Recognition of Biometric Unlock Pattern by GMM-UBM

International audienceUnlock patterns are used for authentication in mobile smart devices, yet they are vulnerable to attacks, since only the pattern draw is required. Extra biometric data of the user while drawing the unlock pattern passwords may strengthen the authentication, such as the speed of drawing, the pressure of the finger on the touch screen. Such biometric modality is referred to as behavioral biometrics. Besides, voice is also a behavioral biometric modality, as well as a physiological one. Hence, statistical models such as Gaussian mixture models (GMM) with universal background modeling (UBM) are widely used in speaker verification systems. In this work, we propose to apply and adapt a framework usually dedicated to speaker verification to recognize the unlock patterns based on users' behavior. We evaluate the performance using equal error rate for different combinations of features and varying number of mixtures. As a result of the combination of features, an equal error rate as low as 9.25% on average is obtained, which is promising for a preliminary study on GMM-UBM applied to unlock pattern based biometric recognition

D-LITe : Distributed Logic for Internet of Things sErvices

International audienceSmartphones, PDA, Sensors, Actuators, Phidgets and Smart Objects (i.e. objects with processing and networking capabilities) are more and more present in everyday's life. Merging all these technologies with the Internet is often described as 'Internet of Things' (IoT). In the IoT vision, Things around us provide a pervasive network of interacting and interconnected devices. However building IoT applications is a long and arduous work, reserved for specialists, requiring specific knowledges in terms of network protocols and programming languages. The lack of widespread and easy-to-configure solutions is an obstacle for the development of this area. A universal framework, offering simplification and standardization, could facilitate the emergence of this promising field in terms of applications and business. IoT needs a solid foundation for rapid, simple development and deployment of new services. In this paper, we present DLITe, a universal framework for building IoT applications over heterogeneous sets of small devices. D-LITe offers solutions for deploying application's logic, and executing it on Smart Objects despite their heterogeneity. An implementation of DLITe on tiny devices, such as TelosB motes, allows to show that our framework is realistic even with the constraints of such devices

The number of metastable states in the generalized random orthogonal model

We calculate the number of metastable states in the generalized random orthogonal model. The results obtained are verified by exact numerical enumeration for small systems sizes but taking into account finite size effects. These results are compared with those for Hopfield model in order to examine the effect of strict orthonormality of neural network patterns on the number of metastable states.Comment: 12 pages, 4 EPS figure

Estimates for the Sobolev trace constant with critical exponent and applications

In this paper we find estimates for the optimal constant in the critical Sobolev trace inequality S\|u\|^p_{L^{p_*}(\partial\Omega) \hookrightarrow \|u\|^p_{W^{1,p}(\Omega)} that are independent of $\Omega$. This estimates generalized those of [3] for general $p$. Here $p_* := p(N-1)/(N-p)$ is the critical exponent for the immersion and $N$ is the space dimension. Then we apply our results first to prove existence of positive solutions to a nonlinear elliptic problem with a nonlinear boundary condition with critical growth on the boundary, generalizing the results of [16]. Finally, we study an optimal design problem with critical exponent.Comment: 22 pages, submitte

Cocaine-mediated circadian reprogramming in the striatum through dopamine D2R and PPARγ activation

Substance abuse disorders are linked to alteration of circadian rhythms, although the molecular and neuronal pathways implicated have not been fully elucidated. Addictive drugs, such as cocaine, induce a rapid increase of dopamine levels in the brain. Here, we show that acute administration of cocaine triggers reprogramming in circadian gene expression in the striatum, an area involved in psychomotor and rewarding effects of drugs. This process involves the activation of peroxisome protein activator receptor gamma (PPARγ), a nuclear receptor involved in inflammatory responses. PPARγ reprogramming is altered in mice with cell-specific ablation of the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) in the striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) (iMSN-D2RKO). Administration of a specific PPARγ agonist in iMSN-D2RKO mice elicits substantial rescue of cocaine-dependent control of circadian genes. These findings have potential implications for development of strategies to treat substance abuse disorders

Magnitudes of submarine groundwater discharge from marine and terrestrial sources: Indian River Lagoon, Florida

Magnitudes of terrestrial (fresh) and marine (saline) sources of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) are estimated for a transect across Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Two independent techniques (seepage meters and pore water Cl- concentrations) show terrestrial SGD decreases linearly to around 22 m offshore, and these techniques, together with a model based on the width of the outflow face, indicate a cumulative discharge of between 0.02 and 0.9 m3/d per meter of shoreline. Seepage meters and models of the deficiencies in 222Rn activity in shallow sediments indicate marine SGD discharges of roughly 117 m3/d per meter of shoreline across the entire 1800-m-wide transect. Two surface streams nearest the transect have an average discharge of about 28 m3/d per meter of shoreline. Marine SGD is thus 4 times greater then surface water discharge and more than 2 orders of magnitude greater than terrestrial SGD. The magnitude of the terrestrial SGD is limited by the amount of regional precipitation, evaporation, recharge, and groundwater usage, while marine SGD is limited only by processes circulating marine water into and out of the sediments. The large magnitude of marine SGD means that it could be important for estuarine cycling of reactive components such as nutrients and metals with only slight modification from estuarine water compositions. The small magnitude of terrestrial SGD means that large differences from estuarine water composition would be required to affect chemical cycling

‘All the corridors are the same’: a qualitative study of the orientation experiences and design preferences of UK older adults living in a communal retirement development

Environments need to be designed such that they support successful orientation for older adults and those with dementia who often experience marked difficulties in their orientation abilities. To better understand how environments can compensate for decreasing orientation skills, voice should be given directly to those experiencing dementia to describe how they find their way and to understand their design preferences. This study explored the navigational experiences and design preferences of older adults with memory difficulties living in a retirement development. In-depth semi-structured interviews with 13 older adults experiencing memory difficulties were conducted. All participants were residents of one retirement development in the United Kingdom. Questions began broadly, for example, to describe their experiences of navigating in their living environment, before discussing any specific navigation difficulties in detail. Thematic analysis identified three main themes: highlighting environmental design that causes disorientation, strategies to overcome disorientation, and residents’ suggestions to improve the design. The design suggestions were particularly informative, heavily focusing on the importance of having memorable and meaningful spaces which were favoured more than signage as an orientation aid. The findings demonstrate the need to consider environmental design to support orientation for those with memory difficulties. Of particular importance is the use of meaningful and relevant landmarks as orientation aids which can additionally stimulate conversation and increase wellbeing. Given the range of suggestions in dementia-friendly design guidelines aimed to support orientation, it is crucial to speak directly to those living in different environments to learn how they find their way around and what design works in their environment

Bridging the gap between business processes and IoT

© 2020 ACM. This paper discusses a novel way of making business processes and Internet of Things (IoT) work together. Indeed each suffers from many limitations that the other could help address them and vice versa. On the one hand, business processes are known for capturing organizations\u27 best practices when satisfying users\u27 demands but do not have the capabilities of controlling the physical surrounding that comprises millions of devices/things. On the other hand, IoT is known for provisioning contextualized services to users thanks to millions of devices/things but does not have the capabilities of making these devices/things collaborate. The paper presents a framework to support the collaboration of business processes and IoT. This collaboration is exemplified with 2 types of processes referred as thing-Aware processes (TaP) and process-of-Things (PoT). A system illustrating the development of PoT is presented in the paper as well