An Authenticated Group Key Agreement Protocol on Braid groups

In this paper, we extend the 2-party key exchange protocol on braid groups to the group key agreement protocol based on the hardness of Ko-Lee problem. We also provide authenticity to the group key agreement protocol

Structure-Aware Dynamic Scheduler for Parallel Machine Learning

Training large machine learning (ML) models with many variables or parameters can take a long time if one employs sequential procedures even with stochastic updates. A natural solution is to turn to distributed computing on a cluster; however, naive, unstructured parallelization of ML algorithms does not usually lead to a proportional speedup and can even result in divergence, because dependencies between model elements can attenuate the computational gains from parallelization and compromise correctness of inference. Recent efforts toward this issue have benefited from exploiting the static, a priori block structures residing in ML algorithms. In this paper, we take this path further by exploring the dynamic block structures and workloads therein present during ML program execution, which offers new opportunities for improving convergence, correctness, and load balancing in distributed ML. We propose and showcase a general-purpose scheduler, STRADS, for coordinating distributed updates in ML algorithms, which harnesses the aforementioned opportunities in a systematic way. We provide theoretical guarantees for our scheduler, and demonstrate its efficacy versus static block structures on Lasso and Matrix Factorization

Triclinic Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) as a High Redox Potential Cathode Material for Na-Ion Batteries

Two types of sodium cobalt pyrophosphates, triclinic Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) and orthorhombic Na2CoP2O7, are compared as high-voltage cathode materials for Na-ion batteries. Na2CoP2O7 shows no electrochemical activity, delivering negligible capacity. In contrast, Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) exhibits good electrochemical performance, such as high redox potential at ca. 4.3 V (vs. Na/Na+) and stable capacity retention over 50 cycles, although Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) delivered approximately 40 mA h g(-1). This is attributed to the fact that Na2CoP2O7 (similar to 3.1 angstrom) has smaller diffusion channel size than Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) (similar to 4.2 angstrom). Moreover, the electrochemical performance of Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) is examined using Na cells and Li cells. The overpotential of Na cells is smaller than that of Li cells. This is due to the fact that Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) has a smaller charge transfer resistance and higher diffusivity for Na+ ions than Li+ ions. This implies that the large channel size of Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) is more appropriate for Na+ ions than Li+ ions. Therefore, Na3.12Co2.44(P2O7)(2) is considered a promising high-voltage cathode material for Na-ion batteries, if new electrolytes, which are stable above 4.5 V vs. Na/Na+, are introduced.

Development of a hybrid magnetic resonance/computed tomography-compatible phantom for magnetic resonance guided radiotherapy

The purpose of the present study was to develop a hybrid magnetic resonance/computed tomography (MR/CT)-compatible phantom and tissue-equivalent materials for each MR and CT image. Therefore, the essential requirements necessary for the development of a hybrid MR/CT-compatible phantom were determined and the development process is described. A total of 12 different tissue-equivalent materials for each MR and CT image were developed from chemical components. The uniformity of each sample was calculated. The developed phantom was designed to use 14 plugs that contained various tissue-equivalent materials. Measurement using the developed phantom was performed using a 3.0-T scanner with 32 channels and a Somatom Sensation 64. The maximum percentage difference of the signal intensity (SI) value on MR images after adding K2CO3 was 3.31%. Additionally, the uniformity of each tissue was evaluated by calculating the percent image uniformity (%PIU) of the MR image, which was 82.18 ±1.87% with 83% acceptance, and the average circular-shaped regions of interest (ROIs) on CT images for all samples were within ±5 Hounsfield units (HU). Also, dosimetric evaluation was performed. The percentage differences of each tissue-equivalent sample for average dose ranged from -0.76 to 0.21%. A hybrid MR/CT-compatible phantom for MR and CT was investigated as the first trial in this field of radiation oncology and medical physics

IT Capabilities, Process-Oriented Dynamic Capabilities, and Firm Financial Performance

More and more publications are highlighting the value of IT in affecting business processes. Recognizing firm-level dynamic capabilities as key to improved firm performance, our work examines and empirically tests the influencing relationships among IT capabilities (IT personnel expertise, IT infrastructure flexibility, and IT management capabilities), process-oriented dynamic capabilities, and financial performance. Process-oriented dynamic capabilities are defined as a firm’s ability to change (improve, adapt, or reconfigure) a business process better than the competition in terms of integrating activities, reducing cost, and capitalizing on business intelligence/learning. They encompass a broad category of changes in the firm’s processes, ranging from continual adjustments and improvements to radical one-time alterations. Although the majority of changes may be incremental, a firm’s capacity for timely changes also implies its readiness to execute radical alterations when the need arises. Grounded on the theoretical position, we propose a research model and gather a survey data set through a rigorous process that retains research validity. From the analysis of the survey data, we find an important route of causality, as follows: IT personnel expertise -\u3e IT management capabilities -\u3e IT infrastructure flexibility -\u3e process-oriented dynamic capabilities -\u3e financial performance. Based on this finding, we discuss the main contributions of our study in terms of the strategic role of IT in enhancing firm performance