An enhanced Web page change detection approach based on limiting similarity computations to elements of same type

This paper describes an efficient Web page detection approach based on restricting the similarity computations between two versions of a given Web page to the nodes with the same HTML tag type. Before performing the similarity computations, the HTML Web page is transformed into an XML-like structure in which a node corresponds to an open-closed HTML tag. Analytical expressions and supporting experimental results are used to quantify the improvements that are made when comparing the proposed approach to the traditional one, which computes the similarities across all nodes of both pages. It is shown that the improvements are highly dependent on the diversity of tags in the page. That is, the more diverse the page is (i.e., contains mixed content of text, images, links, etc.), the greater the improvements are, while the more uniform it is, the lesser they are.     

An assessment of k-ε turbulence models for gas distribution analysis

This paper presents the gas distribution analysis by injecting air fountain into the containment and simulations with the HYDRAGON code. Turbulence models of standard k-ε(SKE), re-normalization group k-ε(RNG) and a realizable k-ε(RLZ) are used to assess the effects on the gas distribution analysis during a severe accident in a nuclear power plant. By comparing with experimental data,the simulation results of the RNG and SKE turbulence models agree well with the experimental data on the prediction of dimensionless density distributions. The results illustrate that the turbulence model choice had a small effect on the simulation results, particularly the region near to the air fountain source.     

Performance evaluation of framework of VoIP/SIP server under virtualization environment along with the most common security threats

Neural Computing and Applications - Virtualization is the central point empowering cloud infrastructure. Many services, such as web-based applications, databases, and instant messaging servers, are...     

Resistance of exterior three-dimensional walls to high velocity projectiles

There have been a number of recent civilian deaths due to ammunition from commonly used firearms penetrating exterior walls of residential, public, and commercial buildings. Experimental research was conducted to study the behavior of three-dimensional (3D) exterior walls when subjected to high velocity projectiles or bullets fired from a variety of firearms of different calibers. Four types of firearms were used, namely, a 9 mm gun, a 0.357 Magnum gun, an M16 machine gun, and a 7.62 Clashin Koff machine gun. The size of chips and the depth of penetrations produced by the fired bullets are documented and discussed. It was found that none of the fired bullets penetrated the two reinforced concrete layers of the exterior wall. In conclusion, 3D exterior walls provide an acceptable level of protection from ammunition fired from commonly used firearms.     

Beyond competition: A framework for the 21st century

In the new millennium, global economics and political spectra are getting more dynamic and tense. Companies of all types and sizes, particularly in the manufacturing sectors are finding that their survival in the market place is increasingly in doubt. What has been lacking is a robust solution in terms of new methodologies, techniques and tools to meet their own particular challenging needs. Some of the three-letter acronym programmes such as TQM, JIT, BPR and DFM are not highly effective because employees did not focus on those issues of strategic importance and significance in the market. This paper explores the role that a set of strategic functions plays in the long-term success of a company. The paper proposes a framework comprising those interrelated functions that may help to explain the extent to which companies fail to realize the importance of these functions as an integrated organism that cannot be individually focused.     

MDPF: Minimum Distance Packet Forwarding for Search Applications in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

This paper introduces a message forwarding algorithm for search applications within mobile ad hoc networks that is based on the concept of selecting the nearest node from a set of designated nodes. The algorithm, which is called Minimum Distance Packet Forwarding (MDPF), uses routing information to select the node with the minimum distance. The goal of the proposed algorithm is to minimize the average number of hops taken to reach the node that holds the desired data. Numerical analysis and experimental evaluations using the network simulation software ns2 were performed to derive the lower and upper bounds of the confidence interval for the mean hop count between the source node of the data request, on one hand, and the node that holds the desired data and the last node in the set of search nodes, on the other hand. In the experimental evaluation, the performance of MDPF was compared to that of Random Packet Forwarding (RPF) and Minimal Spanning Tree Forwarding (MSTF). The results agreed with the numerical analysis results and demonstrated that MDPF offers significant hop count savings and smaller delays when compared to RPF and MSTF.     

Robust Encryption

We provide a provable-security treatment of “robust” encryption. Robustness means it is hard to produce a ciphertext that is valid for two different users. Robustness makes explicit a property that has been implicitly assumed in the past. We argue that it is an essential conjunct of anonymous encryption. We show that natural anonymity-preserving ways to achieve it, such as adding recipient identification information before encrypting, fail. We provide transforms that do achieve it, efficiently and provably. We assess the robustness of specific encryption schemes in the literature, providing simple patches for some that lack the property. We explain that robustness of the underlying anonymous IBE scheme is essential for public-key encryption with keyword search (PEKS) to be consistent (meaning, not have false positives), and our work provides the first generic conversions of anonymous IBE schemes to consistent (and secure) PEKS schemes. Overall, our work enables safer and simpler use of encryption.     

A multiplatform methodology: developing mobile device applications

When the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the American University of Beirut decided to launch a computing course on mobile computing devices, the author designed a course to meet industry requirements and to introduce students to the major platforms used to build practical applications. He dedicated much of Pervasive Computing Systems and Applications, EECE 679, to teaching mobile device application programming through code demonstrations and in-class application building. The course also covered front-end mobile device technologies and back-end infrastructures. Today, many pervasive computing courses focus on research and theory. Those that do deal with developing mobile applications often limit their coverage to a specific platform. This course covers practical and theoretical pervasive computing, lets students acquire hands-on application-building experience in multiple platforms, and acquaints students with recent developments in related technologies and research. The course includes a mix of lectures, code demonstrations, and student presentations.