Web Service Trust: Towards A Dynamic Assessment Framework

Trust in software services is a key prerequisite for the success and wide adoption of services-oriented computing (SOC) in an open Internet world. However, trust is poorly assessed by existing methods and technologies, especially in dynamically composed and deployed SOC systems. In this paper, we discuss current methods for assessing trust in service-oriented computing and identify gaps of current platforms, in particular with regards to runtime trust assessment. To address these gaps, we propose a model of runtime trust assessment of software services and introduce a framework for realizing the model. A key characteristic of our approach is the support that it offers for customizable assessment of trust based on evidence collected during the operation of software services and its ability to combine this evidence with subjective assessments coming from service clients

BumbleKey: an interactive key for the identification of bumblebees of Italy and Corsica (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

BumbleKey is a matrix-based, interactive key to all 45 species of bumblebees of Italy and Corsica. The key allows to identify adult males and females (queens and workers) using morphological characters. The key is published online, open-access, at http://www.interactive-keys.eu/bumblekey/default.aspx

Impact Of Zoo Residence On Gelada Social Life

The purpose of this study was to develop an ethogram of gelada behavior in two settings: In captivity and In the wild. Then to compare the two ethograms to determine the impact of captivity on individual gelada and their behavior

Plant structural complexity and mechanical defenses mediate predator-prey interactions in an odonate-bird system.

Habitat-forming species provide refuges for a variety of associating species; these refuges may mediate interactions between species differently depending on the functional traits of the habitat-forming species. We investigated refuge provisioning by plants with different functional traits for dragonfly and damselfly (Odonata: Anisoptera and Zygoptera) nymphs emerging from water bodies to molt into their adult stage. During this period, nymphs experience high levels of predation by birds. On the shores of a small pond, plants with mechanical defenses (e.g., thorns and prickles) and high structural complexity had higher abundances of odonate exuviae than nearby plants which lacked mechanical defenses and exhibited low structural complexity. To disentangle the relative effects of these two potentially important functional traits on nymph emergence-site preference and survival, we conducted two fully crossed factorial field experiments using artificial plants. Nymphs showed a strong preference for artificial plants with high structural complexity and to a lesser extent, mechanical defenses. Both functional traits increased nymph survival but through different mechanisms. We suggest that future investigations attempt to experimentally separate the elements contributing to structural complexity to elucidate the mechanistic underpinnings of refuge provisioning

Dentistry and disability : myths to distroy

Es muy común oír hablar sobre la dificultad que plantea la atención odontológica en personas con discapacidad. Muchas veces estos pacientes se encuentran en desigualdad de condiciones frente al resto, principalmente por la realidad de su estado de salud y muchas veces por prejuicios instalados sobre la problemática que genera la atención de su salud bucal. La mayoría son mitos y es necesario derribarlos.Fil: Lopresti, Walter. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Odontologí

INVOLVMENT OF THE CEREBELLUM IN VERABL WORKING MEMORY AND PHONOLOGICAL JUDGMENT: EVIDENCE FOR A ROLE IN PREDICTIVE PHONOLOGICAL CODING

Within recent decades, researchers have found evidence that the cerebellum contributes to language processing, yet exactly how it contributes remains a mystery. Researchers have attempted to map functional zones within the cerebellar cortex in an effort to determine precisely how the cerebellum contributes to language with limited success. We predict that the cerebellum’s functional zones are not strictly divisible by cognitive domains such as “language” or “executive control” and are instead delineated by task demands not unlike cognitive regions in the cerebral cortex. Prior neuropsychological results indicate that rhyme judgment and verbal working memory tasks impose task demands that require the cerebellum for normal levels of performance. In an effort to localize this shared functional process in the cerebellum, we used a slow event-related design to study the hemodynamic response in participants (N=12) as they performed rhyme judgment task and then compared to the results to separate pool of the subjects who performed a verbal working memory task (N=12). We hypothesized that these two tasks share cognitive processes and thereby neural substrates; in other words, they will engage the same functional regions in the cerebellum. Secondly, we hypothesized that these functional regions would be most engaged during task components negatively impacted by concurrent articulation, i.e., the encoding period of verbal working memory tasks and judgments involving mismatched non-rhyme pairs, e.g. “tint” and “pint.” We found three potential clusters engaged in both tasks, with one region (located in Crus I) demonstrating the predicted response patterns across different task components. Based upon these findings and the cognitive literature on verbal working memory and rhyme judgments, we suggest that this region contributes to an internal speech-based process that involves phonological error prediction

Colour Text Segmentation in Web Images Based on Human Perception

There is a significant need to extract and analyse the text in images on Web documents, for effective indexing, semantic analysis and even presentation by non-visual means (e.g., audio). This paper argues that the challenging segmentation stage for such images benefits from a human perspective of colour perception in preference to RGB colour space analysis. The proposed approach enables the segmentation of text in complex situations such as in the presence of varying colour and texture (characters and background). More precisely, characters are segmented as distinct regions with separate chromaticity and/or lightness by performing a layer decomposition of the image. The method described here is a result of the authors’ systematic approach to approximate the human colour perception characteristics for the identification of character regions. In this instance, the image is decomposed by performing histogram analysis of Hue and Lightness in the HLS colour space and merging using information on human discrimination of wavelength and luminance

Research Agenda in Intelligent Infrastructure to Enhance Disaster Management, Community Resilience and Public Safety

Modern societies can be understood as the intersection of four interdependent systems: (1) the natural environment of geography, climate and weather; (2) the built environment of cities, engineered systems, and physical infrastructure; (3) the social environment of human populations, communities and socio-economic activities; and (4) an information ecosystem that overlays the other three domains and provides the means for understanding, interacting with, and managing the relationships between the natural, built, and human environments. As the nation and its communities become more connected, networked and technologically sophisticated, new challenges and opportunities arise that demand a rethinking of current approaches to public safety and emergency management. Addressing the current and future challenges requires an equally sophisticated program of research, technology development, and strategic planning. The design and integration of intelligent infrastructure-including embedded sensors, the Internet of Things (IoT), advanced wireless information technologies, real-time data capture and analysis, and machine-learning-based decision support-holds the potential to greatly enhance public safety, emergency management, disaster recovery, and overall community resilience, while addressing new and emerging threats to public safety and security. Ultimately, the objective of this program of research and development is to save lives, reduce risk and disaster impacts, permit efficient use of material and social resources, and protect quality of life and economic stability across entire regions.Comment: A Computing Community Consortium (CCC) white paper, 4 page

Bridging Bays, Bridging Borders: Global Justice and Community Organizing in the San Francisco Bay Area

We offer this document as our own effort to build the inclusion and understandings that will help both communities and leaders recognize the grassroots wisdom and issues that could help us realize the positive impacts from globalization and minimize the negative aspects that have concerned us all. Another world is possible, but it is up to us to build it