2P3FL:A Novel Approach for Privacy Preserving in Financial Sectors Using Flower Federated Learning

The increasing data pool in finance sectors forces machine learning(ML)to step into new complications.Banking data has significant financial implications and is confidential.Combining users data from several organizations for various banking services may result in various intrusions and privacy leakages.As a result,this study employs federated learning(FL)using a flower paradigm to preserve each organization’s privacy while collaborating to build a robust shared global model.However,diverse data distributions in the collaborative training process might result in inadequate model learning and a lack of privacy.To address this issue,the present paper proposes the imple-mentation of Federated Averaging(FedAvg)and Federated Proximal(FedProx)methods in the flower framework,which take advantage of the data locality while training and guaranteeing global convergence.Resultantly improves the privacy of the local models.This analysis used the credit card and Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity Intrusion Detection Evaluation(CICIDS)datasets.Precision,recall,and accuracy as performance indicators to show the efficacy of the proposed strategy using FedAvg and FedProx.The experimental findings suggest that the proposed approach helps to safely use banking data from diverse sources to enhance customer banking services by obtaining accuracy of 99.55%and 83.72%for FedAvg and 99.57%,and 84.63%for FedProx.

An Investigation into Green Total Factor Productivity in China's Carbon-Intensive Sectors and Its Influencing Factors

This paper uses an SBM-GML index model to assess Green Total Factor Productivity(GTFP)in China's carbon-intensive sectors and conducts an empirical investigation into which factors influence GTFP in these sectors.The GTFP in the carbon-intensive sectors experienced a decline between 2006 and 2011,followed by an upward trend beginning in 2012.Technological progress was the primary driver of GTFP growth,while business size was also a notable contributor.Irrational energy structures negatively influenced the high-quality development of the carbon-intensive sectors,and environmental regulation and foreign direct investment(FDI)have not yet significantly impacted GTFP.Based on these findings,this paper suggests that the carbon-intensive sectors should expedite their green transitions by focusing on system improvement,technological innovations,energy revolutions,and high-level opening up.

Bangladeshi textile and garment sectors defied the global disasters and continued growth

Bangladeshi textile and garment sectors defied the global challenges over the last five years and continued to grow although the growth momentum was not so strong before the COVID-19 pandemic.Before the start of the pandemic,both the textile and garment sectors were growing at a higher rate because of rising demand from the international clothing retailers and brands because of two main reasons including the trade war between USA and China and competitive prices of locally made garment.

Does country risk impact the banking sectors’non‑performing loans?Evidence from BRICS emerging economies

This study aims to fill the gap in the literature by specifically investigating the impact of country risk on the credit risk of the banking sectors operating in Brazil,Russia,India,China,and South Africa(BRICS),emerging countries.More specifically,we explore whether the country-specific risks,namely financial,economic,and political risks significantly impact the BRICS banking sectors’non-performing loans and also probe which risk has the most outstanding effect on credit risk.To do so,we perform panel data analysis using the quantile estimation approach covering the period 2004–2020.The empirical results reveal that the country risk significantly leads to increasing the banking sector’s credit risk and this effect is prominent in the banking sector of countries with a higher degree of non-performing loans(Q.25=−0.105,Q.50=−0.131,Q.75=−0.153,Q.95=−0.175).Furthermore,the results underscore that an emerging country’s political,economic,and financial instabilities are strongly associated with increasing the banking sector’s credit risk and a rise in political risk in particular has the most positive prominent impact on the banking sector of countries with a higher degree of non-performing loans(Q.25=−0.122,Q.50=−0.141,Q.75=−0.163,Q.95=−0.172).Moreover,the results suggest that,in addition to the banking sectorspecific determinants,credit risk is significantly impacted by the financial market development,lending interest rate,and global risk.The results are robust and have significant policy suggestions for many policymakers,bank executives,researchers,and analysts.

Carbon Footprint in Waste Sector of Hydropower Plant: A Case Study of Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Plant

While hydropower is generally considered a clean energy source, it is important to recognize that their waste can still contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The purpose of this study is to assess the carbon footprint associated with the waste sector throughout the operational phase of the Nam Theun 2 hydropower plant in Laos. Understanding the environmental impact of the waste sector is crucial for ensuring the plant’s sustainability. This study utilizes the theoretical estimation method recommended in the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, as well as the Requirements for Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of GHG emissions and removals. We emphasize the significance of implementing sustainable waste management practices to reduce GHG emissions and minimize the environmental impact of hydropower operations. By conducting a comprehensive analysis, this paper also provides insights into the environmental implications of waste management in hydropower plants and identifies strategies to mitigate the carbon footprint in the waste sector. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the environmental sustainability of hydropower plants and provide valuable guidance for policymakers, energy producers, and environmental practitioners involved in hydropower plant design and operation.

A Multi-Token Sector Antenna Neighbor Discovery Protocol for Directional Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper,we propose a Multi-token Sector Antenna Neighbor Discovery(M-SAND)protocol to enhance the efficiency of neighbor discovery in asynchronous directional ad hoc networks.The central concept of our work involves maintaining multiple tokens across the network.To prevent mutual interference among multi-token holders,we introduce the time and space non-interference theorems.Furthermore,we propose a master-slave strategy between tokens.When the master token holder(MTH)performs the neighbor discovery,it decides which 1-hop neighbor is the next MTH and which 2-hop neighbors can be the new slave token holders(STHs).Using this approach,the MTH and multiple STHs can simultaneously discover their neighbors without causing interference with each other.Building on this foundation,we provide a comprehensive procedure for the M-SAND protocol.We also conduct theoretical analyses on the maximum number of STHs and the lower bound of multi-token generation probability.Finally,simulation results demonstrate the time efficiency of the M-SAND protocol.When compared to the QSAND protocol,which uses only one token,the total neighbor discovery time is reduced by 28% when 6beams and 112 nodes are employed.

The Influence of Information Technology(IT)on Accrual Accounting Adoption:The Case of the Jordanian Public Sector

Jordan is one of many countries that intends to reform its public sector by adopting accrual accounting,which is primarily carried out through the International Public Sector Accounting Standards(IPSAS)implementation plan,scheduled to be completed by 2021.Considering the difficulties of adoption,this process cannot be completed without an appropriate Information Technology(IT)system capable of providing the accounting information required for this reform.Therefore,this study aims to examine the influence of IT on accrual accounting adoption in the Jordanian public sector.The study employed the quantitative survey approach.Based on 331 usable questionnaires,the descriptive findings showed that the use of IT in the Jordanian public sector is relevant to daily accounting transactions in general and to accrual accounting in particular.The regression analysis showed a positive,significant relationship between IT use and accrual accounting practice.The IT specialist should be able to understand the needs of public sector in adopting accrual-based accounting.In line with today’s digitalization age,which integrates advanced technologies and numerous techniques,this study suggests that a combination of accounting and IT experts is a value added to sharpen the competitiveness of public sector reform.This study contributes to the extant literature in public sector,concerning the relationship between IT and accrual accounting adoption in the context of Jordan.

Artificial Intelligence Based on Resilient Leadership in the Health Sector-A Secondary Publication

At present,it is impossible to deny the existence of artificial intelligence in various areas of social life,understood as the simulation of expert human intelligence from computer processes that involve learning,reasoning,and self-correction,its benefits to the medical field,in particular,are innumerable,but their incorporation into health systems has been gradual for many reasons.According to the above,this research analyzed artificial intelligence based on resilient leadership in the health sector,for which qualitative research was carried out with a documentary-bibliographic design with printed and electronic documentary sources with theoretical contributions fromÁvila,Mayer,and Quesada[1],Morgan[2],Villa[3],and Finol[4],among others.It is highlighted that resilient leadership has become a strategic factor in all organizations,since times of uncertainty and changes lead institutions to properly manage the incorporation of technologies specifically AI,achieving in this way that the centers and professionals in the field of health assume the needs of the contexts and the innovations of the same.It is concluded that resilient leadership will allow artificial intelligence in the health sector to generate higher levels of learning and adaptability to the transformations that are necessary,whose resistance would make its application difficult and in the long run it will leave behind professionals who refuse to assume the contributions of these innovative techniques in medical practice.

Behavior of the Total Electron Content over the Arctic and Antarctic sectors during several intense geomagnetic storms

In this paper, the behavior of TEC at three stations located in the Arctic and Antarctic sectors during some intense geomagnetic storms in the period 2012-2016 is analyzed. The results show the opposite storm effects in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Both the positive and negative TEC disturbances presented more fluctuations over the Arctic stations than over the Antarctic stations. Moreover, the positive TEC disturbances were more significant in winter. The negative disturbances were generally long-lasting,sometimes interrupted by short-duration positive disturbances. Overall, the increases and decreases in TEC can be mainly attributed to changes(i.e., increase and decreases in the O/N_2 ratio respectively) in the thermospheric composition, but prompt penetration electric field could be responsible for the initial TEC disturbances. The thermospheric circulation and the disturbance dynamo, which are maintained due to prolonged high-energy input at high latitudes, can also play important roles at the end of main phase and during recovery phase.

A Novel Hybrid Approach to Estimate Customer Interruption Costs for Industry Sectors

The power system infrastructure, operations and market have gone through radical changes for the last couple of decades. The society has become more dependent to the continuous electric power supply and hence the concept of electric power reliability has become more significant. At this point, understanding the economic outcomes of power outages is vital and imperative for both utilities and the customers. There are certain methodologies to understand the costs of power interruptions. This paper suggests a novel hybrid method that comprises of customer surveys and direct analytical methods to reach customer specific, objective and reliable results for the industry sector customers. The paper also brings a statistical approach to censor the zero and extreme responses given via the surveys.

Impact of the COVID‑19 outbreak on the US equity sectors:Evidence from quantile return spillovers

The aim of this study is to examine the extreme return spillovers among the US stock market sectors in the light of the COVID-19 outbreak.To this end,we extend the now-traditional Diebold-Yilmaz spillover index to the quantiles domain by building networks of generalized forecast error variance decomposition of a quantile vector autoregressive model specifically for extreme returns.Notably,we control for common movements by using the overall stock market index as a common factor for all sectors and uncover the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on the dynamics of the network.The results show that the network structure and spillovers differ considerably with respect to the market state.During stable times,the network shows a nice sectoral clustering structure which,however,changes dramatically for both adverse and beneficial market conditions constituting a highly connected network structure.The pandemic period itself shows an interesting restructuring of the network as the dominant clusters become more tightly connected while the rest of the network remains well separated.The sectoral topology thus has not collapsed into a unified market during the pandemic.

Spatial Disparity in Availability of Tuberculosis Diagnostic Services Based on Sector and Level of Care in Nigeria

Background: Delay in Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis can contribute to late presentation, severe disease, and continued transmission. KNCV TB Foundation Nigeria through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the TB Local Organization Network (LON) 1 and 2 projects that explored the availability of Tuberculosis services based on sector and levels of care. Methods: TB Patient Pathway Analysis was carried out in 14 states comprising 92 facilities. It involved primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of health care in both the public and private sectors. This was a cross-sectional study under program implementation. Proforma was used to collect data on the available TB diagnostic services. Results: In public health facilities, GeneXpert was available at 100% in tertiary facilities in 8 (57%) states;up to 82% in 4 (33%) states, 50% available at secondary facilities in 2 states, and There is none at the primary facilities. Smear microscopy was available at 100% in tertiary facilities in 9 (64%) states and 3 (25%) states have 50% to 82%;secondary -10 (71%) states have > 70% at facilities;primary 1 (7%) state has it in 61% of facilities. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (TB-LAMP) in tertiary 2 (17%) states have 20% and 100% respectively;secondary 4 (<30%) states have in 1 or 2 facilities;none for primary facilities. In private health facilities, 79% of states have Smear microscopy at both primary and secondary facilities, and only 2 states (14%) at tertiary facilities. Only 1 (7%) state has GeneXpert in all tertiary facilities, 2 (14%) states have secondary facilities, and 4 states in about 1% of facilities. TB LAMP was not available in any tertiary facility, one (7%) state at secondary with coverage of 1%, and 2 (14%) states at primary both with 4% overall facility coverage. Conclusions: There is an inequitable distribution of TB diagnostic services in both sectors and levels of care in Nigeria. TB care and control will improve with enhanced equitable distribution of TB diagnostic services across the health system.

Magnitude and associated factors of health professionals’ attrition from public health sectors in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia

Background: Attrition of health professionals from public health sectors is found to be a barrier to effectiveness of health systems and to provide essential health service to population. In Ethiopia, the public health system is the major provider of health care service to the people. In particular, the poor segment of community uses public hospital, health centers and clinic, since the private health facilities are inaccessible and unaffordable to them. The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude and factors associated with health professionals’ attrition from public health sectors in Bahir Dar city. Methods: A Facility based cross-sectional study was conducted in September-October 2012. All inclusive sampling techniques of five years document reviews were used to select 727 health professional documents. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using structured questionnaires and indepth-interview guides respectively, by trained data collectors. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, proportion and chi square test) were used to describe the study population in relation to relevant variables. To identify independent predictors of attrition, only variables that were statistically significant during bivariate analysis were entered into multiple logistic regression models to control the effects of confounders. Pvalues sex, marital status, educational status, workplace, current salary, professional category and work experience were the main factors associated with health professionals’ attrition from public health sectors. Conclusion: The findings showed that the level of health professionals’ attrition is high in the study area. Policy makers and health mangers should design appropriate retention strategies for health professionals at public health sectors in terms of most associated factors with attritions of health professionals to reduce the prevalence of health professionals’ attrition from public health sectors in collaboration with development partners and concerned body.

Vulnerability Assessment of Climate Change on Sea Level Rise Impacts on Some Economic Sectors in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam

Assessing the vulnerability for some economic sectors of Binh Dinh province plays a very important role. The study has applied the vulnerability method according to Iyengar and Sudarshan to assess vulnerability for 03 different sectors: 1) Agriculture, forestry and fisheries;2) Industry and construction and 3) Service. Calculation results of vulnerability classification for different sector groups according to the E, S, AC, and Vi indicators are used to develop a hierarchy of vulnerability classification for different sector groups. The calculation results indicate that only Phu My district has a high vulnerability index for agriculture, forestry and fisheries with the value of Vi?= 0.6;For the service sector, only Quy Nhon City has a high vulnerability index with the value of Vi?= 0.63. The vulnerability index calculated for sector groups for the remaining regions is low to moderate. The result of the vulnerability classification maps due to sea level rise will help planners and managers make plans, plans and solutions to mitigate risks caused by natural disasters.

Fuzzy MADM Approach for Identification of Key Sectors of Tajikistan Economy

The development strategy, focused on the promotion of the efficient and prospective production sectors required for effectively solving social, economic and other problems becomes very important in resource allocation decision making process of developing countries. The structural hierarchy, comprising social, economic, technological and environmental aspects, which is involved in the selection of sectors constructed according to the hierarchical system of objectives. The Fuzzy Multi-attribute Decision Making method is used to rank the sectors by indicating the degree to which an alternative satisfies the global objectives of criteria obtained by aggregation operations in fuzzy environment. By applying the developed approach to defining and identifying the key sectors of an economy, we can rank the aggregated 17 sectors of the Tajikistan economy according to their degree of achievement in satisfying key criteria.

Stepwise evaluation of liver sectors and liver segments by endoscopic ultrasound

The liver has eight segments, which are referred to by numbers or by names. The numbering of the segments is done in a counterclockwise manner with the liver being viewed from the inferior surface, starting from Segment Ⅰ(the caudate lobe). Standard anatomical description of the liver segments is available by computed tomographic scan and ultrasonography. Endoscopic ultrasound(EUS) has been used for a detailed imaging of many intra-abdominal organs and for the assessment of intra-abdominal vasculature. A stepwise evaluation of the liver segments by EUS has not been described. In this article, we have described a stepwise evaluation of the liver segments by EUS. This information can be useful for planning successful radical surgeries, preparing for biopsy, portal vein embolization, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, tumour resection or partial hepatectomy, and for planning EUS guided diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

The Changes in Representatives of Specific Social Sectors of the CPPCC——A Perspective from the Political Absorptive Capacity of the CPC

The establishment of the representatives of special social sectors of the CPPCC has to a greater degree guaranteed broad and in-depth participation for the people from all walks of life in the national political activities,providing an institutionalized platform for various social strata and social groups to systematically give their advice and suggestions.The establishment,adjustment,and changes in the sectors are of vital political significance not only in ensuring to the greatest extent that people from all walks of life widely participate in national political activities,and providing an institutionalized platform for people of all social strata and communities to systematically express their opinions and offer their advice,but also in manifesting the democratic absorption mechanism for the CPC to conduct democratic consultation and governance on the platform of democratic consultation.The more industries involved in the sectors,the more representative the sectors are,and the more reasonable the proportions of the sectors,the more likely it is to guarantee the level and quality of the democratic consultation and to solve more practical problems.This is why the establishment and changes of the CPPCC sectors are an important manifestation of the CPC's political absorptive capacity.The CPPCC is an effective organizing form for the CPC to integrate society and an important platform for the governing party and society to maintain a social pattern of diversified interests and political stability,while the CPPCC sectors are the basic units for the governing party to promote the idea of participatory democracy.

Concrete Formulation Study for Informal and Semi-Informal Construction Sectors

The present work consisted in carrying out a study on the effective formulation of concrete for an optimal resistance to compression (fc28) between 20 and 30 MPa for the sites animated by the actors of the informal and semi-informal sectors of the construction. Studies have been carried out on projects under construction, by taking samples of fresh concrete in order to evaluate their real compressive strengths. These surveys show that there is a problem in the concrete formulation, as nearly 2/3 of the results show the lack of technical knowledge on concrete formulation practices. Indeed, on eight sites surveyed and whose fresh concrete samples were taken, only two sites (7 and 8) report fairly consistent results. Their 28-day compressive strength values are respectively 35.36 and 22.18 MPa. In addition, various formulations proposed with aggregates from different quarries or extracts from the bed of the Congo River, were determined in the laboratory. This study allowed us to obtain fairly objective results overall, which is characteristic of concretes of required quality. Of the six (06) formulation proposals, average resistances of 19.6 MPa at 07 days and 25.28 MPa at 28 days were obtained. These results at 28 days are in the range of 20 to 30 MPa, set as objective in this study. These formulations can be a reliable source for concrete manufacturers in these construction sectors. Similarly, the statistical study based on principal component factor analysis tests has shown that the most appropriate formulation, in terms of mechanical resistance, is that proposed with sand extracted from the Congo River (formulation 3). This is justified by the fact that this sand is consistent and has a good granular distribution.

National Inventory of Mercury Release into Different Environmental Sectors Estimated by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Toolkit in Costa Rica

This paper summarizes the national inventory of mercury released into all environmental sectors (air, water, land, impurity in products, general wastes and sector specific treatment/disposal) for the year 2008 in the country of Costa Rica, using the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) mercury toolkit. The data collection about the input and output of mercury for the year 2008, was carried out during the years 2014 and 2015. The data used for estimation are mainly obtained from the Costa Rican Government’s official publications. The research was developed in order to create a national inventory of mercury releases into all environmental sectors in order to aid mercury management in Costa Rica. Total input and output of mercury, distribution into different environmental sectors, major contributions by mercury sources (“steps” “categories” and “subcategories”) are discussed. The standard estimation of total mercury input is 7174.00 kg/year. The biggest mercury input are “waste treatment and recycling” (3086.00 kg Hg, 43.17%) and “general consumption of mercury in products, as metal mercury and as mercury containing substances” (3189.00 kg Hg, 44.62%). The total mercury released is 31,689.29 kg/year. The biggest emission of mercury corresponds to the source “waste treatment and recycling” (28,359.29 kg/year, 89.49%). The “air” is the main impacted environmental sector due the different mercury inputs. A total of 28,155.60 kg/year (88.55%) is released in this media. Only 1635.10 kg/year (5.16%) of the total mercury emissions is deposited in the environmental sector named “general waste”. The rest of the environmental sectors evaluated are impacted with less of 3.00% of the total mercury released.