Effective Software-Based Solution for Processing Mass Downstream Data in Interactive Push VOD System

Interactive push VOD system is a new kind of system that incorporates push technology and interactive technique. It can push movies to users at high speeds at off-peak hours for optimal network usage so as to save bandwidth. This paper presents effective software-based solution for processing mass downstream data at terminals of interactive push VOD system, where the service can download movie according to a viewer-s selection. The downstream data is divided into two catalogs: (1) the carousel data delivered according to DSM-CC protocol; (2) IP data delivered according to Euro-DOCSIS protocol. In order to accelerate download speed and reduce data loss rate at terminals, this software strategy introduces caching, multi-thread and resuming mechanisms. The experiments demonstrate advantages of the software-based solution.

The Journey of a Malicious HTTP Request

SQL injection on web applications is a very popular kind of attack. There are mechanisms such as intrusion detection systems in order to detect this attack. These strategies often rely on techniques implemented at high layers of the application but do not consider the low level of system calls. The problem of only considering the high level perspective is that an attacker can circumvent the detection tools using certain techniques such as URL encoding. One technique currently used for detecting low-level attacks on privileged processes is the tracing of system calls. System calls act as a single gate to the Operating System (OS) kernel; they allow catching the critical data at an appropriate level of detail. Our basic assumption is that any type of application, be it a system service, utility program or Web application, “speaks” the language of system calls when having a conversation with the OS kernel. At this level we can see the actual attack while it is happening. We conduct an experiment in order to demonstrate the suitability of system call analysis for detecting SQL injection. We are able to detect the attack. Therefore we conclude that system calls are not only powerful in detecting low-level attacks but that they also enable us to detect highlevel attacks such as SQL injection.

Wastewater Treatment in Moving-Bed Biofilm Reactor operated by Flow Reversal Intermittent Aeration System

Intermittent aeration process can be easily applied on the existing activated sludge system and is highly reliable against the loading changes. It can be operated in a relatively simple way as well. Since the moving-bed biofilm reactor method processes pollutants by attaching and securing the microorganisms on the media, the process efficiency can be higher compared to the suspended growth biological treatment process, and can reduce the return of sludge. In this study, the existing intermittent aeration process with alternating flow being applied on the oxidation ditch is applied on the continuous flow stirred tank reactor with advantages from both processes, and we would like to develop the process to significantly reduce the return of sludge in the clarifier and to secure the reliable quality of treated water by adding the moving media. Corresponding process has the appropriate form as an infrastructure based on u- environment in future u- City and is expected to accelerate the implementation of u-Eco city in conjunction with city based services. The system being conducted in a laboratory scale has been operated in HRT 8hours except for the final clarifier and showed the removal efficiency of 97.7 %, 73.1 % and 9.4 % in organic matters, TN and TP, respectively with operating range of 4hour cycle on system SRT 10days. After adding the media, the removal efficiency of phosphorus showed a similar level compared to that before the addition, but the removal efficiency of nitrogen was improved by 7~10 %. In addition, the solids which were maintained in MLSS 1200~1400 at 25 % of media packing were attached all onto the media, which produced no sludge entering the clarifier. Therefore, the return of sludge is not needed any longer.

Design and Fabrication of a Column-Climber Robot (Koala Robot)

This paper proposes a robot able to climb Columns. This robot is not dependent on the diameter and material of the columns. Some climbing robots have been designed up to now but Koala robot was designed and fabricated for climbing columns exclusively. Simple kinematics of climbing in the nature inspired us to design this robot. We used two linear mechanisms to grip the column. The gripper consists of a DC motor and a power screw mechanism with a linear bushing as a guide. This mechanism provides enough force to grip the column. In addition we needed an actuator for climbing the column; hence, two pneumatic jacks were used. All the mechanical parts were designed according to the exerted forces and operational condition. The prototype can be simply installed and controlled on the column by an inexperienced operator. This robot is intended for inspection and surveillance of pipes in oil industries and power poles in electric industries.

A Study of Dynamic Clustering Method to Extend the Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Network

In recent years, the research in wireless sensor network has increased steadily, and many studies were focusing on reducing energy consumption of sensor nodes to extend their lifetimes. In this paper, the issue of energy consumption is investigated and two adaptive mechanisms are proposed to extend the network lifetime. This study uses high-energy-first scheme to determine cluster heads for data transmission. Thus, energy consumption in each cluster is balanced and network lifetime can be extended. In addition, this study uses cluster merging and dynamic routing mechanisms to further reduce energy consumption during data transmission. The simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively extend the lifetime of wireless sensor network, and it is suitable for different base station locations.

Optimization of Communication Protocols by stochastic Delay Mechanisms

The paper is concerned with developing stochastic delay mechanisms for efficient multicast protocols and for smooth mobile handover processes which are capable of preserving a given Quality of Service (QoS). In both applications the participating entities (receiver nodes or subscribers) sample a stochastic timer and generate load after a random delay. In this way, the load on the networking resources is evenly distributed which helps to maintain QoS communication. The optimal timer distributions have been sought in different p.d.f. families (e.g. exponential, power law and radial basis function) and the optimal parameter have been found in a recursive manner. Detailed simulations have demonstrated the improvement in performance both in the case of multicast and mobile handover applications.

Averaging Mechanisms to Decision Making for Handover in GSM

In cellular networks, limited availability of resources has to be tapped to its fullest potential. In view of this aspect, a sophisticated averaging and voting technique has been discussed in this paper, wherein the radio resources available are utilized to the fullest value by taking into consideration, several network and radio parameters which decide on when the handover has to be made and thereby reducing the load on Base station .The increase in the load on the Base station might be due to several unnecessary handover taking place which can be eliminated by making judicious use of the radio and network parameters.

Comparison of Three Turbulence Models in Wear Prediction of Multi-Size Particulate Flow through Rotating Channel

The present work compares the performance of three turbulence modeling approach (based on the two-equation k -ε model) in predicting erosive wear in multi-size dense slurry flow through rotating channel. All three turbulence models include rotation modification to the production term in the turbulent kineticenergy equation. The two-phase flow field obtained numerically using Galerkin finite element methodology relates the local flow velocity and concentration to the wear rate via a suitable wear model. The wear models for both sliding wear and impact wear mechanisms account for the particle size dependence. Results of predicted wear rates using the three turbulence models are compared for a large number of cases spanning such operating parameters as rotation rate, solids concentration, flow rate, particle size distribution and so forth. The root-mean-square error between FE-generated data and the correlation between maximum wear rate and the operating parameters is found less than 2.5% for all the three models.

Obstacles as Switches between Different Cardiac Arrhythmias

Ventricular fibrillation is a very important health problem as is the cause of most of the sudden deaths in the world. Waves of electrical activity are sent by the SA node, propagate through the cardiac tissue and activate the mechanisms of cell contraction, and therefore are responsible to pump blood to the body harmonically. A spiral wave is an abnormal auto sustainable wave that is responsible of certain types of arrhythmias. When these waves break up, give rise to the fibrillation regime, in which there is a complete loss in the coordination of the contraction of the heart muscle. Interaction of spiral waves and obstacles is also of great importance as it is believed that the attachment of a spiral wave to an obstacle can provide with a transition of two different arrhythmias. An obstacle can be partially excitable or non excitable. In this talk, we present a numerical study of the interaction of meandering spiral waves with partially and non excitable obstacles and focus on the problem where the obstacle plays a fundamental role in the switch between different spiral regimes, which represent different arrhythmic regimes. Particularly, we study the phenomenon of destabilization of spiral waves due to the presence of obstacles, a phenomenon not completely understood (This work will appear as a Chapter in a Book named Cardiac Arrhytmias by INTECH under the name "Spiral Waves, Obstacles and Cardiac Arrhythmias", ISBN 979-953-307-050-5.).

[Ca(2,2'-bipyridine)3]2+ -Montmorillonite: A Potentiometric Sensor for Sulfide ion

Sulfide ion (S2-) is one of the most important ions to be monitored due to its high toxicity, especially for aquatic organisms. In this work, [Ca(2,2'-bipyridine)3]2+-intercalated montmorillonite was prepared and used as a sensor to construct a potentiometric electrode to measure sulfide ion in solution. The formation of [Ca(2,2'- bipyridine)3]2+ in montmorillonite was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectra. The electrode worked well at pH 4-12 and 4-10 in sulfide solution 10-2 M and 10-3 M, respectively, in terms of Nernstian slope. The sensor gave good precision and low cost.

PET/CT Patient Dosage Assay

A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a radioisotope imaging technique that illustrates the organs and the metabolisms of the human body. This technique is based on the simultaneous detection of 511 keV annihilation photons, annihilated as a result of electrons annihilating positrons that radiate from positron-emitting radioisotopes that enter biological active molecules in the body. This study was conducted on ten patients in an effort to conduct patient-related experimental studies. Dosage monitoring for the bladder, which was the organ that received the highest dose during PET applications, was conducted for 24 hours. Assessment based on measuring urination activities after injecting patients was also a part of this study. The MIRD method was used to conduct dosage calculations for results obtained from experimental studies. Results obtained experimentally and theoretically were assessed comparatively.

Analysis of Metallothionein Gene MT1A (rs11076161) and MT2A (rs10636) Polymorphisms as a Molecular Marker in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Malay Population

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex metabolic disorder that characterized by the presence of high glucose in blood that cause from insulin resistance and insufficiency due to deterioration β-cell Langerhans functions. T2DM is commonly caused by the combination of inherited genetic variations as well as our own lifestyle. Metallothionein (MT) is a known cysteine-rich protein responsible in helping zinc homeostasis which is important in insulin signaling and secretion as well as protection our body from reactive oxygen species (ROS). MT scavenged ROS and free radicals in our body happen to be one of the reasons of T2DM and its complications. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of MT1A and MT2A polymorphisms between T2DM and control subjects among Malay populations. This study involved 150 T2DM and 120 Healthy individuals of Malay ethnic with mixed genders. The genomic DNA was extracted from buccal cells and amplified for MT1A and MT2A loci; the 347bp and 238bp banding patterns were respectively produced by mean of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The PCR products were digested with Mlucl and Tsp451 restriction enzymes respectively and producing fragments lengths of (158/189/347bp) and (103/135/238bp) respectively. The ANOVA test was conducted and it shown that there was a significant difference between diabetic and control subjects for age, BMI, WHR, SBP, FPG, HBA1C, LDL, TG, TC and family history with (P0.05). The genotype frequency for AA, AG and GG of MT1A polymorphisms was 72.7%, 22.7% and 4.7% in cases and 15%, 55% and 30% in control respectively. As for MT2A, genotype frequency of GG, GC and CC was 42.7%, 27.3% and 30% in case and 5%, 40% and 55% for control respectively. Both polymorphisms show significant difference between two investigated groups with (P=0.000). The Post hoc test was conducted and shows a significant difference between the genotypes within each polymorphism (P=0. 000). The MT1A and MT2A polymorphisms were believed to be the reliable molecular markers to distinguish the T2DM subjects from healthy individuals in Malay populations.

Improvising Intrusion Detection for Malware Activities on Dual-Stack Network Environment

Malware is software which was invented and meant for doing harms on computers. Malware is becoming a significant threat in computer network nowadays. Malware attack is not just only involving financial lost but it can also cause fatal errors which may cost lives in some cases. As new Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) emerged, many people believe this protocol could solve most malware propagation issues due to its broader addressing scheme. As IPv6 is still new compares to native IPv4, some transition mechanisms have been introduced to promote smoother migration. Unfortunately, these transition mechanisms allow some malwares to propagate its attack from IPv4 to IPv6 network environment. In this paper, a proof of concept shall be presented in order to show that some existing IPv4 malware detection technique need to be improvised in order to detect malware attack in dual-stack network more efficiently. A testbed of dual-stack network environment has been deployed and some genuine malware have been released to observe their behaviors. The results between these different scenarios will be analyzed and discussed further in term of their behaviors and propagation methods. The results show that malware behave differently on IPv6 from the IPv4 network protocol on the dual-stack network environment. A new detection technique is called for in order to cater this problem in the near future.

Neutralization of Alkaline Waste-Waters using a Blend of Microorganisms

The efficient operation of any biological treatment process requires pre-treatment of incompatible pollutants such as acids, bases, oil, toxic substances, etc. which hamper the treatment of other major components which are otherwise degradable. The pre-treatment of alkaline waste-waters, generated from various industries like textile, paper & pulp, potato-processing industries, etc., having a pH of 10 or higher, is essential. The pre-treatment, i.e., neutralization of such alkaline waste-waters can be achieved by chemical as well as biological means. However, the biological pretreatment offers better package over the chemical means by being safe and economical. The biological pre-treatment can be accomplished by using a blend of microorganisms able to withstand such harsh alkaline conditions. In the present study, for the proper pre-treatment of alkaline waste-waters, a package of alkalophilic bacteria is formulated to neutralise the alkaline pH of the industrial waste-waters. The developed microbial package is cost-effective as well as environmental friendly.

Physical Parameters for Reliability Evaluation

This paper presents ageing experiments controlled by the evolution of junction parameters. The deterioration of the device is related to high injection effects which modified the transport mechanisms in the space charge region of the junction. Physical phenomena linked to the degradation of junction parameters that affect the devices reliability are reported and discussed. We have used the method based on numerical analysis of experimental current-voltage characteristic of the junction, in order to extract the electrical parameters. The simultaneous follow-up of the evolutions of the series resistance and of the transition voltage allow us to introduce a new parameter for reliability evaluation.

Biosynthesis and In vitro Studies of Silver Bionanoparticles Synthesized from Aspergillusspecies and its Antimicrobial Activity against Multi Drug Resistant Clinical Isolates

Antimicrobial resistant is becoming a major factor in virtually all hospital acquired infection may soon untreatable is a serious public health problem. These concerns have led to major research effort to discover alternative strategies for the treatment of bacterial infection. Nanobiotehnology is an upcoming and fast developing field with potential application for human welfare. An important area of nanotechnology for development of reliable and environmental friendly process for synthesis of nanoscale particles through biological systems In the present studies are reported on the use of fungal strain Aspergillus species for the extracellular synthesis of bionanoparticles from 1 mM silver nitrate (AgNO3) solution. The report would be focused on the synthesis of metallic bionanoparticles of silver using a reduction of aqueous Ag+ ion with the culture supernatants of Microorganisms. The bio-reduction of the Ag+ ions in the solution would be monitored in the aqueous component and the spectrum of the solution would measure through UV-visible spectrophotometer The bionanoscale particles were further characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thin layer chromatography. The synthesized bionanoscale particle showed a maximum absorption at 385 nm in the visible region. Atomic Force Microscopy investigation of silver bionanoparticles identified that they ranged in the size of 250 nm - 680 nm; the work analyzed the antimicrobial efficacy of the silver bionanoparticles against various multi drug resistant clinical isolates. The present Study would be emphasizing on the applicability to synthesize the metallic nanostructures and to understand the biochemical and molecular mechanism of nanoparticles formation by the cell filtrate in order to achieve better control over size and polydispersity of the nanoparticles. This would help to develop nanomedicine against various multi drug resistant human pathogens.

Dynamic Adaptability Using Reflexivity for Mobile Agent Protection

The paradigm of mobile agent provides a promising technology for the development of distributed and open applications. However, one of the main obstacles to widespread adoption of the mobile agent paradigm seems to be security. This paper treats the security of the mobile agent against malicious host attacks. It describes generic mobile agent protection architecture. The proposed approach is based on the dynamic adaptability and adopts the reflexivity as a model of conception and implantation. In order to protect it against behaviour analysis attempts, the suggested approach supplies the mobile agent with a flexibility faculty allowing it to present an unexpected behaviour. Furthermore, some classical protective mechanisms are used to reinforce the level of security.

Signals from the Rocks

There is increasing evidence that earthquakes produce electromagnetic signals observable at the surface in the extremely low to very low freqency (ELF - VLF) range often in advance to the main event. These precursors are candidates for prediction purposes. Laboratory experiments con´¼ürm that material under load emits an electromagnetic signature, the detailed generation mechanisms how- ever are not well understood yet.

Computational Identification of MicroRNAs and their Targets in two Species of Evergreen Spruce Tree (Picea)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding and regulatory RNAs about 20 to 24 nucleotides long. Their conserved nature among the various organisms makes them a good source of new miRNAs discovery by comparative genomics approach. The study resulted in 21 miRNAs of 20 pre-miRNAs belonging to 16 families (miR156, 157, 158, 164, 165, 168, 169, 172, 319, 390, 393, 394, 395, 400, 472 and 861) in evergreen spruce tree (Picea). The miRNA families; miR 157, 158, 164, 165, 168, 169, 319, 390, 393, 394, 400, 472 and 861 are reported for the first time in the Picea. All 20 miRNA precursors form stable minimum free energy stem-loop structure as their orthologues form in Arabidopsis and the mature miRNA reside in the stem portion of the stem loop structure. Sixteen (16) miRNAs are from Picea glauca and five (5) belong to Picea sitchensis. Their targets consist of transcription factors, growth related, stressed related and hypothetical proteins.

Packaging and Interconnection Technologies of Power Devices, Challenges and Future Trends

Standard packaging and interconnection technologies of power devices have difficulties meeting the increasing thermal demands of new application fields of power electronics devices. Main restrictions are the decreasing reliability of bond-wires and solder layers with increasing junction temperature. In the last few years intensive efforts have been invested in developing new packaging and interconnection solutions which may open a path to future application of power devices. In this paper, the main failure mechanisms of power devices are described and principle of new packaging and interconnection concepts and their power cycling reliability are presented.