A system framework for gamified Cost Engineering

This study develops a system framework and an enterprise IT solution for integrating gamification elements to efficiently implement and continuously perform Cost Engineering. Cost Engineering is a systematic approach to manage knowledge and competencies regarding costs reduction measures throughout the life cycle of products and is technology, resource and time intensive. Gamification as a non-monetary multidimensional incentive system holds great potential to implement and establish Cost Engineering in a novel and less resource demanding manner and stipulate knowledge sharing and dissemination. Building on a review of the relevant literature we conducted 20 interviews with experts from eight companies of the German and Austrian high-tech manufacturing industry to examine the system requirements from an organizational perspective. Analyzing the interviews, we found that companies need a flexible platform where the game elements help to align management objectives with concrete tasks, meet legislative regulations and have different evaluation methods. Our proposed system framework combines the organizational and IT requirements with gamification elements to efficiently steer Cost Engineering methods and best manage knowledge and competencies.     

An effective algorithm to detect both smoke and flame using color and wavelet analysis

Fire detection is an important task in many applications. Smoke and flame are two essential symbols of fire in images. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to detect smoke and flame simultaneously for color dynamic video sequences obtained from a stationary camera in open space. Motion is a common feature of smoke and flame and usually has been used at the beginning for extraction from a current frame of candidate areas. The adaptive background subtraction has been utilized at a stage of moving detection. In addition, the optical flow-based movement estimation has been applied to identify a chaotic motion. With the spatial and temporal wavelet analysis, Weber contrast analysis and color segmentation, we achieved moving blobs classification. Real video surveillance sequences from publicly available datasets have been used for smoke detection with the utilization of our algorithm. We also have conducted a set of experiments. Experiments results have shown that our algorithm can achieve higher detection rate of 87% for smoke and 92% for flame.     

Increased Sulfur Precursors and Volatiles Production by the Leek <Emphasis Type="Italic">Allium porrum</Emphasis> in Response to Specialist Insect Attack

To defend themselves against herbivory, plants use a variety of direct and indirect strategies involving induced increases in secondary substances. Species of the Allium genus (Alliaceae), such as the leek Allium porrum (L.), produce nonprotein sulfur amino acids derived from cysteine, i.e., alk(en)yl-cysteine sulfoxides that are precursors of volatile thiosulfinates and disulfides. These defend most species including the specialist leek moth, Acrolepiopsis assectella. We determined by measuring the increase in the sulfur precursor propyl-cysteine sulfoxide (PCSO) if production of this precursor is induced in response to moth attack and mechanical wounding. The concentration of PCSO was determined by HPLC in 2- or 6-mo-old leeks after attacks of various intensity either by the specialist leek moth or by a generalist moth, Agrotis ipsilon. Injury-induced release of sulfur volatiles was measured by GC/MS after the attacks. Results showed an increase in the production of sulfur compounds in both the precursor and volatile form, occurring only in association with intensive attacks by leek moths. The increase in sulfur precursors also led to an increase in the release of sulfur volatiles. This induced response may provide an effective defense strategy against the plant’s main natural enemy, both directly and indirectly by attracting entomophagous insects.     

Characterization of a Behaviorally Active,Gender-Specific Volatile Compound from the Male Asparagus Fly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plioreocepta poeciloptera</Emphasis>

Adult male asparagus flies exhibit typical calling behaviors (suggestive of pheromone production) during which they emit a single volatile compound that was identified as isopropyl (S)-5-hydroxyhexanoate. In laboratory bioassays, synthetic samples elicited an arrestant response in females, but did not appear to attract females. On the other hand, the synthetic material attracted conspecific males in olfactometer bioassays.     

Evidence that XTR Is More Secure than Supersingular Elliptic Curve Cryptosystems

We show that finding an efficiently computable injective homomorphism from the XTR subgroup into the group of points over GF(p²) of a particular type of supersingular elliptic curve is at least as hard as solving the Diffie–Hellman problem in the XTR subgroup. This provides strong evidence for a negative answer to the question posed by Vanstone and Menezes at the Crypto 2000 Rump Session on the possibility of efficiently inverting the MOV embedding into the XTR subgroup. As a side result we show that the Decision Diffie–Hellman problem in the group of points on this type of supersingular elliptic curves is efficiently computable, which provides an example of a group where the Decision Diffie–Hellman problem is simple, while the Diffie–Hellman and discrete logarithm problems are presumably not. So-called distortion maps on groups of points on elliptic curves that play an important role in our cryptanalysis also lead to cryptographic applications of independent interest. These applications are an improvement of Jouxs one round protocol for tripartite Diffie–Hellman key exchange and a non-refutable digital signature scheme that supports escrowable encryption. We also discuss the applicability of our methods to general elliptic curves defined over finite fields which includes a classification of elliptic curve groups where distortion maps exist.     

Combining infrared and mode synthesizing atomic force microscopy: Application to the study of lipid vesicles inside <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptomyces</Emphasis> bacteria

We propose a new analytical approach combining vibrational spectroscopy and acoustic tomography for the detection and characterization of vesicles inside Streptomyces bacteria. Using atomic force microscopy and infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR), we detect the presence of triglyceride vesicles. Their sizes in depth are measured with high accuracy using mode synthesizing atomic force microscopy (MS-AFM). We conducted a comparative study of AFM-IR and MS-AFM, and highlighted the advantages of the coupling of these techniques in having a full characterization (chemical, topographical, and volumetric) of a biological sample. With these complementary techniques, a complete access to the vesicle size distribution has been achieved with an accuracy of less than 50 nm. A 3D reconstruction of bacteria showing the in-depth distribution of vesicles is given to underline the great potential of the acoustic method.

Open image in new window

     

Fish consumption and blood lipids in three ethinic groups of Québec (canada)

The purpose of this study was to compare fish intake and plasma phospholipid concentrations of n−3 fatty acids, in particular of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), among representative population samples of Québecers, James Bay Cree, and Inuit of Nunavik (Canada). The relationships between these concentrations and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors were also investigated and compared in the three populations. In 1990–1992, the study subjects had participated in the extensive Santé Québec health surveys conducted in southern Québec, James Bay, and Nunavik. Significant differences in levels of CVD risk factors were found among these three populations. Globally, Inuit showed the lowest risk status for CVD compared with Cree and Québecers, despite the high prevalence of cigarette smoking and obesity. Daily fish intakes varied significantly among the three groups, averaging 13, 60, and 131 g for Québecers, Cree, and Inuit, respectively. Concentrations of EPA+DHA in plasma phospholipids were highest among Inuit (8.0%), second-highest among Cree (3.9%), and lowest among Québecers (1.8%). When the three populations were grouped together, there was a positive association between concentrations of EPA+DHA stratified into quartiles and HDL cholesterol, with a significant relation in quartile 4 (EPA+DHA ≥4.04%). An inverse relation was also found betwen EPA+DHA and triacylglycerols in quartile 4. Our results indicate that increased consumption of fish as a source of n−3 fatty acids is beneficially associated with levels of HDL cholesterol and triacylglycerols.