OMAC: A new access control architecture for overlay multicast communications

Multicast communications concern the transfer of data among multiple users. Multicast communications can be provided at the network layer—an example is IP multicast—or at the application layer, also called overlay multicast. An important issue in multicast communications is to control how different users—senders, receivers, and delivery nodes—access the transmitted data as well as the network resources. Many researchers have proposed solutions addressing access control in IP multicast. However, little attention has been paid to overlay multicast. In this paper, we investigate the access control issues in overlay multicast and present OMAC: a new solution to address these issues. OMAC provides access control for senders, receivers, and delivery nodes in overlay multicast. The proposed architecture, which is based on symmetric key cryptosystem, centralizes the authentication process in one server whereas it distributes the authorization process among the delivery nodes. Moreover, delivery nodes are utilized as a buffer zone between end systems and the authentication server, making it less exposed to malicious end systems. To evaluate our work, we have used simulation to compare the performance of OMAC against previous solutions. Results of the simulation show that OMAC outperforms previous multicast access control schemes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectrum harvesting for heterogeneous wireless networks integration

Massive capacity demand is a major impetus behind the advances, in various ways, of today and near future wireless communication networks. To face this challenge, more wireless spectrum is needed, efficient usage of this spectrum is necessary, and adequate architectures are required. In this paper, we present a conceptual solution based on a cognitive-radio-inspired cellular network, for integrating idle spectrum resources of different wireless networks into a single mobile heterogeneous wireless network. We describe the conceptual architecture of this integrating network, referred to as Integrating cognitive-radio-inspired cellular network (I-CRICNet), and present a cooperative spectrum-harvesting scheme that keeps the former supplied with spectrum resources. In the latter scheme, we make extensive use of cross-correlated sequences (CSSs), for events signaling purposes. This choice is motived by the particularly interesting characteristics of the CSSs, namely, duration shortness, robustness to bad radio conditions, detection rather than decoding, and low probability of collision. As an illustration, we propose a reporting and detection scheme, in the context of OFDMA systems, and provide performance results from simulations to validate our proposal.

     

Identification and Affinity Determination of Protein-Antibody and Protein-Aptamer Epitopes by Biosensor-Mass Spectrometry Combination

Analytical methods for molecular characterization of diagnostic or therapeutic targets have recently gained high interest. This review summarizes the combination of mass spectrometry and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor analysis for identification and affinity determination of protein interactions with antibodies and DNA-aptamers. The binding constant (K_D) of a protein–antibody complex is first determined by immobilizing an antibody or DNA-aptamer on an SPR chip. A proteolytic peptide mixture is then applied to the chip, and following removal of unbound material by washing, the epitope(s) peptide(s) are eluted and identified by MALDI-MS. The SPR-MS combination was applied to a wide range of affinity pairs. Distinct epitope peptides were identified for the cardiac biomarker myoglobin (MG) both from monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, and binding constants determined for equine and human MG provided molecular assessment of cross immunoreactivities. Mass spectrometric epitope identifications were obtained for linear, as well as for assembled (“conformational”) antibody epitopes, e.g., for the polypeptide chemokine Interleukin-8. Immobilization using protein G substantially improved surface fixation and antibody stabilities for epitope identification and affinity determination. Moreover, epitopes were successfully determined for polyclonal antibodies from biological material, such as from patient antisera upon enzyme replacement therapy of lysosomal diseases. The SPR-MS combination was also successfully applied to identify linear and assembled epitopes for DNA–aptamer interaction complexes of the tumor diagnostic protein C-Met. In summary, the SPR-MS combination has been established as a powerful molecular tool for identification of protein interaction epitopes.     

PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF PATENT BLUE V BY SUPPORTED TiO2: KINETICS,MINERALIZATION, AND REACTION PATHWAY

The photocatalytic degradation of patent blue V (sodium salt of [4-(α-(4-diethylaminophenyl)-5-hydroxy-2, 4-disulfophenyl-methylidene)-2, 5-cyclohexadien-1-ylidene] diethylammonium hydroxide) in aqueous solutions has been investigated by using TiO₂-coated nonwoven fibers as the photocatalyst. Before the study began, adsorption in the dark was done, and the effect of the initial concentration of dye in the solution was determined. The mineralization was monitored by chemical oxygen demand (COD), and the HPLC-MS method was used to identify reaction intermediates. The experimental results show that adsorption is an important parameter, controlling the apparent kinetic constant of degradation. The rate of fading was favored by a high concentration of dye in the solution with respect to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The COD abatement was slower than the discoloration of the solution; this indicates that the dye was not directly mineralized, but transformed to intermediate photoproducts. These intermediate photoproducts lead to other cycles of degradation, to the point of total mineralization. Several by-products were detected and identified by HPLC-MS. On the basis of these findings, we propose a probable degradation pathway as critical for assessing the suitability of detoxification procedures for the degradation of particular contaminant classes.     

Sol–gel synthesis of TiO2–SiO2 photocatalyst for β-naphthol photodegradation

Silica gel supported titanium dioxide particles (TiO₂–SiO₂) prepared by sol–gel method was as photocatalyst in the degradation of β-naphthol in water under UV-illumination. The prepared sample has been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The supported catalyst had large surface area and good sedimentation ability. The photodegradation rate of β-naphthol under UV-irradiation depended strongly on adsorption capacity of the catalyst, and the photoactivity of the supported catalyst was much higher than that of the pure titanium dioxides. The experiments were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The photodegradation rate of β-naphthol using 60% TiO₂–SiO₂ particles was faster than that using TiO₂ “Degussa P-25”, TiO₂ “PC-50” and TiO₂ “Aldrich” as photocatalyst by 2.7, 4 and 7.8 times, respectively. The kinetics of photocatalytic β-naphthol degradation was found to follow a pseudo-first-order rate law. The effect of the TiO₂ loading on the photoactivity of TiO₂–SiO₂ particles was also discussed. With good photocatalytic activity under UV-irradiation and the ability to be readily separated from the reaction system, this novel kind of catalyst exhibited the potential effective in the treatment of organic pollutants in aqueous systems.     

A New Approach in Optimizing the Induction Heating Process Using Flux Concentrators: Application to 4340 Steel Spur Gear

The beneficial effects of using flux concentrators during induction heat treatment process of spur gears made of 4340 high strength steel is demonstrated using 3D finite element model. The model is developed by coupling electromagnetic field and heat transfer equations and simulated by using Comsol software. Based on an adequate formulation and taking into account material properties and process parameters, the model allows calculating temperature distribution in the gear tooth. A new approach is proposed to reduce the electromagnetic edge effect in the gear teeth which allows achieving optimum hardness profile after induction heat treatment. In the proposed method, the principal gear is positioned in sandwich between two other gears having the same geometry that act as flux concentrators. The gap between the gear and the flux concentrators was optimized by studying temperature variation between the tip and root regions of gear teeth. Using the proposed model, it was possible identifying processing conditions that allow for quasi-uniform final temperature profile in the medium and high frequency conditions during induction hardening of spur gears.     

Removal of textile dyes from aqueous solutions by natural phosphate as a new adsorbent

The objective of this study was to investigate the ability of natural phosphate (NP) to remove textile dyes from aqueous solutions. The adsorption of methylene blue (MB) as a reference molecule for the adsorption studies of organic molecules, basic yellow 28 (BY 28) and reactive yellow 125 (RY 125) representatives of two families of textile dyes was studied in a batch mode. The experimental results show that NP can totally remove MB and BY 28, whereas a low adsorption affinity was found in the case of RY 125. The adsorption rate data were analysed using the pseudo-first order kinetics of Lagergren and the pseudo second order model to determine adsorption rate constants. The isotherms of adsorption data were analyzed by various adsorption isotherm models. The adsorption was temperature- and pH-dependent with a high adsorption capacity of MB and BY 28 in the basic range and a high adsorption of RY125 in an acidic range.     

Mechanical Properties Analysis of 4340 Steel Specimen Heat Treated in Oven and Quenching in Three Different Fluids

This paper proposes a statistical approach to analyze the mechanical properties of a standard test specimen, of cylindrical geometry and in steel 4340, with a diameter of 6 mm, heat-treated and quenched in three different fluids. Samples were evaluated in standard tensile test to access their characteristic quantities: hardness, modulus of elasticity, yield strength, tensile strength and ultimate deformation. The proposed approach is gradually being built (a) by a presentation of the experimental device, (b) a presentation of the experimental plan and the results of the mechanical tests, (c) anova analysis of variance and a representation of the output responses using the RSM response surface method, and (d) an analysis of the results and discussion. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach leads to a precise and reliable model capable of predicting the variation of mechanical properties, depending on the tempering temperature, the tempering time and the cooling capacity of the quenching medium.     

Prediction of the hardness profile of an AISI 4340 steel cylinder heat-treated by laser - 3D and artificial neural networks modelling and experimental validation

This paper presents a comprehensive approach developed to design an effective prediction model for hardness profile in laser surface transformation hardening process. Based on finite element method and Artificial neural networks, the proposed approach is built progressively by (i) examining the laser hardening parameters and conditions known to have an influence on the hardened surface attributes through a structured experimental investigation, (ii) investigating the laser hardening parameters effects on the hardness profile through extensive 3D modeling and simulation efforts and (ii) integrating the hardening process parameters via neural network model for hardness profile prediction. The experimental validation conducted on AISI4340 steel using a commercial 3 kW Nd:Yag laser, confirm the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed approach leading to an accurate and reliable hardness profile prediction model. With a maximum relative error of about 10 % under various practical conditions, the predictive model can be considered as effective especially in the case of a relatively complex system such as laser surface transformation hardening process.