3D Security, 3Dsec: Trustworthy System Security through 3D Integrated Hardware [poster]

Poster, Wednesday Poster Session, NSF Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) Principal Investigators Meeting, National Harbor, MD, 28 November 2012. [Poster] [Meeting] [Final Report]This project is investigating a novel approach to trustworthy system development based on 3D integration, an emerging chip fabrication technique in which two or more integrated circuit dies are combined into a single stack using vertical conductive posts. Since the dies may be manufactured separately, 3D circuit integration offers the option of enhancing a commodity processor with a variety of custom security functions, which are manufacturing options applicable only to those systems that require them. This research introduces a fundamentally new method to incorporate security mechanisms into hardware and has the potential to significantly shift the economics of trustworthy systems

Advantages and limitations to the use of optical measurements to study sediment properties

Measurements of optical properties have been used for decades to study particle distributions in the ocean. They are useful for estimating suspended mass concentration as well as particle-related properties such as size, composition, packing (particle porosity or density), and settling velocity. Measurements of optical properties are, however, biased, as certain particles, because of their size, composition, shape, or packing, contribute to a specific property more than others. Here, we study this issue both theoretically and practically, and we examine different optical properties collected simultaneously in a bottom boundary layer to highlight the utility of such measurements. We show that the biases we are likely to encounter using different optical properties can aid our studies of suspended sediment. In particular, we investigate inferences of settling velocity from vertical profiles of optical measurements, finding that the effects of aggregation dynamics can seldom be ignored

Advantages and limitations to the use of optical measurements to study sediment properties

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Boss, E., Sherwood, C. R., Hill, P., & Milligan, T. Advantages and limitations to the use of optical measurements to study sediment properties. Applied Sciences-Basel, 8(12), (2018):2692, doi:10.3390/app8122692.Measurements of optical properties have been used for decades to study particle distributions in the ocean. They are useful for estimating suspended mass concentration as well as particle-related properties such as size, composition, packing (particle porosity or density), and settling velocity. Measurements of optical properties are, however, biased, as certain particles, because of their size, composition, shape, or packing, contribute to a specific property more than others. Here, we study this issue both theoretically and practically, and we examine different optical properties collected simultaneously in a bottom boundary layer to highlight the utility of such measurements. We show that the biases we are likely to encounter using different optical properties can aid our studies of suspended sediment. In particular, we investigate inferences of settling velocity from vertical profiles of optical measurements, finding that the effects of aggregation dynamics can seldom be ignored.This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research and the United States Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program. The unique instrument platform and data acquisition system was designed and built by technical staff lead by Marinna Martini at the United States Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center. This team was also responsible for deployment and recovery of the instrumentation. We thank the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) MVCO staff for support during this experiment, and we thank the captains and crews of the R/V Connecticut and the R/V Tioga. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the United States Government. This paper has benefited significantly from insightful comments from D. Stramski, A. Aretxabaleta and two anonymous reviewers

Macro use-wear identifiers on lithic scrapers and behavioural shifts at Little Muck Shelter, SLCA

DATA AVAILABILITY : Data will be made available on request.The arrival of farmer groups in southern Africa, from the early first millennium CE, is thought to have influenced forager behavioural patterns. Understanding these behavioural shifts are important not only to examine how foragers adjusted their ways of living to accommodate new opportunities, but also their contributions to local economies. In the Shashe-Limpopo confluence area this is of particular interest because it was here that southern Africa’s earliest state-level society appeared, based at Mapungubwe c. 1220 CE. Forager participation is known through trade wealth that appears in their camps during this period, but little more is known. At Little Muck Shelter, a forager site occupied from before contact until the end of the Mapungubwe phase, increases in lithic scrapers has been associated with trade with farmer groups and while it is clear what foragers received, it is not known what they used to obtain these goods. To assess this, experimentation was used to identify macro-use wear on cryptocrystalline scrapers and in turn to determine scraper use at Little Muck. The experimental results and their comparison with the archaeological remains show that scrapers were used on a variety of materials throughout the site’s occupation, however, two general phases of activity were observed. In the pre-contact levels wood and animal hide was worked more often than bone that dominate scraper-related activities after the arrival of farmer groups. There is also an increase in bone points and shafts during this time, which could indicate that Little Muck was a manufacturing site for hunting implements used to obtain wild game that could be traded with farmers. This research shows that forger and farmer interactions were complex and included shifts in behavioural activities as a response to the appearance of new social and economic opportunities. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that foragers were active within the local economy during the rise of state-level society in southern Africa.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS : We are grateful to a postdoctoral position provided to NS from the University of Pretoria that provided the opportunity for this work to be carried out and to the National Research Foundation of South Africa for a grant to TF through the African Origins Platform (ID 136506). Support from the South African National Parks (Permit FORT1660) and the South African Heritage Resources Authority (Permit 3124) are greatly appreciated.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrepam2024Anthropology and ArchaeologyNon

Towards an Integrated Primary and Secondary HIV Prevention Continuum for the United States: a Cyclical Process Model

Introduction: Every new HIV infection is preventable and every HIV-related death is avoidable. As many jurisdictions around the world endeavour to end HIV as an epidemic, missed HIV prevention and treatment opportunities must be regarded as public health emergencies, and efforts to quickly fill gaps in service provision for all people living with and vulnerable to HIV infection must be prioritized. Discussion: We present a novel, comprehensive, primary and secondary HIV prevention continuum model for the United States as a conceptual framework to identify key steps in reducing HIV incidence and improving health outcomes among those vulnerable to, as well as those living with, HIV infection. We further discuss potential approaches to address gaps in data required for programme planning, implementation and evaluation across the elements of the HIV prevention continuum. Conclusions: Our model conceptualizes opportunities to monitor and quantify primary HIV prevention efforts and, importantly, illustrates the interplay between an outcomes-oriented primary HIV prevention process and the HIV care continuum to move aggressively forward in reaching ambitious reductions in HIV incidence. To optimize the utility of this outcomes-oriented HIV prevention continuum, a key gap to be addressed includes the creation and increased coordination of data relevant to HIV prevention across sectors

Report on the NSF Workshop on Formal Methods for Security

The NSF workshop on Security and Formal Methods, held 19--20 November 2015, brought together developers of formal methods, researchers exploring how to apply formal methods to various kinds of systems, and people familiar with the security problem space.Engineering and Applied Science

Relaxin-1–deficient mice develop an age-related progression of renal fibrosis

Relaxin-1–deficient mice develop an age-related progression of renal fibrosis.BackgroundRelaxin (RLX) is a peptide hormone that stimulates the breakdown of collagen in preparation for parturition and when administered to various models of induced fibrosis. However, its significance in the aging kidney is yet to be established. In this study, we compared structural and functional changes in the kidney of aging relaxin-1 (RLX-/-) deficient mice and normal (RLX+/+) mice.MethodsThe kidney cortex and medulla of male and female RLX+/+ and RLX-/- mice at various ages were analyzed for collagen content, concentration, and types. Histologic analysis, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of relaxin and relaxin receptor mRNA expression, receptor autoradiography, glomerular isolation/analysis, and serum/urine analysis were also employed. Relaxin treatment of RLX-/- mice was used to confirm the antifibrotic effects of the peptide.ResultsWe demonstrate an age-related progression of renal fibrosis in male, but not female, RLX-/- mice with significantly (P < 0.05) increased tissue dry weight, collagen (type I) content and concentration. The increased collagen expression in the kidney was associated with increased glomerular matrix and to a lesser extent, interstitial fibrosis in RLX-/- mice, which also had significantly increased serum creatinine (P < 0.05) and urinary protein (P < 0.05). Treatment of RLX-/- mice with relaxin in established stages of renal fibrosis resulted in the reversal of collagen deposition.ConclusionThis study supports the concept that relaxin may provide a means to regulate excessive collagen deposition during kidney development and in diseased states characterized by renal fibrosis