More security or less insecurity

We depart from the conventional quest for ‘Completely Secure Systems’ and ask ‘How can we be more Secure’. We draw heavily from the evolution of the Theory of Justice and the arguments against the institutional approach to Justice. Central to our argument is the identification of redressable insecurity, or weak links. Our contention is that secure systems engineering is not really about building perfectly secure systems but about redressing manifest insecurities.Final Accepted Versio

Collective traffic-like movement of ants on a trail: dynamical phases and phase transitions

The traffic-like collective movement of ants on a trail can be described by a stochastic cellular automaton model. We have earlier investigated its unusual flow-density relation by using various mean field approximations and computer simulations. In this paper, we study the model following an alternative approach based on the analogy with the zero range process, which is one of the few known exactly solvable stochastic dynamical models. We show that our theory can quantitatively account for the unusual non-monotonic dependence of the average speed of the ants on their density for finite lattices with periodic boundary conditions. Moreover, we argue that the model exhibits a continuous phase transition at the critial density only in a limiting case. Furthermore, we investigate the phase diagram of the model by replacing the periodic boundary conditions by open boundary conditions.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Stochastic kinetics of ribosomes: single motor properties and collective behavior

Synthesis of protein molecules in a cell are carried out by ribosomes. A ribosome can be regarded as a molecular motor which utilizes the input chemical energy to move on a messenger RNA (mRNA) track that also serves as a template for the polymerization of the corresponding protein. The forward movement, however, is characterized by an alternating sequence of translocation and pause. Using a quantitative model, which captures the mechanochemical cycle of an individual ribosome, we derive an {\it exact} analytical expression for the distribution of its dwell times at the successive positions on the mRNA track. Inverse of the average dwell time satisfies a ``Michaelis-Menten-like'' equation and is consistent with the general formula for the average velocity of a molecular motor with an unbranched mechano-chemical cycle. Extending this formula appropriately, we also derive the exact force-velocity relation for a ribosome. Often many ribosomes simultaneously move on the same mRNA track, while each synthesizes a copy of the same protein. We extend the model of a single ribosome by incorporating steric exclusion of different individuals on the same track. We draw the phase diagram of this model of ribosome traffic in 3-dimensional spaces spanned by experimentally controllable parameters. We suggest new experimental tests of our theoretical predictions.Comment: Final published versio

Cluster formation and anomalous fundamental diagram in an ant trail model

A recently proposed stochastic cellular automaton model ({\it J. Phys. A 35, L573 (2002)}), motivated by the motions of ants in a trail, is investigated in detail in this paper. The flux of ants in this model is sensitive to the probability of evaporation of pheromone, and the average speed of the ants varies non-monotonically with their density. This remarkable property is analyzed here using phenomenological and microscopic approximations thereby elucidating the nature of the spatio-temporal organization of the ants. We find that the observations can be understood by the formation of loose clusters, i.e. space regions of enhanced, but not maximal, density.Comment: 11 pages, REVTEX, with 11 embedded EPS file

Semiclassical Methods for Hawking Radiation from a Vaidya Black Hole

We derive the general form of Hawking temperature for Vaidya black hole in the tunneling pictures. This kind of black hole is regarded as the description of a more realistic one since it's time dependent decreasing mass due to the evaporation process. Clearly, the temperature would be time dependent as our findings. We use the semiclassical methods, namely radial null geodesic and complex paths methods. Both methods are found to give the same results. Then, we discuss the possible form of corresponding entropy.Comment: REVTeX 4, 11 pages, no figures, accepted for publication in IJMPA; v2: eq.5 is correcte

Flow properties of driven-diffusive lattice gases: theory and computer simulation

We develop n-cluster mean-field theories (0 < n < 5) for calculating the flow properties of the non-equilibrium steady-states of the Katz-Lebowitz-Spohn model of the driven diffusive lattice gas, with attractive and repulsive inter-particle interactions, in both one and two dimensions for arbitrary particle densities, temperature as well as the driving field. We compare our theoretical results with the corresponding numerical data we have obtained from the computer simulations to demonstrate the level of accuracy of our theoretical predictions. We also compare our results with those for some other prototype models, notably particle-hopping models of vehicular traffic, to demonstrate the novel qualitative features we have observed in the Katz-Lebowitz-Spohn model, emphasizing, in particular, the consequences of repulsive inter-particle interactions.Comment: 12 RevTex page

Localisation in focal epilepsy: a practical guide

The semiology of epileptic seizures reflects activation, or dysfunction, of areas of brain (often termed the symptomatogenic zone) as a seizure begins and evolves. Specific semiologies in focal epilepsies provide an insight into the location of the seizure onset zone, which is particularly important for presurgical epilepsy assessment. The correct diagnosis of paroxysmal events also depends on the clinician being familiar with the spectrum of semiologies. Here, we summarise the current literature on localisation in focal epilepsies using illustrative cases and discussing possible pitfalls in localisation

Lee-Yang zeros and phase transitions in nonequilibrium steady states

We consider how the Lee-Yang description of phase transitions in terms of partition function zeros applies to nonequilibrium systems. Here one does not have a partition function, instead we consider the zeros of a steady-state normalization factor in the complex plane of the transition rates. We obtain the exact distribution of zeros in the thermodynamic limit for a specific model, the boundary-driven asymmetric simple exclusion process. We show that the distributions of zeros at the first and second order nonequilibrium phase transitions of this model follow the patterns known in the Lee-Yang equilibrium theory.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX4 with 4 figures; revised version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Optimizing Traffic Lights in a Cellular Automaton Model for City Traffic

We study the impact of global traffic light control strategies in a recently proposed cellular automaton model for vehicular traffic in city networks. The model combines basic ideas of the Biham-Middleton-Levine model for city traffic and the Nagel-Schreckenberg model for highway traffic. The city network has a simple square lattice geometry. All streets and intersections are treated equally, i.e., there are no dominant streets. Starting from a simple synchronized strategy we show that the capacity of the network strongly depends on the cycle times of the traffic lights. Moreover we point out that the optimal time periods are determined by the geometric characteristics of the network, i.e., the distance between the intersections. In the case of synchronized traffic lights the derivation of the optimal cycle times in the network can be reduced to a simpler problem, the flow optimization of a single street with one traffic light operating as a bottleneck. In order to obtain an enhanced throughput in the model improved global strategies are tested, e.g., green wave and random switching strategies, which lead to surprising results.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure