Adversarial Wiretap Channel with Public Discussion

Wyner's elegant model of wiretap channel exploits noise in the communication channel to provide perfect secrecy against a computationally unlimited eavesdropper without requiring a shared key. We consider an adversarial model of wiretap channel proposed in [18,19] where the adversary is active: it selects a fraction $\rho_r$ of the transmitted codeword to eavesdrop and a fraction $\rho_w$ of the codeword to corrupt by "adding" adversarial error. It was shown that this model also captures network adversaries in the setting of 1-round Secure Message Transmission [8]. It was proved that secure communication (1-round) is possible if and only if $\rho_r + \rho_w <1$. In this paper we show that by allowing communicants to have access to a public discussion channel (authentic communication without secrecy) secure communication becomes possible even if $\rho_r + \rho_w >1$. We formalize the model of \awtppd protocol and for two efficiency measures, {\em information rate } and {\em message round complexity} derive tight bounds. We also construct a rate optimal protocol family with minimum number of message rounds. We show application of these results to Secure Message Transmission with Public Discussion (SMT-PD), and in particular show a new lower bound on transmission rate of these protocols together with a new construction of an optimal SMT-PD protocol

Labeling the ER for Light and Fluorescence Microscopy

The ER is a highly dynamic network of tubules and membrane sheets. Hence imaging this organelle in its native and mobile state is of great importance. Here we describe methods of labeling the native ER using fluorescent proteins and lipid dyes as well as methods for immunolabeling on plant tissue

Pseudo-Phase Transitions of Ising and Baxter-Wu Models in Two-Dimensional Finite-Size Lattices

This article offers a detailed analysis of pseudo-phase transitions of Ising and Baxter-Wu models in two-dimensional finite-size lattices. We carry out Wang Landau sampling to obtain the density of states. Using microcanonical inflection point analysis with microcanonical entropy, we obtain the order of the psuedo-phase transitions in the models. The microcanonical analysis results of the second-order transition for the Ising model and the first-order transition for the Baxter-Wu model are consistent with the traditional canonical results. In addition, the third-order transitions are found in both models, implying the universality of higher-order phase transitions.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Modelling the behaviour of management operations in cloud-based applications

How to flexibly manage complex applications over heterogeneous clouds is one of the emerging problems in the cloud era. The OASIS Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA) aims at solving this problem by providing a language to describe and manage complex cloud applications in a portable, vendoragnostic way. TOSCA permits to define an application as an orchestration of nodes, whose types can specify states, requirements, capabilities and management operations — but not how they interact each another. In this paper we first propose how to extend TOSCA to specify the behaviour of management operations and their relations with states, requirements, and capabilities. We then illustrate how such behaviour can be naturally modelled, in a compositional way, by means of open Petri nets. The proposed modelling permits to automate different analyses, such as determining whether a deployment plan is valid, which are its effects, or which plans allow to reach certain system configurations

Development of Braking Force Distribution Strategy for Dual-Motor-Drive Electric Vehicle

In the development of the optimal braking force distribution strategy for a dual-motor-drive electric vehicle (DMDEV) with a series cooperative braking system, three key factors were taken into consideration, i.e. the regenerative force distribution coefficient between the front and the rear motor (β), the energy recovery coefficient at the wheels (α3), and the front-and-rear-axle braking force distribution coefficient (λ). First, the overall power loss model of the two surface-mounted permanent magnetic synchronous motors (SMPMSMs) was created based on the d-q axis equivalent circuit model. The optimal relationship of β and the overall efficiency of the dual-motor system were confirmed, where the latter was quite different from that obtained from the traditional look-up table method for the motors' efficiency. Then, four dimensionless evaluation coefficients were used to evaluate braking stability, regenerative energy transfer efficiency, and energy recovery at the wheels. Finally, based on several typical braking operations, the comprehensive effects of the four coefficients on braking stability and energy recovery were revealed. An optimal braking force distribution strategy balancing braking stability and energy recovery is suggested for a DMDEV with a series cooperative braking system

Temperature Matrix-Based Data Placement Optimization in Edge Computing Environment

The scale of data shows an explosive growth trend, with wide use of cloud storage. However, there are challenges such as network latency and energy consumption. The emergence of edge computing brings data close to the edge of the network, making it a good supplement to cloud computing. The spatiotemporal characteristics of data have been largely ignored in studies of data placement and storage optimization. To this end, a temperature matrix-based data placement method using an improved Hungarian algorithm (TEMPLIH) is proposed in this work. A temperature matrix is used to reflect the influence of data characteristics on its placement. A data replica matrix selection algorithm based on temperature matrix (RSA-TM) is proposed to meet latency requirements. Then, an improved Hungarian algorithm based on replica matrix (IHA-RM) is proposed, which satisfies the balance among the multiple goals of latency, cost, and load balancing. Compared with other data placement strategies, experiments show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the cost of data placement while meeting user access latency requirements and maintaining a reasonable load balance between edge servers. Further improvement is discussed and the idea of regional value is proposed

Mitophagy in plants: Emerging regulators of mitochondrial targeting for selective autophagy

The degradation and turnover of mitochondria is fundamental to Eukaryotes and is a key homeostatic mechanism for maintaining functional mitochondrial populations. Autophagy is an important pathway by which mitochondria are degraded, involving their sequestration into membrane‐bound autophagosomes and targeting to lytic endosomal compartments (the lysosome in animals, the vacuole in plants and yeast). Selective targeting of mitochondria for autophagy, also known as mitophagy, distinguishes mitochondria from other cell components for degradation and is necessary for the regulation of mitochondria‐specific cell processes. In mammals and yeast, mitophagy has been well characterised and is regulated by numerous pathways with diverse and important functions in the regulation of cell homeostasis, metabolism and responses to specific stresses. In contrast, we are only just beginning to understand the importance and functions of mitophagy in plants, chiefly as the proteins that target mitochondria for autophagy in plants are only recently emerging. Here, we discuss the current progress of our understanding of mitophagy in plants, the importance of mitophagy for plant life and the regulatory autophagy proteins involved in mitochondrial degradation. In particular, we will discuss the recent emergence of mitophagy receptor proteins that selectively target mitochondria for autophagy, and discuss the missing links in our knowledge of mitophagy‐regulatory proteins in plants compared to animals and yeast