Mapping sub-flows to p2mp LSPs

In previous work we proposed a multi-objective traffic engineering scheme (MHDB-S model) using different distribution trees to multicast several flows. In this paper, we propose a heuristic algorithm to create multiple point-to-multipoint (p2mp) LSPs based on the optimum sub-flow values obtained with our MHDB-S model. Moreover, a general problem for supporting multicasting in MPLS networks is the lack of labels. To reduce the number of labels used, a label space reduction algorithm solution is also considered

International regimes as knowledge syndicates? Energy and trends of global governance

El poder de l'Estat i la sobirania tradicional s'està deteriorant de manera constant, sobretot en termes de la provisió de certs béns públics fonamentals. Els Estats, en particular, són incapaços de manejar el coneixement i la informació que és essencial per mantenir la competitivitat i la sostenibilitat en una economia interdependent. Estructures fiables de la governança mundial i la cooperació internacional estan lluny de ser establertes. Energia com a problema a les agendes p dels governs, les empreses privades i la societat civil és un exemple manifest d'aquesta dinàmica.. L'actual sistema de governança mundial d'energia implica accions polítiques disperses per actors divers. L'Agència Internacional de l'Energia té un paper destacat, però està debilitat per la seva composició limitada i basada en el coneixement- epistèmic en lloc del material o executiu. Aquest treball sosté que ni la mida ni nombre de membres disponibles estan dificultant la governabilitat mundial d'energia. Més aviat, l'energia és una sèrie de béns públics que es troben als llimbs, on els estats no poden pagar la seva disposició, així com els diversos interessos impedir l'establiment d'una autoritat internacional. Després de la introducció de la teoria del règim internacional i el concepte de coneixement basats en les comunitats epistèmiques, l'article revisa l'estat actual de la governabilitat de l'energia mundia. A continuació es presenta una comparació d'aquesta estructura amb els règims de govern nacional i regional, d'una banda, i amb règims globals ambientals i de salut, de l'altra

Tenseness of Riemannian flows

We show that any transversally complete Riemannian foliation &em&F&/em& of dimension one on any possibly non-compact manifold M is tense; namely, (M,&em&F&/em&) admits a Riemannian metric such that the mean curvature form of &em&F&/em& is basic. This is a partial generalization of a result of Domínguez, which says that any Riemannian foliation on any compact manifold is tense. Our proof is based on some results of Molino and Sergiescu, and it is simpler than the original proof by Domínguez. As an application, we generalize some well known results including Masa's characterization of tautness.

Relationships and knowledge in the firm internationalization process

Based on the variables relationship and knowledge, this article aimed at analyzing how a multinational enterprise selects an entry mode to operate in a particular international market and how this initial choice evolves over time. We devised a rather new theoretical framework to address it by combining three theoretical approaches that have dealt with the firm internationalization: the Uppsala model, the relational approach, and the subsidiary development literature. We constructed a qualitative backward-looking longitudinal case study of the internationalization process of a North-American multinational enterprise in the Brazilian market. Results show that four types of relationships and three types of knowledge played the role in the events that characterized the internationalization of this firm. Based on these results, five new hypotheses concerning the interplay between relationships and knowledge in the internationalization process of the firm are suggested for future empirical tests.

eKnowledge Project: Developing and piloting a forum tool to support the collaborative construction of knowledge on the UOC's Virtual Campus

Final report of the eKnowledge's project, an online forum tool that offers consultants and students the chance to create spaces for asynchronous communication and collaboration.

Discriminant validity and test-retest reliability of a self-administered Internet-based questionnaire testing doctors' knowledge in evidence-based medicine.

Aims and objectives  This study aimed to determine the discriminant validity and the test-retest reliability of a questionnaire testing the impact of evidence-based medicine (EBM) training on doctors' knowledge and skills. Methods  Questionnaires were sent electronically to all doctors working as residents and chief residents in two French speaking hospital networks in Switzerland. Participants completed the questionnaire twice, within a 4-week interval. The discriminant validity was examined in comparing doctors' performance according to their reported EBM previous training. Proportion of agreement between both sessions of the questionnaire, Cohen's kappa and 'uniform kappa' determined its test-retest reliability. Results  The participation rate was 9.8%/7.1% to first/second session. Performance increased according to the level of doctors' previous training in EBM. The observed proportion of agreement between both sessions was over 70% for 14/19 questions, and the 'uniform kappa' was superior to 0.60 for 15/19 questions. Conclusion  The discriminant validity and test-retest reliability of the questionnaire were satisfying. The low participation rate did not prevent the study from achieving its aims.

Bridging the Gap: establishing the necessary infrastructure and knowledge for teaching and research in neuroscience in Africa.

Advances in neuroscience research over the last few decades have increased our understanding of how individual neurons acquire their specific properties and assemble into complex circuits, and how these circuits are affected in disease. One of the important motives driving neuroscience research is the development of new scientific techniques and interdisciplinary cooperation. Compared to developed countries, many countries on the African continent are confronted with poor facilities, lack of funding or career development programs for neuroscientists, all of which deter young scientists from taking up neuroscience as a career choice. This article highlights some steps that are being taken to promote neuroscience education and research in Africa.

Improving the implementation of evidence-based knowledge in healthcare

The pace of development of new healthcare technologies and related knowledge is very fast. Implementation of high quality evidence-based knowledge is thus mandatory to warrant an effective healthcare system and patient safety. However, even though only a small fraction of the approximate 2500 scientific publication indexed daily in Medline is actually useful to clinical practice, the amountof the new information is much too large to allow busy healthcare professionals to stay aware of possibly important evidence-based information.

Knowledge and attitude regarding standard precautions in a Brazilian public emergency service: a cross-sectional study

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of health care professionals regarding their use of universal precaution measures at a public emergency service. The study also aimed to assess the rates of occupational accidents involving biological substances among those workers. This study was performed with 238 workers, from June to November 2006, using univariate and multivariate analysis. The chance of not adopting precaution measures was 20.7 (95% CI: 5.68 - 75.14) times greater among drivers compared to physicians. No significant association was found between adopting universal precaution measures. The occupational accident rate was 20.6% (40.8% involving sharp-edged objects). The risk of physicians having an occupational accident was 2.7(95% CI: 1.05 - 7.09) times higher than that of drivers. The fact that a staff member had adequate knowledge about universal precaution measures was insufficient to foster compatible attitudes towards reducing the risk of transmitting infectious agents and causing occupational accidents.

Knowledge management for systems biology a general and visually driven framework applied to translational medicine

Background: To enhance our understanding of complex biological systems like diseases we need to put all of the available data into context and use this to detect relations, pattern and rules which allow predictive hypotheses to be defined. Life science has become a data rich science with information about the behaviour of millions of entities like genes, chemical compounds, diseases, cell types and organs, which are organised in many different databases and/or spread throughout the literature. Existing knowledge such as genotype - phenotype relations or signal transduction pathways must be semantically integrated and dynamically organised into structured networks that are connected with clinical and experimental data. Different approaches to this challenge exist but so far none has proven entirely satisfactory. Results: To address this challenge we previously developed a generic knowledge management framework, BioXM™, which allows the dynamic, graphic generation of domain specific knowledge representation models based on specific objects and their relations supporting annotations and ontologies. Here we demonstrate the utility of BioXM for knowledge management in systems biology as part of the EU FP6 BioBridge project on translational approaches to chronic diseases. From clinical and experimental data, text-mining results and public databases we generate a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) knowledge base and demonstrate its use by mining specific molecular networks together with integrated clinical and experimental data. Conclusions: We generate the first semantically integrated COPD specific public knowledge base and find that for the integration of clinical and experimental data with pre-existing knowledge the configuration based set-up enabled by BioXM reduced implementation time and effort for the knowledge base compared to similar systems implemented as classical software development projects. The knowledgebase enables the retrieval of sub-networks including protein-protein interaction, pathway, gene - disease and gene - compound data which are used for subsequent data analysis, modelling and simulation. Pre-structured queries and reports enhance usability; establishing their use in everyday clinical settings requires further simplification with a browser based interface which is currently under development.

Flow-R, a model for susceptibility mapping of debris flows and other gravitational hazards at a regional scale

The development of susceptibility maps for debris flows is of primary importance due to population pressure in hazardous zones. However, hazard assessment by processbased modelling at a regional scale is difficult due to the complex nature of the phenomenon, the variability of local controlling factors, and the uncertainty in modelling parameters. A regional assessment must consider a simplified approach that is not highly parameter dependant and that can provide zonation with minimum data requirements. A distributed empirical model has thus been developed for regional susceptibility assessments using essentially a digital elevation model (DEM). The model is called Flow-R for Flow path assessment of gravitational hazards at a Regional scale (available free of charge under www.flow-r.org) and has been successfully applied to different case studies in various countries with variable data quality. It provides a substantial basis for a preliminary susceptibility assessment at a regional scale. The model was also found relevant to assess other natural hazards such as rockfall, snow avalanches and floods. The model allows for automatic source area delineation, given user criteria, and for the assessment of the propagation extent based on various spreading algorithms and simple frictional laws.We developed a new spreading algorithm, an improved version of Holmgren's direction algorithm, that is less sensitive to small variations of the DEM and that is avoiding over-channelization, and so produces more realistic extents. The choices of the datasets and the algorithms are open to the user, which makes it compliant for various applications and dataset availability. Amongst the possible datasets, the DEM is the only one that is really needed for both the source area delineation and the propagation assessment; its quality is of major importance for the results accuracy. We consider a 10m DEM resolution as a good compromise between processing time and quality of results. However, valuable results have still been obtained on the basis of lower quality DEMs with 25m resolution.

Discourse, knowledge, power and politics: towards critical epistemic discourse analysis

Although both are fundamental terms in the humanities and social sciences, discourse and knowledge have seldom been explicitly related, and even less so in critical discourse studies. After a brief summary of what we know about these relationships in linguistics, psychology, epistemology and the social sciences, with special emphasis on the role of knowledge in the formation of mental models as a basis for discourse, I examine in more detail how a critical study of discourse and knowledge may be articulated in critical discourse studies. Thus, several areas of critical epistemic discourse analysis are identified, and then applied in a study of Tony Blair’s Iraq speech on March 18, 2003, in which he sought to legitimatize his decision to go to war in Iraq with George Bush. The analysis shows the various modes of how knowledge is managed and manipulated of all levels of discourse of this speech.