Q-Class Authentication System for Double Arbiter PUF

Physically Unclonable Function (PUF) is a cryptographic primitive that is based on physical property of each entity or Integrated Circuit (IC) chip. It is expected that PUF be used in security applications such as ID generation and authentication. Some responses from PUF are unreliable, and they are usually discarded. In this paper, we propose a new PUF-based authentication system that exploits information of unreliable responses. In the proposed method, each response is categorized into multiple classes by its unreliability evaluated by feeding the same challenges several times. This authentication system is named Q-class authentication, where Q is the number of classes. We perform experiments assuming a challenge-response authentication system with a certain threshold of errors. Considering 4-class separation for 4-1 Double Arbiter PUF, it is figured out that the advantage of a legitimate prover against a clone is improved form 24% to 36% in terms of success rate. In other words, it is possible to improve the tolerance of machine-learning attack by using unreliable information that was previously regarded disadvantageous to authentication systems

Reintegrative shaming and juvenile delinquency in Japan

The Japanese juvenile justice system has been widely regarded as operating based on the principles of reintegrative shaming. Reintegrative shaming, as opposed to a stigmatizing form of shaming, communicates disapproval of wrongdoing with respect, and emphasizes rehabilitation, reintegration, and restoration. Central to reintegrative shaming at the initial contact point of the criminal justice system in Japan are apology and diversion by the local police. Citing juvenile delinquency cases reported in a major national newspaper in Japan, this study analyzes to what extent the community reacted to the delinquency upon its commission. This analysis helps clarify the juvenile justice process in Japan, and shed light on the theory and practice of reintegrative shaming

The Balance Between Privacy and Safety in Police UAV Use: The Power of Threat and Its Effect on People’s Receptivity

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are an innovative technology that has received significant interest from the law enforcement community. The size and ability, technological capability, and cost effectiveness of UAVs make them an attractive tool for law enforcement agencies to utilize in the course of operations, including domestic surveillance. Despite the potential benefits to the society, public perception of police UAV use is mixed, and “Not Over My Backyard (NOMBY)” attitudes relevant to Fourth Amendment privacy concerns are consistently demonstrated across studies related to public perceptions on this emerging technology. The present study focuses on the relative impact of privacy threats and other situational factors on individuals’ perceptions of police and their use of UAV technology. Using Stephan and Renfro’s revised reintegrated threat theory (2002), the present research used a scenario- based experimental design to examine: (1) the impact perceived threat from police UAV use on people’s attitudes toward police and their use of UAVs? (2) the attitudinal differences of the degree of participants’ connection to the target of surveillance, and (3) the effect of the people’s pre-existing perceptions of police on participants’ attitudinal differences, and (4) the structural relationships, followed by the theory, between perceived threats, antecedents (i.e., relations between groups, individual difference variables, cultural dimensions, situational factors) to intergroup threat, and the people’s perceptions, as well as demographic or other socio-economic factors. The findings provide some significant socio-psychological implications concerning police-community intergroup relations. First, the quality of the interpersonal treatment or relations (i.e., individual differences) they had previously received from police officers was the strongest indicator in predicting their attitudes toward police UAV use. Second, the outcome of UAV activity also influenced their evaluations of police. Lastly, people’s attitudes were more extreme when the level of connection to the target of surveillance was farther away from them and it was interacted with policing strategies (i.e., reactive v proactive policing)

Barrier Dynamics of Nuclear Pore Complexes and Biomimetic Nanopores

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) mediate macromolecular traffic between the cytoplasm and the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. Tethered within each ~60 nm-diameter NPC lie numerous intrinsically disordered proteins that bear phenylalanine-glycine (FG) repeats known as FG nucleoporins (FG Nups). The FG Nups establish a selective barrier that impedes the passage of non-specific cargoes but rapidly yields to cargo-carrying transport receptors. However, the basic functional form of the FG Nups remains unresolved with respect to their spatiotemporal behaviour inside native NPCs. Here, we use high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to visualize nanoscopic FG Nup behaviour inside Xenopus laevis oocyte NPCs at near transport-relevant timescales. Our results show that the NPC channel is circumscribed by highly flexible, dynamically fluctuating FG Nups that elongate and retract in a stochastic manner consistent with the diffusive motion of tethered polypeptide chains. On this basis, extended FG Nups can momentarily interlink or coalesce into short-lived metastable condensates in the central channel, but do not cohere into a static meshwork that spans the entire pore. By resolving the time-dependent behaviour of FG Nups in the NPC, our findings bring consensus to barrier models that mainly disagree on static interpretations of how the FG Nups are spatially arranged in the pore. Furthermore, HS-AFM has been used to study the behavior of polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer chains tethered inside of artificial nanopores. Our data shows that longer PEG chains serve are more effective in forming a barrier in pore than short PEG polymers. This serves as a strategy to design bio-mimetic nanopores with NPC-like functionality in the future

Amphiboles in the Paleogene Namariyama Granophyres, Eastern San'in District, Southwest Japan

In the eastern San'in district, a volcano-plutonic complex of the late Paleogene age is widely developed. The Namariyama granophyres belonging to the Namariyama intrusive rocks are one of the main constituting members of the complex. Judging from the mode of occurrence and textures, amphiboles in the granophyres are inferred to be classified into the following three groups, that is, amphiboles -I, II and III in the order of crystallization. Amphibole-I is scarsely zoned, and is titaniferous ferroan pargasite to titaniferous ferroan pargasitic honblende in composition. Amphibole-II is mainly composed of magnesio hornblende. It shows the zonal structure represented by increase of Si from core to rim in each grain. It is normally zoned in Si-poor crystal and reversely zoned in Si-rich one with respect to the mg-value. Amphibole-III is actinolitic hornblende to actinolite. It has zonal structure and Si and mg-value increases from core to rim. In the progress of the crystallization of amphiboles, Si increases and Al, Ti, Na and K decrease. On the other hand, mg-value decreases in the early stage and increases in the late stage during the crystallization of the Namariyama granophyres. Si enrichment in the later stage of crystallization can be explained by increase of silica activity in the liquid with crystallization. Increase of oxygen fugacity in the later stage of crystallization has resulted in the appearence of magnetite and the increase of mg-value of amphibole. Ti/A1 ratio of amphibole in the Namariyama granophyres is the highest among those in the late Cretaceous to Paleogene plutonic rocks in the Innerside of Southwest Japan. This fact indicates that amphibole in the Namariyama granophyres has been crystallized under the condition of comparatively high temperature at shallow level. Appearence of Ti-pargasite supports the activity of basic magma has been closely connected with the genesis of the Namariyama granophyres

Numerical modelling of the influence of stromal cells on tumor growth and angiogenesis

According to the statistics provided by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare the death of one in 3.5 Japanese people is attributed to tumor highlighting the need for active research on malignant tumors. Early detection can be cited as a countermeasure against malignant tumors, but it is often difficult to observe the growth process, and thorough understanding of the phenomena will aid in more efficient detection of such tumors. A malnourished benign tumor may create new blood vessels from existing ones and proliferate abnormally by absorbing nutrients from these newly created blood vessels to become malignant. Different factors influence the shape of tumors and shape is an important factor in evaluating their malignancy. Because interstitial cells greatly influence tumor growth, investigating the influence of stromal cells on tumor growth will help in developing a better understanding of the phenomenon.8th TSME-International Conference on Mechanical Engineering (TSME-ICoME 2017), 12-15 December 2017, Bangkok, Thailan

変形性膝関節炎患者膝関節液中の細胞外マトリックス成分と可溶性VCAM-1

It is generally accepted that the number of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee must increase in the future because of the increase of the aged. The pathogenic mechanisms of OA haven't been elucidated yet, but it is supposed that mediate pannus may cause the factors for irreversible cartilage damage in the inflammatory process. Therefore it is very important to find and predict OA at the early stage. Now there were many indices to determine joint damage with OA, for example, cytokines including IL, TNF, TGF, matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMPs), proteoglycan (PG), hyaluronate (HA), super oxide, adhesion molecules including, ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and PECAM. In this study, we measured that the soluble VCAM-1 (sVCAM-1), soluble collagen (sCOLL), heparansulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), uronic acis and CRP in synovial fluids (SF) with OA. A positive correlation between the level of sVCAM-1 and sCOLL (ρ = 0.652) was noted. However there was no factor showing a correlation with CRP. It was suggested that the levels of sVCAM-1 and sCOLL in the synovia fluid were active inflammation indices of knee damage, as the different aspects from CRP. The level of HSPG also showed a unique trend because HSPG on the cell surface was quickly digested endocytosis, so that it was not suitable for the inflammatory index in synovial fluid with OA.変形性膝関節炎(OA)患者は,高齢化社会の到来とともに今後ますます増加するものと考えられる｡OAの発症メカニズムについては,関節軟骨の破壊･修復やパンヌス形成に関わる多くの関連因子(サイトカイン,マトリックス分解酵素,分解酵素抑制因子,プロテオグリカン,活性酸素,細胞接着因子など)について,多面的に研究が進んでいる｡しかし,膝関節の炎症初期の病態のメカニズムについては,なお詳細に解明されておらず,関節炎初期の炎症指標の検索が今後さらに必要と考えられる｡本研究で私たちは, OA患者膝関節液中の細胞外マトリックス構成成分であるコラーゲン,へパラン硫酸プロテオグリカン,ウロン酸および炎症の最も初期に血管内皮細胞に出現するVCAM-1等の可溶化成分濃度を測定した｡患者膝関節液(SF)中の可溶性コラーゲン量と可溶性VCAM-1(sVCAM-1)量とは有意な正の相関関係が(ρ=0.652)観察された｡しかし,ヘパラン硫酸プロテオグリカン(HSPG)と可溶性コラーゲン(sCOLL)値間には有意な相関関係は確認されなかった｡また,一般に炎症の指標として用いられるCRP値とも比戟検討したが,CRP値と他の測定項目値とは一定の相関関係は存在しなかった。以上の結果より,OA患者のSF中の炎症マーカ-として,急性炎症時には従来の炎症指標蛋白質であるCRP値が有力であるというSipe JDの報告から推測するとsCOLLとsVCAM-1はCRP値と一定の相関を示さないことより,CRPの動態とは異なった炎症指標としての有用性が考えられる｡しかし,HSPGはエンドサイトシスにより速やかに代謝されるためSF中への解離が少なく,炎症指標としての可能性は低いと考えられる

Sequence-specific DNA binding activity of rat cdc37-related gene product

AbstractThe rat cdc37-related gene product (RCdc37), which is possibly involved in the regulation of cell cycle progression, contains a putative basic/leucine zipper (bZIP) domain in its N-terminal portion. In this study, we have identified a rat genomic sequence which can interact with RCdc37 using an in vitro binding assay. The specificity of this interaction was confirmed by gel retardation experiments. These results raise a possibility that RCdc37 might play an important role in the control of cell cycle progression via a sequence-specific DNA binding mechanism

Potential Usefulness of the Kampo Medicine Yokukansan

Background. Paediatric emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD) are relatively common diseases. Although nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic treatments are utilized in these cases, it is sometimes difficult to manage the symptoms of EBD. Historically, Uncaria hook has been used for treating nighttime crying and convulsions in children. Recent clinical studies have demonstrated that the Kampo medicine Yokukansan (YKS), which contains Uncaria hook, is efficacious for behaviour disorders in Alzheimer’s disease patients. Herein, we investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of YKS in a series of cases with paediatric EBD. Patients and Methods. We retrospectively reviewed all paediatric patients who sought Japanese Kampo therapy at our outpatient clinics between April 1, 2012, and April 30, 2013; we selected patients who were diagnosed with paediatric EBD and were treated with YKS. Results. After screening all candidates, 3 patients were eligible for this analysis. Their average age was 11.6 years (range 10–13 years). All 3 patients responded very well to YKS within 1 month. No drug-related adverse events were observed during the course of YKS treatment. Conclusion. Yokukansan may be efficacious for paediatric EBD. We believe these results warrant further evaluation of the clinical efficacy and safety of Yokukansan for paediatric EBD in a carefully designed, double-blind, randomized clinical study