bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
E-Government in Public Administration in Africa
Authors: Massamba Guy-Maurille
Published: May 2015

This chapter is motivated by the need to escape the illusory perception of an incongruous implementation of information and communication technology policies in public administration processes in Africa. The problem is brought to light through an analytical distinction between e-government and e-governance. The analysis deals primarily with the impact of the new techno-economic regime, fostered by the development of information and communication technologies, on business and administrative structures, and shows that the conditions of implementation have varied from one political and policy environment to another. An inquiry into African ICT policies reveals a problem translated into the scantiness of African public administration structures in incorporating the conditions of technological change. The approach to solving the problem derives from the underlying distinction between e-government and e-governance. It shows that the efforts that produced thriving outcomes have tended to instill principled behaviors and actions in the restructuring of public administration structures.
Intention to Use E-Government Websites among Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Students
Authors: Boon Ng Yee , Ramayah Thurasamy , Ping Teoh Ai , Lo May-Chiun
Published: May 2015

In almost every country, government agencies are making their services available online. The success of e-Government initiatives is contingent upon citizen's willingness to use these Web-enabled services. This study investigates and examines the intention to use e-Government services among students in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang. A research framework based on the PCI (Perceived Characteristics of Innovating) by Moore and Benbasat (1991) to identify factors that would determine and influence the intention to use e-Government websites and services. A survey involving a total of 145 university students was conducted. The results reveal that relative advantage and ease of use are the significant drivers of intention to use e-Government whereas image and compatibility were not important. The implications for research and practice are also explored.
Ensuring Continued Usage of an E-Government Service in Malaysia
Authors: Thominathan Santhanamery , Ramayah Thurasamy
Published: May 2015

This chapter highlights the importance of continuance usage intention of a technology. Continuance intention is defined as one's intention to continue using or long-term usage intention of a technology. Although initial acceptance is important in identifying the success of an information system, continued usage is even more significant in ensuring the long-term viability of technology innovations and in enhancing the financial and quality performance of an organization. Therefore, this chapter aims to examine the continuance usage intention of e-filing system by taxpayers in Malaysia. The data were collected from 153 taxpayers in the northern region of Malaysia using survey method. The result shows a significant relationship between perceived usefulness and continuance usage intention. Surprisingly, perceived usefulness was found to be insignificantly related to satisfaction and satisfaction towards continuance usage intention. Implication of these findings to the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia is also elaborated.
Campaigning Online, Locally
Authors: Lev-On Azi
Published: May 2015

How do candidates for municipal office use the Internet in their campaigns, and are there differences between candidates according to the character of the constituencies and the races? This is the first a country-wide study of website usage in low-visibility political campaigns for municipal offices. Data were collected during municipal elections campaigns that took place in Israel in three cycles between November 2007 and February 2009, in 143 different municipalities and involving almost 500 candidates across Israel. 1The paper explores the characteristics of municipal campaigning, including the scope of website usage, the features available in candidates' websites, variables predicting website usage, and the perceptions of candidates regarding websites' effectiveness. While Websites were used by half of the candidates, they tended to be static and include very few interactive features. The characteristics of the constituencies and the races were correlated with the scope of Website usage by contenders.
User Acceptance of eGovernment Services
Authors: Yarlıkaş Serdar , Arpacı İbrahim , Afacan Gülgün
Published: May 2015

This chapter identifies user satisfaction levels of eGovernment services. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) deals with the prediction of the acceptability of an information system. TAM posits that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use determine an individual's adoption of a system with intention to use serving as a mediator of actual system usage. In this chapter, a modified version of the TAM is proposed to predict the acceptability of eGovernment services and to identify the modifications, which must be brought to the system in order to make it acceptable to users. In the chapter, one of the most used eGovernment projects, e-school, is investigated according to TAM. An Internet-based survey questionnaire was applied to identify factors that influence users' satisfaction from one of the eGovernment services in Turkey. The sample was 30 teachers, who are working in public and private schools. A factor analysis was conducted on the questionnaire items, and a regression analysis, dependent on the factor analysis, was performed to determine and evaluate the effects of the factors on user satisfaction. The authors found that five main factors have significant affect on the satisfaction of users related to the e-School system. These factors are utilitarian ease of use, system usefulness, system content, system usability, and ease of use. The authors contributed to existing literature by adding a new construct, which refers to utilitarian ease of use.
E-Government in Australia
Authors: Chugh Ritesh , Grandhi Srimannarayana
Published: May 2015

The adoption of e-government signifies a positive way to move ahead in the 21st century with enhanced quality, cost effective government services and a superior relationship between different stakeholders. E-government provides new opportunities to both government and its citizens. The wider acceptance of new communication technologies are helping governments and their agencies worldwide to serve citizens, businesses and other governments with greater efficiency. This chapter looks at e-government development statistics globally before narrowing down to Internet usage and e-government adoption in Australia. Opportunities and challenges of e-government adoption are presented. The chapter then focuses on the current state of e-government in Australian city councils and seeks to evaluate council websites to understand their usability characteristics. Seven Australian capital city council websites have been chosen and evaluated based on factors such as navigation, searchability, layout and visual clarity, information content, communication methods, and transactional services. The research indicates that e-government in Australia is in its early stages and there is scope for further improvement and growth. The high incidence of web presence indicates that government entities, such as city councils are pursuing cyber strategies. Although the majority of government entities utilise websites to disseminate information to the public, optimal use of ICT in the public sector is ad hoc and in infancy albeit growing rapidly. This chapter provides a concise and holistic understanding of issues that can be encountered when exploiting the Internet and ICT for providing e-government services.
Towards a Multi-Agent-Based Tool for the Analysis of the Social Production and Management Processes in an Urban Ecosystem
Authors: Santos Flávia , Rodrigues Thiago , Donancio Henrique , Santos Iverton , Adamatti Diana F. , Dimuro Graçaliz P. , Dimuro Glenda , Jerez Esteban De Manuel
Published: May 2015

The SJVG-MAS Project addresses, in an interdisciplinary approach, the development of MAS-based tools for the simulation of the social production and management processes observed in urban ecosystems, adopting as case study the social vegetable garden project conducted at the San Jerónimo Park (Seville/Spain), headed by the confederation “Ecologistas en Acción.” The authors aim at the analysis of the current reality of the SJVG project, allowing discussions on the adopted social management processes, and also for investigating how possible changes in the social organization (e.g., roles assumed by the agents in the organization, actions, behaviors, (in)formal interaction/communication protocols, regulation norms), especially from the point of view of the agent's participation in the decision making processes, may transform this reality, from the social, environmental and economic point of view, then contributing for the sustainability of the project. The MAS was conceived as a multi-dimensional BDI-like agent social system, involving the development of five components: the agents' population, the system's organization, the system's environment, the set of interactions executed among agents playing organizational roles (e.g., communication protocols for reaching agreements) and the normative policy structure (internal regulation established by SJVG community). The aim of this chapter is to discuss the problems faced and to present the solution found for the modeling of SJVG social organization using JaCAMo framework. The chapter shows the integration of the considered dimensions, discussing the adopted methodology, which may be applied in several other contexts.
A Europe Wide Web?
Authors: Vaccari Cristian
Published: May 2015

This chapter investigates the characteristics of parties' Websites during the campaign for the 2009 European Parliament elections. The study focuses on 5 Western and Southern European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and covers a total of 55 Websites, which were analyzed in the last 2 weeks before the vote. The analysis was conducted through a standard coding scheme modelled after Gibson and Ward's (2000) seminal proposal, expanded to account for the developments in e-campaigning that have occurred in the last decade, and integrated with the results of a meta-analysis of 7 coding frames employed by previous researchers. Website features were divided into 2 main categories: those that provide information to users and those that facilitate their participation to the campaign both online and offline. The goals of this study are, first, to offer an updated mapping of the state of the art in Western European online campaigning and, second, to discover which variables affect the characteristics of party Websites. This goal is achieved through regression analyses that correlate indices measuring the amount of information and participation features in parties' Websites with variables that measure system-level as well as party-level characteristics. Results show that system-level variables such as technological development, and aggregate levels of political support have no appreciable effect on party Website characteristics, nor do party-level variables such as resources and incumbency. Instead, ideology has a strong effect on Websites, as parties' membership to the Socialist and Left-Libertarian families is strongly and positively correlated with both information and participation features on their Websites.
Towards Public Services and Process Integration
Authors: Hernández Guillermo Infante , Fuente Aquilino A. Juan , Pérez Benjamín López , Núñez-Valdéz Edward Rolando
Published: May 2015

Software platforms for e-government transactions may differ in developed functionalities, languages and technologies, hardware platforms, and operating systems that support them. Those differences can be found among public organizations that share common processes, services, and regulations. This scenario hinders interoperability between these organizations. Hence, to find a technique for integrating these platforms becomes a necessity. In this chapter, a rule-based domain-specific modeling environment for public services and process integration is suggested, which consists of common identified public service elements and a set of process integration rules. This approach provides the needed integration or interoperability pursued in this domain. Furthermore a service and process model is proposed to formalize the information needed for integration of both. A set of integration rules is also presented as part of the modeling environment. This set of integration rules completes the proposed model to meet the business requirements of this domain.
New Media in the Process of Shaping Local Democracy
Authors: Biernacka-Ligieza Ilona
Published: May 2015

This chapter is an analysis of the voting campaigns in Poland before the local elections in 2002, 2006, and 2010. The 2002 election was chosen as the starting point of the analysis because of the following facts: 1) those were the first direct local elections for mayors/municipality heads, and 2) the number of council members was reduced by law, all of which heralded an interesting competition. The high turnover rate of candidates for councillors across different regions of Poland in 2002, 2006, and 2010 local government elections has been attributed in part to the volatility caused by greater media and public interest in council issues. Many see the media as the most effective way to get voters' attention. Voters also treat media information about candidates as a very important source of knowledge about the candidate, which helps them to vote. However, it is important to check: 1) which medium is the most popular and effective source of information for local public debate; 2) what is the quality of information being published before and after the local elections; and 3) if the “politician activity” and “society response” is only clearly visible during the elections time or maybe “local debate” develops after the election time. The chapter is based on the qualitative and quantitative research. Surveys were carried out in 2002, 2006, and 2010.
Automatic Generation Control of Thermal-Thermal-Hydro Power Systems with PID Controller using Ant Colony Optimization
Authors: Kaliannan Jagatheesan , Baskaran Anand , Dey Nilanjan
Published: May 2015

In this work, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is proposed for Load Frequency Control (LFC) of interconnected multi–area hydrothermal power systems. Area 1&2 are thermal power systems and area 3 is a hydro power system, all the areas are interconnected through the appropriate tie-line. Thermal and hydro power plants are applied with reheat turbine and electric governor respectively. Investigated power system initially applied with conventional Proportional-Integral (PI) controller and controller parameters are optimized by using trial and error method considering Integral Time Absolute Error (ITAE) objective function. After that, the system is equipped with Proportional – Integral – Derivative (PID) controller and controller parameters are optimized by using ACO algorithm with ITAE objective function. The superiority of the proposed algorithm has been demonstrated by comparing conventional controller. Finally, The Simulation results of multi-area power system prove the effectiveness of the proposed optimization technique in LFC scheme and show its superiority over conventional PI controller.
Semantics and Agents Oriented Web Personalization
Authors: Singh Aarti , Sharma Anu , Dey Nilanjan
Published: May 2015

Advent of technologies like semantic web, multi-agent systems, web mining has changed the internet as knowledge provider. Web personalization offers a solution to the information overload problem in current web by providing users a personalized experience, considering their interest, behavior, context and emotions. Semantic web technology is based on use of software agents, ontologies and reasoning to add meaning to web information. An important technology for achieving personalization is the use of independent intelligent software agents. This work reviews, web personalization in the light of semantic web and software agent technology. A comparative study of recent works in the domain of web personalization has been carried out for this purpose. This review highlights ample scope for application of intelligent agents in the web personalization domain for solving many existing issues like personalized content management, user profile learning, modeling and adaptive interactions with users.
Till sampling program and presentation of physical and geochemical data from western Victoria Island, Northwest Territories
Authors: Nixon F M
Published: May 2015

A co-ordinated tilt sampling program was one component of a large mapping project on western Victoria Island, Northwest Territories. The program was designed to allow evaluation of the repro ducibility of results and of the spatial distribution of variance
through analysis of variance tech­niques. Sample characteristics measured include granulometry, carbonate content, and trace ele­ment geochemistry. Data /rom site observations and laboratory analyses are appended in a table and on maps. Analysis of variance indicates that certain variables strongly
represent regional variation in till whereas others show considerable variability below the scale of sampling density. This information will be valuable when using the data and has contributed to a subsequent sampling design in an adjacent area.
Basic volcanics in the Hassel formation [Mid-Cretaceous] and associated intrusives, Ellesmere Island, district of Franklin, Northwest Territories
Authors: Osadetz K G , Moore P R
Published: May 2015

Subalkaline basic volcanic rocks with tholeiitic rock series affinities are interbedded with non­marine sandstones in the Hassel Formation (mid-Cretaceous) in the vicinity of Lake Hazen, northern Ellesmere Island. Nonmarine volcanic flows are the extrusive
equivalents of a significant complex of sills and dykes that are exposed in Tertiary (Eurekan) structures between Tanquary Fiord and Lake Hazen. Two distinct low- and high-phosphorus parental olivine tholeiite magmas are identified on the basis of P2Os, FeO*, and TiO2 abundances. Both parental
magmas can be derived from an undepleted mantle source with a normal phosphorus abundance (P~200 ppm), by different degrees of equilibrium partial melting. The low-phosphorus parental olivine tholeiite (0.29 wt % P 20 s) can be formed by approximately 12 per cent partial melting of the
mantle source: this rock exhibits minor element characteristics similar to oceanic tholeiites. The high-phosphorus parental olivine tholeiite resulted from less than 12 per cent partial melting of a similar mantle source: it exhibits certain alkaline characteristics (high TiO2 and P2Os). The
low-phosphorus parental magma fractionated ~20 per cent olivine ± clinopyroxene and plagioclase. The high-phosphorus parental magma fractionated undetermined amounts of similar phases to produce derivative liquids that intruded exposed crustal levels. The low-phosphorus magma was extruded
without further fractionation, while the high­phosphorus magma underwent extensive fractionation after emplacement in the rocks of the Sverdrup Basin ( <2.5 km), resulting in at least one layered sill. Sorne flows were derived from the high­phosphorus magma late in its crystallization
history, past the peak of iron enrichment. It is deduced that these basic igneous rocks represent magmatic activity within the contiguous North American - Barents Shelf craton, during the late stages of the opening of the Amerasian Basin by the anticlockwise rotation of northern Alaska and portions
of northern Siberia.
Engineering geology of the Great Bear River area, Northwest Territories
Authors: Savigny K W
Published: May 2015

Great Bear River drains Great Bear Lake westward into Mackenzie River. Great Bear River valley is incised up to 50 m below the levels of Mackenzie and Great Bear plains. Quaternary sediments are exposed intermittent/y along the valley slopes. Rocks of Tertiary
age are exposed more or less continu­ously along the Lower reach of Great Bear River, and Mesowic and Paleowic rocks are exposed where the river crosses McConnell Range at St. Charles Rapids. A single Laurentide till is present and is assumed ta represent the Late Wisconsinan advance. The till
generally rests on bedrock, but locally it overlies older alluvial and deltaic sediments. This advance was followed by a lacustrine phase over Mackenzie Plain. The lacustrine phase appears to have ended abrupt/y with progradation of a deltaic facies. Permafrost is widespread except beneath large
lakes, streams, and rivers. Postglacial entrenchment by Great Bear River appears to have begun on Mackenzie Plain about JO 000 years ago and approached its present Level by approximately 2670 years ago.
Glacial features around the Keewatin ice divide: districts of Mackenzie and Keewatin
Authors: Aylsworth J M , Shilts W W
Published: May 2015

Four zones that are roughly concentric about the Keewatin Ice Divide are defined by landform/sedi­ment assemblages. Zone 1, including the Keewatin ]ce Divide, is characterized by a lack of eskers or oriented landforms and includes significant areas of low relief
hummocky moraine. Zone 2 is delimited by the distribution of ribbed (rogen) moraine, but also includes extensive drumlin fields and well deve­loped esker systems. 'Zone 3 is characterized by a fairly continuous, commonly drumlinized, drift cover, that thins outward; Zone 4 comprises large tracts of
bedrock outcrop with minimal drift cover. The types or associations of landforms, the presence or absence of landforms, and the configurations of the zones themselves are controlled by a complex interplay of ice dynamics and bedrock geology. 'Zones 3 and 4 are more influenced by the quantity of
debris available for construction and hence bedrock geology. Zones 1 and 2 are more influenced by ice dynamics, in particular stagnation of a thin ice sheet during deglaciation. Yet even within 'Zone 2, bedrock geology, which determines the physical properties of the entrained debris, influences the
manner of ice deformation and thus the type of landform produced. In general, less deformable sediments form ribbed moraine while more deformable occur in drumlins. Unlike drumlins, ribbed moraine, the morphology of which seems to be a relict of englacial structure, may be preserved only where
associated sediment is released from stagnant ice. Hence, the outer edge of 'Zone 2 may mark the limit of widespread stagnation of the ice sheet. The integrated system of trunk and tributary eskers, formed in conduits at the base of the ice by melt­water plunging downward from the surface, probably
mirrors the pattern of movement of meltwater on the surface of the ice sheet. This suggests virtual stagnation of the ice sheet while it still covered a large area.
Surficial geology and geomorphology, Aishihik Lake, Yukon Territory
Authors: Hughes O L
Published: May 2015

Physiographic character of the Aishihik Lake map area ranges from the relatively low relief of Lewes Plateau in the eastern part of the Map area to the deeply dissected and mountainous terrain of Nisling Range and Ruby Range within Kluane Plateau in the western
and southwestern parts of the Map area. The eastern part was glaciated by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, and the central and southern parts by a large piedmont glacier derived from St. Elias Mountains. The higher parts of Ruby Range supported local ice caps and cirque glaciers. Most of Klondike Plateau
within the map area, together with Nisling Range, escaped glaciation. 171e known glacial deposits of the map area appear to be related to the Early Wisconsinan Reid Glaciation and the Lnte Wisconsinan McComzell Glaciation. lt is unlikely, however, that the entire area could have escaped earlier
glaciations which are recognized in Kluane and Carmacks map areas to the south­west and north, respectively. Glacial deposition north of Aishilzik Lake and glacial erosion at the south end of the lake reversed the former northward drainage of Aishihik and Sekulmun lakes. Glacial lake sediments and
abandoned shore­fines provide evidence of numerous glacial lakes, of which glacial Lake Sekulmun-Aishihik was the largest, during the maximum stand and subsequent retreatal stages of McConnell ice. Periglacial features include large forms, such as tors on ridges of porphyritic quart?? monz.onite,
and cryoplanation terraces on unglaciated ridges above treeline. Smaller features such as solifluction lobes and sorted circles occur above treeline throughout the area. Glacial deposits afford large supplies of aggregate a11d other construction material, whereas unglaciated areas have deficient
supplies. The map area lies within the discontinuous permafrost zane. Permafrost is common on north-facing slopes and in fine grained glaciolacustrine or alluvial sediments on valleyjloors. Permafrost severely limits construc­tion in limited areas of ice-rich fine grained sediments, and imposes
moderate to severe limitations where it occurs in other materials. Small amounts of placer gold have been produced in the map area, mainly from creeks tributary to Jarvis River. The placers are the product of postglacial concentration from glacial deposits.
Focal mechanisms for eastern Canadian earthquakes of 1999
Authors: Bent A L , Drysdale J
Published: May 2015

Although earthquake focal mechanism solutions provide information about the faults on which the earthquakes occur and on local stress field orientations and seismotectonics, they were not routinely determined in the past. We have begun to systematically attempt
to determine focal mechanisms for all eastern Canadian earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater and intend to publish the results annually in an Open File. This report covers the year 1999. We analyzed nine earthquakes. Two did not strictly meet our selection criteria but are included because they
are of interest. We were able to determine focal mechanisms for six of the events. As has been the case in previous efforts, those events for which we could not obtain solutions were in offshore or northern regions where seismograph coverage is sparse.
Surfical geology of the Cypress Lake and Wood Mountian map areas, southwestern Saskatchewan
Authors: Klassen R W
Published: May 2015

Six landscape complexes were identified in the Cypress Lake and Wood Mountain map areas on the basis of similarities in their geomorphology and geology. Bedrock terrain with drift is the oldest complex identified and consists of unglaciated terrain formed mainly
by fluvial and mass-wasting processes during the Late Tertiary. Successively younger glaciated landscapes are designated as bedrock terrain with residual drift, bedrock terrain with drift, first-advance drift, interlobate drift, and last-advance drift.

A north to south forest-grassland transition was established across the regional drainage divide about 14 ka. Prairie grassland vegetation covered the southern slopes of the uplands and a belt of forest-grassland transition had shifted well to the north of the map area at the beginning of the
Holocene.

Three major changes in climate are indicated by the unglaciated landscapes of the Cypress Hills and Wood Mountain uplands, and the landscapes of the surrounding glaciated plains. The upland landscapes formed under arid to
semi-arid Late Tertiary climates and contrast sharply with the glaciated landscapes shaped by the Late Wisconsinan Laurentide ice sheet. Climatic warming resulted in deglaciation, followed by a wet interval between 14 and 7 ka, a dry interval between 7 and 5 ka, and a return to somewhat wetter
conditions from about 4 ka to the present.
Risk map atlas: maps from the earthquake risk study for the District of North Vancouver
Authors: Wagner C L , Journeay J M , Hastings N L , Prieto J
A
Published: May 2015

Natural Resources Canada, as part of its Public Safety Geoscience program, worked in cooperation with the District of North Vancouver (DNV) and other partners to develop and test methodologies that are appropriate for assessing earthquake risk at a municipal
scale in Canada. The earthquake loss estimation software, Hazus-MH, was used to analyze the losses to buildings, infrastructure, and people in the District and to estimate the damage and injuries resulting from earthquakes. The initial analysis was repeated to show possible changes in outcome if
buildings in the community were assumed to be retrofitted to modern building codes. This Risk Map Atlas provides a selection of maps and notes showing the inventory of buildings and infrastructure, hazard parameters, and results from the study. The Atlas is intended to help similar Canadian
communities in the development of an earthquake risk assessment.
Sustainable Watersheds: Integrating Ecosystem Services and Public Health
Authors: Jordan Stephen J. , Benson William H.
Published: May 2015

Sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems is a worldwide priority; the integrity of these systems depends, in turn, on the integrity of the watersheds (catchments) in which they are embedded. In this article, we present the concepts, background, and scientific foundations for assessing, both nationally and at finer scales, the relationships between ecosystem services, human health, and socioeconomic values in the context of water quality, water quantity, landscapes, the condition of watersheds, and the connectivity of waters, from headwaters to estuaries and the coastal ocean. These assessments will be a foundation for what we have termed “watershed epidemiology,” through which the connections between ecosystems and human health can be explored over broad spatial and temporal scales. Understanding and communicating these relationships should lead to greater awareness of the roles watersheds play in human well-being, and hence to better management and stewardship of water resources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing the research, models, and planning tools to support operational national assessments of watershed sustainability, building upon ongoing assessments of aquatic resources in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and estuaries.
Height determination using hand length in Nigerian school children
Authors: Ibegbu A. , David E. , Hamman W. , Umana U. , Musa S.
Published: May 2015

Introduction. The anthropometric characteristics of 600 normal Nigeria School Children of ages between 5-10 years of Gbagyi tribe of Abuja, with no obvious deformities or previous history of trauma to the hand were selected for this study. Materials and methods. Of these children, males (n=300) with mean age of 7.10 ± 1.98, and females (n=300) with mean age of 7.68 ± 1.86) were investigated. The anthropometric characteristics of their height, age, weight, hand length, and body mass indices were measured, analysed statistically for any significant difference, and correlation between the parameters studied. Results. The results show some significant differences between the anthropometric parameters and a significant correlation (p< 0.001) between the height and hand length, and other parameters in both males and females. The study derived a linear regression and a multiple linear regression equations for Gbagyi School children of Nigeria from which height, age, weight, hand length and body mass index could be predicted if one factor is known. Conclusion. The results from the present study show that there was a positive correlation between height and hand length and other parameters indicating that height could be predicted using hand length, age, weight and body mass index among Gbagyi school children of Abuja-Nigeria.
Morphology and morphometry of buccopharyngeal cavity and pharyngeal dental apparatus of Chagunius chagunio (Hamilton 1822)
Authors: Chawla D. , Tyor A.
Published: May 2015

Introduction: Adaptation in morphological and functional aspects of feeding organs is one ofthe key features in the process of biological evolution. Chagunius chagunio represent remarkable specialization and generalization in their buccopharyngeal cavity. Materials and Methods: The samples ranging from 125-190 mm to study the general shape and size of different subdivisions of buccopharyngeal cavity. Results: Buccopharyngeal cavity measures 32.34± 2.95 mm in length and 15.3±2.96 mm in width. Sickle shaped pharyngeal arch measures 14.52±1.2mm in length and 3.52±0.74 mm in width with dental formula 5,3 2-2, 3,5. Conclusion: The minor carp, Chagunius chagunio has been poorly described in literature. It inhabits fast flowing water, have buccopharyngeal cavity with filter feeding modification as in H. molitrix and H. nobilis with spoon shaped pharyngeal teeth However, It has been described in literature that this fish feed on molluscan larvae.
Femoral nerve dimensions at the inguinal ligament and inguinal crease levels: implications for femoral nerve block
Authors: Oyedun O. , Rukewe A. , Fatiregun A.
Published: May 2015

Introduction: Femoral nerve block, when used solely or as a supplement to general anaesthesia, provides anaesthesia and analgesia to the anterior thigh. In spite of its established benefits, femoral nerve block is still underutilized in Nigeria. Our objective was to study the dimensions of femoral nerve at the level of the inguinal ligament and inguinal crease using a cadaveric model; no such data exists in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Using 7 adult human cadavers (6 males and 1 female), the depth and thickness of the femoral nerve were measured at the levels of inguinal ligament and inguinal crease. The spatial relationship of femoral nerve to the surrounding structures was also observed. Result: The study showed a significantly wider thickness and shorter depth of the femoral nerve at the level of inguinal crease relative to inguinal ligament. Conclusion: We concluded that in centers where ultrasound and neurostimulation techniques for femoral nerve block in Nigerians are unavailable, the inguinal crease level where the femoral nerve is more supericial and wider in thickness would be the landmark of choice compared to the inguinal ligament level.
Morphological and morphometric analysis from the heart of Caracara plancus (Carcará)
Authors: Miguel R. , Reinaldo R. , Fraga K. , Galvão A. , Silva J. , Xavier J. , Magalhães C.
Published: May 2015

Introduction: Caracara plancus, popularly known as Carcará, is a bird with broad geographic distribution, occurring from the southern United States to Argentina. Owing to importance of the heart during the flight and the lack of studies of this body in caracaras, this research aimed to conduct the description of the morphology and internal and external morphology heart Caracara plancus. Materials and Methods: Using a magnifying glass (TECNIVAL, SQF-F), precision scale and steel caliper, the heart three caracaras were described morphologically, weighed and measured. Results: The weight of hearts averaged 7,246g ± 0,518g. The mean side-to-side axis was 2,196cm ± 0,085cm and 3,366cm ± 0,036cm the longitudinal axis. In the side wall of the right ventricle was obtained the value of 0,185cm ± 0,035cm in the lateral wall of the left ventricle 0,59cm ± 0,014cm and interventricular septum 0,014cm ± 0.52cm. The heart of Carcará has no anterior interventricular groove; however there is the presence of the posterior interventricular sulcus. Internally, the left ventricle was observed, the presence of atrioventricular valves formed by connective tissue 18 tendinous cords, papillary muscles and a bridge crests. In the right ventricle, the atrioventricular valve was formed by muscle tissue and did not submit chordae, papillary muscles, crests or bridge. Conclusion: The heart of Carcará features in its morphology similar to the hearts of other birds and can be checked one right atrioventricular valve constituted by muscle tissue.
The pectoral-sternalis complex: an unusual case report
Authors: Bala M. , Passi D. , Kaushal S.
Published: May 2015

A unilateral absence of sternocostal fibers of pectoralis major muscle with unilateral presence of sternalis muscle has been noticed in right side of an adult male cadaver during routine dissection. All slips of pectoralis major muscle as well sternalis muscle innervated by medial and lateral pectoral nerves. Absence of pectoralis major has been described extensively, both as an isolated anomaly, with varying levels of hypoplasia, and in association with congenital syndromes. But the partial hypoplasia of pectoralis muscle with compensatory presence of one of the rare muscle of anterior thoracic wall the sternalis muscle make this case as unique and rare. This finding adds to our existing knowledge for the origin of sternalis, an identity not explored fully yet. Awareness of anomalous pectoralis major musculature as well presence of sternalis muscle is important for reconstructive surgeons who perform mastectomy and for radiologists during interpretation of skiagrams.
An evaluation of Allonais inaequalis Stephenson, 1911 (Oligochaeta: Naididae) as a toxicity test organism
Authors: Corbi Juliano José , Gorni Guilherme Rossi , Correa Regiane Cristina
Published: May 2015

Oligochaeta are suitable for assessing the effects of contaminants on the environment, but in Brazil, few studies have been developed for the use of native species in toxicity bioassays. Given the increasing interest in this research area by the environmental agencies for the usage of species of aquatic Oligochaeta in ecotoxicological studies, in addition to the need for greater biological knowledge of native species, the present work aimed to establish a protocol to be used in ecotoxicological bioassays using the native species Allonais inaequalis. The Naididae A. inaequalis (Stephenson, 1911) was first described as Nais pectinata var. inaequalis Stephenson, 1911. The distribution of this species has been mentioned for several environments in Brazil. This paper presents results from tests on the sensitivity of the species to KCl (LC50) and to zinc chloride (LC50), the general characteristics of the species and laboratory breeding methods. Laboratory rearing, the collection and identification of the organism are easy when compared to other organisms such as Chironomus xanthus, a species commonly used in toxicity bioassays. It is expected that this work will assist in the use of A. inaequalis species for routine water monitoring protocols for tropical environments.
Observations of planetary waves in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere during stratospheric warming events
Authors: Stray N. H. , Orsolini Y. J. , Espy P. J. , Limpasuvan V. , Hibbins R. E.
Published: May 2015

Abstract. This study investigates the effect of stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs) on planetary wave (PW) activity in the mesosphere–lower thermosphere (MLT). PW activity near 95 km is derived from meteor wind data using a chain of eight SuperDARN radars at high northern latitudes that span longitudes from 150° W to 25° E and latitudes from 51 to 66° N. Zonal wave number 1 and 2 components were extracted from the meridional wind for the years 2000–2008. The observed wintertime PW activity shows common features associated with the stratospheric wind reversals and the accompanying stratospheric warming events. Onset dates for seven SSW events accompanied by an elevated stratopause (ES) were identified during this time period using the Specified Dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (SD-WACCM). For the seven events, a significant enhancement in wave number 1 and 2 PW amplitudes near 95 km was found to occur after the wind reversed at 50 km, with amplitudes maximizing approximately 5 days after the onset of the wind reversal. This PW enhancement in the MLT after the event was confirmed using SD-WACCM. When all cases of polar cap wind reversals at 50 km were considered, a significant, albeit moderate, correlation of 0.4 was found between PW amplitudes near 95 km and westward polar-cap stratospheric winds at 50 km, with the maximum correlation occurring ∼ 3 days after the maximum westward wind. These results indicate that the enhancement of PW amplitudes near 95 km is a common feature of SSWs irrespective of the strength of the wind reversal.
An automated cloud detection method based on green channel of total sky visible images
Authors: Yang J. , Min Q. , Lu W. , Yao W. , Ma Y. , Du J. , Lu T.
Published: May 2015

Abstract. Getting an accurate cloud cover state is a challenging task. In the past, traditional two-dimensional red-to-blue band methods have been widely used for cloud detection in total sky images. By analyzing the imaging principle of cameras, green channel has been selected to replace the 2-D red-to-blue band for total sky cloud detection. The brightness distribution in a total sky image is usually non-uniform, because of forward scattering and Mie scattering of aerosols, which results in increased detection errors in the circumsolar and near-horizon regions. This paper proposes an automatic cloud detection algorithm, "green channel background subtraction adaptive threshold" (GBSAT), which incorporates channel selection, background simulation, computation of solar mask and cloud mask, subtraction, adaptive threshold, and binarization. Several experimental cases show that the GBSAT algorithm is robust for all types of test total sky images and has more complete and accurate retrievals of visual effects than those found through traditional methods.
Global sensitivity analysis of the climate–vegetation system to astronomical forcing: an emulator-based approach
Authors: Bounceur N. , Crucifix M. , Wilkinson R. D.
Published: May 2015

Abstract. A global sensitivity analysis is performed to describe the effects of astronomical forcing on the climate–vegetation system simulated by the model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM in interglacial conditions. The methodology relies on the estimation of sensitivity measures, using a Gaussian process emulator as a fast surrogate of the climate model, calibrated on a set of well-chosen experiments. The outputs considered are the annual mean temperature and precipitation and the growing degree days (GDD). The experiments were run on two distinct land surface schemes to estimate the importance of vegetation feedbacks on climate variance. This analysis provides a spatial description of the variance due to the factors and their combinations, in the form of "fingerprints" obtained from the covariance indices. The results are broadly consistent with the current under-standing of Earth's climate response to the astronomical forcing. In particular, precession and obliquity are found to contribute in LOVECLIM equally to GDD in the Northern Hemisphere, and the effect of obliquity on the response of Southern Hemisphere temperature dominates precession effects. Precession dominates precipitation changes in subtropical areas. Compared to standard approaches based on a small number of simulations, the methodology presented here allows us to identify more systematically regions susceptible to experiencing rapid climate change in response to the smooth astronomical forcing change. In particular, we find that using interactive vegetation significantly enhances the expected rates of climate change, specifically in the Sahel (up to 50% precipitation change in 1000 years) and in the Canadian Arctic region (up to 3° in 1000 years). None of the tested astronomical configurations were found to induce multiple steady states, but, at low obliquity, we observed the development of an oscillatory pattern that has already been reported in LOVECLIM. Although the mathematics of the analysis are fairly straightforward, the emulation approach still requires considerable care in its implementation. We discuss the effect of the choice of length scales and the type of emulator, and estimate uncertainties associated with specific computational aspects, to conclude that the principal component emulator is a good option for this kind of application.
A stabilized finite element method for calculating balance velocities in ice sheets
Authors: Brinkerhoff D. , Johnson J.
Published: May 2015

Abstract. We present a numerical method for calculating vertically averaged velocity fields using a mass conservation approach, commonly known as balance velocities. This allows for an unstructured grid, is not dependent on a heuristic flow routing algorithm, and is both parallelizable and efficient. We apply the method to calculate depth-averaged velocities of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and find that the method produces grid-independent velocity fields for a sufficient parameterization of horizontal plane stresses on flow directions. We show that balance velocity can be used as the forward model for a constrained optimization problem that can be used to fill gaps and smooth strong gradients in InSAR velocity fields.
The Budyko and complementary relationships in an idealized model of large-scale land–atmosphere coupling
Authors: Lintner B. R. , Gentine P. , Findell K. L. , Salvucci G. D.
Published: May 2015

Abstract. Two well-known relationships in hydrology and hydrometeorology, the Budyko and complementary relationships, are examined within an idealized prototype representing the physics of large-scale land–atmosphere coupling developed in prior work. These relationships are shown to hold on long (climatologic) timescales because of the tight coupling that exists between precipitation, atmospheric radiation, moisture convergence and advection. The slope of the CR is shown to be dependent on the Clausius–Clapeyron relationship between saturation-specific humidity and temperature, with important implications for the continental hydrologic cycle in a warming climate; e.g., one consequence of this dependence is that the CR may be expected to become more asymmetric with warming, as higher values of the slope imply a larger change in potential evaporation for a given change in evapotranspiration. In addition, the transparent physics of the prototype permits diagnosis of the sensitivity of the Budyko and complementary relationships to various atmospheric and land surface processes. Here, the impacts of anthropogenic influences, including large-scale irrigation and global warming, are assessed.
Early heat waves over Italy and their impacts on durum wheat yields
Authors: Fontana G. , Toreti A. , Ceglar A. , De Sanctis G.
Published: May 2015

Abstract. In the last decades the Euro-Mediterranean region has experienced an increase in extreme temperature events such as heat waves. These extreme weather conditions can strongly affect arable crop growth and final yields. Here, early heat waves over Italy from 1995 to 2013 are identified and characterised and their impact on durum wheat yields is investigated. As expected, results confirm the impact of the 2003 heat waves and highlight a high percentage of concurrence of early heat waves and significant negative yield anomalies in 13 out of 39 durum wheat production areas. In south-eastern Italy (the most important area for durum wheat production), the percentage of concurrent events exceeds 80%.