SARCP - Exploiting Cyber-Attack Prediction Through Socially-Aware Recommendation

In the domain of cyber security, the defence mechanisms of networks has traditionally been placed in a reactionary role. Cyber security professionals are therefore disadvantaged in a cyber-attack situation due to the fact that it is vital that they maneuver such attacks before the network is totally compromised. In this paper, we utilize the Betweenness Centrality network measure (social property) to discover possible cyber-attack paths and then employ computation of similar personality of nodes/users to generate predictions about possible attacks within the network. Our method proposes a social recommender algorithm called socially-aware recommendation of cyber-attack paths (SARCP), as an attack predictor in the cyber security defence domain. In a social network, SARCP exploits and delivers all possible paths which can result in cyber-attacks. Using a real-world dataset and relevant evaluation metrics, experimental results in the paper show that our proposed method is favorable and effective.

Defence mechanisms as predictors of trust and positive relationships in top management teams

BACKGROUND: Top managers are heavily exposed to strong negative emotions due to the difficult decisive situations that they experience and the persistent pressure of time and uncertainty. At the same time, the relationships they build within TMTs shape their decisions, experiences and reactions at work. The paper refers to defence mechanisms as relatively persistent means of individual response to unwanted emotions and affects. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the paper is to examine the defence mechanisms of TMT members as antecedents of perceived trustworthiness of other team members and positive relationships in the team. METHODS: The empirical study was conducted in a sample of 123 members of top management teams representing furniture industry companies in Poland. RESULTS: The results show that defence mechanisms determine TMT members’ perception of trustworthiness of other team-members and that perceived trustworthiness mediates the relation between the defence mechanisms of TMT members and their evaluation of relationships within a team. CONCLUSIONS: The study explains links between individual characteristics of TMT members and processes within the teams. It contributes to upper echelon theory and literature on trust and positive relationships at work. It also contributes to the line of research introducing unconscious processes and emotions to management studies.

Vascular Dementia and Crosstalk Between the Complement and Coagulation Systems

Vascular Dementia (VaD) is a neurocognitive disorder caused by reduced blood flow to the brain tissue, resulting in infarction, and is the second most common type of dementia. The complement and coagulation systems are evolutionary host defence mechanisms activated by acute tissue injury to induce inflammation, clot formation and lysis; recent studies have revealed that these systems are closely interlinked. Overactivation of these systems has been recognised to play a key role in the pathogenesis of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis, however their role in VaD has not yet been extensively reviewed. This review aims to bridge the gap in knowledge by collating current understanding of VaD to enable identification of complement and coagulation components involved in the pathogenesis of this disorder that may have their effects amplified or supressed by crosstalk. Exploration of these mechanisms may unveil novel therapeutic targets or biomarkers that would improve current treatment strategies for VaD.

A widespread family of WYL-domain transcriptional regulators co-localises with diverse phage defence systems and islands

Bacteria are under constant assault by bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements. As a result, bacteria have evolved a multitude of systems that protect from attack. Genes encoding bacterial defence mechanisms can be clustered into 'defence islands', providing a potentially synergistic level of protection against a wider range of assailants. However, there is a comparative paucity of information on how expression of these defence systems is controlled. Here, we functionally characterise a transcriptional regulator, BrxR, encoded within a recently described phage defence island from a multidrug resistant plasmid of the emerging pathogen Escherichia fergusonii. Using a combination of reporters and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we discovered that BrxR acts as a repressor. We present the structure of BrxR to 2.15 Å, the first structure of this family of transcription factors, and pinpoint a likely binding site for ligands within the WYL-domain. Bioinformatic analyses demonstrated that BrxR homologues are widespread amongst bacteria. About half (48%) of identified BrxR homologues were co-localised with a diverse array of known phage defence systems, either alone or clustered into defence islands. BrxR is a novel regulator that reveals a common mechanism for controlling the expression of the bacterial phage defence arsenal.

They would have transitioned me: third conditional TERF grammar of trans childhood

Some of the most virulent public trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) discourse in the UK follows the grammatical form of the third conditional: if I had grown up now, I would have been persuaded to transition. This articulation of the hypothetical threat of a transition that did not happen but is imagined, in retrospect, to be not just possible but forcibly enacted plays an important role, both politically and psychically, in a contemporary political landscape that is threatening the livelihoods of trans children. Interrogating this discourse via an analysis of an open letter by J.K. Rowling, and a documentary by Stella O’Malley, this article asks: what might we learn about contemporary transphobia in the UK if we took seriously the grammar of TERF discourse animated by trans childhood? It argues that while the third conditional grammar of TERF discourse could articulate a politics of solidarity between cis and trans positionalities and politics, its potential for a shared political standpoint is routinely interrupted by the defence mechanisms that are oriented by the psychic life of the child. Interrogating these defence mechanisms at the level of the cultural, the article traces out paranoia (as reading practice and psychic state) as well as projection, as two main modes of TERF engagement with trans childhood. The article thus engages with the range of real and fantasmatic impossibilities that haunt the trans child both in the present and the past, and it contributes to the growing body of scholarship on trans childhoods. In doing so, it makes the case that public discourse on trans children should desist from hypothetical third conditional claims, and instead find ways of embracing trans childhoods unconditionally.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic changes triggered by Macrosiphum rosivorum in rose (Rosa longicuspis)

Background Rose is one of the most popular flowers in the wold. Its field growth and quality are negatively affected by aphids. However, the defence mechanisms used by rose plants against aphids are unclear. Therefore, to understand the defence mechanism of rose under aphid stress, transcriptome and metabolome techniques were used to investigate the regulation mechanism in R. longicuspis infected with M. rosivorum. Result In our study, after inoculation with M. rosivorum, M. rosivorum quickly colonized R. longicuspis. A total of 34,202 genes and 758 metabolites were detected in all samples. Under M. rosivorum stress, R. longicuspis responded by MAPK cascades, plant hormone signal transduction pathway activation, RlMYBs and RlERFs transcription factors expression and ROS production. Interestingly, the ‘brassinosteroid biosynthesis’ pathway was significantly enriched in A3 d-vs.-A5 d. Further analysis showed that M. rosivorum induced the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as terpenoids, tannins and phenolic acids, among others. Importantly, the ‘glutathione metabolic’ and ‘glucosinolate biosynthesis’ pathways were significantly enriched, which involved in the rose against aphids. Conclusion Our study provides candidate genes and metabolites for Rosa defence against aphids. This study provides a theoretical basis for further exploring the molecular regulation mechanism of rose aphid resistance and aphid resistance breeding in the future.