Getting the real-time precise round-trip time for stepping stone detection

Stepping stone attacks are often used by network intruders to hide their identities. The Round Trip Times (RTT) between the send packets and corresponding echo packets for the connection chains of stepping stones are critical for detecting such attacks. In this paper, we propose a novel real-time RTT getting algorithm for stepping stones which is based on the estimation of the current RTT value. Our experiments show that it is far more precise than the previous real-time RTT getting algorithms. We also present the probability analysis which shows that our algorithm has a high matching rate and a high accurate rate

Modeling and defense against propagation of worms in networks

Worms are widely believed to be one of the most serious challenges in network security research. In order to prevent worms from propagating, we present a microcosmic model, which can benefit the security industry by allowing them to save significant money in the deployment of their security patching schemes

Sevoflurane ameliorates doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury by affecting the phosphorylation states of proteins in PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway

  Background: The effect of sevoflurane on the doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury was explored by investigating the phosphorylation states of proteins in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mam­malian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Methods: Myocardial injury rat models were induced by doxorubicin and evenly assigned into five groups according to different treatment: Doxorubicin group (DG, 200-μL saline solution), sevoflurane group (SevG, inhaled with 2.4% sevoflurane for 2 h), LY294002 group (LYG, Akt inhibitor, 0.3 mg/kg in 200-μL Dimethyl Sulfoxide [DMSO]), solvent DMSO control group (SG) and autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) group (MG, 30 mg/kg in 200-μL DMSO). The healthy rats were assigned to a contro1 group (CG, 200-μL saline solution). Myocardial apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The concentration of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) was detected by ELISA. The levels of total Akt (t-Akt), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), phosphorylated-mTOR (p-mTOR) and autophagy marker LC3-II was detected by Western Blot. The experiments were also repeated at the cell level. Results: Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling analysis showed that the ap­optosis rates were high in DG and SG, reached the highest level in LYG, reduced in SevG and MG, and reached the lowest level in CG. The levels of p-Akt p-mTOR were low in groups DG and SG, reached the lowest level in LYG, increased in SevG and MG, and reached the highest level in CG. In contrast, LC3-II expression, apoptosis index and serum cTnI concentration were high in DG and SG, reached the highest level in LYG, reduced in SevG and MG, and reached the lowest level in CG (p < 0.05). Cell experiment showed similar results as with animal experiments. Conclusions: Sevoflurane ameliorates myocardial injury by affecting the phosphorylation states of the proteins in PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and reducing the injury biomarker. (Cardiol J 2017; 24, 4: 409–418

SOLUBLE ST2 AND CD163 AS POTENTIALBIOMARKERS TO DIFFERENTIATE PRIMARY HEMOPHAGOCYTIC LYMPHOHISTIOCYTOSIS FROM MACROPHAGE ACTIVATION SYNDROME

Abstract Background and Objective: The differentiation of primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (pHLH) and macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) poses a challenge to hematologists. The aim of this study was (1) to compare the levels of soluble ST2 (sST2), sCD163, IL-10, IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-18 in patients with pHLH and MAS and (2) to investigate whether they can help differentiate the two diseases. Methods: A total of 54 participants were recruited in this study, including 12 pHLH patients, 22 MAS patients and 20 healthy subjects. We measured the levels of sST2 and sCD163 in serum by ELISA. The serum levels of IL-10, IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-18 were detected using a Luminex 200 instrument. Results: The serum levels of sST2 and sCD163 in MAS patients were markedly higher than that in pHLH patients (363.13 ± 307.24 ng/ml vs 80.75 ± 87.04 ng/ml, P = 0.004; 3532.72 ± 2479.68 ng/ml vs 1731.96 ± 1262.07 ng/ml, P = 0.046). There was no significant difference in the expression of IFN-γ (306.89 ± 281.60 pg/ml vs 562.43 ± 399.86 pg/ml), IL-10 (20.40 ± 30.49 pg/ml vs 8.3 ± 13.14 pg/ml), IL-18 (463.33 ± 597.04 pg/ml vs 1247.82 ± 1318.58 pg/ml) and TNF-α (61.48 ± 84.69 pg/ml vs 106.10 ±77.21 pg/ml) between pHLH and MAS. Conclusion: Patients with pHLH and MAS show some differences in cytokine profiles. The elevated levels of IFN-γ, IL-10, IL-18 and TNF-α can contribute to the diagnosis of HLH, but may not discriminate pHLH from MAS. Levels of sST2 and sCD163 may serve as markers to distinguish pHLH from MAS

Developmental trajectories of expert perception processing of Chinese characters in primary school children

Previous studies have demonstrated that inversion effect and left-side bias are stable expertise markers in Chinese character processing among adults. However, it is less clear how these markers develop early on (i.e., among primary school students). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the development of the two markers by comparing primary school-aged students of three age groups (Grade 1, Grade 3, and Grade 5) and adults in tests of inversion effect (Experiment 1) and left-sided bias effect (Experiment 2). The results replicated that both effects during Chinese character processing were present among adults. However, more importantly, the effects were different among primary school-aged students in different grades: the inversion effect was found as early as in Grade 1, but the left-side bias effect did not emerge in Grade 1 and as approximated that of adults until Grade 3. The study suggested a potential dissociation in developing different aspects of expertise during Chinese character processing in early childhood

A Fast Diagnosis Method for Both IGBT Faults and Current Sensor Faults in Grid-Tied Three-Phase Inverters With Two Current Sensors

© 1986-2012 IEEE. This article considers fault detection in the case of a three-phase three-wire (3P3W) inverter, when only two current sensors are used to save cost or due to a faulty current sensor. With two current sensors, there is no current method addressing the diagnosis of both IGBT open-circuit (OC) faults and current sensor faults. In order to solve this problem, this article proposes a method which innovatively combines two kinds of diagnosis variables, line voltage deviations and phase voltage deviations. The unique faulty characteristics of diagnosis variables for each fault are extracted and utilized to distinguish the fault. Using an average model, the method only needs the signals already available in the controller. Both IGBT OC faults and current sensor faults can be detected quickly in inverter mode and rectifier mode, so that the converter can be protected in a timely way to avoid further damages. In addition, error-adaptive thresholds are adopted to make the method robust. Effects such as system unbalance are analyzed to ensure that the method is robust and feasible. Simulation and experimental results are used to verify and validate the effectiveness of the method

Functional requirements analysis and design of wearable multi-channel sensing system

In recent years, a large number of wearable devices have emerged; and users have higher and higher functional requirements for wearable devices. However, the realization of complex functions of wearable devices often depends on the real-time acquisition of multi-channel sensing signals. Taking the wearable 8-channel PVDF sensor system as an example; this paper studies the functional requirements of this kind of system. It is found that the flexible ultra-thin and long endurance time are two obvious characteristics of this kind of equipment. The key technical problems of the system are completed, such as the selection of MCU, the coding design of multi-channel sensing data, the transmission mode design of multi-channel sensing data and the low power consumption design of the system. A practical design scheme of reliable wearable multi-channel sensor system is designed. This scheme also provides a reliable reference for the design and development of wearable multi-channel sensor system