Performance benchmarking of deep learning framework on Intel Xeon Phi

The Journal of Supercomputing - With the success of deep learning (DL) methods in diverse application domains, several deep learning software frameworks have been proposed to facilitate the usage...     

Evaluating Relationship of Consistency Ratio and Number of Alternatives on Rank Reversal in the AHP

This article shows the simulation result of the rank reversal phenomenon with respect to the changing values of consistency ratio and the number of alternatives. The simulation result reveals that the number of alternatives and the consistency ratio have significant effect on the occurrence of rank reversal. The more the number of alternatives is, the higher the probability of rank reversal occurrence becomes. The more inconsistent the judgment is, the more likely the rank reversal will occur. This result is based on two-way analysis of variance in which the number of alternatives and the consistency ratio are considered as factors, and the probability of rank reversal occurrence is regarded as the response variable. The number of alternatives of 4 to 7 and the consistency ratios ranging between 0.02 and 0.20 are investigated. The observation is based on the rank reversal that occurs after adding a copy of the best existing alternative.     

Direct Formation of Titanium Carbide via In Situ Carbothermal Reduction of TiO2/Carbon Cladding for Coating Application

Protection of Metals and Physical Chemistry of Surfaces - In situ direct formation of titanium carbide (TiC) was realized via tungsten inert gas (TIG) arc surface cladding using titanium dioxide...     

On construction of a network log management system using ELK Stack with Ceph

The Journal of Supercomputing - A log management system is essential for the networks administrator. With a log management tool, we can collect, store, analyze, archive, and finally dispose of the...     

Identification of 3,4-Dihydro-2H,6H-pyrimido[1,2-c][1,3]benzothiazin-6-imine Derivatives as Novel Selective Inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase

Plasmodium falciparum’s resistance to available antimalarial drugs highlights the need for the development of novel drugs. Pyrimidine de novo biosynthesis is a validated drug target for the prevention and treatment of malaria infection. P. falciparum dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (PfDHODH) catalyzes the oxidation of dihydroorotate to orotate and utilize ubiquinone as an electron acceptor in the fourth step of pyrimidine de novo biosynthesis. PfDHODH is targeted by the inhibitor DSM265, which binds to a hydrophobic pocket located at the N-terminus where ubiquinone binds, which is known to be structurally divergent from the mammalian orthologue. In this study, we screened 40,400 compounds from the Kyoto University chemical library against recombinant PfDHODH. These studies led to the identification of 3,4-dihydro-2H,6H-pyrimido[1,2-c][1,3]benzothiazin-6-imine and its derivatives as a new class of PfDHODH inhibitor. Moreover, the hit compounds identified in this study are selective for PfDHODH without inhibition of the human enzymes. Finally, this new scaffold of PfDHODH inhibitors showed growth inhibition activity against P. falciparum 3D7 with low toxicity to three human cell lines, providing a new starting point for antimalarial drug development.     

Plasma-activated immobilization of biomolecules onto graphite-encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles

We describe the amino group surface functionalisation of graphite-encapsulated iron compound nanoparticles by radio frequency (RF) plasma processing followed by oxidized dextran immobilization. We have found that surface treatment using plasma represents an important step before biomolecules immobilization. After plasma treatment, the dispersion property of nanoparticles in dextran solution in water was significantly improved. The successful dextran immobilization was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analyses followed by amino group derivatization using 4-(trifluoromethyl)-benzaldehyde (TFBA). As an evidence for covalent bonding between nanoparticles and dextran, the area percentage of deconvoluted CN peak at ～389.6 eV increased from 0% to 10.53 ± 1.30% with increasing the dextran concentration. The result is consistent with the evidenced decreasing of the free amino group percentage from 68.09 ± 5.10% to 14.73 ± 5.89% on the nanoparticle surface after dextran immobilization.     

Air quality monitoring and analysis with dynamic training using deep learning

The Journal of Supercomputing - Time series prediction is a challenging predictive modeling case. It is essential to have a prediction model that can adapt to dynamic data. Air quality data show a...     

Cyberattack detection model using deep learning in a network log system with data visualization

The Journal of Supercomputing - Network log data is significant for network administrators, since it contains information on every event that occurs in a network, including system errors, alerts,...     

Biochemical Studies of Mitochondrial Malate: Quinone Oxidoreductase from Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that causes toxoplasmosis and infects almost one-third of the global human population. A lack of effective drugs and vaccines and the emergence of drug resistant parasites highlight the need for the development of new drugs. The mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) is an essential pathway for energy metabolism and the survival of T. gondii. In apicomplexan parasites, malate:quinone oxidoreductase (MQO) is a monotopic membrane protein belonging to the ETC and a key member of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and has recently been suggested to play a role in the fumarate cycle, which is required for the cytosolic purine salvage pathway. In T. gondii, a putative MQO (TgMQO) is expressed in tachyzoite and bradyzoite stages and is considered to be a potential drug target since its orthologue is not conserved in mammalian hosts. As a first step towards the evaluation of TgMQO as a drug target candidate, in this study, we developed a new expression system for TgMQO in FN102(DE3)TAO, a strain deficient in respiratory cytochromes and dependent on an alternative oxidase. This system allowed, for the first time, the expression and purification of a mitochondrial MQO family enzyme, which was used for steady-state kinetics and substrate specificity analyses. Ferulenol, the only known MQO inhibitor, also inhibited TgMQO at IC₅₀ of 0.822 μM, and displayed different inhibition kinetics compared to Plasmodium falciparum MQO. Furthermore, our analysis indicated the presence of a third binding site for ferulenol that is distinct from the ubiquinone and malate sites.     

Analysis of lard in meatball broth using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

Meatball is one of the favorite foods in Indonesia. For the economic reason (due to the price difference), the substitution of beef meat with pork can occur. In this study, FTIR spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics of partial least square (PLS) and principal component analysis (PCA) was used for analysis of pork fat (lard) in meatball broth. Lard in meatball broth was quantitatively determined at wavenumber region of 1018–1284 cm^− 1. The coefficient of determination (R²) and root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) values obtained were 0.9975 and 1.34% (v/v), respectively. Furthermore, the classification of lard and beef fat in meatball broth as well as in commercial samples was performed at wavenumber region of 1200–1000 cm^− 1. The results showed that FTIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics can be used for quantitative analysis and classification of lard in meatball broth for Halal verification studies. The developed method is simple in operation, rapid and not involving extensive sample preparation.