SecMon: End-to-End Quality and Security Monitoring System

The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is becoming a more available and popular way of communicating for Internet users. This also applies to Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems and merging these two have already proven to be successful (e.g. Skype). Even the existing standards of VoIP provide an assurance of security and Quality of Service (QoS), however, these features are usually optional and supported by limited number of implementations. As a result, the lack of mandatory and widely applicable QoS and security guaranties makes the contemporary VoIP systems vulnerable to attacks and network disturbances. In this paper we are facing these issues and propose the SecMon system, which simultaneously provides a lightweight security mechanism and improves quality parameters of the call. SecMon is intended specially for VoIP service over P2P networks and its main advantage is that it provides authentication, data integrity services, adaptive QoS and (D)DoS attack detection. Moreover, the SecMon approach represents a low-bandwidth consumption solution that is transparent to the users and possesses a self-organizing capability. The above-mentioned features are accomplished mainly by utilizing two information hiding techniques: digital audio watermarking and network steganography. These techniques are used to create covert channels that serve as transport channels for lightweight QoS measurement's results. Furthermore, these metrics are aggregated in a reputation system that enables best route path selection in the P2P network. The reputation system helps also to mitigate (D)DoS attacks, maximize performance and increase transmission efficiency in the network.Comment: Paper was presented at 7th international conference IBIZA 2008: On Computer Science - Research And Applications, Poland, Kazimierz Dolny 31.01-2.02 2008; 14 pages, 5 figure

Compensation of atmospheric CO2 buildup through engineered chemical shrinkage

Retrieval of background carbon dioxide into regional chemical extractors would counter anthropogenic inputs in a manner friendly to established industries. We demonstrate via atmospheric transport/scaling calculations that for idealized flat removal units, global coverage could be less than two hundred thousand square kilometers. The disrupted area drops to a small fraction of this with engineering into the vertical to bypass laminarity. Fence structures and artificial roughness elements can both be conceived. Sink thermodynamics are analyzed by taking calcium hydroxide as a sample reactant. Energy costs could be minimized at near the endothermicity of binding reversal. In the calcium case the value is 25 kcal mole-1, as against a fuel carbon content of 150 in the same units. Aqueous kinetics are less than favorable for the hydroxide, but misting could counteract slow liquid phase transfer. Properties of superior scrubbers are outlined

SecMon: end-to-end quality and security monitoring system

The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is becoming a more available and popular way of communication for the Internet users. This also applies to the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems and merging these two have already proven to be successful (e.g. Skype). Even the existing standards of VoIP provide an assurance of security and Quality of Service (QoS), however, these features are usually optional and supported by a limited number of implementations. As a result, the lack of mandatory and widely applicable QoS and security guarantee makes the contemporary VoIP systems vulnerable to attacks and network disturbances. In this paper we are facing these issues and propose the SecMon system, which simultaneously provides a lightweight security mechanism and improves quality parameters of the call. SecMon is intended specially for VoIP service over P2P networks and its main advantage is that it provides authentication, data integrity services, adaptive QoS and (D)DoS attack detection. Moreover, the SecMon approach represents a lowbandwidth consumption solution that is transparent to the users and possesses a self-organizing capability. The above-mentioned features are accomplished mainly by utilizing two information hiding techniques: digital audio watermarking and network steganography. These techniques are used to create covert channels that serve as transport channels for lightweight QoS measurement results. Furthermore, these metrics are aggregated in a reputation system that enables best route path selection in the P2P network. The reputation system helps also to mitigate (D)DoS attacks, maximize performance and increase transmission efficiency in the network

Update of the Scientific Opinion on opium alkaloids in poppy seeds

The CONTAM Panel wishes to thank the hearing experts: Pavel Cihlar, Daniel Doerge and Vaclav Lohr for the support provided to this scientific output. The CONTAM Panel acknowledges all European competent institutions and other stakeholders that provided occurrence data on opium alkaloids in food, and supported the data collection for the Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. Adopted: 22 March 2018 Reproduction of the images listed below is prohibited and permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder:Figure A.1 in Appendix A: © Elsevier.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Tracing data journeys through medical case reports: Conceptualizing case reports not as 'anecdotes' but productive epistemic constructs, or why zebras can be useful

Medical case reports provide an important example of data journeying: they are used to collect data and make them available for re-use to others in the field including clinicians, biomedical researchers, and health policymakers. In this paper, I explore how data journey in case reports, with particular focus on the earliest stages of the process, namely from creation and publication of case reports to the initial re-uses of them and data within them. I investigate key themes relating to case reporting and re-use, including factors which seem to smooth the path along which the data captured by a case report journey via broader citation patterns and detailed qualitative analysis of highly re-used case reports. This analysis reveals some of the key factors associated with the case reports whose data have greater amounts of journeying including publication in a general medical journal; that the data have broader implications and evidential value for topical or even urgent issues for instance in public health; and use in the case report of multiple research methods or concepts from diverse subfields. These findings along with standardization of case reporting are shown to have epistemological implications, particularly for how we understand the journeying of data.Rachel A. Anken

Application of Geochemical and Isotopic Tracers for Characterization of SAGD Waters and Production Well Scale

Precipitation of scale minerals is common in SAGD operations and can severely hinder production. As scaling conditions and processes are not fully understood, select geochemical and isotopic (2H, 18O, 11B, 13C, 34S and 87Sr/86Sr) tracers were measured for SAGD waters and production well scale in order to characterize different fluids and identify source contributors towards scale formation. Pre-steamed pore water, bottom water (BW), steam condensate and produced water had distinct Na and Cl concentrations and water isotope compositions (2H, 18O). Distinct 11B, 13CDIC, 34SSO4 values and 87Sr/86Sr ratios of different SAGD waters enabled differentiation of BW from thermally altered waters (steam condensate and produced waters). SEM and bulk mineral chemical analyses identified quartz as the primary (~90 wt.%) scale mineral, while δ11B, δ34SSULFIDE, δ13CCARBS values of scale minerals indicated that they were precipitated from thermally altered waters and not as a result of formation water outside the steam chamber