Using Conceptual Graphs to Represent Database Inference Security Analysis

This paper describes an approach to database inference analysis based on conceptual graphs. The database inference problem is briefly described. Previous approaches are summarized, followed by a presentation of our inference model, called AERIE. The notions of an inference target class and an inference method class are introduced with examples given. Conceptual graphs are introduced as our means of representing database inference knowledge, as a first step toward analyzing and detecting database inference problems. The classification of inference target classes and the use of conceptual graphs for database inference detection are two important contributions of this paper. Four examples are used to illus trate the approach. We discuss some interesting issues raised by this work, and offer conclusions and our plans for future research

How Is Context Addressed in Growth Monitoring? A Comparison of the Tanzanian, Indian, and Dutch Manuals

BACKGROUND: To address malnutrition in all its forms, context should be taken into account in growth-monitoring (GM) practices. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to compare GM manuals of countries with different nutrition problems, and to assess how these manuals are adapted to the different biological, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts. METHODS: GM manuals from Tanzania, India, and the Netherlands were compared with each other, and with the materials for the WHO training course on child growth assessment. First, the aims of GM, growth measurements, interpretation of these measurements, and counseling approaches are compared. Second, contextual determinants of malnutrition are identified using the UNICEF framework for malnutrition as an analytical model. RESULTS: Our results show that the GM manuals differ in their descriptions of the aim of GM, growth measurements, their interpretation, and counseling approaches. Assessing normal growth and detecting growth problems are among the aims of GM in all of the analyzed countries. In Tanzania and India, the focus is mainly on undernutrition, whereas the Dutch manuals focus on overweight and on underlying pathologies that contribute to poor linear growth. The findings of our analysis of contextual factors within the UNICEF framework show that the Tanzanian protocol is only minimally adapted to the local context. Of the manuals examined in our study, the Indian manual is most focused on the contextual determinants of malnutrition, and stresses the importance of taking customs and beliefs into account. The Dutch protocol, by contrast, emphasizes the importance of the biological environment, including parental height and ethnicity, as determinants of child growth. CONCLUSIONS: The country manuals we analyzed only partly reflect the contexts in which children live. To address malnutrition in all its forms, the GM manuals should take children's biological, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts into account, as this would help health professionals to tailor counseling messages for parents

Lasing at the band edges of plasmonic lattices

We report room temperature lasing in two-dimensional diffractive lattices of silver and gold plasmon particle arrays embedded in a dye-doped polymer that acts both as waveguide and gain medium. As compared to conventional dielectric distributed feedback lasers, a central question is how the underlying band structure from which lasing emerges is modified by both the much stronger scattering and the disadvantageous loss of metal. We use spectrally resolved back-focal plane imaging to measure the wavelength- and angle dependence of emission below and above threshold, thereby mapping the band structure. We find that for silver particles, the band structure is strongly modified compared to dielectric reference DFB lasers, since the strong scattering gives large stop gaps. In contrast, gold particles scatter weakly and absorb strongly, so that thresholds are higher, but the band structure is not strongly modified. The experimental findings are supported by finite element and fourier modal method calculations of the single particle scattering strength and lattice extinction.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Modeling Trusted Processing Architectures for Mandatory Access Control

This paper introduces a trusted architecture graph (TAG) model, which can be used for modeling the semantics of trusted architectures designed to enforce mandatory access control. The TAG permits the modeling of various types of trusted functions, storage functions and processing functions and their interconnection through various types of links. The value of the TAG and the associated TAG notation is that they provide a uniform way of representing different trusted architectures that may be described either informally in a natural ll.lnguage, or formally (but voluminously) described in design documents or programming code. By providing a concise yet expressive description of the architecture, the various features of one architecture can be readily compared with another\u27s. This paper provides some examples that illustrate how various trusted database management system architectures can be formulated in the TAG notation such that their significant differences can be readily observed

The prevalence, trends and heterogeneity in maternal smoking around birth between the 1930s and 1970s

This paper shows the prevalence, trends and heterogeneity in maternal smoking around birth in the United Kingdom, focusing on the war and post-war reconstruction period in which there exists surprisingly little systematic data on (maternal) smoking behaviours. Within this context, we highlight relevant events, the release of new information about the harms of smoking, and changes in (government) policy aimed at reducing smoking prevalence. We show stark changes in smoking prevalence over a 30-year period, highlight the onset of the social gradient in smoking, as well as genetic heterogeneities in smoking trends.<br/

Automatic classification of takeaway food outlet cuisine type using machine (deep) learning

Background and purpose Neighbourhood exposure to takeaway (‘fast’-) food outlets selling different cuisines may be differentially associated with diet, obesity and related disease, and contributing to population health inequalities. However research studies have not disaggregated takeaways by cuisine type. This is partly due to the substantial resource challenge of de novo manual classification of unclassified takeaway outlets at scale. We describe the development of a new model to automatically classify takeaway food outlets, by 10 major cuisine types, based on business name alone. Material and methods We used machine (deep) learning, and specifically a Long Short Term Memory variant of a Recurrent Neural Network, to develop a predictive model trained on labelled outlets (n=14,145), from an online takeaway food ordering platform. We validated the accuracy of predictions on unseen labelled outlets (n=4000) from the same source. Results Although accuracy of prediction varied by cuisine type, overall the model (or ‘classifier’) made a correct prediction approximately three out of four times. We demonstrated the potential of the classifier to public health researchers and for surveillance to support decision-making, through using it to characterise nearly 55,000 takeaway food outlets in England by cuisine type, for the first time. Conclusions Although imperfect, we successfully developed a model to classify takeaway food outlets, by 10 major cuisine types, from business name alone, using innovative data science methods. We have made the model available for use elsewhere by others, including in other contexts and to characterise other types of food outlets, and for further development.This study is funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) School of Public Health Research (Grant Reference Number PD-SPH-2015). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. This work was also supported by the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge (Grant Reference Number MC/UU/00006/7). TBu is funded by the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), a UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. Funding from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Health Research, and the Wellcome Trust (Grant Reference Number MR/K023187/1), under the auspices of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, is gratefully acknowledged. These funders played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication

"In a situation of rescuing life"

Background: Diabetes mellitus is an emerging public health problem in Tanzania. For the community and the health system to respond adequately to this problem, it is important that we understand the meanings given to its symptoms, and the care-seeking practices of individuals. Methods: To explore collective views on the meanings given to diabetes symptoms, we conducted nine focus group discussions with adult diabetes patients and members of the general community. To gain a better understanding of how the meanings in the community inform the care-seeking practices of individuals, 19 in-depth interviews were conducted with diabetes patients. The data were analyzed using principles of grounded theory and applying cultural schema theory as a deductive framework. Results: In the communities and among the patients, knowledge and awareness of diabetes are limited. Both people with diabetes and community members referred to their prevailing cultural meaning systems and schemas for infectious diseases to interpret and assign meaning to the emerging symptoms. Diabetes patients reported that they had initially used anti-malarial medicines because they believed their symptoms—like headache, fever, and tiredness—were suggestive of malaria. Schemas for body image informed the meaning given to diabetes symptoms similar to those of HIV, like severe weight loss. Confusion among members of the community about the diabetes symptoms instigated tension, causing patients to be mistrusted and stigmatized. The process of meaning-giving and the diagnosis of the diabetes symptoms was challenging for both patients and health care professionals. Diabetes patients reported being initially misdiagnosed and treated for other conditions by medical professionals. The inability to assign meaning to the symptoms and determine their etiologies informed the decision made by some patients to consult traditional healers, and to associate their symptoms with witchcraft causes. Conclusion: The meanings given to diabetes symptoms and the care-seeking practices described in the study are shaped by the prevailing cultural schemas for infectious diseases and their treatments. Efforts to educate people about the symptoms of diabetes and to encourage them to seek out appropriate care should build on the prevailing cultural meaning system and schemas for diseases, health and illness

Разработка электроэнцефалографа на наносенсорах для исследования мозга человека в расширенном диапазоне частот

В выпускной квалификационной работе проведен анализ методов исследования мозга человека. Выбрана электроэнцефалография в качестве основного метода регистрации биоэлектрической активности с помощью наносенсоров. Разработан электроэнцефалограф для исследования мозга человека в расширенном диапазоне частот (0-10000 Гц), позволяющий получить дополнительную информацию о регистрируемых биопотенциалах и ритмах ЭЭГ. Проведено исследование для оценки психоэмоционального состояния человека и исследование для подтверждения возможности использования разработанного электроэнцефалографа в качестве электронейромиографа.IIn the final qualifying work, an analysis of methods of studying the human brain was carried out. Electroencephalography was chosen as the main method for recording bioelectrical activity with nanosensors. The developer is an electroencephalograph for studying the human brain in the extended frequency range (0-10000 Hz), which allows obtaining additional information on the detected bioelectric potentials and EEG rhythms. A study was conducted to assess the psychoemotional state of a person and study to confirm the possibility of using the developed electroencephalograph as an electroneuromiograph

First identification of large electric monopole strength in well-deformed rare earth nuclei

Excited states in the well-deformed rare earth isotopes $^{154}$Sm and $^{166}$Er were populated via ``safe'' Coulomb excitation at the Munich MLL Tandem accelerator. Conversion electrons were registered in a cooled Si(Li) detector in conjunction with a magnetic transport and filter system, the Mini-Orange spectrometer. For the first excited $0^+$ state in $^{154}$Sm at 1099 keV a large value of the monopole strength for the transition to the ground state of $\rho^2(\text{E0}; 0^+_2 \to 0^+_\text{g}) = 96(42)\cdot 10^{-3}$ could be extracted. This confirms the interpretation of the lowest excited $0^+$ state in $^{154}$Sm as the collective $\beta$-vibrational excitation of the ground state. In $^{166}$Er the measured large electric monopole strength of $\rho^2(\text{E0}; 0^+_4 \to 0^+_1) = 127(60)\cdot 10^{-3}$ clearly identifies the $0_4^+$ state at 1934 keV to be the $\beta$-vibrational excitation of the ground state.Comment: submitted to Physics Letters