High occurrence of hepatitis E virus in samples from wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland and comparison with other enteric viruses

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is responsible for many enterically transmitted viral hepatitides around the world. It is currently one of the waterborne diseases of global concern. In industrialized countries, HEV appears to be more common than previously thought, even if it is rarely virulent. In Switzerland, seroprevalence studies revealed that HEV is endemic, but no information was available on its environmental spread. The aim of this study was to investigate –using qPCR– the occurrence and concentration of HEV and three other viruses (norovirus genogroup II, human adenovirus-40 and porcine adenovirus) in influents and effluents of 31 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Switzerland. Low concentrations of HEV were detected in 40 out of 124 WWTP influent samples, showing that HEV is commonly present in this region. The frequency of HEV occurrence was higher in summer than in winter. No HEV was detected in WWTP effluent samples, which indicates a low risk of environmental contamination. HEV occurrence and concentrations were lower than those of norovirus and adenovirus. The autochthonous HEV genotype 3 was found in all positive samples, but a strain of the non-endemic and highly pathogenic HEV genotype I was isolated in one sample, highlighting the possibility of environmental circulation of this genotype. A porcine fecal marker (porcine adenovirus) was not detected in HEV positive samples, indicating that swine are not the direct source of HEV present in wastewater. Further investigations will be necessary to determine the reservoirs and the routes of dissemination of HEV.     

Managing certificates in a corporate environment

Many cryptographic security protocols make use of public key cryptography and corresponding public key certificates. In addition, it is possible and very likely that e-commerce applications will make heavy use of attribute certificates to address authorization. Against this background, this article overviews and briefly discusses the issues that suround the management of (public key and attribute) certificates in a corporate environment. In particular, the article introduces the topic, elaborates on possibilities to establish a corporate public key infrastructure (pki), overviews and briefly discusses the current offerings of two exemplary certification service providers, addresses the problems related to certificate revocation and authorization, and draws some conclusions. Further information about the topic can be found in Chapter 8 of [I].     

Does trusted computing remedy computer security problems?

The authors examine whether trusted computing is likely to remedy the relevant security problems in PCs. They argue that although trusted computing has some merits, it neither provides a complete remedy nor is it likely to prevail in the PC mass market.     

Microsoft Outlook Web access: blessing or ban to security?

In deciding how to handle messaging access in a Microsoft Exchange environment, IT managers have an important and interesting tradeoff to make. On the one hand, employees have legitimate communication and e-mail requirements. On the other hand, providing access to messaging from outside the corporate intranet raises considerable security concerns. Obviously, no rule applies universally, and every company or organization must draw its own conclusions and make its own recommendations. This article's purpose is to provide the information you need to make the appropriate tradeoff. Outlook Web Access is not a public messaging service. Instead, it is a Microsoft software product that lets Exchange server users access their accounts with a standard Web browser.     

Internet Banking: Client-Side Attacks and Protection Mechanisms

Although current mechanisms protect against offline credential-stealing attacks, effective protection against online channel-breaking attacks requires technologies to defeat man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, and practical protection against content-manipulation attacks requires transaction-authentication technologies.     

Efficacy of 2 different leukocyte filters for erythrocyte concentrates

By leukocyte reduction in red blood cell concentrates to < 5 x 10(6) leukocytes per transfused unit, febrile non-hemolytic transfusion reaction as well as alloimmunization and transmission of certain viral diseases (CMV, HTLV-1) can be prevented. Using a Nageotte hemocytometer with a large-volume chamber, the residual leukocyte number after filtration of 40 buffy-coat free red blood cell units with the filters Pall RC100 and Sepacell R500 B1 was determined in a clinical routine setting. Both tested filters underscored the limit (< 5 x 10(6) leukocytes per unit) set by the American Association of Blood Banks. Hemoglobin loss accounted for 8.9 g (Pall RC100) versus 7.7 g (Sepacell R500 B1), which is about 15-18% of the hemoglobin content of a red blood cell concentrate.     

Security at the Internet layer

The Internet Engineering Task Force is standardizing security protocols (IPsec protocols) that are compatible with IPv6 and can be retrofitted into IPv4. The protocols are transparent to both applications and users and can be implemented without modifying application programs. The current protocol versions were published as Internet drafts in March 1998. The article overviews the proposed security architecture and the two main protocols-the IP Security Protocol and the Internet Key Management Protocol-describes the risks they address, and touches on some implementation requirements. IPsec's major advantage is that it can provide security services transparently to both applications and users. Also, the application programs using IPsec need not be modified in any way. This is particularly important when securing application programs that are not available in source code, which is common today. This transparency sets IPsec apart from security protocols that operate above the Internet layer. At present, IPsec is likely to be used in conjunction with and complemented by other security technologies, mechanisms, and protocols. Examples include firewalls and strong authentication mechanisms for access control, and higher layer security protocols for end-to-end communication security. In the near future, however, as virtual private networking and corporate intranets and extranets mature, IPsec is likely to be deployed on a larger scale     

Monitoring dewatering induced subsidence and fault reactivation using interferometric synthetic aperture radar

Using multitemporal differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar analysis integrated with pumping and site geologic data we present evidence for hydrologically induced large subsidence in and around an ongoing open‐pit mine with intensive dewatering operations. Analysis of numerous differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) pairs spanning the period 1993 to 2001 reveals the abrupt appearance of these features to intervals of a few to several months. Along a section through the anomaly, we plotted dewatering associated changes in the groundwater levels at monitoring wells. We also used DInSAR to extract several individual kilometre‐lengths, centimetre amplitude normal fault reactivation events in the alluvial sediments adjacent to the mine dewatering operation. High‐resolution remote sensing analyses provide strong evidence that these features align with faults active in the last several thousand years. We interpret these reactivations as mechanically involving only the upper few hundred metres of the existing fault plane above the alluvial aquifer affected by the mine dewatering.     

Tim9p, an essential partner subunit of Tim10p for the import of mitochondrial carrier proteins

Tim10p, a protein of the yeast mitochondrial intermembrane space, was shown previously to be essential for the import of multispanning carrier proteins from the cytoplasm into the inner membrane. We now identify Tim9p, another essential component of this import pathway. Most of Tim9p is associated with Tim10p in a soluble 70 kDa complex. Tim9p and Tim10p co-purify in successive chromatographic fractionations and co-immunoprecipitated with each other. Tim9p can be cross-linked to a partly translocated carrier protein. A small fraction of Tim9p is bound to the outer face of the inner membrane in a 300 kDa complex whose other subunits include Tim54p, Tim22p, Tim12p and Tim10p. The sequence of Tim9p is 25% identical to that of Tim10p and Tim12p. A Ser67-->Cys67 mutation in Tim9p suppresses the temperature-sensitive growth defect of tim10-1 and tim12-1 mutants. Tim9p is a new subunit of the TIM machinery that guides hydrophobic inner membrane proteins across the aqueous intermembrane space.