A performance analysis of Generalized Key Scheme Block Cipher (GKSBC) algorithm to Cryptanalytic Attacks

Information is a commodity. Information has economic value and production of it incurs cost. Securing the information is posing a considerable challenge. The cryptographic technology plays a leading role in securing the owners right on produced information. A continuous development of new encryption systems are necessitated with the advancement in security and efficiency needs. Cryptanalytic studies have demonstrated the superior capability of recently developed Generalized Key Scheme Block Cipher (GKSBC) algorithm in terms of stability, execution time and encryption quality compared to standard security algorithms. This paper proposes to evaluate the enduring capacity of GKSBC to various cryptanalytic attacks viz., Brute – Force Attack, Differential Cryptanalysis, Integral Cryptanalysis, Linear Cryptanalysis and Rectangle attack. None of the traditional attacks are designed to decrypt GKSBC encryption as the use of key scheme is different in it and therefore robust to the conventional cryptanalytic attacks

Multiscale multiphysics model for hydrogen embrittlement in polycrystalline nickel

Référence bibliographique : Rol, 102487Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Pho20RolAppartient à l’ensemble documentaire : PACA1Image de press

Glimpses of Tribal Botanical Knowledge of Tirunelveli Hills, Western Ghats, India

In the present paper, 46 plant species of angiosperms belonging to 19 genera of Euphorbiaceae that occur naturally in the Tirunelveli Hills of western Ghats, India, were chosen for study. It was found that the uses of Euphorbiaceous plants by the inhabitants of this region cover a number of broad categories including food, various kinds of poisons, medicines, sundry types of oils, waxes, rubbers, varnishes, compounds for paints and other industrial products

Bounded-Angle Spanning Tree: Modeling Networks with Angular Constraints

We introduce a new structure for a set of points in the plane and an angle $\alpha$, which is similar in flavor to a bounded-degree MST. We name this structure $\alpha$-MST. Let $P$ be a set of points in the plane and let $0 < \alpha \le 2\pi$ be an angle. An $\alpha$-ST of $P$ is a spanning tree of the complete Euclidean graph induced by $P$, with the additional property that for each point $p \in P$, the smallest angle around $p$ containing all the edges adjacent to $p$ is at most $\alpha$. An $\alpha$-MST of $P$ is then an $\alpha$-ST of $P$ of minimum weight. For $\alpha < \pi/3$, an $\alpha$-ST does not always exist, and, for $\alpha \ge \pi/3$, it always exists. In this paper, we study the problem of computing an $\alpha$-MST for several common values of $\alpha$. Motivated by wireless networks, we formulate the problem in terms of directional antennas. With each point $p \in P$, we associate a wedge $W_p$ of angle $\alpha$ and apex $p$. The goal is to assign an orientation and a radius $r_p$ to each wedge $W_p$, such that the resulting graph is connected and its MST is an $\alpha$-MST. (We draw an edge between $p$ and $q$ if $p \in W_q$, $q \in W_p$, and $|pq| \le r_p, r_q$.) Unsurprisingly, the problem of computing an $\alpha$-MST is NP-hard, at least for $\alpha=\pi$ and $\alpha=2\pi/3$. We present constant-factor approximation algorithms for $\alpha = \pi/2, 2\pi/3, \pi$. One of our major results is a surprising theorem for $\alpha = 2\pi/3$, which, besides being interesting from a geometric point of view, has important applications. For example, the theorem guarantees that given any set $P$ of $3n$ points in the plane and any partitioning of the points into $n$ triplets, one can orient the wedges of each triplet {\em independently}, such that the graph induced by $P$ is connected. We apply the theorem to the {\em antenna conversion} problem

Putative ligand binding sites of two functionally characterized bark beetle odorant receptors

Background: Bark beetles are major pests of conifer forests, and their behavior is primarily mediated via olfaction. Targeting the odorant receptors (ORs) may thus provide avenues towards improved pest control. Such an approach requires information on the function of ORs and their interactions with ligands, which is also essential for understanding the functional evolution of these receptors. Hence, we aimed to identify a high-quality complement of ORs from the destructive spruce bark beetle Ips typographus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae) and analyze their antennal expression and phylogenetic relationships with ORs from other beetles. Using 68 biologically relevant test compounds, we next aimed to functionally characterize ecologically important ORs, using two systems for heterologous expression. Our final aim was to gain insight into the ligand-OR interaction of the functionally characterized ORs, using a combination of computational and experimental methods. Results: We annotated 73 ORs from an antennal transcriptome of I. typographus and report the functional characterization of two ORs (ItypOR46 and ItypOR49), which are responsive to single enantiomers of the common bark beetle pheromone compounds ipsenol and ipsdienol, respectively. Their responses and antennal expression correlate with the specificities, localizations, and/or abundances of olfactory sensory neurons detecting these enantiomers. We use homology modeling and molecular docking to predict their binding sites. Our models reveal a likely binding cleft lined with residues that previously have been shown to affect the responses of insect ORs. Within this cleft, the active ligands are predicted to specifically interact with residues Tyr84 and Thr205 in ItypOR46. The suggested importance of these residues in the activation by ipsenol is experimentally supported through site-directed mutagenesis and functional testing, and hydrogen bonding appears key in pheromone binding. Conclusions: The emerging insight into ligand binding in the two characterized ItypORs has a general importance for our understanding of the molecular and functional evolution of the insect OR gene family. Due to the ecological importance of the characterized receptors and widespread use of ipsenol and ipsdienol in bark beetle chemical communication, these ORs should be evaluated for their potential use in pest control and biosensors to detect bark beetle infestations

A comparative longitudinal study of bovine trypanosomiasis in tsetse-free and tsetse-infested zones of the Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia

A study was conducted to determine the incidence of trypanosome infections in cattle in tsetse-free and tsetse-infested zones of the Amhara Region of northwest Ethiopia. A total of six sentinel herds were established and the cattle observed during a period of 8 consecutive months. The prevalence of seropositive cattle was high in both the tsetse-free and tsetse-infested zones. The average monthly incidence of trypanosome infection, determined using molecular diagnostic tools, was 20.9% and 25.7% in the tsetse-free and the tsetse-infested zones, respectively. In the tsetse-free, Trypanosoma vivax was responsible for 90.9% of the cattle trypanosome infections. In the tsetse-infested zone, Trypanosoma congolense and T. vivax contributed almost equally to the trypanosome infections in cattle. Trypanosome infection, regardless of species, resulted in anaemia as evidenced by a significant decrease in the packed cell volume of the infected animal. The outcome of this longitudinal study suggests that control of trypanosomiasis in the Amhara Region cannot be achieved by tsetse control alone. Supplemental measures to include drug therapy and biting fly control are discussed

Complementarity of Politics and Administration: An Empirical Examination

This dissertation is designed to examine the impact of the complementarity of politics and administration on local governments\u27 fiscal performance. The study adopts Svara\u27s Politics-Administration Complementarity Model, which explains the mutual interdependence and reciprocal influence of administrative relationships between the elected and appointed officials of local governments towards a General Management City (a traditional mayor-council city that appoints a professional city manager to conduct the city\u27s administration without formally adopting the council-manager form). By adopting the politics-administration complementarity model to a general management municipal administrative structure, this thesis hypothesizes that cities with general management administrative structures achieve measurable fiscal performance of a higher order compared to cities without professional management (as in traditional strong mayor cities), or cities with a clear separation of powers (as in the council-manager forms of government). This study employs a cross-sectional research design on the 1997 Census of Government\u27s data of 1,166 cities that had populations of 25,000 or more. This analysis employs four most commonly used dependent variables of municipal fiscal performance: namely the composite fiscal stress index, revenue capacity per capita, per capita general expenditures, and FTE employee rate. An ordinary least square regression model is used to isolate the impact of the municipal management structure on dependent variables while controlling for the exogenous effects of identified socioeconomic and fiscal condition variables. Results of this study support the hypothesis that the general management cities have better fiscal performance levels, as evidenced by lower revenue capacity per capita, per capita general expenditures and the FTE employee rates than the strong mayor cities. However, the composite fiscal stress index was lower in the strong mayor cities when compared with the general management cities. Thus, three out of four research hypotheses were not rejected based on the results of regression analyses. Exploratory analyses of the general management cities show that they have great fluctuations in population growth. The cities that have recently adopted general management structure struggle financially. Though the findings did not support claims based on Svara\u27s politics-administration complementarity model, still this study contributes substantially to the theory and practice of public administration, especially municipal government administration