Analysis of an Unconditionally Secure Distributed Oblivious Transfer

In the Journal of Cryptology (20(3):323–373, 2007), Blundo, D’Arco, De Santis and Stinson proposed a general model for unconditionally secure distributed oblivious transfer (DOT), where a sender has n secrets and a receiver is interested to one of them. We show that their “t-private weak one-round (k,m)-DOT $\binom{n}{1}$ ” protocol cannot prevent a receiver who attempts to obtain more than one secret. We present a modification to Blundo et al.’s protocol that fixes this problem.     

The role of nanoclay partitioning and fibril formation on dyeability of blend nanocomposite fibres

The aim of the present work was to study the effect of microstructure and microfibril formation on dyeability of polypropylene/poly(butylene terephthalate)/organoclay blend nanocomposite fibres. The blend nanocomposite samples with the same blend ratio but varying in organoclay content were prepared via melt compounding by using a co‐rotating twin screw extruder. The microfibrillar morphology and nanoclay partitioning were studied using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy together with rheological results. The presence of nanoclay in the form of tactoids in the polypropylene matrix accelerated the dye sorption but much greater ultimate dye uptake could be achieved for the sample in which the major part of the platelets were preferentially located inside the poly(butylene terephthalate) fibrils. Although increasing the organoclay concentration increased the ultimate dye uptake, it limited the fibril formation at higher organoclay concentration. The utilisation of a compatibiliser was found to have an enhancing effect on ultimate dye uptake. This could be explained in terms of the interfacial role of the compatibiliser in improving microfibril formation as well as partitioning a fraction of nanoclay platelets inside the polypropylene matrix.     

Joint detection, channel estimation, and interference cancellation in downlink MC-CDMA communication systems using complex-valued multilayer neural networks

Data detection in the presence of interference is one of the main challenges in multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) communication systems. In this paper, a new detection technique for downlink MC-CDMA systems is proposed. This technique uses complex-valued multilayer neural networks at the receiver side. With the new definition for desired responses (±(1+J) instead of ±1, where $ J = \sqrt {{ - 1}} $ ), the convergence rate is increased (in the training process) regarding to saturation of imaginary output and the performance is increased because of increasing Euclidean distance of output neuron inputs in two states of desired outputs (with factor of $ \sqrt {2} $ ). The performance of the proposed method is improved further by considering two various saturation coefficients (in the activation function of output layer) in the training and test processes. Since the last performance improving lead to low convergence rate, this effect is compensated by correcting the coefficient of training rate in the output layer. Simulation results confirm the high convergence rate, low computational complexity, and also good performance of the proposed method in wide range of SNRs.     

On the Low Temperature Strain Aging of Bainite in the TRIP Steel

The aging behavior of a thermomechanically processed Mo-Al-Nb transformation-induced plasticity steel with ultrafine microstructure was investigated using transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography (APT). Strain aging at 73 K (200 °C) for 1800 seconds led to a significant bake-hardening response (up to 222 MPa). Moreover, aging for 1800 seconds at room temperature after 4 pct pre-strain also revealed a bake-hardening response (~60 MPa). The experimental results showed the formation of carbon Cottrell atmospheres around dislocations and the formation of carbon clusters/fine carbides in the bainitic ferrite during aging. It is proposed that this is associated with the high dislocation density of bainitic ferrite with formation of a complex dislocation substructure after pre-straining and its high average carbon content (~0.35 at. pct). The segregation of carbon and substitutional elements such as Mn and Mo to the retained austenite/bainitic ferrite interface during aging was observed by APT. This segregation is likely to be the preliminary stage for Mo-C particles’ formation. The aging after pre-straining also induced the decomposition of retained austenite with formation of ferrite and carbides.     

Splitting for strength: Manipulating polymerization reactor split ratios to control mechanical and rheological properties in bimodal polyethylene resins

This study integrates advanced mathematical modeling and experimental methodologies to investigate the simultaneous impact of modifications in the split ratio and molecular weight (MW) of chains on the rheological and mechanical properties of bimodal polyethylene (BiPE) resins. The outcomes underscored the viability of fine-tuning the molecular weight distribution (MWD) of a BiPE resin by augmenting the MW of high molecular weight (HMW) chains while simultaneously diminishing their proportion in the final alloy formulation. In addition, the experimental results illuminated the prospect of attaining a targeted melt flow index for the final polymers by elevating the MW of HMW chains alongside an increase in the proportion of low molecular weight chains. Significantly, these adjustments resulted in remarkable enhancements in the shear thinning index and strain hardening modulus of the fabricated resins.     

Numerical investigation of Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/water nanofluid laminar convective heat transfer through triangular ducts

In this article, laminar flow-forced convective heat transfer of Al₂O₃/water nanofluid in a triangular duct under constant wall temperature condition is investigated numerically. In this investigation, the effects of parameters, such as nanoparticles diameter, concentration, and Reynolds number on the enhancement of nanofluids heat transfer is studied. Besides, the comparison between nanofluid and pure fluid heat transfer is achieved in this article. Sometimes, because of pressure drop limitations, the need for non-circular ducts arises in many heat transfer applications. The low heat transfer rate of non-circular ducts is one the limitations of these systems, and utilization of nanofluid instead of pure fluid because of its potential to increase heat transfer of system can compensate this problem. In this article, for considering the presence of nanoparticl: es, the dispersion model is used. Numerical results represent an enhancement of heat transfer of fluid associated with changing to the suspension of nanometer-sized particles in the triangular duct. The results of the present model indicate that the nanofluid Nusselt number increases with increasing concentration of nanoparticles and decreasing diameter. Also, the enhancement of the fluid heat transfer becomes better at high Re in laminar flow with the addition of nanoparticles.     

A modified numerical VBI element for vehicles with constant velocity including road irregularities

There has been a growing interest to model and analyze Vehicle-Bridge Interaction (VBI) of intricate vehicles on bridges. The objective of such an analysis is to realistically investigate the dynamic effects of moving vehicles particularly in case of high-speed trains, where the vehicle acceleration is a design criterion and should be calculated appropriately. One method of analysis is to eliminate the wheel degrees of freedom (DOF) that are in direct contact with the bridge surface resulting in a VBI element, which is a modified beam element acted upon directly by wheel(s) of a running vehicle. The contact force is the mutual force between the wheel and the bridge. The available formulation in the literature is used to formulate the contact forces, which are related to those in the beam element DOFs by the Hermitian interpolation functions. Considering suitable interpolation functions between the beam element displacement vector and those for contact points and also a new formulation for the contact points, a new formulation is proposed for the structural properties of the VBI element, resulting in a new element capable of capturing bridge and vehicle responses more realistically. A study is conducted on the model variables and their effects on the bridge dynamic amplification factor and also bridge and vehicle accelerations, in order to compare the new VBI method with the existing one. The studied parameters include vehicle and bridge damping, frequency parameter, system mass parameter, and a new parameter called vehicle mass parameter. Results generally demonstrate noticeable differences particularly for high speed vehicles. In addition, it is observed that the effect of shear deformations in a simply-supported bridge might not be negligible and should be considered for moving vehicle analysis. For double girder open-deck steel railway bridges, the difference in midspan deflection of models including or excluding shear deformation can vary from 18% to 8% for 4.0 m and 30.0 m spans, respectively, for a sample vehicle.     

Effects of Annealing on the Fabrication of Al-TiAl3 Nanocomposites Before and After Accumulative Roll Bonding and Evaluation of Strengthening Mechanisms

The strengthening mechanisms of Al-TiAl₃ nanocomposite, fabricated using cold roll bonding, annealing, and accumulative roll bonding (ARB) on Al sheets sandwiching with pure Ti powder were investigated in the present study. With annealing at 590 ℃ for 2 h, TiAl₃ intermetallic compound was formed. After subsequent ARB process up to 5 cycles, final composite consists of ultrafine Al grains of less than 500 nm with TiAl₃ particles larger than 200 nm. The strength and hardness of the final composite are 2.5 and 3.5 times the initial values, with an ultimate tensile strength of 400 MPa, which is dominated by grain-boundary strengthening due to the ultrafine Al grains, and Orowan strengthening due to the small TiAl₃ particles. For comparison, an alternative fabrication route of cold roll bonding-ARB-annealing was also studied. This study showed that annealing before ARB is a critical factor in producing an ultrafine grain structure containing TiAl₃ particles.     

Microstructure and Corrosion Properties of CP-Ti Processed by Laser Powder Bed Fusion under Similar Energy Densities

In this work, two types of CP Ti cubes with similar volumetric energy densities (VED) but different process parameters were produced using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) method. The corrosion behavior of the fabricated specimens was investigated by conducting electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization experiments in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution at 37 °C. The results indicated that the microstructure and porosities, which are of great importance for biomedical applications, can be controlled by changing the process parameters even under constant energy densities. The sample produced with a lower laser power (E1) was featured with a higher level of porosity and thinner alpha laths, as compared with the sample fabricated with a higher laser power (E2). Moreover, results obtained from the bioactivity tests revealed that the sample produced with a higher laser power conferred a slight improvement in the bioactivity due to the higher amount of porosity. Lower laser power and hence higher porosity level promoted the formation of bone-like apatite on the surface of the printed specimens. The potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed inferior corrosion resistance for the fabricated sample with higher porosity. Moreover, the EIS results after different immersion times indicated that a stable oxide film was formed on the surface of samples for all immersion times. After 1 and 3 days of immersion, superior passivation behavior was observed for the sample fabricated with lower laser power. However, very similar impedance and phase values were observed for all the samples after 14 days of immersion.     

Development and field evaluation of an online monitor for near-continuous measurement of iron,manganese, and chromium in coarse airborne particulate matter (PM)

A novel air sampling monitor was developed for near-continuous (i.e., 2-h time resolution) measurement of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and chromium (Cr) concentrations in ambient coarse particulate matter (PM) (i.e., PM_10–2.5). The developed monitor consists of two modules: (1) the coarse PM collection module, utilizing two virtual impactors (VIs) connected to a modified BioSampler to collect ambient coarse PM into aqueous slurry samples; (2) the metal concentration measurement module, which quantifies the light absorption of colored complexes formed through the reactions between the soluble and solubilized target metals and pertinent analytical reagents in the collected slurries using a micro volume flow cell (MVFC) coupled with UV/VIS spectrophotometry. The developed monitor was deployed in the field for continuous ambient PM collection and measurements from January to April 2016 to evaluate its performance and reliability. Overall, the developed monitor could achieve accurate and reliable measurements of the trace metals Fe, Mn, and Cr over long sampling periods, based on the agreement between the metal concentrations measured via this online monitor and off-line parallel measurements obtained using filter samplers. Based on our results, it can be concluded that the developed monitor is a promising technology for near-continuous measurements of metal concentrations in ambient coarse PM. Moreover, this monitor can be readily configured to measure the speciation (i.e., water-soluble portion as well as specific oxidation states) of these metal species. These unique abilities are essential tools in investigations of sources and atmospheric processes influencing the concentrations of these redox-active metals in coarse PM.

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