Modeling “Web of Trust“ with Web 2.0

“Web of Trust" is one of the recognized goals for Web 2.0. It aims to make it possible for the people to take responsibility for what they publish on the web, including organizations, businesses and individual users. These objectives, among others, drive most of the technologies and protocols recently standardized by the governing bodies. One of the great advantages of Web infrastructure is decentralization of publication. The primary motivation behind Web 2.0 is to assist the people to add contents for Collective Intelligence (CI) while providing mechanisms to link content with people for evaluations and accountability of information. Such structure of contents will interconnect users and contents so that users can use contents to find participants and vice versa. This paper proposes conceptual information storage and linking model, based on decentralized information structure, that links contents and people together. The model uses FOAF, Atom, RDF and RDFS and can be used as a blueprint to develop Web 2.0 applications for any e-domain. However, primary target for this paper is online trust evaluation domain. The proposed model targets to assist the individuals to establish “Web of Trust" in online trust domain.

Bi-Criteria Latency Optimization of Intra-and Inter-Autonomous System Traffic Engineering

Traffic Engineering (TE) is the process of controlling how traffic flows through a network in order to facilitate efficient and reliable network operations while simultaneously optimizing network resource utilization and traffic performance. TE improves the management of data traffic within a network and provides the better utilization of network resources. Many research works considers intra and inter Traffic Engineering separately. But in reality one influences the other. Hence the effective network performances of both inter and intra Autonomous Systems (AS) are not optimized properly. To achieve a better Joint Optimization of both Intra and Inter AS TE, we propose a joint Optimization technique by considering intra-AS features during inter – AS TE and vice versa. This work considers the important criterion say latency within an AS and between ASes. and proposes a Bi-Criteria Latency optimization model. Hence an overall network performance can be improved by considering this jointoptimization technique in terms of Latency.

Injuries Related to Kitesurfing

Participation in sporting activities can lead to injury. Sport injuries have been widely studied in many sports including the more extreme categories of aquatic board sports. Kitesurfing is a relatively new water surface action sport, and has not yet been widely studied in terms of injuries and stress on the body. The aim of this study was to get information about which injuries that are most common among kitesurfing participants, where they occur, and their causes. Injuries were studied using an international open web questionnaire (n=206). The results showed that many respondents reported injuries, in total 251 injuries to knee (24%), ankle (17%), trunk (16%) and shoulders (10%), often sustained while doing jumps and tricks (40%). Among the reported injuries were joint injuries (n=101), muscle/tendon damages (n=47), wounds and cuts (n=36) and bone fractures (n=28). Also environmental factors and equipment can influence the risk of injury, or the extent of injury in a hazardous situation. Conclusively, the information from this retrospective study supports earlier studies in terms of prevalence and site of injuries. Suggestively, this information should be used for to build a foundation of knowledge about the sport for development of applications for physical training and product development.

Region Segmentation based on Gaussian Dirichlet Process Mixture Model and its Application to 3D Geometric Stricture Detection

In general, image-based 3D scenes can now be found in many popular vision systems, computer games and virtual reality tours. So, It is important to segment ROI (region of interest) from input scenes as a preprocessing step for geometric stricture detection in 3D scene. In this paper, we propose a method for segmenting ROI based on tensor voting and Dirichlet process mixture model. In particular, to estimate geometric structure information for 3D scene from a single outdoor image, we apply the tensor voting and Dirichlet process mixture model to a image segmentation. The tensor voting is used based on the fact that homogeneous region in an image are usually close together on a smooth region and therefore the tokens corresponding to centers of these regions have high saliency values. The proposed approach is a novel nonparametric Bayesian segmentation method using Gaussian Dirichlet process mixture model to automatically segment various natural scenes. Finally, our method can label regions of the input image into coarse categories: “ground", “sky", and “vertical" for 3D application. The experimental results show that our method successfully segments coarse regions in many complex natural scene images for 3D.

Active Packaging Influence on Shelf Life Extension of Sliced Wheat Bread

The research object was wheat bread. Experiments were carried out at the Faculty of Food Technology of the Latvia University of Agriculture. An active packaging in combination with modified atmosphere (MAP, CO2 60% and N2 40%) was examined and compared with traditional packaging in air ambiance. Polymer Multibarrier 60, PP and OPP bags were used. Influence of iron based oxygen absorber in sachets of 100 cc obtained from Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Europe Ageless® was tested on the quality during the shelf of wheat bread. Samples of 40±4 g were packaged in polymer pouches (110 mm x 120 mm), hermetically sealed by MULTIVAC C300 vacuum chamber machine, and stored in room temperature +21.0±0.5 °C. The physiochemical properties – weight losses, moisture content, hardness, pH, colour, changes of atmosphere content (CO2 and O2) in headspace of packs, and microbial conditions were analysed before packaging and in the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days of storage.

Vibration Damping of High-Chromium Ferromagnetic Steel

The aim of the present work is to study the effect of annealing on the vibration damping capacity of high-chromium (16%) ferromagnetic steel. The alloys were prepared from raw materials of 99.9% purity melted in a high frequency induction furnace under high vacuum. The samples were heat-treated in vacuum at various temperatures (800 to 1200ºC) for 1 hour followed by slow cooling (120ºC/h). The inverted torsional pendulum method was used to evaluate the vibration damping capacity. The results indicated that the vibration damping capacity of the alloys is influenced by annealing and there exists a critical annealing temperature after 1000ºC. The damping capacity increases quickly below the critical temperature since the magnetic domains move more easily.

Research on Hybrid Neural Network in Intrusion Detection System

This paper presents an intrusion detection system of hybrid neural network model based on RBF and Elman. It is used for anomaly detection and misuse detection. This model has the memory function .It can detect discrete and related aggressive behavior effectively. RBF network is a real-time pattern classifier, and Elman network achieves the memory ability for former event. Based on the hybrid model intrusion detection system uses DARPA data set to do test evaluation. It uses ROC curve to display the test result intuitively. After the experiment it proves this hybrid model intrusion detection system can effectively improve the detection rate, and reduce the rate of false alarm and fail.

Automated ECG Segmentation Using Piecewise Derivative Dynamic Time Warping

Electrocardiogram (ECG) segmentation is necessary to help reduce the time consuming task of manually annotating ECG's. Several algorithms have been developed to segment the ECG automatically. We first review several of such methods, and then present a new single lead segmentation method based on Adaptive piecewise constant approximation (APCA) and Piecewise derivative dynamic time warping (PDDTW). The results are tested on the QT database. We compared our results to Laguna's two lead method. Our proposed approach has a comparable mean error, but yields a slightly higher standard deviation than Laguna's method.

Spatial Structure and Process of Arctic Warming and Land Cover Change in the Feedback Systems Framework

This paper examines the relationships between and among the various drivers of climate change that have both climatic and ecological consequences for vegetation and land cover change in arctic areas, particularly in arctic Alaska. It discusses the various processes that have created spatial and climatic structures that have facilitated observable vegetation and land cover changes in the Arctic. Also, it indicates that the drivers of both climatic and ecological changes in the Arctic are multi-faceted and operate in a system with both positive and negative feedbacks that largely results in further increases or decreases of the initial drivers of climatic and vegetation change mainly at the local and regional scales. It demonstrates that the impact of arctic warming on land cover change and the Arctic ecosystems is not unidirectional and one dimensional in nature but it represents a multi-directional and multi-dimensional forces operating in a feedback system.

The Framework of Termination Mechanism in Modern Emergency Management

Termination Mechanism is an indispensible part of the emergency management mechanism. Despite of its importance in both theory and practice, it is almost a brand new field for researching. The concept of termination mechanism is proposed firstly in this paper, and the design and implementation which are helpful to guarantee the effect and integrity of emergency management are discussed secondly. Starting with introduction of the problems caused by absent termination and incorrect termination, the essence of termination mechanism is analyzed, a model based on Optimal Stopping Theory is constructed and the termination index is given. The model could be applied to find the best termination time point.. Termination decision should not only be concerned in termination stage, but also in the whole emergency management process, which makes it a dynamic decision making process. Besides, the main subjects and the procedure of termination are illustrated after the termination time point is given. Some future works are discussed lastly.

Relative Contribution of Livestock Species to Meat Supply in Bauchi Metropolis, Bauchi, Nigeria

Primary and secondary data from the Bauchi abattoir were utilized to determine the relative contributions of different livestock species to meat supply in Bauchi Metropolis. Daily livestock slaughter figures for five months (June – October 2011) indicated that more goats (64.0) were slaughtered than either sheep (47.3) or cattle (41.30) each day (P

Prediction of Tool and Nozzle Flow Behavior in Ultrasonic Machining Process

The use of hard and brittle material has become increasingly more extensive in recent years. Therefore processing of these materials for the parts fabrication has become a challenging problem. However, it is time-consuming to machine the hard brittle materials with the traditional metal-cutting technique that uses abrasive wheels. In addition, the tool would suffer excessive wear as well. However, if ultrasonic energy is applied to the machining process and coupled with the use of hard abrasive grits, hard and brittle materials can be effectively machined. Ultrasonic machining process is mostly used for the brittle materials. The present research work has developed models using finite element approach to predict the mechanical stresses sand strains produced in the tool during ultrasonic machining process. Also the flow behavior of abrasive slurry coming out of the nozzle has been studied for simulation using ANSYS CFX module. The different abrasives of different grit sizes have been used for the experimentation work.

Antinociceptive and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Hydroalcohol Extract of Vitex agnus castus Fruit

In present study the effects of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive of vitex hydro-alcoholic extract were evaluated on male mice. In inflammatory test mice were divided into 7 groups: first group was control. The second group, positive control group, received dexamethasone (15 mg/kg) and the other five groups received different doses of hydroalcohol extract of Vitex fruit (265, 365, 465, 565, and 665 mg/kg). The inflammation was caused by xylene-induced ear edema. Formalin test was used for evaluation of antinociceptive effect of extract. In this test, mice were divided into 7 groups: control, morphine (10mg/kg) as positive control group, and Vitex extract groups ((265, 365, 465, 565, and 665 mg/kg). All drugs were administered intrapritoneally, 30 min before each test. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey-kramer multiple comparison test. Results have shown significant antiinflammatory effects of extract at all dosed as compared with control (P

On the Wave Propagation in Layered Plates of General Anisotropic Media

Analysis for the propagation of elastic waves in arbitrary anisotropic plates is investigated, commencing with a formal analysis of waves in a layered plate of an arbitrary anisotropic media, the dispersion relations of elastic waves are obtained by invoking continuity at the interface and boundary of conditions on the surfaces of layered plate. The obtained solutions can be used for material systems of higher symmetry such as monoclinic, orthotropic, transversely isotropic, cubic, and isotropic as it is contained implicitly in the analysis. The cases of free layered plate and layered half space are considered separately. Some special cases have also been deduced and discussed. Finally numerical solution of the frequency equations for an aluminum epoxy is carried out, and the dispersion curves for the few lower modes are presented. The results obtained theoretically have been verified numerically and illustrated graphically.

Solid State Fermentation of Cassava Peel with Trichoderma viride (ATCC 36316) for Protein Enrichment

Solid state fermentation of cassava peel with emphasis on protein enrichment using Trichoderma viride was evaluated. The effect of five variables: moisture content, pH, particle size (p), nitrogen source and incubation temperature; on the true protein and total sugars of cassava peel was investigated. The optimum fermentation period was established to be 8 days. Total sugars were 5-fold higher at pH 6 relative to pH 4 and 7-fold higher when cassava peels were fermented at 30oC relative to 25oC as well as using ammonium sulfate as the nitrogen source relative to urea or a combination of both. Total sugars ranged between 123.21mg/g at 50% initial moisture content to 374mg/g at 60% and from 190.59mg/g with particle size range of 2.00>p>1.41mm to 310.10mg/g with 4.00>p>3.35mm.True protein ranged from 229.70 mg/g at pH 4 to 284.05 mg/g at pH 6; from 200.87 mg/g with urea as nitrogen source and to 254.50mg/g with ammonium sulfate; from 213.82mg/g at 50% initial moisture content to 254.50mg/g at 60% moisture content, from 205.75mg/g in cassava peel with 5.6>p> 4.75mm to 268.30 in cassava peel with particle size 4.00>p>3.35mm, from 207.57mg/g at 25oC to 254.50mg/g at 30oC Cassava peel with particle size 4.00>p>3.35 mm and initial moisture content of 60% at pH 6.0, 30oC incubation temperature with ammonium sulfate (10g N / kg substrate) was most suitable for protein enrichment with Trichoderma viride. Crude protein increased from 4.21 % in unfermented cassava peel samples to 10.43 % in fermented samples.

The Effect of Mixture Velocity and Droplet Diameter on Oil-water Separator using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

The characteristics of fluid flow and phase separation in an oil-water separator were numerically analysed as part of the work presented herein. Simulations were performed for different velocities and droplet diameters, and the way this parameters can influence the separator geometry was studied. The simulations were carried out using the software package Fluent 6.2, which is designed for numerical simulation of fluid flow and mass transfer. The model consisted of a cylindrical horizontal separator. A tetrahedral mesh was employed in the computational domain. The condition of two-phase flow was simulated with the two-fluid model, taking into consideration turbulence effects using the k-ε model. The results showed that there is a strong dependency of phase separation on mixture velocity and droplet diameter. An increase in mixture velocity will bring about a slow down in phase separation and as a consequence will require a weir of greater height. An increase in droplet diameter will produce a better phase separation. The simulations are in agreement with results reported in literature and show that CFD can be a useful tool in studying a horizontal oilwater separator.

Structural Funds of Polish Agriculture

The research objective of the project and article “The impact of Structural Funds on the growth of competitiveness of Polish agriculture" is to assess competitiveness of regions in Poland from the perspective of Polish agriculture by analysing the efficiency of the use of Structural Funds, the economic procedure of their distribution and the regulatory and organisational framework under the Rural Development Programme (RDP). It must be stressed that defining the scope of research in the above manner limits the analysis only to the part of Structural Funds directed to support Polish agriculture.

Lung Nodule Detection in CT Scans

In this paper we describe a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for automated detection of pulmonary nodules in computed-tomography (CT) images. After extracting the pulmonary parenchyma using a combination of image processing techniques, a region growing method is applied to detect nodules based on 3D geometric features. We applied the CAD system to CT scans collected in a screening program for lung cancer detection. Each scan consists of a sequence of about 300 slices stored in DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) format. All malignant nodules were detected and a low false-positive detection rate was achieved.

Colorectal Cancer Screening by a CEACAM-6 Immunosensor

The biomarker for colorectal cancer (CRC) is CEACAM-6 antigen (C6AG). Therefore, this study aims to develop a novel, simple and low-cost CEACAM-6 antigen immumosensor (C6AG-IMS), based on electrical impedance measurement, for precise determination of C6AG. A low-cost screen-printed graphite electrode was constructed and used as the sensor, with CEACAM-6 antibody (C6AB) immobilized on it. The procedures of sensor fabrication and antibody immobilization are simple and low-cost. Measurement of the electrical impedance at a definite frequency ranges (0.43 – 1.26 MHz) showed that the C6AG-IMS has an excellent linear (r2>0.9) response range (8.125 – 65 pg/mL), covering the normal physiological and pathological ranges of blood C6AG levels. Also, the C6AG-IMS has excellent reliability and validity, with the intraclass correlation coefficient being 0.97. In conclusion, a novel, simple, low-cost and reliable C6AG-IMS was designed and developed, being able to accurately determine blood C6AG levels in the range of pathological and normal physiological regions. The C6AG-IMS can provide a point-of-care and immediate screening results to the user at home.

Contaminated Soil Remediation with Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidation

The hydrogen peroxide treatment was able to remediate chlorophenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, diesel and transformer oil contaminated soil. Chemical treatment of contaminants adsorbed in peat resulted in lower contaminants- removal and required higher addition of chemicals than the treatment of contaminants in sand. The hydrogen peroxide treatment was found to be feasible for soil remediation at natural soil pH. Contaminants in soil could degrade with the addition of hydrogen peroxide only indicating the ability of transition metals ions and minerals of these metals presented in soil to catalyse the reaction of hydrogen peroxide decomposition.