Shuai Zhao, Zhiwei Zhang^*, Junkai Wang, Ye Yuan, Guoren Wang

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.073315 - 12 January 2026

Abstract With the development of sharded blockchains, high cross-shard rates and load imbalance have emerged as major challenges. Account partitioning based on hashing and real-time load faces the issue of high cross-shard rates. Account partitioning based on historical transaction graphs is effective in reducing cross-shard rates but suffers from load imbalance and limited adaptability to dynamic workloads. Meanwhile, because of the coupling between consensus and execution, a target shard must receive both the partitioned transactions and the partitioned accounts before initiating consensus and execution. However, we observe that transaction partitioning and subsequent consensus do not require… More >

Ahmed Awad Mohamed¹, Eslam Abdelhakim Seyam^2,*, Ahmed R. Elsaeed³, Laith Abualigah⁴, Aseel Smerat^5,6, Ahmed M. AbdelMouty⁷, Hosam E. Refaat⁸

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.073171 - 12 January 2026

Abstract In recent years, fog computing has become an important environment for dealing with the Internet of Things. Fog computing was developed to handle large-scale big data by scheduling tasks via cloud computing. Task scheduling is crucial for efficiently handling IoT user requests, thereby improving system performance, cost, and energy consumption across nodes in cloud computing. With the large amount of data and user requests, achieving the optimal solution to the task scheduling problem is challenging, particularly in terms of cost and energy efficiency. In this paper, we develop novel strategies to save energy consumption across… More >

Nikita Golovkin^1,2, Olesya Nikulenkova³, Vsevolod Pobezhimov¹, Alexander Nesmelov¹, Sergei Chvalun¹, Fedor Sorokin³, Arthur Krupnin^1,3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.073161 - 12 January 2026

Abstract This study presents and verifies a hybrid methodology for reliable determination of parameters in structural rheological models (Zener, Burgers, and Maxwell) describing the viscoelastic behavior of polyurethane specimens manufactured using extrusion-based 3D printing. Through comprehensive testing, including cyclic compression at strain rates ranging from 0.12 to 120 mm/min (0%–15% strain) and creep/relaxation experiments (10%–30% strain), the lumped parameters were independently determined using both analytical and numerical solutions of the models’ differential equations, followed by cross-verification in additional experiments. Numerical solutions for creep and relaxation problems were obtained using finite element analysis, with the three-parameter Mooney-Rivlin… More > Graphic Abstract

Feng Lv^*, Huili Chu, Cheng Yang, Jiajie Zhang

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.072915 - 12 January 2026

Abstract To address the issue that hybrid flow shop production struggles to handle order disturbance events, a dynamic scheduling model was constructed. The model takes minimizing the maximum makespan, delivery time deviation, and scheme deviation degree as the optimization objectives. An adaptive dynamic scheduling strategy based on the degree of order disturbance is proposed. An improved multi-objective Grey Wolf (IMOGWO) optimization algorithm is designed by combining the “job-machine” two-layer encoding strategy, the timing-driven two-stage decoding strategy, the opposition-based learning initialization population strategy, the POX crossover strategy, the dual-operation dynamic mutation strategy, and the variable neighborhood search… More >

Anis Zarrad¹, Thomas Armstrong², Jaber Jemai^3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.072768 - 12 January 2026

Abstract Test case prioritization and ranking play a crucial role in software testing by improving fault detection efficiency and ensuring software reliability. While prioritization selects the most relevant test cases for optimal coverage, ranking further refines their execution order to detect critical faults earlier. This study investigates machine learning techniques to enhance both prioritization and ranking, contributing to more effective and efficient testing processes. We first employ advanced feature engineering alongside ensemble models, including Gradient Boosted, Support Vector Machines, Random Forests, and Naive Bayes classifiers to optimize test case prioritization, achieving an accuracy score of 0.98847… More >

Hanifah Rahmi Fajrin^1,2, Se Dong Min^1,3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.072609 - 12 January 2026

Abstract Accurate segmentation of breast cancer in mammogram images plays a critical role in early diagnosis and treatment planning. As research in this domain continues to expand, various segmentation techniques have been proposed across classical image processing, machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and hybrid/ensemble models. This study conducts a systematic literature review using the PRISMA methodology, analyzing 57 selected articles to explore how these methods have evolved and been applied. The review highlights the strengths and limitations of each approach, identifies commonly used public datasets, and observes emerging trends in model integration and clinical relevance. More >

Abdul Rahaman Wahab Sait^1,*, Yazeed Alkhurayyif²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.072481 - 12 January 2026

Abstract Malware poses a significant threat to the Internet of Things (IoT). It enables unauthorized access to devices in the IoT environment. The lack of unique architectural standards causes challenges in developing robust malware detection (MD) models. The existing models demand substantial computational resources. This study intends to build a lightweight MD model to detect anomalies in IoT networks. The authors develop a transformation technique, converting the malware binaries into images. MobileNet V2 is fine-tuned using improved grey wolf optimization (IGWO) to extract crucial features of malicious and benign samples. The ResNeXt model is combined with… More >

Haohui Su¹, Xuan Zhang^1,*, Lvjun Zheng¹, Xiaojie Shen², Hua Liao¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.072093 - 12 January 2026

Abstract Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks pose severe threats to Industrial Control Networks (ICNs), where service disruption can cause significant economic losses and operational risks. Existing signature-based methods are ineffective against novel attacks, and traditional machine learning models struggle to capture the complex temporal dependencies and dynamic traffic patterns inherent in ICN environments. To address these challenges, this study proposes a deep feature-driven hybrid framework that integrates Transformer, BiLSTM, and KNN to achieve accurate and robust DDoS detection. The Transformer component extracts global temporal dependencies from network traffic flows, while BiLSTM captures fine-grained sequential dynamics. The learned… More >

Dao Phuc Minh Huy¹, Gia Nhu Nguyen¹, Dac-Nhuong Le^2,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.070948 - 12 January 2026

Abstract Online examinations have become a dominant assessment mode, increasing concerns over academic integrity. To address the critical challenge of detecting cheating behaviours, this study proposes a hybrid deep learning approach that combines visual detection and temporal behaviour classification. The methodology utilises object detection models—You Only Look Once (YOLOv12), Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (RCNN), and Single Shot Detector (SSD) MobileNet—integrated with classification models such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (Bi-GRU), and CNN-LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory). Two distinct datasets were used: the Online Exam Proctoring (EOP) dataset from Michigan State University and… More >

Atheer Aleran¹, Hanan Almukhalfi¹, Ayman Noor¹, Reyadh Alluhaibi², Abdulrahman Hafez³, Talal H. Noor^1,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.070741 - 12 January 2026

Abstract Modern industrial environments require uninterrupted machinery operation to maintain productivity standards while ensuring safety and minimizing costs. Conventional maintenance methods, such as reactive maintenance (i.e., run to failure) or time-based preventive maintenance (i.e., scheduled servicing), prove ineffective for complex systems with many Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors because they fall short in detecting faults at early stages when it is most crucial. This paper presents a predictive maintenance framework based on a hybrid deep learning model that integrates the capabilities of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) Networks and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The framework… More >