Data Under Siege: The Quest for the Optimal Convolutional Autoencoder in Side-Channel Attacks

Encryption is a method to keep our data safe from third parties. However, side-channel information may be leaked during encryption due to physical properties. This information can be used in side-channel attacks to recover critical values such as the secret encryption key. To this end, it is necessary to understand the robustness of implementations to assess the security of data handled by a device. Side-channel attacks are one such method which allow researchers to evaluate the robustness of implementations using appropriate metrics.In the security community, machine learning is playing a prominent role in the study of side-channel attacks. A notable example of this is the use of Convolutional Autoencoders (CAE) as a preprocessing step on the measurements. In this work we study in depth the problem of finding the most suitable architecture of such Convolutional Autoencoders. To this end, Optuna is used to explore the CAE hyperparameter space. This process allows us to identify hyperparameters that outperform state-of-the-art autoencoders, reducing the needed traces for a succesful attack by approximately 37% in the presence of Gaussian noise and reducing the trainable parameters needed to attack desynchronization by a factor of 29. In addition to the promising results, experiments carried out in this paper allow a better understanding of the hyperparameter space in the field of side channel attacks, providing a solid base for future use of CAE in this specific domain

Delegation of GP-home visits to qualified practice assistants: assessment of economic effects in an ambulatory healthcare centre

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Against the background of a decreasing number of general practitioners (GPs) in rural regions in Germany, the AGnES-concept (AGnES = GP-supporting, community-based, e-health-assisted, systemic intervention) supports the delegation of regular GP-home visits to qualified practice assistants. The concept was implemented and evaluated in different model projects in Germany.</p> <p>To explore the economic effects of this concept, the development of the number of home visits in an ambulatory healthcare centre was analysed and compared with the number of home visits in the surrounding county.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Information about GP-home visits was derived from reimbursement data of the ambulatory healthcare centre and a statutory health insurance. Information about home visits conducted by AGnES-practice assistants was collected from the project documentation over a time period of 12 consecutive quarter years, four quarter years before the beginning of the project and 8 quarter years while the project was implemented, considering background temporal trends on the population level in the study region.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Within the ambulatory healthcare centre, the home visits by the GPs significantly decreased, especially the number of medically urgent home visits. However, the overall rate of home visits (conducted by the GPs and the AGnES-practice assistants together) did not change significantly after implementation of the AGnES-concept. In the surrounding county, the home visit rates of the GPs were continuous; the temporal patterns were approximately equal for both usual and urgent home visits.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of the analyses show that the support by AGnES-practice assistants led to a decrease of GP-home visits rather than an induction of additional home visits by the AGnES-practice assistants. The most extended effect is related to the medically urgent home visits rather than to the usual home visits.</p

Traveling-wave deceleration of SrF molecules

We report on the production, deceleration and detection of a SrF molecular beam. The molecules are captured from a supersonic expansion and are decelerated in the X$^2\Sigma^+ (v=0, N=1)$ state. We demonstrate the removal of up to 40% of the kinetic energy with a 2 meter long modular traveling-wave decelerator. Our results demonstrate a crucial step towards the preparation of ultracold gases of heavy diatomic molecules for precision spectroscopy

Sub-Subgiants in the Old Open Cluster M67?

We report the discovery of two spectroscopic binaries in the field of the old open cluster M67 -- S1063 and S1113 -- whose positions in the color-magnitude diagram place them approximately 1 mag below the subgiant branch. A ROSAT study of M67 independently discovered these stars to be X-ray sources. Both have proper-motion membership probabilities greater than 97%; precise center-of-mass velocities are consistent with the cluster mean radial velocity. S1063 is also projected within one core radius of the cluster center. S1063 is a single-lined binary with a period of 18.396 days and an orbital eccentricity of 0.206. S1113 is a double-lined system with a circular orbit having a period of 2.823094 days. The primary stars of both binaries are subgiants. The secondary of S1113 is likely a 0.9 Mo main-sequence star, which implies a 1.3 Mo primary star. We have been unable to explain securely the low apparent luminosities of the primary stars; neither binary contain stars presently limited in radius by their Roche lobes. We speculate that S1063 and S1113 may be the products of close stellar encounters involving binaries in the cluster environment, and may define alternative stellar evolutionary tracks associated with mass-transfer episodes, mergers, and/or dynamical stellar exchanges

A 12-week lifestyle intervention: effects on fatigue, fear, and nutritional status in children with a Fontan circulation

INTRODUCTION: Children and adolescents with a Fontan circulation are less physically active compared to healthy peers. In the current study, effects of a 12-week lifestyle intervention on fatigue, fears regarding exercise, caloric intake, rest energy expenditure (REE), and body composition were measured in children with a Fontan circulation.METHODS: This study was a semi-cross-over randomized controlled trial. The lifestyle intervention consisted of a 12-week high-weight resistance training (three supervised training sessions a week) supported by high-protein diet (&gt;2 g/kg) and tailored recommended caloric intake. Fatigue (measured by the validated PedsQol Multidimensional Fatigue Scale), fears regarding exercise (measured on a fear thermometer), REE (measured using indirect calorimetry), caloric intake and body composition using air displacement plethysmography, and four-skinfold method were measured before and after the intervention and control period.RESULTS: Twenty-seven pediatric Fontan patients, median age 12.9 years (IQR: 10.5-16.2), of the included 28 patients successfully completed the program. Before training, both child- and parent-reported levels of fatigue were significantly worse on all domains (general, sleep/rest, and cognitive fatigue) compared to healthy peers. After training, parent-reported fatigue significantly improved on the general and cognitive fatigue domains [effect size +16 points (7-25), p  &lt; 0.001, and +10 points (2-17), p  = 0.015, compared to the control period]. Before training, fear regarding exercise scored on the fear thermometer was low for both children and parents (median score 1 and 2, respectively, on a scale of 0-8). After training, child-reported fear decreased further compared to the control period [effect size -1.4 points (-2.3 to -0.6), p  = 0.001]. At baseline, children had increased REE +12% compared to reference values, which did not change after exercise. Children ate an average of 637 calories below recommended intake based on REE, caloric deficit became smaller after the intervention, and protein intake increased compared to the control period [-388 calories (-674 to -102), p  = 0.008, and +15 g (0.4-30), p  = 0.044]. Body fat percentage did not change significantly. CONCLUSION: A 12-week lifestyle intervention improved parent-reported fatigue symptoms in the children, further decreased child-reported fears, and increased caloric and protein intake.</p

On the Relation Between Peak Luminosity and Parent Population of Type Ia Supernovae: A New Tool for Probing the Ages of Distant Galaxies

We study the properties of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) as functions of the radial distance from their host galaxy centers. Using a sample of 62 SNe Ia with reliable luminosity, reddening, and decline rate determinations, we find no significant radial gradients of SNe Ia peak absolute magnitudes or decline rates in elliptical+S0 galaxies, suggesting that the diversity of SN properties is not related to the metallicity of their progenitors. We do find that the range in brightness and light curve width of supernovae in spiral galaxies extends to brighter, broader values. These results are interpreted as support for an age, but not metallicity, related origin of the diversity in SNe Ia. If confirmed with a larger and more accurate sample of data, the age-luminosity relation would offer a new and powerful tool to probe the ages and age gradients of stellar populations in galaxies at redshift as high as $z\sim1-2$. The absence of significant radial gradients in the peak $\rm (B-V)_0$ and $\rm (V-I)_0$ colors of SNe Ia supports the redding correction method of Phillips et al (1999). We find no radial gradient in residuals from the SN Ia luminosity-width relation, suggesting that the relation is not affected by properties of the progenitor populations and supporting the reliability of cosmological results based upon the use of SNe Ia as distance indicators.Comment: 19 pages, incl. 3 tables & 3 figures; to appear in Nov 2000 issue of Ap

Ten years after the Dutch public health campaign on folic acid: the continuing challenge

BACKGROUND: Folic acid use in the periconceptional period reduces the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs). However, applying this knowledge in daily practice is not an easy task. We report here the current level of folic acid use in the Netherlands and discuss the figures within the framework of a national governmental campaign held in 1995 promoting the use of folic acid and the professional interventions undertaken since then. METHODS: We carried out six studies in the northern Netherlands during 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2005, respectively. The same methodology in the same health professionals' practices was followed in all studies. Pregnant women attending their first or second antenatal visit were asked to fill in a questionnaire aimed at assessing their awareness and use of folic acid. RESULTS: In 2005, most of the pregnant women used folic acid "at some time in their pregnancy", and 51% used it for the entire advised period. Prior knowledge on the protective affect of folic acid and on the period of use was strongly related to the level of education. The use of folic acid in a previous pregnancy [odds ratio (OR) 3.9, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.6-9.9], the use of an oral contraceptive (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-4.1) and parity (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.5) significantly predicted the current correct use. The most recent figures revealed that there is still a large gap between more highly and less educated women in terms of taking folic acid in the advised period: 63 versus 31%, respectively. DISCUSSION: The aim of the Dutch Ministry of Health is to have 70% of Dutch women wanting to become pregnant use folic acid supplements in the advised period by 2010. While this level has almost been reached among more highly educated women (63%), it will take a great deal more effort, money and creativity to achieve the necessary increase from the current level of 31% among women with a lower educational background