Complexity Reduction in Analyzing Independence between Statistical Randomness Tests Using Mutual Information.

The advantages of using mutual information to evaluate the correlation between randomness tests have recently been demonstrated. However, it has been pointed out that the high complexity of this method limits its application in batteries with a greater number of tests. The main objective of this work is to reduce the complexity of the method based on mutual information for analyzing the independence between the statistical tests of randomness.

Transfer Entropy Granger Causality between News Indices and Stock Markets in U.S. and Latin America during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The relationship between three different groups of COVID-19 news series and stock market volatility for several Latin American countries and the U.S. are analyzed.

On the Fitness Functions Involved in Genetic Algorithms and the Cryptanalysis of Block Ciphers.

There are many algorithms used with different purposes in the area of cryptography. Amongst these, Genetic Algorithms have been used, particularly in the cryptanalysis of block ciphers. Interest in the use of and research on such algorithms has increased lately, with a special focus on the analysis and improvement of the properties and characteristics of these algorithms.

Conscious Exploration of Alpha-Cuts in the Parametric Solution of the School Bus Routing Problem with Fuzzy Walking Distance.

Combinatorial optimization problems allow for modeling multiple situations in which proper allocation of resources is needed. For some real-world problems, the use of fuzzy elements in the models allows for incorporating certain levels of uncertainty to better approximate such real-world situations. One way to solve combinatorial optimization problems with fuzzy elements is the parametric approach, where it is necessary to define how to explore different relaxation levels using alpha-cuts.

A partial evaluation approach for the School Bus Routing Problem.

Several real-life optimization problems, such as the case of several instances of the School Bus Routing Problem (SBRP), are very complex and expensive to solve with exact algorithms. Metaheuristics are a good alternative in these situations because they are capable of generating good quality solutions to these problems in a reasonable time. Metaheuristics iterate thousands of times by introducing changes concerning the previous solutions.

Detection of DIAG and LINE Patterns in PassPoints Graphical Passwords Based on the Maximum Angles of Their Delaunay Triangles.

An alternative authentication method to traditional alphanumeric passwords is graphical password authentication, also known as graphical authentication, for which one of the most valuable cued-recall techniques is PassPoints. This technique stands out for its security and usability. However, it can be violated if the user follows a predefined pattern when selecting the five points in an image as their passwords, such as the DIAG and LINE patterns.

Information Theory Based Evaluation of the RC4 Stream Cipher Outputs.

This paper presents a criterion, based on information theory, to measure the amount of average information provided by the sequences of outputs of the RC4 on the internal state. The test statistic used is the sum of the maximum plausible estimates of the entropies H(jt|zt), corresponding to the probability distributions P(jt|zt) of the sequences of random variables (jt)t∈T and (zt)t∈T, independent, but not identically distributed, where zt are the known values of the outputs, while jt is one of the unknown elements of the internal state of the RC4. It is experimentally demonstrated that the test statistic allows for determining the most vulnerable RC4 outputs, and it is proposed to be used as a vulnerability metric for each RC4 output sequence concerning the iterative probabilistic attack.

Selecting an Effective Entropy Estimator for Short Sequences of Bits and Bytes with Maximum Entropy.

Entropy makes it possible to measure the uncertainty about an information source from the distribution of its output symbols. It is known that the maximum Shannon's entropy of a discrete source of information is reached when its symbols follow a Uniform distribution. In cryptography, these sources have great applications since they allow for the highest security standards to be reached.

Metaheuristics in the Optimization of Cryptographic Boolean Functions.

Generating Boolean Functions (BFs) with high nonlinearity is a complex task that is usually addresses through algebraic constructions. Metaheuristics have also been applied extensively to this task. However, metaheuristics have not been able to attain so good results as the algebraic techniques.

Measuring Independence between Statistical Randomness Tests by Mutual Information.

The analysis of independence between statistical randomness tests has had great attention in the literature recently. Dependency detection between statistical randomness tests allows one to discriminate statistical randomness tests that measure similar characteristics, and thus minimize the amount of statistical randomness tests that need to be used. In this work, a method for detecting statistical dependency by using mutual information is proposed.

Real-time biofeedback device for gait rehabilitation of post-stroke patients.

In this work, we develop a device, called 'Walk-Even', that can provide real-time feedback to correct gait asymmetry commonly exhibited in post-stroke survivors and persons with certain neurological disorders. The device computes gait parameters, including gait time, swing time, and stance time of each leg, to detect gait asymmetry and provide corresponding real-time biofeedback by means of auditory and electrotactile stimulation to actively correct the user's gait. The system consists of customized force-sensor-embedded insoles adjustable to fit any shoe size, electrotactile and auditory feedback circuits, microcontroller, and wireless XBee transceivers.