bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nephrotoxicity and Efficacy Assessment of Polymyxin Use in 92 Transplant Patients
Authors: Mostardeiro Marcelo M. , Pereira Carlos A. P. , Marra Alexandre R. , Pestana Jose O. M. , Camargo Luis Fernando A.
Published: January 2013

Polymyxins are old antimicrobials, discontinued for many years because of nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity reports and reintroduced recently due to the increasing frequency of multiresistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. There are very few data related to toxicity and efficacy from transplanted patients, the major subjects of this study. All solid-organ-transplanted patients from our institution during January 2001 to December 2007 who used polymyxins were retrospectively assessed for nephrotoxicity and treatment efficacy. Microbiological and clinical cure rates were 100% and 77.2%, respectively. Only transplant patients subjected to at least 72 h of intravenous polymyxin were entered in the study. Overall, 92 transplant patients were included, and the nephrotoxicity rate was 32.6%. Multivariate analysis showed a statistically significant association between duration of polymyxin treatment (
P
= 0.037; odds ratio [OR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.12) and significant renal dysfunction. Polymyxin use is associated with very high rates of significant decrease in renal function; therefore, polymyxin must be used only when no other option is available and for as briefly as possible in the solid organ transplant setting.
Evaluation of the
In Vitro
Activity of Voriconazole As Predictive of
In Vivo
Outcome in a Murine Aspergillus fumigatus Infection Model
Authors: Salas Valentina , Pastor F. Javier , Calvo Enrique , Sutton Deanna A. , Fothergill Annette W. , Guarro Josep
Published: January 2013

We have evaluated the
in vitro
activity of voriconazole against 61 strains of
Aspergillus fumigatus
by using broth microdilution, disk diffusion, and minimal fungicidal concentration procedures. We observed an excellent correlation between the results obtained with the three methods. Five percent of the strains showed MICs greater than or equal to the epidemiological cutoff value (ECV; 1 μg/ml). To assess whether MICs were predictive of
in vivo
outcome, we tested the efficacy of voriconazole at 25 mg/kg of body weight daily in an immunosuppressed murine model of disseminated infection using 10 strains representing various patterns of susceptibility to the drug as determined by the
in vitro
study. Voriconazole prolonged survival and reduced fungal load in the kidneys and brain in those mice infected with strains with MICs of ≤0.25 μg/ml, while in mice infected with strains with MICs of 0.5 to 2 μg/ml, the efficacy was varied and strain dependent and in mice infected with the strain with a MIC of 4 μg/ml, the antifungal did not show efficacy. Voriconazole reduced galactomannan antigenemia against practically all strains with a MIC of <4 μg/ml. Our results demonstrate that some relationship exists between voriconazole MICs and
in vivo
efficacy; however, further studies testing additional strains are needed to better ascertain which MIC values can predict clinical outcome.
MIC Values of Voriconazole Are Predictive of Treatment Results in Murine Infections by Aspergillus terreus Species Complex
Authors: Salas Valentina , Pastor F. Javier , Sutton Deanna A. , Calvo Enrique , Mayayo Emilio , Fothergill Annette W. , Rinaldi Michael G. , Guarro Josep
Published: January 2013

We evaluated the efficacy of voriconazole against nine strains of
Aspergillus terreus
with different MICs (0.12 to 4 μg/ml) by using a murine model. Markers of efficacy included survival, tissue burden, galactomannan antigenemia, and drug serum levels. Voriconazole was especially effective in prolonging survival and reducing the fungal load in infections by strains that showed MICs that were less than or equal to the epidemiological cutoff value (1 μg/ml).
In vitro
data might be useful for predicting the outcome of
A. terreus
infections.
Prevalent Polymorphisms in Wild-Type HIV-1 Integrase Are Unlikely To Engender Drug Resistance to Dolutegravir (S/GSK1349572)
Authors: Vavro Cindy , Hasan Samiul , Madsen Heather , Horton Joseph , DeAnda Felix , Martin-Carpenter Louise , Sato Akihiko , Cuffe Robert , Chen Shuguang , Underwood Mark , Nichols Garrett
Published: January 2013

The majority of HIV-1 integrase amino acid sites are highly conserved, suggesting that most are necessary to carry out the critical structural and functional roles of integrase. We analyzed the 34 most variable sites in integrase (>10% variability) and showed that prevalent polymorphic amino acids at these positions did not affect susceptibility to the integrase inhibitor dolutegravir (S/GSK1349572), as demonstrated bothin vitro(in site-directed mutagenesis studies) andin vivo(in a phase IIa study of dolutegravir monotherapy in HIV-infected individuals). Ongoing clinical trials will provide additional data on the virologic activity of dolutegravir across subject viruses with and without prevalent polymorphic substitutions.
N
-Chloramines, a Promising Class of Well-Tolerated Topical Anti-Infectives
Authors: Gottardi Waldemar , Debabov Dmitri , Nagl Markus
Published: January 2013

Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health crisis. To address the development of bacterial resistance, the use of antibiotics has to be minimized for nonsystemic applications in humans, as well as in animals and plants. Possible substitutes with low potential for developing resistance are active chlorine compounds that have been in clinical use for over 180 years. These agents are characterized by pronounced differences in their chlorinating and/or oxidizing activity, with hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as the strongest and organic chloramines as the weakest members. Bacterial killing in clinical practice is often associated with unwanted side effects such as chlorine consumption, tissue irritation, and pain, increasing proportionally with the chlorinating/oxidizing potency. Since the chloramines are able to effectively kill pathogens (bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa), their application as anti-infectives is advisable, all the more so as they exhibit additional beneficial properties such as destruction of toxins, degradation of biofilms, and anticoagulative and anti-inflammatory activities. Within the ample field of chloramines, the stable
N
-chloro derivatives of ß-aminosulfonic acids are most therapeutically advanced. Being available as sodium salts, they distinguish themselves by good solubility and absence of smell. Important representatives are
N
-chlorotaurine, a natural compound occurring in the human immune system, and novel mono- and dichloro derivatives of dimethyltaurine, which feature improved stability.
Biofilm Compared to Conventional Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Isolates from Cystic Fibrosis Patients
Authors: Wu Kitty , Yau Yvonne C. W. , Matukas Larissa , Waters Valerie
Published: January 2013

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
is a multidrug-resistant organism increasingly isolated from the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. One hundred twenty-five
S. maltophilia
isolates from 85 CF patients underwent planktonic and biofilm susceptibility testing against 9 different antibiotics, alone and in double antibiotic combinations. When
S. maltophilia
isolates were grown as a biofilm, 4 of the 10 most effective antibiotic combinations included high-dose levofloxacin and 7 of the 10 combinations included colistin at doses achievable by aerosolization.
Complete Sequence of a
bla
KPC-2
-Harboring IncFII
K1
Plasmid from a Klebsiella pneumoniae Sequence Type 258 Strain
Authors: Chen Liang , Chavda Kalyan D. , Melano Roberto G. , Jacobs Michael R. , Levi Michael H. , Bonomo Robert A. , Kreiswirth Barry N.
Published: January 2013

We report the nucleotide sequence of a novel
bla
KPC-2
-harboring IncFII
K1
plasmid, pBK32179, isolated from a carbapenem-resistant
Klebsiella pneumoniae
ST258 strain from a New York City patient. pBK32179 is 165 kb long, consists of a large backbone of pKPN3-like plasmid, and carries an 18.5-kb
bla
KPC-2
-containing element that is highly similar to plasmid pKpQIL. pBK32179-like plasmids were identified in 8.3% of strains in a collection of 96
K. pneumoniae
isolates from hospitals in the New York City area.
Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry for Detection of Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms: from Research to Routine Diagnosis
Authors: Hrabák Jaroslav , Chudáčková Eva , Walková Radka
Published: January 2013

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been successfully applied as an identification procedure in clinical microbiology and has been widely used in routine laboratory practice because of its economical and diagnostic benefits. The range of applications of MALDI-TOF MS has been growing constantly, from rapid species identification to labor-intensive proteomic studies of bacterial physiology. The purpose of this review is to summarize the contribution of the studies already performed with MALDI-TOF MS concerning antibiotic resistance and to analyze future perspectives in this field. We believe that current research should continue in four main directions, including the detection of antibiotic modifications by degrading enzymes, the detection of resistance mechanism determinants through proteomic studies of multiresistant bacteria, and the analysis of modifications of target sites, such as ribosomal methylation. The quantification of antibiotics is suggested as a new approach to study influx and efflux in bacterial cells. The results of the presented studies demonstrate that MALDI-TOF MS is a relevant tool for the detection of antibiotic resistance and opens new avenues for both clinical and experimental microbiology.
Phaeohyphomycoses, Emerging Opportunistic Diseases in Animals
Authors: Seyedmousavi S. , Guillot J. , de Hoog G. S.
Published: January 2013

Emerging fungal diseases due to black yeasts and relatives in domestic or wild animals and in invertebrates or cold- and warm-blooded vertebrates are continually being reported, either as novel pathogens or as familiar pathogens affecting new species of hosts. Different epidemiological situations can be distinguished, i.e., occurrence as single infections or as zoonoses, and infection may occur sporadically in otherwise healthy hosts. Such infections are found mostly in mammals but also in cold-blooded animals, are frequently subcutaneous or cerebral, and bear much similarity to human primary disorders. Infections of the nervous system are mostly fatal, and the source and route of infection are currently unknown. A third epidemiological situation corresponds to pseudoepidemics, i.e., infection of a large host population due to a common source. It is often observed and generally hypothesized that the susceptible animals are under stress, e.g., due to poor housing conditions of mammals or to a change of basins in the case of fishes. The descriptions in this article represent an overview of the more commonly reported and recurring black fungi and the corresponding diseases in different types of animals.
Transmission and Epidemiology of Zoonotic Protozoal Diseases of Companion Animals
Authors: Esch Kevin J. , Petersen Christine A.
Published: January 2013

Over 77 million dogs and 93 million cats share our households in the United States. Multiple studies have demonstrated the importance of pets in their owners' physical and mental health. Given the large number of companion animals in the United States and the proximity and bond of these animals with their owners, understanding and preventing the diseases that these companions bring with them are of paramount importance. Zoonotic protozoal parasites, including toxoplasmosis, Chagas' disease, babesiosis, giardiasis, and leishmaniasis, can cause insidious infections, with asymptomatic animals being capable of transmitting disease.GiardiaandToxoplasma gondii, endemic to the United States, have high prevalences in companion animals.LeishmaniaandTrypanosoma cruziare found regionally within the United States. These diseases have lower prevalences but are significant sources of human disease globally and are expanding their companion animal distribution. Thankfully, healthy individuals in the United States are protected by intact immune systems and bolstered by good nutrition, sanitation, and hygiene. Immunocompromised individuals, including the growing number of obese and/or diabetic people, are at a much higher risk of developing zoonoses. Awareness of these often neglected diseases in all health communities is important for protecting pets and owners. To provide this awareness, this review is focused on zoonotic protozoal mechanisms of virulence, epidemiology, and the transmission of pathogens of consequence to pet owners in the United States.
Evidence and Implications of Mortality Associated with Acute Plasmodium vivax Malaria
Authors: Baird J. Kevin
Published: January 2013

Vivax malaria threatens patients despite relatively low-grade parasitemias in peripheral blood. The tenet of death as a rare outcome, derived from antiquated and flawed clinical classifications, disregarded key clinical evidence, including (i) high rates of mortality in neurosyphilis patients treated with vivax malaria; (ii) significant mortality from zones of endemicity; and (iii) the physiological threat inherent in repeated, very severe paroxysms in any patient, healthy or otherwise. The very well-documented course of this infection, with the exception of parasitemia, carries all of the attributes of “perniciousness” historically linked to falciparum malaria, including severe disease and fatal outcomes. A systematic analysis of the parasite biomass in severely ill patients that includes blood, marrow, and spleen may ultimately explain this historic misunderstanding. Regardless of how this parasite is pernicious, recent data demonstrate that the infection comes with a significant burden of morbidity and associated mortality. The extraordinary burden of malaria is not heavily weighted upon any single continent by a single species of parasite—it is a complex problem for the entire endemic world, and both species are of fundamental importance. Humanity must rally substantial resources, intellect, and energy to counter this daunting but profound threat.
Evaluating the performance of a multispecies statistical catch-at-age model
Authors: Curti Kiersten L. , Collie Jeremy S. , Legault Christopher M. , Link Jason S.
Published: January 2013

Predation is a substantial source of mortality that is a function of the abundance of predator and prey species. This source of mortality creates a challenge of incorporating species interactions in statistical catch-at-age models in a way that accounts for the uncertainty in input data, parameters, and results. We developed a statistical, age-structured, multispecies model for three important species in the Georges Bank fish community: Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), and Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). The model was fit to commercial catch, survey, and diet data from 1978 to 2007. The estimated predation rates were high, compared with fishing mortality, and variable with time. The dynamics of the three species can be explained by the interplay between fishing and predation mortality. Monte Carlo simulations were used to evaluate the ability of the model to estimate parameters with known error introduced into each of the data types. The model parameters could be estimated with confidence from input data with error levels similar to those obtained from the model fit to the observed data. This evaluation of model performance should help to move multispecies statistical catch-at-age models from proof of concept to functional tools for ecosystem-based fisheries management.
MICROCAUSALITY OF SPIN-INDUCED NONCOMMUTATIVE THEORIES
Authors: HUANG JIA-HUI , WANG WEIJIAN
Published: January 2013

In this paper, the microcausality of quantum field theory on spin-induced noncommutative spacetime is discussed. It is found that for space-like separation the microcausality is not obeyed by the theory generally. It means that Lorentz covariance cannot guarantee microcausality in quantum field theory. We also give some comments about quantum field theories on such noncommutative spacetime and the relations between noncommutative spacetime and causality.
COSMIC CONNECTIONS: FROM COSMIC RAYS TO GAMMA RAYS, COSMIC BACKGROUNDS AND MAGNETIC FIELDS
Authors: KUSENKO ALEXANDER
Published: January 2013

Combined data from gamma-ray telescopes and cosmic-ray detectors have produced some new surprising insights regarding intergalactic and galactic magnetic fields, as well as extragalactic background light. We review some recent advances, including a theory explaining the hard spectra of distant blazars and the measurements of intergalactic magnetic fields based on the spectra of distant sources. Furthermore, we discuss the possible contribution of transient galactic sources, such as past gamma-ray bursts and hypernova explosions in the Milky Way, to the observed flux of ultrahigh-energy cosmic-rays nuclei. The need for a holistic treatment of gamma rays, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields serves as a unifying theme for these seemingly unrelated phenomena.
EVOLUTION OF EXPANSION-FREE SELF-GRAVITATING FLUIDS AND PLANE SYMMETRY
Authors: SHARIF M. , YOUSAF Z.
Published: January 2013

We investigate some analytical models of the plane symmetric distribution of anisotropic fluid with vanishing expansion scalar. Darmois junction conditions, on both the internal and external hypersurfaces, are given. A relationship between the Weyl tensor and the matter variables is developed. We explore four families of solutions under expansion-free condition some of which indicate the presence of thin shell, while some others satisfy junction conditions. It is shown that the Skripkin model is incompatible with junction conditions in the plane symmetry.
THEORETICAL STUDIES ON INTERACTION MECHANISMS BETWEEN EMODIN OF ANTHRAQUINONES AND CATALYTIC ZINC ION IN MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES
Authors: ZHANG JI , ZU JIAN , CHEN PEI , YU DANNI , YANG YAN , WU YUZHENG
Published: January 2013

Quantum chemistry calculations together with modeling of ligand–water exchange reactions are used to investigate, for the first time, the interaction mechanisms between emodin of anthraquinones and the catalytic zinc ion in matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and the coordinating mode between them is determined. The calculations indicate that the electron transfer from the emodin molecule to the catalytic zinc ion in MMPs occurs when the catalytic zinc ion coordinates with the O atoms of substituent groups at various positions of emodin molecule, and the more the number of the electron transfer from the coordinating O atom of substituent group of emodin molecule to the catalytic zinc ion, the stronger the coordinating ability between them. It is found that comparing with the O atoms of hydroxy groups at 1-position, 8-position and 3-position and the O atom of carbonyl group at 9-position of emodin molecule, the coordinating ability for the O atom of carbonyl group at 10-position of emodin molecule with the catalytic zinc ion in MMPs is the strongest. Therefore, when emodin inhibits MMPs activity, the catalytic zinc ion in MMPs should coordinate with the carbonyl group at 10-position of emodin molecule, rather than the hydroxy groups and carbonyl group at its other positions. Our calculated results are in agreement with previous relevant experimental results. This paper may be helpful for designing the new MMPs inhibitors having higher biological activities by carrying out the structural modifications of emodin molecule.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION: MANAGING EXPLORATION-EXPLOITATION BY BALANCING CREATIVITY AND CONSTRAINT
Authors: SÆTRE ALF STEINAR , BRUN ERIC
Published: January 2013

This paper offers a model for effectively managing ambiguity at the fuzzy front end of innovation projects. We conducted in-depth studies of four new product development projects from the medical device industry. Through the abductive process of iterative grounded theory we built a model of the management of ambiguity. The model we propose shows that innovation teams that have a higher tolerance for ambiguity are better able to exploit it. The successful management of ambiguity in innovation projects rests upon the balancing of opposing needs.
METHOD OF TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS BASED ON PATENT EXAMINATION AND DESIGN METHODOLOGY USED TO DETERMINE THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS IN BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORS
Authors: BACIOIU GHEORGHE M. , PASEK ZBIGNIEW J.
Published: January 2013

Blood pressure measuring/monitoring devices (BPMs) are one of the most popular home health diagnostic tools. A contemporary line of these products available to consumers today has considerable range of variety and functionality.

The BPMs evolved into their present form from the 18th century sphygmomanometer, and their design went through a number of innovations and improvements, a process still continuing today. The first sphygmomanometer patent was issued in 1855, a practical method established only in 1896, and since then over 1,300 patents of relevance have been granted by USPTO. Analysis reveals that number of patents over time follows a cubic curve that can be broken into three temporal segments (pre-1962, 1962–1986, 1986-present), related to specific technological breakthroughs.

The approach presented in this paper blends statistical analysis (e.g., patent frequency over time) with a user satisfaction index. Such index captures how closely a metric based on key functional characteristics of patented devices follows an ideal solution, satisfying all user expectations, and provides an insight into the size of the gap between consumer needs and current technology. Combining it with technological progress curve can provide a clear picture of the evolution and developments overtime in BPMs.
THE CURRENT STATE OF TECHNOLOGY ROADMAPPING (TRM) RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
Authors: VATANANAN RONALD S. , GERDSRI NATHASIT
Published: January 2013

Technology roadmapping (TRM) is gaining momentum as a strategic management tool for an organization to integrate technology into business strategy. This paper reviews over a hundred of TRM related publications to provide the community with the current state of roadmapping researches and practices. From the literature, the issue of keeping a roadmap alive is identified as the key challenge in the field. To address this challenge, operationalization and effective implementation of TRM are emphasized as potential areas for future research.
A MULTI-VIEW EVALUATION OF THE FINNISH EIA SYSTEM: AN 18-YEAR SUCCESS STORY?
Authors: HOKKANEN PEKKA , JANTUNEN JORMA
Published: January 2013

This article reviews how the Finnish EIA legislation and procedures are performing in practice, and how the goals of the EIA Act are reached. The role of EIA in planning and decision-making, and the relationship between the EIA legislation and other pieces of legislation is also evaluated. Overall, the goals of the Finnish EIA legislation have been successfully reached: EIA has achieved a meaningful role as a preventive and participatory environmental management tool. In addition, stakeholders have understood the role of EIA and the scope of the current EIA legislation, which is under no pressure for major amendments. The EIA is applied to a rather small number of projects, but these are highly significant in terms of their environmental impact. Some areas requiring improvement identified, for example, the need to streamline and clarify the relationship between EIA procedure and zoning regulations as well as between EIA and the environmental permit system. The legislation for different sectors could be harmonised so that it would better take into account the broad information base created through EIA.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EIA AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE: REFLECTING ON 25 YEARS OF EIA PRACTICE IN THE NETHERLANDS AND THE UK
Authors: ARTS JOS , RUNHAAR HENS A. C. , FISCHER THOMAS B. , JHA-THAKUR URMILA , VAN LAERHOVEN FRANK , DRIESSEN PETER P. J. , ONYANGO VINCENT
Published: January 2013

The European Union (EU) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive which was introduced some 25 years ago has had a major impact on decision-making practices in EU member states. In the professional literature, this impact has mostly been discussed under the heading of "effectiveness", with an emphasis being given in particular to procedural elements. The extent to which EIA has contributed to objectives, such as raising environmental awareness and leading to an incorporation of environmental values in decision-making has only been rarely investigated. This paper reflects on these latter two aspects of EIA effectiveness in two EU member states; the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Empirical evidence was compiled mainly on the basis of a comprehensive literature review and online surveys with EIA professionals in both countries. Our results indicate that overall the instrument is about equally effective in both countries with regards to the incorporation of environmental concerns in decision-making. As both countries have different governance mechanisms, further research is needed on why perceived effectiveness does not differ more.
The effectiveness of lloyd-type methods for the k-means problem
Authors: Ostrovsky Rafail , Rabani Yuval , Schulman Leonard J. , Swamy Chaitanya
Published: January 2013

We investigate variants of Lloyd's heuristic for clustering high-dimensional data in an attempt to explain its popularity (a half century after its introduction) among practitioners, and in order to suggest improvements in its application. We propose and justify aclusterabilitycriterion for data sets. We present variants of Lloyd's heuristic that quickly lead to provably near-optimal clustering solutions when applied to well-clusterable instances. This is the first performance guarantee for a variant of Lloyd's heuristic. The provision of a guarantee on output quality does not come at the expense of speed: some of our algorithms are candidates for beingfaster in practicethan currently used variants of Lloyd's method. In addition, our other algorithms are faster on well-clusterable instances than recently proposed approximation algorithms, while maintaining similar guarantees on clustering quality. Our main algorithmic contribution is a novel probabilistic seeding process for the starting configuration of a Lloyd-type iteration.
The dichotomy of probabilistic inference for unions of conjunctive queries
Authors: Dalvi Nilesh , Suciu Dan
Published: January 2013

We study the complexity of computing a query on a probabilistic database. We consider unions of conjunctive queries, UCQ, which are equivalent to positive, existential First Order Logic sentences, and also to nonrecursive datalog programs. The tuples in the database are independent random events. We prove the following dichotomy theorem. For every UCQ query, either its probability can be computed in polynomial time in the size of the database, or is #P-hard. Our result also has applications to the problem of computing the probability of positive, Boolean expressions, and establishes a dichotomy for such classes based on their structure. For the tractable case, we give a very simple algorithm that alternates between two steps: applying the inclusion/exclusion formula, and removing one existential variable. A key and novel feature of this algorithm is that it avoids computing terms that cancel out in the inclusion/exclusion formula, in other words it only computes those terms whose Mobius function in an appropriate lattice is nonzero. We show that this simple feature is a key ingredient needed to ensure completeness. For the hardness proof, we give a reduction from the counting problem for positive, partitioned 2CNF, which is known to be #P-complete. The hardness proof is nontrivial, and combines techniques from logic, classical algebra, and analysis.
Theories, solvers and static analysis by abstract interpretation
Authors: Cousot Patrick , Cousot Radhia , Mauborgne Laurent
Published: January 2013

The algebraic/model theoretic design of static analyzers uses abstract domains based on representations of properties and pre-calculated property transformers. It is very efficient. The logical/proof theoretic approach uses SMT solvers/theorem provers and computation of property transformers on-the-fly. It is very expressive. We propose to unify both approaches, so that they can be combined to reach the sweet spot best adapted to a specific application domain in the precision/cost spectrum. We first give a new formalization of the proof theoretic approach in the abstract interpretation framework, introducing a semantics based on multiple interpretations to deal with the soundness of such approaches. Then we describe how to combine them with any other abstract interpretation-based analysis using an iterated reduction to combine abstractions. The key observation is that the Nelson-Oppen procedure, which decides satisfiability in a combination of logical theories by exchanging equalities and disequalities, computes a reduced product (after the state is enhanced with some new “observations” corresponding to alien terms). By abandoning restrictions ensuring completeness (such as disjointness, convexity, stably-infiniteness, or shininess, etc.), we can even broaden the application scope of logical abstractions for static analysis (which is incomplete anyway).
Introduction to the special issue on highlights of the decade in interactive intelligent systems
Authors: Jameson Anthony , Riedl John
Published: January 2013

This editorial introduction explains the motivation and origin of the TiiS special issue on Highlights of the Decade in Interactive Intelligent Systems and shows how its five articles exemplify the types of research contribution that TiiS aims to encourage and publish.
Access to multimodal articles for individuals with sight impairments
Authors: Carberry Sandra , Elzer Schwartz Stephanie , Mccoy Kathleen , Demir Seniz , Wu Peng , Greenbacker Charles , Chester Daniel , Schwartz Edward , Oliver David , Moraes Priscilla
Published: January 2013

Although intelligent interactive systems have been the focus of many research efforts, very few have addressed systems for individuals with disabilities. This article presents our methodology for an intelligent interactive system that provides individuals with sight impairments with access to the content of information graphics (such as bar charts and line graphs) in popular media. The article describes the methodology underlying the system's intelligent behavior, its interface for interacting with users, examples processed by the implemented system, and evaluation studies both of the methodology and the effectiveness of the overall system. This research advances universal access to electronic documents.
Multimodal behavior and interaction as indicators of cognitive load
Authors: Chen Fang , Ruiz Natalie , Choi Eric , Epps Julien , Khawaja M. Asif , Taib Ronnie , Yin Bo , Wang Yang
Published: January 2013

High cognitive load arises from complex time and safety-critical tasks, for example, mapping out flight paths, monitoring traffic, or even managing nuclear reactors, causing stress, errors, and lowered performance. Over the last five years, our research has focused on using the multimodal interaction paradigm to detect fluctuations in cognitive load in user behavior during system interaction. Cognitive load variations have been found to impact interactive behavior: by monitoring variations in specific modal input features executed in tasks of varying complexity, we gain an understanding of the communicative changes that occur when cognitive load is high. So far, we have identified specific changes in: speech, namely acoustic, prosodic, and linguistic changes; interactive gesture; and digital pen input, both interactive and freeform. As ground-truth measurements, galvanic skin response, subjective, and performance ratings have been used to verify task complexity.

The data suggest that it is feasible to use features extracted from behavioral changes in multiple modal inputs as indices of cognitive load. The speech-based indicators of load, based on data collected from user studies in a variety of domains, have shown considerable promise. Scenarios include single-user and team-based tasks; think-aloud and interactive speech; and single-word, reading, and conversational speech, among others. Pen-based cognitive load indices have also been tested with some success, specifically with pen-gesture, handwriting, and freeform pen input, including diagraming. After examining some of the properties of these measurements, we present a multimodal fusion model, which is illustrated with quantitative examples from a case study.

The feasibility of employing user input and behavior patterns as indices of cognitive load is supported by experimental evidence. Moreover, symptomatic cues of cognitive load derived from user behavior such as acoustic speech signals, transcribed text, digital pen trajectories of handwriting, and shapes pen, can be supported by well-established theoretical frameworks, including O'Donnell and Eggemeier's workload measurement [1986] Sweller's Cognitive Load Theory [Chandler and Sweller 1991], and Baddeley's model of modal working memory [1992] as well as McKinstry et al.'s [2008] and Rosenbaum's [2005] action dynamics work. The benefit of using this approach to determine the user's cognitive load in real time is that the data can be collected implicitly that is, during day-to-day use of intelligent interactive systems, thus overcomes problems of intrusiveness and increases applicability in real-world environments, while adapting information selection and presentation in a dynamic computer interface with reference to load.
Combining X-ray micro-CT technology and 3D printing for the digital preservation and study of a 19th century cantonese chess piece with intricate internal structure
Authors: Laycock Stephen D. , Bell Graham D. , Mortimore David B. , Greco Mark K. , Corps Nick , Finkle Irving
Published: January 2013

Laser scanning has been widely adopted for the digital preservation and study of cultural heritage artifacts. However, surface scans alone are not sufficient for a variety of intricate objects such as the Cantonese chess pieces that were delicately carved from ivory throughout the 19th Century. These pieces incorporate a puzzle ball base, which is comprised of several balls, one inside the other. In this project we explore the use of x-ray micro-CT technology to scan the piece with a voxel separation of less than 9 μm, By using masking and editing software we generate 3D surface models of the separate parts to enable close inspection of both exterior and interior sections. Visualizing the dataset at a much larger scale enables the viewer to appreciate the fine surface details imperceivable in the original piece. Finally, 3D scaled versions are printed where the small details are also easily observed and the inner balls within the puzzle ball base move freely. The work flow demonstrated in this article has important possibilities in digital preservation, documentation, and presentation.
Computing similarity between items in a digital library of cultural heritage
Authors: Aletras Nikolaos , Stevenson Mark , Clough Paul
Published: January 2013

Large amounts of cultural heritage content have now been digitized and are available in digital libraries. However, these are often unstructured and difficult to navigate. Automatic techniques for identifying similar items in these collections could be used to improve navigation since it would allow items that are implicitly connected to be linked together and allow sets of similar items to be clustered. Europeana is a large digital library containing more than 20 million digital objects from a set of cultural heritage providers throughout Europe. The diverse nature of this collection means that the items do not have standard metadata to assist navigation.

A range of methods for computing the similarity between pairs of texts are applied to metadata records in Europeana in order to estimate the similarity between items. Various methods for computing similarity have been proposed and can be classified into two main approaches: (1) knowledge-based, which make use of external knowledge sources and (2) corpus-based approaches, which rely on analyzing the frequency distributions of words in documents. Both techniques are evaluated against manual judgements obtained for this study and a multiple-choice test created from manually generated categories in cultural heritage collections. We find that a combination of corpus and knowledge-based approaches provide the best results in both experiments.
A serious game model for cultural heritage
Authors: Bellotti Francesco , Berta Riccardo , De Gloria Alessandro , D'ursi Annamaria , Fiore Valentina
Published: January 2013

Serious games present a promising opportunity for learning, but the genre still lacks methodologies and tools for efficient and low-cost production, particularly for teacher and domain experts. This article gives an authoring framework that aims to provide structured support, from content design to final implementation. In particular, we have abstracted a conceptual model—the SandBox Serious Game - which relies on a generalization of task-based learning theory. The model invites players to perform cognitive tasks contextually while exploring information-rich virtual environments. We consider it particularly suited for cultural heritage entertainment applications. The model defines games that are set in realistic virtual worlds enriched with embedded educational tasks, which we have implemented as minigames. This approach simplifies the authoring work, which can easily be supported by visual authoring tools for ontology-based urban 3D modeling and implementation tasks, thus allowing an approach similar to the mind-maps concept. We propose a top-down methodology for content preparation, starting from a city-level analysis down to the single points of interest and associated tasks, which are instances of simple predefined minigame/quiz typologies. We provide examples and discuss criteria for selecting task typologies according to the authors' cognitive targets. Finally, we discuss the results of a user test, which took place in a lab, aimed at verifying the acquisition of cultural heritage knowledge in a pleasant and engaging way. Games appear particularly suited for supporting the study of images, especially of iconography. Compared to reading text, a game forces the player to focus more strongly on problems, which favors knowledge acquisition and retention. Learning complex concepts requires an investigative attitude, which can be spurred by well-designed games. Good design involves usability, graphic appeal, appropriate content, and the presence of connections which a player must discover in the content. Players should be asked to pay attention to and reason about their whole game activity - including the relationships between the game content, the brief introduction, and concluding texts. More comprehensive tests are needed to better investigate the educational effectiveness—however, the first results are promising, especially in terms of user motivation and creation of new opportunities for learning about CH.
Evaluating the need for complexity in energy-aware management for cloud platforms
Authors: Ghumre Pooja , Li Junwei , Kesavan Mukil , Gavrilovska Ada , Schwan Karsten
Published: January 2013

In order to curtail the continuous increase in power consumption of modern datacenters, researchers are responding with sophisticated energy-aware workload management methods. This increases the complexity and cost of the management operation, and may lead to increases in failure rates. The goal of this paper is to illustrate that there exists considerable diversity in the effectiveness of different, potentially 'smarter' workload management methods depending on the target metric or the characteristics of the workload being managed. We conduct experiments on a datacenter prototype platform, virtualized with the VMware vSphere software, and using representative cloud applications -- a distributed key-value store and a map-reduce computation. We observe that, on our testbed, different workload placement decisions may be quite effective for some metrics, but may lead to only marginal impact on others. In particular, we are considering the impact on energy-related metrics, such as power or temperature, as corresponding energy-aware management methods typically come with greater complexity due to fact that they must consider the complex energy consumption trends of various components in the cloud infrastructure. We show that for certain applications, such costs can be avoided, as different management policies and placement decisions have marginal impact on the target metric. The objective is to understand whether for certain classes of applications, and/or application configurations, it is necessary to incur, or if it is benefitial to avoid, the use of complex management methods.
Optimal storage policies with wind forecast uncertainties
Authors: Gast Nicolas , Tomozei DanCristian , Le Boudec JeanYves
Published: January 2013

The increase in penetration of wind in the current energy mix is hindered by its high volatility and poor predictability. These shortcomings lead to energy loss and increased deployment of fast ramping generation. The use of energy storage compensates to some extent these negative effects; it plays a buffer role between demand and production. We revisit a model of real storage proposed by Bejan et al.[1]. We study the impact on performance of energy conversion efficiency and of wind prediction quality. Specifically, we provide theoretical bounds on the trade-off between energy loss and fast ramping generation, which we show to be tight for large capacity of the available storage. Moreover, we develop strategies that outperform the proposed fixed level policies when evaluated on real data from the UK grid.
Optimal congestion control of TCP flows for internet routers
Authors: Avrachenkov K. , Ayesta U. , Doncel J. , Jacko P.
Published: January 2013

In this work we address the problem of fast and fair transmission of ows in a router, which is a fundamental issue in networks like the Internet. We model the interaction between a TCP source and a bottleneck queue with the objective of designing optimal packet admission controls in the bottleneck queue. We focus on the relaxed version of the problem obtained by relaxing the fixed buffer capacity constraint that must be satisfied at all time epoch. The relaxation allows us to reduce the multi-ow problem into a family of single-ow problems, for which we can analyze both theoretically and numerically the existence of optimal control policies of special structure. In particular, we show that for a variety of parameters, TCP ows can be optimally controlled in routers by so-called index policies. We have implemented index policies in Network Simulator-3 (NS-3) and compared its performance with DropTail and RED buffers. The simulation results show that the index policy has several desirable properties with respect to fairness and efficiency.
Modeling response times in the Google ROADEF/EURO challenge
Authors: Cremonesi Paolo , Sansottera Andrea
Published: January 2013

In this paper, we extend the machine reassignment model proposed by Google for the ROADEF/EURO Challenge. The aim of the challenge is to develop algorithms for the efficient solutions of data-center consolidation problems. The problem stated in the challenge mainly focus on dependability requirements and does not take into account performance requirements (end-to-end response times). We extend the Google problem definition by modeling and constraining end-to-end response times. We provide experimental results to show the effectiveness of this extension.
CyberInsurance for cybersecurity a topological take on modulating insurance premiums
Authors: Pal Ranjan , Hui Pan
Published: January 2013

A recent conjecture in cyber-insurance research states that for compulsory monopolistic insurance scenarios, charging fines and rebates on fair premiums will incentivize networkusers to invest in self-defense investments, thereby making cyber-space more robust. Assuming the validity of the conjecture in this paper, we adopt a topological perspective in proposing a mechanism that accounts for (i) the positive externalities posed (through self-defense investments) by network users on their peers, and (ii) network location (based on centrality measures) of users, and provides an appropriate way to proportionally allocate fines/rebates on user premiums. We mathematically justify (via a game-theoretic analysis) that optimal fine/rebates per user should be allocated in proportion to the Bonacich or eigenvector centrality value of the user.
Meeting the fairness deadline in speed scaling systems
Authors: Elahi Maryam , Williamson Carey , Woelfel Philipp
Published: January 2013

In this work, we explore the notion of 'turbocharging' in speed scaling systems, and ask whether this is sufficient to preserve the strong dominance property of FSP over PS. The answer turns out to be no, but the analysis yields useful insights into the design of speed scaling systems that can outperform PS in response time, energy consumption, or perhaps both.
Online optimization with switching cost
Authors: Lin Minghong , Wierman Adam , Roytman Alan , Meyerson Adam , Andrew Lachlan L.H.
Published: January 2013

We consider algorithms for "smoothed online convex optimization (SOCO)" problems. SOCO is a variant of the class of "online convex optimization (OCO)" problems that is strongly related to the class of "metrical task systems", each of which have been studied extensively. Prior literature on these problems has focused on two performance metrics: regret and competitive ratio. There exist known algorithms with sublinear regret and known algorithms with constant competitive ratios; however no known algorithms achieve both. In this paper, we show that this is due to a fundamental incompatibility between regret and the competitive ratio -- no algorithm (deterministic or randomized) can achieve sublinear regret and a constant competitive ratio, even in the case when the objective functions are linear.
Network criticality in vehicular networks
Authors: Tizghadam Ali , Li Weiwei , Leon-Garcia Alberto
Published: January 2013

Network criticality (resistance distance) is a graph-theoretic metric that quantifies network robustness, and that was originally designed to capture the effect of environmental changes in core communication networks. This paper establishes a relationship between information centrality and network criticality and provides a justification for using the average network criticality of a node to quantify the nodes relative importance in a graph.This results provides a basis for designing robust clustering algorithms for vehicular networks.