Multi-objective Database Queries in Combined Knapsack and Set Covering Problem Domains

Database queries are one of the most important functions of a relational database. Users are interested in viewing a variety of data representations, and this may vary based on database purpose and the nature of the stored data. The Air Force Institute of Technology has approximately 100 data logs which will be converted to the standardized Scorpion Data Model format. A relational database is designed to house this data and its associated sensor and non-sensor metadata. Deterministic polynomial-time queries were used to test the performance of this schema against two other schemas, with databases of 100 and 1000 logs of repeated data and randomized metadata. Of these approaches, the one that had the best performance was chosen as AFIT’s database solution, and now more complex and useful queries need to be developed to enable filter research. To this end, consider the combined Multi-Objective Knapsack/Set Covering Database Query. Algorithms which address The Set Covering Problem or Knapsack Problem could be used individually to achieve useful results, but together they could offer additional power to a potential user. This paper explores the NP-Hard problem domain of the Multi-Objective KP/SCP, proposes Genetic and Hill Climber algorithms, implements these algorithms using Java, populates their data structures using SQL queries from two test databases, and finally compares how these algorithms perform

Use of Cryptography in Malware Obfuscation

Malware authors often use cryptographic tools such as XOR encryption and block ciphers like AES to obfuscate part of the malware to evade detection. Use of cryptography may give the impression that these obfuscation techniques have some provable guarantees of success. In this paper, we take a closer look at the use of cryptographic tools to obfuscate malware. We first find that most techniques are easy to defeat (in principle), since the decryption algorithm and the key is shipped within the program. In order to clearly define an obfuscation technique's potential to evade detection we propose a principled definition of malware obfuscation, and then categorize instances of malware obfuscation that use cryptographic tools into those which evade detection and those which are detectable. We find that schemes that are hard to de-obfuscate necessarily rely on a construct based on environmental keying. We also show that cryptographic notions of obfuscation, e.g., indistinghuishability and virtual black box obfuscation, may not guarantee evasion detection under our model. However, they can be used in conjunction with environmental keying to produce hard to de-obfuscate versions of programs

Measurement and evaluation practices of factors that contribute to effective health promotion collaboration functioning: A scoping review

The purpose of this scoping review was to identify promising factors that underpin effective health promotion collaborations, measurement approaches, and evaluation practices. Measurement approaches and evaluation practices employed in 14 English-language articles published between January 2001 and October 2015 were considered. Data extraction included research design, health focus of the collaboration, factors being evaluated, how factors were conceptualized and measured, and outcome measures. Studies were methodologically diverse employing either quantitative methods (n = 9), mixed methods (n = 4), or qualitative methods (n = 1). In total, these 14 studies examined 113 factors, 88 of which were only measured once. Leadership was the most commonly studied factor but was conceptualized differently across studies. Six factors were significantly associated with outcome measures across studies; leadership (n = 3), gender (n = 2), trust (n = 2), length of the collaboration (n = 2), budget (n = 2) and changes in organizational model (n = 2). Since factors were often conceptualized differently, drawing conclusions about their impact on collaborative functioning remains difficult. The use of reliable and validated tools would strengthen evaluation of health promotion collaborations and would support and enhance the effectiveness of collaboration

SoK: Use of Cryptography in Malware Obfuscation

We look at the use of cryptography to obfuscate malware. Most surveys on malware obfuscation only discuss simple encryption techniques (e.g., XOR encryption), which are easy to defeat (in principle), since the decryption algorithm and the key is shipped within the program. This SoK proposes a principled definition of malware obfuscation, and categorises instances of malware obfuscation that use cryptographic tools into those which evade detection and those which are detectable. The SoK first examines easily detectable schemes such as string encryption, class encryption and XOR encoding, found in most obfuscated malware. It then details schemes that can be shown to be hard to break, such as the use of environmental keying. We also analyse formal cryptographic obfuscation, i.e., the notions of indistinguishability and virtual black box obfuscation, from the lens of our proposed model on malware obfuscation

Ischaemic conditioning and targeting reperfusion injury: a 30 year voyage of discovery

To commemorate the auspicious occasion of the 30th anniversary of IPC, leading pioneers in the field of cardioprotection gathered in Barcelona in May 2016 to review and discuss the history of IPC, its evolution to IPost and RIC, myocardial reperfusion injury as a therapeutic target, and future targets and strategies for cardioprotection. This article provides an overview of the major topics discussed at this special meeting and underscores the huge importance and impact, the discovery of IPC has made in the field of cardiovascular research

Generalised discount functions applied to a Monte-Carlo AL implementation

In recent years, work has been done to develop the theory of General Reinforcement Learning (GRL). However, there are no examples demonstrating the known results regarding generalised discounting. We have added to the GRL simulation platform (AIXIjs) the functionality to assign an agent arbitrary discount functions, and an environment which can be used to determine the effect of discounting on an agent's policy. Using this, we investigate how geometric, hyperbolic and power discounting affect an informed agent in a simple M DP. We experimentally reproduce a number of theoretical results, and discuss some related subtleties. It was found that the agent's behaviour followed what is expected theoretically, assuming appropriate parameters were chosen for the Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MOTS) planning algorithm

Differences across originators in CMBS loan underwriting

Differences in the organizational structure of CMBS loan originators may reflect differences in the incentives they face for underwriting risky loans. We treat an originator's type--that is, commercial bank, investment bank, insurance company, finance company, conduit lender, or foreign-owned entity--as a proxy for incentives related to warehousing risk, balance sheet lending, and regulatory constraints. After controlling for observable credit characteristics of over 30,000 loans securitized into CMBS after 1999, we find considerable differences in loan performance across originator types. The results suggest that moral hazard--captured by lack of warehousing risk-negatively affected the quality of loans underwritten by conduit lenders. On the other hand, despite opportunities for adverse selection, balance sheet lenders--commercial banks, insurance companies and finance companies--actually underwrote higher quality loans.Mortgage-backed securities ; Moral hazard

CELLObration Spokane 2008

https://dc.ewu.edu/music_performances/1801/thumbnail.jp