Systematic approach to cyber resilience operationalization in SMEs

The constantly evolving cyber threat landscape is a latent problem for today’s companies. This is especially true for the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) because they have limited resources to face the threats but, as a group, represent an extensive payload for cybercriminals to exploit. Moreover, the traditional cybersecurity approach of protecting against known threats cannot withstand the rapidly evolving technologies and threats used by cybercriminals. This study claims that cyber resilience, a more holistic approach to cybersecurity, could help SMEs anticipate, detect, withstand, recover from and evolve after cyber incidents. However, to operationalize cyber resilience is not an easy task, and thus, the study presents a framework with a corresponding implementation order for SMEs that could help them implement cyber resilience practices. The framework is the result of using a variation of Design Science Research in which Grounded Theory was used to induce the most important actions required to implement cyber resilience and an iterative evaluation from experts to validate the actions and put them in a logical order. Therefore, this study proposes that the framework could benefit SME managers to understand cyber resilience, as well as help them start implementing it with concrete actions and an order dictated by the experience of experts. This could potentially ease cyber resilience implementation for SMEs by making them aware of what cyber resilience implies, which dimensions it includes and what actions can be implemented to increase their cyber resilience

Mouse Models of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis to Develop Clinical Applications

Simple Summary Peritoneal carcinomatosis mouse models as a platform to test, improve and/or predict the appropriate therapeutic interventions in patients are crucial to providing medical advances. Here, we overview reported mouse models to explore peritoneal carcinomatosis in translational biomedical research. Peritoneal carcinomatosis of primary tumors originating in gastrointestinal (e.g., colorectal cancer, gastric cancer) or gynecologic (e.g., ovarian cancer) malignancies is a widespread type of tumor dissemination in the peritoneal cavity for which few therapeutic options are available. Therefore, reliable preclinical models are crucial for research and development of efficacious treatments for this condition. To date, a number of animal models have attempted to reproduce as accurately as possible the complexity of the tumor microenvironment of human peritoneal carcinomatosis. These include: Syngeneic tumor cell lines, human xenografts, patient-derived xenografts, genetically induced tumors, and 3D scaffold biomimetics. Each experimental model has its own strengths and limitations, all of which can influence the subsequent translational results concerning anticancer and immunomodulatory drugs under exploration. This review highlights the current status of peritoneal carcinomatosis mouse models for preclinical development of anticancer drugs or immunotherapeutic agents

mTOR inhibition decreases SOX2-SOX9 mediated glioma stem cell activity and temozolomide resistance

<p><b>Background</b>: SOX2 and SOX9 are commonly overexpressed in glioblastoma, and regulate the activity of glioma stem cells (GSCs). Their specific and overlapping roles in GSCs and glioma treatment remain unclear.</p> <p><b>Methods</b>: <i>SOX2</i> and <i>SOX9</i> levels were examined in human biopsies. Gain and loss of function determined the impact of altering SOX2 and SOX9 on cell proliferation, senescence, stem cell activity, tumorigenesis and chemoresistance.</p> <p><b>Results</b>: SOX2 and SOX9 expression correlates positively in glioma cells and glioblastoma biopsies. High levels of SOX2 bypass cellular senescence and promote resistance to temozolomide. Mechanistic investigations revealed that SOX2 acts upstream of SOX9. mTOR genetic and pharmacologic (rapamycin) inhibition decreased SOX2 and SOX9 expression, and reversed chemoresistance.</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b>: Our findings reveal SOX2-SOX9 as an oncogenic axis that regulates stem cell properties and chemoresistance. We identify that rapamycin abrogate SOX protein expression and provide evidence that a combination of rapamycin and temozolomide inhibits tumor growth in cells with high SOX2/SOX9.</p

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Cyber Resilience Progression Model

Due to the hazardous current cyber environment, cyber resilience is more necessary than ever. Companies are exposed to an often-ignored risk of suffering a cyber incident. This places cyber incidents as one of the main risks for companies in the past few years. On the other hand, the literature meant to aid on the operationalization of cyber resilience is mostly focused on listing the policies required to operationalize it, but is often lacking on how to prioritize these actions and how to strategize their implementation. Therefore, the usage of the current literature in this state is not optimal for companies. Thus, this study proposes a progression model to help companies strategize and prioritize cyber resilience policies by proposing the natural evolution of the policies over time. To develop the model, this study used semi-structured interviews and an analysis of the data obtained from the interviews. Through this methodology, this study found the starting points for each cyber resilience policy and their natural progression over time. These results can help companies in their cyber resilience building process by giving them insights on how to strategize the implementation of the cyber resilience policies

Systematic approach to cyber resilience operationalization in SMEs

The constantly evolving cyber threat landscape is a latent problem for today’s companies. This is especially true for the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) because they have limited resources to face the threats but, as a group, represent an extensive payload for cybercriminals to exploit. Moreover, the traditional cybersecurity approach of protecting against known threats cannot withstand the rapidly evolving technologies and threats used by cybercriminals. This study claims that cyber resilience, a more holistic approach to cybersecurity, could help SMEs anticipate, detect, withstand, recover from and evolve after cyber incidents. However, to operationalize cyber resilience is not an easy task, and thus, the study presents a framework with a corresponding implementation order for SMEs that could help them implement cyber resilience practices. The framework is the result of using a variation of Design Science Research in which Grounded Theory was used to induce the most important actions required to implement cyber resilience and an iterative evaluation from experts to validate the actions and put them in a logical order. Therefore, this study proposes that the framework could benefit SME managers to understand cyber resilience, as well as help them start implementing it with concrete actions and an order dictated by the experience of experts. This could potentially ease cyber resilience implementation for SMEs by making them aware of what cyber resilience implies, which dimensions it includes and what actions can be implemented to increase their cyber resilience

Liver iron concentration in dysmetabolic hyperferritinemia: Results from a prospective cohort of 276 patients

Introduction and objectives: We aimed to study the liver iron concentration in patients referred for hyperferritinemia to six hospitals in the Basque Country and to determine if there were differences between patients with or without metabolic syndrome. Patients and methods: Metabolic syndrome was defined by accepted criteria. Liver iron concentration was determined by magnetic resonance imaging. Results: We obtained the data needed to diagnose metabolic syndrome in 276 patients; a total of 135 patients (49%), 115/240 men (48%), and 20/36 women (55.6%) presented metabolic syndrome. In all 276 patients, an MRI for the determination of liver iron concentration (mean ± SD) was performed. The mean liver iron concentration was 30.83 ± 19.38 for women with metabolic syndrome, 38.84 ± 25.50 for men with metabolic syndrome, and 37.66 ± 24.79 (CI 95%; 33.44–41.88) for the whole metabolic syndrome group. In 141 patients (51%), metabolic syndrome was not diagnosed: 125/240 were men (52%) and 16/36 were women (44.4%). The mean liver iron concentration was 34.88 ± 16.18 for women without metabolic syndrome, 44.48 ± 38.16 for men without metabolic syndrome, and 43.39 ± 36.43 (CI 95%, 37.32–49.46) for the whole non-metabolic syndrome group. Comparison of the mean liver iron concentration from both groups (metabolic syndrome vs non-metabolic syndrome) revealed no significant differences (p = 0.12). Conclusions: Patients with hyperferritinemia and metabolic syndrome presented a mildly increased mean liver iron concentration that was not significantly different to that of patients with hyperferritinemia and non-metabolic syndrome

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Juvenile Oceanic Whitetip Shark Incidental Catch in the Western Indian Ocean

Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) is an important top predator in pelagic ecosystems currently classified as globally Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. This species is incidentally caught by fisheries targeting highly migratory tunas and billfishes throughout the Indian Ocean. Understanding the temporal, spatial and environmental factors influencing the capture of this species is essential to reduce incidental catches. In this study, we used generalized additive models to analyze the spatio-temporal distributions of the juvenile oceanic whitetip shark catches and the environmental conditions in the western Indian Ocean using observer data from 2010 to 2020 of the European Union and associated flags purse seine fishery. We found sea surface temperature and nitrate concentration to be the most important environmental variables predicting the probability of catching an oceanic whitetip shark. A higher probability of capture was predicted in areas where sea surface temperature was below 24°C and with low nitrate concentrations close to zero and intermediate values (1.5-2.5 mmol.m-3). We also found a higher probability of capture in sets on fish aggregating devices than in sets on free schools of tuna. The Kenya and Somalia basin was identified to have higher probabilities of capture during the summer monsoon (June to September) when upwelling of deep cold waters occurs. We provide the first prediction maps of capture probabilities and insights into the environmental preferences of oceanic whitetip shark in the western Indian Ocean. However, the causal mechanisms behind these insights should be explored in future studies before they can be used to design spatial management and conservation strategies, such as time-area closures, for bycatch avoidance

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Juvenile Oceanic Whitetip Shark Incidental Catch in the Western Indian Ocean

Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) is an important top predator in pelagic ecosystems currently classified as globally Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. This species is incidentally caught by fisheries targeting highly migratory tunas and billfishes throughout the Indian Ocean. Understanding the temporal, spatial and environmental factors influencing the capture of this species is essential to reduce incidental catches. In this study, we used generalized additive models to analyze the spatio-temporal distributions of the juvenile oceanic whitetip shark catches and the environmental conditions in the western Indian Ocean using observer data from 2010 to 2020 of the European Union and associated flags purse seine fishery. We found sea surface temperature and nitrate concentration to be the most important environmental variables predicting the probability of catching an oceanic whitetip shark. A higher probability of capture was predicted in areas where sea surface temperature was below 24°C and with low nitrate concentrations close to zero and intermediate values (1.5-2.5 mmol.m-3). We also found a higher probability of capture in sets on fish aggregating devices than in sets on free schools of tuna. The Kenya and Somalia basin was identified to have higher probabilities of capture during the summer monsoon (June to September) when upwelling of deep cold waters occurs. We provide the first prediction maps of capture probabilities and insights into the environmental preferences of oceanic whitetip shark in the western Indian Ocean. However, the causal mechanisms behind these insights should be explored in future studies before they can be used to design spatial management and conservation strategies, such as time-area closures, for bycatch avoidance

Mouse Models of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis to Develop Clinical Applications

Simple Summary Peritoneal carcinomatosis mouse models as a platform to test, improve and/or predict the appropriate therapeutic interventions in patients are crucial to providing medical advances. Here, we overview reported mouse models to explore peritoneal carcinomatosis in translational biomedical research. Peritoneal carcinomatosis of primary tumors originating in gastrointestinal (e.g., colorectal cancer, gastric cancer) or gynecologic (e.g., ovarian cancer) malignancies is a widespread type of tumor dissemination in the peritoneal cavity for which few therapeutic options are available. Therefore, reliable preclinical models are crucial for research and development of efficacious treatments for this condition. To date, a number of animal models have attempted to reproduce as accurately as possible the complexity of the tumor microenvironment of human peritoneal carcinomatosis. These include: Syngeneic tumor cell lines, human xenografts, patient-derived xenografts, genetically induced tumors, and 3D scaffold biomimetics. Each experimental model has its own strengths and limitations, all of which can influence the subsequent translational results concerning anticancer and immunomodulatory drugs under exploration. This review highlights the current status of peritoneal carcinomatosis mouse models for preclinical development of anticancer drugs or immunotherapeutic agents