Assessment of genetic diversity among different indigenous Xanthomonas isolates via RAPD and ISSR

The genetic diversity among seven Xanthomonas isolates representing four species was assessed using RAPD and ISSR PCR-based techniques. Both techniques revealed high degrees of polymorphisms among the studied isolates. A cluster dendrogram based on the combined data of RAPD and ISSR showed that genetic diversity exists in local isolates of Xanthomonas. In terms of percentage similarity values, the genomic variation was found to be in the range of 29.29% - 100% among the isolates. X. campestris (Mangifera indica) remained unclustered in cluster dendrogram and revealed a unique genomic profile compared to other isolates used in this study

High performance video processing in cloud data centres

Mobile phones and affordable cameras are generating large amounts of video data. This data holds information regarding several activities and incidents. Video analytics systems have been introduced to extract valuable information from this data. However, most of these systems are expensive, require human supervision and are time consuming. The probability of extracting inaccurate information is also high due to human involvement. We have addressed these challenges by proposing a cloud based high performance video analytics platform. This platform attempts to minimize human intervention, reduce computation time and enables the processing of a large number of video streams. It achieves high performance by optimizing the occupancy of GPU resources in cloud and minimizing the data transfer by concurrently processing a large number of video streams. The proposed video processing platform is evaluated in three stages. The first evaluation was performed at the cloud level in order to evaluate the scalability of the platform. This evaluation includes fetching and distributing video streams and efficiently utilizing available resources within the cloud. The second valuation was performed at the individual cloud nodes. This evaluation includes measuring the occupancy level, effect of data transfer and the extent of concurrency achieved at each node. The third evaluation was performed at the frame level in order to determine the performance of object recognition algorithms. To measure this, compute intensive tasks of the Local Binary Pattern (LBP) algorithm have been ported on to the GPU resources. The platform proved to be very scalable with high throughput and performance when tested on a large number of video streams with increasing number of nodes

High performance video processing in cloud data centres

Mobile phones and affordable cameras are generating large amounts of video data. This data holds information regarding several activities and incidents. Video analytics systems have been introduced to extract valuable information from this data. However, most of these systems are expensive, require human supervision and are time consuming. The probability of extracting inaccurate information is also high due to human involvement. We have addressed these challenges by proposing a cloud based high performance video analytics platform. This platform attempts to minimize human intervention, reduce computation time and enables the processing of a large number of video streams. It achieves high performance by optimizing the occupancy of GPU resources in cloud and minimizing the data transfer by concurrently processing a large number of video streams. The proposed video processing platform is evaluated in three stages. The first evaluation was performed at the cloud level in order to evaluate the scalability of the platform. This evaluation includes fetching and distributing video streams and efficiently utilizing available resources within the cloud. The second valuation was performed at the individual cloud nodes. This evaluation includes measuring the occupancy level, effect of data transfer and the extent of concurrency achieved at each node. The third evaluation was performed at the frame level in order to determine the performance of object recognition algorithms. To measure this, compute intensive tasks of the Local Binary Pattern (LBP) algorithm have been ported on to the GPU resources. The platform proved to be very scalable with high throughput and performance when tested on a large number of video streams with increasing number of nodes

How innovative climate leads to project success: the moderating role of gender and work culture

Purpose – In modern times, innovation is considered as a vital component of sustainable competitiveadvantage. The purpose of this paper is to identify how innovation at the individual level [innovative workbehavior (IWB)] and at the organizational level [innovative organizational climate (IOC)] affects the chances ofsuccess of a particular project. Additionally, the moderating effect of gender and work culture on the relationbetween innovative climate and behavior is tested in the study.Design/methodology/approach – Survey technique was used to collect data from 425 employeesworking in project departments at the executive, middle level and senior level management in the paintmanufacturing industry of Pakistan. Multiple regression, as well as Preacher and Hayes (2004) tests, wereapplied to test the hypotheses.Findings – The result of the data analysis showed that IWB acts as a mediator between IOC and projectsuccess (PS), thereby supporting the hypothesized model of innovation and PS. Work culture was supportedas a moderator; however, no moderating effect of gender was validated by the results.Research limitations/implications – The management must make sure that to maximize the rate ofsuccess of projects, innovative work climate within the organizations and departments be given dueimportance. In addition to this, personnel’s individual innovation capabilities must also be enhanced bytaking steps toward improvement through training and development. Originality/value – Though attention has been given to research in innovation in light of other relatedvariables, its relation to PS remains yet to be studied. The effect of gender and work culture on innovation inPakistani paint industry was long over-due which has been addressed by this stud

Are Flexible Workings Highly Gendered with More Women Availing Benefits than Men?

This paper examines the degree of relevance of various flexible options and various benefits of flexible working for men and women. Men and women workers have equal access to flexible working and avail equally various arrangements like job sharing, working from home, part time etc. In this paper, we discuss the impact of flexible working arrangements on both men and women workers’ career, social life, attitude and balance. The Flexible workings are not highly gendered with more women availing options and benefits than men. Flexible workings do not treat a man differently than the way these treat a woman. The male employees are confused only because of lack of awareness about flexible working and need to avail the options. Moreover, paper discusses various benefits of availing flexible workings for organization itself, men, and women; and also sheds light on men and women uptakes of flexible workings options. These different options may have different preferences based on gender. This paper suggests that if the gender gap to be closed, organizations must allow greater flexible schedules at workplaces for both men and women. Flexible workings are neither a zero sum game in which men gains and women lose; nor gendered only by availing opportunities for women. Both men and women are attracted to jobs with flexible working options. Flexible workings allow individuals to make balance; both men and women enjoy flexible workings benefits. Keywords: Flexible working, Gender, availing benefits

Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit

The global and national burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases continues to rise, thus making access to Healthcare workers (HCWs) colonized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may pose transmission risk to vulnerable patients including neonates. This study reports an MRSA outbreak in a level-II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a secondary care hospital in Pakistan. Once identified, an infection control team from the parent hospital visited the facility, risk factors were listed and infection control measures taken to control the outbreak. Screening cultures of NICU staff and environmental cultures from NICU were obtained for the presence of MRSA. Five neonates were positive for MRSA; one HCW was found to be colonized with MRSA, the antibiogram pattern of which matched with that of the outbreak strain. Decolonization of colonized HCWs and re-deployment from NICU to outpatient department were taken and the outbreak was declared over once no further MRSA cases were identified. Identification of an outbreak situation is the cornerstone for its control and multiple measures taken simultaneously help in curbing the outbreak. Although an epidemiological link was established with the HCW, a molecular link could not be proven

MobChain:Three-Way Collusion Resistance in Witness-Oriented Location Proof Systems Using Distributed Consensus

Smart devices have accentuated the importance of geolocation information. Geolocation identification using smart devices has paved the path for incentive-based location-based services (LBS). However, a user’s full control over a smart device can allow tampering of the location proof. Witness-oriented location proof systems (LPS) have emerged to resist the generation of false proofs and mitigate collusion attacks. However, witness-oriented LPS are still susceptible to three-way collusion attacks (involving the user, location authority, and the witness). To overcome the threat of three-way collusion in existing schemes, we introduce a decentralized consensus protocol called MobChain in this paper. In this scheme the selection of a witness and location authority is achieved through a distributed consensus of nodes in an underlying P2P network that establishes a private blockchain. The persistent provenance data over the blockchain provides strong security guarantees; as a result, the forging and manipulation of location becomes impractical. MobChain provides secure location provenance architecture, relying on decentralized decision making for the selection of participants of the protocol thereby addressing the three-way collusion problem. Our prototype implementation and comparison with the state-of-the-art solutions show that MobChain is computationally efficient and highly available while improving the security of LPS

Job Interactivity Using a Steering Service in an Interactive Grid Analysis Environment

Grid computing has been dominated by the execution of batch jobs. Interactive data analysis is a new domain in the area of grid job execution. The Grid-Enabled Analysis Environment (GAE) attempts to address this in HEP grids by the use of a Steering Service. This service will provide physicists with the continuous feedback of their jobs and will provide them with the ability to control and steer the execution of their submitted jobs. It will enable them to move their jobs to different grid nodes when desired. The Steering Service will also act autonomously to make steering decisions on behalf of the user, attempting to optimize the execution of the job. This service will also ensure the optimal consumption of the Grid user's resource quota. The Steering Service will provide a web service interface defined by standard WSDL. In this paper we have discussed how the Steering Service will facilitate interactive remote analysis of data generated in Interactive Grid Analysis Environment