REAL-TIME AD CLICK FRAUD DETECTION

With the increase in Internet usage, it is now considered a very important platform for advertising and marketing. Digital marketing has become very important to the economy: some of the major Internet services available publicly to users are free, thanks to digital advertising. It has also allowed the publisher ecosystem to flourish, ensuring significant monetary incentives for creating quality public content, helping to usher in the information age. Digital advertising, however, comes with its own set of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is ad fraud. There is a proliferation of malicious parties and software seeking to undermine the ecosystem and causing monetary harm to digital advertisers and ad networks. Pay-per-click advertising is especially susceptible to click fraud, where each click is highly valuable. This leads advertisers to lose money and ad networks to lose their credibility, hurting the overall ecosystem. Much of the fraud detection is done in offline data pipelines, which compute fraud/non-fraud labels on clicks long after they happened. This is because click fraud detection usually depends on complex machine learning models using a large number of features on huge datasets, which can be very costly to train and lookup. In this thesis, the existence of low-cost ad click fraud classifiers with reasonable precision and recall is hypothesized. A set of simple heuristics as well as basic machine learning models (with associated simplified feature spaces) are compared with complex machine learning models, on performance and classification accuracy. Through research and experimentation, a performant classifier is discovered which can be deployed for real-time fraud detection

The Nutrition and Dietetics Workforce Needs Skills and Expertise in the New York Metropolitan Area

Background: There is an increased demand in the Nutrition and Dietetics field which has fostered credentialing to ensure competent graduates. The objective of this study is to conduct an exploratory analysis to identify nutrition/dietetics workforce needs, skills and expertise in the New York metropolitan area as exemplified in position announcements over a 4 year period. Methods: We recorded position announcements for jobs in nutrition and dietetics from the New York State Registered Dietitian Yahoo group, and the Hunter College Nutrition and Food Sciences student and alumni listserv (NFS-L) over a 4 year period. Keywords were identified using job categories defined by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) compensation and benefits survey. This served as a starting point to enumerate the types of positions that have been posted for the New York metropolitan area in recent years. Results: Four hundred and twelve (412) unique job postings were recorded. Various educational levels, credentials, and skills desired by these employers were identified, assessed, and compared with similar data from the “supply side” reports from AND. Conclusions: The credentials and skills most desired by employers are similar to some of the learning objectives set forth for DPD and DI programs by ACEND, but not entirely congruent. The need for both client/customer focus and computer literacy may be implicit in the standards, but a more overt inclusion of these skills would likely be of benefit to ensure these are inculcated into every program and student

Метод измерения ударной вязкости как критерий оценки качества углеграфитовых материалов

Рассмотрены результаты внедрения метода измерения ударной вязкости в условиях ОАО «Укрграфит». НТУУ «КПИ» и ОАО «Укрграфит» cовместно выполнили работу по адаптации стандартного метода измерения ударной вязкости к испытанию графитированных материалов. Подобран размер образца, выполнен проект и изготовлен маятник для копра МК-5. Проведено измерение ударной вязкости материалов графитированных электродов различных марок. Установлена зависимость ударной вязкости от критерия термостойкости материала ЭГСП. Выявлена прямая пропорциональность между этими параметрами. В результате ряда технологических приемов удалось добиться повышения ударной вязкости материалов (%): ЭГСП – на 7; ниппеля – 20.Розглянуто результати впровадження методу вимірювання ударної в’язкості в умовах ВАТ «Укрграфіт». НТУУ «КПІ» і ВАТ «Укрграфіт» спільно виконали роботу з адаптації стандартного методу виміру ударної в’язкості до випробування графітованих матеріалів. Підібрано розмір зразка, виконано проект і виготовлено маятник для копра МК-5. Проведено вимірювання ударної в’язкості матеріалів графітованих електродів різних марок. Встановлено залежність ударної в’язкості від критерію термостійкості матеріалу ЕГСП. Виявлено пряму пропорційність між цими параметрами. В результаті ряду технологічних прийомів вдалося досягти підвищення ударної в’язкості матеріалів (%): ЕГСП – на 7; ніпеля – 20.The results of introduction of impact strength measurement method at JSC «Ukrgrafit» are described. Ukrainian UST «KPI» and JSC «Ukrgrafit» in common performed work on adaptation of standard impact strength measurement method to graphite material tests. The size of a sample was selected, the design was performed and a pendulum for impact testing machine MK-5 was manufactured. Impact strength measurement for various grade graphite electrode materials was performed. Impact strength depends on the conditions of manufacturing and raw material used. Dependence of impact strength on the heat resistance criterion of EGSP material was established. Direct proportionality between those parameters was revealed. As a result of a number of techniques better impact strength was achieved (%): for EGSP material – by 7; for nipple material – 20

Mono and Di-Fucosylated Glycans of the Parasitic Worm S. Mansoniare Recognized Differently by the Innate Immune Receptor DC-SIGN

The parasitic worm,Schistosoma mansoni, expresses unusual fucosylated glycans in a stage-dependent manner that can be recognized by the human innate immune receptor DC-SIGN, thereby shaping host immune responses. We have developed a synthetic approach for mono- and bis-fucosylated LacdiNAc (LDN-F and LDN-DF, respectively), which are epitopes expressed on glycolipids and glycoproteins ofS. mansoni. It is based on the use of monosaccharide building blocks having carefully selected amino-protecting groups, facilitating high yielding and stereoselective glycosylations. The molecular interaction between the synthetic glycans and DC-SIGN was studied by NMR and molecular modeling, which demonstrated that the alpha 1,3-fucoside of LDN-F can coordinate with the Ca2+-ion of the canonical binding site of DC-SIGN allowing for additional interactions with the underlying LDN backbone. The 1,2-fucoside of LDN-DF can be complexed in a similar manner, however, in this binding mode GlcNAc and GalNAc of the LDN backbone are placed away from the protein surface resulting in a substantially lower binding affinity. Glycan microarray binding studies showed that the avidity and selectivity of binding is greatly enhanced when the glycans are presented multivalently, and in this format Le(x)and LDN-F gave strong responsiveness, whereas no binding was detected for LDN-DF. The data indicates thatS. mansonihas developed a strategy to avoid detection by DC-SIGN in a stage-dependent manner by the addition of a fucoside to a number of its ligands.This research was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO; TOP-PUNT grant 718.015.003 to G.-J.B.), the Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSP; grant LT000747/2018-C to L.U.), the European Research Council (ERC-2017-AdG, project number 788143-RECGLYC-ANMR to J.J.-B.), the Agencia Estatal Investigacion of Spain (AEI; grant RTI2018-094751-B-C21 to J.J.-B.) and the Severo Ochoa Excellence Accreditation (SEV-2016-0644 to J.J.-B.)

Treatment with clobetasol propionate 0.025% topical therapy in various dermatoses

Owing to their anti-inflammatory and vasoconstrictive properties. Topical corticosteroids (TCs) provide benefits in various dermatological conditions, including atopic eczema, psoriasis, chronic hand eczema, and localized vitiligo. Clobetasol propionate (CP) is the most common topical agent possessing anti-inflammatory, antimitotic, antipruritic, and immunosuppressive properties that are employed in the management of plaque psoriasis. CP 0.025% cream was approved by the United States food and drug administration for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis in adult patients. The formulation is free from known contact allergens, such as propylene glycol, short-chain alcohols, and sorbitol-based emulsifiers, and has demonstrated hypoallergenic effects. High penetration of active ingredients and a lower degree of systemic absorption make CP 0.025% an effective and safe agent. This case series discusses the clinical experience of using CP 0.025% cream in various dermatologic conditions, focusing on its efficacy and safety

Eating in East Harlem: An Assessment of Changing Foodscapes in Community District 11, 2000-2015

The report analyzes changes in five domains -- food retail, food insecurity and food benefits, institutional food, food and nutrition education, and diet-related health conditions -- in East Harlem from before the election of Michael Bloomberg through the first two years of the de Blasio Administration. Its goal is to assess the ways in which food environments in East Harlem have improved, stayed the same, or worsened in this 15-year period in order to inform setting food policy goals for the next 5, 10 or 15 years. Although East Harlem is blessed with a multitude of organizations and individuals dedicated to improving local food environments and reducing food insecurity and diet-related diseases, these two problems are still more common in our community than in other New York City neighborhoods. These organizations and businesses constitute a sturdy foundation for improving our local food environment and demonstrate that since 2000 increasing access to and providing education around healthy affordable food has become a priority for many in our community. There are now more places to purchase food in East Harlem, but more does not necessarily mean better. Food establishments selling mostly unhealthy food increased more rapidly than healthy food outlets. East Harlem is neither a food desert, where healthy food is unavailable, nor a food swamp, where only unhealthy food can be purchased. Rather, it is a complex landscape where price, quality and access vary both within East Harlem and compared to other neighborhoods. Our report also found that focusing on food related policies tells only part of the story of East Harlem\u27s food environments - income inequality, rising rates of low wage workers mean that many East Harlem families don\u27t earn enough to afford healthy food and housing policies contribute to the pressures that force affordable supermarkets to close, replaced by higher end food retailers that cater to the wealthier people moving into East Harlem. Our study confirmed our belief that local studies of community food environments can yield evidence that can highlight local successes and failures. In the last two decades, New York City has worked hard to make more data available to community residents and leaders so they can participate more fully in policy deliberations. But we found many indicators of food environments unavailable at the scale we needed, and the variety of data sources we used to assess changes in the number of retail food establishments in East Harlem over time provided different answers to what appeared to be the same questions. By providing more reliable, accessible, and user friendly data on local food environments, public agencies and universities can better engage communities in taking action to improve these environments.This report also reaffirmed the value of CUNY faculty, staff and students to working with communities for healthier, more equitable food environments

Path Following Control of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

In the recent years a lot of interest is seen on research on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. This control is to the fact that AUVs find application in several areas such as oceanographic observations, mine counter measure, defence, risky missions, military, pipeline inspections, ocean floor investigation and return of lost man-made objects. Research on AUVs is motivating and challenging. The motion control of AUV involves a number of complex problems including to path following, navigation and co-operative motion control problems. Many complexities arise for motion control of AUV. In case of path following control it is necessary to develop efficient control algorithms such that a desired path mcan be tracked accurately. Ocean current and hydrodynamic effects appear external disturbances in the dynamics of AUV. In this thesis, firstly kinematics and dynamics of AUV are reviewed. Subsequently, open loop response of the AUV has been studied. AUV is an under actuated system i.e. the number of control inputs are fewer than the number of degrees of freedom to be controlled. Hence control of AUV is a difficult task. The control law should be generated such that AUV follows the predefined desired path.The control laws are generated using Serret Frenet frame for designing path following control of AUV. Lyapunov and backstepping technique is employed for developing path following control laws. Serret frame is basically a virtual frame which considered to be attached with a path. The kinematics of AUV is represented in serret frame and the appropriate thrust force and rudder orientation are to be maintained which enable AUV to track the desired path. In order to accomplish this task, appropriate thruster and torque will be generated by using propeller and rudder through generation of control signals. In many of the past work although error backstepping approach has been employed in a number of past works for example control of path following but in there surge motion dynamics was not considered. Therefore, in this thesis the surge motion dynamics is considered in the design of controller for path following task. It is well known that fuzzy logic technology is very suitable for developing control systems in handling situations where uncertainties are encountered in the dynamics. In the view of this fuzzy logic controller is designed for achieving path following task of AUV

Chemo-enzymatic Synthesis of N-glycans of Schistosoma mansoni and their Molecular Interactions with Glycan Binding Proteins

The glycome comprises of glyco-conjugates like N-glycans, that are the most diverse and abundant types of glycoproteins expressed across all domains of life. N-glycans of lower species like parasites and bacteria have still not been fully explored, owing to a poor understanding of their enzyme expression. As such, there is a tremendous lag in the amount of information available with respect to their interaction and invasion of humans. Research suggests that seemingly unimportant changes in glycosylation patterns in such pathogens can have unpredictable and immense effects on biological functions. However, biological extraction of these glycans yields heterogeneous and impure mixtures in minute quantities. Until we gain extensive advancement in technologies like gene expression and recombinant protein expression, chemical approach aided with enzymatic extensions seems to be the only way to get access to comprehensive libraries of desired glycans. One such parasitic organism, S. mansoni utilizes glycan expression on its cell surface to invade its host and manipulate their immune system. They express a number of glycan motifs in a stage-dependent manner, which contain highly unusual fucoside linkages recognized as immunogenic epitopes, that are reported to bind to DC-SIGN to modulate the human immune response and evade detection. The synthesis of these minimal epitopes and their interactions with DC-SIGN using multi-disciplinary approaches such as STD-NMR, molecular modeling and micro-array was accomplished. The studies established the importance of multivalency to increase avidity and selectivity of binding from a biological perspective. Further, a library of characteristic N-glycans of S. mansoni was synthesized via a chemo-enzymatic methodology. The N-glycans were attributed with characteristic features such as a core xyloside, core fucoside and terminal epitopes like Lewis-x, LDN-F and di-Lewis-x. These glycans were studied by STD-NMR, computation, and electron microscopy and it was concluded that multi-antennary glycans bind with higher affinity to DC-SIGN compared to mono-valent minimal epitopes. It was presented that the multi-antennary glycans could cross-link DC-SIGN tetramers into a dense network which could contribute to clustering of DC-SIGN, thus enhancing antigen recognition. The synthesis of characteristic N-glycans of S. mansoni and their in-depth binding studies by multidisciplinary approaches offer unique insight into the molecular aspects of protein-glycan interactions. Access to such well-defined glycan libraries will enable future studies to identify the ideal candidate that can generate an appropriate antibody response in infections, thus activating the immune system towards the death and expulsion of the parasite