Locating similar names through locality sensitive hashing and graph theory

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Locality Sensitive Hashing is a known technique applied for finding similar texts and it has been applied to plagiarism detection, mirror pages identification or...     

In vitro control of growth and ochratoxin A production by butylated hydroxyanisole in Aspergillus section Nigri species

This study was carried out to determine the efficacy of phenolic antioxidant butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) under different interacting water activity (a_W) and temperature regimes on the lag phase and growth rate by Aspergillus section Nigri strains. In this experiment four A. section Nigri strains were used. Peanut meal extract agar (PMEA) was prepared at 2%. The a_W of the medium was adjusted to 0.995, 0.980 and 0.930, BHA at 1, 5, 10 and 20 mmol l^?1 was added to the basic medium. The plates were inoculated and incubated for 30 days at 18 and 25 °C. Radial growth rates (mm d^?1) and lag phase (h) were calculated. In control treatments, the growth rate decreased as water activity reduced in all strains assayed. At all a_W levels tested, BHA at 20 mmol l^?1 completely inhibited growth. In general, at 10 mmol l^?1 and 0.995 and 0.980a_W level, a significant reduction respect to control was observed. This antioxidant completely inhibited OTA production, at concentrations of 20 mmol l^?1, regardless of a_W used by all the strains evaluated.     

In situ XRD analysis of the oxide layers formed by oxidation at 743 K on Zircaloy 4 and Zr–1NbO

Two alloys, having different oxidation behaviour (Zy4 and Zr–1NbO), have been investigated during oxidation at high temperature (743 K) and low oxygen pressure (10 kPa) by in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD). Tetragonal phase content and ‘pseudo-stresses’ on the monoclinic phase have been measured as a function of the oxide layer thickness. The tetragonal phase contents are similar for both alloys and decreased with the oxide layer thickness. Pseudo-stresses were much more compressive on Zr–1NbO alloy, with limited changes at the corrosion kinetics transition. On cooling, the tetragonal fractions do not change, while ‘pseudo-stresses’ decreased in different ways for the two alloys. With respect to stress analysis, no correlation was found between ‘pseudo-stresses’ and tetragonal phase content. In addition, due to the thermoelastic properties of the highly anisotropic phases of the zirconia, large internal thermal stresses are expected to develop during any temperature changes. The orders of magnitude of them are similar to the stresses induced by swelling during oxidation from Zr to ZrO₂.     

Impact of long-term inorganic phosphorus fertilization on accumulation, sorption and release of phosphorus in five Swedish soil profiles

The impact of long-term fertilization with inorganic P was studied in soil profiles (0–100 cm) from five sites in Sweden. Accumulation of P was studied by comparing P extracted with ammonium lactate/acetic acid (P-AL) and NaHCO₃ (Olsen-P) in non-fertilized and fertilized soil profiles. The fertilized soils had received 42–49 kg P ha^–1y^–1 for more than 30 years. P-AL and Olsen-P were significantly higher in the fertilized than in the non-fertilized profiles down to 40 cm depth. The P sorption index (PSI₂) based on a single-point P addition of 50 mmol P kg^–1 soil was used to estimate P sorption capacity in the soils. The variation in PSI₂ with depth was not consistent between the five soil profiles. PSI₂ did not vary with depth in one soil, while it decreased in one and increased in the other three, and it was weakly but significantly correlated with the sum of Fe and Al extracted with ammonium oxalate (Fe_ox +Al_ox) (r = 0.65^**) and with clay content (r = 0.69^***). To estimate P release in the soils, P was extracted with CaCl₂ (CaCl₂-P) and water (P_w). CaCl₂-P and P_w were significantly higher in the fertilized treatment than in the non-fertilized treatment in the top 20 cm. Below 30 cm depth, CaCl₂-P was very low in all soils, while P_w was relatively high in two soils and low in the other three soils. To estimate the degree of P saturation, the ratio of P-AL/PSI₂ and Olsen-P/PSI₂ was calculated. P-AL/PSI₂ was significantly higher in the fertilized treatment in the 0–20 cm layer, while Olsen-P/PSI₂ was significantly higher in the fertilized treatment in the 0–40 cm layer. P-AL/PSI₂ was correlated with CaCl₂-P and P_w when all soils and horizons were included (r0.78^***), but the correlation increased markedly when only 0–40 cm was included (r0.94^***). Olsen-P/PSI₂ was well correlated with CaCl₂-P and P_w (r0.94^***) for all soils and depths. Thus the two indices, P-AL/PSI₂ and Olsen-P/PSI₂, were comparable in their ability to predict P release in the top 40 cm, whereas Olsen-P/PSI₂ was better when all depths were included. The overall conclusion was that P fertilization had an impact on P properties down to 40 cm depth, while the effects were small below this depth.     

Coded Speech in Packet-Switched Networks: Models and Experiments

This paper considers the possibility of introducing packetized voice traffic into a packet-switched network. It is well known that the network must assure voice packets sufficient delay characteristics for conversational speech, i.e., low delay between speaker and listener and low delay jitter or variance. To reach these goals, simplified protocols and priority rules for voice handling are proposed and evaluated. A model of a packet switching node structure capable of handling both data and voice is derived for both analytical and simulation approaches. The use of low bit rate voice encoders is considered. The necessity of avoiding the transmission of silent intervals is discussed in relation to the behavior of packet voice receivers. Proposed strategies are compared by means of analytical tools and simulation experiments considering the presence of voice, interactive, and batch data packets.     

Assessment of left ventricular function by isometric handgrip exercise after thrombolysis in patients with refractory unstable angina

The handgrip test has been proposed for the evaluation of the hemodynamic reserve in patients with coronary artery disease and to quantitate the impairment of left ventricular (LV) function. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of thrombolytic therapy in patients with refractory unstable angina in order to test the hypothesis that a reduction in intracoronary thrombosis could ameliorate their hemodynamic response to the handgrip test. During left heart catheterization, 20 patients with refractory unstable angina of recent onset performed a handgrip test before (HG1) and 24-72 hours after (HG2) being randomized to receive recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator or placebo, according to a double-blind parallel group design. HG1 induced an increase in heart rate (p < 0.001), in systolic pressure (p < 0.001), and a reduction in ejection fraction (p < 0.05). Changes in LV end-diastolic pressure during baseline handgrip were highly different in individual patients, resulting in a trend toward an increase. Similarly, a different individual response was observed in the behavior of the isovolumetric and relaxation indices. In comparison with HG1, no difference was detected during HG2 in the 2 treatment groups with respect to changes in LV volumes, ejection fraction, LV systolic and diastolic pressures, +dP/dt, (dP/dt)/P, -dP/dt, and tau index. In patients with refractory unstable angina of recent onset, the handgrip test performed before and after thrombolysis did not prove to be useful in assessing directional changes of LV performance, mainly because of the different individual response to the baseline handgrip test.     

Adaptive routing protocol for mobile ad hoc networks

Artificial immune systems (AIS) are used for solving complex optimization problems and can be applied to the detection of misbehaviors, such as a fault tolerant. We present novel techniques for the routing optimization from the perspective of the artificial immunology theory. We discussed the bioinspired protocol AntOR and analyze its new enhancements. This ACO protocol based on swarm intelligence takes into account the behavior of the ants at the time of obtaining the food. In the simulation results we compare it with the reactive protocol AODV observing how our proposal improves it according to Jitter, the delivered data packet ratio, throughput and overhead in number of packets metrics.     

Nanostructured Superhydrophobic Substrates Trigger the Development of 3D Neuronal Networks

The generation of 3D networks of primary neurons is a big challenge in neuroscience. Here, a novel method is presented for a 3D neuronal culture on superhydrophobic (SH) substrates. How nano‐patterned SH devices stimulate neurons to build 3D networks is investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and confocal imaging show that soon after plating neurites adhere to the nanopatterned pillar sidewalls and they are subsequently pulled between pillars in a suspended position. These neurons display an enhanced survival rate compared to standard cultures and develop mature networks with physiological excitability. These findings underline the importance of using nanostructured SH surfaces for directing 3D neuronal growth, as well as for the design of biomaterials for neuronal regeneration.