A rough set-based effective rule generation method for classification with an application in intrusion detection

Abstract: In this paper, we use Rough Set Theory (RST) to address the important problem of generating decision rules for data mining. In particular, we propose a rough set-based approach to mine rules from inconsistent data. It computes the lower and upper approximations for each concept, and then builds concise classification rules for each concept satisfying required classification accuracy. Estimating lower and upper approximations substantially reduces the computational complexity of the algorithm. We use UCI ML Repository data sets to test and validate the approach. We also use our approach on network intrusion data sets captured using our local network from network flows. The results show that our approach produces effective and minimal rules and provides satisfactory accuracy. Keywords: rough set; LEM2; inconsistency; minimal; redundant; PCS; intrusion detection; network flow data. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Gogoi, P., Bhattacharyya, D.K. and Kalita, J.K. (2013) 'A rough set-based effective rule generation method for classification with an application in intrusion detection', Int

Using Qualitative Methods to Explore Farrier-Related Barriers to Successful Farriery Interventions for Equine Welfare in India

Farriery is a critical component of healthcare services for working equids. However, in India, an informal workforce, lack of structured training facilities and non-implementation of farriery regulations pose challenges for quality farriery. Brooke India, an equine welfare organisation, has undertaken many initiatives aiming to improve farriery services, including technical training and engagement with equid-owning communities. However, this has met with varying success. The study aimed to identify factors that prevent farriers providing quality farriery services. Focus-group discussions were conducted with farriers from two districts of Uttar Pradesh with varying programme outcomes. Within each area, farriers were grouped according to previous level of engagement with Brooke programmes. Demand for services, farrier status, the external environment and technical training and knowledge were identified as key elements that affected farriery work. These factors were very context specific: in areas where brick kilns provided the majority of customers, recent closures had resulted in an increase in those farriers’ feeling of insecurity. A systems approach to improving farriery services, taking these factors into account, is advised. Mentoring-based capacity building, which is closely aligned to farrier needs and expectations, is expected to have positive results in terms of technical skill and farrier engagement

Reconstructing dynamics of the Baltic Ice Stream Complex during deglaciation of the Last Scandinavian Ice Sheet

Landforms left behind by the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) offer an opportunity to investigate controls governing ice sheet dynamics. Terrestrial sectors of the ice sheet have received considerable attention from landform and stratigraphic investigations. In contrast, despite its geographical importance, the Baltic Sea remains poorly constrained due to limitations in bathymetric data. Both ice-sheet-scale investigations and regional studies at the southern periphery of the SIS have considered the Baltic depression to be a preferential route for ice flux towards the southern ice margin throughout the last glaciation. During the deglaciation the Baltic depression hosted the extensive Baltic Ice Lake, which likely exerted a considerable control on ice dynamics. Here we investigate the Baltic depression using newly available bathymetric data and peripheral topographic data. These data reveal an extensive landform suite stretching from Denmark in the west to Estonia in the east and from the southern European coast to the Åland Sea, comprising an area of 0.3 million km2. We use these landforms to reconstruct aspects of the ice dynamic history of the Baltic sector of the ice sheet. Landform evidence indicates a complex retreat pattern that changes from lobate ice margins with splaying lineations to parallel mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs) in the deeper depressions of the Baltic Basin. Ice margin still-stands on underlying geological structures indicate the likely importance of pinning points during deglaciation, resulting in a stepped retreat signal. Over the span of the study area we identify broad changes in the ice flow direction, ranging from SE–NW to N–S and then to NW–SE. MSGLs reveal distinct corridors of fast ice flow (ice streams) with widths of 30 km and up to 95 km in places, rather than the often-interpreted Baltic-wide (300 km) accelerated ice flow zone. These smaller ice streams are interpreted as having operated close behind the ice margin during late stages of deglaciation. Where previous ice-sheet-scale investigations inferred a single ice source, our mapping identifies flow and ice margin geometries from both Swedish and northern Bothnian sources. We anticipate that our landform mapping and interpretations may be used as a framework for more detailed empirical studies by identifying targets to acquire high-resolution bathymetry and sediment cores and also for comparison with numerical ice sheet modelling.</p

Surveying port scans and their detection methodologies

Scanning of ports on a computer occurs frequently on the Internet. An attacker performs port scans of IP addresses to find vulnerable hosts to compromise. However, it is also useful for system administrators and other network defenders to detect port scans as possible preliminaries to more serious attacks. It is a very difficult task to recognize instances of malicious port scanning. In general, a port scan may be an instance of a scan by attackers or an instance of a scan by network defenders. In this survey, we present research and development trends in this area. Our presentation includes a discussion of common port scan attacks. We provide a comparison of port scan methods based on type, mode of detection, mechanism used for detection, and other characteristics. This survey also reports on the available datasets and evaluation criteria for port scan detection approaches

Characterization of a novel antimicrobial peptide gene from the reproductive tract of indigenous cows (Bos indicus) of Asom

Antimicrobial peptides are innate immune defense peptides protecting against infection. Defensins and cathelicidins are the two major antimicrobial peptides in eukaryotes. In the present study, female reproductive tract was collected from apparently healthy local cows (Bos indicus) of Asom after slaughter. cDNA was synthesized from the extracted RNA by reverse transcription and amplified the Lingual Antimicrobial Peptide (LAP) gene (227 bp) using specific primers. The purified product was sequenced and sequence were aligned Nucleotide sequence was BLAST with twelve published sequences and analyzed using DNA Star software. At nucleotide level, Bos indicus LAP of reproductive tract showed the highest similarity of 97.4% with Bos taurus LAP of tongue followed by 92.8% with buffalo EBD. We identified the highest similarity (93.8%) of Bos indicus LAP of reproductive tract with Bos taurus LAP of tongue followed by buffalo EBD (86.2%). The phylogenetic analyses at nucleotide and amino acid level showed that Bos indicus LAP of reproductive tract and Bos taurus LAP of tongue are closely evolutionarily which implied that they might have diverged from ancestral gene. We conclude that female reproductive-tract epithelium of local cows of Asom express a potent AMP similar to that of Bos taurus LAP of tongue

Evidence for Cold-stream to Hot-accretion Transition as Traced by Ly alpha Emission from Groups and Clusters at 2 < z < 3.3

We present Keck Cosmic Web Imager observations of giant Ly alpha halos surrounding nine galaxy groups and clusters at 2 < z < 3.3, including five new detections and one upper limit. We find observational evidence for the cold-stream to hot-accretion transition predicted by theory by measuring a decrease in the ratio between the spatially extended Ly alpha luminosity and the expected baryonic accretion rate (BAR), with increasing elongation above the transition mass (M-stream). This implies a modulation of the share of BAR that remains cold, diminishing quasi-linearly (logarithmic slope of 0.97 +/- 0.19, 5 sigma significance) with the halo to M-stream mass ratio. The integrated star formation rates (SFRs) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) bolometric luminosities display a potentially consistent decrease, albeit significant only at 2.6 sigma and 1.3 sigma, respectively. The higher scatter in these tracers suggests the Ly alpha emission might be mostly a direct product of cold accretion in these structures rather than indirect, mediated by outflows and photoionization from SFR and AGNs; this is also supported by energetics considerations. Below M-stream (cold-stream regime), we measure L (Ly alpha) /BAR = 10(40.51 +/- 0.16) erg s(-1) M-circle dot(-1) yr, consistent with predictions, and SFR/BAR = 10(-0.54 +/- 0.23): on average, 30(-10)(+20) M-stream (hot-accretion regime), L-Ly alpha is set by M-stream (within 0.2 dex scatter in our sample), independent of the halo mass but rising 10-fold from z = 2 to 3.Peer reviewe