bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Use of Landsat and SRTM Data to Detect Broad-Scale Biodiversity Patterns in Northwestern Amazonia
Authors: Higgins Mark A. , Asner Gregory P. , Perez Eneas , Elespuru Nydia , Tuomisto Hanna , Ruokolainen Kalle , Alonso Alfonso
Published: August 2012

Vegetation maps are the starting point for the design of protected areas and regional conservation plans. Accurate vegetation maps are missing for much of Amazonia, preventing the development of effective and compelling conservation strategies. Here we used a network of 160 inventories across northwestern Amazonia to evaluate the use of Landsat and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data to identify floristic and edaphic patterns in Amazonian forests. We first calculated the strength of the relationship between these remotely-sensed data, and edaphic and floristic patterns in these forests, and asked how sensitive these results are to image processing and enhancement. We additionally asked if SRTM data can be used to model patterns in plant species composition in our study areas. We find that variations in Landsat and SRTM data are strongly correlated with variations in soils and plant species composition, and that these patterns can be mapped solely on the basis of SRTM data over limited areas. Using these data, we furthermore identified widespread patch-matrix floristic patterns across northwestern Amazonia, with implications for conservation planning and study. Our findings provide further evidence that Landsat and SRTM data can provide a cost-effective means for mapping these forests, and we recommend that maps generated from a combination of remotely-sensed and field data be used as the basis for conservation prioritization and planning in these vast and remote forests.
Evaluation of ASTER GDEM2 in Comparison with GDEM1, SRTM DEM and Topographic-Map-Derived DEM Using Inundation Area Analysis and RTK-dGPS Data
Authors: Suwandana Endan , Kawamura Kensuke , Sakuno Yuji , Kustiyanto Eko , Raharjo Beni
Published: August 2012

This study evaluates the quality of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Radiometer-Global Digital Elevation Model version 2 (ASTER GDEM2) in comparison with the previous version (GDEM1) as well as the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) DEM and topographic-map-derived DEM (Topo-DEM) using inundation area analysis for the projected location of the Karian dam, Indonesia. In addition, the vertical accuracy of each DEM is evaluated using the Real-Time Kinematic differential Global Positioning Systems (RTK-dGPS) data obtained from an intensive geodetic survey. The results of the inundation area analysis show that GDEM2 produced a higher maximum contour level (MCL) (64 m) than did GDEM1 (55 m), and thus, GDME2 has a better quality. In addition, the GDEM2-derived MCL is similar to those produced by SRTM DEM (69 m) and Topo-DEM (62 m). The improvement in the contour level in GDEM2 is believed to be related to the successful removal of voids (artifacts) and anomalies present in GDEM1. However, our RTK-dGPS results show that the vertical accuracy of GDEM2 is much lower than that of GDEM1 and the other DEMs, which is contradictory to the accuracy stated in the GDEM2 validation document. The vertical profiles of all DEMs show that GDEM2 contains a comparatively large number of undulation effects, thereby resulting in higher root mean square error (RMSE) values. These undulation effects may have been introduced during the GDEM2 validation process. Although the results of this study may be site-specific, it is important that they be considered for the improvement of the next GDEM version.
Switching Algorithm for Maglev Train Double-Modular Redundant Positioning Sensors
Authors: He Ning , Long Zhiqiang , Xue Song
Published: August 2012

High-resolution positioning for maglev trains is implemented by detecting the tooth-slot structure of the long stator installed along the rail, but there are large joint gaps between long stator sections. When a positioning sensor is below a large joint gap, its positioning signal is invalidated, thus double-modular redundant positioning sensors are introduced into the system. This paper studies switching algorithms for these redundant positioning sensors. At first, adaptive prediction is applied to the sensor signals. The prediction errors are used to trigger sensor switching. In order to enhance the reliability of the switching algorithm, wavelet analysis is introduced to suppress measuring disturbances without weakening the signal characteristics reflecting the stator joint gap based on the correlation between the wavelet coefficients of adjacent scales. The time delay characteristics of the method are analyzed to guide the algorithm simplification. Finally, the effectiveness of the simplified switching algorithm is verified through experiments.
A Self-Optimizing Scheme for Energy Balanced Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks Using SensorAnt
Authors: M. Shamsan Saleh Ahmed , Mohd Ali Borhanuddin , A. Rasid Mohd Fadlee , Ismail Alyani
Published: August 2012

Planning of energy-efficient protocols is critical for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) because of the constraints on the sensor nodes’ energy. The routing protocol should be able to provide uniform power dissipation during transmission to the sink node. In this paper, we present a self-optimization scheme for WSNs which is able to utilize and optimize the sensor nodes’ resources, especially the batteries, to achieve balanced energy consumption across all sensor nodes. This method is based on the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) metaheuristic which is adopted to enhance the paths with the best quality function. The assessment of this function depends on multi-criteria metrics such as the minimum residual battery power, hop count and average energy of both route and network. This method also distributes the traffic load of sensor nodes throughout the WSN leading to reduced energy usage, extended network life time and reduced packet loss. Simulation results show that our scheme performs much better than the Energy Efficient Ant-Based Routing (EEABR) in terms of energy consumption, balancing and efficiency.
The Race for Evolutionary Success
Authors: Tonn Bruce , Stiefel Dorian
Published: August 2012

The Earth appears to be at the beginning of sixth massive species extinction. This paper balances a review of the forces threatening species survival with a comprehensive scan of factors that could act as counterweights. These factors could lead to four types of evolution—cultural, regulatory, ecological, and technological—that could individually or in combination avert massive species extinction if humans implement solutions faster than new problems arise. Implications and future research opportunities are also explored.
Enhancing Meso Level Research in Sustainability Science—Challenges and Research Needs
Authors: Hara Keishiro , Uwasu Michinori , Kobayashi Hideki , Kurimoto Shuji , Yamanaka Shinsuke , Shimoda Yoshiyuki , Umeda Yasushi
Published: August 2012

Growing numbers of promising visions of the future and scenarios that may lead toward building sustainable societies are being developed. At the same time, advanced technologies and research seeds that could increase the likelihood of achieving such visions are also being rigorously conceived. Even so, we face challenges and barriers in achieving these visions due to large gaps between individual technology seeds and shared visions. In this paper we propose a “vision-meso-seeds” model as a practical framework for addressing sustainability transition and demonstrate meso level research whose primary aim is to design a matching of promising seeds at the micro level and societal visions at the macro level, facilitating an achievement of the set visions with quantified targets. In particular we highlight the importance of matching various strategies and measures derived from the top-down (vision-oriented) approach and bottom-up (seeds-oriented) approach in the meso level research. We argue that the meso level research shall constitute one of the emerging core fields in sustainability science and suggest that accumulation of knowledge through case studies be needed to enhance and verify theory, specific methods and approach necessary for advancing the meso level research in the context of sustainability science.
A Limited Structural Modification Results in a Significantly More Efficacious Diazachrysene-Based Filovirus Inhibitor
Authors: Selaković Života , Opsenica Dejan , Eaton Brett , Retterer Cary , Bavari Sina , Burnett James C. , Šolaja Bogdan A. , Panchal Rekha G.
Published: August 2012

Ebola (EBOV) and Marburg (MARV) filoviruses are highly infectious pathogens causing deadly hemorrhagic fever in humans and non-human primates. Promising vaccine candidates providing immunity against filoviruses have been reported. However, the sporadic nature and swift progression of filovirus disease underlines the need for the development of small molecule therapeutics providing immediate antiviral effects. Herein we describe a brief structural exploration of two previously reported diazachrysene (DAAC)-based EBOV inhibitors. Specifically, three analogs were prepared to examine how slight substituent modifications would affect inhibitory efficacy and inhibitor-mediated toxicity during not only EBOV, but also MARV cellular infection. Of the three analogs, one was highly efficacious, providing IC50 values of 0.696 µM ± 0.13 µM and 2.76 µM ± 0.21 µM against EBOV and MARV infection, respectively, with little or no associated cellular toxicity. Overall, the structure-activity and structure-toxicity results from this study provide a framework for the future development of DAAC-based filovirus inhibitors that will be both active and non-toxic in vivo.
124I-PET/CT images of differentiated thyroid cancer patients
Authors: Rosenbaum-Krumme S. , Nagarajah J. , Ruhlmann M. , Bockisch A. , Jentzen W.
Published: August 2012

For an adequate therapy planning and staging of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), the correct assignment of thyroid remnants (TRs) and lymph node metastases (LMs) is important. Patients, method: We retrospectively analyzed whether kinetic quantities can help improving LM assignment using serial 124I-PET/CT data. 127 patients with a total of 317 lesions (TR: n = 265; LM: n = 52) received pre-therapy 124I-PET/CT lesion dosimetry using images 24 h and > 96 h after 124I administration. For each lesion, maximum activity concentration (MAC) at 24 h and effective half-life (EHL) were determined. Moreover, the product of MAC and EHL was also investigated as a quantity and is referred to CAQ (cumulated activity proportional quantity). In addition, differences between endogenous and exogenous thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) stimulation and between papillary (PTC) and follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) were investigated. Results, conclusion: The median MAC, EHL, and CAQ values in TR were significantly higher than in LM but a clinically relevant cut-off value could not be determined because of high overlapping regions. No significant differences for the three quantities were found for the mode of TSH stimulations, but a significant difference for MAC and CAQ between PTC and FTC.
Enhancing the Adhesion of Hematopoietic Precursor Cell Integrins with Hydrogen Peroxide Increases Recruitment within Murine Gut
Authors: Kavanagh Dean P. J. , Yemm Adrian I. , Alexander J. Steven , Frampton Jon , Kalia Neena
Published: August 2012

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) migrate to injury sites and aid in tissue repair. However, clinical success is poor and is partially due to limited HSC recruitment. We hypothesized that HSC pretreatment with H2O2would enhance their recruitment to injured gut. As HSCs are rare cells, the number of primary cells obtained from donors is often inadequate for functional experiments. To circumvent this, in this study we utilized a functionally relevant cell line, HPC-7. Anesthetized mice were subjected to intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, and HPC-7 recruitment was examined intravitally. Adhesion to endothelial cells (ECs), injured gut sections, and ICAM-1/VCAM-1 protein were also quantitated in vitro. H2O2pretreatment significantly enhanced HPC-7 recruitment to injured gut in vivo. A concomitant reduction in pulmonary adhesion was also observed. Enhanced adhesion was also observed in all in vitro models. Increased clustering of α4and β2integrins, F-actin polymerization, and filopodia formation were observed in pretreated HPC-7s. Importantly, H2O2did not reduce HPC-7 viability or proliferative ability. HPC-7 recruitment to injured gut can be modulated by H2O2pretreatment. This may be through increasing the affinity or avidity of surface integrins that mediate HPC-7 homing to injured sites or through stimulating the migratory apparatus. Strategies that enhance hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell recruitment may ultimately affect their therapeutic efficacy.
Nanotribology at high temperatures
Authors: Goel Saurav , Stukowski Alexander , Goel Gaurav , Luo Xichun , Reuben Robert L
Published: August 2012

Recent molecular dynamics simulation results have increased conceptual understanding of the grazing and the ploughing friction at elevated temperatures, particularly near the substrate’s melting point. In this commentary we address a major constraint concerning its experimental verification.
Survival, Causes of Death, and Prognostic Factors in Systemic Sclerosis: Analysis of 947 Brazilian Patients
Authors: SAMPAIO-BARROS PERCIVAL D. , BORTOLUZZO ADRIANA B. , MARANGONI ROBERTA G. , ROCHA LUIZA F. , DEL RIO ANA PAULA T. , SAMARA ADIL M. , YOSHINARI NATALINO H. , MARQUES-NETO JOÃO FRANCISCO
Published: August 2012

Objective.

To analyze survival, prognostic factors, and causes of death in a large cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods.

From 1991 to 2010, 947 patients with SSc were treated at 2 referral university centers in Brazil. Causes of death were considered SSc-related and non-SSc-related. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify prognostic factors. Survival at 5 and 10 years was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results.

One hundred sixty-eight patients died during the followup. Among the 110 deaths considered related to SSc, there was predominance of lung (48.1%) and heart (24.5%) involvement. Most of the 58 deaths not related to SSc were caused by infection, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, and cancer. Male sex, modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) > 20, osteoarticular involvement, lung involvement, and renal crisis were the main prognostic factors associated to death. Overall survival rate was 90% for 5 years and 84% for 10 years. Patients presented worse prognosis if they had diffuse SSc (85% vs 92% at 5 yrs, respectively, and 77% vs 87% at 10 yrs, compared to limited SSc), male sex (77% vs 90% at 5 yrs and 64% vs 86% at 10 yrs, compared to female sex), and mRSS > 20 (83% vs 90% at 5 yrs and 66% vs 86% at 10 yrs, compared to mRSS < 20).

Conclusion.

Survival was worse in male patients with diffuse SSc, and lung and heart involvement represented the main causes of death in this South American series of patients with SSc.
The Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH): Patients with New-onset Synovitis Meeting the 2010 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria But Not the 1987 ACR Classification Criteria Present with Less Severe Disease Activity
Authors: BYKERK VIVIAN P. , JAMAL SHAHIN , BOIRE GILLES , HITCHON CAROL A. , HARAOUI BOULOS , POPE JANET E. , THORNE J. CARTER , SUN YE , KEYSTONE EDWARD C.
Published: August 2012

Objective.

Our objective was to describe characteristics of Canadian patients with early arthritis and examine differences between those fulfilling 1987 and 2010 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) classification criteria.

Methods.

The Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH) is a national, multicenter, observational, prospective cohort of patients with early inflammatory arthritis, receiving usual care, recruited since 2007. Inclusion criteria include age > 16 years; symptom duration 6–52 weeks; swelling of ≥ 2 joints or ≥ 1 metacarpophalangeal/proximal interphalangeal joint; and 1 of rheumatoid factor ≥ 20 IU, positive anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), morning stiffness ≥ 45 min, response to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, or positive metatarsophalangeal joint squeeze test. Data from patients enrolled to March 15, 2011, were analyzed.

Results.

In total, 1450 patients met the eligibility criteria (1187 were followed). At baseline, mean age was 53 ± 15 years, symptom duration was 6.1 ± 3.2 months, Disease Activity Score (DAS28) was 4.9 ± 1.6, Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index was 1.0 ± 0.7. Forty-one percent (n = 450) of patients had moderate (3.2 < DAS28 ≤ 5.1) and 46% (n = 505) had high (DAS28 > 5.1) disease activity; 28% of those with baseline radiographs (n = 250/908) had radiographic evidence of erosions. ACPA status was available for 70% (n = 831) of patients; 55% (n = 453) tested positive. Sixty percent (n = 718) of patients were treated with methotrexate (MTX) initially. Of 612 patients without erosions, 63% and 83% fulfilled 1987 and 2010 RA classification criteria, respectively. Seventy-three percent (n = 166) of those who did not fulfill 1987 criteria were newly identified by the 2010 criteria. These patients had less severe disease and more were MTX-naive compared to those satisfying the 1987 criteria. Forty-seven percent of all patients achieved remission at 1 year.

Conclusion.

Patients with early RA present with moderate high disease activity; < 50% achieve remission at 1 year, despite MTX treatment in the majority. The 2010 RA classification criteria identify more patients with RA who would previously have been designated as having undifferentiated disease. However, these patients have lower disease activity at the time of identification.
De la présence de nos amis les chiens en psychothérapie
Authors: Bruni Francesco
Published: August 2012

La relation avec les chiens, compagnons de nos vies, est examinée dans le contexte de notre quotidien ainsi que dans celui de la psychothérapie. Cet article s’appuie sur les recherches menées en éthologie, la théorie de l’attachement et les analyses des processus communicationnels et relationnels. La contribution du chien à la psychothérapie est évaluée à l’aide de méthodes analogiques, de l’intégration des processus primaires et secondaires et de la fonction « comme si... » associée au jeu. Des vignettes cliniques illustreront le rôle du chien en tant qu’« objet thérapeutique » ou « objet flottant ». En effet, les chiens nous sensibilisent au langage analogique, mobilisent les émotions et suscitent des activités, des « jeux » et des procédures qui sont des métaphores des relations capables de favoriser le changement en psychothérapie.
La résilience un outil systémique pour réfléchir
Authors: Darnaud Thierry
Published: August 2012

Dans cet article, nous proposons d’interroger le concept de résilience à partir du sens de résilier et de montrer toute la pertinence qu’il offre alors. Nous insisterons tout particulièrement sur la qualité de l’espace-temps utilisé dans la construction de la réalité par la personne alors qu’elle vit l’événement identifié comme traumatisme a posteriori. La capacité du sujet à prendre une position méta pendant l’événement évite que sa déchirure soit complète. Cette capacité spontanée du sujet à se protéger pour ne pas être, psychologiquement, complètement envahi lors de l’événement traumatique nous semble essentielle pour qu’un processus de résilience puisse être mis en œuvre. Percevoir cette capacité devient alors un outil riche pour le thérapeute car il dit la compétence de la personne et donc celle qu’il a pour mettre en œuvre un processus de résilience.
Théâtre, psychothérapie, formation. Trois lieux, trois systèmes, trois voies thérapeutiques
Authors: Marteaux Alain
Published: August 2012

Cet article montre les corrélations et tente de dresser des ponts entre le jeu théâtral, la formation d’acteurs et la formation de futurs thérapeutes familiaux. L’auteur part de ses expériences théâtrales et de sa pratique de formateur en thérapie familiale. Après avoir relevé les convergences entre auteurs dramatiques et psychothérapeutes, il tente de montrer comment l’émotion naît du corps se mouvant dans un espace scénique ou thérapeutique : corps producteur de signes faisant naître du sens.
Business Intelligence in Corporate Governance and Business Processes Management
Authors: Yakovlev Alexander
Published: August 2012

Today is the time of transnational corporations and large companies. They bring to their shareholders and owners the major profits, and they are the main sponsors of scientific and technological progress. However, the extensive way of its development is not possible for environmental, marketing, resource, and many other reasons. So, the main field of competition between companies becomes a fight for the client, the individualization of approach to him, and the maximum cost reduction. At the same time, a series of scandals that erupted in the early 2000s with such major corporations as Enron Corporation, WorldCom, Tyco International, Adelphia, and Peregrine Systems has shown that the system of corporate governance, on which depends the welfare of hundreds of thousands of people, requires serious improvements in terms of transparency and openness. In this regard, the U.S. adopted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, under which management companies legally obliged to prove that his decisions are based on reliable, relevant, credible and accurate information (Devenport & Harris, 2010).
RFID Tag Anti-Collision Protocols
Authors: Yang Ching-Nung , He Jyun-Yan , Kun Yu-Ching
Published: August 2012

A tag collision problem (or missed reads) in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system happens when multiple tags respond to a reader simultaneously. At this time, the reader cannot differentiate these tags correctly. This problem is often seen whenever a large volume of RFID tags are read together in the same radio frequency field. Tag collisions will degrade identification efficiency, and this unreliable identification will compromise the usefulness of RFID system. This chapter introduces tag collision problem and discusses tag anti-collision protocols, including ALOHA-based protocol, Binary Tree (BT) protocol, and Query Tree (QT) protocol. To date, most tag anti-collision protocols are QT protocols. Thus, in this chapter, the authors briefly describe some elegant researches on QT protocols, and also introduce their recent research results on QT protocols.
Potential Impact of RFID-Based Tracing Systems on the Integrity of Pharmaceutical Products
Authors: Maffia Michele , Mainetti Luca , Patrono Luigi , Urso Emanuela
Published: August 2012

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is going to play a crucial role as auto-identification technology in a wide range of applications such as healthcare, logistics, supply chain management, ticketing, et cetera. The use of electromagnetic waves to identify, trace, and track people or goods allows solving many problems related to auto-identification devices based on optical reading (i.e. bar code). Currently, high interest is concentrated on the use of Radio Frequency (RF) solutions in healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chain, in order to improve drugs flow transparency and patients’ safety. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that drug interaction with electromagnetic fields (EMFs) generated by RF devices, such as RFID readers, deteriorate the potency of bioactive compounds. This chapter proposes an experimental multidisciplinary approach to investigate potential alterations induced by EMFs on drug molecular structure and performance. To show the versatility of this approach, some experimental results obtained on two biological pharmaceuticals (peptide hormone-based) are discussed.
Service Discovery and Composition Based on Contracts and Choreographic Descriptions
Authors: Bravetti Mario , Zavattaro Gianluigi
Published: August 2012

The authors discuss the interplay between the notions of contract compliance, contract refinement, and choreography conformance in the context of service oriented computing, by considering both synchronous and asynchronous communication. Service contracts are specified in a language independent way by means of finite labeled transition systems. In this way, the theory is general and foundational as the authors abstract away from the syntax of contracts and simply assume that a contract language has an operational semantics defined in terms of a labeled transition system. The chapter makes a comparative analysis of synchronous and asynchronous communication. Concerning the latter, a realistic scenario is considered in which services are endowed with queues used to store the received messages. In the simpler context of synchronous communication, the authors are able to resort to the theory of fair testing to provide decidability results.
Service-Oriented Systems for Adaptive Management of Service Composition
Authors: Cardellini Valeria , Di Valerio Valerio , Iannucci Stefano , Lo Presti Francesco
Published: August 2012

Service Oriented Systems (SOSs) based on the SOA paradigm are becoming popular thanks to a widely deployed internetworking infrastructure. They are composed by a possibly large number of heterogeneous third-party subsystems and usually operate in a highly varying execution environment, that makes it challenging to provide applications with Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees. A well-established approach to face the heterogeneous and varying operating environment is to design a SOS as a runtime self-adaptable software system, so that a prospective enterprise willing to realize a SOA application can dynamically choose the component services that best fit its requirements and the environment in which the application operates. In this chapter, the authors first review some representative frameworks that have been proposed for SOSs able to adaptively manage a SOA application with QoS requirements. These frameworks are commonly architected as self-adaptive systems following the MAPE-K (Monitor, Analyze, Plan, Execute, and Knowledge) reference model for autonomic computing. The chapter organizes the review using a specific taxonomy for each MAPE-K phase, with the aim to classify the different strategies and mechanisms that can be applied. Even if a self-adaptive system requires every MAPE-K phase, the authors then focus on the Plan phase, which is the core of each adaptation framework, presenting both optimal and sub-optimal approaches that have been proposed to effectively face the adaptation task at runtime.
A Service-Based Approach to Connect Context-Aware Platforms and Adaptable Android for Mobile Users
Authors: Monfort Valérie , Cherif Sihem , Chaabani Rym
Published: August 2012

Many companies include in their Information Systems (IS) several communicating heterogeneous middleware according to their technical needs. The need is the same when IS require the use of context aware platforms for different aims. Moreover, users may be mobile and would like receiving and send services with their PDAs that emphasize further the need to Android based human man interface. In this chapter, the authors show how they extend Android to make it adaptable and interoperable. They also present how we communicate between different heterogeneous context-aware platforms as WComp and OpenORB by using Android and Web Services. The usefulness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a concrete case study.
Iterative Fault Tolerant Control for General Discrete-Time Stochastic Systems Using Output Probability Density Estimation
Authors: Skaf Zakwan
Published: August 2012

A new design of a fault tolerant control (FTC)-based an adaptive, fixed-structure proportional-integral (PI) controller with constraints on the state vector for nonlinear discrete-time system subject to stochastic non-Gaussian disturbance is studied. The objective of the reliable control algorithm scheme is to design a control signal such that the actual probability density function (PDF) of the system is made as close as possible to a desired PDF, and make the tracking performance converge to zero, not only when all components are functional but also in case of admissible faults. A Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI)-based FTC method is presented to ensure that the fault can be estimated and compensated for. A radial basis function (RBF) neural network is used to approximate the output PDF of the system. Thus, the aim of the output PDF control will be a RBF weight control with an adaptive tuning of the basis function parameters. The key issue here is to divide the control horizon into a number of equal time intervals called batches. Within each interval, there are a fixed number of sample points. The design procedure is divided into two main algorithms, within each batch, and between any two adjacent batches. A P-type Iterative Learning Control (ILC) law is employed to tune the parameters of the RBF neural network so that the PDF tracking error decreases along with the batches. Sufficient conditions for the proposed fault tolerance are expressed as LMIs. An analysis of the ILC convergence is carried out. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated with an illustrated example.
A Particle Filtering Based Approach for Gear Prognostics
Authors: He David , Bechhoefer Eric , Ma Jinghua , Zhu Junda
Published: August 2012

In this chapter, a particle filtering based gear prognostics method using a one-dimensional health index for spiral bevel gear subject to pitting failure mode is presented. The presented method effectively addresses the issues in applying particle filtering to mechanical component remaining useful life (RUL) prognostics by integrating a couple of new components into particle filtering: (1) data mining based techniques to effectively define the degradation state transition and measurement functions using a one-dimensional health index obtained by a whitening transform; and (2) an unbiased l-step ahead RUL estimator updated with measurement errors. The presented prognostics method is validated using data from a spiral bevel gear case study.
Supporting Business Cases for PHM
Authors: Sandborn Peter , Jazouli Taoufik , Haddad Gilbert
Published: August 2012

The development and demonstration of innovative prognostics and health management (PHM) technology is necessary but not sufficient for widespread adoption of PHM concepts within systems. Without the ability to create viable business cases for the insertion of the new technology into systems and associated management processes, PHM will remain a novelty that is not widely disseminated. This chapter addresses two key capabilities necessary for supporting business cases for the inclusion and optimization of PHM within systems. First, the chapter describes the construction of life-cycle cost models that enable return on investment estimations for the inclusion of PHM within systems and the valuation of maintenance options. Second, the chapter addresses the support of availability-centric requirements (e.g., availability contracts) for critical systems that incorporate PHM, and the resulting value that can be realized. Examples associated with avionics, wind turbines, and wind farms are provided.
An Ant Colony System Algorithm for the Hybrid Flow-Shop Scheduling Problem
Authors: Khalouli Safa , Ghedjati Fatima , Hamzaoui Abdelaziz
Published: August 2012

An integrated ant colony optimization algorithm (IACS-HFS) is proposed for a multistage hybrid flow-shop scheduling problem. The objective of scheduling is the minimization of the makespan. To solve this NP-hard problem, the IACS-HFS considers the assignment and sequencing sub-problems simultaneously in the construction procedures. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated by numerical experiments on benchmark problems taken from the literature. The results show that the proposed ant colony optimization algorithm gives promising and good results and outperforms some current approaches in the quality of schedules.
Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization for the Multi-Level Lot-Sizing Problem
Authors: Deroussi Laurent , Lemoine David
Published: August 2012

This paper presents a Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) approach for the Multi-Level Lot-Sizing Problem (MLLP), which is an uncapacitated lot sizing problem dedicated to materials requirements planning (MRP) systems. The proposed DPSO approach is based on cost modification and uses PSO in its original form with continuous velocity equations. Each particle of the swarm is represented by a matrix of logistic costs. A sequential approach heuristic, using Wagner-Whitin algorithm, is used to determine the associated production planning. The authors demonstrate that any solution of the MLLP can be reached by particles. The sequential heuristic is a subjective function from the particles space to the set of the production plans, which meet the customer’s demand. The authors test the DPSO Scheme on benchmarks found in literature, more specifically the unique DPSO that has been developed to solve the MLLP.
Scatter Search Applied to the Vehicle Routing Problem with Simultaneous Delivery and Pickup
Authors: Maquera Gladys , Laguna Manuel , Gandelman Dan Abensur , Sant’Anna Annibal Parracho
Published: August 2012

Though its origins can be traced back to 1977, the development and application of the metaheuristic Scatter Search (SS) has stayed dormant for 20 years. However, in the last 10 years, research interest has positioned SS as one of the recognizable methodologies within the umbrella of evolutionary search. This paper presents an application of SS to the problem of routing vehicles that are required both to deliver and pickup goods (VRPSDP). This specialized version of the vehicle routing problem is particularly relevant to organizations that are concerned with sustainable and environmentally-friendly business practices. In this work, the efficiency of SS is evaluated when applied to this problem. Computational results of the application to instances in the literature are presented.
Pseudo-Cut Strategies for Global Optimization
Authors: Glover Fred , Lasdon Leon , Plummer John , Duarte Abraham , Marti Rafael , Laguna Manuel , Rego Cesar
Published: August 2012

Motivated by the successful use of a pseudo-cut strategy within the setting of constrained nonlinear and nonconvex optimization in Lasdon et al. (2010), we propose a framework for general pseudo-cut strategies in global optimization that provides a broader and more comprehensive range of methods. The fundamental idea is to introduce linear cutting planes that provide temporary, possibly invalid, restrictions on the space of feasible solutions, as proposed in the setting of the tabu search metaheuristic in Glover (1989), in order to guide a solution process toward a global optimum, where the cutting planes can be discarded and replaced by others as the process continues. These strategies can be used separately or in combination, and can also be used to supplement other approaches to nonlinear global optimization. Our strategies also provide mechanisms for generating trial solutions that can be used with or without the temporary enforcement of the pseudo-cuts.
A New Approach to Associative Classification Based on Binary Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Das Madhabananda , Roy Rahul , Dehuri Satchidananda , Cho Sung-Bae
Published: August 2012

Associative classification rule mining (ACRM) methods operate by association rule mining (ARM) to obtain classification rules from a previously classified data. In ACRM, classifiers are designed through two phases: rule extraction and rule selection. In this paper, the ACRM problem is treated as a multi-objective problem rather than a single objective one. As the problem is a discrete combinatorial optimization problem, it was necessary to develop a binary multi-objective particle swarm optimization (BMOPSO) to optimize the measure like coverage and confidence of association rule mining (ARM) to extract classification rules in rule extraction phase. In rule selection phase, a small number of rules are targeted from the extracted rules by BMOPSO to design an accurate and compact classifier which can maximize the accuracy of the rule sets and minimize their complexity simultaneously. Experiments are conducted on some of the University of California, Irvine (UCI) repository datasets. The comparative result of the proposed method with other standard classifiers confirms that the new proposed approach can be a suitable method for classification.
Should we Take Disintermediation in Higher Education Seriously?
Authors: Scolari Carlos A. , Romaní Cristóbal Cobo , Kuklinski Hugo Pardo
Published: August 2012

Disintermediation based on digital technology has transformed different environments, including banking, commerce, media, education, and knowledge management. The spread of social software applications and digital media in general has given rise to new models of knowledge production and distribution in higher education. This chapter redefines higher education institutions and academic experts based on these changes. The chapter discusses the diffusion of disintermediation practices in higher education and proposes new categories, such as knowledge brokering, knowledge networking, and knowledge translation, to map a new environment that promotes disintermediation, innovation, and openness. Beyond the prophecies announcing the “death of the university,” the authors suggest new agents, actions, and transactions that are useful for envisaging the higher education institutions of the new century.
The University in Transition
Authors: Phipps Laurie Craig , Wise Alyssa , Amundsen Cheryl
Published: August 2012

Discussion of changing notions of faculty expertise and the role of technology within the educational enterprise is nothing new. However, the current demand for change in teaching and learning practices is particularly strong, in part due to the pressures arising from emerging technologies and the shifting nature of faculty expertise. Web 2.0 technologies enable social connectivity, academic interactivity, and content co-creation. Thus, they change the ways of interacting with information and can support collaborative and constructivist approaches in higher education. This both inspires and requires a corresponding expansion in faculty’s role: from imparter of knowledge to orchestrator of learning experiences. Within the general metaphor of orchestration, other specific roles and functions will also be required; for example, scripting, translating, introducing, and co-exploring. As educators attempt to reimagine an educational paradigm in this context, the integration of new technologies must be grounded in how they can support educational experiences and outcomes that are focused on learning.
Faculty and Undergraduate Perceptions of Expertise within Social Media
Authors: Broussard Mary J. Snyder , Wilson Rebecca A. , Hurlbert Janet McNeil , Gregory Alison S.
Published: August 2012

Social media applications like wikis, blogs, and comments on online news feeds emphasize user participation, encouraging ongoing revision by volunteer expertise. Surveying undergraduate students and teaching faculty at two small liberal arts institutions enabled the researchers to examine how both students and faculty view this new expertise, and how appropriate each group sees this expertise for completing undergraduate research. The results show that students are using social media extensively for preliminary research and educational videos, with Wikipedia and YouTube being the most popular sites for this purpose. Students and faculty continue to value advanced degrees, publications, and experience as the most important indicators of expertise. Students and faculty agree that users must always question the accuracy of information on social media sites, but faculties are not satisfied with students’ ability to evaluate such information.
Textperts
Authors: Grant Abigail A.
Published: August 2012

Text messaging has many similarities to poetry or short prose writing. Instructors typically discount text messaging as a distraction in the classroom, but this chapter includes a review of the positive aspects of implementing the genre of text messaging in the composition classroom as a means of teaching writing. Using a community of practice approach, this chapter looks at the technologically savvy generation of college students in today’s classrooms and attempts to capitalize, educationally, on the writing skills that students already possess. Next, it explores both the theoretical and practical implementations of this genre into the composition classroom with careful consideration of the positive and negative impacts of this, before examining the transition from student text messaging to the writing of other, longer genres. Although this chapter’s focus is on the teaching of writing, the information can be considered to be interdisciplinary.
Decentralized Expertise
Authors: Ovadia Steven
Published: August 2012

This chapter discusses the authority structures found within the community support forums of open and closed source operating systems (Linux, Windows, and OS X), demonstrating how, because of these forums, technical expertise is shifting away from the organizations responsible for creating these systems and into the community using them. One might expect this kind of migration within Linux communities, where in theory anyone can contribute to the code of the project, but it is also being seen in closed source projects, where only certain people, usually employees, have access to the underlying code that controls the operating system. In these situations, expertise is becoming decentralized despite the fact that members of the support community sometimes lack access to the code behind these operating systems.
Rethinking Expertise in the Web 2.0 Era
Authors: Karasavvidis Ilias
Published: August 2012

Social software facilitates the linking of people in unprecedented ways and leads to new knowledge creation and application practices. Even though expertise remains an important constituent of these practices, there is a knowledge gap in the literature regarding its role. This chapter was written with the aim of filling this gap by using Project Durian as a case study. Project Durian presented a unique opportunity to study expertise as mediated by social software because it involved both social software and various layers, forms, and configurations of expertise. In this chapter, data from Project Durian are used to examine the outsourcing of tasks and the role that social software played in that outsourcing. Data analysis indicated that, in the hybrid practice that was established, expertise was spatio-temporally distributed, involved individuals with a broad range of skills, facilitated the crossing of disciplinary boundaries, and was renegotiated. The implications of these findings for expertise in the Web 2.0 era are discussed.
An Alternate Reality for Education?
Authors: Moseley Alex
Published: August 2012

Drawing on a participatory study of the Perplex City alternate reality game, this paper considers the data obtained through participation and a detailed survey of the most engaged players, in order to determine the most engaging features and suggest methods for their transfer to educational contexts. Originally presented at a conference in 2008, this paper returns to the source data in more detail, incorporating reflection on other work in this area in the intervening years, and considers four areas in detail: engagement/motivation, narrative/story, problem solving/learning skills, and community/peer support. The survey data is presented and considered in full, from which seven key features are proposed which could be applied to educational contexts to achieve higher levels of engagement amongst learners.
Content Evaluation Criteria for General Websites
Authors: Selim Hassan M.
Published: August 2012

Presently almost anyone can publish a website. The interest in using the Web as a competitive weapon by individuals, businesses, and governments is increasing as well. Little has addressed the applicability and implementation of several published website evaluation criteria. This work is an attempt to develop a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria for general websites in line with international standards for website design. The proposed evaluation criteria are used to analyze the top 10 websites in UAE in order to measure their compliance with the developed criteria. The proposed criteria can be used as a benchmark of website quality and compliance.
The Effect of the Internet Use on Customer Relations and Targeting Activities
Authors: Eid Riyad , El-Kassrawy Yasser
Published: August 2012

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of the Internet use on customer relations and targeting activities. Based on the previous literature, the effect of the Internet on marketing activities has been categorised into four basic dimensions, 1) marketing and customer relations activities, 2) marketing targeting activities, 3) marketing performance, and 4) marketing efficiency. However, few empirical studies have been done regarding customer relations and targeting activities that are affected by the use of the Internet, and the effect of that on marketing efficiency. By studying the practice of 123 UK companies, it has been found that the use of the Internet positively influences customer relations and targeting activities, marketing performance and marketing efficiency.
Quality of the Student Experience
Authors: Nair Chenicheri Sid , Shah Mahsood
Published: August 2012

The changing pattern of student participation is playing a key role in the changing trend in the student experience. Research in general has reported the student experience and satisfaction mostly at institutional and national levels. There is limited research on what students see as most important in various institutions with various students which may improve student engagement, retention, and improvement in student satisfaction. This paper reviews the trend in student experience in three universities that have been using student satisfaction surveys for more than a decade with diverse student groups. The study presents an international perspective to student experience and satisfaction and the report in this paper is based on two Australian and one United Kingdom University. The findings and results of this study informs the predictors of student satisfaction which if effectively managed and improved by universities could result in improved student engagement, retention and student satisfaction.
Data Mining and Meta-Analysis on DNA Microarray Data
Authors: Paparountas Triantafyllos , Nikolaidou-Katsaridou Maria Nefeli , Rustici Gabriella , Aidinis Vasilis
Published: August 2012

Microarray technology enables high-throughput parallel gene expression analysis, and use has grown exponentially thanks to the development of a variety of applications for expression, genetics and epigenetic studies. A wealth of data is now available from public repositories, providing unprecedented opportunities for meta-analysis approaches, which could generate new biological information, unrelated to the original scope of individual studies. This study provides a guideline for identification of biological significance of the statistically-selected differentially-expressed genes derived from gene expression arrays as well as to suggest further analysis pathways. The authors review the prerequisites for data-mining and meta-analysis, summarize the conceptual methods to derive biological information from microarray data and suggest software for each category of data mining or meta-analysis.