Simulating and modelling the impact of secure communication latency for closed loop control

Closed loop control systems have been implemented to conduct a variety of tasks (e.g. manufacturing and automation). Industrial Control System (ICS) have been used to regulate a closed loop process; however, ICS are exposed to the same security vulnerabilities associated with enterprise networks. Cryptography has been deployed to overcome the associated data communication weaknesses between each ICS node through the use of block ciphers; however, the drawback of applying cryptographic algorithms to ICS is the additional communication latency. This paper investigates the relationship between security constructs and latency for closed loop control system with test conducted in a simulated environment. A case scenario is illustrated to demonstrate the impact of the results obtained to a real world context

Cross-sectional study of approaches to diagnosis and management of dogs with immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia in primary care and referral veterinary practices in the United Kingdom.

ObjectivesTo determine whether veterinarians in primary care practices (PCPs) and board-certified clinicians (BCCs) approach treatment of dogs with immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) similarly, and whether practitioners with more experience treat similarly to those with less experience. We hypothesised those in PCPs would show more variation in their approach to similar cases than BCCs.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted by distributing a questionnaire to BCCs and veterinarians in PCPs. The questionnaire included direct questions and a number of clinical scenarios intended to capture approaches to common treatment problems.ResultsQuestionnaire responses were received from 241 veterinarians, including 216 in PCPs and 25 BCCs. Veterinarians in both settings used similar tests for diagnosis of IMHA, but BCCs performed more tests to exclude underlying causes of 'associative' disease. All veterinarians reported use of similar initial dosages of glucocorticoids (median 2 mg/kg per day in both groups, p = 0.92) but those used by more experienced practitioners were higher than those with less experience. Most veterinarians made allowances for the weight of dogs, using lower prednisolone dosages in a clinical scenario involving a 40 kg dog compared to a 9 kg dog (p = 0.025 for PCP, p = 0.002 for BCC). BCCs reported greater use of combinations of immunosuppressive drugs (pConclusionsApproaches to treatment of dogs with IMHA differ between BCCs and those in PCP. These differences may affect design and implementation of future research studies and clinical guidelines

Multidisciplinary investigation of the pit circuit at Durrington Walls, UK

ISBN: 9782753585874.– Comprehensive geophysical assessment of huge pits; ERT, GPR, mag and EM. – Novel approach to testing and interpreting pits via coring. – Largest pit circuit confirmed in both the Stonehenge landscape and the UK.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The Small Muscle-Specific Protein Csl Modifies Cell Shape and Promotes Myocyte Fusion in an Insulin-like Growth Factor 1–Dependent Manner

We have isolated a murine cDNA encoding a 9-kD protein, Chisel (Csl), in a screen for transcriptional targets of the cardiac homeodomain factor Nkx2-5. Csl transcripts were detected in atria and ventricles of the heart and in all skeletal muscles and smooth muscles of the stomach and pulmonary veins. Csl protein was distributed throughout the cytoplasm in fetal muscles, although costameric and M-line localization to the muscle cytoskeleton became obvious after further maturation. Targeted disruption of Csl showed no overt muscle phenotype. However, ectopic expression in C2C12 myoblasts induced formation of lamellipodia in which Csl protein became tethered to membrane ruffles. Migration of these cells was retarded in a monolayer wound repair assay. Csl-expressing myoblasts differentiated and fused normally, although in the presence of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 they showed dramatically enhanced fusion, leading to formation of large dysmorphogenic “myosacs.” The activities of transcription factors nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) and myocyte enhancer–binding factor (MEF)2, were also enhanced in an IGF-1 signaling–dependent manner. The dynamic cytoskeletal localization of Csl and its dominant effects on cell shape and behavior and transcription factor activity suggest that Csl plays a role in the regulatory network through which muscle cells coordinate their structural and functional states during growth, adaptation, and repair

Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life.

Synthesizing trait observations and knowledge across the Tree of Life remains a grand challenge for biodiversity science. Species traits are widely used in ecological and evolutionary science, and new data and methods have proliferated rapidly. Yet accessing and integrating disparate data sources remains a considerable challenge, slowing progress toward a global synthesis to integrate trait data across organisms. Trait science needs a vision for achieving global integration across all organisms. Here, we outline how the adoption of key Open Science principles-open data, open source and open methods-is transforming trait science, increasing transparency, democratizing access and accelerating global synthesis. To enhance widespread adoption of these principles, we introduce the Open Traits Network (OTN), a global, decentralized community welcoming all researchers and institutions pursuing the collaborative goal of standardizing and integrating trait data across organisms. We demonstrate how adherence to Open Science principles is key to the OTN community and outline five activities that can accelerate the synthesis of trait data across the Tree of Life, thereby facilitating rapid advances to address scientific inquiries and environmental issues. Lessons learned along the path to a global synthesis of trait data will provide a framework for addressing similarly complex data science and informatics challenges

weather@home 2: validation of an improved global–regional climate modelling system

Extreme weather events can have large impacts on society and, in many regions, are expected to change in frequency and intensity with climate change. Owing to the relatively short observational record, climate models are useful tools as they allow for generation of a larger sample of extreme events, to attribute recent events to anthropogenic climate change, and to project changes in such events into the future. The modelling system known as weather@home, consisting of a global climate model (GCM) with a nested regional climate model (RCM) and driven by sea surface temperatures, allows one to generate a very large ensemble with the help of volunteer distributed computing. This is a key tool to understanding many aspects of extreme events. Here, a new version of the weather@home system (weather@home 2) with a higher-resolution RCM over Europe is documented and a broad validation of the climate is performed. The new model includes a more recent land-surface scheme in both GCM and RCM, where subgrid-scale land-surface heterogeneity is newly represented using tiles, and an increase in RCM resolution from 50 to 25 km. The GCM performs similarly to the previous version, with some improvements in the representation of mean climate. The European RCM temperature biases are overall reduced, in particular the warm bias over eastern Europe, but large biases remain. Precipitation is improved over the Alps in summer, with mixed changes in other regions and seasons. The model is shown to represent the main classes of regional extreme events reasonably well and shows a good sensitivity to its drivers. In particular, given the improvements in this version of the weather@home system, it is likely that more reliable statements can be made with regards to impact statements, especially at more localized scales