A privacy preserving approach to energy theft detection in smart grids

A major challenge for utilities is energy theft, wherein malicious actors steal energy for financial gain. One such form of theft in the smart grid is the fraudulent amplification of energy generation measurements from DERs, such as photo-voltaics. It is important to detect this form of malicious activity, but in a way that ensures the privacy of customers. Not considering privacy aspects could result in a backlash from customers and a heavily curtailed deployment of services, for example. In this short paper, we present a novel privacy-preserving approach to the detection of manipulated DER generation measurements

Reducing Cost and Contention of P2P Live Streaming through Locality and Piece Selection

The use of locality within peer-to-peer (P2P) networks is ensuring the construction of overlay networks that are both economically viable for network operators and scalable. However, the underlying protocols on which traditional P2P overlays are based are rapidly having to evolve in order to better support more time sensitive, real-time video delivery systems. This shift places greater demand on locality mechanisms to ensure the correct balance between bandwidth savings and successful timely playback. In this paper, we investigate the impact of peer locality within live streaming P2P systems and consider the pertinent challenges when designing locality based algorithms to support efficient P2P live streaming services. Based on our findings we propose an algorithm for supporting locality and harmonised play points in a live streaming P2P system. We present our results and in-depth analysis of its operation though a series of simulations which measure bandwidth consumption at network egress points, failure rates and each peer’s play point relative to the live stream

BrisSynBio:a BBSRC/EPSRC-funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre

BrisSynBio is the Bristol-based Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)/Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)-funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre. It is one of six such Centres in the U.K. BrisSynBio's emphasis is on rational and predictive bimolecular modelling, design and engineering in the context of synthetic biology. It trains the next generation of synthetic biologists in these approaches, to facilitate translation of fundamental synthetic biology research to industry and the clinic, and to do this within an innovative and responsible research framework

Hearing the Voice of the Child in Safeguarding Processes: Exploring Different Voices and Competing Narratives

This paper presents the findings of research about children's participation in child protection processes. Research was undertaken with young people who had recent involvement with safeguarding professionals. The study explored children's lived experience and perspectives and found that children feel capable of making a contribution, however, they are frustrated by experiences of exclusion and inequality and the limitations of their ability to influence process and outcomes. The study further explored the perspectives of practitioners. Whilst professional commitment to child-centred practice and effective safeguarding is unequivocal, the discourse of participation is characterised by ‘yes, but’. Insights emerged from the different voices and competing narratives of the central protagonists in the child protection process: children, social workers, chairs of case conferences and advocates. This paper examines how the child's right to involvement in safeguarding processes is understood and contributes to the evolving discourse about the importance of children's participation

Barebacking and sexual position

Bareback sex continues to fuel the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men but despite the fact that much academic attention has been focused on the sexual behaviour of this population few authors have considered the significance of sexual position. In order to explore this relatively under-examined factor, interviews were conducted with 13 HIV-negative and unknown status gay men who had recently engaged in bareback sex. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and through the lens of sexual position, the findings were organised across three super-ordinal themes. There were some areas in which there was little difference between the men’s experiences of engaging in bareback as tops or bottoms (for instance, how participants connected with barebacking partners). In other areas, however, there were clear differences in men’s experiences according to sexual position, particularly in the interpersonal dynamic between tops and bottoms during bareback sex encounters, which it is argued were acted out in accordance with a barebacking ‘sexual script’. There were further differences by position in how individuals overcame ‘cognitive dissonance’ by invoking strategies to make their engagement in bareback sex safer and in the meanings men ascribed to bareback sex and semen exchange. These findings provide valuable insights for those working with MSM around HIV prevention

The Streptococcus gordonii adhesin CshA protein binds host fibronectin via a catch-clamp mechanism

Adherence of bacteria to biotic or abiotic surfaces is a prerequisite for host colonization and represents an important step in microbial pathogenicity. This attachment is facilitated by bacterial adhesins at the cell surface. Because of their size and often elaborate multidomain architectures, these polypeptides represent challenging targets for detailed structural and functional characterization. The multifunctional fibrillar adhesin CshA, which mediates binding to both host molecules and other microorganisms, is an important determinant of colonization by Streptococcus gordonii, an oral commensal and opportunistic pathogen of animals and humans. CshA binds the high-molecular-weight glycoprotein fibronectin (Fn) via an N-terminal non-repetitive region, and this protein-protein interaction has been proposed to promote S. gordonii colonization at multiple sites within the host. However, the molecular details of how these two proteins interact have yet to be established. Here we present a structural description of the Fn binding N-terminal region of CshA, derived from a combination of X-ray crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering, and complementary biophysical methods. In vitro binding studies support a previously unreported two-state “catch-clamp” mechanism of Fn binding by CshA, in which the disordered N-terminal domain of CshA acts to “catch” Fn, via formation of a rapidly assembled but also readily dissociable pre-complex, enabling its neighboring ligand binding domain to tightly clamp the two polypeptides together. This study presents a new paradigm for target binding by a bacterial adhesin, the identification of which will inform future efforts toward the development of anti-adhesive agents that target S. gordonii and related streptococci

OpenCache:Distributed SDN/NFV based in-network caching as a service

In-network content caching allows content to be located towards the edge of the network, closer to users. This approach addresses the challenge of exponentially increasing video traffic. We consider OpenCache: an open-source, highly configurable, efficient and transparent in-network caching that leverages Software Defined Networking (SDN) to benefit last mile environments. However, due to its reliance on a centralised OpenCache controller and SDN controller, it suffers from three issues: scalability, reliability and high availability. In this work, we build on and extend the capabilities of OpenCache as a caching solution by leveraging Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) and using a distributed SDN controller. We discuss the architectural design and technology decisions for the caching platform distribution including the functional components and highlight the role of virtualising, orchestrating and managing the key processes of caching content and control functions. Our target is to design an open-source, distributed in-network caching platform that is highly available, reliable and with automated elasticity to enable serving the increasing VoD traffic quickly and efficiently

Email fraud: The search for psychological predictors of susceptibility

Decisions that we make about email legitimacy can result in a pernicious threat to security of both individuals and organisations. Yet user response to phishing emails is far from uniform; some respond while others do not. What is the source of this diversity in decision-making? From a psychological perspective, we consider cognitive and situational influences that might explain why certain users are more susceptible than others. Alongside an email judgment task employed as a proxy for fraud susceptibility, 224 participants completed a range of cognitive tasks. In addition, we manipulated time pressure for email legitimacy judgments. We identify cognitive reflection and sensation seeking as significant, albeit modest, predictors of susceptibility. Further to this, participants asked to make quicker responses made more judgment errors. We conclude there are cognitive signatures that partially contribute to email fraud susceptibility, with implications for efforts to limit online security breaches and train secure behaviors