Cell degradation detection based on an inter-cell approach

Fault management is a crucial part of cellular network management systems. The status of the base stations is usually monitored by well-defined key performance indicators (KPIs). The approaches for cell degradation detection are based on either intra-cell or inter-cell analysis of the KPIs. In intra-cell analysis, KPI profiles are built based on their local history data whereas in inter-cell analysis, KPIs of one cell are compared with the corresponding KPIs of the other cells. In this work, we argue in favor of the inter-cell approach and apply a degradation detection method that is able to detect a sleeping cell that could be difficult to observe using traditional intra-cell methods. We demonstrate its use for detecting emulated degradations among performance data recorded from a live LTE network. The method can be integrated in current systems because it can operate using existing KPIs without any major modification to the network infrastructure

A Marketplace for Efficient and Secure Caching for IoT Applications in 5G Networks

As the communication industry is progressing towards fifth generation (5G) of cellular networks, the traffic it carries is also shifting from high data rate traffic from cellular users to a mixture of high data rate and low data rate traffic from Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Moreover, the need to efficiently access Internet data is also increasing across 5G networks. Caching contents at the network edge is considered as a promising approach to reduce the delivery time. In this paper, we propose a marketplace for providing a number of caching options for a broad range of applications. In addition, we propose a security scheme to secure the caching contents with a simultaneous potential of reducing the duplicate contents from the caching server by dividing a file into smaller chunks. We model different caching scenarios in NS-3 and present the performance evaluation of our proposal in terms of latency and throughput gains for various chunk sizes

Technologies and solutions for location-based services in smart cities: past, present, and future

Location-based services (LBS) in smart cities have drastically altered the way cities operate, giving a new dimension to the life of citizens. LBS rely on location of a device, where proximity estimation remains at its core. The applications of LBS range from social networking and marketing to vehicle-toeverything communications. In many of these applications, there is an increasing need and trend to learn the physical distance between nearby devices. This paper elaborates upon the current needs of proximity estimation in LBS and compares them against the available Localization and Proximity (LP) finding technologies (LP technologies in short). These technologies are compared for their accuracies and performance based on various different parameters, including latency, energy consumption, security, complexity, and throughput. Hereafter, a classification of these technologies, based on various different smart city applications, is presented. Finally, we discuss some emerging LP technologies that enable proximity estimation in LBS and present some future research areas

Peringkat Daerah Rawan Pangan Berdasarkan Data Spasial Di Provinsi Aceh1 (Analise of Food Insecurity Base on Spatial in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province)

Tujuan penelitian ini dalah untuk mengelompokkan daerah rawan pangan dan memetakanwilayah rawan pangan tingkat kabupaten/kota di Provinsi Aceh, mengidentifikasi karakteristik danfaktor-faktor penyebab rawan pangan pada setiap wilayah. Penelitian dilaksanakan di ProvinsiAceh yang meliputi 23 kabupaten/kota selama 8 bulan. Penelitian menggunakan metode survey,analisis secara deskriptif terhadap data sekunder yang meliputi : data pertanian, kesehatan, dan sosialekonomi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan ada dua tingkatan wilayah rawan pangan di Provinsi Acehyaitu; tingkat kerawanan pangan sedang (21,7%), dan tingkat kerawanan tinggi (78,3%).Jumlah Kabupaten/kota dengan kategori kerawanan pangan tinggi lebih dari 3 kali lipatdibandingkan dengan daerah tingkat kerawanan sedang

Stability issues of dye solar cells

The thesis discusses dye solar cells (DSCs) which are emerging as a potential candidate for many applications. The goal of the work was to find more stable and higher performing materials for flexible DSCs, improve understanding of the effects on the DSC stability, and to develop experimental methods that give improved resolution of the degradation mechanisms. First an intensive critical literature review was done to highlight the important degradation mechanisms in DSCs. It was concluded that techniques giving chemical information are needed to understand the degradation reactions and their effect on electrical performance. It would be advantageous to have methods that enable monitoring chemical changes in operating DSCs, or periodically over their lifetime during accelerated ageing tests. Here the focus was on new and advanced in-situ methods that allow continuous study of the aging of the cells. In this regard, optical techniques such as Raman spectroscopy, newly introduced image processing method and recently introduced segmented cell method were employed to bridge the link between the chemical changes in the DSCs and the standard PV measurement methods. Here for instance the image processing was demonstrated to study the bleaching of electrolyte under ultraviolet and visible light at 85°C. The results obtained with the image processing method and the standard electrical measurements were in agreement and showed that the bleaching of electrolyte was initiated by TiO2 and slowed down by the presence of the dye. For the roll-to-roll production of DSCs cheap, flexible and stable substrates are required. In this work, a series of metals i.e. StS 304, StS 321, StS 316, StS 316L and Ti were successfully stabilized at the CE of a DSC by using a sputtered Pt catalyst layer that doubled also as a corrosion blocking layer. This work was an important step forward towards stable flexible DSCs. Finally, the degradation due to the manufacturing step related to the electrolyte filling in the DSC was studied. With the help of recently introduced segmented cell method, it was found the nanoporous film of TiO2 was acting as filter for some of the commonly used electrolyte additives i.e. tBP and NMBI. This resulted in spatial performance variation in the DSC which lead to significant losses in the overall performance (here up to 35 % losses in the up-scaling) and thus it has important implications for large area DSCs

Security in wireless body area networks: from in-body to off-body communications

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) play a vital role in shaping today's healthcare systems. Given the critical nature of a WBAN in one's health to automatically monitor and diagnose health issues, security and privacy of these healthcare systems need a special attention. In this paper, we first propose a novel four-tier architecture of remote health monitoring system and then identify the security requirements and challenges at each tier. We provide a concise survey of the literature aimed at improving the security and privacy of WBANs and then present a comprehensive overview of the problem. In particular, we stress that the inclusion of in vivo nano-networks in a remote healthcare monitoring system is imperative for its completeness. To this end, we elaborate on security threats and concerns in nano-networks and medical implants as well as we emphasize on presenting a holistic framework of an overall ecosystem for WBANs, which is essential to ensure end-to-end security. Lastly, we discuss some limitations of current WBANs.Other InformationPublished in: IEEE AccessLicense: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/access.2018.2873825</p

The Impact of Sustainable Leadership on Sustainable Performance: The Moderated Mediation of Green Organizational Culture and Organizational Commitment

This study investigates the relationship between sustainable leadership and the sustainable performance of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan, with a particular focus on the mediating role of organizational commitment and the moderating influence of green organizational culture. Data were collected from 351 respondents representing small to medium-sized manufacturing firms using a purposive sampling technique. SmartPLS 4 software was employed to test the measurement and structural model and to test the hypotheses using partial least square structural equation modeling. The findings reveal a significant positive association between sustainable leadership and sustainable organizational performance. Moreover, organizational commitment was found to mediate this relationship, while green organizational culture emerged as a critical contextual factor influencing these dynamics. This study contributes to the existing literature by offering a novel perspective on how sustainable performance encompassing ethical practices, social responsibility, and environmental initiatives is vital for achieving long-term organizational success in a rapidly evolving business environment

A Genetic Algorithm-Based Support Vector Machine Approach for Intelligent Usability Assessment of m-Learning Applications

In the field of human-computer interaction (HCI), the usability assessment of m-learning (mobile-learning) applications is a real challenge. Such assessment typically involves extraction of the best features of an application like efficiency, effectiveness, learnability, cognition, memorability, etc., and further ranking of those features for an overall assessment of the quality of the mobile application. In the previous literature, it is found that there is neither any theory nor any tool available to measure or assess a user perception and assessment of usability features of a m-learning application for the sake of ranking the graphical user interface of a mobile application in terms of a user acceptance and satisfaction. In this paper, a novel approach is presented by performing a mobile applications quantitative and qualitative analysis. Based on user requirements and perception, a criterion is defined based on a set of important features. Afterward, for the qualitative analysis, a genetic algorithm (GA) is used to score prescribed features for the usability assessment of a mobile application. The used approach assigns a score to each usability feature according to the user requirement and weight of each feature. GA performs the rank assessment process initially by performing feature selection and scoring the best features of the application. A comparison of assessment analysis of GA and various machine learning models, K-nearest neighbours, Naive Bayes, and Random Forests is performed. It was found that a GA-based support vector machine (SVM) provides more accuracy in the extraction of the best features of a mobile application and further ranking of those features.Comment: 20 pages, 22 Figures, Journal Pape

Anticoagulant potential and total phenolic content of six species of the genus Ficus from Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Purpose: To investigate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Ficus benghalensis, Ficus elasticaa, Ficus palmata, Ficus religiosa, Ficus semicordata and Ficus auriculata, and to determine their anticoagulant potential. Methods: Crude methanol extracts were prepared from the plant leaves, and fractionated using liquidliquid partition with n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate. The total flavonoid and total phenolic contents of the extracts and their fractions were determined. The anticoagulant potential of the six Ficus species were evaluated in healthy human plasma, using activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) methods. Results: Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of considerable amounts of flavonoids ranging from 5.3 ± 0.7 to 11.8 ± 0.3 mg rutin equivalents (RE)/g, and phenolic compounds ranging from 8.0 ± 0.7 to 86.5 ± 1.5 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g in each fraction of the six species. Results from in vitro anticoagulant potential assays showed significant anticoagulant properties, with prothrombin time (PT) ranging from 17.7 ± 0.7 to 26.7 ± 2.2 s, and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) varying from 47.7 ± 3.3 to 72.3 ± 5.4 s. Conclusion: The results indicate that F. semicordata and F. Religiosa have higher anticoagulant potential than the other Ficus species studied