Software-based System Research Articles

A Lightweight Scheme of Active-Port-Aware Monitoring in Software-Defined Networks

Software-defined networking (SDN) is the key technology to enable network softwarization by offering a programable and flexible network control capabilities. In order to dynamically manage and reconfigure the underlying network through SDN, network-based monitoring functionality needs to be in place. However, existing network monitoring schemes are normally heavyweight which can cause substantial monitoring overhead when dealing with entire network infrastructure and complex policies. Such a limitation can be critical in a software-based network system that enables the construction of multiple networks with various network policies designed by a network operator. In this article, we propose a new lightweight monitoring mechanism referred to as Active-port Aware Monitoring (APAM) in order to support the monitoring of complex networks with substantially reduced overhead. APAM typically monitors active ports which are the switch ports utilized by current flow rules. These active ports are dynamically monitored with reconfigurable monitoring intervals according to their port utilization. The measurement results show that APAM adapts varying traffic route due to a change of flow rules and also adjusts its monitoring performance according to network traffic dynamicity, which reduces the monitoring overhead and also improves monitoring accuracy.

COMPARISON OF SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE BASED INTRUSION PREVENTION SYSTEMS

In this study, attacks in three different scenarios were organized by Nmap and Hping3 tools on the virtual Kali server to physical servers running two software-based, open source Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS-A and IPS-B) and one hardware-based, closed-source Intrusion Prevention System (IPS-C). Although the software-based IPS-A has high packet capture performances, it has been observed that the detection/alarm results are below the average. Although the hardware-based IPS-C is an optimized appliance to put a minimum load on the processor, the detection/alarm figures are at very low levels. In this paper, it has been observed that the IPS-B which is the other software-based Intrusion Prevention System, has a processor usage of 100% but it has reached a far ahead result with very high analysis and detection/alarm performance. In this study, in all the scenarios, four different packet numbers and about twenty parameters were applied to all three IPSs that packet capture performance is quite high and 100%. All three IPSs achieved 100% detection results in attacks where a small number of packets were sent.

ClimeGreAq: A software-based DSS for the climate change adaptation of Greek aquaculture

Climate change poses increasing challenges to aquaculture, resulting in the need to develop appropriate tools to assess these challenges and support decision-making. We present ClimeGreAq, a software-based Decision Support System (DSS) co-created with stakeholders to support the adaptation of Greek aquaculture to climate change. The DSS is based on an integrated modeling approach which links a biological and an economic model in order to simulate the effects of climate drivers on Greek aquaculture in a spatially heterogeneous manner. The tool may be used by stakeholders including farmers, producer organizations, regional administrations and national authorities to support decision-making on questions ranging from selecting appropriate farming locations, to designating zones for aquaculture activities, to developing national climate adaptation plans. Along with a description of the DSS design process, its structure, and the constituent models, key results are presented relating to stakeholder involvement, the user interface, and several application examples.

The validity and reliability of thriving scale in academic context: Mindfulness, GPA, and entrepreneurial intention among university students

This study aims to adapt the thriving scale into Turkish by considering its academic context and to examine the mediating role of thriving in the relationship between mindfulness, GPA scores, and entrepreneurial intention. The sample of the study has involved the participation of 134 students from five different departments of Istanbul Medeniyet University in Turkey, using data collected at three-time points in the spring semester of 2019. At the first and second time points, students filled out an online survey made up of questions regarding demographics, mindfulness, entrepreneurship, and thriving; while at the third time point, researchers obtained the students’ GPA scores from a software-based university information system. The construct validity of the scales was tested via an Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients were analyzed to test the internal consistency, while the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to analyze the test-retest reliability. Finally, a structural equation analysis was used to test the research model. The findings have been discussed in line with literature relevant to the issue, with recommendations on their possible application given in the conclusion of the study.

Epidemiological study of motorcycle accidents in Gonabad in 2018-2019

Introduction: Motorcycle accidents are among the deadliest road traffic accidents, and the prevention of road traffic injury is a daunting challenge in numerous countries, including Iran. The present study aimed to investigate the motorcycle accidents that occurred in Gonabad, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using all standard pre-hospital emergency reporting forms related to motorcycle accidents registered in a software-based pre-hospital information management system (called ASAYAR in Persian) between March 2018 and 2019. The motorcycle accidents were assessed in terms of urban and rural settings, time and mission results of accidents, and demographic characteristics of injured people. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and frequency percentage) were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 1,555 traffic accidents were recorded in the ASAYAR system, out of which 746(48%) accidents were related to motorcycle accidents, and out of 746 cases in the county, 431 cases had occurred in Gonabad. The majority of motorcycle accidents (49%) took place in the age group of 15-25 years. The time analysis of accidents demonstrated that the majority of accidents had happened in the spring with 34% (n=147) and in June with 11.86% (n=51). Moreover, 77% of the injured were motorcycle riders, and 82% of all the injured have been taken to hospital. Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, nearly half of all road accidents are caused by motorcycles. Given that most of the injured in motorcycle accidents are adolescents and young people, it is necessary to take practical measures to control and manage this major health threat.

NEW GENERATION FIREWORKS: A STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT

Attempts at unauthorized intrusion occur quite often, even after the adoption of the necessary security policies and practices for the information network. These are attacks in which an attacker gains access to the system using various hacking techniques. A firewall is a hardware and software-based network security system that uses certain rules to manage incoming and outgoing network packets. The firewall controls access to network resources through a positive management model. There are various traditional firewalls, such as packet filters, program-level gateways, and chip-level gateways, which have their pros and cons. To overcome the shortcomings of the traditional firewall, a new generation of firewalls is introduced. The article presents the study of traditional firewalls and their evolution to a new generation firewall and its benefits. New firewalls still belong to the third generation, but are often referred to as the "next generation" or NGFW. This type combines all previously used approaches with an in-depth review of filtered content and its comparison with a database to identify potentially dangerous traffic. Modern firewalls often have built-in additional security systems: virtual private networks (VPNs), intrusion prevention and detection systems (IPS / IDS), authentication management, application management, and web filtering. Their state-of-the-art technology can filter outbound traffic. This helps reduce the likelihood of data theft by attackers. In addition, an important function of the firewall is to reduce the risk of devices becoming part of a botnet (a malicious network with a large group of devices controlled by cybercriminals).

On-chip trainable hardware-based deep Q-networks approximating a backpropagation algorithm

Reinforcement learning (RL) using deep Q-networks (DQNs) has shown performance beyond the human level in a number of complex problems. In addition, many studies have focused on bio-inspired hardware-based spiking neural networks (SNNs) given the capabilities of these technologies to realize both parallel operation and low power consumption. Here, we propose an on-chip training method for DQNs applicable to hardware-based SNNs. Because the conventional backpropagation (BP) algorithm is approximated, a performance evaluation based on two simple games shows that the proposed system achieves performance similar to that of a software-based system. The proposed training method can minimize memory usage and reduce power consumption and area occupation levels. In particular, for simple problems, the memory dependency can be significantly reduced given that high performance is achieved without using replay memory. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of the nonlinearity characteristics and two types of variation of non-ideal synaptic devices on the performance outcomes. In this work, thin-film transistor (TFT)-type flash memory cells are used as synaptic devices. A simulation is also conducted using fully connected neural network with non-leaky integrated-and-fire (I&F) neurons. The proposed system shows strong immunity to device variations because an on-chip training scheme is adopted.

An Automatic Aggregator of Power Flexibility in Smart Buildings Using Software Based Orchestration.

This paper presents a software-based modular and hierarchical building energy management system (BEMS) to control the power consumption in sensor-equipped buildings. In addition, the need of this type of solution is also highlighted by presenting the worldwide trends of thermal energy end use in buildings and peak power problems. Buildings are critical component of smart grid environments and bottom-up BEMS solutions are need of the hour to optimize the consumption and to provide consumption side flexibility. This system is able to aggregate the controls of the all-controllable resources in building to realize its flexible power capacity. This system provides a solution for consumer to aggregate the controls of ‘behind-the-meter’ small loads in short response and provide ‘deep’ demand-side flexibility. This system is capable of discovery, status check, control and management of networked loads. The main novelty of this solution is that it can handle the heterogeneity of the installed hardware system along with time bound changes in the load device network and its scalability; resulting in low maintenance requirements after deployment. The control execution latency (including data logging) of this BEMS system for an external control signal is less than one second per connected load. In addition, the system is capable of overriding the external control signal in order to maintain consumer coziness within the comfort temperature thresholds. This system provides a way forward in future for the estimation of the energy stored in the buildings in the form of heat/temperature and use buildings as temporary batteries when electricity supply is constrained or abundant.

Integration and Commissioning of the Software-based Readout System for ATLAS Level-1 Endcap Muon Trigger in Run 3

The Large Hadron Collider and the ATLAS experiment at CERN will explore new frontiers in physics in Run 3 starting in 2022. In the Run 3 ATLAS Level-1 endcap muon trigger, new detectors called New Small Wheel and additional Resistive Plate Chambers will be installed to improve momentum resolution and to enhance the rejection of fake muons. The Level-1 endcap muon trigger algorithm will be processed by new trigger processor boards with modern FPGAs and high-speed optical serial links. For validation and performance evaluation, the inputs and outputs of their trigger logic will be read out using a newly developed software-based readout system. We have successfully integrated this readout system in the ATLAS online software framework, enabling commissioning in the actual Run 3 environment. Stable trigger readout has been realized for input rates up to 100 kHz with a developed event-building application. We have verified that its performance is sufficient for Run 3 operation in terms of event data size and trigger rate. The paper will present the details of the integration and commissioning of the software-based readout system for ATLAS Level-1 endcap muon trigger in Run 3.

Security Testing for Naval Ship Combat System Software

Military weapon systems are considered as “system of systems” (SoS). They comprise various equipment based on computers and networks and have been developed using commercial computing technology for several decades. The state-of-the-art weapon systems are information technology (IT) systems, for example, the cyber-physical system. In particular, the naval combat system, which is a weapon system, is a representative system interconnecting a number of equipments by using commercial computing technology. It is a software-based complex system, which produces and shares information about naval tactical situations by interconnecting the various systems installed on ships or remote platforms. Moreover, it performs tactical combat functions automatically or manually for assigned missions. As the core function and performance of the combat system shift from being hardware-centric to software-centric, cybersecurity threats to software that can affect the combat systems may emerge as a novel issue. The failure of the combat system to perform normal combat functions in an actual naval combat situation owing to cybersecurity issues is a very serious risk to naval operations. However, software security testing is not conducted systematically during system development because the cybersecurity of the combat system is evaluated to be less important than its function and performance, resulting in the development of an insecure and vulnerable combat system against cybersecurity threats. To build a secure combat system against cyberattacks, it is important to derive systematic and practical security testing for the combat system software during system development. This paper analyzes the previous researches on a software security test, characteristics of the combat system software, and guidelines for the software security testing of the Korean military’s weapon system development. In addition, it proposes improved software security testing to strengthen the cybersecurity of the combat system based on its characteristics and missions.

Designing a Central Bank Digital Currency with Support for Cash-Like Privacy

Most central banks in advanced economies consider issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to address the declining use of cash and to position themselves against increased competition from Big Tech companies, cryptocurrencies, and stablecoins. One crucial design dimension of a CBDC system is the degree of transaction privacy. Existing solutions are either prone to security concerns or do not provide full (cash-like) privacy. Moreover, it is often argued that a fully private payment system and, in particular, anonymous transactions cannot comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulation. In this paper, we follow a design science research approach (DSR) to develop and evaluate a holistic software-based CBDC system that supports fully private transactions and addresses regulatory constraints. To this end, we employ zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) to impose limits on fully private payments. Thereby, we are able to address regulatory constraints without disclosing any transaction details to third parties. We evaluate our artifact in interviews with leading economic, legal, and technical experts and find that a regulatorily compliant CBDC system that supports full (cash-like) privacy is feasible.

Measurement properties of EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L in recording self-reported health status in older patients with substantial multimorbidity and polypharmacy

BackgroundThe EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L are two generic health-related quality of life measures, which may be used in clinical and health economic research. They measure impairment in 5 aspects of health: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L in measuring the self-reported health status of older patients with substantial multimorbidity and associated polypharmacy.MethodsBetween 2017 and 2019, we administered EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L to a subset of patients participating in the OPERAM trial at 6 months and 12 months after enrolment. The OPERAM trial is a two-arm multinational cluster randomised controlled trial of structured medication review assisted by a software-based decision support system versus usual pharmaceutical care, for older people (aged ≥ 70 years) with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. In the psychometric analyses, we only included participants who completed the measures in full at 6 and 12 months. We assessed whether responses to the measures were consistent by assessing the proportion of EQ-5D-5L responses, which were 2 or more levels away from that person’s EQ-5D-3L response. We also compared the measures in terms of informativity, and discriminant validity and responsiveness relative to the Barthel Index, which measures independence in activities of daily living.Results224 patients (mean age of 77 years; 56% male) were included in the psychometric analyses. Ceiling effects reported with the EQ-5D-5L (22%) were lower than with the EQ-5D-3L (29%). For the mobility item, the EQ-5D-5L demonstrated better informativity (Shannon’s evenness index score of 0.86) than the EQ-5D-3L (Shannon’s evenness index score of 0.69). Both the 3L and 5L versions of EQ-5D demonstrated good performance in terms of discriminant validity, i.e. (out of all items of the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L, the pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression items had the weakest correlation with the Barthel Index. Both the 3L and 5L versions of EQ-5D demonstrated good responsiveness to changes in the Barthel Index.ConclusionBoth EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L demonstrated validity and responsiveness when administered to older adults with substantial multimorbidity and polypharmacy who were able to complete the measures.

Using multiple-steps bioinformatic analysis to predict the potential microRNA targets by cardiogenic HoxA11.

In this study, our major aim is to using multiple-steps bioinformatic analysis to predict cardiogenic genes with targeting mRNA profiling for predicting cardiogenic HoxA11 gene. We first analyzed the microarray data with bioinformatic measurement, including combining with panel module 1 (mouse embryonic stem cells), panel module 2 (mouse induced pluripotent stem cells), and panel module 3 (gene list form literature of heart development). A literature-based comparison of the two microarrays and a software-based (Targetscan program, www.targetscan.org) comparative analysis of the two datasets. Furthermore, we select the common central pathways and potential candidate genes involved in the cardiomyocyte-lineaged differentiation and development. Schematic presentation of a putative miR181a target site in Hox-A11 3'UTR. The bioinformatic result showed that potential interacted cardiogenic targets of Tbx5, Tbx20, Mal2c, Nkx2.5, cTNT, Cx43, MHC, and MCK in different treatment groups of pluripotent stem cells by using a literature-based comparison of the two microarrays and a software-based gene-lineage system. Our findings support that mir181a is an up-stream regulating microRNA to target the 3'UTR of HoxA11 mRNA during the process of cardiomyocyte differentiation.

An Improved Traffic Congestion Monitoring System Based on Federated Learning

This study introduces a software-based traffic congestion monitoring system. The transportation system controls the traffic between cities all over the world. Traffic congestion happens not only in cities, but also on highways and other places. The current transportation system is not satisfactory in the area without monitoring. In order to improve the limitations of the current traffic system in obtaining road data and expand its visual range, the system uses remote sensing data as the data source for judging congestion. Since some remote sensing data needs to be kept confidential, this is a problem to be solved to effectively protect the safety of remote sensing data during the deep learning training process. Compared with the general deep learning training method, this study provides a federated learning method to identify vehicle targets in remote sensing images to solve the problem of data privacy in the training process of remote sensing data. The experiment takes the remote sensing image data sets of Los Angeles Road and Washington Road as samples for training, and the training results can achieve an accuracy of about 85%, and the estimated processing time of each image can be as low as 0.047 s. In the final experimental results, the system can automatically identify the vehicle targets in the remote sensing images to achieve the purpose of detecting congestion.

ANALISIS IMPLEMENTASI SISTEM INFORMASI AKUNTANSI DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN SOFTWARE ACOSYS PADA PT LADFANID KONSULTINDO BATAM

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of an accounting system using Microsoft Excel, the reliability of the accounting system used previously as well as the factors that influence the successful implementation of the Acosys software-based accounting information system at PT Ladfanid Konsultindo Batam. In implementation, in Microsoft Excel presenting financial statements, especially for trading and manufacturing companies in the calculation of cost of goods sold, there must be a classification beforehand because Microsoft Excel does not have a special menu in the presentation of purchases and sales so that there are several classifications in different sheets. The accounting system used today is Acosys, which is an accounting system that is more adequate and reliable than using Microsoft Excel. Acosys can be categorized as a complex system in preparing financial statements because it has features that can be used according to company needs. every transaction that has been inputted automatically all kinds of reports relating to finance can be accessed quickly as needed. What is rarely owned by other software but owned by Acosys is that Acosys software can be used forever without additional costs for updating.

Considerations in Selecting a Fitting a Function for Film Dosimetry in Radiation Therapy

Although many technologies, such as an electronic portal imaging device, a software-based quality assurance system, an ion chamber array, etc., have been developed for the purpose of quality assurance of radiotherapy planning, radiochromic film is still one of the most reliable technologies and is being widely used. In particular, compared with other technologies, EBT3 film has unique advantages, including its unlimited spatial resolution, relatively small volume and waterproof quality, which means it can be used inside the patient’s body. The main obstacle to using EBT3 film is that various equations have to be used in the calibration process, which makes it very sensitive to the results. The manufacturer provides a fitting function, but many software programs and researchers use their own functions. In this study, some functions normally used for calibrating EBT3 films are compared by analyzing a couple of characteristics in the course of fitting the function to the measured values. Although our study shows the lack of a suitable fitting function that works well in every situation, it can provide valuable insight into selecting suitable functions for fitting in a clinical setting.

Benefits of the Opex Pro Application in Online Project Monitoring and Evaluation at PT. XYZ

Along with the process of globalization, information technology has become an inseparable part of the world of construction services. However, the use of information technology in the field of construction management is not as popular as compared to construction planning especially in the process of project monitoring and evaluation. The contractor must have an integrated information system to be able to support the process of monitoring and evaluation that is true and right so that objectives can be achieved according to plan. PT. XYZ is a contractor that creates an integrated software-based information system called Opex Pro that is used to support project monitoring and evaluation. Opex Pro is used on smartphones and has been implemented for a number of years, but the benefits and positive effects have yet to be measured. This study aims to identify components and analyze the benefits of implementing the Opex Pro application as a means of project monitoring and evaluation. The scope of the problems in this study is limited to the application of the Opex Pro Application in the Building Division of PT. XYZ with a sample project manager. Literature review is focused on construction management, information technology in the world of construction, project monitoring and evaluation, and management of construction resources. The quantitative approach was chosen as the research method and analysis was carried out on all selected samples. It is expected that the application of the Opex Pro application can have a positive impact on the project monitoring and evaluation process at PT. XYZ continuously.

Robustness of software

In the English civil court case Bates v Post Office Limited, the properties of the Post Office Horizon transaction-processing system were investigated and argued. Anthony de Garr Robinson QC for the Post Office defined “robustness” of the Horizon software-based system. The concept of robustness was at the core of the defendant’s argument, which was that Horizon was “robust”, if not infallible. This article sets out that the vocabulary deployed by Mr de Garr Robinson is not used in this way in computing, whether or not it is conceptually clear.
 Index words: software, electronic documents, electronic evidence, computer evidence, robust

A conservative confidence bound for the probability of failure on demand of a software-based system based on failure-free tests of its components

The standard approach to deriving the confidence bound for the probability of failure on demand (pfd) of a software-based system is to perform statistical tests on the whole system as a “black-box”. In practice, performing tests on the entire system may be infeasible for logistical reasons, such as lack of availability of all component subsystems at the same time during implementation. This paper presents a general method for deriving a confidence bound for the overall system from successful independent tests on individual system components. In addition, a strategy is presented for optimizing the number of tests allocated to system components for an arbitrary system architecture that minimizes the confidence bound for the system pfd. For some system architectures, we show that an optimum allocation of component tests is as effective as tests on the complete system for demonstrating a given confidence bound. The confidence bound calculation makes use of many of the concepts used in the reliability analysis of hardware structures, but unlike a conventional hardware analysis, the method does not presume statistical independence of failures between software components, so the confidence bound calculation for the software should always be conservative.

Holistic System Design Evaluation Through Expanded MATE

According to Buede and Miller, not applying a holistic simulation and modeling approach to early design evaluation practices and trade studies results in greater developmental costs, time to market, and unforeseeable system-level design consequences. Completed research is presented for an innovative methodology that enhances the capacity of conventional design evaluations by integrating new types of simulations consistently into the existing Multi-attribute Tradespace Exploration (MATE) design evaluation architecture. This enhancement is particularly important for any envisioned software-intensive system that introduces greater system complexity. According to Ross et al., MATE was originally developed to guide engineering design and initial product selection by exploring candidate designs to deliver utility-based solutions. Unfortunately, the MATE methodology does not support software design evaluation and integration into complex systems. The results presented validate MATE improvements that are scalable and extensible to any software-based system of varying complexity and application. The subject research provides proof of this concept by focusing on sensor systems as an initial practical demonstration due to their rapidly expanding commercial use and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Project engineers and especially software developers in any product field will benefit from this design method by leveraging its holistic evaluation of software and hardware system design performance for more efficient product design identification and implementation.