Behaviour-based authentication in the built enviromnent

This paper proposes a novel method of authentication of users in secure buildings. The main objective is to investigate whether user actions in the built environment can produce consistent behavioural signatures upon which a building intrusion detection system could be based. In the process three behavioural expressions were discovered: time-invariant, co-dependent and idiosyncratic.

Verifying and fixing password authentication protocol

Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) is widely used in the Wireless Fidelity Point-to-Point Protocol to authenticate an identity and password for a peer. This paper uses a new knowledge-based framework to verify the PAP protocol and a fixed version. Flaws are found in both the original and the fixed versions. A new enhanced protocol is provided and the security of it is proved The whole process is implemented in a mechanical reasoning platform, Isabelle. It only takes a few seconds to find flaws in the original and the fixed protocol and to verify that the enhanced version of the PAP protocol is secure.

EMG signal filtering based on Empirical Mode Decomposition

This paper introduces a procedure for filtering electromyographic (EMG) signals. Its key element is the Empirical Mode Decomposition, a novel digital signal processing technique that can decompose my time-series into a set of functions designated as intrinsic mode functions. The procedure for EMG signal filtering is compared to a related approach based on the wavelet transform. Results obtained from the analysis of synthetic and experimental EMG signals show that Our method can be Successfully and easily applied in practice to attenuation of background activity in EMG signals. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of extrasystolic ECG signal classifiers using discrete wavelet transforms

This work compares and contrasts results of classifying time-domain ECG signals with pathological conditions taken from the MITBIH arrhythmia database. Linear discriminant analysis and a multi-layer perceptron were used as classifiers. The neural network was trained by two different methods, namely back-propagation and a genetic algorithm. Converting the time-domain signal into the wavelet domain reduced the dimensionality of the problem at least 10-fold. This was achieved using wavelets from the db6 family as well as using adaptive wavelets generated using two different strategies. The wavelet transforms used in this study were limited to two decomposition levels. A neural network with evolved weights proved to be the best classifier with a maximum of 99.6% accuracy when optimised wavelet-transform ECG data wits presented to its input and 95.9% accuracy when the signals presented to its input were decomposed using db6 wavelets. The linear discriminant analysis achieved a maximum classification accuracy of 95.7% when presented with optimised and 95.5% with db6 wavelet coefficients. It is shown that the much simpler signal representation of a few wavelet coefficients obtained through an optimised discrete wavelet transform facilitates the classification of non-stationary time-variant signals task considerably. In addition, the results indicate that wavelet optimisation may improve the classification ability of a neural network. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Invasive neural prosthesis for neural signal detection and nerve stimulation

This paper specifically examines the implantation of a microelectrode array into the median nerve of the left arm of a healthy male volunteer. The objective was to establish a bi-directional link between the human nervous system and a computer, via a unique interface module. This is the first time that such a device has been used with a healthy human. The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy, compatibility, and long term operability of the neural implant in allowing the subject to perceive feedback stimulation and for neural activity to be detected and processed such that the subject could interact with remote technologies. A case study demonstrating real-time control of an instrumented prosthetic hand by means of the bi-directional link is given. The implantation did not result in infection, and scanning electron microscope images of the implant post extraction have not indicated significant rejection of the implant by the body. No perceivable loss of hand sensation or motion control was experienced by the subject while the implant was in place, and further testing of the subject following the removal of the implant has not indicated any measurable long term defects. The implant was extracted after 96 days. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High signal to noise ratio THz spectroscopy with ASOPS and signal processing schemes for mapping and controlling molecular and bulk relaxation processes

Asynchronous Optical Sampling has the potential to improve signal to noise ratio in THz transient sperctrometry. The design of an inexpensive control scheme for synchronising two femtosecond pulse frequency comb generators at an offset frequency of 20 kHz is discussed. The suitability of a range of signal processing schemes adopted from the Systems Identification and Control Theory community for further processing recorded THz transients in the time and frequency domain are outlined. Finally, possibilities for femtosecond pulse shaping using genetic algorithms are mentioned.

Signal detection for distributed space-time block coding: 4 relay nodes under quasi-synchronisation

Most research on Distributed Space-Time Block Coding (D-STBC) has so far focused on the case of 2 relay nodes and assumed that the relay nodes are perfectly synchronised at the symbol level. This paper applies STBC to 4-relaynode systems under quasi-synchronisation and derives a new detector based on parallel interference cancellation, which proves to be very effective in suppressing the impact of imperfect synchronisation.

Retrievals of thick cloud optical depth from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) by calibration of solar background signal

Laser beams emitted from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), as well as other spaceborne laser instruments, can only penetrate clouds to a limit of a few optical depths. As a result, only optical depths of thinner clouds (< about 3 for GLAS) are retrieved from the reflected lidar signal. This paper presents a comprehensive study of possible retrievals of optical depth of thick clouds using solar background light and treating GLAS as a solar radiometer. To do so one must first calibrate the reflected solar radiation received by the photon-counting detectors of the GLAS 532-nm channel, the primary channel for atmospheric products. Solar background radiation is regarded as a noise to be subtracted in the retrieval process of the lidar products. However, once calibrated, it becomes a signal that can be used in studying the properties of optically thick clouds. In this paper, three calibration methods are presented: (i) calibration with coincident airborne and GLAS observations, (ii) calibration with coincident Geostationary Opera- tional Environmental Satellite (GOES) and GLAS observations of deep convective clouds, and (iii) cali- bration from first principles using optical depth of thin water clouds over ocean retrieved by GLAS active remote sensing. Results from the three methods agree well with each other. Cloud optical depth (COD) is retrieved from the calibrated solar background signal using a one-channel retrieval. Comparison with COD retrieved from GOES during GLAS overpasses shows that the average difference between the two retriev- als is 24%. As an example, the COD values retrieved from GLAS solar background are illustrated for a marine stratocumulus cloud field that is too thick to be penetrated by the GLAS laser. Based on this study, optical depths for thick clouds will be provided as a supplementary product to the existing operational GLAS cloud products in future GLAS data releases.

Digital signal processing of optical monitoring by means of a Kalman filter

A Kalman filter algorithm has been applied to interpret the optical reflectance excursions during vacuum deposition of infrared coatings and multilayer thin-film filters. The application has been described in detail elsewhere and this paper now reports on-line experience for estimating deposition rate and thickness. The estimation proved sufficiently reliable to firstly 'navigate' regular manufacture (as controlled by a skilled operator) and to subsequently reproduce the skill without interpretation or intervention whilst maintaining exemplary product quality. Optical control by means of this Kalman filter application is therefore considered suitable as a basis for the automated manufacture of infrared coatings and multilayer thin-film filters.

Monophosphothreonyl extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) are formed endogenously in intact cardiac myocytes and are enzymically active

ERK1 and ERK2 (ERK1/2) are central to the regulation of cell division, growth and survival. They are activated by phosphorylation of the Thr- and the Tyr- residues in their Thr-Glu-Tyr activation loops. The dogma is that dually-phosphorylated ERK1/2 constitute the principal activities in intact cells. We previously showed that, in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes, endothelin-1 and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) powerfully and rapidly (maximal at ~ 5 min) activate ERK1/2. Here, we show that dually-phosphorylated ERK1/2 rapidly (< 2 min) appear in the nucleus following stimulation with endothelin-1. We characterized the active ERK1/2 species in myocytes exposed to endothelin-1 or PMA using MonoQ FPLC. Unexpectedly, two peaks of ERK1 and two peaks of ERK2 activity were resolved using in vitro kinase assays. One of each of these represented the dually-phosphorylated species. The other two represented activities for ERK1 or ERK2 which were phosphorylated solely on the Thr- residue. Monophosphothreonyl ERK1/2 represented maximally ~ 30% of total ERK1/2 activity after stimulation with endothelin-1 or PMA, and their kcat values were estimated to be minimally ~ 30% of the dually-phosphorylated species. Appearance of monophosphothreonyl ERK1/2 was rapid but delayed in comparison with dually-phosphorylated ERK1/2. Of 10 agonists studied, endothelin-1 and PMA were most effective in terms of ERK1/2 activation and in stimulating the appearance of monophosphothreonyl and dually-phosphorylated ERK1/2. Thus, enzymically active monophosphothreonyl ERK1/2 are formed endogenously following activation of the ERK1/2 cascade and we suggest that monophosphothreonyl ERK1/2 arise by protein tyrosine phosphatase-mediated dephosphorylation of dually-phosphorylated ERK1/2.

Signal detection for orthogonal space-time block coding over time-selective fading channels: the H(i) systems

One major assumption in all orthogonal space-time block coding (O-STBC) schemes is that the channel remains static over the length of the code word. However, time-selective fading channels do exist, and in such case conventional O-STBC detectors can suffer from a large error floor in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) cases. As a sequel to the authors' previous papers on this subject, this paper aims to eliminate the error floor of the H(i)-coded O-STBC system (i = 3 and 4) by employing the techniques of: 1) zero forcing (ZF) and 2) parallel interference cancellation (PIC). It is. shown that for an H(i)-coded system the PIC is a much better choice than the ZF in terms of both performance and computational complexity. Compared with the, conventional H(i) detector, the PIC detector incurs a moderately higher computational complexity, but this can well be justified by the enormous improvement.