QD-Janus: A sequential implementation of Janus in Prolog

Janus is a language designed for distributed constraint programming. This paper describes QD-Janus, a sequential implementation of Janus in Prolog. The compiler uses a number of novel analyses and optimizations to improve the performance of the system. The choice of Prolog as the target language for a compiler, although unusual, is motivated by the following: (i) the semantic gap between Janus and Prolog is much smaller than that between Janus and, say, C or machine language—this simplifies the compilation process significantly, and makes it possible to develop a system with reasonable performance fairly quickly; (ii) recent progress in Prolog implementation techniques, and the development of Prolog systems whose speeds are comparable to those of imperative languages, indicates that the translation to Prolog need not entail a significant performance loss compared to native code compilers; and (iii) compilation to Prolog can benefit immediately from a significant body of work on, and implementations of, parallel Prolog systems. Our experience indicates that translation of logic programming languages to Prolog, accompanied by the development of good program analysis and optimization tools, is an effective way to quickly develop flexible and portable implementations with good performance and low cost.     

Enrichment, isolation, and virulence of freeze-stressed plasmid-bearing virulent strains of Yersinia enterocolitica on pork

The influence of freeze stress at -20 degrees C on the enrichment, isolation, detection, presence of virulence plasmid, and expression of virulence of plasmid-bearing Yersinia enterocolitica (YEP+) inoculated on pork chop medallions was assessed. Pork chop medallions (10 cm2) artificially contaminated with 10, 1, and 0.5 CFU/cm2 of YEP+ strains (serotype O:3) were placed in sterile petri dishes at -20 degrees C for 24 h. The medallions were swabbed when frozen, after thawing at room temperature for 1.5 h and after thawing at 4 degrees C for 18 h. Swabs were enriched and YEP+ were detected and isolated using the Congo red-binding and low-calcium-response assays. The YEP+ were isolated under all conditions on pork chop medallions inoculated with 10 CFU/cm2 and at a level of 1 CFU/cm2 when thawed at room temperature and at 4 degrees C but not from frozen pork chop medallions. The YEP+ were not isolated from pork chop medallions inoculated with 0.5 CFU/cm2 and then frozen, whereas YEP+ were recovered when inoculated at this level from pork chop medallions not subjected to freezing. Virulence of the strains isolated from frozen pork chop medallions was confirmed by PCR and the expression of plasmid-associated phenotypes. These results indicate that YEP+ subjected to freezing on pork are potentially capable of causing foodborne illness and that freezing is not a substitute for safe handling and proper cooking of pork.     

Combined quality loss (CQL) concept in WPCA-based Taguchi philosophy for optimization of multiple surface quality characteristics of UNS C34000 brass in cylindrical grinding

The present study highlights a multi-objective optimization problem by applying Weighted Principal Component Analysis (WPCA) coupled with Taguchi method through a case study in cylindrical grinding of UNS C34000 Medium Leaded Brass. The study aimed at evaluating the best process environment which could simultaneously satisfy multiple requirements of surface quality. In view of the fact that traditional Taguchi method fails to solve a multi-objective optimization problem, to overcome this limitation, WPCA has been coupled with Taguchi method. Furthermore, to follow the basic assumption of Taguchi method, i.e., quality attributes should be uncorrelated or independent; which is not always satisfied in practical situation; the study applied WPCA to eliminate response correlation and to evaluate independent or uncorrelated quality indices called principal components which were aggregated by WPCA to compute overall quality index denoted as Multi-Response Performance Index. A combined quality loss was then estimated which was optimized (minimized) finally. The study combined WPCA and Taguchi method for predicting optimal setting. Optimal result was verified through confirmatory test. This indicates application feasibility of the aforesaid methodology proposed for multi-response optimization and off-line control of correlated multiple surface quality characteristics in cylindrical grinding.     

ZnO Nanoplatelets with Controlled Thickness: Atomic Insight into Facet-Specific Bimodal Ligand Binding Using DNP NMR

Colloidal nanoplatelets (NPLs) and nanosheets with controlled thickness have recently emerged as an exciting new class of quantum-sized nanomaterials with substantially distinct optical properties compared to 0D quantum dots. Zn-based NPLs are an attractive heavy-metal-free alternative to the so far most widespread cadmium chalcogenide colloidal 2D semiconductor nanostructures, but their synthesis remains challenging to achieve. The authors describe herein, to the best of their knowledge, the first synthesis of highly stable ZnO NPLs with the atomically precise thickness, which for the smallest NPLs is 3.2 nm (corresponding to 12 ZnO layers). Furthermore, by means of dynamic nuclear polarization-enhanced solid-state ¹⁵N NMR, the original role of the benzamidine ligands in stabilizing the surface of these nanomaterials is revealed, which can bind to both the polar and non-polar ZnO facets, acting either as X- or L-type ligands, respectively. This bimodal stabilization allows obtaining hexagonal NPLs for which the surface energy of the facets is modulated by the presence of the ligands. Thus, in-depth study of the interactions at the organic–inorganic interfaces provides a deeper understanding of the ligand–surface interface and should facilitate the future chemistry of stable-by-design nano-objects.     

Keyword-based private searching on cloud data along with keyword association and dissociation using cuckoo filter

International Journal of Information Security - Outsourcing of data is a very common scenario in the present-day world and quite often we need to outsource confidential data whose privacy is of...     

Bovine milk oligosaccharides decrease gut permeability and improve inflammation and microbial dysbiosis in diet-induced obese mice

Obesity is characterized by altered gut homeostasis, including dysbiosis and increased gut permeability closely linked to the development of metabolic disorders. Milk oligosaccharides are complex sugars that selectively enhance the growth of specific beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and could be used as prebiotics. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the effects of bovine milk oligosaccharides (BMO) and Bifidobacterium longum ssp. infantis (B. infantis) on restoring diet-induced obesity intestinal microbiota and barrier function defects in mice. Male C57/BL6 mice were fed a Western diet (WD, 40% fat/kcal) or normal chow (C, 14% fat/kcal) for 7 wk. During the final 2 wk of the study, the diet of a subgroup of WD-fed mice was supplemented with BMO (7% wt/wt). Weekly gavage of B. infantis was performed in all mice starting at wk 3, yet B. infantis could not be detected in any luminal contents when mice were killed. Supplementation of the WD with BMO normalized the cecal and colonic microbiota with increased abundance of Lactobacillus compared with both WD and C mice and restoration of Allobaculum and Ruminococcus levels to that of C mice. The BMO supplementation reduced WD-induced increase in paracellular and transcellular flux in the large intestine as well as mRNA levels of the inflammatory marker tumor necrosis factor α. In conclusion, BMO are promising prebiotics to modulate gut microbiota and intestinal barrier function for enhanced health.     

Impact of pointing errors and turbulence effects on POLSK and coherent OWC-based FSO system over generalized turbulence channel model

The emerging technology in wireless communication, free space optics (FSO) offers a myriad of merits over current radio frequency links due to its wide license-free bandwidth, ease of installation, high security features and viable cost for short-distance communication. Its unparallel high-speed data rate and immunity against electromagnetic interference makes FSO the emerging technology of today. Atmospheric conditions like absorption, scattering, turbulence and pointing error prevail during wireless transmission. Through this paper we aim at elucidating the effect of the error introduced by misalignment between the transmitter and receiver that are ideally required to be in the line of sight rendering pointing error. Pointing error and turbulence effects are the main limitation parameters for our analysis. For this purpose, we have taken into consideration three different modulation techniques polarization shift keying, coherent OWC and on–off keying FSO communication system. We derived the novel expressions for the average spectral efficiency (ASE) over the generalized turbulence model for these modulation techniques. The ASE is analyzed against average transmitted optical power with the maximum ASE of 50 bits/s/Hz at the transmitted power of 10 dBm for coherent OWC technique.     

Multimedia tool as a predictor for social media advertising- a YouTube way

Multimedia has embraced the marketing industry with its innovative tools. Advertising as a part of marketing is not an exception. Social media is one of its tools which is growing with an accelerating speed and facilitating meaningful participation. YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google and is considered to leverage its features to provide nothing but the best to its users. Marketers of beauty products have also realized its potential and are using YouTube as a powerful marketing tool. The paper attempts to evaluate importance of YouTube as a multimedia tool. Content analysis of hundred YouTube advertisements of the beauty segment has been done to identify their critical success factors like Audio content (sound saturation, background music, loud and fast music, sound effects), Visual Category (No. of cuts, visual effects, intense imagery, slow motion, bold/ unusual colours), Content category (acted out, unexpected format, surprise ending), Message Appeals (Rational, Fear, Social, Youth, Statistics, Bandwagon and Celebrity Appeal) and viewers’ response through the number of views and likes. Accordingly, a framework has been proposed that may be useful for the managers who develop promotional strategies for the organizations. AIDA model has been used to validate the framework.     

Evaluation of Garam Masala Spices and Phosphates as Antioxidants in Cooked Ground Beef

ABSTRACT:  This study determined antioxidant effects and sensory attributes of individual ingredients (black pepper, caraway, cardamom, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel, ginger, nutmeg, salt, star anise) of an Indian spice blend (garam masala) in cooked ground beef. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values were measured as an indicator of rancidity for cooked samples on 1-, 8-, or 15-d refrigerated storage. Cooked samples were evaluated by a trained panel ( n = 13) for the intensity of rancid odor/flavor, beef flavor, and spice flavor and correlated with TBA values of same day samples. We also investigated possible additive effects between spice antioxidants and iron binding (type II) antioxidants on lipid oxidation by measuring TBA values. All spices had antioxidant effects on cooked ground beef, compared to controls. Among spices, cloves were the most effective in controlling lipid oxidation, with TBA values of 0.75, after 15-d refrigerated storage. All spices at their recommended levels lowered rancid odor and flavor in cooked ground beef, compared to controls. As expected, most spices also imparted distinctive flavors to cooked ground beef. There was a positive correlation (0.77) between TBA values on 15-d refrigerated storage and rancid odor/flavor. Type II antioxidants (iron-binding phosphate compounds) were more effective than individual type I antioxidants (spices and butylated hydroxytoluene; BHT) for maintenance of low TBA values in cooked ground beef during storage. Additive effects were observed with rosemary + milk mineral or sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) compared to rosemary alone.