Search results for: monitoring networks

Authors: Leonardo Alfredo Mendoza, Cristian Munoz, Marco Aurelio Pacheco, Manoela Kohler, Evelyn Batista, Rodrigo Moura

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Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques are increasingly more powerful to be able to interpret the feelings and reactions of a person to a product or service. Sentiment analysis has become a fundamental tool for this interpretation but has few applications in languages other than English. This paper presents a classification of sentiment analysis in Portuguese with a base of comments from social networks in Portuguese. A word embedding's representation was used with a 50-Dimension GloVe pre-trained model, generated through a corpus completely in Portuguese. To generate this classification, the bidirectional long short-term memory and bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) models are used, reaching results of 99.1%.

Keywords: natural processing language, sentiment analysis, bidirectional long short-term memory, BI-LSTM, gated recurrent unit, GRU

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Authors: Despoina Chochtoula, Aristidis Ilias, Yannis Stamatiou

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Modbus is a protocol that enables the communication among devices which are connected to the same network. This protocol is, often, deployed in connecting sensor and monitoring units to central supervisory servers in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, or SCADA, systems. These systems monitor critical infrastructures, such as factories, power generation stations, nuclear power reactors etc. in order to detect malfunctions and ignite alerts and corrective actions. However, due to their criticality, SCADA systems are vulnerable to attacks that range from simple eavesdropping on operation parameters, exchanged messages, and valuable infrastructure information to malicious modification of vital infrastructure data towards infliction of damage. Thus, the SCADA research community has been active over strengthening SCADA systems with suitable data protection mechanisms based, to a large extend, on cryptographic methods for data encryption, device authentication, and message integrity protection. However, due to the limited computation power of many SCADA sensor and embedded devices, the usual public key cryptographic methods are not appropriate due to their high computational requirements. As an alternative, Elliptic Curve Cryptography has been proposed, which requires smaller key sizes and, thus, less demanding cryptographic operations. Until now, however, no such implementation has been proposed in the SCADA literature, to the best of our knowledge. In order to fill this gap, our methodology was focused on integrating Modbus, a frequently used SCADA communication protocol, with Elliptic Curve based cryptography and develop a server/client application to demonstrate the proof of concept. For the implementation we deployed two C language libraries, which were suitably modify in order to be successfully integrated: libmodbus (https://github.com/stephane/libmodbus) and ecc-lib https://www.ceid.upatras.gr/webpages/faculty/zaro/software/ecc-lib/). The first library provides a C implementation of the Modbus/TCP protocol while the second one offers the functionality to develop cryptographic protocols based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography. These two libraries were combined, after suitable modifications and enhancements, in order to give a modified version of the Modbus/TCP protocol focusing on the security of the data exchanged among the devices and the supervisory servers. The mechanisms we implemented include key generation, key exchange/sharing, message authentication, data integrity check, and encryption/decryption of data. The key generation and key exchange protocols were implemented with the use of Elliptic Curve Cryptography primitives. The keys established by each device are saved in their local memory and are retained during the whole communication session and are used in encrypting and decrypting exchanged messages as well as certifying entities and the integrity of the messages. Finally, the modified library was compiled for the Android environment in order to run the server application as an Android app. The client program runs on a regular computer. The communication between these two entities is an example of the successful establishment of an Elliptic Curve Cryptography based, secure Modbus wireless communication session between a portable device acting as a supervisor station and a monitoring computer. Our first performance measurements are, also, very promising and demonstrate the feasibility of embedding Elliptic Curve Cryptography into SCADA systems, filling in a gap in the relevant scientific literature.

Keywords: elliptic curve cryptography, ICT security, modbus protocol, SCADA, TCP/IP protocol

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Authors: André Rafael Ferreira, Laurentina Vareiro, Raquel Mendes

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This study’s main objective is to explore residents’ perceptions of film-induced tourism and the impacts of filmmaking on the development of a destination. Specifically, the research examines resident´s perceptions of the social, economic, and environmental impacts on a Portuguese municipality (Arcos de Valdevez) given its feature in a popular Portuguese television series. Data is collected by means of an Internet survey, in which resident´s perceptions of the impacts of filmmaking are solicited. Residents generally agree that the recording and exhibition of the television series is important to the municipality, and contributes to the increased number of tourists. Given that residents consider that the positive impacts are more significant than the negative impacts, they supported the recording of another television series in the same municipality. Considering that destination managers and tourism development authorities aim to plan for optimal tourism development, and at the same time wish to minimize the negative impacts of this development on the local communities, monitoring residents’ opinions of perceived impacts is a good way of incorporating their reaction into tourism planning and development. The results of this research may provide useful information in this sense.

Keywords: film-induced tourism, residents’ perceptions, tourism development, tourism impacts

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Authors: Mujtaba Roshan, John A. Schormans

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Quality of Experience (QoE) drives churn in the broadband networks industry, and good QoE plays a large part in the retention of customers. QoE is known to be affected by the Quality of Service (QoS) factors packet loss probability (PLP), delay and delay jitter caused by the network. Earlier results have shown that the relationship between these QoS factors and QoE is non-linear, and may vary from application to application. We use the network emulator Netem as the basis for experimentation, and evaluate how QoE varies as we change the emulated QoS metrics. Focusing on Video-on-Demand, we discovered that the reported QoE may differ widely for users of different age groups, and that the most demanding age group (the youngest) can require an order of magnitude lower PLP to achieve the same QoE than is required by the most widely studied age group of users. We then used a bottleneck TCP model to evaluate the capacity cost of achieving an order of magnitude decrease in PLP, and found it be (almost always) a 3-fold increase in link capacity that was required.

Keywords: network capacity, packet loss probability, quality of experience, quality of service

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Authors: Kamal Heidari

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Covid-19 has borne drastic effects on different areas of society, including the education area, in that it brought virtual education to the center of attention, as an alternative to in-person education. In virtual education, the importance of flipped learning doubles, as students are supposed to take the main responsibility of teaching/learning process; and teachers play merely a facilitative/monitoring role. Given the students’ responsibility in virtual flipped learning, students’ motivation plays a pivotal role in the effectiveness of this learning method. The L2 Motivational Self-System (L2MSS) model is a currently proposed model elaborating on students’ motivation based on three sub-components: ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experience. Drawing on an exploratory sequential mixed-methods research design, this study probed the effect of virtual flipped learning (via SHAD platform) on 112 gifted and non-gifted students’ motivation based on the L2 MSS. This study uncovered that notwithstanding the point that virtual flipped learning improved both gifted and non-gifted students’ motivation, it differentially affected their motivation. In other words, gifted students mostly referred to ideal L2 self, while non-gifted ones referred to ought-to L2 self and L2 learning experience aspects of motivation.

Keywords: virtual flipped learning, giftedness, motivation, L2MSS

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Authors: Hemalatha Rallapalli, K. Lal Kishore

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In comparison to systems that are typically designed to provide capabilities over a narrow frequency range through hardware elements, the next generation cognitive radios are intended to implement a broader range of capabilities through efficient spectrum exploitation. This offers the user the promise of greater flexibility, seamless roaming possible on different networks, countries, frequencies, etc. It requires true paradigm shift i.e., liberalization over a wide band of spectrum as well as a growth path to more and greater capability. This work contributes towards the design and implementation of an open spectrum access (OSA) feature to unlicensed users thus offering a frequency agile radio platform that is capable of performing spectrum sensing over a wideband. Thus, an ultra-wideband (UWB) radio, which has the intelligence of spectrum sensing only, unlike the cognitive radio with complete intelligence, is named as a Smart Software Radio (SSR). The spectrum sensing mechanism is implemented based on energy detection. Simulation results show the accuracy and validity of this method.

Keywords: cognitive radio, energy detection, software radio, spectrum sensing

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Authors: Alireza Pour Ebrahimi, Vahid Abasi

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Recently by the extension of internet usage, Research on the intrusion detection system takes a significant importance. Many of improvement systems prevent internal and external network attacks by providing security through firewalls and antivirus. In recently years, intrusion detection systems gradually turn from host-based systems and depend on O.S to the distributed systems which are running on multiple O.S. In this work, by considering the diversity of computer networks whit respect to structure, architecture, resource, services, users and also security goals requirement a fully distributed collaborative intrusion detection system based on peer to peer architecture is suggested. in this platform each partner device (matched device) considered as a peer-to-peer network. All transmitted information to network are visible only for device that use security scanning of a source. Experimental results show that the distributed architecture is significantly upgradeable in respect to centralized approach.

Keywords: network, intrusion detection system, peer to peer, internal and external network

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Authors: Cai J. T. Ladd, Mollie F. Duggan-Edwards, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Jordi F. Pages, Martin W. Skov

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Salt marshes are valued for their role in coastal flood protection, carbon storage, and for supporting biodiverse ecosystems. As a biogeomorphic landscape, marshes evolve through the complex interactions between sea level rise, sediment supply and wave/current forcing, as well as and socio-economic factors. Climate change and direct human modification could lead to a global decline marsh extent if left unchecked. Whilst the processes of saltmarsh erosion and expansion are well understood, empirical evidence on the key drivers of long-term lateral marsh dynamics is lacking. In a GIS, saltmarsh areal extent in 25 estuaries across Great Britain was calculated from historical maps and aerial photographs, at intervals of approximately 30 years between 1846 and 2016. Data on the key perceived drivers of lateral marsh change (namely sea level rise rates, suspended sediment concentration, bedload sediment flux rates, and frequency of both river flood and storm events) were collated from national monitoring centres. Continuous datasets did not extend beyond 1970, therefore predictor variables that best explained rate change of marsh extent between 1970 and 2016 was calculated using a Partial Least Squares Regression model. Information about the spread of Spartina anglica (an invasive marsh plant responsible for marsh expansion around the globe) and coastal engineering works that may have impacted on marsh extent, were also recorded from historical documents and their impacts assessed on long-term, large-scale marsh extent change. Results showed that salt marshes in the northern regions of Great Britain expanded an average of 2.0 ha/yr, whilst marshes in the south eroded an average of -5.3 ha/yr. Spartina invasion and coastal engineering works could not explain these trends since a trend of either expansion or erosion preceded these events. Results from the Partial Least Squares Regression model indicated that the rate of relative sea level rise (RSLR) and availability of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) best explained the patterns of marsh change. RSLR increased from 1.6 to 2.8 mm/yr, as SSC decreased from 404.2 to 78.56 mg/l along the north-to-south gradient of Great Britain, resulting in the shift from marsh expansion to erosion. Regional differences in RSLR and SSC are due to isostatic rebound since deglaciation, and tidal amplitudes respectively. Marshes exposed to low RSLR and high SSC likely leads to sediment accumulation at the coast suitable for colonisation by marsh plants and thus lateral expansion. In contrast, high RSLR with are likely not offset deposition under low SSC, thus average water depth at the marsh edge increases, allowing larger wind-waves to trigger marsh erosion. Current global declines in sediment flux to the coast are likely to diminish the resilience of salt marshes to RSLR. Monitoring and managing suspended sediment supply is not common-place, but may be critical to mitigating coastal impacts from climate change.

Keywords: lateral saltmarsh dynamics, sea level rise, sediment supply, wave forcing

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Authors: Miroslava Šidlovská, Ida Petrovičová, Tomáš Pilka, Branislav Kolena

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Phthalates are ubiquitous environmental pollutants well-known because of their endocrine disrupting activity in human organism. The aim of our study was, by biological monitoring, investigate exposure to phthalates of Roma ethnicity group i.e. children and adults from 5 families (n=29, average age 11.8 ± 7.6 years) living in western Slovakia. Additionally, we analysed some associations between anthropometric measures, questionnaire data i.e. socio-economic status, eating and drinking habits, practise of personal care products and household conditions in comparison with concentrations of phthalate metabolites. We used for analysis of urine samples high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) to determine concentrations of phthalate metabolites monoethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-iso-butyl phthalate (MiBP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (5OH-MEHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (5oxo-MEHP) and mono(2-etylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP). Our results indicate that ethnicity, lower socioeconomic status and different housing conditions in Roma population can affect urinary concentration of phthalate metabolites.

Keywords: biomonitoring, ethnicity, human exposure, phthalate metabolites

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Authors: Abdulaziz Alakeel, Abdulrahman Alomair, Mohammed Fouda

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Introduction: Methotrexate (MTX) is an antimetabolite used to treat multiple conditions, including neoplastic diseases, severe psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Skin cancer is the out-of-control growth of abnormal cells in the epidermis, the outermost skin layer, caused by unrepaired DNA damage that triggers mutations. These mutations lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors. The aim of this review is to evaluate the risk of skin cancer associated with the use of methotrexate and to suggest regulatory recommendations if required. Methodology: Signal Detection team at Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) performed a safety review using National Pharmacovigilance Center (NPC) database as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) VigiBase, alongside with literature screening to retrieve related information for assessing the causality between skin cancer and methotrexate. The search conducted in July 2020. Results: Four published articles support the association seen while searching in literature, a recent randomized control trial published in 2020 revealed a statistically significant increase in skin cancer among MTX users. Another study mentioned methotrexate increases the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer when used in combination with immunosuppressant and biologic agents. In addition, the incidence of melanoma for methotrexate users was 3-fold more than the general population in a cohort study of rheumatoid arthritis patients. The last article estimated the risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in a cohort study shows a statistically significant risk increase for CMM was observed in MTX exposed patients. The WHO database (VigiBase) searched for individual case safety reports (ICSRs) reported for “Skin Cancer” and 'Methotrexate' use, which yielded 121 ICSRs. The initial review revealed that 106 cases are insufficiently documented for proper medical assessment. However, the remaining fifteen cases have extensively evaluated by applying the WHO criteria of causality assessment. As a result, 30 percent of the cases showed that MTX could possibly cause skin cancer; five cases provide unlikely association and five un-assessable cases due to lack of information. The Saudi NPC database searched to retrieve any reported cases for the combined terms methotrexate/skin cancer; however, no local cases reported up to date. The data mining of the observed and the expected reporting rate for drug/adverse drug reaction pair is estimated using information component (IC), a tool developed by the WHO Uppsala Monitoring Centre to measure the reporting ratio. Positive IC reflects higher statistical association, while negative values translated as a less statistical association, considering the null value equal to zero. Results showed that a combination of 'Methotrexate' and 'Skin cancer' observed more than expected when compared to other medications in the WHO database (IC value is 1.2). Conclusion: The weighted cumulative pieces of evidence identified from global cases, data mining, and published literature are sufficient to support a causal association between the risk of skin cancer and methotrexate. Therefore, health care professionals should be aware of this possible risk and may consider monitoring any signs or symptoms of skin cancer in patients treated with methotrexate.

Keywords: methotrexate, skin cancer, signal detection, pharmacovigilance

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Authors: Abel Edeowede Abhulimen

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Due to supply irregularity and frequent outages, the need for reliability in power supply has grown unsatisfactorily over time in developing nations, impeding industrialization and fueling insecurity. This article attempts to break down the Nigerian power issue into its numerous sub-sectors in order to pinpoint the industry's ailment and suggest a viable fix. Monthly average performance data were obtained for the various sub-sectors across the industry for eight consecutive quarters. Whereas the amount of energy generated was found to be insufficient to engender industrialization in a nation like Nigeria, the transmission infrastructure was inadequate for the amount of power needed to be wheeled. Additionally, the distribution sub-sector was plagued with problems such as revenue collection inefficiency, severe enough to impede the growth of the entire industry. The country's goal of attaining energy sufficiency and industrialization would significantly be closer to reality with a conscious effort to increase the base of power generation through aggressive investment in Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT), decentralization of the transmission infrastructure, and strict monitoring of the distribution sub-sector for improved accountability and system reliability.

Keywords: performance, power industry, industrialization, security, energy

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Authors: Hanane Belayachi, Fadila Nemchi, Amel Belayachi, Sarra Bourahla, Mostefa Belhakem

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In this work, two photocatalytic processes for the degradation of phenol in water are presented. The first one is extensive (EP), which is carried out in a treatment chain of two steps, allowing the adsorption of the pollutant by a naturally activated carbon from the grapes. This operation is followed by a photocatalytic degradation of the residual phenol in the presence of TiO₂. The second process is intensive (IP) and is realized in one step in the presence of a hybrid photocatalytic nanomaterial prepared from naturally activated carbon and TiO₂. The evaluation of the two processes, EP and IP, is based on the analytical monitoring of the initial and final parameters of the water to be treated, i.e., the phenol concentration by liquid phase chromatography (HPLC) and total organic carbon (TOC). For both processes, the sampling was carried out every 10 min for 120 min of treatment time to measure the phenol concentrations. The elimination and degradation rates in the case of the intensive process are better than the extensive process. In both processes, the catechol molecule was detected as an under product of degradation. In the IP case, this intermediate phenol was totally eliminated, and only traces of catechol persisted in the water.

Keywords: photocatalysis, hybrid, activated carbon, phenol

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Authors: Pajaree Donkhampa, Fuangfa Unob

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Ceftazidime is an antibiotic drug commonly used to treat several human and veterinary infections. However, the presence of ceftazidime residues in the environment may induce microbial resistance and cause side effects to humans. Therefore, monitoring the level of ceftazidime in environmental resources is important. In this work, a melamine foam platform was proposed for simultaneous extraction and colorimetric detection of ceftazidime based on the azo dye formation on the surface. The melamine foam was chemically modified with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Ceftazidime is a sample that was extracted on the PEI-modified melamine foam and further reacted with nitrite in an acidic medium to form an intermediate diazonium ion. The diazotized molecule underwent an azo coupling reaction with chromotropic acid to generate a red-colored compound. The material color changed from pale yellow to pink depending on the ceftazidime concentration. The photo of the obtained material was taken by a smartphone camera and the color intensity was determined by Image J software. The material fabrication and ceftazidime extraction and detection procedures were optimized. The detection of a sub-ppm level of ceftazidime was achieved without using a complex analytical instrument.

Keywords: colorimetric detection, ceftazidime, melamine foam, extraction, azo dye

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Authors: Yosra Mefteh Rekik

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A computational agent-based model of financial markets stresses interactions and dynamics among a very diverse set of traders. The growing body of research in this area relies heavily on computational tools which by-pass the restrictions of an analytical method. The main goal of this research is to understand how the stock market operates and behaves how to invest in the stock market and to study traders’ behavior within the context of the artificial stock markets populated by heterogeneous agents. All agents are characterized by adaptive learning behavior represented by the Artificial Neuron Networks. By using agent-based simulations on artificial market, we show that the existence of heterogeneous agents can explain the price dynamics in the financial market. We investigate the relation between market diversity and market efficiency. Our empirical findings demonstrate that greater market heterogeneity play key roles in market efficiency.

Keywords: agent-based modeling, artificial stock market, heterogeneous expectations, financial stylized facts, computational finance

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Authors: Gouga Hadjer, Djerdali Sofia, Benssaci Ettayeb

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In order to estimate the evolution of the numbers of the aquatic avifauna and their seasonal variations in Sebkhet of Bazer-Sakhra (Site of the eco-complex wetlands of Setif) a monitoring realized during the period from September 2012 to August 2013 allowed to inventory 54 species are spread over 08 orders, 15 families, 34 genres. To follow the global dynamics and the seasonal distribution of species inventoried at Sebkhet Bazer, an analysis of the variation of the total workforce has been established by ecological indices. The autumn season includes the largest number of birds, it totals 3639 individuals. Accidental species are well represented at the autumn and spring seasons denote the interest of the site with respect to migration passages of aquatic birds. During the fall and spring, the Flamingo and the Belon Shelduck are the most abundant with respectively (500, 883) and (560, 1296) individuals. The ecological analysis of this stand showed us that the highest species richness is recorded in spring, (45 species) and the lowest value is obtained in summer it is 20 species.

Keywords: Sebkhet of BazerSakra, ecology, aquatic avifauna, biodiversity, seasonal evolution, wetland

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Authors: Bruno Vilić Belina, Ivan Župan

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Smart industry concepts and digital transformation are very popular in many industries. They develop their own digital platforms, which have an important role in innovations and transactions. The main idea of smart industry digital platforms is central data collection, industrial data integration, and data usage for smart applications and services. This paper presents the development of a digital platform for building critical infrastructure protection systems in smart industries. Different service contraction modalities in service level agreements (SLAs), customer relationship management (CRM) relations, trends, and changes in business architectures (especially process business architecture) for the purpose of developing infrastructural production and distribution networks, information infrastructure meta-models and generic processes by critical infrastructure owner demanded by critical infrastructure law, satisfying cybersecurity requirements and taking into account hybrid threats are researched.

Keywords: cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, smart industries, digital platform

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Authors: Taha Benarbia, Kay W. Axhausen, Anugrah Ilahi

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Electric car sharing system as ecologic transportation increasing in the world. The complexity of managing electric car sharing systems, especially one-way trips and battery autonomy have direct influence to on supply and demand of system. One must be able to precisely model the demand and supply of these systems to better operate electric car sharing and estimate its effect on mobility management and the accessibility that it provides in urban areas. In this context, our work focus to develop performances optimization model of the system based on discrete event simulation and stochastic Petri net. The objective is to search optimal decisions and management parameters of the system in order to fulfil at best demand while minimizing undesirable situations. In this paper, we present new model of electric cars sharing with relocation based on monitoring system. The proposed approach also help to precise the influence of battery charging level on the behaviour of system as important decision parameter of this complex and dynamical system.

Keywords: electric car-sharing systems, smart mobility, Petri nets modelling, discrete event simulation

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Authors: K. Alese Boniface, K. Adu Michael

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Cybercrime is now becoming a big challenge in Nigeria apart from the traditional crime. Inability to identify perpetrators is one of the reasons for the growing menace. This paper proposes a design for monitoring internet users’ activities in order to curbing cybercrime. It requires redefining the operations of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which will now mandate users to be authenticated before accessing the internet. In implementing this work which can be adapted to a larger scale, a virtual router application is developed and configured to mimic a real router device. A sign-up portal is developed to allow users to register with the ISP. The portal asks for identification information which will include bio-data and government issued identification data like National Identity Card number, et cetera. A unique username and password are chosen by the user to enable access to the internet which will be used to reference him to an Internet Protocol Address (IP Address) of any system he uses on the internet and thereby associating him to any criminal act related to that IP address at that particular time. Questions such as “What happen when another user knows the password and uses it to commit crime?” and other pertinent issues are addressed.

Keywords: cybercrime, sign-up portal, internet service provider (ISP), internet protocol address (IP address)

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Authors: Hala A. Hassan, Vasiliki K. Tsiouri, Konstantinos E. Konstantinos

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Fugitive particulate matter (PM) is a major source of airborne pollution in the Middle East countries. The meteorological conditions and topography of the area make it highly susceptible to wind-blown particles which raise many air quality concerns. Air quality tools such as field monitoring, emission factors, and dispersion modeling have been used in previous research studies to analyze the release and impacts of fugitive PM in the region. However, these tools have been originally developed based on experiments made for European and North American regions. In this work, an experimental campaign was conducted on April-May 2014 in a construction site in Doha city, Qatar. The ultimate goal is to evaluate the applicability of the existing emission factors for construction sites in dry and arid areas like the Middle East. This publication was made possible by a NPRP award [NPRP 7-649-2-241] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.

Keywords: particulate matter, emissions, fugitive, construction, air pollution

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Authors: Isabel Jones

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As adolescence is a formative time, experiences during adolescence often affect the rest of one’s life. Therefore, dating, specifically violence in dating, can have lasting effects on the rest of one’s life. In order to find sources, searches were conducted on PsycINFO, specifically EBSCO, and narrowed down under the criteria that the source contained information about adolescent dating violence rather than adult, and focused on causes, effects, or prevention methods. This literature review examines research regarding the effects and causes of TDV, and then what methods are effective in the prevention of TDV development. This will allow for a clear image of how these prevention methods are effective and why they are important. Effects of TDV extend beyond the physical, including psychological and sexual long-lasting effects. These are caused by a number of concepts, including learned behavior, inhibitory issues/substance abuse, and cultural factors. When both of these are taken into account, preventative measures such as school-based interventions, parental/adult monitoring, and the presence of positive family examples are more clear as to their effectiveness. This literature review may provide further awareness to this public health crisis and give the public a view of how adolescents are affected by TDV on their path from child to adult.

Keywords: adolescence, dating violence, risk factors, predictors, relationship

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Authors: A. Assif

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This paper presents the modeling of a prototype distribution static compensator (D-STATCOM) for voltage sag and swell mitigation in an unbalanced distribution system. Here the concept that an inverter can be used as generalized impedance converter to realize either inductive or capacitive reactance has been used to mitigate power quality issues of distribution networks. The D-STATCOM is here supposed to replace the widely used StaticVar Compensator (SVC). The scheme is based on the Voltage Source Converter (VSC) principle. In this model PWM based control scheme has been implemented to control the electronic valves of VSC. Phase shift control Algorithm method is used for converter control. The D-STATCOM injects a current into the system to mitigate the voltage sags. In this paper the modeling of D¬STATCOM has been designed using MATLAB SIMULINIC. Accordingly, simulations are first carried out to illustrate the use of D-STATCOM in mitigating voltage sag in a distribution system. Simulation results prove that the D-STATCOM is capable of mitigating voltage sag as well as improving power quality of a system.

Keywords: D-STATCOM, voltage sag, voltage source converter (VSC), phase shift control

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Authors: Ch. Sandeep Kumar Subudhi, S. Sivanandam

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Our system is to monitor the human body temperature, blood pressure (BP), Pulse Rate and ECG and tracking the patient location. In our system the body temperature is detected by using LM35 temperature sensor, blood pressure is detected by the BP sensor, pulse rate is detected by the ear plug pulse sensor and the ECG is detected by the three lead ECG sensor in the working environment of the patient. The sensed information is sent to the PIC16F877 microcontroller through signal conditioning circuit. A desired amount of sensor value is set and if it is exceeded preliminary steps should be taken by indication by buzzer. The sensor information will be transmitted from the patient unit to the main controller unit with the help of Zigbee communication medium which is connected with the microcontrollers in the both units. The main controller unit will send those sensor data as well as the location of that patient by the help of GPS module to the observer/doctor. The observer/doctor can receive the SMS sent by GSM module and further decision can be taken. The message is sent to a cell phone using global system mobile (GSM) Modem. MAX232 acts as a driver between microcontroller and modem.

Keywords: LM35, heart beat sensor, ECG Sensor, BP Sensor, Zigbee module, GSM module, GPS module, PIC16F877A microcontroller

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Authors: Awal Liman Sale

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The world is fast becoming a global village; and a necessary tool for this process is communication, of which telecommunication is a key player. The quantum development is very rapid as one innovation replaces another in a matter of weeks. Interconnected phone calls across the different Nigerian Telecom service providers are mostly difficult to connect and often diverted, incurring unnecessary charges on the customers. This compels the consumers to register and use multiple subscriber information modules (SIM) so that they can switch to another if one fails. This study aims to identify and prioritize the key factors in selecting telecom service providers by subscribers in Nigeria using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in order to match the factors with the GSM network providers and create a hierarchical structure. Opinions of 400 random subscribers of different service providers will be sought using the questionnaire. In general, four components and ten sub-components will be examined in this study. After determining the weight of these components, the importance of each in choosing the service will be prioritized in Nigeria.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, global village, Nigerian telecommunication, subscriber information modules

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Authors: G. M. Komba

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The Internet Gateway (IGW) has extra ability than a simple Mesh Router (MR) and the responsibility to route mostly the all traffic from Mesh Clients (MCs) to the Internet backbone however, IGWs are more expensive. Choosing strategic locations for the Internet Gateways (IGWs) best location in Backbone Wireless Mesh (BWM) precarious to the Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) and the location of IGW can improve a quantity of performance related problem. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm, namely New Gateway Location Algorithm (NGLA), which aims to achieve four objectives, decreasing the network cost effective, minimizing delay, optimizing the throughput capacity, Different from existing algorithms, the NGLA increasingly recognizes IGWs, allocates mesh routers (MRs) to identify IGWs and promises to find a feasible IGW location and install minimum as possible number of IGWs while regularly conserving the all Quality of Service (QoS) requests. Simulation results showing that the NGLA outperforms other different algorithms by comparing the number of IGWs with a large margin and it placed 40% less IGWs and 80% gain of throughput. Furthermore the NGLA is easy to implement and could be employed for BWM.

Keywords: Wireless Mesh Network, Gateway Location Algorithm, Quality of Service, BWM

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Authors: M. Taouzari, A. Sardi, J. El Aoufi, Ahmed Mouhsen

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The purpose of this work is to design a reader antenna fed by 90° hybrid coupler that would ensure a tag which is detected regardless of its orientation for the radio frequency identification system covering the UHF and ISM bands frequencies. Based on this idea, the proposed work is dividing in two parts, first part is about study and design hybrid coupler using the resonators planar called T-and Pi networks operating in commercial bands. In the second part, the proposed antenna fed by the hybrid coupler is designed on FR4 substrate with dielectric permittivity 4.4, thickness dielectric 1.6mm and loss tangent 0.025. The T-slot is inserted in patch of the proposed antenna fed by the hybrid coupler is first designed, optimized and simulated using electromagnetic simulator ADS and then simulated in a full wave simulation software CST Microwave Studio. The simulated antenna by the both softwares achieves the expected performances in terms of matching, pattern radiation, phase shifting, gain and size.

Keywords: dual band antenna, RFID, hybrid coupler, polarization, radiation pattern

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Authors: Olokode Enitan Aishat

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People can perform to the best of their abilities and produce the highest-quality work most effectively and efficiently with the aid of performance management tools. The performance, goal-setting, activation, monitoring, measurement, and evaluation aspects of hospitality operations are key. The hospitality industry, the investors, and management would become irrelevant without performance since the industry would no longer be viable. The goal of this study is to elucidate the quandary for both management and investor, which derives from an intrinsic perspective in which both parties seek to reach and exceed goals while maximizing returns on investment. The desire for achievement and a return on investment is a major conundrum for all parties concerned. It is envisaged that there would be returns on the investments and expenses made in maintaining hospitality facilities with human resources. Secondary research was used to develop the theoretical framework. A random sample of respondents from hotels employee and investors within the city of Abuja was used to collect data, which was then analyzed using SPSS. This study confirms the validity of simple and straightforward common misunderstandings and provides tried and tested strategies for understanding and working together as a team among managers and owners in a business, as this would guarantee a return for business owners and management.

Keywords: performance management, hospitality industry, conflict, alignment of key performance indicator

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Mohamed E. Abdelrahamn, Mahmoud Aly Hassan, Mohamed Sarhan

Abstract:

Subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS) is a common shoulder disorder. Patients often complain from a decrease in electromyography (EMG) activity of the rotator cuff muscles especially the supraspinatus muscle during glenohumeral elevation. Objective: The purpose of the study is to assess the effect of applying 50% of maximum voluntary contraction of hand grip strength on the EMG activity of the shoulder muscles in patients with SIS. Methods: Thirty male and female patients participated in this study. Their ages ranged from 25 to 40 years. EMG activity of supraspinatus muscle and middle deltoid muscle was assessed without and with applying 50% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Results: A significant difference was found for both supraspinatus and middle deltoid muscles, indicating that the gripping resulted in increasing muscle activity. Conclusion: Applying 50% MVC of hand grip strength could increase the supraspinatus and middle deltoid muscles activity in patients of SIS. This might be useful in the development and monitoring of shoulder rehabilitation strategies.

Keywords: electromyography, supraspinatus muscle, deltoid muscle, subacromial impingement syndrome

Procedia PDF Downloads 303

Authors: Reem I. Altamimi, Geoff D. Skinner

Abstract:

Extended periods engaged in sedentary behavior increases the risk of becoming overweight and/or obese which is linked to other health problems. Adding technology to the term ‘active living’ permits its inclusion in promoting and facilitating habitual physical activity. Technology can either act as a barrier to, or facilitate this lifestyle, depending on the chosen technology. Physical Activity Monitoring Technologies (PAMTs) are a popular example of such technologies. Different contemporary PAMTs have been evaluated based on customer reviews; however, there is a lack of published experimental research into the efficacy of PAMTs. This research aims to investigate the reliability of four PAMTs: two wristbands (Fitbit Flex and Jawbone UP), a waist-clip (Fitbit One), and a mobile application (iPhone Health Application) for recording a specific distance walked on a treadmill (1.5km) at constant speed. Physical activity tracking technologies are varied in their recordings, even while performing the same activity. This research demonstrates that Jawbone UP band recorded the most accurate distance compared to Fitbit One, Fitbit Flex, and iPhone Health Application.

Keywords: Fitbit, jawbone up, mobile tracking applications, physical activity tracking technologies

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

Authors: R. Rajabpour, N. Talebbeydokhti, M. H. Ahmadi

Abstract:

In recent years, new techniques for solving complex problems in engineering are proposed. One of these techniques is JPSO algorithm. With innovative changes in the nature of the jump algorithm JPSO, it is possible to construct a graph-based solution with a new algorithm called G-JPSO. In this paper, a new algorithm to solve the optimal control problem Fletcher-Powell and optimal control of pumps in water distribution network was evaluated. Optimal control of pumps comprise of optimum timetable operation (status on and off) for each of the pumps at the desired time interval. Maximum number of status on and off for each pumps imposed to the objective function as another constraint. To determine the optimal operation of pumps, a model-based optimization-simulation algorithm was developed based on G-JPSO and JPSO algorithms. The proposed algorithm results were compared well with the ant colony algorithm, genetic and JPSO results. This shows the robustness of proposed algorithm in finding near optimum solutions with reasonable computational cost.

Keywords: G-JPSO, operation, optimization, pumping station, water distribution networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 401

Authors: Hadeer M. Sayed, Hesham E. El Deeb, Shereen A. Taie

Abstract:

In the big data era, we are facing a diversity of datasets from different sources in different domains that describe a single life event. These datasets consist of multiple modalities, each of which has a different representation, distribution, scale, and density. Multimodal fusion is the concept of integrating information from multiple modalities in a joint representation with the goal of predicting an outcome through a classification task or regression task. In this paper, multimodal fusion techniques are classified into two main classes: model-agnostic techniques and model-based approaches. It provides a comprehensive study of recent research in each class and outlines the benefits and limitations of each of them. Furthermore, the audiovisual speech recognition task is expressed as a case study of multimodal data fusion approaches, and the open issues through the limitations of the current studies are presented. This paper can be considered a powerful guide for interested researchers in the field of multimodal data fusion and audiovisual speech recognition particularly.

Keywords: multimodal data, data fusion, audio-visual speech recognition, neural networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 112