bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Long-term Visual and Refractive Outcomes After LASIK for High Myopia and Astigmatism From −8.00 to −14.25 D
Authors: Reinstein Dan Z. , Carp Glenn I. , Archer Timothy J. , Lewis Tariq A. , Gobbe Marine , Moore Johnny , Moore Tara
Published: May 2016

PURPOSE:

To evaluate outcomes of high myopic LASIK using the MEL 80 excimer laser (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany).

METHODS:

Retrospective analysis of 479 consecutive high myopic LASIK procedures (318 patients) using the MEL 80 excimer laser and VisuMax femtosecond laser (Carl Zeiss Meditec) in 77% of cases or zero compression Hansatome microkeratome (Bausch & Lomb, Rochester, NY) in 23% of cases. Inclusion criteria were preoperative spherical equivalent refraction (SEQ) of between −8.00 and −14.25 diopters (D) and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) of 20/20 or better. Patients were observed for a minimum of 1 year. Flap thickness was between 80 and 160
µ
m and optical zone was between 5.75 and 6.50 mm. Standard outcomes analysis was performed.

RESULTS:

Mean attempted SEQ was −9.39 ± 1.22 D (range: −8.00 to −14.18 D) and mean cylinder was −1.03 ± 0.84 D (range: 0.00 to −4.50 D). Mean age was 37 ± 9 years (range: 21 to 60 years) with 54% female patients. Postoperative SEQ was ±0.50 D in 55% and ±1.00 D in 83% of eyes after primary treatment. After re-treatment, 69% of eyes were within ±0.50 D and 95% were within ±1.00 D. UDVA was 20/20 or better in 89% of eyes after final treatment. One line of CDVA was lost in 3% of eyes and no eyes lost two or more lines. Statistically significant increases (
P
< .001) were measured in contrast sensitivity (CSV-1000) at 12 and 18 cycles per degree.

CONCLUSIONS:

The MEL 80 excimer laser was found to achieve high efficacy and safety for treatment of high myopia between −8.00 and −14.25 D and up to −4.50 D of cylinder.

[
J Refract Surg.
2016;32(5):290–297.]
Libertad, humano tesoro
Authors: Sánchez Alberto
Published: May 2016

No disponible.
Mujer, erotismo y sexualidad en el "Quijote"
Authors: Montero Reguera José
Published: May 2016

No disponible.
"La Ilustre fregona": Configuración de la balanza en su forma y contenido
Authors: Febres Eleodoro J.
Published: May 2016

No disponible.
Martín Gelabert y la Princeps del "Quijote": La edición barcelonesa de 1704
Authors: Pontón Gonzalo
Published: May 2016

No disponible.
"Y así, a todos os recibo a prueba": Risa e ideología en "El pez de los divorcios" de Cervantes
Authors: Restrepo Gautier Pablo
Published: May 2016

No disponible.
La estructura del discurso en el Quijote
Authors: Lope Blanch Juan M.
Published: May 2016

No disponible
El entremés de los Panza y el «Tío Abad» de Sanchico (Quijote, JI, 5-72)
Authors: Serés Guillermo
Published: May 2016

No disponible
Oralidad, escritura y dialogismo en el Quijote de 1605
Authors: Sacido Romero Alberto
Published: May 2016

No disponible
Citas bíblicas literales de Cervantes en castellano
Authors: Bañeza Román Celso
Published: May 2016

No disponible
De ventas y venteros: tradición literaria, ideología y mímesis en la obra de Cervantes
Authors: Salazar Rincón Javier
Published: May 2016

No disponible
De la controverse à l'acceptabilité sociale : le rôle constructif du conflit
Authors: Baba Sofiane , Mailhot Chantale
Published: May 2016

Nous vivons dans un contexte de multiplication des controverses socio-économico-environnementales et de demande grandissante d’implication de la société civile dans la prise de décision liée aux projets de développement économique. Ainsi, les enjeux liés aux processus de construction et de reconstruction des relations entre une entreprise et des parties prenantes locales à la suite d'une controverse s'imposent comme d'importants objets d'études. Nous nous intéressons au rôle des controverses dans une démarche dite d'acceptabilité sociale en nous demandant comment des acteurs peuvent aboutir à un accord en dépit des divergences quant à leurs intérêts et valeurs. Pour ce faire, nous analysons en profondeur le cas controversé du projet hydroélectrique Grande-Baleine, un projet de construction de trois centrales hydroélectriques proposé par Hydro-Québec vers la fin des années 1980. Au plan théorique, nous nous appuyons sur l'approche des économies de la grandeur afin de tenir compte de la façon dont différents acteurs défendent la légitimité de leur position et surmontent des conflits. L'apport de cet article est double. D'abord, en ayant recours au cadre des économies de la grandeur, il conceptualise le processus d'acceptabilité sociale sur une pluralité de logiques de justification et d'action. Ensuite, il met au jour trois mécanismes favorisant l'acceptabilité sociale suite à une controverse : la gradation, les dispositifs et le rapprochement des pratiques. Ce faisant, il consolide au plan théorique le champ émergent de l'acceptabilité sociale en y intégrant une dimension inexplorée, à savoir celle du conflit.
D’une acceptabilité « end of pipe » à une réflexion multiscalaire sur les systèmes socio-techniques : exemple des bioraffineries
Authors: Gobert Julie
Published: May 2016

Afin de mieux mettre en évidence les apories du concept d’acceptabilité sociale, cet article vise, au travers de différentes recherches, à questionner l’inscription territoriale et sociale d’objets socio-techniques, sensés incarner la transition énergétique et le développement durable : les bioraffineries. Elles sont seulement soumises à un processus d’acceptabilité sociale « end of pipe », c’est-à-dire sur l’objet-même, tandis que les enjeux en amont et aval des projets (changement d’usage des sols, etc.) ne sont jamais mis en exergue concomitamment au projet. En outre, les choix visant à développer la transformation de la biomasse via des bioraffineries sont souvent réalisés par des tours de table réduits comprenant des « communautés épistémiques » promouvant la bioraffinerie comme principe et de « communautés de pratique » appuyant localement leur développement. Ce qui induit un déficit d’appropriation sociale d’une technologie qui mobilise pourtant des financements publics importants.
Influence des activités agricoles sur la végétation le long d’un gradient pluviométrique nord-sud du Burkina Faso
Authors: Akoudjin Massouroudini , Kiéma Sébastien , Sangare Mamadou , César Jean , Bouyer Jérémy , Kabore-Zoungrana Chantal
Published: May 2016

Les écosystèmes subissent à la foi la pression humaine et climatique depuis des décennies, ainsi l’évaluation de l’état écologique des paysages agraires du Burkina Faso est nécessaire pour mettre en évidence l’action humaine sur l’environnement. Dans le cadre de cette étude, l’objectif est de caractériser quatre zones agro-sylvo-pastorales pour comprendre l’interaction entre le climat, l’action humaine et l’écosystème le long d’un gradient pluviométrique. L’étude a été réalisée sur des gradients anthropiques recoupant les aires protégées, les zones de cultures et les zones pâturées dans quatre zones agro-sylvo-pastorales du Burkina Faso. Des relevés floristiques ont été effectués au niveau des sites de suivis écologiques mis en place, selon la méthode d’inventaire itinérante. La richesse spécifique de la flore a été décroissante le long du gradient pluviométrique et du gradient anthropique. L’analyse factorielle des correspondances des relevés floristiques a permis de séparer le domaine sahélien de la savane. Elle a permis également de représenter 3 types de paysages (aires protégées, zones de cultures et zones pâturées) dans chaque zone agro-sylvo-pastorale. La répartition paysagère s’est faite en fonction de l’occupation du sol, mettant ainsi en évidence l’action humaine. Les zones pâturées se présentent comme des zones à écologie intermédiaire entre les zones de cultures et les aires protégées.
Une histoire asynchrone de l’économie et de l’écologie, et de leurs « passeurs »
Authors: Boutillier Sophie , Matagne Patrick
Published: May 2016

L’économie devient une discipline scientifique à la fin du 18e siècle avec les écoles classique et physiocratique. Ces deux écoles de pensée positionnent le marché comme la forme idéale de l’organisation économique et ne se posent pas la question de l’épuisement des ressources naturelles. Le travail et le commerce sont le moteur de la richesse des nations. Pourtant, la pollution n’est pas un fait inconnu des populations européennes, comme le montrent les travaux des historiens. L’écologie se constitue en tant que discipline scientifique un siècle plus tard, mettant en évidence l’équilibre difficile entre activité humaine et ressources naturelles. L’objectif de cette étude est de montrer qu’en dépit de ce décalage d’un siècle, des économistes se sont intéressés aux problèmes environnementaux, et d’autre part des scientifiques, des biologistes notamment, ont étudié l’impact des activités humaines sur l’environnement. Nous les nommons des « passeurs ».
Les paiements pour services environnementaux contribuent-ils à l’émergence d’un « gradient de juridicité » ?
Authors: Pomade Adélie
Published: May 2016

Mettant en relation étroite l’homme et les écosystèmes, les services écosystémiques provoquent un renversement de perspective : la nature n’est plus envisagée pour elle-même, mais pour les bénéfices qu’elle procure à l’homme. Ce nouveau regard, qui signe la reconnaissance d’une forme de dépendance de l’homme à la nature, ouvre la voie à une nouvelle approche juridique des enjeux liés aux écosystèmes et à la biodiversité. Il s’avère susceptible d’influer sur les réponses possibles apportées par le droit à la préservation de l’environnement et semble être vecteur de nouvelles approches, de nouveaux modes d’intervention du droit, au premier rang desquels l’émergence possible d’un « gradient de juridicité ». La rencontre de la discipline juridique et des paiements pour services environnementaux met justement en lumière cette nouvelle opportunité.
Cadres théoriques mobilisant les concepts de résilience et de vulnérabilité
Authors: Buchheit Pauline , d’Aquino Patrick , Ducourtieux Olivier
Published: May 2016

Les concepts de résilience et de vulnérabilité ont été employés dans différentes disciplines, pour analyser et gérer les dynamiques des espaces et des groupes sociaux face à des changements rapides et incertains. Parfois mis en opposition ou imbriqués, ces deux concepts s’insèrent dans une diversité de cadres d’analyse des relations société-environnement. Cet article se propose de passer en revue ces différents cadres d’analyse et leurs apports respectifs à l’analyse des interactions entre dynamiques sociales et écologiques. Si l’ensemble des cadres étudiés prennent en compte les interactions des individus avec leur environnement, ils n’évaluent cependant pas la vulnérabilité et la résilience aux mêmes échelles. En particulier, certains cadres sont centrés sur les acteurs, tandis que d’autres se placent à l’échelle de systèmes. Nous proposons un cadre permettant de concilier ces deux démarches. Ce cadre considère un système socioécologique à la fois comme une représentation particulière de l’environnement proposée par un acteur et comme un ensemble finalisé d’éléments, organisé en une hiérarchie de niveaux d’observation, répondant chacun à une finalité, ou fonction. Nous proposons alors une démarche participative pour confronter les représentations systémiques construites par différents acteurs à propos de leur environnement, et les fonctions qu’ils lui attribuent à différents niveaux d’observation. En amont d’un diagnostic de vulnérabilité ou de résilience, ce processus de confrontation n’a pas pour ambition de déboucher sur une vision partagée de l’espace et de ses fonctions, mais vise plutôt à discuter de l’éventuelle complémentarité des enjeux de vulnérabilité et de résilience portés par les différents acteurs.
Les Agences de l’eau et la restauration : 50 ans de tensions entre hydraulique et écologique
Authors: Morandi Bertrand , Piégay Hervé , Johnstone Karen , Miralles Diego
Published: May 2016

Le paradigme de la restauration occupe une place importante au sein de la gestion actuelle de l’eau et des milieux aquatiques. Depuis son apparition dans les sphères scientifiques et opérationnelles à la fin des années 1970, le paradigme s’est complexifié et les significations associées aux différents concepts de restauration, renaturation et réhabilitation ont également évolué sans que les définitions et les pratiques auxquelles ils renvoient soient toujours clairement établies. Si l’intérêt pour la restauration n’a pas fléchi, ses définitions sont encore aujourd’hui au cœur de nombreux débats sur les objectifs et les moyens de l’action. L’étude rétrospective des politiques d’intervention des Agences de l’eau Loire-Bretagne, Rhin-Meuse et Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse, offre un éclairage géographique et historique nouveau sur les définitions et les pratiques de la restauration de cours d’eau au sein de l’action publique. Elle s’appuie sur une analyse qualitative des Programmes d’Intervention mis en œuvre sur ces trois bassins (1964-2018), laquelle est complétée par une analyse de contenu quantitative des dossiers d’aides financières accordées par ces mêmes AE pour la réalisation des actions de restauration (1997-2011). Les résultats montrent une tension récurrente entre deux conceptions de la restauration, l’une hydraulique et l’autre écologique, que ne sauraient masquer la diversification des pratiques et les processus d’hybridation. A la veille d’une mise en œuvre de la compétence GEMAPI, l’analyse proposée des politiques d’intervention des AE peut apporter au débat actuel quant à la forme et aux moyens d’une éventuelle « montée en puissance » des projets de restauration de cours d’eau au sein de l’action publique.
Évolution de l’occupation et de l’utilisation du sol entre 1973 et 2010 dans la zone agropastorale du lac de Guiers (Sénégal)
Authors: Faye Véronique M. , Mbow Cheikh , Thiam Abou
Published: May 2016

Cette étude traite de l’évolution de l’occupation et de l’utilisation du sol dans la région du lac de Guiers. Elle contribue à la caractérisation des principales entités spatiales de la zone entre 1973 et 2010. Les techniques cartographiques basées sur les analyses d’images satellites multidates ont été utilisées et complétées par des vérifications sur le terrain. Sur la période étudiée, il a été observé une augmentation des étendues d’eau de 14,9 % ; de la végétation aquatique de 17,5 %, des exploitations agricoles industrielles et privées respectivement de 207,5 et 5508,8 % et une diminution des superficies des steppes arbustives et herbeuses de 69,9 et 64,3 %. Les changements d’occupation du sol se sont manifestés principalement par la substitution de la steppe arbustive par une steppe herbeuse entre 1973-1988 (avant l’édification des barrages de Diama et Manantali sur le fleuve Sénégal), et l’extension des aménagements agricoles et de la végétation aquatique, entre 1988 à 2010 (après les barrages). L’utilisation du sol en 2010 est marquée par le développement de l’agriculture irriguée qui occupe 42 % de la zone étudiée. L’importante extension des exploitations agricoles irriguées est source de nombreux conflits fonciers. Il est essentiel de revoir le développement de la région dans son ensemble dans le cadre de la politique nationale en matière d’aménagement du territoire et de développement local participatif.
Model-Based Analysis and Engineering of Automotive Architectures with EAST-ADL
Authors: Kolagari Ramin Tavakoli , Chen DeJiu , Lanusse Agnes , Librino Renato , Lönn Henrik , Mahmud Nidhal , Mraidha Chokri , Reiser Mark-Oliver , Torchiaro Sandra , Tucci-Piergiovanni Sara , Wägemann Tobias , Yakymets Nataliya
Published: May 2016

Modern cars have turned into complex high-technology products, subject to strict safety and timing requirements, in a short time span. This evolution has translated into development processes that are not as efficient, flexible and agile as they could or should be. This paper presents the main aspects and capabilities of a rich model-based design framework, founded on EAST-ADL. EAST-ADL is an architecture description language specific to the automotive domain and complemented by a methodology compliant with the functional safety standard for the automotive domain ISO26262. The language and the methodology are used to develop an information model in the sense of a conceptual model, providing the engineer the basis for specifying the various aspects of the system. Inconsistencies, redundancies, and partly even missing system description aspects can be found automaticlally by advanced analyses and optimization capabilities to effectively improve development processes of modern cars.
Increasing the Participation of Women and Minority Populations in Clinical Trials
Authors: D'Abundo Michelle Lee , Akhtar Saliha , Israel Cynthia
Published: May 2016

Increasing the participation of women and minorities in clinical trials is a challenge for the healthcare industry. The lack of diversity in clinical trials prevents the tailoring of healthcare interventions specifically for women and minorities. The purpose of this paper is to explore how technology-oriented strategies can be applied in the clinical trial research process to increase the recruitment of women and minorities in clinical trials. An overview of clinical trials, the stakeholders, and current issues in diversifying recruitment are provided. In order to recruit diverse participant populations, the use of online advertising, social media, e-newsletters, tablets, smartphones, and apps are detailed. Lessons from previous use of technology in recruitment are outlined as well as future trends. With the support of clinical trial stakeholders, the current technology-oriented strategies available seem promising as methods for increasing the participation of women and minorities in clinical trials.
RFID-Enabled Healthcare
Authors: Manzoor Amir
Published: May 2016

RFID is a new technology that is quickly gaining ground in healthcare industry. RFID is being used in many areas of healthcare from asset tracking to patient care to access control. The objective of this article is to provide an extensive survey of existing literature to identify various applications of RFID in healthcare and ascertain how healthcare industry can gain long-term benefits of RFID technology. Findings indicate that RFID is being used in variety of healthcare applications. Findings indicate that effective use of RFID in healthcare requires various enablers, most important of which is the government support to use of RFID in healthcare. There also exist ethical/cultural issues related to RFID implementation that require close collaboration among RFID products manufactures and healthcare providers. This article also provides several recommendations for healthcare industry in order gain competitive advantage from the use of RFID technology.
A Combined Fuzzy Method for Evaluating Criteria in Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation
Authors: Hamidi Hodjat
Published: May 2016

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is an information system that supports and integrates many facets of a business, sales, and marketing. ERP system success depends on the rigor of the ERP Implementation processes. Scope creep, inadequate allocation of human resources over time, and vendor management are some common problems associated with the implementation of an enterprise system. This paper evaluates critical elements of ERP system that contributed to the success of the ERP implementation. For those organizations adopting ERP, the findings provide a roadmap to follow in order to avoid making critical, ERP Implementation mistakes. In this study, the combined fuzzy method is applied to assess ERP implementation factors. The combined fuzzy method is also capable of taking into consideration both tangible and intangible criteria. This method not only leads to a logical result but also visualizes the impact of various criteria on the final result. Applying the characteristics of dependence and feedback to combined fuzzy method could result in assessments that are more precise than those possible with other multiple criteria decision making approaches. The combined fuzzy method provides a useful assessment approach to this study. The benefits of using the combined fuzzy method for evaluating the ERP implementation come from the clear priority weights between alternatives. Also, a real case study from Iran is also presented to demonstrate efficiency of this method in practice.
Urban Games
Authors: Vieira Liliana , Coutinho Clara
Published: May 2016

Mobile technologies are increasingly rooted in society and, therefore, intuitively, teachers begin to take advantage of devices that students carry with them daily in a logic of 1:1 bring your own device (BYOD). In fact, it becomes crucial to use this media to promote/increase new pedagogical activities to motivate and challenge students to acquire and discover knowledge. This was the inspiration to create the MobiGeo, an Urban Game, for Geography teaching. The research question that guided the project was to understand whether the implementation of MobiGeo influence the process of learning geography in an outdoor education context. Data obtained allow the researchers to conclude that Urban Games are potential agents of motivation and interaction that predispose students to learn geography in informal learning environments. So, they suggest that the roles of teacher and student should not be abandoned but recycled and adapted to this new reality that requires more personalized and diverse activities of learning.
Proactive, Preventive or Indifference?
Authors: Forkosh-Baruch Alona , Meishar Tal Hagit
Published: May 2016

Students enter classes with mobile devices and use them for learning; however, these are also distracting devices. Some teacher educators display positive attitudes; others display negative attitudes, depending on their perception of the advantages and disadvantages of mobile technology for learning. This paper represents findings of a study that examined teacher educators' attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in classes, and their reactions to its use. The study identified three types of reactions: proactive, preventive and indifference. Findings show that teacher educators perceive the benefits of using mobile technology in their classes as outweighing the disadvantages. However, the majority is indifferent, e.g. do not initiate new uses of mobile technologies in class, but do not prevent its usage. A correlation was identified between the lecturers' reactions to uses of mobile technology and the familiarity with its possibilities and potential in class.
Quantifying the Uncertainty of Energy Creation from Solar and Wind Farms in Different Locations
Authors: Nersesian Roy , Strang Kenneth David
Published: May 2016

This paper illustrates how to assess the risk associated with solar and wind farm energy creation by identifying the critical operational factors and then developing multivariate models. The study reveals that a dependence on solar and wind could place consumers at risk of interrupted service given the state of contemporary battery technology. Large scale electricity storage is not currently available which places a contingency risk on electricity generating capacity. More so, maintaining system stability where solar and wind play a significant role in generating electricity is a growing challenge facing utility operators. Therefore, the authors demonstrate how to build a model that quantifies uncertainty by matching uncontrollable supply to uncontrollable demand where a gravity battery may be installed as a buffer. This novel approach generalizes to fossil fuel and nuclear plant operations because demand fluctuations could be managed by storing surplus energy into a gravity battery to meet high peak periods.
Assessing Systemic Risk
Authors: Mitroff Ian I. , Silvers Abraham
Published: May 2016

Far too many applications of Risk Analysis (RA) and Risk Management (RM) treat risks as though they are distinct and independent. Thus, risks are largely treated as though they can be evaluated and mitigated independently of one another. This paper takes a fundamentally different approach. The basic argument is that there are no such things as independent and separate risks. All risks are part of a larger system of interrelated issues, problems, and risks. Each risk is not only connected to all of the other risks that are parts of the system, but if only in part, each risk is responsible, in causing and triggering of all of the other risks. Using recent findings in the probability of implication (Mitroff and Silvers, 2013), a simple mathematical treatment of the interconnectedness of risks is developed. The treatment is capable of being expanded indefinitely to include more complex situations. Finally, the mathematical treatment shows how risks and crises are interrelated.
Wireless Body Sensor Networks
Authors: Itani Wassim , Kayssi Ayman , Chehab Ali
Published: May 2016

In this paper, the authors provide a detailed overview and technical discussion and analysis of the latest research trends in securing body sensor networks. The core of this work aims at: (1) identifying the resource limitations and energy challenges of this category of wireless sensor networks, (2) considering the life-critical applications and emergency contexts that are encompassed by body sensor network services, and (3) studying the effect of these peculiarities on the design and implementation of rigorous and efficient security algorithms and protocols. The survey discusses the main advancements in the design of body sensor network cryptographic services (key generation and management, authentication, confidentiality, integrity, and privacy) and sheds the light on the prominent developments achieved in the field of securing body sensor network data in Cloud computing architectures. The elastic virtualization mechanisms employed in the Cloud, as well as the lucrative computing and storage resources available, makes the integration of body sensor network applications, and Cloud platforms a natural choice that is packed with various security and privacy challenges. The work presented in this paper focuses on Cloud privacy and integrity mechanisms that rely on tamper-proof hardware and energy-efficient cryptographic data structures that are proving to be well-suited for operation in untrusted Cloud environments. This paper also examines two crucial design patterns that lie at the crux of any successful body sensor network deployment which are represented in: (1) attaining the right balance between the degree, complexity, span, and strength of the cryptographic operations employed and the energy resources they consume. (2) Achieving a feasible tradeoff between the privacy of the human subject wearing the body sensor network and the safety of this subject. This is done by a careful analysis of the medical status of the subject and other context-related information to control the degree of disclosure of sensitive medical data. The paper concludes by presenting a practical overview of the cryptographic support in the main body sensor network development frameworks such and TinyOS and SPINE and introduces a set of generalized guideline patterns and recommendations for designing and implementing cryptographic protocols in body sensor network environments.
Digital Technologies as a Catalyst for Change towards Integrated Care Delivery
Authors: Kubitschke Lutz , Meyer Ingo , Müller Sonja , Stellato Kira , Di Lenarda Andrea
Published: May 2016

The quest for more integrated care is not in itself new, but recent technology developments have nourished hopes that application of advanced digital solutions can make a major contribution to better joined-up care delivery, in particular to those suffering from chronic conditions. However, in contrast, with an enormous breadth of research activities, few instances of routine application of integrated eCare have yet emerged. This raises the question whether the concept of digitally-supported care delivery is indeed a present-day reality transforming traditionally separated care systems or just a hyped-up vision of what could be. Based on a review of recent evidence, including lessons learned from pilot implementations in different countries, the authors argue that the inherent properties of digital technologies do not by themselves lead to better-integrated care delivery. Rather, a reasonable implementation strategy needs to take account of the fact that desired end user support is not delivered by such technologies alone, but by socio-technical systems. An implementation approach that pays simultaneous attention to the stakeholders involved, to the particular working models of the different care actors, and to the technologies to be employed is shown to considerably increase the likelihood of achieving positive impacts on different levels, even if risks and uncertainty cannot be completely avoided.
The Amazing Impossibilities of Technology
Authors: Conradsen Stein
Published: May 2016

A project in Norway attempting to start self-help groups based on Internet video conferencing experienced severe problems in recruiting participants. The article discusses how to interpret the project and compares it to other projects and trials. Theoretical perspectives on self-help and technology in a late modern context contribute to a tentative model of motivation for getting involved in Electronic Self-help Groups (ESGs). Anthony Giddens' contribution on the high modern society is central to our model of motivation. Also, the relationship between technology and social practice discussed by Ian Hutchby plays an important role. Both constrainers and enablers of such practices are considered in the theoretical model. Using this model of motivation, five factors are suggested which may either enable or constrain engagement. These factors are 1) synchronicity, 2) identification, 3) specified diagnosis, 4) organizational trust and 5) accessibility.
D-S Evidence Theory Based Trust Detection Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Yang Kai , Liu Shuguang , Li Xiuguang , Wang Xu An
Published: May 2016

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a key technology which is deployed under the assumption that participating sensors are cooperative in forwarding each other's packets. However, some nodes may behave selfishly by dropping other's packets or refusing to provide services in an attempt to maximize its throughput with minimum expense. In this paper, the authors present a novel detection scheme based on Dempster-Shafer (D-S) evidence theory in WSN to detect and isolate misbehavior sensors. However, when the scheme is operated, counter-intuitive results may appear. To overcome this problem, this paper improves the original D-S evidence theory, which defines a new variable to modify the collected evidence before combination and then combines these evidences according to Dempster combination rule. Simulation results show that this scheme can detect and isolate misbehavior sensors effectively and accurately, suppress nodes collusion and improve network performance. Compared with other existing detection scheme, this scheme has more security, robustness and accuracy.
A Message Topic Model for Multi-Grain SMS Spam Filtering
Authors: Ma Jialin , Zhang Yongjun , Wang Zhijian , Yu Kun
Published: May 2016

At present, content-based methods are regard as the more effective in the task of Short Message Service (SMS) spam filtering. However, they usually use traditional text classification technologies, which are more suitable to deal with normal long texts; therefore, it often faces some serious challenges, such as the sparse data problem and noise data in the SMS message. In addition, the existing SMS spam filtering methods usually consider the SMS spam task as a binary-class problem, which could not provide for different categories for multi-grain SMS spam filtering. In this paper, the authors propose a message topic model (MTM) for multi-grain SMS spam filtering. The MTM derives from the famous probability topic model, and is improved in this paper to make it more suitable for SMS spam filtering. Finally, the authors compare the MTM with the SVM and the standard LDA on the public SMS spam corpus. The experimental results show that the MTM is more effective for the task of SMS spam filtering.
On Transforming a Road Network Database to a Graph for Localization Purpose
Authors: Meng Xiangli , Rebreyend Pascal
Published: May 2016

The problems of finding best facility locations require complete and accurate road networks with the corresponding population data in a specific area. However the data obtained from road network databases usually do not fit in this usage. In this paper the authors propose a procedure of converting the road network database to a road graph which could be used for localization problems. Several challenging problems exist in the transformation process which are commonly met also in other data bases. The procedure of dealing with those challenges are proposed. The data come from the National road data base in Sweden. The graph derived is cleaned, and reduced to a suitable level for localization problems. The residential points are also processed in ordered to match the graph. The reduction of the graph is done maintaining the accuracy of distance measures in the network.
Recommender System with Composite Social Trust Networks
Authors: Chen Chaochao , Zheng Xiaolin , Zhu Mengying , Xiao Litao
Published: May 2016

The development of online social networks has increased the importance of social recommendations. Social recommender systems are based on the idea that users who are linked in a social trust network tend to share similar interests. Thus, how to build an accurate social trust network will greatly affect recommendation performance. However, existing trust-based recommender approaches do not fully utilize social information to build rational trust networks and thus have low prediction accuracy and slow convergence speed. In this paper, the authors propose a composite trust-based probabilistic matrix factorization model, which is mainly composed of two steps: In step 1, the existing explicit trust network and the inferred implicit trust network are used to build a composite trust network. In step 2, the composite trust network is used to minimize both the rating difference and the trust difference between the true value and the inferred value. Experiments based on an Epinions dataset show that the authors' approach has significantly higher prediction accuracy and convergence speed than traditional collaborative filtering technology and the state-of-the-art trust-based recommendation approaches.
Assessment on the Release of Magnetite Nanoparticles Embedded with PVA Nanofiber in Hydrodynamics
Authors: Srinivas Vikram , Raju Vasanthakumari
Published: May 2016

Magnetite nanoparticle with average size 7-10 nm was embedded with biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol nanofiber and the average diameter of nanofiber is 115 nm. The nanofiber was further assembled over polymeric mesh to analyse the release mechanism of nanoparticles from polymer nanofiber. A hydrodynamics setup was constructed to study this system. Prior to hydrodynamics the nanofiber was allowed to react with water in static mode and observed that the magnetite nanoparticles were released from the nanofiber with increase in time. UV-Visible Spectrophotometer is used for analysis of absorbance and transmittance of polyvinyl alcohol-magnetite nanoparticles solution, nanofiber and films. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy is used to analyze the dimension of nanofiber; High-resolution transmission electron microscopy is used to find the size of magnetite nanoparticles. Here, an online spectroscopic technique was used to study the release mechanism of nanoparticles from nanofibers samples of different layers during hydrodynamics. The results reveal that the quantity of magnetite nanoparticles can be controlled by embedding into nanofibers during hydrodynamics. Also, the spectroscopic results indicate the quantity of nanoparticles released from nanofiber. This mechanism can be utilized to control the required quantity of nanoparticles to release at particular location through a polymer mesh assembly.
Effect of Annealing Temperature on Phase Transition of Nanoalumina Synthesized by Auto-Combustion Route
Authors: Adil Muhammad , Zaid Hasnah Mohd , Lee Kean Chuan , Latiff Noor Rasyada Ahmad
Published: May 2016

Nanocrystalline Al2O3 powder has been successfully synthesized by a simple and fast sol-gel auto-combustion method. The transformation of crystalline phases of as-synthesized nano powders was investigated through X-ray diffraction in terms of their crystallinity and crystallite size. Subsequently, a detailed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigation, including specific area electron diffraction (SAED) analysis revealed the crystallographic alterations and morphological information even at lattice scale which co-include the XRD analysis. The results obtained allow to explain the evolution of an amorphous state into different crystalline phases with increased calcining temperature; and their relation to particle size. The particle size is found to be closely related to phase transition of Al2O3 from γ → δ → θ → κ →α. The existence of distinctive bonds and band energy were studied by employing Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-visible spectroscopy, respectively. On the other hand, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) had also been performed to confirm the phase purity of nano powder.
Identification of High-Risk Patients with Non-ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction using Strain Doppler Echocardiography: Correlation with Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Loutfi Mohamed , Ashour Sanaa , El-Sharkawy Eman , El-Fawal Sara , El-Touny Karim
Published: May 2016

Assessment of left ventricular (LV) function is important for decision-making and risk stratification in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Many patients with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) have substantial infarction, but these patients often do not reveal clinical signs of instability, and they rarely fulfill criteria for acute revascularization therapy.

Aim

This study evaluated the potential of strain Doppler echocardiography analysis for the assessment of LV infarct size when compared with standard two-dimensional echo and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) data.

Methods

Thirty patients with NSTEMI were examined using echocardiography after hospitalization for 1.8 ± 1.1 days for the assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction, wall motion score index (WMSI), and LV global longitudinal strain (GLS). Infarct size was assessed using delayed enhancement CMR 6.97 ± 3.2 days after admission as a percentage of total myocardial volume.

Results

GLS was performed in 30 patients, and 82.9% of the LV segments were accepted for GLS analysis. Comparisons between patients with a complete set of GLS and standard echo, GLS and CMR were performed. The linear relationship demonstrated moderately strong and significant associations between GLS and ejection fraction (EF) as determined using standard echo ( r = 0.452, P = 0.012), WMSI ( r = 0.462, P = 0.010), and the gold standard CMR-determined EF ( r = 0.57, P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to analyze the ability of GLS to evaluate infarct size. GLS was the best predictor of infarct size in a multivariate linear regression analysis (β = 1.51, P = 0.027). WMSI >1.125 and a GLS cutoff value of −11.29% identified patients with substantial infarction (≥12% of total myocardial volume measured using CMR) with accuracies of 76.7% and 80%, respectively. However, GLS remained the only independent predictor in a multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify an infarct size ≥12%.

Conclusion

GLS is a good predictor of infarct size in NSTEMI, and it may serve as a tool in conjunction with risk stratification scores for the selection of high-risk NSTEMI patients.
Widespread Detection of Antibodies to Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile, St. Louis Encephalitis, and Turlock Viruses in Various Species of Wild Birds from Across the United States
Authors: Pedersen Kerri , Marks David R. , Wang Eryu , Eastwood Gillian , Weaver Scott C. , Goldstein Samuel M. , Sinnett David R. , DeLiberto Thomas J.
Published: May 2016

Wild birds serve as amplifying hosts for many arboviruses, and are thought to be responsible for introducing these viruses into new areas during migration as well as reintroducing them to places where winter temperatures disrupt mosquito-borne transmission. To learn more about four mosquito-borne arboviruses of concern to human or animal health, we tested sera from 997 wild birds of 54 species and 17 families across 44 states of the United States collected from January 1, 2013, through September 30, 2013. Samples were tested for antibody against eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile, and Turlock viruses using plaque reduction neutralization tests with an endpoint of 80% or greater. Of the 333 (33.4%) birds that tested positive for antibody to at least one arbovirus, 29.7% were exposed to two or more arboviruses. Exposure to all four arboviruses was detected in Canada geese, double-crested cormorants, mallards, mute swans, laughing gulls, and American coots. Our results suggest that exposure to arboviruses is widespread in the United States across a diversity of wild bird species.
Separation of biospheric and fossil fuel fluxes of CO2 by atmospheric inversion of CO2 and 14CO2 measurements: Observation System Simulations
Authors: Basu Sourish , Miller John Bharat , Lehman Scott
Published: May 2016

Abstract. National annual total CO2 emissions from combustion of fossil fuels are likely known to within 5–10 % for most developed countries. However, uncertainties are inevitably larger (by unknown amounts) for emission estimates at regional and monthly scales, or for developing countries. Given recent international efforts to establish emission reduction targets, independent determination and verification of regional and national scale fossil fuel CO2 emissions are likely to become increasingly important. Here, we take advantage of the fact that precise measurements of 14C in CO2 provide a largely unbiased tracer for recently added fossil-fuel-derived CO2 in the atmosphere and present an atmospheric inversion technique to jointly assimilate observations of CO2 and 14CO2 in order to simultaneously estimate fossil fuel emissions and biospheric exchange fluxes of CO2. Using this method in a set of Observation System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs), we show that given the coverage of 14CO2 measurements available in 2010 (969 over North America, 1063 globally), we can recover the US national total fossil fuel emission to better than 1 % for the year and to within 5 % for most months. Increasing the number of 14CO2 observations to  ∼ 5000 per year over North America, as recently recommended by the National Academy of Science (NAS) (Pacala et al., 2010), we recover monthly emissions to within 5 % for all months for the US as a whole and also for smaller, highly emissive regions over which the specified data coverage is relatively dense, such as for the New England states or the NY-NJ-PA tri-state area. This result suggests that, given continued improvement in state-of-the art transport models, a measurement program similar in scale to that recommended by the NAS can provide for independent verification of bottom-up inventories of fossil fuel CO2 at the regional and national scale. In addition, we show that the dual tracer inversion framework can detect and minimize biases in estimates of the biospheric flux that would otherwise arise in a traditional CO2-only inversion when prescribing fixed but inaccurate fossil fuel fluxes.
Automatic processing of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 mole fractions at the ICOS Atmospheric Thematic Center
Authors: Hazan Lynn , Tarniewicz Jérôme , Ramonet Michel , Laurent Olivier , Abbaris Amara
Published: May 2016

Abstract. The Integrated Carbon Observation System Atmospheric Thematic Center (ICOS ATC) automatically processes atmospheric greenhouse gases mole fractions of data coming from sites of the ICOS network. Daily transferred raw data files are automatically processed and archived. Data are stored in the ICOS atmospheric database, the backbone of the system, which has been developed with an emphasis on the traceability of the data processing. Many data products, updated daily, explore the data through different angles to support the quality control of the dataset performed by the principal operators in charge of the instruments. The automatic processing includes calibration and water vapour corrections as described in the paper. The mole fractions calculated in near-real time (NRT) are automatically revaluated as soon as a new instrument calibration is processed or when the station supervisors perform quality control. By analyzing data from eleven sites, we determined that the average calibration corrections are equal to 1.7 ± 0.3 µmol mol−1 for CO2 and 2.8 ± 3 nmol mol−1 for CH4. These biases are important to correct to avoid artificial gradients between stations that could lead to error in flux estimates when using atmospheric inversion techniques. We also calculated that the average drift between two successive calibrations amounts to ±0.05 µmol mol−1 and ±0.7 nmol mol−1 for CO2 and CH4, respectively. Outliers are generally due to errors in the instrument configuration and can be quickly detected thanks to the data products provided by the ATC. Several developments are still ongoing to improve the processing, including automated spike detection and calculation of time-varying uncertainties.
The dawn–dusk asymmetry of ion density in the dayside magnetosheath and its annual variability measured by THEMIS
Authors: Dimmock Andrew P. , Pulkkinen Tuija I. , Osmane Adnane , Nykyri Katariina
Published: May 2016

Abstract. The local and global plasma properties in the magnetosheath play a fundamental role in regulating solar wind–magnetosphere coupling processes. However, the magnetosheath is a complex region to characterise as it has been shown theoretically, observationally and through simulations that plasma properties are inhomogeneous, non-isotropic and asymmetric about the Sun-Earth line. To complicate matters, dawn–dusk asymmetries are sensitive to various changes in the upstream conditions on an array of timescales. The present paper focuses exclusively on dawn–dusk asymmetries, in particularly that of ion density. We present a statistical study using THEMIS data of the dawn–dusk asymmetry of ion density in the dayside magnetosheath and its long-term variations between 2009 and 2015. Our data suggest that, in general, the dawn-side densities are higher, and the asymmetry grows from noon towards the terminator. This trend was only observed close to the magnetopause and not in the central magnetosheath. In addition, between 2009 and 2015, the largest asymmetry occurred around 2009 decreasing thereafter. We also concluded that no single parameter such as the Alfvén Mach number, plasma velocity, or the interplanetary magnetic field strength could exclusively account for the observed asymmetry. Interestingly, the dependence on Alfvén Mach number differed between data sets from different time periods. The asymmetry obtained in the THEMIS data set is consistent with previous studies, but the solar cycle dependence was opposite to an analysis based on IMP-8 data. We discuss the physical mechanisms for this asymmetry and its temporal variation. We also put the current results into context with the existing literature in order to relate THEMIS era measurements to those made during earlier solar cycles.