Security Analysis and Improvement of an Anonymous Authentication Scheme for Roaming Services

An anonymous authentication scheme for roaming services in global mobility networks allows a mobile user visiting a foreign network to achieve mutual authentication and session key establishment with the foreign-network operator in an anonymous manner. In this work, we revisit He et al.’s anonymous authentication scheme for roaming services and present previously unpublished security weaknesses in the scheme: (1) it fails to provide user anonymity against any third party as well as the foreign agent, (2) it cannot protect the passwords of mobile users due to its vulnerability to an offline dictionary attack, and (3) it does not achieve session-key security against a man-in-the-middle attack. We also show how the security weaknesses of He et al.’s scheme can be addressed without degrading the efficiency of the scheme

Abstract Wiener Space Approach to Hida Calculus (Brownian Motion).

Let $\cal S$ be the Schwartz space of rapidly decreasing real functions on ${\rm I\!R.}$ The dual space {\cal S}\sp\ast of $\cal S$ consists of tempered distributions. The inclusion maps {\cal S}\subset{\rm L\sp2(I\!R)}\subset{\cal S}\sp\ast are continuous. Hida\u27s theory of Brownian and generalized Brownian functionals is the study of functionals defined on {\cal S}\sp\ast. In this dissertation, the triple {\cal S}\subset{\rm L\sp2(I\!R)}\subset{\cal S}\sp\ast is replaced by an abstract Wiener space {\rm B}\sp\ast $\subset$ H $\subset$ B and an abstract version of Hida\u27s theory is developed. The Gaussian measure on {\cal S}\sp\ast in Hida\u27s calculus is replaced by the standard Gaussian measure $\mu$ on the space B. The {\cal S}\sp\ast valued curve \{\delta\sb{\rm t}; {\rm t \in I\!R}\} in Hida calculus is replaced by a B-valued curve $\{\Theta{\rm (t); t \in I\!R}\}.$ The coordinate system, differential operator, and Laplacian operators with respect to $\{\Theta{\rm (t)}\}$ in the Abstract Wiener space setup. Similar properties and theorems as in Hida calculus are obtained

Cytokinin transporters: GO and STOP in signaling

Cytokinins are phytohormones essential for cytokinesis and many other physiological and developmental processes in planta. Long-distance transport and intercellular transport have been postulated. For these processes, the existence of cytokinin transporters has been suggested. Recently, a transporter loading the xylem (AtABCG14) and another for cellular import (AtPUP14) have been discovered. AtABCG14 participates in the xylem loading process of cytokinins and contributes to the positive regulation of shoot growth. The cellular importer AtPUP14 is required to suppress cytokinin signaling. A role of a transporter as stop signal is a new paradigm for a hormone transporter

Characterization of zinc finger protein 496 that interacts with Jumonji/Jarid2

AbstractJumonij (JMJ)/Jarid2 plays important roles in embryonic development and functions as a transcriptional repressor. Using yeast two-hybrid screening, we have identified a cofactor of JMJ, the zinc finger protein 496 (Zfp496) that contains a SCAN, KRAB and zinc finger domain. Our molecular analyses indicate that Zfp496 functions as a transcriptional activator. Further, Zfp496 inhibits the transcriptional repression of JMJ and JMJ represses the transcriptional activation of Zfp496. This study demonstrates that JMJ physically and functionally interacts with Zfp496, which will provide important insights into endogenous target gene regulation by both factors

Plant hormone transporters: what we know and what we would like to know

Hormone transporters are crucial for plant hormone action, which is underlined by severe developmental and physiological impacts caused by their loss-of-function mutations. Here, we summarize recent knowledge on the individual roles of plant hormone transporters in local and long-distance transport. Our inventory reveals that many hormones are transported by members of distinct transporter classes, with an apparent dominance of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family and of the Nitrate transport1/Peptide transporter family (NPF). The current need to explore further hormone transporter regulation, their functional interaction, transport directionalities, and substrate specificities is briefly reviewed

A Novel Prokaryote-Type ECF/ABC Transporter Module in Chloroplast Metal Homeostasis

During evolution, chloroplasts, which originated by endosymbiosis of a prokaryotic ancestor of today's cyanobacteria with a eukaryotic host cell, were established as the site for photosynthesis. Therefore, chloroplast organelles are loaded with transition metals including iron, copper, and manganese, which are essential for photosynthetic electron transport due to their redox capacity. Although transport, storage, and cofactor-assembly of metal ions in chloroplasts are tightly controlled and crucial throughout plant growth and development, knowledge on the molecular nature of chloroplast metal-transport proteins is still fragmentary. Here, we characterized the soluble, ATP-binding ABC-transporter subunits ABCI10 and ABCI11 in Arabidopsis thaliana, which show similarities to components of prokaryotic, multisubunit ABC transporters. Both ABCI10 and ABCI11 proteins appear to be strongly attached to chloroplast-intrinsic membranes, most likely inner envelopes for ABCI10 and possibly plastoglobuli for ABCI11. Loss of ABCI10 and ABCI11 gene products in Arabidopsis leads to extremely dwarfed, albino plants showing impaired chloroplast biogenesis and deregulated metal homeostasis. Further, we identified the membrane-intrinsic protein ABCI12 as potential interaction partner for ABCI10 in the inner envelope. Our results suggest that ABCI12 inserts into the chloroplast inner envelope membrane most likely with five predicted a-helical transmembrane domains and represents the membrane-intrinsic subunit of a prokaryotic-type, energy-coupling factor (ECF) ABC-transporter complex. In bacteria, these multisubunit ECF importers are widely distributed for the uptake of nickel and cobalt metal ions as well as for import of vitamins and several other metabolites. Therefore, we propose that ABCI10 (as the ATPase A-subunit) and ABCI12 (as the membrane-intrinsic, energy-coupling T-subunit) are part of a novel, chloroplast envelope-localized, AAT energy-coupling module of a prokaryotic-type ECF transporter, most likely involved in metal ion uptake.11Nsciescopu

Association between thyroid hormones and the components of metabolic syndrome

BACKGROUND: Thyroid hormones are known to have direct and indirect effects on metabolism. Individuals with metabolic syndrome, a disease that is growing in incidence at a rapid rate, are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. The aim of this study was to identify whether significant correlations exist between thyroid hormone levels and components of the metabolic syndrome in the general population of Korea. METHODS: The data were collected from the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 2013 to 2015. A total of 1423 participants were tested for thyroid function. The analysis of variance and multiple linear regression were performed to analyze the relationship between thyroid hormone level and components of the metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: A positive association between free thyroxine and fasting glucose level was observed in patients with high free thyroxine levels (≥1.70 ng/dL, β = 15.992, p = < 0.0001), when compared with patients with normal-middle free thyroxine levels. Moreover, a negative association was observed between free thyroxine and triglyceride levels in patients with normal-high free thyroxine levels (β = - 21.145, p = 0.0054) and those with high free thyroxine levels (β = - 49.713, p = 0.0404). CONCLUSION: Free thyroxine shows a partially positive association with fasting glucose and a partially negative association with triglycerides in the Korean population. In patients with abnormal thyroid function, follow up tests for glucose levels and lipid profiling during treatment for thyroid dysfunction would be beneficial in terms of overlooking metabolic syndrome and to prevent related diseases

Phospholipase A2β mediates light-induced stomatal opening in Arabidopsis

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) catalyses the hydrolysis of phospholipids into lysophospholipids and free fatty acids. Physiological studies have indicated that PLA2 is involved in stomatal movement. However, genetic evidence of a role of PLA2 in guard cell signalling has not yet been reported. To identify PLA2 gene(s) that is (are) involved in light-induced stomatal opening, stomatal movement was examined in Arabidopsis thaliana plants in which the expression of PLA2 isoforms was reduced or knocked-out. Light-induced stomatal opening in PLA2α knockout plants did not differ from wild-type plants. Plants in which PLA2β was silenced by RNA interference exhibited delayed light-induced stomatal opening, and this phenotype was reversed by exogenous lysophospholipids, which are products of PLA2. Stomatal opening in transgenic plants that over-expressed PLA2β was faster than wild-type plants. The expression of PLA2β was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum of guard cells, and increased in response to light in the mature leaf. Aristolochic acid, which inhibits light-induced stomatal opening, inhibited the activity of purified PLA2β. Collectively, these results provide evidence that PLA2β is involved in light-induced stomatal opening in Arabidopsis