bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Elements
Authors: Di Francesco Mario , Das Sajal K. , Anastasi Giuseppe
Published: August 2011

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have emerged as an effective solution for a wide range of applications. Most of the traditional WSN architectures consist of static nodes which are densely deployed over a sensing area. Recently, several WSN architectures based on mobile elements (MEs) have been proposed. Most of them exploit mobility to address the problem of data collection in WSNs. In this article we first define WSNs with MEs and provide a comprehensive taxonomy of their architectures, based on the role of the MEs. Then we present an overview of the data collection process in such a scenario, and identify the corresponding issues and challenges. On the basis of these issues, we provide an extensive survey of the related literature. Finally, we compare the underlying approaches and solutions, with hints to open problems and future research directions.
Jeannette M. Wing @ PCAST; Barbara Liskov keynote
Authors: Wing Jeannette M. , Barr Valerie
Published: August 2011

The
Communications
Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of
Communications
, we'll publish selected posts or excerpts.

twitter

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blogCACM

http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm

Jeannette M. Wing discusses her PCAST presentation about the importance of computer science and its impact. Valerie Barr shares highlights from Barbara Liskov's keynote at Grace Hopper.
A breakthrough in algorithm design
Authors: Kroeker Kirk L.
Published: August 2011

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have devised an algorithm that might be able to solve a certain class of linear systems much more quickly than today's fastest solvers.
Invasion of the mobile apps
Authors: Anthes Gary
Published: August 2011

The market model pioneered by Apple and others is transforming the software world---and has profound implications for software companies and their customers.
Remaking American medicine
Authors: Savage Neil
Published: August 2011

Developing an IT ecosystem for health could improve---and transform---the practice of medicine.
Managing time, part 2
Authors: Denning Peter J. , Raj Ritu
Published: August 2011

Masterful time management means not just tracking of messages in your personal environment, but managing your coordination network with others.
Realizing the value of social media requires innovative computing research
Authors: Shneiderman Ben , Preece Jennifer , Pirolli Peter
Published: August 2011

How social media are expanding traditional research and development topics for computer and information scientists.
Protecting users of the cyber commons
Authors: Lukasik Stephen J.
Published: August 2011

Establish a global cyber "neighborhood watch" enabling users to take defensive action to protect their operations.
Quantitative analysis of real-time systems using priced timed automata
Authors: Bouyer Patricia , Fahrenberg Uli , Larsen Kim G. , Markey Nicolas
Published: August 2011

Timed automata and their extensions allow for analysis of a wide range of performance and optimization problems.
Vetting browser extensions for security vulnerabilities with VEX
Authors: Bandhakavi Sruthi , Tiku Nandit , Pittman Wyatt , King Samuel T. , Madhusudan P. , Winslett Marianne
Published: August 2011

The browser has become the de facto platform for everyday computation and a popular target for attackers of computer systems. Among the many potential attacks that target or exploit browsers, vulnerabilities in browser extensions have received relatively little attention. Currently, extensions are vetted by manual inspection, which is time consuming and subject to human error. In this paper, we present VEX, a framework for applying static information flow analysis to JavaScript code to identify security vulnerabilities in browser extensions. We describe several patterns of flows that can lead to privilege escalations in Firefox extensions. VEX analyzes Firefox extensions for such flow patterns using high-precision, context-sensitive, flow-sensitive static analysis. We subject 2460 browser extensions to the analysis, and VEX finds 5 of the 18 previously known vulnerabilities and 7 previously unknown vulnerabilities.
Abstracting abstract machines
Authors: Van Horn David , Might Matthew
Published: August 2011

Predictive models are fundamental to engineering reliable software systems. However, designing conservative, computable approximations for the behavior of programs (static analyses) remains a difficult and error-prone process for modern high-level programming languages. What analysis designers need is a principled method for navigating the gap between semantics and analytic models: analysis designers need a method that tames the
interaction
of complex languages features such as higher-order functions, recursion, exceptions, continuations, objects and dynamic allocation.

We contribute a
systematic approach to program analysis
that yields novel and transparently sound static analyses. Our approach relies on existing derivational techniques to transform high-level language semantics into low-level deterministic state-transition systems (with potentially infinite state spaces). We then perform a series of simple machine refactorings to obtain a sound, computable approximation, which takes the form of a
non-deterministic
state-transition systems with
finite
state spaces. The approach scales up uniformly to enable program analysis of realistic language features, including higher-order functions, tail calls, conditionals, side effects, exceptions, first-class continuations, and even garbage collection.
Crossing to the dark side
Authors: Tarafdar Monideepa , Tu Qiang , Ragu-Nathan T. S. , Ragu-Nathan Bhanu S.
Published: August 2011

Exploring the factors that may lead to the inability of professionals to adapt or cope with emerging IS in a healthy manner.
Reducing the effort of bug report triage
Authors: Anvik John , Murphy Gail C.
Published: August 2011

A key collaborative hub for many software development projects is the bug report repository. Although its use can improve the software development process in a number of ways, reports added to the repository need to be triaged. A triager determines if a report is meaningful. Meaningful reports are then organized for integration into the project's development process.

To assist triagers with their work, this article presents a machine learning approach to create recommenders that assist with a variety of decisions aimed at streamlining the development process. The recommenders created with this approach are accurate; for instance, recommenders for which developer to assign a report that we have created using this approach have a precision between 70% and 98% over five open source projects. As the configuration of a recommender for a particular project can require substantial effort and be time consuming, we also present an approach to assist the configuration of such recommenders that significantly lowers the cost of putting a recommender in place for a project. We show that recommenders for which developer should fix a bug can be quickly configured with this approach and that the configured recommenders are within 15% precision of hand-tuned developer recommenders.
A revisit of fault class hierarchies in general boolean specifications
Authors: Chen Zhenyu , Chen Tsong Yueh , Xu Baowen
Published: August 2011

Recently, Kapoor and Bowen [2007] have extended the works by Kuhn [1999], Tsuchiya and Kikuno [2002], and Lau and Yu [2005]. However, their proofs overlook the possibility that a mutant of the Boolean specifications under test may be equivalent. Hence, each of their fault relationships is either incorrect or has an incorrect proof. In this article, we give counterexamples to the incorrect fault relationships and provide new proofs for the valid fault relationships. Furthermore, a co-stronger fault relation is introduced to establish a new fault class hierarchy for general Boolean specifications.
Differential dependencies
Authors: Song Shaoxu , Chen Lei
Published: August 2011

The importance of
difference
semantics (e.g., “similar” or “dissimilar”) has been recently recognized for declaring dependencies among various types of data, such as numerical values or text values. We propose a novel form of
Differential Dependencies
(dds), which specifies constraints on difference, called
differential functions
, instead of identification functions in traditional dependency notations like functional dependencies. Informally, a differential dependency states that if two tuples have distances on attributes
X
agreeing with a certain differential function, then their distances on attributes
Y
should also agree with the corresponding differential function on
Y
. For example, [date(≤ 7)]→[price(< 100)] states that the price difference of any two days within a week length should be no greater than 100 dollars. Such differential dependencies are useful in various applications, for example, violation detection, data partition, query optimization, record linkage, etc.

In this article, we first address several theoretical issues of differential dependencies, including formal definitions of dds and differential keys, subsumption order relation of differential functions, implication of dds, closure of a differential function, a sound and complete inference system, and minimal cover for dds. Then, we investigate a practical problem, that is, how to discover dds and differential keys from a given dataset. Due to the intrinsic hardness, we develop several pruning methods to improve the discovery efficiency in practice. Finally, through an extensive experimental evaluation on real datasets, we demonstrate the discovery performance and the effectiveness of dds in several real applications.
Embedding-based subsequence matching in time-series databases
Authors: Papapetrou Panagiotis , Athitsos Vassilis , Potamias Michalis , Kollios George , Gunopulos Dimitrios
Published: August 2011

We propose an embedding-based framework for subsequence matching in time-series databases that improves the efficiency of processing subsequence matching queries under the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) distance measure. This framework partially reduces subsequence matching to vector matching, using an embedding that maps each query sequence to a vector and each database time series into a sequence of vectors. The database embedding is computed offline, as a preprocessing step. At runtime, given a query object, an embedding of that object is computed online. Relatively few areas of interest are efficiently identified in the database sequences by comparing the embedding of the query with the database vectors. Those areas of interest are then fully explored using the exact DTW-based subsequence matching algorithm. We apply the proposed framework to define two specific methods. The first method focuses on time-series subsequence matching under unconstrained Dynamic Time Warping. The second method targets subsequence matching under constrained Dynamic Time Warping (cDTW), where warping paths are not allowed to stray too much off the diagonal. In our experiments, good trade-offs between retrieval accuracy and retrieval efficiency are obtained for both methods, and the results are competitive with respect to current state-of-the-art methods.
TR-FSM
Authors: Glaser Johann , Damm Markus , Haase Jan , Grimm Christoph
Published: August 2011

Finite State Machines (FSMs) are a key element of integrated circuits. Hard-coded FSMs do not allow changes after the ASIC production. While an embedded FPGA IP core provides flexibility, it is a complex circuit, requires difficult synthesis tools, and is expensive. This article presents and evaluates a novel architecture that is specifically optimized for implementing reconfigurable finite state machines: Transition-based Reconfigurable FSM (TR-FSM). The architecture shows a considerable reduction in area, delay, and power consumption compared to FPGA architectures with a (nearly) FPGA-like reconfigurability.
A system for embodied social active listening to sound and music content
Authors: Volpe Gualtiero , Camurri Antonio
Published: August 2011

This article introduces a model and a system for embodied social active listening to sound and music content. The model is based on the simultaneous navigation/exploration of multiple maps, starting from a low-level physical map, up to a high-level emotional, affective map. The paper discusses the concepts underlying such a model, the system implementing it, and two concrete examples:
The Orchestra Explorer
designed for the Museo degli Strumenti Musicali at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma, Italy, and the interactive dance and music performance
The Bow Is bent and Drawn
(composer Nicola Ferrari), presented at Casa Paganini, Genova, Italy, in occasion of the opening concert of the 8th Intl. Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME08), June 4, 2008, and in museum interactive experiences at Festival della Scienza, Genova. This work is part of current research at Casa Paganini—InfoMus on embodied social active listening to sound and music content through the analysis and processing of expressiveness in human full-body movement and gesture. A user-centric interactive multimedia system architecture is proposed, operating on prerecorded music. From the perspective of valorization of cultural heritage, this research provides engaging paradigms of interaction with prerecorded music content, enabling a large number of nonexpert users to rediscover the musical heritage (e.g., classical and contemporary music) they may not be familiar with. Research was carried out in the framework of the EU-ICT Project SAME (Sound and Music for Everyone, Everyday, Everywhere, Every Way, www.sameproject.eu, 2008–2010) and has been recently extended to active experience of audiovisual content, and in particular to cultural heritage and museum scenarios: the novel interactive permanent museum exhibition
Viaggiatori di Sguardo
has been designed and developed at Palazzo Ducale, Genova, enabling visitors to explore virtually the UNESCO Heritage Palazzi dei Rolli in Genova.
Artistic line-drawings retrieval based on the pictorial content
Authors: Hurtut Thomas , Gousseau Yann , Cheriet Farida , Schmitt Francis
Published: August 2011

In this article, a general framework for the retrieval of artistic line-drawings is introduced. It relies on the pictorial content, defined as a combination of the stylistic content and the visual features of the represented subject. First, we propose an automatic method for the extraction of stroke contours in line drawings, relying on a filtering of the level lines of images. Next, the radius of the drawing tool is estimated from these segmented strokes. This information then efficiently tunes the extraction of several geometric features, including the distribution of curvature, endpoints, junctions and corners of strokes. The efficiency of the proposed method is illustrated with several experiments on two classified databases of artistic line-drawings, and compared with an approach based on the curvature scale space (CSS). Retrieval experiments suggest that the proposed framework is able to handle the pictorial effect delivered by line drawings to a human observer.
miR-31 Is a Broad Regulator of β1-Integrin Expression and Function in Cancer Cells
Authors: Augoff Katarzyna , Das Mitali , Bialkowska Katarzyna , McCue Brian , Plow Edward F. , Sossey-Alaoui Khalid
Published: August 2011

Integrins are adhesion receptors involved in bidirectional signaling that are crucial for various cellular responses during normal homeostasis and pathologic conditions such as cancer progression and metastasis. Aberrant expression of noncoding microRNAs (miRNA) has been implicated in the deregulation of integrin expression and activity, leading to the development and progression of cancer tumors, including their acquisition of the metastatic phenotype. miR-31 is a key regulator of several critical genes involved in the invasion-metastasis cascade in cancer. Using diverse cell-based, genetic, biochemical, flow cytometry, and functional analyses, we report that miR-31 is a master regulator of integrins as it targets multiple α subunit partners (α2, α5, and αV) of β1 integrins and also β3 integrins. We found that expression of miR-31 in cancer cells resulted in a significant repression of these integrin subunits both at the mRNA and protein levels. Loss of expression of α2, α5, αV, and β3 was a direct consequence of miR-31 targeting conserved seed sequences in the 3′ untranslated region of these integrin subunits leading to their posttranscriptional repression, which was reflected in their diminished surface expression in live cells. The biological consequence of decreased the cell surface of these integrins was a significant inhibition of cell spreading in a ligand-dependent manner. Although different reports have shown that a single integrin can be regulated by several miRNAs, here we show that a single miRNA, miR-31, is able to specifically target several integrin subunits to regulate key aspects of cancer cell invasion and metastasis. Mol Cancer Res; 9(11); 1500–8. ©2011 AACR.
Social Network Types and Acute Stroke Preparedness Behavior
Authors: Boden-Albala Bernadette , Tehranifar Parisa , Stillman Joshua , Paik Myunghee C.
Published: August 2011

Objectives: Presence of informal social networks has been associated with favorable health and behaviors, but whether different types of social networks impact on different health outcomes remains largely unknown. We examined the associations of different social network types (marital dyad, household, friendship, and informal community networks) with acute stroke preparedness behavior. We hypothesized that marital dyad best matched the required tasks and is the most effective network type for this behavior. Methods: We collected in-person interview and medical record data for 1,077 adults diagnosed with stroke and transient ischemic attack. We used logistic regression analyses to examine the association of each social network with arrival at the emergency department (ED) within 3 h of stroke symptoms. Results: Adjusting for age, race-ethnicity, education, gender, transportation type to ED and vascular diagnosis, being married or living with a partner was significantly associated with early arrival at the ED (odds ratio = 2.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.2–3.1), but no significant univariate or multivariate associations were observed for household, friendship, and community networks. Conclusions: The marital/partnership dyad is the most influential type of social network for stroke preparedness behavior.
Characteristics of Stroke in Tibet Autonomous Region in China: A Hospital-Based Study of Acute Stroke
Authors: Fang Jiajia , Zhuo-Ga Cidan , Zhao Yuhua , Kong Fanyi , Si Yang , Liu Ming , Zhou Dong
Published: August 2011

Background and Purpose: We know little of the current status of stroke in Tibet Autonomous Region in China. This study was designed to investigate the characteristics of acute stroke in Tibet. Methods: We conducted a hospital-based study on acute first-ever stroke in the People’s Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region (PHOTAR), and then compared the data collected to that from West China Hospital (WCH). Results: The study included 301 inpatients from PHOTAR and 3,334 from WCH. The peak age group in PHOTAR was one decade younger than in WCH. Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) was the main stroke subtype in PHOTAR (74.1%). The prevalence of hypertension and heavy alcohol consumption prior to stroke were the most important vascular risk factors. Treatments for stroke in PHOTAR lacked standardization and in-hospital mortality was higher for each subtype. Conclusions: ICH is the dominant stroke subtype in Tibet Autonomous Region, and can be attributed to high rates of hypertension and heavy alcohol consumption. Greater public awareness of stroke and effective management of risk factors should be implemented immediately in Tibet.
Delayed Postconditioning in the Mouse Heart In Vivo
Authors: Roubille François , Franck-Miclo Alicia , Covinhes Aurélie , Lafont Chrystel , Cransac Frédéric , Combes Stéphane , Vincent Anne , Fontanaud Pierre , Sportouch-Dukhan Catherine , Redt-Clouet Christelle , Nargeot Joël , Piot Christophe , Barrère-Lemaire Stéphanie
Published: August 2011

Background—

Reperfusion during acute myocardial infarction remains the best treatment for reducing infarct size. Postconditioning, applied at the onset of reperfusion, reduces myocardial infarction both in animals and humans. The objective of this study was to identify the time delay to apply postconditioning at reperfusion, allowing preservation of cardioprotection in the mouse myocardium. This is a major issue in the management of acute myocardial infarction patients.

Methods and Results—

Mice were subjected to 40 minutes of ischemia and 60 minutes of reperfusion (IR
60′
). Postconditioning protocols corresponding to repetitive ischemia (3 cycles of 1 minute of ischemia and 1 minute of reperfusion) were applied during early reperfusion at various time durations (Δt) after reopening of the coronary artery (Δt=10 seconds, 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 45 minutes; PostC
Δt
). Infarct size/area at risk was reduced by 71% in PostC
Δ1
compared with IR
60′
mice (
P
=5×10
−6
). There was a linear correlation (
r
2
=0.91) between infarct size and Δt, indicating that the cardioprotective effect of delayed postconditioning was progressively attenuated when Δt time increased. The protective effect of PostC
Δ1
and PostC
Δ15
was still effective when the duration of reperfusion was prolonged to 24 hours (IR
24 hours
; PostC
Δ1
and PostC
Δ15
versus IR
24 hours
,
P
=0.001). Similar results were obtained for internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and lactate dehydrogenase release.

Conclusions—

This study in our in vivo mouse model of myocardial IR shows for the first time that delaying the intervention of postconditioning to 30 minutes does not abrogate the cardioprotective effect of postconditioning. This finding provides evidence that the time window of protection afforded by postconditioning may be larger than initially reported.
Disruption of
K

2P

6.1
Produces Vascular Dysfunction and Hypertension in Mice
Authors: Lloyd Eric E. , Crossland Randy F. , Phillips Sharon C. , Marrelli Sean P. , Reddy Anilkumar K. , Taffet George E. , Hartley Craig J. , Bryan Robert M.
Published: August 2011

K

2P

6.1
, a member of the 2-pore domain K channel family, is highly expressed in the vascular system; however, its function is unknown. We tested the following hypotheses.
K

2P

6.1
regulates the following: (1) systemic blood pressure; (2) the contractile state of arteries; (3) vascular smooth muscle cell migration; (4) proliferation; and/or (5) volume regulation. Mice lacking
K

2P

6.1
(KO) were generated by deleting exon 1 of Kcnk6. Mean arterial blood pressure in both anesthetized and awake KO mice was increased by 17±2 and 26±3 mm Hg, respectively (
P
<0.05). The resting membrane potential in freshly dispersed vascular smooth muscle cells was depolarized by 17±2 mV in the KO compared with wild-type littermates (
P
<0.05). The contractile responses to KCl (
P
<0.05) and BAY K 8644 (
P
<0.01), an activator of
l
-type calcium channels, were enhanced in isolated segments of aorta from KO mice. However, there was no difference in the current density of
l
-type calcium channels. Responses to U46619, an agent that activates rho kinase, showed an enhanced contraction in aorta from KO mice (
P
<0.001). The BAY K 8644-mediated increase in contraction was decreased to wild-type levels when treated with Y27632, a rho kinase inhibitor, (
P
<0.05).
K

2P

6.1
does not appear to be involved with migration, proliferation, or volume regulation in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. We conclude that
K

2P

6.1
deficiency induces vascular dysfunction and hypertension through a mechanism that may involve smooth muscle cell depolarization and enhanced rho kinase activity.
Sea Surface and High-Latitude Temperature Sensitivity to Radiative Forcing of Climate over Several Glacial Cycles
Authors: Rohling E. J. , Medina-Elizalde M. , Shepherd J. G. , Siddall M. , Stanford J. D.
Published: August 2011

A compilation is presented of global sea surface temperature (SST) records that span around one glacial cycle or more, and it is compared with changes in the earth’s radiative balance over the last 520 000 years, as determined from greenhouse gas concentrations, albedo changes related to ice sheet area and atmospheric dust fluctuations, and insolation changes. A first scenario uses global mean values for the radiative changes, and a second scenario uses zonal means for 10° latitude bands for a more regionally specific perspective. On the orbital time scales studied here, a smooth increase of SST response from the equator to high latitudes is found when comparison is made to global mean radiative forcing, but a sharply “stepped” increase at 20°–30° latitude when comparing with the more regionally specific forcings. The mean global SST sensitivities to radiative change are within similar limits for both scenarios, around 0.8 ± 0.4°C (W m−2)−1. Combined with previous estimates of 1.3–1.5 times stronger temperature sensitivity over land, this yields an estimate for global climate sensitivity of 0.85 (−0.4/+0.5)°C (W m−2)−1, close to previous estimates. If aerosol (dust) feedback were to be considered as a fast feedback, then the estimated central value for SST sensitivity would change to ~0.95°C (W m−2)−1 and that for global climate sensitivity to ~1.05°C (W m−2)−1. The zonal-mean scenario allows an assessment of (long-term) “normalized amplification” for Greenland and Antarctic temperature sensitivities, which is the ratio of temperature sensitivity for those sites relative to the global mean sensitivity, normalized per watt per meter squared of radiative change. This ratio is found to be 0.9 (−0.2/+0.6) and 1.4 (−0.4/+1.1) for Greenland and Antarctica, respectively. Given its value close to 1 for Greenland, but that larger Arctic amplification on shorter time scales due to fast sea ice albedo processes cannot be excluded, it is suggested that current high Arctic sensitivity is mainly due to sea ice albedo feedback processes and may decrease considerably if and when the Arctic sea ice cover has been eliminated. The normalized amplification value of 1.4 for Antarctica supports previous reconstructions of polar amplification in that region. The authors propose that this amplified response resulted from approximately threefold glacial–interglacial changes in the area of sea ice cover around Antarctica.
High-Performance Simulations of Turbulent Clouds on a Desktop PC: Exploiting the GPU
Authors: Schalkwijk Jerôme , Griffith Eric J. , Post Frits H. , Jonker Harm J. J.
Published: August 2011

No abstract available.
Using Automatic Item Generation to Simultaneously Construct German and English Versions of a Word Fluency Test
Authors: Arendasy Martin E. , Sommer Markus , Mayr Friedrich
Published: August 2011

There has been an increased interest in psychometric tests that enable the comparison of test scores across different language versions. From a psychometric point of view, this endeavor requires empirical evidence on the full score equivalence of these measures. However, this aim is often rather difficult to achieve. This is particularly true for the assessment of verbal abilities. In the present article, we will outline how automatic item generation can be used to overcome some of the problems researchers face in constructing psychometric tests that are valid in multilingual assessment settings. The feasibility of this approach is illustrated in the context of the construction and empirical evaluation of a German and English word fluency test. The results of the various studies reported in this article indicate that automatic item generation enables the generation of a sufficient amount of word fluency items exhibiting a high psychometric quality in both languages. Furthermore, the item pool constructed for both languages can be linked to each other using a common set of anchor items that are identical to each other with regard to their conceptual, linguistic, and psychometric characteristics, thereby facilitating cross-lingual comparisons of word fluency performance.
Uncertainty, Isomorphism, and the Birth of a New Industry
Authors: Walters Julie
Published: August 2011

The regulation of assisted living in the United States calls out for the attention of policy researchers, particularly in light of projected demographic changes reflecting dramatic increases in the nation’s senior population, the industry’s continued strong presence, and persistent concerns over related quality and consumer protection issues. Despite these factors, few comprehensive studies have been done on the development of regulatory policy for this relatively young industry that is a vibrant part of the health care services area in the United States. To address this issue, this article provides a systematic accounting and investigation of the regulatory environment and related policy development surrounding assisted living across the United States during a decade of formidable growth in the industry. Drawing on theories of institutional dynamics and policy formation, the findings reveal that, in terms of adopting regulatory schemes addressing key issues of quality and consumer protection, states do not always follow patterns that would be predicted under current models. Unanticipated patterns illustrating resistance to or movement away from isomorphism appear linked with a number of organizational pressure mechanisms that have evolved to limit the actual extent of this homogeneity. The findings lead to assertions that some mechanisms typically posited as contributing to isomorphism may actually work against this process under certain conditions, a result not currently evident in the literature.
Science Policy and STS from Other Epistemic Places
Authors: Garforth Lisa , Stöckelová Tereza
Published: August 2011

Recently there have been pleas for STS to make a difference in how science policies are constructed and enacted. Much less remarked upon is the possibility that there may be troubling alignments between science studies and research policies in the form of shared conceptual, epistemological and methodological assumptions. Both have come to emphasise material outputs and visible activity, obscuring other processes, relationships and orderings involved in science work. This collection of papers focuses on these connections between STS and contemporary research policies. They explore empirical material from ‘other epistemic places' (disciplinary, geo-political and spatial) to foreground and critique what is privileged and rewarded by science policies. But they also seek to make a theoretical contribution to STS itself, showing how its early focus on the hard centres of global technoscience have been constitutive of its characteristic concerns, epistemologies -and blind spots. As science studies moves out of the lab andbeyond the heartlands of the political West and global North, we argue that acknowledging some problematic affinities between science studies and science policy is both a critical necessity and an opportunity for new insights.
Effect of Workforce Age on Quantitative and Qualitative Organizational Performance: Conceptual Framework and Case Study Evidence
Authors: Backes-Gellner Uschi , Schneider Martin R. , Veen Stephan
Published: August 2011

Field studies linking workforce age to performance treat performance as one-dimensional and often focus on individual not organizational performance. To analyze the effects of workforce age on organizational performance, we suggest treating performance as multi-dimensional with at least two output dimensions: quantity and quality. We provide a novel conceptual framework that borrows insights from multiple disciplines to better understand ageing phenomena in organizations. In particular, we build on psychological and medical studies showing that individual age has different effects on different cognitive capabilities. As a result, we argue that workforce ageing may affect various performance dimensions, such as quantity and quality, in different, often opposite ways. In our empirical part we examine a unique dataset containing detailed court data over a time span of 19 years. We find that average workforce age is linked negatively to quantitative organizational performance but positively to qualitative organizational performance. Our findings suggest that future organizational studies should decompose performance at least along the quantity–quality dimension. Our theoretical framework helps to understand the different types of ageing effects and to derive itemized implications for changes in organizational performance. It also helps to reconcile contradictory findings of previous studies and to derive important managerial implications for task assignments, career policies and company strategies in view of upcoming demographic changes in many developed countries.
Coronary Artery Bypass in Asian Patients
Authors: Cooley Denton A.
Published: August 2011

Coronary artery disease in Asians deserves far more attention than it has received in the literature to date. Most of the available reports focus on immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. These immigrants have a significantly higher risk of coronary artery disease than either their compatriots who do not emigrate or the indigenous population of their adopted countries. This finding cannot be explained on the basis of standard coronary risk factors. There is a general clinical impression that Asians of all nationalities have smaller coronary arteries and more diffuse coronary disease than other ethnic groups; therefore, they are less suitable candidates for conventional bypass grafting. This impression remains a source of controversy. Our experience at the Texas Heart Institute indicates that, after coronary bypass surgery, early and long-term results in Asians are as satisfactory as in other ethnic groups. However, much more research is needed to explain the many paradoxical aspects of coronary disease in Asian patients.
Effect of Incorporation of Polypropylene on the Physico-Mechanical and Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Gelatin Fiber Based Linear Low Density Polyethylene Bio-foamed Composite
Authors: Sarker B. , Dey K. , Khan R. A.
Published: August 2011

Gelatin fiber (10 wt%) based linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) bio-foamed composite was fabricated using compression molding and physico-mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties were studied. Gelatin fiber was prepared from 20% gelatin-based aqueous solution by extrusion method. Polypropylene (PP) was blended (20—80 wt%) with LLDPE matrix in the 10% gelatin fiber based bio-foamed composites and their physico-mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties were investigated and compared with the control composite. It was found that with the increase of PP content in the LLDPE-based composites, the properties were found to improve significantly. Degradation test of the composites upto 24 weeks was performed in soil medium. Water uptake and thermo-mechanical properties of the composites were also studied. Void spaces and channels in the bio-foamed composites were observed from optical microscopic image.
Population Trends and Late-Life Disability in Hispanics From the Midwest
Authors: Mendes de Leon Carlos F. , Eschbach Karl , Markides Kyriakos S.
Published: August 2011

Objectives: To describe the growth of the Hispanic population in the Midwest states of the United States, to present disability levels in older Mexican and non-Mexican-origin Midwest Hispanics by place of birth and poverty status, and compare disability levels among older Midwest Hispanics with those among Southwest Hispanics as well as non-Hispanics Whites and African Americans in each region. Method: Population data come from decennial U.S. Census Bureau surveys. Disability data for adults ≥ 50 years old come from the 2008 American Community Survey. Results: The Hispanic population in the Midwest has tripled since 1980 and now constitutes 6.6% of the entire Midwest population. Older Midwest Hispanics are somewhat younger, have a higher male–female ratio, and are more likely to be born outside the continental United States than Southwest Hispanics. In the Midwest, foreign-born Mexican American men report the lowest disability levels. Foreign-born Hispanic women of non-Mexican origin report the highest disability levels. Overall, older Hispanics have intermediate disability levels relative to non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans. Midwest Hispanics report less disability than Southwest Hispanics. Discussion: There is substantial heterogeneity in late-life disability among Midwest Hispanics, which may be related to place of birth and of origin. Future research is needed to examine age at immigration and health selection as potential reasons for low disability levels among foreign-born Mexican American men.
Conceptual research on modelling and control integrative design methods for hypersonic waverider
Authors: Liu Y-b , Lu Y-p
Published: August 2011

Due to the presence of shock wave in the hypersonic fight condition, it is essential to consider enough shock wave effect on modelling and control design process, especially in the initial or conceptual research stage. The focus of this article is on modelling and control integrative design research methods for hypersonic waverider, and inversion design method is applied to build the basic shape, and that some hypersonic aerodynamics theories such as oblique-shock theory are used to calculate the aerodynamic force, so that the differential equations of the hypersonic vehicle longitudinal model are established. Furthermore, the control systems are designed to ensure fixed dynamics pressure flight for hypersonic waverider. Simulation results demonstrate that the design methods are feasible to hypersonic waverider on the conceptual research stage.
Active flow control by means of synthetic jets on a highly loaded compressor cascade
Authors: Zander V , Hecklau M , Nitsche W , Huppertz A , Swoboda M
Published: August 2011

This article presents the potential of active flow control to increase the aerodynamic performance of highly loaded turbomachinery compressor blades. Experimental investigations on a large-scale compressor cascade equipped with 30 synthetic jet actuators mounted to the sidewalls and the blades themselves have been carried out. Results for a variation of the inflow angle, the jet amplitude, and the actuation frequency are presented. The wake measurements show total pressure loss reductions of nearly 10 per cent for the synthetic jet actuation. An efficiency calculation reveals that the energy saved by actuation is nearly twice the energy consumption of the synthetic jets.
Aerodynamic investigation of a rotating rib-roughened channel by time-resolved particle image velocimetry
Authors: Coletti F , Arts T
Published: August 2011

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to study the turbulent flow over the rib-roughened wall of a cooling channel model in rotation. The aspect ratio is 0.9, the blockage ratio is 0.1 and the rib pitch-to-height ratio is 10. The flow direction is outward, with a Reynolds number of 1.5 × 104 and a rotation number of 0.3 in both rotational directions. The PIV system rotates with the channel, allowing to directly measure the relative flow velocity with high spatial and temporal resolution. Coriolis forces affect the stability of the shear layers: cyclonic (anticyclonic) rotation inhibits (enhances) the turbulent motion, influencing velocity, vorticity, and turbulence intensity of the flow. The time-resolved measurements show the effect of rotation on the shear layer instability and on the consequent formation of spanwise vortices, as well as on the time trace of the reattachment point. Turbulent energy spectra suggest that all temporal scales are affected by rotation.
Consensus of fractional-order systems with non-uniform input and communication delays
Authors: Shen J , Cao J , Lu J
Published: August 2011

This paper studies the consensus problems of fractional-order systems with non-uniform input and communication delays over directed static networks. Based on a frequency-domain approach and generalized Nyquist stability criterion, sufficient conditions are obtained to ensure the consensus of the fractional-order systems with simultaneously non-uniform input and communication delays. When the fractional-order [Formula: see text], it is found that the consensus condition is dependent on input delays but independent on communication delays. Surprisingly, when there is no input delay, consensus can be realized whatever the communication delays are. However, a counter-example shows that communication delays will have a great influence on the consensus condition when the fractional-order [Formula: see text]. Moreover, the bounds of input and communication delays are explicitly given to guarantee the consensus of the delayed fractional-order systems with fractional-order [Formula: see text] under an undirected interaction graph.
Analysis of loading effect of systems in a bond graph approach with application to a synchronous machine
Authors: Gonzalez G
Published: August 2011

A new type of bond designed as an adapted bond is proposed. This bond can be considered in the transition from an active bond to a bond. This approach makes it possible to know the loading effect of the controller–plant and the feedback connections. In order to determine the loading effect of the closed-loop system, the transfer function using causal paths and causal loops of the system in the physical domain is presented. However, this proposed adapted bond should be used in fault cases. Finally, some examples of bond graph models in open- and closed-loop systems are given.
The Multilevel Effects of Network Embeddedness on Interpersonal Citizenship Behavior
Authors: Chung Myung-Ho , Park Jeehye , Moon Hyoung Koo , Oh Hongseok
Published: August 2011

Interpersonal citizenship behavior (ICB) in organizations is an inherently relational and multilevel phenomenon. Using a multilevel framework, this study investigates the different levels of social network antecedents of ICBs. Specifically, the authors examine the effects of individual-level network characteristics (centrality and transitivity) and group-level network properties (density and centralization) on individuals’ ICBs. From a sample of 846 individuals in 149 work groups, the authors find that individual centrality and the network density of a group increased group members’ ICBs and note the positive joint effect of both predictors. Furthermore, consistent with their prediction, the tendency for individuals embedded in a local triad to display less ICB is greater in the decentralized group. This result shows a possible trade-off between structural positions in local and global networks in facilitating individuals’ ICBs.
Passing Through
Authors: Burke Nancy J. , Villero Ofelia , Guerra Claudia
Published: August 2011

Breast cancer among Filipinas in the United States is a major but largely neglected cancer disparity. In 2004, a community– university partnership resulted in the first Filipina breast cancer support group in the San Francisco Bay Area. Building on this partnership, we explored the social and cultural contexts of Filipinas’ experiences with breast cancer to inform development of culturally appropriate and sustainable support services and outreach. We utilized multiple qualitative methods (participant observation, individual and small group in-depth qualitative interviews) to identify meanings of survivorship and support. Interviews and observations revealed the influences of social context and immigration experiences on women’s understandings of cancer, what “surviving” cancer means, and what it means to take care of someone with breast cancer (or be taken care of). Our findings highlight the importance of a transnational perspective for the study of immigrant women’s experiences of cancer and survivorship.
Unsolicited Written Narratives as a Methodological Genre in Terminal Illness
Authors: O’Brien Mary R. , Clark David
Published: August 2011

Stories about illness have proven invaluable in helping health professionals understand illness experiences. Such narratives have traditionally been solicited by researchers through interviews and the collection of personal writings, including diaries. These approaches are, however, researcher driven; the impetus for the creation of the story comes from the researcher and not the narrator. In recent years there has been exponential growth in illness narratives created by individuals, of their own volition, and made available for others to read in print or as Internet accounts. We sought to determine whether it was possible to identify such material for use as research data to explore the subject of living with the terminal illness amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease—the contention being that these accounts are narrator driven and therefore focus on issues of greatest importance to the affected person. We encountered and sought to overcome a number of methodological and ethical challenges, which is our focus here.
β-Catenin Expression in Benign and Malignant Salivary Gland Tumors
Authors: Chandrashekar Chetana , Angadi Punnya V. , Krishnapillai Rekha
Published: August 2011

Objective. To assess the expression of β-catenin in benign and malignant salivary gland tumors and to investigate the possible role of β-catenin in the behavior of salivary gland tumors. Study design. Paraffin embedded tissues from 45 salivary gland tumors were studied immunohistochemically for expression of β-catenin. Result. Reduced/aberrant β-catenin expression was seen in benign and malignant salivary gland tumors. Cytoplasmic localization and reduced membranous expression were comparatively observed more in malignant salivary gland tumors. Additionally, in pleomorphic adenomas (PAs), β-catenin exhibited intense staining in cells arranged in the form of ducts/tubules, whereas cells in clusters and sheets showed weaker immunoreactivity. Conclusion. Reduced and cytoplasmic localization of β-catenin could indicate lack of differentiation, invasive potential, and aggressive behavior in malignant salivary gland tumors. Furthermore, change in expression based on the arrangement of tumor cells may suggest that β-catenin may have a role in morphological variations seen in PAs.
Linking Socioeconomic Status to Social Cognitive Career Theory Factors
Authors: Huang Jie-Tsuen , Hsieh Hui-Hsien
Published: August 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the contributions of socioeconomic status (SES) in predicting social cognitive career theory (SCCT) factors. Data were collected from 738 college students in Taiwan. The results of the partial least squares (PLS) analyses indicated that SES significantly predicted career decision self-efficacy (CDSE); however, the relationship between SES and career decision-making outcome expectations (CDMOE) was not significant. In addition, the findings revealed that CDSE had a direct effect as well as an indirect effect, via CDMOE, on career exploratory intentions. Implications for counseling and future research are discussed.