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At least 973 records · Page 54

DISCOVERY OF SUB- TO SUPERLUMINAL MOTIONS IN THE M87 JET: AN IMPLICATION OF ACCELERATION FROM SUB-RELATIVISTIC TO RELATIVISTIC SPEEDS

The velocity field of the M87 jet from milli-arcsecond (mas) to arcsecond scales is extensively investigated together with new radio images taken from European VLBI Network (EVN) observations. We detected proper motions of components located at between 160 mas from the core and the HST-1 complex for the first time. Newly derived velocity fields exhibit a systematic increase from sub- to superluminal speeds in the upstream of HST-1. If we assume that the observed velocities reflect the bulk flow, here we suggest that the M87 jet may be gradually accelerated through a distance of 10{sup 6} times the Schwarzschild radius of the supermassive black hole. The acceleration zone is co-spatial with the jet parabolic region, which is interpreted as the collimation zone of the jet. The acceleration and collimation take place simultaneously, which we suggest is characteristic of magnetohydrodynamic flows. The distribution of the velocity field has a peak at HST-1, which is considered as the site of over-collimation, and shows a deceleration downstream of HST-1 where the jet is conical. Our interpretation of the velocity map in the M87 jet provides a hypothesis for active galactic nuclei which suggests that the acceleration and collimation zone of relativistic jets extends over the whole scale within the sphere of influence of the supermassive black hole.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Control of spin dynamics in artificial honeycomb spin-ice-based nanodisks

In this paper, we report the experimental and theoretical characterization of the angular-dependent spin dynamics in arrays of ferromagnetic nanodisks arranged on a honeycomb lattice. The magnetic field and microwave frequency dependence, measured by broadband ferromagnetic resonance, reveal a rich spectrum of modes that is strongly affected by the microstate of the network. Based on symmetry arguments with respect to the external field, we show that certain parts of the ferromagnetic network contribute to the detected signal. A comparison of the experimental data with micromagnetic simulations reveals that different subsections of the lattice predominantly contribute to the high-frequency response of the array. This is confirmed by optical characterizations using microfocused Brillouin light scattering. Furthermore, we find indications that nucleation and annihilation of vortexlike magnetization configurations in the low-field range affect the dynamics, which is different from clusters of ferromagnetic nanoellipses. Our work opens up new perspectives for designing magnonic devices that combine geometric frustration in gyrotropic vortex crystals at low frequencies with magnonic crystals at high frequencies.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

TH-CD-206-05: Machine-Learning Based Segmentation of Organs at Risks for Head and Neck Radiotherapy Planning

Purpose: Accurate and efficient delineation of tumor target and organs-at-risks is essential for the success of radiotherapy. In reality, despite of decades of intense research efforts, auto-segmentation has not yet become clinical practice. In this study, we present, for the first time, a deep learning-based classification algorithm for autonomous segmentation in head and neck (HaN) treatment planning. Methods: Fifteen HN datasets of CT, MR and PET images with manual annotation of organs-at-risk (OARs) including spinal cord, brainstem, optic nerves, chiasm, eyes, mandible, tongue, parotid glands were collected and saved in a library of plans. We also have ten super-resolution MR images of the tongue area, where the genioglossus and inferior longitudinalis tongue muscles are defined as organs of interest. We applied the concepts of random forest- and deep learning-based object classification for automated image annotation with the aim of using machine learning to facilitate head and neck radiotherapy planning process. In this new paradigm of segmentation, random forests were used for landmark-assisted segmentation of super-resolution MR images. Alternatively to auto-segmentation with random forest-based landmark detection, deep convolutional neural networks were developed for voxel-wise segmentation of OARs in single and multi-modal images. The network consisted of three pairs of convolution and pooing layer, one RuLU layer and a softmax layer. Results: We present a comprehensive study on using machine learning concepts for auto-segmentation of OARs and tongue muscles for the HaN radiotherapy planning. An accuracy of 81.8% in terms of Dice coefficient was achieved for segmentation of genioglossus and inferior longitudinalis tongue muscles. Preliminary results of OARs regimentation also indicate that deep-learning afforded an unprecedented opportunities to improve the accuracy and robustness of radiotherapy planning. Conclusion: A novel machine learning framework has been developed for image annotation and structure segmentation. Our results indicate the great potential of deep learning in radiotherapy treatment planning.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

A Survey of Intrusion Detection Systems Leveraging Host Data

This survey focuses on intrusion detection systems (IDS) that leverage host-based data sources for detecting attacks on enterprise network. The host-based IDS (HIDS) literature is organized by the input data source, presenting targeted sub-surveys of HIDS research leveraging system logs, audit data, Windows Registry, file systems, and program analysis. While system calls are generally included in audit data, several publicly available system call datasets have spawned a flurry of IDS research on this topic, which merits a separate section. To accommodate current researchers, a section giving descriptions of publicly available datasets is included, outlining their characteristics and shortcomings when used for IDS evaluation. Related surveys are organized and described. All sections are accompanied by tables concisely organizing the literature and datasets discussed. Finally, challenges, trends, and broader observations are throughout the survey and in the conclusion along with future directions of IDS research. Overall, this survey was designed to allow easy access to the diverse types of data available on a host for sensing intrusion, the progressions of research using each, and the accessible datasets for prototyping in the area.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A Compound Data Poisoning Technique with Significant Adversarial Effects on Transformer-based Sentiment Classification Tasks

Transformer-based models have demonstrated much success in various natural language processing tasks. However, they are often vulnerable to adversarial attacks, such as data poisoning, which can intentionally fool the model into generating incorrect results. In this article, we present a novel, compound variant of a data poisoning attack on a transformer-based model that maximizes the poisoning effect while minimizing the scope of poisoning. Here we do so by combining the established data poisoning technique (label flipping) with a novel adversarial artifact selection and insertion technique aimed at minimizing detectability and the scope of the poisoning footprint. We find that by using a combination of these two techniques, we achieve a state-of-the-art attack success rate of approximately 90% while poisoning only 0.5% of the original training set, thus minimizing the scope and detectability of the poisoning action. These findings have the potential to advance the development of better data poisoning detection methods.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

State-based network similarity visualization

We introduce an approach for the interactive visual analysis of weighted, dynamic networks. These networks arise in areas such as computational neuroscience, sociology, and biology. Network analysis remains challenging due to complex time-varying network behavior. For example, edges disappear/reappear, communities grow/vanish, or overall network topology changes. Our technique, TimeSum, detects the important topological changes in graph data to abstract the dynamic network and visualize one summary representation for each temporal phase, a state. We define a network state as a graph with similar topology over a specific time interval. To enable a holistic comparison of networks, we use a difference network to depict edge and community changes. Here, we present case studies to demonstrate that our methods are effective and useful for extracting and exploring complex dynamic behavior of networks.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

Applying Waveform Correlation to Reduce Seismic Analyst Workload Due to Repeating Mining Blasts

Agencies that monitor for underground nuclear tests are interested in techniques that automatically characterize mining blasts to reduce the human analyst effort required to produce high–quality event bulletins. Waveform correlation is effective in finding similar waveforms from repeating seismic events, including mining blasts. We report the results of an experiment to detect and identify mining blasts for two regions, Wyoming (U.S.A.) and Scandinavia, using waveform templates recorded by multiple International Monitoring System stations of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear–Test–Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO PrepCom) for up to 10 yr prior to the time of interest. We discuss approaches for template selection, threshold setting, and event detection that are specialized for characterizing mining blasts using a sparse, global network. We apply the approaches to one week of data for each of the two regions to evaluate the potential for establishing a set of standards for waveform correlation processing of mining blasts that can be generally applied to operational monitoring systems with a sparse network. Here, we compare candidate events detected with our processing methods to the Reviewed Event Bulletin of the International Data Centre to assess potential reduction in analyst workload.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Evaluation of Spatiotemporal Text Representations in Twitter Streams

Language in social media is a dynamic system, constantly evolving and adapting, with words and concepts rapidly emerging, disappearing, and changing their meaning. These changes can be estimated using word representations in context, over time and across locations. A number of methods have been proposed to track these spatiotemporal changes but no general method exists to evaluate the quality of these representations. Previous work largely focused on qualitative evaluation, which we improve by proposing a set of visualizations that highlight changes in text representation over both space and time. We demonstrate usefulness of novel spatiotemporal representations to explore and characterize specific aspects of the corpus of tweets collected from European countries over a two-week period centered around the terrorist attacks in Brussels in March 2016. In addition, we quantitatively evaluate spatiotemporal representations by feeding them into a downstream classification task – event type prediction. Thus, our work is the first to provide both intrinsic (qualitative) and extrinsic (quantitative) evaluation of text representations for spatiotemporal trends.

distributional semantics↗

RECOVERY ACT - Robust Optimization for Connectivity and Flows in Dynamic Complex Networks

The goal of this project was to study robust connectivity and flow patterns of complex multi-scale systems modeled as networks. Networks provide effective ways to study global, system level properties, as well as local, multi-scale interactions at a component level. Numerous applications from power systems, telecommunication, transportation, biology, social science, and other areas have benefited from novel network-based models and their analysis. Modeling and optimization techniques that employ appropriate measures of risk for identifying robust clusters and resilient network designs in networks subject to uncertain failures were investigated in this collaborative multi-university project. In many practical situations one has to deal with uncertainties associated with possible failures of network components, thereby affecting the overall efficiency and performance of the system (e.g., every node/connection has a probability of partial or complete failure). Some extreme examples include power grid component failures, airline hub failures due to weather, or freeway closures due to emergencies. These are also situations in which people, materials, or other resources need to be managed efficiently. Important practical examples include rerouting flow through power grids, adjusting flight plans, and identifying routes for emergency services and supplies, in the event network elements fail unexpectedly. Solutions that are robust under uncertainty, in addition to being economically efficient, are needed. This project has led to the development of novel models and methodologies that can tackle the optimization problems arising in such situations. A number of new concepts, which have not been previously applied in this setting, were investigated in the framework of the project. The results can potentially help decision-makers to better control and identify robust or risk-averse decisions in such situations. Formulations and optimal solutions of the considered problems need to capture uncertainty and risk using appropriate probabilistic, statistical and optimization concepts. The main difficulty arising in addressing these issues is the dramatic increase in the computational complexity of the resulting optimization problems. This project studied novel models and methodologies for risk-averse network optimization- specifically, network design, network flows and cluster detection problems under uncertainty. The approach taken was to incorporate a quantitative risk measure known as conditional value-at-risk that is widely used in financial applications. This approach presents a viable alternate modeling and optimization framework to chance-constrained optimization and mean-variance optimization, one that also facilitates the detection of risk-averse solutions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Compressive sensing for nuclear security

Special nuclear material (SNM) detection has applications in nuclear material control, treaty verification, and national security. The neutron and gamma-ray radiation signature of SNMs can be indirectly observed in scintillator materials, which fluoresce when exposed to this radiation. A photomultiplier tube (PMT) coupled to the scintillator material is often used to convert this weak fluorescence to an electrical output signal. The fluorescence produced by a neutron interaction event differs from that of a gamma-ray interaction event, leading to a slightly different pulse in the PMT output signal. The ability to distinguish between these pulse types, i.e., pulse shape discrimination (PSD), has enabled applications such as neutron spectroscopy, neutron scatter cameras, and dual-mode neutron/gamma-ray imagers. In this research, we explore the use of compressive sensing to guide the development of novel mixed-signal hardware for PMT output signal acquisition. Effectively, we explore smart digitizers that extract sufficient information for PSD while requiring a considerably lower sample rate than conventional digitizers. Given that we determine the feasibility of realizing these designs in custom low-power analog integrated circuits, this research enables the incorporation of SNM detection into wireless sensor networks.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Detailed Statistical Models of Host-Based Data for Detection of Malicious Activity

The cybersecurity research community has focused primarily on the analysis and automation of intrusion detection systems by examining network traffic behaviors. Expanding on this expertise, advanced cyber defense analysis is turning to host-based data to use in research and development to produce the next generation network defense tools. The ability to perform deep packet inspection of network traffic is increasingly harder with most boundary network traffic moving to HTTPS. Additionally, network data alone does not provide a full picture of end-to-end activity. These are some of the reasons that necessitate looking at other data sources such as host data. We outline our investigation into the processing, formatting, and storing of the data along with the preliminary results from our exploratory data analysis. In writing this report, it is our goal to aid in guiding future research by providing foundational understanding for an area of cybersecurity that is rich with a variety of complex, categorical, and sparse data, with a strong human influence component. Including suggestions for guiding potential directions for future research.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Bridging Power System Protection Gaps with Data-driven Approaches

Protection is a critical function in power systems to avoid equipment damage, maintain personnel safety, and support system reliability. However, current protective relay technology cannot adequately protect equipment and personnel from effects of some events; these deficiencies are termed protection gaps. In this research, a data-driven approach is proposed to complement traditional protection technology and distinguish fault conditions from transients caused by normal operations. A convolutional neural network (CNN) based fault detection approach is implemented to achieve data translation invariance of the time-series input data. As a result, the data-driven method can accurately detect system faults despite variation and noise in the input data. In addition, using the CNN–based method avoids the complicated manual feature extraction procedure required by many traditional data-driven methods. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is tested on four kinds of protection gaps: high impedance faults, transformer/generator inter-turn faults, distribution system PV circuit faults, and the mis-operation situations of Zone 3 line protection relays operating under system stress. Finally, a transfer learning method is also proposed to address the common issue of data-driven methods for which real-world training data are scarce. Extensive study results demonstrate that the proposed approach can accurately bridge power system protection gaps.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Quantification of morphological change in materials based on image data utilizing machine learning techniques

Computed tomography (CT) resolution has become high enough to monitor morphological changes due to aging in materials in long-term applications. We explored the utility of the critic of a generative adversarial network (GAN) to automatically detect such changes. The GAN was trained with images of pristine Pharmatose, which is used as a surrogate energetic material. It is important to note that images of the material with altered morphology were only used during the test phase. The GAN-generated images visually reproduced the microstructure of Pharmatose well, although some unrealistic particle fusion was seen. Calculated morphological metrics (volume fraction, interfacial line length, and local thickness) for the synthetic images also showed good agreement with the training data, albeit with signs of mode collapse in the interfacial line length. While the critic exposed changes in particle size, it showed limited ability to distinguish images by particle shape. The detection of shape differences was also a more challenging task for the selected morphological metrics that related to energetic material performance. We further tested the critic with images of aged Pharmatose. Subtle changes due to aging are difficult for the human analyst to detect. Both critic and morphological metrics analysis showed image differentiation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

PLC Vulnerabilities and Mitigations

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are used extensively in many high-importance industrial and nonindustrial settings including controlling elevators, manufacturing machines, and utility facilities such as power and natural gas, however cybersecurity protection for them has been neglected. Within recent years, PLCs have been put under more security scrutiny and experts have advocated for changes from the addition of protocol encryption and network segmentation to intrusion detection systems on the PLCs themselves. While PLC security is critical, a large portion of the PLCs available today will never receive these changes due to being legacy or the difficulty of overhauling the security on existing systems. Due to the infeasibility of applying many recommended security measures towards currently available machines, we aim to provide realistic and affordable best practices for hardening PLCs. We will first conduct security analysis and consider attack vectors within our target PLC. Once we’ve analyzed the device’s security, we will evaluate a variety of mitigation methods and create guidelines to effectively reduce the threat posed by PLC attacks with minimal disruption to operations.

42 ENGINEERING↗

The Design and Evaluation of Zero Trust Architecture for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure: EVs @ Scale Series on EV Charging Station Cybersecurity

Implementing a zero trust architecture can significantly bolster the security of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. EV charging infrastructure includes numerous networked interfaces, each of which can present potential vulnerabilities. When these vulnerabilities are exploited, they can compromise the entire system, leading to severe operational and security risks. Zero trust is a security model that operates on the principle of "never trust, always verify," which helps manage the attack surface and limit the scope of any potential compromises. Fundamentally, this model ensures that no entity, whether inside or outside the network, is trusted by default. The design principles of zero trust include continuous verification, strict deny-by-default access controls, and micro-segmentation. Continuous verification ensures that every request is thoroughly checked, regardless of its origin. Strict access controls enforce the principle of least privilege, allowing users and devices only the minimum necessary access to perform their functions. Micro-segmentation involves dividing the network into smaller, isolated segments to prevent lateral movement in case of a breach. In the context of EV charging infrastructure, zero trust can be implemented through various strategies. For example, multi-factor authentication (MFA) can be required for engineers to access the management interfaces and control systems of charging stations. Real-time monitoring and analysis of network traffic can help detect and respond to anomalies. Systems that do not need to communicate with each other can be micro-segmented to enhance security. All communications should adhere to predefined policies to be permitted. Additionally, encrypting communications can protect sensitive information exchanged between chargers and management systems. This paper presents a zero trust architecture specifically designed for EV charging infrastructure. Implementing zero trust not only mitigates risks but also builds a resilient infrastructure capable of withstanding and quickly recovering from cyber threats. The architecture addresses six defined security objectives. A comprehensive test plan is developed to assess the architecture against these objectives, and the results of the evaluation are reported. This approach is essential for maintaining the reliability and integrity of EV charging services in an increasingly interconnected and vulnerable digital landscape. This is the first in a planned series of papers exploring the implementation of zero trust in EV charging infrastructure. Each paper will delve into different aspects and applications of zero trust, highlighting how various work processes and requirements can lead to distinct architectural designs. These architectures will be tailored to address specific security challenges and operational needs within the EV charging ecosystem, ensuring a robust and adaptable security framework.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Graph-Learning-Assisted State and Event Tracking for Solar-Penetrated Power Grids with Heterogeneous Data Sources

Unlike transmission systems, distribution systems do not typically contain sufficient metering to enable real-time state estimation. The lack of sufficient real-time measurements prohibits accurate and timely monitoring of the state of distribution systems. As a result, control and optimal operation of distribution systems, especially those containing large numbers of renewable generation units are not possible without proper data and information about the current state of the system. The main motivation of this project is to address this shortcoming by developing an approach which provides “predicted” real-time measurements so that they can be used to execute a distribution system state estimator. Thus, the objective of the project is to make the distribution systems fully observable, such that the hosting capacity for solar generation can be accurately estimated, and unnecessary solar curtailments can be avoided. In order to accomplish this goal, the project investigated the use of a grid-model-informed machine learning (ML) tool which integrates heterogeneous data streams obtained from AMI meters, SCADA as well as PMU measurements and created synchronous measurement snapshots for the state estimator (SE); and developed a hybrid robust SE which provides not only accurate state estimates but also real-time feedback for the ML model refinement.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗