bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stereotactic radiosurgery for deep-seated cavernous malformations: a move toward more active, early intervention
Authors: Nagy Gábor , Razak Adam , Rowe Jeremy G. , Hodgson Timothy J. , Coley Stuart C. , Radatz Matthias W. R. , Patel Umang J. , Kemeny Andras A.
Published: April 2010

Object

The role of radiosurgery in the treatment of cavernous malformations (CMs) remains controversial. It is frequently recommended only for inoperable lesions that have bled at least twice. Rehemorrhage can carry a substantial risk of morbidity, however. The authors reviewed their practice of treating deep-seated inoperable CMs to assess the complication rate of radiosurgery, the impact that radiosurgery might have on rebleeding, and whether a more active, earlier intervention is justified in managing this condition.

Methods

The authors performed a retrospective analysis of 113 patients with 79 brainstem and 39 thalamic/basal ganglia CMs treated with Gamma Knife surgery. Lesions were stratified into 2 groups: those that might be lower risk with no more than 1 symptomatic bleed before radiosurgical treatment and those deemed high risk with multiple symptomatic hemorrhages before treatment.

Results

Forty-one CMs had multiple symptomatic hemorrhages before radiosurgery with a first-ever bleed rate of 2.9% per lesion per year, a rebleed rate of 30.5% per lesion per year, and a median time of 1.5 years between the first and second bleeds. In this group the rebleed rate decreased to 15% for the first 2 years after radiosurgery and declined further to 2.4% thereafter. Pretreatment multiple bleeds led to persistent deficits in 72% of the patients.

Seventy-seven CMs had no more than 1 symptomatic bleed before radiosurgery, making for a lifetime bleed rate of 2.2% per lesion per year. The short period between the presenting bleed and treatment (median 1 year) makes the natural history in this group uncertain. The rate of hemorrhage in the first 2 years after treatment was 5.1%, and 1.3% thereafter. Pretreatment hemorrhages resulted in permanent deficits in 43% of the patients in this group, a rate significantly lower than in the multiple-bleeds group (p < 0.001).

Posttreatment hemorrhages led to persistent deficits in only 7.3% of the patients. Permanent adverse radiation effects were rare (7.3%) and minor in both groups.

Conclusions

Stereotactic radiosurgery is a safe management strategy for CMs in eloquent sites with the marked advantage of reducing rebleed risks in patients with repeated pretreatment hemorrhages. The benefit in treating CMs with a single bleed is less clear. Note, however, that repeated hemorrhage carries a significant risk of increased morbidity far in excess of any radiosurgery-related morbidity, and the authors assert that this finding justifies the early active management of deep-seated CMs.
Stereotactic radiosurgery for intractable cluster headache: an initial report from the North American Gamma Knife Consortium
Authors: Kano Hideyuki , Kondziolka Douglas , Mathieu David , Stafford Scott L. , Flannery Thomas J. , Niranjan Ajay , Pollock Bruce E. , Kaufmann Anthony M. , Flickinger John C. , Lunsford L. Dade
Published: April 2010

Object

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) when used for patients with intractable cluster headache (CH).

Methods

Four participating centers of the North American Gamma Knife Consortium identified 17 patients who underwent GKS for intractable CH between 1996 and 2008. The median patient age was 47 years (range 26–83 years). The median duration of pain before GKS was 10 years (range 1.3–40 years). Seven patients underwent unsuccessful prior surgical procedures, including microvascular decompression (2 patients), microvascular decompression with glycerol rhizotomy (2 patients), deep brain stimulation (1 patient), trigeminal ganglion stimulation (1 patient), and prior GKS (1 patient). Fourteen patients had associated autonomic symptoms. The radiosurgical target was the trigeminal nerve (TN) root and the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) in 8 patients, only the TN in 8 patients, and only the SPG in 1 patient. The median maximum TN and SPG dose was 80 Gy.

Results

Favorable pain relief (Barrow Neurological Institute Grades I–IIIb) was achieved and maintained in 10 (59%) of 17 patients at a median follow-up of 34 months. Three patients required additional procedures (repeat GKS in 2 patients, hypothalamic deep brain stimulation in 1 patient). Eight (50%) of 16 patients who had their TN irradiated developed facial sensory dysfunction after GKS.

Conclusions

Gamma Knife surgery for intractable, medically refractory CH provided lasting pain reduction in approximately 60% of patients, but was associated with a significantly greater chance of facial sensory disturbances than GKS used for trigeminal neuralgia.
A prospective, multicenter, randomized trial of the Onyx liquid embolic system and N-butyl cyanoacrylate embolization of cerebral arteriovenous malformations
Authors: Loh Yince , Duckwiler Gary R.
Published: April 2010

Object

The Onyx liquid embolic system (Onyx) was approved in the European Union in 1999 for embolization of lesions in the intracranial and peripheral vasculature, including brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and hypervascular tumors. In 2001 a prospective, equivalence, multicenter, randomized controlled trial was initiated to support a submission for FDA approval. The objective of this study was to verify the safety and efficacy of Onyx compared with N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) for the presurgical treatment of brain AVMs.

Methods

One hundred seventeen patients with brain AVMs were treated with either Onyx (54 patients) or NBCA (63 patients) for presurgical endovascular embolization between May 2001 and April 2003. The primary end point was technical success in achieving ≥ 50% reduction in AVM volume. Secondary end points were operative blood loss and resection time. All adverse events (AEs) were reported and assigned a relationship to the Onyx or NBCA system, treatment, disease, surgery, or other/unknown. The Data Safety Monitoring Board adjudicated AEs, and a blinded, independent core lab assessed volume measurements. Patients were monitored through discharge after the final surgery or through a 3- and/or 12-month follow-up if resection had not been performed or was incomplete.

Results

The use of Onyx led to ≥ 50% AVM volume reduction in 96% of cases versus 85% for NBCA (p = not significant). The secondary end points of resection time and blood loss were similar. Serious AEs were also similar between the 2 treatment groups.

Conclusions

Onyx is equivalent to NBCA in safety and efficacy as a preoperative embolic agent in reducing brain AVM volume by at least 50%.
Oil and the Best Brain of the 20th Century
Authors: Banks Ferdinand E.
Published: April 2010

If you meet someone at a party who says that he is Napoleon, you don’t start discussing cavalry tactics at Waterloo ─ Professor Robert SolowWell that depends, Robert. If he is the gentleman who gave the party, and you would like to receive another invitation from him some day, you might feel it wise to suggest that if his boys had been riding elephants or dinosaurs instead of horses, he might have enjoyed another few years in swinging Paris instead of being turned over to that nasty Sir Hudson Lowe on St. Helena. [...]
(–)-5-[(4R,5R)-5-(Benzyloxymethyl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-4,7-dihydro-1,3-dioxepine
Authors: Carreras Carlos R. , García Celina E. , Martín Víctor S. , Tonn Carlos E. , Díaz David Díaz , Ceñal Juan Pedro
Published: April 2010

The synthesis of(–)-5-[(4R,5R)-5-(benzyloxymethyl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-4,7-dihydro-1,3-dioxepine is reported. Product characterization was carried out by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, elemental analysis and optical rotation.
3-Hydroxy-4-{[(4-ethylphenyl)imino]methyl}phenyl Octadecanoate
Authors: Ha Sie-Tiong , Beh Jun-Kit , Win Yip-Foo , Ong Siew-Teng
Published: April 2010

A new Schiff base ester, 3-hydroxy-4-{[(4-ethylphenyl)imino]methyl}phenyl octadecanoate, was synthesized and its IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and MS spectroscopic data are presented.
Activities of Ten Essential Oils towards Propionibacterium acnes and PC-3, A-549 and MCF-7 Cancer Cells
Authors: Zu Yuangang , Yu Huimin , Liang Lu , Fu Yujie , Efferth Thomas , Liu Xia , Wu Nan
Published: April 2010

Ten essential oils, namely, mint (Mentha spicata L.,Lamiaceae), ginger (Zingiber officinaleRosc.,Zingiberaceae), lemon (Citrus limon Burm.f.,Rutaceae), grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf., Rutaceae), jasmine (Jasminum grandiflora L.,Oleaceae), lavender (Mill.,Lamiaceae), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L., Compositae), thyme (Thymus vulgaris L., Lamiaceae), rose (Rosa damascena Mill.,Rosaceae) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicumN. Lauraceae) were tested for their antibacterial activities towards Propionibacterium acnes and in vitro toxicology against three human cancer cell lines. Thyme, cinnamon and rose essential oils exhibited the best antibacterial activities towards P. acnes, with inhibition diameters of 40 ± 1.2 mm, 33.5 ± 1.5 mm and 16.5 ± 0.7 mm, and minimal inhibitory concentrations of 0.016% (v/v), 0.016% (v/v) and 0.031% (v/v), respectively. Time-kill dynamic procedures showed that thyme, cinnamon, rose, and lavender essential oils exhibited the strongest bactericidal activities at a concentration of 0.25% (v/v), and P. acnes was completely killed after 5 min. The thyme essential oil exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity towards three human cancer cells. Its inhibition concentration 50% (IC50) values on PC-3, A549 and MCF-7 tumor cell lines were 0.010% (v/v), 0.011% (v/v) and 0.030% (v/v), respectively. The cytotoxicity of 10 essential oils on human prostate carcinoma cell (PC-3) was significantly stronger than on human lung carcinoma (A549) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines.
Bohlmann-Rahtz Cyclodehydration of Aminodienones to Pyridines Using N-Iodosuccinimide
Authors: Bagley Mark C. , Glover Christian
Published: April 2010

Cyclodehydration of Bohlmann-Rahtz aminodienone intermediates using N-iodosuccinimide as a Lewis acid proceeds at low temperature under very mild conditions to give the corresponding 2,3,6-trisubstituted pyridines in high yield and with total regiocontrol.
Vitamin B12: Unique Metalorganic Compounds and the Most Complex Vitamins
Authors: Randaccio Lucio , Geremia Silvano , Demitri Nicola , Wuerges Jochen
Published: April 2010

The chemistry and biochemistry of the vitamin B12 compounds (cobalamins, XCbl) are described, with particular emphasis on their structural aspects and their relationships with properties and function. A brief history of B12, reveals how much the effort of chemists, biochemists and crystallographers have contributed in the past to understand the basic properties of this very complex vitamin. The properties of the two cobalamins, the two important B12 cofactors Ado- and MeCbl are described, with particular emphasis on how the Co-C bond cleavage is involved in the enzymatic mechanisms. The main structural features of cobalamins are described, with particular reference to the axial fragment. The structure/property relationships in cobalamins are summarized. The recent studies on base-off/base-on equilibrium are emphasized for their relevance to the mode of binding of the cofactor to the protein scaffold. The absorption, transport and cellular uptake of cobalamins and the structure of the B12 transport proteins, IF and TC, in mammals are reviewed. The B12 transport in bacteria and the structure of the so far determined proteins are briefly described. The currently accepted mechanisms for the catalytic cycles of the AdoCbl and MeCbl enzymes are reported. The structure and function of B12 enzymes, particularly the important mammalian enzymes methyltransferase (MetH) and methyl-malonyl-coenzymeA mutase (MMCM), are described and briefly discussed. Since fast proliferating cells require higher amount of vitamin B12 than that required by normal cells, the study of B12 conjugates as targeting agents has recently gained importance. Bioconjugates have been studied as potential agents for delivering radioisotopes and NMR probes or as various cytotoxic agents towards cancer cells in humans and the most recent studies are described. Specifically, functionalized bioconjugates are used as “Trojan horses” to carry into the cell the appropriate antitumour or diagnostic label. Possible future developments of B12 work are summarized.
Responsive Hydrogels for Label-Free Signal Transduction within Biosensors
Authors: Gawel Kamila , Barriet David , Sletmoen Marit , Stokke Bjørn Torger
Published: April 2010

Hydrogels have found wide application in biosensors due to their versatile nature. This family of materials is applied in biosensing either to increase the loading capacity compared to two-dimensional surfaces, or to support biospecific hydrogel swelling occurring subsequent to specific recognition of an analyte. This review focuses on various principles underpinning the design of biospecific hydrogels acting through various molecular mechanisms in transducing the recognition event of label-free analytes. Towards this end, we describe several promising hydrogel systems that when combined with the appropriate readout platform and quantitative approach could lead to future real-life applications.
Adaptive Square-Shaped Trajectory-Based Service Location Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Lim Hwa-Jung , Lee Joa-Hyoung , Lee Heon-Guil
Published: April 2010

In this paper we propose an adaptive square-shaped trajectory (ASST)-based service location method to ensure load scalability in wireless sensor networks. This first establishes a square-shaped trajectory over the nodes that surround a target point computed by the hash function and any user can access it, using the hash. Both the width and the size of the trajectory are dynamically adjustable, depending on the number of queries made to the service information on the trajectory. The number of sensor nodes on the trajectory varies in proportion to the changing trajectory shape, allowing high loads to be distributed around the hot spot area.
Earlier Testing for HIV – How do we Prevent Late Presentation?
Authors: Yazdanpanah Yazdan , Lange Joep , Gerstoft Jan , Cairns Gus
Published: April 2010

HIV testing policies and practices vary widely across Europe. It is clear that there are individuals who might present late for HIV diagnosis and care within all risk groups, and potentially in any healthcare setting. This article explores the need to ensure earlier identification and treatment of late-presenting patients by reviewing strategies that might be considered. Such strategies could include routine provider-initiated HIV testing of at-risk groups in settings such as sexually transmitted infection clinics, drug dependency programmes or antenatal care. Healthcare providers might also consider routine HIV testing in all healthcare facilities, in settings including emergency and primary care, where local HIV prevalence is above a threshold that should be further evaluated. They should also take advantage of rapid testing technologies and be aware of barriers to HIV testing among specific groups to provide opportunities for testing that are relevant to local communities.
User Modeling in Soft Computing Framework
Authors: Iglesias Jose Antonio , Ledezma Agapito , Sanchis Araceli
Published: April 2010

Nowadays, the systems that interact with the user, including computers, are improving very quickly. In this improvement, a great goal for the near future is to create systems able to adapt its behavior according to the needs of a particular user. The key element for this purpose is the user model. In this context, a goal of user modeling is to increase the effective use of computers and many other systems that require more sophistication in its interaction with the user. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to know how the users behave. Then, the anticipation of certain aspects of human behavior, such as goals, actions or preferences is possible. In this chapter, the development of user models using soft computing is presented. The main approaches to different user modeling are reviewed, and the main techniques used to develop user models are discussed. Also, a particular example is explained in detail.
Electromagnetic Optimization using Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Mukherjee P. , Hines E. L.
Published: April 2010

This chapter focuses on the application of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) techniques in overcoming the limitations of microstrip antennas in terms of several key parameters such as bandwidth, power-handling capacity etc. In this chapter the effectiveness of GAs is discussed in relation to Electromagnetic optimization. A matching network has been designed for single band and dual band matching of microstrip antenna using GA.
Motor Vehicle Improvement Preference Ranking
Authors: Beynon Malcolm J. , Wells Peter
Published: April 2010

The central theme of this chapter is a preference ranking analysis of a group of motor vehicles based on their chemical emissions. Beyond the initial ranking of the motor vehicles, operationalised using the multi-criteria decision making technique PROMETHEE, further analysis is given on how the manufacturers of a motor vehicle could improve its preference rank position, based on reducing it current levels of chemical emissions. The rank improvement analysis, is defined a constrained optimisation problem, solved here using Trigonometric Differential Evolution. Further, an identification of a prescribed order to these chemical emissions reductions is then identified, offering practical findings to motor vehicle manufacturers when considering their position in a competitive market. The employment of Trigonometric Differential Evolution along with PROMETHEE in this chapter demonstrates a clear example of soft-computing in a practical problem.
An Empirical Assessment of Technology Adoption as a Choice between Alternatives
Authors: Bekkering Ernst , Johnston Allen C. , Warkentin Merrill , Schmidt Mark B.
Published: April 2010

Technology adoption by individuals has traditionally been regarded by information systems researchers as a choice between adoption and non-adoption of a single technology. With the current diversity of technology alternatives, the adoption decision may be more accurately specified as a choice between competing alternative technologies. The research question may no longer be simply whether technology is adopted, but rather which technology is adopted. The authors illustrate this with a simplified model of choice between two competing technologies, where the second technology is an enhanced version of the first. Their theoretical model is based on Expectancy Theory (ET). Results indicate that system characteristics can be successfully captured in the Valence Model of ET, and effort expectancy in the Force Model. Future research can expand on these results by including more factors in the Valence Model, and by comparing more than two alternative technologies.
Mandatory Usage of Mobile IS by Unsophisticated Users
Authors: Kim Yong-Young , Yang Hee-Dong , Ahn JoongHo
Published: April 2010

This study investigates the factors that influence the user’s (postal workers’) welfare in using personal digital assistants (PDAs) that were implemented by mandate in the Korea Postal Services (KPS). The authors propose to expand our perspective towards users’ welfare that becomes vulnerable when information systems (IS) are implemented by mandate, and suggest user satisfaction with IS as the appropriate measure of success. The authors are especially interested in the mandatory introduction and implementation of IS in organizations where users of such information systems are unsophisticated with limited educational background or IS experience, and whose job is relatively simple and labor-intensive. They hypothesized that information quality, system quality, and perceived usefulness are important factors for user satisfaction with mandatory IS. They also found that compatibility with work is a critical mediator through which the independent variables make significant influence on user satisfaction.
Smart Home Research
Authors: Poland Michael P. , Nugent Chris D. , Wang Hui , Chen Liming
Published: April 2010

Smart Homes are environments facilitated with technology that act in a protective and proactive function to assist an inhabitant in managing their daily lives specific to their individual needs. A typical Smart Home implementation would include sensors and actuators to detect changes in status and to initiate beneficial interventions. This paper aims to introduce the diversity of recent Smart Home research and to present the challenges that are faced not only by engineers and potential inhabitants; but also by policy makers and healthcare professionals
Intelligent Recognition of Activities of Daily Living for Assisting Memory and/or Cognitively Impaired Elders in Smart Homes
Authors: Najjar Mehdi , Courtemanche François , Hamam Habib , Dion Alexandre , Bauchet Jéremy
Published: April 2010

The article describes a recognition approach of undertaken activities of daily living (ADLs) performed by memory and/or cognitively impaired elders in smart homes. The proposed technique is materialized via a recognition module inserted in a modular generic architecture which aims to offer a framework to conceive intelligent ADLs assistance systems.
Ordered Incremental Multi-Objective Problem Solving Based on Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Mo Wenting , Guan Sheng-Uei , Puthusserypady Sadasivan
Published: April 2010

Many Multiple Objective Genetic Algorithms (MOGAs) have been designed to solve problems with multiple conflicting objectives. Incremental approach can be used to enhance the performance of various MOGAs, which was developed to evolve each objective incrementally. For example, by applying the incremental approach to normal MOGA, the obtained Incremental Multiple Objective Genetic Algorithm (IMOGA) outperforms state-of-the-art MOGAs, including Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II), Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA) and Pareto Archived Evolution Strategy (PAES). However, there is still an open question: how to decide the order of the objectives handled by incremental algorithms? Due to their incremental nature, it is found that the ordering of objectives would influence the performance of these algorithms. In this paper, the ordering issue is investigated based on IMOGA, resulting in a novel objective ordering approach. The experimental results on benchmark problems showed that the proposed approach can help IMOGA reach its potential best performance.
A Heuristic Approach for Multi Objective Distribution Feeder Reconfiguration
Authors: Milani Armin Ebrahimi , Haghifam Mahmood Reza
Published: April 2010

The reconfiguration is an operation process used for optimization with specific objectives by means of changing the status of switches in a distribution network. This paper presents an algorithm for network recon-figuration based on the heuristic rules and fuzzy multi objective approach where each objective is normalized with inspiration from fuzzy set to cause optimization more flexible and formulized as a unique multi objective function. Also, the genetic algorithm is used for solving the suggested model, in which there is no risk of non-linear objective functions and constraints. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through several examples in this paper.
A Scheduling Model with Multi-Objective Optimization for Computational Grids using NSGA-II
Authors: Raza Zahid , Vidyarthi Deo Prakash
Published: April 2010

Scheduling a job on the grid is an NP Hard problem, and hence a number of models on optimizing one or other characteristic parameters have been proposed in the literature. It is expected from a computational grid to complete the job quickly in most reliable grid environment owing to the number of participants in the grid and the scarcity of the resources available. Genetic algorithm is an effective tool in solving problems that requires sub-optimal solutions and finds uses in multi-objective optimization problems. This paper addresses a multi-objective optimization problem by introducing a scheduling model for a modular job on a computational grid with a dual objective, minimizing the turnaround time and maximizing the reliability of the job execution using NSGA – II, a GA variant. The cost of execution on a node is measured on the basis of the node characteristics, the job attributes and the network properties. Simulation study and a comparison of the results with other similar models reveal the effectiveness of the model.
Significant Advances in Applied Geography from Combining Curiosity-Driven and Client-Driven Research Methodologies
Authors: Wellar Barry
Published: April 2010

The central thesis of the 2005 Anderson Lecture is that significant achievements in applied geography occur when the principles and practices of curiosity-driven and client-driven research are combined in the statement of problem, the idealized and operational research design, and the procedures of evaluating results. A companion thesis extends the Anderson Lectures by Jack Dangermond, Brian Berry, and Tom Wilbanks by positing that the best of applied geography incorporates a commutative perspective when establishing the parameters of an inquiry. That is, using pair wise combinations for illustration, research study parameters such as epistemology-praxis, conceptual-empirical, spatial-aspatial, theory-hypothesis, method-technique, causeeffect, analysis-synthesis, and structure-function are necessary elements in applied research that validates geography as a science-based, societally-relevant discipline, and geographers as professional practitioners. The examples of remote sensing, optimization techniques, decision support systems, geographic information systems, and the Walking Security Index project are used to illustrate how significant advances in applied geography result from combining curiosity-driven and client-driven research methodologies.
An Examination of Job Titles Used for GIScience Professionals
Authors: Wikle Thomas A.
Published: April 2010

Over the last 20 years the increasing availability, utility, and importance of geospatial data has led to new kinds of positions in government agencies, non-profit organizations and private businesses. While employment opportunities have grown substantially, guidelines for assigning titles, qualifications and responsibilities have not kept pace. Inconsistency in GIScience titles and job qualifications has made it difficult for employers and job seekers to compare positions across organizations in terms of duties, compensation, and status. This paper explores job titles used by public and private organizations that hire GIScience professionals. An analysis of 204 online job ads shows variation in qualifications associated with titles. Model job titles and career ladders are suggested as a means of attracting and retaining GIScience professionals.
Geospatial Workforce Trends in the United States
Authors: Estaville Lawrence E.
Published: April 2010

Because of definitional problems regarding what is meant by the term “geospatial workforce,” specific reliable data are difficult to obtain about this increasingly important employment sector. This study reviews pertinent literature and U.S. Department of Labor datasets to corroborate the general sense that the geospatial workforce in the U.S. will continue robust expansion well into the next decade. However, because of this strong growth, an imbalance will remain in which demand outstrips supply, particularly in the more sophisticated modeling, design, and research positions, in the geospatial workforce.
Actor-Network Theory in Intercultural Communication
Authors: Bielenia-Grajewska Magdalena
Published: April 2010

The aim of this article is to discuss the place of the Actor-Network Theory in intercultural communication. To narrow the scope of the research, the author concentrates on the role of participants in one type of intercultural exchange, namely in translation. Thus, such issues as translator(s), translation, languages, texts and units are given a detailed study in this article. An attempt will be made to show how ANT is useful in this area of cross-cultural communication. Hence, those taking part in the translation process, both human and nonhuman entities, are treated as an ecosystem, being a place for technological innovation.
How to Recognize an Immutable Mobile When You Find One
Authors: Gonçalves Fernando Abreu , Figueiredo José
Published: April 2010

Research involved with Actor-Network Theory (ANT) application in engineering domains often crosses through its fundamentals. In fact, exploring trends that envisage ANT as a paradigm that can prove valid in the engineering design field, researchers sometimes enrol in discussions that drive them to its roots. Obligatory Passage Points (OPP) and Immutable Mobiles (IM) are two of the fundamental concepts that need to be revisited. These concepts are critical to understanding innovation in Actor-Networks, especially for the part of IMs. In the pursuit of that understanding, the authors opt to entangle ANT and engineering design and explore a framework based on Programs of Action where actors are represented as taxonomies of competences. These actors are hybrids but, when human, they are mainly engineers engaged in the scope planning and resource management in engineering design projects or processes. This article exercises and develops a constructive process towards a methodology to approach innovation in engineering design. This research is useful for the first stages of the project design process and, in a broader way, to the full cycle of the engineering design process.
Situated Knowledge in Context-Aware Computing
Authors: Svahn Fredrik , Henfridsson Ola
Published: April 2010

A central feature of ubiquitous computing applications is their capability to automatically react on context changes so as to support users in their mobility. Such context awareness relies on models of specific use contexts, embedded in ubiquitous computing environments. However, since most such models are based merely on location and identity parameters, context-aware applications seldom cater for users’ situated knowledge and experience of specific contexts. This is a general user problem in well-known, but yet dynamic, user environments. Drawing on a sequential multimethod study of in-car navigation, this paper explores the role of situated knowledge in designing and using context-aware applications. This focus is motivated by the current lack of empirical investigations of context-aware applications in actual use settings. In-car navigation systems are a type of context-aware application that includes a set of contextual parameters for supporting route guidance in a volatile context. The paper outlines a number of theoretical and practical implications for context-aware application design and use.
Recent Contributions to a Generic Architecture Design that Supports Learning Objects Interoperability
Authors: Botsios Sotirios , Georgiou Dimitrios A.
Published: April 2010

Adaptation and personalization services in e-learning environments are considered the turning point of recent research efforts, as the “one-size-fits-all” approach has some important drawbacks, from the educational point of view. Adaptive Educational Hypermedia Systems in World Wide Web became a very active research field and the need of standardization arose, as the continually augmenting research efforts lacked interoperability capabilities. This article concentrates and classifies recent research work and notices important points that can lead to an open, modular and generic architecture of a Learning Management System based on widely accepted standards.
Quantifying Complexity in Networks
Authors: Passerini Filippo , Severini Simone
Published: April 2010

The authors introduce a novel entropic notion with the purpose of quantifying disorder/uncertainty in networks. This is based on the Laplacian and it is exactly the von Neumann entropy of certain quantum mechanical states. It is remarkable that the von Neumann entropy depends on spectral properties and it can be computed efficiently. The analytical results described here and the numerical computations lead us to conclude that the von Neumann entropy increases under edge addition, increases with the regularity properties of the network and with the number of its connected components. The notion opens the perspective of a wide interface between quantum information theory and the study of complex networks at the statistical level.
A Survey on Classical Teletraffic Models and Network Planning Issues for Cellular Telephony
Authors: Barcelo-Arroyo Francisco , Martin-Escalona Israel
Published: April 2010

Research on traffic characterization and analysis of cellular networks has been very active in the past decades. However, it is difficult for networks planners to incorporate new results to network engineering. On the one hand, some models are very complex and need advanced programming and skills to be properly computed. On the other hand, reliability on those models is poor because there is a general lack of published field studies to corroborate them. This paper proposes simple well-known teletraffic models for cellular networks compared to the conventional Erlang-B frequently applied when a first estimate is needed. To this purpose, the latest results on the characterization of the arrival process and service time in cellular systems are reviewed. According to the arrival and service characteristics, three models are proposed to obtain a first approach to the performance characteristics of the cellular system. The first two models are extremely simple, allowing direct computation of performance through closed formulas, while the third requires simple programming.
On Cognitive Foundations of Creativity and the Cognitive Process of Creation
Authors: Wang Yingxu
Published: April 2010

Creativity is a gifted ability of human beings in thinking, inference, problem solving, and product development. A creation is a new and unusual relation between two or more objects that generates a novel and meaningful concept, solution, method, explanation, or product. This article formally investigates into the cognitive process of creation and creativity as one of the most fantastic life functions. The cognitive foundations of creativity are explored in order to explain the space of creativity, the approaches to creativity, the relationship between creation and problem solving, and the common attributes of inventors. A set of mathematical models of creation and creativity is established on the basis of the tree structures and properties of human knowledge known as concept trees. The measurement of creativity is quantitatively analyzed, followed by the formal elaboration of the cognitive process of creation as a part of the Layered Reference Model of the Brain (LRMB).
Customer Relationship Management in Social and Semantic Web Environments
Authors: García-Crespo Ángel , Colomo-Palacios Ricardo , Gómez-Berbís Juan Miguel , Martín Fernando Paniagua
Published: April 2010

The growing influence of the Internet in current 21st-century everyday life has implied a paradigm shift in terms of relationships between customers and companies. New interaction means in the Web 1.0 have undergone a dramatic change in quantity and quality with the advent of the so-called Web 2.0, the Social Web. The upcoming Web 3.0, the Semantic Web will also impact tremendously in how companies understand Customer Relationship Management (CRM). In this dynamic environment, the present work presents a combination of both Social and Semantic Web Technologies and their application in the particular field of CRM. Tool and technology analysis both prove the challenging opportunities for these cutting-edge innovation trends in the CRM domain.
A Conceptual Model of Customer Innovation Centric
Authors: Shaqrah Amin A.
Published: April 2010

Customer innovation centric is not only an important perspective on value-creation, but also a new strategy discipline that IT software companies in Jordan should embrace if they are pursue to enlargement successfully. Furthermore, customer experience, customers’ community, customer knowledge, and customer innovation are influential variables for improving organizational learning from customer. In order to study this impact, the author uses cognitive fit theory to develop a model that describes how these variables will affect the success of organizational learning process to enhance products and/or services development, quality, and internal process improvement.
Reliable Motion Detection, Location and Audit in Surveillance Video
Authors: Poursoltanmohammadi Amirsaman , Sorell Matthew
Published: April 2010

The review of video captured by fixed surveillance cameras is a time consuming, tedious, expensive and potentially unreliable human process, but of very high evidentiary value. Two key challenges stand out in such a task: 1.) ensuring that all motion events are captured for analysis, and 2.) demonstrating that all motion events have been captured so that the evidence survives being challenged in court. In previous work (Zhao, Poursoltanmohammadi & Sorell, 2008), it was demonstrated that tracking the average brightness of video frames or frame segment provided a more robust metric of motion than other commonly hypothesized motion measures. This article extends that work in three ways: 1.) by setting automatic localized motion detection thresholds, 2.) by maintaining a frame-by-frame single parameter normalized motion metric, and 3.) by locating regions of motion events within the footage. A tracking filter approach is used for localized motion analysis, which adapts to localized background motion or noise within each image segment. When motion is detected, location and size estimates are reported to provide some objective description of the motion event.
Estimate of PRNU Noise Based on Different Noise Models for Source Camera Identification
Authors: Amerini Irene , Caldelli Roberto , Cappellini Vito , Picchioni Francesco , Piva Alessandro
Published: April 2010

Identification of the source that has generated a digital content is considered one of the main open issues in multimedia forensics community. The extraction of photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU) noise has been so far indicated as a mean to identify sensor fingerprint. Such a fingerprint can be estimated from multiple images taken by the same camera by means of a de-noising filtering operation. In this paper, the authors propose a novel method for estimating the PRNU noise in source camera identification. In particular, a MMSE digital filter in the un-decimated wavelet domain, based on a signal-dependent noise model, is introduced and compared with others commonly adopted for this purpose. A theoretical framework and experimental results are provided and discussed.
A Conceptual Methodology for Dealing with Terrorism "Narratives"
Authors: Zarri Gian Piero
Published: April 2010

This paper concerns the use of in-depth analytical/conceptual techniques pertaining to the Artificial Intelligence domain to deal with narrative information (or “narratives”) in the terrorism- and crime-related areas. More precisely, the authors supply details about NKRL (Narrative Knowledge Representation Language), a representation and querying/inferencing environment especially created for an advanced exploitation of all types of narrative information. This description will be integrated with concrete examples that illustrate the use of NKRL tools in two recent ‘defence’ applications, the first dealing with a corpus of “Southern Philippines terrorism” news stories used in an R&D European project, the second, carried out in collaboration with the French “Délégation Générale pour l’Armement” (DGA, Central Bureau for Armament), which handles news stories about Afghanistan’s war.
A Study of English Mobile Learning Applications at National Chengchi University
Authors: Che Pei-Chun , Lin Han-Yi , Jang Hung-Chin , Lien Yao-Nan , Tsai Tzu-Chieh
Published: April 2010

The pervasive popularity of the Internet in the past decade has changed the way many students live and learn, in part, because modern technology has made it possible for learners to access Real-Time Multimedia information on the Internet, or research any topic of interest to them from virtually any computer anywhere in the world. Students can also receive immediate feedback from their peers and/or their teachers when involved in collaborative projects. As a result, teachers of all disciplines need to incorporate the Internet and the concept of mobile learning into today’s classrooms to take advantage of this technology. This research investigated the response of English majors to a mobile learning platform (NCCU-MLP) developed at National Chengchi University (NCCU) in which they were involved as participants. The goal of the NCCU-MLP is to improve the students’ English ability as well as to update the teachers’ understanding of how to use the technology. The purpose of this research was to investigate the responses of students to a mobile learning environment. The research involved 18 participants in a pilot study and 37 participants in a follow-up study who participated in a group activity involving mobile learning activities. The students were asked to complete the activity following which they completed a brief survey of their response to the mobile learning activity. The findings indicate a positive response from the participants regarding the content and procedures involved in the activity. Technical support for the project was found to need enhancement for future projects of this nature.
The Theory about CD-CAT Based on FCA and Its Application
Authors: Shuqun Yang , Shuliang Ding , Zhiqiang Yao
Published: April 2010

Cognitive diagnosis (CD) plays an important role in intelligent tutoring system. Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is adaptive, fair, and efficient, which is suitable to large-scale examination. Traditional cognitive diagnostic test needs quite large number of items, the efficient and tailored CAT could be a remedy for it, so the CAT with cognitive diagnosis (CD-CAT) is prospective. It is more benefit to the students who live in the developing area without rich source of teaching and distance education is adopted there. Although many researchers pay attention to CD, some flaws exist because it is still in its infancy (Leighton at el.2007) and only a few researches of CD-CAT are gotten. In Tatsuoka’s Q-matrix theory, it is wrong that the rows/columns could form a Boolean lattice. Based on Rule Space Model (RSM) and the Attribute Hierarchy Method (AHM), Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) is applied into CD-CAT. Concept lattices are served as the model of CD. The technology of item bank construction, item selection strategies in CD-CAT and estimation method are considered to design an initiatory and systemic CD-CAT, which diagnoses examinees on-line and offers remedial measure for examinees in time. The algorithms of constructing concept lattice for CAT, diagnosing examinees and offering the best remedial measure to examinees are discussed theoretically in detail. The result of Monte Carlo study shows that examinees’ knowledge states are well diagnosed and the precision in examinees’ abilities estimation is satisfied.
A Dynamic Grid File for High-Dimensional Data Cube Storage and Range-Sum Querying
Authors: Hou Wen-Chi , Yu Xiaoguang , Wang Chih-Fang , Luo Cheng , Wainer Michael
Published: April 2010

In this article; the authors propose to use the grid file to store multi-dimensional data cubes and answer angesum queries. The grid file is enhanced with a dynamic splitting mechanism to accommodate insertions of data. It overcomes the drawback of the traditional grid file in storing uneven data while enjoying its advantages of simplicity and efficiency. The space requirement grows linearly with the dimension of the data cube; compared with the exponential growth of conventional methods that store pre-computed aggregate values for range-sum queries. The update cost is O (1); much faster than the pre-computed data cube approaches; which generally have exponential update cost. The grid file structure can also respond to range queries quickly. They compare it with an approach that uses the R*-tree structure to store the data cube. The experimental results show that the proposed method performs favorably in file size; update speed; construction time; and query response time for both evenly and unevenly distributed data.
Model Inspection in the Context of a Distributed DSS
Authors: Buchs Matthias , Hättenschwiler Pius
Published: April 2010

Dicodess is a model-based distributed cooperative decision support system framework. It encapsulates the underlying model in a graphical user interface shielding users from the technical details of model configuration and optimization. However, a model usually evolves over time and therefore needs verification and validation accordingly. Furthermore, users sometimes might want to have a better insight into the model to better understand a “strange” solution. Model views are a new concept for modeling language and domain independent model visualization. The focus is not primarily on visualizing model input or model output but on the model’s structure, the formalized knowledge. Modelers as well as domain experts are able to inspect a model visually in order to get a better understanding and to have a common base of discussion. The improvement of model understanding and communication among the people involved will lead to models of better quality. In the last part of this article we are proposing an example integration of model views into Dicodess. This is enabled through the careful design of our model visualization concept. The integration provides mutual benefit: Dicodess users get direct access to model visualization, which through Dicodess’ cooperative functionality can be done even in collaboration.
A Multi-Criteria Decision Aiding System to Support Monitoring in a Public Administration
Authors: Norese Maria Franca
Published: April 2010

The Piedmont Region Financial Institute has had to construct a procedure and a system to monitor projects that a regional law has financed. In this context, the integration of a new data reading approach in a monitoring procedure has been proposed and a multi-criteria decision aiding method, ELECTRE TRI, has been applied to the problem, first to explain a possible use of the acquired information and then to be integrated in the information system. The Model base of the prototype system was used, as a shared space and a common framework, to better understand the aims and information needs of the monitoring process and therefore to read data and orient information acquisition. The application of ELECTRE TRI to the models analytically synthesizes the information elements, to face the difficulties of the monitoring process in its different phases and to support decisions, in terms of modifications and integrations of activities for future law applications.