bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Q-Methodology: An Alternative Design for Undergraduate Nursing Honors Research
Authors: Hensel Desiree
Published: October 2016

Background:

Undergraduate research is a high-impact educational practice that fosters deep learning. Study design is an important factor to consider when planning for student success.

Method:

Q-methodology uses statistical principles to study subjectivity and can be successfully used by undergraduate nursing students to build research skills and foster deep learning.

Results:

Authentic assessments evidencing attainment of the desired learning outcomes in student studies include well-written literature reviews, successful institutional review board submissions, completed projects, and dissemination of findings.

Conclusion:

Q-studies solve many design challenges faced by novice researchers leading to doable and meaningful undergraduate projects. [
J Nurs Educ
. 2016;55(11):659–662.]
Development of Monofixation Syndrome After Extraction of Dense Cataracts
Authors: Eustis H. Sprague , Janot Adam , Jhaveri Chirag
Published: October 2016

Purpose:

If the interruption of macular fusion for an extended period of time is the key event that results in the development of monofixation syndrome, then the decreased macular input caused by dense cataracts may cause monofixation syndrome in adults. This study was designed to test this hypothesis.

Methods:

The study design was a retrospective chart review that identified patients with unilateral cataracts at two southern Louisiana medical centers. Patients were assigned to the dense cataract group if a unilateral cataract had been present for at least 3 months and led to a visual acuity of worse than 20/200. Patients in the control group had a unilateral cataract for more than 3 months and visual acuity better than 20/200 in the affected eye. Stereoacuity was assessed using the Titmus or Randot stereo test. A Worth 4-dot test viewed at a distance of 20 feet was used to assess the presence of a macular scotoma. The criteria for monofixation syndrome were met if stereoacuity was less than 60 seconds and the Worth 4-dot test demonstrated central macular scotoma at 20 feet.

Results:

The dense cataract group's association with monofixation syndrome was statistically significant when compared to the control group (
P
< .0001).

Conclusions:

This study adds dense adult-onset cataracts to the list of causes of monofixation syndrome and reduced stereoacuity. A delay in treating dense lens opacities can result in good visual outcome but an inferior binocular visual outcome (poor stereoacuity).

[
J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
. 2017;54(1):39–42.]
Outcomes of Two Surgical Techniques Using Silicone Rod for Frontalis Sling Suspension to Treat Severe Ptosis
Authors: Galindo-Ferreiro Alicia , Akaishi Patricia , Hanafi Somaya , Khandekar Rajiv , Galvez-Ruiz Alberto , Schellini Silvana , Cruz Augusto
Published: October 2016

Purpose:

To compare outcomes of two techniques of frontalis silicone sling surgery.

Methods:

This retrospective, nonrandomized chart review was performed on patients undergoing frontalis sling surgery between 2008 and 2011. Silicone rods were sutured to the tarsal plate through an eyelid crease incision (open method) or stab incisions (closed method). Data were collected on age, gender, type of surgery, preoperative and postoperative margin reflex distance (MRD), and complications. A successful outcome was defined as a postoperative score of 2 to 4 for MRD or an improvement in MRD.

Results:

A total of 155 eyelids of 146 patients with ptosis were included. There were 60 patients in the open method group and 85 patients in the closed method group, respectively. Successful outcomes were seen in 30 (50%) patients in the open method and 44 (51.8%) patients in the closed method groups. There were 61 (71.8%) patients in the open method group and 45 (75%) patients in the closed method group who had improved MRD at last follow-up. The main complications were exposure keratitis, eyelash ptosis, and eyelid crease abnormalities that occurred only in the closed method group.

Conclusions:

The silicone frontalis sling procedure had the same success rates in both the open and closed methods. Eyelash and eyelid crease abnormalities were unique to the closed method.

[
J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
. 2017;54(1):52–58.]
Nueva especie de Metadonus Capiomont, 1868 de Los Monegros (Zaragoza, España) (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Hyperinae)
Authors: Ugarte San Vicente Iñigo
Published: October 2016

Se describe Metadonus fernandoi sp. n. especie nueva de curculiónido hallada en la zona subárida de Los Monegros (Aragón, Zaragoza, España) que se sitúa en la depresión central del valle del río Ebro. Esta especie que pertenece al “grupo de M. anceps” por presentar el ápice del pene con setas y no ser distintamente alargado y asimétrico apicalmente, se diferencia principalmente del resto de especies del género por presentar las escamas del pronoto y élitros ovaladas y distintamente bífidas (el resto de las especies presentan las escamas indistintamente bífidas), excepto de M. vuillefroyanus (Capiomont, 1868) que también presenta las escamas del pronoto y élitros de igual forma, sin embargo, ambas especies se distinguen, entre otros caracteres, por su tamaño, diseño cromático de las escamas, forma del pronoto y élitros, morfología del pene y su endofalo así como por la espermateca y el esternito VIII de la hembra. Se comentan datos biológicos, ecológicos y de distribución de la especie nueva así como de M. vuillefroyanus.
Embryonic development of the southern surf crab Ovalipes trimaculatus (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunoidea)
Authors: Martelli Antonela , Tapella Federico , González-Pisani Ximena , Dellatorre Fernando , Barón Pedro J.
Published: October 2016

The embryogenesis of Ovalipes trimaculatus, a member of the highly valued portunid swimming crabs, was studied under nearly constant temperature (13±1°C), salinity (33) and photoperiod (14 h light:10 h dark) conditions. A five-stage scale of embryonic development was defined for the species. Time required to complete development averaged 35.7±2.11 days, showing no significant differences between embryos located in inner, middle and outer portions of the egg mass. The egg chorion was rounded and showed the highest growth in diameter between stages I (morula-blastula-gastrula) and II (primordium of larval structure) and between stages III (appendage formation) and IV (eye formation). Results reported here provide a baseline for optimizing hatchery operations and useful information for management purposes.
Population genetic structure of an estuarine and a reef fish species exploited by Brazilian artisanal fishing
Authors: Priolli Regina H.G. , Bajay Miklos M. , Silvano Renato A.M. , Begossi Alpina
Published: October 2016

In this study, we used microsatellite markers to examine the genetic structures of Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch, 1792) and Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834) populations collected from artisanal fishing sites along a stretch of coastline in southeastern Brazil. Based on F-statistics, there was no significant genetic differentiation evident in any C. undecimalis samples (FST=0.012). However, Bayesian clustering, principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) results suggested that there were most likely two clusters, with no relation to geographic areas. The bottleneck results showed no significant values and the effective population sizes (Ne) for the two genetically differentiated groups were large and similar. In contrast, for E. marginatus populations, the microsatellite loci showed no population subdivisions. The FST value was low and non-significant (FST=0.008), a Bayesian analysis indicated one cluster, and a PCA showed that all samples from different geographical sites shared the same genetic structure. The bottleneck results exhibited significant differences, and a low Ne was observed. The results of the genetic study of these two species along the southeastern Brazilian coast suggest that the distinct genetic structure of each species should be taken into account as management units for the conservation of their genetic diversities.
Occurrence of adult anchovy in Catalonia (NW Mediterranean) in relation to sea surface conditions
Authors: Quattrocchi Federico , Mamouridis Valeria , Maynou Francesc
Published: October 2016

Generalized additive and generalized additive threshold models were used to study the relationship between landings per unit effort (LPUE) of anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, during the spawning season (May-October) from 2000-2010, and environmental variables, using sea surface data derived from satellite imagery (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, and meridional and zonal velocity current) in three fishing zones defined along the Catalan coast. The configuration of the environment where spawning aggregations occur affects early life stages and therefore the future demographic structure of the population. It is therefore fundamental to define the environmental conditions and their variations during the spawning season. Our results show that the low salinity in the Northern and Central sector and the velocity of the zonal and meridional currents in the Central and Southern sector, respectively, implicated in retention processes, increase LPUE during the spawning period. Temperature was related to LPUE in the Southern and in the Northern sectors, in both of which a non-linear positive effect with a local maximum peak at lower temperature values was present. However, in the Northern sector, this relationship held only for the period before 2007. After 2007 the decrease in preferred temperature suggests a reduction of the thermal window in which adult spawner aggregations occur. In agreement with previous studies on this species, the relationships were non-linear, stressing the importance of the match in timing and location between favourable conditions and spawning period as a crucial event for understanding the dynamics of small pelagics populations.
Games for Empathy for Sensitive Social Groups
Authors: Drigas Athanasios , Papoutsi Chara
Published: October 2016

Information and Communication Technology is part of almost everyone’s everyday life in a variety of ways and in many fields. All people should have access to ICTs including those with various disabilities and those with health problems. The studies presented in this article represent a body of work outlining positive effects of playing games in the area of special education and health care in order to cultivate empathy.
An Effective Hybrid Recommender Using Metadata-based Conceptualization and Temporal Semantics
Authors: Venu Gopalachari M. , Sammulal Porika
Published: October 2016

Modern recommender systems target the satisfaction of the end user through the personalization techniques that collects the history of the user’s navigation. But the sole dependency on user profile based on navigation alone cannot promise the quality of recommendations because of the lack of semantics of various aspect such as demographics of the user, time of usage, concept of need etc in the processing. Though the literature provides many techniques to conceptualize the process makes high computational complexity because of the content data considered as input information. In this paper a hybrid recommender framework is developed that considers Meta data based conceptual semantics and the temporal patterns on top of the history of the usage. This framework also includes an online process that identifies the conceptual drift of the usage dynamically. The experimental results shown the effectiveness of the proposed framework when compared to the existing modern recommenders also indicate that the proposed model can resolve a cold start problem yet accurate suggestions reducing computational complexity.
Sensing as a Service for the Internet of Things
Authors: Aldabbas Omar Subhi
Published: October 2016

Internet of Things (IoT) is a ubiquitous embedded ecosystem known for its capability to perform common application functions through coordinating resources, which are distributed on-object or on-network domains. As new applications evolve, the challenge is in the analysis and usage of multimodal data streamed by diverse kinds of sensors. This paper presents a new service-centric approach for data collection and retrieval. This approach considers objects as highly decentralized, composite and cost effective services. Such services can be constructed from objects located within close geographical proximity to retrieve spatio-temporal events from the gathered sensor data. To achieve this, we advocate Coordination languages and models to fuse multimodal, heterogeneous services through interfacing with every service to achieve the network objective according to the data they gather and analyze. In this paper we give an application scenario that illustrates the implementation of the coordination models to provision successful collaboration among IoT objects to retrieve information. The proposed solution reduced the communication delay before service composition by up to 43% and improved the target detection accuracy by up to 70%, while maintaining energy consumption 20% lower than its best rivals in the literature.
Comparison of Stresses in Four Modular Total Knee Arthroplasty Prosthesis Designs
Authors: Krishnan Ahilan Anantha , Ghyar Rupesh , Ravi Bhallamudi
Published: October 2016

The current study, compares the mechanical performance of four modular TKA prostheses based on von Mises stress distribution in the tibial insert. Three-dimensional finite element (FE) models of a cruciate retaining type modular prosthesis and three posterior stabilized (PS) type modular prostheses namely: anterior slide, modular post and double cam, were developed. A compressive load of 2600 N was applied to the FE models at flexion angles of 00, 150, 300, 600 and 900. Von Mises stress was evaluated on all the modular parts of the prostheses and compared with the yield strength of the corresponding material. Von Mises stress in all the parts were below the yield strength of their corresponding material except for tibial insert of anterior slide design at high flexion angle. Von Mises stress above the yield strength in the tibial insert of anterior slide design, was due to edge loading in the post and it demonstrates the likelihood of mechanical failure by delamination type of wear.
An Improved Size Invariant (n, n) Extended Visual Cryptography Scheme
Authors: Sharma Rahul , Agrawal Nitesh Kumar , Khare Ayush , Pal Arup Kumar
Published: October 2016

In this paper, the authors have presented a (n, n) extended visual cryptography scheme where n numbers of meaningful shares furnish a visually secret message. Initially they have converted a grayscale image into binary image using dithering method. Afterwards, they have incorporated pixel's eight neighboring connectivity property of secret image during formation of meaningful shares. The scheme is able to generate the shares without extending its size. This approach has enhanced the visual quality of the recovered secret image from n numbers of shares. The scheme has been tested with some images and satisfactory results are achieved. The scheme has improved the contrast of the recovered secret image than a related (n, n) extended visual cryptography scheme.
A Contactless Fingerprint Verification Method using a Minutiae Matching Technique
Authors: Djara Tahirou , Assogba Marc Kokou , Vianou Antoine
Published: October 2016

Most of matching or verification phases of fingerprint systems use minutiae types and orientation angle to find matched minutiae pairs from the input and template fingerprints. Unfortunately, due to some non-linear distortions, like excessive pressure and fingers twisting during enrollment, this process can cause the minutiae features to be distorted from the original. The authors are then interested in a fingerprint matching method using contactless images for fingerprint verification. After features extraction, they compute Euclidean distances between template minutiae (bifurcation and ending points) and input image minutiae. They compute then after bifurcation ridges orientation angles and ending point orientations. In the decision stage, they analyze the similarity between templates. The proposed algorithm has been tested on a set of 420 fingerprint images. The verification accuracy is found to be acceptable and the experimental results are promising.
Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Food Security
Authors: Londhe Sunil
Published: October 2016

Many studies have demonstrated the sensitivities of crop yield to a changing climate, a major challenge for the agricultural research community is to relate these findings to the wider societal concern with food security. Apart from few exceptions, the likely impacts of climate change on agricultural sector in the future are not understood in any great depth. There are many concerns as to how changes in temperature, rainfall and atmospheric Carbon Dioxide concentrations will interact in relation to agricultural productivity. The present article is an attempt to distil about the likely effects of climate change on food security and nutrition in coming decades. The consequences of climate change on various important aspects of agriculture are discussed and summarized. The article also discusses the analysis on the possible mitigation measures and adaptations for agriculture production in the future climate change scenarios.
Exploring the Spread of Zika
Authors: Ola Oluwakemi , Buchel Olha , Sedig Kamran
Published: October 2016

Vector-borne diseases pose a major public health threat. Combined, these diseases contribute significantly to illness and mortality worldwide and have an adverse impact on development and economic growth of nations. Public health stakeholders seeking to control and prevent these diseases are confronted with a myriad of challenges. Some of these difficulties are related to the nature of the data, the uncertainty of disease dynamics, and volatility of human-environment interactions. Visualization tools are capable of ameliorating some of these challenges. In this paper, the authors demonstrate how interactive visualizations can support stakeholders' decision-making tasks. In particular, they present a visualization tool they created that can support control efforts related to the recent Zika outbreak in Brazil.
An Improved Second Order Training Algorithm for Improving the Accuracy of Fuzzy Decision Trees
Authors: Narayanan Swathi Jamjala , Bhatt Rajen B. , Paramasivam Ilango
Published: October 2016

Fuzzy decision tree (FDT) is a powerful top-down, hierarchical search methodology to extract human interpretable classification rules. The performance of FDT depends on initial fuzzy partitions and other parameters like alpha-cut and leaf selection threshold. These parameters are decided either heuristically or by trial-and-error. For given set of parameters, FDT is constructed using any standard induction algorithms like Fuzzy ID3. Due to the greedy nature of induction process, there is a chance of FDT resulting in poor classification accuracy. To further improve the accuracy of FDT, in this paper, the authors propose the strategy called Improved Second Order- Neuro- Fuzzy Decision Tree (ISO-N-FDT). ISO-N-FDT tunes parameters of FDT from leaf node to roof node starting from left side of tree to its right and attains better improvement in accuracy with less number of iterations exhibiting fast convergence and powerful search ability.
High Order Time Series Forecasting using Fuzzy Discretization
Authors: Bose Mahua , Mali Kalyani
Published: October 2016

In recent years, various methods for forecasting fuzzy time series have been presented in different areas, such as stock price, enrollments, weather, production etc. It is observed that in most of the cases, static length of intervals/equal length of interval has been used. Length of the interval has significant role on forecasting accuracy. The objective of this present study is to incorporate the idea of fuzzy discretization into interval creation and examine the effect of positional information of elements within a group or interval to the forecast. This idea outperforms the existing high order forecast methods using fixed interval. Experiments are carried on three datasets including Lahi production data, enrollment data and rainfall data which deal with a lot of uncertainty.
A Multi-Objective Fuzzy Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm for Virtual Machine Placement
Authors: Perumal Boominathan , Aramudhan M.
Published: October 2016

In cloud computing, the most important challenge is to enforce proper utilization of physical resources. To accomplish the mentioned challenge, the cloud providers need to take care of optimal mapping of virtual machines to a set of physical machines. In this paper, the authors address the mapping problem as a multi-objective virtual machine placement problem (VMP) and propose to apply multi-objective fuzzy ant colony optimization (F-ACO) technique for optimal placing of virtual machines in the physical servers. VMP-F-ACO is a combination of fuzzy logic and ACO, where we use fuzzy transition probability rule to simulate the behaviour of the ants and the authors apply the same for virtual machine placement problem. The results of fuzzy ACO techniques are compared with five variants of classical ACO, three bin packing heuristics and two evolutionary algorithms. The results show that the fuzzy ACO techniques are better than the other optimization and heuristic techniques considered.
Promoting Voluntariness on Technology Usage in Organisations
Authors: Mushi Renatus , Jafari Said
Published: October 2016

Voluntariness in technology adoption and use is vital in promoting technology diffusion and use in organisations. Various technology adoption models have been proposed to explain the adoption of technologies in different settings, such as organizational and individual, as well as in the voluntary and mandatory contexts. Recently, uptake of mobile phones in achieving organisational targets has been increased in developing countries and Tanzania in particular. This is due to the notable improvements in both hardware performance and sophistications. In organisation context, not all users are willing to use technology as required. In such circumstances, they are mandated to use it in order to fulfil their working duties. This leads to poor uptake of technology and results to unclear understanding regarding to their attitudes towards using it. While some studies have discussed the impact of voluntariness in using traditional desktop computer systems and thin client computing, mobile phone technology has not received the deserved attention. Discussing voluntariness in using mobile phone technology in organisations in relation to other technologies is essential especially due to its usage in both working and private purposes. This paper describes the voluntary aspects of using mobile phones in performing activities of the firms in Tanzania and compares it with desktop and thin client technologies. Also, it proposes possible ways of handling such situation in order to improve its use. Among others, the paper has analysed mandotoriness on usage of mobile technology. Further, it highlights key areas which should be addressed in order to improve the usage of mobiletechnology in organisations and eventually cover the gap caused by such mandatory situations.
First Steps Towards a Wise Development Environment for Behavioral Models
Authors: Harel David , Katz Guy , Marelly Rami , Marron Assaf
Published: October 2016

The authors present an initial wise development framework: a development environment that proactively and interactively assists the software engineer in modeling complex reactive systems. Their framework repeatedly analyzes models of the system under development at various levels of abstraction, and then reasons about these models in order to detect possible errors, to derive emergent properties of interest, and to assist in system testing and debugging. Upon request, the environment can instrument the system model in order to monitor or test the execution for certain behaviors, or even augment it in order to repair or avoid detected behavior that is undesired. The direction and prioritization of the analysis and related tasks is based on the relevance of the observed properties and the expected impact of actions to be taken, and is performed by specialized automated and human-assisted techniques that have been incorporated into the framework. The authors' development environment is an initial step in the direction of their recent Wise Computing vision, which calls for turning the computer (namely, the development environment) into an equal member of the development team: knowledgeable, independent, concerned and proactively involved in the development process. They have implemented their tool within the context of behavioral programming (BP) – a scenario-based modeling approach, in which components are aligned with how humans often describe desired system behavior. The authors' work thus further enhances the naturalness and incrementality of developing in BP.
Diagrammatic Development of Domain Specific Modelling Languages with WebDPF
Authors: Rabbi Fazle , Lamo Yngve , Yu Ingrid Chieh , Kristensen Lars Michael
Published: October 2016

Domain specific modelling languages reduce the effort required to specify systems by providing higher level abstractions. Although this is a promising approach for reducing the complexity of system specifications, creating a new domain specific modelling language is a complex task. WebDPF is a web-based metamodelling tool that aims to reduce the effort required to develop domain specific modelling languages. The proposed technique is based on model transformations which enhances a modelling language with auto-completion. WebDPF supports multilevel metamodelling, diagrammatic specification of model constraints, and development, simulation and analysis of model transformation systems. The authors study the termination of the underlying model transformation systems and provide sufficient condition for termination. The tool is equipped with a scalable model navigation facility that enables a modeler to deal with large models.
Embedded Systems Specific Requirements for Choreography Modelling Language Design
Authors: Taušan Nebojša , Markkula Jouni , Kuvaja Pasi , Oivo Markku
Published: October 2016

Software companies that develop embedded systems following the principles of service-oriented architecture can anticipate various benefits from choreography modelling. Current choreography modelling languages, however, have a limited applicability in embedded systems development since they are not expressive enough to capture all the choreography-relevant aspects that are typical in this domain. This problem is addressed in this study with the analysis of the needs in embedded systems domain for choreography modelling language. The analysis was guided by design science and relied on expert interviews, company-specific documents, relevant scientific literature and the experts' evaluation of the redesigned choreography modelling language. The main results of the analysis presented in this paper are a) design requirements addressing the limitations of choreography modelling languages for embedded systems development and b) proposals for modelling language implementation technologies. The derived design requirements indicate on choreography-relevant embedded systems development aspects such as the constraint-based access and real-time execution. Modelling language implementation technology proposals include Eclipse modelling framework and Sirius. The feasibility of these results is evaluated by redesigning an existing choreography modelling language based on the derived design requirements, implementing a prototype editor for the redesigned language and by evaluating the redesigned language with experts.
Exploring Strategies for Capturing Customer's Tacit Knowledge in Customer Integration Methods
Authors: Bretschneider Ulrich , Zogaj Shkodran
Published: October 2016

In many instances, customers are seen as one of the key resources for new product development (NPD), as they often have deep product knowledge, either in the form of explcit or tacit knowledge. Firms' NPD departments are highly interested in internalizing these forms of customer knowledge with the help of customer integration methods, such as Ideas Competitions, Lead-User-Workshops etc. However, research analyzing how these methods enable transfer of customer's tacit knowledge – which can hardly be expressed – has been neglected. Thus, scholars are constantly calling for research that focuses on understanding the tacit knowledge transfer processes by means of customer integration methods. This research identifies a total of 15 methods with the help of a systematic literature review. By then systematically analyzing these methods, authors found that six of these methods make use of two major strategies to internalise customer's tacit knowledge: Story Telling-Strategy and Observing Customer Activities-Strategy. The rest of these methods do not allow for capturing customer's tacit knowledge at all. Based on these insights, authors derived valuable implications for NPD practice on how each of these methods can leverage tacit knowledge from customers more efficiently.
Knowledge Management Process in Multi-Site Provision of Service
Authors: Gonzalez Rodrigo Valio Dominguez
Published: October 2016

Differently from manufacturing operations, which have a combination of tangible and intangible resources, services are characterized by intensive competencies and knowledge. Several services intensive organizations present a model called multi sites. In this model, the service provider company has several work teams, called in this work full service sites, installed full time at client sites. The challenge for these organizations is to manage the knowledge acquired in these various sites in order not to lose the knowledge created from the improvement, problem solving and innovations implemented in the processes of customer. Thus, this paper aims to analyze the stages that constitute the knowledge management process in the multi-sites service provider company context. The research results point to a model based on joint working between sites and full service center for excellence. The latter's mission is to identify, assess, store and distribute knowledge among sites, acting as a department that centralizes the knowledge management process.
Antecedents of Local Personnel Absorptive Capacity in Joint Project Engineering Teams in Nigeria
Authors: Ojo Adedapo Oluwaseyi , Raman Murali
Published: October 2016

This study investigates the significance of individual differences on the local personnel capability to acquire knowledge from joint project engineering teams. The model proposes individual's prior experience, learning orientation and perception of partner's support as antecedents of local personnel absorptive capacity. The hypothesized model was validated through the outcome of the structural equation modelling conducted on a cross sectional survey of 248 local personnel of joint project engineering teams in the Nigerian upstream oil industry. All the hypothesized relationships were supported, with the exception of that between learning orientation and ability to assimilate knowledge. Accordingly, the theoretical and practical implications of the findings were explained, with suggestions offered on the direction for future research.
ISEQL, an Interval-based Surveillance Event Query Language
Authors: Helmer Sven , Persia Fabio
Published: October 2016

The authors propose ISEQL, a language based on relational algebra extended by intervals for detecting high-level surveillance events from a video stream. The operators they introduce for describing temporal constraints are based on the well-known Allen's interval relationships and we implemented on top of a PostgreSQL database system. The semantics of ISEQL are clearly defined, and the authors illustrate its usefulness by expressing typical events in it and showing the promising results of an experimental evaluation.
Extracting Hierarchy of Coherent User-Concerns to Discover Intricate User Behavior from User Reviews
Authors: Pradhan Ligaj , Zhang Chengcui , Bethard Steven
Published: October 2016

Intricate user-behaviors can be understood by discovering user interests from their reviews. Topic modeling techniques have been extensively explored to discover latent user interests from user reviews. However, a topic extracted by topic modelling techniques can be a mixture of several quite different concepts and thus less interpretable. In this paper, the authors present a method that uses topic modeling techniques to discover a large number of topics and applies hierarchical clustering to generate a much smaller number of interpretable User-Concerns. These User-Concerns are further compared with topics generated by Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and Pachinko Allocation Model (PAM) and shown to be more coherent and interpretable. The authors cut the linkage tree formed while performing the hierarchical clustering of the User-Concerns, at different levels, and generate a hierarchy of User-Concerns. They also discuss how collaborative filtering based recommendation systems can be enriched by infusing additional user-behavioral knowledge from such hierarchy.
Recommending Relevant Open Source Projects on GitHub using a Collaborative-Filtering Technique
Authors: Guendouz Mohamed , Amine Abdelmalek , Hamou Reda Mohamed
Published: October 2016

The GitHub website represents nowadays an essential tool for developers from around the world; it is considered as a social network for them in which they can share their open source projects with others in a form of repositories. This paper presents and discusses the design and the implementation of a new recommender system for GitHub repositories based on a collaborative-filtering approach, which can be useful in many ways in the process of searching for the right solutions to build projects. The GitHub website is becoming very popular these days, a lot of projects are shared by millions of developers, building this recommender system can reduce searching time and make search results more and more relevant. The authors evaluate their system by conducting a set of experiments on a real data set using different well-known metrics and the k-fold cross validation method. Results obtained from these experiments are very promising, the authors found that their recommender system can reaches better precision and recall accuracy.
Usage and Suitability of Methods for Strategic Business Process Initiatives
Authors: Lederer Matthias , Kurz Matthias , Lazarov Pavlin
Published: October 2016

A key objective of strategy management is ensuring the implementation of strategies in the day-to-day operational business processes of enterprises. For this purpose, researchers and practitioners developed an enormous body of methods for strategy management. However, the tremendous variety of strategy management methods makes it difficult to choose the most appropriate methods for a given challenge. In an effort to provide guidance for practitioners and researchers, this paper provides an integrated dataset of the 50 most widespread strategy design and implementation methods and links these methods to a large body of 100 case studies. Based on this dataset, commonly utilized methods, common challenges, typical objectives, and specifics of industries are examined.
Reducing Risk Through Inversion and Self-Strengthening
Authors: Todinov Michael
Published: October 2016

A number of new techniques for reliability improvement and risk reduction based on the inversion method, such as: ‘inverting design variables,' ‘inverting by maintaining an invariant,' ‘inverting resulting in a reinforcing counter-force,' ‘negating basic required functions' and ‘moving backwards to general and specific contributing factors' have been introduced for the first time. By using detailed calculations, it has been demonstrated how the new technique ‘repeated inversion maintaining an invariant' can be applied to reduce the risk of collision for multiple ships travelling at different times and with variable speeds. It has been demonstrated that for pressure vessels, an inversion of the geometric parameters by maintaining an invariant volume could result not only in an increased safety but also in a significantly reduced weight. The method of self-strengthening (self-reinforcement) has been introduced for the first time as a systematic method for improving reliability and reducing risk. The method of self-strengthening by capturing a proportional compensating factor and the method of self-strengthening by creating a positive feedback loop have been proposed for the first time as reliability improvement tools. Finally, classifications have been proposed of methods and techniques for risk reduction based on the methods of inversion and self-strengthening.
Principal-Agency Relations in Organizational Networks
Authors: Katica Emina , Boga Semra
Published: October 2016

The authors introduce the application of agency theory within organizational networks in order to offer some new insights for organizational and economic sciences. Previous research has neglected the presence of agency problem in these relatively new structures in favor of examining the nature of principal-agent relationship from behavioral and economic side. They emphasize the constraints such relationship can cause in networks and offer adequate propositions to solve it, referring to present solutions in agency theory. A set of new implications was derived from the theory as well as from case study about impact of agency problem on different network types. Case study method was chosen due to the lack of secondary data on this subject. A network was chosen and studied through interviews, observation, and field reports. This paper achieves originality with the fact that such a study of the two theories hasn't still been made. Therefore, the added value of this paper is in the common application of the two theories within a single case, and in the implications retrieved from it.
Neighborhood Overlap-based Stable Data Gathering Trees for Mobile Sensor Networks
Authors: Meghanathan Natarajan
Published: October 2016

The hypothesis in this research is that the end nodes of a short distance link (the distance between the end nodes is significantly smaller than the transmission range per node) in a mobile sensor network (MSN) are more likely to share a significant fraction of their neighbors and such links are more likely to be stable. The author proposes to use Neighborhood Overlap (NOVER), a graph-theoretic metric used in complex network analysis, to effectively quantify the extent of shared neighborhood between the end nodes of a link and thereby the stability of the link. The author's claim is that links with larger NOVER score are more likely to be stable and could be preferred for inclusion while determining stable data gathering trees for MSNs. Through extensive simulations, the author shows that the NOVER-based DG trees are significantly more stable and energy-efficient compared to the DG trees determined using the predicted link expiration time (LET). Unlike the LET approach (currently the best known strategy), the NOVER-based approach could be applied without knowledge about the location and mobility of the nodes.
Power-Aware and QoS Provisioned Real Time Multimedia Transmission in Small Cell Networks
Authors: Bouras Christos , Bikos Anastasios , Bilios Dimitrios , Alexiou Antonios
Published: October 2016

The recent emergence of ultra-high-speed and high-definition data and video services has pushed wireless network capacity to its limits. Cellular network capacity is therefore a valuable resource, whereas indoor coverage poses itself as a challenging issue. At the same time, real-world paradigms of multimedia transmission require effective Quality-of-Service (QoS) provisioning as well as power admission. To confront issues like delay-sensitive QoS requirements and traffic provisioning, as well as meet the mobile customer needs, this paper presents a traffic-aware Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple-Access (OFDMA) hybrid small-cell deployment for QoS provisioning and an optimal admission control strategy for 4G cellular systems. The traffic awareness in the proposed framework is provided by a utility function, which differentiates the traffic QoS levels with the user's grouping priority indexes, channel conditions, and traffic characteristics. To further enhance the proposed framework, an admission power control algorithm based on an efficient algorithm handover is also proposed.
Safety of Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Clustering Algorithm
Authors: Dahane Amine , Berrached Nasr-Eddine , Loukil Abdelhamid
Published: October 2016

Clustering approaches for mobile wireless sensor networks (WSNs) tend to extend the battery life of the individual sensors and the network lifetime. Taking into account the mobility of the network, a powerful mechanism to safely elect a cluster head is a challenging task in many research works. As a proposed technique to deal with such problem, the approach based on the computing of the weight of each node in the network is chosen. This paper is intended to propose a new algorithm called “S-WCA” for safety of mobile sensor networks based on clustering algorithm using a combination of five metrics. Among these metrics lies the behavioral level metric which promotes a safe choice of a cluster head in the sense where this last one will never be a malicious node. Moreover, a summary of the highlight of the authors' work is provided in a comprehensive strategy for monitoring the network, so as to detect and remove the malicious nodes. Simulation study is used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Customers' Continuance Intention Regarding Mobile Service Providers
Authors: Khedhaouria Anis , Thurik Roy , Gurau Calin , van Heck Eric
Published: October 2016

Using a status quo bias perspective, this paper examines the relation between customers' inertia and continuance intention, identifying the moderating role of contractual subscription on this relationship. The authors' model is validated using data collected from 457 mobile phone service customers and partial least squares. Results show that customers continue with mobile service providers due to their inertia resulting from habit and switching costs. The effect of customers' inertia on their continuance intention is stronger when they have a contractual subscription with the mobile service provider. The authors' results show the importance of including inertia when studying customers' continuance intention and taking into account the specific moderating effect of contractual subscription.
La Ricerca Cardiologica in Campania 2005
Authors: Campania ANMCO
Published: October 2016

Abstract di ANMCO CAMPANIA 2005 13° Congresso Regionale di Cardiologia
La Ricerca Cardiologica in Campania 2006
Authors: Campania ANMCO
Published: October 2016

Abstract di ANMCO CAMPANIA 2006 14Â° Congresso Regionale di Cardiologia
What to do after cardiac rehabilitation programs: the role of the general practitioner in cardiovascular prevention
Authors: Cupples Margaret , Heron Neil
Published: October 2016

This paper will review the current role of general practitioners (GPs) in providing cardiovascular prevention for patients after attendance at a cardiac rehabilitation program. Long-term implementation of preventive strategies is needed for continued impact on reducing risk of cardiovascular events and GPs have a major role in providing ongoing continuing medical care. Awareness of patientsâ€™ social, cultural and physical circumstances allows the GP to identify individualsâ€™ needs for support in engaging in secondary prevention: relevant brief interventions can promote behaviour change in physical activity, diet and smoking habits, as well as promoting mental health and adherence to optimal medical therapy. Collaborative multidisciplinary working with community and hospital services provides best opportunities for timely referral to specialist expertise to maximise patientsâ€™ well-being.Â
Advances in cardiac rehabilitation: cardiac rehabilitation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation
Authors: Eichler Sarah , VÃ¶ller Heinz
Published: October 2016

Due to the demographic change and an aging population, the prevalence of the most frequent valve disease, aortic stenosis (AS), is still rising.
Exercise training in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Chan Erick , Giallauria Francesco , Vigorito Carlo , Smart Neil A.
Published: October 2016

Exercise training induces physical adaptations for heart failure patients with systolic dysfunction but less is known about those patients with preserved ejection fraction. This study's aims were to establish if exercise training produces changes in peak VO2 and related measures, quality of life, general health and diastolic function in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We conducted a MEDLINE search (1985 to September 1, 2015), for exercise based rehabilitation trials in heart failure, using search terms â€˜exercise training, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, heart failure withÂ  normal ejection fraction, peak VO2 and diastolic heart dysfunctionâ€™. Eight intervention studies were included providing a total of 174 exercising subjects and 143 control subjects, a total of 317 participants. Peak VO2 increased by a mean difference (MD) 2.08 mL kg-1 min-1 (95% C.I. 1.51 to 2.65, p<0.00001) in exercise training versus sedentary control, equating to a 17% improvement from baseline. VE/VCO2 slope was not different between groups, MD -3.10 mL kg-1 min-1 (95% C.I. -7.47 to 1.27, p=0.16); maximum heart rate was significantly increased in exercise groups, MD 3.46 bpm (95% C.I. 2.41 to 4.51, p<0.00001); 6 Minute Walk Distance (6MWT) MD 32.1m (95% C.I. 17.2 to 47.1, p<0.0001); diastolicÂ  function; the ratio of early to late filling (E/A ratio) was improved after exercise training MD 0.07 (95% C.I. 0.02 to 0.12, p=0.006); as was filling pressure E/Eâ€™ ratio MD -2.38 (95% C.I. -3.47 to -1.28, p<0.0001); Deceleration time (DT) MD -13.2 msec (95% C.I. -19.8 to -6.5, p=0.0001); Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) MD -6.77 (95% C.I. -9.70 to -3.84, p<0.00001); Short Form (36) Health Survey MD 11.38 (95% C.I. 5.28 to 17.48, p=0.0003).Â  In 3222 patient-hours of training, not a single death was directly attributable to exercise. Exercise training appears to effect several health-related improvements in people with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction.
Spontaneous pneumomediastinum following pneumonia in a 23-year-old male patient
Authors: Kayar Yusuf , Kayar NÃ¼ket Bayram , ÅžahutoÄŸlu Tuncay , Gangarapu Venkatanarayana
Published: October 2016

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) is defined as the presence of interstitial air in the mediastinum without any apparent precipitating factor. We present a case of 23 year old male patient, who has been referred to our outpatient clinic with the complaints of sudden chest pain, dyspnea followed by pneumonia and was diagnosed as SPM. The patient was treated with ampicillin sulbactam (4 gr/day) and methylprednisolon (20 mg/day) for 4 days. and oral intake was stopped during treatment. Post treatment, it was observed that the crepitations were disappeared thoroughly and vesicular sounds were heard by oscultation. The control values of arterial blood gas was as following: pH:7,39 pO2:95 mmHg, pCO2:37 mmHg, SaO2: %97. In the 5th day his oral intake was started and he was discharged.Â