A lossless DNA data hiding approach for data authenticity in mobile cloud based healthcare systems

We present a lossless Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) sequence hiding method that can be used for ensuring authenticity of DNA sequence in the context of Mobile Cloud based healthcare systems. Hiding data within DNA sequence results in permanent information loss in DNA sequence. Therefore, providing DNA sequence authenticity using data hiding is challenging. Moreover, existing works on DNA data hiding require a reference DNA sequence data to retrieve hidden data. Hence, current methods are not blind approaches and inappropriate for ensuring authenticity of DNA sequence in the Mobile Cloud. The proposed method hides authentication data within DNA sequence, extracts authentication data, and reconstructs the DNA sequence without any loss of information. From there, our proposed approach guarantees DNA sequence authenticity and integrity in Mobile Cloud based healthcare systems. We present a security analysis of our method to show that the method is secured. We conduct several experiments to demonstrate the performance of our proposed method.     

Selection of suitable reference genes for abiotic stress-responsive gene expression studies in peanut by real-time quantitative PCR

BackgroundBecause of its strong specificity and high accuracy, real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) has been a widely used method to study the expression of genes responsive to stress. It is crucial to have a suitable set of reference genes to normalize target gene expression in peanut under different conditions using RT-qPCR. In this study, 11 candidate reference genes were selected and examined under abiotic stresses (drought, salt, heavy metal, and low temperature) and hormone (SA and ABA) conditions as well as across different organ types. Three statistical algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper) were used to evaluate the expression stabilities of reference genes, and the comprehensive rankings of gene stability were generated.ResultsThe results indicated that ELF1B and YLS8 were the most stable reference genes under PEG-simulated drought treatment. For high-salt treatment using NaCl, YLS8 and GAPDH were the most stable genes. Under CdCl₂ treatment, UBI1 and YLS8 were suitable as stable reference genes. UBI1, ADH3, and ACTIN11 were sufficient for gene expression normalization in low-temperature experiment. All the 11 candidate reference genes showed relatively high stability under hormone treatments. For organs subset, UBI1, GAPDH, and ELF1B showed the maximum stability. UBI1 and ADH3 were the top two genes that could be used reliably in all the stress conditions assessed. Furthermore, the necessity of the reference genes screened was further confirmed by the expression pattern of AnnAhs.ConclusionsThe results perfect the selection of stable reference genes for future gene expression studies in peanut and provide a list of reference genes that may be used in the future.     

A new approach to the modeling of distributed structures for control

Building structures represent complex distributed-parameter systems. The motion of such systems is described by partial differential equations complemented by suitable boundary conditions. For control design purposes, distributed-parameter systems must be discretized in the spatial variables. But, if the discrete model is not sufficiently accurate, controls designed on the basis of the discrete model can destabilize the actual distributed structure, in which case the controls are said to be sensitive to discretization errors. This paper presents a new approach to the discretization of distributed structures yielding accurate discrete models of relatively low order. A numerical example illustrates how controls can be designed for a complex structure subjected to earthquake excitations.     

Methods for estimating the number of relevant documents in a collection

Several statistical sampling methods are evaluated for estimating the total number of relevant documents in a collection for a given query. The total number of relevant documents is needed in order to compute recall values for use in evaluating document retrieval systems. The simplest method considered uses simple random sampling to estimate the number of relevant documents. Another type of random sampling, which assigns unequal selection probabilities to the individual documents in the collection, is also investigated. An alternative approach considered uses curve fitting and extrapolation, where a smooth curve is developed which relates precision to document rank. Another curve relates a function of precision to the query-document score. In either case, the curve is extrapolated to the total number of documents in order to estimate the number of relevant documents. Empirical comparisons are made of all three methods.     

基因组学研究领域的两个重要成就——家蚕基因组框架图和家鸡基因组多态性图谱的绘制

"家蚕基因组框架图和家鸡基因组多态性图谱的绘制"是于2003年启动的两个重要物种的基因组学计划。主要包括"家蚕基因组框架图的绘制"及"家鸡基因组多态性     

百合科扭柄花属一个新的染色体基数

对中国云南西部和西北部分布的腋花扭柄花Streptopus simplex的4个居群进行了细胞学研究。生长在云南西北香格里拉县(原中甸县)碧塔海和小中甸冷杉林中的腋花扭柄花两个居群的体细胞染色体数目为2n=2x=18,而生长在高黎贡山的福贡县片马和贡山县的灌丛中的植物体细胞染色体数目则为2n=2x=14。2n=14为腋花扭柄花一个新的染色体数目,x=7为扭柄花属一个新的染色体基数。香格里拉碧塔海和小中甸两个居群的核型公式分别为2n=4m+8sm+4st和2n=8m+2sm+6st,染色体逐渐变小;贡山和福贡片马两个居群的核型公式分别为2n=14=4m+10sm和2n=14=7m+7sm,其中第一对中部着丝粒的染色体显著大于其余染色体。由于x=8是扭柄花属最常见的染色体基数,因此可认为x=8是腋花扭柄花的染色体原始基数,x=7的数目是衍生的;x=7居群染色体的一条大染色体可能是由x=8的染色体的两条st型染色体的着丝粒发生了罗伯逊易位而来。     

The diffusion of ideas in the academy: A quantitative illustration from economics

It has long been recognised in policy discussion that the influence of new ideas depends not just on their generation but also on the way in which they diffuse through society. However, while the spread of new ideas in industry has been much studied, there are no similar quantitative studies on diffusion within the academy. This paper addresses that gap by providing quantitative evidence on the adoption of two techniques for empirically testing hypotheses in economics. On the basis of this evidence, and contrary to a common expectation, the spread of ideas seems neither straightforward nor especially rapid in the academy.     

A quantitative study of isobaric equilibrium and gravity anomalies in the hawaiian islands

The deformation of a strong elastic lithosphere supported by an underlying weak magma is calculated for a long mountainous load. The deformations, produce vertical superposed stresses in the lithosphere that contribute to the support of the mountain and distribute its weight over a large area.Employing the principle of isobaric equilibrium, the distribution of the vertical supporting stress and the associated gravity anomalies may be determined by analysis.The results of the analysis are applied to the Hawaiian chain and it is shown that the calculated physical properties and gravity anomalies are remarkably like those observed. It is inferred from the study that: (a) a strong lithosphere underlies the Hawaiians and this section is practically identical with those underlying other regions; (b) the lithosphere will support one-sided stresses approximating 10⁹ dynes/cm.² for long periods of time; (c) the distribution of gravity anomaly may be described quantitatively in terms of the calculated deformations; (d) the principle of isobaric equilibrium is obeyed throughout the region whereas the isostatic principle is generally violated; and (e) the distribution of compensating masses is not at all like that demanded by the principle of isostasy.It is concluded that isostasy leads to results that are clearly wrong when applied to mountains or other deformed regions. The principle of isobaric equilibrium appears, however, to be well established by the investigation.     

博后经历对科研人员成长影响的定量研究

本研究以中国大陆科研人员为研究对象,选取免疫学和管理科学与工程两个学科领域为案例,采集科研人员的CV(Curriculum Vitae)数据,通过生存分析(Survival Analyses)方法研究不同因素,特别是博士后经历对不同类型学科领域科研人员职业生涯发展的作用与影响。Kaplan-Meier分析表明,对免疫学科而言,有过博士后经历的在进入副教授阶段的生存风险较高,即存活时间较短能较快晋升到副教授阶段,但在进入教授阶段则是相反,生存风险较低即存活时间较长从而延缓其晋升到教授阶段。对管理科学和工程学科而言,有过博士后经历的在进入副教授和教授阶段都是生存风险较低从而延缓其职业生涯的发展。COX比例风险回归分析表明,对免疫学科而言,性别、单位性质、博士毕业国别对其成长有显著影响,对管理科学与工程而言,单位性质以及流动频次对其成长有显著影响。最后本文对研究结果的原因进行了分析和讨论,并提出了下一步研究的设想。     

A platform-based approach to ambidexterity for innovation: An empirical investigation in the public sector

Innovation in the public sector plays an important role in improving the quality of public services and addressing economic and societal challenges. Most of the previous research on innovations has focused on the private sector. How organizations may achieve ambidexterity for innovations in the public sector characterized by unique constraints has been largely underexplored. Platforms have emerged as key components in organizations’ approaches to innovation. Using an empirical study in a public sector organization, this study identifies a platform-based approach that can be used to achieve ambidexterity in balancing exploitative and exploratory innovations in the public sector. Organizations facing constraints pertaining to structure, risk, and value may benefit from considering their product/service development, process management, and value formulation through this approach. This study also identifies practices in platform development, appropriation, and control that contributed to the success of the platform-based approach.     

Usage of Conventional PCR Technology for the Detection of HLA-B27 Allele: A Significant Molecular Marker of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that has been linked to the human leukocyte antigen class I allele HLA-B27. More than 90 % of patients with ankylosing spondylitis possess the HLA-B27 allele, but only 1 % of people with HLA-B27 develop the disease. Ankylosing spondylitis predominately affects young males. The present study was planned to find out the involvement of HLA-B27 specific allele in relation to age and sex in symptomatic suspected patients of ankylosing spondylitis using conventional PCR technology. Forty symptomatic patients of ankylosing spondylitis were included in the present study. SSP–PCR technique was used to detect the HLA-B27 specific allele. This study showed (out of 40 symptomatic suspected cases of ankylosing spondylitis only 12 patients were detected positive with HLA-B27 allele, while remaining 28 were negative) that the positivity rate for ankylosing spondylitis with HLA-B27 allele is low. Furthermore, it was observed that the males above 50 years are more prone to develop AS with HLA-B27 specific allele. It could be concluded that the conventional PCR technology is a rapid, sensitive, and confirmatory method for the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis.     

A unified approach for the parametric identification of SISO/MIMO Wiener and Hammerstein systems

Hammerstein and Wiener models are nonlinear representations of systems composed by the coupling of a static nonlinearity N and a linear system L in the form N–L and L–N respectively. These models can represent real processes which made them popular in the last decades. The problem of identifying the static nonlinearity and linear system is not a trivial task, and has attracted a lot of research interest. It has been studied in the available literature either for Hammerstein or Wiener systems, and either in a discrete-time or continuous-time setting. The objective of this paper is to present a unified framework for the identification of these systems that is valid for SISO and MIMO systems, discrete- and continuous-time settings, and with the only a priori knowledge that the system belongs to the set including Wiener and Hammerstein models.