Wirespeed: Extending the AFF4 forensic container format for scalable acquisition and live analysis

AbstractCurrent approaches to forensic acquisition are failing to scale to large devices and fast storage interfaces. The research described in this paper identifies limitations in current widely deployed forensic image formats which limit both the ability to acquire evidence at maximal rates, and to undertake live analysis in today's environment. Extensions to the AFF4 forensic file format are proposed which address these limitations. The proposals have been implemented and proof of concept demonstrated by demonstrating that non-linear partial images may be taken at rates that exceed current physical acquisition approaches, and by demonstrating linear acquisition at rates significantly exceeding current approaches: in the range of 400 MB/s–500 MB/s (24–30 GB/min)

Catching Element Formation In The Act

Gamma-ray astronomy explores the most energetic photons in nature to address some of the most pressing puzzles in contemporary astrophysics. It encompasses a wide range of objects and phenomena: stars, supernovae, novae, neutron stars, stellar-mass black holes, nucleosynthesis, the interstellar medium, cosmic rays and relativistic-particle acceleration, and the evolution of galaxies. MeV gamma-rays provide a unique probe of nuclear processes in astronomy, directly measuring radioactive decay, nuclear de-excitation, and positron annihilation. The substantial information carried by gamma-ray photons allows us to see deeper into these objects, the bulk of the power is often emitted at gamma-ray energies, and radioactivity provides a natural physical clock that adds unique information. New science will be driven by time-domain population studies at gamma-ray energies. This science is enabled by next-generation gamma-ray instruments with one to two orders of magnitude better sensitivity, larger sky coverage, and faster cadence than all previous gamma-ray instruments. This transformative capability permits: (a) the accurate identification of the gamma-ray emitting objects and correlations with observations taken at other wavelengths and with other messengers; (b) construction of new gamma-ray maps of the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies where extended regions are distinguished from point sources; and (c) considerable serendipitous science of scarce events -- nearby neutron star mergers, for example. Advances in technology push the performance of new gamma-ray instruments to address a wide set of astrophysical questions.Comment: 14 pages including 3 figure

The LOFT mission concept: a status update

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) is a mission concept which was proposed to ESA as M3 and M4 candidate in the framework of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument and the uniquely large field of view of its wide field monitor, LOFT will be able to study the behaviour of matter in extreme conditions such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions close to black holes and neutron stars and the supra-nuclear densities in the interiors of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, >8m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 degree collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g., GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the current technical and programmatic status of the mission

A Wide Extent of Inter-Strain Diversity in Virulent and Vaccine Strains of Alphaherpesviruses

Alphaherpesviruses are widespread in the human population, and include herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and 2, and varicella zoster virus (VZV). These viral pathogens cause epithelial lesions, and then infect the nervous system to cause lifelong latency, reactivation, and spread. A related veterinary herpesvirus, pseudorabies (PRV), causes similar disease in livestock that result in significant economic losses. Vaccines developed for VZV and PRV serve as useful models for the development of an HSV-1 vaccine. We present full genome sequence comparisons of the PRV vaccine strain Bartha, and two virulent PRV isolates, Kaplan and Becker. These genome sequences were determined by high-throughput sequencing and assembly, and present new insights into the attenuation of a mammalian alphaherpesvirus vaccine strain. We find many previously unknown coding differences between PRV Bartha and the virulent strains, including changes to the fusion proteins gH and gB, and over forty other viral proteins. Inter-strain variation in PRV protein sequences is much closer to levels previously observed for HSV-1 than for the highly stable VZV proteome. Almost 20% of the PRV genome contains tandem short sequence repeats (SSRs), a class of nucleic acids motifs whose length-variation has been associated with changes in DNA binding site efficiency, transcriptional regulation, and protein interactions. We find SSRs throughout the herpesvirus family, and provide the first global characterization of SSRs in viruses, both within and between strains. We find SSR length variation between different isolates of PRV and HSV-1, which may provide a new mechanism for phenotypic variation between strains. Finally, we detected a small number of polymorphic bases within each plaque-purified PRV strain, and we characterize the effect of passage and plaque-purification on these polymorphisms. These data add to growing evidence that even plaque-purified stocks of stable DNA viruses exhibit limited sequence heterogeneity, which likely seeds future strain evolution

Insurance

In property insurance cases, there were two Georgia Supreme Court decisions with the potential for significant impact. The court held that insurance companies are liable for diminution in value of real property under commercial and homeowners insurance policies, extending the reasoning in State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Mabry beyond motor vehicles for the first time. Answering a certified question, the supreme court also held a one-year suit limitation in a homeowners insurance policy is enforceable for losses not caused by fire, despite an insurance commissioner-issued regulation that would prohibit any limitation shorter than, two years. Despite an insurer\u27s plea that it faced irreconcilable conflicting obligations, the Georgia Court of Appeals held that an insurer faced with a time limit, policy-limit demand, and a hospital lien cannot escape liability to the hospital by paying its policy limits to the injured party, but an insurer might create a safe harbor from bad-faith liability where the claimant unreasonably refuses to assure the satisfaction of the lien, and the insurer satisfies the lien and pays any remaining proceeds to the claimant

Insurance

Several decisions rendered by the Georgia Court of Appeals which we discussed (and a few of which we criticized) in last year\u27s survey were further clarified or overruled by the Georgia Supreme Court. As has been the pattern over the years, Georgia courts during this survey period reinforced that when any ambiguity exists in an insurance contract, courts will construe the contract in favor of finding coverage for the insured. However, when no ambiguity exists on the face of the insurance contract, courts will strictly enforce the provisions as written, and will rarely find any public policy preventing enforcement. One exception is interpretation of uninsured motorist ( UM ) coverage, where the courts typically hold that the statutory interpretation of UM coverage prevails over the language of the policy, unless such interpretation would allow double recovery for the insured. The court of appeals also applies another exception, finding certificates of insurance to be persuasive evidence of intent in contract interpretation. Continuing the pattern over the years, the courts reiterated that insurers place themselves in jeopardy of being assessed a variety of damages if they improperly disclaim coverage when they should have provided a defense under a reservation of rights and filed a declaratory judgment action. This assessment of damages includes being bound by a good faith settlement entered into between the insured and the injured party without the insurer\u27s consent

Insurance

The Georgia Supreme Court reviewed, and reversed, two cases featured prominently in last year\u27s Insurance survey article, and it also held a key provision of tort reform preempted by federal law. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed the decision in Ryder Integrated Logistics, Inc. v. BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. and held that an agreement to name another as an additional insured could not be used to salvage an invalid indemnification clause in the parties\u27 contract. The legislature amended Official Code of Georgia Annotated ( O.C.G.A. ) section 13-8-2 to help avoid this type of litigation in the future. However, both appellate courts continued to show a propensity for finding additional insured coverage for entities with whom the named insured has agreed to provide such coverage in a separate contract, as long as a connection exists between (1) the claimed injury and (2) the scope of the work set forth in the contract. In another case, the supreme court reversed a pass given by the intermediate court to an automobile insurer; the insurer allegedly conspired with an appraisal service to systematically undervalue its policyholders\u27 property damage claims. In McGowan v. Progressive Preferred Insurance Co., the supreme court held that an appraisal and the insurer\u27s subsequent payment of the difference between its valuation and the appraised value did not moot the insured\u27s claims for damages other than the value of the car itself for claims such as fraud, breach of contract, and violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act9 ( RICO ). Both appellate courts held that Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPAA ) regulations preempted O.C.G.A. section 9-11-9.2, the tort reform provision that requires a plaintiff to file an authorization for the release of medical records and permission for defense counsel to speak with treating physicians in a medical malpractice case. The supreme court adopted and expanded upon the court of appeals\u27 views in Allen v. Wright. Perhaps the most unanticipated decision of the survey period in the insurance law arena came from the court of appeals in Abrohams v. Atlantic Mutual Insurance Agency, a decision that the supreme court declined to review. In Abrohams the court held that a personal umbrella liability policy\u27s coverage extended to uninsured motorists when the policy provided $1 million in excess liability coverage over the insureds\u27 primary residence and motor vehicles, despite the fact that the umbrella policy itself specifically stated that it did not cover uninsured motorists. If an award was given for the most creative lawyering in an insurance case, it would surely be awarded this year to the attorney or attorneys who crafted the winning arguments in this case

Insurance

For the second year in a row, Georgia appellate courts have emphasized that even if the slightest doubt exists as to whether a liability insurance policy provides coverage for a loss, an insurer should provide a defense to the insured for the lawsuit or face potentially detrimental consequences out of the insurer\u27s control, which the insurer will have little or no ability to alter after a judgment has been rendered against the insured. Several other recent decisions have made significant changes to insurance law as well. Some of the decisions indicate that it is becoming increasingly difficult for an insurer to prevail on the defense of a lack of timely notice as a matter of law. In other cases, the courts have interpreted the phrases arising out of and using in insurance policies very broadly to find coverage. In one interesting case, a divided court of appeals upheld the enforceability of appraisal provisions in auto policies, distinguishing them from invalid arbitration clauses and further held that an insurer\u27s payment of the appraised value of the auto precluded claims of fraud, breach of contract, and RICO violations. In other insurance developments, Georgia\u27s Insurance Commissioner promulgated emergency regulations barring an insurance company from using a twelve-month suit limitation and imposing two years as the minimum time for bringing suit on a policy. These emergency regulations have changed the longstanding prior practice that had been consistently enforced by the courts

Insurance

This survey year, from June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010, brought significant developments to a broad array of insurance fields. Both the Georgia Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a cancellation notice for nonpayment of a premium can also contain an offer to reinstate upon payment in the grace period. The supreme court has strictly enforced basic concepts of offer and acceptance in the context of time-limit policy demands containing less than complete release and indemnity terms, thereby appearing to put insurers in catch 22 situations with their insureds. A safe harbor is getting more difficult to find. An oral reservation of rights can be valid, but an insurer\u27s failure to sufficiently reserve its rights, while undertaking the insured\u27s, waives those rights. Complex preemption issues were addressed in various courts, perhaps heralding more to come from recent attempts to federalize health insurance