Search results for: security threat

Authors: Prabhakar C. Dhavale, Meenakshi M. Pawar

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In this paper, everyday tons of data is embedded on digital media or distributed over the internet. The data is so distributed that it can easily be replicated without error, putting the rights of their owners at risk. Even when encrypted for distribution, data can easily be decrypted and copied. One way to discourage illegal duplication is to insert information known as watermark, into potentially valuable data in such a way that it is impossible to separate the watermark from the data. These challenges motivated researchers to carry out intense research in the field of watermarking. A watermark is a form, image or text that is impressed onto paper, which provides evidence of its authenticity. Digital watermarking is an extension of the same concept. There are two types of watermarks visible watermark and invisible watermark. In this project, we have concentrated on implementing watermark in image. The main consideration for any watermarking scheme is its robustness to various attacks

Keywords: watermarking, digital, DCT-DWT, security

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Authors: Mengistu Gizaw Gawo, Bisrat Yoseph Gebrehiwot

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Petroleum fuels have become a threat to the world because of their toxic emissions. Besides, it is unknown how long they will last. The only known fact is that they are depleting rapidly and will not last long. So the world’s concern about finding environmentally friendly alternative fuels has increased recently. Hence alcohol fuels are found to be the most convenient alternatives to use in internal combustion engines. This research intends to introduce Ethiopian locally produced alcohol as an alternative in the blended form with gasoline to use in spark ignition engines. The traditionally distilled Arekie was purchased from a local producer and purified using fractional distillation. Then five Arekie-gasoline blends were prepared with the proportion of 5,10,15,20 and 25%v/v (A5, A10, A15, A20, and A25, respectively). Also, absolute ethanol was purchased from a local supplier, and ethanol-gasoline blends were prepared with a similar proportion as Arekie-gasoline blends (E5, E10, E15, E20, and E25). Then an experiment was conducted on a single-cylinder, 4-stroke, spark-ignition engine running at a constant speed of 2500 rpm and variable loads to investigate the performance and emission characteristics. Results showed that the performance and emission parameters are significantly improved as the ratio of Arekie and ethanol in gasoline increases at all loads. Among all tested fuels, E20 exhibited better performance, and E25 exhibited better emission. A20 provided a slightly lower performance than E20 but was much improved compared to pure gasoline. A25 provided comparable emissions with E25 and was much better than pure gasoline. Generally, adding up to 20%v/v Ethiopian Arekie in gasoline could make a better, renewable alternative to spark ignition engines.

Keywords: alcohol fuels, alternative fuels, pollutant emissions, spark-ignition engine, Arekie-gasoline blends

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Authors: Reet Bishnoi

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Climate change poses a pressing global challenge, with far-reaching consequences for the planet's ecosystems and biodiversity. This abstract introduces the research topic, "Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity Hotspots: A Multidisciplinary Study," which delves into the intricate relationship between climate change and biodiversity in the world's most ecologically diverse regions. Biodiversity hotspots, characterized by their exceptionally high species richness and endemism, are under increasing threat due to rising global temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and other climate-related factors. This research employs a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating ecological, climatological, and conservationist methodologies to comprehensively analyze the effects of climate change on these vital regions. Through a combination of field research, climate modelling, and ecological assessments, this study aims to elucidate the vulnerabilities of biodiversity hotspots and understand how changes in temperature and precipitation are affecting the diverse species and ecosystems that inhabit these areas. The research seeks to identify potential tipping points, assess the resilience of native species, and propose conservation strategies that can mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on these critical regions. By illuminating the complex interplay between climate change and biodiversity hotspots, this research not only contributes to our scientific understanding of these issues but also informs policymakers, conservationists, and the public about the urgent need for coordinated efforts to safeguard our planet's ecological treasures. The outcomes of this multidisciplinary study are expected to play a pivotal role in shaping future climate policies and conservation practices, emphasizing the importance of protecting biodiversity hotspots for the well-being of the planet and future generations.

Keywords: climate change, biodiversity hotspots, ecological diversity, conservation, multidisciplinary study

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Authors: Amarpreet Singh, Kimi Manchanda

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Intended for providing the security in the VANETS (Vehicular Ad hoc Network) scenario, the covert storage channel is implemented through data transmitted between the sender and the receiver. Covert channels are the logical links which are used for the communication purpose and hiding the secure data from the intruders. This paper refers to the Establishment of bit selective mode covert storage channels in VANETS. In this scenario, the data is being transmitted with two modes i.e. the normal mode and the covert mode. During the communication between vehicles in this scenario, the controlling of bits is possible through the optional bits of IPV6 Header Format. This implementation is fulfilled with the help of Network simulator.

Keywords: covert mode, normal mode, VANET, OBU, on-board unit

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Authors: A. Bensaid, T. Mostephaoui, R. Nedjai

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A considerable area of Algerian lands is threatened by the phenomenon of wind erosion. For a long time, wind erosion and its associated harmful effects on the natural environment have posed a serious threat, especially in the arid regions of the country. In recent years, as a result of increases in the irrational exploitation of natural resources (fodder) and extensive land clearing, wind erosion has particularly accentuated. The extent of degradation in the arid region of the Algerian Mecheria department generated a new situation characterized by the reduction of vegetation cover, the decrease of land productivity, as well as sand encroachment on urban development zones. In this study, we attempt to investigate the potential of remote sensing and geographic information systems for detecting the spatial dynamics of the ancient dune cords based on the numerical processing of LANDSAT images (5, 7, and 8) of three scenes 197/37, 198/36 and 198/37 for the year 2020. As a second step, we prospect the use of geospatial techniques to monitor the progression of sand dunes on developed (urban) lands as well as on the formation of sandy accumulations (dune, dunes fields, nebkha, barkhane, etc.). For this purpose, this study made use of the semi-automatic processing method for the dynamic segmentation of images with very high spatial resolution (SENTINEL-2 and Google Earth). This study was able to demonstrate that urban lands under current conditions are located in sand transit zones that are mobilized by the winds from the northwest and southwest directions.

Keywords: land development, GIS, segmentation, remote sensing

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Authors: Priyal Sepaha

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A refugee crisis is manifested by challenges, both for the refugees and the asylum giving state. The situation turns into a mega-crisis when the situation is prejudicially handled by the home state, inappropriate refugee laws, exploding refugee population, and above all, no hope of any foreseeable solution or remedy. This paper studies the impact on the capability of stateless Rohingyas to migrate and seek refuge due to the enforcement of rigid criteria of movement imposed both by Myanmar as well as the adjoining countries in the name of national security. This theoretical study identifies the issues and the key factors and players which have precipitated the crisis. It further discusses the possible ramifications in the home, asylum giving, and the adjoining countries for not discharging their roles aptly. Additionally, an attempt has been made to understand the scarce response given to the impending crisis by the regional organizations like SAARC, ASEAN and CHOGAM as well as international organizations like United Nations Human Rights Council, Security Council, Office of High Commissioner for Refugees and so on, in the name of inadequacy of monetary funds and physical resources. Based on the refugee laws and practices pertaining to the case of Rohingyas, this paper analyses that the Rohingya Crisis is in dire need of an effective action plan to curb and resolve the biggest humanitarian crisis situation of the century. This mounting human tragedy can be mitigated permanently, by strengthening existing and creating new interdependencies among all stakeholders, as further ignorance can drive the countries of the Indian Sub-continent, in particular, and South East Asia, by and large into a violent civil war for seizing long-awaited civil rights by the marginalized Rohingyas. To curb this mass crisis, it will require the application of coercive pressure and diplomatic pursuance on the home country to acknowledge the rights of its fleeing citizens. This further necessitates mustering adequate monetary funds and physical resources for the asylum providing state. Additional challenges such as devising mechanisms for the refugee’s safe return, comprehensive planning for their holistic economic development and rehabilitation plan are needed. These, however, can only come into effect with a conscious strive by the regional and international community to fulfil their assigned role.

Keywords: asylum, citizenship, crisis, humanitarian, human rights, refugee, rohingya

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Authors: Kajal Attri

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Introduction: Transgender people are considered third gender in India, although they still face identification issues and alienated from society. Furthermore, they face several challenges, including discrimination in employment, resources, education, and property as a result, most transgender people make a living through begging at traffic lights, trains, and buses; attending auspicious occasions such as childbirth and weddings; and engaging in sex work, which includes both home-based and street-based sex work. During COVID-19, maintaining social distance exacerbates transgender people's circumstances and prevents them from accessing health care services, sexual reassignment surgery, identity-based resources, government security, and financial stability. Nonetheless, the pandemic raised unfavorable attitudes about transgender persons, such as unsupportive family members and trouble forming emotional relationships. This study focuses on how we missed transgender people during COVID-19 to provide better facilities to cope with this situation when they are already the most vulnerable segment of the society. Methodology: The research was conducted using secondary data from published publications and grey literature obtained from four databases: Pubmed, Psychinfo, Science direct, and Google scholar. The literature included total 25 articles that met the inclusion criteria for a review. Result and Discussion: Transgender people, who are considered the most vulnerable sector of society, have already faced several obstacles as a result of the outbreak. The analysis underscores the difficulties that transgender persons faced during COVID-19, such as, They had trouble accessing the government's social security programmes during the lockdown, which provide rations and pensions since they lack the necessary identifying cards. The impact of COVID-19 leaves transgender people at heightened risk of poverty and ill health because they exist on the margins of society, those livelihood base on sex work, begging, and participation on auspicious occasions. They had a significant risk of contracting SARS-CoV2 because they lived in congested areas or did not have permanent shelter, and they were predominantly infected with HIV, cancer, and other non-communicable illnesses. The pandemic raised unfavorable attitudes about transgender persons, such as unsupportive family members and trouble forming emotional relationships. Conclusion: The study comes forward with useful suggestions based on content analysis and information to reduce the existing woes of transgenders during any pandemic like COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19, transgender, lockdown, transwomen, stigmatization

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Authors: Saadia Drissi

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The cloud computing is an innovative paradigm that introduces several changes in technology that have resulted a new ways for cloud providers to deliver their services to cloud consumers mainly in term of security risk assessment, thus, adapting a current risk assessment tools to cloud computing is a very difficult task due to its several characteristics that challenge the effectiveness of risk assessment approaches. As consequence, there is a need of risk assessment model adapted to cloud computing. This paper requires a new risk assessment model based on multi-agent system and AHP model as fundamental steps towards the development of flexible risk assessment approach regarding cloud consumers.

Keywords: cloud computing, risk assessment model, multi-agent system, AHP model, cloud consumer

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Authors: Yemane Kahsay Berhe

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The multipurpose cactus pear plant with great potential as a source of food and livestock feed faced a threat from Dactylopius spp in different countries. Specifically, D. coccus is an important pest damaging significant areas in Tigray-Ethiopia. Using pest-resistant cultivars is an important element of an integrated pest management strategy, and studying the mechanisms of resistance is vital. It can be chemical or physical, such as oxalate crystals and other cladode characteristics. Cladode features of six cultivars (three O. ficus-indica, two O. cochenillifera, and one O. robusta) were examined for resistance to D. coccus in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. ‘Rojo Pelón’ (O. ficus-indica), ‘Robusta’ (O. robusta), and ‘Bioplástico’ (O. cochinillifera) are resistant cultivars; and ‘Atlixco’ and ‘Chicomostoc’ (O. ficus-indica) and ‘Nopalea’ (O. cochinillifera) are susceptible. Cultivars showed a significant difference in cladode weight in g, cladode length, cladode width, and cladode thickness in cm, where cladode thickness was higher in ‘Rojo Pelón’ followed by ‘Robusta’. Calcium oxalates number per mm was higher in ‘Bioplástico’ (20.7+2.08) followed by ‘Robusta’ (18.9+2.31) and ‘Rojo Pelón’ (15.9+0.34); and similarly, epidermis thickness found higher in ‘Bioplástico’ (0.21+0.032) and ‘Robusta’ (0.19+0.014), but similar with ‘Rojo Pelón’ (0.18+0.026). However, cuticle thickness didn’t show a difference among cultivars. Cladode thickness, calcium oxalates number, and epidermis thickness had positive correlations with resistance. These results demonstrate that calcium oxalates number and epidermis thickness might positively affect D. coccus resistance in O. ficus-indica. This feeding-barring role and the insect-plant interaction need to be studied.

Keywords: cactus pear, resiatnce, druses, epidermis thickness

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Authors: Khin Thanda Win, Chunying Zhang, Sanghyeob Lee

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Mildew resistance locus o (Mlo), a plant-specific gene family with seven-transmembrane (TM), plays an important role in plant resistance to powdery mildew (PM). PM caused by Podosphaera xanthii is a widespread plant disease and probably represents the major fungal threat for many Cucurbits. The recent Cucurbita maxima genome sequence data provides an opportunity to identify and characterize the MLO gene family in this species. Total twenty genes (designated CmaMLO1 through CmaMLO20) have been identified by using an in silico cloning method with the MLO gene sequences of Cucumis sativus, Cucumis melo, Citrullus lanatus and Cucurbita pepo as probes. These CmaMLOs were evenly distributed on 15 chromosomes of 20 C. maxima chromosomes without any obvious clustering. Multiple sequence alignment showed that the common structural features of MLO gene family, such as TM domains, a calmodulin-binding domain and 30 important amino acid residues for MLO function, were well conserved. Phylogenetic analysis of the CmaMLO genes and other plant species reveals seven different clades (I through VII) and only clade IV is specific to monocots (rice, barley, and wheat). Phylogenetic and structural analyses provided preliminary evidence that five genes belonged to clade V could be the susceptibility genes which may play the importance role in PM resistance. This study is the first comprehensive report on MLO genes in C. maxima to our knowledge. These findings will facilitate the functional analysis of the MLOs related to PM susceptibility and are valuable resources for the development of disease resistance in pumpkin.

Keywords: Mildew resistance locus o (Mlo), powdery mildew, phylogenetic relationship, susceptibility genes

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Authors: Ahmad Naqi

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Today, the passively controlled buildings are extensively becoming popular due to its excellent lateral load resistance circumstance. Typically, these buildings are enhanced with a damping device that has high market demand. Some manufacturer falsified the damping device parameter during the production to achieve the market demand. Therefore, this paper evaluates the seismic performance of buildings equipped with damping devices, which their parameter modified to simulate the falsified devices, intentionally. For this purpose, three benchmark buildings of 4-, 10-, and 20-story were selected from JSSI (Japan Society of Seismic Isolation) manual. The buildings are special moment resisting steel frame with oil damper in the longitudinal direction only. For each benchmark buildings, two types of structural elements are designed to resist the lateral load with and without damping devices (hereafter, known as Trimmed & Conventional Building). The target building was modeled using STERA-3D, a finite element based software coded for study purpose. Practicing the software one can develop either three-dimensional Model (3DM) or Lumped Mass model (LMM). Firstly, the seismic performance of 3DM and LMM models was evaluated and found excellent coincide for the target buildings. The simplified model of LMM used in this study to produce 66 cases for both of the buildings. Then, the device parameters were modified by ± 40% and ±20% to predict many possible conditions of falsification. It is verified that the building which is design to sustain the lateral load with support of damping device (Trimmed Building) are much more under threat as a result of device falsification than those building strengthen by damping device (Conventional Building).

Keywords: passive control system, oil damper, seismic assessment, lumped mass model

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Authors: Tshegofatso Rambau, Tonderai Muchenje

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Zero-day attacks (ZDA) are increasing day by day; there are many vulnerabilities in systems and software that date back decades. Companies keep discovering vulnerabilities in their systems and software and work to release patches and updates. A zero-day vulnerability is a software fault that is not widely known and is unknown to the vendor; attackers work very quickly to exploit these vulnerabilities. These are major security threats with a high success rate because businesses lack the essential safeguards to detect and prevent them. This study focuses on the factors and techniques that can help us detect zero-day attacks. There are various methods and techniques for detecting vulnerabilities. Various companies like edges can offer penetration testing and smart vulnerability management solutions. We will undertake literature studies on zero-day attacks and detection methods, as well as modeling approaches and simulations, as part of the study process.

Keywords: zero-day attacks, exploitation, vulnerabilities

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Authors: Mohamed Elkhouli

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This research sets out to identify some social factors or variables that may need to be controlled in order to decrease the volume of unemployed in Egypt. As well as, it comes to investigate the relationship between a set of social variables and unemployment issue in Egypt in the sake of determining the most important social variables influencing the rise of unemployed during the time series targeted (2002-2012). Highlighting the unemployment issue is becoming an increasingly important topic in all countries throughout the world resulting from expand their globalization efforts. In general, the study tries to determine what the most social priorities are likely to adopt seriously by the Egypt's government in order to solve the unemployed problem. The results showed that the low value for both of small projects and the total value of disbursed social security respectively have significant impact on increasing the No. of unemployed in Egypt, according to the target period by the current study.

Keywords: Egypt, social status, unemployment, unemployed

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Authors: Chibuzo Okoye Daniels, Gillian Glegg, Lynda Rodwell

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The continuously growing quantity of very slow degrading litter deliberately discarded into the coastal waters around Lagos as marine debris is obvious. What is not known is how to tackle this problem to reduce its prevalence and impact on the environment, economy and community. To identify ways of tackling the marine debris problem two case study areas (Ikoyi and Victoria Islands of Lagos State) were used to assess the root causes, the threat posed by marine debris in the coastal waters around Lagos and the efficacy of current instruments, programmes and initiatives that address marine debris in the study areas. The following methods were used: (1) Self-completed questionnaires for households and businesses within the study areas; (2) Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders; (3) Observational studies of waste management from collection to disposal and waste management facilities for waste originating from land and maritime sources; (4) Beach surveys and marine debris surveys on shorelines and ports; and (5) Fishing for marine debris. Results of this study identified the following root causes: (1) Indiscriminate human activities and behaviors, and lack of awareness on the part of the main stakeholders and the public of the potential consequences of their actions; (2) Poor solid waste management practices; (3) Lack of strict legal frameworks addressing waste and marine debris problem; and (4) Disposal of non-degradable wastes into domestic sewer system and open streets drains. To effectively tackle marine debris problem in the study areas, adequate, appropriate and cost effective solutions to the above mentioned root causes needs to be identified and effectively transferred for implementation in the study areas.

Keywords: marine debris problem, Lagos state, litter, coastal waters

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Authors: Neha Verma, Manik Rakhra

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Statement of the Problem: Nowadays, a tremendous increase in population and advanced industrialization augment the problems related to air and water pollutions. Growing industries promoting environmental danger, which is an alarming threat to the ecosystem. For safeguard, the environment, detection of perilous gases and release of colored wastewater is required for eutrophication pollution. Researchers around the globe are trying their best efforts to save the environment. For this remediation advanced oxidation process is used for potential applications. ZnO is an important semiconductor photocatalyst with high photocatalytic and gas sensing activities. For efficient photocatalytic and gas sensing properties, it is necessary to prepare a doped/co-doped ZnO compound to decrease the electron-hole recombination rates. However, lanthanide doped and co-doped metal oxide is seldom studied for photocatalytic and gas sensing applications. The purpose of this study is to describe the best photocatalyst for the photodegradation of dyes and gas sensing properties. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Economical framework has to be used for the synthesis of ZnO. In the depth literature survey, a simple combustion method is utilized for gas sensing and photocatalytic activities. Findings: Rare earth doped and co-doped ZnO nanoparticles were the best photocatalysts for photodegradation of organic dyes and different gas sensing applications by varying various factors such as pH, aging time, and different concentrations of doping and codoping metals in ZnO. Complete degradation of dye was observed only in min. Gas sensing nanodevice showed a better response and quick recovery time for doped/co-doped ZnO. Conclusion & Significance: In order to prevent air and water pollution, well crystalline ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by rapid and economic method, which is used as photocatalyst for photodegradation of organic dyes and gas sensing applications to sense the release of hazardous gases from the environment.

Keywords: ZnO, photocatalyst, photodegradation of dye, gas sensor

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Authors: Angeliki Vassila, Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos, Rania Rawashdeh, Nigel Hall, Najiha Rahman, Mark Fabian, Suresh Thulasidharan, Hossain Parwez

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Introduction: Necrotising scleritis is a severe form of scleritis and poses a significant threat to vision. It can manifest in various systemic autoimmune disorders, systemic vasculitis, or as a consequence of microbial infections. The objective of this study is to present a case of necrotizing scleritis associated with scleroderma, which was further complicated by a secondary Staphylococcus epidermidis infection. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis that examines the medical records of a patient who was hospitalised in the Eye Unit at University Hospital Southampton. Results: A 78-year-old woman presented at the eye casualty department of our unit with a two-week history of progressively worsening pain in her left eye. She received a diagnosis of necrotising scleritis and was admitted to the hospital for further treatment. It was decided to commence a three-day course of intravenous methylprednisolone followed by a tapering regimen of oral steroids. Additionally, a conjunctival swab was taken, and two days later, it revealed the presence of S. epidermidis, indicating a potential secondary infection. Given this finding, she was also prescribed topical (Ofloxacin 0.3% - four times daily) and oral (Ciprofloxacin 750mg – twice daily) antibiotics. The inflammation and symptoms gradually improved, leading to the patient being scheduled for a scleral graft and applying an amniotic membrane to cover the area of scleral thinning. Conclusions: Rheumatoid arthritis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis are the most commonly identifiable systemic diseases associated with necrotising scleritis. Although association with scleroderma is extremely rare, early identification and treatment are necessary to prevent scleritis-related complications.

Keywords: scleritis, necrotizing scleritis, scleroderma, autoimmune disease

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Authors: Monisha Isaac

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Use of molecular markers for selecting plants with desired traits has been started long back. Due to their heritable characteristics, they are useful for identification and characterization of specific genotypes. The study involves various types of molecular markers used to select multiple desired characters in plants, their properties, and advantages to improve crop productivity in adverse climatological conditions for the purpose of providing food security to fast-growing global population. The study shows that genetic similarities obtained from molecular markers provide more accurate information and the genetic diversity can be better estimated from the genetic relationship obtained from the dendrogram. The information obtained from markers assisted characterization is more suitable for the crops of economic importance like sugarcane.

Keywords: molecular markers, crop productivity, genetic diversity, genotype

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Authors: Armana Huq

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Railway networks have a significant role in the economy of any country. Similar to other transportation modes, many lives suffer from fatalities or injuries caused by accidents related to the railway. Railway accidents are not as common as roadway accidents yet they are more devastating and damaging than other roadway accidents. Despite that, issues related to railway accidents are not taken into consideration with significant attention as a major threat because of their less frequency compared to other accident categories perhaps. However, the Federal Railroad Administration reported nearly twelve thousand train accidents related to the railroad in the year 2014, resulting in more than eight hundred fatalities and thousands of injuries in the United States alone of which nearly one third fatalities resulted from railway crossing accidents. From an analysis of railway accident data of six years (2005-2010), it has been revealed that 344 numbers of the collision were occurred resulting 200 people dead and 443 people injured in Bangladesh. This paper includes a comprehensive overview of the railway safety situation in Bangladesh from 1998 to 2015. Each year on average, eight fatalities are reported in at-grade level crossings due to railway accidents in Bangladesh. In this paper, the number of railway accidents that occurred in Bangladesh has been presented and a fatality rate of 58.62% has been estimated as the percentage of total at-grade railway level crossing accidents. For this study, analysis of railway accidents in Bangladesh for the period 1998 to 2015 was obtained from the police reported accident database using MAAP (Microcomputer Accident Analysis Package). Investigation of the major contributing factors to the railway accidents has been performed using the Multinomial Logit model. Furthermore, hotspot analysis has been conducted using ArcGIS. Eventually, some suggestions have been provided to mitigate those accidents.

Keywords: safety, human factors, multinomial logit model, railway

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Authors: Moez Elsaadani, Noel Durand, Brice Sorli, Didier Montet

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Governments and international instances are trying to improve the food safety system to prevent, reduce or avoid the increase of food borne diseases. This food risk is one of the major concerns for the humanity. The contamination by mycotoxins is a threat to the health and life of humans and animals. One of the most common mycotoxin contaminating feed and foodstuffs is Ochratoxin A (OTA), which is a secondary metabolite, produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium strains. OTA has a chronic toxic effect and proved to be mutagenic, nephrotoxic, teratogenic, immunosuppressive, and carcinogenic. On the other side, because of their high stability, specificity, affinity, and their easy chemical synthesis, aptamer based methods are applied to OTA biosensing as alternative to traditional analytical technique. In this work, five aptamers have been tested to confirm qualitatively and quantitatively their binding with OTA. In the same time, three different analytical methods were tested and compared based on their ability to detect and quantify the OTA. The best protocol that was established to quantify free OTA from linked OTA involved an ultrafiltration method in green coffee solution with. OTA was quantified by HPLC-FLD to calculate the binding percentage of all five aptamers. One aptamer (The most effective with 87% binding with OTA) has been selected to be our biorecognition element to study its electrical response (variation of electrical properties) in the presence of OTA in order to be able to make a pairing with a radio frequency identification (RFID). This device, which is characterized by its low cost, speed, and a simple wireless information transmission, will implement the knowledge on the mycotoxins molecular sensors (aptamers), an electronic device that will link the information, the quantification and make it available to operators.

Keywords: aptamer, aptasensor, detection, Ochratoxin A

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Authors: Pablo Chico De Guzman, Cesar Sanchez

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Microservices are a software development methodology in which applications are built by composing a set of independently deploy-able, small, modular services. Each service runs a unique process and it gets instantiated and deployed in one or more machines (we assume that different microservices are deployed into different machines). Microservices are becoming the de facto standard for developing distributed cloud applications due to their reduced release cycles. In principle, the responsibility of a microservice can be as simple as implementing a single function, which can lead to the following issues: - Resource fragmentation due to the virtual machine boundary. - Poor communication performance between microservices. Two composition techniques can be used to optimize resource fragmentation and communication performance: aggregation and embedding of microservices. Aggregation allows the deployment of a set of microservices on the same machine using a proxy server. Aggregation helps to reduce resource fragmentation, and is particularly useful when the aggregated services have a similar scalability behavior. Embedding deals with communication performance by deploying on the same virtual machine those microservices that require a communication channel (localhost bandwidth is reported to be about 40 times faster than cloud vendor local networks and it offers better reliability). Embedding can also reduce dependencies on load balancer services since the communication takes place on a single virtual machine. For example, assume that microservice A has two instances, a1 and a2, and it communicates with microservice B, which also has two instances, b1 and b2. One embedding can deploy a1 and b1 on machine m1, and a2 and b2 are deployed on a different machine m2. This deployment configuration allows each pair (a1-b1), (a2-b2) to communicate using the localhost interface without the need of a load balancer between microservices A and B. Aggregation and embedding techniques are complex since different microservices might have incompatible runtime dependencies which forbid them from being installed on the same machine. There is also a security concern since the attack surface between microservices can be larger. Luckily, container technology allows to run several processes on the same machine in an isolated manner, solving the incompatibility of running dependencies and the previous security concern, thus greatly simplifying aggregation/embedding implementations by just deploying a microservice container on the same machine as the aggregated/embedded microservice container. Therefore, a wide variety of deployment configurations can be described by combining aggregation and embedding to create an efficient and robust microservice architecture. This paper presents a formal method that receives a declarative definition of a microservice architecture and proposes different optimized deployment configurations by aggregating/embedding microservices. The first prototype is based on i2kit, a deployment tool also submitted to ICWS 2018. The proposed prototype optimizes the following parameters: network/system performance, resource usage, resource costs and failure tolerance.

Keywords: aggregation, deployment, embedding, resource allocation

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Authors: Okike Benjamin, Garba E. J. D.

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The researcher has developed a new encryption technique known as Merged Irregular Transposition Cipher. In this cipher method of encryption, a message to be encrypted is split into parts and each part encrypted separately. Before the encrypted message is transmitted to the recipient(s), the positions of the split in the encrypted messages could be swapped to ensure more security. This work seeks to develop a model by considering the split number, S and the average number of characters per split, L as the message under consideration is split from 2 through 10. Again, after developing the model, the error level in the model would be determined.

Keywords: merged irregular transposition, error level, model estimation, message splitting

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Authors: Prakash Singh, Thembinkosi Twalo

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The sustainability of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), in South Africa, is being threatened by the reported cases of poor administration, weak management of resources, inappropriate job performance, and inappropriate job behaviour of some of the workers. Since the structural-functionalists assume that formal education is a solution to societal challenges, it therefore means that the BCMM should not be experiencing this threat since many of its workers have various levels of formal education. Consequently, this study using the mixed method research approach, set out to investigate the paradoxical co-existence of inappropriate job behaviour and performance with formal education at the BCMM. Considering the impact of human factors in the labour process, this study draws attention to the divergent objectives of skill and skill bearer, with the application of knowledge subject to the knowledge bearer’s motives, will, attitudes, ethics and values. Consequently, inappropriate job behaviour and performance practices could be due to numerous factors such as lack of the necessary capabilities or refusal to apply what has been learnt due to racial or other prejudices. The role of the human factor in the labour process is a serious omission in human capital theory, which regards schooling as the only factor contributing to the ability to do a job. For this reason this study’s theoretical framework is an amalgamation of the four theories - human capital, social capital, cultural capital, and reputation capital – in an effort to obtain a broader view of the factors that shape job behaviour and performance. Since it has been established that human nature plays a crucial role in how workers undertake their responsibilities, it is important that this be taken into consideration in the BCMM’s monitoring and evaluation of the workers’ job performance practices. Hence, this exploratory study brings to the fore, the effects of poor job performance practices on the job satisfaction of workers.

Keywords: human capital, poor job performance practices, service delivery, workers’ job satisfaction

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Authors: Shamatha Shetty, Sakshi Dhabadi, Prerana M., Indushree B.

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About 66% of firms claim that insider attacks are more likely to happen. The frequency of insider incidents has increased by 47% in the last two years. The goal of this work is to prevent dangerous employee behavior by using keyloggers and the Machine Learning (ML) model. Every keystroke that the user enters is recorded by the keylogging program, also known as keystroke logging. Keyloggers are used to stop improper use of the system. This enables us to collect all textual data, save it in a CSV file, and analyze it using an ML algorithm and the VirusTotal API. Many large companies use it to methodically monitor how their employees use computers, the internet, and email. We are utilizing the SVM algorithm and the VirusTotal API to improve overall efficiency and accuracy in identifying specific patterns and words to automate and offer the report for improved monitoring.

Keywords: cyber security, machine learning, cyclic process, email notification

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Authors: Carmen Rocio Fernandez Diaz

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the relevance of information and communication technologies (hereinafter referred as ‘ICTs’) as an essential part of the day-to-day life of all societies nowadays, as they offer the scenario where an immense number of behaviors are performed that previously took place in the physical world. In this context, areas of reality that have remained outside the so-called ‘information society’ are hardly imaginable. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify a means that continue to be behind this reality, and it is the penitentiary area regarding inmates rights, as security aspects in prison have already be improved by new technologies. Introducing ICTs in prisons is still a matter subject to great rejections. The study of comparative penitentiary systems worldwide shows that most of them use ICTs only regarding educational aspects of life in prison and that communications with the outside world are generally based on traditional ways. These are only two examples of the huge range of activities where ICTs can carry positive results within the prison. Those positive results have to do with the social reintegration of persons serving a prison sentence. Deprivation of liberty entails contact with the prison subculture and the harmful effects of it, causing in cases of long-term sentences the so-called phenomenon of ‘prisonization’. This negative effect of imprisonment could be reduced if ICTs were used inside prisons in the different areas where they can have an impact, and which are treated in this research, as (1) access to information and culture, (2) basic and advanced training, (3) employment, (4) communication with the outside world, (5) treatment or (6) leisure and entertainment. The content of all of these areas could be improved if ICTs were introduced in prison, as it is shown by the experience of some prisons of Belgium, United Kingdom or The United States. However, rejections to introducing ICTs in prisons obey to the fact that it could carry also risks concerning security and the commission of new offences. Considering these risks, the scope of this paper is to offer a real proposal to introduce ICTs in prison, trying to avoid those risks. This enterprise would be done to take advantage of the possibilities that ICTs offer to all inmates in order to start to build a life outside which is far from delinquency, but mainly to those inmates who are close to release. Reforming prisons in this sense is considered by the author of this paper an opportunity to offer inmates a progressive resettlement to live in freedom with a higher possibility to obey the law and to escape from recidivism. The value that new technologies would add to education, employment, communications or treatment to a person deprived of liberty constitutes a way of humanization of prisons in the 21st century.

Keywords: deprivation of freedom, information and communication technologies, imprisonment, social reintegration

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Authors: Benjamin Okike

Abstract:

There is a need to hide information along the superhighway. Today, information relating to the survival of individuals, organizations, or government agencies is transmitted from one point to another. Adversaries are always on the watch along the superhighway to intercept any information that would enable them to inflict psychological ‘injuries’ to their victims. But with information encryption, this can be prevented completely or at worst reduced to the barest minimum. There is no doubt that so many encryption techniques have been proposed, and some of them are already being implemented. However, adversaries always discover loopholes on them to perpetuate their evil plans. In this work, we propose the enhanced data encryption standard (EDES) that would deploy randomly generated numbers as an encryption method. Each time encryption is to be carried out, a new set of random numbers would be generated, thereby making it almost impossible for cryptanalysts to decrypt any information encrypted with this newly proposed method.

Keywords: encryption, enhanced data encryption, encryption techniques, information security

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Authors: H. El-Kamchouchi, Heba Gaber, Fatma Ahmed, Dalia H. El-Kamchouchi

Abstract:

Fault tolerance and data security are two important issues in modern communication systems. During the transmission of data between the sender and receiver, errors may occur frequently. Therefore, the sender must re-transmit the data to the receiver in order to correct these errors, which makes the system very feeble. To improve the scalability of the scheme, we present a proxy signature scheme with fault tolerance over an efficient and secure authenticated key agreement protocol based on the improved RSA system. Authenticated key agreement protocols have an important role in building a secure communications network between the two parties.

Keywords: fault tolerance, improved RSA, key agreement, proxy signature

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Authors: Lynn C. Jonas

Abstract:

The African continent is rich in coastal history, heritage, and culture, presenting immense potential for the development of maritime tourism. Shipping and its related components are generally associated with the maritime industry, and tourism’s link is to the various forms of nautical tourism. Activities may include cruising, yachting, visits to lighthouses, ports, harbors, and excursions to related sites of cultural, historical, or ecological significance. There have been hundreds of years of explorers leaving a string of shipwrecks along the various coastal areas on the continent in their pursuit of establishing trade routes between Europe, Africa, and the Far East. These shipwrecks present diving opportunities in artificial reefs and marine heritage to be explored in various ways in the maritime cultural zones. Along the South African coast, for example, six Portuguese shipwrecks highlight the Bartolomeu Dias legacy of exploration, and there are a number of warships in Tanzanian waters. Furthermore, decades of African countries being under colonized rule have left the continent with an intricate cultural heritage that is enmeshed in European language architecture interlinked with, in many instances, hard-fought independent littoral states. There is potential for coastal trails to be developed to follow these historical events as, at one point in history, France had colonized 35 African states, and subsequently, 32 African states were colonized by Britain. Countries such as Cameroon still have the legacy of Francophone versus Anglophone as a result of this shift in colonizers. Further to the colonized history of the African continent, there is an uncomfortable heritage of the slave trade history. To a certain extent, these coastal slave trade posts are being considered attractive to a niche tourism audience; however, there is potential for education and interpretive measures to grow this as a tourism product. Notwithstanding these potential opportunities, there are numerous challenges to consider, such as poor maritime infrastructure, maritime security concerns with issues such as piracy, transnational crimes including weapons and migrant smuggling, drug, and human trafficking. These and related maritime issues contribute to the concerns over the porous nature of African ocean gateways, adding to the security concerns for tourists. This theoretical paper will consider these trends and how they may contribute to the growth and development of maritime tourism on the African continent. African considerations of the growth potential of tourism in coastal and marine spaces are needed, particularly with a focus on embracing the continent's tumultuous past as part of its heritage. This has the potential to contribute to the creation of a sense of ownership of opportunities.

Keywords: coastal trade routes, maritime tourism, shipwrecks, slave trade routes

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Authors: Sara Seddiki, Maazouzi Abdelhak

Abstract:

The main objective of this modest work is to follow the physicochemical and bacteriological evolution of the wastewater from the town of Bechar subjected to purification by filtration according to various local supports, namely Sable and Terrill by reducing nuisances that undergo the receiving environment (Oued Bechar) and therefore make this water source reusable in different areas. The study first made it possible to characterize the urban wastewater of the Bechar wadi, which presents an environmental threat, thus allowing an estimation of the pollutant load, the chemical oxygen demand COD (145 mg / l) and the biological oxygen demand BOD5 (72 mg / l) revealed that these waters are less biodegradable (COD / BOD5 ratio = 0.62), have a fairly high conductivity (2.76 mS/cm), and high levels of mineral matter presented by chlorides and sulphates 390 and 596.1 mg / l respectively, with a pH of 8.1. The characterization of the sand dune (Beni Abbes) shows that quartz (97%) is the most present mineral. The granular analysis allowed us to determine certain parameters like the uniformity coefficient (CU) and the equivalent diameter, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations and X-ray analysis were performed. The study of filtered wastewater shows satisfactory and very encouraging treatment results, with complete elimination of total coliforms and streptococci and a good reduction of total aerobic germs in the sand and clay-sand filter. A good yield has been reported in the sand Terrill filter for the reduction of turbidity. The rates of reduction of organic matter in terms of the biological oxygen demand, in chemical oxygen demand recorded, are of the order of 60%. The elimination of sulphates is 40% for the sand filter.

Keywords: urban wastewater, filtration, bacteriological and physicochemical parameters, sand, Terrill, Oued Bechar

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Authors: J. De Witte, W. Schepers, L. Heylen, T. Van Regenmortel

Abstract:

Loneliness is increasingly considered a major public health threat. Feelings of severe loneliness negatively affect the social network, physical and mental health, mortality, and quality of life. Although loneliness is generally associated with old age, loneliness is of all ages, and young adults often have the highest risk of loneliness. Further, it is crucial to take the specific types of loneliness into account when studying and developing loneliness interventions. At the moment, little is known about how age interacts with this specific relation while taking into account various dimensions of loneliness (social, emotional, and existential) among adults of all ages. Nevertheless, it is crucial to take the life course perspective into account when studying the relation between loneliness and gender because research shows that several characteristics of the life course depend on gender. Therefore, this study investigates the relation between gender and different types of loneliness (social, emotional, and existential) among adults of all ages in Flanders, Belgium, while taking into account its interaction with age. In this respect, we make use of a representative large-scale survey conducted in 2024 among 3756 adults (18+) in Flanders, Belgium. Preliminary results show that the relation between gender and loneliness depends on the specific type of loneliness. For the youngest age group (18-25 years), we find, for example, no difference between men and women with respect to social loneliness, but women are significantly more emotionally lonely at that age period than men. Further, we find that there is no association between gender and loneliness for all age groups, except for young adults (25-34 years), where men are significantly more lonely than women, which is entirely explained by men being significantly more socially lonely than women. Knowledge about the specific relationship between gender and the different types of loneliness, which is dependent on age, is crucial when setting up interventions that aim to prevent or alleviate loneliness. Indeed, policymakers should always take into account the different types of loneliness when setting up loneliness interventions for a specific target group.

Keywords: adults, emotional loneliness, gender, loneliness, social loneliness

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Authors: Talha Sareshwala

Abstract:

The purpose of this research paper is to help entrepreneurs build an environment of trust, transparency and accountability necessary for fostering long term investment, financial stability and business integrity and to guide future Entrepreneurs into a promising future. The study presents a broader review on Corporate Governance, starting from its definition and antecedents. This is the most important aspect of ethical business. In fact, the 3 main pillars of corporate governance are: Transparency; Accountability; Security. The combination of these 3 pillars in running a company successfully and forming solid professional relationships among its stakeholders, which includes key managerial employees and, most important, the shareholders This paper is sharing an experience how an entrepreneur can act as a catalyst while ensuring them that ethics and transparency do pay in business when followed in true spirit and action.

Keywords: business, entrepreneur, ethics, governance, transparency.

Procedia PDF Downloads 75