Context-Based Customization of Routing Functions for Web GIS Applications

This poster presentation features three route planning applications developed by the Florida International University GIS Center and the Geomatics program at the University of Florida, and outlines their context based differences. The first route planner has been developed for cyclists in three Florida counties, i.e. Miami Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County. The second route planner computes safe pedestrian routes to schools and has been developed for Miami Dade County. The third route planner combines pre-compiled cultural/eco routes and point-to-point route planning for the City of Coral Gables. This poster highlights the differences in design (user interface) and implementation (routing options) between the three route planners as a result of a different application context and target audience

Score-based Likelihood Ratios for Camera Device Identification

Many areas of forensics are moving away from the notion of classifying evidence simply as a match or non-match. Instead, some use score-based likelihood ratios (SLR) to quantify the similarity between two pieces of evidence, such as a fingerprint obtained from a crime scene and a fingerprint obtained from a suspect. We apply trace-anchored score-based likelihood ratios to the camera device identification problem. We use photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU) as a camera fingerprint and one minus the normalized correlation as a similarity score. We calculate trace-anchored SLRs for 10,000 images from seven camera devices from the BOSSbase image dataset. We include a comparison between our results the universal detector method

Forensic Analysis of Android Steganography Apps

The processing power of smartphones supports steganographic algorithms that were considered to be too computationally intensive for handheld devices. Several steganography apps are now available on mobile phones to support covert communications using digital photographs. This chapter focuses on two key questions: How effectively can a steganography app be reverse engineered? How can this knowledge help improve the detection of steganographic images and other related files? Two Android steganography apps, PixelKnot and Da Vinci Secret Image, are analyzed. Experiments demonstrate that they are constructed in very different ways and provide different levels of security for hiding messages. The results of detecting steganography files, including images generated by the apps, using three software packages are presented. The results point to an urgent need for further research on reverse engineering steganography apps and detecting images produced by these apps

dPanther FIU

Presentation on dPanther, FIU\u27s digital platform and framework designed under service oriented architecture (SOA) with comprehensive GIS capabilities

Promoting physical activity and youth development in schools: the case for near-peer coaches

BackgroundSports-based youth development (SBYD) programs provide an inclusive, supportive environment for promoting physical activity as well as nurturing the development of life skills which, in combination, promote physical, mental, and emotional health in youth. The Up2Us Sports SBYD program was implemented in six schools in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2020–2022, where near-peer coaches from the community were placed in schools and present throughout the school day. The intervention period straddled the COVID-19 pandemic as well as extreme weather events, modifying program delivery.Process/methodsAn exploratory case study was conducted to understand participant experience amid program disruptions and modifications, as well as their perceptions of program impact on physical activity and health. Interviews with coaches (n = 7), focus groups with youth (n = 14) and program observation data were triangulated to provide a description of the case.ResultsThe major theme that emerged from the case study was the centrality of the near-peer mentorship relationships between coaches and youth. Participants believed near-peer relationships facilitated life skill development and increased opportunity for physical activity in schools, but pressures on coaches’ time and external challenges in the community were limiting factors to the extent of program impact.ConclusionThis community case study demonstrates the potential role for near-peer mentors in influencing the health and wellbeing of youth from under-resourced communities and highlights the opportunity for school-based SBYD programming to provide youth with a consistent source of both relational and physical activity support

DDK dependent regulation of TOP2A at centromeres revealed by a chemical genetics approach

In eukaryotic cells the CDC7/DBF4 kinase, also known as DBF4-dependent kinase (DDK), is required for the firing of DNA replication origins. CDC7 is also involved in replication stress responses and its depletion sensitises cells to drugs that affect fork progression, including Topoisomerase 2 poisons. Although CDC7 is an important regulator of cell division, relatively few substrates and bona-fide CDC7 phosphorylation sites have been identified to date in human cells. In this study, we have generated an active recombinant CDC7/DBF4 kinase that can utilize bulky ATP analogues. By performing in vitro kinase assays using benzyl-thio-ATP, we have identified TOP2A as a primary CDC7 substrate in nuclear extracts, and serine 1213 and serine 1525 as in vitro phosphorylation sites. We show that CDC7/DBF4 and TOP2A interact in cells, that this interaction mainly occurs early in S-phase, and that it is compromised after treatment with CDC7 inhibitors. We further provide evidence that human DBF4 localises at centromeres, to which TOP2A is progressively recruited during S-phase. Importantly, we found that CDC7/DBF4 down-regulation, as well S1213A/S1525A TOP2A mutations can advance the timing of centromeric TOP2A recruitment in S-phase. Our results indicate that TOP2A is a novel DDK target and have important implications for centromere biology

Algorithm mismatch in spatial steganalysis

Posted with permission of CSAFE.</p