An Exploratory Study of the Relationship among the High-level Management’s Security Awareness, Organizational Information Security Activities, and the Execution Level of Organizational Information Security

As the issue of information security becomes increasingly important, high-level management security awareness on operation of organizational information security activities is a significant factor in success. Hence, the aim of this research is to explore how the organizational information security activities are being influenced by high-level management security awareness, and to use information security standard BS7799 to evaluate the execution phase of organizational information security. Combining literature research, case study and the main security codes of BS7799, this paper proposes a conceptual model of high-level management security awareness, organizational information security activities and organizational information security standard in relation to each other. In our conclusion, we discovered that the higher the high-level management security awareness cognizance about industry risks, the implementation of security measures and the threats to organizational security not only facilitate the four information security activities of deterrence, prevention, detection and recovery, they also enhance the standard of organizational information security. In practice, the conclusion of this paper hopes to remind high-level management to be aware of the threats of human factors and also to strengthen risk evaluation and deterrence activity

Generation and analysis of expressed sequence tags from a cDNA library of the fruiting body of Ganoderma lucidum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little genomic or trancriptomic information on <it>Ganoderma lucidum </it>(<it>Lingzhi</it>) is known. This study aims to discover the transcripts involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis and developmental regulation of <it>G. lucidum </it>using an expressed sequence tag (EST) library.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cDNA library was constructed from the <it>G</it>. <it>lucidum </it>fruiting body. Its high-quality ESTs were assembled into unique sequences with contigs and singletons. The unique sequences were annotated according to sequence similarities to genes or proteins available in public databases. The detection of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) was preformed by online analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 1,023 clones were randomly selected from the <it>G</it>. <it>lucidum </it>library and sequenced, yielding 879 high-quality ESTs. These ESTs showed similarities to a diverse range of genes. The sequences encoding squalene epoxidase (SE) and farnesyl-diphosphate synthase (FPS) were identified in this EST collection. Several candidate genes, such as <it>hydrophobin</it>, <it>MOB2</it>, <it>profilin </it>and <it>PHO84 </it>were detected for the first time in <it>G</it>. <it>lucidum</it>. Thirteen (13) potential SSR-motif microsatellite loci were also identified.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study demonstrates a successful application of EST analysis in the discovery of transcripts involved in the secondary metabolite biosynthesis and the developmental regulation of <it>G. lucidum</it>.</p

Studies on Anti-Hepatoma Effect of Gan-Ai-Xiao Decoction

Purpose: To explore the anti-hepatoma effect of Gan-Ai-Xiao Decoction (GAXD), a folk remedy.Methods: High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify the major chemical components of GAXD ethanol extract (EE). The cytotoxic effect of GAXD EE against HepG2 cells was measured by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Flow cytometry and Western blot were used to study the effect of GAXD EE on apoptosis and apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3) in HepG2 cells. Xenograft assay was used to evaluate the anti-hepatoma effect of GAXD EE in vivo.Results: Four components were identified in GAXD EE by HPLC. The results of MTT and flow cytometry assays indicated that GAXD EE significantly reduced HepG2 cells viability (p &lt; 0.05) and induced its apoptosis. The results of Western blot assay suggested that GAXD EE down-regulated the expression of anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2) and up-regulated the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax and caspase-3) in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, the results of xenograft assay showed that GAXD EE significantly inhibited the growth of HepG2 cells-induced tumor (p &lt; 0.05) without any effect on the body weight of nude mice.Conclusion: GAXD has anti-hepatoma activity, and the mechanism is associated with apoptosis.Keywords: Gan-Ai-Xiao Decoction, Anti-hepatoma, Flow Cytometry, Western Blot, Xenograft, HepG2 cells, Apoptosi

Landau-Zener-Stuckelberg-Majorana interference in a 3D transmon driven by a chirped microwave

By driving a 3D transmon with microwave fields, we generate an effective avoided energy-level crossing. Then we chirp microwave frequency, which is equivalent to driving the system through the avoided energy-level crossing by sweeping the avoided crossing. A double-passage chirp produces Landau-Zener-St\"uckelberg-Majorana interference that agree well with the numerical results. Our method is fully applicable to other quantum systems that contain no intrinsic avoided level crossing, providing an alternative approach for quantum control and quantum simulation

DSENT - A Tool Connecting Emerging Photonics with Electronics for Opto-Electronic Networks-on-Chip Modeling

With the advent of many-core chips that place substantial demand on the NoC, photonics has been investigated as a promising alternative to electrical NoCs. While numerous opto-electronic NoCs have been proposed, their evaluations tend to be based on fixed numbers for both photonic and electrical components, making it difficult to co-optimize. Through our own forays into opto-electronic NoC design, we observe that photonics and electronics are very much intertwined, reflecting a strong need for a NoC modeling tool that accurately models parameterized electronic and photonic components within a unified framework, capturing their interactions faithfully. In this paper, we present a tool, DSENT, for design space exploration of electrical and opto-electrical networks. We form a framework that constructs basic NoC building blocks from electrical and photonic technology parameters. To demonstrate potential use cases, we perform a network case study illustrating data-rate tradeoffs, a comparison with scaled electrical technology, and sensitivity to photonics parameters

Enhanced Delivery of Rituximab Into Brain and Lymph Nodes Using Timed-Release Nanocapsules in Non-Human Primates.

Tumor metastasis into the central nervous system (CNS) and lymph nodes (LNs) is a major obstacle for effective therapies. Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have revolutionized tumor treatment; however, their efficacy for treating metastatic tumors-particularly, CNS and LN metastases-is poor due to inefficient penetration into the CNS and LNs following intravenous injection. We recently reported an effective delivery of mAb to the CNS by encapsulating the anti-CD20 mAb rituximab (RTX) within a thin shell of polymer that contains the analogs of choline and acetylcholine receptors. This encapsulated RTX, denoted as n-RTX, eliminated lymphoma cells systemically in a xenografted humanized mouse model using an immunodeficient mouse as a recipient of human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and fetal thymus more effectively than native RTX; importantly, n-RTX showed notable anti-tumor effect on CNS metastases which is unable to show by native RTX. As an important step toward future clinical translation of this technology, we further analyzed the properties of n-RTX in immunocompetent animals, rats, and non-human primates (NHPs). Our results show that a single intravenous injection of n-RTX resulted in 10-fold greater levels in the CNS and 2-3-fold greater levels in the LNs of RTX, respectively, than the injection of native RTX in both rats and NHPs. In addition, we demonstrate the enhanced delivery and efficient B-cell depletion in lymphoid organs of NHPs with n-RTX. Moreover, detailed hematological analysis and liver enzyme activity tests indicate n-RTX treatment is safe in NHPs. As this nanocapsule platform can be universally applied to other therapeutic mAbs, it holds great promise for extending mAb therapy to poorly accessible body compartments