170 research outputs found
Cassandra - WP400 - final report of living lab 2
No full textThis CASSANDRA LL2 final deliverable contains all information regarding the CASSANDRA Living Lab Europe – USA via Bremerhaven including information from two intermediate reports (CASSANDRA D4.21 and D4.22) about the very same Living Lab handed in during runtime of the Living Lab. CASSANDRA Living Lab 2 shows in a practical way how to improve security and visibility of transatlantic supply chains embedded in the overall CASSANDRA ideas and structure. The enhanced security concepts combine technological, organisational and operational measures also in line with governmental supply chain security programmes such as AEO or C-TPAT. Mechanical and electronic devices such as HS-Seals, e-Seals or advanced monitoring systems can be used to physically secure container transport whereas associated data may use digital watermarks to verify information sources or encryption methods as protection against manipulation. The aim of CASSANDRA is to demonstrate methods for enhancing supply chain security beyond state-of-the-art by integrating existing data management systems to create a Data Pipeline and introduce a Risk-Based Approach across entire logistics chains and is totally inline with the proposed Multilayer Approach. These types of approach have also been advocated in government publications from the beginning of the project such as the Joint Statement on supply-chain security (EU and US, July 2011) and National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security (US, Jan. 2012). In General the Living Lab was organized and executed during the runtime of the CASSANDRA project. This living lab is centered around the 6 Use Cases, each representing specific obstacles stakeholders face at daily work. This is derived from the high-tech environment US transports are embedded and the used levels of abstraction to pinpoint single problems. The used process for the successful LL2 can be summarized as follows: The LL started with discussions among the partners to get a common understanding about the objectives and steps to be taken. This was mainly done in the CASSSANDRA WP3. The first part was to create a white paper to inform parties not involved in the consortium about the project in general and this living lab in particular. These parties (EU and US Authorities, Shippers) were informed, involved and Use Cases showing the current obstacles in US trades created. The Use Cases were then used as the content for demonstration, discussion and evaluation of the LL. All this information was passed to LL2 partners responsible for creating demonstration systems such as the business and the customs dashboard, not as the goal in itself but as a system of systems needed for discussion and evaluation of general CASSANDRA ideas in an environment which is dominated by technical solutions as a proof of security to fight attacks to countries as a whole. These discussions were done when the visualisation systems were in a final stage late in the project. During runtime 3 reports were created, which were the MS4 report and two LL2 intermediate reports. These two are not part of the initial DoW but were seen to be useful for reporting purposes due to postponement of this report by DoW amendment. The consortium partners in LL2 are the two freight forwarders Kühne + Nagel from Vienna, Austria (K+N) and Deutsche Handels-Logistik (DHL) from Bonn, Germany. Data is collected in the CASSANDRA backbone hub, processed and visualised in a Business Dashboard by The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (Descartes) from Lier, Belgium. The relevant Port Community System for all Ports in Bremen and Bremerhaven in charge (Bremer Hafentelematik (BHT)) is run by the Datenbank Bremische Häfen (dbh) located in Bremen, Germany. Additional visualization of Customs Data is provided by IBM, NL and Intrasoft, GR. LL2 is organised by the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), Bremen, Germany with the political and procedural support by the Senator für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Häfen, (Senator for Economy Labour and Ports), SWH, Bremen, Germany.Multi Actor SystemsTechnology, Policy and Managemen
The Family History of Cassandra M. Swisher
Full text linkThe Family History of Cassandra M. Swisher
May 2022
Cassandra Michelle Swisher authored this family history as part of the course requirements for HIST 550/700 Your Family in History offered online in Spring 2022 and was submitted to the Pittsburg State University Digital Commons. Please contact the author directly with any questions or comments: [email protected]
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Cassandra - D6.3 - final protocol: Seventh Framework Programme THEME Monitoring and Tracking of Shipping Containers Security
No full textThe Cassandra project addressed procedures and methods (protocols) for government supervision of international trade lanes. Specifically, it looked at the impact of the Cassandra innovations on the procedures and methods to assess risks (risk assessment protocols). This covers the way in which the businesses of a specific trade lane interact with government inspection authorities. More specifically, it was assessed how the Cassandra RBA will enable government organisations to assess the risks of the supply chain better. The Cassandra business RBA, combined with a data pipeline for data capture and exchange, enables government to piggyback on data from better sources and on business controls. To do this steps needs to be taken to move from Trusted Traders to Trusted Trade Lanes, for this the four elements from the AEO framework can be translated to trade lanes. A key topic that needs to be addressed is what comprises sufficient or good level of control over the supply chain. Also, developing strategies for dealing with residual risk is necessary. The main focus of the Cassandra project was on the ‘good-guy’ perspective, trusted traders that want to optimize their business in cooperation with government agencies. The next step is to also include the ‘bad-guy’ perspective that is more suitable for police related tasks. Severe and organised crime is currently not included in the chain control framework. The Cassandra EU risk management can be linked to the approach of the EU policy cycle on organised crime. Nine priorities have been defined in the EMPACT framework (European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Crime Threat).These priorities are: 1. Criminal networks related to illegal immigration. 2. Human trafficking, sexual and labour abuse. 3. Synthetic drugs and poly-drugs networks. 4. Cocaine- and heroin trafficking. 5. Cybercrime, including high-tech crime, child porno and credit card fraud. 6. Organised crime against assets (burglaries, holdups and vehicle/cargo crime. 7. Illegal trade of weapons. 8. Counterfeiting with risks for public health. 9. International tax fraud. Each of these SOCTA threats can be linked, to a certain extent, to the Cassandra data pipeline. It has to be analysed if Cassandra Supply Chain data can support the police perspective and if it can be linked to the Cassandra dashboard for authorities. It is estimated that there is potential for that with a system based European Risk based Approach protocol that would be satisfactory for the Police, including the following: - Use data pipeline for backtracking and reconstructing supply chain - Use data pipeline for typical risk based approach not covered by customs risk engines - Motivate trusted traders to act as gate keepers and whistle blowers Moreover, there is Potential of major joint control operations using data in the Cassandra pipeline.Multi Actor SystemsTechnology, Policy and Managemen
Strategies for addressing mountain pine beetle outbreaks on national forests
No full textEmily Jane Davis, Heidi Huber-Stearns, Jesse Abrams, Michelle M. Steen-Adams, Christopher Bone, Cassandra Moseley, and Autumn Ellison,This archived document is maintained by the Oregon State Library as part of the Oregon Documents Depository Program. It is for informational purposes and may not be suitable for legal purposes.Supported by the National Science Foundation under 1414041.Mode of access: Internet from the Oregon Government Publications Collection.Text in English
Evolution and Biological Roles of Three-Finger Toxins in Snake Venoms
Full text linkSnake venoms are complex mixtures of many enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins, as well as small peptides. Several major venom protein superfamilies, including three-finger toxins, phospholipases A2, serine proteinases, metalloproteinases, proteinase inhibitors and lectins, are found in almost all snake venoms, from front-fanged viperids (vipers and pit vipers) and elapids (cobras, mambas, sea snakes, etc.) to rear-fanged colubrids. However, these proteins vary in abundance and functionality between species. Variation in snake venom composition is attributed to both differences in the expression levels of toxin encoding genes and occurrence of amino acid sequence polymorphisms. Documenting intraspecific venom variation has both clinical (antiserum development) and biological (predator and prey coevolution) implications. Venom is primarily a trophic adaptation and as such, the evolution and abundance of venom proteins relates directly to prey capture success and organism natural history. Without this biologically relevant perspective, proteomic and transcriptomic approaches could produce simply a list of proteins, peptides, and transcripts. It is therefore important to consider the presence and evolution of venom proteins in terms of their biological significance to the organism. Three-finger toxins (3FTx) comprise a particularly common venom protein superfamily that contributes significantly to differences in envenomation symptomology, toxicity, and overall venom composition. Three-finger toxins are non-enzymatic proteins that maintain a common molecular scaffold, and bind to different receptors/acceptors and exhibit a wide variety of biological effects. These toxins are the main lethal neurotoxins in some snake venoms and are currently the only known venom proteins associated with prey-specific toxicity. This dissertation has four major objectives: (i) to examine 3FTxs in front-fanged Elapidae and rear-fanged snake venoms for prey-specific toxicity, (ii) to examine differences in 3FTx expression within rear-fanged snake venom glands, (iii) to determine if mRNA transcripts obtained from crude venoms can be utilized for molecular evolutionary studies and venom proteomic studies, and (iv) to determine if a transcriptomic and proteomic integrated approach can more thoroughly characterize differences in rear-fanged snake venom composition. Three-finger toxins were isolated from the venom of the front-fanged Naja kaouthia (Family Elapidae; Monocled Cobra) and rear-fanged Spilotes (Pseustes) sulphureus (Family Colubridae; Amazon Puffing Snake) using chromatographic techniques, and toxicity assays were performed to evaluate prey specificity. Despite various 3FTxs being present in abundance within N. kaouthia venom, only one 3FTx (alpha-cobratoxin) demonstrated lethal toxicity (\u3c5 \u3eµg/g) toward both NSA mice (Mus musculus) and House Geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus). For P. sulphureus, the most abundant 3FTx (sulmotoxin A), a heterodimeric complex, displayed prey-specific toxicity towards House Geckos, and the second most abundant 3FTx (sulmotoxin B) displayed prey-specific toxicity towards mice. This demonstrates how a relatively simple venom with toxins dominated by one venom protein superfamily (3FTXs) can still allow for the targeting of a diversity of prey. Venom gland toxin transcriptomes and crude venom transcriptomes were obtained via individual transcripts with 3’RACE (Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends) and next- generation sequencing to evaluate the abundance, diversity, and molecular evolution of 3FTxs. Venom protein gene expression within rear-fanged snake venom glands revealed trends towards either viper-like expression, dominated by snake venom metalloproteinases, or elapid-like expression, dominated by 3FTxs. For non-conventional 3FTxs transcripts within these glands and within crude venom, approximately 32% of 3FTx amino acid sites were under positive selection, and approximately 20% of sites were functionally critical and conserved. RNA isolated from crude venom demonstrated to be a successful approach to obtain venom protein transcripts for molecular evolutionary analyses, resulting in a novel approach without the need to sacrifice snakes for tissue. The use of a combined venom gland transcriptome with proteomic approaches aided in characterizing venom composition from previously unstudied rear-fanged snake venoms. This dissertation represents an important step in the incorporation of multiple high-throughput characterization methods and the addition of multiple assays to explore the biological roles of toxins, in particular 3FTxs, within these venoms
Impact of Experiential Learning in Cross Disciplinary Projects
Full text linkIn higher education, immersion in real-world experience is essential for students’ professional development. This paper seeks to examine the facets of importance within experiential learning while participating in cross disciplinary projects. First, an anecdotal experience of participating in a national financial competition as transcribed by the author is provided in Section I. This will provide personal reflection of the various benefits associated with the project. Section II follows with a review of relevant literature to connect the aforementioned benefits to experimental and empirical evidence. Section III provides the manuscript submitted to and chosen as a finalist of the Financial Service Professionals’ Industry Issues Competition. The manuscript was authored by Cassandra Cameron, David Casalinova, and Jake Marty – a team of diverse business students. By interweaving qualitative and quantitative research, the effect this paper intends to create is greater understanding of the benefits posed through integration of cross disciplinary, experiential learning projects with higher education
Full-Length Venom Protein cDNA Sequences from Venom-Derived mRNA: Exploring Compositional Variation and Adaptive Multigene Evolution.
No full textEnvenomation of humans by snakes is a complex and continuously evolving medical emergency, and treatment is made that much more difficult by the diverse biochemical composition of many venoms. Venomous snakes and their venoms also provide models for the study of molecular evolutionary processes leading to adaptation and genotype-phenotype relationships. To compare venom complexity and protein sequences, venom gland transcriptomes are assembled, which usually requires the sacrifice of snakes for tissue. However, toxin transcripts are also present in venoms, offering the possibility of obtaining cDNA sequences directly from venom. This study provides evidence that unknown full-length venom protein transcripts can be obtained from the venoms of multiple species from all major venomous snake families. These unknown venom protein cDNAs are obtained by the use of primers designed from conserved signal peptide sequences within each venom protein superfamily. This technique was used to assemble a partial venom gland transcriptome for the Middle American Rattlesnake (Crotalus simus tzabcan) by amplifying sequences for phospholipases A2, serine proteases, C-lectins, and metalloproteinases from within venom. Phospholipase A2 sequences were also recovered from the venoms of several rattlesnakes and an elapid snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus), and three-finger toxin sequences were recovered from multiple rear-fanged snake species, demonstrating that the three major clades of advanced snakes (Elapidae, Viperidae, Colubridae) have stable mRNA present in their venoms. These cDNA sequences from venom were then used to explore potential activities derived from protein sequence similarities and evolutionary histories within these large multigene superfamilies. Venom-derived sequences can also be used to aid in characterizing venoms that lack proteomic profiles and identify sequence characteristics indicating specific envenomation profiles. This approach, requiring only venom, provides access to cDNA sequences in the absence of living specimens, even from commercial venom sources, to evaluate important regional differences in venom composition and to study snake venom protein evolution
Persistent stress during pregnancy influences thymic development in murine offspring
Full text linkPersistent stress during pregnancy influences thymic development in murine offspring
Alex Schroeder1*, Cassandra M. Juran1,2, Carol Mitchell1, and Amber M. Paul1,2
1Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology, Daytona Beach, FL
2Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
*Presenting Author
Thriving in spaceflight presents a unique challenge for humans. Exposure to extreme socioenvironmental stressors, such as altered gravity, ionizing radiation, and social isolation all can affect human biology. It is understood that physiological and psychological stress can disrupt gestation and reproduction processes in humans, as well. Using the mouse model, Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS), we can assess the influence of socioenvironmental stress on various biological systems, including the relationship between immune and reproductive systems. The thymus is an important gland involved in early life immune development and is sensitive to external factors that can disrupt T cell receptor diversity and antigen specificity. Due to this, we assessed retrospective, open-sourced data from GeneLab Open Science Directory (OSD-287). These data consist of thymic transcriptomes of one-day old pups born to dams that were exposed to CUMS for three-weeks. We aim to identify thymic immune pathways and activities that are involved in T cell development. Therefore, we hypothesize that CUMS exposure in dams will impair antigen presentation pathways and T cell tolerance processes in the thymus of pups. In brief, this project will identify processes that engage T cell activity in pup thymic development and examine the consequences of socioenvironmental stress in gestation
High resolution proteomics of Aedes aegypti salivary glands infected with either dengue, Zika or chikungunya viruses identify new virus specific and broad antiviral factors
Full text link10.1038/s41598-021-03211-0Scientific Reports1112369
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