StenoCipher to provide data confidentiality and tampered data recovery for RFID tag

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an emerging wireless object identification technology with many potential applications such as supply chain management, personnel tracking and healthcare. However, security vulnerabilities of the RFID system have been a serious concern for its wide adoption in many applications. Although much work has been done to provide privacy and anonymity, little focus has been given to ensure RFID data confidentiality, integrity and to address the tampered data recovery problem. To this end, we propose a lightweight stenographic-based approach to ensure RFID data confidentiality and integrity as well as the recovery of tampered RFID data.

Hyaluronic acid–collagen network interactions during the dynamic compression and recovery of cartilage

A compression cell designed to fit inside an NMR spectrometer was used to investigate (i) the in situ dynamic strain response and structural changes of the internal pore network, and (ii) the diffusion and flow of interstitial water, in full thickness cartilage samples as they were mechanically deformed under a constant compressive load (pressure) and then allowed to recover (swell again) when the load was removed. Selective enzymatic digestion of the collagen fibril network and the glycopolysaccharide hyaluronic acid (HA) was performed to mimic some of the structural and compositional changes associated with osteoarthritis. Digestion of collagen gave rise to mechanical ‘dynamic softening’ and—perhaps more importantly—nearly complete loss in the ability to recover through swelling, both effects due to the disruption of the hierarchical structure and fibril interconnectivity in the collagen network which adversely affects its ability to deform reversibly and to properly regulate the pressurization and resulting rate and direction of interstitial fluid flow. In contrast, digestion of HA inside the collagen pore network caused the cartilage to ‘dynamically stiffen’ which is attributed to the decrease in the osmotic (entropic) pressure of the digested HA molecules confined in the cartilage pores that causes the network to contract and thereby become less permeable to flow. These digestioninduced changes in cartilage’s properties reveal a complex relationship between the molecular weight and concentration of the HA in the interstitial fluid, and the structure and properties of the collagen fibril pore network, and provide new insights into how changes in either could influence the onset and progression of osteoarthritis.

Comparison of advanced waste heat recovery systems with a novel oil heating system

Latest trends in waste heat recovery include systems like Thermo Electric Generation (TEG), Rankine cycle, and active warm up systems. The advantages and disadvantages of different approaches are critically discussed and compared with a novel and effective oil heating system that can deliver between 7% and 12% reductions of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. The comparison includes the expected CO2 and fuel saving potential related to the legal drive cycle as well as real world driving, effects on regulated exhaust emissions, utilisation of resources, maintenance and service, vehicle performance, comfort, noise, and durability.

Performance of reverse osmosis (RO) for water recovery from permeates of membrane bio-reactor (MBR)

In this study, permeate from a hollow fiber polyethylene (PE) membrane bio-reactor (MBR) system treating synthetic agricultural wastewater was fed into a cellulose acetate brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO30 2540) membrane system; three different trans-membranes pressures (TMPs) of 1000, 2500, and 4000 kPa were selected to evaluate the system performance in terms of general operating parameters as well as the removal of chosen important potential fouling water quality parameters. The results showed that highest corrected permeate flux rate was at a TMP of 2500 kPa, whereas lowest recorded at a TMP of 4000 kPa. Similar situation prevailed in water recovery rate. But temperature corrected specific fluxes decreased as the applied TMPs increased. In all selected TMPs, more than 96% of salinity was removed. Permeate from MBR as feed to reverse osmosis required frequent chemical cleaning than the microfiltration/ultrafiltration (MF/UF) permeates and granular media filter (GMF) filtered in order to maintain the required rate of product water. One of the reasons for this frequent chemical cleaning is due to higher total organic carbon as well as total nitrogen (TN) in the MBR permeate. This result needs to be further evaluated through field trials.

Stressors, Recovery Processes, and Manifestations of Training Distress in Dance

Abstract
Dancers are expected to maintain consistently high levels of performance capability and to perform on demand. To meet these expectations, they subject their bodies to long hours of intensive physical training. Such training regimens are often combined with tight rehearsal and performance schedules, which over time, can lead to persistent fatigue, psychological distress, performance decrements, and injury. A similar process has been observed as a consequence of high-intensity training in many different sports, and considerable sport-related research has been devoted to identifying the antecedents, the symptoms that are experienced, and the most cost-effective ways of monitoring symptom development. This paper presents a general heuristic framework for understanding this “training distress process” and discusses the framework with specific reference to dance.

Using recovery modalities between training sessions in elite athletes: does it help?

Achieving an appropriate balance between training and competition stresses and recovery is important in maximising the performance of athletes. A wide range of recovery modalities are now used as integral parts of the training programmes of elite athletes to help attain this balance. This review examined the evidence available as to the efficacy of these recovery modalities in enhancing between-training session recovery in elite athletes. Recovery modalities have largely been investigated with regard to their ability to enhance the rate of blood lactate removal following high-intensity exercise or to reduce the severity and duration of exercise-induced muscle injury and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Neither of these reflects the circumstances of between-training session recovery in elite athletes. After high-intensity exercise, rest alone will return blood lactate to baseline levels well within the normal time period between the training sessions of athletes. The majority of studies examining exercise-induced muscle injury and DOMS have used untrained subjects undertaking large amounts of unfamiliar eccentric exercise. This model is unlikely to closely reflect the circumstances of elite athletes. Even without considering the above limitations, there is no substantial scientific evidence to support the use of the recovery modalities reviewed to enhance the between-training session recovery of elite athletes. Modalities reviewed were massage, active recovery, cryotherapy, contrast temperature water immersion therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, compression garments, stretching, electromyostimulation and combination modalities. Experimental models designed to reflect the circumstances of elite athletes are needed to further investigate the efficacy of various recovery modalities for elite athletes. Other potentially important factors associated with recovery, such as the rate of post-exercise glycogen synthesis and the role of inflammation in the recovery and adaptation process, also need to be considered in this future assessment.

Cross-artform creative practice as still-life recovery: Chinese-Western materialisms of time, writing and death

As argued by Norman Bryson, the still-life genre is sorely neglected by theorists and critics, largely because its concern with ‘low-plane reality’ (everyday items and acts) has obscured its genuine relevance to material thinking. By reappraising rather than abandoning the genre’s traditional themes of death and time—using a cross-cultural, Chinese-Western approach—it is possible to re-energise materialisms of time, writing and death within still life. Such a move depends above all on a re-evaluation of still life as ‘Vanitas’—the term which to date has unified, and more to the point limited, traditional still-life understandings of death and time. This article tracks a more explosive and creative materialism of still life simultaneously through the specifically Chinese approach to death (which includes the ‘Yin Yang’ 阴阳 as a sort of author of time) and via Gilles Deleuze’s cinematic philosophy of the time-image; what connects these is the very Deleuzean notion of time that subtends Chinese engagements with death. In this way, the still-life genre may be recovered from its current critical and theoretical malaise. Reconnecting with practice is a crucial aspect of this recovery, and so in its early stages this article analyses an example of still-life, creative non-fiction (authored by Cher Coad), and it concludes by establishing the value of this potentially ‘new chapter of the “still life” genre’ (in Matilde Marcolli’s terms) for the cross-artform analysis of the short story ‘Nhill’ (authored by Patrick West). Analysis, though, is only half the picture: a fully recovered still-life genre would see theory and practice endlessly circulating through each other, spurring on practice and impelling theory. Coad’s and West’s literary examples are introduced in the hope that they might trigger fresh theoretical and practice-based, still-life discoveries in prose and also in poetry.

Hybrid approach to ensure data confidentiality and tampered data recovery for RFID tag

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an emerging wireless object identification technology with many potential applications such as supply chain management, personnel tracking and healthcare. However, security vulnerabilities of the RFID system have been a serious concern for its wide adoption in many applications. Although there are lots of work to provide privacy and anonymity, little focus has been given to ensure confidentiality and integrity of RFID tag data. To this end, we propose a lightweight hybrid approach based on stenographic and watermarking to ensure data confidentiality, linkability resistance and integrity on the RFID tags data. The proposed technique is capable of tampered data recovering and restoring for RFID tag. It has been validated and tested on EPC class 1 gen2 tags.

Analyses and comparison of counter-movement jump performance and self-rated recovery in state under-18s Australian Rules Football players during a national championship

Recovery of team sport athletes during multiple competitive games is an important area for strength and conditioning coaches to monitor as it facilitates for athletes to be ready to perform (11,13). Utilising athletic performance data in conjunction with self-rated reporting measures can help determine if in fact a player or team has recovered sufficiently or shown a trend towards recovery prior to a competitive match (11). Positive improvement in recovery variables can provide confidence in the effectiveness of recovery methods used and assist in determining the training schedule in order to positively manipulate the fitness-fatigue relationship (3).

Various methods of analysing the recovery of athletes have been reported in the literature and are available to the strength and conditioning coach. These include subjective, self-rated scales and perceived level of recovery questionnaires (11,12,13). Athletic performance measures during exercises such as the counter movement jump (CMJ) have also been analysed, predominantly utilising force plates to obtain kinetic data. (5,13,14). However, such equipment can be difficult to transport, requires continual calibration and is costly to purchase. A linear transducer can provide important information on CMJ variables in the assessment of athletic movements and due to its size and portability could serve as a valuable tool to assist strength and conditioning coaches, (8,10), and potentially enable the monitoring of recovery.

Previous studies have investigated the fatigue effects of competitive games in various sports (11,13,14) including Australian Rules Football (AFL) at the senior elite league level (5, 6). To the authors’ knowledge, however, there is yet to be a study investigating the recovery response in AFL players, specifically in players 18 years and under competing in the National Under 18s Championships. Australian Rules football is an extremely physically demanding and fatiguing sport where players participate in games time exceeding 120 minutes duration, covering large distances (~12-18km, position dependent) with many high intensity efforts performed at random times throughout the game (2,6,16). Hence, it would seem pertinent to analyse the fatigue effects of competitive matches in an Australian Rules Under-18’s National Championship and the subsequent recovery from these games.

The aim of this study was to analyse and compare two self-rated subjective measures of recovery; they being muscle soreness (MS) of the lower body, overall perceived total recovery (TR), and the performance measure of peak velocity (PV) obtained from a CMJ analysed with a linear transducer. Data collection occurred between rounds four and five of the Australian Football League Under-18’s National Championship, representing a four-day recovery analysis period between matches.

Fuel consumption- and emission analysis of exhaust heat recovery systems

The study examined waste heat recovery systems for combustion engines. Emission tests with a real vehicle showed that fuel consumption and CO2 emissions can be reduced by over 7% for the official certification drive cycle through direct heat transfer from the exhaust gas to the engine oil.