670 research outputs found
LeakWatch: Estimating Information Leakage from Java Programs
Abstract. Programs that process secret data may inadvertently reveal information about those secrets in their publicly-observable output. This paper presents LeakWatch, a quantitative information leakage analysis tool for the Java programming language; it is based on a flexible “point-to-point ” information leakage model, where secret and publiclyobservable data may occur at any time during a program’s execution. LeakWatch repeatedly executes a Java program containing both secret and publicly-observable data and uses robust statistical techniques to provide estimates, with confidence intervals, for min-entropy leakage (using a new theoretical result presented in this paper) and mutual information. We demonstrate how LeakWatch can be used to estimate the size of information leaks in a range of real-world Java programs
Extracellular bacterial lymphatic metastasis drives Streptococcus pyogenes systemic infection
Unassisted metastasis through the lymphatic system is a mechanism of dissemination thus far ascribed only to cancer cells. Here, we report that Streptococcus pyogenes also hijack lymphatic vessels to escape a local infection site, transiting through sequential lymph nodes and efferent lymphatic vessels to enter the bloodstream. Contrasting with previously reported mechanisms of intracellular pathogen carriage by phagocytes, we show S. pyogenes remain extracellular during transit, first in afferent and then efferent lymphatics that carry the bacteria through successive draining lymph nodes. We identify streptococcal virulence mechanisms important for bacterial lymphatic dissemination and show that metastatic streptococci within infected lymph nodes resist and subvert clearance by phagocytes, enabling replication that can seed intense bloodstream infection. The findings establish the lymphatic system as both a survival niche and conduit to the bloodstream for S. pyogenes, explaining the phenomenon of occult bacteraemia. This work provides new perspectives in streptococcal pathogenesis with implications for immunity
Transport of charged particles by adjusting rf voltage amplitudes
We propose a planar architecture for scalable quantum information processing
(QIP) that includes X-junctions through which particles can move without
micromotion. This is achieved by adjusting radio frequency (rf) amplitudes to
move an rf null along the legs of the junction. We provide a proof-of-principle
by transporting dust particles in three dimensions via adjustable rf potentials
in a 3D trap. For the proposed planar architecture, we use regularization
techniques to obtain amplitude settings that guarantee smooth transport through
the X-junction.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
Optimum electrode configurations for fast ion separation in microfabricated surface ion traps
For many quantum information implementations with trapped ions, effective
shuttling operations are important. Here we discuss the efficient separation
and recombination of ions in surface ion trap geometries. The maximum speed of
separation and recombination of trapped ions for adiabatic shuttling operations
depends on the secular frequencies the trapped ion experiences in the process.
Higher secular frequencies during the transportation processes can be achieved
by optimising trap geometries. We show how two different arrangements of
segmented static potential electrodes in surface ion traps can be optimised for
fast ion separation or recombination processes. We also solve the equations of
motion for the ion dynamics during the separation process and illustrate
important considerations that need to be taken into account to make the process
adiabatic
The Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism: development and application among British Pagans
This article builds on the tradition of attitudinal measures of religiosity established by Leslie Francis and colleagues with the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity (and reflected in the Sahin-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam, the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism, and the Santosh-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Hinduism) by introducing a new measure to assess the attitudinal disposition of Pagans. A battery of items was completed by 75 members of a Pagan Summer Camp. These items were reduced to produce a 21-item scale that measured aspects of Paganism concerned with: the God/Goddess, worshipping, prayer, and coven. The scale recorded an alpha coefficient of 0.93. Construct validity of the Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism was demonstrated by the clear association with measures of participation in private rituals
MHC class II antigen presentation by intestinal epithelial cells fine-tunes bacteria-reactive CD4 T cell responses
Although intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) can express major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II), especially during intestinal inflammation, it remains unclear if antigen presentation by IECs favours pro- or anti-inflammatory CD4+ T cell responses. Using selective gene ablation of MHC II in IECs and IEC organoid cultures, we assessed the impact of MHC II expression by IECs on CD4+ T cell responses and disease outcomes in response to enteric bacterial pathogens. We found that intestinal bacterial infections elicit inflammatory cues that greatly increase expression of MHC II processing and presentation molecules in colonic IECs. Whilst IEC MHC II expression had little impact on disease severity following Citrobacter rodentium or Helicobacter hepaticus infection, using a colonic IEC organoid-CD4+ T cell co-culture system, we demonstrate that IECs can activate antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in an MHC II-dependent manner, modulating both regulatory and effector Th cell subsets. Furthermore, we assessed adoptively transferred H. hepaticus-specific CD4+ T cells during intestinal inflammation in vivo and report that IEC MHC II expression dampens pro-inflammatory effector Th cells. Our findings indicate that IECs can function as non-conventional antigen presenting cells and that IEC MHC II expression fine-tunes local effector CD4+ T cell responses during intestinal inflammation
A high-precision rf trap with minimized micromotion for an In+ multiple-ion clock
We present an experiment to characterize our new linear ion trap designed for
the operation of a many-ion optical clock using 115-In^+ as clock ions. For the
characterization of the trap as well as the sympathetic cooling of the clock
ions we use 172-Yb^+. The trap design has been derived from finite element
method (FEM) calculations and a first prototype based on glass-reinforced
thermoset laminates was built. This paper details on the trap manufacturing
process and micromotion measurement. Excess micromotion is measured using
photon-correlation spectroscopy with a resolution of 1.1nm in motional
amplitude, and residual axial rf fields in this trap are compared to FEM
calculations. With this method, we demonstrate a sensitivity to systematic
clock shifts due to excess micromotion of |({\Delta}{\nu}/{\nu})| = 8.5x10^-20.
Based on the measurement of axial rf fields of our trap, we estimate a number
of twelve ions that can be stored per trapping segment and used as an optical
frequency standard with a fractional inaccuracy of \leq 1x10^-18 due to
micromotion.Comment: 19 pages with 14 picture
Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset
corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected
during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.
The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the
couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and
right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary
mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b,
leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing
transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W'
boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to
the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for
masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC
data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed
coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant
improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe
Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The
analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC
from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an
integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross
section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected
exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the
standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The
analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model
Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The
largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is
observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance
of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local
significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is
estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of
this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
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