Improving the security of direct anonymous attestation under host corruptions

International Journal of Information Security - Direct anonymous attestation (DAA) enables a platform including a trusted platform module (TPM) to produce a signature in order to remotely attest...     

Effect of Varying Amount of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG-600) and 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane on the Properties of Chitosan based Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Chitosan and polyethylene glycol (PEG-600) membranes were synthesized and crosslinked with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The main purpose of this research work is to synthesize RO membranes which can be used to provide desalinated water for drinking, industrial and agricultural purposes. Hydrogen bonding between chitosan and PEG was confirmed by displacement of the hydroxyl absorption peak at 3237 cm⁻¹ in pure chitosan to lower values in crosslinked membranes by using FTIR. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that PEG lowers Tg of the modified membranes vs. pure chitosan from 128.5 °C in control to 120 °C in CS-PEG5. SEM results highlighted porous and anisotropic structure of crosslinked membranes. As the amount of PEG was increased, hydrophilicity of membranes was increased and water absorption increased up to a maximum of 67.34%. Permeation data showed that flux and salt rejection value of the modified membranes was increased up to a maximum of 80% and 40.4%, respectively. Modified films have antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli as compared to control membranes.     

Partial electrode method for loss and physical parameter determination of piezoceramics: Simplification,error investigation and applicability

The IEEE standard to determine physical parameters of piezoceramics has been utilized for decades by many researchers, yet it omits presence of important loss factors and possesses serious deficits that restrict accurate parameter determination. To resolve these issues, the partial electrode (PE) method was previously proposed, though the focus has been merely made on development of the method itself. In this study, we provide method simplification and more detailed analysis. The omission of unnecessary samples greatly boosts experiment and analysis process. To prove that the PE method is reliable, possible causes of errors were investigated; it is shown that they were either negligibly small or can be resolved with proper calibration. Furthermore, Applicability of PE method to various types of piezoceramic materials and compatibility with impedance analyzers are shown. Finally, PE method is proved to be reliable and can be alternative to IEEE Standard on Piezoelectricity.     

Enhanced Oral Bioavailability of Ibuprofen in Rats by Poloxamer Gel Using Poloxamer 188 and Menthol

To improve the oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble ibuprofen with poloxamer and menthol, the effects of menthol and poloxamer 188 on the aqueous solubility of ibuprofen were investigated. The dissolution and pharmacokinetic study of ibuprofen delivered by the ibuprofen-loaded preparations composed of poloxamer 188 and menthol were then performed. In the absence of poloxamer, the solubility of ibuprofen increased until the ratio of menthol to ibuprofen increased from 0:10 to 4:6 followed by an abrupt decrease in solubility above the ratio of 4:6, indicating that four parts menthol formed eutectic mixture with six parts ibuprofen. In the presence of poloxamer, the solutions with the same ratio of menthol to ibuprofen showed an abrupt increase in the solubility of ibuprofen. The poloxamer gel with menthol/ibuprofen ratio of 1:9 and higher than 15% poloxamer 188 showed the maximum solubility of ibuprofen, 1.2 mg/mL. The simultaneous addition of menthol and poloxamer 188 significantly improved the dissolution rates of ibuprofen from aqueous solution due to the ibuprofen solubility-improving effect of menthol in the presence of poloxamer. Furthermore, the ibuprofen-loaded preparation with menthol and poloxamer 188 gave significantly higher initial plasma concentrations, Cmax, and AUC of ibuprofen than did the preparation without menthol and poloxamer 188, indicating that the simultaneous addition of menthol and poloxamer 188 could improve the oral bioavailability of ibuprofen in rats. In modern pain management it is always desirable for the ibuprofen-loaded preparation with poloxamer 188 and menthol to show a rapid onset of action with a minimal phase of lag time to feel the decreased pain. From an industry point of view, it is more desirable for a formulation to be fast acting, easy to use, and cost effective. Thus, the ibuprofen-loaded preparation with poloxamer 188 and menthol was a more effective oral dosage form for poorly water-soluble ibuprofen.     

Extended Process to Product Modeling (xPPM) for integrated and seamless IDM and MVD development

This paper proposes a new extended Process to Product Modeling (xPPM) method for integrated and seamless information delivery manual (IDM) and model view definition (MVD) development. Current IDM development typically uses Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) to represent a process map (PM). Exchange requirements (ERs) and functional parts (FPs) specify the information required when information is exchanged between different activities. A set of information requirements, specifically defined as a subset of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), is called an MVD. Currently however, PMs, ERs, FPs, and MVDs are developed as separate documents through independent development steps. Moreover, even though ERs and FPs are designed to be reused, tracking and reusing the ERs and FPs developed by others is practically impossible. The xPPM method is proposed to provide a tight connection between PMs, ERs, FPs, and MVDs and to improve the reusability of predefined ERs and FPs. The theoretical framework is based on the approach of the Georgia Tech Process to Product Modeling (GTPPM) to suit the IDM development process. An xPPM tool is developed, and the validity of xPPM is analyzed through the reproduction of existing IDMs and MVDs. The benefits and limitations of xPPM and lessons from the applicability tests are discussed.     

Biodegradable polycaprolactone/cuttlebone scaffold composite using salt leaching process

We prepared biodegradable polycaprolactone/cuttlebone scaffold composite by salt leaching process. In the first step, a co-continuous blend of biodegradable materials, polycaprolactone (PCL) and cuttlebone (CB), and an amount of sodium chloride salt particles were mixed using a stirrer. Next, the extraction of mineral salts using de-ionized distilled water was performed using a biodegradable PCL/CB scaffold with fully interconnected pores. Finally, the durable morphology of the scaffolds was fabricated by freeze-drying process at ?53 °C for 24 hrs in a vacuum. In addition, the quadrilateral pres ranged from about 250 to 300 ??m in diameter. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimeter techniques were carried out to characterize the pore morphology. By increasing the CB and sodium chloride salt particle content, the number of interconnected pores, material properties, and pore morphology were dramatically changed. The average compressive strengths (load at 50% strain) of the different porous PCL/CB scaffolds were found to decrease from 133 to about 79 (load at 50% strain, gf) with an increase in porosity. The values of the porosity increased as the sodium chloride salt volume fraction increased     

Determinants of the intention to use Buy-Online,Pickup In-Store (BOPS): The moderating effects of situational factors and product type

Despite the wider introduction of the buy online and pick up in-store (BOPS) service by retailers, research on BOPS is still sparse, especially those from the consumer perspective. This paper employs the scenario-based factorial survey method to investigate how the perceived characteristics of innovation and the perceived risk of online shopping influence the consumers’ intention to use BOPS while also considering the moderating effects of situational factors (location convenience) and product type (involvement). Our findings indicated that the consumer perceptions of relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and risks involved in online shopping are important antecedents to intention to use BOPS, and that these relationships were significantly moderated by locational convenience and product involvement. The implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed in detail.     

Graceful Degradation FEC Layer for Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service in LTE Mobile Systems

This paper proposes an additional forward error correction (FEC) layer to compensate for the defectiveness inherent in the conventional FEC layer in the Long Term Evolution specifications. The proposed additional layer is called a graceful degradation (GD)‐FEC layer and maintains desirable service quality even under burst data loss conditions of a few seconds. This paper also proposes a non‐delayed decoding (NDD)‐GD‐FEC layer that is inherent in the decoding process. Computer simulations and device‐based tests show a better loss recovery performance with a negligible increase in CPU utilization and occupied memory size.