Active snort rules and the needs for computing resources: Computing resources needed to activate different numbers of snort rules

This project was designed to discover the relationship between the number of enabled rules maintained by Snort and the amount of computing resources necessary to operate this intrusion detection system (IDS) as a sensor. A physical environment was set up to loosely simulate a network and an IDS sensor monitoring it. The experiment was conducted in five trials. A different number of Snort rules was enabled in each trial and the corresponding utilization of computing resources was measured. Remarkable variation and a clear trend of CPU usage were observed in the experiment

Development of Environmental Metabarcoding Analysis for Use in Ecological Studies of Aquatic Fungal and Oomycete Communities Using Nanopore Sequencing

One of several factors contributing to amphibian decline are organisms called water molds (oomycetes), which parasitize and kill amphibian and fish eggs, larvae, and occasionally adults. Amphibian decline is one of the most difficult issues facing ecologists and conservationists to date; half of amphibian species are in severe decline and one third of amphibian species are facing extinction, threatening the stability of ecosystems globally. Multiple oomycete species are known to cause the disease saprolegniasis and contribute to amphibian decline; however, the full range of species involved is not presently known. This study evaluated the Oxford Nanopore minION DNA sequencer (R9.2 chemistry) for use in DNA barcoding multiplexed samples. This study aimed to develop new methods of environmental metabarcoding analysis to assess aquatic oomycete and fungal communities using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) DNA barcode. A proof-of-concept survey was performed to assess community composition and diversity of aquatic oomycetes and Fungi in 4 freshwater habitats with saprolegniasis present. Samples were taken April 15, 2016 at 4 sites along Interstate-90 near Snoqualmie Pass (Wenatchee National forest, Washington) during Rana cascadae and Anaxyrus boreas breeding season near eggs with saprolegniasis. The minION produced high but uneven throughput across all four sites. The sequence accuracy and error type prevented chimera checking and phylotype assignment. Sequences were matched using NanoOK to the UNITE database to assign operational taxonomic units (OTUs). FUNGuild was used to assign trophic modes to OTUs to evaluate functional diversity. The recovered oomycete OTUs were low (~1% of all reads) and represented plant pathogenic phyla. Fungal recovery was broad with aquatic taxa represented heavily. Diversity analysis showed little difference between sites, with evidence that uneven throughput affected beta-diversity indices from assessing compositional differences. Trophic mode analysis showed little difference between sites. Overall, this study found that the minION sequence data presented multiple bioinformatic challenges for metabarcoding using the ITS region. With low recovery of oomycetes, further study is needed to determine the availability of oomycete zoospores for collection via the sampling methods used in this study. Additionally, oomycete specific primers are recommended for increased recovery

Naisen rasvakudoksen endokrinologiaa - steroidihormonimetabolian yhteys rintasyöpään

Rasva­kudos on eli­mis­tömme suu­rin endok­rii­ninen elin. Hormo­naa­linen sää­tely vai­kuttaa rasva­ku­doksen toi­mintaan ja kerty­miseen, jo­ka on eri­laista nai­silla ja mie­hillä se­kä ke­hon eri osissa. Rasva­kudos on myös merkit­tävä ste­roi­di­hor­monien läh­de, etenkin ­vaih­de­vuosien jäl­keen. Li­havuus ai­heuttaa rasva­ku­doksen toimin­nassa muu­toksia, muun muas­sa kroo­nisen tuleh­dus­reaktion. Häi­riöt rasva­ku­doksen toimin­nassa voi­vat ol­la yhtey­dessä kroo­nisten sai­rauksien, ku­ten rinta­syövän, ­dia­be­teksen se­kä sy­dän- ja veri­suo­ni­tautien syn­tyyn ja nii­den pahe­ne­miseen. Rasva­ku­doksen hormo­ni­toi­minnan ja rasva­so­lujen tuot­tamien välit­tä­jäai­neiden, adi­po­kiinien, tutki­minen aut­taa ymmär­tämään pa­remmin liha­vuuteen liit­tyvien sai­rauksien pato­fy­sio­logiaa ja luo uu­sia hoito­mah­dol­li­suuksia.Peer reviewe

Jalakasurma tekitajate levik ja kahjustused Kirde-Euroopas

A Thesis for applying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry.As elsewhere in the world, elms in Northeastern Europe are threatened by Dutch elm disease (DED), which is one of the most devastating diseases of the elms. The aim of the doctoral thesis was to investigate the spread of Dutch elm disease, its agents and their impact on the health status of different elms, vectors and the health of the elms in different habitats in Estonia and North-West Russia. The results of the work demonstrated that U. glabra is more susceptible to DED than U. laevis and elm hybrids. Therefore, we recommend to use U. laevis rather than U. glabra in landscaping. Elm hybrids may be promising in green areas, but they still need to be tested before they can be widely used in the conditions of Northeastern Europe. DED is known to have caused damage to Estonia's elms since 1930s. First, the pathogen was Ophiostoma ulmi which has now been replaced by a new species, Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. In Europe the European subspecies (subsp. novo-ulmi) and to a lesser extent the North American subspecies (subsp. americana) are both the causal agents of DED in Estonia; however, the latter was detected only in Northwestern Estonia, incl. Hiiumaa island. As the American subspecies of DED is more aggressive than the European one, it causes the mortality of elms at a faster rate as was the case in North Estonia. In the current work the presence of an aggressive hybrid of this pathogen was also proved for the first time in Estonia in 2020. At the same time, our investigations demonstrated that the pathogen´s hybrids between subspecies are even more aggressive as revealed by their significantly faster growth in pure cultures. The reason may be the poor health status of elms in Russia where these hybrids were particularly often detected. Additionally, in this work it was found that Xyleborinus saxesenii and Xyleborus dispar are new potential vectors for DED. This is clear evidence of wider spread potential of DED and greater risk to elms.Nagu mujal maailmas, nii on ka Kirde-Euroopas jalakaid ohustamas jalakasurm, mis on üheks kõige laastavamaks jalakate haiguseks. Doktoritöös uuriti jalakasurma levikut, selle tekitajaid ja mõju erinevatele peremeestaimedele, vektorputukaid ning jalakate tervislikku seisundit erinevates kasvukohtades nii Eestis kui Loode-Venemaal. Siinsetel aladel on jalakasurma tõttu hübriidjalakate ja künnapuu (Ulmus laevis) tervislik seisund oluliselt parem kui harilikul jalakal (U. glabra). Seepärast soovitame haljastuses ja metsas kasutada jalakalistest pigem künnapuud, haljasaladel võivad olla perspektiivsed resistentsemad jalakate sordid, kuid need vajavad testimist enne haljastuses kasutamist. Jalakasurm on Eesti jalakaid kahjustanud teadaolevalt juba alates eelmise sajandi 30ndatest aastatest. Esmalt oli patogeeniks Ophiostoma ulmi (eesti k. jalaka-siugsuu), mis nüüdseks on asendunud uue liigiga Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, (eesti k. uus jalaka-siugsuu). Enamasti levib Eestis jalakasurma tekitaja Euroopa alamliik (subsp. novo-ulmi), kuid käesoleva töö tulemusel tuvastati ka tema Põhja-Ameerika alamliik (subsp. americana), viimane levib Loode-Eestis, s.h Hiiumaal. Esmakordselt tõestati ka patogeenide hübriidi esinemine Põhja-Eestis. Loode-Venemaal tuvastati mõlemad patogeeni alamliigid kui ka nende hübriidid. Kuna patogeeni ameerika päritolu alamliik on mõningal määral agressiivsem kui euroopa alamliik, siis põhjustab see jalakate kiiremat suremust, näiteks ka Põhja-Eestis. Samas on alamliikide vahelised hübriidid veelgi agressiivsemad, mida näitab nende oluliselt kiirem kasv puhaskultuuris ja jalakate äärmiselt vilets tervislik seis Venemaal, kus neid on rohkem. Lisaks varasemalt Euroopas teadaolevatele jalakasurma vektoritele – jalaka-maltsaüraskitele (Scolytus spp.) tuvastati doktoritöö tulemusel jalakasurma tekitajat uutelt putukatelt, s.o paaritu puiduüraja (Xyleborus dispar) ja Xyleborinus saxesenii. Need on potentsiaalsed jalakasurma levitajad, mis kinnitab selgelt patogeeni ulatuslikumat levikupotentsiaali ja suuremat ohtlikkust jalakatele

Going Incognito in the Metaverse

Virtual reality (VR) telepresence applications and the so-called "metaverse" promise to be the next major medium of interaction with the internet. However, with numerous recent studies showing the ease at which VR users can be profiled, deanonymized, and data harvested, metaverse platforms carry all the privacy risks of the current internet and more while at present having none of the defensive privacy tools we are accustomed to using on the web. To remedy this, we present the first known method of implementing an "incognito mode" for VR. Our technique leverages local differential privacy to quantifiably obscure sensitive user data attributes, with a focus on intelligently adding noise when and where it is needed most to maximize privacy while minimizing usability impact. Moreover, our system is capable of flexibly adapting to the unique needs of each metaverse application to further optimize this trade-off. We implement our solution as a universal Unity (C#) plugin that we then evaluate using several popular VR applications. Upon faithfully replicating the most well-known VR privacy attack studies, we show a significant degradation of attacker capabilities when using our proposed solution

Cybersecurity in Power Grids: Challenges and Opportunities

Increasing volatilities within power transmission and distribution force power grid operators to amplify their use of communication infrastructure to monitor and control their grid. The resulting increase in communication creates a larger attack surface for malicious actors. Indeed, cyber attacks on power grids have already succeeded in causing temporary, large-scale blackouts in the recent past. In this paper, we analyze the communication infrastructure of power grids to derive resulting fundamental challenges of power grids with respect to cybersecurity. Based on these challenges, we identify a broad set of resulting attack vectors and attack scenarios that threaten the security of power grids. To address these challenges, we propose to rely on a defense-in-depth strategy, which encompasses measures for (i) device and application security, (ii) network security, and (iii) physical security, as well as (iv) policies, procedures, and awareness. For each of these categories, we distill and discuss a comprehensive set of state-of-the art approaches, as well as identify further opportunities to strengthen cybersecurity in interconnected power grids

Dynamic Modeling and Stability Analysis of Stochastic Multi-Physical Systems Applied to Electric Power Systems

[ES] La naturaleza aleatoria que caracteriza algunos fenómenos en sistemas físicos reales (e.g., ingeniería, biología, economía, finanzas, epidemiología y otros) nos ha planteado el desafío de un cambio de paradigma del modelado matemático y el análisis de sistemas dinámicos, y a tratar los fenómenos aleatorios como variables aleatorias o procesos estocásticos. Este enfoque novedoso ha traído como consecuencia nuevas especificidades que la teoría clásica del modelado y análisis de sistemas dinámicos deterministas no ha podido cubrir. Afortunadamente, maravillosas contribuciones, realizadas sobre todo en el último siglo, desde el campo de las matemáticas por científicos como Kolmogorov, Langevin, Lévy, Itô, Stratonovich, sólo por nombrar algunos; han abierto las puertas para un estudio bien fundamentado de la dinámica de sistemas físicos perturbados por ruido. En la presente tesis se discute el uso de ecuaciones diferenciales algebraicas estocásticas (EDAEs) para el modelado de sistemas multifísicos en red afectados por perturbaciones estocásticas, así como la evaluación de su estabilidad asintótica a través de exponentes de Lyapunov (ELs). El estudio está enfocado en EDAEs d-index-1 y su reformulación como ecuaciones diferenciales estocásticas ordinarias (EDEs). Fundamentados en la teoría ergódica, es factible analizar los ELs a través de sistemas dinámicos aleatorios (SDAs) generados por EDEs subyacentes. Una vez garantizada la existencia de ELs bien definidas, hemos procedido al uso de técnicas de simulación numérica para determinar los ELs numéricamente. Hemos implementado métodos numéricos basados en descomposición QR discreta y continua para el cómputo de la matriz de solución fundamental y su uso en el cálculo de los ELs. Las características numéricas y computacionales más relevantes de ambos métodos se ilustran mediante pruebas numéricas. Toda esta investigación sobre el modelado de sistemas con EDAEs y evaluación de su estabilidad a través de ELs calculados numéricamente, tiene una interesante aplicación en ingeniería. Esta es la evaluación de la estabilidad dinámica de sistemas eléctricos de potencia. En el presente trabajo de investigación, implementamos nuestros métodos numéricos basados en descomposición QR para el test de estabilidad dinámica en dos modelos de sistemas eléctricos de potencia de una-máquina bus-infinito (OMBI) afectados por diferentes perturbaciones ruidosas. El análisis en pequeña-señal evidencia el potencial de las técnicas propuestas en aplicaciones de ingeniería.[CA] La naturalesa aleatòria que caracteritza alguns fenòmens en sistemes físics reals (e.g., enginyeria, biologia, economia, finances, epidemiologia i uns altres) ens ha plantejat el desafiament d'un canvi de paradigma del modelatge matemàtic i l'anàlisi de sistemes dinàmics, i a tractar els fenòmens aleatoris com a variables aleatòries o processos estocàstics. Aquest enfocament nou ha portat com a conseqüència noves especificitats que la teoria clàssica del modelatge i anàlisi de sistemes dinàmics deterministes no ha pogut cobrir. Afortunadament, meravelloses contribucions, realitzades sobretot en l'últim segle, des del camp de les matemàtiques per científics com Kolmogorov, Langevin, Lévy, Itô, Stratonovich, només per nomenar alguns; han obert les portes per a un estudi ben fonamentat de la dinàmica de sistemes físics pertorbats per soroll. En la present tesi es discuteix l'ús d'equacions diferencials algebraiques estocàstiques (EDAEs) per al modelatge de sistemes multifísicos en xarxa afectats per pertorbacions estocàstiques, així com l'avaluació de la seua estabilitat asimptòtica a través d'exponents de Lyapunov (ELs). L'estudi està enfocat en EDAEs d-index-1 i la seua reformulació com a equacions diferencials estocàstiques ordinàries (EDEs). Fonamentats en la teoria ergòdica, és factible analitzar els ELs a través de sistemes dinàmics aleatoris (SDAs) generats per EDEs subjacents. Una vegada garantida l'existència d'ELs ben definides, hem procedit a l'ús de tècniques de simulació numèrica per a determinar els ELs numèricament. Hem implementat mètodes numèrics basats en descomposició QR discreta i contínua per al còmput de la matriu de solució fonamental i el seu ús en el càlcul dels ELs. Les característiques numèriques i computacionals més rellevants de tots dos mètodes s'illustren mitjançant proves numèriques. Tota aquesta investigació sobre el modelatge de sistemes amb EDAEs i avaluació de la seua estabilitat a través d'ELs calculats numèricament, té una interessant aplicació en enginyeria. Aquesta és l'avaluació de l'estabilitat dinàmica de sistemes elèctrics de potència. En el present treball de recerca, implementem els nostres mètodes numèrics basats en descomposició QR per al test d'estabilitat dinàmica en dos models de sistemes elèctrics de potència d'una-màquina bus-infinit (OMBI) afectats per diferents pertorbacions sorolloses. L'anàlisi en xicotet-senyal evidencia el potencial de les tècniques proposades en aplicacions d'enginyeria.[EN] The random nature that characterizes some phenomena in the real-world physical systems (e.g., engineering, biology, economics, finance, epidemiology, and others) has posed the challenge of changing the modeling and analysis paradigm and treat these phenomena as random variables or stochastic processes. Consequently, this novel approach has brought new specificities that the classical theory of modeling and analysis for deterministic dynamical systems cannot cover. Fortunately, stunning contributions made overall in the last century from the mathematics field by scientists such as Kolmogorov, Langevin, Lévy, Itô, Stratonovich, to name a few; have opened avenues for a well-founded study of the dynamics in physical systems perturbed by noise. In the present thesis, we discuss stochastic differential-algebraic equations (SDAEs) for modeling multi-physical network systems under stochastic disturbances, and their asymptotic stability assessment via Lyapunov exponents (LEs). We focus on d-index-1 SDAEs and their reformulation as ordinary stochastic differential equations (SDEs). Supported by the ergodic theory, it is feasible to analyze the LEs via the random dynamical system (RDSs) generated by the underlying SDEs. Once the existence of well-defined LEs is guaranteed, we proceed to the use of numerical simulation techniques to determine the LEs numerically. Discrete and continuous QR decomposition-based numerical methods are implemented to compute the fundamental solution matrix and use it in the computation of the LEs. Important numerical and computational features of both methods are illustrated through numerical tests. All this investigation concerning systems modeling through SDAEs and their stability assessment via computed LEs finds an appealing engineering application in the dynamic stability assessment of power systems. In this research work, we implement our QR-based numerical methods for testing the dynamic stability in two types of single-machine infinite-bus (SMIB) power system models perturbed by different noisy disturbances. The analysis in small-signal evidences the potential of the proposed techniques in engineering applications.Mi agradecimiento al estado ecuatoriano que, a través del Programa de Becas para el Fortalecimiento y Desarrollo del Talento Humano en Ciencia y Tecnología 2012 de la Secretaría Nacional de Educación Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología (SENESCYT), han financiado mis estudios de doctorado.González Zumba, JA. (2020). Dynamic Modeling and Stability Analysis of Stochastic Multi-Physical Systems Applied to Electric Power Systems [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/158558TESI

Diversity and substrate-specificity of green algae and other micro-eukaryotes colonizing amphibian clutches in Germany, revealed by DNA metabarcoding

Amphibian clutches are colonized by diverse but poorly studied communities of micro-organisms. One of the most noted ones is the unicellular green alga, Oophila amblystomatis, but the occurrence and role of other micro-organisms in the capsular chamber surrounding amphibian clutches have remained largely unstudied. Here, we undertook a multi-marker DNA metabarcoding study to characterize the community of algae and other micro-eukaryotes associated with agile frog (Rana dalmatina) clutches. Samplings were performed at three small ponds in Germany, from four substrates: water, sediment, tree leaves from the bottom of the pond, and R. dalmatina clutches. Sampling substrate strongly determined the community compositions of algae and other micro-eukaryotes. Therefore, as expected, the frog clutch-associated communities formed clearly distinct clusters. Clutch-associated communities in our study were structured by a plethora of not only green algae, but also diatoms and other ochrophytes. The most abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in clutch samples were taxa from Chlamydomonas, Oophila, but also from Nitzschia and other ochrophytes. Sequences of Oophila “Clade B” were found exclusively in clutches. Based on additional phylogenetic analyses of 18S rDNA and of a matrix of 18 nuclear genes derived from transcriptomes, we confirmed in our samples the existence of two distinct clades of green algae assigned to Oophila in past studies. We hypothesize that “Clade B” algae correspond to the true Oophila, whereas “Clade A” algae are a series of Chlorococcum species that, along with other green algae, ochrophytes and protists, colonize amphibian clutches opportunistically and are often cultured from clutch samples due to their robust growth performance. The clutch-associated communities were subject to filtering by sampling location, suggesting that the taxa colonizing amphibian clutches can drastically differ depending on environmental conditions