The projection and measurement of cyberpower

Cyberspace and cyberpower are terms that are increasingly used in common parlance, but are notoriously difficult to define and measure. This article builds on previous work defining the properties of cyberspace in terms of vertical layers, which when combined with a representation of distance presents a three-dimensional model. The unique attributes of cyberspace can be harnessed for power projection, the aim of which is ultimately to alter the behaviour of individuals. Although cyberspace has yet to be used as a medium to demonstrate conventional hard power of coercion and threats supported by physical force, it does present a suitable medium for the projection of soft power of attraction and imitation. These are defined within the context of the online environment and by drawing on the techniques used to optimise Web-based commerce, potential methods of implementing and measuring the success of a campaign of cyberpower projection are proposed

Towards Equity in Health: Researchers Take Stock.

For the 2016 end-of-the-year editorial, the PLOS Medicine editors asked 7 global health leaders to discuss developments relevant to the equitable provision of medical care to all populations. The result is a collection of expert views on ethical trial design, research during outbreaks, high-burden infectious diseases, diversity in research and protection of migrants

Analysis of the Ca2+ response of mycelial fungi to external effects by the recombinant aequorin method

Using the mutant strain Aspergillus awamori 66A producing a recombinant Ca2+-dependent photosensitive protein aequorin, the dynamics of Ca2+ was studied for the first time in the cytosol of the micromycetes exposed to stressful factors, such as an increase in extracellular Ca2+ to 50 mM, hypoosmotic shock, and mechanical shock. Cell response to stress proved to involve an increase in the Ca2+ concentration in the cytosol, which was determined from the amplitude of aequorin luminescence and the time of the amplitude enhancement and relaxation. The level of Ca 2+ response depended on the physiological stimulus. Inhibitory analysis with various agents that block Ca2+ channels and with agonists that specifically enhance the activity of the channels suggested that (1) the level of Ca2+ in the cytosol of micromycetes increases in response to stress because of the ion influx from both the growth medium and intracellular reservoirs and (2) the potential-dependent transport systems play the major role in the Ca2+ influx into the cytosol of the micromycete cells

Analysis of the Ca2+ response of mycelial fungi to external effects by the recombinant aequorin method

Using the mutant strain Aspergillus awamori 66A, producing the recombinant Ca2+ -dependent photosensitive protein aequorin, the dynamics of Ca2+ was studied for the first time in the cytosol of micromycetes exposed to stressful factors, such as an increase in extracellular Ca 2+ to 50 mM, hypoosmotic shock, and mechanical shock. The cell response to stress proved to involve an increase in the Ca2+ concentration in the cytosol, which was determined from the amplitude of aequorin luminescence and the time of the amplitude enhancement and relaxation. The level of the Ca2+ response depended on the physiological stimulus. Inhibitory analysis with various agents that block Ca2+ channels and with agonists that specifically enhance the activity of the channels suggested that (1) the level of Ca2+ in the cytosol of micromycetes increases in response to stress because of the ion influx from both the growth medium and intracellular reservoirs and (2) potential-dependent transport systems play the major role in the Ca2+ influx into the cytosol of the micromycete cells. © 2004 MAIK "Nauka/ Interperiodica"

To Protect Human Subjects, Review What Was Done, Not Proposed

The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) released in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (1) recommends many important changes to federal regulations on protection of human research subjects. Perhaps most important, through the 74 questions it poses, it offers the opportunity to rethink approaches to research oversight. The current regulatory model of prospective review, based on what researchers say they plan to do, focuses the attention of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs, which must approve proposed research) and researchers on perfecting protocols and consent forms rather than interacting with subjects. Such a regulatory model may discourage innovation in human subjects protection. In contrast, we describe how a system based on retrospective, auditlike review of a subset of projects could stimulate assessment of the effectiveness of current approaches and the development of creative alternatives, with efficiencies for all concerned

Should Research Ethics Encourage the Production of Cost-Effective Interventions?

This project considers whether and how research ethics can contribute to the provision of cost-effective medical interventions. Clinical research ethics represents an underexplored context for the promotion of cost-effectiveness. In particular, although scholars have recently argued that research on less-expensive, less-effective interventions can be ethical, there has been little or no discussion of whether ethical considerations justify curtailing research on more expensive, more effective interventions. Yet considering cost-effectiveness at the research stage can help ensure that scarce resources such as tissue samples or limited subject popula- tions are employed where they do the most good; can support parallel efforts by providers and insurers to promote cost-effectiveness; and can ensure that research has social value and benefits subjects. I discuss and rebut potential objections to the consideration of cost-effectiveness in research, including the difficulty of predicting effectiveness and cost at the research stage, concerns about limitations in cost-effectiveness analysis, and worries about overly limiting researchers’ freedom. I then consider the advantages and disadvantages of having certain participants in the research enterprise, including IRBs, advisory committees, sponsors, investigators, and subjects, consider cost-effectiveness. The project concludes by qualifiedly endorsing the consideration of cost-effectiveness at the research stage. While incorporating cost-effectiveness considerations into the ethical evaluation of human subjects research will not on its own ensure that the health care system realizes cost-effectiveness goals, doing so nonetheless represents an important part of a broader effort to control rising medical costs

Solution structure of a repeated unit of the ABA-1 nematode polyprotein allergen of ascaris reveals a novel fold and two discrete lipid-binding sites

Parasitic nematode worms cause serious health problems in humans and other animals. They can induce allergic-type immune responses, which can be harmful but may at the same time protect against the infections. Allergens are proteins that trigger allergic reactions and these parasites produce a type that is confined to nematodes, the nematode polyprotein allergens (NPAs). These are synthesized as large precursor proteins comprising repeating units of similar amino acid sequence that are subsequently cleaved into multiple copies of the allergen protein. NPAs bind small lipids such as fatty acids and retinol (Vitamin A) and probably transport these sensitive and insoluble compounds between the tissues of the worms. Nematodes cannot synthesize these lipids, so NPAs may also be crucial for extracting nutrients from their hosts. They may also be involved in altering immune responses by controlling the lipids by which the immune and inflammatory cells communicate. We describe the molecular structure of one unit of an NPA, the well-known ABA-1 allergen of Ascaris and find its structure to be of a type not previously found for lipid-binding proteins, and we describe the unusual sites where lipids bind within this structur

DUNDRUM-2: Prospective validation of a structured professional judgment instrument assessing priority for admission from the waiting list for a forensic mental health hospital

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The criteria for deciding who should be admitted first from a waiting list to a forensic secure hospital are not necessarily the same as those for assessing need. Criteria were drafted qualitatively and tested in a prospective 'real life' observational study over a 6-month period.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A researcher rated all those presented at the weekly referrals meeting using the DUNDRUM-1 triage security scale and the DUNDRUM-2 triage urgency scale. The key outcome measure was whether or not the individual was admitted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Inter-rater reliability and internal consistency for the DUNDRUM-2 were acceptable. The DUNDRUM-1 triage security score and the DUNDRUM-2 triage urgency score correlated r = 0.663. At the time of admission, after a mean of 23.9 (SD35.9) days on the waiting list, those admitted had higher scores on the DUNDRUM-2 triage urgency scale than those not admitted, with no significant difference between locations (remand or sentenced prisoners, less secure hospitals) at the time of admission. Those admitted also had higher DUNDRUM-1 triage security scores. At baseline the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve for a combined score was the best predictor of admission while at the time of admission the DUNDRUM-2 triage urgency score had the largest AUC (0.912, 95% CI 0.838 to 0.986).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The triage urgency items and scale add predictive power to the decision to admit. This is particularly true in maintaining equitability between those referred from different locations.</p

Adaptive Honeypot Engagement through Reinforcement Learning of Semi-Markov Decision Processes

A honeynet is a promising active cyber defense mechanism. It reveals the fundamental Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) by luring attackers to conduct adversarial behaviors in a controlled and monitored environment. The active interaction at the honeynet brings a high reward but also introduces high implementation costs and risks of adversarial honeynet exploitation. In this work, we apply infinite-horizon Semi-Markov Decision Process (SMDP) to characterize a stochastic transition and sojourn time of attackers in the honeynet and quantify the reward-risk trade-off. In particular, we design adaptive long-term engagement policies shown to be risk-averse, cost-effective, and time-efficient. Numerical results have demonstrated that our adaptive engagement policies can quickly attract attackers to the target honeypot and engage them for a sufficiently long period to obtain worthy threat information. Meanwhile, the penetration probability is kept at a low level. The results show that the expected utility is robust against attackers of a large range of persistence and intelligence. Finally, we apply reinforcement learning to the SMDP to solve the curse of modeling. Under a prudent choice of the learning rate and exploration policy, we achieve a quick and robust convergence of the optimal policy and value.Comment: The presentation can be found at https://youtu.be/GPKT3uJtXqk. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1907.0139

A genealogy of hacking

Hacking is now a widely discussed and known phenomenon, but remains difficult to define and empirically identify because it has come to refer to many different, sometimes incompatible, material practices. This paper proposes genealogy as a framework for understanding hacking by briefly revisiting Foucault’s concept of genealogy and interpreting its perspectival stance through the feminist materialist concept of the situated observer. Using genealogy as a theoretical frame a history of hacking will be proposed in four phases. The first phase is the ‘pre-history’ of hacking in which four core practices were developed. The second phase is the ‘golden age of cracking’ in which hacking becomes a self-conscious identity and community and is for many identified with breaking into computers, even while non-cracking practices such as free software mature. The third phase sees hacking divide into a number of new practices even while old practices continue, including the rise of serious cybercrime, hacktivism, the division of Open Source and Free Software and hacking as an ethic of business and work. The final phase sees broad consciousness of state-sponsored hacking, the re-rise of hardware hacking in maker labs and hack spaces and the diffusion of hacking into a broad ‘clever’ practice. In conclusion it will be argued that hacking consists across all the practices surveyed of an interrogation of the rationality of information techno-cultures enacted by each hacker practice situating itself within a particular techno-culture and then using that techno-culture to change itself, both in changing potential actions that can be taken and changing the nature of the techno-culture itself