Towards a Step Semantics for Story-Driven Modelling

Graph Transformation (GraTra) provides a formal, declarative means of specifying model transformation. In practice, GraTra rule applications are often programmed via an additional language with which the order of rule applications can be suitably controlled. Story-Driven Modelling (SDM) is a dialect of programmed GraTra, originally developed as part of the Fujaba CASE tool suite. Using an intuitive, UML-inspired visual syntax, SDM provides usual imperative control flow constructs such as sequences, conditionals and loops that are fairly simple, but whose interaction with individual GraTra rules is nonetheless non-trivial. In this paper, we present the first results of our ongoing work towards providing a formal step semantics for SDM, which focuses on the execution of an SDM specification.Comment: In Proceedings GaM 2016, arXiv:1612.0105

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Morphology Development of Expansion Clouds by a Powder Jet Flow

Explosion suppression is often the preferred method of explosion attenuation in industry. The morphology development of suppression clouds is important for the design of necessary coverage of the product. This paper presents a numerical and experimental investigation of the growth of powder dispersion as it expands from a discharge nozzle. A Lagrangian stochastic particle-tracking approach and the RNG k-e turbulence model are adopted in the flow field solver for the dispersed and continuous phases. The flow fields coupled with the particle interactions are predicted. The dispersion characteristics of the expansion of the powder cloud through a pipe for short intervals of time are investigated. This was compared with (1) captured images from experiments, (2) experimental data, and (3) results of previous simulations. Particle positions along the jet are presented. The effects of flow rate on the development of the cloud and a comparison with experimental results are also presented. It is noted that the coverage of the powder cloud can be controlled by the flow rate of the jet, and the developing length of the cloud is more influenced by the flow rate of jet flow than the developing width. The good qualitative agreements achieved are useful for further optimisation of product design

A Solution to the Flowgraphs Case Study using Triple Graph Grammars and eMoflon

After 20 years of Triple Graph Grammars (TGGs) and numerous actively maintained implementations, there is now a need for challenging examples and success stories to show that TGGs can be used for real-world bidirectional model transformations. Our primary goal in recent years has been to increase the expressiveness of TGGs by providing a set of pragmatic features that allow a controlled fallback to programmed graph transformations and Java. Based on the Flowgraphs case study of the Transformation Tool Contest (TTC 2013), we present (i) attribute constraints used to express complex bidirectional attribute manipulation, (ii) binding expressions for specifying arbitrary context relationships, and (iii) post-processing methods as a black box extension for TGG rules. In each case, we discuss the enabled trade-off between guaranteed formal properties and expressiveness. Our solution, implemented with our metamodelling and model transformation tool eMoflon (www.emoflon.org), is available as a virtual machine hosted on Share.Comment: In Proceedings TTC 2013, arXiv:1311.753

Evaluating testcross performance and genetic divergence of lines derived from reciprocal tropical maize composites

The development of hybrids with enhanced expression of heterosis depends on the genetic background of the source population and the effectiveness of a breeding scheme used to identify and use divergent inbred lines with good combining ability. The present study was conducted to examine the potential of improved tropical reciprocal composites as sources of inbred lines for developing productive hybrids. Thirty-six S4 lines derived from the third RRS cycle of each composite were crossed in pairs to form 36 testcrosses, which were evaluated along with commonly grown commercial hybrids in Nigeria across nine test environments. Results showed consistent ranking of testcrosses for grain yield and other traits across the diverse test environments. The best 22 testcrosses produced 21% to 51% more grain yields than the highest yielding commercial hybrid. Several testcrosses combined high grain yields with other desirable agronomic traits. The SSR and SNP markers used in the present study detected a broad range of genetic diversity among the 72 S4 lines, which was structured along the two composites. The two markers portrayed similar trends in determining genetic distance estimates and detecting composite-specific alleles in the S4 lines. These results highlight the potential of improved reciprocal composites as sources of new and divergent parents for developing productive hybrids and as sources of novel alleles for broadening and diversifying the genetic base of adapted germplasm to sustain genetic gain in productivity of hybrids in WCA

Detection of Trojan horse by Analysis of System Behavior and Data Packets

Trojan horse is said to be one of the most serious threats to computer security. A Trojan horse is an executable file in the Windows operating system. These executable files will have certain static and runtime characteristics. Multiple Windows system process will be called whenever a Trojan horse tries to execute any operation on the system. In this paper a new Trojan horse detection method by using Windows dynamic link libraries to identify system calls from a Trojan horses is explicated. Process explorer is used to identify the malicious executable and to determine whether it is a Trojan or not. Further, an attempt is made to study the network behavior after a Trojan horse is executed using wire shark

Identification of rare nonsynonymous variants in SYNE1/CPG2 in bipolar affective disorder

Background: Bipolar affective disorder (BPD) is a severe mood disorder with a prevalence of ∼ 1.5% in the population. The pathogenesis of BPD is poorly understood; however, a strong heritable component has been identified. Previous genome-wide association studies have indicated a region on 6q25, coding for the SYNE1 gene, which increases disease susceptibility. SYNE1 encodes the synaptic nuclear envelope protein-1, nesprin-1. A brain-specific splice variant of SYNE1, CPG2 encoding candidate plasticity gene 2, has been identified. The intronic single-nucleotide polymorphism with the strongest genome-wide significant association in BPD, rs9371601, is present in both SYNE1 and CPG2. / Methods: We screened 937 BPD samples for genetic variation in SYNE1 exons 14–33, which covers the CPG2 region, using high-resolution melt analysis. In addition, we screened two regions of increased transcriptional activity, one of them proposed to be the CPG2 promoter region. / Results and Conclusion: We identified six nonsynonymous and six synonymous variants. We genotyped three rare nonsynonymous variants, rs374866393, rs148346599 and rs200629713, in a total of 1099 BPD samples and 1056 controls. Burden analysis of these rare variants did not show a significant association with BPD. However, nine patients are compound heterozygotes for variants in SYNE1/CPG2, suggesting that rare coding variants may contribute significantly towards the complex genetic architecture underlying BPD. Imputation analysis in our own wholegenome sequencing sample of 99 BPD individuals identified an additional eight risk variants in the CPG2 region of SYNE1

BenchmarX

Bidirectional transformation (BX) is a very active area of research interest. There is not only a growing body of theory, but also a rich set of tools supporting BX. The problem now arises that there is no commonly agreed-upon suite of tests or benchmarks that shows either the conformance of tools to theory, or the performance of tools in particular BX scenarios. This paper sets out to improve the state of affairs in this respect, by proposing a template and a set of required criteria for benchmark descriptions, as well as guidelines for the artifacts that should be provided for each included test. As a proof of concept, the paper additionally provides a detailed description of one concrete benchmark.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within project FATBIT with reference FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-0205

Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Maize and Status of their Management by the Farmers and Marketers in Abuja, Nigeria

The occurrence and extent of usage of control strategies against mycotoxins   in maize (Zea mays L.) by the farmers and marketers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nigeria was investigated using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) and structured questionnaires involving 263 respondents respectively.  Four out of the nine major mycotoxins was detected in >59.00% of the 30 investigated composite samples. About 50.00% of the samples were contaminated with Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) above the EU regulatory limit of 5 μg kg-1 in the maize raw grain samples. About 26.67% of the grains were contaminated with Aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) above the regulatory limit of 10 µg kg-1. Up to 80.00% of the raw grains were contaminated with Fumonisin B1 (FB1) above the regulatory limit of 1000 µg kg-1.  It was indicated that only 19.87% of the farmers regularly use the management strategies against seed-borne fungi infection and mycotoxins build-up before and during maize harvesting while up to 48.80% of marketers regularly do so after harvesting. There was an indication that maize grains in the territory were contaminated with toxigenic fungi in view of mycotoxins load and due to inadequate usage of management practices.  Increasing awareness on the management strategies to mitigate mycotoxin load in maize in the FCT, Abuja, Nigeria is imperative. Keywords: Farmers; Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Maize grains, Management strategies, Marketers, Regulated mycotoxin

The Cultural and Socioeconomic Factors on Domestic Violence: A Study of indigenes of Ahiazu Mbaise People of Imo State, Nigeria

Globally, the preponderance of domestic violence against women has become a form of paternalized assault and coercive deprivation of their liberty in the family and society. The increasing level of violence against women in the family circle in certain Nigerian communities has become highly pervasive. This study, therefore, critically examined domestic violence against women in the family in Ahiazu Mbaise communities of Imo State, Nigeria adopting the Feminist Theory as a compass. Data was collected with the use of semi-structured questionnaires, while respondents were drawn through a cross-selection of members of the communities who constituted the focused group discussions. The population of the study was drawn through simple random techniques and the three towns studied were selected with the use of the hat and draw method. The second sampling technique was purposive sampling. The population of the study was 1,201 and 300 population were drawn using the simple random technique with Taro Yamani’s formula for sample size. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentage and frequency tabular percentage. The findings show that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women. Drawing from this finding, the study recommends that women should rise, unite, and fight for their rights, religious organizations should preach against violence, NGOs, CLOs, and government agencies should intensify advocacy to redress violence against women, the laws against gender-based violence should be strengthened with stiffer punishments and a general societal value reorientation on the evil of domestic and other forms of violence

Non-compete Clauses in Contracts of Employment in Nigeria: A Critical Evaluation of the Decision in Aprofim Engineering Ltd v Bigouret Anor (2015)

Restrictive clauses are usual clauses in contract of employment. With the increase in the level of awareness and sophistication of the Nigerian Labour market, issues of the enforcement of non-compete clauses are now being litigated as against what is obtainable before now. The state of the law appears to have settled with respect to the validity or otherwise of contracts in restraint of trade (or non competition clauses) under the common law. The Court of Appeal has seemed to have enervated this perceived settled area of law. This paper therefore, seeks to critically appraise the nullification of non-compete clauses via the instrument of Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as laid down in Aprofim Engineering Ltd v Bigouret[1] and to give a balanced perspective of non-compete clauses in contracts of employment. Keywords: Contracts, restrictive covenants, non-compete clauses [1] (2015) 52 N.L.L.R PT (173) 1 CA