Cyber Infrastructure Protection: Vol. II

View the Executive SummaryIncreased reliance on the Internet and other networked systems raise the risks of cyber attacks that could harm our nation’s cyber infrastructure. The cyber infrastructure encompasses a number of sectors including: the nation’s mass transit and other transportation systems; banking and financial systems; factories; energy systems and the electric power grid; and telecommunications, which increasingly rely on a complex array of computer networks, including the public Internet. However, many of these systems and networks were not built and designed with security in mind. Therefore, our cyber infrastructure contains many holes, risks, and vulnerabilities that may enable an attacker to cause damage or disrupt cyber infrastructure operations. Threats to cyber infrastructure safety and security come from hackers, terrorists, criminal groups, and sophisticated organized crime groups; even nation-states and foreign intelligence services conduct cyber warfare. Cyber attackers can introduce new viruses, worms, and bots capable of defeating many of our efforts. Costs to the economy from these threats are huge and increasing. Government, business, and academia must therefore work together to understand the threat and develop various modes of fighting cyber attacks, and to establish and enhance a framework to assess the vulnerability of our cyber infrastructure and provide strategic policy directions for the protection of such an infrastructure. This book addresses such questions as: How serious is the cyber threat? What technical and policy-based approaches are best suited to securing telecommunications networks and information systems infrastructure security? What role will government and the private sector play in homeland defense against cyber attacks on critical civilian infrastructure, financial, and logistical systems? What legal impediments exist concerning efforts to defend the nation against cyber attacks, especially in preventive, preemptive, and retaliatory actions?https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1527/thumbnail.jp

Gain properties of dye-doped polymer thin films

Hybrid pumping appears as a promising compromise in order to reach the much coveted goal of an electrically pumped organic laser. In such configuration the organic material is optically pumped by an electrically pumped inorganic device on chip. This engineering solution requires therefore an optimization of the organic gain medium under optical pumping. Here, we report a detailed study of the gain features of dye-doped polymer thin films. In particular we introduce the gain efficiency $K$, in order to facilitate comparison between different materials and experimental conditions. The gain efficiency was measured with various setups (pump-probe amplification, variable stripe length method, laser thresholds) in order to study several factors which modify the actual gain of a layer, namely the confinement factor, the pump polarization, the molecular anisotropy, and the re-absorption. For instance, for a 600 nm thick 5 wt\% DCM doped PMMA layer, the different experimental approaches give a consistent value $K\simeq$ 80 cm.MW$^{-1}$. On the contrary, the usual model predicting the gain from the characteristics of the material leads to an overestimation by two orders of magnitude, which raises a serious problem in the design of actual devices. In this context, we demonstrate the feasibility to infer the gain efficiency from the laser threshold of well-calibrated devices. Besides, temporal measurements at the picosecond scale were carried out to support the analysis.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figure

La tarification des services publics : financement différent ou taxe supplémentaire? Fascicule 2 : L'état de la situation

Vieillissement de la population, renouvellement des infrastructures, remboursement de la dette : le Québec devra relever des défis majeurs en matière de financement des services publics au cours des prochaines décennies. Au moment où le gouvernement du Québec crée un groupe de travail sur la tarification des services publics, quelle est la place de la tarification par rapport aux impôts dans les revenus totaux de l'État? Le deuxième fascicule, qui s'intitule « La tarification des services publics : financement différent ou taxe supplémentaire? Fascicule 2 : L'état de la situation », montre que pour assurer leur survie et moduler leur offre selon les besoins de la population, la tarification apparaît comme une solution tout indiquée. L'analyse décrit l'encadrement législatif et réglementaire qui la régit ainsi que les actions posées par les gouvernements pour en favoriser l'utilisation

La tarification des services publics : financement différent ou taxe supplémentaire? Fascicule 1 : Un contexte favorable

Vieillissement de la population, renouvellement des infrastructures, remboursement de la dette : le Québec devra relever des défis majeurs en matière de financement des services publics au cours des prochaines décennies. Au moment où le gouvernement du Québec crée un groupe de travail sur la tarification des services publics, quelle est la place de la tarification par rapport aux impôts dans les revenus totaux de l'État? Le premier fascicule de cette étude réalisée par Gilles N. Larin et Daniel Boudreau, qui s'intitule « La tarification des services publics : financement différent ou taxe supplémentaire? Fascicule 1 : Un contexte favorable », explique que malgré un contrôle serré des dépenses, le financement par la méthode traditionnelle des impôts et des taxes risque de s'avérer insuffisant et inapproprié pour assurer la pérennité des services

La tarification des services publics : financement différent ou taxe supplémentaire? Fascicule 4 : Les infrastructures routières aux États-Unis

Vieillissement de la population, renouvellement des infrastructures, remboursement de la dette : le Québec devra relever des défis majeurs en matière de financement des services publics au cours des prochaines décennies. Au moment où le gouvernement du Québec crée un groupe de travail sur la tarification des services publics, quelle est la place de la tarification par rapport aux impôts dans les revenus totaux de l'État? Ce quatrième fascicule, qui s'intitule « La tarification des services publics : financement différent ou taxe supplémentaire? Fascicule 4 : Les infrastructures routières aux États-Unis », traite du financement des infrastructures routières aux États-Unis et discute de l'application de certaines dispositions américaines au Québec. L'objectif de cette analyse consiste d'abord à présenter une vue d'ensemble du financement des infrastructures routières aux États-Unis. Reposant essentiellement sur les frais d'utilisation et les taxes dédiées, le financement s'effectue dans la majorité des États via des fonds à des fins particulières. La croissance limitée des taxes sur le carburant oblige les différents gouvernements à rechercher de nouvelles sources de revenus, à court et à long terme. Par ailleurs, le développement de la technologie permet d'évaluer de nouvelles sources de revenus basées sur la distance parcourue et d'introduire des péages variables selon le moment, les secteurs et le flux de circulation. La deuxième partie de l'étude porte sur l'application de certains de ces éléments au Québec

La tarification des services publics : financement différent ou taxe supplémentaire? Fascicule 3 : Vers une politique de la tarification plus incitative

Vieillissement de la population, renouvellement des infrastructures, remboursement de la dette : le Québec devra relever des défis majeurs en matière de financement des services publics au cours des prochaines décennies. Au moment où le gouvernement du Québec crée un groupe de travail sur la tarification des services publics, quelle est la place de la tarification par rapport aux impôts dans les revenus totaux de l'État? Le troisième fascicule, qui s'intitule « La tarification des services publics : financement différent ou taxe supplémentaire? Fascicule 3 : Vers une politique de la tarification plus incitative », explicite que pour réussir ce virage vers l'implantation d'une politique de la tarification plus incitative et visant une utilisation plus intensive et structurée, trois caractéristiques s'avèrent essentielles. D'abord, l'adhésion de la population. Deuxièmement, le support politique du gouvernement représente un élément fondamental afin d'aborder le financement des biens et services publics sous un angle différent. Finalement, il importe de créer un environnement administratif incitatif pour les gestionnaires publics

Pattern Analysis of Microtubule-Polymerizing and -Depolymerizing Agent Combinations as Cancer Chemotherapies

Subcellular distribution of mass can be analyzed by a technique that involves culturing cells on interferometers and digitizing their interference contours. Contour sampling resulted in 102 variables per cell, which were predictors of oncogenic transformation. Cell phenotypes can be deconstructed by use of latent factors, which represent the covariance of the real variables. The reversal of the cancertype phenotype by a combination of microtubule- stabilizing and -depolymerizing agents was described previously. The implications of these results have been explored by clinicians who treated patients with the combination of docetaxel and vinorelbine (Navelbine®). The current study was performed to determine the effects of different combinations on phenotype and in phases of the cell cycle other than mitosis. Combinations of paclitaxel with either colchicine, podophyllotoxin, nocodazole, or vinblastine caused phenotype reversal. Paclitaxel analogue, 7-deoxytaxol, by itself caused reversal. Factors #4, (filopodia), #5 (displacement and/or deep invaginations in the periphery), #8, and #12 took on values typical of normal cells, whereas the values of #7 (p21-activated kinase), and #13 (rounding up) shifted toward the cancer-type. All combinations altered microtubule arrangement at the cell edge. Delivery schedules and drug ratios used in clinical studies were subjected to analysis. Clinical response rates were better when the combination was not interspersed with a single agent (P=0.004). The results support the idea that efficacy depends upon simultaneous exposure to both agents, and suggest a novel mechanism for combination therapies. These therapies appear to restore in transformed cells some of the features of a contact-inhibited cell, and to impede progress through the cell cycle even when provided at nanomolar concentrations

Killer instincts: natural killer cells as multifactorial cancer immunotherapy

Natural killer (NK) cells integrate heterogeneous signals for activation and inhibition using germline-encoded receptors. These receptors are stochastically co-expressed, and their concurrent engagement and signaling can adjust the sensitivity of individual cells to putative targets. Against cancers, which mutate and evolve under therapeutic and immunologic pressure, the diversity for recognition provided by NK cells may be key to comprehensive cancer control. NK cells are already being trialled as adoptive cell therapy and targets for immunotherapeutic agents. However, strategies to leverage their naturally occurring diversity and agility have not yet been developed. In this review, we discuss the receptors and signaling pathways through which signals for activation or inhibition are generated in NK cells, focusing on their roles in cancer and potential as targets for immunotherapies. Finally, we consider the impacts of receptor co-expression and the potential to engage multiple pathways of NK cell reactivity to maximize the scope and strength of antitumor activities

NK-Like T Cells and Plasma Cytokines, but Not Anti-Viral Serology, Define Immune Fingerprints of Resilience and Mild Disability in Exceptional Aging

Exceptional aging has been defined as maintenance of physical and cognitive function beyond the median lifespan despite a history of diseases and/or concurrent subclinical conditions. Since immunity is vital to individual fitness, we examined immunologic fingerprint(s) of highly functional elders. Therefore, survivors of the Cardiovascular Health Study in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA were recruited (n = 140; mean age = 86 years) and underwent performance testing. Blood samples were collected and examined blindly for humoral factors and T cell phenotypes. Based on results of physical and cognitive performance testing, elders were classified as “impaired” or “unimpaired”, accuracy of group assignment was verified by discriminant function analysis. The two groups showed distinct immune profiles as determined by factor analysis. The dominant immune signature of impaired elders consisted of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and T cells expressing inhibitory natural killer-related receptors (NKR) CD158a, CD158e, and NKG2A. In contrast, the dominant signature of unimpaired elders consisted of IL-5, IL-12p70, and IL-13 with co-expression of IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-17, and T cells expressing stimulatory NKRs CD56, CD16, and NKG2D. In logistic regression models, unimpaired phenotype was predicted independently by IL-5 and by CD4+CD28nullCD56+CD57+ T cells. All elders had high antibody titers to common viruses including cytomegalovirus. In cellular bioassays, T cell receptor (TCR)-independent ligation of either CD56 or NKG2D elicited activation of T cells. Collectively, these data demonstrate the importance of immunological parameters in distinguishing between health phenotypes of older adults. NKR+ T cells and cytokine upregulation indicate a unique physiologic environment in old age. Correlation of particular NKR+ T cell subsets and IL-5 with unimpaired performance, and NKR-driven TCR-independent activation of T cells suggest novel immunopathway(s) that could be exploited to improve immunity in old age