Privacy Preserving Network Security Data Analytics: Architectures and System Design

An incessant rhythm of data breaches, data leaks, and privacy exposure highlights the need to improve control over potentially sensitive data. History has shown that neither public nor private sector organizations are immune. Lax data handling, incidental leakage, and adversarial breaches are all contributing factors. Prudent organizations should consider the sensitive nature of network security data. Logged events often contain data elements that are directly correlated with sensitive information about people and their activities -- often at the same level of detail as sensor data. Our intent is to produce a database which holds network security data representative of people\u27s interaction with the network mid-points and end-points without the problems of identifiability. In this paper we discuss architectures and propose a system design that supports a risk based approach to privacy preserving data publication of network security data that enables network security data analytics research

Application of Metapopulation Theory to Northern Bobwhite Conservation

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have declined throughout the majority of the species’ range, and have experienced the largest declines in fragmented habitats, suggesting landscape scale processes may be responsible for this decline. We used the results from a stochastic population dynamics model of South Texas bobwhites as conceptual justification for use of metapopulation theory in bobwhite management. Annual quasi-extinction probabilities for isolated bobwhite populations were 0.003 (95% CI: 0.001 0.006), 0.105 (95% CI: 0.083 0.126), and 0.773 (95% CI: 0.750 0.796) for simulated populations harvested at 20, 30, and 40% annually. The probability of regional persistence at 30% harvest increased to ~ 100% in scenarios where we modeled 5 occupied hypothetical 800-ha habitat patches; however, at 40% harvest rates, probability of regional metapopulation persistence did not reach 95% until 12 habitat patches were occupied. This suggests bobwhites probably require somewhere from 800 to 9,600 ha of available habitat space to maintain 95% probability of regional metapopulation persistence as harvest varies from 0 to 40% annually. Our results have strong implications for bobwhite harvest management given the high probability of quasi-extinction of isolated populations at rates of harvest 25%. Multiple patches of habitat (where individual patch size is 800 ha) must be available to ensure bobwhite metapopulation persistence

Genetic Structure and Diversity in South Texas Bobwhites: Implications for Conservation

The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) has experienced range-wide declines in population size and reductions in geographic range during the last century. Declines in northern bobwhite population size and geographic distribution continue to occur despite vigorous conservation and research efforts directed at sustaining and enhancing populations. Viable populations of northern bobwhite have persisted only in areas with large expanses of relatively contiguous habitat, such as southern Texas, parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and areas in southern Georgia and northern Florida. The decline of northern bobwhite populations is often associated with changes in land- use practices, including proliferation of intensive agriculture and fire suppression, which have altered, removed, or fragmented northern bobwhite habitat. Typically, the effects of changes in land use on northern bobwhites are regional in scale, given the large geographic extent which current agricultural land-use practices, such as farming and timber production, occur. It is clear that precipitation and land use affect regional population trends, but consideration of northern bobwhite population dynamics has remained confined to the local scale. Thus, the specific manner in which land-use changes have affected populations of northern bobwhites is unknown. We investigated the genetics and population structure of northern bobwhites at the landscape scale to learn if bobwhites function as metapopulations. Dispersal and exchange in a metapopulation system are critical to the long-term maintenance of populations; if interrupted, the entire network of populations might collapse. We sampled hunter-harvested northern bobwhites during 2004 to 2007 from 24 sites in South Texas, a region containing large areas of contiguous habitat where populations of northern bobwhites have been relatively stable. We extracted DNA and used bi-parentally and maternally inherited genetic markers to compare genetic structure and diversity among populations. We genotyped 567 individuals at 7 DNA microsatellite loci and sequenced 353 bp of the mtDNA control region for 190 individuals. Genetic diversity was high for microsatellite loci and mtDNA haplotypes (HO 1⁄4 0.58; H 1⁄4 0.88, respectively), and did not differ among populations. We observed little population structure across the geographic region (microsatellite FST 1⁄4 0.01; mtDNA theta 1⁄4 0.037), and Fisher exact tests of population differentiation were not statistically significant. Spatial autocorrelation analysis of the microsatellite data set revealed a positive correlation between Moran’s I and geographic distance out to .50 km. Our genetic data are surprising for an avian species that is considered relatively sedentary and a short-distance disperser. South Texas populations of northern bobwhites had high levels of genetic variation and were genetically similar across a broad region. Population genetics theory predicts that genetic diversity and similarity among local populations in a metapopulation are influenced by the rate of dispersal (gene flow). Life history theory predicts species with high turnover rates, such as northern bobwhite, should be good dispersers. The region-wide genetic similarity among populations of northern bobwhites implies dispersal may be more important in the population dynamics of the species than previous studies have indicated. We hypothesize that disruption of dispersal by habitat fragmentation may explain the overall decline of northern bobwhite populations in some regions. This may explain why patches of suitable habitat in fragmented landscapes go unoccupied by northern bobwhites. Our results lend additional support to recent calls for regional-scale management of this declining species

Prospectus, April 20, 2005

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2005/1010/thumbnail.jp

Genetic variation and gene expression across multiple tissues and developmental stages in a non-human primate

By analyzing multitissue gene expression and genome-wide genetic variation data in samples from a vervet monkey pedigree, we generated a transcriptome resource and produced the first catalog of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) in a nonhuman primate model. This catalog contains more genome-wide significant eQTLs per sample than comparable human resources and identifies sex- and age-related expression patterns. Findings include a master regulatory locus that likely has a role in immune function and a locus regulating hippocampal long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), whose expression correlates with hippocampal volume. This resource will facilitate genetic investigation of quantitative traits, including brain and behavioral phenotypes relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders

Big Physics At Small Places: The Mongol Horde Model Of Undergraduate Research

A model for engaging undergraduates in cutting-edge experimental nuclear physics research at a national user facility is discussed.  Methods to involve students and examples of their success are presented

Weighted gene co-expression network analysis of the peripheral blood from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a lethal disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Diagnosis is mainly based on clinical symptoms, and there is currently no therapy to stop the disease or slow its progression. Since access to spinal cord tissue is not possible at disease onset, we investigated changes in gene expression profiles in whole blood of ALS patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our transcriptional study showed dramatic changes in blood of ALS patients; 2,300 probes (9.4%) showed significant differential expression in a discovery dataset consisting of 30 ALS patients and 30 healthy controls. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to find disease-related networks (modules) and disease related hub genes. Two large co-expression modules were found to be associated with ALS. Our findings were replicated in a second (30 patients and 30 controls) and third dataset (63 patients and 63 controls), thereby demonstrating a highly significant and consistent association of two large co-expression modules with ALS disease status. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of the ALS related module genes implicates enrichment of functional categories related to genetic disorders, neurodegeneration of the nervous system and inflammatory disease. The ALS related modules contain a number of candidate genes possibly involved in pathogenesis of ALS.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This first large-scale blood gene expression study in ALS observed distinct patterns between cases and controls which may provide opportunities for biomarker development as well as new insights into the molecular mechanisms of the disease.</p

Development and implementation of high-throughput SNP genotyping in barley

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High density genetic maps of plants have, nearly without exception, made use of marker datasets containing missing or questionable genotype calls derived from a variety of genic and non-genic or anonymous markers, and been presented as a single linear order of genetic loci for each linkage group. The consequences of missing or erroneous data include falsely separated markers, expansion of cM distances and incorrect marker order. These imperfections are amplified in consensus maps and problematic when fine resolution is critical including comparative genome analyses and map-based cloning. Here we provide a new paradigm, a high-density consensus genetic map of barley based only on complete and error-free datasets and genic markers, represented accurately by graphs and approximately by a best-fit linear order, and supported by a readily available SNP genotyping resource.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately 22,000 SNPs were identified from barley ESTs and sequenced amplicons; 4,596 of them were tested for performance in three pilot phase Illumina GoldenGate assays. Data from three barley doubled haploid mapping populations supported the production of an initial consensus map. Over 200 germplasm selections, principally European and US breeding material, were used to estimate minor allele frequency (MAF) for each SNP. We selected 3,072 of these tested SNPs based on technical performance, map location, MAF and biological interest to fill two 1536-SNP "production" assays (BOPA1 and BOPA2), which were made available to the barley genetics community. Data were added using BOPA1 from a fourth mapping population to yield a consensus map containing 2,943 SNP loci in 975 marker bins covering a genetic distance of 1099 cM.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The unprecedented density of genic markers and marker bins enabled a high resolution comparison of the genomes of barley and rice. Low recombination in pericentric regions is evident from bins containing many more than the average number of markers, meaning that a large number of genes are recombinationally locked into the genetic centromeric regions of several barley chromosomes. Examination of US breeding germplasm illustrated the usefulness of BOPA1 and BOPA2 in that they provide excellent marker density and sensitivity for detection of minor alleles in this genetically narrow material.</p

On the selection of AGN neutrino source candidates for a source stacking analysis with neutrino telescopes

The sensitivity of a search for sources of TeV neutrinos can be improved by grouping potential sources together into generic classes in a procedure that is known as source stacking. In this paper, we define catalogs of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and use them to perform a source stacking analysis. The grouping of AGN into classes is done in two steps: first, AGN classes are defined, then, sources to be stacked are selected assuming that a potential neutrino flux is linearly correlated with the photon luminosity in a certain energy band (radio, IR, optical, keV, GeV, TeV). Lacking any secure detailed knowledge on neutrino production in AGN, this correlation is motivated by hadronic AGN models, as briefly reviewed in this paper. The source stacking search for neutrinos from generic AGN classes is illustrated using the data collected by the AMANDA-II high energy neutrino detector during the year 2000. No significant excess for any of the suggested groups was found.Comment: 43 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Astroparticle Physic