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Combined atmospheric pressure plasma and UV surface functionalisation and diagnostics of nylon 6.6 fabrics
No full textThe purpose of this work is to functionalize and characterize the surface of nylon 6.6 fabrics by exposure to a novel atmospheric cold plasma coupled with ultraviolet (UV) excimer laser treatment. It was found that plasma/UV treatment does not significantly physically degrade or ablate fibre surfaces, but creates changes to surface chemistry in the form of additional functional groups (principally NH2 and COOH). These chemical surface changes are not easily analyzed with techniques such as FTIR-ATR, which was found to be too insensitive; therefore, a new low-temperature surface diagnostic dyeing method was developed, and the results of this compared with those from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Mechanisms for surface changes are proposed, in which surface free radicals are created by the plasma in the presence or absence of the laser, the characteristics of which depend on the atmosphere type and plasma power used. Radical production was observed through the use of a radical scavenger in combination with UV–vis spectroscopic analysis and by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR
Secure and sustainable predictive framework for IoT-based multimedia services using machine learning
No full textIn modern years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has gained tremendous growth and development in various sectors because of its scalability, self-configuring, and heterogeneous factors. It performs a vital role in improving multimedia communication and reducing production costs. The multimedia data consist of various types and formats (text, audio, videos, etc.), which are forwarded in the form of blocks of bits in the network layer of TCP/IP. Due to limited resources available to IoT-built devices, most of the Multimedia Internet of Things (MIoT)-based applications are delay constraints, especially for big data content. Similarly, multimedia-based applications are more vulnerable to security burdens and lower the trust of data processing. In this paper, we present a secure and sustainable prediction framework for MIoT data transmission using machine learning, which aims to offer intelligent behavior of the system with information protection. Firstly, the network edges exploit a regression analysis for a real-time multimedia routing scheme and achieve precise delivery towards the media servers. Secondly, an efficient and low-processing asymmetric process is proposed to provide secure data transmission between the IoT devices, edges, and data servers. Extensive experiments are performed over the OMNET++ network simulator, and its significance is achieved by an average for energy consumption by 71%, throughput by 30.5%, latency by 22%, bandwidth by 34.5%, packets overheads by 38.5%, computation time by 12.5%, and packet drop ratio by 35% in the comparison of existing schemes
Preliminary SEM observations on the surface of elastomeric impression materials after immersion or ozone disinfection
No full textIntroduction: Surface integrity of dental elastomeric impression materials that are subjected to disinfection is of major importance for the quality of the final prosthetic restorations.Aim: The aim of this qualitative Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) study was to reveal the effects of immersion or ozone disinfection on the surface of four dental elastomeric impression materials.Materials and Methods: Four dental elastomeric impression material brands were used (two vinyl polysiloxane silicones, one polyether, and one vinyl polyether silicone). Total of 32 specimens were fabricated, eight from each impression material. Specimens were immersion (0.525% sodium hypochlorite solution or 0.3% benzalkonium chloride solution) or ozone disinfected or served as controls and examined with SEM.Results: Surface degradation was observed on several specimens disinfected with 0.525% sodium hypochlorite solution.Similar wavy-wrinkling surface structures were observed in almost all specimens, when treated either with 0.3% benzalkonium chloride solution or ozone.Conclusion: The SEM images obtained from this study revealed that both immersion disinfectants and ozone show similar impression material surface alterations. Ozone seems to be non inferior as compared to immersion disinfectants, but superior as to environmental protectio
West African insurgents and religious conflict(s): causes, crimes and control – an evaluation of the role of ECOWAS
No full textInsurgency and religious conflict are one of the most serious challenges threatening world peace, inclusive of West African states. The causes of these conflicts vary across countries, with religious conflict in particular seeing accelerated increase within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region.These conflicts have gained the attention of conflict professionals from around the globe in recent years. So far, however, there has been little discussion about insurgency and religious conflict as a joint phenomenon, which has fallen short of investigating the causation, crimes and methods of control within the ECOWAS region, and from a policy perspective. This gap in knowledge has made it difficult for various stakeholders and experts to come up with an appropriate framework that will help curtail the escalating cases of extreme violence within the region.This research employed a qualitative approach and implemented eight stakeholder studies of a total of 21 participants, including four ECOWAS conflict resolution professionals; four religious leaders (Christian and Muslim); four law enforcement officers; two Peace and Conflict Institute professionals; four journalists in the area of peace and conflict reporting; one staff member from the United Nations Commission for Refugees; one staff member from the Nigerian Red Cross; and one staff member from the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency. These participants were selected as a result of their direct involvement with the research focus. The ECOWAS staff included those from the Regional Security Department, Early Response Department, Mediation and Dialogue Department, and Conflict Prevention Department, who were directly involved in developing and applying the conflict prevention and management framework for the ECOWAS Commission.Religious leaders included ministers of faith who were involved in delivering teaching to the religious faithful in their respective denominations. The law enforcement officers were from four separate institutions saddled with the responsibility of maintaining law and order within the society, in relation to the prevention of extreme violence. Data were collected using semi-structured face-to-face interviews; direct observation and document analysis; and archival records to provide empirical evidence of the causes, crimes and the role of ECOWAS in mitigating against insurgency and religious conflict within the region. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.A number of important conclusions were obtained from the collected data.Firstly, the results showed that whilst there are several definitions of insurgency and religious conflict, there was agreement amongst all stakeholders interviewed about the threat and crimes committed by these groups within the region. Secondly, several variables are responsible for the causation of this conflict that includes the economic, political, social and institutional dimensions. Thirdly, ECOWAS’s current conflict prevention and management framework is not being adequately implemented to meet the designed aim and objectives. Fourthly, the victims of these conflicts are facing a great number of human rights violations. Furthermore, the results revealed that some of the identified humanitarian challenges are causing new wars in the host communities, largely perpetuated by those fleeing their homes.The implications of the results are that ECOWAS and conflict management and prevention professionals should endeavour to understand the dynamics of insurgency and religious conflict, and as a result develop unique methods of addressing the conflict that focus on such dynamics. ECOWAS should engage its Member States and relevant stakeholders in developing a framework that is user friendly. ECOWAS should also place more emphasis on community stakeholders to improve security and the basic infrastructure within the Member States and communities, and set up a mechanism for tracking the progress and implementation rate of the relevant framework to raise the level of compliance and implementation
Family law challenges in a changing society : A critical evaluation of marriage, civil partnerships and the proposed changes regarding cohabitation in English and Welsh family law
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Internet of Things (IoT) to foster communication and information sharing
No full textIoT is a rapidly emerging technology in education that attracts researchers, students, and administrators. This chapter reviews the opportunities and challenges of the IoT to determine whether there are potential communication and information sharing cultures in higher education institutions (HEIs). Despite the findings revealing stakeholders' demand for a better collaborative learning environment and better information sharing capabilities, IoT has various security and interoperability concerns that present an unattractive prospect for HE stakeholders to embrace IoT. IoT has the potential to meet HEIs system expectations, though stakeholders remain distant toward embracing IoTs. This indicates that stakeholders are not ready to embrace IoTs, thus prompting the need to study why stakeholders are resistant towards the IoT
Understanding the coach’s role in identifying and meeting the motivations of soccer players.
No full textThe coach plays an important role in the type and quality of motivation exhibited by soccer players. However, limited research exists investigating if a coach is aware of the motivations held by their players. As such this study investigated the motivations of semi-elite soccer players taking part in club coaching sessions and identified if coaches were aware of these motivations. Using a qualitative approach with 21 adult soccer players and two soccer coaches, findings from this study highlight a dissonance is apparent between the coaches understanding of their player’s motivational climate and the soccer player’s motivation. Although the players express their motivation focused on the development of a collective social identity and the consequence experienced from playing soccer, coaches were unaware of these motivations
RETRACTED ARTICLE: An optimised homomorphic CRT-RSA algorithm for secure and efficient communication
No full textSecure and reliable exchange of information between devices is crucial for any network in the current digital world. This information is maintained on storage devices, routing devices, and communication over the cloud. Cryptographic techniques are used to ensure the secure transmission of data, ensuring the user’s privacy by storing and transmitting data in a particular format. Using encryption, only the intended user possessing the key can access the information.During data or essential transmission, the channel should be secured by using robust encryption techniques. Homomorphic Encryption (HE) techniques have been used in the past for this purpose. However, one of the flaws of the conventional HE is seen either in its slow transmission or fast key decryption. Thus, this paper proposes an optimized Homomorphic Encryption Chinese Remainder Theorem with a Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (HE-CRT-RSA) algorithm to overcome this challenge. The proposed Technique, HE-CRT-RSA, utilizes multiple keys for efficient communication and security. In addition, the performance of the HE-CRT-RSA algorithm was evaluated in comparison with the classical RSA algorithm. The result of the proposed algorithm shows performance improvement with reduced decryption time. It is observed that the proposed HE-CRT-RSA is 3% - 4% faster than the classical Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA). The result also suggests that HE-CRT-RSA effectively enhances security issues of the cloud and helps to decrease the involvement of intruders or any third party during communication or inside the data/server centers