Search Results (1,416)

Modern TCP/IP networks are increasingly exposed to unpredictable conditions, both from the physical transmission medium and from malicious cyber threats. Traditional stochastic models often fail to capture the non-linear and highly sensitive nature of these disturbances. This work introduces a formal mathematical framework combining classical network modeling with chaos theory to describe perturbations in latency and packet loss, alongside adversarial processes such as denial-of-service, packet injection, or routing attacks. By structuring the problem into four scenarios (quiescent, perturbed, attacked, perturbed-attacked), the model enables a systematic exploration of resilience and emergent dynamics. The integration of artificial intelligence techniques further enhances this approach, allowing automated detection of chaotic patterns, anomaly classification, and predictive analytics. Machine learning models trained on simulation outputs can identify subtle signatures distinguishing chaotic perturbations from cyber attacks, supporting proactive defense and adaptive traffic engineering. This combination of formal modeling, chaos theory, and AI-driven analysis provides network engineers and security specialists with a powerful toolkit to understand, predict, and mitigate complex threats that go beyond conventional probabilistic assumptions. The result is a more robust methodology for safeguarding critical infrastructures in highly dynamic and adversarial environments. Full article

The present study investigates the thermal conductivity (λ) and convective heat transfer coefficient (h) of AA 6082 aluminum cellular structures immersed in water and air using a thermal conductivity probe (TCP) manufactured by the authors. The probe is a cylindrical needle 0.6 mm in diameter (D) and 60 mm in length (L), obtaining an L/D ratio = 100 ratio, which satisfies the infinite line-source assumption and enables discrimination between pure-fluid and composite (fluid + solid) thermal behavior. Cellular samples are manufactured with the Lost-PLA process and tested at temperatures of 5, 20, and 40 °C, feeding the TCP with different currents, under controlled heating conditions. The results show that the presence of the aluminum cellular structure enhances heat transfer compared with that of pure fluids. In air, the effective thermal conductivity is higher by approximately 37–45% than that in pure air, reaching about 0.038 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ at higher temperatures. In water, λ increases from approximately 0.8 to 1.2 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ over the investigated temperature range, corresponding to an enhancement of about 45–80% compared with that of pure water. Similarly, the convective heat transfer coefficient is higher by about 22–32% in air (h ≈ 38–41 W m⁻² K⁻¹) and 19–54% in water (up to ~440 W m⁻² K⁻¹), depending on temperature. These results indicate that the high thermal conductivity of the aluminum skeleton mainly improves conduction (“thermal bridging”), while convection may be locally affected within the pores. This study confirms the capability of the TCP method to discriminate between fluid and composite heat transfer contributions and highlights the potential of additively manufactured aluminum cellular structures for lightweight thermal management applications. Full article

Dental erosion has emerged as a significant modern oral health problem, characterized by the chemical dissolution of tooth structure resulting from frequent exposure to intrinsic or extrinsic acids. With a high global prevalence ranging from 30% to 50% in children and 20% to 40% in adults, its management is a clinical priority to prevent long-term complications like dentine hypersensitivity and functional impairment. This review outlines the multifactorial etiology of erosion, encompassing dietary acids, gastroesophageal reflux, and reduced salivary flow. The historical context of oral care is explored, leading to a discussion on contemporary management strategies centered on remineralization. Fluoride ions play a crucial role by inhibiting demineralization, facilitating the formation of acid-resistant fluorapatite, and exerting antibacterial effects. A major focus is placed on advanced biomimetic, calcium phosphate-based topical agents such as Casein Phosphopeptide–Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (CPP-ACP), functionalized Tricalcium Phosphate (fTCP), and Hydroxyapatite (HAP), which effectively replenish lost minerals. The review further explores innovative methods, such as laser-assisted and electrically enhanced remineralization. Finally, it outlines next-generation regenerative strategies, including self-assembling peptides (P11-4), stem cell therapies, 3D bioprinting, and gene-editing (CRISPR) technologies, which aim to biologically regenerate lost enamel and dentine. The field is rapidly evolving from a preventive to a restorative paradigm, with future directions focusing on biologically based, minimally invasive therapies to fully restore tooth structure and function. Full article

Fluorescence imaging is crucial for providing detailed information in clinical practice. However, traditional first near-infrared (NIR-I) dyes such as indocyanine green (ICG) exhibit limitations such as shallow penetration depth, low contrast, and suboptimal clarity due to light scattering and autofluorescence. To overcome these drawbacks, we utilized a novel amphiphilic second near-infrared (NIR-II) aggregation-induced emission (AIE) probe (TCP) with an emission range beyond 1300 nm (NIR-IIa). Using approximately 200 co-registered NIR-I/NIR-IIa image pairs acquired with TCP, we trained a SwinUnet-based deep learning model to transform low-quality NIR-I ICG images into high-resolution NIR-IIa-like images. Owing to its superior brightness and photostability, TCP enhances in vivo fluorescent angiography, offering clearer vascular details and a higher signal-to-background ratio (SBR) in the NIR-IIa region, 2.6-fold higher than that of ICG in the NIR-I region. The deep learning model successfully converted blurred NIR-I images into high-SBR NIR-IIa-like images, achieving rapid imaging speeds without compromising quality. This work introduces a synergistic “probe-plus-AI” paradigm that substantially improves both the quality and speed of clinical fluorescence imaging, providing a pathway that is immediately translatable to enhanced diagnostics and image-guided surgery. Full article

This study presents an edge-based intrusion detection methodology designed to enhance cybersecurity in Internet of Things environments, which remain highly vulnerable to complex attacks. The approach employs an Auxiliary Classifier Generative Adversarial Network capable of classifying network traffic in real-time while simultaneously generating high-fidelity synthetic data within a unified framework. The model is implemented in TensorFlow and deployed on the energy-efficient NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano, demonstrating the feasibility of executing advanced deep learning models at the edge. Training is conducted on network traffic collected from diverse IoT devices, with preprocessing focused on TCP-based threats. The integration of an auxiliary classifier enables the generation of labeled synthetic samples that mitigate data scarcity and improve supervised learning under imbalanced conditions. Experimental results demonstrate strong detection performance, achieving a precision of 0.89 and a recall of 0.97 using the standard 0.5 decision threshold inherent to the sigmoid-based binary classifier, indicating an effective balance between intrusion detection capability and false-positive reduction, which is critical for reliable operation in IoT scenarios. The generative component enhances data augmentation, robustness, and generalization. These results show that combining generative adversarial learning with edge computing provides a scalable and effective approach for IoT security. Future work will focus on stabilizing training procedures and refining hyperparameters to improve detection performance while maintaining high precision. Full article

Cutin matrices and wax mixtures are major components of lipophilic cuticles, shielding plant tissues from stressful environments. Identifying the key regulators governing biosynthesis of cutin and cuticular wax in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) could contribute to wheat breeding for stress resistance. In this study, we reported that the wheat class I TCP transcription factor TaTCP15 positively regulates cutin and cuticular wax biosynthesis. The CYP86A family cytochrome P450 enzymes, TaCYP86A2 and TaCYP86A4, were characterized as essential components of wheat cutin biosynthetic machinery. Wheat transcription factor TaSHN1 targets TaCYP86A2, TaCYP86A4, and wax biosynthesis gene TaECR and recruits the mediator subunit TaCDK8 to activate these genes’ transcription. Furthermore, we demonstrated that TaSHN1 gene transcription is directly activated by the transcription factor TaTCP15. Expression of TaSHN1, TaCYP86A2, TaCYP86A4, and TaECR genes, as well as cutin and wax accumulation, was attenuated by silencing of the TaTCP15 gene. Collectively, these findings suggest that wheat class I TCP transcription factor TaTCP15 positively regulates cutin and cuticular wax biosynthesis, probably via directly targeting the TaSHN1 gene and upregulating TaCYP86A2, TaCYP86A4, and TaECR expression, providing valuable information for developing wheat plants with improved cuticle-associated traits. Full article

Manual alignment between the trocar, surgical instrument, and robot during minimally invasive surgery (MIS) can be time-consuming and error-prone, and many existing systems do not provide autonomous localization and pose estimation. This paper presents an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted, vision-guided framework for automated localization and positioning of the ATHENA parallel surgical robot. The proposed approach combines an Intel RealSense RGB–depth (RGB-D) camera with a You Only Look Once version 11 (YOLO11) object detection model to estimate the 3D spatial coordinates of key surgical components in real time. The estimated coordinates are streamed over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to a programmable logic controller (PLC) using Modbus/TCP, enabling closed-loop robot positioning for automated docking. Experimental validation in a controlled setup designed to replicate key intraoperative constraints demonstrated submillimeter positioning accuracy (≤0.8 mm), an average end-to-end latency of 67 ms, and a 42% reduction in setup time compared with manual alignment, while remaining robust under variable lighting. These results indicate that the proposed perception-to-control pipeline is a practical step toward reliable autonomous robotic docking in MIS workflows. Full article

The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol is widely used nowadays to create secure communications over TCP/IP networks. Its purpose is to ensure confidentiality, authentication, and data integrity for messages exchanged between two endpoints. In order to facilitate its integration into widely used applications, the protocol is typically implemented through libraries, such as OpenSSL, BoringSSL, LibreSSL, WolfSSL, NSS, or mbedTLS. These libraries encompass functions that execute the specialized TLS handshake required for channel establishment, as well as the construction and processing of TLS records, and the procedures for closing the secure channel. However, these software libraries may contain vulnerabilities or errors that could potentially jeopardize the security of the TLS channel. To identify flaws or deviations from established standards within the implemented TLS code, a specialized tool known as TLS-Anvil can be utilized. This tool also verifies the compliance of TLS libraries with the specifications outlined in the Request for Comments documents published by the IETF. TLS-Anvil conducts numerous tests with a client/server configuration utilizing a specified TLS library and subsequently generates a report that details the number of successful tests. In this work, we exploit the results obtained from a selected subset of TLS-Anvil tests to generate rules used for anomaly detection in Suricata, a well-known signature-based Intrusion Detection System. During the tests, TLS-Anvil generates .pcap capture files that report all the messages exchanged. Such files can be subsequently analyzed with Wireshark, allowing for a detailed examination of the messages exchanged during the tests and a thorough understanding of their structure on a byte-by-byte basis. Through the analysis of the TLS handshake messages produced during testing, we develop customized Suricata rules aimed at detecting TLS anomalies that result from flawed implementations within the intercepted traffic. Furthermore, we describe the specific test environment established for the purpose of deriving and validating certain Suricata rules intended to identify anomalies in nodes utilizing a version of the OpenSSL library that does not conform to the TLS specification. The rules that delineate TLS deviations or potential attacks may subsequently be integrated into a threat detection platform supporting Suricata. This integration will enhance the capability to identify TLS anomalies arising from code that fails to adhere to the established specifications. Full article

Background/Objectives: Nonunion bone healing results from a critical size defect that fails to bridge a bone injury to produce bony union. Novel approaches are critical for refining therapy in clinically challenging bone injuries, but the complex and coordinated nature of fracture callus tissue development requires study outside of the simple closed murine fracture model. Methods: We have utilized a three-dimensional printing approach to develop a scaffold construct with layers designed to sequentially release small molecule therapy within the tissues of a murine endochondral segmental defect to augment different mechanisms of fracture repair during critical stages of nonunion bone healing. Initially, a sonic hedgehog (SHH) agonist is released from a fibrin layer to promote chondrogenesis. A prolyl-hydroxylase domain (PHD)2 inhibitor is subsequently released from a β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) layer to promote hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α regulation of angiogenesis. This sequential approach to therapy delivery is assisted by the inclusion of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) to increase the cell substrate available for the small molecule therapy. Results: Immunohistochemistry of fracture callus tissue revealed increased expression of PTCH1 and HIF1α, targets of hedgehog and hypoxia signaling pathways, respectively, in the SAG21k/IOX2-treated mice compared to vehicle control. MicroCT and histology analyses showed increased bone in the fracture callus of mice that received therapy compared to control vehicle scaffolds. Conclusions: While our findings establish feasibility for the use of BMSCs and small molecules in the fibrin gel/β-TCP scaffolds to promote new bone formation for segmental defect healing, further optimization of these approaches is required to develop a fracture callus capable of completing bony union in a large defect. Full article

Fast large-scale network scanning is an important way to understand internet service configurations and security in real time, among which stateless scan technology is representative. Existing stateless scanners can perform single-packet scans for internet-wide network measurements but are limited to host discovery or port scanning. To obtain further information over TCP, slower stateful scanners must be used in conjunction, which spend more time and memory because of connection state maintenance. Through the simplification of the TCP finite state machine (FSM), this paper proposes a novel stateless scanning model, which can establish TCP connections and obtain further responses in a completely stateless manner. Based on this model, we implement ZBanner, an improved modular stateless scanner that utilizes user-defined probes for identifying services and versions, fingerprinting TLS servers, etc. We present the unique design of ZBanner and experimentally characterize its feasibility and performance. Experiments show that ZBanner performs better than current state-of-the-art solutions in terms of scan rate and memory usage. ZBanner achieves a scan rate that is at least three times faster than current tools for generic ports and over 90 times faster for open ports while keeping a minimum and stable memory usage. Full article

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of hydroxyapatite-tricalcium phosphate (HAP-TCP) as a bone substitute in subantral augmentation for dental implants. Specifically, it investigates the effects of HAP-TCP on bone quality, density, and integration with implants over time. Methods: A prospective controlled longitudinal study was conducted on 22 patients (39–75 years of age) undergoing subantral augmentation and dental implantation. A total of 52 sites of augmented bone and 67 sites of native bone were analyzed using computed tomography (CT) to assess bone density in Hounsfield Units (HU), insertion torque measurements, and the Misch classification for bone quality. Augmented and native bone measurements were compared within each patient. Results: The augmented bone exhibited an average density of 1132.6 ± 334.9 HU, which is significantly higher (45.9%) than the average density of native bone at 519.3 ± 395.0 HU. Insertion torque values in the HAP-TCP augmented sites averaged 35 N·cm, showing a 71.4% increase compared to adjacent native bone sites (25 N·cm). The study found notable improvements in bone homogeneity and vascularization within the augmented zones. Conclusion: HAP-TCP demonstrates significant potential as a reliable and effective synthetic bone substitute for subantral augmentation in dental implants. It yields higher radiodensity and insertion torque than adjacent native bone, while mitigating complications associated with autogenous grafts. These observational findings support the potential clinical use of HAP-TCP for sinus augmentation. Full article

Canal wall down mastoidectomy (CWD) effectively eradicates cholesteatoma and chronic otitis media but frequently results in a problematic open mastoid cavity. Mastoid obliteration aims to reduce cavity-related morbidity. Bioceramic materials, including hydroxyapatite (HA), tricalcium phosphate (TCP), and bioactive glass (BAG), have been increasingly adopted because of their osteoconductive, biocompatible, and antimicrobial properties. This systematic review evaluates the clinical outcomes and complications of bioceramic mastoid obliteration following CWD. A systematic literature search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted for studies published between 2005 and 2025, following PRISMA guidelines. Clinical studies reporting outcomes of bioceramic mastoid obliteration after CWD were included. Thirteen clinical studies were included. HA-, TCP-, and BAG-based materials demonstrated high obliteration success rates (>90% in most series). BAG S53P4 was consistently associated with low infection rates and favorable epithelialization, whereas earlier HA cement formulations were occasionally associated with revision-requiring complications. Bioceramic scaffolds represent safe and effective materials for mastoid obliteration after CWD. BAG offers additional antibacterial advantages, while HA provides predictable volume stability. Further prospective and comparative studies are required to establish material superiority and long-term outcomes. Full article

Industrial control systems (ICSs) are increasingly interconnected with enterprise IT networks and remote services, which expands the attack surface of operational technology (OT) environments. However, collecting sufficient attack traffic from real OT/ICS networks is difficult, and the resulting scarcity and class imbalance of malicious data hinder the development of intrusion detection systems (IDSs). At the same time, large language models (LLMs) have shown promise for security analytics when system events are expressed in natural language. This study investigates an LLM-based network IDS for a smart-factory OT/ICS environment and proposes a synthetic data generation method that injects domain knowledge into attack samples. Using the ICSSIM simulator, we construct a bottle-filling smart factory, implement six MITRE ATT&CK for ICS-based attack scenarios, capture Modbus/TCP traffic, and convert each request–response pair into a natural-language description of network behavior. We then generate synthetic attack descriptions with GPT by combining (1) statistical properties of normal traffic, (2) MITRE ATT&CK for ICS tactics and techniques, and (3) expert knowledge obtained from executing the attacks in ICSSIM. The Llama 3.1 8B Instruct model is fine-tuned with QLoRA on a seven-class classification task (Benign vs. six attack types) and evaluated on a test set composed exclusively of real ICSSIM traffic. Experimental results show that synthetic data generated only from statistical information, or from statistics plus MITRE descriptions, yield limited performance, whereas incorporating environment-specific expert knowledge is associated with substantially higher performance on our ICSSIM-based expanded test set (100% accuracy in binary detection and 96.49% accuracy with a macro F1-score of 0.958 in attack-type classification). Overall, these findings suggest that domain-knowledge-infused synthetic data and natural-language traffic representations can support LLM-based IDSs in OT/ICS smart-factory settings; however, further validation on larger and more diverse datasets is needed to confirm generality. Full article

Neodymium-doped bioactive wollastonite–tricalcium phosphate (W-TCP:Nd) coatings were fabricated by combining dip-coating and laser floating zone (LFZ) techniques to investigate the dependence of optical emission on polarization. Structural and spectroscopic analyses were performed on both longitudinal and transversal sections of the coating to assess the effects of directional solidification on luminescence and vibrational behavior. Micro-Raman spectroscopy revealed that the coating exhibited sharp, well-defined peaks compared to the W-TCP:Nd glass, confirming its glass-ceramic nature. New Raman modes appeared in the longitudinal section, accompanied by red and blue shifts in some bands relative to the transversal section, suggesting the presence of anisotropic stress and orientation-dependent crystal growth. Optical emission measurements showed that while the ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_11/2 transition near 1060 nm was nearly polarization independent, the ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_9/2 transition around 870–900 nm exhibited strong polarization dependence with notable Stark splitting. The relative intensity and spectral position of the Stark components varied systematically with the rotation of the emission polarization. These findings demonstrate that directional solidification induces polarization-dependent optical behavior, indicating potential applications for polarization-sensitive optical tracking and sensing in bioactive implant coatings. Full article

Bone graft substitutes are extensively investigated for addressing critical-size bone defects; however, their efficacy is limited by inadequate bone regeneration and subpar handling properties. Herein, we compared the bone regenerative capacity of CaO–SiO₂–P₂O₅–B₂O₃-based bioactive glass (BGS-7) macrobeads with that of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) beads and evaluated their performance when incorporated into hydrogels to improve their handling properties. BGS-7 macrobeads were fabricated via alginate crosslinking and heat treatment, and their physicochemical properties and microstructures were characterized. In a rabbit calvarial defect model, BGS-7 macrobeads, heat-treated at 600 and 800 °C, exhibited superior bone bridging and degradation than size-matched β-TCP macrobeads. To further evaluate their regenerative potential, critical-size defects (6 mm diameter × 10 mm depth) were created in the rabbit femoral condyle. To enhance clinical applicability, BGS-7 beads were incorporated into cellulose-based hydrogels and implanted into the defects. Radiographic and histomorphometric analyses demonstrated that bone formation and stable fixation achieved with hydrogel formulations containing BGS-7 microbeads and Laponite were more pronounced than those with BGS-7 beads alone. The findings suggest that BGS-7 macrobeads, particularly when combined with microbead- and Laponite-containing hydrogels, represent a promising bone graft substitute with improved regenerative and handling properties compared with using BGS-7 beads alone. Full article