published_or_final_version / abstract / Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy

H διατριβή αντιμετωπίζει το πρόβλημα της σχεδίασης ασφαλών υποσυστημάτων που μπορούν να υπάρξουν σε μη-εμπιστεύσιμα συστήματα διασφαλίζοντας τη δική τους ασφάλεια στο μεγαλύτερο δυνατό βαθμό. Στα πλαίσια της διατριβής προσεγγίστικε το πρόβλημα της ασφάλειας γενικά εντοπίζοντας παράλληλα περιοχές οι οποίες κρίθηκαν σημαντικές για περαιτέρω διερεύνηση. Αρχικά παρουσιάζεται η μεθοδολογία που ακολουθήθηκε για το σχεδιασμό και την ανάπτυξη αρχιτεκτονικής ασφάλειας για ένα δικτυο-κεντρικό σύστημα. Εστιάζοντας στα ενσωματωμένα συστήματα εξετάστηκαν θέματα απόδοσης κρυπτογραφίας μνήμης δεδομένου ότι η κρυπτογραφία μνήμης αποτελεί βασικό κομμάτι για την ασφάλεια ενός ενσωματωμένου συστήματος. Στη συνέχεια εξετάζεται ένα είδος επίθεσης πλαγίου καναλιού και εισάγεται μια μεθοδολογία προστασίας από μια τέτοια επίθεση. Δεδομένου ότι θέματα ασφαλείας που υπάρχουν σε συστήματα γενικού σκοπού μπορούν να αποτελέσουν μελλοντικούς κινδύνους για συστήματα ενσωματωμένου σκοπού παράλληλα με την επίβλεψη/υποστήριξη διπλωματικών εργασιών αναπτύχθηκαν λύσεις για ασφαλή εκκίνηση όπως και για τον εντοπισμό και αφαίρεση rootkit. Τέλος ως «τελευταίο» επίπεδο και δεδομένου ότι όλα τα συστήματα χρησιμοποιούνται για την ποιοτική και ασφαλή λειτουργία μιας υπηρεσίας, η διατριβή εστίασε σε θέματα ασφαλειας στο επίπεδο των εφαρμογών. Παρουσιάζεται μια μελέτη του Spam και μεθοδολογία καταπολέμησης του και τέλος επιθέσεις cross-scripting και εφαρμογή για την ανίχνευση μη επιθυμητών συναλλαγών που πραγματοποιούνται από κακόβουλες εφαρμογές. / This dissertation addresses the problem of designing secure subsystems that can exist in non-trusted infrastructures ensuring their own safety to the greatest extent possible. The problem of security was approached in a holistic view identifying areas important for further investigation. Initially we present the methodology used for the design and development of the security architecture for a network-centric system. Later we focus on embedded systems were the performance of memory encryption was examined, since memory encryption can be crucial for embedded system security. Side- channel attacks are also presented and a methodology for protection against such attacks is presented. Keeping in mind that the increase in power in embedded systems makes even more complicated attacks possible solutions were developed for secure boot and for identifying and removing rootkit. At last "last" and with the idea that all sub-systems are used for the qualitative and safe operation of a service, dissertation focused on security issues at the application level. A study of Spam is presented along with a fight-back methodology. Finally cross-scripting attacks are presented.

Poster / Soc 397a / 2015 Poverty in Tucson Field Workshop

A possible treatment for patients with lymphoma and myeloma is stem cell transplantation (SCT). SCT is preceded with cytostatic treatment. There are several side effects related to this treatment, for example fatigue, nausea, constipation/diarrhoea, pain, mucositis and loss of appetite. Aim: Investigate which side effects related to the treatment where most troubling after SCT and if nurse assessment and patient assessment differ. Methods: A quantitative empirical study with repeated measuring. The two groups of nurses and patients answered a form independently. Results: Loss of appetite and fatigue are the most troubling side effects according to both nurse and patient. Older patients tended to be more affected by fatigue. The nurses estimated the side effects such as loss of appetite, fatigue, diarrhoea and nausea lower than the patients did. Conclusion: No definitive conclusion could be made because of the small patient/nurse sample. However, there is a tendency showing difficulty for nurses to estimate correctly the side effects suffered by the patients. The nurses tend to estimate the side effects lower than the patients do.

Background Long-term side effects associated with the treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) have frequently been reported during the last decades. Studies have shown increased mortality in HL survivors. Following Hodgkin’s lymphoma, second malignancies (SM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are the most common causes of death in individuals treated for HL. This study investigates the incidence of side effects such as SM, CVD and infections in a cohort diagnosed with HL in Sweden between 1965 and 1995. In addition, this study identifies covariate risk factors for late side effects in order to develop strategies that prevent morbidity and mortality in HL survivors. Methods Using the Swedish Cancer Registry (SCR) at the National Board of Health and Welfare and the Multi-Generation Registry at Statistics (MGR) Sweden, we identified 6946 individuals diagnosed with HL between the years 1965 and 1995, and their first degree relatives (FDR) (n=17 858). In addition we identified the malignancies and inpatient care for CVD and infections for the HL cohort and their FDR. The standard incidence ratio (SIR) was calculated for the risk of SM, CVD and infections. For SM and CVD the risk also was stratified and calculated for family history of disease. The Swedish Hodgkin Intervention and Prevention study (SHIP), a prospective study, invited 702 individuals treated for HL at the age of 45 years or younger and who were treated in the region of Skåne, Uppsala or Umeå. The participants completed a questionnaire and were invited to an out-patient visit to an oncologist with clinical examination and blood tests. Any pathological findings were referred for further investigation. Results An increased risk for SM in HL long-term survivors was observed and seems to increase with the number of FDRs with cancer. There was also an increased risk for inpatient care due to congestive heart failure (CHF) and coronary artery disease (CAD). A family history of CHF and CAD further increased the risk for these diseases. The risk for inpatient care due to infections was increased and remained increased after 20 years or longer. The risk for infections was associated with splenectomy and hypothyroidism. Radiotherapy was an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the cohort of the prospective study. ConclusionLong-term survivors from HL have an increased risk for developing late side effects such as SM, CVD and infections. Since many HL patients are young and the cure rate from the disease is high, it is of great importance to offer focused surveillance programs to selected individuals who are at high risk, e.g. individuals who received radiotherapy as part of their treatment and who have other known risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, family history and smoking.

A rapid growth in the national electricity demand is placing an ever-increasing demand on the national electricity supply utility, Eskom. Projections show that the load demand in South Africa may exceed the installed capacity by as early as 2007. This is mainly due to the increase in demand in the residential sector as a result of the electrification of rural and previously disadvantaged communities. However, the industrial and commercial sectors also have a role in this increase. In an attempt to reduce the demand for electricity Eskom has adopted its Demand Side Management (DSM) initiative. This initiative is aimed at lowering the electricity demand in peak times through energy efficiency (EE) or load shift, out of peak demand times. Eskom is implementing the DSM strategy by financing Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) to reduce the demand load of major electricity end-users during peak times. Buildings consume a large percentage of the total energy supply in the world. Most of the energy consumed in buildings is used by the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, as well as lighting. However, a large potential for energy savings exists in buildings. Studies have shown that up to 70% of the electricity consumption of a building can be saved through retrofit studies. However, to capitalise on these opportunities, the ESCOs require tools and procedures that would enable them to accomplish energy savings studies quickly and efficiently. It should be a holistic approach to the typical ESCO building audit. A study of current available software programs showed the lack of holistic tools aimed specifically at retrofit audits, and therefore also the need for such a program. The building simulation program most suited to the retrofit study was chosen and it was used in a retrofit audit. By emulating a retrofit audit with this software, its performance in the field, both positive and negative, could be established. With the experience gained from the retrofit study, as well as input from ESCOs in the industry, a need for such a retrofit tool was established. The simulation program that was tested in the retrofit study is the tool Quickcontrol, as well as the newer version of the program, entitled QEC. The case study showed that even though these packages are well suited to ESCO work, they have certain drawbacks in view of the holistic project approach. The ESCOs require a simple, fast, and integrated procedure for energy audits. This procedure should be embodied in a software program. This study proposes a new integrated procedure for energy audits and the analyses of buildings, in the form of a software tool. This new tool is geared towards the ESCO building audit, in both South A6ica and internationally. It is designed to enable a diplomate engineer to accomplish a building energy and retrofit analysis in two weeks, leading the user through all the main project steps, from data acquisition to writing of the final project report. This is a significant improvement, since it normally takes 50 man-days for an experienced and trained engineering team to complete a full building audit. This tool was used in a case study to test its validity and accuracy. It was found that certain situations would arise in which the criteria that were set for the program would not be adequate. The results from the case study were favourable and satisfied the criteria that were set for the procedure. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Mitigating injury in side impact has been an important topic of research for decades. In the mid 1980’s the American government began a program intended to improve the crashworthiness of vehicles in side impact. This program ultimately led to the introduction of a dynamic side impact test (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214), which new vehicles must pass, along with a very similar test aimed at consumer awareness (New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) side impact test). The work presented in this thesis involved the study and simulation of these tests to evaluate occupant response in side impact, with a focus on the thoracic response. In the first portion of the work presented here, an in-depth study of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash test database was performed. In this study the results of the side impact crash tests of 72 vehicles were examined to understand the general trends seen in this type of testing with regards to vehicle velocity, side intrusion, and occupant injury prediction. A series of average velocity profile curves was created from accelerometer data at 18 measurement points on each vehicle crash tested. Additionally the injury criterion measured by the front seat occupant was plotted against several vehicle variables (such as mass and occupant arm to door distance) to study the effect these variable had on the injury predicted by the occupant. No single variable was shown to have a strong correlation to injury, although increasing door intrusion distance, peak lateral velocity, the Head Injury Criterion (HIC), and pelvic acceleration were found to positively correlate to thoracic injury. In addition, increasing vehicle model year, vehicle mass, and arm to door (AD) distance showed negative correlations with thoracic injury. Following the survey of the NHTSA database, a finite element model of the NHTSA side impact test was developed. This model included a full scale Ford Taurus model, a NHTSA barrier model and three side impact anthropometric test device (ATD) occupant models, each representing a different 50th percentile male dummy. Validation of this model was carried out by comparing the simulated vehicle component velocity results to the corridors developed in the NHSTA crash test database study as well as comparing these velocities, the vehicle deformation profile, and the occupant velocity, acceleration and rib deflection to several Ford Taurus crash tests from a similar vintage to the finite element model. As this model was intended as a ‘baseline’ case to study side impact and occupant kinematics in side impact, side airbags were not included in this model. A lack of experimental data and a lack of consensuses within the automotive crash community on the proper method of modeling these devices and their effectiveness in real world impacts also led to their exclusion. Following model validation, a parametric study was carried out to assess the importance of the initial position of the occupant on the vehicle door velocity profile and the predicted occupant injury response. Additionally the effect of the door trim material properties, arm rest properties and the effect of seat belt use were studied. It was found that the lateral position of the occupant had an effect on the door velocity profile, while the vertical and longitudinal position did not. The use of seatbelts was shown to have no significant effect in these simulations, due to minimal interaction between the restraint system and occupant during side impact. Furthermore, there was a general decreasing trend in the injury predicted as the initial position of the occupant was moved further inboard, down and forward in the vehicle. Stiffer interior trim was found to improve the injury prediction of the occupant, while changing the material of the foam door inserts had no effect. It was found that in general the occupant remained in position, due to the inertia of the occupant, while the seat began moving towards the centerline of the vehicle. Future considerations could include more advanced restraint systems to couple the occupant more effectively to the seat, or to develop side interior trim that engages the occupant earlier to reduce the relative velocity between the occupant and intruding door. Overall, the model correlated well with experimental data and provided insight into several areas which could lead to improved occupant protection in side impact. Future work should include integrating side airbags into the model, widening the focus of the areas of injury to include other body regions and integrating more detailed human body models.

Objective: MS-275, a phase trialed histone deacetylase inhibitor will be characterized for its ability reduce neuroblastoma (NB) viability and to target the tumor stem cell (TSC) population in neuroblastoma. Methods: Ability of MS-275 to reduce NB growth is characterized using a tumorigenic NB N-type cell line that has high differentiation potential. TSC enriched side population from NB and a reference teratocarcinoma cell line was analyzed as a model of TSC. The potential of MS-275 to modulate functional characteristics and markers of TSC was also investigated. Results: MS-275 induces a G1 cell cycle arrest, the intrinsic apoptosis pathway in NB and can potentially differentiate NB into a more terminal phenotype. NB TSC-like population is reduced following MS-275 treatment by the targeting of their self-renewal and drug pumping ability. Conclusions: By targeting both the NB and its TSC population, MS-275 has therapeutic potential for neuroblastoma. This warrants further in-vivo investigations.

Santrauka Darbo apimtis 53 puslapiai, įskaitant 51 paveikslėlį, 5 lenteles. Informacijos šaltinių sąraše 26 šaltiniai. Darbo pradžia 2007 09 01, pabaiga 2009 05 19. Darbo objektas – skirtingos konstrukcijos purkštukai (skylinis kūgiško srauto, plyšinis plokščiasrautis ir inžektorinis (pneumohidraulinis)). Darbo tikslas – ištirti vėjo greičio įtaką skirtingos konstrukcijos purkštukais išpurškiamų skysčio lašelių sklaidai. Darbo metodai. Taikytas literatūros šaltinių loginės analizės metodas. Tyrimo stende buvo panaudoti 3 skirtingos konstrukcijos purkštukai. Jais išpurkštas skystis buvo apipučiamas ašinio ventiliatoriaus sukuriamu skirtingo stiprumo (greičio) oro srautu. Gauti tyrimų duomenys įvertinti dispersinės ir koreliacinės-regresinės analizės metodais. Darbo rezultatai. Išanalizavus purkštukų gamintojų pateiktą informaciją ir remiantis mokslininkų atliktų tyrimų rezultatais galima teigti, kad vėjo greitis yra svarbiausias meteorologinis veiksnys, nuo kurio labai priklauso išpurkšto skysčio lašelių nunešimas pavėjui. Be to, nustatyta, kad, išpurkšto skysčio lašelių nunešimas pavėjui ženkliai priklauso ir nuo purkštukų konstrukcijos. Apibendrinus visų trijų purkštukų tyrimų rezultatus, nustatyta, kad vidutiniškai, plote nutolusiame nuo purkštuko pastatymo vietos vėjo kryptimi nuo 0,5 m iki 2,0 m, pasklinda 30%, o nuo 2,0 m iki 4,5 m – dar apie 7% lašelių, kai šoninio vėjo greitis siekia 8,2±0,1 m•s-1. Inžektorinio (pneumohidraulinio) purkštuko tyrimų rezultatus lyginant... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Summary Scope of work page 53, including 51 picture, 5 tables. The information sources listed 26 sources. Beginning in 2007 09 01, the end of 2009 05 29. Work item – the construction of the nozzles (conical flow skyline, Slit flat flow and injector nozzles (pneumohydraulic)). The aim – to explore the wind velocity influence on the design of different nozzles spray liquid dispersion of droplets. Working methods. Literature sources used for logic analysis method. The study as were used for construction of 3 different nozzles. They sprayed the liquid was mutual axial fan creates a difference in the strength (speed) of air flow. To obtain data to assess the dispersed and the correlation-regression analysis. Results of the work. The analysis of the information submitted by the nozzles and on the basis of research carried out by the results of research can be said that the wind speed is the most important meteorological factor, which relies heavily on sprayed liquid droplets leeway tailwind. In addition, the sprayed liquid droplets leeway tailwind significantly depends on the injector design. The synthesis of all three nozzles studies found that, on average, an area remote from the nozzles built of local wind direction from 0.5 m to 2.0 m, at the 30% and from 2.0 m to 4.5 m – still about 7 % droplets, when the lateral wind speed is 8.2 ± 0.1 m • s-1. Injector nozzles (pneumohydraulic) nozzles test results compared with Slit flat flow results can be said that the tailwind of... [to full text]

In this thesis, a novel framework for planning and investment studies pertaining to the implementation of system-wide conservation voltage reduction (CVR) is presented. In the CVR paradigm, optimal voltage profiles at the load buses are determined so as to yield load reductions and hence energy conservation. The system modifications required for CVR is known to be capital intensive; therefore, the proposed model determines the system savings and the appropriate price incentives to offer industries such that a minimum acceptable rate-of-return (MARR) is accrued. In this model, the industrial facilities are represented by a combination of constant impedance, constant current, and constant power loads. A detailed case study for Ontario, Canada, is carried out considering that industrial loads are investing in CVR implementation to reduce their energy costs. The optimal incentives that need be offered by the system planner, over a long-term horizon and across various zones of Ontario, are determined using the presented mathematical model. Furthermore, a comprehensive risk analysis, comprising sensitivity studies and Monte Carlo simulations, is carried out considering the variations in the most uncertain model parameters. In this work, it is shown that savings from CVR are enough so that incentives are not required in Ontario. Sensitivity analysis shows that electricity price and project cost have the highest impact on the incentives, and that electricity price and industrial demand have the most effect on system savings. Monte Carlo simulations show that the expected energy cost savings result in expected incentive rates to be relatively low compared to the average electricity price in Ontario. CVR is shown in this thesis to be a low cost Demand Side Management program to implement from the perspective of the power system planner, and a worthwhile investment for the industrial load.