bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hair Bundle Defects and Loss of Function in the Vestibular End Organs of Mice Lacking the Receptor-Like Inositol Lipid Phosphatase PTPRQ
Authors: Goodyear Richard J. , Jones Sherri M. , Sharifi Louise , Forge Andy , Richardson Guy P.
Published: February 2012

Recent studies have shown that mutations inPTPRQ, a gene encoding a receptor-like inositol lipid phosphatase, cause recessive, nonsyndromic, hereditary hearing loss with associated vestibular dysfunction. Although null mutations inPtprqcause the loss of high-frequency auditory hair cells and deafness in mice, a loss of vestibular hair cells and overt behavioral defects characteristic of vestibular dysfunction have not been described. Hair bundle structure and vestibular function were therefore examined inPtprqmutant mice. Between postnatal days 5 and 16, hair bundles in the extrastriolar regions of the utricle inPtprq−/−mice become significantly longer than those in heterozygous controls. This increase in length (up to 50%) is accompanied by the loss and fusion of stereocilia. Loss and fusion of stereocilia also occurs in the striolar region of the utricle inPtprq−/−mice, but is not accompanied by hair bundle elongation. These abnormalities persist until 12 months of age but are not accompanied by significant hair cell loss. Hair bundle defects are also observed in the saccule and ampullae ofPtprq−/−mice. At ∼3 months of age, vestibular evoked potentials were absent from the majority (12 of 15) ofPtprq−/−mice examined, and could only be detected at high stimulus levels in the other 3 mutants. Subtle but distinct defects in swimming behavior were detected in most (seven of eight) mutants tested. The results reveal a distinct phenotype in the vestibular system ofPtprq−/−mice and suggest similar hair bundle defects may underlie the vestibular dysfunction reported in humans with mutations inPTPRQ.
Neuronal Projections from V1 to V2 in Amblyopia
Authors: Sincich Lawrence C. , Jocson Cristina M. , Horton Jonathan C.
Published: February 2012

The mechanism of amblyopia in children with congenital cataract is not understood fully, but studies in macaques have shown that geniculate synapses are lost in striate cortex (V1). To search for other projection abnormalities in amblyopia, the pathway from V1 to V2 was examined using a triple-label technique in three animals raised with monocular suture. [3H]proline was injected into one eye to label the ocular dominance columns. Cholera toxin B subunit conjugated to gold (CTB-Au) was injected into V2 to label V1 projection neurons. Alternate sections were processed for cytochrome oxidase (CO) and CTB-Au, or dipped for autoradiography. Eight fields of CTB-Au-labeled cells in V1 opposite injection sites were plotted in layers 2/3 or 4B. After thin stripe injection, labeled cells were concentrated in CO patches. Despite column shrinkage, cells in deprived and normal columns were equal in size and density in both layers 2/3 and 4B. After pale or thick stripe injection, labeled cells were concentrated in interpatches. Only 23% of projection neurons originated from deprived columns. This reduction exceeded the degree of column shrinkage, a result explained by the fact that column shrinkage causes disproportionate loss of interpatch territory. These data indicate that early monocular form deprivation does not alter the segregation of patch and interpatch pathways to V2 stripes or cause selective loss or atrophy of V1 projection neurons. The effect of shrinkage of geniculocortical afferents in layer 4C following visual deprivation is not amplified further by attenuation of the amblyopic eye's projections from V1 to V2.
Separate Prefrontal-Subcortical Circuits Mediate Different Components of Risk-Based Decision Making
Authors: St. Onge Jennifer R. , Stopper Colin M. , Zahm Daniel S. , Floresco Stan B.
Published: February 2012

Choosing between smaller, assured rewards or larger, uncertain ones requires reconciliation of competing biases toward more certain or riskier options. We used disconnection and neuroanatomical techniques to reveal that separate, yet interconnected, neural pathways linking the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), the basolateral amygdala (BLA), and nucleus accumbens (NAc) contribute to these different decision biases in rats. Disrupting communication between the BLA and NAc revealed that this subcortical circuit biases choice toward larger, uncertain rewards on a probabilistic discounting task. In contrast, disconnections between the BLA and PFC increased choice of the Large/Risky option. PFC–NAc disconnections did not affect choice but did increase choice latencies and trial omissions. Neuroanatomical studies confirmed that projection pathways carrying axons from BLA-to-PFC transverse a distinctly different route relative to PFC-to-BLA pathways (via the ventrolateral amydalofugal pathway and ventromedial internal capsule, respectively). We exploited these dissociable axonal pathways to selectively disrupt bottom-up and top-down communication between the BLA and PFC. Subsequent disconnection studies revealed that disruption of top-down (but not bottom-up) information transfer between the medial PFC and BLA increased choice of the larger, riskier option, suggesting that this circuit facilitates tracking of actions and outcomes to temper urges for riskier rewards as they become less profitable. These findings provide novel insight into the dynamic competition between these cortical/subcortical circuits that shape our decision biases and underlie conflicting urges when evaluating options that vary in terms of potential risks and rewards.
Novel Polar-fluoropolymer Blends with Tailored Nanostructures for High Energy Density and Low Loss Capacitor Applications
Authors: Wu Shan , Lin Minren , Lu David S-G. , Zhu Lei , Zhang Q. M.
Published: February 2012

Dielectric polymers with high energy density with low loss at high electric fields are highly desired for many energy storage and regulation applications. A polar-fluoropolymer blend consisting of a high energy density polar-fluoropolymer of poly(vinylidene fluoride-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-CTFE)) with a low dielectric loss polymer of poly(ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (ECTFE) was developed and investigated. We show that the two polymers are partially miscible which leads to blends with high energy density and low loss. Moreover, by introducing crosslinking to further tailor the nano-structures of the blends a markedly reduction of losses in the blend films at high field can be achieved. The crosslinked blend films show a dielectric constant of 7 with a dielectric loss of 1% at low field. Furthermore, the blends maintain a high energy density and low loss (∼3%) at high electric fields (> 250 MV/m).
1/f Noise in Length Sorted Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes at Their Critical Percolation Conditions
Authors: Simien Daneesh O. , Simien Clayton E. , Felice Kristen
Published: February 2012

The electrical noise characteristics of thin film random networks of single walled carbon nanotubes with lengths of 820nm, 210nm and 130nm, were evaluated in addition to mixed length and pure semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube networks. This study represents one of the first experimental studies in which highly characterized length sorted single walled nanotubes networks have been investigated to isolate their contributions to 1/f noise. In this work we evaluate the noise power spectrum, in the low frequency range, for each of our type sorted samples and demonstrate the effect of nanotube type, length, dimensionality and critical percolation conditions in 1/f noise generating mechanisms. 1/f noise in two-dimensional (2-D) thin films of random network, homogeneous length sorted SWNTs at their percolation threshold in contrast to three dimensional (3-D) thin films of mixed length SWNT and purely semi-conducting SWNT thin films were investigated. We find that at their respective critical percolation thresholds, xc, length sorted SWNT networks exhibit atypical reduced noise amplitude (A) characteristics compared to their mixed length and semi-conducting nanotube counterparts.
Sensing of Oligopeptides Using Alternatively-Deposited Gold Nanorods for Surface-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Fujii Masanori , Nakashima Naotoshi , Niidome Yasuro
Published: February 2012

Gold nanorods (NRs) were fixed on an ITO plate and used for the Surface-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (SALDI-MS) of oligopeptides (angiotensin I). The SALDI-MS measurements had a high sensitivity to the angiotensin on the ITO plate on which isolated NRs were deposited. Angiotensin molecules in a very diluted solution (1 × 10-11 M) could be detected at m/z = 1297 with a good signal/noise ratio (S/N = 18). In contrast, alternatively deposited NR an ITO plate, which present broad surface plasmon bands, was found to be inactive for SALDI measurements.
Quality Assurance Programmes for Offshore Production Platforms
Authors: Wood Kenneth
Published: February 2012

Shell U.K. Exploration and Production (Expro) is committed to the application of formal Quality Assurance (QA) in the design, construction and operation of its offshore production platforms. The objects of QA are to assist in achieving: levels of safety and environmental impact which are acceptable to the company and comply with applicable regulations; and maximum operating profitability through high availability. Adequate quality is achieved by competent engineering and control within the producing organisation; quality is assured by QA monitoring and review of all quality-related activities and the initiation of corrective action as necessary.

Development of a project QA programme is described, based on two reference documents: the Expro Project Execution Guide and the Expro QA Manual. A brief description of the QA procedures in the Manual is given in Appendix 1; and a sample check list for implementation of a procedure, in Appendix 2.
A Forme-Fruste Variant of Congenital Midline Cervical Cleft with Hamartomatous Adnexal Elements Managed without Z-Plasty
Authors: Grynspan David , Ying Yvonne , Nizalik Elizabeth , Cowan Kyle , de Nanassy Joseph , Chou Shirley
Published: February 2012

Congenital midline cervical cleft is a relatively uncommon malformation of the anterior neck for which most of the current literature comprises case reports. There is a spectrum in clinical features, but the prototypical description is of a midline groove or cleft of atrophic skin with a skin tab at the cephalic end and an inferiorly oriented sinus tract at the caudal end. An underlying dense fibrous cord is usually described. The most widely postulated etiology is impaired midline fusion of the upper branchial arches. Some of the recent case reports advocate for removal of the defect and closure with Z-plasty. Here we report a case of a similar congenital lesion in a male patient. In our case, there was a conspicuous skin tab caudal to which there was a dense fibrous cord running vertically in the midline under the skin documented since the child was first examined at 5 months of age. The skin overlying the fibrous cord was mildly atrophic and only very subtly indented but was not desquamating or edematous. There was no open sinus tract at the caudal end, but within the skin tab, on histology, we did note an inclusion cyst lined by respiratory type mucosa with squamous metaplasia. The cord was composed of fibrous tissue and skeletal muscle, as has been described. In our case, we describe hamartomatous proliferations within the dermis of the skin tab, not previously described, which we feel provides further support to the embryologic closure defect hypothesis. Our case is distinct because the absence of an external cleft allowed for a more conservative surgical approach.
Deep Vein Thrombosis in a Young Marathon Athlete
Authors: Theiss Justin L. , Fink Michael L. , Gerber John P.
Published: February 2012

Study Design

Resident's case problem.

Background

A 21-year-old athletic male college student presented to a direct-access physical therapy clinic with complaints of left calf pain 4 days in duration. After initial examination, a working diagnosis of calf strain was formulated. Three days following initial examination, the patient reported 80% improvement in symptoms and was performing activities of daily living pain free. Four weeks later, the patient returned with complaints of reoccurring calf pain. The patient's signs, symptoms, and history at subsequent follow-up no longer presented a consistent clinical picture of calf strain; therefore, a D-dimer assay was ordered to rule out a deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Diagnosis

The D-dimer was elevated so the patient was admitted to the hospital and started on low-molecular-weight heparin. A compression ultrasound revealed an extensive left superficial femoral and popliteal DVT in this otherwise healthy athlete.

Discussion

Lower extremity DVT is a serious and potentially fatal disorder. Physical therapists need to be diagnostically vigilant for vascular pathology in all patients with extremity pain and swelling. Employing the best current evidenced-based screening tools to rule out vascular pathology, such as deep and superficial vein pathology, should be the goal of every clinician. The Wells score is one such screening tool that has proven to be beneficial in this area. This case report presents a dilemma in diagnosis and illustrates the importance of revisiting differential diagnoses with each patient encounter. Clinicians must consider the possibility of a DVT with every patient seen with posterior leg pain.

Level of Evidence

Diagnosis, level 4. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2011;41(12):942–947. doi:10.2519/jospt.2011.3823
The volatiles of pathogenic and nonpathogenic mycobacteria and related bacteria
Authors: Nawrath Thorben , Mgode Georgies F , Weetjens Bart , Kaufmann Stefan H E , Schulz Stefan
Published: February 2012

Volatiles released by pathogenic and nonpathogenic mycobacteria, as well as by mycobacteria-related Nocardia spp., were analyzed. Bacteria were cultivated on solid and in liquid media, and headspace samples were collected at various times during the bacterial lifecycle to elucidate the conditions giving optimal volatile emission. Emitted volatiles were collected by using closed-loop stripping analysis (CLSA) and were analyzed by gas-chromatography–mass-spectrometry. A wide range of compounds was produced, although the absolute amount was small. Nevertheless, characteristic bouquets of compounds could be identified. Predominantly aromatic compounds and fatty-acid derivatives were released by pathogenic/nonpathogenic mycobacteria, while the two Nocardia spp. (N. asteroides and N. africana) emitted the sesquiterpene aciphyllene. Pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains grown on agar plates produced a distinct bouquet with different volatiles, while liquid cultures produce less compounds but sometimes an earlier onset of volatile production because of their steeper growth curves under this conditions. This behavior differentiates M. tuberculosis from other mycobacteria, which generally produced fewer compounds in seemingly lower amounts. Knowledge of the production of volatiles by M. tuberculosis can facilitate the rational design of alternative and faster diagnostic measures for tuberculosis.
SEGMENTING THE EYE FUNDUS IMAGES FOR IDENTIFICATION OF BLOOD VESSELS
Authors: Balkys Gediminas , Dzemyda Gintautas
Published: February 2012

Retinal (eye fundus) images are widely used for diagnostic purposes by ophthalmologists. The normal features of eye fundus images include the optic nerve disc, fovea and blood vessels. Algorithms for identifying blood vessels in the eye fundus image generally fall into two classes: extraction of vessel information and segmentation of vessel pixels. Algorithms of the first group start on known vessel point and trace the vasculature structure in the image. Algorithms of the second group perform a binary classification (vessel or non-vessel, i.e. background) in accordance of some threshold. We focus here on the binarization [4] methods that adapt the threshold value on each pixel to the global/local image characteristics. Global binarization methods [5] try to find a single threshold value for the whole image. Local binarization methods [3] compute thresholds individually for each pixel using information from the local neighborhood of the pixel. In this paper, we modify and improve the Sauvola local binarization method [3] by extending its abilities to be applied for eye fundus pictures analysis. This method has been adopted for automatic detection of blood vessels in retinal images. We suggest automatic parameter selection for Sauvola method. Our modification allows determine/extract the blood vessels almost independently of the brightness of the picture.
Meeting the Needs of Exceptional Students
Authors: Frey Timothy J. , Knackendoffel E. Ann
Published: February 2012

Today’s K-12 classrooms are learning environments that present teachers with the challenge of meeting the diverse needs of learners. Utilizing technology and the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can help teachers to meet the exceptional needs of learners in a variety of areas. This chapter presents ideas and strategies to utilize technology to facilitate the implementation of UDL principles (using multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression in the design of instruction) in teacher education and K-12 classrooms. Each principle of UDL is described, and examples of technology that can support implementation of the principle are shared. The chapter concludes with considerations for teacher education programs including providing modeling of UDL instruction and designing instruction with UDL in mind.
The Importance of Using Subject-Specific Technology Uses to Teach TPACK
Authors: Ottenbreit-Leftwich Anne T.
Published: February 2012

The objective of this chapter is to describe a case study of an educational technology course that uses subject-specific contexts to address preservice teachers’ development of TPACK. Many have indicated that in order for technology knowledge to be transferred to the classroom, teachers need to find the knowledge being taught relevant to their future classrooms. This course uses various workouts and cases to develop preservice teachers’ technology abilities within the context of their future classrooms. Through these activities, preservice teachers showed improvement in technology knowledge (TK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), and technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK). Recommendations are made to other teacher educators on how to apply such principles within their own educational technology courses.
Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives on Learning to Teach Social Studies in a Technology-Rich Pedagogy Course
Authors: Gibson Susan
Published: February 2012

Preparing new teachers for teaching with technology is a multi-faceted process. The study reported in this chapter examined the impact that immersion in two technology-enriched, pre-service social studies pedagogy courses had on the way beginning teachers approached technology use in their teaching of social studies. The study took place over two years and tracked education students through their social studies pedagogy course experiences and their practice teaching as part of their teacher preparation program then into their first year of teaching. The findings identified that the pre-service pedagogy courses did assist in increasing the education students’ understanding of a variety of ways to approach the use of various technology tools as well as their willingness to use them in their teaching. However, the results also point to the importance of pre-service teachers’ developing a positive attitude and a willingness to take risks with technology; of all instructors being prepared to infuse technology use in their classes in ways that fit with what is current in the schools; and of schools and mentor teachers encouraging, supporting, and modeling best practice with technology.
Implementing the Remote Observation of Graduate Interns
Authors: Petty Teresa , Hartshorne Richard , Heafner Tina L.
Published: February 2012

In this chapter, unexpected challenges, “lessons learned,” as well as the best practices that have resulted during the implementation of a program involving the remote observation of graduate interns are addressed. More specifically, best practices and lessons learned related to a series of logistical, pedagogical, and technological issues encountered during both the pilot and full implementation of the ROGI process are presented. Logistical best-practices and lessons-learned address gaining school- and district-level approval to conduct remote observations; communication, verification, and documentation of the remote observations; gaining university supervisor and student intern buy-in; and e-documentation involved in the ROGI process. Pedagogical best-practices and lessons-learned attend to conducting face-to-face seminars and post-conferences remotely and camera movement during the observation. Finally, technological best-practices and lessons-learned focus on hardware and software selection and support for university supervisors and graduate interns.
Anchoring a Social Studies Teaching and Learning Experience with Digital Video
Authors: Cunningham Ann C. , Friedman Adam
Published: February 2012

This chapter presents a technology integration model designed to help teacher candidates recognize the value of collaboration, inquiry-based instruction, and the use of technology to capture and sustain student engagement. Faculty from three courses collaborated to scaffold an instructional experience that included a field-based collaborative teaching component for early stage elementary teacher candidates. Using a Collaborative Recursive Model (CRM), which involved faculty teaching social studies methodology, instructional design, and a field experience course, candidates worked in teams to design a lesson that incorporated a digital video anchor created specifically to engage elementary students in the lesson. In addition to the technology-enhanced teaching experience, candidates learned how to create their own digital video resources. This experience was designed to help candidates recognize the value of collaboration, student engagement, and technology as a tool to support multi-modal learning. Results from teacher candidate reflections indicated that the CRM was an effective method for promoting candidates’ appreciation of collaboration as well as supporting the development of content and pedagogical knowledge.
ICT and Women Empowerment in a Rural Setting in India
Authors: Prakash Nirupama
Published: February 2012

The term “gender” is used to refer to behavioral differences between males and females that are culturally based and socially learned. Cultures differ widely in their norms and values regarding gender roles, the normative expectations concerning appropriately “masculine” or “feminine” behavior in a particular culture. The terms “male” and “female” are used for sex differences that are biological in origin, while the terms “masculine” and “feminine” refer to the corresponding culturally specific gender differences that are social in origin (Appelbaum & Chambliss, 1995).
Challenges Faced by Women
Authors: Jyothi P.
Published: February 2012

Workplace stress and pressures confronted by an employee due to conflicting role demands and their desire to lead a fulfilling life have brought certain issues to the forefront. Retaining talent and making the workplace enjoyable have been the endeavors of behavioral scientists. BPO jobs demand specific behaviors from their employees, which might result in individual stress. In the context of skill shortages, work-family issues came to be viewed primarily as a recruitment and retention matter. The challenges faced by women while working in a BPO sector are varied, and organizations need to take several initiatives to handle the attrition levels.
Filipino Cyborg Sexualities, Chatroom Masculinities, Self-Ascribed Identities, Ephemeral Selves
Authors: Concha Alvin S.
Published: February 2012

This cyberethnographic study aims to describe the creation of male sexualities among self-ascribed Filipino men in online chatrooms, describe the virtual environments wherein cyber male sexualities are constructed, and discuss the extent to which virtual male sexualities reflect contemporary physical world male sexualities and implicate masculinities. Chatroom selves are self-ascribed and ephemeral selves that abound in an indulgent ambiance. Chatrooms sanction a whole range of behaviors that afford meaningfully lived freedom to persons. The author argues that under similar conditions, the practice of masculinities can become non-oppressive, egalitarian, and liberating for the self and for others.
A Multi-Pass Algorithm for Adjusting a Network Topology in Multipoint Communications
Authors: Peltsverger Boris , Peltsverger Svetlana , Bartolacci Michael
Published: February 2012

Multimedia traffic on the Internet has grown dramatically in the past few years. Web sites, such as YouTube and Hulu, offer entertainment and educational multimedia content that previously was only available through broadcast or cable television and on storage media, such as CD-ROMs and videotapes. Latency is a key issue in the delivery of online content, especially with respect to multicasting. The authors’ proposed approach seeks to reduce overall latency for multicast streams.
STEMing the Tide
Authors: Childers Pamela B. , Lowry Michael J.
Published: February 2012

The goals of STEM education are similar to the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) movement, and they complement each other in best educating students for their futures in the workforce or academia. In this chapter, the authors describe ways in which science teachers may use writing to reach the goals of STEM education.
Science Project, Kim-Jang
Authors: Shon Mee-Ryoung , Jeon Sun Ok , Hammons Karen O.
Published: February 2012

Korean society has shifted from agriculture to industry in the past 40 years. This rapid change in the economy has affected the life style of Koreans. The majority of children living in Korean industrialized cities have limited access to the outdoor activity in natural settings, which negatively impacts the physical, emotional, and social development of Korean children. Scholars in childhood education identify significant changes in housing, foods and eating habits, and family structure, which dilute Korean culture and traditions and hinder the healthy development of children. Teachers in South Korea today design learning environments and implement instructional lesson plans to combat the effects of urbanization, industrialization, and globalization. One of the notable lesson units is Kim-jang, integral to the Korean culture, which engages children, families and the community in activities through gardening and a variety of other activities. The Kim-jang unit is designed to accommodate intrinsic learning modalities of young children for hands-on, active learning experiences; to integrate standards-based content areas to strengthen skills and build knowledge; to deepen interpersonal and intrapersonal insight; and to, first and foremost, enhance traditional cultural values and practices as they are lost through rapid industrialization.
Using Digital Stories in a College Level Course on Rocks and Minerals
Authors: Bhattacharyya Prajukti
Published: February 2012

Digital storytelling juxtaposes the time-honored teaching and learning achievements of storytelling with the modern student’s affinity for technology. Although not commonly used in college science classes, the author incorporated digital storytelling in an upper level undergraduate geology course for majors at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. The overarching purpose of this exercise was to integrate the affective domain of learning within the course context. Informal comments from students indicated that this goal was indeed achieved by this exercise. Students identified technological difficulties and the time commitment necessary to create digital stories as the major hurdles they faced during the exercise. In this chapter, the author describes the course design, learning objectives, educational benefits, and strategies to overcome potential challenges of incorporating digital storytelling in college level science courses.
Worldwide Standardizations of Femtocell
Authors: Brown Phillip
Published: February 2012

This chapter addresses global 3G/4G femtocell standardization activities in 3GPP, 3GPP2 and the WiMAX Forum®1, as well as related activity in the Broadband Forum (BBF) and Femto Forum. Common challenges introduced by femtocell technology are identified, as well as the reasons for pursuing standardized solutions and why the various standards bodies diverged in their approaches. A brief overview of each group is given (e.g., the Technical Specification Groups and/or Working Groups in which femtocell-related discussions take place). This is followed by a detailed review of the femtocell architecture devised for each radio access technology, including the network elements, interfaces, and protocols that were created or revised to support femtocells, and a summary of the femtocell-related documents published by each group. Finally, brief descriptions of the supporting role played by both the BBF and Femto Forum are given.
An Inter-Domain Agent Based Secure Authorization and Communication for Mobile Clients in Wireless AdHoc Networks
Authors: Kumar Neeraj , Patel R. B.
Published: February 2012

Wireless mobile adhoc network (MANET) is a dynamic network. Nodes in a MANET have high degree of mobility from one domain to another in a particular time interval. In such a dynamic network, security is a major concern. In this paper, the authors propose an inter domain agent based secure authorization and communication for mobile clients/nodes (MCs) in MANET. Mobile agents (MAs) are software programs that support the mobility of clients in different domain and provide necessary resources to the clients for safe execution. It also shares the key with MCs in different domains. An algorithm for secure authorization and communication between MCs having mobility in different domains is proposed. The scheme is evaluated on ns-2 w.r.t. metrics such as overall cost in terms of overhead generated, admission and traceability cost, and itinerary chosen by MAs w.r.t. mobility of MCs.
A Proposed Intelligent Denoising Technique for Spatial Video Denoising for Real-Time Applications
Authors: Sarhan Amany M. , Faheem Mohamed T. , Mahmoud Rasha Orban
Published: February 2012

With the widespread use of videos in many fields of our lives, it becomes very important to develop new techniques for video denoising. Spatial video denoising using wavelet transform has been the focus of the current research, as it requires less computation and more suitable for real-time applications. Two specific techniques for spatial video denoising using wavelet transform are considered in this work: 2D Discrete Wavelet Transform (2D DWT) and 2D Dual Tree Complex Wavelet Transform (2D DTCWT). We performed an analytical analysis to investigate the performance of each of these techniques. From this analysis, we found out that each of these techniques has its advantages and disadvantages. The first technique gives less quality at high levels of noise but consumes less time, whereas the second gives high quality video while consuming a large amount of time. In this work, we introduce an intelligent denoising system that makes a tradeoff between the quality of the denoised video and the time required for denoising. The system first estimates the noise level in the video frame then chooses the proper denoising technique to apply on the frame. The simulation results show that the proposed system is more suitable for real-time applications where time is critical, while still giving high quality videos at low to moderate levels of noise.
Network Layer Mobility Management Schemes for IP-Based Mobile Networks
Authors: Upadhyay Paramesh C. , Tiwari Sudarshan
Published: February 2012

Mobility is a natural phenomenon in cellular networks. The worldwide popularity of mobile communications and Internet has necessitated the merger of the two fast growing technologies to get their fullest advantages. The Internet protocol (IP) was designed for static hosts only. Therefore, in order to add mobility in Internet, the Internet protocol needs to be redefined. This paper is intended to present an overview of various mobility management schemes, available in literature, for IP-based mobile networks.
Studying the Documentation of an API for Enterprise Service-Oriented Architecture
Authors: Myers Brad A. , Jeong Sae Young , Xie Yingyu , Beaton Jack , Stylos Jeff , Ehret Ralf , Karstens Jan , Efeoglu Arkin , Busse Daniela K.
Published: February 2012

All software today is written using application programming interfaces (APIs). We performed a user study of the online documentation of a large and complex API for Enterprise Service-Oriented Architecture (eSOA), which identified many issues and recommendations for making API documentation easier to use. eSOA is an appropriate testbed because the target users include high-level business experts who do not have significant programming expertise and thus can be classified as “end-user developers.” Our study showed that the participants’ background influenced how they navigated the documentation. Lack of familiarity with business terminology was a barrier for developers without business application experience. Both groups avoided areas of the documentation that had an inconsistent visual design. A new design for the documentation that supports flexible navigation strategies seems to be required to support the wide range of users for eSOA. This paper summarizes our study and provides recommendations for future documentation for APIs.
WOAD
Authors: Cabitza Federico , Simone Carla
Published: February 2012

In this article, we present WOAD, a framework that was inspired and partly validated within a 2-year observational case study at a major teaching hospital. We present the WOAD framework by stating its main and motivating rationales, outlining its high-level architecture and then introducing its denotational language, LWOAD. We propose LWOAD to support users of an electronic document system in declaratively expressing, specifying and implementing content- and event-based mechanisms that fulfill coordinative requirements and make users aware of relevant conditions. Our focus addresses (a) the user-friendly and yet formal expression of local coordinative practices based on the work context; (b) the promotion of awareness of both these conventions and the context to enable actors to quickly respond; (c) the full deployment of coordination-oriented and context-aware functionalities into legacy electronic document systems. We give examples of LWOAD mechanisms taken from the case study and discuss their impact from the EUD perspective.
Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Language E-Portfolios
Authors: Yang Yu-Fen , Yeh Hui-Chin
Published: February 2012

Over the past decade, e-portfolios have been widely used for different purposes in education. However, specific issues, such as whether students will upload and organize their documents in the language e-portfolio without incentives or whether the language e-portfolio will increase students’ cognitive load, remain unaddressed. A range of challenges faces eportfolio use in Taiwanese universities. The definitions, purposes, and advantages of e-portfolios described in this article provide readers with background for the further discussion of challenges in developing online language portfolios.
Analysis of Interoperability of e-Business Documents
Authors: Magdalenic Ivan
Published: February 2012

The purpose of this chapter is to provide insight into factors that influence the development of electronic business documents and their exchange. In particular, the chapter addresses the issue of achieving interoperability between partners involved in electronic communications. It gives an overview of problems that occur at each level of interoperability and suggests ways to resolve them in accordance with current trends. The chapter also contains a projection of future developments in the field including the use of ontologies in business documents.
Automatic Transformation of Generic, Validated Business Process Security Models to WS-SecurityPolicy Descriptions
Authors: Feja Sven , August Sven , Speck Andreas , Jensen Meiko , Schwenk Jörg
Published: February 2012

In this chapter, the authors discuss the general capabilities and constraints for model-driven security. Furthermore, the authors focus on the automatic transformation of security models into executable security implementations as well as on the validation of the security models to ensure their correctness. Based on the discussion, the authors present a transformation mechanism that automatically derives WS-SecurityPolicy-conformant security policies. Moreover, the chapter presents a validation mechanism for the security model which is based on graphical validation rules. The application of both mechanisms allows the automatic deployment of validated, security-enabled Web Service based business processes.
Collaboration-Based Model-Driven Approach for Business Service Composition
Authors: Kathayat Surya Bahadur , Le Hien Nam , Bræk Rolv
Published: February 2012

The authors of this chapter argue that business processes can be modeled in the same way as collaborative business services, and therefore use an approach developed for such services. They consider business services that are collaborative and crosscutting in nature; several participants may collaborate in a business service to achieve its goal, and a participant may take part in several different business services, playing different roles in each. A framework to support the development and composition of such business services is the main focus of this chapter. The authors use UML collaborations for modeling the structure of roles involved in a business service/process, and activity diagrams for specifying the global behavior performed by the roles. From these models, reusable components realizing the roles can be automatically synthesized, and such components can then be composed together in order to make different systems that meet the requirements of business services.
Enterprise Service Bus for Building Integrated Enterprises
Authors: Martínez-Carreras M. Antonia , García-Jiménez Francisco J. , Gómez-Skarmeta Antonio F.
Published: February 2012

Lately, the building of Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) where different legacy-applications may interoperate between them has gained the focus of business research. In this sense, the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and particularly the utilization of Web services standards, has attracted the attention of several researchers and practitioners for implementing the needs of EAI. More concretely, the emergence of Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) has brought a layer for favouring the mediation, transformation, and thus, the communication between these diverse applications, services, or business processes in a decoupled way. Indeed, the ESB technology integrates a wide range of current technologies and business standards. The aim of this chapter is to offer the design and necessities of Future Business Environments comparing how open ESBs fulfils these requirements. Furthermore, this chapter compares six of the most well-known open ESBs considering the characteristics provided in the design of Future Business Environments.
Towards a Healthcare Interoperability Framework Based on Medical Business Artifacts, Social Networks, and Communities of Healthcare Professionals
Authors: Maamar Zakaria , Baghdadi Youcef
Published: February 2012

This chapter looks into the challenges facing healthcare Information Systems interoperability from a technological perspective and how to address some of these challenges using three concepts, namely medical artifacts, social networks, and communities. Medical artifacts represent chunks of information that healthcare practitioners act upon and exchange as part of their daily activities. Social networks reflect interactions occurring between these practitioners when performing joint activities. Finally, communities illustrate pockets of expertise capable of collaborating with respect to pre-defined protocols.
Governmental Service Transformation through Cost Scenarios Simulation
Authors: Charalabidis Yannis
Published: February 2012

Formal methods for measuring the impact of interoperability on digital public services is emerging as an important research challenge in electronic government. The eGOVSIM model that is described in this chapter aims to provide administrations with a tool to calculate the gains from digitising and making interoperable services for citizens and businesses. The chapter presents existing methods for calculating the cost of services for the administration and the service consumers, such as the Standard Cost Model (SCM) and the Activity Based Costing (ABC). Then it goes on presenting a toolset for analytical cost calculations based on the various process steps and the information needs of each governmental service. The eGOVSIM toolset supports the definition of several service provision scenarios, such as front/back office system interoperability, cross-system or cross-organisational interoperability allowing the calculation of time, effort and cost elements, and relevant gains from the application of each scenario. Application results for two cases / scenarios are also presented, so that the reader can see the applicability and overall value of the approach. Lessons learned and future research directions for service cost estimation are also described.
A Pattern-Based Method for Re-Engineering Non-Ontological Resources into Ontologies
Authors: Villazón-Terrazas Boris Carmen , Suárez-Figueroa Mari , Gómez-Pérez Asunción
Published: February 2012

To speed up the ontology development process, ontology developers are reusing all available ontological and non-ontological resources, such as classification schemes, thesauri, lexicons, and so forth, that have already reached some consensus. Non-ontological resources are highly heterogeneous in their data model and storage system (or implementation). The reuse of these non-ontological resources involves their re-engineering into ontologies. This paper presents a method for re-engineering non-ontological resources into ontologies. The method is based on so-called re-engineering patterns, which define a procedure that transforms the non-ontological resource components into ontology representational primitives using WordNet for making explicit the relations among the non-ontological resource terms. The paper also provides the description of NOR2O, a software library that implements the transformations suggested by the patterns. Finally, it depicts an evaluation of the method, patterns, and software library proposed.
An Ontology-Based, Cross-Application Context Modeling and Management Service
Authors: Mitschick Annett , Pietschmann Stefan , Meißner Klaus
Published: February 2012

Context awareness is a key issue for applications within heterogeneous and networked environments. In terms of efficiency and reusability, such applications need to be separated from the problems of context gathering and modeling, but should instead profit from and contribute to cross-application context information. For this purpose, an ontology-based, cross-application context modeling and management service is required to provide appropriate support for the variety of conceivable application scenarios. Although there have been numerous approaches dealing with application-independent context management, none of them sufficiently supports the vision of cross-application context handling. Therefore, this paper presents CroCo, an ontology-based context management service that allows for cross-application context gathering, modeling, and provision. The authors successfully verified and tested the application independency and practicability of this novel concept within three different projects with disparate application scenarios.
Ontology-Enhanced User Interfaces
Authors: Paulheim Heiko , Probst Florian
Published: February 2012

Ontologies have been increasingly used in software systems in the past years. However, in many of those systems, the ontologies are hidden “under the hood”. While a lot of useful applications of ontologies on the database and business logic layer have been proposed, the employment of ontologies in user interfaces has been gaining comparatively little attention so far. For providing a deeper understanding of that field as well as assisting developers of ontology-enhanced user interfaces, the authors give an overview of such applications and introduce a schema for characterizing the requirements of ontology-enhanced user interfaces. With this article, a state of the art survey of approaches is presented along with promising research directions.
Business-Oriented Process Management
Authors: Shan Ming-Chien
Published: February 2012

This paper highlights all the relevant issues and required features from a business operation point of view. It presents an overall intelligent business operation scenario to highlight the required tasks and relevant issues to meet the needs of business managers and business operators. It then outlines the approaches and design to deal with these issues and provides the needed functionality. Finally, it summarizes the study and discusses future work.
Business Process Management and Six Sigma
Authors: Subramoniam Suresh , Shankararaman Venky , Krishnankutty K. V. , Chinta Ravi
Published: February 2012

In this chapter, the authors establish the existence of a synergistic relationship between two complementary methodologies, Business Process Management (BPM) and Six Sigma, through literature review and suggest methods to exploit the same. Six Sigma provides incremental improvement through its analytical abilities and is complemented by BPM which provides the data from the ongoing processes on a real time basis. The authors discuss two perspectives on how to synergize these methodologies. Firstly, achieve hybrid BPM-Six Sigma by substituting Improve and Manage steps of BPM with the DMAIC of Six Sigma methodology. Secondly, utilize Six Sigma methodology for analysis on data generated by BPM. The application of the integration of BPM and Six Sigma is presented through case studies from financial services companies. The authors also present the key features of BPM tools that can assist Six Sigma in every phase of its implementation.
Organix
Authors: Hendley Robert J. , Wilkins Barry , Beale Russell
Published: February 2012

This paper presents a mechanism for generating visually appealing but also effective representations for document visualisation. The mechanism is based on an organic growth model which is driven by features of the object to be visualised. In the examples used, the authors focus on the visualisation of text documents, but the methods are readily transferable to other domains. They are also scaleable to documents of any size. The objective of this research is to build visual representations that enable the human visual system to efficiently and effectively recognise documents without the need for higher level cognitive processing. In particular, the authors want the user to be able to recognise similarities within sets of documents and to be able to easily discriminate between dissimilar objects.
Magnet Mail
Authors: Castro Paulo , Lopes Adriano
Published: February 2012

Magnet Mail (MM) is a visualization system for emails based on a zoomable interface and on manipulation of objects. Users are able to search, analyze and understand relations among email messages as long as they provide searching keywords to do so, as well as interact with graphical objects in the display in a pro-active manner. The underlying concept is a magnet metaphor that relates user interaction, searching keywords and relations among emails. In this paper, the authors present a prototype that interacts with a mass-market email system and most of its graphical implementation relies on the Piccolo toolkit.