A Holistic Approach for Trustworthy Distributed Systems with WebAssembly and TEEs

Publish/subscribe systems play a key role in enabling communication between numerous devices in distributed and large-scale architectures. While widely adopted, securing such systems often trades portability for additional integrity and attestation guarantees. Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) offer a potential solution with enclaves to enhance security and trust. However, application development for TEEs is complex, and many existing solutions are tied to specific TEE architectures, limiting adaptability. Current communication protocols also inadequately manage attestation proofs or expose essential attestation information. This paper introduces a novel approach using WebAssembly to address these issues, a key enabling technology nowadays capturing academia and industry attention. We present the design of a portable and fully attested publish/subscribe middleware system as a holistic approach for trustworthy and distributed communication between various systems. Based on this proposal, we have implemented and evaluated in-depth a fully-fledged publish/subscribe broker running within Intel SGX, compiled in WebAssembly, and built on top of industry-battled frameworks and standards, i.e., MQTT and TLS protocols. Our extended TLS protocol preserves the privacy of attestation information, among other benefits. Our experimental results showcase most overheads, revealing a 1.55x decrease in message throughput when using a trusted broker. We open-source the contributions of this work to the research community to facilitate experimental reproducibility.Comment: This publication incorporates results from the VEDLIoT project, which received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 95719

A Study on The Effectiveness of a Pilot Inquiry-Based Middle School Science Program on Non-Cognitive Outcomes and Academic Achievement

The randomized research study assessed the effect of an inquiry-based science (IBS) program on non-cognitive outcomes and academic achievement. The study was the result of a grant that was awarded by Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM), a program affiliated with Montclair State University in conjunction with Bristol-Myers Squibb, and part of the New Jersey Statewide Systemic Initiative (NJSSI). The NJSSI is a partnership of schools, districts, colleges and universities, science centers, businesses, and museums dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of science, mathematics, and technology in New Jersey. The quantitative research study utilized an IBS instructional program titled Science and Technology Concepts for Middle Schools (STC/MS) and was implemented in two middle schools within the same suburban school district. This study examined the effect of IBS classrooms on learning outcomes specifically related to gender and special education. Evaluation of student learning outcomes was conducted through the administration of three instruments: the Academic Self-Concept (ASC) scale, unit assessments, and NJASK 8 Science. The ASC scale and unit assessments were administered as a pretest and posttest in IBS classrooms. NJASK 8 Science scale scores were obtained through reporting of student performance data from the New Jersey Department of Education to the district. The quantitative analysis in this study provided evidence that IBS classrooms had a positive effect on academic achievement. Overall, students in IBS classrooms performed better than students in traditional classrooms on unit assessments. Additionally, male students and special education students in IBS classrooms outperformed students in traditional classrooms on unit assessments

Influence of Biosolids upon the uptake of Mn and Cd by Radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

The influence of biosolids upon the uptake of Mn and Cd by radish (Raphanus sativus L.) was investigated through the characterization of biosolids, sequential extraction of the biosolids, and the determination of the metal content in the root, shoot and leaves of radish (Raphanus sativus L.).The biosolid samples from Nacogdoches Wastewater Sludge (NWWS), Lufkin Wastewater Sludge (LWWS), Soil Therapy Compost (STC) had pHs between 5.33 – 6.74. The elemental compositions of the biosolid samples were determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and SEM/EDX. Major elements (K, Mg, Mn, P) needed for plant growth were found in the biosolid samples while toxic elements Cd, Cr, As, Pb were determined below the USEPA maximum ceiling limit. The functional groups in the biosolids were determined using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The FTIR spectra showed peaks at 3386, 2921, 1640, 1375, 1000, 695, 563 cm -1 attributed to -OH, C-H, C=O, C-N, C-F, C-Cl, and C-Br groups. A scanning electron microscope was used to determine the particle size of the biosolid. The biosolids have particle diameter in the range ~ 25 – 120 µm. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the existence of vermiculite, alunogen, and quartz in the biosolids. By using a modified Tessier sequential extraction protocol Mn and Cd were found bioavailable in biosolid samples. The accumulation of Mn and Cd concentrations in radish were in the order [Mn]leaves \u3e [Mn]shoot \u3e [Mn]root, and [Cd]root \u3e [Cd]shoot \u3e [Cd]leaf,respectively

The Amarna South Tombs Cemetery: Biocultural Dynamics of a Disembedded Capital City in New Kingdom Egypt

abstract: The Egyptian New Kingdom city of Akhetaten (modern: Tell el-Amarna, el-Amarna, or simply Amarna) provides a unique opportunity to study ancient biocultural dynamics. It was a disembedded capital removed from the major power bases of Memphis and Thebes that was built, occupied, and abandoned within approximately 20 years (c. 1352–1336 BCE). This dissertation used the recently excavated Amarna South Tombs cemetery to test competing models for the development of disembedded capitals, such as the geographic origin of its migrants and its demographic structure in comparison to contrastive models for the establishment of settlements. The degree to which biological relatedness organized the South Tombs cemetery was also explored. The results suggest that the Nile Valley into the New Kingdom (1539–1186 BCE) was very diverse in dental cervical phenotype and thus highly mobile in respects to gene flow, failing to reject that the Amarna city was populated by individuals and families throughout the Nile Valley. In comparison, the Amarna South Tombs cemetery contained the least amount of dental phenotypic diversity, supporting a founder effect due to migration from larger, more diverse gene pools to the city or the very fact that the city and sample only reflect a 20-year interval with little time to accumulate phenotypic variation. Parts of the South Tombs cemetery also appear to be organized by biological affinity, showing consistent and significant spatial autocorrelation with biological distances generated from dental cervical measurements in male, female, and subadult (10–19 years of age) burials closest to the South Tombs. This arrangement mimics the same orderliness in the residential areas of the Amarna city itself with officials surrounded by families that supported their administration. Throughout the cemetery, adult female grave shaft distances predict their biological distances, signaling a nuclear family dynamic that included many females including mothers, widows, and unwed aunts, nieces, and daughters. A sophisticated paleodemographic model using simulated annealing optimization projected the living population of the South Tombs cemetery, which overall conformed to a transplanted community similar to 19th century mill villages of the United States and United Kingdom.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Anthropology 201

Buried Beneath The River City: Investigating An Archaeological Landscape and its Community Value in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia, located along the fall line of the James River, was an important political boundary during prehistory; was established as an English colonial town in 1737; and was a center of the interstate slave trade and the capitol of the Confederacy during the nineteenth century. Although Richmond holds a prominent place in the narrative of American and Virginia history, the city’s archaeological resources have received incredibly little attention or preservation advocacy. However, in the wake of a 2013 proposal to construct a baseball stadium in the heart of the city’s slave trading district, archaeological sensitivity and vulnerability became a political force that shaped conversations around the economic development proposal and contributed to its defeat. This dissertation employs archival research and archaeological ethnography to study the variable development of Richmond’s archaeological value as the outcome of significant racial politics, historic and present inequities, trends in academic and commercial archaeology, and an imperfect system of archaeological stewardship. This work also employs spatial sensitivity analysis and studies of archaeological policy to examine how the city’s newly emerging awareness of archaeology might improve investigation and interpretation of this significant urban archaeological resource. This research builds upon several bodies of scholarship: the study of urban heritage management and municipal archaeology; the concept of archaeological ethnography; and anthropological studies into how value should be defined and identified. It concludes that Richmond’s archaeological remains attract attention and perceived importance in part through their proximity and relation to other political and moral debates within the city, but that in some cases political interests ensnare archaeological meaning or inhibit interest in certain archaeological subjects. This analysis illuminates how archaeological materiality and the history of Richmond’s preservation movements has created an interest in using archaeological investigations as a tool for restorative justice to create a more equitable historic record. Additionally, it studies the complexity of improving American urban archaeological stewardship within a municipal system closely connected with city power structures

Online collaborative writing: students’ perception / Mohammed Abdel Hakim Farrah

This study investigated the attitudes of an English writing class towards online collaborative learning activities. A 20-item questionnaire was used to assess the students’ attitudes towards this experience. The participants of the study consisted of 55 students studying a Writing II course. There were two sections; one control and the other is experimental. The researcher investigated whether there were significant differences in the attitudes of the students pertaining to, group (experimental vs. control), gender, grade (GPA), access to the Internet and anxiety. The results indicated that the experimental group held positive attitudes towards the online collaborative learning experience. Moreover, the results showed that there were statistically significant differences between anxious learners and the learners who do not have anxiety towards online collaborative activities. In addition, students who had regular access to the Internet had better attitudes for the online collaborative activities. However, no statistically significant differences were revealed regarding the grade of the students. This means that low achievers and advanced learners held similar attitudes towards the online experience. Finally, no statistically significant differences were shown based on gender