Grid implementation of the Apriori algorithm

The paper presents the implementation of an association rules discovery data mining task using Grid technologies. For the mining task we are using the Apriori algorithm on top of the Globus toolkit. The case study presents the design and integration of the data mining algorithm with the Globus services. The paper compares the Grid version with related work in the field and we outline the conclusions and future work.     

Application of an electronic nose for quality assessment of modified atmosphere packaged poultry meat

The applicability of an electronic nose for the quality control of modified atmosphere (MA) packaged broiler chicken cuts was evaluated in different temperature regimes. The electronic nose results were compared with those obtained by microbiological, sensory and headspace GC analyses. The electronic nose could clearly distinguish broiler chicken packages with deteriorated quality from fresh packages either earlier than or at the same time as the sensory quality deteriorated. Concerning the microbiological quality, the counts of Enterobacteriaceae and hydrogen sulphide-producing bacteria were most consistent with the electronic nose results. The results indicated that the electronic nose was capable of detecting even early signals of spoilage in MA packed poultry meat.     

Effect of the absence of lipoxygenase isoenzymes on the storage characteristics of rice grains

Three varieties of paddy rice with and three varieties without lipoxygenase (LOX) isoenzymes were stored at room temperature, in dark conditions for 42 months. Insect damage and viability were investigated during that time. Varieties without LOX-1,2 and their offspring were screened with a rapid method of estimating LOX isoenzymes, and subjected to an accelerated-ageing experiment. The results indicated that in varieties without LOX-1,2, after long storage, rice quality was normal, but for varieties with LOX-1,2, rice quality deteriorated. With increase of storage time, the germination rate of the seed of most varieties decreased greatly except for varieties without LOX-1,2 where there was almost no change in the germination rate. In varieties without LOX-1,2 and their offspring, after an accelerated ageing experiment the germination rate of some varieties changed slowly, but with others, the germination rate changed quickly. This indicated that a definitive factor, which influenced the life of seeds, may be the loss of LOX-1,2. During storage, there was also a significant difference in the degree of insect damage. In varieties without LOX-3 insect damage was lower, but in varieties with LOX-3 insect damage was higher. Therefore, the absence of LOX-3 may be very important in insect resistance in rice grain.     

唑螨酯的毒性及研究进展

唑螨酯是一种高效、广谱、非内吸性的苯氧基吡唑类杀螨剂,广泛用于果蔬害螨防治。但近年来因为不合理使用导致残留及安全性问题。笔者综述了唑螨酯的应用、残留、代谢降解及毒性研究进展,以期对后续研究提供参考。     

Global software testing under deadline pressure: Vendor-side experiences

ContextIn the era of globally-distributed software engineering, the practice of global software testing (GST) has witnessed increasing adoption. Although there have been ethnographic studies of the development aspects of global software engineering, there have been fewer studies of GST, which, to succeed, can require dealing with unique challenges.ObjectiveTo address this limitation of existing studies, we conducted, and in this paper, report the findings of, a study of a vendor organization involved in one kind of GST practice: outsourced, offshored software testing.MethodWe conducted an ethnographically-informed study of three vendor-side testing teams over a period of 2 months. We used methods, such as interviews and participant observations, to collect the data and the thematic-analysis approach to analyze the data.FindingsOur findings describe how the participant test engineers perceive software testing and deadline pressures, the challenges that they encounter, and the strategies that they use for coping with the challenges. The findings reveal several interesting insights. First, motivation and appreciation play an important role for our participants in ensuring that high-quality testing is performed. Second, intermediate onshore teams increase the degree of pressure experienced by the participant test engineers. Third, vendor team participants perceive productivity differently from their client teams, which results in unproductive-productivity experiences. Lastly, participants encounter quality-dilemma situations for various reasons.ConclusionThe study findings suggest the need for (1) appreciating test engineers’ efforts, (2) investigating the team structure’s influence on pressure and the GST practice, (3) understanding culture’s influence on other aspects of GST, and (4) identifying and addressing quality-dilemma situations.     

A general transformation from KP-ABE to searchable encryption

Users are inclined to share sensitive data in a remote server if no strong security mechanism is in place. Searchable encryption satisfies the need of users to execute a search encrypted data. Previous searchable encryption methods such as “public key encryption with keyword search (PEKS)” restricted the data access to certain users, because only the assigned users were able to search the encrypted data. In this paper we will discuss the relation between Attribute Based Encryption (ABE) and searchable encryption and define a weak anonymity of the ABE scheme, named “attribute privacy”. With this weak anonymity, we propose a general transformation from ABE to Attribute Based Encryption with Keyword Search (ABEKS) and a concrete attribute private key-policy ABE (KP-ABE) scheme. We present an ABEKS scheme based on this KP-ABE scheme and permit multi-users to execute a flexible search on the remote encrypted data.     

A comprehensive approach to evaluating watershed models for predicting river flow regimes critical to downstream ecosystem services

Selection of strategies that help reduce riverine inputs requires numerical models that accurately quantify hydrologic processes. While numerous models exist, information on how to evaluate and select the most robust models is limited. Toward this end, we developed a comprehensive approach that helps evaluate watershed models in their ability to simulate flow regimes critical to downstream ecosystem services. We demonstrated the method using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), the Hydrological Simulation Program–FORTRAN (HSPF) model, and Distributed Large Basin Runoff Model (DLBRM) applied to the Maumee River Basin (USA). The approach helped in identifying that each model simulated flows within acceptable ranges. However, each was limited in its ability to simulate flows triggered by extreme weather events, owing to algorithms not being optimized for such events and mismatched physiographic watershed conditions. Ultimately, we found HSPF to best predict river flow, whereas SWAT offered the most flexibility for evaluating agricultural management practices.