Hacker Taggers: A new type of hackers

Organisations often spend large sums of money to ensure that they are protected against the risks associated with online attacks. The perceived threats against organisations are well known and the losses can be easily quantified. This perceived threat is usually portrayed by the media as being the work of a hacker however little is known about hacker subgroups, their rationale and ethical views. This paper focuses upon hacker subgroups and their activities and in particular the new hacker subgroup identified as ‘Hacker Taggers’.     

Sectorised WiMAX antenna for future vehicular communications systems

A narrow band antenna of dimensions 0.54λ x 0.28λ x 0.09λ is presented. The design is suited for use in cellular Radio-over-Fibre networks. Associated mobile equipment using the international unlicensed WiMAX band (5.470-5.725 GHz) is also described. The antenna is well matched across the band and is suitable for a full-duplex bi-directional system with simultaneous transmission (T_x) and reception (R_x). It can be used with mobile handsets offering WiMAX connections, and in multi-sector configurations for vehicular communication systems.     

The short of it: Abbreviating the temporal discounting procedure.

A typical temporal discounting procedure determines the present, subjective value (indifference point) of a delayed outcome at 5 to 8 different delays to that outcome. These indifference points are used to determine a single index of discounting called a discounting rate. One concern that remains in the collection of this data is the high number of trials or choices, resulting in participant fatigue or other factors that may affect the validity of the data. In this report, we propose an abbreviated alternative to the more comprehensive and time-consuming discounting procedure. Specifically, we propose that fewer indifference points can be used to determine statistically equivalent discount rates with no loss in data sensitivity. We reanalyzed temporal discounting data obtained with 7 indifference points, and estimated discount rates from all combinations of 2, 3, and 4 of the 7 indifference points. Results indicate that valid and sensitive discounting indices can be obtained with fewer indifference points, and the most appropriate sets of indifference points are highlighted. The proposed abbreviated procedure is likely to be particularly useful when time constraints or participant fatigue is a concern as well as in repeated-measures contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Targeted Venous Occlusion Using Pulsed High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound

Targeted vascular occlusion is desirable for clinical therapies such as in the treatment of esophageal and gastric varices and varicose veins. The feasibility of ultrasound-mediated endothelial damage for vascular occlusion was studied. A segment of a rabbit auricular vein was treated in vivo with low duty cycle, high peak rarefaction pressure (9 MPa) high-intensity focused ultrasound pulses in the presence of intravenously administered circulating microbubbles, followed by fibrinogen injection, which resulted in the formation of an acute occlusive intravascular thrombus. Further investigation and refinements of treatment protocols are necessary for producing durable vascular occlusion.      

Positron annihilation studies of vacancy related defects in ceramic and thin film Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 materials

Abstract

Preliminary positron annihilation studies of ceramic and thin film Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT) materials have been completed. The aim of this work was to examine the effects of processing conditions on vacancy related defects. Positron lifetime measurements on bulk PLZT plates showed an increase in positron trapping to a defect state with increasing grain size consistent with trapping to lead vacancy related defects formed through lead oxide loss during processing. Variable energy positron beam measurements were completed on bulk PLZT plates, sol-gel PZT thin films and laser ablated PLZT thin films. Films processed in a reduced oxygen atmosphere were found to give a higher S-parameter, due to an increase in concentration of neutral or negatively charged vacancy type defects, compared with material processed in an oxidizing ambient.     

建立示波器校准器的溯源性

文中对建立示波器校准作了概述并说明示波器校准器的溯源性引发了哪些问题。     

Comparison of the NHANES dietary screener questionnaire to the Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Recall for Children in the Healthy Communities Study

Background

A dietary screener questionnaire (DSQ) was used to assess dietary outcomes among children in the Healthy Communities Study (HCS), a study of the relationships between programs and policies to prevent child obesity and child diet, physical activity and weight outcomes.

Methods

To compare dietary intake estimates derived from the DSQ against those from the Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Recalls for Children (ASA24-Kids) among children, a measurement error model, using structural equation modelling, was utilized to estimate slopes, deattenuated correlation coefficients, and attenuation factors by age and sex, ethnicity, and BMI status.

Participants/setting

A randomly selected sub-sample of HCS participants aged 4–15 years in 130 communities throughout the U.S. who completed the DSQ and up to two ASA24-Kids recalls (n?=?656;13% of HCS participants).

Results

For most nutrient/foods examined, the DSQ yielded larger mean intake estimates than the ASA24-Kids, and agreement between the two measures varied by food/nutrient, age and sex, ethnicity, and BMI category. Deattenuated correlation coefficients of 0.4 or greater were observed for added sugars from SSBs (0.54), fruits and vegetables (0.40), and dairy foods (0.50). Lower deattenuated correlation coefficients were seen for total added sugars (0.37), whole grains (0.34), and fiber (0.34). Attenuation factors were most severe for total added sugars intake among overweight children, and for several other dietary outcomes among children aged 9–11 years.

Conclusions

The DSQ was found to be a tool with acceptable agreement with the ASA24-Kids for measuring multiple dietary outcomes of interest in the HCS, although there may be potential due to measurement error to underestimate results (bias towards the null). In future studies, measurement error modelling and regression calibration may be possible solutions to correct for bias due to measurement error in most food/nutrient intake estimates from the DSQ when used among children.

     

Size-dependent deposition of inhaled nanoparticles in the rat respiratory tract using a new nose-only exposure system

Concerns about the potential health effects of exposure to nanomaterials have led to a growing number of in vivo inhalation toxicity studies using nanoparticle aerosols. Estimates of aerosol deposition within the respiratory tract are important for these studies to enable: (a) the interpretation of the results, in particular, the evaluation of dose–response relationships; (b) comparison with the results of other related studies; and (c) the extrapolation of results from animal models to human. Unfortunately, only a limited number of studies have been undertaken to investigate respiratory tract deposition efficiencies for nano-sized aerosol particles. This is of particular importance as deposition efficiencies are predicted to vary significantly over the nano-size range for some elements of the respiratory tract. In this study, female Wistar-Kyoto rats were exposed in a new design nose-only inhalation exposure system to spark generated radioactive iridium-192 nanoparticle aerosols of four particle sizes chosen to cover the majority of the nano-size range (nominal sizes: 10, 15, 35, and 75 nm). The content of iridium-192 in the lung, head, gastrointestinal tract, and various other organs and tissues was measured. Aerosol deposition efficiencies in the whole respiratory tract and components (head airways, lung, alveolar region, and tracheobronchial region) were estimated and compared with the predictions of the Multiple Path Particle Dosimetry (MPPD) model (v2.11). The experimentally derived deposition efficiencies were broadly consistent with, but typically higher than, model predictions and the results of comparable studies in the literature.

Copyright © 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Cynipid gall-wasp communities correlate with oak chemistry

Host-plant association data, gathered from field surveys conducted throughout Florida and from the literature, were used to identify the specificity of cynipid gall inducers to one or more of six Quercus species that occur at Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida, USA, including the red oaks Q. laevis, Q. myrtifolia, and Q. inopina, and the white oaks Q. chapmanii, Q. geminata, and Q. minima. Quercus myrtifolia had the highest cynipid richness and diversity (37 cynipid species, Shannon H = 3.61, Simpson's D = 0.97), followed by Q. chapmanii, Q. laevis, Q. inopina, Q. geminata, and finally Q. minima (10 species, H = 2.30, D = 0.90). All cynipid species showed strong fidelity to a particular host plant or a restricted set of host plants. An ordination of gall-wasp host associations indicated that the cynipid communities of each oak species were distinct and specific to a given oak species. Leaf samples taken from each oak species were analyzed for condensed and hydrolyzable tannins, total phenolics, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose, nitrogen, and carbon. All of these chemical traits, with the exception of carbon, differed by oak species, and the differences were strongly correlated with the axes of the cynipid--species ordination. These results suggest that gall-wasp occurrence is influenced by oak chemistry and imply that experimental studies of cynipid gall inducers that examine host-plant chemistry and female oviposition choice and larval performance will yield useful insights.     

Olfactory responses ofIps plastographus maritimus lanier (coleoptera: Scolytidae) to insect and host-associated volatiles in the laboratory

Attraction of both sexes ofIps plastographus maritimus Lanier to bark-phloem-xylem discs of Monterey pine,Pinus radiata D. Don, was demonstrated in the laboratory. Increasing concentrations of male and female volatiles trapped separately and released in a one-to-one ratio decreased attraction for both sexes combined. Attraction of both sexes to volatiles derived from males and females tunneling together in a one-to-one ratio increased with increasing concentration of extract. Attraction of males and females to male-infested discs and to trapped male volatiles increased with increasing dose of males or male extract. Attraction of males and females to female-infested discs and to trapped female volatiles was also demonstrated. The presence of females in male galleries reduced the attractiveness of infested disks to both sexes combined. Increasing numbers of females, tunneling separately from males in the same disc, reduced attraction of males, but not females. When a constant attractive dose of male volatiles was released with increasing doses of female volatiles, there was no difference in response of either sex when female volatiles were present compared with the response to male volatiles alone. When a constant attractive dose of male volatiles was released with increasing concentrations of volatiles derived from males and females tunneling together in a one-to-one ratio, attraction ofI. p. maritimus decreased. Response of females was frequently higher than that of males to the same attractant source. Hence, both sexes produce an attractant, and both sexes tunneling together in the same gallery reduce attraction of males and females to an attractive dose of male attractant.