Implementation of active collections framework using .NET

For many years, large distributed enterprises have faced a common problem of near real time sharing of enterprise data typically stored in databases. As these databases may be located globally, distributed nature of this data makes it difficult to access instantaneously. The Active Collections Framework (ACF) acts as a good foundation on which to build distributed applications. This framework requires distributed applications to view changes to data as events of interest. The ACF framework integrates access to data and data changes through active collections. ACF framework is based on two different research areas: event management in distributed computing and active database systems. Active databases support mechanisms to monitor changes to the database state. The central concept in ACF event management is active collections. Each active collection is a collection of all objects specified by a query on the enterprise data. For each client interested in obtaining data, an entry is made in the active collection. This information is then used by windows service to notify the registered client of any data changes. This project implements the Active Collections Framework using Microsoft .Net and Visual Studio .Net. Two sample applications using the developed framework have been developed to demonstrate the efficiency of data storage and event notification capabilities of the developed ACF framework

Active view agents for personalized e-commerce applications

Giving the right information to the right person at the right time is one of the main factors contributing to the success of e-commerce applications. Existing applications of active views to e-commerce mostly generate application views based on user roles such as customers and vendors, so they cannot completely serve one-to-one marketing. Furthermore, the data controlled by the existing applications is limited to those retrieved from databases, but not includes other web contents such as pictures, descriptive information and hyperlinks. In addition, the integration of active views to existing e-commerce applications still presents some difficulties in tackling with heterogenity. This work presents a model of Active View Agents System (AVAS), built based on a co-performance model of multi-agents, to resolve these problems

Active fault databases: building a bridge between earthquake geologists and seismic hazard practitioners, the case of the QAFI v.3 database

Active fault databases are a very powerful and useful tool in seismic hazard assessment, particularly when singular faults are considered seismogenic sources. Active fault databases are also a very relevant source of information for earth scientists, earthquake engineers and even teachers or journalists. Hence, active fault databases should be updated and thoroughly reviewed on a regular basis in order to keep a standard quality and uniformed criteria. Desirably, active fault databases should somehow indicate the quality of the geological data and, particularly, the reliability attributed to crucial fault-seismic parameters, such as maximum magnitude and recurrence interval. In this paper we explain how we tackled these issues during the process of updating and reviewing the Quaternary Active Fault Database of Iberia (QAFI) to its current version 3. We devote particular attention to describing the scheme devised for classifying the quality and representativeness of the geological evidence of Quaternary activity and the accuracy of the slip rate estimation in the database. Subsequently, we use this information as input for a straightforward rating of the level of reliability of maximum magnitude and recurrence interval fault seismic parameters. We conclude that QAFI v.3 is a much better database than version 2 either for proper use in seismic hazard applications or as an informative source for non-specialized users. However, we already envision new improvements for a future update

ADO: An Active Distributed Object-Oriented Database Model

Object-oriented databases are emerging as a newgeneration database technology for complex applications. In this paper, we present an active distributed object-oriented (ADO) database model, which can capture not only passive behaviors but also active behaviors of complex objects. Besides, the distribution nature of objects can be reflected from within the model as well. Based on the model, we have developed a prototype active distributed object-oriented database management system, and applied it to a housing property management application

Iris localisation using Fuzzy Centre Detection (FCD) scheme and active contour snake

Iris localisation is a crucial operation in iris recognition algorithm and also in applications, where irises are the main target object. This paper presents a new method to localise iris by using Fuzzy Centre Detection (FCD) scheme and active contour Snake. FCD scheme which consists of four fuzzy membership functions is purposely designed to find a centre of the iris. By using the centre of iris as the reference point, an active contour Snake algorithm is employed to localise the inner and outer of iris boundary. This proposed method is tested and validated with two categories of image database; iris databases and face database. For iris database, UBIRIS.v1, UBIRIS.v2, CASIA.v1, CASIA.v2, MMU1 and MMU2 are used. Whilst for face databases, MUCT, AT&T, Georgia Tech and ZJUblink databases are chosen to evaluate the capability of proposed method to deal with the small size of the iris in the image database. Based on the experimental result, the proposed method shows promising results for both types of databases, including comparison with the some existing iris localisation algorithm

A Vavilovian approach to discovering crop-associated microbes with potential to enhance plant immunity

Through active associations with a diverse community of largely non-pathogenic microbes, a plant may be thought of as possessing an “extended genotype,” an interactive cross-organismal genome with potential, exploitable implications for plant immunity. The successful enrichment of plant microbiomes with beneficial species has led to numerous commercial applications, and the hunt for new biocontrol organisms continues. Increasingly flexible and affordable sequencing technologies, supported by increasingly comprehensive taxonomic databases, make the characterization of non-model crop-associated microbiomes a widely accessible research method toward this end; and such studies are becoming more frequent. A summary of this emerging literature reveals, however, the need for a more systematic research lens in the face of what is already a metagenomics data deluge. Considering the processes and consequences of crop evolution and domestication, we assert that the judicious integration of in situ crop wild relatives into phytobiome research efforts presents a singularly powerful tool for separating signal from noise, thereby facilitating a more efficient means of identifying candidate plant-associated microbes with the potential for enhancing the immunity and fitness of crop species