147 research outputs found
Securing Financial Information in the Digital Realm: Case Studies in Cybersecurity for Accounting Data Protection
Get PDFSecuring financial information, especially accounting, is essential in the digital world. This article explores organizations\u27 challenges in protecting accounting data from evolving cyber threats. By sharing real-life case studies and industry research, we offer suggestions to enhance the security of accounting information. These recommendations include adopting cybersecurity frameworks implementing technical defenses like endpoint protection and network segmentation, following secure coding practices prioritizing user awareness and training, creating incident response and business continuity plans, regularly conducting vulnerability assessments and monitoring, maintaining strong vendor relationships, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and standards. By implementing these suggestions, accounting professionals and organizations can strengthen cybersecurity measures. Effectively protect valuable financial data from the ever-growing threat landscape. Taking an approach that combines technical measures, user awareness, incident preparedness, and regulatory compliance is crucial when navigating the digital landscape with confidence and resilience
Chemical and biological investigations of the Yaegl medicinal plant Alphitonia excelsa
No full textAlphitonia excelsa leaves are used by the Australian Aboriginal people of Yaegl Country for the treatment of sores, wounds and skin infections. Structural elucidation of compunds previously isolated from the n-hexane and dichloromethane sequential extracts of A. excelsa leaves identified the well-known antibacterial and antioxidant compounds β-sitosterol, betulin aldehyde, betulinic acid, lupeol, quercetin and kaempferol. This is the first report og lupeol and betulin aldehyde in any Alphitonia species and the first report of β-sitosterol in A. excelsa. LC-MS studies of over 600 column chromatography fractions obtained from previous studies did not lead to any further compounds of interest. GC-MS analysis of freshly extracted leaves identified the bioactive compounds γ-sitoserol, nonanal, n-tetracontane, docosane, 1,54-dibromotetrapentacontane, tetradecane and hexadecane from the n-hexane and dichloromethane extracts. The dichloromethane extract also showed moderate activity against antibiotic sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MIC 312.5 - 625 μg/mL) and promising antioxidant activity, while the n-hexane extract showed moderate antibacterial activity (MIC 1250 - 2500 μg/mL). Preliminary fractionisation of the n-hexane extract provided one active fraction against S. aureus and four semi-pure fractions. This study has extended the phytochemical and biological knowledge of A. excelsa and shown that it is a worthy plant for further chemical and biological investigations
Fruit Fly Chemical Communication with Gut Bacteria
No full textRelationships between tephritids and microorganisms have been a focus of entomological research, particularly due to the potential use of microbial emissions in pest control. Symbiotic interactions between fruit flies and their associated gut bacteria have been well-studied; however, the composition of volatile chemicals from these gut bacterial emissions and their role as mediators of fruit fly behaviour is still underexplored. Here, we hypothesise that the volatile emissions from fruit flies’ gut microbionts may attract host flies. To this end, we isolated culturable bacterial species, mostly belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae, from the midgut of the wild adult Bactrocera tryoni, one of the most damaging horticultural pests in Australia. In a screening trap assay with more than 80 isolates, both male and female adult B. tryoni were attracted to the odours emitted by most cultured isolates and a few significantly deterred adult male and female flies. Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectroscopy analyses revealed a number of microbial volatile organic chemicals (mVOCs) in the headspace of liquid cultures of isolated bacteria, including ketones, carboxylic acids, alcohols and esters. Electrophysiological assays of selected isolates with the highest attraction identified a number of chemicals that elicit olfactory responses to adult Qflies. Behavioural assay determined the attraction potential of a few chemicals among these mVOCs. This is an important step in understanding fruit fly–bacteria chemical relationships and its potential to develop attractants and potential repellents for fruit fly pest management
Olfactory relationships of <i>Bactrocera tryoni</i> fruit fly and associated microbes
No full textBactrocera tryoni, commonly known as Queensland Fruit Fly, is an economically important pest for which monitoring and management is performed using the male-specific attractant, cuelure. Studies of plant-insect-microbe interactions suggest that attraction towards the host is not only driven by plant volatile compounds but also by the microbial volatile compounds (mVOCs) from host plant/fruit-associated microbes. Insects, including B. tryoni, acquire some of these host microbes during feeding and so the bacteria present in B. tryoni guts might trigger attraction to the host via mVOCs. Although symbiotic interactions between fruit flies and their associated gut bacteria (microbionts) have been well-studied in several tephritids, including B. tryoni, the composition of volatile chemicals in these gut bacterial emissions and their role as mediators of fruit fly behaviour are little studied. To address this gap, the present study identified the mVOCs from the headspace of the culturable microbionts of wild adult B. tryoni and evaluated their effect on the electrophysiological and behavioural responses of young and mature B. tryoni.
In this study, molecular 16S rRNA sequencing identified 24 bacterial strains from wild adult male B. tryoni and 21 bacterial strains from wild female flies. The most frequent bacterial strains obtained from both male and female guts belong to Enterobactereaceae (64.25%) followed by Bacillaceae (8.25%). In trap behavioural assays, the most attractive bacteria were Bacillus anthracis, Enterobacter cloaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Enterococcus faecalis, Citrobacter freundii and Proteus mirabilis. Young male and female flies exhibited a significantly lower response than mature male and female flies. The attraction of mature flies to different bacterial strains varied significantly and was similar for male and female flies. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GCMS) analyses of these bacterial headspace extracts identified mVOCs, with a wide range of chemical classes including pyrazines, ketones, alcohols, aldehydes, and esters. Many compounds were common to all isolates with few being species-specific. Gas Chromatography coupled with Electroantennography or Electropalpography (GC-EAD/EPD) studies identified 17 electrophysiologically active volatile compounds from the extracts across all tested bacterial strains. These EAD/EPD-active compounds were ketones (octan-3-one, undecan-2-one, 1-(2-aminophenyl)ethan-1-one, and γ-tetradecalactone (5-decyldihydrofuran-2(3H)-one)), esters (ethyl octanoate, glycerol 1,2-diacetate, geranyl formate, geranyl acetate, 6-methyl-4-heptenyl pentanoate, and dodecan-5-yl acetate), alcohols (octan-1-ol, geraniol, 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, and 2-methyldodecan-1-ol), isocyanide (1-isocyano-1 2-methylbenzene), aldehyde (undecanal), and phthalate acid ester (diethyl phthalate). Mature male and female B. tryoni exhibited varying attraction to these compounds in Y-maze olfactometer bioassays. The most attractive volatile for both sexes was 1-(2-aminophenyl)-ethan-1-one, followed by geranyl acetate for females and geraniol for males.
The present study also explored B. tryoni gut associated bacterial community transfer to the infested host fruits via oviposition. The bacterial isolates that were transmitted from the ovipositing B. tryoni gut to the oviposition site of host fruit (and not from the fruit surface and environment) included eleven confirmed species, with the predominant species being Enterobacter aerogenes and Klebsiella oxytoca. Behavioural assays identified B. cereus as the most attractive isolate for both male and female B. tryoni followed by E. aerogenes for male flies and E. asburiae and B. pumilus for female flies. Similar to the studies with direct gut microbionts, young flies exhibited a significantly lower response than mature flies to the gut associated bacteria transferred to the infested fruits. The attraction of mature flies to different bacterial strains varied significantly and was similar for male and female flies. GCMS analyses identified a number of mVOCs in the headspace of these bacterial liquid cultures, among which pyrazines (2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,5-dimethyl-3-ethylpyrazine, 2,3,5-triethylpyrazine, 2,3,5- dimethyl-3-isoamylpyrazine, and 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine) and ketones (octan-3-one and acetophenone) were most abundant.
Overall, this study advances understanding of Queensland fruit fly-bacteria chemical relationships and provides insights that can support development of bisexual synthetic lures as fruit fly pest management tools.</p
Chemical and biological investigations of the Yaegl medicinal plant Alphitonia excelsa
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 54-63Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Evaluation of Previously Isolated Compounds and Fractions from Alphitonia excelsa -- Chapter 3: Chemical and Biological Investigations of A. excelsa Leaf Extracts -- Chapter 4: Experimental -- Chapter 5: Conclusion and Future Directions.Alphitonia excelsa leaves are used by the Australian Aboriginal people of Yaegl Country for the treatment of sores, wounds and skin infections. Structural elucidation of compunds previously isolated from the n-hexane and dichloromethane sequential extracts of A. excelsa leaves identified the well-known antibacterial and antioxidant compounds β-sitosterol, betulin aldehyde, betulinic acid, lupeol, quercetin and kaempferol. This is the first report og lupeol and betulin aldehyde in any Alphitonia species and the first report of β-sitosterol in A. excelsa. LC-MS studies of over 600 column chromatography fractions obtained from previous studies did not lead to any further compounds of interest. GC-MS analysis of freshly extracted leaves identified the bioactive compounds γ-sitoserol, nonanal, n-tetracontane, docosane, 1,54-dibromotetrapentacontane, tetradecane and hexadecane from the n-hexane and dichloromethane extracts. The dichloromethane extract also showed moderate activity against antibiotic sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MIC 312.5 - 625 μg/mL) and promising antioxidant activity, while the n-hexane extract showed moderate antibacterial activity (MIC 1250 - 2500 μg/mL). Preliminary fractionisation of the n-hexane extract provided one active fraction against S. aureus and four semi-pure fractions. This study has extended the phytochemical and biological knowledge of A. excelsa and shown that it is a worthy plant for further chemical and biological investigations.xi, 73 pages illustrations 30 c
Tephritids Gut Microbionts: Diversity, Volatile Emissions and Their Impact on Fly Behaviour
No full textThe interaction between insects and their gut microorganisms is an interesting and promising field of ecological and entomological research. The importance of microbionts in the life history traits of fruit flies has been well-studied in several tephritid species belonging to the genera Anastrepha, Bactrocera, Ceratitis and Rhagoletis. However, the production of microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) and their role in tephritid fruit fly–microorganism interactions has been overlooked. As the symbiosis of tephritids with their associated gut bacteria could be a promising pathway for biocontrol, the potential use of mVOCs for Tephritidae fruit fly pest control management is of particular interest. This presentation demonstrates the known information regarding the composition and diversity of the microbial community in tephritid fruit fly guts and their effect on fly attraction. It also presents information about the mVOCs identified in attractive gut bacterial odours. The overview of fruit fly–microbe chemical relationships identifies knowledge gaps and provides a potential scope for further research to develop new semiochemicals for fruit fly pest management
Optimizing Search Strategies: A Study of Two-Pointer Linear Search Implementation
Get PDFThis report investigates three fundamental search algorithms: Linear Search, Binary Search, and Two Pointer Search. Linear Search checks each element sequentially, Binary Search divides the search space in half, and Two Pointer Search uses two pointers to scan from both ends of a sorted list. We compare these algorithms in terms of time complexity, space complexity, and practical performance. Our findings demonstrate that while Linear Search is straightforward, it is inefficient for large datasets. Binary Search is efficient for sorted data but requires an initial sorting step. The Two Pointer Search, combining elements of both methods, offers a practical balance of simplicity and efficiency. We propose a novel implementation of the Two Pointer Search algorithm and validate its performance through comprehensive testing on various hardware configurations. The results indicate that our proposed algorithm significantly improves search efficiency, making it suitable for both sorted and unsorted datasets. Future work will extend this algorithm to more complex data structures and real-world applications.5 pages, 1 figures, 4 Table
Asia in the ageing century: part III - healthcare
Get PDFWith total health spending in the region worth over a trillion dollars in 2010 and demand for healthcare continuing to grow, Asian governments will have a tremendous challenge meeting and funding this demand.Summary• This is the third research brief in a three-part series that looks at Asia in the ageing century, with a particular focus on the countries of East and South-East Asia.• The context is outlined in the first brief, which describes population, urbanisation and social trends in the region. Specifically, it notes that population ageing in East and South-East Asia is happening faster and at a lower level of economic development than in the West. Many Asian countries now have a decade or so to prepare for the final stages of demographic transition. Parts II and III of the series focus on two areas of economic activity which are both pertinent to population ageing and have enormous scale: provision of retirement income (covered in Part II) and of healthcare (outlined in the present brief).• As Asian societies become wealthier and older they will demand more of their health systems. This translates to extending health insurance coverage to a broader cross- section of the population, and offering reimbursement for a greater proportion of costs on a larger package of benefits. China has enrolled 1.2 billion people into the health insurance system within the last decade but in some provinces benefit packages are lacking. Malaysia achieved universal health coverage in the 1980s, but in 2004 key medicines were only available in a quarter of public health facilities.• East and South-East Asian governments currently have the fiscal capacity to keep expanding health systems, but to avoid the excessive cost growth seen in the West they will need to employ various micro, macro and demand-side measures – heeding the successes and failures of reforms within the region and elsewhere.• An important area for healthcare is the epidemiological transition that comes with ageing societies, where the relative prevalence of non-communicable diseases increases. Health packages in Asia are yet to take a full account of this change.• Health spending in the region was worth over US50 billion of spending, but recent growth has been high (e.g. 100% p.a. in China). On the provider side, the size and growth of the market will result in opportunities for pharmaceutical, medical device manufacturing and consumer health companies, as well as for operators of hospitals and specialised facilities. Some of that demand will spill over into the growing medical tourism market.• At the level of the macro-economy, stronger welfare provision offers an opportunity to rebalance growth in the region by reducing excessive precautionary savings. So far, East and South-East Asian countries have been taking this opportunity but much remains to be done for healthcare systems to be fully ready for an ageing population. 
Factors affecting consumers green purchase intention towards ecological products: ICA supermarket in Sweden
No full textTitle: “Factors affecting consumers green purchase intention towards ecological products: ICA supermarket in Sweden”. Level: Master degree thesis in Business AdministrationAuthor: Khalida Akter Supervisor: Zahra AhmadiExaminer: Maria Fregidou-Malama Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate how consumer trust, eco-branding and green marketing strategy influence consumer purchase intention towards ecological products. Method: The qualitative method and inductive approach have been used for this research. The primary data have been collected through face to face interview and the secondary data have been used through scientific journals and the internet. Findings: The results show the important factors that can promote green marketing towards ecological products are; consumer trust, green trust, eco-label trust, eco-branding, green pricing, green advertising, green design and green promotion have a strong relation with each other. The study also shows that consumer purchase intention can be increased by giving sufficient information regarding ecological products, by increasing awareness, credibility, by reducing the perceived risk of the products, brand uniqueness, by advertising the products through the company magazines, billboards and posters outside of the supermarket, by raising awareness of customer health. Brand loyalty is also an important factor to create a long-term relationship with customers and it can be created by the fair price perception among the customers. The main promotional issues have been found for this study is customer health and climate change. The study also shows that price doesn’t affect on consumer purchase behaviour. Suggestions for future research: This study helps to understand how to promote green marketing for ecological products. For further study, the author suggests to investigate if there is a relationship between green marketing, consumer trust, eco-branding as well as a green marketing strategy. The future study will help to research on green marketing for ecological products. Contribution: This study has identified elements to promote green marketing and factors that can help to increase consumers purchase intention. The author hopes that the findings of this study will help companies to create their consumer purchase intention. The study has contributed to the theory and to the managers by investigating the factors affecting on green marketing. Keywords: Green marketing, Consumer trust, green trust, Eco-branding, Green marketing strategy, consumer purchase intention
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