Setup Phase Research Articles

Methodological challenges in European ethics approvals for a genetic epidemiology study in critically ill patients: the GenOSept experience

BackgroundDuring the set-up phase of an international study of genetic influences on outcomes from sepsis, we aimed to characterise potential differences in ethics approval processes and outcomes in participating European countries.MethodsBetween 2005 and 2007 of the FP6-funded international Genetics Of Sepsis and Septic Shock (GenOSept) project, we asked national coordinators to complete a structured survey of research ethic committee (REC) approval structures and processes in their countries, and linked these data to outcomes. Survey findings were reconfirmed or modified in 2017.ResultsEighteen countries participated in the study, recruiting 2257 patients from 160 ICUs. National practices differed widely in terms of composition of RECs, procedures and duration of the ethics approval process. Eight (44.4%) countries used a single centralised process for approval, seven (38.9%) required approval by an ethics committee in each participating hospital, and three (16.7%) required both. Outcomes of the application process differed widely between countries because of differences in national legislation, and differed within countries because of interpretation of the ethics of conducting research in patients lacking capacity. The RECs in four countries had no lay representation. The median time from submission to final decision was 1.5 (interquartile range 1–7) months; in nine (50%) approval was received within 1 month; six took over 6 months, and in one 24 months; had all countries been able to match the most efficient approvals processes, an additional 74 months of country or institution-level recruitment would have been available. In three countries, rejection of the application by some local RECs resulted in loss of centres; and one country rejected the application outright.ConclusionsThe potential benefits of the single application portal offered by the European Clinical Trials Regulation will not be realised without harmonisation of research ethics committee practices as well as national legislation.

An examination of monolingual preservice teachers’ set-up of cognitively demanding mathematics tasks with emergent multilingual students

ABSTRACTImplementing challenging mathematics tasks with multilingual students who are not yet fluent in the instructional language is difficult for monolingual teachers because of the linguistic and cultural differences between the teacher and students. In this study, we examined how monolingual preservice teachers set up cognitively demanding mathematics tasks with emergent bilingual/multilingual students (a.k.a. English language learners). Drawing on a situated and socio-cultural perspective, we analysed the strategies enacted by two preservice teachers, who consistently maintained the cognitive demand of tasks with emergent bilinguals in a one-on-one setting, during the set-up phase of problem-solving activities. We found common aspects of their set-up including assessing student’s holistic understanding, building a common experience, and empowering students. Our findings help articulate strategies that aid monolingual teachers in effectively enacting cognitively demanding tasks and improving emergent bilinguals’ access to and engagement with high-quality mathematics.

Secure and efficient image retrieval based on global features

A few years ago, an image retrieval needs have been increased enormously. Therefore, a need for an efficiency and accurate image retrieval scheme has become desired accordingly. In fact, the images require high storage space; for this reason, cloud computing considers the best selective to outsource images. Many outsourcing images to the cloud server such as medical, police investigation, and personal images that require to encrypt before being outsourced to the cloud servers. However, in this paper a robust scheme has been presented which provides Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) over the encrypted images without declassing the important information to the cloud server side. Additionally, the information is exchanging in the strong secure manner among entities. The proposed scheme consists of two phases: setup phase and retrieve phase. The first phase based on build secure dictionary based on global features (intensity of histogram) and images decryption while the second phase utilizes secure query to retrieve the queried image. This scheme is a robust to measure the Euclidean Distance similarity between two queries without decryption. The security and efficiency of the proposed scheme are proofed by security analysis and experiments.

Lattice-based group signatures: Achieving full dynamicity (and deniability) with ease

Lattice-based group signature is an active research topic in recent years. Since the pioneering work by Gordon et al. (2010) [20], eight other schemes have been proposed, providing various improvements in terms of security, efficiency and functionality. However, most of the existing constructions work only in the static setting where the group population is fixed at the setup phase. The only two exceptions are the schemes by Langlois et al. (2014) [27] that handles user revocations (but new users cannot join), and by Libert et al. (2016) [28,29] which addresses the orthogonal problem of dynamic user enrollments (but users cannot be revoked).In this work, we provide the first lattice-based group signature that offers full dynamicity (i.e., users have the flexibility in joining and leaving the group), and thus, resolve a prominent open problem posed by previous works. Moreover, we achieve this non-trivial feat in a relatively simple manner. Starting with Libert et al.'s fully static construction (2016) [30] - which is arguably the most efficient lattice-based group signature to date, we introduce simple-but-insightful tweaks that allow to upgrade it directly into the fully dynamic setting. More startlingly, our scheme even produces slightly shorter signatures than the former, thanks to an adaptation of a technique proposed by Ling et al. (2013) [35], allowing to prove inequalities in zero-knowledge. The scheme satisfies the strong security requirements of Bootle et al.'s model (2016) [7], under the Short Integer Solution (SIS) and the Learning With Errors (LWE) assumptions.Furthermore, we demonstrate how to equip the obtained group signature scheme with the deniability functionality in a simple way. This attractive functionality, put forward by Ishida et al. (2016) [22], enables the tracing authority to provide an evidence that a given user is not the owner of a signature in question. In the process, we design a zero-knowledge protocol for proving that a given LWE ciphertext does not decrypt to a particular message.

Experimental evaluation of hydrogen chloride (HCl) absorption by cement raw meals at low temperatures, using fixed-bed tests

The HCl absorption by cement raw meals was experimentally evaluated in the temperature range 100-180℃, using a fixed-bed set-up and gas phase HCl content between 50ppmv and 200ppmv. The effects of temperature, gas phase composition and dispersion of raw meal particles on HCl absorption capacity of raw meals were studied. The obtained data are consistent with our interpretation of HCl absorption mechanism based on a surface saturation phenomenon that corresponds to a certain specific HCl absorption capacity of raw meal. The experimentally observed active compound conversions were significantly less than 1%. The dilution of raw meal samples using fused silica with particle size range 50–100 μm increased the apparent HCl absorption capacity of raw meal 10 times due to the elimination of raw meal particle agglomerates. The HCl absorption was slightly enhanced as the temperature was decreased from 180℃ to 100℃ in the case of dry gas phase tests. A dependence of raw meal HCl absorption capacity on the raw meal moisture content was detected at the same experimental conditions. The presence of 5% v/v H2O in gas phase increased the absorption capacity of raw meal A by 25% at 180℃ and by 61% at 100℃ relative to the absorption capacity from dry gas phase. The presence of 3% v/v O2 and 30% v/v CO2 in gas phase did not have any apparent effect on the HCl absorption in the investigated temperature range.

Developing educational modules to enhance care of aged and dying inmates: Set-up phase.

The purpose of this article is to explain the strategies used in the "Set-up" phase of developing computer-based education on the care and management of incarcerated people who are older and/or dying. Public health nurses have an opportunity to support efforts in educating corrections staff to enhance health care for older and dying inmates. Such endeavors can promote social justice through inmates receiving evidence-based care that parallels that received by the community at large. "Set-up" is the first of four phases in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Framework for Going to Full Scale. Our design approach was threefold and included an environmental scan, a modified Delphi survey, and a usability study. An expert advisory board was consulted throughout the Set-up Phase. Participants for the Delphi Survey had expertise in geriatrics and corrections health care. Usability testing was conducted at two State Correctional Institutions. The Delphi Survey consisted of three Qualtrics surveys. Usability testing examined navigability; detected problems; observed time spent solving problems; identified problem severity; and developed recovery strategies. The Set-up established proof of concept, three prototype modules, and a specifications document to guide future programming. In addition, a Technology Niche Analyses® provided a preliminary commercialization plan (NIH, 2017). The Set-up phase has been instrumental in exposing the available infrastructure for dissemination of an educational product within corrections and may be a first step in addressing public health concerns on issues in aging. Commercial feasibility of the program and the need for continued research for Developing the Scalable Unit were established.

A CAE method for ergonomic assessment of motorcycles’ driver and passenger

The designers of two-wheeled motorcycles, in the phase of setting up a new project, have the need to carry out ergonomic evaluations on both the pilot and the passenger, from which the optimal comfort and control conditions will arise during the future use of the vehicle. Commonly, the most used method is based on the previous experience of the manufacturer and on the comparison with the choices made by the competitors. This article describes a methodology developed in collaboration with the Italian motorcycle brand Aprilia, owned by Piaggio & C., a company world leader in the sector, designed for the setup phase of new vehicles. The method provides a flexible tool, starting from the Enduro segment and for the different users’ body size (expressed in percentiles). The analysis was done on five commercial Enduro motorcycles from different leading competitor manufacturers. The authors used a mixed method based on numerical and experimental data, detected on virtual models, and on report cards made by professional testers. The results have been showed and discussed.

CMSE2R: Clustered-based Multipath Shortest-distance Energy Efficient Routing Protocol for Underwater Wireless Sensor Network

Objectives: From the existing literature review we found that the link quality between nodes and to prolong the battery power of the nodes still needs improvement. This research article controls the node mobility in underwater environment through maintaining link between nodes and prolongs the battery power of the nodes through Cluster-based Multipath Shortest-distance Energy Efficient Routing (CMSE2R). Method/Analysis: In this research article, we proposed the Clustered-based Multipath Shortest-distance Energy Efficient Routing (CMSE2R) protocol for Underwater Wireless Sensor Network. CMSE2R is based on four phases to improve the link quality between nodes and reduces the average energy consumption. These phases are: Network setup phase, cluster formation phase, multipath development in relevant clusters, and data forwarding phase. Findings: The results of CMSE2R are compared with CBE2R and EMGGR and it is observed that CMSE2R is a better performer than CBE2R and EMGGR.This protocol improves the link quality through use of fixed courier nodes and formation of multipath in relevant cluster formation mechanism. This routing protocol uses the Cumulative Distance Calculation Mechanism (CDCM) to reduce the average energy consumption. Applications/Improvements: The proposed routing protocol extracts the valuable information from the seabed to sea surface. Keywords: Calculation, CDCM, Layers, Shortest-Distance, Snods

Fighting Terrorism through the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO)? : What future for the EPPO in the EU’s Criminal Policy?

The EPPO was established by Regulation 2017/1939, which entered into force on 20 November 2017, under enhanced cooperation to fight crimes affecting the Union budget. The Office is currently in the set-up phase with the aim of becoming operational at the end of 2020. On 12 September 2018, the Commission published a Communication on the extension of the EPPO’s competences to cross-border terrorist crimes and invited the European Council to take this initiative forward at the informal summit in Sibiu on 9 May 2019. As a single, decentralised European prosecution office, the EPPO could become an effective tool in investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgement terrorist crimes and add a European dimension to the current efforts. Compared to the present horizontal, multinational approach, the EPPO would create a vertical, European relationship amongst the Member States and Union actors. This could be a decisive qualitative improvement, which would help overcoming the divergences of effective investigation and prosecution of terrorist crimes across the EU. This article outlines the key aspects of the Communication, touches upon the procedural/legal steps needed for an extension of the EPPO’s competences, and discusses the potential legal and practical implications of such an extension. It sets out which aspects demand particular attention prior to a decision on an extension of the competences of the EPPO, thereby stressing that justice and security are inextricably linked and have to be looked at together. The authors point out that a narrower and more targeted approach, such as a gradual extension of the EPPO’s competences to financial crimes, organised crime or cybercrime could also be envisaged, while at a later stage other types of crimes, such as trafficking in human beings, trafficking in arms and eventually cross-border terrorist crimes, could be included.

Glass Ceiling on Women in Institutional Mechanism: Triggering and Elevating a Professional Diarchy?

This article aims to uncover how and in what ways glass ceiling on women constitutes a diarchal situation in all the phases of an institutional set-up from planning to implementation. Different studies in recent times have explicated that gender barriers are playing a segregating role in the successes or failures of women in their workplace. Everyone is informed and experienced about plenty of glass ceilings or gender barriers but it is also observed that less attention has been paid into an institutional set-up to discover whether a duality is persisting in there or not. The age-old thinking of women being ineffectual to take ‘serious decisions’ and better to do their ‘jobs only’ rather being the decision making executives yet dwells in our modern institutional arena, although its intensity may vary. So, this study was performed on the working women in different places of Bangladesh to experiment the reality.

Nursing Practice on Post-Operative Wound Care in Surgical Wards at Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania

Background: Postoperative wound healing has been a problem which causes high mortality in the developing world; postoperative wound has been reported to cause devastating consequences and a measurable mortality. There is a limited number of published studies in Tanzania investigating Nursing practice on post-operative wound care in surgical wards at Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. This study assesses nursing practice on postoperative wound care by nurses in surgical wards at Muhimbili National Hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study of surgical nurses was carried out through the use of randomly selected surgical wards at Muhimbili National Hospital in Tanzania from September 2011 to July 2013. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to obtain a suitable number of study participants. Data collection was done using a checklist from a convenient sample of 71 nurses in selected surgical wards. Results: The result indicates that a big number of the participants were female (76.5%) and those of the age group 25 to 34 years were 40.8%. Participants exceeding a half of the selected sample reported to have poor post-operative wound care practice (57.7%). In comparison, male participants scored higher, and had better practice than their female counterparts, however, there was no considerable difference in the scores (P = 0.803). During set-up and preparation phase, the washing of hands before starting and after the completion of procedure was taken into consideration by less than half of the participants (49.3%). All participants did not ensure the environment is clean and take into account the patient’s privacy through the use of screen or even closing the room. The report shows that nurses take into consideration putting on clean gloves during the removal of the old dressing (99%), the use of sterile gloves during wound dressing was taken into consideration by most of the nurses (63%). Good practice was noted in applying dressing solution as recommended (85%), dry sterile dressing was applied by (90%), arrangement and setting up of dressing forceps and other items that may be needed in order of their application using forceps (20%), usage of forceps to dip gauze into antiseptic solution (35%) and cleaning of the wound cleaning from least contaminated to most contaminated area was only adhered to by (34%). Post-operative counseling and giving to the patient not to temper with the wound was done by a representation of only 15% of nurses. All the nurses did not do the documentation of the changes observed on the wound nor did they report on the patients comfort and the date and time after the procedure wound changes, reported patient comfort, and recorded date or time after the procedure. Conclusion: Majority of the nurses in surgical wards do not follow the postoperative wound care checklist provided by MNH although they know its importance. Assessment of the wound and documentation continues to be a problem in the nursing profession in Tanzania. Nurses are reasonably knowledgeable about the principal of wound dressing; however, lack of knowledge on some of the key principles of wound dressing is worth noting. Almost half of the nurses do not wash hands before and after the procedures, they don’t use single gauze in one direction only, not cleaning from least contaminated to most contaminated area, which can lead to wound contamination.

End-to-End Authenticated Key Exchange Based on Different Physical Unclonable Functions

We propose the first authenticated key exchange (AKE) protocol with different physical unclonable functions (PUFs). Our protocol allows for two end-users each holding a distinct PUF-embedded device and a long-term secret to agree to an authenticated session key. For malicious behaviors on the PUF-embedded device, we first define a Device query, which models an adversary who intentionally (or unintentionally) picks up an arbitrary device and attempts to input a message and obtain an output. As per the author's knowledge, this is the first study to consider Corrupt queries that return long-term secrets in the PUF-embedded device and its relevant platform. In this paper, we prove that our protocol is secure under a new security model and requires three flows to achieve a secure AKE with users' distinct PUFs. As it requires no intervention by a central server after its initial setup phase, it is suitable for practical decentralized networks.

An efficient networking protocol for internet of things to handle multimedia big data

In recent years, the emergence of multimedia big data (MBD) due to the excessive use of mobile Internet of Things (ioT) is imposing various challenges to develop efficient communication with the digital world. In this aspect, Mobile Adhoc Network based IoT (MANET-IoT) system is becoming popular due to its greater mobility support and cost-effective nature. A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) consists of randomly placed, battery-powered, moving nodes without an infrastructure that can administer and control traffic in the IoT network. In the MANET-IoT network, the major problems include energy consumption and congestion control to handle MBD data. In this paper, we present two proposals for solving these problems. In the first proposal, a new clustering approach that depends on a well-known protocol called the Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) been used in a wireless sensor network (WSN) with modification to adapt to the MANET-IoT’s mobility. Our proposal for applying LEACH to a MANET-IoT consists of rounds, each containing three ordered phases as follows: (1) the announcement phase, in which all nodes announce their remaining energy and the node with the original message also announces itself; (2) the setup phase, in which all cluster heads are selected based on the probability factor with a cycling method; and (3) the steady state phase, in which message delivery to all nodes occurs using several types of links. The second proposal is to provide congestion control for all mobile nodes by link utilization that can support different data rates depending on the link status. Simulation results comparing our modified LEACH protocol to state-of-the-art protocols with utilized links show a great enhancement in energy consumption, received data, throughput, and delay.

Learning About Situational Crime Prevention From Offenders: Using a Script Framework to Compare the Commission of Completed and Disrupted Sexual Offenses

The collective knowledge of offenders is one of the richest ways to advance understandings of crime commission and effective crime prevention. Drawing on self-report data from 53 incarcerated offenders in three Australian states and territories, the current article presents an innovative method which, through a crime script framework, allows for a first-time comparison of completed versus disrupted sexual offenses involving adult female and child victims at each stage of the crime commission process. Findings (a) highlight the critical need to boost the efficacy of situational prevention in the crime setup phase of the sexual offense script and (b) showcase how incorporating a script framework in offender-based research can identify new directions for crime prevention

A trust enhancement scheme for cluster-based wireless sensor networks

Security is crucial in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) since a growing variety of applications require strict security. Cluster-based architecture has an enhancement in the system performance of WSNs. This article presents a trust enhancement scheme for cluster-based WSNs, where network time is divided into multiple rounds. Each round contains a setup phase and a steady-state phase. In the setup phase, clusters are formed and mutual trusted relationships between cluster nodes are established through two proposed authentication protocols called SET-μTESLA (Setup μTESLA) and SET-SCHNORR (Setup SCHNORR). SET-μTESLA uses the authenticated broadcast μTESLA scheme and reduces the iterations of hash function to improve the energy efficiency, while SET-SCHNORR applies a lightweight signature SCHNORR scheme. In the steady-state phase, collected environmental or physical data are transmitted through the proposed STEADY-μTESLA protocol (Steady-state μTESLA), which guarantees the data credibility. The analysis demonstrates that the security scheme does well in resisting such attacks as data confidentiality attacks, data integrity attacks and compromise node attacks. In addition, the results of calculations and simulations show that the proposed scheme performs better than the existing security protocols in terms of communication overhead and energy consumption.

A Linear Approach to Optimize an EMG-Driven Neuromusculoskeletal Model for Movement Intention Detection in Myo-Control: A Case Study on Shoulder and Elbow Joints.

The growing interest of the industry production in wearable robots for assistance and rehabilitation purposes opens the challenge for developing intuitive and natural control strategies. Myoelectric control, or myo-control, which consists in decoding the human motor intent from muscular activity and its mapping into control outputs, represents a natural way to establish an intimate human-machine connection. In this field, model based myo-control schemes (e.g., EMG-driven neuromusculoskeletal models, NMS) represent a valid solution for estimating the moments of the human joints. However, a model optimization is needed to adjust the model's parameters to a specific subject and most of the optimization approaches presented in literature consider complex NMS models that are unsuitable for being used in a control paradigm since they suffer from long-lasting setup and optimization phases. In this work we present a minimal NMS model for predicting the elbow and shoulder torques and we compare two optimization approaches: a linear optimization method (LO) and a non-linear method based on a genetic algorithm (GA). The LO optimizes only one parameter per muscle, whereas the GA-based approach performs a deep customization of the muscle model, adjusting 12 parameters per muscle. EMG and force data have been collected from 7 healthy subjects performing a set of exercises with an arm exoskeleton. Although both optimization methods substantially improved the performance of the raw model, the findings of the study suggest that the LO might be beneficial with respect to GA as the latter is much more computationally heavy and leads to minimal improvements with respect to the former. From the comparison between the two considered joints, it emerged also that the more accurate the NMS model is, the more effective a complex optimization procedure could be. Overall, the two optimized NMS models were able to predict the shoulder and elbow moments with a low error, thus demonstrating the potentiality for being used in an admittance-based myo-control scheme. Thanks to the low computational cost and to the short setup phase required for wearing and calibrating the system, obtained results are promising for being introduced in industrial or rehabilitation real time scenarios.

Research on Improved Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), due to the limited battery power of the sensor nodes, the communication energy consumption is the main factor to affect the lifetime of the networks. A reasonable design of the communication protocol can effectively reduce the energy consumption of the network system. Based on low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH), an improved LEACH protocol in WSNs is proposed. In order to optimize the cluster head (CH) election in the cluster setup phase, the improved LEACH takes into account a number of factors, including energy consumption of communication between nodes, remaining energy of the nodes, and the distance between nodes and base station (BS). In the steady phase, one-hop routing and multiple-hop routing are combined to transmit data between CHs to improve energy efficiency. The forward CH is selected as relay node according to the values of path cost. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm performs better in balancing network energy consumption, and it can effectively improve the data transmission efficiency and prolong the network lifetime, as compared with LEACH, LEACH-C (LEACH-centralized) and NDAPSO-C (an adaptive clustering protocol based on improved particle swarm optimization) algorithms.

Double-Loop Learning in Adaptive Management: The Need, the Challenge, and the Opportunity

Adaptive management addresses uncertainty about the processes influencing resource dynamics, as well as the elements of decision making itself. The use of management to reduce both kinds of uncertainty is known as double-loop learning. Though much work has been done on the theory and procedures to address structural uncertainty, there has been less progress in developing an explicit approach for institutional learning about decision elements. Our objective is to describe evidence-based learning about the decision elements, as a complement to the formal “learning by doing” framework for reducing structural uncertainties. Adaptive management is described as a multi-phase approach to management and learning, with a set-up phase of identifying stakeholders, objectives, and other decision elements; an iterative phase that uses these elements in an ongoing cycle of technical learning about system structure and management impacts; and an institutional learning phase involving the periodic reconsideration of the decision elements. We describe a framework for institutional learning that is complementary to that of technical learning, including uncertainty metrics, propagation of change, and mechanisms and consequences of change over time. Operational issues include ways to recognize when the decision elements should be revisited, which elements should be adjusted, and how alternatives can be identified and incorporated based on experience and management performance. We discuss the application of this framework in decision making for renewable natural resources. As important as it is to learn about the processes driving resource dynamics, learning about the elements of the decision architecture is equally, if not more, important.

A TAS-Model-Based Algorithm for Rule Redundancy Detection and Scene Scheduling in Smart Home Systems

In smart home systems, users enjoy the comfort and convenience by rule subscription and execution. However, with the increase in the complex and the number of rules, there is an increased risk of redundancy within the process of rule customization and execution. Obviously, redundancy will add weight to the system, affect the administrative operation, and reduce the system efficiency. To address the above-mentioned issues, a formal model Trigger-Actuator-Status for rules is devised. Such rules are defined as a tuple, which contains triggers, actuators, and states. Then, rules are processed with the methods of classification, combination, and analytics to generate redundant types so as to describe the redundancy relationship among rules. After that, a redundancy detection algorithm is proposed according to the determined relationship. Besides, in order to eliminate and avoid the occurrence of redundancy, redundancy for scenarios based on rule redundancy is detected and solved. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme can provide more accurate classification results and identify part or full redundancy within and among rules. Meanwhile, our scheme enables redundancy elimination in the phase of rule setting and scenario setup as well as redundancy avoidance in the stage of rule execution and scenario start-up, which significantly reduces the number of rules to greatly enhance the efficiency of the systems.

Forming Process Analysis of an AA6060 Aluminum Vessel

This work analyses the results of a simple forming process of an AA6060 aluminium alloy sheet in order to validate the development of a simulation model based on the finite element method (FEM). This work represents the starting point of a broader study aimed at analysing the sheet formability. The FEM based model and the use of both the flow stress curve and the formability limit curve (FLC) were validated through the simulation of a simple forming process that required use of a hemispherical punch. The detailed analysis of the machining process by using FEM allows significant time and cost savings, avoiding trial-and-error operations that are normally used in the setup phase of the production process.