bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trends and Technologies in Big Data Processing
Authors: Choudhury Amitava , Rangra Kalpana
Published: May 2021

Data type and amount in human society is growing at an amazing speed, which is caused by emerging new services such as cloud computing, internet of things, and location-based services. The era of big data has arrived. As data has been a fundamental resource, how to manage and utilize big data better has attracted much attention. Especially with the development of the internet of things, how to process a large amount of real-time data has become a great challenge in research and applications. Recently, cloud computing technology has attracted much attention to high performance, but how to use cloud computing technology for large-scale real-time data processing has not been studied. In this chapter, various big data processing techniques are discussed.
Privacy in Cloud-Based Computing
Authors: Ahmed Monjur , Sarkar Nurul I.
Published: May 2021

Cloud computing, internet of things (IoT), edge computing, and fog computing are gaining attention as emerging research topics and computing approaches in recent years. These computing approaches are rather conceptual and contextual strategies rather than being computing technologies themselves, and in practice, they often overlap. For example, an IoT architecture may incorporate cloud computing and fog computing. Cloud computing is a significant concept in contemporary computing and being adopted in almost every means of computing. All computing architectures incorporating cloud computing are termed as cloud-based computing (CbC) in general. However, cloud computing itself is the basis of CbC because it significantly depends on resources that are remote, and the remote resources are often under third-party ownership where the privacy of sensitive data is a big concern. This chapter investigates various privacy issues associated with CbC. The data privacy issues and possible solutions within the context of cloud computing, IoT, edge computing, and fog computing are also explored.
Conceptualizing Cyber-Security From EU Perspective
Authors: Kok Ayse
Published: May 2021

If the aim of the EU is the establishment of deeper cooperation with other nations within the context of cyber security in the future, platforms (e.g., the Task Force) should create an effective agenda that reflects the differences between the EU (soft power) and other countries such as China or Russia (hard power). Yet, there should not be any compromise in the principles and norms of these countries with regard to their Internet policies. Although this may sound too difficult to accomplish, it is not impossible given EU's increased emphasis on cybersecurity along with its evolving cybersecurity strategy.
Building a Maturity Framework for Big Data Cybersecurity Analytics
Authors: Pham Chi Minh
Published: May 2021

In recent years, big data analytics has become widely applied in cybersecurity, leading to the novel approach of big data cybersecurity analytics. While some organizations have been adopting this new approach in tackling cybercrime, there are limited guidelines to which companies can refer. Therefore, the renowned maturity model concept, which offers a systematic approach for an organization to measure and improve its maturity level, is applied in this study. On the basis of a comprehensive literature review, this chapter proposes a maturity framework for big data cybersecurity analytics. This synthesized comprehensive maturity framework comprises seven dimensions across five stage levels—namely organization, human, infrastructure, data management, analytics application, governance, and security dimensions. Knowing which dimensions need to be improved and which pathway to follow ensures the successful implementation of big data cybersecurity analytics within organizations.
Ameliorating the Privacy on Large Scale Aviation Dataset by Implementing MapReduce Multidimensional Hybrid k-Anonymization
Authors: Stephen Dass A.  , Prabhu J.
Published: May 2021

In this fast growing data universe, data generation and data storage are moving into the next-generation process by generating petabytes and gigabytes in an hour. This leads to data accumulation where privacy and preservation are certainly misplaced. This data contains some sensitive and high privacy data which is to be hidden or removed using hashing or anonymization algorithms. In this article, the authors propose a hybrid k anonymity algorithm to handle large scale aircraft datasets with combined concepts of Big Data analytics and privacy preservation of storing the dataset with the help of MapReduce. This published anonymized data are moved by MapReduce to the Hive database for data storage. The authors propose a multi-dimensional hybrid k-anonymity technique to solve the privacy issue and compare the proposed system with other two anonymization methods such as BUG and TDS. Three experiments were performed for evaluating classifier error, calculating disruption value and p% hybrid anonymity and estimation of processing time.
Privacy-Preserving Orchestrated Web Service Composition with Untrusted Brokers
Authors: Khabou Imen , Rouached Mohsen , Viejo Alexandre , Sánchez David
Published: May 2021

This article describes how by using web service composition to model different business processes is a usual tendency in the industry. More specifically, web service composition enables to separate a certain process in different activities that must be executed following a certain order. Each activity has its own set of inputs and outputs and is executed by a certain web service hosted by a service provider which can be completely independent. Among all the applications in which web service composition may be applied, this article focuses on a cloud-based scenario in which a business wishes to outsource the execution of a certain complex service in exchange for some economical compensation. It is for this reason, among the different composition approaches that exist in the literature, this article focuses on the orchestrated one, in which a broker coordinates the composition. One of the main issues of orchestrated systems is the fact that the broker receives and learns all the input data needed to perform the requested complex service. This behavior may represent a serious privacy problem depending on the nature of the business process to be executed. In this article, a new privacy-preserving orchestrated Web service composition system based on a symmetric searchable encryption primitive is proposed. The main target of this new scheme is to protect the privacy of the business that wish to outsource their operations using a cloud-based solution in which the broker is honest but curious, this is, this entity tries to analyze data and message flows in order to learn all the possible sensitive information from the rest of participants in the system.
Efficient Routing Protocol for Location Privacy Preserving in Internet of Things
Authors: Kaur Rajwinder , Verma Karan , Jain Shelendra Kumar , Kesswani Nishtha
Published: May 2021

Internet of Things is a norm which has expanded very swiftly with high magnitude of heterogeneity and functionalities. Security and privacy became the prime factors of Internet of Things due to unsecured character of wireless communication. Thus, because of unsecured network, it is easy for invaders to trace and find the position of nodes during communication and leak the information. Issues related to location information may include sharing of information, storage, sensing, and processing which can be used by external entities in different contexts, i.e. contexts can be: technical, legal, and social. These issues make privacy a major concern. Here, the research this article presents notions of existing privacy models and the amplified techniques using a random path. The article then describes possible solutions to preserve the location of nodes with less transmission time. Results of proposed scheme depict effectual behavior of the approach.
Information Privacy and Emerging Technologies in the UAE
Authors: Xanthidis Dimitrios , Manolas Christos , Xanthidou Ourania Koutzampasopoulou , Wang Han-I
Published: May 2021

The rapid developments of emerging technologies, including Big Data, Cloud Computing, and Internet of Things, are causing many societies to struggle whilst trying to keep up with, and adopt them. As a consequence, serious concerns and issues are being raised. The threat to personal information privacy is one of these issues. This review paper briefly introduces the aforementioned technologies and explores concepts related to concerns on information privacy and disclosure in the U.A.E. in the context of these technologies. In addition, related research themes that could be interesting to explore are identified, with a focus on the local environment.
Medical Data Security Tools and Techniques in E-Health Applications
Authors: Pandey Anukul , Singh Butta , Saini Barjinder Singh , Sood Neetu
Published: May 2021

The primary objective of this chapter is to analyze the existing tools and techniques for medical data security. Typically, medical data includes either medical signals such as electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram, electromyography, or medical imaging like digital imaging and communications in medicine, joint photographic experts group format. The medical data are sensitive, subject to privacy preservation, and data access rights. Security in e-health field is an integrated concept which includes robust combination of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of medical data. Confidentiality ensures the data is inaccessible to unauthorized access. Integrity restricts the alteration in data by the unauthorized user. Whereas availability provides the readiness of the data when needed by the authorized user. Additionally, confidentiality, integrity and availability, accountability parameter records the back action list which answers the why, when, what, and whom data is accessed. The selected tools and techniques used in medical data security in e-health applications is discussed.
Privacy Preservation in Smart Grid Environment
Authors: Lawal Muhammad Aminu , Hassan Syed Raheel
Published: May 2021

Smart grids are conceived to ensure smarter generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption of electricity. It integrates the traditional electricity grid with information and communication technology. This enables a two-way communication among the smart grid entities, which translates to exchange of information about fine-grained user energy consumption between the smart grid entities. However, the flow of user energy consumption data may lead to the violation of user privacy. Inference on such data can expose the daily habits and types of appliances of users. Thus, several privacy preservation schemes have been proposed in the literature to ensure the privacy and security requirements of smart grid users. This chapter provides a review of some privacy preservation schemes. The schemes operational procedure, strengths, and weaknesses are discussed. A taxonomy, comparison table, and comparative analysis are also presented. The comparative analysis gives an insight on open research issues in privacy preservation schemes.
Improving Privacy and Security of User Data in Location Based Services
Authors: Yamin Mohammad , Sen Adnan Ahmed Abi
Published: May 2021

Location Based Services (LBS) expose user data to malicious attacks. Approaches, evolved, so far, for preserving privacy and security, suffer from one or more anomalies, and hence the problem of securing LBS data is far from being resolved. In particular, accuracy of results vs. privacy degree, privacy vs. performance, and trust between users are open problems. In this article, we present a novel approach by integration of peer-to-peer (P2P) with the caching technique and dummies from real queries. Our approach increases efficiency, leads to improved performance, and provides solutions to many problems that have existed in the past. In addition, we offer an improved way of managing cache. Simulation demonstrates superiority of our approach over earlier ones dealing with both the ratio of privacy and that of performance.
Privacy Preserving in Digital Health
Authors: El Ouazzani Zakariae , El Bakkali Hanan , Sadki Souad
Published: May 2021

Recently, digital health solutions are taking advantage of recent advances in information and communication technologies. In this context, patients' health data are shared with other stakeholders. Moreover, it's now easier to collect massive health data due to the rising use of connected sensors in the health sector. However, the sensitivity of this shared healthcare data related to patients may increase the risks of privacy violation. Therefore, healthcare-related data need robust security measurements to prevent its disclosure and preserve patients' privacy. However, in order to make well-informed decisions, it is often necessary to allow more permissive security policies for healthcare organizations even without the consent of patients or against their preferences. The authors of this chapter concentrate on highlighting these challenging issues related to patient privacy and presenting some of the most significant privacy preserving approaches in the context of digital health.
Privacy Preserving Machine Learning and Deep Learning Techniques
Authors: Asok Divya , Chitra P.  , Muthurajan Bharathiraja
Published: May 2021

In the past years, the usage of internet and quantity of digital data generated by large organizations, firms, and governments have paved the way for the researchers to focus on security issues of private data. This collected data is usually related to a definite necessity. For example, in the medical field, health record systems are used for the exchange of medical data. In addition to services based on users' current location, many potential services rely on users' location history or their spatial-temporal provenance. However, most of the collected data contain data identifying individual which is sensitive. With the increase of machine learning applications around every corner of the society, it could significantly contribute to the preservation of privacy of both individuals and institutions. This chapter gives a wider perspective on the current literature on privacy ML and deep learning techniques, along with the non-cryptographic differential privacy approach for ensuring sensitive data privacy.
A Survey on Privacy Preserving Dynamic Data Publishing
Authors: Kabou Salheddine , Benslimane Sidi mohamed , Mosteghanemi Mhammed
Published: May 2021

Many organizations, especially small and medium business (SMB) enterprises require the collection and sharing of data containing personal information. The privacy of this data must be preserved before outsourcing to the commercial public. Privacy preserving data publishing PPDP refers to the process of publishing useful information while preserving data privacy. A variety of approaches have been proposed to ensure privacy by applying traditional anonymization models which focused only on the single publication of datasets. In practical applications, data publishing is more complicated where the organizations publish multiple times for different recipients or after modifications to provide up-to-date data. Privacy preserving dynamic data publication PPDDP is a new process in privacy preservation which addresses the anonymization of the data for different purposes. In this survey, the author will systematically evaluate and summarize different studies to PPDDP, clarify the differences and requirements between the scenarios that can exist, and propose future research directions.
The Contemporary Ethical and Privacy Issues of Smart Medical Fields
Authors: Chang Victor , Shi Yujie , Zhang Yan
Published: May 2021

With the development of big data technology, such as data mining and data matching, many industries have started a revolution, including medical field. Big data not only strengthens the accuracy of medical diagnosis, but it also enhances the efficiency of the entire medical system and relevant medical staff. Additionally, with the rethinking of innovation, the application of wearable intelligent device, RFID technology and sensor technology play positive roles in promoting medical interaction between hospital system and wearer. Smart medical provides effective methods for individual health management and promotes the progress of medical information. However, there are also some inevitable ethical problems, e.g., the leakage of privacy information, which cannot be avoided to some extents. The authors recommend some suggestions to reduce the possibilities of ethical problems happened during the data flow process.
Eliciting Design Guidelines for Privacy Notifications in mHealth Environments
Authors: Murmann Patrick
Published: May 2021

The possibilities of employing mobile health (mhealth) devices for the purpose of self-quantification and fitness tracking are increasing; yet few users of online mhealth services possess proven knowledge of how their personal data are processed once the data have been disclosed. Ex post transparency-enhancing tools (TETs) can provide such insight and guide users in making informed decisions with respect to intervening with the processing of their personal data. At present, however, there are no suitable guidelines that aid designers of TETs in implementing privacy notifications that reflect their recipients' needs in terms of what they want to be notified about and the level of guidance required to audit their data effectively. Based on an analysis of gaps related to TETs, the findings of a study on privacy notification preferences, and the findings on notifications and privacy notices discussed in the literature, this paper proposes a set of guidelines for the human-centred design of privacy notifications that facilitate ex post transparency.
Shielding the Confidentiality, Privacy, and Data Security of Bio-Medical Information in India
Authors: Singh Varinder , Dhiman Shikha
Published: May 2021

The framers of Indian Constitution were very much cognizant about the significance of human nobility and worthiness and hence they incorporated the “right to life and personal liberty” in the Constitution of India. Right to life is considered as one of the primordial fundamental rights. There is no doubt that Indian Judiciary has lived up to the expectations of the Constitution framers, both in interpreting and implementing Article 21 initially, but there are still a few complications left as to the viability of Article 21 in modern times. Looking at the wider arena of right to life, it can be articulated that broader connotation of “right to life” aims at achieving the norms of “privacy” as well.
Privacy in Online Social Networks
Authors: Kaur Ramanpreet , Klobučar Tomaž , Gabrijelčič Dušan
Published: May 2021

This chapter is concerned with the identification of the privacy threats to provide a feedback to the users so that they can make an informed decision based on their desired level of privacy. To achieve this goal, Solove's taxonomy of privacy violations is refined to incorporate the modern challenges to the privacy posed by the evolution of social networks. This work emphasizes on the fact that the privacy protection should be a joint effort of social network owners and users, and provides a classification of mitigation strategies according to the party responsible for taking these countermeasures. In addition, it highlights the key research issues to guide the research in the field of privacy preservation. This chapter can serve as a first step to comprehend the privacy requirements of online users and educate the users about their choices and actions in social media.
Privacy Information Leakage Prevention in Cognitive Social Mining Applications
Authors: Murugan Suriya , Anandakumar H.
Published: May 2021

Online social networks, such as Facebook are increasingly used by many users and these networks allow people to publish and share their data to their friends. The problem is user privacy information can be inferred via social relations. This chapter makes a study and performs research on managing those confidential information leakages which is a challenging issue in social networks. It is possible to use learning methods on user released data to predict private information. Since the main goal is to distribute social network data while preventing sensitive data disclosure, it can be achieved through sanitization techniques. Then the effectiveness of those techniques is explored, and the methods of collective inference are used to discover sensitive attributes of the user profile data set. Hence, sanitization methods can be used efficiently to decrease the accuracy of both local and relational classifiers and allow secure information sharing by maintaining user privacy.
Acceptance of Internet Banking in Tunisian Banks
Authors: Nasri Wadie
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors which affect internet banking adoption acceptance in Tunisian banks by using the modified unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model by adding attitude, trust, perceived risk, and perceived internet banking services quality. The proposed model was empirically tested using survey data provided by 203 respondents and was analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM). The analysis results indicated that performance expectancy, attitude, facilitating conditions, social influence, and perceived internet banking services quality show a significant positive impact on the users' behavioural intention to use internet banking services. This study contributes to the literature by providing a new research model for understanding internet banking adoption in Tunisia, and its findings provide useful guidelines to develop strategies and to improve their services in order to increase the adoption of mobile banking by their customers.
Dynamic Analysis and Simulation of the Hydraulic Control System on the Remote-Controlled Explosive Ordnance Disposal Machine
Authors: Nguyen Dat Duy , Van Chu Dat , Van Sy Le
Published: May 2021

The remote-controlled explosive ordnance disposal machine, an important device used in the military, has been developed in many countries. It has become more intelligent and multi-functional due to being integrated with many functional components. New generations have been equipped with a completely remote-controlled system and high-resolution cameras. In bomb disposal work, this integrated machine can be used to replace other single-operating machines which allow to reduce greatly consuming time and labor effort as well as safety for operators. There are significant distinctions in design among well-known manufacturers. One of important components of this machine is hydraulic system that drives operating equipment of the machine. This paper focuses on analyzing and simulating dynamic model of the hydraulic system during the bomb laying process. The main target of this study is to meet the requirements for controlling a remote-controlled explosive ordnance disposal machine with high specific power, low hysteresis, high precision control, which ensures precision operation and safety.
Classification and Automatic Feature-Based Extraction Approach for Cylindrical and Milling Parts
Authors: Adapa Sathish Kumar , Sreeramulu Dowluru , Jagadish
Published: May 2021

This paper reports classification and automatic extraction of various cylindrical and milling features in conventional machining process parts. In this work, various algorithms like hole recognition algorithm (HRA) and milling feature recognition algorithm (MFRA) have been used for identification of different cylindrical and milling features. A cylindrical feature is identified based on specific logical rules, and milling feature is identified based on the concept of concave decomposition of edges. In-house developed JAVA program is used to write algorithm, and then validation of the algorithm is done through two case studies. The HRA and MFRA algorithms extract the cylindrical features (through holes, blind holes, taper holes, and bosses) and milling features (slot, blind slot, step, blind step, pockets) precisely. The current work is well suitable to extract the features in conventional machining parts and thereby improve the downstream applications likes process planning, CAPP, CAM, etc.
Expecting Transformation of Marketing During the Post-Pandemic New Normal
Authors: Gigauri Iza , Djakeli Kakhaber
Published: May 2021

COVID-19 has impacted economic and social dimensions around the globe. It triggered changes in consumer behavior requiring marketing efforts to be rethought from the sustainability point of view. The presented research is motivated by the recent article by P. Kotler discussing the new role of marketing and seeks to explore the effects of the pandemic on marketing and outline post-pandemic tendencies. The qualitative research approach was applied to interview marketing managers in Georgia to analyze the impact of the crisis on marketing management. It also reveals opportunities for marketing in post-pandemic times and sheds light on factors for marketing transformation. The research emphasizes the advantages of digital marketing and illustrates the skills marketing managers should have. The findings outline that marketing strategies should transform towards more ethical and sustainable marketing in accordance with the current changes. The paper concludes by suggesting future studies.
Climate-Smart Approach for Sustainable Agriculture
Authors: Suvorov Nicolae , Stancu Alina Mădălina
Published: May 2021

The 21st century comes with a great challenge in terms of sustainable agriculture and food security, which is also a worldwide debated issue due to problems such as population growth, degradation of natural resources including loss of biodiversity and considerable soil degradation, and last but not least, climate change. In fact, climate change poses the greatest threat to agricultural systems and the health of ecosystems and natural balance. The green revolution comes as a lifesaver for the environment, streamlining the allocation of natural resources but at the same time involves huge costs in term of money, time, and labor. Due to the intensive use of fossil fuels, chemical treatments in agriculture, and animal husbandry, environmental problems such as climate change tend to become more pronounced resulting in negative environmental externalities globally. A smart approach to sustainable agriculture is to reinvent and innovate traditional agricultural practices in order to identify ways and possibilities to reduce the risks related to the use of pesticides in close connection with the health of ecosystems.
Smart City Field Notes One
Authors: Stewart Dudley
Published: May 2021

This is the first of a number of reports emerging from the author's 50 years of continuous action in the arena of sustainable energy field laboratories. This paper is a fresh guidance product of action-learning in an organically organised living lab which has been dedicated to the phased eradication of the use of fossil fuel as the dominant, and most destructive, source of Earth's energy. During the course of the past five decades, this old-style living lab, made-up of many smaller labs, has been migrating from rural to urban solutions, and it has been at the critical junctures of a number of European Union (EU) lighthouse smart cities. The author asserts that while definitions for smart cities abound, and a plethora of writing exploring the concepts that underpin them has emerged, the definitions tend to fall short as they do not take into account the requirement for keeping the cities operational while the teams of disparate planners, specialists, and citizens dynamically reshape it for purpose. This is akin to building the airship while flying it.
Conceptualizing The Integration of eHealth With eGovernance in a Developing Country
Authors: Mutasa Laizah Sashah , Iyamu Tiko
Published: May 2021

In Namibia, there is a problem of integration between eHealth and eGovernance. This problem has resulted in the fragmentation, decentralisation, and duplication of processes and patient data. These challenges lead to bigger health problems because diagnoses are duplicated, and rates of mortality increase. From the governance angle, service delivery deteriorates owing to lack of transparency and so accurate evaluation of service quality. This study used an interpretivist perspective to identify the factors that can influence the integration between eHealth and eGovernance in the Namibian environment. A total of 66 papers from the years 2011-2020 were deemed relevant to the study and categorized according to topic and year of publication. Based on the factors identified in the data analysis, the challenges identified were conceptualized in terms of how to address the problem of integration between eHealth and eGovernance in a developing country like Namibia.
Study on Machinability of Hydrogenated Ti-6Al-4V Alloy
Authors: Ding Zi Xuan , Sun Jian Fei , Zhu Wei Dong
Published: May 2021

The milling experiments were conducted carried out which Ti-6Al-4V alloys with different amount of hydrogen permeating were processed, in order to explore various problem in the machining process of hydrogenated titanium alloy. The main cutting force, microhardness and residual stress before and after milling were measured. The experiments result show that Ti-6Al-4V alloy with appropriate amount of hydrogen can effectively reduce the cutting force, improve the surface hardness and reduce the surface residual stress.
Quantitatively Investigate the Effects of Natural Aging on Mechanical Properties and Bake Hardening Behaviors of Al-Mg-Si Alloys
Authors: Gu Zheng Wei , Han Yu Ting , Tang Zi Ming , Yu Ge
Published: May 2021

The effect of natural aging on mechanical properties and bake hardening behaviors of Al-Mg-Si alloys was quantitatively investigated by a series of tensile experiments along the rolling direction. The natural aging period is from three days to three months after heat treatment. As the results, within three months, along the rolling direction, 0.2% offset yield strength and ultimate tensile strength respectively increased from 97 MPa to 145 MPa, 210 MPa to 248 MPa. The strain hardening exponent n-value and the increment of yield strength after bake hardening respectively decreased from 0.2804 to 0.2186, 127 MPa to 89 MPa. The percentage elongation after fracture varies from 22% to 24% during natural aging and varies from 13% to 16% after bake hardening. A large amount of detailed data has been given, which quantitatively describes the change in mechanical properties and bake hardening behaviors of Al-Mg-Si alloys during natural aging.
Synthesis of Carbon Nitride Intercalation Compound Composite and Study of Visible Light-Induced Photocatalytic Performance
Authors: Wan Li Juan
Published: May 2021

Novel visible light-induced carbon nitride intercalation compound (CNIC) with iron oxide composite photocatalyst with different content of iron oxide were synthesized through simple mixing and heat treatment. The composite photocatalyst was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and BET surface area measurements. The photocatalytic oxidation ability of the novel composite photocatalyst was evaluated using methyl range (MO) as a target pollutant. The experimental results showed the composites with a content of iron oxide exhibited the higher photocatalytic activity than either single-phase iron oxide or CNIC under visible-light irradiation. The as-prepared composite photocatalyst exhibits an improved photocatalytic activity due to enhancement of photo-generated electron–hole separations at the interface.
ILF3 Is a Negative Transcriptional Regulator of Innate Immune Responses and Myeloid Dendritic Cell Maturation
Authors: Nazitto Rodolfo , Amon Lynn M. , Mast Fred D. , Aitchison John D. , Aderem Alan , Johnson Jarrod S. , Diercks Alan H.
Published: May 2021

APCs such as myeloid dendritic cells (DCs) are key sentinels of the innate immune system. In response to pathogen recognition and innate immune stimulation, DCs transition from an immature to a mature state that is characterized by widespread changes in host gene expression, which include the upregulation of cytokines, chemokines, and costimulatory factors to protect against infection. Several transcription factors are known to drive these gene expression changes, but the mechanisms that negatively regulate DC maturation are less well understood. In this study, we identify the transcription factor IL enhancer binding factor 3 (ILF3) as a negative regulator of innate immune responses and DC maturation. Depletion of ILF3 in primary human monocyte-derived DCs led to increased expression of maturation markers and potentiated innate responses during stimulation with viral mimetics or classic innate agonists. Conversely, overexpression of short or long ILF3 isoforms (NF90 and NF110) suppressed DC maturation and innate immune responses. Through mutagenesis experiments, we found that a nuclear localization sequence in ILF3, and not its dual dsRNA-binding domains, was required for this function. Mutation of the domain associated with zinc finger motif of ILF3’s NF110 isoform blocked its ability to suppress DC maturation. Moreover, RNA-sequencing analysis indicated that ILF3 regulates genes associated with cholesterol homeostasis in addition to genes associated with DC maturation. Together, our data establish ILF3 as a transcriptional regulator that restrains DC maturation and limits innate immune responses through a mechanism that may intersect with lipid metabolism.
An Intriguing Case of Neonatal Arrhythmia
Authors: Jain Suksham , Siddiqui Anam , Rao K. Raghavendra , Chawla Deepak
Published: May 2021

In the fetal and early neonatal period, clinically significant arrhythmias are remarkably rare whose medical management has been an area of dilemma in terms of safety and efficacy. We present a case of a hemodynamically stable female neonate presenting to us with atrial tachycardia with morphology of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFl). After a poor response to multiple antiarrhythmics, direct current cardioversion (DCC) was the final solution. Short-term maintenance therapy with oral propranolol was given with no recurrence. Hence, stepwise approach to infants with AFl can lead to an excellent prognosis with a low risk of recurrence.
Голоморфные отображения между областями с низкой регулярностью границы
Authors: Sukhov Alexandre Borisovich
Published: May 2021

Изучается граничная регулярность собственных голоморфных отображений между строго
псевдовыпуклыми областями с низкой регулярностью границы.
Библиография: 14 наименований.
Linking the SDGS with human rights: opportunities and challenges of promoting goal 17
Authors: Dulume Wekgari
Published: May 2021

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is grounded in different international human rights instruments. Human rights (HR) principles and standards are strongly reflected in several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets. Furthermore, SDG 17 emphasizes partnership as a key to achieving all of the SDGs. This article examines the SDGs-HR linkage in general, as well as specific HR principles that can be advanced by the achievement of SDG 17. Opportunities and challenges to promote Goal 17 of the SDGs that directly affect certain HRs are also examined. A review of relevant literature, 2030 summit documents, and outcomes of recent international conferences on the SDGs is undertaken in order to determine the progress made towards forging regional and global partnerships for the SDGs, as envisaged in Goal 17. This article finds that the absence of a political will and commitment, increased isolationist policy, narrow nationalism and poor rule linkage at national and international levels are some of the obstacles to the attainment of Goal 17. Yet, opportunities abound to promote the Goal. The article recommends a genuine commitment to implementing the SDGs by encouraging the South-South and North-South to prevent the SDGs from becoming a mere wishlist. Synergy between the government, individuals, civil society organizations (CSOs) and transnational corporations (TNCs) is equally very important. Keywords: Human rights, sustainable development goals, partnership for the goals.
Doing it right: A rule of law critique of privatization methodology in Nigeria
Authors: Amadi Sam
Published: May 2021

This article undertakes a rule of law critique of privatization as economic reform policy in Nigeria. The rule of law approach interrogates not just the policy rationales of the programme but also its methodology. The article distinguishes between a formal and substantive justice conception of rule of law and argues that the substantive justice conception of rule of law and its policy imperatives, sourced from the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution, provides a veritable framework to realize the strategic goals of privatization in Nigeria.Keywords: Privatization, rule of law, justice, efficiency, economic growth, equality, fundamental human rights, social justice.
The rule of law approach to regulating electricity supply in Nigeria
Authors: Amadi Sam
Published: May 2021

With the transfer of government shares in 17 electricity generation and distribution companies in November 2013, Nigeria crossed the Rubicon in the privatization process. This process began in earnest in 2003 with the liberalization of the telecom sector as part of a strategic reform to improve efficiency in these utility sectors. So far, privatization has not improved the quality of service in these sectors. The problem has been traced to the failure of regulation. The major problem is that the regulatory regime had not matured before privatization. This immaturity manifests mostly in the failure to protect consumer interests. This article reviews regulatory deficits post-privatization. It assesses potential conflict between principles of market orthodoxy and those of constitutional governance and argues for a rule-of-law approach to regulation post-privatization that is focused on blending of promotion of market efficiency and protection of fundamental rights.Keywords: Liberalization, Privatization, Regulation, Market Efficiency, Rule of Law
Turkish and Brics engagement in Africa
Authors: Tepeciklioglu Elem Eyrice , Tok Mohammed Evren , Basher Syed
Published: May 2021

This article studies the political economy of Turkey’s relations with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since 2002 while Turkey was under the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) rule. It argues that Turkey has focused its engagement in Africa mostly on humanitarian assistance and the economy. Contextualizing Turkey’s relations with SSA vis-à-vis other emerging market economies, especially the BRICS (Brazil/Russia/India/China/South Africa), provides ample insights into the nature of Turkey’s engagement in SSA. While Turkey’s involvement has some similarities with that of the BRICS, there are greater fundamental and structural differences from how the BRICS established their presence in SSA. These differences mostly find resonance when juxtaposed with the activism of non-governmental actors engaged in humanitarian missions and charity work with trade-related economic investments and activism.Keywords: Turkey, sub-Saharan Africa, political economy, BRICS, trade, humanitarian assistance.
Integration of environmental safeguards into Ethiopian investment and sectoral laws
Authors: Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim
Published: May 2021

The aim of this article is to analyse the nature, scope and extent to which environmental norms and principles are integrated into the Ethiopian investment laws. The integration of an environmental matter into investment laws is very important in that it ensures that investment bodies and institutions do not disregard the environment by focusing only on economic achievement. The legal analysis of Ethiopian investment laws shows that although they contain environmental protection provisions, the language, manner and extent of stipulation adopted differ. The Mining Operation Proclamation No. 678/ 2010, Energy Proclamation No. 810/2013 and Petroleum and Petroleum Products Supply Operation Proclamation No. 838/2014 integrate environmental protection in an unequivocal manner. However, the Investment Proclamation No. 769/2012 and Transaction of Precious Minerals Proclamation No. 651/2009 do not use similar language with proceeding proclamations. This article argues that if environmental protection is integrated both under the Investment Proclamation No. 769/2012 and the Transaction of Precious Minerals Proclamation No.651/2009, the language used in both proclamations should be unequivocal, clear and in good manner similar to those of Mining Operation Proclamation No. 678/2010, Energy Proclamation No. 810/2013 and Petroleum and Petroleum Products Supply Operation Proclamation No. 838/2014.Keywords: Investment and environment, economy and environment, environmental protection, sustainable development, environmental and investment issues.
The definition of investment and the ICSID convention: matters arising under the Nigerian investment promotion act and international investment law
Authors: Okpe Felix O.
Published: May 2021

This article contends that the omission to define investment in the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention) has a trickledown effect on the Nigerian Investment Promotion Act (the NIPC Act), in the context of investment treaty law and arbitration. Its greatest impact is the relegation of the contribution to economic development element of the definition of “investment” to a backseat contrary to the purpose of the ICSID Convention. This article proposes a simple thesis: the omission to define investment in the ICSID Convention has fostered an amorphous definition of investment under the NIPC Act, thus creating uncertainty, irrelevance and ambiguity. The uncertainty is a potential problem in the conduct of foreign direct investment under the ICSID Convention. The article recommends a review of the definition of “investment” under the Act and the adoption of a definition that restricts foreign investment within the territory of Nigeria and makes acontribution to economic development its core element in line with the fundamental objective of the ICSID Convention.Keywords: Nigerian Investment Promotion Act, Law and Development, Investment Law and ICSID Arbitration
Antimicrobial and modulation effects of selected Ghanaian medicinal plants
Authors: Ekuadzi E. , Dickson R. A. , Fleischer T. C. , Dapaah S. O. , Reynolds E. O. , Akpabey E. S. , Fianu M. G.
Published: May 2021

The alarming rise in the incidences of multidrug-resistant microorganisms and the decline innew antibiotic discovery make the search for new antimicrobial agents or efforts at restoring the activity of older antibiotics to which the microbes have developed resistance very necessary. The aim of the present study is to investigate the antimicrobial and modulation effects of the 70% ethanol extracts of Lannea schimperi, Commelina nudiflora and Piliostigma reticulatum against usceptible strains of microorganisms. Using the broth microdilution method, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extracts were determined. The checkerboard assay was used to determine the modulation effects when sub-inhibitory concentrations of plant extracts were combined with the standard antibiotics. All three plants extracts possessed weak antimicrobial effects. For the modulation experiments, fifteen of the twenty-seven combinatorial casesyielded biologically significant effects. The ethanol extracts of the three plants studied here are good modulators as they reduced the MIC of ciprofloxacin and ketoconazole by factors that are comparable to that of reserpine. However the exact compounds and their exact mechanism of modulation require further investigation.Keywords: Anti-infective, modulation, Lannea schimperi, Commelina nudiflora, Piliostigmareticulatum, ethnomedicine
Effects of varying friction coefficient on rolling pressure distribution
Authors: Davis F. , Andrews A. , Sackey M. N. , Owusu-Ofori S. P.
Published: May 2021

Accurate characteristics of roll pressure distribution is essential in the estimation of the energy and power requirements for parts undergoing plastic deformation. The nature of the pressure distribution is very sensitive to the friction coefficient between the roller and the deformed part. The physics of the deformation process points to a variable friction coefficient, however, current research and practices result in the use of a constant friction coefficient. This work explored the development of a technique to determine a quantitative relationship between the variable friction coefficient and the process parameters. The pressure distribution was then developed within the contact region using the variable friction coefficient model. Results show that current approach used by industry (‘the rule of thumb’) overestimates the pressure distribution, compared to the current research, thus wasting power needed for the rolling operation by about 18%. Keywords: Rolling; varying friction coefficient; pressure distribution; power
Design and implementation of seat occupancy detection system
Authors: Kommey B. , Addo E. O. , Adjei K. A.
Published: May 2021

Location of appropriate seats in seating areas of theaters remains a significant challenge that patrons of these enterprises face. There is therefore, the need for seat occupancy monitoring system to provide readily accessible seat occupancy information to clients and management of these halls. This paper presents the design and implementation of a low cost seat occupancy detection and display system which is capable of monitoring seat occupancy in halls efficiently.  The system uses capacitive seat sensors which is designed based on the loading mode technology. It detects the presence of a human occupant using a single electrode. Occupancy data is relayed to a WiFi-enabled microcontroller unit which processes the data and wirelessly transfers the processed data to a central base station over a local area network for graphical and numerical display. Commands are also transferred from the base station to the microcontroller units when needed. Theoretical and empirical results show that the system is able to achieve seat occupancy monitoring accurately, neatly and cost effectively.Keywords: Capacitive sensing, seat occupancy, sensor cluster, microstrip transmission line, Wi-Fi
Optimizing Broadcast Spectrum through the Planning of Digital Television Network
Authors: Gbenga-Ilori A.O , Ladipo O. I.
Published: May 2021

The transition from analogue to digital television promises an enormous digital dividend that can translate to spectrum resource provision for other services. In this work, the size of the spectrum that can be released as dividend after digital switchover in some selected States of Nigeria is estimated. First, the present analogue television (ATV) network coverage is compared with predicted digital terrestrial television (DTTV) network coverage during a simulcast period, and after ATV switch-off. The predicted DTTV network is initially planned with a multi-frequency network (MFN) and analysis showed that DTTV had a 12.5% improvement in spectrum utilization compared to ATV while achieving a better coverage probability of 95.3%. This work predicted further spectrum savings with the use of a single-frequency network (SFN) design for DTTV network planning. The analysis done showed that 87.5% of the ATV spectrum could be saved for other services after the transition to DTTV using SFN.

Keywords: Digital television, SFN, MFN, Spectrum, dividend