Hierarchy-Based Access Control in Distributed Environments

Access control is a fundamental concern in any system that manages resources, e.g., operating systems, file systems, databases and communications systems. The problem we address is how to specify, enforce, and implement access control in distributed environments. This problem occurs in many applications such as management of distributed project resources, e-newspaper and payTV subscription services. Starting from an access relation between users and resources, we derive a user hierarchy, a resource hierarchy, and a unified hierarchy. The unified hierarchy is then used to specify the access relation in a way that is compact and that allows efficient queries. It is also used in cryptographic schemes that enforce the access relation. We introduce three specific cryptography based hierarchical schemes, which can effectively enforce and implement access control and are designed for distributed environments because they do not need the presence of a central authority (except perhaps for set- UP).

A Security Framework for Wireless Sensor Networks Utilizing a Unique Session Key

Key management is a core mechanism to ensure the security of applications and network services in wireless sensor networks. It includes two aspects: key distribution and key revocation. Many key management protocols have been specifically designed for wireless sensor networks. However, most of the key management protocols focus on the establishment of the required keys or the removal of the compromised keys. The design of these key management protocols does not consider the support of higher level security applications. When the applications are integrated later in sensor networks, new mechanisms must be designed. In this paper, we propose a security framework, uKeying, for wireless sensor networks. This framework can be easily extended to support many security applications. It includes three components: a security mechanism to provide secrecy for communications in sensor networks, an efficient session key distribution scheme, and a centralized key revocation scheme. The proposed framework does not depend on a specific key distribution scheme and can be used to support many security applications, such as secure group communications. Our analysis shows that the framework is secure, efficient, and extensible. The simulation and results also reveal for the first time that a centralized key revocation scheme can also attain a high efficiency.

KeyRev: An Efficient Key Revocation Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

Key management is a core mechanism to ensure the security of applications and network services in wireless sensor networks. It includes two aspects: key distribution and key revocation. Key distribution has been extensively studied in the context of sensor networks. However, key revocation has received relatively little attention. Existing key revocation schemes can be divided into two categories: centralized key revocation scheme and distributed key revocation scheme. In this paper, we first summarize the current key revocation schemes for sensor networks. Then, we propose an efficient centralized key revocation scheme, KeyRev, for wireless sensor networks. Unlike most proposed key revocation schemes focusing on removing the compromised keys, we propose to use key updating techniques to obsolesce the keys owned by the compromised sensor nodes and thus remove the nodes from the network. Our analyses show that the KeyRev scheme is secure inspite of not removing the pre-distributed key materials at compromised sensor nodes. Simulation results also indicate that the KeyRev scheme is scalable and performs very well in wireless sensor networks.

A taxonomic review of the neotropical genus Coprophanaeus Olsoufieff, 1924 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae

The Neotropical genus Coprophanaeus Olsoufieff (1924), as classified here, comprises 38 species distributed among three subgenera (Megaphanaeus Olsoufieff, Metallophanaeus Olsoufieff, and Coprophanaeus s. str. ) and eight species groups. Keys presented help to identify supraspecific and species taxa, all of which are illustrated and diagnosed. Lectotypes are designated for Phanaeus ignecinctus Felsche and Phanaeus ohausi Felsche. Coprophanaeus corythus (Harold), formerly regarded as a subspecies of C. telamon (Erichson), assumes species status. Coprophanaeus magnoi Arnaud, described as a subspecies of C. milon (Blanchard), is raised to species status. New taxonomic interpretations result in 10 new subjective synonymies (junior synonym listed first): Phanaeus machadoi Pereira and d’Andretta = Coprophanaeus saphirinus (Perty); Phanaeus costatus Olsoufieff = Coprophanaeus cyanescens (Olsoufieff); Phanaeus worontzowi Pessôa and Lane = Coprophanaeus cyanescens (Olsoufieff); Coprophanaeus kohlmanni Arnaud = Coprophanaeus morenoi Arnaud; Coprophanaeus pluto nogueirai Arnaud = Coprophanaeus pluto (Harold); Coprophanaeus edmondsi Arnaud = Coprophanaeus conocephalus (Olsoufieff); Coprophanaeus uhleri Malý and Pokorný = Coprophanaeus chiriquensis (Olsoufieff); Coprophanaeus henryi Malý and Pokorný = Coprophanaeus gilli Arnaud; Phanaeus perseus Harold = Coprophanaeus corythus (Harold); Coprophanaeus telamon nevinsoni Arnaud and Gámez = Coprophanaeus corythus; and Coprophanaeus florenti Arnaud = Coprophanaeus ohausi (Felsche). The status of the following names remains unresolved: Phanaeus strandi Balthasar; Coprophanaeus rigoutorum Arnaud; C. terrali Arnaud; C. lichyi Arnaud; C. lecromi Arnaud; C. larseni Arnaud; and C. vazdemeloi Arnaud.

Revision of Hawaiian, Australasian, Oriental, and Japanese Parandrinae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae)

A comprehensive revision of the Subfamily Parandrinae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) from the Hawaiian, Australasian, Oriental, and Japanese regions is presented. Seven (7) new genera are described: Komiyandra, Melanesiandra, Papuandra, Storeyandra, Hawaiiandra, Caledonandra, and Malukandra. All known, indigenous species from these regions are assigned to new genera resulting in the following new combinations: Komiyandra janus (Bates, 1875), K. shibatai (Hayashi, 1963), K. formosana (Miwa and Mitono, 1939), K. lanyuana (Hayashi, 1981), Melanesiandra striatifrons (Fairmaire, 1879), M. solomonensis (Arigony, 1983), Caledonandra austrocaledonica (Montrouzier, 1861), C. passandroides (Thomson, 1867), Hawaiiandra puncticeps (Sharp, 1878), Malukandra heterostyla (Lameere, 1902), Storeyandra frenchi (Blackburn, 1895), and Papuandra araucariae (Gressitt, 1959). Thirty-one (31) new species are described: Komiyandra javana, K. nayani, K. ohbayashii, K. luzonica, K. philippinensis, K. mindanao, K. mehli, K. vivesi, K. lombokia, K. sulawesiana, K. irianjayana, K. menieri, K. sangihe, K. mindoro, K. niisatoi, K. drumonti, K. cabigasi, K. koni, K. johkii, K. poggii, K. uenoi, Melanesiandra bougainvillensis, M. birai, Papuandra gressitti, P. weigeli, P. queenslandensis, P. norfolkensis, P. rothschildi, P. oberthueri, Malukandra jayawijayana and M. hornabrooki. A lectotype is designated for Parandra janus Bates, 1875. Komiyandra janus (Bates, 1875) is excluded from nearly all previously reported locations, even one location given in the original description, and is now only known from Sulawesi. A paralectotype of Parandra janus Bates, 1875, is designated as a paratype for Komiyandra menieri, new species. Komiyandra formosana is excluded from the Japanese (Ryukyu Is.) fauna. Parandra vitiensis Nonfried, 1894, is again placed in synonymy with P. striatifrons Fairmaire (now Melanesiandra striatifrons). A neotype is designated for Parandra austrocaledonica Montrouzier, 1861. A lectotype is designated for Parandra janus Bates, 1875. The lectotype of Parandra gabonica Thomson, 1858, designated by Quentin and Villiers (1975) is considered invalid. Papuandra araucariae (Gressitt, 1959) is excluded from the fauna of Norfolk Island. The African species Stenandra kolbei (Lameere, 1903) is reported for the first time from Asia (N. Vietnam). Keys are presented to separate worldwide genera of Parandrini and all species within the study regions. Illustrations are provided for all species including many special characters to differentiate genera and species.

The Economics of Threatened Species Conservation: A Review and Analysis

Stabilizing human population size and reducing human-caused impacts on the environment are keys to conserving threatened species (TS). Earth's human population is ~ 7 billion and increasing by ~ 76 million per year. This equates to a human birth-death ratio of 2.35 annually. The 2007 Red List prepared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) categorized 16,306 species of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and other organisms (e.g., lichens, algae) as TS. This is ~ 1 percent of the 1,589,161 species described by IUCN or ~ 0.0033 percent of the believed 5,000,000 total species. Of the IUCN’s described species, vertebrates comprised relatively the most TS listings within respective taxonomic categories (5,742 of 59,811), while invertebrates (2,108 of 1,203,175), plants (8,447 of 297,326), and other species (9 of 28,849) accounted for minor class percentages. Conservation economics comprises microeconomic and macroeconomic principles involving interactions among ecological, environmental, and natural resource economics. A sustainable-growth (steady-state) economy has been posited as instrumental to preserving biological diversity and slowing extinctions in the wild, but few nations endorse this approach. Expanding growth principles characterize most nations' economic policies. To date, statutory fine, captive breeding cost, contingent valuation analysis, hedonic pricing, and travel cost methods are used to value TS in economic research and models. Improved valuation methods of TS are needed for benefit-cost analysis (BCA) of conservation plans. This Chapter provides a review and analysis of: (1) the IUCN status of species, (2) economic principles inherent to sustainable versus growth economies, and (3) methodological issues which hinder effective BCAs of TS conservation.

Potential Attractants for Detecting and Removing Invading Gambian Giant Pouched Rats (Cricetomys gambianus)

BACKGROUND: Native to Africa, Gambian giant pouched rats (Gambian rats; Cricetomys gambianus Waterh.) are a threatening invasive species on a Florida island, Grassy Key. Gambian giant pouched rats shifted from a domestic pet to invading species after suspected release from a pet breeder. Because of the large size of Gambian rats (weighing up to 2.8 kg), they pose a serious threat to native species (particularly nesting species) and agricultural crops, especially if Gambian rats invade mainland Florida. Also, Gambian rats pose a threat from disease, as they were implicated in a monkeypox outbreak in the mid-western United States in 2003. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services has initiated eradication and detection efforts in the Florida Keys, but trapping the sparse population of Gambian rats has proven difficult. RESULTS: Fifteen attractants that could be used in traps for capturing or detecting single or paired Gambian rats were tested. It was found that conspecific scents (i.e. feces and urine) from other Gambian rats were the best treatment for attracting single and paired Gambian rats. Single Gambian rats explored more attractant types than paired Gambian rats. CONCLUSIONS: Effective attractants for use with Gambian rats have been identified, and multiple attractant types should be used to capture or detect the sparse population. It is recommended that mainly urine and feces from Gambian rats be used, but peanut butter, anise, ginger and fatty acid scent could also be useful for attracting the currently small population of Gambian rats on Grassy Key.

Interplay of Late Cenozoic Siliciclastic Supply and Carbonate Response on the Southeast Florida Platform

High-resolution seismic-reflection data collected along the length of the Caloosahatchee River in southwestern Florida have been correlated to nannofossil biostratigraphy and strontium-isotope chemostratigraphy at six continuously cored boreholes. These data are interpreted to show a major Late Miocene(?) to Early Pliocene fluvial– deltaic depositional system that prograded southward across the carbonate Florida Platform, interrupting nearly continuous carbonate deposition since early in the Cretaceous. Connection of the platform top to a continental source of siliciclastics and significant paleotopography combined to focus accumulation of an immense supply of siliciclastics on the southeastern part of the Florida Platform. The remarkably thick (> 100 m), sand-rich depositional system, which is characterized by clinoformal progradation, filled in deep accommodation, while antecedent paleotopography directed deltaic progradation southward within the middle of the present-day Florida Peninsula. The deltaic depositional system may have prograded about 200 km southward to the middle and upper Florida Keys, where Late Miocene to Pliocene siliciclastics form the foundation of the Quaternary carbonate shelf and shelf margin of the Florida Keys. These far-traveled siliciclastic deposits filled accommodation on the southeastern part of the Florida Platform so that paleobathymetry was sufficiently shallow to allow Quaternary recovery of carbonate sedimentation in the area of southern peninsular Florida and the Florida Keys.

What Business Reference Librarians Need to Know about Intellectual Property: Presentations sponsored by the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Association (PTDLA) at the American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 25, 2006

Presentations sponsored by the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Association (PTDLA) at the American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, June 25, 2006 Speaker #1: Nan Myers Associate Professor; Government Documents, Patents and Trademarks Librarian Wichita State University, Wichita, KS Title: Intellectual Property Roundup: Copyright, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, and Patents Abstract: This presentation provides a capsule overview of the distinctive coverage of the four types of intellectual property – What they are, why they are important, how to get them, what they cost, how long they last. Emphasis will be on what questions patrons ask most, along with the answers! Includes coverage of the mission of Patent & Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDLs) and other sources of business information outside of libraries, such as Small Business Development Centers. Speaker #2: Jan Comfort Government Information Reference Librarian Clemson University, Clemson, SC Title: Patents as a Source of Competitive Intelligence Information Abstract: Large corporations often have R&D departments, or large numbers of staff whose jobs are to monitor the activities of their competitors. This presentation will review strategies that small business owners can employ to do their own competitive intelligence analysis. The focus will be on features of the patent database that is available free of charge on the USPTO website, as well as commercial databases available at many public and academic libraries across the country. Speaker #3: Virginia Baldwin Professor; Engineering Librarian University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE Title: Mining Online Patent Data for Business Information Abstract: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website and websites of international databases contains information about granted patents and patent applications and the technologies they represent. Statistical information about patents, their technologies, geographical information, and patenting entities are compiled and available as reports on the USPTO website. Other valuable information from these websites can be obtained using data mining techniques. This presentation will provide the keys to opening these resources and obtaining valuable data. Speaker #4: Donna Hopkins Engineering Librarian Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY Title: Searching the USPTO Trademark Database for Wordmarks and Logos Abstract: This presentation provides an overview of wordmark searching in www.uspto.gov, followed by a review of the techniques of searching for non-word US trademarks using codes from the Design Search Code Manual. These codes are used in an electronic search, either on the uspto website or on CASSIS DVDs. The search is sometimes supplemented by consulting the Official Gazette. A specific example of using a section of the codes for searching is included. Similar searches on the Madrid Express database of WIPO, using the Vienna Classification, will also be briefly described.

A dog at the keyboard: using arbitrary signs to communicate requests

As a consequence of domestication, dogs have a special readiness for communication with humans. We here investigate whether a dog might be able to acquire and consistently produce a set of arbitrary signs in her communication with humans, as was demonstrated in ""linguistic"" individuals of several species. A female mongrel dog was submitted to a training schedule in which, after basic command training and after acquiring the verbal labels of rewarding objects or activities, she learned to ask for such objects or activities by selecting lexigrams and pressing keys on a keyboard. Systematic records taken during spontaneous interaction with one of the experimenters showed that lexigrams were used in an appropriate, intentional way, in accordance with the immediate motivational context. The dog only utilized the keyboard in the experimenter`s presence and gazed to him more frequently after key pressing than before, an indication that lexigram use did have communicative content. Results suggest that dogs may be able to learn a conventional system of signs associated to specific objects and activities, functionally analogous to spontaneous soliciting behaviors and point to the potential fruitfulness of the keyboard/lexigram procedure for studying dog communication and cognition. This is the first report to systematically analyze the learning of arbitrary sign production in dogs.

A taxonomic revision of the Neotropical myrmicine ant genus Lachnomyrmex wheeler (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)

The Neotropical ant genus Lachnomyrmex Wheeler, 1910 is revised for the first time. A revised generic description is provided for workers and gynes; males remain unknown. Morphological patterns combined with geographical data led to the recognition of 16 species, of which 10 are here described as new: L. amazonicus sp. n., L. fernandezi sp. n., L. grandis Fernandez & Baena, L. haskinsi Smith, L. lattkei sp. n., L. longinodus Fernandez & Baena, L. longinoi sp. n., L. mackayi sp. n., L. nordestinus sp. n., L. pilosus Weber, L. laticeps sp. n., L. platynodus sp. n., L. plaumanni Borgmeier, L. regularis sp. n., L. scrobiculatus Wheeler, and L. victori sp. n. The gynes of L. grandis, L. haskinsi, and L. pilosus are described for the first time. Illustrated identification keys for workers, distribution maps, and high resolution illustrations are supplied for all species. Some Lachnomyrmex species are relatively common in the leaf-litter of submontane wet forests in Central and South America; others remain known by very few individuals. The relatively small and apparently monogynic Lachnomyrmex colonies inhabit small nests in the ground, among rotten leaves and inside fallen logs. Workers generally forage alone on the ground or within the leaf litter, but have been recorded also on tree trunks, and apparently do not recruit nestmates.

Phylogeny and revision of the Neotropical bee genus Rhectomia s.l. Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Augochlorini)

This paper revises the bees currently considered to belong to the genus Rhectomia s.l. and proposes a species phylogeny based on morphological characters, using other Corynurina as outgroups. The results indicate that Rhinocorynura Schrottky renders Rhectomia s.l. paraphyletic. Consequently, Corynurella is removed from synonymy with Rhectomia s.s., and Paracorynurella gen.n. is proposed. The topology among these genera is: outgroup [(Rhectomia s.s. + Rhinocorynura) (Paracorynurella gen.n. + Corynurella)]. Nine species are assigned to Corynurella: C. brokopondoi sp.n., C. caerulea sp.n., C. cognata sp.n., C. decora sp.n., C. harrisoni (Engel), C. mourei Eickwort, C. nigra sp.n., C. singularis sp.n. and C. triangulata sp.n. Three new species are described in Paracorynurella gen.n.: type species P. betoi sp.n., P. excavata sp.n., P. reticulata sp.n.; P. difficillima (Ducke) comb.n. is transferred from Rhinocorynura. Three species are recognized in Rhectomia s.s.: R. catarina sp.n., R. liebherri Engel and R. pumilla Moure. The male of R. liebherri is described for the first time. Keys for the identification of the genera and species are provided.

New species of Rhinotragini and redescription of two species of Stultutragus Clarke (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae)

Agaone amazonica sp. nov. and Stultutragus endoluteus sp. nov. are described from Brazil, and variation in A. peruviensis Fisher, is discussed. Stultutragus nigricornis is elevated to species rank and re-described. Updated keys to Agaone and Stultutragus are provided.

Efficient Forest Data Structure for Evolutionary Algorithms Applied to Network Design

The design of a network is a solution to several engineering and science problems. Several network design problems are known to be NP-hard, and population-based metaheuristics like evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have been largely investigated for such problems. Such optimization methods simultaneously generate a large number of potential solutions to investigate the search space in breadth and, consequently, to avoid local optima. Obtaining a potential solution usually involves the construction and maintenance of several spanning trees, or more generally, spanning forests. To efficiently explore the search space, special data structures have been developed to provide operations that manipulate a set of spanning trees (population). For a tree with n nodes, the most efficient data structures available in the literature require time O(n) to generate a new spanning tree that modifies an existing one and to store the new solution. We propose a new data structure, called node-depth-degree representation (NDDR), and we demonstrate that using this encoding, generating a new spanning forest requires average time O(root n). Experiments with an EA based on NDDR applied to large-scale instances of the degree-constrained minimum spanning tree problem have shown that the implementation adds small constants and lower order terms to the theoretical bound.

Two new species of Hudsonimyia Roback, 1979 (Diptera: Chironomidae: Tanypodinae) from Neotropical Region unveiled by morphology and DNA barcoding

Two new species of Hudsonimyia Roback, 1979 (Diptera: Chironomidae: Tanypodinae) are described and illustrated as male, pupa and larva. The generic diagnosis of pupa is emended and keys to males, pupae and larvae of known species are provided. The different life stages for one of the described species were associated by DNA barcodes.