bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of the brand in the success of a mobile game
Authors: Stenbacka Björn 
Published: March 2008

A short value chain, strong brand, strong game concept, broad porting, strong language support (EFIGS, i.e., English, French, Italian, German and Spanish), combined with short time to market and powerful global distribution machinery, are key components in building a successful mobile game and gaming business. But which of these components and factors affect success when success is defined as high revenue per download and high download volumes of the game? Or does the combination of all these factors decide the outcome? These are two central research questions in this study.
We specifically describe the effects of using a brand in the mobile games' value chain. The comparative analysis of three J2ME-branded racing games points to the fact that the brand has a significant impact on the value chain and the success of a game. The stronger the brand the shorter the value chain, and the higher the revenue per download and the download volume.
To some extent, a strong brand compensates for a lack in game quality, and even game porting. The other way around, we find that if the brand is weak even a good-quality game and very broad porting cannot compensate for the negative impact of a weak brand.
PyTrilinos
Authors: Sala Marzio , Spotz W. F. , Heroux M. A. 
Published: March 2008

PyTrilinos is a collection of Python modules that are useful for serial and parallel scientific computing. This collection contains modules that cover serial and parallel dense linear algebra, serial and parallel sparse linear algebra, direct and iterative linear solution techniques, domain decomposition and multilevel preconditioners, nonlinear solvers, and continuation algorithms. Also included are a variety of related utility functions and classes, including distributed I/O, coloring algorithms, and matrix generation. PyTrilinos vector objects are integrated with the popular NumPy Python module, gathering together a variety of high-level distributed computing operations with serial vector operations.
PyTrilinos is a set of interfaces to existing, compiled libraries. This hybrid framework uses Python as front-end, and efficient precompiled libraries for all computationally expensive tasks. Thus, we take advantage of both the flexibility and ease of use of Python, and the efficiency of the underlying C++, C, and FORTRAN numerical kernels. Out numerical results show that, for many important problem classes, the overhead required by the Python interpreter is negligible.
To run in parallel, PyTrilinos simply requires a standard Python interpreter. The fundamental MPI calls are encapsulated under an abstract layer that manages all interprocessor communications. This makes serial and parallel scripts using PyTrilinos virtually identical.
Exceptional situations and program reliability
Authors: Weimer Westley , Necula George C. 
Published: March 2008

It is difficult to write programs that behave correctly in the presence of run-time errors. Proper behavior in the face of exceptional situations is important to the reliability of long-running programs. Existing programming language features often provide poor support for executing clean-up code and for restoring invariants.
We present a data-flow analysis for finding a certain class of exception-handling defects: those related to a failure to release resources or to clean up properly along all paths. Many real-world programs violate such resource usage rules because of incorrect exception handling. Our flow-sensitive analysis keeps track of outstanding obligations along program paths and does a precise modeling of control flow in the presence of exceptions. Using it, we have found over 1,300 exception handling defects in over 5 million lines of Java code.
Based on those defects we propose a programming language feature, the compensation stack, that keeps track of obligations at run time and ensures that they are discharged. We present a type system for compensation stacks that tracks collections of obligations. Finally, we present case studies to demonstrate that this feature is natural, efficient, and can improve reliability.
Alice
Authors: Pausch Randy 
Published: March 2008

I have spent the last fifteen years of my life leading an incredible team. Our quest (which we did not even realize in the beginning) was to revolutionize the way computer programming is taught. Current versions of the Alice system (Alice v2.0, and Caitlin Kelleher's "Storytelling Alice") have been very effective in the college classroom and in tests with middle school girls. The use of drag-and-drop authoring to create 3D movies has proved to be a powerful motivator for students of all ages and both genders. In 2008, we will release Alice v3.0, which provides "real Java" programming and the characters from EA's "The Sims," the most popular PC video game in history.
Damn shame I won't be there to see it. As you probably know, I'm dying of pancreatic cancer, as became widely known in my "Last Lecture." Like Moses, I get to see the promised land, but not set foot in it. But the vision is clear. Long before I became ill, Dennis Cosgrove took over the responsibility for the design of Alice v3.0, and he's doing a whale of a job. Steve Cooper (of St. Joseph's University), Wanda Dann, and Don Slater are handling the pedagogic materials for college and high school, and Caitlin Kelleher (now junior faculty at Washington University in St. Louis) is heading the efforts regarding middle school girls.
This talk will address the history, philosophy, and future of the Alice project, and will include a behind-the-scenes look at a pre-release version of Alice v3.0. I will give this address in person if I am still alive and able, or by a combination of pre-taped video and help from the Alice team. I cannot imagine a better professional legacy than what the Alice team is currently building.
Language engineering in the context of a popular, inexpensive robot platform
Authors: Xu Li 
Published: March 2008

Language engineering - the theory and practice of building language processors and compilers, has long been recognized as important subject in Computer Science curricula. However, due to lack of suitable target systems, educators face significant challenges to teach language engineering classes effectively.
Leveraging the emerging inexpensive robot devices, this paper presents a new approach of using robots as system context to teach language engineering topics. We designed the Chirp-Scribbler Language, which targets the popular Scribbler robot; combined together, they provide an engaging and feature-rich platform to teach a wide range of topics in language engineering.
This paper describes the Chirp-Scribbler Language, its integration with the target robot, and the teaching practice of using them to teach language translation basics in an undergraduate programming course.
The role of virtualization in computing education
Authors: Gaspar Alessio , Langevin Sarah , Armitage William , Sekar R. , Daniels T. 
Published: March 2008

Over the past years, many problems related to the system administration of laboratories for undergraduate system-oriented courses have found elegant solutions in the deployment of virtualization suites. This technological advance enabled these courses to switch from a mostly descriptive content to learning activities which engage students in hands-on, authentic, problem-based learning. Since this type of activity requires students to be administrators of their own virtual machines (VM) or even virtual networks, the experience gained is intrinsically authentic. The potential impact on student learning, as compared to simulation or lecture only based setups is worth investigating for laboratories in operating systems, networking, computer security, system administration, etc.
We propose to review the increasingly important role that virtualization is playing in computing education from 2 perspectives;
(1) Classrooms' system administration and technological advances which support the development of new pedagogies
(2) Pedagogical advances which instructors can now implement thanks to these technologies and their impact on students learning from either quantitative or qualitative perspectives
The presenters will share their experience leading the Xen Worlds, V-NetLab and SOFTICE projects.
Student perceptions of computer science
Authors: Biggers Maureen , Brauer Anne , Yilmaz Tuba 
Published: March 2008

Students who develop a strong interest in another field can hardly be fair target for retention efforts. There are others, however, who might do very well in this field but who leave computer science because of misunderstandings about and a negative experience in this academic major. Retention literature suggests and provides numerous examples of initiatives that improve student retention. To determine how best to impact student retention in your computer science department, a comprehensive understanding of the student experience of your major is essential. Not only is it important to know why students leave your major, but an understanding of why they stay can be useful in developing high impact initiatives.
The current study involves a comparative examination of students who graduated from the computer science (CS) major at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia (Stayers) with students who chose to leave the major (Leavers). Specifically, perceptions and experiences of computer science as a field in general and the climate of the major were studied. Comparative data collected provided insights into reasons why they entered into the major, about belief of adequate preparation and confidence going into the major, definitions of CS and other related factors. Results were analyzed to identify potential target areas and concrete implementation strategies are suggested for improved retention in the computer science major at this institution.
Computer science
Authors: Lazowska Ed 
Published: March 2008

Computing research has made remarkable advances, but there's much more to be accomplished. The next few decades of advances should be even more significant, and even more interesting, than the past few.
The National Science Foundation has created the Computing Community Consortium to engage computing researchers in an ongoing process of visioning - of imagining what we might contribute to the world, in terms that we and the world might both appreciate.
This process is just beginning, and I'd like to take this opportunity to engage you. I will review the progress that our field has made, and I'll present a number of "grand challenge" problems that we should be prepared to tackle in the coming decade. I'll invite your contributions.
Asymptotic Periodicity of a Higher-Order Difference Equation
Authors: Stevic Stevo 
Published: March 2008

We give a complete picture regarding the asymptotic periodicity of positive solutions of the following difference equation:xn=f(xn−p1,…,xn−pk,xn−q1,…,xn−qm),n∈ℕ0, wherepi, i∈{1,…,k}, andqj, j∈{1,…,m}, are natural numbers such thatp1<p2<⋯<pk,q1<q2<⋯<qmandgcd(p1,…,pk,q1,…,qm)=1, the functionf∈C[(0,∞)k+m,(α,∞)], α>0, is increasing in the firstkarguments and decreasing in othermarguments, there is a decreasing functiong∈C[(α,∞),(α,∞)]such thatg(g(x))=x, x∈(α,∞),x=f(x,…,x︸k,g(x),…,g(x)︸m),x∈(α,∞),limx→α+g(x)=+∞, andlimx→+∞g(x)=α. It is proved that if allpi, i∈{1,…,k}, are even and allqj, j∈{1,…,m}are odd, every positive solution of the equation converges to (not necessarily prime) a periodic solution of period two, otherwise, every positive solution of the equation converges to a unique positive equilibrium.
Planetary Wave Propagation off California and Its Effect on Zooplankton
Authors: Clarke Allan J. , Dottori Marcelo 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
Lagged correlation of dynamic height from the gappy California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation (CalCOFI) with monthly San Diego sea level for the period 1949–2001 shows that the dynamic height propagates westward at 4.10 cm s−1, about double the speed of the large-scale low-frequency Rossby wave (2.2 cm s−1). Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon/Jason-1’s along-track sea level height estimates since January 1993, filtered interannually, propagate westward at 4.3 cm s−1, verifying that observed westward propagation is about double that expected. Including the effect of the mean California Current on the Rossby wave propagation does not explain the discrepancy but rather slightly increases it. If variations in the ocean depth in the CalCOFI region are also taken into account, the westward propagation is still only about one-half that observed. Standard theory therefore does not explain the observations. Because of the westward propagation, interannual variations in alongshore geostrophic surface current are proportional to the time derivative of sea level. This means that such large-scale interannual current variability can be monitored with appropriate lag by the time derivative of coastal sea level. The anomalous alongshore flow advects particles, the anomalous alongshore particle displacement being proportional to sea level. Since nutrient concentration is lower in the south, the anomalous alongshore displacement results in a lower nutrient concentration when sea level is anomalously high and a higher nutrient concentration when the sea level is anomalously low. Vertical displacement also results in a similar relationship between nutrients and sea level, so it is not surprising that sea level anomalies are strongly related to fluctuations in zooplankton population. In fact, consistent with the westward Rossby wave propagation, the logarithm of the zooplankton population averaged over the CalCOFI region is well correlated with coastal sea level anomalies and lags it by about 2 months. By this result monthly anomalous San Diego sea level can be used to monitor and predict interannual changes in the zooplankton population.
The Southern Ocean Waves Experiment. Part III: Sea Surface Slope Statistics and Near-Nadir Remote Sensing
Authors: Walsh E. J. , Wright C. W. , Banner M. L. , Vandemark D. C. , Chapron B. , Jensen J. , Lee S. 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
During the Southern Ocean Waves Experiment (SOWEX), registered ocean wave topography and backscattered power data at Ka band (36 GHz) were collected with the NASA Scanning Radar Altimeter (SRA) off the coast of Tasmania under a wide range of wind and sea conditions, from quiescent to gale-force winds with 9-m significant wave height. Collection altitude varied from 35 m to over 1 km, allowing determination of the sea surface mean square slope (mss), the directional wave spectrum, and the detailed variation of backscattered power with incidence angle, which deviated from a simple Gaussian scattering model. The non-Gaussian characteristics of the backscatter increased systematically with the mss, suggesting that a global model to characterize Ka-band radar backscatter from the sea surface within 25° of nadir might be possible.
Zonal Jets Entering the Coral Sea
Authors: Gourdeau Lionel , Kessler William S. , Davis Russ E. , Sherman Jeff , Maes Christophe , Kestenare Elodie 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
The South Equatorial Current (SEC) entering the Coral Sea through the gap between New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands was observed by an autonomous underwater vehicle (Spray glider) and an overlapping oceanographic cruise during July–October 2005. The measurements of temperature, salinity, and absolute velocity included high-horizontal-resolution profiles to 600-m depth by the glider, and sparser, 2000-m-deep profiles from the cruise. These observations confirm the splitting of the SEC into a North Vanuatu Jet (NVJ) and North Caledonian Jet (NCJ), with transport above 600 m of about 20 and 12 Sv, respectively. While the 300-km-wide NVJ is associated with the slope of the main thermocline and is thus found primarily above 300 m, the NCJ is a narrow jet about 100 km wide just at the edge of the New Caledonian reef. It extends to at least a 1500-m depth with very little shear above 600 m and has speeds of more than 20 cm s−1 to at least 1000 m. An Argo float launched east of New Caledonia with a parking depth fixed at 1000 m became embedded in the NCJ and crossed the glider/cruise section at high speed about 3 months before the glider, suggesting that the jet is the continuation of a western boundary current along the east side of the island and extends across the Coral Sea to the coast of Australia. In the lee of New Caledonia, the glider passed through a region of eddies whose characteristics are poorly understood.
The Role of Climatic Autocorrelation in Probabilistic Forecasting
Authors: Krzysztofowicz Roman , Evans W. Britt 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
A sequence of meteorological predictands of one kind (e.g., temperature) forms a discrete-time, continuous-state stochastic process, which typically is nonstationary and periodic (because of seasonality). Three contributions to the field of probabilistic forecasting of such processes are reported. First, a meta-Gaussian Markov model of the stochastic process is formulated, which provides a climatic probabilistic forecast with the lead time of l days in the form of a (prior) l-step transition distribution function. A measure of the temporal dependence of the process is the autocorrelation coefficient (which is nonstationary). Second, a Bayesian processor of forecast (BPF) is formulated, which fuses the climatic probabilistic forecast with an operational deterministic forecast produced by any system (e.g., a numerical weather prediction model, a human forecaster, a statistical postprocessor). A measure of the predictive performance of the system is the informativeness score (which may be nonstationary). The BPF outputs a probabilistic forecast in the form of a (posterior) l-step transition distribution function, which quantifies the uncertainty about the predictand that remains, given the antecedent observation and the deterministic forecast. The working of the Markov BPF is explained on probabilistic forecasts obtained from the official deterministic forecasts of the daily maximum temperature issued by the U.S. National Weather Service with the lead times of 1, 4, and 7 days. Third, a numerical experiment demonstrates how the degree of posterior uncertainty varies with the informativeness of the deterministic forecast and the autocorrelation of the predictand series. It is concluded that, depending upon the level of informativeness, the Markov BPF is a contender for operational implementation when a rank autocorrelation coefficient is between 0.3 and 0.6, and is the preferred processor when a rank autocorrelation coefficient exceeds 0.6. Thus, the climatic autocorrelation can play a significant role in quantifying, and ultimately in reducing, the meteorological forecast uncertainty.
Verification of Cloud Cover Forecast with Satellite Observation over West Africa
Authors: Söhne Nathalie , Chaboureau Jean-Pierre , Guichard Françoise 
Published: March 2008

Abstract
The 3-hourly brightness temperatures (BTs) at 10.8 μm from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite were used to document the cloud system variability over West Africa in the summer of 2006 and to evaluate the quality of the Méso-NH model forecasts of cloud cover in the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) framework. Cloud systems were observed over the Guinean and Sahelian bands with more frequent occurrence and patchier structures in the afternoon. Some intraseasonal variations of the number of cloud systems were found, partly related to the intermittency of the African easterly wave (AEW) activity. Compared to the MSG observations, the Méso-NH model reproduces the overall variation of the BT at 10.8 μm well at D + 1 forecast. The model captures the BT diurnal cycle under conditions of clear-sky and high-cloud cover, but misses the lowest BT values associated with deep convection. Forecasted cloud systems are more numerous and smaller, hence patchier, than those observed. These results suggest some deficiencies in the model’s convection and cloud parameterization schemes. The use of meteorological scores further documents the skill of the model to predict cloud systems. Beyond some systematic differences between simulations and observations, analysis also suggests that the model high-cloud forecast is improved under specific synoptic forcing conditions related to AEW activity. This indicates that room exists for improving the skills of weather forecasting over West Africa.
Production of functionally active Penicillium chrysogenum isopenicillin N synthase in the yeast Hansenula polymorpha
Authors: Gidijala Loknath , Bovenberg Roel AL , Klaassen Paul , van der Klei Ida J , Veenhuis Marten , Kiel Jan AKW 
Published: March 2008

Abstract

Background
β-Lactams like penicillin and cephalosporin are among the oldest known antibiotics used against bacterial infections. Industrially, penicillin is produced by the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. Our goal is to introduce the entire penicillin biosynthesis pathway into the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha. Yeast species have the advantage of being versatile, easy to handle and cultivate, and possess superior fermentation properties relative to filamentous fungi. One of the fundamental challenges is to produce functionally active enzyme in H. polymorpha.

Results
The P. chrysogenum pcbC gene encoding isopenicillin N synthase (IPNS) was successfully expressed in H. polymorpha, but the protein produced was unstable and inactive when the host was grown at its optimal growth temperature (37°C). Heterologously produced IPNS protein levels were enhanced when the cultivation temperature was lowered to either 25°C or 30°C. Furthermore, IPNS produced at these lower cultivation temperatures was functionally active. Localization experiments demonstrated that, like in P. chrysogenum, in H. polymorpha IPNS is located in the cytosol.

Conclusion
In P. chrysogenum, the enzymes involved in penicillin production are compartmentalized in the cytosol and in microbodies. In this study, we focus on the cytosolic enzyme IPNS. Our data show that high amounts of functionally active IPNS enzyme can be produced in the heterologous host during cultivation at 25°C, the optimal growth temperature for P. chrysogenum. This is a new step forward in the metabolic reprogramming of H. polymorpha to produce penicillin.