Differentially Private Set Union

We study the basic operation of set union in the global model of differential privacy. In this problem, we are given a universe $U$ of items, possibly of infinite size, and a database $D$ of users. Each user $i$ contributes a subset $W_i \subseteq U$ of items. We want an ($\epsilon$,$\delta$)-differentially private algorithm which outputs a subset $S \subset \cup_i W_i$ such that the size of $S$ is as large as possible. The problem arises in countless real world applications; it is particularly ubiquitous in natural language processing (NLP) applications as vocabulary extraction. For example, discovering words, sentences, $n$-grams etc., from private text data belonging to users is an instance of the set union problem.Known algorithms for this problem proceed by collecting a subset of items from each user, taking the union of such subsets, and disclosing the items whose noisy counts fall above a certain threshold. Crucially, in the above process, the contribution of each individual user is always independent of the items held by other users, resulting in a wasteful aggregation process, where some item counts happen to be way above the threshold. We deviate from the above paradigm by allowing users to contribute their items in a {\em dependent fashion}, guided by a {\em policy}. In this new setting ensuring privacy is significantly delicate. We prove that any policy which has certain {\em contractive} properties would result in a differentially private algorithm. We design two new algorithms for differentially private set union, one using Laplace noise and other Gaussian noise, which use $\ell_1$-contractive and $\ell_2$-contractive policies respectively and provide concrete examples of such policies. Our experiments show that the new algorithms in combination with our policies significantly outperform previously known mechanisms for the problem.

Growth kinetics and power laws indicate distinct mechanisms of cell-cell interactions in the aggregation process

Cellular aggregation is a complex process orchestrated by various kinds of interactions depending on its environments. Different interactions give rise to different pathways of cellular rearrangement and the development of specialized tissues. To distinguish the underlying mechanisms, in this theoretical work, we investigate the spontaneous emergence of tissue patterns from an ensemble of single cells on a substrate following three leading pathways of cell-cell interactions, namely, direct cell adhesion contacts, matrix mediated mechanical interaction, and chemical signalling. Our analysis shows that the growth kinetics of the aggregation process is distinctly different for each pathway and bears the signature of the specific cell-cell interactions. Interestingly, we find that the average domain size and the mass of the clusters exhibit a power law growth in time under certain interaction mechanisms hitherto unexplored. Further, as observed in experiments, the cluster size distribution can be characterized by stretched exponential functions showing distinct cellular organization processes.

A Computational Approach to Investigate TDP-43 RNA-Recognition Motif 2 C-Terminal Fragments Aggregation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Many of the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathological aggregation of proteins observed in neurodegenerative diseases are still not fully understood. Among the aggregate-associated diseases, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is of relevant importance. In fact, although understanding the processes that cause the disease is still an open challenge, its relationship with protein aggregation is widely known. In particular, human TDP-43, an RNA/DNA binding protein, is a major component of the pathological cytoplasmic inclusions observed in ALS patients. Indeed, the deposition of the phosphorylated full-length TDP-43 in spinal cord cells has been widely studied. Moreover, it has also been shown that the brain cortex presents an accumulation of phosphorylated C-terminal fragments (CTFs). Even if it is debated whether the aggregation of CTFs represents a primary cause of ALS, it is a hallmark of TDP-43 related neurodegeneration in the brain. Here, we investigate the CTFs aggregation process, providing a computational model of interaction based on the evaluation of shape complementarity at the molecular interfaces. To this end, extensive Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted for different types of protein fragments, with the aim of exploring the equilibrium conformations. Adopting a newly developed approach based on Zernike polynomials, able to find complementary regions in the molecular surface, we sampled a large set of solvent-exposed portions of CTFs structures as obtained from MD simulations. Our analysis proposes and assesses a set of possible association mechanisms between the CTFs, which could drive the aggregation process of the CTFs. To further evaluate the structural details of such associations, we perform molecular docking and additional MD simulations to propose possible complexes and assess their stability, focusing on complexes whose interacting regions are both characterized by a high shape complementarity and involve β3 and β5 strands at their interfaces.

A temporally consistent 8-day 0.05° gap-free snow cover extent dataset over the Northern Hemisphere for the period 1981–2019

Northern Hemisphere (NH) snow cover extent (SCE) is one of the most important indicator of climate change due to its unique surface property. However, short temporal coverage, coarse spatial resolution, and different snow discrimination approach among existing continental scale SCE products hampers its detailed studies. Using the latest Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer Surface Reflectance (AVHRR-SR) Climate Data Record (CDR) and several ancillary datasets, this study generated a temporally consistent 8-day 0.05° gap-free SCE covering the NH landmass for the period 1981–2019 as part of the Global LAnd Surface Satellite dataset (GLASS) product suite. The development of GLASS SCE contains five steps. First, a decision tree algorithm with multiple threshold tests was applied to distinguish snow cover (NHSCE-D) with other land cover types from daily AVHRR-SR CDR. Second, gridcells with cloud cover and invalid observations were filled by two existing daily SCE products. The gap-filled gridcells were further merged with NHSCE-D to generate combined daily SCE over the NH (NHSCE-Dc). Third, an aggregation process was used to detect the maximum SCE and minimum gaps in each 8-day periods from NHSCE-Dc. Forth, the gaps after aggregation process were further filled by the climatology of snow cover probability to generate the gap-free GLASS SCE. Fifth, the validation process was carried out to evaluate the quality of GLASS SCE. Validation results by using 562 Global Historical Climatology Network stations during 1981–2017 (r = 0.61, p < 0.05) and MOD10C2 during 2001–2019 (r = 0.97, p < 0.01) proved that the GLASS SCE product is credible in snow cover frequency monitoring. Moreover, cross-comparison between GLASS SCE and surface albedo during 1982–2018 further confirmed its values in climate changes studies. The GLASS SCE data are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5775238 (Chen et al. 2021).

Information and Communication Security Mechanisms For Microservices-based Systems

Security has become paramount in modern software services as more and more security breaches emerge, impacting final users and organizations alike. Trends like the Microservice Architecture bring new security challenges related to communication, system design, development, and operation. The literature presents a plethora of security-related solutions for microservices-based systems, but the spread of information difficult practitioners' adoption of novel security related solutions. In this study, we aim to present a catalogue and discussion of security solutions based on algorithms, protocols, standards, or implementations; supporting principles or characteristics of information security, considering the three possible states of data, according to the McCumber Cube. Our research follows a Systematic Literature Review, synthesizing the results with a meta-aggregation process. We identified a total of 30 primary studies, yielding 75 security solutions for the communication of microservices.

Aggregation of Gold Nanoparticles in Presence of the Thermoresponsive Cationic Diblock Copolymer PNIPAAM48-b-PAMPTMA6

The adsorption of the thermoresponsive positively charged copolymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride, PNIPAAM48-b-PAMPTMA6(+), onto negatively charged gold nanoparticles can provide stability to the nanoparticles and make the emerging structure tunable by temperature. In this work, we characterize the nanocomposite formed by gold nanoparticles and copolymer chains and study the influence of the copolymer on the expected aggregation process that undergoes those nanoparticles at high ionic strength. We also determine the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the copolymer (around 42 °C) and evaluate the influence of the temperature on the nanocomposite. For those purposes, we use dynamic light scattering, UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. At the working PNIPAAM48-b-PAMPTMA6(+) concentration, we observe the existence of copolymer structures that trap the gold nanoparticles and avoid the formation of nanoparticles aggregates. Finally, we discuss how these structures can be useful in catalysis and nanoparticles recovery.

Effect of Polar Molecule Aggregation on the Stability of Crude Oil/Water Interface: A Molecular Simulation Study

To ensure the efficient operation of crude oil dehydration and sewage treatment technology in oilfield surface production system, the effect mechanism of polar components represented by asphaltene and resin on the formation and stability of oil-water emulsion needs to be revealed at nanoscale. In this paper, the molecular dynamics simulation method was used to construct the crude oil/polar component/water system models with different molar ratios of asphaltene to resin by adjusting the number of asphaltene and resin molecules, so as to reveal the molecular arrangement and aggregation process and film forming characteristics of asphaltene, resin, and their mixture at the oil-water interface. The simulated results showed that the aggregation process of asphaltene molecules under the influence of hydrogen bonds can be divided into three stages. The addition of resin molecules enhanced the connection between molecules of all polar components at the interface. The π−π stacking and T-shaped stacking structures were found in all aggregations, and the higher the molar ratio of asphaltene molecules, the higher the proportion of π−π stacking structure. With the increase of the molar ratio of asphaltene to resin increases from 0 : 1 to 1 : 0, the interfacial film thickness and interface formation energy increase from 2.366 nm and -143.89 kJ/mol to 3.796 nm and -304.09 kJ/mol, respectively, which indicated that asphaltene molecules play a more significant role in promoting the formation of interfacial film and maintaining its structural stability than resin molecules. The investigations in this study provide theoretical support for demulsification of the crude oil emulsion.

Confidentiality and Integrity Mechanisms for Microservices Communication

The microservices architecture tries to deal with the challenges posed by distributed systems, such as scalability, availability, and system deployment; by means of highly cohesive, heterogeneous, and independent microservices. However, this architecture also brings new security challenges related to communication, system design, development, and operation. The literature contains spread information regarding security related solutions for microservicesbased systems, but this spread makes difficult for practitioners to adopt novel security related solutions. In this study, we aim to present a catalogue of security solutions based on algorithms, protocols, standards, or implementations; supporting principles or characteristics of information security, also considering the three possible states of data, according to the McCumber Cube. Our research follows a Systematic Literature Review, synthesizing the results with a meta-aggregation process. We identified a total of 30 primary studies, yielding 71 security solutions for the communication of microservices.