Hybrid stochastic kinetic description of two-dimensional traffic dynamics

In this work we present a two-dimensional kinetic traffic model which takes into account speed changes both when vehicles interact along the road lanes and when they change lane. Assuming that lane changes are less frequent than interactions along the same lane and considering that their mathematical description can be done up to some uncertainty in the model parameters, we derive a hybrid stochastic Fokker-Planck-Boltzmann equation in the quasi-invariant interaction limit. By means of suitable numerical methods, precisely structure preserving and direct Monte Carlo schemes, we use this equation to compute theoretical speed-density diagrams of traffic both along and across the lanes, including estimates of the data dispersion, and validate them against real data

Analysis of a heterogeneous kinetic model for traffic flow

In this work we extend a recent kinetic traffic model to the case of more than one class of vehicles, each of which is characterized by few different microscopic features. We consider a Boltzmann-like framework with only binary interactions, which take place among vehicles belonging to the various classes. Our approach differs from the multi-population kinetic model based on a lattice of speeds because here we assume continuous velocity spaces and we introduce a parameter describing the physical velocity jump performed by a vehicle that increases its speed after an interaction. The model is discretized in order to investigate numerically the structure of the resulting fundamental diagrams and the system of equations is analyzed by studying well posedness. Moreover, we compute the equilibria of the discretized model and we show that the exact asymptotic kinetic distributions can be obtained with a small number of velocities in the grid. Finally, we introduce a new probability law in order to attenuate the sharp capacity drop occurring in the diagrams of traffic.Comment: 31 page

Why you cannot even hope to use Gr\uf6bner bases in cryptography: an eternal golden braid of failures

In 1994, Moss Sweedler\u2019s dog proposed a cryptosystem, known as Barkee\u2019s Cryptosystem, and the related cryptanalysis. Its explicit aim was to dispel the proposal of using the urban legend that \u201cGr\uf6bner bases are hard to compute\u201d, in order to devise a public key cryptography scheme. Therefore he claimed that \u201cno scheme using Gr\uf6bner bases will ever work\u201d. Later, further variations of Barkee\u2019s Cryptosystem were proposed on the basis of another urban legend, related to the infiniteness (and consequent uncomputability) of non-commutative Gr\uf6bner bases; unfortunately Pritchard\u2019s algorithm for computing (finite) non-commutative Gr\uf6bner bases was already available at that time and was sufficient to crash the system proposed by Ackermann and Kreuzer. The proposal by Rai, where the private key is a principal ideal and the public key is a bunch of polynomials within this principal ideal, is surely immune to Pritchard\u2019s attack but not to Davenport\u2019s factorization algorithm. It was recently adapted specializing and extending Stickel\u2019s Diffie\u2013Hellman protocols in the setting of Ore extension. We here propose a further generalization and show that such protocols can be broken simply via polynomial division and Buchberger reduction

Fundamental diagrams in traffic flow: the case of heterogeneous kinetic models

Experimental studies on vehicular traffic provide data on quantities like density, flux, and mean speed of the vehicles. However, the diagrams relating these variables (the fundamental and speed diagrams) show some peculiarities not yet fully reproduced nor explained by mathematical models. In this paper, resting on the methods of kinetic theory, we introduce a new traffic model which takes into account the heterogeneous nature of the flow of vehicles along a road. In more detail, the model considers traffic as a mixture of two or more populations of vehicles (e.g., cars and trucks) with different microscopic characteristics, in particular different lengths and/or maximum speeds. With this approach we gain some insights into the scattering of the data in the regime of congested traffic clearly shown by actual measurements.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figure

Analysis of a multi-population kinetic model for traffic flow

In this work we extend a recent kinetic traffic model [G. Puppo, M. Semplice, A. Tosin, G. Visconti, Kinet. Relat. Models, in press, 2016] to the case of more than one class of vehicles, each of which is characterized by few different microscopic features. We consider a Boltzmann-like framework with only binary interactions, which take place among vehicles belonging to the various classes. Our approach differs from the multi-population kinetic model proposed in [G. Puppo, M. Semplice, A. Tosin, G. Visconti, Commun. Math. Sci., 14:643-669, 2016] because here we assume continuous velocity spaces and we introduce a parameter describing the physical velocity jump performed by a vehicle that increases its speed after an interaction. The model is discretized in order to investigate numerically the structure of the resulting fundamental diagrams and the system of equations is analyzed by studying well posedness. Moreover, we compute the equilibria of the discretized model and we show that the exact asymptotic kinetic distributions can be obtained with a small number of velocities in the grid. Finally, we introduce a new probability law in order to attenuate the sharp capacity drop occurring in the diagrams of traffic

Impairment of the Zn/Cd detoxification systems affects the ability of Salmonella to colonize Arabidopsis thaliana

Salmonella capacity to colonize different environments depends on its ability to respond efficiently to fluctuations in micronutrient availability. Among micronutrients, Zn, besides playing an essential role in bacterial physiology, is a key element whose concentration can influence bacterial survival in a particular niche. Plant colonization by Salmonella enterica was described for several years, and some molecular determinants involved in this host-pathogen interaction have started to be characterized. However, it is still unclear if Zn plays a role in the outcome of this interaction, as well established for animal hosts that employ nutritional immunity strategies to counteract pathogens infections. In this study, we have investigated the involvement of Salmonella Typhimurium main effectors of zinc homeostasis in plant colonization, using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model host. The results show that to colonize plant tissues, Salmonella takes advantage of its ability to export excess metal through the efflux pumps ZntA and ZitB. In fact, the deletion of these Zn/Cd detoxification systems can affect bacterial persistence in the shoots, depending on metal availability in the plant tissues. The importance of Salmonella ability to export excess metal was enhanced in the colonization of plants grown in high Zn conditions. On the contrary, the bacterial disadvantage related to Zn detoxification impairment can be abrogated if the plant cannot efficiently translocate Zn to the shoots. Overall, our work highlights the role of Zn in Salmonella-plant interaction and suggests that modulation of plant metal content through biofortification may be an efficient strategy to control pathogen colonization

Neoatherosclerosis and plaque rupture as triggers for very late stent thrombosis in a bare-metal stent

Very late stent thrombosis has been increasingly described in the drug eluting stent era. A 56-year-old male presented with anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction, he received a bare-metal stent in the left anterior descending artery in 2010. We obtained an optical coherence tomography scan, showing ruptured neoatherosclerotic plaque with thrombus

Stress Response to Winter Warfare Training: Potential Impact of Location

Winter Warfare Training (WWT) is a critical component of military training to prepare individuals to move effectively in harsh conditions. Moving through snow and heavy terrain increases overall stress to the entire human system. PURPOSE: The purpose of this effort was to quantify the stress response during WWT to determine the level of physiological adaptation to extreme environments. METHODS: Mountain and mobility operators (age: 31.5±1.4 years; height: 71.1±0.5 inches; weight: 192.5±6.6 lbs.; body fat percentage: 18.0±5.0%) were recruited for this effort. Participants engaged in baseline laboratory metrics at their home station located in Colorado (CO) prior to WWT for one week in Montana (MT) and one week in Alaska (AK). WWT was separated by approximately one month. Blood was collected upon wake on the first and last day at each location. Plasma was analyzed for anabolic and stress-related hormones via enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). RESULTS: Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels increased from baseline to pre- (p=0.004), decreased from pre- to post-WWT in MT (p=0.004), and increased in from pre- to post-WWT in AK (p=0.005). Plasma cortisol levels decreased from pre- to post-WWT in MT (p=0.001) and, conversely, increased from pre- to post-WWT in AK (pCONCLUSION: The increase in stress-related hormones (i.e., ACTH and cortisol) exhibited throughout during WWT in AK suggest that operators experienced heightened physiological strain during WWT in AK compared to MT, despite similar training. We speculate that differences in sleep environment, changes in environmental temperature and terrain between MT and AK, and cumulative training load may have exacerbated the overall physiological strain on the operators

On the weaknesses of PBKDF2

Password-based key derivation functions are of particular interest in cryptography because they (a) input a password/passphrase (which usually is short and lacks enough entropy) and derive a cryptographic key; (b) slow down brute force and dictionary attacks as much as possible. In PKCS#5 [17], RSA Laboratories described a password based key derivation function called PBKDF2 that has been widely adopted in many security related applications [6, 7, 11]. In order to slow down brute force attacks, PBKDF2 introduce CPU-intensive operations based on an iterated pseudorandom function. Such a pseudorandom function is HMAC-SHA-1 by default. In this paper we show that, if HMAC-SHA-1 is computed in a standard mode without following the performance improvements described in the implementation note of RFC 2104 [13] and FIPS 198-1 [14], an attacker is able to avoid 50% of PBKDF2’s CPU intensive operations, by replacing them with precomputed values. We note that a number of well-known and widely-used crypto libraries are subject to this vulnerability.In addition to such a vulnerability, we describe some other minor optimizations that an attacker can exploit to reduce even more the key derivation time