A Study of the Uptake of Information Security Policies by Small and Medium Sized Businesses in Wales

Over the last few years the risks that threaten Internet connected computer systems and the business critical information stored on them have been widely publicised. To address these threats many companies have implemented security measures, to protect themselves. Current research indicates that use of an information security policy alongside the actual implemented security measures can greatly minimise such threats. However implementation of such a policy can be expensive and not feasible for Small businesses. This paper presents a study of Small businesses in South Wales that use a mixture of Internet connected standalone computers and Local Areas Networks (LANs). It looks at the security measures they have in place and whether or not they have an information security policy. Findings show that most Small Medium sized businesses do not have such a policy document, but many are using components that would normally form part of such policy, within their staff employment manuals. This is a much cheaper and less time consuming way of using the more important and relevant components that usually make up such a policy

The use of antibodies in a study of the structure, function and distribution of glucose transport proteins

Antibodies were raised against synthetic peptides corresponding to most of the regions of the human erythrocyte glucose transporter predicted to be extramembranous in a model proposed by Mueckler et al. (1985) Science 229, 941-945 for the arrangement of the membrane-bound protein. The antibodies were used as probes to investigate the topology and to identify functionally important regions of this glucose transport protein. In addition, the antibodies were used in a study of the distribution of homologous glucose transporters in other tissues both of mammalian and non-mammalian origin. Of the 21 antibodies produced all but two recognized the denatured glucose transporter, whilst only 7 recognized the native, functionally-active glycoprotein, even after its extensive deglycosylation. Use of these 7 antibodies as structural probes demonstrated that a large, central hydrophilic region of the sequence (residues 217-272) and the C-terminal region (residues 450-492) were both exposed at the cytoplasmic face of the membrane. The anti-peptide antibodies were used to identify the sequence location of fragments of the protein produced by partial proteolytic digestion. This led to the identification of the exofacial site of glycosylation as being located in the N-terminal half of the protein, and the site of photolabelling by cytochalasin B as lying in the C- terminal half of the protein. The location of the sites of glycosylation and of the C-terminus of the protein were in agreement with the model of Mueckler et al. (1985), and disproved an alternative model proposed by Shanahan and D'Artel-Ellis (1984). Furthermore, identification of the sequence locations of proteolytic fragments of the protein enabled the epitopes of eight monoclonal antibodies against the transporter to be located. All proved to be within the central or C-terminal hydrophilic regions of the sequence, on the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane. Antibodies against the central hydrophilic region of the sequence, but not against the C-terminal region, were found to inhibit cytochalasin B binding to the protein. Furthermore, the binding of antibodies to the central region was affected by the presence of bound substrate. These findings suggested that the central region of the sequence is important for transporter function, and is involved in the conformational changes that accompany substrate binding. Proteins homologous to the human erythrocyte glucose transporter were found to be widely distributed in mammalian tissues. An apparently homologous transporter was even detected in the erythrocytes of the hagfish, the most primitive living vertebrate. The anti-peptide antibodies were also used to begin to probe the subcellular distribution of glucose transporters in mammalian tissues. Evidence was obtained that glucose transporters are present in the Golgi membranes of lactating rat mammary gland epithelial cells. They probably function here to transport glucose across the membranes to the intralumenal site of lactose synthesis. This finding is one of the first demonstrations that intracellular glucose transporters may be functionally important in some mammalian cells

JOHN HOYLAND: THE MAKING AND SUSTAINING OF A CAREER - 1960-82

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.The thesis explores the making and sustaining of the career of the English abstract artist, John Hoyland from his inclusion in the seminal Situation exhibition of 1960 to his winning the John Moores First (Purchase Prize) in 1982. It investigates the institutional and critical contexts that supported Hoyland’s rise to prominence in the 1960s and situates him within the art world of the time: its galleries, exhibitions, advocates, dealers, critics, patrons and collectors (public and private). It notes the improvements to the art infrastructure in the United Kingdom and assesses whether these improvements had any impact on Hoyland’s career. Careful analytical attention is paid to the work of John Hoyland and how his work was presented to numerous audiences and critically received. Hoyland’s career is considered in relation to the changes in art practice both in the United Kingdom and the United States during these two decades, and the challenges that these changes in practice and fashion through up, The thesis examines John Hoyland’s early career with these critical and institutional contexts in mind. It considers the challenges he faced throughout the 1970s to sustain a professional career and offers reasons to explain why his trajectory towards professional success was neither smooth nor consistent. The thesis explores the correlation between art production, art markets, critical reception and acclaim, and commercial success. The fundamental question that this thesis seeks to answer is whether whatever recognition Hoyland’s work received was solely because of its quality or whether there is an element of Hoyland being buoyed up by the system and promoted with more enthusiasm than was merited - as American critics suggested – and thus being to some extent a product of these institutional forces. The mapping and analysis of John Hoyland’s early career contributes to similar inquiries concerning how careers are made and sustained in the visual arts. The thesis works with the established models used to explore this process and offers some adaptations of them

Micromechanical modelling of self-healing cementitious materials

A new approach is described for simulating self-healing behaviour in cementitious materials with a two phase micro-mechanical constitutive model. A Mori-Tanaka homogenisation scheme is employed for the composite along with an exterior point Eshelby solution that accounts for stress concentrations adjacent to inclusions. In addition, anisotropic micro-cracking is simulated using arrays of circular cracks. Self-healing is incorporated into the model by using a novel solidification formulation that models healing under both null and non-zero strain conditions. The focus of the present work is on the recovery of mechanical properties of the micro-cracked material. The performance of the 3D micromechanical self-healing model is illustrated using a series of stress-strain paths that involve damage and healing cycles. The implementation of the model in a layered beam model is also described, as are a series of model validations that employed data from a recent test series undertaken at Cardiff University as well as data from tests undertaken by others. The examples and validations show that the new micro-mechanical self-healing model is capable of representing the characteristic mechanical response of self-healing cementitious materials

Barriers to Adoption of Advanced E-business in Welsh Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

The eCommerce Innovation Centre (eCIC) at Cardiff University has a central role in Opportunity Wales, a programme providing e-business support to over 9000 Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) during the last five years. Uptake of advanced e-business adoption has been low during the programme as well as throughout Wales in general. This paper reports on the findings of a pilot study that was undertaken in the fifth year (2006) of the programme. The approach taken to identify the key barriers to adoption was through interviews with a cross section of expert delivery partners and a sample of SMEs that advanced e-business was relevant to. The key objectives were to understand the barriers to adoption in respect of the current programme as well to help planning for future support initiatives. In addition, the research would help identify and overcome certain barriers in relation to the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy. The paper concludes that varying definitions of e-business inhibit our understanding of uptake when comparing to other studies or initiatives. Also, the strategic planning of ebusiness, where relevant, will reduce barriers to advanced ebusiness adoption, as will the lessons learned from SMEs who have successfully made the transition

An Empirical Study into User Problems with Thesaurus and Commercial Search Systems

Over the last decade Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have supplied affordable residential access to the internet. Traditionally searching techniques have mainly been self taught for the early twenty’s to thirty’s age group who had access to the internet but did not have the appropriate education. Now this group have careers or have gone into higher education and may be in the position where they need to search electronic systems or are teaching their searching skills to others. This paper establishes what problems this age group encountered when searching with little or no formal training of searching techniques. Volunteers were given search tasks on two search systems, the commercial search engine Google and the technical database thesaurus search system, INSPEC. It was found that many of the users performed efficiently when using Google but were uncomfortable with INSPEC and were quick to stop using the thesaurus feature when unsuccessful with initial queries. These results helped identify the need for formal training at both an early educational level and at a work level especially in today’s modern environment where a large proportion of research is conducted via the internet and the validity of data is paramount

Collegiate Athlete Experiences with COVID-19 and Attitudes About Returning to Sport

When COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, collegiate athletic departments faced the difficult decision to postpone or cancel sport activities. Aside from concerns of transmission, disruptions in sport impacted college athletes broadly. This study was designed to investigate athletes’ experiences during the pandemic toward developing a better understanding of athletes’ attitudes about COVID-19 and returning to sport. Participants included 245 varsity collegiate athletes across NCAA sports and divisions who voluntarily completed an online survey between August and October 2020. Collegiate athletes reported significant impacts of COVID-19 on areas including mental health, physical fitness, and academic progress. Approximately one in four participants reported that they had tested positive for COVID-19 at some point between the onset of the pandemic and completing the survey. Less than half of the respondents, however, endorsed worry about exposure to COVID-19 while participating in their sport. Most collegiate athletes reported satisfaction with their athletic department’s response to COVID-19 and adherence to guidelines and recommendations. Temperature checks, sanitation of equipment and regular COVID-19 testing were among the top recommended procedures endorsed by participants. Some athletes, however, reported concerns about feasibility of safety procedures for their particular sport. Overall, respondents demonstrated eagerness to return to sport despite COVID-19 related risks. Keywords: athlete mental health, college-athlete, COVID-19, pandemic, return to spor

Nitric oxide production by Biomphalaria glabrata haemocytes: effects of Schistosoma mansoni ESPs and regulation through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway

BACKGROUND: Schistosoma mansoni uses Biomphalaria glabrata as an intermediate host during its complex life cycle. In the snail, the parasite initially transforms from a miracidium into a mother sporocyst and during this process excretory-secretory products (ESPs) are released. Nitric oxide (NO) and its reactive intermediates play an important role in host defence responses against pathogens. This study therefore aimed to determine the effects of S. mansoni ESPs on NO production in defence cells (haemocytes) from schistosome-susceptible and schistosome-resistant B. glabrata strains. As S. mansoni ESPs have previously been shown to inhibit extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation (activation) in haemocytes from susceptible, but not resistant, B. glabrata the regulation of NO output by ERK in these cells was also investigated. RESULTS: Haemocytes from resistant snails challenged with S. mansoni ESPs (20 mug/ml) over 5 h displayed an increase in NO production that was 3.3 times greater than that observed for unchallenged haemocytes; lower concentrations of ESPs (0.1-10 mug/ml) did not significantly increase NO output. In contrast, haemocytes from susceptible snails showed no significant change in NO output following challenge with ESPs at any concentration used (0.1-20 mug/ml). Western blotting revealed that U0126 (1 muM or 10 muM) blocked the phosphorylation (activation) status of ERK in haemocytes from both snail strains. Inhibition of ERK signalling by U0126 attenuated considerably intracellular NO production in haemocytes from both susceptible and resistant B. glabrata strains, identifying ERK as a key regulator of NO output in these cells. CONCLUSION: S. mansoni ESPs differentially influence intracellular NO levels in susceptible and resistant B. glabrata haemocytes, possibly through modulation of the ERK signalling pathway. Such effects might facilitate survival of S. mansoni in its intermediate host

Rapid, 5 min, low temperature aqueous platinization for plastic substrates for dye-sensitized solar cells

This paper reports a rapid (5 min), low temperature (120 �C) method to platinize the counter electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) devices. This new method uses aqueous solutions and is based on chemical bath deposition of an activating Pd layer followed by Pt only using H2 gas as the reductant. This method has been tested on flexible, plastic substrates (indium tin oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate, ITO-PET or ITO-PEN, respectively). We report device efficiencies up to 7.2% on ITO-PET which is comparable to devices made using high temperature (400 �C) processing on rigid, fluoride-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass counter electrodes. The method is scalable and suitable for continuous roll-to-roll production