Toward Smart Moving Target Defense for Linux Container Resiliency

This paper presents ESCAPE, an informed moving target defense mechanism for cloud containers. ESCAPE models the interaction between attackers and their target containers as a "predator searching for a prey" search game. Live migration of Linux-containers (prey) is used to avoid attacks (predator) and failures. The entire process is guided by a novel host-based behavior-monitoring system that seamlessly monitors containers for indications of intrusions and attacks. To evaluate ESCAPE effectiveness, we simulated the attack avoidance process based on a mathematical model mimicking the prey-vs-predator search game. Simulation results show high container survival probabilities with minimal added overhead.Comment: Published version is available on IEEE Xplore at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/779685

Zooplankton stresnih područja uzduž obale Damietta (Egipat) u Sredozemnom moru

The spatial pattern of zooplankton communities at Damietta coast, southeastern Mediterranean was studied to assess the impact of human activities on the abundance and community structure. Twenty-five stations from five different stressed sites were sampled in June-July 2014. Thirty-four zooplankton taxa were recorded, in addition to the larvae of copepods and meroplankton. Copepoda was the most abundant group among which, Oithona nana, Euterpina acutifrons, and Parvocalanus cirrostratus were the most frequent. The calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus trihamatus is a new record for the Mediterranean Sea that may have been introduced via ballast water. Multivariate/Univariate analyses demonstrated that 1) the environmental variables and zooplankton communities represented significant differences among five sites; 2) the spatial variations of community structure were undoubtedly due to land-based effluents; and 3) among all environmental variables, salinity and phytoplankton biomass had the major determining effects on the spatial patterns of zooplankton categories. The results indicates that not only the discharged water makes the Damietta coast at risk, but also the ballast water is not less dangerous. Hence, we emphasize the need for activation of the ballast water management to reduce the risk of future species invasions.Istraživana je prostorna struktura zooplanktonskih zajednica na obali Damietta (Egipat, jugoistočni Mediteran) kako bi se procijenio utjecaj ljudskih aktivnosti na obilje i strukturu zajednice. U lipnju i srpnju 2014. uzorkovano je na dvadeset pet postaja s pet različitih mjesta izloženih zagađenju. Uz larve veslonožaca i meroplanktona zabilježene su 34 zooplanktonske vrste.Veslonošci se bili najbrojnija skupina među kojima su najčešći Oithona nana, Euterpina acutifrons i Parvocalanus cirrostratus. Kalanoidni veslonožac Pseudodiaptomus trihamatus je novi nalaz za Sredozemno more, a vjerojatno je da je možda unesen putem balastnih voda. Multivarijatne / jednosmjerne analize pokazale su da 1) varijable okoliša i zooplanktonske zajednice predstavljaju značajne razlike između pet mjesta; 2) prostorne varijacije strukture zajednice nedvojbeno su posljedica tehnoloških otpadnih voda (pročišćenih i nepročišćenih) sa kopna; i 3) između svih varijablia okoliša, saliniteta i biomase fitoplanktona imali su glavne utjecaje na prostorne obrasce kategorija zooplanktona. Rezultati pokazuju da je samo ne ispuštena voda rizična za obalu Damiette, već i balastna voda, koja nije nimalo manje opasna. Stoga se naglašava potreba za aktivacijom upravljanja balastnim vodama kako bi se smanjio rizik unosa invazivnih vrsta

Safety of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background/Aims: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a technically challenging procedure rarely associated with severe postprocedure complications. Hormonal changes during pregnancy promote cholelithiasis, but there are limited clinical data available on the outcomes of ERCP in pregnant women. ERCP techniques without irradiation were recently introduced as potential alternative. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the safety of ERCP in pregnancy and to compare outcomes of radiation versus nonradiation ERCP. Materials and Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Medline/Ovid, Web of Science, and Google Scholar through April 18th, 2018 using PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines identified 27 studies reporting the outcomes of ERCP in pregnancy. Random effects pooled event rate and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. Heterogeneity was measured by I2, and meta-regression analysis was conducted. Adverse outcomes were divided into fetal, maternal pregnancy-related, and maternal nonpregnancy-related. Results: In all, 27 studies reporting on 1,307 pregnant patients who underwent ERCP were identified. Median age was 27.1 years. All results were statistically significant (P...) (See full abstract in article)

A robust uniform B-spline collocation method for solving the generalized PHI-four equation

In this paper, we develop a numerical solution based on cubic B-spline collocation method. By applying Von-Neumann stability analysis, the proposed technique is shown to be unconditionally stable. The accuracy of the presented method is demonstrated by a test problem. The numerical results are found to be in good agreement with the exact solution

Hepatic hydatid disease: four case reports

We report four cases who were referred to Mansoura University Teaching Hospital, Egypt suffering from abdominal pain and gastrointestinal manifestations. The patients' history was unremarkable, except that they had contact with dogs and live in rural communities. Laboratory findings showed peripheral blood eosinophilia, leucocytosis, and elevated liver enzymes. Serological tests were positive in three cases. Ultrasonography showed well-circumscribed cystic masses in the liver. Diagnosis of hydatid cysts was confirmed by computed tomography (CT). Surgical treatment along with chemotherapy was performed and all patients recovered well. The results of these cases support the notion that CT scan can led to increased clarity, regarding surgical management, because of discordance between radiographic and laboratory findings

A probabilistic multi-objective approach for FACTS devices allocation with different levels of wind penetration under uncertainties and load correlation

This study presents a probabilistic multi-objective optimization approach to obtain the optimal locations and sizes of static var compensator (SVC) and thyristor-controlled series capacitor (TCSC) in a power transmission network with large level of wind generation. In this study, the uncertainties of the wind power generation and correlated load demand are considered. The uncertainties are modeled in this work using the points estimation method (PEM). The optimization problem is solved using the Multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm to find the best position and rating of the flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices. The objective of the problem is to maximize the system loadability while minimizing the power losses and FACTS devices installation cost. Additionally, a technique based on fuzzy decision-making approach is employed to extract one of the Pareto optimal solutions as the best compromise one. The proposed approach is applied on the modified IEEE 30-bus system. The numerical results evince the effectiveness of the proposed approach and shows the economic benefits that can be achieved when considering the FACTS controller