Design of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) for the EIU Cybersecurity Laboratory

Cyber Security will always be a subject of discussion for a long time to come. Research has shown that there is massive growth of cyber-crime and the currently available number of Cyber Security experts to counter this is limited. Although there are multiple resources discussing Cyber Security, but access to training in practical applications is limited. As an institution, Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is set to start Masters of Science in Cyber Security in Fall 2017. Then the challenge is how EIU will expose students to the practical reality of Cyber Security where they can learn different detection, prevention and incidence analysis techniques of cyber-attacks. In addition, students should have the opportunity to learn cyber-attacks legally. This research proposes a solution for these needs by focusing on the design of firewall architecture with an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) for the EIU Cyber Security Laboratory. This thesis explores different up to date techniques and methods for detection and prevention of cyber-attacks. The overall outcome of this research is to design a public testing site that invites hackers to attack for the purpose of detection, prevention and security incidence analysis. This public firewall might empower students and instructors with practical cyber-attacks, detection techniques, prevention techniques, and forensics analysis tools. It may also provide the knowledge required for further research in the field of Cyber Security

Stochastic dominance for project screening and selection under uncertainty

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-224).At any given moment, engineering and chemical companies have a host of projects that they are either trying to screen to advance to the next stage of research or select from for implementation. These choices could range from a relative few, like the expansion of production capacity of a particular plant, to a large number, such as the screening for candidate compounds for the active pharmaceutical ingredient in a drug development program. This choice problem is very often further complicated by the presence of uncertainty in the project outcomes and introduces an element of risk into the screening or decision process. It is the task of the process designer to prune the set of available options, or in some cases, generate a set of possible choices, in the presence of such uncertainties to provide recommendations that are in line with the objectives of the ultimate decision maker. Screening and decision rules already exist that do this but the problem with most of them is that they add more assumptions to the structure of the preferences of the decision maker, or to the form of the uncertain distribution that characterizes the project outcome, than is known at the time. These challenges may lead to the screening out of viable alternatives and may ultimately lead to the selection of inferior projects. This thesis aims to demonstrate the applicability of Stochastic Dominance as method that can overcome these obstacles. Stochastic Dominance has been shown to be a general method for incorporating risk preferences into the decision-making process. It is consistent with classical decision theory, it makes minimal assumptions of the structure of the utility functions of the decision makers and of the nature of the distributions of the uncertainty and under certain conditions can be shown to be equivalent to the other objectives. In this work, an up-to-date review and an implementation framework for Stochastic Dominance is presented. The performance of the method relative to some of the other screening and decision objectives is examined in the light of three case studies: the design of a reactor-separator system for the production of a chemical, the selection of a crop for biomass production and the design of a biomass to liquids process. The limitations of the method are also discussed together with suggestions for how they can be overcome to make the method more effective.by Adekunle M. Adeyemo.Ph.D

Pediatric adenotonsillectomy in a low resource setting: Lessons and implications

Objectives: To examine the practices related paediatric adenotonsillectomy in our setting especially in relation to blood request and transfusion, routine investigations, post-operative analgesic practice and complications.Methods: We reviewed the record of paediatric patients who had adenotonsillectomy in our facility over a 5-year period to obtain relevant information to our study. Results: There were 33 males and 19 females with mean age of 3.27 ± 2.76 years. Sinus tachycardia was found in 11(21.2 %) of the subjects and T wave anomaly in 1(1.9%) of the subject. Thirty-five (67.3%) patient had adenotonsillectomy, 13(25.0 %) adenoidectomy only and 4(7.7%) tonsillectomy only. Majority of the patients (24, 46.2%) were classified as ASA physical status I. Pre-operative blood request rate was high (49, 94.3%) though the transfusion rate was 1.9 % (1 patient). Acetaminophen combined with other analgesics was used for post-operative analgesia for most of the patients. There was significant weight gain post-operatively among patient Conclusions: Cold steel adenotonsillectomy is safe and effective in our environment. We believe that there is no justification for routine pre-operative blood request as a preconditions for surgery. We also like to suggest that post-operative pain management be streamlined taking into consideration the available analgesics in our setting.Keywords: Adenoidectomy, analgesia, pediatric, tonsillectomy, transfusio

Takayasu arteritis in pregnancy

Takayasu arteritis is a chronic, granulomatous arteritis affecting large and medium-sized arteries. During pregnancy, maternal and foetal complications are largely as a consequence of maternal arterial hypertension. We present a case of a 35-year-old para one gravida two patient with Takayasu arteritis (group III disease) complicated by chronic hypertension and a severely dilated ascending aorta. Good blood pressure control during pregnancy is an important measure in reducing obstetric morbidity.http://cvja.journals.ac.za/hb201

Qualitative Assessment of Surgical Repair of Three Types of Unilateral Cleft Lip

Objective: To assess the effect of the three types of unilateral cleft lip (UCL) [cleft lip only, cleft lip and alveolus, and cleft lip alveolus and palate] on the outcome of the repair. Material and Methods: This study was a case series of effect of types of UCL on the outcome of the repair. Fifteen subjects each were in three UCL phenotypes groups. Evaluation of the scar, lip, and nose was done qualitatively by both parents/guardians and professionals using a modified form of the criteria described by Christofides et al. (2006). Results: In the assessment of the surgical scar, the parents found a difference between the three types of cleft in terms of texture, shape, and width of the scar and presence of columella deviation. The professional assessors, however, only found the three types of cleft to be different in the presence of alar flattening. Conclusion: Differences truly exist in the outcome of surgical repair of the three types of unilateral cleft lip, especially in the aesthetics of the nose and in the width and shape of the residual lip scar. Thus, it is important to consider this in the assessment of UCL repair because putting the subtypes together might have a negative impact on the assessment

Comparison of Dental Caries and Oral Hygiene Status of Children in Suburban with those in Rural Population of Southwestern Nigeria

Objective: To compare prevalence of dental caries, oral hygiene status and associated risk factors of children in suburban and rural communities in the Southwest region of Nigeria. Material and Methods: Secondary data was extracted from cross-sectional researches conducted in two study locations involving 8 to 12 year olds.  Data retrieved included age, gender, family structure, socioeconomic status, oral hygiene and dental caries. Caries assessment was done using WHO Oral Health Survey methods. Oral hygiene data was collected using Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) by Greene and Vermillion. Statistical significance was established at p<0.05. Results: The prevalence of dental caries in Group A and Group B study participants were 13.4% and 22.2% respectively. Children from rural community had significant higher caries prevalence (p=0.00) and poorer oral hygiene (P=0.00) compare with their counterparts in the suburban community. There was a significant association between oral hygiene, age and dental caries in suburban participants (p=0.02) while among the rural participants there was significant association between gender and dental caries (p=0.04). Children with poor oral hygiene have increased odds of having dental caries compared to children with good oral hygiene in the two study communities. Conclusion: Dental caries was more prevalent among the rural dwellers than the sub-urban dwellers. There is a need to make oral health care services/products available, accessible and affordable for the rural community

DEVELOPMENT OF MELTED EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE AS ΒITUMEN MODIFIER FOR PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION

This study was designed to investigate the Performance of melted Expanded Polystrene (EPS) wastes on the quality of bitumen used in asphaltic concrete. The EPS materials were ground and then melted (200-400 oC) to form a slurry. Specific gravity of the EPS and chemical composition were determined by AAS analyses. The melted EPS was used as a modifier in mix proportions of 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% by weight of bitumen. The 5% unmodified bitumen content obtained from the Marshall mix design was used to prepare asphalt concrete samples with 0 to 10% contents of melted EPS. The products were tested for Marshall stability, specific gravity, penetration, softening point, ductility, loss on heating, viscosity, flash and fire points and the melting point tests using standard methods. The ground EPS was uniform and well-graded (4.750-0.010 mm) with a specific gravity of 0.012, having a styrene structure with methanol on the ring. The specimen prepared with the specified mix proportion of EPS produced results that ranged between 5598.71-16937.70 N for Marshal stability; 2.02-3.54 for specific gravity; 129-152 mm for penetration; 42.80-47.50 oC for softening point; 75.00-32.90 cm for ductility; 0-3.48% for loss on heating; 208-2204 sec.STV for viscosity; 243.3-269.0 oC for flash point; 196.1-211.0 oC for melting point. The results also showed that with correlation coefficients ranging from r = 0.658-0.999, there is a strong positive correlation between the improvement exhibited in the specimen tested properties and melted EPS used in bitumen. At the 5% bitumen with 5% EPS by weight of asphalt concrete, the results of stability, flow and optimum bitumen content satisfied the British Standard Specification framework for polymer-modified bitumen and it is therefore suitable for flexible pavement construction

EVALUATION OF TWO-STAGE SUBSURFACE FLOW CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS FOR ABATTOIR WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Abattoir wastewater is high in organic content, the waste recovery and treatment facility is expensive and this results in indiscriminate dumping into streams without adequate treatment. The effectiveness of using a two-stage subsurface flow constructed wetland to treat abattoir effluent was examined in this study. Diluted abattoir wastewater from Lafenwa Abattoir, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria was fed into a two-stage Vegetated Subsurface Bed Constructed Wetlands (VSBCW). The VSBCW consisted of 500 mm deep 10-15 mm diameter granite with 150 mm thick overlay of well graded sand planted with locally available Vetiveria nigritana. Grab samples were collected at selected points along Ogun river and measurement of physico-chemical parameters such as: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) of the influent and effluent from the VSBCW were carried out. Irrigation with water and diluted abattoir wastewater to examine the variation in plant growth rate was also investigated. The results revealed a pollution load reduction as the wastewater moves away from the discharge point but inadequate to meet the FEPA (1991) standard for wastewater discharge into rivers. The VSBCW was observed to reduce the concentration of BOD5, COD, EC, TDS and TSS in the abattoir wastewater by 88.71, 87.28, 45.72, 56.89 and 72.27 % respectively. The growth rate of the V. nigritana reduced by 1.9% when irrigated with abattoir wastewater. The study revealed that locally available V. nigritana in VSBCW is effective in abattoir wastewater treatment and could be use to curtail the pollution caused by discharge of untreated wastewater into rivers.     &nbsp

DEVELOPMENT OF MELTED EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE AS ΒITUMEN MODIFIER FOR PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION

This study was designed to investigate the Performance of melted Expanded Polystrene (EPS) wastes on the quality of bitumen used in asphaltic concrete. The EPS materials were ground and then melted (200-400 oC) to form a slurry. Specific gravity of the EPS and chemical composition were determined by AAS analyses. The melted EPS was used as a modifier in mix proportions of 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% by weight of bitumen. The 5% unmodified bitumen content obtained from the Marshall mix design was used to prepare asphalt concrete samples with 0 to 10% contents of melted EPS. The products were tested for Marshall stability, specific gravity, penetration, softening point, ductility, loss on heating, viscosity, flash and fire points and the melting point tests using standard methods. The ground EPS was uniform and well-graded (4.750-0.010 mm) with a specific gravity of 0.012, having a styrene structure with methanol on the ring. The specimen prepared with the specified mix proportion of EPS produced results that ranged between 5598.71-16937.70 N for Marshal stability; 2.02-3.54 for specific gravity; 129-152 mm for penetration; 42.80-47.50 oC for softening point; 75.00-32.90 cm for ductility; 0-3.48% for loss on heating; 208-2204 sec.STV for viscosity; 243.3-269.0 oC for flash point; 196.1-211.0 oC for melting point. The results also showed that with correlation coefficients ranging from r = 0.658-0.999, there is a strong positive correlation between the improvement exhibited in the specimen tested properties and melted EPS used in bitumen. At the 5% bitumen with 5% EPS by weight of asphalt concrete, the results of stability, flow and optimum bitumen content satisfied the British Standard Specification framework for polymer-modified bitumen and it is therefore suitable for flexible pavement construction