Aircraft Cyber Security and Information Exchange Safety Analysis for Department of Commerce

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Next Generation Air Transportation (NextGen) program is a long-term modernization and transformation of the current National Airspace System (NAS) into a more effective and coordinated decision-making system. NextGen provides a more reliable, secure, and dependable aviation capability for both users and operators ensuring more capacity, throughput, and safety. This research delineates a high-level Safety Risk Assessment (SRA) related to NextGen technologies, specifically Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) as well as Aircraft Access to System Wide Information Management (SWIM) network (AAtS). Other communication mediums such as Mode-S or ADS-B transponder are also data exchange and broadcast capabilities in the aircraft can also be prone to lower level safety risks primarily because of an inability to ensure information security

Euler characteristics of Teichm\"uller curves in genus two

We calculate the Euler characteristics of all of the Teichmuller curves in the moduli space of genus two Riemann surfaces which are generated by holomorphic one-forms with a single double zero. These curves can all be embedded in Hilbert modular surfaces and our main result is that the Euler characteristic of a Teichmuller curve is proportional to the Euler characteristic of the Hilbert modular surface on which it lies. The idea is to use techniques from algebraic geometry to calculate the fundamental classes of these Teichmuller curves in certain compactifications of the Hilbert modular surfaces. This is done by defining meromorphic sections of line bundles over Hilbert modular surfaces which vanish along these Teichmuller curves. We apply these results to calculate the Siegel-Veech constants for counting closed billiards paths in certain L-shaped polygons. We also calculate the Lyapunov exponents of the Kontsevich-Zorich cocycle for any ergodic, SL_2(R)-invariant measure on the moduli space of Abelian differentials in genus two (previously calculated in unpublished work of Kontsevich and Zorich).Comment: 178 pages, 14 figure

Autodraft

Large venues around the world suffer the consequences of long lines and surge timing. In many places, this can lead to problems with alcohol management policy enforcement, venue security, and ultimately a significant loss of potential sales. Though the market for automated sale and serving of food and beverage is rapidly growing, there are many complications that arise from selling age-controlled beverages. Reliable and secure ID verification, quick payment, and quality control are all must-haves for integration into any major venue. This paper details the conceptualization, design, fabrication, and testing of AutoDraft, a new product designed specifically to alleviate the issues of pouring beer at large venues with the goal of increasing sales, enhancing safety, and improving the customer experience. The final prototype accomplishes this with a 3-step ‘tap-place-pour’ process that quickly moves the customer through age verification, selection, and pouring. Age verification and payment is handled with non-transferrable NFC-enabled wristbands, while an automatic system reliably controls the tilting and pouring of beer. These systems are all controlled by a central Arduino, which communicates over Bluetooth with an Android tablet that supports the custom-built user interface. By streamlining the age validation, payment, and pouring process, AutoDraft decreases the average time-to-serve for repeat customers from 60s on average down to just 20s, as shown in our validation [1]. Our product also functionally eliminates the ability for users to illegally acquire beverages and provides per-user and aggregate data for venues to make use of. Our final prototype was very well received by end-users, 95% of whom rated the product a 4 or 5 out of 5 for its overall intuitiveness

Myocardial AKT: The Omnipresent Nexus

One of the greatest examples of integrated signal transduction is revealed by examination of effects mediated by AKT kinase in myocardial biology. Positioned at the intersection of multiple afferent and efferent signals, AKT exemplifies a molecular sensing node that coordinates dynamic responses of the cell in literally every aspect of biological responses. The balanced and nuanced nature of homeostatic signaling is particularly essential within the myocardial context, where regulation of survival, energy production, contractility, and response to pathological stress all flow through the nexus of AKT activation or repression. Equally important, the loss of regulated AKT activity is primarily the cause or consequence of pathological conditions leading to remodeling of the heart and eventual decompensation. This review presents an overview compendium of the complex world of myocardial AKT biology gleaned from more than a decade of research. Summarization of the widespread influence that AKT exerts upon myocardial responses leaves no doubt that the participation of AKT in molecular signaling will need to be reckoned with as a seemingly omnipresent regulator of myocardial molecular biological responses