EST analysis in Ginkgo biloba: an assessment of conserved developmental regulators and gymnosperm specific genes

BACKGROUND: Ginkgo biloba L. is the only surviving member of one of the oldest living seed plant groups with medicinal, spiritual and horticultural importance worldwide. As an evolutionary relic, it displays many characters found in the early, extinct seed plants and extant cycads. To establish a molecular base to understand the evolution of seeds and pollen, we created a cDNA library and EST dataset from the reproductive structures of male (microsporangiate), female (megasporangiate), and vegetative organs (leaves) of Ginkgo biloba. RESULTS: RNA from newly emerged male and female reproductive organs and immature leaves was used to create three distinct cDNA libraries from which 6,434 ESTs were generated. These 6,434 ESTs from Ginkgo biloba were clustered into 3,830 unigenes. A comparison of our Ginkgo unigene set against the fully annotated genomes of rice and Arabidopsis, and all available ESTs in Genbank revealed that 256 Ginkgo unigenes match only genes among the gymnosperms and non-seed plants – many with multiple matches to genes in non-angiosperm plants. Conversely, another group of unigenes in Gingko had highly significant homology to transcription factors in angiosperms involved in development, including MADS box genes as well as post-transcriptional regulators. Several of the conserved developmental genes found in Ginkgo had top BLAST homology to cycad genes. We also note here the presence of ESTs in G. biloba similar to genes that to date have only been found in gymnosperms and an additional 22 Ginkgo genes common only to genes from cycads. CONCLUSION: Our analysis of an EST dataset from G. biloba revealed genes potentially unique to gymnosperms. Many of these genes showed homology to fully sequenced clones from our cycad EST dataset found in common only with gymnosperms. Other Ginkgo ESTs are similar to developmental regulators in higher plants. This work sets the stage for future studies on Ginkgo to better understand seed and pollen evolution, and to resolve the ambiguous phylogenetic relationship of G. biloba among the gymnosperms

DNA sequence level analyses reveal potential phenotypic modifiers in a large family with psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric disorders are a group of genetically related diseases with highly polygenic architectures. Genome-wide association analyses have made substantial progress towards understanding the genetic architecture of these disorders. More recently, exome- and whole-genome sequencing of cases and families have identified rare, high penetrant variants that provide direct functional insight. There remains, however, a gap in the heritability explained by these complementary approaches. To understand how multiple genetic variants combine to modify both severity and penetrance of a highly penetrant variant, we sequenced 48 whole genomes from a family with a high loading of psychiatric disorder linked to a balanced chromosomal translocation. The (1;11)(q42;q14.3) translocation directly disrupts three genes: DISC1, DISC2, DISC1FP and has been linked to multiple brain imaging and neurocognitive outcomes in the family. Using DNA sequence-level linkage analysis, functional annotation and population-based association, we identified common and rare variants in GRM5 (minor allele frequency (MAF) > 0.05), PDE4D (MAF > 0.2) and CNTN5 (MAF < 0.01) that may help explain the individual differences in phenotypic expression in the family. We suggest that whole-genome sequencing in large families will improve the understanding of the combined effects of the rare and common sequence variation underlying psychiatric phenotypes

Monitoring fever treatment behaviour and equitable access to effective medicines in the context of initiatives to improve ACT access: baseline results and implications for programming in six African countries

BACKGROUND: Access to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) remains limited in high malaria-burden countries, and there are concerns that the poorest people are particularly disadvantaged. This paper presents new evidence on household treatment-seeking behaviour in six African countries. These data provide a baseline for monitoring interventions to increase ACT coverage, such as the Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria (AMFm). METHODS: Nationally representative household surveys were conducted in Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia between 2008 and 2010. Caregivers responded to questions about management of recent fevers in children under five. Treatment indicators were tabulated across countries, and differences in case management provided by the public versus private sector were examined using chi-square tests. Logistic regression was used to test for association between socioeconomic status and 1) malaria blood testing, and 2) ACT treatment. RESULTS: Fever treatment with an ACT is low in Benin (10%), the DRC (5%), Madagascar (3%) and Nigeria (5%), but higher in Uganda (21%) and Zambia (21%). The wealthiest children are significantly more likely to receive ACT compared to the poorest children in Benin (OR = 2.68, 95% CI = 1.12-6.42); the DRC (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.12-4.24); Madagascar (OR = 5.37, 95% CI = 1.58-18.24); and Nigeria (OR = 6.59, 95% CI = 2.73-15.89). Most caregivers seek treatment outside of the home, and private sector outlets are commonly the sole external source of treatment (except in Zambia). However, children treated in the public sector are significantly more likely to receive ACT treatment than those treated in the private sector (except in Madagascar). Nonetheless, levels of testing and ACT treatment in the public sector are low. Few caregivers name the national first-line drug as most effective for treating malaria in Madagascar (2%), the DRC (2%), Nigeria (4%) and Benin (10%). Awareness is higher in Zambia (49%) and Uganda (33%). CONCLUSIONS: Levels of effective fever treatment are low and inequitable in many contexts. The private sector is frequently accessed however case management practices are relatively poor in comparison with the public sector. Supporting interventions to inform caregiver demand for ACT and to improve provider behaviour in both the public and private sectors are needed to achieve maximum gains in the context of improved access to effective treatment

The Impact of Retail-Sector Delivery of Artemether–Lumefantrine on Malaria Treatment of Children under Five in Kenya: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

In a cluster randomized trial, Beth Kangwana and colleagues find that provision of subsidized packs of the malaria therapy artemether-lumefantrine to shops more than doubled the proportion of children with fever who received drugs promptly

Trouble in Florida: The Genesis of Phishing attacks on Australian Banks

Today Phishing of Internet banks is a well know problem and globally is responsible for more than US$3 billion in fraud annually. To date there has been limited research into the individuals and groups responsible for these attacks. Considerable anecdotal evidence exists to suggest that transnational organised crime groups are involved in Phishing. The involvement of these groups, particularly those operating out of Eastern Europe, is of concern given their sophistication and resources. Earlier work by CRL@mq looked at a month of Phishing against one Australian financial institution and clustering indicative of a small number of groups being responsible was seen. To get a better picture of the nature of the groups behind Phishing we now look back to the genesis of attacks against Internet banks. The first attacks against Australian banks started in March 2003 and were in fact the first attacks of this kind against Internet banks globally. We examine these incidents as a case study and look at the individuals and organisations involved. The circumstances behind these attacks are clearer now than might be imagined given none of the perpetrators were indentified at the time. We then briefly examine how much Phishing has changed in the intervening 5 years

Cybercrime attribution : an Eastern European case study

Phishing and related cybercrime is responsible for billions of dollars in losses annually. Gartner reported more than 5 million U.S. consumers lost money to phishing attacks in the 12 months ending in September 2008 (Gartner 2009). This paper asks whether the majority of organised phishing and related cybercrime originates in Eastern Europe rather than elsewhere such as China or the USA. The Russian “Mafiya” in particular has been popularised by the media and entertainment industries to the point where it can be hard to separate fact from fiction but we have endeavoured to look critically at the information available on this area to produce a survey. We take a particular focus on cybercrime from an Australian perspective, as Australia was one of the first places where Phishing attacks against Internet banks were seen. It is suspected these attacks came from Ukrainian spammers. The survey is built from case studies both where individuals from Eastern Europe have been charged with related crimes or unsolved cases where there is some nexus to Eastern Europe. It also uses some earlier work done looking at those early Phishing attacks, archival analysis of Phishing attacks in July 2006 and new work looking at correlation between the Corruption Perception Index, Internet penetration and tertiary education in Russia and the Ukraine. The value of this work is to inform and educate those charged with responding to cybercrime where a large part of the problem originates and try to understand why

Trouble in Florida: The Genesis of Phishing attacks on Australian Banks

Today Phishing of Internet banks is a well know problem and globally is responsible for more than US$3 billion in fraud annually. To date there has been limited research into the individuals and groups responsible for these attacks. Considerable anecdotal evidence exists to suggest that transnational organised crime groups are involved in Phishing. The involvement of these groups, particularly those operating out of Eastern Europe, is of concern given their sophistication and resources. Earlier work by CRL@mq looked at a month of Phishing against one Australian financial institution and clustering indicative of a small number of groups being responsible was seen. To get a better picture of the nature of the groups behind Phishing we now look back to the genesis of attacks against Internet banks. The first attacks against Australian banks started in March 2003 and were in fact the first attacks of this kind against Internet banks globally. We examine these incidents as a case study and look at the individuals and organisations involved. The circumstances behind these attacks are clearer now than might be imagined given none of the perpetrators were indentified at the time. We then briefly examine how much Phishing has changed in the intervening 5 years

Transnational cybercrime from Eastern Europe to Australia

Thesis by publication.Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Faculty of Science, Dept. of Computing, 2011.Includes bibliographical references.Introduction and background -- Phishing, internet money mules and related cybercrime -- Case studies and ethnographic features of Eastern European cybercrime -- The cybercrime marketplace -- Forensic analysis of phishing artefacts for features of Eastern Europe -- Synthesis: winning the war on phishing.The purpose of this research is to examine the involvement of Eastern European cybercrime groups (EECGs) in phishing and related cybercrime impacting Australia. Then, given those findings, explore what can be done to reduce the problem. Research focuses on the Australian experience but in the context of what is a global problem. This thesis is organised into six chapters. -- The first chapter sets out the aims and scope of the study, and the structure of the thesis. It explains the background to the problem from a historical, political, technical and legal perspective. It also reviews the Phishing literature. -- In the second chapter, the money laundering aspects of this crime are examined. To recover the proceeds of the fraudulent transactions the attacker must direct the funds firstly to an Internet money mule within Australia. The Internet money mule is then directed to wire the money overseas using a service such as Western Union. The demographic profile of Internet money mules that are used for this activity is explored through the examination of archival data. The data was obtained from one Australian financial institution and related to 660 Internet money mule incidents during 2007. Additionally, data was also obtained from the High Tech Crime Operations section of the Australian Federal Police detailing the laundering of proceeds of Phishing in Australia to overseas locations for the period from September 2004 to October 2010. It shows a significant majority of those transactions were directed to Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union. -- In the third chapter, an ethnographic study of EECGs is conducted including a major case study of the first Internet Bank phishing attacks in Australia in 2003. This identified a number of Ukrainians who were instrumental in these early attacks and their methodology. These attacks were the first of their kind globally. The chapter also examines why these countries have an environment which favours this activity. -- In the fourth chapter, the cybercrime marketplace, which supports phishing and related cybercrime by providing a market for the various tools needed for phishing and the proceeds of that cybercrime, is examined to further explore the modus operandi of these groups. From analysis of data from two Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels used for this trade an initial methodology for further understanding of how compromised credentials are traded in online marketplaces is developed. -- In the fifth chapter, phishing artefacts are examined to establish links between attacks and any featurs, which might indicate the source is Eastern Europe. This research looked at data available from one Australian financial institution for July 2006. In this work an e-mail archive and response records for 71 unique Phishing incidents were examined with a view to ascertain whether incidents could be grouped by attacker. This work revealed that six identified groups accounted for all but two of the incidents. Three of the groups accounted for 61 of the 71 incidents. In addition, an apparent work schedule by day and time was established consistent with a European time zone. -- In the sixth and final chapter, a phishing attack model of these groups is constructed, a theory of cybercrime operations based on this work is proposed and options capable of being deployed to disrupt the phishing attack model are identified. In particular it identifies that the money laundering aspects of the phishing are the greatest weakness in the Phishing attack model. Methods to focus on the activity of Internet money mules and wire transfer agents, such as Western Union, would be more beneficial than the current reliance on technical controls.Mode of access: World Wide Web.153 p. col. il