ANCAEE: A Novel Clustering Algorithm for Energy Efficiency in Wireless Sensor Networks

One of the major constraints of wireless sensor networks is limited energy available to sensor nodes because of the small size of the batteries they use as source of power. Clustering is one of the routing techniques that have been using to minimize sensor nodes’ energy consumption during operation. In this paper, A Novel Clustering Algorithm for Energy Efficiency in Wireless Sensor Networks (ANCAEE) has been proposed. The algorithm achieves good performance in terms of minimizing energy consumption during data transmission and energy consumptions are distributed uniformly among all nodes. ANCAEE uses a new method of clusters formation and election of cluster heads. The algorithm ensures that a node transmits its data to the cluster head with a single hop transmission and cluster heads forward their data to the base station with multi-hop transmissions. Simulation results show that our approach consumes less energy and effectively extends network utilization

A Mobile-Health Information Access System

Patients using the Mobile-Health Information System can send SMS requests to a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) web server with the expectation of receiving an appropriate feedback on issues that relate to their health. The accuracy of such feedback is paramount to the mobile search user. However, automating SMS-based information search and retrieval poses significant challenges because of the inherent noise in SMS communication. First, in this paper an architecture is proposed for the implementation of the retrieval process, and second, an algorithm is developed for the best-ranked question-answer pair retrieval. We present an algorithm that assists in the selection of the best FAQ-query after the ranking of the query-answer pair. Results are generated based on the ranking of the FAQ-query. Our algorithm gives a better result in terms of average precision and recall when compared with the naıve retrieval algorithm.Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC)Department of HE and Training approved lis

Text messaging and retrieval techniques for a mobile health information system

Mobile phones have been identified as one of the technologies that can be used to overcome the challenges of information dissemination regarding serious diseases. Short message services, a much used function of cell phones, for example, can be turned into a major tool for accessing databases. This paper focuses on the design and development of a short message services-based information access algorithm to carefully screen information on human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome within the context of a frequently asked questions system. However, automating the short message services-based information search and retrieval poses significant challenges because of the inherent noise in its communications. The developed algorithm was used to retrieve the best-ranked question–answer pair. Results were evaluated using three metrics: average precision, recall and computational time. The retrieval efficacy was measured and it was confirmed that there was a significant improvement in the results of the proposed algorithm when compared with similar retrieval algorithms

Using wearable sensors for remote healthcare monitoring system

Recent technological advances in wireless communications and wireless sensor networks have enabled the design of low-cost, intelligent, tiny, and lightweight medical sensor nodes that can be strategically placed on human body, create a wireless body area network (WBAN) to monitor various physiological vital signs for a long period of time and providing real-time feedback to the user and medical staff. WBANs promise to re-volutionize health monitoring. In this paper, medical sensors were used to collect physiological data from patients and transmit it to Intelligent Personal digital Assistant (IPDA) using ZigBee/IEEE802.15.4 standard and to medical server using 3G communications. We introduced priority scheduling and data compression into the system to increase transmission rate of physiological critical signals which improve the bandwidth utilization. It also extends the life time of hand-held personal server by reducing power consumption during transmission

Digital watermarking: a state-of-the-art review

Digital watermarking is the art of embedding data, called a watermark, into a multimedia object such that the watermark can be detected or extracted later without impairing the object. Concealment of secret messages inside a natural language, known as steganography, has been in existence as early as the 16th century. However, the increase in electronic/digital information transmission and distribution has resulted in the spread of watermarking from ordinary text to multimedia transmission. In this paper, we review various approaches and methods that have been used to conceal and preserve messages. Examples of real-world applications are also discussed.SANPAD, Telkom, Cisco, Aria Technologies, THRIPDepartment of HE and Training approved lis

Text Messaging a tool in e-Health services

HIV/AIDS continues to be a menace to the global community, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa is not an exception. The infection rate is continues to grow, in particular, among the young adults. Cell phones have been identified as one of the tools that can be used to overcome the challenge of information dissemination regarding HIV/AIDS among young adults because of its acceptability within this age group. Access to appropriate information can be a powerful for prevention and management of many chronic illnesses, including hypertension, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Within the young adults age group information access by use of Short Messaging Services (SMS) becomes particularly appealing. In this regard, it is proposed to provide access to carefully screened information on HIV/AIDS within the context of frequently asked questions (FAQ) system. However, automating SMS-based information search and retrieval poses significant challenges because of the inherent noise in SMS communications. In the paper, a special corpus of SMS messages was collected based on a standardised question-answer collection. The SMS messages were then analysed, transcribed and classified, with the aim of building a dictionary of SMS-speak to English translations, with reference to HIV/AIDS

Ensuring the security and privacy of information in mobile health-care communication systems

The sensitivity of health-care information and its accessibility via the Internet and mobile technology systems is a cause for concern in these modern times. The privacy, integrity and confidentiality of a patient’s data are key factors to be considered in the transmission of medical information for use by authorised health-care personnel. Mobile communication has enabled medical consultancy, treatment, drug administration and the provision of laboratory results to take place outside the hospital. With the implementation of electronic patient records and the Internet and Intranets, medical information sharing amongst relevant health-care providers was made possible. But the vital issue in this method of information sharing is security: the patient’s privacy, as well as the confidentiality and integrity of the health-care information system, should not be compromised. We examine various ways of ensuring the security and privacy of a patient’s electronic medical information in order to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the information

A novel approach integrating ranking functions discovery, optimization and infernce to improve retrieval performance

The significant roles play by ranking function in the performance and success of Information Retrieval (IR) systems and search engines cannot be underestimated. Diverse ranking functions are available in IR literature. However, empirical studies show that ranking functions do not perform constantly well across different contexts (queries, collections, users). In this study, a novel three-stage integrated ranking framework is proposed for implementing discovering, optimizing and inference rankings used in IR systems. The first phase, discovery process is based on Genetic Programming (GP) approach which smartly combines structural and contents features in the documents while the second phase, optimization process is based on Genetic Algorithm (GA) which combines document retrieval scores of various well-known ranking functions. In the 3rd phase, Fuzzy inference proves as soft search constraints to be applied on documents. We demonstrate how these two features are combined to bring new tasks and processes within the three concept stages of integrated framework for effective IR

Periodicity, Stability, and Boundedness of Solutions to Certain Second Order Delay Differential Equations

The behaviour of solutions to certain second order nonlinear delay differential equations with variable deviating arguments is discussed. The main procedure lies in the properties of a complete Lyapunov functional which is used to obtain suitable criteria to guarantee existence of unique solutions that are periodic, uniformly asymptotically stable, and uniformly ultimately bounded. Obtained results are new and also complement related ones that have appeared in the literature. Moreover, examples are given to illustrate the feasibility and correctness of the main results

Stability, Boundedness, and Existence of Periodic Solutions to Certain Third-Order Delay Differential Equations with Multiple Deviating Arguments

The behaviour of solutions for certain third-order nonlinear differential equations with multiple deviating arguments is considered. By employing Lyapunov’s second method, a complete Lyapunov functional is constructed and used to establish sufficient conditions that guarantee existence of unique solutions that are periodic, uniformly asymptotically stable, and uniformly ultimately bounded. Obtained results not only are new but also include many outstanding results in the literature. Finally, the correctness and effectiveness of the results are justified with examples