Synthetic Data Generation and Defense in Depth Measurement of Web Applications

Measuring security controls across multiple layers of defense requires realistic data sets and repeatable experiments. However, data sets that are collected from real users often cannot be freely exchanged due to privacy and regulatory concerns. Synthetic datasets, which can be shared, have in the past had critical flaws or at best been one time collections of data focusing on a single layer or type of data. We present a framework for generating synthetic datasets with normal and attack data for web applications across multiple layers simultaneously. The framework is modular and designed for data to be easily recreated in order to vary parameters and allow for inline testing. We build a prototype data generator using the framework to generate nine datasets with data logged on four layers: network, file accesses, system calls, and database simultaneously. We then test nineteen security controls spanning all four layers to determine their sensitivity to dataset changes, compare performance even across layers, compare synthetic data to real production data, and calculate combined defense in depth performance of sets of controls

+21dBm erbium power amplifier pumped by a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

Efficient energy transfer has been demonstrated in an Er/Yb co-doped phosphorus doped silica fiber for the first time. This has indirectly allowed the use of reliable, high-power AlGaAs diode laser arrays as the semiconductor pump source through the use of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG (DPL) laser operating at 1064 nm. Small signal gains of 42 dB and output powers of 71 mW (+18.5 dBm) have been observed with a single DPL. Bidirectional pumping with two DPLs has yielded an output power of 130 mW (+21 dBm)

Membrane Mucin Muc4 promotes blood cell association with tumor cells and mediates efficient metastasis in a mouse model of breast cancer

Mucin-4 (Muc4) is a large cell surface glycoprotein implicated in the protection and lubrication of epithelial structures. Previous studies suggest that aberrantly expressed Muc4 can influence the adhesiveness, proliferation, viability and invasiveness of cultured tumor cells, as well as the growth rate and metastatic efficiency of xenografted tumors. Although it has been suggested that one of the major mechanisms by which Muc4 potentiates tumor progression is via its engagement of the ErbB2/HER2 receptor tyrosine kinase, other mechanisms exist and remain to be delineated. Moreover, the requirement for endogenous Muc4 for tumor growth progression has not been previously explored in the context of gene ablation. To assess the contribution of endogenous Muc4 to mammary tumor growth properties, we first created a genetically engineered mouse line lacking functional Muc4 (Muc4 ko), and then crossed these animals with the NDL (Neu DeLetion mutant) model of ErbB2-induced mammary tumorigenesis. We observed that Muc4 ko animals are fertile and develop normally, and adult mice exhibit no overt tissue abnormalities. In tumor studies, we observed that although some markers of tumor growth such as vascularity and cyclin D1 expression are suppressed, primary mammary tumors from Muc4 ko /NDL female mice exhibit similar latencies and growth rates as Muc4 wt /NDL animals. However, the presence of lung metastases is markedly suppressed in Muc4 ko /NDL mice. Interestingly, histological analysis of lung lesions from Muc4 ko /NDL mice revealed a reduced association of disseminated cells with platelets and white blood cells. Moreover, isolated cells derived from Muc4 ko /NDL tumors interact with fewer blood cells when injected directly into the vasculature or diluted into blood from wild type mice. We further observed that blood cells more efficiently promote the viability of non-adherent Muc4 wt /NDL cells than Muc4 ko /NDL cells. Together, our observations suggest that Muc4 may facilitate metastasis by promoting the association of circulating tumor cells with blood cells to augment tumor cell survival in circulation

Developing a predictive modelling capacity for a climate change-vulnerable blanket bog habitat: Assessing 1961-1990 baseline relationships

Aim: Understanding the spatial distribution of high priority habitats and developing predictive models using climate and environmental variables to replicate these distributions are desirable conservation goals. The aim of this study was to model and elucidate the contributions of climate and topography to the distribution of a priority blanket bog habitat in Ireland, and to examine how this might inform the development of a climate change predictive capacity for peat-lands in Ireland. Methods: Ten climatic and two topographic variables were recorded for grid cells with a spatial resolution of 1010 km, covering 87% of the mainland land surface of Ireland. Presence-absence data were matched to these variables and generalised linear models (GLMs) fitted to identify the main climatic and terrain predictor variables for occurrence of the habitat. Candidate predictor variables were screened for collinearity, and the accuracy of the final fitted GLM was evaluated using fourfold cross-validation based on the area under the curve (AUC) derived from a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plot. The GLM predicted habitat occurrence probability maps were mapped against the actual distributions using GIS techniques. Results: Despite the apparent parsimony of the initial GLM using only climatic variables, further testing indicated collinearity among temperature and precipitation variables for example. Subsequent elimination of the collinear variables and inclusion of elevation data produced an excellent performance based on the AUC scores of the final GLM. Mean annual temperature and total mean annual precipitation in combination with elevation range were the most powerful explanatory variable group among those explored for the presence of blanket bog habitat. Main conclusions: The results confirm that this habitat distribution in general can be modelled well using the non-collinear climatic and terrain variables tested at the grid resolution used. Mapping the GLM-predicted distribution to the observed distribution produced useful results in replicating the projected occurrence of the habitat distribution over an extensive area. The methods developed will usefully inform future climate change predictive modelling for Irelan

+20dBm erbium power amplifier pumped by a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser

Efficient energy transfer has been demonstrated in an Er/Yb co-doped phosphorus doped silica fiber for the first time. This has indirectly allowed the use of reliabIe, high power AlGaAs diode laser arrays as the semiconductor pump source through the use of a diode-pumped Nd:YAG (DPL) laser operating at 1064 nm. Small signal gains of 40 dB and output powers of 69 mW (+18.4 dBm) have been observed with a single DPL Bi-directional pumping with two DPL's has yielded an output power of 145 mW (+21.5dBm)

High output Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped optical amplifiers pumped by diode-pumped Nd³⁺ lasers

As the erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier has gained acceptance in the telecommunications industry, the majority of attention has focussed on the choice of the semiconductor pump source, especially with regards to lifetime and power scalability. High output power erbium optical amplifiers have been demonstrated with both 980 and 1480 nm pump diodes. However there are serious questions regarding power scalability once more than two pump diodes are required. A +22.3dBm output power amplifier has been reported using four 1480 nm pump diodes. This configuration however required the use of polarization preserving diode pigtails and bulk polarization combining optics, which had a high insertion loss and introduce non-negligible reflections in the amplifier system