DIGITAL SAFETY MANAGER: IOT SERVICE TO ASSURE THE SAFE BEHAVIOUR OF MACHINES AND CONTROLS IN THE DIGITAL INDUSTRY

The digital industry requires increasingly complex and reliable software systems. They need to control and make critical decisions at runtime. As a consequence, the verification and validation of these systems has become a major research challenge. At design and development time, model testing techniques are used while run-time verification aims at verifying that a system satisfies a given property. The latter technique complements the former. The solution presented in this paper targets embedded systems whose software components are designed by state machines defined by Unified Modelling Language (UML). The CRESCO (C++ REflective State-Machines based observable software COmponents) platform generates software components that provide internal information at runtime and the verifier uses this information to check system-level reliability/safety contracts. The verifier detects when a system contract is violated and initiates a safeState process to prevent dangerous scenarios. These contracts are defined by internal information from the software components that make up the system. Thus, as demonstrated in the tested experiment, the robustness of the system is increased. All software components (controllers), such as the verifier, have been deployed as services (producers/consumers) of the Arrowhead IoT platform: the controllers are deployed on local Arrowhead platforms (Edge) and the verifier (Safety Manager) is deployed on an Arrowhead platform (Cloud) that will consume controllers on the Edge and ensure the proper functioning of the plant controllers. Keywords: run-time monitoring, robustness, software components, contracts, software models, state machines

EEG resting-state functional connectivity: evidence for an imbalance of external/ internal information integration in Autism

Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical neural activity in resting-state. Most of the studies have focused on abnormalities in alpha-frequency, as a marker of ASD dysfunctions. However, few have explored alpha synchronization, with a specific interest in resting-state networks: the default mode network (DMN), the sensorimotor network (SMN), and the dorsal attention network (DAN). These functional connectivity analyses provide relevant insight into the neurophysiological correlates of multimodal integration in ASD. Methods Using the high temporal resolution of EEG, the present study investigates the functional connectivity in the alpha band within and between the DMN, SMN, and the DAN. We examined eyes-closed EEG alpha lagged phase synchronization, using standardized Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (sLORETA) in 29 participants with ASD and 38 age,- sex- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) controls. Results We observed reduced functional connectivity in the ASD group relative to TD controls, within and between the DMN, the SMN, and the DAN. We identified three hubs of dysconnectivity in ASD: the posterior cingulate cortex, the precuneus, and the medial frontal gyrus. These three regions also presented decreased current source density in the alpha band. Conclusion These results may account for impairments in multimodal - sensory and internal information - integration frequently observed in ASD. Underconnectivity potentially involves difficulties switching between this externally oriented attention and internally oriented thoughts and, more broadly, may impact embodied cognition.

Criticality Creates a Functional Platform for Network Transitions Between Internal and External Processing Modes in the Human Brain

Continuous switching between internal and external modes in the brain appears important for generating models of the self and the world. However, how the brain transitions between these two modes remains unknown. We propose that a large synchronization fluctuation of brain networks, emerging only near criticality (i.e., a balanced state between order and disorder), spontaneously creates temporal windows with distinct preferences for integrating the network’s internal information or for processing external stimuli. Using a computational model, electroencephalography (EEG) analysis, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis during alterations of consciousness in humans, we report that synchronized and incoherent networks, respectively, bias toward internal and external information with specific network configurations. In the brain network model and EEG-based network, the network preferences are the most prominent at criticality and in conscious states associated with the bandwidth 4−12 Hz, with alternating functional network configurations. However, these network configurations are selectively disrupted in different states of consciousness such as general anesthesia, psychedelic states, minimally conscious states, and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome. The network preference for internal information integration is only significant in conscious states and psychedelic states, but not in other unconscious states, suggesting the importance of internal information integration in maintaining consciousness. The fMRI co-activation pattern analysis shows that functional networks that are sensitive to external stimuli–such as default mode, dorsal attentional, and frontoparietal networks–are activated in incoherent states, while insensitive networks, such as global activation and deactivation networks, are dominated in highly synchronized states. We suggest that criticality produces a functional platform for the brain’s capability for continuous switching between two modes, which is crucial for the emergence of consciousness.

The Unique Cytoarchitecture and Wiring of the Human Default Mode Network

It is challenging to specify the role of the default mode network (DMN) in human behaviour. Contemporary theories, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), suggest that the DMN is insulated from the external world, which allows it to support perceptually-decoupled states and to integrate external and internal information in the construction of abstract meanings. To date, the neuronal architecture of the DMN has received relatively little attention. Understanding the cytoarchitectural composition and connectional layout of the DMN will provide novel insights into its role in brain function. We mapped cytoarchitectural variation within the DMN using a cortical type atlas and a histological model of the entire human brain. Next, we used MRI acquired in healthy young adults to explicate structural wiring and effective connectivity. We discovered profound diversity of DMN cytoarchitecture. Connectivity is organised along the most dominant cytoarchitectural axis. One side of the axis is the prominent receiver, whereas the other side remains more insulated, especially from sensory areas. The structural heterogeneity of the DMN engenders a network-level balance in communication with external and internal sources, which is distinctive, relative to other functional communities. The neuronal architecture of the DMN suggests it is a protuberance from the core cortical processing hierarchy and holds a unique role in information integration.

Seller Organization and Percentage Fee Design in the Daily Deal Market

The prosperity of the daily deal business has attracted more sellers to participate in daily deal campaigns with offering discounted deals via online platforms like Groupon and Juhuasuan. This gives rise to a new challenge for online platforms on how to efficiently organize a limited number of sellers to conduct daily deal campaigns. Our paper makes the first attempt to understand how different seller organization formats can influence the firms’ equilibrium strategies and profits in the daily deal market. We focus on two prevalent seller organization formats. (1) The seller agglomeration strategy: the platform (e.g., Groupon) does not distinguish the sellers’ type in each round of the campaign. (2) The seller segmentation strategy: the platform (e.g., Juhuasuan) organizes sellers of the same type in each round. Comparing to the agglomeration strategy, we show that the segmentation strategy can eliminate internal information asymmetry among competing sellers and thus can improve the sellers’ pricing efficiency and facilitate the platform to charge a higher percentage fee. This uncovers the value of seller segmentation and theoretically explains why platforms should carefully segmentate sellers in daily deal campaigns, although considerable efforts are required to enroll sellers.

ENGAGEMENT AND INVOLVEMENT OF PERSONNEL DURING REMOTE WORK

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the majority of the world’s organisations through making remote work a part and parcel of everyday life. The number of people working remotely has increased substantially creating a challenge for the organisations to manage and involve their personnel. Engagement and involvement of the personnel are major factors contributing to a positive outcome of the remote work processes. The aim of this research paper is to establish what the engagement and involvement of the personnel are while practising remote work in the Latvian financial institutions. This research paper put forward the following issues for exploration: what is the engagement of the financial institutions’ personnel in their work while working remotely? What is the involvement of the financial institutions’ personnel in their work while working remotely? Is there a link between engagement and involvement of the financial institutions’ personnel during remote work? This paper explores the definitions of engagement and involvement by various authors and many forms of remote work putting emphasis on expansion of remote work due to the pandemic. The research made use of 3 surveys: a survey on the engagement of personnel during remote work, a survey on involvement of the personnel during remote work and a survey on the personnel’s opinion on remote work compiled by the authors of this research paper. There were 98 full-time employees of financial institutions participating in the research who were transferred from office jobs to a form of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the research demonstrate that only a fraction of the financial institutions’ personnel were engaged and involved during their remote work and that institutions had to resort to additional measures in order to promote involvement and engagement of the rest of the personnel and attain better operational results. The major problems highlighted by the results of the research are: insufficient internal information exchange and co-operation. The personnel feel responsible for the performance of their work, but admit to lacking inspiration that would foster their engagement. They also acquired negative experiences while working remotely. The results of the research identify a need for further research on the significance of the internal culture and communication of financial organisations for the promotion of involvement and engagement of personnel during remote work.

The memory forensic research oriented to segment heap in Windows 10 system

The current forensic research on heaps mainly extracts information from the heap of Linux and the NT heap of Windows. However, the study of how to extract the information on the segment heap in the Windows 10 from dump files is not sufficient. To reproduce the internal information on the segment heap, this paper proposes a method for locating and extracting the internal information on the segment heap in the Windows 10 according to the field offset in the vtype description information of memory object. The method uses the pool scanning technology to locate the process object, obtains the starting position of the process heap and scans the process heap according to the structural information on the process object and the process environment block object. Then it locates the position of the segment heap with its feature values, thereby extracting its internal information. Based on the analysis results, five forensic plugins for extracting the information on the segment heap were developed on the Volatility framework. The experimental results show that this method can effectively extract the information on the address of each segment heap and its internal components in the memory and on the size of committed memory, etc. The information can help investigators to analyze the digital traces left in the memory by cyber criminals or cyber attackers.

CONTENT TRANSACTION CHALLENGES DURING ON-LINE CLASSES

In the globe, COVID-19 has disrupted most industries. In most nations, education is the only sector that has fully migrated to the internet environment. During the pandemic, online learning was the greatest option for continued education, particularly in higher institutions. It is common to adopt a one-size-fits-all strategy when changing modes. To put it another way, internal information is transformed into something that can be delivered to an outside audience. There is a preliminary online research of 542 pupils at a Bhopal school that examines difficulties and issues they may have in adjusting to the new "norm". The majority of pupils are not ready for online courses due to a lack of Internet connection.