How Internet Security Breaches Harm Market Value

Decision-tree induction is an effective technique for examining the factors influencing abnormal stock market returns when security breaches are announced in the public media. In this article, the authors extend a previous study, specifically identifying new relationships between abnormal returns and firm and attack characteristics and subject them to traditional statistical testing. They relate their results to the confidential, integrity, and availability dimensions of information security and discuss the findings' technical and managerial implications. The Web extra for this article presents detailed event data.     

The comparative ability of four isolates of Bacillus subtilis to ferment soybeans into dawadawa

In an attempt to develop starter cultures for fermenting soybeans into the traditional West African condiment dawadawa, four isolates of Bacillus subtilis: 24BP(2), 72RP(17), 72BP(30), and FpdBP(2), which had been selected from 42 Bacillus cultures in a previous study by the current authors, were used separately to produce soy-dawadawa. The accompanying microbiological and biochemical changes, including enzymatic activities, as well as the organoleptic quality of the products were evaluated including that of a control sample which was fermented spontaneously. Significant differences existed in the ability of the four isolates to hydrolyse the soybean proteins, starch, and fat to produce dawadawa. Bacillus subtilis 24BP(2) recorded the highest protease and amylolytic activities, 101 U/ml and 26.68 mg/ml, respectively, and liberated the most amino acids, 117.64 mg/g dry wt., during fermentation. Bacillus subtilis 24BP(2) also grew to the highest population of cells in the final product. Taste panelists found soybean dawadawa produced by each of the four isolates acceptable and rated soup flavoured with soy-dawadawa produced by Bacillus subtilis FpdBP(2) as the best sample. Panelists scored it higher than the control sample and soy-dawadawa produced by Bacillus subtilis 24BP(2) in that order.     

Directive Decision Devices: Extending the reach of automation into the finance domain

Expert systems, decision support systems, and knowledge management systems are computer constructs that are designed to service human decision makers. There are however certain sorts of decision situations where, for some reason, responsibility might better be invested in a computer program, rather than a person. This paper points out several such situations that can be found in the contemporary financial management sector, and suggests how Directive Decision Devices might be equipped to deal with them on a stand-alone basis.     

A modified model for the Lobula Giant Movement Detector and its FPGA implementation

Bio-inspired vision sensors are particularly appropriate candidates for navigation of vehicles or mobile robots due to their computational simplicity, allowing compact hardware implementations with low power dissipation. The Lobula Giant Movement Detector (LGMD) is a wide-field visual neuron located in the Lobula layer of the Locust nervous system. The LGMD increases its firing rate in response to both the velocity of an approaching object and the proximity of this object. It has been found that it can respond to looming stimuli very quickly and trigger avoidance reactions. It has been successfully applied in visual collision avoidance systems for vehicles and robots. This paper introduces a modified neural model for LGMD that provides additional depth direction information for the movement. The proposed model retains the simplicity of the previous model by adding only a few new cells. It has been simplified and implemented on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), taking advantage of the inherent parallelism exhibited by the LGMD, and tested on real-time video streams. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness as a fast motion detector.     

Embedded TLS 1.2 Implementation for Smart Metering & Smart Grid Applications

Digital networked communications are the key to all Internet-of-Things applications, especially to smart metering systems and the smart grid. In order to ensure a safe operation of systems and the privacy of users, the transport layer security (TLS) protocol, a mature and well standardized solution for secure communications, may be used. We implemented the TLS protocol in its latest version in a way suitable for embedded and resource-constrained systems. This paper outlines the challenges and opportunities of deploying TLS in smart metering and smart grid applications and presents performance results of our TLS implementation. Our analysis shows that given an appropriate implementation and configuration, deploying TLS in constrained smart metering systems is possible with acceptable overhead.     

Effects of the geometrical conditions on the performance of a side channel pump: A review

The side channel pump, which is a common energy conversion equipment, has undergone high developmental trends and has become very popular in recent times because of its wide applications in many fields. The side channel pump is a type of regenerative pump that plays a role in between the centrifugal pump and the positive displacement pump. This kind of pump delivers a high head at relatively small flows compared with other axial and centrifugal pumps even though it requires a low specific speed. Depending on the number of impellers used, the side channel pump can be single‐stage or multistage. This paper first focuses on the physical principle behind the internal flow characteristics illustrating the complex flow and the energy from the blade to the fluid and the side channel inside the pump. Further discussions disclosed that the hydraulic performance of the pump greatly depends on the variations of the geometrical parameters. This review draws conclusion that enhancement of the computational modeling techniques will improve the efficiency of this pump, thereby broadening its applications.     

The dissolution and solid-state behaviours of coground ibuprofen–glucosamine HCl

The cogrinding technique is one of most effective methods for improving the dissolution of poorly water-soluble drugs and it is superior to other approaches from an economical as well as an environmental standpoint, as the technique does not require any toxic organic solvents. Present work explores the role of d-glucosamine HCl (GL) as a potential excipient to improve dissolution of a low melting point drug, ibuprofen (Ibu), using physical mixtures and coground formulations. The dissolution of the poorly soluble drug has been improved by changing the ratio of Ibu:GL and also grinding time. The results also showed that although GL can enhance the solubility of Ibu, it also reduces pH around the Ibu particles which led to poor dissolution performance when the concentration of GL is high. The effect of GL on the solubility of Ibu could be misleading if the pH of the final solution was not measured. Grinding reduced the particle size of GL significantly but in case of Ibu it was less effective. Solid state analysis (XRPD, DSC, and FT-IR) showed that ibuprofen is stable under grinding conditions, but the presence of high concentration of GL in samples subjected to high grinding times caused changes in FT-IR spectrum of Ibu which could be due to intermolecular hydrogen bond or esterification between the carboxylic acid group in the ibuprofen and hydroxyl group in the GL.     

The production of aflatoxins in fresh date fruits and under simulated storage conditions

Sixteen varieties of date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) at three stages of maturation (Kimri, Rutab and Tamr) were examined for the presence of fungi and analysed for aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂ and sterigmatocystin. Single samples of each variety were used in the study. Samples as received were initially examined for mycoflora and toxin levels and then stored at 98% relative humidity and 30 °C for 14 days to investigate the effects of possible adverse storage conditions on mycoflora and, in particular, aflatoxin formation. All samples showed an absence of aflatoxins and their precusor, sterigmatocystin, after adverse storage for 14 days, although aflatoxin‐producing Aspergillus flavus isolates were identified in 10 varieties at the first stage of maturation (Kimri). High fungal counts were associated with the Rutab stage and low counts with the Tamr stage. The counts of A flavus ranged from 5.00 to 8.16 log₁₀(cfu g^?1) under simulated storage conditions, and three varieties contained significant levels of aflatoxin B₁ or B₂ ranging from 35 to 11 610 µg kg^?1. Sterigmatocystin was not detected in any of the samples as received or under simulated storage conditions. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry