text:
Q: Choosing Different Distributions based on if - else condition in WinBugs/JAGS I am trying to write a Winbugs/Jags model for modeling multi grain topic models (exactly this paper -> http://www.ryanmcd.com/papers/mg_lda.pdf)
Here I would like to choose a different distribution based on a particular value.
For Eg: I would like to do something like
`if ( X[i] > 0.5 )
{
Z[i] ~ dcat(theta-gl[D[i], 1:K-gl])
W[i] ~ dcat(phi-gl[z[i], 1:V])
}
else
{
Z[i] ~ dcat(theta-loc[D[i], 1:K-loc])
W[i] ~ dcat(phi-loc[z[i], 1:V])
}
`

Is this possible to be done in Winbugs/JAGS?

A: Winbugs/JAGS is not a procedural language, so you cannot use the construct like that. Use step function. Quote from the manual:

step(e) ...... 1 if e >= 0; 0 otherwise

So you need a trick to change the condition:
X[i] > 0.5   <=>
X[i] - 0.5 > 0  <=>
!(X[i] - 0.5 <= 0) <=>
!(-(X[i] - 0.5) >= 0) <=>
!(step(-(X[i] - 0.5)) == 1) <=>
step(-(X[i] - 0.5)) == 0

and then use this for indexing trick:
# then branch
Z_branch[i, 1] ~ dcat(theta-gl[D[i], 1:K-gl])
W_branch[i, 1] ~ dcat(phi-gl[z[i], 1:V])

# else branch
Z_branch[i, 2] ~ dcat(theta-loc[D[i], 1:K-loc])
W_branch[i, 2] ~ dcat(phi-loc[z[i], 1:V])

# decision here
if_branch[i] <- 1 + step(-(X[i] - 0.5)) # 1 for "then" branch, 2 for "else" branch
Z[i] ~ Z_branch[i, if_branch[i]]
W[i] ~ W_branch[i, if_branch[i]]


text:
INCREASING USE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT IN ADVERTISEMENTS
(Last Updated On: 24th January 2023)
Abstract: The research investigated the increasing use of celebrity endorsement in advertisements with a particular focus on Pepsi-Cola. Celebrities' endorsement is one of the many strategies employed by advertisers or brand managers to build, promote and sustain a brand or the company at large. The study was anchored on Perception Theory and Mental Model. A survey research method was adopted while a questionnaire was adopted to elicit data from the respondents within Lagos State Polytechnic, Ojo, Lagos State. Respondents were drawn using the accidental sampling technique. The data collected were analyzed and interpreted using the frequency and percentage method with aid of tables. A larger percentage of the respondents (90%) are exposed to advertising campaigns on various media especially on Billboard/poster (33.3%), television (27.7%), radio (22.2%), and online (11%) respectively. Many of the respondents (77.7%) admitted that they saw celebs in Pepsi advertising campaigns many times. On whether celebrities featured on Pepsi adverts have an impact on the respondents, 61% of the respondents stressed that featuring celebs have little or no impact on them. It is evident that many of the respondents (53.3%) partially agreed that the use of celebrities by Pepsi placed the company as market leader. It was recommended that seductive women image should be used with caution because some cultures and religions negate its use. Equally, the body saddled with the responsibility to control and see to what and how the advertising business operates (APCON) should be thorough in the discharge of their duties.
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
Celebrity endorsement or celebrity branding is a form of an advertising campaign or marketing strategy used by brands, companies, or non-profit organizations that involves celebrities or a well-known person using their social status or their fame to help promote a product, service or even raise awareness on environmental or social matters. In this study model and celebrity will be used interchangeably as the two connote the same thing in this as far as this study is concerned.
Marketers use popular celebrities endorsers in hopes that the positive images of the celebrity endorser of the brand will also be passed on to the products or the brand image associated with the celebrities. May companies and brands do this but the most notable ones among them include but are not limited to Genevieve Nnaji's used by Etisalat, Lux, Cintrion Energy drink, Range Rover Evogue, Etisalat, Polo and Amstel Malta, P Square by Etisalat, Funke Akindele by Vita Foam,Globacom,Jobberman.com, Qlichy.com, Klin detergent, OMO, Wizkid by MTN, Pepsi, Guinness, Mr Ibu by Sports Betting company (MerryBet), GoTv. Also, Saka by Etisalat, MTN, Soulmate hair cream and many more (Olayinka, 2016).
Celebrity branding is also known as celebrity endorsement and is a form of publication by portraying a well-recognized sports or entertainment celebrity to be a brand ambassador for a company or firm, and by using their social status to promote a service or product (Udo, Nwulu, & Stella, 2015).
Marketers spend enormous amounts of money annually on celebrity endorsement contracts based on the belief that celebrities are effective spokespeople for their products or brands (Katyal, 2007). Celebrity Endorsement is viewed as a billion-dollar industry in today's era. Various companies are signing deals with celebrities in the hope that by using celebrities they can accomplish a unique and relevant position in the minds of the consumers. Celebrity endorsement is increasingly being employed across various industries regardless of the product type. It is known to be playing the role of a signalling strategy (Mustafa, 2005). Also According to Reynolds (2000) celebrity endorsement can give a brand a touch of glamour.
Celebrities are used well-known persons' faces to help promote a product or service often through radio, television, newspaper, magazine, billboard, digital platforms, online etc. It also involves celebrities' appearances at events of Pepsi such as launching and getting together. It may involve celebrity use to display the product in the public with the intention to boost sales volume and have a positive impact on the product.
However, one of the brands that use models a lot in its advertisement and other marketing means is Pepsi-Cola as a means of competing with other brands in marketing. One of the many reasons for introducing celebrities in advertisements by Pepsi-Cola include but are not limited to the following:
Pepsi-Cola has Coca-Cola and Bigi products as the main competitors in those days and even up to date.
Pepsi-Cola is among the three most popular soft drinks in Nigeria and many countries.
Pepsi-Cola wants to generate more publicity.
Pepsi-Cola wants to remind consumers more in a different way
Thus, during the 1960s, Joanie Sommers sang two popular commercial songs ("It's Pepsi, for those who think young" and "Now you see it, now you don't, oh, Diet Pepsi") for Pepsi-Cola that were run in commercials and for which she came to be often referred to as "The Pepsi Girl" in 1974 Joseph Nicoletti, then of Brooklyn N.Y. now music-film consultant, Laguna Beach, California, sung and produced the theme "You're Drinking Diet Pepsi and it Shows.
Also, 1984, Michael Jackson endorsed Pepsi with the launching of an advert called "The New Generation" with the objective to make Pepsi look young and coke look old. Jackson continued to endorse Pepsi with a series of adverts over 9 years. In short, it was Michael Jackson who started the whole Pepsi-celebrity tradition. In 1983, he and the cola brand inked a $5 million advertising deal, which at the time was an advertising record.
Michael Jackson was the undisputed King of Pop and at the time, the most recognizable face in the world. Pepsi leveraged this popularity for its "New Generation" rebranding campaign when it completely overhauled Pepsi's old image and positioned itself as a hip, young alternative to stodgy, old-fashioned Coke. The campaign went down in the annals of advertising for a number of reasons: For many, it was the first time they had ever seen an ad with such high production value rivalling that of a top-budget Hollywood movie. Furthermore, Jackson was intimately involved in the choreography and entire look of the ad. Ever since then, several other models and celebrities had been used including by not limited to the followings:
Ray Charles' 1990-1993 ads for Diet Pepsi in "You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh Huh," as "Uh Huh".
Also, Kendall Jenner a reality television star and fashion model was a Pepsi 24-hour wonder in April, she starred in a new PepsiCo. (PEP) "Live for Moments Anthem" ad
Beyonce Knowles: The artist formerly known as Destiny got $50 million for a multi-ad contract with Pepsi in 2012, which still ranks as one of the most lucrative celebrity endorsements of all time. In 2004, she appeared in a Superbowl Pepsi ad alongside Britney Spears and Pink.
Britney Spear's 2001 "Joy of Pepsi" ads were provocative and showed her in the glory of her prime. They also hilariously featured former Senator Bob Dole, who plays himself viewing the ad on his TV and saying "Down boy," ostensibly to his dog.
In Nigeria, lots of celebrities especially sports and music pop stars have endorsed Pepsi at one time or the other while many have even featured in its advertisement campaigns, the list includes but is not limited to the following: Davido, Tiwa Savage, Wizkid, Tekno, SeyiShay, DJ Spinall, DJ Xclusive, DJ Obi and DJ Cuppy etc. it is against this background that the study investigated increasing use of celebrity endorsement in advertisements with a particular focus on Pepsi-Cola and how much influence it has on the buying and consumption habit of the audience.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
Models otherwise called celebrities endorsement have been one of the main marketing strategies to persuade and get sales. A study conducted by Taiwanese shows that consumers show greater recall of products that have been endorsed by celebrities regardless of whether they are actual fans or not. The human brain recognizes celebrities similarly to how it recognizes people we actually know. The effect is that, if consumers happen to be fans, they place a higher value on products that celebrities are endorsing – it is as if they are receiving advice from a valued friend.
Also, critics have identified the use of celebrities vouching for or promoting products, and brands as deceptive forms of marketing as some consumers may consume product or use a brand because its sports lord has been used to advertise it.
Although, lots of studies have been conducted on the use of models and celebrities most of them are conducted in abroad which cannot be replicated in Nigeria even where they exist they often focus on brands generally. It is against this background the research investigated increasing use of celebrity endorsement in advertisements with a particular focus on Pepsi-Cola
Although, the primary objective of the study is to the increasing use of celebrity endorsement in advertisements, particularly in Pepsi-Cola. Other specific objectives are:
To examine the extent to which Yabatech students are exposed to celebrities in Pepsi advertisements.
To ascertain whether the use of celebrities endorsement has any positive effects on Pepsi-Cola buying decision among Yabatech students.
1.4 Research Questions:
To what extent are Yabatech students exposed to celebrities in Pepsi advertisements?
Are celebrities endorsements perceived as having any positive effects on Pepsi buying decision among Yabatech students?
This research finding will contribute significantly to the existing body of knowledge in the area of mass communication, advertising and marketing in general.
The advertisers will through this study realized and understand the true impact of various strategies particularly the use of models/celebrities in promoting their brands, products and other services, especially in the era of competing brands. Also, the kind of music celebrities uses contributes significantly to motivating customers.
Media such as radio, television, digital platforms including advertising agencies may gain from this study as it will uncover what consumers want and how they want it in order to design an appeal and strategies to gain more audiences to their clients
All government and other stakeholders that are saddled with the responsibility of ensuring fair and suitable commercial may equally benefit from this study as it serves as an eye-opening by monitoring the kind of celebrities, models, lyrics and other strategies and appeals combine in other to prevent obscene, respect for the mirror and religion among others by enforcing truthfulness, fairness and non- deceit campaign that may persuade or lure audience to buy fewer quality products as critics once said celebrities use in the advert is more of deceit.
Researchers from advertising, marketing, mass communication and other related fields may who may be interested in conducting similar or related one shall find this study relevant as it offers them an empirical opportunity to see what has been done while it will serve as a reference materials for them, thus fill some gaps in musical advertising and how it works especially in this era where music is gaining more momentum in the society.
The research which investigated increasing use of celebrity endorsement in advertisements was narrowed in scope to the Lagos State Polytechnic Students due to the proximity of the institution to the researcher. The brand (is picked because it is one of the most obvious brands that use lots of models/celebrities to promote its brand) while Laspotech students were also selected because they are often exposed to Pepsi brand ambassadors at different shows, and television commercials and even on various digital signage in Lagos.
Trends: This refers to the proliferation, popularity and growth rate in the use of models otherwise called celebrities in Pepsi brand adverts and other commercials among companies in Nigeria.
Use of Celebrities: This means when a brand like Pepsi seeks celebrities such as Musicians like Wizkid or footballers like Osasi Odenwingie, Jay Jay Okocha to use their product in public, promote it or appear in their important event such as launching etc
Celebrity: They are stars or roles used in adverting products or services, it could be television stars, actors actresses, sport figures or entertainers whose appearance in the advertisement of such goods or services sustains the interest of his /her audience in the goods or services so advertised.
Advertising: It is the process of disseminating persuasive information to the public through a non-personal medium like radio, television, magazine, newspaper, billboard and online with the aim to lure them to buy or use Pepsi especially with the use of celebrities as a part of its strategy.
Pepsi: Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed Pepsi-Cola on August 28, 1898, and then as Pepsi in 1961.
LASPOTECH Students: These are the students of Lagos State College of Technology otherwise called Yabatech who have a tendency to have exposed or see celebrities in advertisements especially a celebrity showcasing Pepsi brand.
PROJECT DETAILS:
Format = MS Word, Price = ₦4000, Chapter = 1-5, Pages = 52, References = Yes, Questionnaire =Yes, Table of Contents = Yes and Abstract = Yes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The Ahwahnee Remodel
Remodeled Guest Rooms
A Fresh Change of Scenery
Now is the perfect time to plan your Yosemite National Park getaway with a stay at The Ahwahnee. The Ahwahnee recently upgraded guest rooms in the main building to enhance the guest experience at this National Historic Landmark. All former carpet and mattresses were recycled and all furniture was re-purposed.
The design of the remodeled guest room was inspired by Donald and Mary Tresidder, who lived here on the property and were among the park's first concessioners. The Tresidder's private residence encompassed the hotel's entire sixth floor, a suite of rooms furnished and decorated with an eclectic mix of styles reflecting both English and California Mission influences.
Donald and Mary's private quarters were interpreted by designers Richard Kollath and Edward McCann, and they created a design inspired by the Tresidders featuring plush wool carpeting, nail head trimmed upholstery, copper tabletops, and forged light fixtures - all custom made by American companies.
Yosemite-Inspired Artwork
A towering figure in the history of Yosemite, writer and naturalist John Muir devoted his life to protecting this extraordinary place, and was instrumental in establishing Yosemite as a National Park. The art on the walls are reproductions of botanical samples Muir collected and pressed in his notebooks in the 1870s during his walks in Yosemite.
For more information please visit The Ahwahnee or BOOK NOW.
Socially Distant, but Close to Nature
Our commitment to your safety is key. See what we've put in place.


text:
Everyone Seems To Agree Arya's White Horse Means Death On Game Of Thrones
By Estelle Tang
Of all the mysteries launched by Sunday's Game of Thrones episode—what's with Daenerys, how did Cersei get past the Mountain and the Hound, why is Euron so weird, Jaime whyyyyy, etc.—one remains truly elusive. The white horse that majestically rose from the ruins of King's Landing to greet Arya and bear her away to...wherever...has caused plenty of conversation online.
Whether it's commenting on the equine's beauteous and enviable mane or just the sheer WTFness of its sudden appearance, fans are fixated. But there are now a couple of very good theories about what it signifies, and at least one strong theme has emerged: DEATH.
Here are the two main guesses about what Arya's four-legged friend is all about.
It means Arya herself is death.
Hold tight, because we're going to get biblical here. Learned viewers have picked out a significant phrase from the holy book that could point to the horse's meaning:
And behold, a pale horse. And the name that sat on him was death. And hell followed with him. #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/enx3hgwJvM
— Andrew (@big_d_odderer) May 13, 2019
for anyone curious about the arya/horse scene at the end: pic.twitter.com/fOPUbm1c7c
— H (@holden_hill) May 13, 2019
And death rode upon a pale horse.#GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/ZuOSsX6ocn
— José Marques (@Jose_zee) May 13, 2019
Revelation 6:8, for those following along, reads: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
We already knew from her extensive Faceless Men training and her swift assassination of the Night King that Arya is a killer. But fans take this symbolism to mean that Arya is taking off on that "pale horse" to take out someone else. At this point, with Cersei gone, there's only one really dangerous person left in play: Daenerys. Will Arya take out the Mad Queen? People certainly seem to think so.
It means Arya comes in peace—and may be the next ruler.
PopSugar has floated another biblical meaning to Arya's new companion, derived from a totally different Revelations passage: "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in[a] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."
In this passage, the person on the white horse is a person pure of heart. As PopSugar puts it, "Arya is no longer Death; she is a Christ-like figure." I'd take that even further and note the part where the person on the horse uses a sharp sword (have you heard of Arya's sword, Needle?) and "rules" as "King of kings." Is Arya destined for the Iron Throne? If so, the only way for that to happen is if Daenerys is out of the picture—and, again, the way the Mad Queen is going, she'd probably have to be dead for someone else to take the crown.
It means Arya herself is dead.
This one is way less fun for Stark fans. Redditors noticed that Arya's horse strongly resembled Golden Company leader Harry Strickland's steed (just look at that forelock). But the jury is out on whether the horse looks the same because of real-world practicalities (one horse might be cheaper/easier to use on set than two different ones) or because it's actually supposed to be the same horse.
It's an important distinction because if it's the same horse, fans are pretty sure it died on the show. If the horse is dead, then is Arya riding a ghost horse? And is Arya riding a ghost horse because she too is dead? As one Redditor pointed out, "She got all burnt up and a building fell on her." And why would Game of Thrones make such a big point of showing both disasters?
Look, it's a big old battle, and buildings are falling down everywhere and killing people left and right (RIP Jaime and Cersei Lannister). It's all too possible that the youngest Stark daughter is dead and gone. It's also possible that Arya has survival skills few others do, and just dusted the rubble off her breeches and moved on. But if not, it's got to be one of the most ambiguous death scenes so far in this fatality-heavy show, and I'll be very interested to see where that leads in the finale this Sunday.
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From: ELLE US
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What the Internship Bust Means


text:
In this world, there can only be one Most Wanted!
Rainway
June, 25th 2020 - 544.28 MB - Trial
Need for Speed Most Wanted LATEST
Electronic Arts / Need for Speed Most Wanted
Select Version Need for Speed Most Wanted
nfsmw.exe
123b3cd59944ced849bfc4419994b77f
Need for Speed Most Wanted 2021 full offline installer setup for PC 32bit/64bit
Need for Speed Most Wanted is represented the culmination of the efforts of Electronic Arts and the developers at EA Canada to create an open-world racer that would satisfy millions of fans of NFS games that were in the early 2000s enjoy the games such as Hot Pursuit 2 (2002), Underground (2003) and Underground 2 (2004). Streamlining the driving systems, car customization and mission progression and overhauling the gameplay systems of police chases, free-roam aspects of gameplay and introduction of multiplayer modes, Need for Speed: Most Wanted very quickly became one of the biggest critical hits of the entire franchise, and with time, the best-selling Need for Speed game with over 16 million copies sold.
The gameplay focus of NFS: Most Wanted was shifted from challenging rival gangs like in Underground games to larger in scope and more in-depth races against the police force. The police chases were expanded to become much more varied, and they were infused into the central campaign of the game where players were tasked to challenge 15 Blacklist races in one-on-one competition. Beating them would unlock not only additional challenges and path toward next SP missions but also new cars, parts, and track challenges. The car customizability of the game was reduced slightly compared to previous NFS Underground games to enable developers to place their focus on various gameplay aspects. In addition to the large free-roaming environment, various challenges and long SP campaign, certain versions of the game also featured 4-player online gameplay in the circuit, sprint, lap knockout, and speed trap modes, with the option to race in "Performance Matching" mode that will equalize the base strength of each car's engine.
After its debut on PC and other 6th generation consoles, Need for Speed Most Wanted was released on Xbox 360 as one of the first games on that console. It would never be released on PS3. The PC version of this game was one of the most popular versions, allowing gamers to take full advantage of their powerful hardware and to even install simple car mods that expanded the car list of the game.
NFS Most Wanted is set in the fictional city of Rockport, with the central campaign being told in a series of full-motion video sequences that feature the mix of real-world and CGI footage. The main player arrives in the underground racing scene of the city, only to get on the crosshairs of both the Police and the infamous Blacklist group of most-wanted illegal racers. After being set up by Blacklist driver and arrested by police, the main protagonist agrees to get help from a local car dealer and mechanic Mia who promises to help him defeat one by one every member of the Blacklist group.
Experience non-stop action set in free-roam environments.
Explore the expansive Rockport City that consists of three distinct areas.
Prove your worth as the best underground driver by beating both other racers and large police force.
Evade police in the most adrenaline-filled racers of all time.
Beat your friends with a real-time feed of records and scores.
Drive the best modern cars, who are fully customizable and ready for urban races.
Streamlined interface – no excessive menus, lobbies, or restrictions.
Drive with style – find hidden shortcuts, use the high-tech gear, and beat police and rivals with skill.
Optimized for modern Windows OS (Vista, 8 and 10)
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Althon X2 2.7 GHz)
Memory:2 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB
Graphics Card (AMD): DirectX 10.1 compatible with 512 MB RAM (ATI RADEON 3000, 4000, 5000 OR 6000 series, with ATI RADEON 3870 or higher performance)
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): DirectX 10.0 compatible with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE 8, 9, 200, 300, 400 OR 500 series with NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800 GT or higher performance)
Download Need for Speed Most Wanted Latest Version


text:
Looking Ahead: The State of Incident Detection an...
Looking Ahead: The State of Incident Detection and Response in 2015
January 12, 2015 | by Jennifer Bielski
Powershell Attacks
2014 brought about a multitude of high-profile breaches, critical vulnerabilities, and newly-discovered threat groups. Has this exposure and awareness changed the way companies are approaching security, incident detection, and containment and response? How will targeted attacks continue to evolve? I sat down with Ryan Kazanciyan, Technical Director at Mandiant, to learn more about what we can expect in 2015.
[JB]
It seemed like each week in 2014 brought about a new, highly-publicized breach. Are organizations doing enough to detect or stop these attacks?
[RK]
There's no question that these well-publicized incidents have led to more leadership scrutiny towards companies' security posture than I've ever seen in the past - especially focusing on the questions "Are we compromised?" and "If we were compromised, how quickly could we contain, respond, and remediate?"
Executing on those concerns often have had mixed results. In my experience, many organizations have scrambled to implement point-solution security technologies where they perceive they have gaps. This approach helps buy some time and coverage, but is not a long-term substitute for making fundamental improvements to their core platforms and architecture. We still regularly encounter companies that have flat internal networks that permit any-to-any traffic; that leverage six-year old Active Directory technology absent of many of the newly-implemented security features; that do not implement key controls, such as application whitelisting, on critical systems like domain controllers.
Without making these improvements, companies can get caught in a cycle of perpetually buying new single-feature security products to chase emerging attack vectors. They also will struggle to tune out the noise that inevitably results when detection and prevention technologies are implemented in an overly-permissive environment.
As the retail industry works to secure Point of Sale systems and adopt standards like EMV, how will attacks against this industry and credit card data evolve? What is the next "big thing"?
Points of attack will shift to the next-weakest point(s) along the chain of systems and organizations involved in the end-to-end transaction process. If attackers are unable to compromise credentials from PCs to which card terminals are attached, they may expend more effort on the terminal devices themselves. Payment processor networks likely will continue to be popular targets, especially since their compromise can yield a large volume of data from multiple merchants in a short period of time. And there are many other types of financial attacks beyond card data theft, such as issuing fraudulent transactions or redirecting funds to illicit accounts.
Financial cybercrime will never just disappear. But my hope is that over time, adoption of technologies like EMV may reduce the frequency and scale of cardholder data theft incidents.
Does the emergence of highly-impactful hacktivism and destructive attacks change the threat landscape?
The weaknesses that allow targeted attackers to gain access to an environment, move laterally, and steal data are largely the same as those exploited for defacement or destruction. An attacker's motivations are the distinguishing factor - not vulnerabilities. Over the years, we've often espoused the importance of hitting the remediation "strike zone" in which an organization is best prepared to successfully drive out an attacker, based on understanding the nature and scope of an incident. Differing attacker motivations really emphasizes the need to quickly and accurately assess intrusions, understand TTPs, and implement effective containment measures.
Last year also included the release of many "named" vulnerabilities, such as "Heartbleed", that received significant publicity and attention among security professionals. Did the use of these vulnerabilities result in an accompanying increase in the number of successful targeted attacks?
[RK] We certainly conducted investigations in which adversaries took advantage of vulnerabilities like Heartbleed and ShellShock to gain access to victim organizations. For example, back in April 2014 we blogged about attackers using Heartbleed to bypass VPN authentication. But in general, the emergence of these high-profile vulnerabilities did not result in a measurable, commensurate increase in the number of compromised entities - at least within the scope of targeted attacks. The "equation" was already imbalanced: motivated attackers already have a surplus of potential victims susceptible to many readily-exploitable weaknesses.
Have attackers adopted more sophisticated techniques to remain undetected in compromised environments? How do you expect these trends to evolve in 2015?
We are certainly seeing a continued reduction in intruders' reliance on traditional malware for the post-compromised stages of an attack. One of the most common examples is use of a victim's VPN for remote access in lieu of backdoors, after an attacker has compromised end-user credentials. Four out of the six investigations in which I was directly involved in 2014 included a compromised VPN - I consider that a pretty sobering statistic.
Last year we also saw an increased adoption of built-in Windows mechanisms like Power Shell and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) for lateral movement, credential harvesting, and persistence. These aren't new components of Windows, but in the past most attackers largely ignored them in favor of more basic techniques or the use of standalone utilities and malware. Use of WMI and PowerShell can reduce an attacker's need for malicious binaries on disk, and result in a smaller forensic footprint on compromised systems.


text:
Cesar Cernuda Joins NetApp as President
PR Hotline:
xdl-uspr@netapp.com
Microsoft veteran to lead NetApp's go-to-market strategy and execution
Sunnyvale, Calif. – May 12, 2020 – NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP), the leader in cloud data services, today announced the appointment of Cesar Cernuda as president of NetApp, reporting to CEO George Kurian, effective in July. He will lead our global go-to-market operations spanning sales, marketing, services, and support. Cernuda joins NetApp from Microsoft, where he was president of Microsoft Latin America and corporate vice president of Microsoft Corporation. He brings with him extensive experience in leading business transformation, building diverse, high-performing teams, and driving a successful cloud business. In his role as president, Cernuda will continue to evolve the NetApp® go-to-market strategy and organization to accelerate growth by transforming how we approach the changing customer landscape and capture new growth opportunities, particularly in cloud.
Today's technologies and the rapid pace of digital innovation have created new opportunities for organizations to engage with and serve their customers. To capture these opportunities, NetApp's marketing, sales, and services and support organizations will be combined under Cernuda to create an integrated, global go-to-market organization. Cernuda's experience in leading global enterprise sales and transforming business will enable him to foster tighter alignment between the teams, helping NetApp to quickly capture new growth opportunities in enterprise storage systems and cloud data services.
"As we look to accelerate our cloud and software strategy, Cesar's experience in successfully transforming large global organizations will strengthen NetApp's position as a leader in cloud data services and drive value for our shareholders," said George Kurian, chief executive officer. "I'm excited to welcome a leader of his caliber. I look forward to him bringing to the team his passion for strong results, his commitment to building diverse, high-performing teams, and his experience in business transformation as we continue to evolve our go-to-market strategy to reflect the changing customer landscape."
"I believe that NetApp will become a key partner in every organization's data strategy, and I am looking forward to being a part of it," said Cernuda. "During the past years, the key hyperscale public cloud vendors have bet on NetApp technology to support them with their customer offerings, and I believe this is one of the best examples of how NetApp has been transforming to become a cloud-first organization. I am thrilled with the opportunity to help and support customers and partners across the globe manage and protect one of their most important assets—their data."
About Cesar Cernuda
Before joining NetApp, Cernuda served as president of Microsoft Latin America and corporate vice president of Microsoft Corporation, where he was responsible for all of Microsoft's products, services, and support offerings across Latin America, and for accelerating the company's transformation for the mobile-first, cloud-first era.
Before that, Cernuda was president of Microsoft Asia Pacific, where he led the company's commercial and consumer products and service and support offerings. He also served as the worldwide vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions sales and field operations. He oversaw the Microsoft ERP and CRM go-to-market business worldwide. Earlier, he was vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions International, where he was responsible for sales, presales, channel, marketing, product, support, and services.
Cernuda earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing from ESIC University in Spain and completed a management development program (PDD) from IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain. In 2012, he completed the "Leadership for Senior Executives" program offered by Harvard Business School. Cernuda is an independent board member of GESTAMP, a multinational company that specializes in the design, development, and manufacture of highly engineered metal components for the automotive industry.
NetApp is the leader in cloud data services, empowering global organizations to change their world with data. Together with our partners, we are the only ones who can help you build your unique data fabric. Simplify hybrid multicloud and securely deliver the right data, services and applications to the right people at the right time. Learn more at www.netapp.com.
(Press) (Investor)
Amelia Vierra Lance Berger
NetApp NetApp
1 408-822-6403 1 408-822-6628
amelia.vierra@netapp.com lance.berger@netapp.com
NetApp, the NetApp logo, and the marks listed at www.netapp.com/TM are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.


A big "Well Done" to all the pupils from Infants and Year 3 who took part in a 'A Star is Born'. We are a very lucky school to have so much talent!
Many thanks to all the staff who helped to organise this event. Nearly £740 was raised in ticket sales which will be put towards buying resources for the children.


In current mobile and fixed networks, AAA functions have mainly been designed to meet the need for network operators and service providers for secure network access as well as end-customer billing possibilities. The authentication options for end-user devices have gradually been extended and have evolved to allow for a wide range of different access methods and billing alternatives, leading to more diverse AAA options for different network based end-user services.
The Authentication and Key-agreement (AKA) procedures for 2G, 3G and 4G generations of mobile network have mostly fulfilled the requirements of each of these generations.
Although it can be assumed that 5G will utilse a basic 5G access authentication similar to current 4G/LTE protocols, the use cases for 5G also bring new requirements that the next generation AKA protocol must support. Additionally, the protocol must address newly discovered security weaknesses in current networks.
The Basic AAA enabler aims to enhance both basic security requirements in 5G AAA, such as increased privacy properties, and to expand the secure authentication and authorisation methods into the operator core networks.
Security has been an important part of the earlier success of mobile communication and public trust has been steadfast since the introduction of GSM. The Basic AAA enabler addresses exposed security weaknesses in current generation networks, by studying new features in trusted micro-segmentation and the authentication of network nodes.
There have been recent reports of compromised long-term keys, stored in the mobile network and the SIM card of the user, where protection against attackers is lost. 5G-ENSURE has investigated new methods that can mitigate this threat, such as via properties like (perfect) forward secrecy. The enabler will also address privacy aspects in protocol interactions, with enhanced anonymity properties and improved unlinkability.
Finally, the enabler brings new features to 5G, enhancing the authentication and authorisation protocol between mobile operators, to mitigate the risk of malicious operators, and studying the AAA aspects of trusted micro-segmentation.
The collection of connected devices (or "things""), commonly referred to as Internet of Things (IoT), is likely to increase substantially. As 5G aims to be the network of excellence for IoT, it must provide an adequate level of security, which in turn introduce novel security challenges for authentication of the IoT devices in 5G.
The IoT enabler for 5G will address the novel requirements brought by the expected (massive) deployment of 5G connected IoT devices. The current SIM card, while providing strong key protection, are also known to impose a hurdle for certain use cases, and is also a non-negligible cost. To maximize the attractiveness of 5G for IoT devices, the enabler will research how these devices can authenticate in 5G, without the need of a hardware SIM (UICC).
In massive deployments of devices, the existing AKA protocol is not suitable, as each device have to run the full AKA procedure. 5G need to offer light-weight authentication protocols, hence the IoT enabler will prototype a new feature that provide group based authentication, to efficiently authenticate devices in a group.
It can be foreseen that large "enterprises" may already have an existing AAA infrastructure in place. To further minimize the costs with becoming "5G subscribers", the enabler vision is to allow such user groups to re-use their pre-existing identities as a basis for 5G access, i.e. a bring your own identity (BYOI) solution.
The use cases introduced for 5G has a strong emphasize on the massive deployment of devices. To success as the network of excellence for IoT, 5G-ENSURE must research new protocols and methods, specifically addressing IoT devices.
The IoT enabler's main focus will be to provide support for the requirements introduced primarily by IoT. The enabler will address the authentication challenges brought by massive deployments of devices, which will require a light-weight protocol, adapted for large groups of devices, without the security of UICC stored keys. Additionally, to increase the attractiveness in enterprises for 5G, support of third-party identities will be investigated.
new methods to provide a distributed authorization enhancement, suitable in resource-constraint environments. The goal of the enablers is to make 5G fully ready for Identity and Access management of IoT devices.
requirements from 5G satellite business needs and 5G-ENSURE use cases. The goal is to provide an integrated satellite and terrestrial approach, compared to the diverse methods existing today, to provide secure fine-grained access control to services and resources.
Machine-to-machine type communication in resource-constraint devices is expected to be an important aspect in 5G, thus also the authorization methods must be adapted for the needs of such devices.
The enabler will integrate satellite and terrestrial communications, necessary to enable the 5G use cases that can only be served by satellites, or for which satellites provide a more efficient solution.
Existing protocols are rarely sufficiently efficient to be run in resource-constrained environments. This enabler will take a distributed approach to enable light-weight authorization decisions in 5G, e.g. integration with existing protocols (OpenID Connect). The goal is a self-sufficient 5G security token, compatible with resource-constrained devices.
The main challenge is the joint approach to terrestrial and satellite communication and integrtion with the existing multitude of AAA protocols.
The vision of the federative and identification enabler is to offer a way to evaluate the trust and liability for incoming requests in different nodes. By analyzing specific data from operators through key performance indicators, the appropriate trust can be measured. This will allow 5G nodes to dynamically adapt their security policy, before delivering content or a service.
The enabler will additionally research how existing federative protocols can be extended into 5G, to provide a complete Single-Sign-On experience beyond the web.
This enabler will study the possibility to enable a federation between actors, re-using existing web technologies and IETF results. The enabler will also bring a similar approach for a joint AAA protocol for both satellite and terrestrial systems.
In LTE, there are currently no methods that provide a true Single-Sign-On experience beyond the web. By the integration of existing differentiated methods, 5G-ENSURE aims to provide a secure federative authentication in 5G.
5G nodes also needs to evaluate the trust level of incoming requests, thus being able to dynamically adjust their response based on specific key performance indicated. This challenge is essential to establish a liability scheme between actors in 5G networks.


I am a fundraiser for A Helping Hand!
As the Executive Director of A Helping Hand, I am very proud to be a part of this locally founded organization that provides vital services to low income seniors in my community. My love of older adults began with my own grandmother, Eloise Knight.


Adapter Kit for the Hutchinson WA-1207 and WA-1873 Bead Lock Wheels.
Now you can use the OEM Mercedes Center Caps on your WA-1207 and WA-1873 Hutchinson Bead Lock Wheels.
The Kit contains four (4) Adapter Rings, twelve (12) M4 Set Screws and one (1) Allen Wrench.
Mercedes Center Cap Adapter Kit for Hutchinson Bead Lock Wheels is rated 4.67 stars based on 3 reviews.


text:
Q: Copy website data using VBA I want to get some data from a webpage, this data contains a 'ClassName'. The name of the Class is "oem". Below here you'll find an example of one page:

HF151 [Oil Filter]

Replaces OEM numbers:

Aprilia 0256185

BMW 11 41 2 343 118

BMW 11 41 2 343 452

Bombardier 711256185

<
      li class="oem">Husqvarna 7700180

I want to copy all the 'OEM' data, under each other in an excel sheet. I started with the following code, which is working so far for only 1 row:
Sub ImportCrossreferenceData()

Dim IE As InternetExplorer
Dim html As HTMLDocument

Set IE = New InternetExplorer
IE.Visible = False
IE.Navigate "http://www.hiflofiltro.com/catalogue/filter/HF151"

'Wait until IE is done loading page
Do While IE.ReadyState <> READYSTATE_COMPLETE
DoEvents
Loop

'Get Data
Set html = IE.document
Set holdingsClass = html.getElementsByClassName("oem")
Range("A1").Value = holdingsClass(0).textContent

'Quit and clean
IE.Quit
Set IE = Nothing

End Sub

I know that if you change the value of the holding class from 0 to 1 or 2, you'll get the second or third value. Unfortunately every page has a different amount of OEM values. I would like that my script count the amount of 'li class="oem"', and copy these values under eachother in an excel sheet.

A: You can get all the elements which belong to the same ClassName in an element collection and then iterate through them.
Please give this a try...
Sub ImportCrossreferenceData()

Dim IE As InternetExplorer
Dim html As HTMLDocument
Dim holdingsClasses As IHTMLElementCollection
Dim holdingsClass As IHTMLElement
Dim cell As Range
Dim lr As Long

Set IE = New InternetExplorer
IE.Visible = False
IE.Navigate "http://www.hiflofiltro.com/catalogue/filter/HF151"

'Wait until IE is done loading page
Do While IE.Busy Or IE.ReadyState <> READYSTATE_COMPLETE
DoEvents
Loop

'Get Data
Set html = IE.document
Set holdingsClasses = html.getElementsByClassName("oem")

Set cell = Range("A1")

For Each holdingsClass In holdingsClasses
    cell.Value = holdingsClass.innerText
    Set cell = cell.Offset(1)
Next holdingsClass

lr = Cells(Rows.Count, 1).End(xlUp).Row

'Split column A data into columns using space as delimiter. Delete if not required
Range("A1:A" & lr).TextToColumns Destination:=Range("A1"), DataType:=xlDelimited, _
        TextQualifier:=xlDoubleQuote, ConsecutiveDelimiter:=True, Space:=True
IE.Quit
Set IE = Nothing

End Sub

A: Try this. It will fetch you all the values you are after.
Sub Oem_Value()

    Dim post As Object

    With CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")
        .Visible = True
        .navigate "http://www.hiflofiltro.com/catalogue/filter/HF151"
        While .readyState < 4: DoEvents: Wend
        For Each post In .document.getElementsByClassName("oem")
            r = r + 1: Cells(r, 1) = post.innerText
        Next post
        .Quit
    End With

End Sub

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


TP-LINK TD-W8970 anyone can help?
I am attempting to remedy a star wired house as I believe the star wiring is the reason the internet keeps dropping. The black 2 pair lead-in cable is joined to 3 tech-wire cables only one of which is required. Unfortunately the join in the lead-in and tech-wires is in a cavity of a room that was originally a garage and has been sheeted up and no access to the joint/terminal block which is behind the gyprock. I can cut two of the star wired cables away in the ceiling (but not at the joint/terminal block) and then fit a central filter but I shall still have two 5 metre lengths in star wired configuration of tech-wire behind the filter closer to the exchange. Question is would I still have the modem syncing problems after cutting the 2 cables no longer needed.??
Vote--what we need the most on a router ?
thanks steven, i got it work now, ^_^ !
Hi, all I just got my new router TD-W8968 to replace my old netgear CMD31T , i can login the setup page on the explore, but i cannot log into the Management Page with NOD 32 ESET? anyone can help?


text:
Identifying mortality risk factors amongst acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to Arabian Gulf hospitals using machine-learning methods
Syed Asif Raza*, Lukman Thalib, Jassim Al Suwaidi, Kadhim Sulaiman, Wael Almahmeed, Haitham Amin, Khalid F. AlHabib
Operations Management & Business Statistics
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the Arabian Gulf. In this study, the in-hospital mortality amongst patients admitted with ACS to Arabian Gulf hospitals is predicted using a comprehensive modelling framework that combines powerful machine-learning methods such as support-vector machine (SVM), Naïve Bayes (NB), artificial neural networks (NN), and decision trees (DT). The performance of the machine-learning methods is compared with that of the performance of a commonly used statistical method, namely, logistic regression (LR). The study follows the current practise of computing mortality risk using risk scores such as the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score, which has not been validated for Arabian Gulf patients. Cardiac registry data of 7,000 patients from 65 hospitals located in Arabian Gulf countries are used for the study. This study is unique as it uses a contemporary data analytics framework. A k-fold (k = 10) cross-validation is utilized to generate training and validation samples from the GRACE dataset. The machine-learning-based predictive models often incur prejudgments for imbalanced training data patterns. To mitigate the data imbalance due to scarce observations for in-hospital mortalities, we have utilized specialized methods such as random undersampling (RUS) and synthetic minority over sampling technique (SMOTE). A detailed simulation experimentation is carried out to build models with each of the five predictive methods (LR, NN, NB, SVM, and DT) for the each of the three datasets k-fold subsamples generated. The predictive models are developed under three schemes of the k-fold samples that include no data imbalance, RUS, and SMOTE. We have implemented an information fusion method rooted in computing weighted impact scores obtain for an individual medical history attributes from each of the predictive models simulated for a collective recommendation based on an impact score specific to a predictor. Finally, we grouped the predictors using fuzzy c-mean clustering method into three categories, high-, medium-, and low-risk factors for in-hospital mortality due to ACS. Our study revealed that patients with medical history related to the presences of peripheral artery disease, congestive heart failure, cardiovascular transient ischemic attack valvular disease, and coronary artery bypass grafting amongst others have the most risk for in-hospital mortality.
https://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.12413
Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score
Naïve Bayes
acute coronary syndrome (ACS)
decision tree
fuzzy c-mean clustering
imbalance data
information fusion
support-vector machine
10.1111/exsy.12413
Raza, S. A., Thalib, L., Al Suwaidi, J., Sulaiman, K., Almahmeed, W., Amin, H., & AlHabib, K. F. (2019). Identifying mortality risk factors amongst acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to Arabian Gulf hospitals using machine-learning methods. Expert Systems, 36(4), [e12413]. https://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.12413
Identifying mortality risk factors amongst acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to Arabian Gulf hospitals using machine-learning methods. / Raza, Syed Asif; Thalib, Lukman; Al Suwaidi, Jassim et al.
In: Expert Systems, Vol. 36, No. 4, e12413, 2019.
Raza, SA, Thalib, L, Al Suwaidi, J, Sulaiman, K, Almahmeed, W, Amin, H & AlHabib, KF 2019, 'Identifying mortality risk factors amongst acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to Arabian Gulf hospitals using machine-learning methods', Expert Systems, vol. 36, no. 4, e12413. https://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.12413
Raza SA, Thalib L, Al Suwaidi J, Sulaiman K, Almahmeed W, Amin H et al. Identifying mortality risk factors amongst acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to Arabian Gulf hospitals using machine-learning methods. Expert Systems. 2019;36(4):e12413. doi: 10.1111/exsy.12413
Raza, Syed Asif ; Thalib, Lukman ; Al Suwaidi, Jassim et al. / Identifying mortality risk factors amongst acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to Arabian Gulf hospitals using machine-learning methods. In: Expert Systems. 2019 ; Vol. 36, No. 4.
@article{c62df0e499da4e22aa9fcc01bc14b068,
title = "Identifying mortality risk factors amongst acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to Arabian Gulf hospitals using machine-learning methods",
abstract = "Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the Arabian Gulf. In this study, the in-hospital mortality amongst patients admitted with ACS to Arabian Gulf hospitals is predicted using a comprehensive modelling framework that combines powerful machine-learning methods such as support-vector machine (SVM), Na{\"i}ve Bayes (NB), artificial neural networks (NN), and decision trees (DT). The performance of the machine-learning methods is compared with that of the performance of a commonly used statistical method, namely, logistic regression (LR). The study follows the current practise of computing mortality risk using risk scores such as the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score, which has not been validated for Arabian Gulf patients. Cardiac registry data of 7,000 patients from 65 hospitals located in Arabian Gulf countries are used for the study. This study is unique as it uses a contemporary data analytics framework. A k-fold (k = 10) cross-validation is utilized to generate training and validation samples from the GRACE dataset. The machine-learning-based predictive models often incur prejudgments for imbalanced training data patterns. To mitigate the data imbalance due to scarce observations for in-hospital mortalities, we have utilized specialized methods such as random undersampling (RUS) and synthetic minority over sampling technique (SMOTE). A detailed simulation experimentation is carried out to build models with each of the five predictive methods (LR, NN, NB, SVM, and DT) for the each of the three datasets k-fold subsamples generated. The predictive models are developed under three schemes of the k-fold samples that include no data imbalance, RUS, and SMOTE. We have implemented an information fusion method rooted in computing weighted impact scores obtain for an individual medical history attributes from each of the predictive models simulated for a collective recommendation based on an impact score specific to a predictor. Finally, we grouped the predictors using fuzzy c-mean clustering method into three categories, high-, medium-, and low-risk factors for in-hospital mortality due to ACS. Our study revealed that patients with medical history related to the presences of peripheral artery disease, congestive heart failure, cardiovascular transient ischemic attack valvular disease, and coronary artery bypass grafting amongst others have the most risk for in-hospital mortality.",
keywords = "Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score, Na{\"i}ve Bayes, acute coronary syndrome (ACS), decision tree, fuzzy c-mean clustering, imbalance data, information fusion, logistic regression, machine learning, mortality, neural networks, predictive analytics, support-vector machine",
author = "Raza, {Syed Asif} and Lukman Thalib and {Al Suwaidi}, Jassim and Kadhim Sulaiman and Wael Almahmeed and Haitham Amin and AlHabib, {Khalid F.}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd",
doi = "10.1111/exsy.12413",
journal = "Expert Systems",
T1 - Identifying mortality risk factors amongst acute coronary syndrome patients admitted to Arabian Gulf hospitals using machine-learning methods
AU - Raza, Syed Asif
AU - Thalib, Lukman
AU - Al Suwaidi, Jassim
AU - Sulaiman, Kadhim
AU - Almahmeed, Wael
AU - Amin, Haitham
AU - AlHabib, Khalid F.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
N2 - Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the Arabian Gulf. In this study, the in-hospital mortality amongst patients admitted with ACS to Arabian Gulf hospitals is predicted using a comprehensive modelling framework that combines powerful machine-learning methods such as support-vector machine (SVM), Naïve Bayes (NB), artificial neural networks (NN), and decision trees (DT). The performance of the machine-learning methods is compared with that of the performance of a commonly used statistical method, namely, logistic regression (LR). The study follows the current practise of computing mortality risk using risk scores such as the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score, which has not been validated for Arabian Gulf patients. Cardiac registry data of 7,000 patients from 65 hospitals located in Arabian Gulf countries are used for the study. This study is unique as it uses a contemporary data analytics framework. A k-fold (k = 10) cross-validation is utilized to generate training and validation samples from the GRACE dataset. The machine-learning-based predictive models often incur prejudgments for imbalanced training data patterns. To mitigate the data imbalance due to scarce observations for in-hospital mortalities, we have utilized specialized methods such as random undersampling (RUS) and synthetic minority over sampling technique (SMOTE). A detailed simulation experimentation is carried out to build models with each of the five predictive methods (LR, NN, NB, SVM, and DT) for the each of the three datasets k-fold subsamples generated. The predictive models are developed under three schemes of the k-fold samples that include no data imbalance, RUS, and SMOTE. We have implemented an information fusion method rooted in computing weighted impact scores obtain for an individual medical history attributes from each of the predictive models simulated for a collective recommendation based on an impact score specific to a predictor. Finally, we grouped the predictors using fuzzy c-mean clustering method into three categories, high-, medium-, and low-risk factors for in-hospital mortality due to ACS. Our study revealed that patients with medical history related to the presences of peripheral artery disease, congestive heart failure, cardiovascular transient ischemic attack valvular disease, and coronary artery bypass grafting amongst others have the most risk for in-hospital mortality.
AB - Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the Arabian Gulf. In this study, the in-hospital mortality amongst patients admitted with ACS to Arabian Gulf hospitals is predicted using a comprehensive modelling framework that combines powerful machine-learning methods such as support-vector machine (SVM), Naïve Bayes (NB), artificial neural networks (NN), and decision trees (DT). The performance of the machine-learning methods is compared with that of the performance of a commonly used statistical method, namely, logistic regression (LR). The study follows the current practise of computing mortality risk using risk scores such as the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score, which has not been validated for Arabian Gulf patients. Cardiac registry data of 7,000 patients from 65 hospitals located in Arabian Gulf countries are used for the study. This study is unique as it uses a contemporary data analytics framework. A k-fold (k = 10) cross-validation is utilized to generate training and validation samples from the GRACE dataset. The machine-learning-based predictive models often incur prejudgments for imbalanced training data patterns. To mitigate the data imbalance due to scarce observations for in-hospital mortalities, we have utilized specialized methods such as random undersampling (RUS) and synthetic minority over sampling technique (SMOTE). A detailed simulation experimentation is carried out to build models with each of the five predictive methods (LR, NN, NB, SVM, and DT) for the each of the three datasets k-fold subsamples generated. The predictive models are developed under three schemes of the k-fold samples that include no data imbalance, RUS, and SMOTE. We have implemented an information fusion method rooted in computing weighted impact scores obtain for an individual medical history attributes from each of the predictive models simulated for a collective recommendation based on an impact score specific to a predictor. Finally, we grouped the predictors using fuzzy c-mean clustering method into three categories, high-, medium-, and low-risk factors for in-hospital mortality due to ACS. Our study revealed that patients with medical history related to the presences of peripheral artery disease, congestive heart failure, cardiovascular transient ischemic attack valvular disease, and coronary artery bypass grafting amongst others have the most risk for in-hospital mortality.
KW - Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score
KW - Naïve Bayes
KW - acute coronary syndrome (ACS)
KW - decision tree
KW - fuzzy c-mean clustering
KW - imbalance data
KW - information fusion
KW - logistic regression
KW - machine learning
KW - neural networks
KW - predictive analytics
KW - support-vector machine
U2 - 10.1111/exsy.12413
DO - 10.1111/exsy.12413
JO - Expert Systems
JF - Expert Systems
M1 - e12413


text:
Q: su -c  command fails in shell script I was trying to generate a heap dump by the script below. The jmap command works from the cmd. But it fails if I run by the script. Any idea why?
#!/bin/bash

# Check to ensure we're running as root.
if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then
    echo "This script must be run as root. Either run as root or with sudo"
    exit 1
fi

source ~/.bash_profile

if pgrep -f Bootstrap; then
    product="tomcat"
    user="tomcat"
    file_path="apache-tomcat"
    process_id=$(pgrep -f Bootstrap)
else
    echo "Cannot find pid of running $product application"
    exit 1
fi

JmapPath=$(command -v jmap)
cmd="${JmapPath} -dump:format=b,file=/tmp/${product}_heapdump_$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S).hprof ${process_id}"
echo $cmd
su -c '${cmd}' $user