bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The structural, elastic and electronic properties of A2C2 (A = Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs): First-principles calculations
Authors: Tang Chun-Lin , Sun Guang-Lin , Li Yan-Ling
Published: April 2014

The structural, elastic and electronic properties of A2 C 2 (A = Li , Na , K , Rb and Cs ) at zero temperature were investigated by first-principles total energy calculations. The optimized equilibrium structural parameters agree well with available experimental values. Elastic constants, bulk modulus, Young's modulus and Poissons ratio were given. All the structures studied are stable mechanically and all stable A2 C 2 studied has strong compressibility, which originates from weak Coulomb repulsion between metal atoms and carbon atoms. The electronic structure calculations show that binary alkali metal carbides studied here are insulators.
The impact of iterated games on traffic flow at noncontrolled intersections
Authors: Zhao Chao , Jia Ning
Published: April 2014

Intersections without signal control widely exist in urban road networks. This paper studied the traffic flow in a noncontrolled intersection within an iterated game framework. We assume drivers have learning ability and can repetitively adjust their strategies (to give way or to rush through) in the intersection according to memories. A cellular automata model is applied to investigate the characteristics of the traffic flow. Numerical experiments indicate two main findings. First, the traffic flow experiences a "volcano-shaped" fundamental diagram with three different phases. Second, most drivers choose to give way in the intersection, but the aggressive drivers cannot be completely eliminated, which is coincident with field observations. Analysis are also given out to explain the observed phenomena. These findings allow deeper insight of the real-world bottleneck traffic flow.
Reduction redux of adinkras
Authors: Gates S. James , Randall Stephen , Stiffler Kory
Published: April 2014

We show performing general "0-brane reduction" along an arbitrary fixed direction in space–time and applied to the starting point of minimal, off-shell 4D, 𝒩 = 1 irreducible supermultiplets, yields adinkras whose adjacency matrices are among some of the special cases proposed by Kuznetsova, Rojas and Toppan. However, these more general reductions also can lead to "Garden Algebra" structures beyond those described in their work. It is also shown that for light-like directions, reduction to the 0-brane breaks the equality in the number of fermions and bosons for dynamical theories. This implies that light-like reductions should be done instead to the space of 1-branes or equivalently to the worldsheet.
Lamb wave band gaps in a homogeneous plate with inclined cylindrical dots
Authors: Chen Weihua , Wang Peng
Published: April 2014

We report on the theoretical analysis of locally resonant sonic band gaps (BGs) in a phononic crystal (PC) structure constituted by a square array of inclined cylindrical dots deposited on a thin homogeneous plate. Based on an efficient finite element method (FEM), we show that the PC plate with inclined dots can lower Lamb wave BGs due to a weak localized resonance of the edge of the upper surface of the inclined dots. The BGs can be effectively shifted by changing the value of the incline. The total displacement fields are computed to explain how the inclined dot induces the lowering of the locally resonant BGs. Transmission power spectra (TPS) are calculated to demonstrate the existence of the BGs and it matches well with the band structure. BGs evolution as a function of geometrical parameters of the PC plate with inclined dot is also studied.
EVALUATION OF AN AUTOMATED MULTI-PHASE APPROACH FOR PATTERNS DISCOVERY
Authors: BOUASSIDA NADIA , BEN-ABDALLAH HANENE , ISSAOUI IMENE
Published: April 2014

Design patterns capitalize the knowledge of expert designers and offer reuse that provides for higher design quality and overall faster development. To attain these advantages, a designer must, however, overcome the difficulties in understanding design patterns and determining those appropriate for his/her particular application. On the other hand, one way to benefit from design patterns is to assist inexperienced designers in pattern detection during the design elaboration. Such detection should tolerate variations between the design and the pattern since the exact instantiation of a pattern is infrequent in a design. However, not all variations of a pattern are tolerated. In particular, some structural variations may result in non-optimal instantiations where the requirements are respected but the structure is different; such variations are called spoiled patterns and should also be detected and transformed into acceptable pattern instantiations.

This paper first presents an improvement of our design/spoiled pattern detection approach, named MAPeD (Multi-phase Approach for Pattern Discovery). The latter uses an XML information retrieval technique to identify design/spoiled pattern occurrences in a design using, first, static and semantic information and, secondly, dynamic information. This multi-phase detection approach tolerates structural differences between the examined design and the identified design pattern. Furthermore, thanks to the matching information it collects, our identification technique can offer assistance for the improvement of a design. In its second contribution, this paper evaluates MAPeD by comparing its recall and precision rates for five open source systems: JHotDraw, JUnit, JRefactory, MapperXML, QuickUML. The latter were used by other approaches in experimental evaluations. Our evaluation shows that our design pattern identification approach has an average improvement of 9.98% in terms of precision over the best known approach.
PRIORITIZATION OF COMBINATORIAL TEST CASES BY INCREMENTAL INTERACTION COVERAGE
Authors: HUANG RUBING , XIE XIAODONG , TOWEY DAVE , CHEN TSONG YUEH , LU YANSHENG , CHEN JINFU
Published: April 2014

Combinatorial interaction testing is a well-recognized testing method, and has been widely applied in practice, often with the assumption that all test cases in a combinatorial test suite have the same fault detection capability. However, when testing resources are limited, an alternative assumption may be that some test cases are more likely to reveal failure, thus making the order of executing the test cases critical. To improve testing cost-effectiveness, prioritization of combinatorial test cases is employed. The most popular approach is based on interaction coverage, which prioritizes combinatorial test cases by repeatedly choosing an unexecuted test case that covers the largest number of uncovered parameter value combinations of a given strength (level of interaction among parameters). However, this approach suffers from some drawbacks. Based on previous observations that the majority of faults in practical systems can usually be triggered with parameter interactions of small strengths, we propose a new strategy of prioritizing combinatorial test cases by incrementally adjusting the strength values. Experimental results show that our method performs better than the random prioritization technique and the technique of prioritizing combinatorial test suites according to test case generation order, and has better performance than the interaction-coverage-based test prioritization technique in most cases.
A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EMPIRICAL VALIDATION OF OBJECT-ORIENTED METRICS TOWARDS FAULT-PRONENESS PREDICTION
Authors: ISONG BASSEY , OBETEN EKABUA
Published: April 2014

Object-oriented (OO) approaches of software development promised better maintainable and reusable systems, but the complexity resulting from its features usually introduce some faults that are difficult to detect or anticipate during software change process. Thus, the earlier they are detected, found and fixed, the lesser the maintenance costs. Several OO metrics have been proposed for assessing the quality of OO design and code and several empirical studies have been undertaken to validate the impact of OO metrics on fault proneness (FP). The question now is which metrics are useful in measuring the FP of OO classes? Consequently, we investigate the existing empirical validation of CK + SLOC metrics based on their state of significance, validation and usefulness. We used systematic literature review (SLR) methodology over a number of relevant article sources, and our results show the existence of 29 relevant empirical studies. Further analysis indicates that coupling, complexity and size measures have strong impact on FP of OO classes. Based on the results, we therefore conclude that these metrics can be used as good predictors for building quality fault models when that could assist in focusing resources on high risk components that are liable to cause system failures, when only CK + SLOC metrics are used.
Oklo reactors and implications for nuclear science
Authors: Davis E. D. , Gould C. R. , Sharapov E. I.
Published: April 2014

We summarize the nuclear physics interests in the Oklo natural nuclear reactors, focusing particularly on developments over the past two decades. Modeling of the reactors has become increasingly sophisticated, employing Monte Carlo simulations with realistic geometries and materials that can generate both the thermal and epithermal fractions. The water content and the temperatures of the reactors have been uncertain parameters. We discuss recent work pointing to lower temperatures than earlier assumed. Nuclear cross-sections are input to all Oklo modeling and we discuss a parameter, the 175 Lu ground state cross-section for thermal neutron capture leading to the isomer 176 m Lu , that warrants further investigation. Studies of the time dependence of dimensionless fundamental constants have been a driver for much of the recent work on Oklo. We critically review neutron resonance energy shifts and their dependence on the fine structure constant α and the ratio Xq = mq/Λ (where mq is the average of the u and d current quark masses and Λ is the mass scale of quantum chromodynamics (QCD)). We suggest a formula for the combined sensitivity to α and Xq that exhibits the dependence on proton number Z and mass number A, potentially allowing quantum electrodynamic (QED) and QCD effects to be disentangled if a broader range of isotopic abundance data becomes available.
On well-posedness of the third-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation with time-dependent coefficients
Authors: Carvajal Xavier , Panthee Mahendra , Scialom Marcia
Published: April 2014

We consider the Cauchy problem associated to the third-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation with time-dependent coefficients. Depending on the nature of the coefficients, we prove local as well as global well-posedness results for given data in L2-based Sobolev spaces. We also address the scaling limit to fast dispersion management and prove that it converges in H1to the solution of the averaged equation.
Positive solutions for a quasilinear Schrödinger equation involving Hardy potential and critical exponent
Authors: Zeng Xiaoyu , Zhang Yimin , Zhou Huan-Song
Published: April 2014

We are concerned with positive solutions of a quasilinear Schrödinger equation with Hardy potential and critical exponent. Different from the semilinear equation, the Hardy term in our equation is not only singular, but also nonlinear. It seems unlikely to get solutions for our equation in H1(ℝN) ∩ L∞(ℝN) by using Nehari method as Liu–Liu–Wang [Ground states for quasilinear Schrödinger equations with critical growth, Calc. Var. Partial Differential Equations 46 (2013) 641–669]. In this paper, by transforming the quasilinear equation to a semilinear equation, we established the existence of positive solutions for the quasilinear Schrödinger equation in H1(ℝN) under suitable conditions.
ADAPTATION TO TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND CORPORATE CORE-RIGIDITIES
Authors: HAMADA TOMOMI
Published: April 2014

This paper postulates that corporate core-rigidities affect an established firm's adaptation to technological innovation. This manuscript further clarifies that when the implementation of new activities is sacrificed at the cost of an established firm's core-rigidities, the firm may find it difficult to (incrementally or radically) incorporate new technological innovations into their operations. To analyze these issues in greater detail, this paper evaluates the Toyota Motor Company as a case study for an organization's struggle to simultaneously adapt two innovations. Interviews at the Chinese production base for Toyota served as the methodology for this case study.
CYTOKINE mRNA EXPRESSION IN CHICKEN EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITH DIFFERENT AVIAN REOVIRUS STRAINS
Authors: Shen Pin-Chun , Yang Jia-Ling , Su Bor-Sheu , Lee Long-Huw
Published: April 2014

This study was undertaken to elucidate the cytokine response in chicken infected with strains of avian reovirus (ARV) S1133 and 2408. The expression levels of cytokine mRNA in the spleen and viral S1 RNA in various tissues at 1.5 and 2.5 days post inoculation (dpi) were examined using real-time quantitative PCR. Among the cytokines examined, the mRNA expression levels of IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-10 and iNOS at 2.5 dpi were significantly upregulated and higher in chickens infected with strain 2408 than in chickens infected with strain S1133, particularly IL-6 and IFN-γ. A significantly higher levels of viral S1 RNA were detected in the examined tissues from chickens infected with strain 2408 than with strain S1133 over the experimental course, among which the foot pad and spleen were more predominant. The highest levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ mRNA expression correlated with the viral S1 RNA levels in the spleen and the marked clinical diseases and gross lesions, suggesting that IL-6 and IFN-γ may play a role in the pathogenesis of ARV infection.
Collaborative virtual environments for supporting learning communities
Authors: Prasolova-Førland Ekaterina , Divitini Monica
Published: May 2014

In this paper we present the experiences of usage of Viras, a collaborative virtual environment for social awareness support in educational settings. Collaborative Virtual environments (CVE) have lately been used for learning in different contexts, and offer promising possibilities for supporting social awareness. In our study, we look at how students evaluate CVE in educational settings and investigate the importance of different factors on social awareness.
Designing for loose coupling in mobile groups[9] (abstract only)
Authors: Pinelle David , Gutwin Carl
Published: May 2014

Loose coupling is a common way of organizing collaboration in work groups, but it has not been studied extensively in CSCW. In this paper, we consider the patterns of work that are seen in mobile groups that adopt a loosely coupled collaboration style. We report findings from interviews and fieldwork with teams of workers who deliver home healthcare services. In these teams, workers are mobile, widely dispersed, and autonomous, and team members communicate with each other only intermittently. Based on these findings, we identify and discuss four work patterns that occur in loosely coupled mobility: discretionary collaboration and effort thresholds, implicitly shared information, asynchronous communication and coordination, and barriers to synchrony. We consider the implications of these findings for the design of CSCW technologies.
"Breaking the code", moving between private and public work in collaborative software development[12] (abstract only)
Authors: de Souza Cleidson R. B. , Redmiles David , Dourish Paul
Published: May 2014

Software development is typically cooperative endeavor where a group of engineers need to work together to achieve a common, coordinated result. As a cooperative effort, it is especially difficult because of the many interdependencies amongst the artifacts created during the process. This has lead software engineers to create tools, such as configuration management tools, that isolate developers from the effects of each other's work. In so doing, these tools create a distinction between private and public aspects of work of the developer. Technical support is provided to these aspects as well as for transitions between them. However, we present empirical material collected from a software development team that suggests that the transition from private to public work needs to be more carefully handled. Indeed, the analysis of our material suggests that different formal and informal work practices are adopted by the developers to allow a delicate transition, where software developers are not largely affected by the emergent public work. Finally, we discuss how groupware tools might support this transition.
Software framework for managing heterogeneity in mobile collaborative systems[14] (abstract only)
Authors: Correa Carlos D. , Marsic Ivan
Published: May 2014

Heterogeneity aspects in mobile collaborative systems, such as differences in user's interest, semantic conflicts across different domains and representations, and disparate device capabilities, cause difficulties in developing software applications. One of the key problems for collaborative applications is maintaining a consistent shared state. In this paper, we describe a framework that manages several aspects of heterogeneity to maintain consistency across the collaborating sites. We assume graph data structure for application state representation. Our framework is based on structural and semantic mappings between graph structures. The mapping can be customized to meet different requirements through user-defined policies and rules. An important constraint is efficient use of scarce system resources. We describe several applications built using the framework to collaboratively share XML documents. The XML documents in our case are 2D/3D representations of virtual worlds. We also show the performance results of our framework which demonstrate its feasibility for mobile scenarios.
Technology-use mediation
Authors: Bansler Jørgen P. , Havn Erling
Published: May 2014

This study analyzes how a group of 'mediators' in a large, multinational company adapted a computer-mediated communication technology (a 'virtual workspace') to the local organizational context (and vice versa) by modifying features of the technology, providing ongoing support for users, and promoting appropriate conventions of use. Our findings corroborate earlier research on technology-use mediation, which suggests that such mediators can exert considerable influence on how a particular technology will be established and used in an organization. However, this study also indicates that the process of technology-use mediation is more complex and indeterminate than earlier literature suggests. In particular, we want to draw attention to the fact that advanced computer-mediated communication technologies are equivocal and that technology-use mediation consequently requires ongoing sensemaking.
Making sense of collaboration
Authors: Larsson Andreas
Published: May 2014

Industry globalization brings with it inevitable changes to traditional organizational structures. The notion of global virtual teams, working together across geographical, cultural and functional borders, is becoming increasingly appealing. This paper presents observations of how a team of designers negotiate shared understanding in the collaborative design of Virtual Pedals for Volvo Car Corporation. Although the team was globally distributed during most of the development process, examples are drawn from collocated design sessions, since this enables careful examination of the multifaceted ways in which collocated designers use a wide variety of artifacts and techniques to create common ground. The findings highlight the situational and interactional characteristics of design collaboration and suggest that the addition of shared 'objects to think with' in distributed design environments could greatly facilitate global design teams in their collaborative process of 'thinking together apart'.
What counts as success?
Authors: Halverson Christine A. , Erickson Thomas , Sussman Jeremy
Published: May 2014

This paper presents a case study of a globally distributed work group's use of an online environment called "Loops." Loops is a web-based persistent chat system whose aim is to support collaboration amongst corporate work groups. We describe the ways in which the group turned the system's features to its own ends, and the unusual usage rhythm that corresponded with the team's varying needs for communication as it moved through its work cycle. We conclude with a discussion of design implications, and a suggestion that "community" may not always be the best way to think about groups' use of online systems.
Stimulating knowledge discovery and sharing[28] (abstract only)
Authors: Agostini A. , Albolino S. , De Michelis G. , De Paoli F. , Dondi R.
Published: May 2014

Most of the available knowledge management systems pay little attention to two important aspects: the need of supporting emerging communities of interest together with the official organizational structure; and the need of cluing together knowledge associated with any kind of involved entity including people, communities, and informal knowledge. The MILK system enhances knowledge discovery and sharing by providing services addressing these aspects and supplying innovative interfaces and interaction styles. The goal of MILK is to become a familiar environment integrated in the every-day activities of dynamic modern workers. To meet the users' needs, the solution proposed by MILK roots in ethnographic analysis capturing the common practices within an organization.
Instant group communication with QuickML[30] (abstract only)
Authors: Masui Toshiyuki , Takabayashi Satoru
Published: May 2014

A number of people are exchanging e-mail messages everyday using mobile phones and PDAs. as well as PCs. E-mail is useful not only for one to-one communication but group communication through mailing lists. However, conventional mailing lists are not as widely used as they should be, because creating and maintaining a mailing list is not an easy task. We propose a simple and powerful mailing list service system called QuickML, with which people can easily create a mailing list and control the member account only by sending e-mail messages. QuickML allows people to enjoy group communication at any place, at any time, and by anyone.
Studying the effect of similarity in online task-focused interactions[36] (abstract only)
Authors: Cosley Dan , Ludford Pamela , Terveen Loren
Published: May 2014

Although the Internet provides powerful tools for social interactions, many tasks-for example, information-seeking-are undertaken as solitary activities. Information seekers are unaware of the invisible crowd traveling in parallel to their course through the information landscape. Social navigation systems attempt to make the invisible crowd visible, while social recommender systems try to introduce people directly. However, it is not clear whether users desire or will respond to social cues indicating the presence of other people when they are focused on a task. To investigate this issue, we created an online game-playing task and paired subjects to perform the task based on their responses to a short survey about demographics and interests. We studied how these factors influence task outcomes, the interaction process, and attitudes towards one's partner. We found that demographic similarity affected how people interact with each other, even though this information was not explicit, while similarities or differences in task-relevant interests did not. Our findings suggest guidelines for developing social recommender systems and show the need for further research into conditions that will help such systems succeed.
Dynamic personal social networks
Authors: Hofte G. Henri ter , Mulder Ingrid
Published: May 2014

In this position paper, we motivate why the dynamic personal social network perspective is relevant for research and design of CSCW systems. Moreover, we identify opportunities for improvement of measuring the dynamics in personal social networks and we propose a classification of dynamic personal social network applications.
Behind the curtain
Authors: White Kevin F. , Lutters Wayne G.
Published: May 2014

Large scale, organization-wide groupware systems are high risk development efforts. Requirements gathering and early evaluation are constrained by the need for the system to attain a critical mass of users and content. One approach to mitigate this risk is to employ Wizard of Oz style system simulations during the requirements gathering phase. While this method has historically been used to test quasi-functional system prototypes, we have found it to be a useful method for assessing organizational feasibility. After introducing this adaptation of the Wizard of Oz method, our approach is grounded with a case study in which it is was successfully used as a proof-of-concept requirements gathering exercise for an expertise recommender and organizational memory system project. Transferable lessons learned are distilled and discussed.
CSCW research in Germany
Authors: Unland Rainer
Published: May 2014

This article presents the main goals and intentions of some of the recently started research projects within the German CSCW-community
1
. It does not intend to present established results of (more or less) finished projects. All members of the German special interest group "CSCW in Organizations" were asked to submit a short description of their most recent research work. Since most projects are still in their early stage commonly available literature may not exist so far for some projects.The main intentions of this article are on the one hand to give an impression of the current state-of-the-art and interests of German CSCW research groups and on the other hand to stimulate international discussions and cooperations between researchers. Most of the presented projects are still in their starting phase. Therefore, I am pretty sure that the researchers whose work is described in this article are happy about every fruitful comment or constructive critics or any offer for cooperation if other researchers think that the presented work does nicely fit into or extend their work.For further information please contact the respective author directly or visit the appropriate WWW pages. An introduction the special interest group can be found here: http://www.informatik.uniessen.de/Fachgebiete/DatWiss/FG551/Introduction
CVE'98
Authors: Churchill Elizabeth F. , Snowdon Dave
Published: May 2014

A Collaborative Virtual Environment (CVE) is an application that uses a Virtual Environment to support human-human and human-system communication. Within such virtual environments, multiple users can convene, communicate and collaborate. Virtual Environments vary in their representational richness; for example environments may be graphical (2D or 3D) or may be purely text-based as with many MUDs/MOOs. Users are often represented by embodiments (or "avatars"), which also can vary from rich moving characters (such as in the Massive environment [1] or in Microcosm [2]) or simple 2D static cartoon images (as in The Palace, [3]).The design, development and use of CVEs is a growing research area with much potential for inter-disciplinary collaboration between researchers in the fields of computer science, psychology, sociology, cultural & media studies, architecture & urban planning, Artificial Intelligence, human computer interaction and CSCW.The Second International Conference dedicated to the design, development and evaluation of such Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVE'98) recently took place in Manchester. CVE'98 was part of Manchester's Digital Summer, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the "birth of the Baby"; the demonstration of the first stored computer program. The conference took place over two days, from the 17th until the 19th June in the MANDEC Centre on the University of Manchester campus, and attracted 95 attendees from all over the world, drawn from computer science, human factors, sociology, psychology, graphic arts and other disciplines.
Designing the DomeCityMoo training collaboratory
Authors: Raybourn Elaine M.
Published: May 2014

This proposal argues that designing a multi-user social-process simulation in a shared virtual environment offers unique opportunities to explore intercultural issues such as identity, power, and prejudice because its collaborative environment is much less threatening than face-to-face. In the proposed Text-Based Networked Virtual Environment (TNVE) also known as a Multi-User Dimension Object Oriented (MOO), players' narratives and experiences provide the basis for discovery and exploration in a virtual training "collaboratory." The DomeCityMOO environment is unique in that it advances our state of knowledge of the effects of designing a non-scripted collaborative social process simulation for intercultural training purposes which supports both group and individual learning in a shared virtual work space.
Interoperability between the X.509 and EDIFACT public key infrastructures
Authors: Rubia M. , Cruellas J. C. , Medina M. , Callego I.
Published: May 2014

Over the last few years considerable effort has been dedicated to specifying and developing public key infrastructures (PKI's). Several initiatives from all around the world have resulted in the emergence of one PKI based on X.509 certificates and another based on EDIFACT certificates. Both PKIs include their own certificates and messages to simplify their management. However, these two PKIs are not interoperable, mainly because of the fact that the certificates and messages are coded differently (ASN.1 and DER are used for X.509 PKI, EDIFACT syntax for EDIFACT PKI).DEDICA (Directory based EDI Certificate Access and management) is a research and development project established by the European Commission under the Telematics Applications Program. The main objective of the DEDICA project is to define and provide a means of making these two infrastructures interoperable without increasing the amount of information that they handle. The proposed solution involves the design and implementation of a gateway tool interconnecting both PKIs. The main objective of this gateway is to translate certificates produced in one PKI to certificates produced in the other, maintaining as much as possible of the information present in the first. In this way, any user certified for instance within an X.509 PKI could get an EDIFACT certificate from this gateway without having to register in an EDIFACT infrastructure and use it to exchange EDIFACT messages with people certified within an EDIFACT PKI, who could also use their software to verity an EDIFACT certificate. The DEDICA gateway must therefore be capable of converting certain functionality of the UN/EDIFACT KEYMAN message (used for certification management) into access operations for the X.500 Distributed Directory, and vice versa. The gateway will in fact act as a proxy CA for the CAs of each PKI (it will sign the certificate resulting from the translation process). The tools developed for the gateway can also be used ill systems with a mixture of components. They can allow CAs in one of the PKIs to behave as CAs in the other. This gives a much wider scope to the work being done, as it can be the starting point for further specifications and developments leading to interoperability between other PKIs currently being developed (SPKI, for instance).
WebShaman
Authors: Tuikka Tuomo , Salmela Marko
Published: May 2014

We present WebShaman, a virtual prototyping application which shows how the work of electronics and telecommunications product designers can be supported using the World Wide Web. We describe a concept design session where two or more electronics product designers and their customers work on a design object such as a future mobile telephone. WebShaman demonstrates the computer support of synchronous product concept design over the WWW. The system represents the design object as a three-dimensional virtual prototype, which can be shown and manipulated in an information space accessible to all participants. Distributed simulation of the device can be used to mediate the designers' understanding of the prototype's functionality. To facilitate this, we use a technique called "smart virtual prototyping". It allows the users to add functionality and simulation to virtual prototypes and to use them in a collaborative fashion. We will first present the background of our work and then the application architecture and its use.
NotMeeting
Authors: Finholt Thomas A. , Rocco Elena , Bree Daniel , Jain Nishant , Herbsleb James D.
Published: May 2014

This study reports on a three month field trial of Microsoft NetMeeting by geographically distributed software engineers in a Fortune 500 telecommunications organization. Participants were selected based on their need to collaborate with remote colleagues. After an initial orientation, participants were encouraged to use NetMeeting, whenever possible, to perform regular work tasks. Participants were interviewed halfway through the trial and at the conclusion of the trial to gauge level of use and attitudes toward NetMeeting. Results indicated low NetMeeting use but moderate satisfaction. The findings also illuminated difficulties in the introduction of collaboration tools in an authentic work setting and the adaptation of tools under conditions of everyday use.
Collaborative process patterns for e-Business
Authors: Jayaweera Prasad , Johannesson Paul , Wohed Petia
Published: May 2014

The basic notions in computer supported work coordination in e-Business are communicative, institutional, and deontic notions such as obligation, responsibility, and trust. The Language Action approach that has a significant impact within CSCW, therefore, seems to be a most promising framework for designing e-Business systems. However, the penetration of the Language Action approach in industrial practice is still limited. We discuss some reasons for this state of affairs by identifying a number of problems that hinder an effective application of the Language Action approach. We propose modeling techniques and methodological guidelines that can contribute to the solution of these problems. These techniques and guidelines are based on three building blocks: a business model describing the values exchanged in an e-Business process, a formal and executable language based on communicating state machines, and an automated designer assistant that guides a user from a business model to an executable process model.
Issues of supporting communities in mobile contexts
Authors: Ekholm Anne
Published: May 2014

Group communication is a very wide area. Groups have been communicating orally face-to-face and over the phone, or textually by leaving messages to bulletin board. Computers have created new opportunities for group communication: chats, e-mail lists and newsgroups among others. Mobile phones present even new methods and challenges. In this position paper issues concerning a design of a mobile chat will be discussed.
Sm-Co Thick Films Micromolding
Authors: Moulin Johan , Woytasik Marion , Belghiti Dounia , Chouarbi Katia
Published: April 2014

This paper presents a study of the scale effect occurring during electrodeposition in the (micro)molding process of a rare earth - transition metal alloy : SmCo. Different cathode sizes have been implemented in the electrodeposition set up: a large strip (10 cm x 1.5 cm), a matrix of 1 mm² square and matrix of 5 – 50 µm micropatterns. Results concerning composition, deposition rate, adherence and thickness uniformity of the patterns show an influence of the scale effect: the decreasing of the conductive surface of the cathode leads to thinner films containing less samarium, but also a lower oxygen content. Patterns are then free of cracks, more uniform in thickness and present a good adherence to the copper seed layer. The influence of the deposition time has been also studied for micromoulding process, showing an increase of the samarium content but a decrease of the deposition rate during the deposition.
Characterization of Self-Assembled Monolayer on Anodized Aluminum by XPS, AFM and Low-Voltage SEM
Authors: Habazaki Hiroki , Sato H. , Tsuji Etsushi , Aoki Yoshitaka , Shimizu K.
Published: April 2014

Organic layers of tetradecylphosphonic acid (TDP) and octadecyltrietoxysilane (OES) are formed on flat anodized aluminum surfaces by a simple immersion process. The organic layers are characterized by dynamic contact angle measurements for water, AFM, low-voltage SEM and angle-resolved XPS. The results indicate that a self-assembled monolayer is formed using TDP, but not for OES. Plasma surface treatment prior to the coating was found to significantly influence the formation of organic layers.
A Nanoarchitectured Porous Electrode Assembly of NiSi Thin Film for Lithium Ion Batteries
Authors: Polat Deniz Billur , Keles Ozgul
Published: April 2014

This study proposes to produce well-aligned nanorod arrays containing NiSi thin film to improve the electrochemical performance of Si based anodes. In this respect, NiSi thin films made of nanorods are produced via glancing angle electron beam deposition (GLAD) technique. The structural and morphological properties are investigated using thin film X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The well aligned nanorod arrays containing NiSi thin film anode exhibits a long cycle life with a moderate capacity retention (around 1100mAhg-1 for 100 cycles). This remarkable electrochemical performance can be explained by the electrode composition, structure and morphology: During Li+ insertion into the alloyed thin film electrodes, Si acts as active center, which reacts with Li+ to form amorphous LixSi alloys, while the nanosized Ni particles are believed to provide electrical conduction network inside the active material and buffer volume expansions with the help of the homogenously distributed nanosized interspaces (porosities among the nanorods) present in the thin film.
Novel Lithium Titanate for High Power Applications
Authors: Jin Hong , Pan Guanghong , Xue Simon J. , Wang Francis P.
Published: April 2014

The spinel phase LTO is considered to be one of the most promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Firstly, it is the so-called zero-strain material, enabling an extremely long cycle life and excellent capacity retention. Secondly, there is no Solid Electrolyte Interface layer formation on LTO during cycling, leading to enhanced safety, long cycle life and high charge/discharge capability over a wide temperature range. Thirdly, there is no Li dendrite formation during cycling, which largely improves the battery safety. The issues of this material are associated with its low energy density and low electronic conductivity. To tackle these, we have developed a novel type of LTO material with improved electronic conductivity and energy density that is extremely useful in high power applications such as EV/HEV/PHEV, and renewable energy applications such as wind smoothing. If estimated in a full battery, the improvement on energy density is approximately 6%.
Using Noninvasive Brain Measurement to Explore the Psychological Effects of Computer Malfunctions on Users during Human-Computer Interactions
Authors: Hirshfield Leanne M. , Bobko Philip , Barelka Alex , Hirshfield Stuart H. , Farrington Mathew T. , Gulbronson Spencer , Paverman Diane
Published: April 2014

In today’s technologically driven world, there is a need to better understand the ways that common computer malfunctions affect computer users. These malfunctions may have measurable influences on computer user’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. An experiment was conducted where participants conducted a series of web search tasks while wearing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and galvanic skin response sensors. Two computer malfunctions were introduced during the sessions which had the potential to influence correlates of user trust and suspicion. Surveys were given after each session to measure user’s perceived emotional state, cognitive load, and perceived trust. Results suggest that fNIRS can be used to measure the different cognitive and emotional responses associated with computer malfunctions. These cognitive and emotional changes were correlated with users’ self-report levels of suspicion and trust, and they in turn suggest future work that further explores the capability of fNIRS for the measurement of user experience during human-computer interactions.
Interaction with Mesenchymal Stem Cells Provokes Natural Killer Cells for Enhanced IL-12/IL-18-Induced Interferon-Gamma Secretion
Authors: Thomas Heike , Jäger Marcus , Mauel Katharina , Brandau Sven , Lask Sara , Flohé Stefanie B.
Published: April 2014

Tissue injury induces an inflammatory response accompanied by the recruitment of immune cells and of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) that contribute to tissue regeneration. After stimulation with interleukin- (IL-) 12 and IL-18 natural killer (NK) cells secrete the proinflammatory cytokine interferon- (IFN-)γ. IFN-γplays a crucial role in the defense against infections and modulates tissue regeneration. In consideration of close proximity of NK cells and MSC at the site of injury we investigated if MSC could influence the ability of NK-cells to produce IFN-γ. Coculture experiments were performed with bone marrow-derived human MSC and human NK cells. MSC enhanced the ability of IL-12/IL-18-stimulated NK cells to secrete IFN-γin a dose-dependent manner. This activation of NK cells was dependent on cell-cell contact as well as on soluble factors. The increased IFN-γsecretion from NK cells after contact with MSC correlated with an increased level of intracellular IFN-γ. Alterations in the IL-12 signaling pathway including an increased expression of the IL-12β1 receptor subunit and an increased phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) could be observed. In conclusion, MSC enhance the IFN-γrelease from NK cells which might improve the defense against infections at the site of injury but additionally might affect tissue regeneration.
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells as a Laboratory to Study Dementia in the Elderly
Authors: Arosio Beatrice , D'Addario Claudio , Gussago Cristina , Casati Martina , Tedone Enzo , Ferri Evelyn , Nicolini Paola , Rossi Paolo D. , Maccarrone Mauro , Mari Daniela
Published: April 2014

The steady and dramatic increase in the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and the lack of effective treatments have stimulated the search for strategies to prevent or delay its onset and/or progression. Since the diagnosis of dementia requires a number of established features that are present when the disease is fully developed, but not always in the early stages, the need for a biological marker has proven to be urgent, in terms of both diagnosis and monitoring of AD. AD has been shown to affect peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) that are a critical component of the immune system which provide defence against infection. Although studies are continuously supplying additional data that emphasize the central role of inflammation in AD, PBMCs have not been sufficiently investigated in this context. Delineating biochemical alterations in AD blood constituents may prove valuable in identifying accessible footprints that reflect degenerative processes within the Central Nervous System (CNS). In this review, we address the role of biomarkers in AD with a focus on the notion that PBMCs may serve as a peripheral laboratory to find molecular signatures that could aid in differential diagnosis with other forms of dementia and in monitoring of disease progression.
The WArP Experiment: A Double-Phase Argon Detector for Dark Matter Searches
Authors: Zani Andrea
Published: April 2014

Cryogenic noble liquids emerged in the previous decade as one of the best media to perform WIMP dark matter searches, in particular due to the possibility to scale detector volumes to multiton sizes. The WArP experiment was then developed as one of the first to implement the idea of coupling Argon in liquid and gas phase, in order to discriminateβ/γ-interactions from nuclear recoils and then achieve reliable background rejection. Since its construction, other projects spawned, employing Argon and Xenon and following its steps. The WArP 100l detector was assembled in 2008 at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories (LNGS), as the final step of a years-long R&D programme, aimed at characterising the technology of Argon in double phase for dark matter detection. Though it never actually performed a physics run, a technical run was taken in 2011, to characterise the detector response.
MHD Flow of a Viscous Fluid over an Exponentially Stretching Sheet in a Porous Medium
Authors: Ahmad Iftikhar , Sajid Muhmmad , Awan Wasim , Rafique Muhammad , Aziz Wajid , Ahmed Manzoor , Abbasi Aamar , Taj Moeen
Published: April 2014

Radiation effects on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary-layer flow and heat transfer characteristic through a porous medium due to an exponentially stretching sheet have been studied. Formulation of the problem is based upon the variable thermal conductivity. The heat transfer analysis is carried out for both prescribed surface temperature (PST) and prescribed heat flux (PHF) cases. The developed system of nonlinear coupled partial differential equations is transformed to nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations by using similarity transformations. The series solutions for the transformed of the transformed flow and heat transfer problem were constructed by homotopy analysis method (HAM). The obtained results are analyzed under the influence of various physical parameters.
Enhanced Adipogenicity of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Aplastic Anemia
Authors: Tripathy Naresh Kumar , Singh Saurabh Pratap , Nityanand Soniya
Published: April 2014

Fatty bone marrow (BM) and defective hematopoiesis are a pathologic hallmark of aplastic anemia (AA). We have investigated adipogenic and osteogenic potential of BM mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) in 10 AA patients (08 males and 02 females) with median age of 37 years (range: 06 to 79 years) and in the same number of age and sex matched controls. It was observed that BM-MSC of AA patients had a morphology, phenotype, and osteogenic differentiation potential similar to control subjects but adipocytes differentiated from AA BM-MSC had a higher density and larger size of lipid droplets and they expressed significantly higher levels of adiponectin and FABP4 genes and proteins as compared to control BM-MSC (P<0.01for both). Thus our data shows that AA BM-MSC have enhanced adipogenicity, which may have an important implication in the pathogenesis of the disease.
Blow-Up Analysis for a Quasilinear Parabolic Equation with Inner Absorption and Nonlinear Neumann Boundary Condition
Authors: Fang Zhong Bo , Chai Yan
Published: April 2014

We investigate an initial-boundary value problem for a quasilinear parabolic equation with inner absorption and nonlinear Neumann boundary condition. We establish, respectively, the conditions on nonlinearity to guarantee thatu(x,t)exists globally or blows up at some finite timet*. Moreover, an upper bound fort*is derived. Under somewhat more restrictive conditions, a lower bound fort*is also obtained.