A SYSTEM-GENERATED PASSWORD AND MNEMONIC APPROACH TO OPTIMIZE THE SECURITY AND USABILITY OF TEXT-BASED PASSWORDS

In this study a novel password generation policy called the system-generated password and mnemonic was designed and implemented. The intent of this policy was to optimize both the security and usability of text-based passwords. After implementing the policy we evaluated its usability and compared it with three other existing policies: user-generated password, system-generated password and user-generated mnemonic for a system-generated password. In order to have a fair comparison among the policies we maintained a constant level of security of 30±2 entropy as dictated by NIST level 2 standards. The study involved 64 participants, equally divided into four groups, 16 in each password policy condition. The study took place over two sessions, with a period of 5-7 days in between them. In the first session, depending on the password policy condition, the participants were either assigned or asked to create a password. The participants were then asked to recall their passwords in the same session and after 5-7 days in the second session. The four password policy conditions were compared with respect to the following dependent variables: the time taken to create the password account, the password creation error rate, the time taken to recall and recall error rates for both sessions, unrecoverable passwords in the second session, proximity of the recalled password to the stored password as measured by the Damerau-Levenshtein and Jaro-Winkler edit distances; and the subjective ratings for the NASA task load indices and the System Usability Scale questionnaire. There was a significant effect of password policy condition on the time taken to create a password account and for the performance index of the NASA-TLX questionnaire. Across the task sessions, there were statistically significant differences for the time taken to recall the password, recall error rates, the performance index of the NASA-TLX questionnaire and the SUS score. There were no significant differences for creation error rates, creation SUS, recall error rates and unrecoverable passwords among the password policy conditions. The results of this study suggest that overall performance was better for the user-generated policies (user-generated password and system-generated password along with a user-generated mnemonic) than for the system-generated policies (system-generated password and system-generated password and mnemonic). One of the reasons for this result might be that the direct involvement of the user in generating the password or mnemonic enhances their memorability. Other reasons mentioned by the users were that the system-generated mnemonic policy was complex and employed difficult words which were difficult to memorize and thus recollect. As a result of conducting this experiment it is concluded that user-generated policies are better in terms of usability and memorability than system-generated passwords. However, the user feedback recorded in this study suggests a number of approaches for improving the usability of system-generated password policies

A rare case report on ethambutol induced optic neuritis

Ethambutol (EMB) is one of the first-line drugs in the treatment of tuberculosis. EMB induced ocular toxicity is a rare side-effect that observed as either dose or duration related effect and reversible on therapy discontinuation. We report a rare case of EMB-induced optic neuritis, even though the dose and duration are not related to it. After withdrawal of the drug, we observed there is a recovery and mapping of the central visual field showed only slight enlargement of the blind spot in the right eye. If there is no vision improvement, but ocular toxicity is not severe, isoniazid should also be stopped

Detection Of Phishing Websites And Secure Transactions

Phishing is an electronic online identity theft in which the attackers use a combination of social engineering and web site spoofing techniques to trick a user into revealing confidential information. It steals the user’s personal identity data and financial credentials. Most of the phishing attacks emerge as spoofed E-Mails appearing as legitimate ones which makes the users to trust and divulge into them by clicking the link provided in the E-Mail. To detect a Phishing website, human experts compare the claimed identity of a website with features in the website. For example, human experts often compare the domain name in the URL against the claimed identity. Most legitimate websites have domain names that match their identities, while Phishing websites usually have less relevance between their domain names and their claimed (fake) identities. In addition to blacklists, white lists, heuristics, and classifications used in the state-of-the-art systems, we propose to consider websites’ identity claims. To enable secure transactions ,Password hashing has been done with MD5 hashing algorithms that strengthens web password authentication. It is also shown that getting original password from hashed form is not an easy task due to addition of salt value. If the user is valid, get a session key via mobile, through which further access can be don

Development of vapour compression refigeration system test rig and eavaluation of test data for R134A condensation in compact heat exchangers with serrated Fin

Papers presented to the 11th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, South Africa, 20-23 July 2015.Two phase flow analysis for the condensation of refrigerants within the compact plate fin heat exchangers is an area of ongoing research. Compact plate fin heat exchangers are becoming very popular due to their high effectiveness and compactness. This paper presents the sizing of compact plate fin heat exchanger and development of test rig to generate the Refrigerant (R134a) condensation heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in Brazed Compact Plate Fin Heat Exchangers (BCPHE) with Serrated (Lance&Offset) fins. Also the theoretical design, manufacturing and testing of BCPHE for generation of R134a condensation heat transfer coefficient has been presented. CFD methodolgy has been used to develop the Single phase water side heat transfer coefficient and friction factor correlations for Serrated fin using ANSYS Fluent 14.5. The heat balance analysis has been carried out for calibration of the test rig using measured test data on both circuits and recorded a maximum deviation of 8%. Heat transfer coefficient for condensation of refrigerant R134a in compact heat exchangers with serrated fin is estimated using measured experimental data.am201

A comparative study of fractional order PIλ /PIλ Dμ tuning rules for stable first order plus time delay processes

Conventional PID tuning methods may not be sufficient to deal with complex processes of modern industry. For better control, fractional order PIλDµ controller was introduced as the generalization of classical PID controller with the help of non-integer order (fractional order) calculus. The fractional calculus uses integration and differentiation with a fractional order or complex order. The major advantage of fractional derivative is the ability to inherit the nature of the processes. In general, the control loop includes both fractional order process model and fractional order controller. However, the processes to be controlled are usually modeled as integer order models and controlled using fractional order controllers. But if the plant model is obtained as fractional model, it is converted into integer order model by approximating the fractional terms using different approximations proposed in the literature. With all the above mentioned advantages, several fractional order PIλ/PIλDµ tuning rules are proposed in the literature for integer order systems and researchers are still proposing the new rules. The main aim of this paper is to compare fractional order PI/PID tuning methods based on Integral of Absolute Error (IAE), Total Variation (TV) and Maximum Sensitivity (Ms). The main reason for choosing fractional order PIλ/PIλDµ controllers is their additional degrees of freedom that result in better control performance. These tuning rules were applied on several first order plus time delay processes subjected to step change in setpoint and disturbance

Genetic Interactions Between Drosophila sialyltransferase and β1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-A Genes Indicate Their Involvement in the Same Pathway

Sialylated glycans play a prominent role in the Drosophila nervous system where they are involved in the regulation of neural transmission. However, the functional pathway of sialylation in invertebrates, including Drosophila, remains largely unknown. Here we used a combination of genetic and behavioral approaches to shed light on the Drosophila sialylation pathway. We examined genetic interactions between Drosophila sialyltransferase (DSiaT) and β1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (β4GalNAcT) genes. Our results indicated that β4GalNAcTA and DSiaT cooperate within the same functional pathway that regulates neural transmission. We found that β4GalNAcTA is epistatic to DSiaT. Our data suggest an intriguing possibility that β4GalNAcTA may participate in the biosynthesis of sialylated glycans

Discovery of Small Molecules Targeting the Synergy of Cardiac Transcription Factors GATA4 and NKX2-5

Transcription factors are pivotal regulators of gene transcription, and many diseases are associated with the deregulation of transcriptional networks. In the heart, the transcription factors GATA4 and NKX2-5 are required for cardiogenesis. GATA4 and NKX2-5 interact physically, and the activation of GATA4, in cooperation with NKX2-5, is essential for stretch-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Here, we report the identification of four small molecule families that either inhibit or enhance the GATA4-NKX2-5 transcriptional synergy. A fragment-based screening, reporter gene assay, and pharmacophore search were utilized for the small molecule screening, identification, and optimization. The compounds modulated the hypertrophic agonist-induced cardiac gene expression. The most potent hit compound, N-[4-(diethylamino)phenyl]-5-methyl-3-phenylisoxazole-4-carboxamide (3, IC50 = 3 mu M), exhibited no activity on the protein kinases involved in the regulation of GATA4 phosphorylation. The identified and chemically and biologically characterized active compound, and its derivatives may provide a novel class of small molecules for modulating heart regeneration.Peer reviewe

A Role for Adenosine Deaminase in Drosophila Larval Development

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is an enzyme present in all organisms that catalyzes the irreversible deamination of adenosine and deoxyadenosine to inosine and deoxyinosine. Both adenosine and deoxyadenosine are biologically active purines that can have a deep impact on cellular physiology; notably, ADA deficiency in humans causes severe combined immunodeficiency. We have established a Drosophila model to study the effects of altered adenosine levels in vivo by genetic elimination of adenosine deaminase-related growth factor-A (ADGF-A), which has ADA activity and is expressed in the gut and hematopoietic organ. Here we show that the hemocytes (blood cells) are the main regulator of adenosine in the Drosophila larva, as was speculated previously for mammals. The elevated level of adenosine in the hemolymph due to lack of ADGF-A leads to apparently inconsistent phenotypic effects: precocious metamorphic changes including differentiation of macrophage-like cells and fat body disintegration on one hand, and delay of development with block of pupariation on the other. The block of pupariation appears to involve signaling through the adenosine receptor (AdoR), but fat body disintegration, which is promoted by action of the hemocytes, seems to be independent of the AdoR. The existence of such an independent mechanism has also been suggested in mammals

CF2 Represses Actin 88F Gene Expression and Maintains Filament Balance during Indirect Flight Muscle Development in Drosophila

The zinc finger protein CF2 is a characterized activator of muscle structural genes in the body wall muscles of the Drosophila larva. To investigate the function of CF2 in the indirect flight muscle (IFM), we examined the phenotypes of flies bearing five homozygous viable mutations. The gross structure of the IFM was not affected, but the stronger hypomorphic alleles caused an increase of up to 1.5X in the diameter of the myofibrils. This size increase did not cause any disruption of the hexameric arrangement of thick and thin filaments. RT-PCR analysis revealed an increase in the transcription of several structural genes. Ectopic overexpression of CF2 in the developing IFM disrupts muscle formation. While our results indicate a role for CF2 as a direct negative regulator of the thin filament protein gene Actin 88F (Act88F), effects on levels of transcripts of myosin heavy chain (mhc) appear to be indirect. This role is in direct contrast to that described in the larval muscles, where CF2 activates structural gene expression. The variation in myofibril phenotypes of CF2 mutants suggest the CF2 may have separate functions in fine-tuning expression of structural genes to insure proper filament stoichiometry, and monitoring and/or controlling the final myofibril size