bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of APOE rs429358, rs7412 and GSTM1/GSTT1 Polymorphism on Plasma and Erythrocyte Antioxidant Parameters and Cognition in Old Chinese Adults
Authors: Yuan Linhong , Liu Jinmeng , Dong Li , Cai Can , Wang Sisi , Wang Bo , Xiao Rong
Published: September 2015

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) and oxidative damage were correlated with the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Glutathione S-transferase (GST) polymorphism was proved to be associated with body antioxidant capacity and involved in the oxidative damage related chronic diseases. To explore the combined effects of APOE rs429358, rs7412 and GSTM1/T1 polymorphism on antioxidant parameters and cognition in old Chinese adults, a community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in 477 Chinese adults aged from 55 to 75. Information on demography and lifestyle of the participants was collected with a questionnaire. Cognitive function was measured by using a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test. Fasting venous blood samples were collected for APOE rs429358, rs7412 and GSTM1/T1 genotyping, and parameter measurement. No association of APOE rs7412, rs429358 and GSTM1/T1 polymorphisms with cognition was detected in the old Chinese adults. APOE rs429358, rs7412 polymorphism was mainly associated with plasma α-tocopherol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and plasma total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels (p < 0.05). Interaction of APOE rs429358 and GSTT1 genotype on the plasma triglyceride (TG) level and erythrocyte catalase (CAT) and GST enzyme activities were detected (p < 0.05). The subjects with APOE rs429358 T/C + C/C and GSTT1− genotype were found to have the highest plasma TG level, erythrocyte CAT enzyme activity, and the lowest GST enzyme activity compared to subjects with other genotypes (p < 0.05). Lowest erythrocyte CAT enzyme activity and highest glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) enzyme activity were detected in the subjects with APOE rs7412 T/C + T/T and GSTM1+ genotype as compared with subjects with other genotypes. The levels of plasma and erythrocyte antioxidant parameters were APOE genotype associated. GSTM1 or GSTT1 genotype modified the influence of APOE rs7412, rs429358 polymorphism on antioxidant parameters.
Hen Egg as an Antioxidant Food Commodity: A Review
Authors: Nimalaratne Chamila , Wu Jianping
Published: September 2015

Intake of antioxidants through diet is known to be important in reducing oxidative damage in cells and improving human health. Although eggs are known for their exceptional, nutritional quality, they are not generally considered as antioxidant foods. This review aims to establish the importance of eggs as an antioxidant food by summarizing the current knowledge on egg-derived antioxidants. Eggs have various natural occurring compounds including the proteins ovalbumin, ovotransferrin and lysozyme in egg white, as well as phosvitin, carotenoids and free aromatic amino acids in egg yolk. Some lipophilic antioxidants such as vitamin E, carotenoids, selenium, iodine and others can be transferred from feed into egg yolk to produce antioxidant-enriched eggs. The bioactivity of egg antioxidants can be affected by food processing, storage and gastrointestinal digestion. Generally thermal processing methods can promote loss of antioxidant properties in eggs due to oxidation and degradation, whereas gastrointestinal digestion enhances the antioxidant properties, due to the formation of new antioxidants (free amino acids and peptides). In summary, in addition to its well-known nutritional contribution to our diet, this review emphasizes the role of eggs as an important antioxidant food.
Microneedles from Fishscale-Nanocellulose Blends Using Low Temperature Mechanical Press Method
Authors: Olatunji Ololade , Olsson Richard
Published: September 2015

Fish scale biopolymer blended with nanocellulose crystals is used for production of microneedles applying mechanical press microfabrication and the effect of nanocellulose on microfabrication, water absorption, moisture stability and mechanical properties of the microneedles is reported. The results show that microneedles produced from the nanocellulose loaded fish scale biopolymer requires higher temperature for micromolding (80 ± 5 °C) than microneedles from only fish scale biopolymer, which were moldable at 50 ± 5 °C. The mechanical properties of the fish scale biopolymer-nanocellulose (FSBP-NC) films showed that the addition of nanocellulose (NC) resulted in lower elongation and higher tensile stress compared to fish scale biopolymer (FSBP) films. The nanocellulose also prevented dissolution of the needles and absorbed up to 300% and 234% its own weight in water (8% and 12% w/w NC/FSBP), whereas FSBP films dissolved completely within 1 min, Indicating that the FSBP-NC films can be used to produce microneedles with prolonged dissolution rate. FTIR spectrometry of the FSBP films was compared with the FSBP-NC films and the NC gels. The FTIR showed typical peaks for fish scale polymer and nanocellulose with evidence of interactions. SEM micrographs showed relatively good dispersion of NC in FSBP at both NC contents corresponding to 8% and 12% w/w NC/FSBP respectively.
Synergy Effect of Nanocrystalline Cellulose for the Biosensing Detection of Glucose
Authors: Esmaeili Chakavak , Abdi Mahnaz , Mathew Aji , Jonoobi Mehdi , Oksman Kristiina , Rezayi Majid
Published: September 2015

Integrating polypyrrole-cellulose nanocrystal-based composites with glucose oxidase (GOx) as a new sensing regime was investigated. Polypyrrole-cellulose nanocrystal (PPy-CNC)-based composite as a novel immobilization membrane with unique physicochemical properties was found to enhance biosensor performance. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images showed that fibers were nanosized and porous, which is appropriate for accommodating enzymes and increasing electron transfer kinetics. The voltammetric results showed that the native structure and biocatalytic activity of GOx immobilized on the PPy-CNC nanocomposite remained and exhibited a high sensitivity (ca. 0.73 μA·mM−1), with a high dynamic response ranging from 1.0 to 20 mM glucose. The modified glucose biosensor exhibits a limit of detection (LOD) of (50 ± 10) µM and also excludes interfering species, such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, and cholesterol, which makes this sensor suitable for glucose determination in real samples. This sensor displays an acceptable reproducibility and stability over time. The current response was maintained over 95% of the initial value after 17 days, and the current difference measurement obtained using different electrodes provided a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.47%.
Developing Planning Measures to Preserve Farmland: A Case Study from China
Authors: Huang Qiuhao , Lu Jiancheng , Li Manchun , Chen Zhenjie , Li Feixue
Published: September 2015

Farmland preservation is a national issue in modern China. Most studies have focused on farmland preservation policies in the agricultural, commercial and financial industries but have devoted relatively little attention to land use planning. Land use planning is crucial for farmland preservation. This paper selected Dachang County, a typical rural county bordering Beijing, as the study area and reviews previous management policies, analyzes changes in farmland management and the socio-economic background over the past ten years. Next, this study presents land use planning decisions regarding farmland preservation measures. These measures included the establishment of farmland preservation zones and the creation of construction expansion zones and land consolidation zones. All of the findings would be useful for researchers as a reference for the study of land resource management and planning.
Assessment of Ecological Vulnerability under Oil Spill Stress
Authors: Cai Ling , Yan Li , Ni Jialin , Wang Cui
Published: September 2015

Using the constituent elements of vulnerability, an evaluation index system for the ecological vulnerability of coastal areas under oil spill stress is established based on “Sensitivity–Adaptive Capacity-Exposure”. After selecting a gulf in China as the main case study in this work, the cluster analysis and reference method were applied in grading and value assigning for all indexes. In addition, the analytic hierarchy process and expert evaluation method were used to determine the index weighting. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation method was adopted in the evaluation studies on the ecological vulnerability of the gulf coastal zone under oil spill stress. Results show the differences between the gulf area and areas that belong to different ecologically-vulnerable areas under oil spill stress.
Application of Assistive Computer Vision Methods to Oyama Karate Techniques Recognition
Authors: Hachaj Tomasz , Ogiela Marek , Koptyra Katarzyna
Published: September 2015

In this paper we propose a novel algorithm that enables online actions segmentation and classification. The algorithm enables segmentation from an incoming motion capture (MoCap) data stream, sport (or karate) movement sequences that are later processed by classification algorithm. The segmentation is based on Gesture Description Language classifier that is trained with an unsupervised learning algorithm. The classification is performed by continuous density forward-only hidden Markov models (HMM) classifier. Our methodology was evaluated on a unique dataset consisting of MoCap recordings of six Oyama karate martial artists including multiple champion of Kumite Knockdown Oyama karate. The dataset consists of 10 classes of actions and included dynamic actions of stands, kicks and blocking techniques. Total number of samples was 1236. We have examined several HMM classifiers with various number of hidden states and also Gaussian mixture model (GMM) classifier to empirically find the best setup of the proposed method in our dataset. We have used leave-one-out cross validation. The recognition rate of our methodology differs between karate techniques and is in the range of 81% ± 15% even to 100%. Our method is not limited for this class of actions but can be easily adapted to any other MoCap-based actions. The description of our approach and its evaluation are the main contributions of this paper. The results presented in this paper are effects of pioneering research on online karate action classification.
Cyclodextrins in Asymmetric and Stereospecific Synthesis
Authors: Macaev Fliur , Boldescu Veaceslav
Published: September 2015

Since their discovery, cyclodextrins have widely been used as green and easily available alternatives to promoters or catalysts of different chemical reactions in water. This review covers the research and application of cyclodextrins and their derivatives in asymmetric and stereospecific syntheses, with their division into three main groups: (1) cyclodextrins promoting asymmetric and stereospecific catalysis in water; (2) cyclodextrins’ complexes with transition metals as asymmetric and stereospecific catalysts; and (3) cyclodextrins’ non-metallic derivatives as asymmetric and stereospecific catalysts. The scope of this review is to systematize existing information on the contribution of cyclodextrins to asymmetric and stereospecific synthesis and, thus, to facilitate further development in this direction.
Mycobiota and Mycotoxins in Traditional Medicinal Seeds from China
Authors: Chen Amanda , Jiao Xiaolin , Hu Yongjian , Lu Xiaohong , Gao Weiwei
Published: September 2015

The multi-mycotoxin occurrence for internal and superficial fungi contamination were comprehensively assessed in medicinal seeds used as food or beverage. Based on a polyphasic approach using morphological characters, β-tubulin and ITS gene blast, a total of 27 species belonging to 12 genera were identified from surface-sterilized seeds. Chaetomium globosporum was most predominant (23%), followed by Microascus trigonosporus (12%) and Alternaria alternata (9%). With respect to superficial mycobiota, thirty-four species belonging to 17 genera were detected. Aspergillus niger and Penicillium polonicum were predominant (12% and 15%, respectively). Medicinal seed samples and potential toxigenic fungi were tested for ochratoxin A (OTA) and aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2) using UPLC-MS/MS. Platycladi seeds were contaminated with AFB1 (52.0 µg/kg) and tangerine seed was contaminated with OTA (92.3 µg/kg). Subsequent analysis indicated that one A. flavus strain isolated from platycladi seed was able to synthesize AFB1 (102.0 µg/kg) and AFB2 (15.3 µg/kg). Two P. polonicum strains isolated from tangerine and lychee seeds were able to synthesize OTA (4.1 µg/kg and 14.8 µg/kg, respectively). These results identify potential sources of OTA and aflatoxins in medicinal seeds and allude to the need to establish permitted limits for these mycotoxins in these seeds that are commonly consumed by humans.
Suppression of Aflatoxin Biosynthesis in Aspergillus flavus by 2-Phenylethanol Is Associated with Stimulated Growth and Decreased Degradation of Branched-Chain Amino Acids
Authors: Chang Perng-Kuang , Hua Sui , Sarreal Siov , Li Robert
Published: September 2015

The saprophytic soil fungus Aspergillus flavus infects crops and produces aflatoxin. Pichia anomala, which is a biocontrol yeast and produces the major volatile 2-phenylethanol (2-PE), is able to reduce growth of A. flavus and aflatoxin production when applied onto pistachio trees. High levels of 2-PE are lethal to A. flavus and other fungi. However, at low levels, the underlying mechanism of 2-PE to inhibit aflatoxin production remains unclear. In this study, we characterized the temporal transcriptome response of A. flavus to 2-PE at a subinhibitory level (1 μL/mL) using RNA-Seq technology and bioinformatics tools. The treatment during the entire 72 h experimental period resulted in 131 of the total A. flavus 13,485 genes to be significantly impacted, of which 82 genes exhibited decreased expression. They included those encoding conidiation proteins and involved in cyclopiazonic acid biosynthesis. All genes in the aflatoxin gene cluster were also significantly decreased during the first 48 h treatment. Gene Ontology (GO) analyses showed that biological processes with GO terms related to catabolism of propionate and branched-chain amino acids (valine, leucine and isoleucine) were significantly enriched in the down-regulated gene group, while those associated with ribosome biogenesis, translation, and biosynthesis of α-amino acids were over-represented among the up-regulated genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that metabolic pathways negatively impacted among the down-regulated genes parallel to those active at 30 °C, a condition conducive to aflatoxin biosynthesis. In contrast, metabolic pathways positively related to the up-regulated gene group resembled those at 37 °C, which favors rapid fungal growth and is inhibitory to aflatoxin biosynthesis. The results showed that 2-PE at a low level stimulated active growth of A. flavus but concomitantly rendered decreased activities in branched-chain amino acid degradation. Since secondary metabolism occurs after active growth has ceased, this growth stimulation resulted in suppression of expression of aflatoxin biosynthesis genes. On the other hand, increased activities in degradation pathways for branched-chain amino acids probably are required for the activation of the aflatoxin pathway by providing building blocks and energy regeneration. Metabolic flux in primary metabolism apparently has an important role in the expression of genes of secondary metabolism.
Haematopoietic toxicity of radium-223 in patients with high skeletal tumour burden
Authors: Thomas C. , Beck J. , Hampel C. , Krieger C. , Baqué P. E. , Helisch A. , Schreckenberger M. , Miederer M.
Published: September 2015

In patients with metastasized, castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treatment with radium-223 (Xofigo) is an attractive therapeutic option. In particular, patients with high tumour load seem to profit from this treatment in regard of survival and quality of live. Aim of this study was to stratify mCRPC patients according to a quantitative imaging marker derived from routine bone scans (EXINI bone) and analyze haematopoietic toxicity of Xofigo in these patients. Patients, methods: Toxicity and oncologic outcome were investigated in a cohort of 14 patients with high tumour load. Additionally, based on a web survey, experience of toxicity in 41 high tumour load patients in Germany in 2014 was collected. Results: In patients with a bone scan index (BSI) greater than 5, significant toxicity occurred in more patients than expected from the ALSYMPCA trial. This was associated with application of fewer cycles. Similar experiences have been made in other centers in Germany. Approximately 7% of these patients will need very long time or will not recover from grade ≥ 3 toxicity. Conclusion: Close follow-up of haematopoietic indices and, in case of toxicity, early termination of therapy is in particular necessary in late stage disease where limited bone marrow reserve is likely.
Fe(II)/Et3N-Relay-catalyzed domino reaction of isoxazoles with imidazolium salts in the synthesis of methyl 4-imidazolylpyrrole-2-carboxylates, its ylide and betaine derivatives
Authors: Galenko Ekaterina E , Tomashenko Olesya A , Khlebnikov Alexander F , Novikov Mikhail S , Panikorovskii Taras L
Published: September 2015

A simple approach was developed for the synthesis of methyl 4-imidazolylpyrrole-2-carboxylates from easily available compounds, 5-methoxyisoxazoles and phenacylimidazolium salts under hybrid Fe(II)/Et3N relay catalysis. The products were easily transformed into the corresponding 3-(5-methoxycarbonyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium-3-yl)pyrrol-1-ides, which in turn can be hydrolyzed under basic conditions into the corresponding betaines. A carbene tautomeric form of the 4-methoxycarbonyl-substituted imidazolylpyrrolides was trapped by reaction with sulfur affording the corresponding imidazolethiones under very mild conditions.
Face aux suicides au travail : l’action syndicale entre banalisation et déni
Authors: Mühlstein Philippe
Published: September 2015

La prise en compte de la subjectivité au travail par les syndicats a été tardive. Confrontée à des suicides au travail en nombre croissant à la Sncf , la fédération Sud -Rail a, la première, mis en place en 2010 une formation syndicale sur la souffrance au travail, fondée notamment sur les travaux théoriques et cliniques en psychodynamique du travail. Son contenu suscite des controverses, car, contrairement à d’autres formations syndicales mises en œuvre ensuite, celle-ci aborde des questions de philosophie morale : consentement au mal, servitude volontaire et souffrance éthique.
Using Debates to Teach Evidence-Based Practice in Large Online Courses
Authors: Boyd Mary R. , Baliko Beverly , Polyakova-Norwood Vera
Published: September 2015

Background:

To engage in evidence-based practice (EBP), baccalaureate nursing graduates’ competencies must include locating, interpreting, appraising, and applying research findings. Faculty are challenged to find effective ways to incorporate this content in large online courses.

Method:

Faculty in a thriving college of nursing used interactive debates to teach EBP skills in a large (200+ students) online undergraduate course.

Results:

Students remain highly engaged while practicing critical thinking, team-work, leadership, delegation, communication skills, and peer evaluation through participation in a series of faculty-facilitated online debates.

Conclusion:

Meticulous course organization and use of structured debates allows one instructor to teach skills for EBP, while keeping students engaged with each other, the instructor, and the material. Use of debates and the amount of engagement among students and faculty achieved could not be accomplished in a large face-to-face course. [
J Nurs Educ.
2015;54(10):578–582.]
La mecánica ilustrada en los ingenieros militares españoles. El proyecto de los almacenes de pólvora (1715-1798)
Authors: Lluis i Ginovart J.
Published: September 2015

Los arcos catenarios formaron parte del gran éxito estructural de la arquitectura modernista y, especialmente, de la obra de Gaudí. El estudio de los proyectos de los ingenieros militares españoles, demuestra que fueron ellos los primeros que los introdujeron en el territorio español en el primer tercio del siglo XVIII. El conocimiento y el intento de aplicación de este tipo de estructuras, especialmente en la construcción de polvorines, demostraría el conocimiento de la teoría científica de estas estructuras formulada por Hooke. El estudio de la Mecánica pre-científica fue reclamado por Juan de Herrera en la Academia de Matemáticas (1583), al igual que lo será la Mecánica científica en la Academia de Barcelona (1720). Por ello y ante la utilización del arco y bóveda catenaria, se demostraría también que aportaron las bases de la Mecánica moderna.
Comparison of isotopic turnover dynamics in two different muscles of a coral reef fish during the settlement phase
Authors: Gajdzik Laura , Lepoint Gilles , Lecchini David , Frédérich Bruno
Published: September 2015

The temporal variation in carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions (noted as δ13C and δ15N) was investigated in the convict surgeonfish (Acanthurus triostegus) at Moorea (French Polynesia). Over a period of 24 days, juveniles were reared in aquaria and subjected to two different feeding treatments: granules or algae. The dynamics of δ13C and δ15N in two muscles (the adductor mandibulae complex and the epaxial musculature) having different functions were compared. At the end of experiments, a steady-state isotopic system in each muscle tissue was not reached. Especially for the algal treatment, we found different patterns of variation in isotopic compositions over time between the two muscles. The turnovers of δ13C showed opposite trends for each muscle but differences are mitigated by starvation and by the metamorphosis. Our study highlighted that the metabolism of coral reef fish may be subjected to catabolism or anabolism of non-protein precursors at settlement, inducing variation in isotopic compositions that are not linked to diet change.
Evaluating Web Accessibility of Educational Websites
Authors: Abu Shawar Bayan
Published: September 2015

Web accessibility concerns of building websites that are accessible by all people regardless of their ability or disability. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has been established to raise awareness of universal access. WAI develops guidelines which can help to ensure that Web pages are widely accessible. Assistive technology is used to increase, improve, and maintain capabilities of disabled persons to execute tasks that are sometimes difficult or impossible to do without technical aid. Also it helps them achieve their scholar, professional and social activities. This paper exposes an approach to investigate accessible contents of educational websites to ensure and measure its compliance with accessibility standards for visually impaired people. This study focuses on studying existing standards and investigating its applicability on educational institute websites. This will increase accessibility on e-learning materials that are provided by educational institutes. In this paper a sample of websites at selected universities in Jordan are evaluated in terms of accessibility in comparison to some universities websites in England and Arabic region. Results show that accessibility errors of universities websites in Jordan, and Arab region exceed the ones in UK by 13 times, and 5 times consequently.
E-learning-Oriented Software Architecture Design and Case Study
Authors: Lu Peng , Cong Xiao , Zhou Dongdai
Published: September 2015

Nowadays, E-learning system has been widely applied to practical teaching. It was favored by people for its characterized course arrangement and flexible learning schedule. However, the system does have some problems in the process of application such as the functions of single software are not diversified enough to satisfy the requirements in teaching completely. In order to cater more applications in the teaching process, it is necessary to integrate functions from different systems. But the difference in developing techniques and the inflexibility in design makes it difficult to implement. The major reason of these problems is the lack of fine software architecture. In this article, we build domain model and component model of E-learning system and components integration method on the basis of WebService. And we proposed an abstract framework of E-learning which could express the semantic relationship among components and realize high level reusable on the basis of informationized teaching mode. On this foundation, we form an E-learning oriented layering software architecture contain component library layer, application framework layer and application layer. Moreover, the system contains layer division multiplexing and was not built upon developing language and tools. Under the help of the software architecture, we could build characterized E-learning system flexibly like building blocks through framework selection, component assembling and replacement. In addition, we exemplify how to build concrete E-learning system on the basis of this software architecture.
Customer Relationship Management as an Imperative for Academic Libraries
Authors: Xu Amanda , Yang Sharon Q.
Published: September 2015

This chapter proposes a conceptual model, the 121 e-Agent Framework, for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in academic libraries. Linked data and Semantic Web are the core components of this model. The implementation of the Framework will enable the participating U.S. academic libraries to reach out to their user communities through systematic customer group identification, differentiation, and interaction. The main contributions of the chapter are 1) applying Semantic Web technologies for CRM in academic libraries using the 121 e-Agent Framework, 2) defining the relevance challenges of CRM for academic libraries, 3) adding trust management to the linked data layer with a touch of tagging, categorizing, query log analysis, and social ranking as part of the underlying structure for distributed customer data filtering on the Web in CRM applications, and 4) making the approach extensible to address the challenges of CRM in other fields.
A Web-Based Method for Ontology Population
Authors: Oliveira Hilário , Lima Rinaldo , Gomes João , Freitas Fred , Lins Rafael Dueire , Simske Steven J. , Riss Marcelo
Published: September 2015

The Semantic Web, proposed by Berners-Lee, aims to make explicit the meaning of the data available on the Internet, making it possible for Web data to be processed both by people and intelligent agents. The Semantic Web requires Web data to be semantically classified and annotated with some structured representation of knowledge, such as ontologies. This chapter proposes an unsupervised, domain-independent method for extracting instances of ontological classes from unstructured data sources available on the World Wide Web. Starting with an initial set of linguistic patterns, a confidence-weighted score measure is presented integrating distinct measures and heuristics to rank candidate instances extracted from the Web. The results of several experiments are discussed achieving very encouraging results, which demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method for automatic ontology population.
Sensing Coverage and Connectivity in Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks
Authors: Pehlivanoğlu Ecehan Berk , Özger Mustafa , Akan Özgür Barış
Published: September 2015

Sensing coverage of a field of interest and connectivity are two very important performance measures in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Existing design methodologies and protocols for enhanced field sensing coverage and connectivity in WSNs are not directly applicable to Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks (CRSNs) due to their cognitive nature. In this chapter, the authors first review sensing coverage and connectivity models for traditional WSNs. Then, they propose novel approaches for sensing coverage and connectivity establishment in CRSN, benefiting from useful existing models from WSN and Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks (CRAHNs). Proposed approaches span a wide variety of CRSN requirements and also point out open research problems in the field to guarantee sufficient sensing coverage quality and connectivity in CRSN.
Web 3.0 Technologies and Transformation of Pedagogical Activities
Authors: Noskova Tatyana , Pavlova Tatyana , Iakovleva Olga
Published: September 2015

Web 3.0 creates the potential for implementation of new teaching strategies and new forms of teachers' professional pedagogical activities. Today, it is possible to assume the trends of Web 3.0 development. Most of these trends have been already revealed in the analysis of the current state of modern network technologies. New educational practices require both awareness of new opportunities in networking and acceptance and understanding of new educational strategies of learners. The chapter describes a concept of teachers' professional goals transformation in terms of Web 3.0, stressing movement towards learners' needs. The first pedagogical objective is to design the information educational environment. The second objective is to perceive a student via the informational environment. The third objective is to interact with other members of the informational environment. The fourth objective is to arrange the learning process. The fifth objective is to ensure professional self-development.
The Evolving Value of eTourism for Suppliers and Visitors
Authors: Estêvão João V. , Carneiro Maria João , Teixeira Leonor
Published: September 2015

The tourism industry is known to have an extensive use of the Internet, both on the supply and on the demand side. The steady and fast emergence of the Internet has dramatically changed the business processes within the sector, forcing suppliers and intermediaries to adapt to a scenario in which visitors have multiple and more flexible choices regarding the search, planning, booking, and purchase of tourism services and products. This chapter explores the main impacts and trends that the dynamic use of the Internet within the tourism sector—the so-called eTourism—has originated in each of the sector's main stakeholders, including suppliers, intermediaries, destination management organizations, and tourists.
Application of CRM 2.0 in Spanish Public Administration
Authors: Pérez-González Daniel , Solana-González Pedro , Soto-Acosta Pedro , Popa Simona , Trigueros-Preciado Sara
Published: September 2015

Public administrations have a fundamental role in developed societies ensuring the citizens' welfare through the provision of important services. Despite its importance, the effects of using IT in administrations has been less studied by the academy in comparison with using it in businesses, so there is an absence of works focused on analyzing which technologies administrations apply and which results they produce. Accordingly, this chapter aims to analyze the practical results that may be encountered in the application of CRM 2.0 in public administrations. For this, firstly, the CRM concept and its application are analyzed, finding that traditional CRM maintains a unidirectional approach of information, with little room for citizen participation. Secondly, to overcome the one-way approach, concept of Web 2.0, based on the collaborative use of the IT, which extends the possibilities of interaction between administrations and citizens is presented. This integration of traditional CRM with Web 2.0 gives rise to the CRM 2.0; its applications are expected to be the opportunity to modernize services and move closer to citizens. However, the literature has not identified the specific effects of applying CRM 2.0 in public administrations. In this sense, the work identifies some practical results of these implementations through exploratory research by applying a Delphi to senior managers of nine Spanish public administrations; this has allowed the authors to identify as principal results an improved productivity, an increased citizen satisfaction, and a better integration of information. Security and organizational issues are the main difficulties.
From User's Goal to Semantic Web Services Discovery
Authors: el Bouhissi Houda , Malki Mimoun , Cherif Mohamed Amine Sidi Ali
Published: September 2015

The growing number of the Web Services available on the Web without explicit associated semantic descriptions raises a new and challenging research problem: How to discover efficiently the relevant Web Services that fulfill the user expectations. However, many services that are relevant to a specific user service request may not be considered during the service discovery process. In this paper, the authors address the issue of the Web Service discovery given nonexplicit service description semantics that match a specific service request. Their approach is based on a captured user goal from an HTML form and the traceability and involves semantic-based service categorization, semantic discovery and selection of the best Web Service. Furthermore, the authors' proposal employs ontology matching algorithms to match a specific goal to an existing Web Service. An experimental test of the proposed framework related to the Medical Analysis domain is reported, showing the impact of the proposal in decreasing the time and the effort of the discovery process as a whole.
Accelerating Biomedical Research through Semantic Web Services
Authors: Chaleplioglou Artemis
Published: September 2015

In view of the fact that there is a lot of biomedical research data, rapidly accumulating to relevant repositories, there is an urgent need these data to be delivered, as soon as possible, to the specific scientific audience interesting in it. Unfortunately, the current database technologies often isolate data rather than making it easily and freely accessible. A considerable effort by the information scientists is needed to process the resources that meet the scientific query criteria as well as to index and present them as useful metadata. Taking into account that biomedical data are mostly hidden from the public eye, often stored in not indexed databases or libraries and inaccessible by standard search engines, the retrieval, storing, annotating, and qualification of health information remain major challenges. The evolution of the World Wide Web from a collection of unstructured and predominantly human readable data into the Semantic Web of knowledge with meaningful relationships between resources and machine readable data will significantly improve our ability to conduct bioinformatics analyses and to make better clinical decisions that positively affect healthcare outcomes. To this end novel semantic web services arise, which depend on markup ontologies in order to make biological and clinical data logical analysis computational and reasonable processed through the utilization of appropriate algorithms. Herein, we discuss the use of these technologies for the efficient and reliable retrieval of meaningful biomedical data from the relevant resources and repositories.
Building Resilience to Climate Change at Local Levels
Authors: Ketlhoilwe Mphemelang Joseph
Published: September 2015

Climate change impact is calling for international attention and collaborative efforts through multilateral and bilateral agreements to reduce it. It is a complex environmental problem that is not only naturally induced but made more stressful by anthropocentric capabilities in the quest for better lifestyles. Although climate change causes and impact are known, its mitigation strategies are compounded by human wants at the expensive of their own sustainable survival. This chapter explore different ways of promoting climate change awareness through environmental education. It is important to accompany all climate change awareness efforts by recognition of local ecological knowledge that promote resilience as well as engage in research to enhance sustainable development in local communities.
Learning and Climate Change Adaptation
Authors: Wilson Lynn A.
Published: September 2015

Youth play an ever-increasing role as counter-cyclical agents that can be mobilized for developing and implementing adaptation responses to build resilience in communities under stress from climate change. Organizations with a coupled research and educational focus are well situated to partner with formal and informal educational institutions to create valuable opportunities for simultaneous learning and practice for youth and their communities in building resilience to climate change. In this chapter, the author argues that climate-knowledgeable and empowered youth are positioned to show new, resilient behavior as critical environmental and social thresholds are approached. Using human health as a gauge for sustainable action, the study by NGO SeaTrust Institute that is analyzed in this chapter shows potentially effective learning approaches, programs and systems for engaging youth as transformational agents to catalyze community leadership for climate change adaptation in an age of escalating environmental and social instability.
Meta Model Context Based Space for Ubiquitous Computing
Authors: Khalfi Mohammed Fethi , Benslimane Sidi Mohamed
Published: September 2015

Pervasive computing is a paradigm that focuses on the availability of computer resources anytime anywhere for any application and supports integration of computing services into everyday life. Context awareness is the core feature of pervasive computing. High-level context awareness can be enhanced by situation awareness that represents the ability to detect and reason about the real-life situations. In this paper, in order to deal with the problem in context-aware modeling in pervasive computing environments, the authors present a comprehensive and integrated approach for context modeling. They first propose a Meta model context based on ontology for Pervasive Computing aiming firstly to overcome the limitations of the existing ontologies, and secondly extend its capabilities by adding new environmental aspects. They divide the context model into Meta Ontology level and Domain-specific Ontology level according to the abstraction hierarchy. The Meta Ontology is the high abstract level which extracting the basic elements of the context knowledge. The Domain-specific Ontology is the lower abstract lever which focusing on different domains knowledge, directed by the Meta Ontology. The advantage is that it can provide a flexible modeling mechanism for multiple applications of context-aware pervasive computing. A case study of HealthCare domain is given to illustrate the practicality of the authors' Model.
Drones in the U.S. National Airspace System
Authors: Stuckenberg David , Maddox Stephen
Published: September 2015

In 2012, the U.S. Congress passed the FAA Revitalization and Reform Act, which among other provisions called for the integration of drones into the U.S. national airspace by September 2015. While the statutory provision was an attempt to meet emerging industry needs which includes the defense sector, Congress inadvertently failed to examine many of the potential problems relating to domestic drone integration. In spite of industry and government efforts to mitigate these problems, four primary issues exist for UAS integration: the FAA is behind schedule, inadequate rule making, inadequate threat analyses, and an incomplete drone categorization system. Each problem is discussed in detail along with proposed solutions.
Intelligent Modeling of Risk Factors Contributing to Runway Incursion
Authors: Replogle Antonia , Bischoff John E. , Willy Christopher J. , Roncace Robert A.
Published: September 2015

The purpose of this paper is to validate the use of an intelligent neural network model to identify the risk factors contributing to runway incursions. The study utilized multi-dataset fusion and a neural network model to identify risk factors. Historical runway safety data, weather data, and data on the physical characteristics of airports were obtained from multiple publicly available government websites. The results of the analysis showed that a neural network model was able to determine the factors most strongly associated with runway incursions, without the need for subjective weighting by safety experts used in most previous runway incursion studies. The Federal Aviation Administration could use a cyber-physical system, which combines human and computer processes, to analyze the runway incursion factors identified in the present study to determine which aspects of runway safety could be improved to reduce future incursions and save lives.
Electronic Countermeasures in the British Air War over Europe during World War II
Authors: Curran Stephen John
Published: September 2015

World War II was the first war where electronics paid a large role in the conduct of the war. Electronic countermeasures were used by the British throughout the air war over Europe during the Second World War. Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) was used by the British as a foil to German navigation systems used during their bombing raids on the U.K. The British in their offensive air war with Germany adopted active and passive methods of countermeasures to nullify the German attempts to detect the attacking RAF aircraft.
Appraisal, Coping and High Level Emotions Aspects of Computational Emotional Thinking
Authors: Talanov Max , Toschev Alexander
Published: September 2015

Turing genius anticipated current research in AI field for 65 years and stated that idea of intelligent machines “cannot be wholly ignored, because the idea of 'intelligence' is itself emotional rather than mathematical” (). This is the second article dedicated to emotional thinking bases. In the first article, the authors () created overall picture and proposed framework for computational emotional thinking. They used 3 bases for their work: AI - six thinking levels model described in book “The emotion machine” (). Evolutionary psychology model: “Wheel of emotions” (). Neuroscience (neurotransmission) theory of emotions by Lovheim “Cube of emotions” (). Based on neurotransmitters impact the authors proposed to model emotional computing systems. Current work is dedicated to three aspects left not described in first article: appraisal: algorithm and predicates - how inbound stimulus is estimated to trigger proper emotional response, coping: the way human treat with emotional state triggered by stimulus appraisal and further thinking processes, high level emotions impact on system and its computational processes.
A Virtual Reality Study of Help Recognition and Metacognition with an Affective Agent
Authors: Oker Ali , Courgeon Matthieu , Prigent Elise , Eyharabide Victoria , Bazin Nadine , Urbach Mathieu , Passerieux Christine , Martin Jean-Claude , Amorim Michel-Ange , Brunet-Gouet Eric
Published: September 2015

Advances in the use of virtual affective agents for therapeutic purposes in mental health opened a research avenue to improve the way patients interpret other's behavior as helpful instead of menacing. Here, the authors propose an original paradigm based on affective computing and virtual reality technologies requiring the assessment of helping intentions as well as self-monitoring metacognition. Sixteen healthy subjects played a 38-turns card games with a virtual affective agent (MARC) during which they had to guess between two cards the one that would be color-matched with another card. Their guesses could be oriented by the agent's emotional displays. Three subjective ratings on a percentage analog scale were recorded after each trial: helpfulness, self- monitoring, and sympathy. Help recognition and self-monitoring metacognitive ratings raise the question of the importance to enhance both components in therapeutic situations within psychiatric populations. Overall, this study exemplifies the promising use of virtual reality settings for future studies in the medical psychology field.
Differential Roles of Chemokines CCL2 and CCL7 in Monocytosis and Leukocyte Migration during West Nile Virus Infection
Authors: Bardina Susana V. , Michlmayr Daniela , Hoffman Kevin W. , Obara Christopher J. , Sum Janet , Charo Israel F. , Lu Wuyuan , Pletnev Alexander G. , Lim Jean K.
Published: September 2015

West Nile virus (WNV) is a re-emerging pathogen and the leading cause of epidemic encephalitis in the United States. Inflammatory monocytes are a critical component of the cellular infiltrate found in the CNS during WNV encephalitis, although the molecular cues involved in their migration are not fully understood. In mice, we previously showed that WNV infection induces a CCR2-dependent monocytosis that precedes monocyte migration into the CNS. Currently, the relative contribution of the CCR2 ligands, chemokines CCL2 and CCL7, in directing monocyte mobilization and leukocyte migration into the CNS is unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that, although both CCL2 and CCL7 are required for efficient monocytosis and monocyte accumulation in the CNS, only CCL7 deficiency resulted in increased viral burden in the brain and enhanced mortality. The enhanced susceptibility in the absence of CCL7 was associated with the delayed migration of neutrophils and CD8+ T cells into the CNS compared with WT or Ccl2−/− mice. To determine whether CCL7 reconstitution could therapeutically alter the survival outcome of WNV infection, we administered exogenous CCL7 i.v. to WNV-infected Ccl7−/− mice and observed a significant increase in monocytes and neutrophils, but not CD8+ T cells, within the CNS, as well as an enhancement in survival compared with Ccl7−/− mice treated with a linear CCL7 control peptide. Our experiments suggest that CCL7 is an important protective signal involved in leukocyte trafficking during WNV infection, and it may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of acute viral infections of the CNS.
Appropriateness of pharmacological treatment in older people with dementia
Authors: Meloni Eleonora , Vetrano Davide Liborio , Bernabei Roberto , Onder Graziano
Published: September 2015

Dementia is associated with a number of comorbidities often observed in older people, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes. Treating these comorbidities in older adults with dementia results challenging for many reasons. First, older adults with dementia are generally excluded from clinical trials, so application of clinical guidelines for treatment of chronic diseases in this population might lead to polypharmacy and adverse drugs effects. Second, memory, intellectual function, judgment and language are commonly impaired in patients with cognitive deficits, compromising the compliance to complex pharmacological regimens, increasing the risk of adverse drug reactions. Third, cognitive impairment is associated with limited life expectancy and therefore limits the efficacy of pharmacological treatments and questions the appropriateness of treatment. In the present study we examine most relevant concerns related to the treatment of comorbidities in demented patients, referring also to the existing criteria for inappropriate drugs in the elderly. The application of such instruments, along with the comprehensive geriatric assessment of the older adult with cognitive impairment, could result useful to reduce the burden of polypharmacy and inappropriate drug prescriptions.