Microarray-Based Gene Expression Analysis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Microarray studies have successfully shed light on various aspects of the molecular mechanisms behind the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), such as the identification of novel molecular subgroups and the genetic profiles associated with metastasis and venous invasion. These experiments, mainly comprising genome wide profiling, potentially represent the basis of novel targeted therapeutic strategies in HCC. In response, we summarize the multiple reported expression profiles in HCC associated with HCC development, novel subgroups, venous invasion and metastasis

How India Censors the Web

One of the primary ways in which India engages in online censorship is by ordering Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operating in its jurisdiction to block access to certain websites for its users. This paper reports the different techniques Indian ISPs are using to censor websites, and investigates whether website blocklists are consistent across ISPs. We propose a suite of tests that prove more robust than previous work in detecting DNS and HTTP based censorship. Our tests also discern the use of SNI inspection for blocking websites, which is previously undocumented in the Indian context. Using information from court orders, user reports, and public and leaked government orders, we compile the largest known list of potentially blocked websites in India. We pass this list to our tests and run them from connections of six different ISPs, which together serve more than 98% of Internet users in India. Our findings not only confirm that ISPs are using different techniques to block websites, but also demonstrate that different ISPs are not blocking the same websites

Αποτίμηση αξίας μη εισηγμένης επιχείρησης με τη μέθοδο των προεξοφλημένων ταμειακών ροών στην επιχείρηση: το παράδειγμα της εταιρείας CALORIA ABEE

Στόχος της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η αποτίμηση της αξίας μιας μη εισηγμένης επιχείρησης, με τη μέθοδο των Προεξοφλημένων Ταμειακών Ροών (DCF). Για την επίτευξη αυτού του στόχου, πραγματοποιήθηκε επισκόπηση της βιβλιογραφίας προκειμένου να αποσαφηνιστούν βασικές έννοιες και να διερευνηθεί η μέθοδος των Προεξοφλημένων Ταμειακών Ροών. Εν συνεχεία, η προαναφερθείσα μέθοδος εφαρμόστηκε σε μια μικρή ελληνική επιχείρηση που δραστηριοποιείται στον κλάδο ειδών κεντρικής θέρμανσης, με βασικό στόχο τον υπολογισμό της αξίας της. Τα ευρήματα ανέδειξαν ότι η εκτίμηση της αξίας μίας μη εισηγμένης επιχείρησης, προϋποθέτει την αποδοχή υποθέσεων και παραδοχών για τον υπολογισμό του Μέσου Σταθμικού Κόστους Κεφαλαίου (ΜΣΚΚ). Επιπλέον, αναδείχθηκε η έλλειψη συγκρίσιμων αποτελεσμάτων για τις μη εισηγμένες επιχειρήσεις, γεγονός το οποίο καθιστά αναγκαία την ενεργοποίηση της πανεπιστημιακής κοινότητας τόσο προς την κατεύθυνση της προτυποποίησης της διαδικασίας του υπολογισμού της αποτίμησης της αξίας μικρών και μεσαίων επιχειρήσεων, όσο και στη δημιουργία μιας βάσης δεδομένων αξιών για μη εισηγμένες επιχειρήσεις, οι οποίες αναμφισβήτητα αποτελούν τη ραχοκοκαλιά της ελληνικής επιχειρηματικότητας.The aim of this paper is to determineestimate the value of a non-listed business using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method. To achieve this objective, a literature review was carried out to clarify key concepts and to investigate the DCF method. Subsequently, the aforementioned method was applied for the valuation of a small Greek business operating in the central heating industry. The findings have revealed that the valuation of a non-listed business requires the acceptance of assumptions and admissions for the calculation of the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC). In addition, the lack of comparable results for non-listed companies emerged, necessitating the activation of the academic community both in standardizing the process of valuation of small and medium businesses and in creating a value database for non-listed businesses, which undoubtedly form the backbone of Greek entrepreneurship

Cooperation between CSIRTs and Law Enforcement: interaction with the Judiciary

The purpose of this report is to further explore the cooperation between computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs) (in particular national and governmental CSIRTs) and law enforcement (LE) by adding the important dimension of their interaction with the judiciary (prosecutors and judges). This report follows two reports that ENISA published in 2017: Tools and methodologies to support cooperation between CSIRTs and law enforcement (ENISA, 2017), which focused on technical aspects and Improving cooperation between CSIRTs and law enforcement: Legal and organisational aspects (ENISA, 2017a), which focused on the legal and organisational issues of cooperation; both are available on the ENISA website. This report aims to support the cooperation between CSIRTs and LE, as well as their interaction with the judiciary in their fight against cybercrime, by providing information on the legal, organisational, technical and cultural aspects, identifying current shortcomings and making recommendations to further enhance cooperation. The geographical coverage is mainly the EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The data for this report was collected via desk research, interviews with subject-matter experts and an online survey. The data showed that CSIRTs, LE and the judiciary are characterised by significant differences in roles and structure. The kind of information to which CSIRTs and LE have access is different, this is one of the primary reasons why sharing information between them is paramount to respond to cybercrime. Across Member States different models/frameworks of interaction exist among the three communities (CSIRTs, LE and the judiciary). Overall CSIRTs interact more with LE rather than with the judiciary. CSIRTs offer support to LE to collect and analyse different types of evidence. CSIRTs are rarely called as witnesses in courts but the material they collect during the incident handling might be used to decide on (cyber) crime cases. Although the cooperation and interaction across the CSIRT, LE and judiciary communities work well in principle, there are still some challenges to be faced. In particular, some legal aspects are seen as the biggest challenge with issues such the diversity of the legal frameworks, data retention, the sharing of personal data (including internet protocol (IP) addresses) and the confidentiality around criminal investigations as well as evidential admissibility of digital evidence

Genetic signatures shared in embryonic liver development and liver cancer define prognostically relevant subgroups in HCC

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Multiple activations of individual genes during embryonic liver and HCC development have repeatedly prompted speculations about conserved embryonic signatures driving cancer development. Recently, the emerging discussion on cancer stem cells and the appreciation that generally tumors may develop from progenitor cells of diverse stages of cellular differentiation has shed increasing light on the overlapping genetic signatures between embryonic liver development and HCC. However there is still a lack of systematic studies investigating this area. We therefore performed a comprehensive analysis of differentially regulated genetic signaling pathways in embryonic and liver cancer development and investigated their biological relevance.</p> <p>Genetic signaling pathways were investigated on several publically available genome wide microarray experiments on liver development and HCC. Differentially expressed genes were investigated for pathway enrichment or underrepresentation compared to KEGG annotated pathways by Fisher exact evaluation. The comparative analysis of enrichment and under representation of differentially regulated genes in liver development and HCC demonstrated a significant overlap between multiple pathways. Most strikingly we demonstrated a significant overlap not only in pathways expected to be relevant to both conditions such as cell cycle or apoptosis but also metabolic pathways associated with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Furthermore, we demonstrated the clinical significance of these findings as unsupervised clustering of HCC patients on the basis of these metabolic pathways displayed significant differences in survival.</p> <p>These results indicate that liver development and liver cancer share similar alterations in multiple genetic signaling pathways. Several pathways with markedly similar patterns of enrichment or underrepresentation of various regulated genes between liver development and HCC are of prognostic relevance in HCC. In particular, the metabolic pathways were identified as novel prognostically relevant players in HCC development.</p

Occupational heat stress : Multi-country observations and interventions

Background: Occupational heat exposure can provoke health problems that increase the risk of certain diseases and affect workers’ ability to maintain healthy and productive lives. This study investigates the effects of occupational heat stress on workers’ physiological strain and labor productivity, as well as examining multiple interventions to mitigate the problem. Methods: We monitored 518 full work-shifts obtained from 238 experienced and acclimatized individuals who work in key industrial sectors located in Cyprus, Greece, Qatar, and Spain. Continuous core body temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, and labor productivity were collected from the beginning to the end of all work-shifts. Results: In workplaces where self-pacing is not feasible or very limited, we found that occupational heat stress is associated with the heat strain experienced by workers. Strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, and ventilated clothing were able to mitigate the physiological heat strain experienced by workers. Increasing mechanization enhanced labor productivity without increasing workers’ physiological strain. Conclusions: Empowering la-borers to self-pace is the basis of heat mitigation, while tailored strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, ventilated garments, and mechanization can further reduce the physiological heat strain experienced by workers under certain conditions