The development of homeland security partnerships: A comparative analysis from the financial security arena

The development of three partnerships in the Banking and Finance Critical Infrastructure Sector of homeland security is examined, analyzed, and compared, and implications for theory drawn from such analysis. The public-public partnership comprises the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The public-private partnership consists of two partnerships, one between the Financial and Banking Infrastructure Information Committee (FBIIC) and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC), and the other between the Department of Homeland Security and the Financial and Banking Sector. The private-private partnership is a partnership amongst twelve global private sector Wolfsberg banks. A multiple case study exploratory research design is used. Data is obtained from in-depth interviews and archival sources. Existing knowledge on networks is used to examine (a) the development of three homeland security partnerships; (b) the role of the government in homeland security partnership development, information sharing processes across partnerships, and accountability mechanisms across partnerships and (c) implications of the findings for public administration practice. Government plays a key role in network development---as network builder in the public-public partnership; as network manager, network participant, network coordinator, and regulator in the public-private partnership; and as regulator in the private-private partnership. Political, managerial, and technical barriers to information sharing in public-public and the DHS-private sector partnership hampered partnership development; absence of such barriers in the FBIIC-FSSCC partnership and the Wolfsberg partnership contributed to partnership development. Political accountability promoted partnership development in the public-public and public-private partnerships; hierarchical accountability hampered partnership development in the public-public and public-private partnerships; professional accountability hampered partnership development in the public-public partnership and promoted partnership development in the public-private and private-private partnerships; legal accountability promoted partnership development in the public-private and private-private partnerships. An imposition of a network structure on an existing bureaucracy helped explain several aspects of partnership development in the public-public partnership.</p

UV-B Halotolerant Bacteria from Marakkanam Saltpan and Biology of UV-B Tolerant <i>Pontibacillus salipaludis</i> Based on Whole Genome Sequencing

Saltpans in South India experience intense sunlight and ultraviolet radiation (UV). Therefore, it was hypothesized that halophilic bacteria living there could tolerate UV radiation. To test this, sediment and water samples from the Marakkanam Saltpan were collected and exposed to an artificial UV-B lamp. After irradiation, an aliquot of the sample was spread on nutrient agar (prepared in sterilized source water), and two bacterial strains were obtained, named SBO and SBY. Based on 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, these strains were identified as Bacillus sp. and Pontibacillus salipaludis, respectively. Another aliquot of the UV-B-exposed sample was inoculated into the nutrient broth (in sterilized source water), and incubated for a week in the dark. Later, it was subjected to Illumina MiSeq-based sequencing for the V3-V4 region (16S rRNA gene). Results revealed the presence of 13 bacterial phyla. However, the phylum Bacillota (48.59%) and Pseudomonadota (27.36%) accounted for more than 75% of the diversity. Pontibacillus was the most abundant genus, accounting for 44% of total bacterial diversity. The whole genome of P. salipaludis was sequenced on Illumina HiSeqX to decipher possible genes and pathways involved in UV-B tolerance. The genome size was estimated to be 4.05 MB, with a mean G + C content of 40.82%. RASTtk-based genome annotation revealed 4217 coding sequences and 78 RNAs. Related to the UV-B tolerance, sixteen genes involved in carotenoid and prodigiosin biosynthetic pathways were found. antiSMASH showed the presence of terpene-type carotenoids. More than sixty genes involved in various DNA repair pathways were found.</p

Can Ozone Dissociate at the Surface of Water (Water Droplet and Ice) without Light?

Ozone is a major source of OH radicals in the troposphere. It is well-known that photodissociation of ozone is key for the conversion of ozone into OH radicals. In the present study, using Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation, we have shown that on the surface of the droplet and ice, ozone can dissociate without light. In addition, the dissociation time of ozone is found to be much less on the ice surface than the same time on the water droplet. As the dissociation of ozone on the water surface can happen during the day as well as in the night time, we believe this route of forming OH radicals can be even more important than the photodissociation. The present study suggests that the cloud and ice surface can enhance the oxidizing power of the troposphere

Can Ozone Dissociate at the Surface of Water (Water Droplet and Ice) without Light?

Ozone is a major source of OH radicals in the troposphere. It is well-known that photodissociation of ozone is key for the conversion of ozone into OH radicals. In the present study, using Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation, we have shown that on the surface of the droplet and ice, ozone can dissociate without light. In addition, the dissociation time of ozone is found to be much less on the ice surface than the same time on the water droplet. As the dissociation of ozone on the water surface can happen during the day as well as in the night time, we believe this route of forming OH radicals can be even more important than the photodissociation. The present study suggests that the cloud and ice surface can enhance the oxidizing power of the troposphere

Can Ozone Dissociate at the Surface of Water (Water Droplet and Ice) without Light?

Ozone is a major source of OH radicals in the troposphere. It is well-known that photodissociation of ozone is key for the conversion of ozone into OH radicals. In the present study, using Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation, we have shown that on the surface of the droplet and ice, ozone can dissociate without light. In addition, the dissociation time of ozone is found to be much less on the ice surface than the same time on the water droplet. As the dissociation of ozone on the water surface can happen during the day as well as in the night time, we believe this route of forming OH radicals can be even more important than the photodissociation. The present study suggests that the cloud and ice surface can enhance the oxidizing power of the troposphere

Enhanced CO₂ Adsorption and Separation in Ionic-Liquid-Impregnated Mesoporous Silica MCM-41: A Molecular Simulation Study

Separation of CO2 from gas mixtures is of importance in CO2 capture from flue gas and in natural gas sweetening. In this paper, we have conducted grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations to study the adsorption of CO2, N2, and CH4 and separation of their binary mixtures in mesoporous silica MCM-41 modified by incorporation of the pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquid 1-methyl-1-butyl-pyrrolidinium bis­(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)­imide ([C4PYR]+[TF2N]−) at two different loadings: ∼21 and 42% by weight, hereinafter referred to as MCM-41-IL1 and MCM-41-IL2, respectively. Although MCM-41-IL1 showed significantly higher adsorption of pure CO2 than pristine MCM-41, the amounts of pure N2 and CH4 adsorbed on MCM-41-IL1 were only slightly higher. Molecular dynamics simulation of pure CO2 in ionic liquid-loaded MCM-41 models revealed that CO2 molecules prefer locations near the pore walls as well as in the pore interior around ionic liquid molecules. GCMC simulations of gas mixture adsorption (CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4) showed that CO2 adsorption is highest in MCM-41-IL1 and least in pure MCM-41. The CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 selectivities at 298.15 K and 1 bar followed the trend MCM-41-IL2 > MCM-41-IL1 > MCM-41 with values for MCM-41-IL2 almost twice those for pure MCM-41. Thus, modifying the mesopores of MCM-41 with ionic liquid can result in significant enhancement in CO2 adsorption and selectivity

Can Ozone Dissociate at the Surface of Water (Water Droplet and Ice) without Light?

Ozone is a major source of OH radicals in the troposphere. It is well-known that photodissociation of ozone is key for the conversion of ozone into OH radicals. In the present study, using Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation, we have shown that on the surface of the droplet and ice, ozone can dissociate without light. In addition, the dissociation time of ozone is found to be much less on the ice surface than the same time on the water droplet. As the dissociation of ozone on the water surface can happen during the day as well as in the night time, we believe this route of forming OH radicals can be even more important than the photodissociation. The present study suggests that the cloud and ice surface can enhance the oxidizing power of the troposphere

Can Ozone Dissociate at the Surface of Water (Water Droplet and Ice) without Light?

Ozone is a major source of OH radicals in the troposphere. It is well-known that photodissociation of ozone is key for the conversion of ozone into OH radicals. In the present study, using Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulation, we have shown that on the surface of the droplet and ice, ozone can dissociate without light. In addition, the dissociation time of ozone is found to be much less on the ice surface than the same time on the water droplet. As the dissociation of ozone on the water surface can happen during the day as well as in the night time, we believe this route of forming OH radicals can be even more important than the photodissociation. The present study suggests that the cloud and ice surface can enhance the oxidizing power of the troposphere

OH + HCl Reaction on the Surface of Ice: An Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Study

We have investigated the OH + HCl reaction on the surface of ice using Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulation. The present work revealed that the OH + HCl reaction becomes ∼1 order of magnitude faster on the ice surface compared to the bare reaction. The BOMD simulation also indicates that the Cl radical formed on the ice surface through the title reaction can form two hydrogen bonds at a time with the water molecules present on the ice surface; hence, the Cl radical cannot escape from the ice surface easily

Mechanism of Ligand Discrimination by the <i>NMT1</i> Riboswitch

Riboswitches are conserved functional domains in mRNA that almost exclusively exist in bacteria. They regulate the biosynthesis and transport of amino acids and essential metabolites such as coenzymes, nucleobases, and their derivatives by specifically binding small molecules. Due to their ability to precisely discriminate between different cognate molecules as well as their common existence in bacteria, riboswitches have become potential antibacterial drug targets that could deliver urgently needed antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action. In this work, we report the recognition mechanisms of four oxidization products (XAN, AZA, UAC, and HPA) generated during purine degradation by an RNA motif termed the NMT1 riboswitch. Specifically, we investigated the physical interactions between the riboswitch and the oxidized metabolites by computing the changes in the free energy on mutating key nucleobases in the ligand binding pocket of the riboswitch. We discovered that the electrostatic interactions are central to ligand discrimination by this riboswitch. The relative binding free energies of the mutations further indicated that some of the mutations can also strengthen the binding affinities of the ligands (AZA, UAC, and HPA). These mechanistic details are also potentially relevant in the design of novel compounds targeting riboswitches