bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interoperability Approach in E-Learning Standardization Processes
Authors: Bao Carmen , Castresana José María
Published: February 2012

Providing interoperability by using standards and specifications for E-learning resources is an important element of the virtual learning environments (VLEs). In this context, a large number of international organizations develop specifications that provide principles for reaching a common “language” to be used in exchanging resources among the virtual university. In this paper we turn your attention to an approach and reference for providing interoperability in different standards. The establishment of E-learning standards has promised to improve interoperability between E-learning systems, but can only be done through enforcement of these standards. Many existing E-learning systems are built on top of relational databases, and it is possible a framework which matches XML Schemas (from learning standards) and relational schemas semi-automatically. This type of framework can provide translation between learning objects and relational databases as well as an interface to manually refine existing schema mappings. The focus is E-learning standardization and synchronization in the international and national levels. The work presents a brief updated review and it presents some new challenges, concerning the E-learning standardization processes. This research is in the area of E-learning standardization and issue is one aspect of great interest for all organizations, authorities and experts working in the field of education. Moreover, the most recognized approaches are introduced in order to improve and optimize the management of the E-learning processes. While the establishment of E-learning standards has promised to improve interoperability between E-learning systems, and obviously, this can only be done through enforcement of E-learning standards and E-learning standardization processes. The aim of this work is to discover the useful E-learning technologies as technological tools for teaching. Therefore, teachers must keep in mind clearly that they must optimize teaching by means of them, such as an improvement of quality education for current society in terms of competences, as connections with the current reality that students spent long hours using them. It starts with a brief background to worldwide standardization activities in the field of educational technologies as means of enhancing the accessibility, interoperability, durability, reusability and efficiency of E-learning resources, but more important new demands and problems to be tackled are reviewed. Finally, experimental dates from studies have shown that it is useful a framework that also provides translation between learning objects and relational databases, as well as an interface to manually refine existing schema mappings.
Short Message Services for Supporting Student Learning
Authors: Ng’ambi Dick
Published: February 2012

This chapter discusses the blending of anonymous short message services (SMS) with a learning management system (LMS) to support non-traditional postgraduate learners in a block release programme at a higher education institution. The personal ownership of the mobile phone, coupled with its consistent presence and connectivity, was enhanced through the provision of anonymous communication via SMS. The seamless integration allowed for optimal use by learners who had limited access to the LMS but greater access to the mobile device. The mobile phone enhanced with anonymity created a safe learning environment based on andragogical principles. The postgraduate programme made extensive use of the learning management system (LMS). In block release programmes, learners may be distributed in developing countries and have one contact week per module. During both pre and post-contact sessions, learners are located in contexts where mobile connectivity is more guaranteed than Internet access. Most resources are downloaded during the contact week for reading offline. As learners interact with resources they engage in internal dialogue and mobile phones can facilitate a way to artefact internal dialogues through blogging. The use of anonymous communication using SMS creates a safe and equal socially networked knowledge production environment.
An Extendible Simulation Game to Promote Team Spirit on Mobile Computing Devices
Authors: Tam Vincent , Liao Zexian , Leung C.H. , Yeung Lawrence , Kwan A.C.M.
Published: February 2012

Game based learning (GBL) has significantly reshaped the latest educational or training technologies through engaging players in many carefully planned learning activities in real-world applications including the training of tactic planning in a simulated combat environment, or resource management for any large organization. Successful examples range from the commercially available simulation games like SimBusiness, being adopted in some business schools in North America, to Quest Atlantis as a 3D multi-user learning game platform to children aged 9 – 15 in meaningful inquiry tasks. In a previous Teaching Development Project, the authors of this chapter developed an interesting simulation game platform for a virtual university campus containing game rooms with different missions for students to fulfill so as to enhance the learners’ experience after classes on ubiquitous computing devices. All the missions are focused on engaging players to exercise their logical thinking or problem-solving skills in relevant areas of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). To promote team spirit, each group of 3 to 4 students will work together to complete all the missions within the virtual campus. The authors used the open-source Nebula Version 2.0 toolkit to build a prototype of our simulation game containing various game rooms inside a virtual campus that can be accessed through any Windows based desktop or pocket PCs. To allow the real-time chatting facility among team members, the Yet Another Telephony Engine (YATE) server is employed in the interactive game platform. A preliminary evaluation was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of the simulation game on motivating and/or enhancing the learners’ experience in relevant disciplines. All in all, there are many interesting directions for further investigations including the integration of our simulation game with existing learning management system or increasing players’ involvement in proposing new missions.
A Case Study of Infusing Web 2.0 Tools for Blended Learning
Authors: Lai Yiu Chi , Ng Eugenia M.W.
Published: February 2012

In the era of Web 2.0, students are not restricted to search and collect information from existing Internet resources. They are expected to be able to collaborate, create, and share new information on the Web through different tools. On the other hand, students of this era are also familiar with sharing multimedia contents on the Internet. We can also observe that presentations are not limited to face-to-face and university students should be able to present virtually using multimedia technology. It seems that Web 2.0 tools open another space for the assessment modes for teachers. This study aims to describe an innovative practice of having two groups of student teachers conducting a virtual presentation about their final assignments, which could either be videos or other digital formats. One group of students was final year undergraduate while another group consisted of post-graduate Diploma of Education student teachers. For the purpose of the study, the virtual presentation materials were uploaded to a learning management system (LMS) platform to enable the two different classes to comment each other’s work within one week. Thereafter, the data collected from tracked statistics provided by the learning platform and students’ reflections of this interclass activity were analyzed and compared with each other. It was found that most of the participants were positive about this new presentation approach and ready to accept it as a part of the assessment. However, the undergraduate students were more active in participating in virtual presentations of both classes. Furthermore, their attitudes were influenced by the tutors’ participation. Thus, it is suggested that tutors involved in virtual presentations should play an active role and give encouragement to their students regularly.
Towards Mobile Learning Applications Integration with Learning Management Systems
Authors: Forment Marc Alier , Guerrero María José Casany , Poch Jordi Piguillem
Published: February 2012

ICT in education innovators are creating new kinds of learning applications using all sorts of new technologies available: Web 2.0, Mobile, Gaming platforms and even Virtual Worlds. Mobile learning applications (m-learning) take advantage of the ubiquitousness of the mobile devices to explore new kinds of ways of learning. Learning Management Systems (LMS) are a consolidated kind of Web based learning software that over the last 15 years have evolved to meet the needs of the learning institution to basic, common online educational platforms. The LMS creates a Web based space for every course (Virtual classroom) that can be used to complement the presence learning activities (Blended Learning) or to fully deliver the course contents (Online Learning). Nowadays most learning organizations have integrated a LMS with their information systems (back-office, academic management, etc.) to a point where all learning activities (virtual and non virtual) have a counterpart (syllabus, assessments, scheduling, etc.) in the LMS virtual classrooms. M-learning is not destined to replace the current Web based learning applications, but to extend it, that is why Mobile Applications will need to be able to integrate with the LMS. It also makes sense to be able to access some of the services of the LMS Virtual Classroom from the mobile device. But, to accomplish this goal might not be a simple task. This chapter analyzes the complexities involved to achieve that goal, and describes some standard interoperability architectures and related research and development projects that will allow this kind of interaction between the LMS and the m-learning applications.
Virtual Worlds and Avatars for the development of Primary Foreign Languages and Primary Foreign Languages for the Development of Real Children
Authors: Kim Yongho
Published: February 2012

The case study is a chronicle of Korean elementary students’ efforts to gain autonomous control of a foreign language, English, from the top down, that is, through use of English in communication (as opposed to mere exposure to English through study or through the passive absorption of comprehensible input). This communicative use of English is realized through materials pertinent to their overall development and not just to their language development. The materials include a surrogate self or avatar within a virtual learning environment which can, in principle, though not in this study, connect them with children all over the world. The question for this study is how the use of an avatar in a virtual learning environment brings about not only the learning of vocabulary and grammar (similar to the piecemeal learning that happens in any classroom) but also interacts with and even activates the child’s overall psychological development the way that play awakens developmental functions on the playground.
Mode Neutral
Authors: Smith Brian , Reed Peter
Published: February 2012

This chapter details the authors’ evidence-based pedagogical model – Mode Neutral – showing how contemporary education can promote the use of Web 2.0 tools to harness collective intelligence. They will outline our case study of using (arguably) a Web 1.0 technology, the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) as the single learning space, with Web 2.0 tools integrated to encourage collaborative learning.
Integrating New Open Source Assessment Tools into dotLearn LMS
Authors: Moreno-Clari Paloma , Sanchis-Kilders Esteban
Published: February 2012

The convergence process initiated by the European Higher Education Space (EHES) has changed the approach to the teaching and learning process focusing largely on monitoring the progress of the student. This task can be simplified with the proper use of tools integrated in the universities’ Learning Management Systems (LMS). Most of these platforms have modules for managing the evaluation and to create online examinations. However, they do not tend to contemplate ways of evaluation depending on the subjects taught. This chapter presents a tool for continuous evaluation of a variety of subjects and their integration into a LMS based on open source. In the University of Valencia’s particular case, the LMS includes facilities to create online examinations, but it does not provide a user-friendly interface. To improve the usability of this module a computer program has been developed to simplify the evaluation process.
3D Virtual Learning Environment for Engineering Students
Authors: Valizadeh M. , Noroozi B. , Sorial G. A.
Published: February 2012

Virtual Reality and Virtual Learning Environments have become increasingly ambiguous terms in recent years because of essential elements facilitating a consistent environment for learners. Three-dimensional (3D) environments have the potential to position the learner within a meaningful context to a much greater extent than traditional interactive multimedia environments. The term 3D environment has been chosen to focus on a particular type of virtual environment that makes use of a 3D model. 3D models are very useful to make acquainted students with features of different shapes and objects, and can be particularly useful in teaching younger students different procedures and mechanisms for carrying out specific tasks. This chapter explains that 3D Virtual Reality is mature enough to be used for enhancing communication of ideas and concepts and stimulate the interest of students compared to 2D education.
Collaborating to Learn
Authors: Matzen Nita J. , Roberts William Edward , Barker Penny , Marklin Julie
Published: February 2012

STEM and ICT Instructional Worlds: The 3D Experience (STEM-ICT 3D) is funded by the National Science Foundation ITEST program. The project proposes to translate the success of earlier projects and reaches toward a model of implementing the use of 3D virtual immersive environments that can be replicated with other middle schools over time. STEM-ICT 3D is intended to inspire middle school students to pursue studies and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as prepare students with the skills necessary to succeed in STEM education and careers. This chapter presents an applied case study that describes the design of the project, examines the first phases of implementation, and explores the use of students as technical experts collaborating with teachers, the pedagogical experts, to build 3D virtual worlds for middle school instruction.
Plagiarism Detection Tools in Learning Management Systems
Authors: Butakov Sergey , Shcherbinin Vladislav
Published: February 2012

The main objectives of this chapter are to review the state-of-the art in plagiarism detection methods, discuss the most popular software tools available on the market and describe the new open architecture for plagiarism detection tools. The proposed architecture emphasizes the extensibility feature that allows it to be easily adapted for handling new types of assignments in the future. This chapter shows how the proposed architecture was implemented in a desktop application and a server-side plug-in for the Moodle course management system. An extended set of user trials is provided to support the proposed solutions. This set includes extensive tests for intra-corpal and internet plagiarism searches, tests with non-English assignments and promising results on cross language plagiarism detection.
E-Learning for ICT Group Work in a Blended Learning Environment
Authors: Soon Lisa , Fraser Campbell
Published: February 2012

How does e-learning support group work in university information and communication technology (ICT) education within a blended learning environment? While face-to-face interaction was possible for on-campus student group work, distance education students could only perform their group work online. This research adopted a qualitative case study approach. It explored the e-learning use by students in a core subject ‘Software Development’ in a Bachelor of ICT program with three group work assessments. The findings indicate that, while technology could effectively help students to collaborate in their group work and assessment tasks, some technological features in the learning management system are highly subject to constant enhancement, due to the nature of the subject requirements and the need to facilitate frequent technology-mediated interactions in some situations. A model of group work collaboration is developed to explain the need for a new design and development of features in e-learning tools.
Individual and Collaborative Approaches in E-Learning Design
Authors: Usoro Abel , Majewski Grzegorz , Bloom Len
Published: February 2012

There is no doubt that e-learning is not all about technology but includes the human aspect which is often neglected in studies of e-learning. This chapter addresses the interface between technology and the learner by using cognitive psychology to discuss learning processes in formal and informal groups, investigate how to create competent learning groups, and how to design e-learning to facilitate optimal learning by an individual in a group setting. The chapter proposes an e-learning design based on a blend of cognitive and activity theories. It also presents a pilot empirical study that measured the value of e-learning from four constructs derived from the theories. The result of the study suggests that pure virtual learning environments may not always be the best option as some users require some physical contact. While e-learning may fill many gaps, it should be perceived as a tool that needs to be attended with emotional and social contact.
Understanding Human Factors in Systems Selection and Implementation
Authors: Peszynski Konrad
Published: February 2012

This study examines the role of power and politics in systems implementation. Current literature misses the complexities involved in systems implementation through human factors and the political nature of systems implementation and is simplistic in nature. The concept of power relations, as proposed by Foucault (1977, 1978), has been utilised by the authors to identify the dynamic nature of power and politics. A case study of the implementation of an enterprise-wide learning management system at Newlands University is presented and analysed using social dramas to distinguish between the front stage issues of power and hidden discourses. Challenges for power are acted out in the front stage, or public forums between various actors. The social dramas, as they have been described here, are superfluous to the discourse underpinning the front stage. Furthermore, the enactment of policy legitimises power and establishes the discourse, limiting resistance.
Mobile Learning Management Systems in Higher Education
Authors: Sampson Demetrios G. , Zervas Panagiotis
Published: February 2012

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are widely used in Higher Education offering important benefits to students, tutors, administrators and the educational organizations. On the other hand, the widespread ownership of mobile devices has lead to educational initiatives that investigate their potential as the means to change the way that students interact with their tutors, their classmates, the learning material, the administration services and the environment of their educational institute. This mainly aims to support the continuation of these interactions not only outside the classroom, but also beyond desktop restrictions, towards to a truly constant and instant access from anywhere. As a result, the development of mobile LMS (mLMS) is important for the deployment of feasible mobile-supported educational services in Higher Education. In this book chapter, we address the issue of designing mLMS for Higher Education by studying and applying the W3C Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0 to a widely used existing LMS, namely, the Moodle.
Integrating Culture with E-Learning Management System Design
Authors: Archee Ray , Gurney Myra
Published: February 2012

Although it is a legal requirement of all organizations to permit sensorially, cognitively, and physically disabled persons equitable access to public website information, cultural factors are seldom considered as important in the design of online information content. But many tertiary institutions have a highly diverse, multicultural student body whose learning needs require special attention. Usually, instructors transform existing lectures and exercises, then adds links, and discussions to create Web-supported units, but without any real understanding of possible cultural artifacts or inherent limitations of their online interfaces. This study reports on the results of an action research study whereby students were asked to comment on their preferences for three uniquely different purpose-built WebCT pages which comprised near-identical content. The students showed a definite preference for a sparse, menu-driven webpages as opposed to a colorful, congested, all-in-one interface, or the bare-bones WebCT interface.
Dialogues and Perception of Intersubjectivity in a Small Group
Authors: Lin Mei-Chung , Chen Mei-Chi , Chen Chin-Chang
Published: February 2012

The core value of Web 2.0 lies in its potential for building technologies that are open, decentralized, and shared. This paper designs group activity to facilitate knowledge building and move on learning management system to web 2.0 paradigms with computer supported collaborative learning in a small group. The “give-take” metaphor for knowledge construction in a small group discourse only interprets the solo voice phenomenon in asynchronous forums. Tumultuous, parallel, and connected voices in synchronous conferencing need alternative metaphors to understand the self and the other in a personified way. This paper represents discourse evidence of emerging meaning making, expertise commentary, self-identity, and collective confirmation as a process in small group collective knowledge-building.
At the Intersection of Learning
Authors: Matzen Nita J. , Ochoa Louisa , Purpur Geraldine
Published: February 2012

Academic libraries face challenges in meeting the information literacy needs of their off-campus students and providing comparable experiences as recommended by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). One approach to this dilemma is for the academic library to be an integral component of a 3D immersive virtual learning environment. This chapter proposes a conceptual framework that portrays the interplay of the key elements to consider when understanding the role of a 3D immersive virtual academic library. These key elements, including “library as place,” presence/co-presence, the 3D environment, Presence Pedagogy (P2), and planned and serendipitous interactions intersect to enable the development of communities of practice and further learning. Examples from a 3D immersive virtual academic library are provided to demonstrate application of the framework.
Technophobe to Technophile…Entering the Internet Culture
Authors: Anderson-Mejías Pamela L.
Published: February 2012

This chapter describes a successful means of introducing returning, older students to online education in a university setting. After presenting basic background from the literature on retention within online classes, the case is presented in detail as to how 16 fearful learners became confident and successful through the instructor’s taking time for preparation, establishing a sense of achievement using the technology, creating interconnections with peers, and demonstrating the usefulness of the virtual class over the face-to-face class. The author hopes that by describing in detail the case and the principles found, future educators can prepare their traditional students for the culture of virtual learning environments, thus expanding options for their programs while addressing university administrative concerns about student retention.
Three Stages in the Social Construction of Virtual Learning Environments
Authors: Stevens Ken
Published: February 2012

Schools located in rural communities are often physically small in terms of the number of students who attend them in person on a daily basis, but through the introduction of e-learning partnerships, they can become large educational institutions based on the enhanced range of teaching and learning they can provide. Small school capacities can be enhanced by e-learning and the creation of virtual learning environments. Structurally, the capacity of schools can be enhanced by internet-based inter-institutional collaboration. Pedagogically, e-learning can enable schools to share teaching and learning within virtual learning environments spanning participating sites to facilitate student engagement with ideas, people and places in new, interactive ways. Three stages are identified in the development of teaching and learning in the virtual structures that complement traditional schools.
Mentoring the Next Generation
Authors: Schrauth Kate , Losleben Elie
Published: February 2012

With the high school dropout rate in the United States at epidemic levels and the proportion of guidance counselors decreasing, mentoring programs are an increasingly effective way to reach young people with the college and career guidance they need. icouldbe.org’s online mentoring programs reach young people who do not have access to quality educational resources, using a dynamic virtual learning environment to connect them to mentors who offer practical and individualized advice, information and expertise. The organization’s award-winning program is grounded on an evidence-based curriculum that is student-paced and student-led, placing young people at the center of a community of classroom teachers and adult mentors invested in the their futures. icouldbe.org puts child safety first and monitors mentor-mentee relationships in a controlled and accountable environment. Evidence indicates that icouldbe.org’s e-mentoring program has many of the benefits of face-to-face mentoring--an exciting find as educators turn to mentoring as a classroom intervention.
An Exploratory Study of Student Self-Assessment in an Online Learning Context
Authors: Wang Chien-hsing
Published: February 2012

This paper reports the investigation of the application of self-assessment in an online learning setting based on action research. The research participants were students who completed their self-assessment when taking the course on Classroom Management taught by the teacher researcher. Although the analytic results show the lack of critical reflection in student self-assessment, the teacher researcher learned the following lessons: a) self-assessment helps the students to articulate their learning results in specific; (b) self-assessment can be a means to cultivate students’ abilities in information-integration; (c) using multiple evaluative tools for assessing self-assessment is recommended to better describe the levels of student reflection; and (d) effective and efficient implementation of self-assessment requires a redesigning of the learning management system. Finally, further research can focus on the possibility of promoting the level of student reflection by encouraging students to use evaluative tools to assess their self-assessment.
Class B Scavenger Receptor Types I and II and CD36 Targeting Improves Sepsis Survival and Acute Outcomes in Mice
Authors: Leelahavanichkul Asada , Bocharov Alexander V. , Kurlander Roger , Baranova Irina N. , Vishnyakova Tatyana G. , Souza Ana C. P. , Hu Xuzhen , Doi Kent , Vaisman Boris , Amar Marcelo , Sviridov Denis , Chen Zhigang , Remaley Alan T. , Csako Gyorgy , Patterson Amy P. , Yuen Peter S. T. , Star Robert A. , Eggerman Thomas L.
Published: February 2012

Class B scavenger receptors (SR-Bs), such as SR-BI/II or CD36, bind lipoproteins but also mediate bacterial recognition and phagocytosis. In evaluating whether blocking receptors can prevent intracellular bacterial proliferation, phagocyte cytotoxicity, and proinflammatory signaling in bacterial infection/sepsis, we found that SR-BI/II– or CD36-deficient phagocytes are characterized by a reduced intracellular bacterial survival and a lower cytokine response and were protected from bacterial cytotoxicity in the presence of antibiotics. Mice deficient in either SR-BI/II or CD36 are protected from antibiotic-treated cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis, with greatly increased peritoneal granulocytic phagocyte survival (8-fold), a drastic diminution in peritoneal bacteria counts, and a 50–70% reduction in systemic inflammation (serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10) and organ damage relative to CLP in wild-type mice. The survival rate of CD36-deficient mice after CLP was 58% compared with 17% in control mice. When compensated for mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid deficiency, SR-BI/II–deficient mice had nearly a 50% survival rate versus 5% in mineralo-/glucocorticoid-treated controls. Targeting SR-B receptors with L-37pA, a peptide that functions as an antagonist of SR-BI/II and CD36 receptors, also increased peritoneal granulocyte counts, as well as reduced peritoneal bacteria and bacterium-induced cytokine secretion. In the CLP mouse sepsis model, L-37pA improved survival from 6 to 27%, reduced multiple organ damage, and improved kidney function. These results demonstrate that the reduction of both SR-BI/II– and CD36-dependent bacterial invasion and inflammatory response in the presence of antibiotic treatment results in granulocyte survival and local bacterial containment, as well as reduces systemic inflammation and organ damage and improves animal survival during severe infections.
Innate NK Cells and Macrophages Recognize and Reject Allogeneic Nonself In Vivo via Different Mechanisms
Authors: Liu Wentao , Xiao Xiang , Demirci Gulcin , Madsen Joren , Li Xian C.
Published: February 2012

Both innate and adaptive immune cells are involved in the allograft response. But how the innate immune cells respond to allotransplants remains poorly defined. In the current study, we examined the roles of NK cells and macrophages in recognizing and rejecting allogeneic cells in vivo. We found that in naive mice NK cells are the primary effector cells in the killing of allogeneic cells via “missing self” recognition. However, in alloantigen-presensitized mice, NK cells are dispensable. Instead, macrophages become alloreactive and readily recognize and reject allogeneic nonself. This effect requires help from activated CD4+ T cells and involves CD40/CD40L engagement, because blocking CD40/CD40L interactions prevents macrophage-mediated rejection of allogeneic cells. Conversely, actively stimulating CD40 triggers macrophage-mediated rejection in the absence of CD4+ T cells. Importantly, alloantigen-primed and CD4+ T cell-helped macrophages (licensed macrophages) exhibit potent regulatory function in vivo in an acute graft-versus-host disease model. Together, our data uncover an important role for macrophages in the alloimmune response and may have important clinical implications.
Large herbivore population performance and climate in a South African semi-arid savanna
Authors: Seydack Armin H. , Grant Cornelia C. , Smit Izak P. , Vermeulen Wessel J. , Baard Johan , Zambatis Nick
Published: February 2012

Long-term population performance trends of eight large herbivore species belonging to groups of disparate foraging styles were studied in the semi-arid savanna of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Over the past century the number of bulk feeders (buffalo, waterbuck, blue wildebeest and plains zebra) had increased towards comparatively high population densities, whereas population numbers of selectively feeding antelope species (sable antelope, roan antelope, tsessebe and eland) declined progressively. Detailed analyses revealed that population numbers of buffalo and waterbuck fluctuated in association with food quantity determined by rainfall. Population performance ratings (1944–2003) of the species for which forage quality was important (blue wildebeest, zebra and selective grazers) were correlated negatively with minimum temperature and positively with dry-season rainfall.Interpretation according to a climate–vegetation response model suggested that acclimation of forage plants to increasing temperature had resulted in temperature-enhanced plant productivity, initially increasing food availability and supporting transient synchronous increases in population abundance of both blue wildebeest and zebra, and selective grazers. As acclimation of plants to concurrently rising minimum (nocturnal) temperature (Tmin) took effect, adjustments in metabolic functionality occurred involving accelerated growth activity at the cost of storage-based metabolism. Growth-linked nitrogen dilution and reduced carbon-nutrient quality of forage then resulted in phases of subsequently declining herbivore populations. Over the long term (1910–2010), progressive plant functionality shifts towards accelerated metabolic growth rather than storage priority occurred in response to Tmin rising faster than maximum temperature (Tmax), thereby cumulatively compromising the carbon-nutrient quality of forage, a key resource for selective grazers.The results of analyses thus revealed consistency between herbivore population trends and levels of forage quantity and quality congruent with expected plant metabolic responses to climate effects. Thus, according to the climate-vegetation response model, climate effects were implicated as the ultimate cause of large herbivore population performance in space and over time.Conservation implications: In its broadest sense, the objective of this study was to contribute towards the enhanced understanding of landscape-scale functioning of savanna systems with regard to the interplay between climate, vegetation and herbivore population dynamics.
The ministry of Beyers Naude to the victims of oppression 1960�1994: A challenge to Christian mission in post-apartheid South Africa
Authors: Masuku Tobias , Niemandt Nelus
Published: February 2012

Dr Beyers Naud�s ministry to the victims of apartheid between 1960�1994 was of missionary significance. His mission challenged the conservative or stereotype mission approaches of the church which were in line with the thinking of Edinburgh 1910. Dr Beyers Naud� in contrast, applied the spirit of Tambaram 1938 supporting what Saayman termed a �comprehensive ministry�. His ministry challenged the mission of the church in post-apartheid South Africa during which the prophetic voice of the church has diminished and Ministers of Religion who were vocal against government injustices during Beyers Naud�s ministry are supporting the current post-apartheid South African government.
An overview of prevention and early detection of cervical cancers
Authors: Mishra Gauravi A , Pimple Sharmila A , Shastri Surendra S
Published: February 2012

Cervical cancer still remains the most common cancer affecting the Indian women. India alone contributes 25.41% and 26.48% of the global burden of cervical cancer cases and mortality, respectively. Ironically, unlike most other cancers, cervical cancer can be prevented through screening by identifying and treating the precancerous lesions, any time during the course of its long natural history, thus preventing the potential progression to cervical carcinoma. Several screening methods, both traditional and newer technologies, are available to screen women for cervical precancers and cancers. No screening test is perfect and hence the choice of screening test will depend on the setting where it is to be used. Similarly, various methods are available for treatment of cervical precancers and the selection will depend on the cost, morbidity, requirement of reliable biopsy specimens, resources available, etc. The recommendations of screening for cervical cancer in the Indian scenario are discussed.
Clear cell sarcoma of kidney: A rare entity
Authors: Lal Nirupma , Singhai Atin
Published: February 2012

Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney is an uncommon renal neoplasm of childhood. It represents one of the most common unfavorable tumors included in National Wilms′ Tumor Study Group clinical protocols. We came across this rare tumor in a 2-year-old male child. The case report is followed by discussion, stating the differentiating features between Wilms′ and clear cell sarcoma, histological details, treatment, and prognostication.
Congenital acute megakaryocytic leukemia
Authors: Mathur N B , Joshi Neha , Singh T , Singh Meeta
Published: February 2012

Congenital leukemia (CL) is an extremely rare disorder in the newborn, significant proportion of which is of myeloid origin, primarily of M4 or M5 morphology. As compared to pediatric leukemia, CL is a more aggressive disease. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML-M7) or acute megakaryocytic leukemia is a rare type of AML with an incidence of 0.5 per million per year. Median age of presentation is 6 years, and children may present with a broad variety of symptoms including low-grade fever, diarrhea, easy bruising, failure to gain weight and life-threatening conditions.
Paravaginal peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor: A rare tumor
Authors: Dutta Samrat , Dasgupta Chandan , Choudhury Kakoli
Published: February 2012

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of the female genital tract, particularly those in the vaginal and paravaginal region, are extremely rare. A 36-year-old woman presented with clinical features similar to that of a case of cervical fibroid. It was only after surgery that the histopathology suggested it to be a malignant round cell tumour and was CD99 positive. She underwent adjuvant chemotherapy with the Ifosfamide and Etoposide alternating with Vincristine, Doxorubicin, and Cyclophosphamide regime and radical radiotherapy. She is disease free at 12 months of follow-up. The importance of immunostaining and adequate histopathology report lies in the fact that the correct diagnosis thus achieved enabled us to manage a rare case of paravaginal PNET with a multimodality approach.
Clear cell carcinoma of ovary with squamous metaplasia: A unique histopathological observation
Authors: Das Prasenjit , Singh Geetika , Kumar Narender , Hariprasad Roopa , Dinda Amit K , Kumar Lalit , Mathur Sandeep R
Published: February 2012

Squamous metaplasia though is commonly associated with ovarian endometrioid neoplasm, mixed mullerian tumor and Brenner tumors; it has not been described in an ovarian clear cell carcinoma. Unusual presence of squamous islands, either in the form of morules or keratin plaques, may create diagnostic difficulty in a clear cell carcinoma of ovary, and thus the other common associations should be ruled out. Here, we describe a case of clear cell carcinoma of the ovary, with both gross and microscopically identifiable squamous metaplasia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on this rare association and should be documented for wider awareness.
Super-exponential 2-dimensional Dehn functions
Authors: Barnard Josh , Brady Noel , Dani Pallavi
Published: February 2012

We produce examples of groups of type

\mathcal{F}_3

with 2-dimensional Dehn functions of the form exp

^n(x)

(a tower of exponentials of height

n

), where

n

is any natural number.
Free products, orbit equivalence and measure equivalence rigidity
Authors: Alvarez Aurélien , Gaboriau Damien
Published: February 2012

We study the analogue, in orbit equivalence, of free product decompositions and free indecomposability for countable groups. We introduce the (orbit equivalence invariant) notion of freely indecomposable (

\mathcal{FI}

) standard probability measure preserving equivalence relations and establish a criterion to check it, namely non-hyperfiniteness and vanishing of the first

L^2

-Betti number. We obtain Bass–Serre rigidity results, i.e. forms of uniqueness in free product decompositions of equivalence relations with (

\mathcal{FI}

) components. The main features of our work are weak algebraic assumptions and no ergodicity hypothesis for the components. We deduce, for instance, that a measure equivalence between two free products of non-amenable groups with vanishing first

\ell^2

-Betti numbers is induced by measure equivalences of the components. We also deduce new classification results in orbit equivalence and II

_1

factors.
Air pollution control and decreasing new particle formation lead to strong climate warming
Authors: Makkonen R. , Asmi A. , Kerminen V.-M. , Boy M. , Arneth A. , Hari P. , Kulmala M.
Published: February 2012

Abstract. The number concentration of cloud droplets determines several climatically relevant cloud properties. A major cause for the high uncertainty in the indirect aerosol forcing is the availability of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which in turn is highly sensitive to atmospheric new particle formation. Here we present the effect of new particle formation on anthropogenic aerosol forcing in present-day (year 2000) and future (year 2100) conditions. The present-day total aerosol forcing is increased from −1.0 W m−2 to −1.6 W m−2 when nucleation is introduced into the model. Nucleation doubles the change in aerosol forcing between years 2000 and 2100, from +0.6 W m−2 to +1.4 W m−2. Two climate feedbacks are studied, resulting in additional negative forcings of −0.1 W m−2 (+10% DMS emissions in year 2100) and −0.5 W m−2 (+50% BVOC emissions in year 2100). With the total aerosol forcing diminishing in response to air pollution control measures taking effect, warming from increased greenhouse gas concentrations can potentially increase at a very rapid rate.
Carbonaceous aerosol AAE inferred from in-situ aerosol measurements at the Gosan ABC super site, and the implications for brown carbon aerosol
Authors: Chung C. E. , Kim S.-W. , Lee M. , Yoon S.-C. , Lee S.
Published: February 2012

Abstract. Carbon mass of aerosols and its division between EC and OC sources were continuously measured at hourly intervals from October 2009 to June 2010. During this 9-month period, we also measured the aerosol absorption coefficient at 7 wavelengths and obtained PM mass density data at 1-h resolution. The measurement was made at the Gosan ABC super site, which is an ideal location for monitoring long-range transported aerosols from China. We remove the absorption data with significant dust influence using the mass ratio of PM10 to PM2.5. The remaining data shows an Absorption Ångström Exponent (AAE) of about 1.27, which we suggest represent the average carbonaceous aerosol (CA) AAE at Gosan. CA AAE is highest in winter, in which the monthly value is near 1.4. We find a positive correlation between the mass ratio of OC to EC and CA AAE, and successfully increase the correlation by filtering out data associated with weak absorption signal. After the filtering, absorption coefficient is regressed on OC and EC mass densities. Black carbon (BC) and organic aerosol (OA) absorption cross sections per carbon mass are found to be 5.1 (4.2–6.0) and 1.4 (1.1–1.8) m2 g−1 at 520 nm respectively. From the estimated BC & OA MAC, we find that OA contributes about 45% to CA absorption at 520 nm. OA AAE is found to be 1.7 (1.4–2.1). Compared with a previous estimate of OA MAC and AAE, our estimates at Gosan strongly suggest that the strongly-absorbing so-called brown carbon spheres are either unrelated to biomass burning or absent near the emission source.
Anthropogenic and forest fire pollution aerosol transported to the Arctic: observations from the POLARCAT-France spring campaign
Authors: Quennehen B. , Schwarzenboeck A. , Matsuki A. , Burkhart J. F. , Stohl A. , Ancellet G. , Law K. S.
Published: February 2012

Abstract. During the POLARCAT-France airborne measurement campaign in spring 2008, several pollution plumes transported from mid-latitude regions were encountered. The study presented here focuses on air masses from two different geographic origins (Europe and Asia) and from 2 different source types (anthropogenic pollution and forest fires). One case study analyses an European air mass, which was sampled during three consecutive day. Modelling of the aerosol particle ageing by coagulation suggests that coagulation cannot solely explain the evolution of the size distributions, which is particularly true for the accumulation mode. Analyses of the aerosol refractory size distributions indicate that the Aitken mode was mostly composed of volatile compounds, while accumulation mode particles desorbed to a refractory mode yielding a modal mean diameter evolving from 48 to 59 nm for the three consecutive days of sampling the same air mass. The single refractory mode suggests an internally mixed aerosol population which is supported from electron microscopy and subsequent EDX analyses of the accumulation mode particles. Another case study focuses on European air masses polluted by fire emissions and Asian air masses with contributions from both biomass burning and anthropogenic emissions. On the one hand, the aerosol size distributions of the European biomass burning plumes are almost mono-modal with most of the particles found in the aged accumulation mode which desorbed uniformly. On the other hand, Asian air masses were more complex because of the mixing of different source contributions related to more variable and multimodal ambient and refractory aerosol size distributions. Electron microscopy illustrated soot-like inclusions in several samples. Within samples attributed to forest fire sources, the chemical signature is highly associated with the presence of potassium, which is characteristic for biomass burning plumes. The particle images suggest an internal mixing of sampled aerosol particles.
The importance of parameter resampling for soil moisture data assimilation into hydrologic models using the particle filter
Authors: Plaza D. A. , De Keyser R. , De Lannoy G. J. M. , Giustarini L. , Matgen P. , Pauwels V. R. N.
Published: February 2012

Abstract. The Sequential Importance Sampling with Resampling (SISR) particle filter and the SISR with parameter resampling particle filter (SISR-PR) are evaluated for their performance in soil moisture assimilation and the consequent effect on baseflow generation. With respect to the resulting soil moisture time series, both filters perform appropriately. However, the SISR filter has a negative effect on the baseflow due to inconsistency between the parameter values and the states after the assimilation. In order to overcome this inconsistency, parameter resampling is applied along with the SISR filter, to obtain consistent parameter values with the analyzed soil moisture state. Extreme parameter replication, which could lead to a particle collapse, is avoided by the perturbation of the parameters with white noise. Both the modeled soil moisture and baseflow are improved if the complementary parameter resampling is applied. The SISR filter with parameter resampling offers an efficient way to deal with biased observations. The robustness of the methodology is evaluated for 3 model parameter sets and 3 assimilation frequencies. Overall, the results in this paper indicate that the particle filter is a promising tool for hydrologic modeling purposes, but that an additional parameter resampling may be necessary to consistently update all state variables and fluxes within the model.