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Carbon nanodots (CNDs)-embedded pullulan (PUL) nanofibers were developed and successfully applied for sulfathiazole (STZ) removal from wastewater streams for the first time. The CNDs were incorporated into PUL at 0.0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 3.0% (w/w) to produce M1, M2, M3, and M4 nanofibers (PUL-NFs), respectively. The produced PUL-NFs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and applied for STZ removal from aqueous solutions through pH, kinetics, and equilibrium batch sorption trials. A pH range of 4.0–6.0 was observed to be optimal for maximum STZ removal. Pseudo-second order, intraparticle diffusion, and Elovich models were suitably fitted to kinetics adsorption data (R2 = 0.82–0.99), whereas Dubinin–Radushkevich, Freundlich, and Langmuir isotherms were fitted to equilibrium adsorption data (R2= 0.88–0.99). STZ adsorption capacity of PUL-NFs improved as the amount of embedded CNDs increased. Maximum STZ adsorption capacities of the synthesized PUL-NFs were in the order of: M4 > M3 > M2 > M1 (133.68, 124.27, 93.09, and 35.04 mg g−1, respectively). Lewis acid–base reaction and π-π electron donor–acceptor interactions were the key STZ removal mechanisms under an acidic environment, whereas H-bonding and diffusion were key under a basic environment. Therefore, CNDs-embedded PUL-NFs could be employed as an environmentally friendly, efficient, and non-toxic adsorbent to remove STZ from wastewater streams.

This paper proposes a numerical method to obtain an approximation solution for the time-fractional Schrödinger Equation (TFSE) based on a combination of the cubic trigonometric B-spline collocation method and the Crank-Nicolson scheme. The fractional derivative operator is described in the Caputo sense. The L1−approximation method is used for time-fractional derivative discretization. Using Von Neumann stability analysis, the proposed technique is shown to be conditionally stable. Numerical examples are solved to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of this method. The error norms L2 and L∞ are also calculated at different values of N and t to evaluate the performance of the suggested method.

In this paper, we present a model that is of the utmost importance in the field of waves and the propagation of pulses. This model was chosen with great care, because it is somewhat complicated in the calculations, and also because finding solutions to it represents a breakthrough in this field. The process of finding solutions does not mean finding solutions just because they are solutions, but the goal is to find solutions when generating one after the other and interactions occur between them, each wave must keep form. The topic is very important and exciting for all researchers to do their best. In the end, we would like to say that the accuracy of solutions depends mainly on the accuracy of the method used. All previous researchers did not provide the shapes that explain their solutions, and therefore in this work, we will provide what we have come up with in full transparency. At the end of the work, we introduce the explanations for all the results that we obtained.

In the present work, the olive mill solid waste (OMSW)-derived biochar (BC) was produced at various pyrolytic temperatures (300-700°C) and characterized to investigate its potential negative versus positive application effects on pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and nutrients (P, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu) availability in a calcareous loamy sand soil. Therefore, a greenhouse pot experiment with maize (Zea mays L.) was conducted using treatments consisting of a control (CK), inorganic fertilizer of NPK (INF), and 1% and 3% (w/w) of OMSW-derived BCs. The results showed that BC yield, volatile matter, functional groups, and zeta potential decreased with pyrolytic temperature, whereas BC pH, EC, and its contents of ash and fixed carbon increased with pyrolytic temperature. The changes in the BC properties with increasing pyrolytic temperatures reflected on soil pH, EC and the performance of soil nutrients availability. The BC application, especially with increasing pyrolytic temperature and/or application rate, significantly increased soil pH, EC, NH4OAc-extractable K, Na, Ca, and Mg, and ammonium bicarbonate-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (AB-DTPA)-extractable Fe and Zn, while AB-DTPA-extractable Mn decreased. The application of 1% and 3% BC, respectively, increased the NH4OAc-extractable K by 2.5 and 5.2-fold for BC300, by 3.2 and 8.0-fold for BC500, and by 3.3 and 8.9-fold for BC700 compared with that of untreated soil. The results also showed significant increase in shoot content of K, Na, and Zn, while there was significant decrease in shoot content of P, Ca, Mg, and Mn. Furthermore, no significant effects were observed for maize growth as a result of BC addition. In conclusion, OMSW-derived BC can potentially have positive effects on the enhancement of soil K availability and its plant content but it reduced shoot nutrients, especially for P, Ca, Mg, and Mn; therefore, application of OMSW-derived BC to calcareous soil might be restricted.

In this manuscript, new solitary wave solutions for the newly introduced extended (3 + 1)-dimensional Jimbo-Miwa equations (the first and second) by Wazwaz (2017) are presented alongside the classical equation solution for comparison. The powerful Kudryashov method was utilized in treating the equations with the aid of symbolic computation using Mathematica. A kind of comparison analysis is provided alongside the results and discussion of the considered problems. Some graphical representations of the problems and that of comparison are also provided. The paper is organized as follows: section “The Kudryashov method” presented the method; section “Application” gives the application. Finally, sections “Results and discussion” and “Conclusion” discusses results and makes conclusion, respectively. Keywords: Jimbo-Miwa equation, Extended Jimbo-Miwa equations, Kudryashov method

This paper presents the employment of a DPA attack on the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) standardized AES (advance encryption standard) protocol for key retrieval and prevention. Towards key retrieval, we applied the DPA attack on AES to obtain a 128-bit secret key by measuring the power traces of the computations involved in the algorithm. In resistance to the DPA attack, we proposed a countermeasure, or a new modified masking scheme, comprising (i) Boolean and (ii) multiplicative masking, for linear and non-linear operations of AES, respectively. Furthermore, we improved the complexity involved in Boolean masking by introducing Rebecca’s approximation. Moreover, we provide a novel solution to tackle the zero mask problem in multiplicative masking. To evaluate the power traces, we propose our custom correlation technique, which results in a decrease in the calculation time. The synthesis results for original implementation (without countermeasure) and inclusion of countermeasure are given on a Zynq 7020 FPGA (Artix-7 device). It takes 424 FPGA slices when implemented without considering the countermeasure, whereas 714 slices are required to implement AES with the inclusion of the proposed countermeasure. Consequently, the implementation results provide the acceptability of this work for area-constrained applications that require prevention against DPA attacks.

Elevated levels of doxycycline (DC) have been detected in the environment due to its extensive utilization as a veterinary antibiotic. Sorption–desorption behavior of DC in soil affects its transport, transformation, and availability in the environment. Thus, sorption–desorption behavior of DC was explored in three soils (S1, S2, and S3) after manure application with and without mesquite wood-waste-derived biochar (BC) pyrolyzed at 600 °C. Sorption batch trials demonstrated the highest DC sorption in soil S1 as compared to S2 and S3, either alone or in combination with manure or manure + BC. Chemical sorption and pore diffusion were involved in DC sorption, as indicated by the kinetic models. Soil S1 with manure + BC exhibited the highest Langmuir model predicted sorption capacity (18.930 mg g−1) compared with the other two soils. DC sorption capacity of soils was increased by 5.0–6.5-fold with the addition of manure, and 10–13-fold with BC application in a soil–manure system. In desorption trials, manure application resulted in 67%, 40%, and 41% increment in DC desorption in soil S1, S2, and S3, respectively, compared to the respective soils without manure application. In contrast, BC application reduced DC desorption by 73%, 66%, and 65%, in S1, S2, and S3, respectively, compared to the soils without any amendment. The highest DC sorption after BC application could be due to H bonding, π–π EDA interactions, and diffusion into the pores of BC. Hence, mesquite wood-waste-derived BC can effectively be used to enhance DC retention in contaminated soil to ensure a sustainable ecosystem.

The place of public key cryptography (PKC) in guaranteeing the security of wireless networks under human-centered IoT environments cannot be overemphasized. PKC uses the idea of paired keys that are mathematically dependent but independent in practice. In PKC, each communicating party needs the public key and the authorized digital certificate of the other party to achieve encryption and decryption. In this circumstance, a directory is required to store the public keys of the participating parties. However, the design of such a directory can be cost-prohibitive and time-consuming. Recently, identity-based encryption (IBE) schemes have been introduced to address the vast limitations of PKC schemes. In a typical IBE system, a third-party server can distribute the public credentials to all parties involved in the system. Thus, the private key can be harvested from the arbitrary public key. As a result, the sender could use the public key of the receiver to encrypt the message, and the receiver could use the extracted private key to decrypt the message. In order to improve systems security, new IBE schemes are solely desired. However, the complexity and cost of designing an entirely new IBE technique remain. In order to address this problem, this paper presents a provably secure IBE transformation model for PKC using conformable Chebyshev chaotic maps under the human-centered IoT environment. In particular, we offer a robust and secure IBE transformation model and provide extensive performance analysis and security proofs of the model. Finally, we demonstrate the superiority of the proposed IBE transformation model over the existing IBE schemes. Overall, results indicate that the proposed scheme posed excellent security capabilities compared to the preliminary IBE-based schemes.

Signcryption schemes leveraging chaotic constructions have garnered significant research interest in recent years. These schemes have proffered practical solutions towards addressing the vast security vulnerabilities in Electronic Cash Systems (ECS). The schemes can seamlessly perform message confidentiality and authentication simultaneously. Still, their applications in emerging electronic cash platforms require a higher degree of complexity in design and robustness, especially as billions of online transactions are conducted globally. Consequently, several security issues arise from using open wireless channels for online business transactions. In order to guarantee the security of user information over these safety-limited channels, sophisticated security schemes are solely desired. However, the existing signcryption schemes cannot provide the required confidentiality and authentication for user information on these online platforms. Therefore, the need for certificateless group signcryption schemes (CGSS) becomes imperative. This paper presents an efficient electronic cash system based on CGSS using conformable chaotic maps (CCM). In our design, any group signcrypter would encrypt information/data with the group manager (GM) and send it to the verifier, who confirms the authenticity of the signcrypted information/data using the public criteria of the group. Additionally, the traceability, unforgeability, unlinkability, and robust security of the proposed CGSS-CCM ECS scheme have been built leveraging computationally difficult problems. Performance evaluation of the proposed CGSS-CCM ECS scheme shows that it is secure from the Indistinguishably Chosen Ciphertext Attack. Finally, the security analysis of the proposed technique shows high efficiency in security-vulnerable applications. Overall, the scheme gave superior security features compared to the existing methods in the preliminaries.

Vertical translocation/leaching of sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) through manure-amended sandy loam soil and significance of biochar application on SMZ retention were investigated in this study. Soil was filled in columns and amended with manure spiked with 13.75 mg kg−1 (S1), 27.5 mg kg−1 (S2), and 55 mg kg−1 (S3) of SMZ. Jujube (Ziziphus jujube L.) wood waste was transformed into biochar and mixed with S3 at 0.5% (S3-B1), 1.0% (S3-B2), and 2.0% (S3-B3) ratio. Cumulative SMZ leaching was lowest at pH 3.0, which increased by 16% and 34% at pH 5.0 and 7.0, respectively. A quicker release and translocation of SMZ from manure occurred during the initial 40 h, which gradually reduced over time. Intraparticle diffusion and Elovich kinetic models were the best fitted to leaching data. S3 exhibited the highest release and vertical translocation of SMZ, followed by S2, and S1; however, SMZ leaching was reduced by more than twofold in S3-B3. At pH 3.0, 2.0% biochar resulted in 99% reduction in SMZ leaching within 72 h, while 1.0% and 0.5% biochar applications reduced SMZ leaching to 99% within 120 and 144 h, respectively, in S3. The higher SMZ retention onto biochar could be due to electrostatic interactions, H-bonding, and π-π electron donor acceptor interactions.

In a channel shared by several nodes, the scheduling algorithm is a key factor to avoiding collisions in the random access-based approach. Commonly, scheduling algorithms can be used to enhance network performance to meet certain requirements. Therefore, in this paper we propose a Delay-Aware Media Access Control (DAMAC) protocol for monitoring time-sensitive applications over multi-hop in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UASNs), which relies on the random access-based approach where each node uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) to determine channel status, switches nodes on and off to conserve energy, and allows concurrent transmissions to improve the underwater communication in the UASNs. In addition, DAMAC does not require any handshaking packets prior to data transmission, which helps to improve network performance in several metrics. The proposed protocol considers the long propagation delay to allow concurrent transmissions, meaning nodes are scheduled to transmit their data packets concurrently to exploit the long propagation delay between underwater nodes. The simulation results show that DAMAC protocol outperforms Aloha, BroadcastMAC, RMAC, Tu-MAC, and OPMAC protocols under varying network loads in terms of energy efficiency, communication overhead, and fairness of the network by up to 65%, 45%, and 726%, respectively.

This study explored a twofold evaluation of the engineering curriculum from the perspectives of teachers. supervisors, and field experts. It evaluated the extent to which certain curriculum elements were achieved in the curriculum and the level of perceived self-efficacy of the curriculum's teachers and supervisors. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach utilizing a sequential explanatory design. This design involved two semi-structured questionnaires that were applied to 112 teachers and supervisors (62 males and 50 females) while a semi-structured interview was applied to 12 teachers and supervisors as well as to seven engineering experts, both academic. i.e., university professors, and professional. The results revealed that the curriculum elements and the perceived sel f-efficacy were achieved on a -medium" level with (66.8%) and (67.2%), respectively. It was also revealed that there were no statistically-significant differences attributed to the gender variable. Furthermore, the study identified the advantages and disadvantages of implementing the 11 th grade engineering curriculum of the Pathways System. Some of the main advantages were familiarizing students with the concept of engineering and its fields as well as introducing basic computer software. The disadvantages, however, were outlined as the lack of specialized teachers; the weak sequencing between the course and its prerequisite (physics); the inconsistency between the course description and its content. and the insufficiency of the practical part of the course and the necessary equipment for students to engage in engineering practices. As a result, the curriculum was found to be lacking in preparing students for the job market or the next educational stages including the preparatory year of university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an Elliptic-curve Point Multiplication (ECP) architecture with a focus on low latency and low area for radio-frequency-identification (RFID) applications over GF(2163). To achieve low latency, we have reduced the clock cycles by using: (i) three-shift buffers in the datapath to load Elliptic-curve parameters as well as an initial point, (ii) the identical size of input/output interfaces in all building blocks of the architecture. The low area is preserved by using the same hardware resources of squaring and multiplication for inversion computation. Finally, an efficient controller is used to control the inferred logic. The proposed ECP architecture is modeled in Verilog and the synthesis results are given on three different 7-series FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) devices, i.e., Kintex-7, Artix-7, and Virtex-7. The performance of the architecture is provided with the integration of a schoolbook multiplier (implemented with two different logic styles, i.e., combinational and sequential). On Kintex-7, the combinational implementation style of a schoolbook multiplier results in power-optimized, i.e., 161 μW, values with an expense of (i) hardware resources, i.e., 3561 look-up-tables and 1527 flip-flops, (ii) clock frequency, i.e., 227 MHz, and (iii) latency, i.e., 11.57 μs. On the same Kintex-7 device, the sequential implementation style of a schoolbook multiplier provides, (i) 2.88 μs latency, (ii) 1786 look-up-tables and 1855 flip-flops, (iii) 647 μW power, and (iv) 909 MHz clock frequency. Therefore, the reported area, latency and power results make the proposed ECP architecture well-suited for RFID applications.

The study gives an account of management control practices in Libya during a period of relative political and economic stability that preceded the 2011 war and regime change. Using a two-level contingency model and survey data, stepped mediation regression first ascertains contingency relationships between organisational variables and management control system (MCS) effectiveness. We also explicitly focus on the mediating role of management accounting information (MAI) in MCS effectiveness. We find that centralisation, formalisation, environmental uncertainty and competitive strategy significantly influence MCS effectiveness. Full mediation is observed in relation to centralisation, whereas partial mediation is detected for formalisation, environmental uncertainty, and competitive strategy. Manufacturing process complexity is not present in first level relationships and further tests only yielded an indirect MAI effect, not mediation in this case. The full vs. partial mediation distinction is not evident in most previous MCS interaction research, nor is the isolation of the indirect effect, and future research needs to explore this with larger samples. This is possibly the first study to develop and apply a multi-level contingency model that explicitly focuses on the mediating role of MAI to empirically examine MCS effectiveness and contributes to the nascent literature on management accounting in emerging economies.

It is known that hybrid rice yields 15–20% over inbred varieties in first generation because of heterosis. However, heterosis is normally broken due to segregation. Applying apomixis produces plants as a clone of mother plant and overcomes the problem of breaking heterosis. In order to fix heterosis in the Egyptian rice Hybrid1, their seeds were mutagenized in 0.2% colchicine for two time periods 24 and 50 h. After colchicine mutagenesis, rice seedlings were grown in the field till maturation and the resulted M1 seeds were sown in season 2 and plants were selected based on yield and homogeneity. Then, seeds were sown to be evaluated in season 3. Pollen fertility test, esterase isozyme analysis, and flow cytometry seed screening were performed to confirm the results of field selection of populations identical to control. Pollen fertility examination was performed on the populations of the third season. Pollens of populations 304, 298, 292, 284, 281, 154 and 149 were found to be completely sterile. However, these plants had high seed set percentage. The flow cytometry screening of the six yield-based identical populations and the control seeds showed that populations 220, 339, 351 and 298 have higher nuclear DNA content (C2) than untreated hybrid (C2 & C3). Results of flow cytometry clearly showed that population 298 has one peak (C2) and its endosperm was formed autonomously without fertilization. Although its pollen grains were sterile, it showed high seed set percentage. This indicates that heterosis was completely fixed by apomixis in this population.

Heavy metals in the site received industrial effluents were investigated to assess the pollution levels, distribution of metal among solid-phase fractions and possible metal sources. The soil samples at different depths of 0–5, 5–25 and 25–50 cm were collected and analyzed for Fe, Mn, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni and Pb. Among all metals, Cd content was not detected in all soil samples. The average contents of Pb and Zn are higher than the corresponding values of common range in earth crust. Meanwhile, the maximum contents of Cu and Zn are higher than those of Dutch optimum value but lower that the Dutch protection act target value. The maximum contents of Cu, Pb and Zn are higher than the average shale value. The most investigated heavy metals are mostly found in the potentially labile pool (>50.0%) including metal bound to carbonate, Fe/Mn oxides, or organically fractions. Enrichment factor (EF) in combination with multivariate analysis including principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) suggest that Mn and Ni associated with Fe in the soil samples were primarily originated from lithogenic sources. Pb was largely derived only from anthropogenic source, while Cu and Zn in the soil samples were controlled by the mixed natural and anthropogenic sources. These results suggest that discharging the industrial effluents into dumping site increased pollution level of Pb, Zn and Cu as well as enhanced their potentially labile pool that may be responsible for occurring potential toxic impacts on environmental quality.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of L-Carnitine (LC) supplementation during in vitro maturation (IVM) of canine oocytes on nuclear maturation, fertilization status, and preimplantation development. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) collected from the ovaries of ovariohysterectomized female dogs were matured in vitro for 72 h in a TCM-199 medium supplemented with (0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 1.0, or 2.0 mg/mL) or without (0.0 mg/mL) LC. Matured oocytes were fertilized in vitro with frozen–thawed spermatozoa, and zygotes were cultured in a SOF medium for 7 days. IVM rates were higher (p ≤ 0.05) in 0.3 and 0.6 mg/mL LC supplemented groups than in the control (0.0 mg/mL LC) and other LC groups. Fertilization (18 h postinsemination (pi)) and cleavage (2–16-cell stage at day 3 pi) rates were higher (p ≤ 0.05) in the 0.6 mg/mL LC group than in the control and 0.1, 1.0, and 2 mg/mL LC supplemented groups. Interestingly, 4.5% of fertilized oocytes developed to morula (day 5 pi) in the 0.6 mg/mL LC group, which was higher (p ≤ 0.05) than those developed in the 0.3 mg/mL group (1.0%). No cleaved embryos developed to morula in other groups. In conclusion, LC supplementation at 0.6 mg/mL during IVM of canine oocytes improved their maturation, fertilization, and preimplantation embryo development rates following IVF and in vitro culture (IVC).