Ad hoc network security and modeling with stochastic petri nets

Advances in wireless technology and portable computing along with demands for high user mobility have provided a major promotion toward the development of ad hoc networks. These networks feature dynamic topology, self-organization, limited bandwidth and battery power of a node. Unlike the existing commercial wireless systems and fixed infrastructure networks, they do not rely on specialized routers for path discovery and traffic routing. Security is an important issue in such networks. Typically, mobile nodes are significantly more susceptible to physical attacks than their wired counterparts. This research intends to investigate the ad hoc network routing security by proposing a performance enhanced Secure ad hoc On-demand Routing protocol (SOR). Specifically, it presents a method to embed Security Level into ad hoc on-demand routing protocols using node-disjoint multipath, and to use maximum hopcount to restrict the number of routing packets in a specific area. The proposed scheme enables the use of security as a marked factor to improve the relevance of the routes discovered by ad hoc routing protocols. It provides customizable security to the flow of routing protocol messages. In general, SOR offers an alternative way to implement security in on-demand routing protocols. Ad hoc network is too complex to allow analytical study for explicit performance expressions. This research presents a Stochastic Petri net-based approach to modeling and analysis of mobile ad hoc network. This work illustrates how this model is built as a scalable model and used to exploit the characteristics of the networks. The proposed scheme is a powerful analytical model that can be used to derive network performance much more easily than a simulation-based approach. Furthermore, the proposed model is extended to study the performance of ad hoc network security by adding multipath selection and security measurement parameters. This research gives a quantificational measurement to analyze the performance of a modified SPN model under the effect of multipath and attack of a hypothetical compromised node

ENTRNA: A Framework to Predict RNA Foldability

RNA molecules play many crucial roles in living systems. The spatial complexity that exists in RNA structures determines their cellular functions. Therefore, understanding RNA folding conformations, in particular, RNA secondary structures, is critical for elucidating biological functions. Existing literature has focused on RNA design as either an RNA structure prediction problem or an RNA inverse folding problem where free energy has played a key role

All-optical fiber multi-point photoacoustic spectroscopic gas sensing system

An all-optical fiber multi-point photoacoustic spectroscopy gas sensing system is presented. The system can operate up to ten sensing points with a 1 ppm level C2H2 detection sensitivity for each sensor

Stereoselective Radical Cascade Cyclizations via Co(II)-Based Metalloradical Catalysis:

Thesis advisor: Xiao-Xiang ZhangThesis advisor: James MorkenThis dissertation will present three projects focusing on the development of stereoselective radical cascade reactions via metalloradical catalysis (MRC) using Co(II) D2-symmetric chiral amidoporphyrins [Co(D2-Por*)] as the catalyst. The first project demonstrated the feasibility of applying MRC for asymmetric radical cascade processes by achieving an enantioselective radical bicyclization of 1,6-enynes with diazo compounds, which constructed multi-substituted cyclopropane-fused tetrahydrofurans bearing three contiguous stereogenic centers and one trisubstituted alkene. Detailed mechanistic studies including EPR studies and DFT calculation unveiled a radical-based stepwise mechanism. The synthetic utility of this reaction was demonstrated by a series of diastereoselective transformations of the bicyclic products. In the second project, this strategy was expanded to the application of Co(II)-based MRC to catalyze radical cascade reactions involving hydrogen-atom abstraction (HAA) process. A broad array of homopropargyl ethers reacted with diazo compounds to generate enantiomerically enriched ɑ,β-disubstituted tetrahydrofurans in good yields with high diastereoselectivities and enantioselectivities. The third project explored the utilization of the established strategy to accomplish more challenging bicyclization of 1,6,8-dienynes for the construction of cycloheptadiene-fused tetrahydrofurans in regio- and diastereoselective fashions. Such 5,7-fused ring system has been widely found in natural products and bioactive species.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry

Towards Optimal Platform-Based Robot Design for Ankle Rehabilitation: The State of the Art and Future Prospects

This review aims to compare existing robot-assisted ankle rehabilitation techniques in terms of robot design. Included studies mainly consist of selected papers in two published reviews involving a variety of robot-assisted ankle rehabilitation techniques. A free search was also made in Google Scholar and Scopus by using keywords “ankle∗,” and “robot∗,” and (“rehabilitat∗” or “treat∗”). The search is limited to English-language articles published between January 1980 and September 2016. Results show that existing robot-assisted ankle rehabilitation techniques can be classified into wearable exoskeleton and platform-based devices. Platform-based devices are mostly developed for the treatment of a variety of ankle musculoskeletal and neurological injuries, while wearable ones focus more on ankle-related gait training. In terms of robot design, comparative analysis indicates that an ideal ankle rehabilitation robot should have aligned rotation center as the ankle joint, appropriate workspace, and actuation torque, no matter how many degrees of freedom (DOFs) it has. Single-DOF ankle robots are mostly developed for specific applications, while multi-DOF devices are more suitable for comprehensive ankle rehabilitation exercises. Other factors including posture adjustability and sensing functions should also be considered to promote related clinical applications. An ankle rehabilitation robot with reconfigurability to maximize its functions will be a new research point towards optimal design, especially on parallel mechanisms

Progress in the Development of CdZnTe Unipolar Detectors for Different Anode Geometries and Data Corrections

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Pax2-cre-mediated deletion of Lgl1 causes abnormal development of the midbrain

Lgl1 protein plays a critical role in neurodevelopment, including hippocampus, olfactory bulb, and Purkinje cell. However, the specific mechanism of LGL1 function in the midbrain remains elusive. In this study, we generated Lgl1 conditional knockout mice using Pax2-Cre, which is expressed in the midbrain, and examined the functions of Lgl1 in the midbrain. Histological analysis exhibited abnormal midbrain development characterized by enlarged ventricular aqueduct and thinning tectum cortex. Lgl1 deletion caused excessive proliferation and heightened apoptosis of neural progenitor cells in the tectum of LP cko mice. BrdU labeling studies demonstrated abnormal neuronal migration. Immunofluorescence analysis of Nestin demonstrated an irregular and clustered distribution of glial cell fibers, with the adhesion junction marker N-cadherin employed for immunofluorescent labeling, unveiling abnormal epithelial connections within the tectum of LP cko mice. The current findings suggest that the deletion of Lgl1 leads to the disruption of the expression pattern of N-cadherin, resulting in abnormal development of the midbrain

Crime Scene Shoeprint Image Retrieval: A Review

Shoeprints performs a vital role in forensic investigations. It has been an advanced research issue in forensic science. The main purpose of shoeprint image retrieval is to acquire a ranking list of shoeprint images in a database, according to their feature similarities to the query image. In this way, a shoeprint can not only be used as an exhibit for bringing criminal charges but also to provide a clue to a case. The goal of this work is to present an overview of the existing works conducted in shoeprint image retrieval. We detail the different phases of the shoeprint retrieval task and present a summary of the state-of-the-art methods. We analyzed the difficulties and problems in this field and discussed future work directions. This review may help neophytes become involved in research easily and quickly

Lgl1 Is Required for Olfaction and Development of Olfactory Bulb in Mice.

Lethal giant larvae 1 (Lgl1) was initially identified as a tumor suppressor in Drosophila and functioned as a key regulator of epithelial polarity and asymmetric cell division. In this study, we generated Lgl1 conditional knockout mice mediated by Pax2-Cre, which is expressed in olfactory bulb (OB). Next, we examined the effects of Lgl1 loss in the OB. First, we determined the expression patterns of Lgl1 in the neurogenic regions of the embryonic dorsal region of the LGE (dLGE) and postnatal OB. Furthermore, the Lgl1 conditional mutants exhibited abnormal morphological characteristics of the OB. Our behavioral analysis exhibited greatly impaired olfaction in Lgl1 mutant mice. To elucidate the possible mechanisms of impaired olfaction in Lgl1 mutant mice, we investigated the development of the OB. Interestingly, reduced thickness of the MCL and decreased density of mitral cells (MCs) were observed in Lgl1 mutant mice. Additionally, we observed a dramatic loss in SP8+ interneurons (e.g. calretinin and GABAergic/non-dopaminergic interneurons) in the GL of the OB. Our results demonstrate that Lgl1 is required for the development of the OB and the deletion of Lgl1 results in impaired olfaction in mice