344 research outputs found
Risk and Business Goal Based Security Requirement and Countermeasure Prioritization
Companies are under pressure to be in control of their assets but at the same time they must operate as efficiently as possible. This means that they aim to implement “good-enough security” but need to be able to justify their security investment plans. Currently companies achieve this by means of checklist-based security assessments, but these methods are a way to achieve consensus without being able to provide justifications of countermeasures in terms of business goals. But such justifications are needed to operate securely and effectively in networked businesses. In this paper, we first compare a Risk-Based Requirements Prioritization method (RiskREP) with some requirements engineering and risk assessment methods based on their requirements elicitation and prioritization properties. RiskREP extends misuse case-based requirements engineering methods with IT architecture-based risk assessment and countermeasure definition and prioritization. Then, we present how RiskREP prioritizes countermeasures by linking business goals to countermeasure specification. Prioritizing countermeasures based on business goals is especially important to provide the stakeholders with structured arguments for choosing a set of countermeasures to implement. We illustrate RiskREP and how it prioritizes the countermeasures it elicits by an application to an action case
Social capital and violence in the United States, 1974-1993
Social capital is a characteristic of communities. Cross-sectional studies have shown that social capital is inversely
associated with homicide and violent crime. We hypothesized that variations in social capital in US states over time can
predict variations in regional homicide mortality both across and within time periods. We analyzed serial crosssectional
data for measures of social capital and age-adjusted homicide rates between 1974 and 1993. We used
perception of social trust and per capita membership in voluntary associations, obtained from responses to the General
Social Surveys, as the principal measures of social capital. We controlled for potential confounding by mean levels of
income, urbanization, and region. Measures of perceived trust were strongly inversely correlated with homicide rates in
an aggregate cross-sectional analysis (r = -0.51, p < 0.001) and also within each time period. Social capital was an
independent predictor of rates of violence when controlling for income, region, and urbanization ( p < 0.001 ). Homicide
rates also predicted levels of social capital in adjusted models ( p < 0.001 ). To investigate directionality of this
relationship we developed Markov transition matrices that described the change in the states’ levels of social capital and
homicide across time intervals. Analysis of the transitional probabilities confirmed that a simple unidirectional
association between social capital and violence was not sufficient to describe this association. There is likely an impact
of violence on levels of perceived trust in communities that complements the hypothesized effect of social capital on
homicide. We conclude that the relationship between social capital and violence over time is non-linear and dynamic.
More complex analytic models describing the relationship between violence and ecological social determinants need to
be considered.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40331/2/Galea_Social Capital and Violence in the United States_2002.pd
Quantum trajectory approach to stochastically-induced quantum interference effects in coherently-driven two-level atoms
Stochastic perturbation of two-level atoms strongly driven by a coherent
light field is analyzed by the quantum trajectory method. A new method is
developed for calculating the resonance fluorescence spectra from numerical
simulations. It is shown that in the case of dominant incoherent perturbation,
the stochastic noise can unexpectedly create phase correlation between the
neighboring atomic dressed states. This phase correlation is responsible for
quantum interference between the related transitions resulting in anomalous
modifications of the resonance fluorescence spectra.Comment: paper accepted for publicatio
Competitive stochastic noises in coherently driven two-level atoms and quantum interference
A system of coherently-driven two-level atoms is analyzed in presence of two
independent stochastic perturbations: one due to collisions and a second one
due to phase fluctuations of the driving field. The behaviour of the quantum
interference induced by the collisional noise is considered in detail. The
quantum-trajectory method is utilized to reveal the phase correlations between
the dressed states involved in the interfering transition channels. It is shown
that the quantum interference induced by the collisional noise is remarkably
robust against phase noise. This effect is due to the fact that the phase
noise, similarly to collisions, stabilizes the phase-difference between the
dressed states.Comment: accepted for publication in J. Opt.
Adiabatic creation of coherent superposition states via multiple intermediate states
We consider an adiabatic population transfer process that resembles the well
established stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP). In our system, the
states have nonzero angular momentums , therefore, the coupling laser fields
induce transitions among the magnetic sublevels of the states. In particular,
we discuss the possibility of creating coherent superposition states in a
system with coupling pattern and . Initially, the system is in the J=0 state. We show that by two delayed,
overlapping laser pulses it is possible to create any final superposition state
of the magnetic sublevels , , . Moreover, we find that
the relative phases of the applied pulses influence not only the phases of the
final superposition state but the probability amplitudes as well. We show that
if we fix the shape and the time-delay between the pulses, the final state
space can be entirely covered by varying the polarizations and relative phases
of the two pulses. Performing numerical simulations we find that our transfer
process is nearly adiabatic for the whole parameter set.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure
The NASA X-Ray Mission Concepts Study
The 2010 Astrophysics Decadal Survey recommended a significant technology development program towards realizing the scientific goals of the International X-ray Observatory (IXO). NASA has undertaken an X-ray mission concepts study to determine alternative approaches to accomplishing IXO's high ranking scientific objectives over the next decade given the budget realities, which make a flagship mission challenging to implement. The goal of the study is to determine the degree to which missions in various cost ranges from 2B could fulfill these objectives. The study process involved several steps. NASA released a Request for Information in October 2011, seeking mission concepts and enabling technology ideas from the community. The responses included a total of 14 mission concepts and 13 enabling technologies. NASA also solicited membership for and selected a Community Science Team (CST) to guide the process. A workshop was held in December 2011 in which the mission concepts and technology were presented and discussed. Based on the RFI responses and the workshop, the CST then chose a small group of notional mission concepts, representing a range of cost points, for further study. These notional missions concepts were developed through mission design laboratory activities in early 2012. The results of all these activities were captured in the final X-ray mission concepts study report, submitted to NASA in July 2012. In this presentation, we summarize the outcome of the study. We discuss background, methodology, the notional missions, and the conclusions of the study report
The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) for the Spitzer Space Telescope
The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) is one of three focal plane instruments in
the Spitzer Space Telescope. IRAC is a four-channel camera that obtains
simultaneous broad-band images at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 microns. Two nearly
adjacent 5.2x5.2 arcmin fields of view in the focal plane are viewed by the
four channels in pairs (3.6 and 5.8 microns; 4.5 and 8 microns). All four
detector arrays in the camera are 256x256 pixels in size, with the two shorter
wavelength channels using InSb and the two longer wavelength channels using
Si:As IBC detectors. IRAC is a powerful survey instrument because of its high
sensitivity, large field of view, and four-color imaging. This paper summarizes
the in-flight scientific, technical, and operational performance of IRAC.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in the ApJS. A higher
resolution version is at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/irac/publication
Mitochondrial abnormalities and low grade inflammation are present in the skeletal muscle of a minority of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; an observational myopathology study
BACKGROUND
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a primary progressive neurodegenerative disease characterised by neuronal loss of lower motor neurons (in the spinal cord and brainstem) and/or upper motor neurons (in the motor cortex) and subsequent denervation atrophy of skeletal muscle.
AIM
A comprehensive examination of muscle pathology from a cohort of clinically confirmed ALS patients, including an investigation of inflammation, complement activation, and deposition of abnormal proteins in order to compare them with findings from an age-matched, control group.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
31 muscle biopsies from clinically confirmed ALS patients and 20 normal controls underwent a comprehensive protocol of histochemical and immunohistochemical stains, including HLA-ABC, C5b-9, p62, and TDP-43.
RESULTS
Neurogenic changes were confirmed in 30/31 ALS cases. In one case, no neurogenic changes could be detected. Muscle fibre necrosis was seen in 5/31 cases and chronic mononuclear inflammatory cell infiltration in 5/31 (2 of them overlapped with those showing muscle necrosis). In four biopsies there was an increase in the proportion of cytochrome oxidase (COX) negative fibres (2-3%). p62 faintly stained cytoplasmic bodies in eight cases and none were immunoreactive to TDP-43.
CONCLUSION
This large series of muscle biopsies from patients with ALS demonstrates neurogenic atrophy is a nearly uniform finding and that mild mitochondrial abnormalities and low-grade inflammation can be seen and do not rule out the diagnosis of ALS. These findings could lend support to the notion that ALS is a complex and heterogeneous disorder
Coxsackievirus B infections are common in Cystic Fibrosis and experimental evidence supports protection by vaccination
Viral respiratory tract infections exacerbate airway disease and facilitate life-threatening bacterial colonization in cystic fibrosis (CF). Annual influenza vaccination is recommended and vaccines against other common respiratory viruses may further reduce pulmonary morbidity risk. Enteroviruses have been found in nasopharyngeal samples from CF patients experiencing pulmonary exacerbations. Using serology tests, we found that infections by a group of enteroviruses, Coxsackievirus Bs (CVBs), are prevalent in CF. We next showed that a CVB vaccine, currently undergoing clinical development, prevents infection and CVB-instigated lung damage in a murine model of CF. Finally, we demonstrate that individuals with CF have normal vaccine responses to a similar, commonly used enterovirus vaccine (inactivated poliovirus vaccine). Our study demonstrates that CVB infections are common in CF and provides experimental evidence indicating that CVB vaccines could be efficacious in the CF population. The role of CVB infections in contributing to pulmonary exacerbations in CF should be further studied.publishedVersionPeer reviewe
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