108 research outputs found
Nature-inspired survivability: Prey-inspired survivability countermeasures for cloud computing security challenges
As cloud computing environments become complex, adversaries have become highly sophisticated and unpredictable. Moreover, they can easily increase attack power and persist longer before detection. Uncertain malicious actions, latent risks, Unobserved or Unobservable risks (UUURs) characterise this new threat domain. This thesis proposes prey-inspired survivability to address unpredictable security challenges borne out of UUURs. While survivability is a well-addressed phenomenon in non-extinct prey animals, applying prey survivability to cloud computing directly is challenging due to contradicting end goals. How to manage evolving survivability goals and requirements under contradicting environmental conditions adds to the challenges. To address these challenges, this thesis proposes a holistic taxonomy which integrate multiple and disparate perspectives of cloud security challenges. In addition, it proposes the TRIZ (Teorija Rezbenija Izobretatelskib Zadach) to derive prey-inspired solutions through resolving contradiction. First, it develops a 3-step process to facilitate interdomain transfer of
concepts from nature to cloud. Moreover, TRIZ’s generic approach suggests specific
solutions for cloud computing survivability. Then, the thesis presents the conceptual prey-inspired cloud computing survivability framework (Pi-CCSF), built upon TRIZ derived solutions. The framework run-time is pushed to the user-space to support evolving survivability design goals. Furthermore, a target-based decision-making technique (TBDM) is proposed to manage survivability decisions. To evaluate the prey-inspired survivability concept, Pi-CCSF simulator is developed and implemented. Evaluation results shows that escalating survivability actions improve the vitality of vulnerable and compromised virtual machines (VMs) by 5% and dramatically improve their overall survivability. Hypothesis testing conclusively supports the hypothesis that the escalation mechanisms can be applied to enhance the survivability of cloud computing systems. Numeric analysis of TBDM shows that by considering survivability preferences and attitudes (these directly impacts survivability actions), the TBDM method brings unpredictable survivability information closer to decision processes. This enables efficient execution of variable escalating survivability actions, which enables the Pi-CCSF’s decision
system (DS) to focus upon decisions that achieve survivability outcomes under unpredictability imposed by UUUR
Using MapReduce Streaming for Distributed Life Simulation on the Cloud
Distributed software simulations are indispensable in the study of large-scale life models but often require the use of technically complex lower-level distributed computing frameworks, such as MPI. We propose to overcome the complexity challenge by applying the emerging MapReduce (MR) model to distributed life simulations and by running such simulations on the cloud. Technically, we design optimized MR streaming algorithms for discrete and continuous versions of Conway’s life according to a general MR streaming pattern. We chose life because it is simple enough as a testbed for MR’s applicability to a-life simulations and general enough to make our results applicable to various lattice-based a-life models. We implement and empirically evaluate our algorithms’ performance on Amazon’s Elastic MR cloud. Our experiments demonstrate that a single MR optimization technique called strip partitioning can reduce the execution time of continuous life simulations by 64%. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose and evaluate MR streaming algorithms for lattice-based simulations. Our algorithms can serve as prototypes in the development of novel MR simulation algorithms for large-scale lattice-based a-life models.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/scs_books/1014/thumbnail.jp
Emerging Technologies
This monograph investigates a multitude of emerging technologies including 3D printing, 5G, blockchain, and many more to assess their potential for use to further humanity’s shared goal of sustainable development. Through case studies detailing how these technologies are already being used at companies worldwide, author Sinan Küfeoğlu explores how emerging technologies can be used to enhance progress toward each of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to guarantee economic growth even in the face of challenges such as climate change. To assemble this book, the author explored the business models of 650 companies in order to demonstrate how innovations can be converted into value to support sustainable development. To ensure practical application, only technologies currently on the market and in use actual companies were investigated. This volume will be of great use to academics, policymakers, innovators at the forefront of green business, and anyone else who is interested in novel and innovative business models and how they could help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This is an open access book
Signal Enhancement Strategies in Classical Electrochemiluminescence Techniques for Modern Biosensing
With the ascent of IT, and since Ashton has invented the term Internet of Things (IoT) in 1999, this future idea of connected machines that can do tasks and perform decision-control cycles without human input has become more and more attractive and is today an established future scenario. Obviously, in an IoT, “sensors for everything” are one crucial corner stone of its existence and Analytical chemistry can and must deliver them. While many challenges towards a functioning IoT remain, we are on the verge of its beginning. This can be also seen with “Analytics 4.0” in research and on the market, tending to more IT-connected, portable, easier-controllable and integrated solutions. The entrance of mobility in the health sector or Point-of-Care (POC) diagnostics trends are alike influencing biosensing. Whether in mobile solutions or lab- and clinical environments, versatile, powerful and easy-to-adapt detection strategies like Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) are an attractive option.
The ECL molecules [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and luminol represent the most prominent and most abundantly investigated luminophores for ECL since Bard’s accomplishment to make ECL a well-known technique. Because both are also two of the most efficient ECL emitters that can be well-handled in bioanalysis, and are available on the market, they are still today frequently used in research and also commercial applications. To cope with current benchmarks of sensitive detection, however a combination with a certain signal enhancement strategy is recommended. Several different routes can here be employed and one option is dendrimers. PAMAM dendrimers can function as ECL coreactant in [Ru(bpy)3]2+-ECL via their amino groups and at the same time expose primary amino groups as possible bioconjugation elements. Exploring this multi-functionality of the dendrimers was investigated here. This was done on a model system employing PAMAM dendrimers with [Ru(bpy)3]2+-ECL together with biotin/streptavidin as biorecognition element and analyte, respectively. The dendrimer’s bi-functionality was successfully proven and a joint-role of a biorecognition element and a possible reporter function suggests an optimum application in homogeneous assays. A different toolset for ECL signal enhancement is offered by liposomes. Numerous signaling molecules can be encapsulated inside the inner cavity of these synthetic vesicles, while they provide protection from the environment and connection-functionality to probes via lipids and surface groups on the outside. That application was here explored, together with a newly synthesized luminol derivative obtained by a simple synthesis route from commercial starting materials and exhibiting a four times increased ECL efficiency versus standard luminol. That was necessary as a liposome enhancement was denied for the standard luminol through its poor aqueous solubility. The new m-carboxy luminol considerably improved this feature which allowed its own encapsulation in liposomes. The superior signal generation with this dual system was proven in a model sandwich hybridization assay which yielded a 150-times better detection performance than the equal fluorescence-based assay while being almost zero affected through matrices like serum, soil or river water. As such the good performance of luminol ECL together with liposomes for highly sensitive detection applications was demonstrated. A further necessary element with liposomal amplification, are surfactants to set free the signaling molecules. However, this case depicts only one example of a multitude of applications of surfactants in bioassays and biochemical methods. Hence, surfactants are commonly present solution constituents which also have to be considered in general with ECL because they can influence the ECL signals positively or negatively. This was further investigated for luminol ECL by exploring the effect of 13 different surfactants on the luminol ECL efficiency on four different electrode materials. A deeper understanding of the distinct effects was obtained by looking into ECL emission behavior, electrochemical effects, the surfaces and Chemiluminescence effects. After all, the revelation of a complicated mechanism that involves many contributing factors and as such directs signal quenching or enhancement is an important finding for assay design. In this way, the selection of a suitable surfactant is possible to exploit maximum reachable signal efficiencies.
A combination of signal enhancement tools like a better ECL molecule derivative, dendrimers, liposomes or surfactants has proven to boost the ECL performance considerably. A further means of signal enhancement is offered via miniaturization, which also makes the detection method better suited towards common application as liquid handling and easier automation are on hand. This can be used for single ECL assays or combinations of different ECL reagents in one system for multi-detection. Different strategies for the miniaturization of an ECL readout-capable system were investigated, taking requirements for [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and luminol as ECL reporters into account. This includes materials, electrochemical demands and simple design. Here, ITO electrodes – while advantageous for luminol ECL could not convince with their performance in [Ru(bpy)3]2+-ECL. Alternatively, laser scribed graphene electrodes have shown to be promising candidates for a future miniaturized system encompassing both, luminol and [Ru(bpy)3]2+ as ECL systems. Ultimately, the different signal amplifying strategies, investigated in this work that can be applied standalone or combined, offer a great toolset for state-of-the-art ECL detection applications in research and also for possible commercial applications
Políticas de Copyright de Publicações Científicas em Repositórios Institucionais: O Caso do INESC TEC
A progressiva transformação das práticas científicas, impulsionada pelo desenvolvimento das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), têm possibilitado aumentar o acesso à informação, caminhando gradualmente para uma abertura do ciclo de pesquisa. Isto permitirá resolver a longo prazo uma adversidade que se tem colocado aos investigadores, que passa pela existência de barreiras que limitam as condições de acesso, sejam estas geográficas ou financeiras. Apesar da produção científica ser dominada, maioritariamente, por grandes editoras comerciais, estando sujeita às regras por estas impostas, o Movimento do Acesso Aberto cuja primeira declaração pública, a Declaração de Budapeste (BOAI), é de 2002, vem propor alterações significativas que beneficiam os autores e os leitores. Este Movimento vem a ganhar importância em Portugal desde 2003, com a constituição do primeiro repositório institucional a nível nacional. Os repositórios institucionais surgiram como uma ferramenta de divulgação da produção científica de uma instituição, com o intuito de permitir abrir aos resultados da investigação, quer antes da publicação e do próprio processo de arbitragem (preprint), quer depois (postprint), e, consequentemente, aumentar a visibilidade do trabalho desenvolvido por um investigador e a respetiva instituição. O estudo apresentado, que passou por uma análise das políticas de copyright das publicações científicas mais relevantes do INESC TEC, permitiu não só perceber que as editoras adotam cada vez mais políticas que possibilitam o auto-arquivo das publicações em repositórios institucionais, como também que existe todo um trabalho de sensibilização a percorrer, não só para os investigadores, como para a instituição e toda a sociedade. A produção de um conjunto de recomendações, que passam pela implementação de uma política institucional que incentive o auto-arquivo das publicações desenvolvidas no âmbito institucional no repositório, serve como mote para uma maior valorização da produção científica do INESC TEC.The progressive transformation of scientific practices, driven by the development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which made it possible to increase access to information, gradually moving towards an opening of the research cycle. This opening makes it possible to resolve, in the long term, the adversity that has been placed on researchers, which involves the existence of barriers that limit access conditions, whether geographical or financial. Although large commercial publishers predominantly dominate scientific production and subject it to the rules imposed by them, the Open Access movement whose first public declaration, the Budapest Declaration (BOAI), was in 2002, proposes significant changes that benefit the authors and the readers. This Movement has gained importance in Portugal since 2003, with the constitution of the first institutional repository at the national level. Institutional repositories have emerged as a tool for disseminating the scientific production of an institution to open the results of the research, both before publication and the preprint process and postprint, increase the visibility of work done by an investigator and his or her institution. The present study, which underwent an analysis of the copyright policies of INESC TEC most relevant scientific publications, allowed not only to realize that publishers are increasingly adopting policies that make it possible to self-archive publications in institutional repositories, all the work of raising awareness, not only for researchers but also for the institution and the whole society. The production of a set of recommendations, which go through the implementation of an institutional policy that encourages the self-archiving of the publications developed in the institutional scope in the repository, serves as a motto for a greater appreciation of the scientific production of INESC TEC
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL SENSORS. THE AESTHETIC DOMAIN OF WEARABLES AND NEURAL NETWORKS
Historically, communication implies the transfer of information between bodies, yet this
phenomenon is constantly adapting to new technological and cultural standards. In a
digital context, it’s commonplace to envision systems that revolve around verbal modalities.
However, behavioural analysis grounded in psychology research calls attention to
the emotional information disclosed by non-verbal social cues, in particular, actions that
are involuntary. This notion has circulated heavily into various interdisciplinary computing
research fields, from which multiple studies have arisen, correlating non-verbal
activity to socio-affective inferences. These are often derived from some form of motion
capture and other wearable sensors, measuring the ‘invisible’ bioelectrical changes that
occur from inside the body.
This thesis proposes a motivation and methodology for using physiological sensory
data as an expressive resource for technology-mediated interactions. Initialised from a
thorough discussion on state-of-the-art technologies and established design principles
regarding this topic, then applied to a novel approach alongside a selection of practice
works to compliment this. We advocate for aesthetic experience, experimenting with
abstract representations. Atypically from prevailing Affective Computing systems, the
intention is not to infer or classify emotion but rather to create new opportunities for rich
gestural exchange, unconfined to the verbal domain.
Given the preliminary proposition of non-representation, we justify a correspondence
with modern Machine Learning and multimedia interaction strategies, applying an iterative,
human-centred approach to improve personalisation without the compromising
emotional potential of bodily gesture. Where related studies in the past have successfully
provoked strong design concepts through innovative fabrications, these are typically limited
to simple linear, one-to-one mappings and often neglect multi-user environments;
we foresee a vast potential. In our use cases, we adopt neural network architectures to
generate highly granular biofeedback from low-dimensional input data.
We present the following proof-of-concepts: Breathing Correspondence, a wearable
biofeedback system inspired by Somaesthetic design principles; Latent Steps, a real-time auto-encoder to represent bodily experiences from sensor data, designed for dance performance;
and Anti-Social Distancing Ensemble, an installation for public space interventions,
analysing physical distance to generate a collective soundscape. Key findings are
extracted from the individual reports to formulate an extensive technical and theoretical
framework around this topic. The projects first aim to embrace some alternative perspectives
already established within Affective Computing research. From here, these concepts
evolve deeper, bridging theories from contemporary creative and technical practices with
the advancement of biomedical technologies.Historicamente, os processos de comunicação implicam a transferência de informação
entre organismos, mas este fenómeno está constantemente a adaptar-se a novos padrões
tecnológicos e culturais. Num contexto digital, é comum encontrar sistemas que giram
em torno de modalidades verbais. Contudo, a análise comportamental fundamentada
na investigação psicológica chama a atenção para a informação emocional revelada por
sinais sociais não verbais, em particular, acções que são involuntárias. Esta noção circulou
fortemente em vários campos interdisciplinares de investigação na área das ciências da
computação, dos quais surgiram múltiplos estudos, correlacionando a actividade nãoverbal
com inferências sócio-afectivas. Estes são frequentemente derivados de alguma
forma de captura de movimento e sensores “wearable”, medindo as alterações bioeléctricas
“invisíveis” que ocorrem no interior do corpo.
Nesta tese, propomos uma motivação e metodologia para a utilização de dados sensoriais
fisiológicos como um recurso expressivo para interacções mediadas pela tecnologia.
Iniciada a partir de uma discussão aprofundada sobre tecnologias de ponta e princípios
de concepção estabelecidos relativamente a este tópico, depois aplicada a uma nova abordagem,
juntamente com uma selecção de trabalhos práticos, para complementar esta.
Defendemos a experiência estética, experimentando com representações abstractas. Contrariamente
aos sistemas de Computação Afectiva predominantes, a intenção não é inferir
ou classificar a emoção, mas sim criar novas oportunidades para uma rica troca gestual,
não confinada ao domínio verbal.
Dada a proposta preliminar de não representação, justificamos uma correspondência
com estratégias modernas de Machine Learning e interacção multimédia, aplicando uma
abordagem iterativa e centrada no ser humano para melhorar a personalização sem o
potencial emocional comprometedor do gesto corporal. Nos casos em que estudos anteriores
demonstraram com sucesso conceitos de design fortes através de fabricações
inovadoras, estes limitam-se tipicamente a simples mapeamentos lineares, um-para-um,
e muitas vezes negligenciam ambientes multi-utilizadores; com este trabalho, prevemos
um potencial alargado. Nos nossos casos de utilização, adoptamos arquitecturas de redes
neurais para gerar biofeedback altamente granular a partir de dados de entrada de baixa dimensão.
Apresentamos as seguintes provas de conceitos: Breathing Correspondence, um sistema
de biofeedback wearable inspirado nos princípios de design somaestético; Latent
Steps, um modelo autoencoder em tempo real para representar experiências corporais
a partir de dados de sensores, concebido para desempenho de dança; e Anti-Social Distancing
Ensemble, uma instalação para intervenções no espaço público, analisando a
distância física para gerar uma paisagem sonora colectiva. Os principais resultados são
extraídos dos relatórios individuais, para formular um quadro técnico e teórico alargado
para expandir sobre este tópico. Os projectos têm como primeiro objectivo abraçar algumas
perspectivas alternativas às que já estão estabelecidas no âmbito da investigação
da Computação Afectiva. A partir daqui, estes conceitos evoluem mais profundamente,
fazendo a ponte entre as teorias das práticas criativas e técnicas contemporâneas com o
avanço das tecnologias biomédicas
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