Efficient Multi-user Similarity Search Over Encrypted Data in Cloud Storage

Wireless Personal Communications - In cloud-assisted data outsourcing systems, the privacy of sensitive data is a major concern. Thus, data are uploaded in encrypted form in many cloud applications...     

Neuroprotective and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Evernic Acid in an MPTP-Induced Parkinson’s Disease Model

Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation are strongly associated with the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), which suggests that anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory compounds might provide an alternative treatment for PD. Here, we evaluated the neuroprotective effects of evernic aid (EA), which was screened from a lichen library provided by the Korean Lichen Research Institute at Sunchon National University. EA is a secondary metabolite generated by lichens, including Ramalina, Evernia, and Hypogymnia, and several studies have described its anticancer, antifungal, and antimicrobial effects. However, the neuroprotective effects of EA have not been studied. We found that EA protected primary cultured neurons against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridium (MPP⁺)-induced cell death, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress, and effectively reduced MPP⁺-induced astroglial activation by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway. In vivo, EA ameliorated MPTP-induced motor dysfunction, dopaminergic neuronal loss, and neuroinflammation in the nigrostriatal pathway in C57BL/6 mice. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that EA has neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects in PD models and suggest that EA is a potential therapeutic candidate for PD.     

An Opportunistic Directional MAC Protocol with Pulse/Tone Exchange in Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - This paper proposes a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol using directional antennas in wireless ad-hoc networks, which achieves frame-collision reduction,...     

Analysis for change in microbial contents in five mixed Kimchi starter culture and commercial lactic acid bacterial-fermented sausages and biological hazard in manufacturing facilities

Food Science and Biotechnology - The purpose of this study was to compare change in microbial contents between sausages with five mixed Kimchi starter culture (T1) and commercial lactic acid...     

Flow analysis of engine cooling system for a passenger vehicle

A numerical simulation is carried out to analyze the flow field of cooling air through the radiator and engine compartment. In order to consider the strong effect of the suction-type flow by the cooling fan at engine idling condition, a potential flow analysis is attempted by the assumption of a line sink located at the position of the cooling fan. The governing equations for steady two-dimensional, incompressible, turbulent flow are solved with the two-equationk-ε model for turbulence. The velocity profiles in the underhood engine compartment and around the front-end of a real vehicle are measured to compare with the numerical results. The agreement between the numerical and experimental results is fairly good. It is concluded that a two-dimensional computation is a fast and efficient tool for predicting the effect of front-end design on the cooling air flow through the radiator.     

Soil Microvariation as a Source of Variability in the Wild: The Case of Secondary Metabolism in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Origanum dayi</Emphasis> Post

The volatile components of Origanum dayi Post were analyzed in 10 wild populations grown in a limited area. ANOVA tests showed no significant differences among the compositions of plants that grew in different locations, which suggests that differences in composition are of genetic origin and do not spring from environmental variation. However, the use of new statistical methods (such as use of the correlation coefficient, r, as a parametric value) revealed that, despite their reduced range of variation, most of the 22 soil properties (SPs) measured correlated with the composition of the volatile components. This analysis also indicated that the main volatile components were modified in parallel in response to SP variations. It is concluded that variations in soil properties affected the composition of volatile components in O. dayi, and that the main influencing factors were soil microelement contents and texture. This study highlights the need for highly sensitive statistical tools to determine the actual influence of environmental factors in natural environments, especially when their range of variation is small.     

STL File Generation with Data Reduction by the Delaunay Triangulation Method in Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering has been widely used for the shape reconstruction of an object without CAD data and typical steps include the scanning of a clay or wood model and the generation of manufacturing data such as an STL file. A new approach to remove point data with Delaunay triangulation is introduced to deal with the size problems of the STL file and the difficulties in the operation of the rapid prototyping (RP) process. The selection of a group of triangles, based on the angle, is used for a robust and reliable implementation of the Delaunay triangulation method. The developed software enables the user to specify the criteria for the selection of the group of triangles by the angle between triangles, the percentage of reduced triangles, and the allowable area. This approach can be used to reduce the measuring data from the laser scanner, thus save the handling time of point data during the modelling process and is useful for verifying and slicing the STL model during the RP process.     

Atmospheric pollution for trace elements in the remote high-altitude atmosphere in central Asia as recorded in snow from Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) of the Himalayas

A series of 42 snow samples covering over a one-year period from the fall of 2004 to the summer of 2005 were collected from a 2.1-m snow pit at a high-altitude site on the northeastern slope of Mt. Everest. These samples were analyzed for Al, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Cd, Sb, Pb, and Bi in order to characterize the relative contributions from anthropogenic and natural sources to the fallout of these elements in central Himalayas. Our data were also considered in the context of monsoon versus non-monsoon seasons. The mean concentrations of the majority of the elements were determined to be at the pg g(-1) level with a strong variation in concentration with snow depth. While the mean concentrations of most of the elements were significantly higher during the non-monsoon season than during the monsoon season, considerable variability in the trace element inputs to the snow was observed during both periods. Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, and Bi displayed high crustal enrichment factors (EF(c)) in most samples, while Cr, Ni, Rb, and Pb show high EF(c) values in some of the samples. Our data indicate that anthropogenic inputs are potentially important for these elements in the remote high-altitude atmosphere in the central Himalayas. The relationship between the EF(c) of each element and the Al concentration indicates that a dominant input of anthropogenic trace elements occurs during both the monsoon and non-monsoon seasons, when crustal contribution is relatively minor. Finally, a comparison of the trace element fallout fluxes calculated in our samples with those recently obtained at Mont Blanc, Greenland, and Antarctica provides direct evidence for a geographical gradient of the atmospheric pollution with trace elements on a global scale.