Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Security in Mobile Multiagent Systems

This report contains the Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Security on Security of Mobile Multiagent Systems (SEMAS2002). The Workshop was held in Montreal, Canada as a satellite event to the 5th International Conference on Autonomous Agents in 2001. The far reaching influence of the Internet has resulted in an increased interest in agent technologies, which are poised to play a key role in the implementation of successful Internet and WWW-based applications in the future. While there is still considerable hype concerning agent technologies, there is also an increasing awareness of the problems involved. In particular, that these applications will not be successful unless security issues can be adequately handled. Although there is a large body of work on cryptographic techniques that provide basic building-blocks to solve specific security problems, relatively little work has been done in investigating security in the multiagent system context. Related problems are secure communication between agents, implementation of trust models/authentication procedures or even reflections of agents on security mechanisms. The introduction of mobile software agents significantly increases the risks involved in Internet and WWW-based applications. For example, if we allow agents to enter our hosts or private networks, we must offer the agents a platform so that they can execute correctly but at the same time ensure that they will not have deleterious effects on our hosts or any other agents / processes in our network. If we send out mobile agents, we should also be able to provide guarantees about specific aspects of their behaviour, i.e., we are not only interested in whether the agents carry out-out their intended task correctly. They must defend themselves against attacks initiated by other agents, and survive in potentially malicious environments. Agent technologies can also be used to support network security. For example in the context of intrusion detection, intelligent guardian agents may be used to analyse the behaviour of agents on a firewall or intelligent monitoring agents can be used to analyse the behaviour of agents migrating through a network. Part of the inspiration for such multi-agent systems comes from primitive animal behaviour, such as that of guardian ants protecting their hill or from biological immune systems

Preface Volume 63

AbstractThis volume contains the Proceedings of the First Workshop on Security of Mobile Multiagent Systems (SEMAS'2001). The Workshop was held in Montreal, Canada on May 29, 2001, as satellite event to the 5th International Conference on Autonomous Agents 2001The far reaching influence of the Internet has resulted in an increased interest in agent technologies, which are poised to play a key role in the implementation of successful Internet and WWW-based applications in the future. While there is still considerable hype concerning agent technologies, there is also an increasing awareness of the problems involved. Although there is a large body of work on cryptographic techniques that provide basic building-blocks to solve specific security problems, relatively little work has been done in investigating security in the multiagent system context. The introduction of mobile software agents significantly increases the risks involved in Internet and WWW-based applications. The aim of this workshop was to bring together people from the two relevant research fields, software security and agent-oriented programming. This volume covers actual research papers on security protocols and security policies to enforce security of mobile or multiagent systems but also introduces ideas how to use mobile agents to ensure security of a distributed system.The papers in this volume were reviewed by the program committee consisting, besides editor, of Sahin Albayrak(Technical University Berlin)David Basin(Department of Computer Science, University of Freiburg)Ciaran Bryce(University of Geneve)Hans-Juergen Buerckert(German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, DFKI)Guenther Karjoth(IBM Research Zuerich)Luc Moreau(Department of Computer Science, University of Southhampton)Volker Roth(Fraunhofer Gesellschaft IGD, Darmstadt)Helmut Schwigon(Bundesamt fuer Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BonnVipin Swarup(The MITRE Corp., Boston)Christian Tschudin(Uppsala University)Jan Vitek(Purdue University)This volume will be published as volume 63 in the series Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science (ENTCS). This series is published electronically through the facilities of Elsevier Science B.V. and its auspices. The volumes in the ENTCS series can be accessed at the URL http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/entcsWe are very grateful to the following persons, whose help has been crucial for the success of CMCS'2000: Adele E. Howe, for her help with the organization of the Workshop as satellite event of AA'2001 and Mike Mislove, one of the Managing Editors of the ENTCS series, for his assistance with the use of the ENTCS style files.December 15, 2001 Dieter Hutte

The Sphingosine-1-Phosphate (S1P) Lysophospholipid Receptor S1P3 Regulates MAdCAM-1+ Endothelial Cells in Splenic Marginal Sinus Organization

Marginal zones (MZs) are microdomains in the spleen that contain various types of immune cells, including MZ B cells, MOMA1+ metallophilic macrophages, and mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 (MAdCAM-1)+ endothelial cells. MAdCAM-1+ and MOMA1+ cells line the sinus, that separates MZs from splenic follicles. Here we show that a receptor for the lysophospholipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), S1P3, is required for normal numbers of splenic immature and MZ B cells, and for S1P-induced chemotaxis of MZ B cells. S1P3 is also essential for proper alignment of MOMA1+ macrophages and MAdCAM-1+ endothelial cells along the marginal sinus. The lack of cohesion of the marginal sinus in S1P3−/− mice affects MZ B cell functions, as wild-type (WT) MZ B cells migrate more into S1P3−/− follicles than into WT follicles after treatment with lipopolysaccharide. Additionally, short-term homing experiments demonstrate that WT MZ B cells home to the S1P3−/− spleen in increased numbers, suggesting a role for the marginal sinus in regulating MZ B cells numbers. Moreover, S1P3−/− mice are defective in mounting immune responses to thymus-independent antigen type 2 due to defects in radiation-resistant cells in the spleen. These data identify lysophospholipids and the S1P3 receptor as essential regulators of the MZ sinus and its role as a barrier to the follicle

Tracing microplastics in aquatic environments based on sediment analogies

Microplastics (MP) data collection from the aquatic environment is a challenging endeavour that sets apparent limitations to regional and global MP quantification. Expensive data collection causes small sample sizes and oftentimes existing data sets are compared without accounting for natural variability due to hydrodynamic processes governing the distribution of particles. In Warnow estuarine sediments (Germany) we found significant correlations between high-density polymer size fractions (≥500 µm) and sediment grain size. Among potential predictor variables (source and environmental terms) sediment grain size was the critical proxy for MP abundance. The MP sediment relationship can be explained by the force necessary to start particle transport: at the same level of fluid motion, transported sediment grains and MP particles are offset in size by one to two orders of magnitude. Determining grain-size corrected MP abundances by fractionated granulometric normalisation is recommended as a basis for future MP projections and identification of sinks and sources

Vav Regulates Peptide-specific Apoptosis in Thymocytes

The protooncogene Vav functions as a GDP/GTP exchange factor (GEF) for Rho-like small GTPases involved in cytoskeletal reorganization and cytokine production in T cells. Gene-targeted mice lacking Vav have a severe defect in positive and negative selection of T cell antigen receptor transgenic thymocytes in vivo, and vav−/− thymocytes are completely resistant to peptide-specific and anti-CD3/anti-CD28–mediated apoptosis. Vav acts upstream of mitochondrial pore opening and caspase activation. Biochemically, Vav regulates peptide-specific Ca2+ mobilization and actin polymerization. Peptide-specific cell death was blocked both by cytochalasin D inhibition of actin polymerization and by inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC). Activation of PKC with phorbol ester restored peptide-specific apoptosis in vav−/− thymocytes. Vav was found to bind constitutively to PKC-θ in thymocytes. Our results indicate that peptide-triggered thymocyte apoptosis is mediated via Vav activation, changes in the actin cytoskeleton, and subsequent activation of a PKC isoform

CHD1L: a new candidate gene for congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT)

Background. Recently, we identified a microduplication in chromosomal band 1q21.1 encompassing the CHD1L/ALC1 gene encoding a chromatin-remodelling enzyme in congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT) patient. Methods. To explore the role of CHD1L in CAKUT, we screened 85 CAKUT patients for mutations in the CHD1L gene and performed functional analyses of the three heterozygous missense variants detected. In addition, we quantitatively determined CHD1L expression in multiple human fetal and adult tissues and analysed expression of CHD1L protein in human embryonal, adult and hydronephrotic kidney sections. Results. Two of three novel heterozygous missense variants identified in three patients were not found in >400 control chromosomes. All variants lead to amino acid substitutions in or near the CHD1L macro domain, a poly-ADP-ribose (PAR)-binding module interacting with PAR polymerase 1 (PARP1), and showed decreased interaction with PARP1 by pull-down assay of transfected cell lysates. Quantitative messenger RNA analysis demonstrated high CHD1L expression in human fetal kidneys, and levels were four times higher than in adult kidneys. In the human embryo at 7-11 weeks gestation, CHD1L immunolocalized in the early ureteric bud and the S- and comma-shaped bodies, critical stages of kidney development. In normal postnatal sections, CHD1L was expressed in the cytoplasm of tubular cells in all tubule segments. CHD1L expression appeared higher in the hydronephrotic kidney of one patient with a hypofunctional CHD1L variant than in normal kidneys, recapitulating high fetal levels. Conclusion. Our data suggest that CHD1L plays a role in kidney development and may be a new candidate gene for CAKU

Influence of alkaline modification on adsorption properties of aluminum oxide

In this work the adsorption capacity of samples A-2-9С, A-2-Na-9С, A-2-K-9С was studied. It was found that alkaline modification leads to an increase in the efficiency of aluminum oxide dehydrators

Dysregulation of Rho GTPases in the αPix/Arhgef6 mouse model of X-linked intellectual disability is paralleled by impaired structural and synaptic plasticity and cognitive deficits

Mutations in the ARHGEF6 gene, encoding the guanine nucleotide exchange factor αPIX/Cool-2 for the Rho GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42, cause X-linked intellectual disability (ID) in humans. We show here that αPix/Arhgef6 is primarily expressed in neuropil regions of the hippocampus. To study the role of αPix/Arhgef6 in neuronal development and plasticity and gain insight into the pathogenic mechanisms underlying ID, we generated αPix/Arhgef6-deficient mice. Gross brain structure in these mice appeared to be normal; however, analysis of Golgi-Cox-stained pyramidal neurons revealed an increase in both dendritic length and spine density in the hippocampus, accompanied by an overall loss in spine synapses. Early-phase long-term potentiation was reduced and long-term depression was increased in the CA1 hippocampal area of αPix/Arhgef6-deficient animals. Knockout animals exhibited impaired spatial and complex learning and less behavioral control in mildly stressful situations, suggesting that this model mimics the human ID phenotype. The structural and electrophysiological alterations in the hippocampus were accompanied by a significant reduction in active Rac1 and Cdc42, but not RhoA. In conclusion, we suggest that imbalance in activity of different Rho GTPases may underlie altered neuronal connectivity and impaired synaptic function and cognition in αPix/Arhgef6 knockout mic

Supercurrent interference in HgTe Josephson junctions

Wires made of topological insulators (TI) are a promising platform for searching for Majorana bound states. These states can be probed by analyzing the fractional ac Josephson effect in Josephson junctions with the TI wire as a weak link. An axial magnetic field can be used to tune the system from trivial to topologically nontrivial. Here we investigate the oscillations of the supercurrent in such wire Josephson junctions as a function of the axial magnetic field strength and different contact transparencies. Although the current flows on average parallel to the magnetic field we observe h/2e, h/4e- and even h/8e-periodic oscillations of the supercurrent in samples with lower contact transparencies. Corresponding tight-binding transport simulations using a Bogoliubov-de Gennes model Hamiltonian yield the supercurrent through the Josephson junctions, showing in particular the peculiar h/4e-periodic oscillations observed in experiments. A further semiclassical analysis based on Andreev-reflected trajectories connecting the two superconductors allows us to identify the physical origin of these oscillations. They can be related to flux-enclosing paths winding around the TI-nanowire, thereby highlighting the three-dimensional character of the junction geometry compared to common planar junctions