechanics, sport engineering, robotics, biomechanics and robotics, sport biomechanics and robotics. There are many approaches to sport from different sciences and engineering. Robotics is a relatively new area and has had moderate attention from sport specialists. The aim of this paper is to present several areas necessary to develop sport robots based on biomechanics and also to present different types of sport robots: serving balls, helping to provide sports training, substituting humans during training, physically participating in competitions, physically participating in competitions against humans, serving as models of real sport performance, helping organizers of sport events and robot toys. Examples of the application of robots in sports communities are also given.
Background Modelling Using Edge-Segment Distributions
Authors: Kim Jaemyun , Murshed Mahbub , Rivera Adin Ramirez , Chae Oksam
Published: February 2013

We propose an edge-segment-based statistical background modelling algorithm to detect the moving edges for the detection of moving objects using a static camera. Traditional pixel intensity-based background modelling algorithms face difficulties in dynamic environments since they cannot handle sudden changes in illumination. They also bring out ghosts when a sudden change occurs in the scene. To cope with this issue, intensity and noise robust edge-based features have emerged. However, existing edge-pixel-based methods suffer from scattered moving edge pixels since they cannot utilize the shape. Moreover, traditional segment-based methods cannot handle edge shape variations and miss moving edges when they come close to the background edges. Unlike traditional approaches, our proposed method builds the background model from ordinary training frames that may contain moving objects. Furthermore, it does not leave any ghosts behind. Moreover, our method uses an automatic threshold for every background edge distribution for matching. This makes our approach robust to illumination change, camera movement and background motion. Experiments show that our method outperforms others and can detect moving edges efficiently despite the above mentioned difficulties.
A Hybrid Approach for Multiple Particle Tracking Microrheology
Authors: Xie Liangjun , Gu Nong , Cao Zhiqiang , Li Dalong
Published: February 2013

Geometric object detection has many applications, such as in tracking. Particle tracking microrheology is a technique for studying mechanical properties by accurately tracking the motion of the immersed particles undergoing Brownian motion. Since particles are carried along by these random undulations of the medium, they can move in and out of the microscope's depth of focus, which results in halos (lower intensity). Two-point particle tracking microrheology (TPM) uses a threshold to find those particles with peak, which leads to the broken trajectory of the particles. The halos of those particles which are out of focus are circles and the centres can be accurately tracked in most cases. When the particles are sparse, TPM will lose certain useful information. Thus, it may cause inaccurate microrheology. An efficient algorithm to detect the centre of those particles will increase the accuracy of the Brownian motion. In this paper, a hybrid approach is proposed which combines the steps of TPM for particles in focus with a circle detection step using circular Hough transform for particles with halos. As a consequence, it not only detects more particles in each frame but also dramatically extends the trajectories with satisfactory accuracy. Experiments over a video microscope data set of polystyrene spheres suspended in water undergoing Brownian motion confirmed the efficiency of the algorithm.
The Comparative Analysis of a Novel Acetabular Component against Hemispherical Component in Case of Extensive Acetabular Bone Defects — A Study of Finite Element Analysis
Authors: Ma Wenhui , Zhang Xuemin , Zhang Yingze
Published: February 2013

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the design of a cup using finite element method and to analyze possible effects of joint loading postoperatively, and its initial mechanical stability, so as to direct its further optimization.

Finite-element (FE) models of the cup with three wings and the hemispherical cup were created to calculate the stress patterns during a normal gait cycle. The stress in the acetabular components were analyzed and compared.

The FE analysis demonstrated that all kinds of acetabular components had the same trend for stress and strain. The stress of the wings increased gradually from rim to root. Its peak stress was significantly lower than the yield force of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy at the joint between the wing and the shell. The graft portion near the acetabular component was subjected to higher stress conditions. The contact stresses were found to be decreased with a reduced abduction angle of wings. The cup with wings of abduction angle of 15° had lower stresses compared with other cups.

The cup with wings is a reliable option for the reconstruction of the acetabulum with extensive bone socket defects. The reduced abduction angle of wings helps to decrease the stress of the cup with wings. The FE analysis is a useful tool with which to address these issues.
Composite Sliding Mode Control for a Free-Floating Space Rigid-Flexible Coupling Manipulator System
Authors: Congqing Wang , Pengfei Wu , Xin Zhou , Xiwu Pei
Published: February 2013

The flexible space manipulator is a highly nonlinear and coupled dynamic system. This paper proposes a novel composite sliding mode control to deal with the vibration suppression and trajectory tracking of a free-floating space rigid-flexible coupling manipulator with a rigid payload. First, the dynamic equations of this system are established by using Lagrange and assumed mode methods and in the meantime this dynamic modelling allows consideration of the modelling errors, the external disturbance and the vibration damping of a flexible link. Then, in modal space, the problems of the manipulator system's trajectory tracking and the vibration suppression are discussed by using the composite control approach, which combines a non-singular terminal sliding mode control (NTSMC) with an active vibration suppression control (AVSC). The NTSMC uses a fuzzy logic output instead of the symbol item, which smoothes the control signal, thereby inhibiting the chattering of the sliding mode control. Compared with common sliding mode control (SMC), the approach not only can reduce the chattering of the sliding mode control, but also can eliminate the singular phenomenon of the system's control input. In addition, it can assure the trajectory tracking and the vibration suppression. Many space missions can benefit from this modelling system, such as autonomous docking of satellites, rescuing and satellite servicing. Finally, the numerical simulations were carried out, which confirmed the effectiveness of these methods.
A Service-Oriented Framework for the Development of Home Robots
Authors: Yang Tsung-Hsien , Lee Wei-Po
Published: February 2013

In recent years, researchers have been building home robots able to interact and work with people. Yet, because of the complicated and independent robot development environments, it is not always easy to share and reuse robot code created by different providers. In this work, we present an ontology-based framework that integrates service-oriented computing environments with the standard web interface to develop reusable robotic services. In addition to the service discovery, selection, and composition processes often performed by traditional web services, our work also includes an adaptive mechanism through which the user can iteratively modify composite robotic services to suit his or her needs. The proposed methodology has been implemented and evaluated, and the results show that our framework can be used to build robotic services successfully.
Safety Supervisory Strategy for an Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Robot Based on Impedance Control
Authors: Pan Lizheng , Song Aiguo , Xu Guozheng , Li Huijun , Zeng Hong , Xu Baoguo
Published: February 2013

User security is an important consideration for robots that interact with humans, especially for upper-limb rehabilitation robots, during the use of which stroke patients are often more susceptible to injury. In this paper, a novel safety supervisory control method incorporating fuzzy logic is proposed so as to guarantee the impaired limb's safety should an emergency situation occur and the robustness of the upper-limb rehabilitation robot control system. Firstly, a safety supervisory fuzzy controller (SSFC) was designed based on the impaired-limb's real-time physical state by extracting and recognizing the impaired-limb's tracking movement features. Then, the proposed SSFC was used to automatically regulate the desired force either to account for reasonable disturbance resulting from pose or position changes or to respond in adequate time to an emergency based on an evaluation of the impaired-limb's physical condition. Finally, a position-based impedance controller was implemented to achieve compliance between the robotic end-effector and the impaired limb during the robot-assisted rehabilitation training. The experimental results show the effectiveness and potential of the proposed method for achieving safety and robustness for the rehabilitation robot.
Speech Emotion Recognition Using an Enhanced Kernel Isomap for Human-Robot Interaction
Authors: Zhang Shiqing , Zhao Xiaoming , Lei Bicheng
Published: February 2013

Speech emotion recognition is currently an active research subject and has attracted extensive interest in the science community due to its vital application to human-robot interaction. Most speech emotion recognition systems employ high-dimensional speech features, indicating human emotion expression, to improve emotion recognition performance. To effectively reduce the size of speech features, in this paper, a new nonlinear dimensionality reduction method, called ‘enhanced kernel isometric mapping’ (EKIsomap), is proposed and applied for speech emotion recognition in human-robot interaction. The proposed method is used to nonlinearly extract the low-dimensional discriminating embedded data representations from the original high-dimensional speech features with a striking improvement of performance on the speech emotion recognition tasks. Experimental results on the popular Berlin emotional speech corpus demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Adaptive Controller for 6-DOF Parallel Robot Using T-S Fuzzy Inference
Authors: Jian Xue , Zhiyong Tang , Zhongcai Pei , Shao He , Lanbo Liu
Published: February 2013

6-DOF parallel robot always appears in the form of Stewart platform. It has been widely used in industry for the benefits such as strong structural stiffness, high movement accuracy and so on. Space docking technology makes higher requirements of motion accuracy and dynamic performance to the control method on 6-DOF parallel robot. In this paper, a hydraulic 6-DOF parallel robot was used to simulate the docking process. Based on this point, this paper gave a thorough study on the design of an adaptive controller to eliminate the asymmetric of controlled plant and uncertain load force interference. Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy inference model was used to build the fuzzy adaptive controller. With T-S model, the controller directly imposes adaptive control signal on the plant to make sure that the output of plant could track the reference model output. The controller has simple structure and is easy to implement. Experiment results show that the controller can eliminate asymmetric and achieve good dynamic performance, and has good robustness to load interference.
Application of Probabilistic Linkage: Compare Health Care Costs among Menopausal Women with Different Symptoms by Linking Women’s Registry & Claims Data
Authors: Baser O. , Xie L. , Du J.
Published: February 2013

Objectives: Menopause symptoms are a good disease severity proxy for menopausal women, but are not available in claims database. We applied probabilistic linkage to add symptoms recorded in a registry database to claims data, and compare the healthcare costs among women with various symptoms.
Methods: Women age 45 or older who used estrogen only hormone therapy (HT) were selected from a large U.S. claims database (04/01/2005-09/30/2008). Another group who used estrogen only HT with a menopause diagnosis was selected from the University of Michigan Women’s Registry Database. Logistic regression was used to calculate the propensity score for each patient controlling for osteoporosis, gynecological disorders/procedures, genital infection, gynecology system cancer, breast condition, gut condition, hormone disorder, nerve problem, and other individual comorbidities such as rheumatoid disease, depression, and blood clotting. Patients with the closest propensity score from each group were matched, and menopause symptoms for registry patients were added to the claims database records. After repeating probabilistic linkage 250 times, the mean and 95% confidence interval (CI) of healthcare costs during the follow-up period were calculated.
Results: 80 patients from each population were matched after probabilistically linking 20,020 claims database patients with 83 registry database patients. The average cost of patients with at least one symptom was much higher than for patients without symptoms ($13,570 [95% CI: $13,459-$13,680] vs. $3,391 [95%CI: $3,345-$3,436], p-value<0.001). (1 US Dollar= 0.75 Euro) Cost differences were mainly from inpatient, physician visit, and pharmacy costs. Among patients with menopause symptoms, those with hot flashes had the highest costs ($10,127), followed by memory loss ($1,653), vaginal dryness ($864), reduced libido ($568), and mood swings ($358).
Conclusions: Women with menopause symptoms incur higher healthcare costs than those without This study suggests symptoms are important determinants of healthcare expenses and their impact can be assessed by linking registry and claims databases.
Impact of Various Effects of Smoking in the Mouth on Motivating Dental Patients to Quit Smoking
Authors: Hanioka Takashi , Tsutsui Akihito , Yamamoto Mito , Haresaku Satoru , Shimada Kaoru , Watanabe Takeshi , Matsuo Tadayuki , Ojima Miki
Published: February 2013

We explored the impact of addressing personally relevant effects of smoking in the mouth on promoting the motivation to quit in a dental setting at personal and public levels. Stages of behavior change and attempts to quit smoking by smokers were recorded during dental visits. Dentists selected and gave motivational information from 24 topics relevant to a patient’s oral health status, risk, or dental treatment. During the dental visit, each topic was presented to patients. Topics of gingival melanin pigmentation and periodontal disease risk were most frequently presented. Progression through stages of behavior change and attempts to quit smoking were observed after presentation of each topic. At a personal level, progression through stages was most frequently observed after the patient was shown an image of pediatric dental caries and smoker’s palate, and attempts to quit was most frequently observed after the patient shown an image of the effects of smoking cessation and pediatric dental caries. At the public level, enhancing the motivation to progress through stages and attempts to quit was most frequently observed after the presentation of effects of smoking cessation and discoloration of teeth, although the intensity of enhanced motivation significantly correlated with the frequency of presentation, which was not the highest for these topics. Although various smoking effects on the mouth have potential impact on promoting the motivation to quit, the impact on enhancing motivation is not necessarily consistent at personal and public levels.
Cautions of Using Allele-Based Tests Under Heterosis
Authors: Omolo Bernard , Zhang Hongmei , Karmaus Wilfrieed
Published: February 2013

:In genetic studies, heterotic effects are commonly assessed as dominant, additive, or recessive effects for a given genetic marker. However, the distorting effect of heterosis on statistical tests is non-trivial. An inheritance model needs to be carefully chosen to achieve highest testing power. We assess this through simulations via allele- and genotype-based tests. Chi-square test statistics for different inheritance models are formulated as a function of relative risks and allele frequencies. The results indicate that testing power from the commonly used allele-based tests can be substantially diminished by heterosis. Assessing the existence of heterosis is thus recommended to avoid false negative findings.
Development and Validation of Models to Predict Hospital Admission for Emergency Department Patients
Authors: Xie Bin
Published: February 2013

Background: Boarding, or patients waiting to be admitted to hospital, has been shown as a significant contributing factor at overcrowding in emergency departments (ED). Predicting hospital admission at triage has been proposed as having the potential to help alleviate ED overcrowding. The objective of this paper is to develop and validate a model to predict hospital admission at triage to help alleviate ED overcrowding.
Methods: Administrative records between April 1, 2010 and November 31, 2010 in an adult ED were used to derive and validate two prediction models, one based on Coxian phase type distribution (the PH model), the other based on logistic regression. Separate data sets were used for model development (data between April 1, 2010 and July 31, 2010) and validation (data between August 1, 2010 and November 31, 2010).
Results: There were a total of 14,542 ED visits and 2,602 (17.89%) hospital admissions in the derivation cohort. In both models, acuity levels, model of arrival, and main reason of the visit are strong predictors of hospital admission; number of patients at the ED, as well as gender, are also predictors, albeit with ORs closer to 1. Patient age and timing of visits are not strong predictors. The PH model has an AUC of 0.89 compared with AUC of 0.83 for logistic regression model; with a cut- off value of 0.50, the PH model correctly predicted 86.3% of visits, compared to 84.4% for the logistic regression model. Results of the validation cohort were similar: the PH model has an AUC of 0.88, compared to AUC of 0.83 for the logistic model.
Conclusions: PH and logistic models can be used to provide reasonably accurate prediction of hospital admission for ED patients, with the PH model offering more accurate predictions
Long-Term Aerosol Climate Data Record Derived from Operational AVHRR Satellite Observations
Authors: Chan P. K. , Zhao X.-P. , Heidinger A. K.
Published: February 2013

Aerosol optical thickness (AOT) was retrieved using the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) PATMOS-x Level-2b gridded radiances and the two-channel algorithm of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). The primary retrieval product is AOT at 0.63 μm channel. AOT is also retrieved at 0.83 μm or 1.61 μm channel for consistent check. The retrieval was made during day time, under clear sky and snow-free conditions, and over the global oceans. The spatial resolution is 0.1×0.1 degree grid and the temporal resolution is both daily and monthly. The resultant AVHRR AOT climate data record (CDR) spans from August 1981 to December 2009 and provides the longest aerosol CDR currently available from operational satellites. This dataset is useful in studying aerosol climate forcing, monitoring long-term aerosol trends, and evaluating global air pollution and aerosol transport models over the global ocean.
A Microarray Dataset of Genes Expressed by the R28 Retinal Precursor Cell Line
Authors: Seigel Gail M. , Salvi Richard J.
Published: February 2013

The R28 rat retinal progenitor cell line was developed from postnatal day six rat retina immortalized with the 12S E1A gene of adenovirus. R28 cells have been distributed to over 100 laboratories worldwide, with over 60 publications on topics that include in vitro toxicology, cellular physiology, gene expression analysis, and experimental transplantation. In this paper, we present a microarray dataset of R28 cells that describes the presence or absence of 8799 genes and ESTs that may be relevant to current and future studies of R28 retinal precursor cells.