Reliable Mark-Embedded Algorithm for Verifying Archived/Encrypted Image Contents in Presence Different Attacks with FEC Utilizing Consideration

Wireless Personal Communications - Due to the widely spreading of fake news utilizing image manipulation and its bad effects, this paper investigates efficient image contents verification and...     

A Novel Approach to Analyzing the Occupancy of the Geo/Geo/∞ Queueing System

Discrete time queueing systems have been successfully used to model packet queues in computer and digital communications systems. In this article we introduce a novel approach to analyzing the Geo^X/Geo^Y/∞ queueing system, which is suitable for modelling high speed computer and communications systems. The approach is based on characterizing the system by a functional equation which is then solved recursively to give identical results to those obtained using other approaches.     

Effects of a single dose of N-Acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine (Melatonin) and resistance exercise on the growth hormone/IGF-1 axis in young males and females

Melatonin and resistance exercise alone have been shown to increase the levels of growth hormone (GH). The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of ingestion of a single dose of melatonin and heavy resistance exercise on serum GH, somatostatin (SST), and other hormones of the GH/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) axis. Physically active males (n = 30) and females (n = 30) were randomly assigned to ingest either a melatonin supplement at 0.5 mg or 5.0 mg, or 1.0 mg of dextrose placebo. After a baseline blood sample, participants ingested the supplement and underwent blood sampling every 15 min for 60 min, at which point they underwent a single bout of resistance exercise with the leg press for 7 sets of 7 reps at 85% 1-RM. After exercise, participants provided additional blood samples every 15 min for a total of 120 min. Serum free GH, SST, IGF-1, IGFBP-1, and IGFBP-3 were determined with ELISA. Data were evaluated as the peak pre- and post-exercise values subtracted from baseline and the delta values analyzed with separate three-way ANOVA (p < 0.05). In males, when compared to placebo, 5.0 mg melatonin caused GH to increase (p = 0.017) and SST to decrease prior to exercise (p = 0.031), whereas both 0.5 and 5.0 mg melatonin were greater than placebo after exercise (p = 0.045) and less than placebo for SST. No significant differences occurred for IGF-1; however, males were shown to have higher levels of IGFBP-1 independent of supplementation (p = 0.004). The 5.0 mg melatonin dose resulted in higher IGFBP-3 in males (p = 0.017). In conclusion, for males 5.0 mg melatonin appears to increase serum GH while concomitantly lowering SST levels; however, when combined with resistance exercise both melatonin doses positively impacts GH levels in a manner not entirely dependent on SST.     

Obesity: Prevalence,Theories, Medical Consequences,Management, and Research Directions

Obesity and its associated disorders are a growing epidemic across the world. Many genetic, physiological, and behavioral factors play a role in the etiology of obesity. Diet and exercise are known to play a valuable role in the treatment and prevention of obesity and associated disorders such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to examine the prevalence, etiology, consequences, and treatment of obesity.     

Progress and challenges in sustainability,compatibility, and production of eco-composites: A state-of-art review

Owing to economic and environmental benefits, new generations of materials/commodities follow “from waste to wealth” strategy. Recently, there has been a huge upsurge in research on the development of eco-composites using recycled plastic polymers and agro-residues because the eco-composites satisfy the stringent environment regulations and are cost-effective. Herein, we present a detailed review on the potential use of several types of natural fillers as an efficient reinforcement for recycled plastic polymers. In particular, the characterization of different categories of eco-composites according to their morphological, physical, thermal, and mechanical properties is extensively reviewed and their results are analyzed, compared, and highlighted. Furthermore, a framework to produce functional eco-composites, which includes functionalization of ingredients, critical issues on microstructural parameters, processing, and fabrication methods, is outlined and supported with sufficient data from the literature. Finally, the review outlines the emerging challenges and future prospects of eco-composites to be addressed by interested researchers to bridge the gap between research and commercialization of such a class of material. Overall, the acquired knowledge will guide researchers, scientists, and manufacturers to plan, select, and develop various forms of eco-composites with enhanced properties and optimized production processes.     

Cognitive-Mathematical Approaches for Evaluating Architectural Contextual Fit

The main goal of this study is to apply a scientific quantitative approach to the investigation of contextual fit. This is approached mathematically within the framework of cognitive science and research on categorization and prototypes. Two experiments investigated two leading mathematical-cognitive approaches for explaining people’s judgment of contextual fit of a new building with an architectural/urban context: prototype approach and feature frequency approach. The basic concept is that people represent the built environment via architectural prototypes and/or frequencies of encountered architectural features. In the first experiment, a group of twelve participants performed rank order tasks on artificially created architectural patterns, for the purpose of psychological scaling. Perceptual distances among all patterns were mathematically determined. In the second experiment, three groups of architectural patterns were constructed to represent assumed architectural contexts. The prototype of each context was mathematically determined according to prototype cognitive model, and based on the distances calculated in the first experiment. Fifty-six students participated in the main experiment, in which they rank ordered a group of fifteen architectural patterns in terms of contextual fit to each of the three architectural contexts. Participants’ rank order data of the fifteen patterns were regressed on both the perceptual distances from prototypes, and numbers of features shared with each architectural context. Results indicated that both prototype and feature frequency approaches significantly accounted for important portions of participants’ judgments. However, participants tended to prefer one approach to the other according to context composition. Results have implications for both research on utilizing cognitive-mathematical models in architectural research and on urban design guidelines and control.     

Investigating the effect of varying block size on power and energy consumption of GPU kernels

The Journal of Supercomputing - Power consumption is likely to remain a significant concern for exascale performance in the foreseeable future. In addition, graphics processing units (GPUs) have...