bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Potential Role of Olive Oil Phenolic Compounds in the Prevention of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Authors: Rodríguez-Morató Jose , Xicota Laura , Fitó Montse , Farré Magí , Dierssen Mara , De la Torre Rafael
Published: March 2015

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) has been associated with a reduced incidence of neurodegenerative diseases and better cognitive performance. Virgin olive oil, the main source of lipids in the MD, is rich in minor phenolic components, particularly hydroxytyrosol (HT). HT potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions have attracted researchers’ attention and may contribute to neuroprotective effects credited to MD. In this review HT bioavailability and pharmacokinetics are presented prior to discussing health beneficial effects. In vitro and in vivo neuroprotective effects together with its multiple mechanisms of action are reviewed. Other microconstituents of olive oil are also considered due to their potential neuroprotective effects (oleocanthal, triterpenic acids). Finally, we discuss the potential role of HT as a therapeutic tool in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.
Simultaneous Determination of Ferulic Acid and Phthalides of Angelica Sinensis Based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS
Authors: Wei Wen-Long , Huang Lin-Fang
Published: March 2015

The radix of Angelica sinensis (AS) is one of the most commonly used as a herbal medicine. To investigate the geoherbalism and quality evaluation of AS, an ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS) method was established to analyze and identify ferulic acid and phthalides in AS. The results showed that among samples collected in four regions, the relative contents of ferulic acid and phthalides were highest in samples collected in Gansu, and the samples from the four different regions were apparently classified into four groups. Meanwhile, the relative content in non-fumigated root was higher than after sulfur-fumigation and the sulfur-fumigated and non-fumigated samples were obviously divided into two groups by PCA. The paper establishes a systematic and objective evaluation system to provide a scientific basis for evaluating the quality of AS.
Synthesis of Peptide Nucleic Acids Containing a Crosslinking Agent and Evaluation of Their Reactivities
Authors: Akisawa Takuya , Ishizawa Yuki , Nagatsugi Fumi
Published: March 2015

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are structural mimics of nucleic acids that form stable hybrids with DNA and RNA. In addition, PNAs can invade double-stranded DNA. Due to these characteristics, PNAs are widely used as biochemical tools, for example, in antisense/antigene therapy. Interstrand crosslink formation in nucleic acids is one of the strategies for preparing a stable duplex by covalent bond formation. In this study, we have synthesized PNAs incorporating 4-amino-6-oxo-2-vinylpyrimidine (AOVP) as a crosslinking agent and evaluated their reactivities for targeting DNA and RNA.
Gastroprotective Efficacy and Safety Evaluation of Scoparone Derivatives on Experimentally Induced Gastric Lesions in Rodents
Authors: Son Dong , Lee Gyung , Oh Sungil , Lee Sung , Choi Won
Published: March 2015

This study investigated the gastroprotective efficacy of synthesized scoparone derivatives on experimentally induced gastritis and their toxicological safety. Six scoparone derivatives were synthesized and screened for gastroprotective activities against HCl/ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers in rats. Among these compounds, 5,6,7-trimethoxycoumarin and 6,7,8-trimethoxycoumarin were found to have gastroprotective activity greater than the standard drug rebamipide; 6-methoxy-7,8-methylenedioxycoumarin, 6-methoxy-7,8-(1-methoxy)-methylenedioxycoumarin, 6,7-methylenedioxycoumarin, and 6,7-(1-methoxy)-methylenedioxycoumarin were found to be equipotent or less potent that of rebamipide. Pharmacological studies suggest that the presence of a methoxy group at position C-5 or C-8 of the scoparone’s phenyl ring significantly improves gastroprotective activity, whereas the presence of a dioxolane ring at C-6, C-7, or C-8 was found to have decreased activity. In order to assess toxicological safety, two of the potent gastroprotective scoparone derivatives—5,6,7-trimethoxycoumarin and 6,7,8-trimethoxycoumarin—were examined for their acute toxicity in mice as well as their effect on cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme activity. These two compounds showed low acute oral toxicity in adult male and female mice, and caused minimal changes to CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 enzyme activity. These results indicate that compared to other scoparone derivatives, 5,6,7-trimethoxycoumarin and 6,7,8-trimethoxycoumarin can improve gastroprotective effects, and they have low toxicity and minimal effects on drug-metabolizing enzymes.
Validation of Five Minimally Obstructive Methods to Estimate Physical Activity Energy Expenditure in Young Adults in Semi-Standardized Settings
Authors: Schneller Mikkel , Pedersen Mogens , Gupta Nidhi , Aadahl Mette , Holtermann Andreas
Published: March 2015

We compared the accuracy of five objective methods, including two newly developed methods combining accelerometry and activity type recognition (Acti4), against indirect calorimetry, to estimate total energy expenditure (EE) of different activities in semi-standardized settings. Fourteen participants performed a standardized and semi-standardized protocol including seven daily life activity types, while having their EE measured by indirect calorimetry. Simultaneously, physical activity was quantified by an ActivPAL3, two ActiGraph GT3X+’s and an Actiheart. EE was estimated by the standard ActivPAL3 software (ActivPAL), ActiGraph GT3X+ (ActiGraph) and Actiheart (Actiheart), and by a combination of activity type recognition via Acti4 software and activity counts per minute (CPM) of either a hip- or thigh-worn ActiGraph GT3X+ (AGhip + Acti4 and AGthigh + Acti4). At group level, estimated physical activities EE by Actiheart (MSE = 2.05) and AGthigh + Acti4 (MSE = 0.25) were not significantly different from measured EE by indirect calorimetry, while significantly underestimated by ActiGraph, ActivPAL and AGhip + Acti4. AGthigh + Acti4 and Actiheart explained 77% and 45%, of the individual variations in measured physical activity EE by indirect calorimetry, respectively. This study concludes that combining accelerometer data from a thigh-worn ActiGraph GT3X+ with activity type recognition improved the accuracy of activity specific EE estimation against indirect calorimetry in semi-standardized settings compared to previously validated methods using CPM only.
Expected Improvements in the Quantitative Remote Sensing of Optically Complex Waters with the Use of an Optically Fast Hyperspectral Spectrometer—A Modeling Study
Authors: Moses Wesley , Bowles Jeffrey , Corson Michael
Published: March 2015

Using simulated data, we investigated the effect of noise in a spaceborne hyperspectral sensor on the accuracy of the atmospheric correction of at-sensor radiances and the consequent uncertainties in retrieved water quality parameters. Specifically, we investigated the improvement expected as the F-number of the sensor is changed from 3.5, which is the smallest among existing operational spaceborne hyperspectral sensors, to 1.0, which is foreseeable in the near future. With the change in F-number, the uncertainties in the atmospherically corrected reflectance decreased by more than 90% across the visible-near-infrared spectrum, the number of pixels with negative reflectance (caused by over-correction) decreased to almost one-third, and the uncertainties in the retrieved water quality parameters decreased by more than 50% and up to 92%. The analysis was based on the sensor model of the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) but using a 30-m spatial resolution instead of HICO’s 96 m. Atmospheric correction was performed using Tafkaa. Water quality parameters were retrieved using a numerical method and a semi-analytical algorithm. The results emphasize the effect of sensor noise on water quality parameter retrieval and the need for sensors with high Signal-to-Noise Ratio for quantitative remote sensing of optically complex waters.
Digital Control Analysis and Design of a Field-Sensed Magnetic Suspension System
Authors: Li Jen-Hsing , Chiou Juing-Shian
Published: March 2015

Magnetic suspension systems are mechatronic systems and crucial in several engineering applications, such as the levitation of high-speed trains, frictionless bearings, and wind tunnels. Magnetic suspension systems are nonlinear and unstable systems; therefore, they are suitable educational benchmarks for testing various modeling and control methods. This paper presents the digital modeling and control of magnetic suspension systems. First, the magnetic suspension system is stabilized using a digital proportional-derivative controller. Subsequently, the digital model is identified using recursive algorithms. Finally, a digital mixed linear quadratic regulator (LQR)/H∞ control is adopted to stabilize the magnetic suspension system robustly. Simulation examples and a real-world example are provided to demonstrate the practicality of the study results. In this study, a digital magnetic suspension system model was developed and reviewed. In addition, equivalent state and output feedback controls for magnetic suspension systems were developed. Using this method, the controller design for magnetic suspension systems was simplified, which is the novel contribution of this study. In addition, this paper proposes a complete digital controller design procedure for magnetic suspension systems.
Methodology for Evaluating the Rural Tourism Potentials: A Tool to Ensure Sustainable Development of Rural Settlements
Authors: Trukhachev Alexander
Published: March 2015

The paper analyses potentials, challenges and problems of the rural tourism from the point of view of its impact on sustainable rural development. It explores alternative sources of income for rural people by means of tourism and investigates effects of the rural tourism on agricultural production in local rural communities. The aim is to identify the existing and potential tourist attractions within the rural areas in Southern Russia and to provide solutions to be introduced in particular rural settlements in order to make them attractive for tourists. The paper includes the elaboration and testing of a methodology for evaluating the rural tourism potentials using the case of rural settlements of Stavropol Krai, Russia. The paper concludes with a ranking of the selected rural settlements according to their rural tourist capacity and substantiation of the tourism models to be implemented to ensure a sustainable development of the considered rural areas.
Fluctuating Asymmetry of Plant Leaves: Batch Processing with LAMINA and Continuous Symmetry Measures
Authors: Graham John , Whitesell Mattie , II Mark , Hel-Or Hagit , Nevo Eviatar , Raz Shmuel
Published: March 2015

Unlike landmark methods for estimating object asymmetry, continuous symmetry measures (CSM) can be used to measure the symmetry distance (ds) of inconsistent objects, such as plant leaves. Inconsistent objects have no homologous landmarks, no consistent topology, no quantitative consistency, and sometimes no matching points. When CSM is used in conjugation with LAMINA Leaf Shape Determination software, one can quickly and efficiently process a large number of scanned leaves. LAMINA automatically generates equally-spaced points around the perimeter of each leaf and the resulting x-y coordinates are normalized to average centroid size prior to estimating ds using a fold, average, unfold algorithm. We estimated shape asymmetry of leaves of three species of flowering plants: Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet), Rubus cuneifolius (blackberry), and Perilla frutescens (Perilla), as well as individual leaves from a few species of oaks (Quercus) and maples (Acer). We found that 100 to 200 equally-spaced points worked well for all three of the main species. Measurement error accounted for a small proportion of the asymmetry variation. Nevertheless, measurement error was great enough to generate some negative size scaling after normalization to average centroid size.
The Effects of Bee Venom Acupuncture on the Central Nervous System and Muscle in an Animal hSOD1G93A Mutant
Authors: Cai MuDan , Choi Sun-Mi , Yang Eun
Published: March 2015

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is caused by the degeneration of lower and upper motor neurons, leading to muscle paralysis and respiratory failure. However, there is no effective drug or therapy to treat ALS. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), including acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, herbal medicine, and massage is popular due to the significant limitations of conventional therapy. Bee venom acupuncture (BVA), also known as one of pharmacopunctures, has been used in Oriental medicine to treat inflammatory diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of BVA on the central nervous system (CNS) and muscle in symptomatic hSOD1G93A transgenic mice, an animal model of ALS. Our findings show that BVA at ST36 enhanced motor function and decreased motor neuron death in the spinal cord compared to that observed in hSOD1G93A transgenic mice injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with BV. Furthermore, BV treatment at ST36 eliminated signaling downstream of inflammatory proteins such as TLR4 in the spinal cords of symptomatic hSOD1G93A transgenic mice. However, i.p. treatment with BV reduced the levels of TNF-α and Bcl-2 expression in the muscle hSOD1G93A transgenic mice. Taken together, our findings suggest that BV pharmacopuncture into certain acupoints may act as a chemical stimulant to activate those acupoints and subsequently engage the endogenous immune modulatory system in the CNS in an animal model of ALS.
Production, detection, storage and release of spin currents
Authors: Cini Michele
Published: March 2015

Background: Quantum rings connected to ballistic circuits couple strongly to external magnetic fields if the connection is not symmetric. Moreover, properly connected rings can be used to pump currents in the wires giving raise to a number of interesting new phenomena. At half filling using a time-dependent magnetic field in the plane of the ring one can pump a pure spin current, excited by the the spin–orbit interaction in the ring.

Results: Such a magnetic current is even under time reversal and produces an electric field instead of the usual magnetic field. Numerical simulations show that one can use magnetizable bodies as storage units to concentrate and save the magnetization in much the same way as capacitors operating with charge currents store electric charge. The polarization obtained in this way can then be used on command to produce spin currents in a wire. These currents show interesting oscillations while the storage units exchange their polarizations.

Conclusion: The magnetic production of spin currents can be a useful alternative to optical excitation and electric field methods.
IR and electrochemical synthesis and characterization of thin films of PEDOT grown on platinum single crystal electrodes in [EMMIM]Tf2N ionic liquid
Authors: Sandoval Andrea P , Suárez-Herrera Marco F , Feliu Juan M
Published: March 2015

Thin films of PEDOT synthesized on platinum single electrodes in contact with the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium triflimide ([EMMIM]Tf2N) were studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the polymer grows faster on Pt(111) than on Pt(110) or Pt(100) and that the redox reactions associated with the PEDOT p-doping process are much more reversible in [EMMIM]Tf2N than in acetonitrile. Finally, the ion exchange and charge carriers’ formation during the p-doping reaction of PEDOT were studied using in situ FTIR spectroscopy.
Faba Bean: Transcriptome Analysis from Etiolated Seedling and Developing Seed Coat of Key Cultivars for Synthesis of Proanthocyanidins, Phytate, Raffinose Family Oligosaccharides, Vicine, and Convicine
Authors: Ray Heather , Bock Cheryl , Georges Fawzy
Published: March 2015

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) has been little examined from a genetic or genomic perspective despite its status as an established food and forage crop with some key pharmaceutical factors such as vicine and convicine (VC), which provoke severe haemolysis in genetically susceptible humans. We developed next‐generation sequencing libraries to maximize information to elucidate the VC pathway or relevant markers as well as other genes of interest for the species. One selected cultivar, A01155, lacks synthesis of the favism‐provoking factors, VC, and is low in tannin, while two cultivars, SSNS‐1 and CDC Fatima, are wild‐type for these factors. Tissues (5‐ to 6‐d‐old root and etiolated shoot and developing seed coat) were selected to maximize the utility and breadth of the gene expression profile. Approximately 1.2 × 106 expressed transcripts were sequenced and assembled into contigs. The synthetic pathways for phosphatidylinositol or phytate, the raffinose family oligosaccharides, and proanthocyanidin were examined and found to contain nearly a full complement of the synthetic genes for these pathways. A severe deficiency in anthocyanidin reductase expression was found in the low‐tannin cultivar A01155. Approximately 5300 variants, including 234 variants specific to one of the three cultivars, were identified. Differences in expression and variants potentially related to VC synthesis were analyzed using strategies exploiting differences in expression between cultivars and tissues. These sequences should be of high utility for marker‐assisted selection for the key traits vicine, convicine, and proanthocyanidin, and should contribute to the scant genetic maps available for this species.
THE APPLICABILITY OF DISINTEGRATION TESTS FOR COHESIVE ORGANIC SOILS
Authors: GROßE Anne-Katrin , CANTRÉ Stefan , SAATHOFF Fokke
Published: March 2015

The use of ripened fine-grained organic dredged materials as construction materials, e.g. as top soil on slopes such as landfills or dikes, is an important contribution to environmental engineering science. The materials are legally considered a waste and need to be beneficially re-used. Therefore, not only standard geotechnical parameter shave to be determined but also their erosion resistance which is a particularly critical environmental parameter. There is a variety of different tests to determine the flow dependent erosion resistance of soils, such as the erosion function apparatus (Briaud et al. 2001). In this study, however, the focus lays on the aggregate stability as an indicator for the erosion resistance under static loading, which can be determined using wet sieving and disintegration tests. The disintegration tests after Weißmann (2003) and Endell (RPW 2006) have a similar setup; however, the specific boundary conditions for the tests as well as the evaluation procedures are different. Weißmann proposed his test to determine the erosion stability of dike cover materials while the Endell test should be used for mineral sealing liners in navigation channels. In this study both tests have been used to evaluate the aggregate stability of fine-grained organic dredged materials that have been installed in large-scale research dike facilities and in the recultivation layers of different landfills. The materials showed good visual performance with respect to rainfall induced erosion so far; however, problems in determining erosion and aggregate stability indices limit the value of the studies: both disintegration tests investigated have major limitations with respect to the organic soils tested. Particularly the evaluation methods are not suitable for the soils but also some boundary conditions are critical and are discussed in this paper. The gained knowledge is a valuable basis for the development of standard characterisation methods for dredged materials in environmental and geotechnical applications.
ANALYSIS ON TRENDING ELECTROMAGNETIC EXPOSURE LEVELS AT HOMES AND PROXIMITY NEXT TO BASE STATIONS ALONG THREE YEARS IN A CITY
Authors: ÇEREZCİ Osman , KANBEROĞLU Baha , YENER Şuayb Çağrı
Published: March 2015

Electromagnetic field exposure levels of people living in the closest houses to the GSM transmitting antennas were investigated in a city between 2010 and 2012. At the end of 3-year period, trend of the electromagnetic exposure levels was determined especially for indoor/outdoor environments near the base station antennas. Because of increasing number of base stations by years and changing of the technology, it is determined that average electromagnetic exposure values in the city increased in a certain extent each year. Total and frequency selective measurements were performed in indoor/outdoor places. The results were compared by International ICNIRP limits. In addition, possibility of the compliance with some European countries which have applied low limit values are discussed to minimize involuntary exposure to electromagnetic fields at indoor/outdoor environments. Consequently, a suggestion is made and discussed for obtaining relatively homogeneous distribution of electromagnetic field exposure at indoor/outdoor environments near base station antennas to eliminate extent values.
Security of ICTs Supporting Healthcare Activities
Authors: Gaivéo José Manuel
Published: March 2015

Healthcare activities and all that are related with it are conducted by people. This single fact has brought up many precautions about patients and about information related with their health. Using information and communication technologies to support this kind of information requires particular attention about what happens, namely about who can use it and for what it can be used. This chapter intends to identify the vulnerabilities that could be explored, using an international security standard to support a proactive attitude in face of potential threats that explore the identified vulnerabilities, damaging organizational information assets. Another intention is the establishment of a basis of references in information security to define a level of risk classification to build a referential to the potential that a given threat has to exploit the vulnerabilities of an asset, preventing damages to personal and organizational property, including information, and also activity continuity.
On the Use of Formal Methods to Enforce Privacy-Aware Social Networking
Authors: Collazos Néstor Cataño , Hanvey Sorren Christopher , Calderón Camilo Rueda
Published: March 2015

This chapter discusses the use of formal techniques and formal verification tools to ensure privacy-aware social networking; hence users of social-networking sites can predict what the consequences of updating their privacy settings are. A formal methods approach is presented for modeling and comparing social-network privacy policies, and for checking whether a user's privacy policy can coexist with other policies within a social networking site. The authors present the Poporo tool implementing the approach. Poporo builds on a predicate calculus definition for social networking written in B that models social network content, people in the network, friendship relations, and privacy policies that are modeled as permissions to access content. Several examples of privacy-awareness social networking are also shown using Poporo.
The Role of Compliance and Conformance in Software Engineering
Authors: Delgado José C.
Published: March 2015

One of the most fundamental aspects of software engineering is the ability of software artifacts, namely programs, to interact and to produce applications that are more complex. This is known as interoperability, but, in most cases, it is dealt with at the syntactic level only. This chapter analyzes the interoperability problem from the point of view of abstract software artifacts and proposes a multidimensional framework that not only structures the description of these artifacts but also provides insight into the details of the interaction between them. The framework has four dimensions (lifecycle, concreteness level, concerns, and version). To support and characterize the interaction between artifacts, this chapter uses the concepts of compliance and conformance, which can establish partial interoperability between the artifacts. This reduces coupling while still allowing the required interoperability, which increases adaptability and changeability according to metrics that are proposed and contributes to a sustainable interoperability.
Interoperability in Laboratory Management Information Systems
Authors: Gürsel Güney
Published: March 2015

Medical laboratories are the key departments for healthcare. It does not matter if they are independent or part of the health center; they use an information management system. This system has to communicate and exchange data with many different organizations for many different reasons. Interoperability is the ability of two or more systems to exchange data and to use the exchanged data as their own. As always in health information technologies, this is easy to say and hard to perform. It has some challenges. To conquer interoperability, we need standard vocabularies, protocols, nomenclatures, classifications, etc. In this chapter, laboratory management information system-related interoperability issues are examined.
How to Implement Standardization Education in a Country
Authors: de Vries Henk J.
Published: March 2015

This chapter explores how standardization education can be implemented at the national level. Previous studies form the main source for the chapter. This research shows that implementation of standardization in the national education system requires a national policy, a long-term investment in support, and cooperation between industry, standardization bodies, academia, other institutions involved in education, and government. The approach should combine bottom-up and top-down. The chapter is new in combining previous findings to an underpinned recommendation on how to implement standardization education.
Designing Complex Agent Interaction Protocols Using Colored Petri Nets
Authors: Benmerzoug Djamel
Published: March 2015

This paper deals with one of the key issue in modern enterprises applications: the Agents Interaction Protocols (AiP) that are interconnecting the different parts involved in collaborative activities. The challenge here is twofold. First, we must provide a formal model that is rich enough to capture interactions characteristics. Second, we must allow designers to combine existing protocols to achieve a new specific need. The paper introduces a formal analysis framework allowing the verification of the conformance between interaction protocols. The semantics of AiP notations used in our approach and its application are described on the basis of translation rules into colored Petri net. The key feature of this framework is the ability to model and formally verify composition of AiP, where particular protocols may then be selected and composed to support a new business task. Furthermore, an agent-based architecture that supports our approach is developed. The main goal of the proposed architecture is to address and tackle AiP composition in the context of Cloud-based enterprise application.
A Security Risk Management Metric for Cloud Computing Systems
Authors: Jouini Mouna , Rabai Latifa Ben Arfa
Published: March 2015

Cloud computing is a growing technology used by several organizations because it presents a cost effective policy to manage and control Information Technology (IT). It delivers computing services as a public utility rather than a personal one. However, despite these benefits, it presents many challenges including access control and security problems. In order to assess security risks, the paper gives an overview of security risk management metrics. Then, it illustrates the use of a cyber security measure to describe an economic security model for cloud computing system. Moreover, it proposes a cloud provider business model for security issues. Finally, the paper shows a solution related to the vulnerabilities in cloud systems using a new quantitative metric to reduce the probability that an architectural components fails. The main aim of this article is to quantify security threats in cloud computing environments due to security breaches using a new security metric.
A Structured Method for Security Requirements Elicitation concerning the Cloud Computing Domain
Authors: Beckers Kristian , Côté Isabelle , Goeke Ludger , Güler Selim , Heisel Maritta
Published: March 2015

Cloud computing systems offer an attractive alternative to traditional IT-systems, because of economic benefits that arise from the cloud's scalable and flexible IT-resources. The benefits are of particular interest for SME's. The reason is that using Cloud Resources allows an SME to focus on its core business rather than on IT-resources. However, numerous concerns about the security of cloud computing services exist. Potential cloud customers have to be confident that the cloud services they acquire are secure for them to use. Therefore, they have to have a clear set of security requirements covering their security needs. Eliciting these requirements is a difficult task, because of the amount of stakeholders and technical components to consider in a cloud environment. Therefore, the authors propose a structured, pattern-based method supporting eliciting security requirements and selecting security measures. The method guides potential cloud customers to model the application of their business case in a cloud computing context using a pattern-based approach. Thus, a potential cloud customer can instantiate our so-called Cloud System Analysis Pattern. Then, the information of the instantiated pattern can be used to fill-out our textual security requirements patterns and individual defined security requirement patterns, as well. The presented method is tool-supported. Our tool supports the instantiation of the cloud system analysis pattern and automatically transfers the information from the instance to the security requirements patterns. In addition, they have validation conditions that check e.g., if a security requirement refers to at least one element in the cloud. The authors illustrate their method using an online-banking system as running example.
Exploring the Factors Influencing the Adoption of Open Government Data by Private Organisations
Authors: Kaasenbrood Maaike , Zuiderwijk Anneke , Janssen Marijn , de Jong Martin , Bharosa Nitesh
Published: March 2015

Governments are increasingly opening their datasets, allowing use. Drawing on a multi-method approach, this paper develops a framework for identifying factors influencing the adoption of Open Government Data (OGD) by private organisations. Subsequently the framework was used to analyse five cases. The findings reveal that for private organizations to use OGD, the content and source of the data needs to be clear, a usable open data license must be present and continuity of data updates needs to be ensured. For none of the investigated private organisations OGD was key to their existence. Organisations use OGD in addition to, or as an enhancement of their core activities. As the official OGD-channels are bypassed trustworthy relationships between the data user and data provider were found to play an important role in finding and using OGD. The findings of this study can help government agencies in developing OGD-policies and stimulating OGD-use.
Profiles and Motivations of Standardization Players
Authors: Riillo Cesare A. F.
Published: March 2015

This study profiles the characteristics and motivations of participants from Luxembourg in national and international formal standardization activities. The study considers both experts and the organizations to which the experts belong. By adopting a qualitative approach, data have been mainly collected through 24 semi-structured interviews with experts and public available register data on the organization. The main result is that participants in standardization can be classified into two main groups. The first group consists of large and international firms which are active in product standardization aiming to promote the interest of the firm. The second group are mainly small and local firms active in management standardization for which knowledge sharing is an important part of the standardization process. The classification is useful in interpreting the difficulties faced during the standardization process and in designing appropriate supporting policies.
Understanding the Information Security Landscape in South Africa
Authors: Maumbe Blessing M. , Owei Vesper T.
Published: March 2015

Information security risks are a major threat to South Africa's bid to build a broad-based information society. The integration of information security in e-government is no longer an option, but an imperative given the resulting “information overload” and the need to filter “good” from “bad” information. Unless South Africa integrates information security in its e-government development policy and practices, the acclaimed benefits of e-government will not be realized. The moral hazard problems arising from bad information behavior such as human manipulation, withholding information, unauthorized access, and violation of individual privacy and confidentiality heightens the need to combat info-security risks and vulnerabilities. South Africa's readiness to deal with the information security risks has come under scrutiny. The information security infrastructure in South Africa is also not clearly understood. This chapter examines South Africa's information security landscape and describes how institutional and agency coordination could help improve information security in e-government.
Publishing Statistical Data following the Linked Open Data Principles
Authors: Rodríguez Jose María Alvarez , Clement Jules , Gayo José Emilio Labra , Farhan Hania , Ordoñez de Pablos Patricia
Published: March 2015

This chapter introduces the promotion of statistical data to the Linked Open Data initiative in the context of the Web Index project. A framework for the publication of raw statistics and a method to convert them to Linked Data are also presented following the W3C standards RDF, SKOS, and OWL. This case study is focused on the Web Index project; launched by the Web Foundation, the Index is the first multi-dimensional measure of the growth, utility, and impact of the Web on people and nations. Finally, an evaluation of the advantages of using Linked Data to publish statistics is also presented in conjunction with a discussion and future steps sections.
Government Spending Transparency on the Internet
Authors: Karamagioli Evika , Staiou Eleni-Revekka , Gouscos Dimitris
Published: March 2015

The objective of this article is to present four civil society initiatives that attempt to scrutinize government spending using open data from the Greek government OpenGov initiative Diavgeia project (“diavgeia”, in Greek, standing for lucidity). In a period of strong economic recession, Greece is facing one of the most intense social and political crisis of its history, with citizens characterized by substantial disenchantment with politics and a cynical stance about their government and representatives. The Diavgeia project was launched in 2010 by the Greek government with the objective to bring back transparency and trust in the political process, enabling online insights into government spending. By reviewing current bottom-up initiatives in Greece that are using data from Diavgeia in an effort to serve the principles of transparency, openness, and offering public data in a manner easy to understand, evaluate and re-use, we discuss the role of open government mechanisms in introducing a new relation between citizens and policy-makers, tackling contemporary political challenges of democratic societies and reconnecting ordinary people with politics and policy-making.
Privacy Preserving Text Analytics
Authors: Veluru Suresh , Rahulamathavan Yogachandran , Gupta B. B. , Rajarajan Muttukrishnan
Published: March 2015

An e-mail address is a source of communication for major social networking sites. In general, e-mail addresses hold identity in the form a surname as a substring in it. Identities such as names are far from random and can exhibit community distributions over populations. However, these identities reflect cultural, ethnic, and genetic structures generated among populations. Hence, identity establishment in e-mail address mining can be seen as a categorization of e-mail address-based community structure in names data set. It involves community modeling in names, categorization of an e-mail addresses, and identity privacy preservation. This chapter presents a survey of text mining and privacy preserving techniques followed by research challenges and strategies in name analysis. The research challenges are: (1) e-mail address categorization based on community structure of identities, (2) correlation of surnames and forenames within and across communities, and (3) privacy preserving of identities in communities.
Understanding Children's Private Speech and Self-Regulation Learning in Web 2.0
Authors: Agina Adel M. , Tennyson Robert D. , Kommers Piet A. M.
Published: March 2015

Web 2.0 offers the Zeitgeist to update seminal research concerning children's Private Speech (PS) and Self-Regulation Learning (SRL) for application in social networks. Contemporary literature holds a body of research from the Vygotsky through Piaget to constructive theories that can be applied to theoretical foundations of Web 3.0 designs. Specifically, the purpose of the present chapter is to be present an index based on valuable and effective research concerning the subject matter in which a historical overview of both PS and SRL have demonstrated significant complexities and the most significant critiques that exist in the literature. The chapter does not mean to include detailed research methodology and results but, instead, to be used as an indexing review of PS and SRL for possible theoretical foundations in applications in the expanding world of social media. Finally, the conclusion provides a reflection on the future of our children's PS and SRL and what we should do next to enhance these concepts.
Underpinning EISB with Enterprise Interoperability Neighboring Scientific Domains
Authors: Agostinho Carlos , Jardim-Goncalves Ricardo , Steiger-Garcao Adolfo
Published: March 2015

Over the last decade, interoperability appeared as a key enabler towards unlocking the full potential of enterprises, products, processes, and systems. With methods to support their lifecycle, contributing towards removing communication barriers, and fostering a new-networked business culture in industrial domains, Enterprise Interoperability (EI) requires tangible scientific foundations. This chapter recognizes that, in terms of content, any scientific field exists in an ecosystem of neighboring domains and presents a methodology to identify EI's relationship with its neighbors, thus supporting the foundations of EI Science Base (EISB). It can be agreed that formalisms like logic and mathematics are an integrant part of every science, but others also share relationships such as application fields' boundaries, methodologies, techniques, or even tools. With the support of the European Commission, through the Future Internet and Enterprise Systems (FInES) cluster of research projects, the authors have initiated an analysis of comprehensive domains (e.g. complexity and software).
Identifying and Examining Degree-Granting Programs for Distance Education Experts
Authors: Kocdar Serpil , Karadag Nejdet
Published: March 2015

This chapter reveals the results of a preliminary analysis of degree-granting distance education expertise programs by identifying the programs offered by higher education institutions all around the world and examining the general features of these programs from various aspects. As a result of this study, 27 degree-granting programs in 18 universities were identified in 12 different countries for distance education expertise. These programs were examined in terms of the aims and target population, educational models, delivery methods, admission and graduation requirements of the programs, and proposed career opportunities by these programs. The results of this analysis are intended to help develop a basis for the clarification of the profession; guide educational institutions, decision-makers, and program designers for developing distance education expertise programs; help individuals who intend to gain academic expertise in distance education to choose the most suitable program that meets their needs; and contribute to the research on leadership and expertise in distance education.
Role of bone marrow derived pluripotent stem cells in peripheral nerve repair in adult rats: A morphometric evaluation
Authors: Kurwale Nilesh S. , Suri Vaishali , Srivastava Arati , Suri Ashish , Mohanti Sujata , Yadav Pradeep , Sharma Meher C. , Sarkar Chitra
Published: March 2015

Objectives: Semi-quantitative and quantitative assessment of the effect of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BM-MNC) on early and late phase of nerve regeneration in rat sciatic nerve model. Materials and Methods: Sciatic nerve transection and repair was performed in 50 inbred female Wistar albino rats divided equally in two groups. In the test group the gap was filled with BM-MNCs obtained from the two male rats and fibrin sealant, while in the control group only fibrin sealant was used. Sciatic nerve was harvested at 15 days and at 60 days interval. Parameters of regeneration were assessed at anastomosis (G), intermediate distal (C), and distal site (A). Semi-quantitative (histopathological) and quantitative (morphometric) parameters were analyzed. Results: At 15 days there was a statistically significant difference found in mean axon diameter, mean nerve thickness and myelin thickness at the repair site (P < 0.05). However, in the distal areas, the axons were sparse and myelin rings were very thin in both the groups. At 60 days, the difference in above-mentioned parameters was statistically significant at the distal most sites. FISH assay confirmed the presence of Y chromosome, confirming the presence of BM-MNCs from the male rats. Conclusions: Transplanting BM-MNC S at the site of peripheral nerve injury leads to significantly better recovery. These differences were evident at the repair site and at the intermediate distal site at 15 days and at the distal most sites at 60 days. With practically no ethical issue regarding their isolation and application, they can be easily used for clinical trials.
Stressful life events, hopelessness, and coping strategies among impulsive suicide attempters
Authors: Kattimani Shivanand , Sarkar Siddharth , Rajkumar Ravi Philip , Menon Vikas
Published: March 2015

Background: Suicides are among the most important causes of death in the economically productive population. Characteristics of impulsive and nonimpulsive suicide attempters may differ which would have a bearing on planning preventive measures. Aims: This study aimed to characterize the clinical and psychological profile of impulsive and nonimpulsive suicide attempters. Settings and Design: This retrospective comprehensive chart-based study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in South India. Methods: The study utilized records of patients over a period of 3 years. An attempt was considered impulsive if the time between suicidal idea and the attempt was <30 min. Stressful life events were assessed using presumptive stressful life events scale; hopelessness was evaluated using Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and coping was measured using Coping Strategies Inventory Short Form. Statistical Analysis Used: Impulsive and nonimpulsive suicide attempters were compared using appropriate inferential statistical tests. Results: Of 316 patients, 151 were classified as having an impulsive suicidal attempt (47.8% of the sample). The impulsive and nonimpulsive suicide attempters did not differ on demographic characteristics. Use of natural plant products was more common in impulsive attempters (27.2% vs. 12.7%), while physical methods like hanging was less common (0.7% vs. 7.3%). Those with an impulsive attempt were more likely to have a recent contact with a health professional (24.5% vs. 4.5%). Impulsive suicide attempters had higher scores on BHS (Mann-Whitney U = 7680.5, P < 0.001), and had recollected greater number of stressors. Conclusion: Impulsive suicide attempters differ from nonimpulsive suicide attempters in clinical features like methods of attempt, presence of hopelessness, and stressors.
Norms for a neuropsychological test battery to diagnose dementia in the elderly: A study from Sri Lanka
Authors: Srinivasan Srikanth , Jaleel Qadir
Published: March 2015

Aims: To pilot a neuropsychological battery for diagnosing dementia and provide normative scores in an elderly Sri Lankan sample. Materials and Methods: Consecutive subjects over the age of 60 yrs were administered tests assessing the individual domains of language, verbal episodic memory, visual perceptuospatial skills and executive functions in the Sinhala language. Results: There were a total of 230 subjects in the final sample. The mean age of the entire sample was 69 years, mean education level was 12 years and the sample comprised 53% female. One-month test-retest reliability ranged from 0.71 to 0.85 for the various tests. Most tests were significantly influenced by age and education level but not gender. The exceptions to this were some language subtests (repetition, grammar comprehension and word picture matching) and two tests of executive functioning (maze completion and alternate target cancellation), which were uninfluenced by age. The subtests where ceiling performance was attained by almost all subjects were repetition, grammar comprehension and word picture matching from the language domain, dot position discrimination from the visuospatial domain and maze completion test from the executive function domain. Scores for various tests after stratifying subjects by age and educational level are given. Conclusions: The tests were well received and could provide a basis for cognitive profiling in similar settings elsewhere.