Performance analysis and optimization for workflow authorization

Many workflow management systems have been developed to enhance the performance of workflow executions. The authorization policies deployed in the system may restrict the task executions. The common authorization constraints include role constraints, Separation of Duty (SoD), Binding of Duty (BoD) and temporal constraints. This paper presents the methods to check the feasibility of these constraints, and also determines the time durations when the temporal constraints will not impose negative impact on performance. Further, this paper presents an optimal authorization method, which is optimal in the sense that it can minimize a workflow’s delay caused by the temporal constraints. The authorization analysis methods are also extended to analyze the stochastic workflows, in which the tasks’ execution times are not known exactly, but follow certain probability distributions. Simulation experiments have been conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed authorization methods. The experimental results show that comparing with the intuitive authorization method, the optimal authorization method can reduce the delay caused by the authorization constraints and consequently reduce the workflows’ response time

Proizvodnja novog probiotičkog sira tipa Cheddar, veće ACE inhibicijske aktivnosti i većeg udjela γ-aminomaslačne kiseline, s pomoću Lactobacillus casei Zhang, izolirane iz fermentiranoga mliječnog napitka

Cheddar cheese has been manufactured with Lactobacillus casei Zhang as the dairy starter adjunct. L. casei Zhang had previously been isolated from koumiss collected from Xilin Guole in Inner Mongolia and characterized in detail with regard to their probiotic potential. The addition of L. casei Zhang to Cheddar cheese had no adverse effects on sensory criteria. The cheese made with 0.1, 1 and 2 % of the probiotic strain L. casei Zhang adjuncts contained high levels of the Lactobacillus after 6 months of ripening with final counts of 9.6·10^7, 7.7·10^7 and 1.02·10^8 CFU/g, respectively. In the ripe control cheese, without the addition of probiotic strain L. casei Zhang, the number of Lactobacillus reached 5.7·107 CFU/g. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR) analysis was used to distinguish the added L. casei Zhang from the natural flora of the cheese and to determine whether L. casei Zhang grew in the cheese. ACE-inhibitory activity and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations in the cheese were measured. Compared with control cheese, experimental cheese with 0.1, 1 and 2 % of probiotic strain L. casei Zhang revealed some increase in ACE-inhibitory activity and GABA mass fraction. In the present study, the production of both ACE-inhibitory activity and GABA in the probiotic cheese with the L. casei Zhang adjunct isolated from koumiss has been found for the first time. The results suggest that cheese with the probiotic strain L. casei Zhang showed good potential for application in the management of hypertension.Proizveden je sir tipa Cheddar s pomoću dodane kulture Lactobacillus casei Zhang, prethodno izolirane iz fermentiranoga mliječnog napitka „koumiss“ (Xilin Guole, središnja Mongolija, Kina). Iscrpno su ispitana probiotička svojstva izolirane kulture. Utvrđeno je da dodatak kulture nije bitno promijenio senzorička svojstva sira. Sir pripremljen s 0,1 % probiotičke kulture imao je nakon 6 mjeseci zrenja 9,6·107 CFU/g, sir s 1 % probiotičke kulture 7,7·107 CFU/g, a sir s 2 % probiotičke kulture 1,02·108 CFU/g bakterija roda Lactobacillus. U zrelom je kontrolnom uzorku sira (bez dodatka L. casei Zhang) broj bakterija Lactobacillus bio 5,7·107 CFU/g. Provedbom ERIC-PCR analize razlučena je dodana kultura L. casei Zhang od prirodne mikroflore sira, te utvrđen njezin rast. Također je izmjerena veća ACE inhibicijska aktivnost te veći udio γ-aminomaslačne kiseline u dobivenom siru, u usporedbi s kontrolnim uzorkom. Rezultati pokazuju da se dodatkom probiotičke kulture L. casei Zhang dobiva sir boljih svojstava, čija veća primjena pridonosi liječenju povišenog arterijskog tlaka

Wavelength-multiplexed duplex transceiver based on III-V/Si hybrid integration for off-chip and on-chip optical interconnects

A six-channel wavelength-division-multiplexed optical transceiver with a compact footprint of 1.5 x 0.65 mm(2) for off-chip and on-chip interconnects is demonstrated on a single silicon-on-insulator chip. An arrayed waveguide grating is used as the (de)multiplexer, and III-V electroabsorption sections fabricated by hybrid integration technology are used as both modulators and detectors, which also enable duplex links. The 30-Gb/s capacity for each of the six wavelength channels for the off-chip transceiver is demonstrated. For the on-chip interconnect, an electrical-to-electrical 3-dB bandwidth of 13 GHz and a data rate of 30 Gb/s per wavelength are achieved

Charmless Exclusive Baryonic B Decays

We present a systematical study of two-body and three-body charmless baryonic B decays. Branching ratios for two-body modes are in general very small, typically less than $10^{-6}$, except that \B(B^-\to p \bar\Delta^{--})\sim 1\times 10^{-6}. In general, $\bar B\to N\bar\Delta>\bar B\to N\bar N$ due to the large coupling constant for $\Sigma_b\to B\Delta$. For three-body modes we focus on octet baryon final states. The leading three-dominated modes are $\bar B^0\to p\bar n\pi^-(\rho^-), n\bar p\pi^+(\rho^+)$ with a branching ratio of order $3\times 10^{-6}$ for $\bar B^0\to p\bar n\pi^-$ and $8\times 10^{-6}$ for $\bar B^0\to p\bar n\rho^-$. The penguin-dominated decays with strangeness in the meson, e.g., $B^-\to p\bar p K^{-(*)}$ and $\bar B^0\to p\bar n K^{-(*)}, n\bar n \bar K^{0(*)}$, have appreciable rates and the $N\bar N$ mass spectrum peaks at low mass. The penguin-dominated modes containing a strange baryon, e.g., $\bar B^0\to \Sigma^0\bar p\pi^+, \Sigma^-\bar n\pi^+$, have branching ratios of order $(1\sim 4)\times 10^{-6}$. In contrast, the decay rate of $\bar B^0\to\Lambda\bar p\pi^+$ is smaller. We explain why some of charmless three-body final states in which baryon-antibaryon pair production is accompanied by a meson have a larger rate than their two-body counterparts: either the pole diagrams for the former have an anti-triplet bottom baryon intermediate state, which has a large coupling to the $B$ meson and the nucleon, or they are dominated by the factorizable external $W$-emission process.Comment: 46 pages and 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. D. Major changes are: (i) Calculations of two-body baryonic B decays involving a Delta resonance are modified, and (ii) Penguin-dominated modes B-> Sigma+N(bar)+p are discusse

Flavor SU(3) symmetry and QCD factorization in B→PPB \to PP and PVPV decays

Using flavor SU(3) symmetry, we perform a model-independent analysis of charmless $\bar B_{u,d} (\bar B_s) \to PP, ~PV$ decays. All the relevant topological diagrams, including the presumably subleading diagrams, such as the QCD- and EW-penguin exchange diagrams and flavor-singlet weak annihilation ones, are introduced. Indeed, the QCD-penguin exchange diagram turns out to be important in understanding the data for penguin-dominated decay modes. In this work we make efforts to bridge the (model-independent but less quantitative) topological diagram or flavor SU(3) approach and the (quantitative but somewhat model-dependent) QCD factorization (QCDF) approach in these decays, by explicitly showing how to translate each flavor SU(3) amplitude into the corresponding terms in the QCDF framework. After estimating each flavor SU(3) amplitude numerically using QCDF, we discuss various physical consequences, including SU(3) breaking effects and some useful SU(3) relations among decay amplitudes of $\bar B_s \to PV$ and $\bar B_d \to PV$.Comment: 47 pages, 3 figures, 28 table

The effect of large scale photovoltaic-based projects on poverty reduction: Empirical evidence from China

As a high-quality clean energy, exploring the benefits of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects on regional economy and sustainable development will challenge its development at the policy and planning levels, which also involves two key goals in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations: poverty reduction and clean energy provision. To address this problem, we take China's Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Project (PPAP) as an example to empirically study the benefits of large-scale PV deployment for alleviating poverty in its multiple dimensions and achieving regional sustainable development. We investigated its effect using a panel dataset of 71 pilot counties supported by PPAP in China from 2014 to 2017, with propensity score matching and difference-in-difference estimation as the main modeling tools. We found that PPAP can reduce multidimensional poverty on average by 3.0% in a county, benefiting sustainable livelihoods. In detail regarding multidimensional poverty alleviation, PPAP can effectively reduce the poverty level of economic capital, social capital, and human capital. However, it has a limited impact on physical and natural capital. Besides, state-designated poverty counties benefit more from PPAP than the non-poverty counties. Geographically, the poverty reduction effect of PPAP also shows strong regional heterogeneity, with the most substantial poverty alleviation effect in Northwest China. Our research will enhance the public's understanding of PPAP, promote the realization of Goal 1 on poverty reduction and Goal 7 on affordable and clean energy in SDGs, and provide a reference for policymakers for future decision-making, as well as for large-scale PV project deployment in other developing countries