Search

The sporophytes of moss plants are dependent on the gametophytes for both photosynthesis and water, which makes conducting cells (hydroids and leptoids) an important part of the sporophyte anatomy. A previous study found that Physcomitrium pyriforme, which has shorter sporophytes, had higher rates of water transport than Funaria hygrometrica, which has taller sporophytes. The aim of this study is to test for differences in the conducting cell anatomy between these two moss species, which could be responsible for differences in water transport rates. We used histology methods to fix, embed, and section sporophyte seta and then quantified the numbers and sizes of the conducting cells. The results revealed that leptoids comprise a higher proportion of the conducting cell area in P. pyriforme, while hydroids comprise more of the conducting cell area in F. hygrometrica. These results point toward the leptoids playing a role in water transport in the moss sporophyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The larval morphology of Perlidae is relatively understudied compared to that of their adult counterparts, making it challenging to identify species using traditional morphological methods. In this study, we describe and illustrate the larvae of two stonefly species, Kamimuria petasus Chen, 2019 and Neoperla tuberculata Wu, 1937, based on specimens collected from China. Despite sharing a close resemblance in external morphology, the larvae of K. petasus and N. tuberculata can be distinguished based on their color pattern, chaetotaxy, and details of mouthparts. In addition, we generated and compared two DNA barcoding sequences for these two larvae. The analysis revealed that while the two species share some similar sequences, they exhibit high sequence divergence, which can be used to aid in the identification of the two different species based on immature material. The larval morphology and DNA barcodes provided in this study will supplement the classification of Perlidae larvae, enabling their more accurate and reliable identification in both full-evidence phylogenetic studies and bio-monitoring practices in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate two strains of fungi, Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus sapidus, on radia growth, biomass production, mushroom production and chemical composition. The treatments to evalua)te radial growth and biomass production were: T1) PDA + P. ostreatus, T2) PDA + P. sapidus, T3) PDA Soybean stubble + P. ostreatus, T4) PDA Soybean stubble + P. sapidus, T5) PDA Rice stubble + P. ostreatus, T6) PDA Rice stubble + P. sapidus, T7) PDA Corn bush + P. ostreatus, T8) PDA Corn bush + P. sapidus. To evaluate the production and chemical composition of the Pleurotus mushroom mushrooms, they were: T1) Soybean stubble + P. ostreatus, T2) Soybean stubble + P. sapidus, T3) Corn tusa + P. ostreatus, T4) Corn tusa + P. sapidus, T5) Rice stubble + P. ostreatus, T6) Rice stubble + P. sapidus. There were differences (≤ 0,05) between the treatments in the variables of radial growth and biomass production, highlighting T3 with better growth and biomass production. In the yield and chemical composition of the Pleurotus mushrooms, there were also differences (≤ 0,05), with T1 being the best compared to the other treatments. These results could be explained because soybean stubble contains a high content of lignocellulosic components since these components are very palatable for the growth of Pleurotus fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lepidoptera can cause several health issues in humans and domestic animals due to their setae, which are defensive adaptations that protect them from predators. The diversity of venomous Lepidoptera has been explored in several reviews starting from the first comprehensive attempt in 1984 by Kawamoto and Kumada (KK) who compiled a list of 228 species based on previous reviews; however, KK did not cite the original publications for listed species. In this review we validated and updated the KK table. The updated list of venomous Lepidoptera includes 5 superfamilies, 14 families, 208 genera, and 576 species, representing a two-fold increase for genera and 2.9-fold for species with respect to KK. The total number of species in the genera including at least one venomous species, which we argue is likely closer to the true number of venomous species, is 7 times higher (3,620). GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) occurrences for venomous species are 1-4 orders of magnitude higher than those of confamilial non-venomous species. The presence of venomous structures is independent of the relatedness of the clades or geographic region; venom is produced by many species of Zygaenoidea, Lasiocampoidea and Bombycoidea but only by some specialized groups in Papilionoidea and Noctuoidea. There are likely to be multiple evolutionary origins of venom within Lepidoptera, but the exact number is difficult to estimate. The knowledge gap between medical and natural history fields needs to be addressed with novel approaches to study ecology and toxicology. This review offers health practitioners a tool to better understand the origin of the reactions observed and to improve the identification of the causal agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As master transcription factors of stomatal development, SPEECHLESS, MUTE, and FAMA, collectively termed SMFs, are primary targets of molecular genetic analyses in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Studies in other model systems identified SMF orthologs as key players in evolutionary developmental biology studies on stomata. However, recent studies on the astomatous liverwort Marchantia polymorpha revealed that the functions of these genes are not limited to the stomatal development, but extend to other types of tissues, namely sporophytic setal and gametophytic epidermal tissues. These studies provide insightful examples of gene-regulatory network co-opting, and highlight SMFs and related transcription factors as general toolkits for novel trait evolution in land plant lineages. Here, we critically review recent literature on the SMF-like gene in M. polymorpha and discuss their implications for plant evolutionary biology.

Information systems misuse and data breaches are among the most common information security threats at the organisational and individual levels. Security, Education, Training and Awareness (SETA) program can be effective tools in addressing and preventing such risks for sustaining the educational sector's information security, although it is costly to implement and achieves limited results. Several studies have shown that SETA implementation can improve corporate employees' information security protection behaviours. This study adopts the method of quantitative research, deterrence theory with selected perceived cost and information security awareness (ISA) as intermediate variables and explores how SETA programs affect information system abuse on campuses. The results show that implementing the SETA program positively impacts perceived cost and ISA; perceived cost and information security positively impact reducing misuse behaviour of information systems. At last, we provide rationalisation suggestions for individual students and schools to help SETA programs to be better implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a design-science research project to improve an organization's compound problems of (1) unsuccessful employee phishing prevention and (2) poorly received internal security training. To do so, we created a gamified security training system focusing on two factors: (1) enhancing intrinsic motivation through gamification and (2) improving security learning and efficacy. Our key theoretical contribution is proposing a recontextualized kernel theory from the hedonic-motivation system adoption model that can be used to assess employee security constructs along with their intrinsic motivations and coping for learning and compliance. A six-month field study with 420 participants shows that fulfilling users' motivations and coping needs through gamified security training can result in statistically significant positive behavioral changes. We also provide a novel empirical demonstration of the conceptual importance of "appropriate challenge" in this context. We vet our work using the principles of proof-of-concept and proof-of-value, and we conclude with a research agenda that leads toward final proof-in-use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is undeniable that most business organizations rely on the Internet to conduct their highly competitive businesses nowadays. Cyber security is one of the important elements for companies to guarantee the normal operation of their business activities. However, there is no panacea in cyber security protection. Common security practices used are to deploy hardware and software security protection tools to combat the known security threats which may become more and more powerful later. In fact, the attackers and security practitioners are at war from time to time. As a result, such a tools-based security protection strategy cannot be sustained. On the other hand, the related awareness training for employees is ignored in a number of companies, which has made biased the decisions made by staff when facing cyber security breaches. In this study, in order to find ways to sustain such protection, we conduct a quantitative analysis to explore the key elements contributing to the SETA implementation of the companies and organizations. We evaluate the performances of eight supervised learning models in a dataset collected from cyber security breach surveys on UK businesses to perform a fundamental analysis. The detailed analysis is performed via the feature importance of features generated in the model with better performance in the task of detecting the companies and organizations with SETA implementation. The experiment result shows that the awareness related factors play the most significant role in the SETA implementation decision-making for the businesses, and most of the businesses are lacking the awareness to prevent the potential cyber security risks in the stuff using externally-hosted web services and products as well as services depending on online services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With government and industry experiencing a critical shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals, organisations are spearheading various training programs to cultivate cybersecurity skills. With more people working from home and the existing cybersecurity staff shortages, cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting new and existing vulnerabilities by launching ubiquitous cyberattacks. This study focuses on how to close the gap in cybersecurity skills through interest cultivation and self‐determined motivation. Our study shows that situational interest (SI) in cybersecurity along with situational motivational determinants (i.e., perceived learning autonomy and perceived relatedness) engendered self‐determined motivation toward cybersecurity training. Consequently, self‐determined motivation facilitated actual learning behaviour. Meanwhile, individual interest in cybersecurity created positive moderating effects in the relationships between self‐determination and its key antecedents (i.e., perceived relatedness and situational interest). Based on these findings, we provide research implications accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cybersecurity is a pressing matter, and a lot of the responsibility for cybersecurity is put on the individual user. The individual user is expected to engage in secure behavior by selecting good passwords, identifying malicious emails, and more. Typical support for users comes from Information Security Awareness Training (ISAT), which makes the effectiveness of ISAT a key cybersecurity issue. This paper presents an evaluation of how two promising methods for ISAT support users in acheiving secure behavior using a simulated experiment with 41 participants. The methods were game-based training, where users learn by playing a game, and Context-Based Micro-Training (CBMT), where users are presented with short information in a situation where the information is of direct relevance. Participants were asked to identify phishing emails while their behavior was monitored using eye-tracking technique. The research shows that both training methods can support users towards secure behavior and that CBMT does so to a higher degree than game-based training. The research further shows that most participants were susceptible to phishing, even after training, which suggests that training alone is insufficient to make users behave securely. Consequently, future research ideas, where training is combined with other support systems, are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I propose a version of the Drake equation to include searching for alien artifacts, which may be located on the Moon, Earth Trojans, and Earth co-orbital objects. The virtue of searching for artifacts is their lingering endurance in space, long after they go dead. I compare a search for extraterrestrial artifacts (SETA) strategy with the existing listening to stars search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) strategy. I construct a ratio of a SETA Drake equation for artifacts to the conventional Drake equation so that most terms cancel out. This ratio is a good way to debate the efficacy of SETI versus SETA. The ratio is the product of two terms: one is the ratio of the length of time that probes from extraterrestrial (ET) civilizations could be present in the near-Earth region to the length of time that ET civilizations transmit signals to the Solar System. The second term is the ratio of the respective origin volumes: the volume from which probes can come, which is affected by the long-term passage of stars near the Sun, to the volume of transmitting civilizations. Scenarios are quantified that suggest that looking for alien artifacts near Earth is a credible alternative approach relative to listening to stars. This argues for emphasis on artifact searches, ET archeology. I suggest study of existing high-resolution images of the Moon, imaging of the Earth Trojans and Earth co-orbitals, and probe missions to the latter two. Close inspection in these near-Earth regions, which also may hold primordial remnants of the early Solar System, yields concrete astronomical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the early nineteenth century Italy became the second biggest world exporter of silk thread. To improve productivity in silk cultivation a number of Chinese and Japanese silk production techniques were tried and when Europe was struck by a ruinous and incurable silkworm disease (1845-1880) to keep domestic silk production running Italian experts went to Inner and East Asia to purchase large quantities of healthy silkworm eggs. Eventually Japanese silkworm eggs were seen as the best choice and exported consecutively to Italy for some twenty years in a row. As well as trade connections, cultural ties between Italy and Japan were developed as well while from the late nineteenth century Italy showed much interest in Chinese silk production too. Two expeditions were sent there, the first 1914 lasted for about one year while the second was from 1932 to 1937 and was headed by an Italian expert who was recruited by the League of Nations to revive and modernize Chinese silk production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to a disease that affected European silkworms in the 1850s, Italian silkworm eggs merchants travelled from the Near East to the Far East looking for a solution. Few of them visited Japan as early as 1859 and from 1864 until the early 1880s they travelled to Japan yearly and some of them settled in Yokohama. They spent large amounts of money to buy silkworm eggs, but they also played an important role in the diffusion of Japanese objects especially in Northern Italy and they contributed to the development of the knowledge of Japan and of Japanese (and Chinese) flora and fauna. This essay will present the results of an ongoing research and will investigate some case studies, revealing the semai crucial role in shaping the early relations between Italy and Japan and in contributing in their country to the raising of the interest towards Japan, fueling also contemporary giapponismo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction aims to suggest connections between the articles published in this special number. While Orientalist stereotypes were recurrent in many of the writings discussed here, there was considerable variety in Italian approaches to the Orient. They were differentiated according to the needs and intellectual traditions of cities and regions (Turin, Milan, Florence, Naples and Sicily). Even more, they varied according to the object of interest - the Ottoman Empire, India, or the Far East. After Italian unification, the study of the Orient should be seen in the context of the discussion of Italy's place in Europe, and the development of new commercial networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cybersecurity is a pressing matter, and a lot of the responsibility for cybersecurity is put on the individual user. The individual user is expected to engage in secure behavior by selecting good passwords, identifying malicious emails, and more. Typical support for users comes from Information Security Awareness Training (ISAT), which makes the effectiveness of ISAT a key cybersecurity issue. This paper presents an evaluation of how two promising methods for ISAT support users in acheiving secure behavior using a simulated experiment with 41 participants. The methods were game-based training, where users learn by playing a game, and Context-Based Micro-Training (CBMT), where users are presented with short information in a situation where the information is of direct relevance. Participants were asked to identify phishing emails while their behavior was monitored using eye-tracking technique. The research shows that both training methods can support users towards secure behavior and that CBMT does so to a higher degree than game-based training. The research further shows that most participants were susceptible to phishing, even after training, which suggests that training alone is insufficient to make users behave securely. Consequently, future research ideas, where training is combined with other support systems, are proposed.

It is found from the observation that seta on the adhesive pad of gecko is around several microns in diameter and has a multilevel projective terminal which eventually forms 100 ~ 1000 projections. In addition, the adhesive force of a single seta is about 20 ~ 200μN. To explain this fine structure and such a large adhesive force of seta, we develop an ideal-self-similar hierarchical model composed of a fiber array at each level to mimic the multilevel projective terminal of single gecko's seta. With this model, the variations of the properties with increasing number of levels are investigated. For Tokay gecko's seta, the total number of levels is first estimated, and the structural parameters such as radius, the total number of terminal fibers and the adhesive force are then predicted. The results agree well with those observed in nature. Furthermore, with the present model, the dominant failure mode of each level is always the adhesion failure, and the role of structural hierarchy for adhesion release is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mediterranea - Ricerche Storiche is the property of Mediterranea-Ricerche Storiche and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Online self-disclosure (OSD) on social networking sites can leave individuals and organisations vulnerable to security threats. Following a design science research (DSR) method, we created a gamified, "choose your own adventure" style security education, training, and awareness (SETA) artefact using two formats: text and visual. Both artefacts were designed to identify the security threats that trainees are most susceptible to, debrief them about the threat and its potential consequences, and facilitate behaviour change by letting trainees re-evaluate their decisions. Using a longitudinal randomised controlled experiment, we compared these two artefacts to no intervention and traditional security warning emails by assessing both instrumental (changes in attitudes, intentions, and OSD behaviour) and experiential (memorability and user experience) outcomes. Our survey of 1,718 employees showed that the text-based artefact was better at improving instrumental outcomes, and the visual-based artefact was better at improving experiential outcomes. This study provides a more granular understanding of the linkages between technology artefacts and human experiences through the application of design science thinking. The findings contribute to DSR by developing design principles, testable propositions, and realistic performance evaluation metrics for gamified SETA artefacts, and present practical recommendations for regulating employees' information security and privacy behaviours inside and outside the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a literature review of the Information Systems (IS) security field. The purpose of this review is to identify IS 'security themes'. Articulating IS 'security themes' can assist in making effective decisions and reducing risks faced by organisations. This review analyses 87 journal articles from the AIS Senior Scholars' Basket of Journals, and journals recommended by the AIS Special Interest Group in Information Security and Privacy (SIGSEC). An inductive approach to open coding was followed which led to the emergence of twelve IS 'security themes'. Based on our analysis, we found significant research focus on certain 'security themes' (e.g. IS Security Policy, IS Security Behaviour, IS Security Management, and IS Security Awareness) over others (e.g. IS Security Knowledge, IS Security Ethics, and IS Security Investment). We also examine the role of Security Education, Training, and Awareness (SETA) programmes across the IS 'security themes' and provide some initial observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of scanning electron microscopy on the cuticle outgrowths called setae (that contain sensilla) in crustaceans is useful for, understanding how crustacean species sense their environment and for taxonomic studies. So far, most of the setal morphology studies have been performed on decapod crustaceans such as lobsters and shrimps and there has been a comparative lack of such research on marine isopods, from which terrestrial isopods such as woodlice or slaters have evolved. In the current study, electron microscopy was used to study the antennal setae of the marine isopod Cirolana harfordi using magnification powers of up to 40, 000. C. harfordi displayed a number of setal types including setae that had a sub-terminal pore that contained a cupule-shaped structure and plumose setae which are pennate in structure and have two rows of setules along the setal shaft in a fashion analogous to a palm leaf. These plumose setae may be useful to the animal in detecting water currents. Differences in the structure and placement of setae on the antennae of C. harfordi as compared to two other marine isopods, Bathynomus pelor and Natatolana borealis (that have had a comprehensive study of antennae setal morphology performed on them in previous studies) indicate that scanning electron microscopy of isopod setae may be useful in taxonomic studies of isopods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The morphology of the fifth pereiopods was studied under scanning electron microscopy in ten species of porcelain crabs for chaetotaxy and setal diversity, namelly Megalobrachium pacificum, Megalobrachium roseum, Pachycheles grossimanus, Petrolisthes armatus, Petrolisthes tuberculatus, Pisidia brasiliensis, Pisidia longicornis, Polyonyx gibbesi, Porcellana platycheles and Porcellana sayana. Six setal types were identified: simple, pappose, sickle-shaped serrate, straight serrate, club-shaped and tooth-like cuspidate. Porcelain crabs can differ in the fifth pereiopod setal morphology, chaetotaxy and setal density, even among species within the same genus. The absence of sexual dimorphism of the grooming legs in porcelain crabs suggests that grooming eggs requires no particular grooming apparatus in females and that male and female are equal in grooming efficiency.

Partial substitution of wheat flour with Flammulina velutipes powder (FVP) or soluble polysaccharide (SPFV) at different addition levels, and the effects of which on the rheological and microstructural properties of dough were investigated. FVP significantly (P < 0.05) increased the water absorption but decreased the development time and stability of dough significantly (P < 0.05). Furthermore, it was capable of providing a weaker extension and harder dough with the increasing of FVP addition levels. FVP increased the storage (G′) and loss (G″) moduli, while the tan δ decreased with the increasing of FVP addition levels. However, SPFV addition had inconsistent viscoelastic results with that of FVP addition. The microstructure of dough showed that the continuity of gluten networks had been disrupted by FVP and SPFV at a higher addition level. This research could provide a foundation for the application of FVP in wheat-flour foods, and FVP addition levels of 2.5% to 5.0% are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A methodological problem is inherent in any discussion of extraterrestrial engineering and its detectability: how to distinguish detection signatures of such astroengineering from "natural", non-intentional, albeit exotic, processes? In practice, searches for traces and manifestations of advanced technological civilizations have been reduced so far to searching for outliers in the allegedly well-known regularities expected from natural astrophysical sources. This procedure, however, is an epistemological minefield, for at least two reasons: (i) prior datasets on which the regularities are based might be contaminated by artefacts, and (ii) the procedure of computation of unobservable quantities usually contains the implicit assumption of the non-intentional nature of sources. In other words, we are facing a Catch-22-type problem: in order to prove the artificial nature of a source, we seemingly need to first assume that it is not artificial. In contrast to most problems in science, this one could possibly be aggravated, rather than reduced, with the progress of our scientific understanding. Some possible recourses, as well as directions for further work toward building a comprehensive methodology of the Dysonian SETI, are discussed. Highlights • We consider epistemological and methodological aspect of the search for extraterrestrial artefacts (SETA). • SETA projects are impacted by important methodological problems and biases which have not been studied in the literature so far. • Our analysis offers some guidelines for the selection of objects of interest from a sample of astrophysical sources. • The importance of establishing the proper context for SETA and of utilizing the experience of terrestrial archaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Updated descriptions of the last larval instar (based on the larvae and exuviae) and first detailed description of the pupa of Ctesias (s. str.) serra (Fabricius, 1792) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) are presented. Several morphological characters of C. serra larvae are documented: antenna, epipharynx, mandible, maxilla, ligula, labial palpi, spicisetae, hastisetae, terga, frons, foreleg, and condition of the antecostal suture. The paper is fully illustrated and includes some important additions to extend notes for this species available in the references. Summarised data about biology, economic importance, and distribution of C. serra are also provided. The comparison of larval characteristics for some of the genera of Dermestidae co-occurring with Ctesias is presented. A key for identification of these genera is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agricultura Sociedad y Desarrollo is the property of Colegio de Postgraduados and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)