Sharif Digital Repository

There has been a multitude of techniques proposed for identifying vulnerabilities in software. Forcing a program into a vulnerable state has become increasingly unscalable, given the size of the programs and the number of possible execution states. At the same time, techniques that are looking for vulnerability signatures are marred with weak and incomplete signatures. This is not to say that such techniques have failed to identify previously unknown vulnerabilities in the code. However, they have inherent weaknesses, which result in identifying vulnerabilities that are limited in type and complexity. We propose a novel technique to extract succinct vulnerability-relevant statements... 

Cognitive functions such as working memory require integrated activity among different brain regions. Notably, entorhinal cortex (EC) activity is associated with the successful working memory task. Olfactory bulb (OB) oscillations are known as rhythms that modulate rhythmic activity in widespread brain regions during cognitive tasks. Since the OB is structurally connected to the EC, we hypothesized that OB could modulate EC activity during working memory performance. Herein, we explored OB–EC functional connectivity during spatial working memory performance by simultaneous recording local field potentials when rats performed a Y-maze task. Our results showed that the coherence of delta,... 

Due to superior accuracy and stability of multiple relaxation time (MRT) collision operator over its single relaxation time (SRT) counterpart, new lifting relations are proposed here to construct single particle distribution functions for MRT-LBM from macroscopic variables. Using these lifting relations, a new hybrid FVM-LB method is presented (called Finite type-LB hybrid method), which is consistent with MRT-LBM. In this new hybrid method, single-particle distribution functions in MRT-LBM sub-domain boundaries are computed, using equilibrium and non-equilibrium moments. These moments are computed in Navier-Stokes/FVM sub-domain boundaries, using macroscopic variables and their derivatives.... 

Vulnerability detection is an important challenge in the security community. Many different techniques have been proposed, ranging from symbolic execution to fuzzing in order to help in identifying vulnerabilities. Even though there has been considerable improvement in these approaches, they perform poorly on a large scale code basis. There has also been an alternate approach, where software metrics are calculated on the overall code structure with the hope of predicting code segments more likely to be vulnerable. The logic has been that more complex code with respect to the software metrics, will be more likely to contain vulnerabilities. In this paper, we conduct an empirical study with a... 

Ignoring actuator dynamics in control of rigid manipulators can in practice result in performance degradation or loss of system stability. However, consideration of actuator dynamics usually requires measurement of robot joint torques. This paper addresses motion tracking control of an n-DOF rigid robot by taking into account its actuator dynamics. Joint torque measurement is avoided by using an adaptive observer. The backstepping technique is adopted to develop a dynamically smooth adaptive nonlinear controller dealing with uncertainties in manipulator and actuator dynamics. Semi-global convergence of motion tracking errors as well as torque estimation error are proven without any... 

A source model for secret key generation between terminals is considered. Two users, namely users 1 and 2, at one side communicate with another user, namely user 3, while at the other side via a public channel where three users can observe i.i.d. outputs of correlated sources. Each of users 1 and 2 intends to share a secret key with user 3 where user 1 acts as a wiretapper for user 2 and vice versa. In this model, two situations are considered: communication from users 1 and 2 to user 3 (the forward key strategy) and from user 3 to users 1 and 2 (the backward key strategy). In both situations, the goal is sharing a secret key between user 1 and user 3 while leaking no effective information... 

In this paper, the effect of using an insecure and noiseless feedback channel in increasing secret key rates is investigated. There is a generalized discrete memoryless multiple access channel (GDMMAC) between two transmitters and a receiver where, in addition to the receiver, both of the transmitters receive noisy channel outputs. Furthermore, an insecure and noiseless feedback channel exists from the receiver to the transmitters. Each of the transmitters intends to share a secret key with the receiver while keeping it concealed from the other transmitter. For this setup, an inner bound of the secret key capacity region is derived. For some special cases, the secret key capacity region is... 

New inner and outer bounds on the achievable compression-equivocation rate region for generalised secure data compression with side information are given that do not match in general. In this setup, two senders, Alice and Charlie intend to transmit information to Bob via channels with limited capacity so that he can reliably reconstruct their observations. The eavesdropper, Eve, has access to one of the channels at each instant and is interested in the source of the same channel at the time. Bob and Eve also have their own observations, which are correlated with Alice's and Charlie's observations. In this model, two equivocation and compression rates are defined with respect to the sources... 

A channel model for secret key generation between three terminals is considered. In this model, there is a two-user generalized multiple access channel (MAC) in which, in addition to the receiver, both transmitters receive noisy channel outputs. There is also a one-way public channel from the transmitters to the receiver. In this model, each of the transmitters intends to share a secret key with the receiver using the MAC and the public channel where the transmitters are eavesdroppers with respect to each other. In this setup, the channel outputs at the transmitters are only used for eavesdropping and not as inputs to the encoders. For the secret key rate pair, we derive the inner bound of... 

In this paper we prove a new capacity upper bound for a class of relay channels known as Relay-With-Delay channels. The proposed bound is general and holds for any arbitrary amount of delay. We have shown that the previously introduced bounds can be considered as special cases of our proposed upper bound. The new introduced bound is, in some cases, tighter than the previously established bounds. It is also notable that the proposed bound coincides with the previously known capacity of "Relay-With-Delay" channels. © 2009 IEEE  

A secret key agreement setup between three users is considered in which each pair of them wishes to agree on a secret key hidden from the remaining user. The three users observe i.i.d. outputs of correlated sources and there is a noiseless public channel from each user for communication to the others. In this setup, inner and outer bounds of the secret key capacity region is derived. Moreover, some special cases are obtained in which the inner bound coincides the explicit outer bound. Also a binary-erasure example is presented through which the results are examined  

In this work, two-dimensional laminar flow and heat transfer across a heated square cylinder, covered by a porous layer in a plane channel have been numerically investigated. The flow and thermal fields inside the porous layer were simulated using BrinkmaneForchmeyer extended Darcy model. Simulations were performed in different Reynolds numbers (Re = 60, 120, 160, and 200), porosities (ω = 0.7, 0.87, and 0.96), solid to fluid thermal conductivity ratios (λR = 10, 200, and 2000) and blockage ratios (BR = 0.5, 0.25 and 0.125). The effects of the mentioned parameters on pressure drop and heat transfer rate were investigated in detail. Also, the contribution of each side of the central squared... 

A comprehensive study was performed to analyze the unsteady laminar flow characteristics around a porously covered, a fully porous, and a solid squared section cylinder located in the middle of a plane channel. In order to simulate fluid flow inside porous media and porous–fluid interface accurately (minimizing modeling error), the porous region was analyzed in pore scale, using LBM. Additionally, to minimize the LBM-related compressibility error through the porous region, a multi-block multiple relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method (MRT-LBM) was used. Also, to decrease CPU time, a Navier–Stokes flow solver, based on finite volume method and SIMPLE algorithm, was coupled with MRT-LBM to... 

A precise heat transfer simulation of a three-dimensional impinging jet porous heat sink is presented and is analyzed from thermodynamics vantage point under local thermal non-equilibrium condition. To increase the computational efficiency of the analysis, pore-scale modeling based on lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is used inside the porous media (at a meso-scale), whilst finite volume method (FVM) is employed around it (at a macro-scale). The effects of the Reynolds number, porous layer thickness, solid/fluid thermal conductivity ratio, and porosity on the critical heat transfer and entropy generation parameters are investigated. Additionally, the relations between viscous entropy... 

The flow hydrodynamic effects and film cooling effectiveness placing two small coolant ports just upstream the main jet (combined triple jets) were numerically investigated. Cross sections of all jets are rectangular and they are inclined normally into the hot cross-flow. The finite volume method and the SIMPLE algorithm on a multiblock nonuniform staggered grid were applied. The large-eddy simulation approach with three different subgrid scale models was used. The obtained results showed that this flow configuration reduces the mixing between the freestream and the coolant jets and hence provides considerable improvements in film cooling effectiveness (both centerline and spanwise averaged... 

Hybrid FVM-LBM schemes are developed in the past few years to use capabilities of both Navier-Stokes based finite volume method (FVM) and lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to solve macro-meso multiscale problems. In this scheme, the major task is to develop some lifting relations that reconstruct distribution functions in LBM sub-domain from macroscopic variables and their derivatives. The macroscopic variables are computed using Navier-Stokes based FVM in macroscale sub-domain, while distribution functions are computed using LBM in mesoscale sub-domain. The pioneer works in this area used the single relaxation time (SRT) version of LBM. However, it is known that the numerical stability and... 

In this study, asphaltene deposition from crude oil has been studied experimentally using a test loop and prediction using theoretical study under turbulent flow (Reynolds numbers below 5000). The effects of many parameters such as oil velocity, surface temperature and concentration of flocculated asphaltene on the asphaltene deposition were investigated. The results showed that asphaltene deposition thickness increases with increasing both surface temperature and concentration of flocculated asphaltene and decreasing oil velocity. Thermal approach was used to describe the mechanisms involved in this process and the results of data fitting showed that there are good agreements between the... 

Flow hydrodynamic effects and film cooling effectiveness of placing a coolant port (upstream jet) just upstream of the main cooling jet were numerically investigated. The upstream jet was added such that the total cooling cross section (cross sections of the main and upstream jets) remains constant, in comparison to the case of ordinary cooling jet. The finite volume method and the unsteady SIMPLE algorithm on a multi- block non-uniform staggered grid arrangement were applied. The large eddy simulation (LES) approach with the one equation subgrid scale model was used. The jet to cross flow velocity ratio (for both of the main and the upstream jets) is 0.5 and the cross flow Reynolds number... 

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic inflammatory disease frequently associated with a deficit in learning and memory. Working memory is an important system for decision making and guidance, which depends on interactions between the ventral hippocampus (vHipp) and the prelimbic prefrontal cortex (plPFC). It is still unclear whether AR influences the activity and coupling of these brain areas, which consequently may impair working memory. The current study aimed to examine alterations of the vHipp-plPFC circuit in a rat model of AR. Our results show decreased working memory performance in AR animals, accompanied by a reduction of theta and gamma oscillations in plPFC. Also, AR reduces... 

In this paper, a generalized multiple access channel (MAC) model for secret key sharing between three terminals is considered. In this model, there are two transmitters and a receiver where all three terminals receive noisy channel outputs. In addition, there is a one-way public channel from the transmitters to the receiver. Each of the transmitters intends to share a secret key with the receiver by using the MAC and the public channel, where the transmitters are eavesdroppers with respect to each other. Two strategies for secret key sharing are considered, namely, the pregenerated key strategy and the two-stage key strategy. For both of them, inner and outer bounds of the secret key...