Securing the internet of things: A worst-case analysis of trade-off between query-anonymity and communication-cost

© 2017 IEEE. Cloud services are widely used to virtualize themanagement and actuation of the real-world the Internet ofThings (IoT). Due to the increasing privacy concerns regardingquerying untrusted cloud servers, query anonymity has becomea critical issue to all the stakeholders which are related toassessment of the dependability and security of the IoT system. The paper presents our study on the problem of query receiver-anonymityin the cloud-based IoT system, where the trade-offbetween the offered query-anonymity and the incurred communicationis considered. The paper will investigate whether theaccepted worst-case communication cost is sufficient to achieve aspecific query anonymity or not. By way of extensive theoreticalanalysis, it shows that the bounds of worst-case communicationcost is quadratically increased as the offered level of anonymityis increased, and they are quadratic in the network diameter forthe opposite range. Extensive simulation is conducted to verifythe analytical assertions

IEEE Access Special Section Editorial: Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing for Communication and Network

With the rapid development of communication and network technologies, novel information services and applications are rapidly growing worldwide. Advanced communications and networks greatly enhance the user experience, and have a major impact on all aspects of people's lifestyles in terms of work, society, and the economy. Although advanced techniques have extensively improved users' quality of experience (QoE), they are not adequate to meet the various requirements of seamless wide-area coverage, high-capacity hot-spots, low-power massive-connections, low-latency and high-reliability, and other scenarios. Therefore, it is a great challenge to develop smart communications and networks that support optimized management, dynamic configuration, and feasible services

Multi-Loop Integral Control-Based Heart Rate Regulation for Fast Tracking and Faulty-Tolerant Control Performance in Treadmill Exercises

In order to offer a reliable, fast, and offset-free tracking performance for the regulation of heart rate (HR) during treadmill exercise, a two-input single-output (2ISO) control system by simultaneously manipulating both treadmill speed and gradient is proposed. The decentralized integral controllability (DIC) analysis is extended to nonlinear and non-square processes especially for a 2ISO process, namely multi-loop integral controllability (MIC). The proposed multi-loop integral control-based HR regulation by manipulating treadmill speed and gradient is then validated through a comparative treadmill experiment that compares the system performance of the proposed 2ISO MIC control loop with that of single-input single-output (SISO) loops, speed/gradient-to-HR. The experimental validation presents that by simultaneously using two control inputs, the automated system can achieve the fastest HR tracking performance and stay close to the reference HR during steady state, while comparing with two SISO structures, and offer the fault-tolerant ability if the gains of the two multi-loop integral controllers are well tuned. It has a vital implication for the applications of exercise rehabilitation and fitness in relation to the automated control system

Study and Application of Acoustic Emission Testing in Fault Diagnosis of Low-Speed Heavy-Duty Gears

Most present studies on the acoustic emission signals of rotating machinery are experiment-oriented, while few of them involve on-spot applications. In this study, a method of redundant second generation wavelet transform based on the principle of interpolated subdivision was developed. With this method, subdivision was not needed during the decomposition. The lengths of approximation signals and detail signals were the same as those of original ones, so the data volume was twice that of original signals; besides, the data redundancy characteristic also guaranteed the excellent analysis effect of the method. The analysis of the acoustic emission data from the faults of on-spot low-speed heavy-duty gears validated the redundant second generation wavelet transform in the processing and denoising of acoustic emission signals. Furthermore, the analysis illustrated that the acoustic emission testing could be used in the fault diagnosis of on-spot low-speed heavy-duty gears and could be a significant supplement to vibration testing diagnosis

PO-281 Vibration Training Restores Food Intake and Body Weight in a Rat Model of Depression

Objective Stress is well known to negatively affect body weight and food intake in animal models, but the underlying mechanisms have not yet been well elucidated and effective treatment is lacking. This project was initiated to study the potential beneficial effect of vibration training, a novel neuromuscular training method, in the treatment of depression. Methods Adult Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into the following three groups: 1) naïve control group, 2) depressive disorder group, and 3) depression with vibration training treatment group. To develop a depression phenotype, rats were individually and gently restricted in a modified, well-ventilated tube for 4 h every day for 21 days. Animals in vibration training treatment group were subjected to 30 min of vibration training (30 Hz, 5 days / week) for continuous 5 weeks. Body weight, physical and mental condition, and food intake were recorded daily and the data were statistically analyzed and compared between groups. Results 1. Daily body weight and food intake measurements revealed that both parameters decreased rapidly after the initiating daily restraint stress, compared with control group.  Intriguingly, both body weight and food intake of the depressive disorder group with 5-week vibration training were significantly improved. 2. The secretion of serotonin and dopamine in animals with chronic restraint stress were decreased compared with normal animals, and this attenuation was significantly prevented by vibration training. Conclusions The present study demonstrates that vibration training is capable of restoring food intake and body weight in a rat model of chronic restraint stress-induced depression

Research progress of hydrogels as delivery systems and scaffolds in the treatment of secondary spinal cord injury

Secondary spinal cord injury (SSCI) is the second stage of spinal cord injury (SCI) and involves vasculature derangement, immune response, inflammatory response, and glial scar formation. Bioactive additives, such as drugs and cells, have been widely used to inhibit the progression of secondary spinal cord injury. However, the delivery and long-term retention of these additives remain a problem to be solved. In recent years, hydrogels have attracted much attention as a popular delivery system for loading cells and drugs for secondary spinal cord injury therapy. After implantation into the site of spinal cord injury, hydrogels can deliver bioactive additives in situ and induce the unidirectional growth of nerve cells as scaffolds. In addition, physical and chemical methods can endow hydrogels with new functions. In this review, we summarize the current state of various hydrogel delivery systems for secondary spinal cord injury treatment. Moreover, functional modifications of these hydrogels for better therapeutic effects are also discussed to provide a comprehensive insight into the application of hydrogels in the treatment of secondary spinal cord injury

Mitochondrial respiration defects in cancer cells cause activation of Akt survival pathway through a redox-mediated mechanism

Cancer cells exhibit increased glycolysis for ATP production due, in part, to respiration injury (the Warburg effect). Because ATP generation through glycolysis is less efficient than through mitochondrial respiration, how cancer cells with this metabolic disadvantage can survive the competition with other cells and eventually develop drug resistance is a long-standing paradox. We report that mitochondrial respiration defects lead to activation of the Akt survival pathway through a novel mechanism mediated by NADH. Respiration-deficient cells (ρ-) harboring mitochondrial DNA deletion exhibit dependency on glycolysis, increased NADH, and activation of Akt, leading to drug resistance and survival advantage in hypoxia. Similarly, chemical inhibition of mitochondrial respiration and hypoxia also activates Akt. The increase in NADH caused by respiratory deficiency inactivates PTEN through a redox modification mechanism, leading to Akt activation. These findings provide a novel mechanistic insight into the Warburg effect and explain how metabolic alteration in cancer cells may gain a survival advantage and withstand therapeutic agents

Combined Effect of IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R Expression on Prognosis of Patients with Laryngeal Cancer

Background/Aims: This study aimed to pathologically elucidate the roles of interleukin-12 receptor (IL-12R) β2 and interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) expression in tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the tumor microenvironment and to determine their combined effect on prognosis of laryngeal cancer (LC). Methods: The tumor-cell expression scores and TIL positivity ratiosof IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R in matched LC and normal laryngeal tissue samples from 61 LC patients were measured via immunohistochemistry (IHC). We adopted a linear regression model to analyze the correlation between IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R expression in tumor cells and TIL ratios. TheKaplan-Meier log-rank test and Cox regression hazard ratios were used to analyze survival. Results: LC tumor cells had a higher IL-12Rβ2 expression and TIL ratio than IL-23R expression and TIL ratio. The significant correlations between IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R expression and TIL ratios were identified in LC tissues, particularly in well-differentiated LC. Furthermore, either high tumor cell IL-12Rβ2 or low IL-23R expression had better survival than its corresponding low or high expression, respectively. Similar results did for IL-12Rβ2 ratio and IL-23R ratio. Finally, patients with both high IL-12Rβ2 and low IL-23R had the best prognosis among any other combined groups with both gene expression (HR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.0-0.8). Likewise, patients with positive ratios of high IL-12Rβ2 and low IL-23R TILs had the best survival (HR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.0-0.4). Conclusion: IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R create a homeostasis within the tumor cells and TILs, and this homeostasis affects prognosis. While the intrinsic mechanisms of epigenetic immunoediting for IL-12Rβ2 and IL-23R remain unknown, additional larger and functional studies are warranted for validation