Threat Monitoring Research Articles

Data analytics in public health, A USA perspective: A review

The integration of data analytics into public health practices represents a transformative paradigm shift in the United States. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact and implications of data analytics on public health strategies, with a focus on disease surveillance and health policy within the USA. In the context of disease surveillance, data analytics has emerged as a crucial tool for real-time monitoring and early detection of health threats. Leveraging diverse datasets, including electronic health records and social media, allows for swift identification of trends and anomalies, enabling proactive responses to potential outbreaks. Advanced analytics techniques, such as machine learning and predictive modeling, contribute to the precision of surveillance efforts, facilitating targeted interventions and resource allocation. Beyond disease surveillance, data analytics significantly influences health policy. Evidence-based policy formulation is enhanced through data-driven insights, providing policymakers with a foundation for understanding the impact of interventions and designing strategies that align with the unique needs of diverse populations. Resource allocation strategies are optimized, ensuring efficient use of limited resources by analyzing health outcomes, service utilization patterns, and cost-effectiveness. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of implemented health policies through data analytics enable policymakers to adapt strategies in response to evolving health challenges, fostering a dynamic and adaptive public health ecosystem. As the landscape of public health evolves, data analytics in the USA continues to play a central role in shaping strategies and policies. The study delves into the historical context, key components, applications, and success stories, providing valuable insights for policymakers, public health professionals, and researchers aiming to navigate the complexities of data-driven public health management.

Інноваційні засади публічної політики у сфері продовольчої безпеки в Україні: аналіз сучасного стану та рекомендації для України

The article is devoted to studying innovative principles of public policy in Ukraine's food security sphere. The author analyzed the current state and challenges of food security in Ukraine due to globalization, military conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other threats. The author also considered the main directions and tools of public policy aimed at ensuring food security at the national and regional levels, as well as Ukraine's contribution to global food security. The research used comparative analysis, statistical analysis, case study, and SWOT analysis methods. Food security affects the development of countries and the world. Ukraine has the potential to improve it but faces challenges such as a low level of the economy, corruption, underfunding of education and science, weak state policy, and military aggression of Russia. A comprehensive and innovative strategy is needed to improve food security in Ukraine, which would consider all aspects of the food system. Ukraine can benefit from the experience of other countries that have successfully implemented innovative principles of public policy, such as Estonia, Israel, Singapore, and South Korea. Food security of Ukraine and the world in the conditions of war and pandemic is a dangerous scenario that requires an immediate and joint response from the international community. Based on the obtained results, the author developed recommendations and proposals for improving public policy in the sphere of food security in Ukraine, in particular regarding the creation of a national system of monitoring and early warning of food threats, development of sustainable agricultural production, diversification of production and markets, increasing competitiveness and innovativeness of cultural and creative industries, strengthening participation and accountability in the cultural sphere, as well as using the experience and best practices of other countries. It is necessary to show political will and leadership of the authorities and interested parties to improve the situation, introduce an effective system of monitoring and evaluation of food security using modern technologies, and implement innovative principles of public policy, which would contribute to the development of the agricultural sector, standards and safety of food products, information culture and awareness of the population. The article has theoretical and practical significance for researchers, practitioners, authorities, public organizations, and other interested parties who deal with food security issues in Ukraine and the world. Keywords: innovative principles, public policy, food security, Ukraine, competitiveness, analysis, current state, rec-ommendations, indicators, modeling, improvement.

Use of substances to cope predicts posttraumatic stress disorder symptom persistence: Investigating patterns of interactions between symptoms and its maintaining mechanisms.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains a growing public health challenge across the globe and is associated with negative and persistent long-term consequences. The last decades of research have identified different mechanisms associated with the development and persistence of PTSD, including maladaptive coping strategies, cognitive and experiential avoidance, and positive and negative metacognitions. Despite these advances, little is known about how these different processes interact with specific PTSD symptoms, and how they influence each other over time at the within-person level. Leveraging a large (N > 1,800) longitudinal data set representative of the Norwegian population during the COVID-19 pandemic, this preregistered study investigated these symptom-process interactions over four assessment waves spanning an 8-month period. Our panel graphical vector autoregressive network model revealed the dominating role of substance use to cope in predicting higher levels of PTSD symptoms over time and increases in PTSD symptomatology within more proximal time windows (i.e., within 6 weeks). Threat monitoring was associated with increased suicidal ideation, while threat monitoring itself was increasing upon decreased avoidance behavior, greater presence of negative metacognitions, and higher use of substances to cope. Our findings speak to the importance of attending to different coping strategies, particularly the use of substances as a coping behavior in efforts to prevent PTSD chronicity upon symptom onset. We outline future directions for research efforts to better understand the complex interactions and temporal pathways leading up to the development and maintenance of PTSD symptomatology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Implementation of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) for Monitoring IT Assets Using Alienvault OSSIM (Case Study: Udayana University Information Resources Unit)

One way that can be done to analyze cyber security equipment is by monitoring the logs it generates. Meanwhile, to be able to analyze the logs generated from each equipment requires a long time and has a high level of difficulty. When the management of the cyber security system is not going right, it causes the failure of the cyber security system. So a defense mechanism is needed on managing the log called Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) using Alienvault OSSIM tools. Threat Monitoring or monitoring of security threats in the Cyber world, is used to analyze, evaluate, and monitor network threats and as an end point for organizations to provide evidence of security threats, such as network intrusions, data exfiltration, ransomware and other malware attacks. The limitations of the problems carried out in this study were limited to Threat Monitoring using Alienvault OSSIM. There are 6 servers at the Udayana University Information Resources Unit (USDI) that are being monitored. Monitoring was carried out for 3 months. There were 230,622 Events or events that were collected as a whole. IT assets that have the most logs during monitoring are owned by DNS Servers with a total of 200,424 Events. There are 11 Event Names and 34 event logs that are discussed. The log is packaged in the form of a report along with an explanation, of course it can assist administrators in evaluating their IT assets. There is also an email notification feature using Gmail. Overall there are no attacks that are so significant with the low risk category. Alienvault OSSIM is proven to be able to carry out monitoring processes in real time properly and can help USDI to monitor the activities of its IT assets.

Triggered by worry: A dynamic network analysis of COVID-19 pandemic-related anxiety and parental stress

BackgroundMajor disruptions to daily life routines made families and parents particularly vulnerable to psychological distress during the COVID-19 lockdowns. However, the specific psychopathological processes related to within-person variation and maintenance of anxiety symptomatology and parental distress components in the parental population have been largely unexplored in the literature. Methods: In this preregistered intensive longitudinal study, a multilevel dynamic network was used to model within-person interactions between anxiety symptomatology, psychopathological processes, parental distress, and protective lifestyle components in a sample of 495 parents—each responding to daily assessments over a 40-day period. A total of 30,195 observations were collected across the subjects. ResultsExtensive worry, threat monitoring, and uncontrollability of worry were identified as overreaching psychopathological processes related to the aggravation of other symptoms of anxiety and parental distress. A strong association was found between parental stress and parental burnout. Anger toward one's child was associated with both parental stress and parental burnout. Protective factors showed the lowest strength centrality, with few and weak connections to other symptoms and processes in the network. LimitationsAssociations may exist between the study variables on a different time scale; hence, different time lags should be used in future research. Conclusions: Accessible, low-cost interventions that address worry, threat monitoring, and the uncontrollability of worry could serve as potential targets for reducing the symptom burden of anxiety and distress in the parental population.

Depressive Symptoms and Their Mechanisms: An Investigation of Long-Term Patterns of Interaction Through a Panel-Network Approach

The dynamic interaction between depressive symptoms, mechanisms proposed in the metacognitive-therapy model, and loneliness across a 9-month period was investigated. Four data waves 2 months apart were delivered by a representative population sample of 4,361 participants during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway. Networks were estimated using the newly developed panel graphical vector-autoregression method. In the temporal network, use of substance to cope with negative feelings or thoughts positively predicted threat monitoring and depressed mood. In turn, threat monitoring positively predicted suicidal ideation. Metacognitive beliefs that thoughts and feelings are dangerous positively predicted anhedonia. Suicidal ideation positively predicted sleep problems and worthlessness. Loneliness was positively predicted by depressed mood. In turn, more loneliness predicted more control of emotions. The findings point at the theory-derived variables, threat monitoring, beliefs that thoughts and feelings are dangerous, and use of substance to cope, as potential targets for intervention to alleviate long-term depressive symptoms.

Enhancing Cloud Security—Proactive Threat Monitoring and Detection Using a SIEM-Based Approach

With the escalating frequency of cybersecurity threats in public cloud computing environments, there is a pressing need for robust security measures to safeguard sensitive data and applications. This research addresses growing security concerns in the cloud by proposing an innovative security information and event management system (SIEM) that offers automated visibility of cloud resources. Our implementation includes a virtual network comprising virtual machines, load balancers, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and an application gateway that functions as a web application firewall (WAF). This WAF scans incoming Internet traffic and provides centralized protection against common exploits and vulnerabilities, securing web applications within the cloud environment. We deployed the SIEM system to automate visibility and incident response for cloud resources. By harnessing the power of this employed SIEM, the developed system can continuously monitor, detect security incidents, and proactively mitigate potential security threats. Microsoft Defender for Cloud consistently assesses the configuration of cloud resources against industry standards, regulations, and benchmarks to ensure compliance requirements are met. Our findings highlight the practicality and effectiveness of deploying such solutions to safeguard cloud resources, offering valuable insights to organizations and security professionals seeking sustainable and resilient security measures in the cloud computing environment.

The bodily threat monitoring scale: Development and preliminary validation in adult and childhood cancer survivors.

Bodily threat monitoring is a core clinical feature of Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and is targeted in psycho-oncology treatments, yet no comprehensive self-report measure exists. The aim of this study was the theory-informed development and initial validation of the Bodily Threat Monitoring Scale (BTMS). Adult survivors of breast and gynaecological cancers (Study 1: N=306, age=37-81years) and childhood cancer survivors (Study 2: N=126, age=10-25years) completed the BTMS, designed to assess how individuals monitor for and interpret uncertain symptoms as indicating that something is wrong with their body. Participants completed measures to assess construct and criterion validity of the BTMS, and childhood cancer survivors (Study 2) completed the BTMS again 2weeks later to assess test-retest reliability. The 19-item BTMS demonstrated excellent internal consistency across adult and childhood cancer samples (α=0.90-0.96). Factor analyses indicated two subscales capturing 1. Monitoring of bodily sensations and 2. Threatening interpretations of bodily sensations. Two-week stability estimates were acceptable. For construct validity, the BTMS correlated with body vigilance and anxiety sensitivity. The BTMS also demonstrated criterion validity, yielding significant associations with FCR, intolerance of uncertainty, help-seeking behaviours, and quality of life. The BTMS was associated with FCR while controlling for body vigilance and anxiety sensitivity, indicating a unique contribution of this theory-informed measure. The BTMS shows evidence of sound psychometric properties and could be used to elucidate the role of bodily threat monitoring in the maintenance and management of FCR.

Enabling Multicentric Participatory Disease Surveillance for Global Health Enhancement: Viewpoint on Global Flu View.

Participatory surveillance (PS) has been defined as the bidirectional process of transmitting and receiving data for action by directly engaging the target population. Often represented as self-reported symptoms directly from the public, PS can provide evidence of an emerging disease or concentration of symptoms in certain areas, potentially identifying signs of an early outbreak. The construction of sets of symptoms to represent various disease syndromes provides a mechanism for the early detection of multiple health threats. Global Flu View (GFV) is the first-ever system that merges influenza-like illness (ILI) data from more than 8 countries plus 1 region (Hong Kong) on 4 continents for global monitoring of this annual health threat. GFV provides a digital ecosystem for spatial and temporal visualization of syndromic aggregates compatible with ILI from the various systems currently participating in GFV in near real time, updated weekly. In 2018, the first prototype of a digital platform to combine data from several ILI PS programs was created. At that time, the priority was to have a digital environment that brought together different programs through an application program interface, providing a real time map of syndromic trends that could demonstrate where and when ILI was spreading in various regions of the globe. After 2 years running as an experimental model and incorporating feedback from partner programs, GFV was restructured to empower the community of public health practitioners, data scientists, and researchers by providing an open data channel among these contributors for sharing experiences across the network. GFV was redesigned to serve not only as a data hub but also as a dynamic knowledge network around participatory ILI surveillance by providing knowledge exchange among programs. Connectivity between existing PS systems enables a network of cooperation and collaboration with great potential for continuous public health impact. The exchange of knowledge within this network is not limited only to health professionals and researchers but also provides an opportunity for the general public to have an active voice in the collective construction of health settings. The focus on preparing the next generation of epidemiologists will be of great importance to scale innovative approaches like PS. GFV provides a useful example of the value of globally integrated PS data to help reduce the risks and damages of the next pandemic.

Detecting and Real Time Threat Analysis in Smart Grid Networks

The increasing adoption of smart grid systems has revolutionized the power distribution landscape, providing enhanced efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. However, the integration of modern technologies and communication networks has also introduced cybersecurity challenges, exposing the smart grid to potential threats and attacks. To address this critical issue, we propose a novel approach for detecting threats in smart grid systems using a sequential algorithm based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. Our research focuses on leveraging the temporal nature of smart grid data, which is inherently sequential in nature due to the continuous flow of sensor readings and telemetry information. The proposed LSTM-based sequential algorithm is designed to analyze time-series data, allowing it to capture complex patterns and dependencies characteristic of both normal grid behavior and potential security breaches. The methodology involves collecting labeled data from various smart grid sources, including power meters, sensors, communication devices, and control systems. The data undergoes preprocessing to handle missing values, normalization, and feature extraction, enabling effective model training. The LSTM model is then trained on the labeled data, optimizing its architecture and hyperparameters to achieve accurate threat detection. To ensure real-time threat monitoring, the trained model is deployed in the smart grid servers, where it continuously ingests and analyzes incoming data streams. The real-time threat detection system enhances the security and resilience of smart grid networks, safeguarding critical infrastructure and ensuring a stable and reliable power supply. Keywords: Threat detection, Threat analysis, Sequential algorithm, Real time threat monitoring.

Body Mindsets are Associated With Pain and Threat-Related Risk Factors for Pain in Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Pain is a common consequence of childhood cancer. While most research has examined biomedical predictors of post-cancer pain, biopsychosocial conceptualisations such as the cancer threat interpretation (CTI) model hold promise for guiding comprehensive pain management strategies. Guided by the CTI model, this cross-sectional study evaluated correlates of post-cancer pain in childhood cancer survivors including threat-related risk factors (bodily threat monitoring, fear of cancer recurrence, help-seeking) and mindsets about the body. In the preceding three months, 21.8% of the survivors reported chronic pain (>3 months), and 14.3% experienced pain most days. Greater bodily threat monitoring, more fear of cancer recurrence, and more help-seeking were associated with more pain. There was heterogeneity in the mindsets that survivors of childhood cancer hold about their bodies. Holding the mindset that the ‘body is an adversary’ was associated with more pain, greater bodily threat monitoring, and more fear of cancer recurrence. Holding the mindset that the ‘body is responsive’ was associated with less bodily threat monitoring, while the mindset that the ‘body is capable’ was associated with greater help-seeking. A path model demonstrated a significant combined indirect effect of the ‘body is an adversary’ mindset on pain through bodily threat monitoring and fear of cancer recurrence. Overall, this study supported that a sub-group of childhood cancer survivors experience persistent and interfering pain and provided cross-sectional support for threat-related correlates for pain aligning with the CTI model. Body mindsets were associated with pain and threat-related correlates and may represent a novel target to support survivors with pain. PerspectiveThis article presents associations of body mindsets, threat-related risk factors, and pain in survivors of childhood cancer (aged 11–25), guided by the Cancer Threat Interpretation model. The study indicates that body mindsets may be novel targets to embed in comprehensive post-cancer pain management approaches to support young survivors with pain.

Lost in the Web. Children in the world of the Internet

Digital natives are characterized by unprecedented efficiency in the use of new technologies, and their broad skills affect the fact that they can explore network resources in a very comprehensive way. However, despite their digital competences, they often show insufficient ability to reflect on the use of network solutions, and thus are more exposed to new dangers on the Internet. The aim of the article is to supplement the catalogue of cyber threats related to the presence of children and young people on the Internet through the characteristics of selected and relatively new online threats. The article uses a content analysis covering both scientific publications as well as Internet articles presenting current network threats, the analysis of which in scientific journals is still insufficient. Constant monitoring of new threats on the Internet is an important issue both from the perspective of a parent and a teacher, because only current knowledge in this area allows effective protection of children and youth.

Validity and reliability of the COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale in Canadian dentists.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a high level of mental health problems for the population worldwide including healthcare workers. Several studies have assessed these using measurements for anxiety for general populations. The COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale (C-19ASS) is a self-report measure developed to assess maladaptive forms of coping with COVID-19 (avoidance, threat monitoring and worry) among a general adult population in the United States. We used it in a prospective cohort study of COVID-19 incidence rates in practising Canadian dentists. We therefore need to ensure that it is valid for dentists in French and English languages. This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the C-19ASS in that population. Cross-sectional data from the January 2021 monthly follow-up in our prospective cohort study were used. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed. The results of EFA revealed a 2-factor structure solution that explained 47% of the total variance. The CFA showed a good model fit on the data in both English and French languages. The Cronbach's alpha indicated acceptable levels of reliability. Furthermore, the C-19ASS showed excellent divergent validity from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. The C-19ASS is valid and reliable instrument to measure COVID-19-related anxiety in English and French among Canadian dentists. This validated measure will contribute to understanding of the mental health impact of the pandemic on dentists in Canada and enable the dental regulatory authorities and organizations to intervene to help dentists.

Cyber Warfare and Cyber Terrorism Threats Targeting Critical Infrastructure: A HCPS-based Threat Modelling Intelligence Framework

Acts of cyber warfare and cyber terrorism (CWCT) that target a nation's critical infrastructure (CI) are quickly becoming a larger threat to national security than conventional kinetic warfare strategies. Adversaries or potential adversaries can target a nation's electrical grids, telecommunications, financial services, transportation, healthcare systems, and other forms of CI. These acts pose a major threat to a nation's CI and consequently exposes citizens to public health, safety, security, and economic development risks. Identifying cyber vulnerabilities and threats can help nations to improve their CI defence strategies. There is a crucial need for research that can aid in understanding the major types of CI threats and by what method they might occur. This paper conducts a systematic literature review to develop an initial threat intelligence framework of CWCT attacks on CI. Drawing from a Human–Cyber–Physical Systems (HCPS) lens, the threat intelligence framework classifies CWCT attacks according to the methods, weapons, vulnerabilities, targets and impact of the CWCT attack. The cyber warfare community can extend the proposed HCPS-based threat intelligence framework to develop more advanced cyber security mitigation strategies, training scenarios and simulations. Large-scale monitoring of CI threats requires in-depth threat intelligence analysis and a collaborative defence strategy. This calls for a higher degree of coordination and orchestration between the military, intelligence agencies, government departments, multinational allies, regulators, and commercial entities. Future research can customize the proposed HCPS-based threat intelligence framework to cater for the unique threats facing specific CI domains.

ІNFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL ECONOMY ON ENERGY SECURITY

The article examines the main scientific-theoretical and methodological approaches to solving the problem of complex analysis of the state of energy security at the national level. It is found that the situation is influenced by three main aspects: critical dependence on energy imports, the existence of excessive transit capacities, and the energy intensity of the gross domestic product. One of the most serious threats to Ukraine's energy security is its significant dependence on energy imports, which brings with it the risks of economic and political influence from other countries and dependence on global market conditions. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused "the first truly global energy crisis," according to a report by the International Energy Agency, which operates within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. There is a tendency to gradually neutralise threats to energy security by reducing natural gas imports and diversifying supplies. The opinion that constant monitoring of energy security threats is necessary to protect Ukraine's national interests is well-founded and is the basis for ensuring energy security. Practical implications. It was noted that in recent years, scientists have focused more attention and efforts on overcoming the energy crisis through the use of alternative energy sources, and that real energy security can only be achieved by increasing investment in domestic renewable energy sources. The purpose of the article is to determine the nature and content of energy security as a functional component of economic security, to identify the main challenges and threats to Ukraine's energy supply. Results. According to the author, the use of the ideas of the Ukrainian school of physical economy is of great importance in addressing the above issues. Thus, the author's vision of energy security, as well as a social model of Ukrainian society that will not only save it from economic and environmental disasters, but also lead to sustainable development and prosperity. Methodology. The research used comparative and structural-functional research methods. The comparative method was used to compare similar problems and ways of solving them, which made it possible to see the specifics of the researchers' searches. The use of the structural-functional method helps to outline the structural components in the search system of a particular model and their functional interpretation. A comprehensive approach to the study of energy security was also applied, an economic and statistical analysis of Ukraine's ability to meet energy needs, a comparative analysis of the main conceptual scientific views of S. Podolinskyi, V. Vernadskyi and M. Rudenko were carried out.

Psychometric properties and psychological correlates of the COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has led to the demise of millions of people worldwide; additionally, it has resulted in a significant economic and mental health burden. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, various measures have been constructed to evaluate pandemic-related fear and anxiety. The COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale (C-19ASS) is a promising measure that assesses coping strategies (e.g., avoidance, checking, worrying and threat monitoring), termed 'COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome', in response to COVID-19 fear and anxiety. The measure has been broadly welcomed, leading to its use in Brazil (Portuguese), China, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran (Farsi), Italy, Saudi Arabia (Arabic), Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. To gain a better understanding of the relevance of the COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the psychological correlates and psychometric properties of the C-19ASS. Through the analysis of a total of 17,789 individuals (age range 19-70; female = 33%-85%), the C-19ASS demonstrated a consistent factor structure, measurement invariance across gender and acceptable reliabilities. Furthermore, a significant association with COVID-19 anxiety, depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety, health anxiety, psychological distress and functional impairment (work and social adjustment) during the COVID-19 pandemic was observed. When considering the Big Five personality traits, the C-19ASS and its subscales were only significantly and negatively associated with extraversion; only the total score on the measure was associated with neuroticism. The observed effect sizes ranged from very small to medium. Given that all included studies (K = 24) were cross-sectional, and due to the nature of the COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome, which may well persist after the pandemic ends, it is recommended to continue screening society for the persistence of this syndrome.

SMART PREVENTIVE INSOLE FOR DIABETES

Smart wearable gadgets are powerful in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) prevention. However, elements figuring out their recognition are poorly understood. This systematic evaluation pursuits to observe the literature on affected person and issuer views of clever wearable gadgets in DFU prevention. The methodological pleasant of the research ranged from low to moderate. Two research hired a quantitative have a look at layout and centered at the affected person perspective, whereas three research blanketed a mixed, quantitative/qualitative layout and explored affected person or provider (podiatrist) perspectives. Four research targeted on an insole gadget and one covered a clever sock device. The quantitative research validated that gadgets had been comfortable, properly designed and beneficial in stopping DFU. One combined layout observe suggested that sufferers did now no longer intend to undertake an insole tool in its cutting-edge layout due to malfunctions, a loss of consolation and alert intrusiveness, regardless of the overall notion that the tool became a beneficial device for foot threat monitoring. Two mixed design studies found that performance expectancy was a predictor of a podiatrist’s behavioral intention to recommend an insole device in clinical practice. Disappointing player studies negatively impacted the podiatrists’ purpose to undertake a clever device. The modern proof approximately affected person and issuer views on clever wearable generation is restrained via way of means of scarce methodological best and conflicting results. It is, thus, now no longer viable to attract definitive conclusions concerning acceptability of those gadgets for the prevention of DFU in human beings with diabetes.

The Privacy Flag Observatory: A Crowdsourcing Tool for Real Time Privacy Threats Evaluation

Instilling good privacy practices to developers and users appears to be a difficult and daunting task. The World Wide Web encompasses a panspermia of different technologies, commercial and open source apis, evolving security standards and protocols that can be deployed towards the implementation of complex, powerful, web applications. At the same time, the proliferation of applications and services on all types of devices has also increased the attack surface for privacy threats. In this paper, we present the Privacy Flag Observatory, a platform which is one of the main tools produced by the Privacy Flag eu funded research project. The goal of this initiative is to raise awareness among European citizens of the potential privacy threats that beset the software and services they trust and use every day, including websites and smartphone applications. The Privacy Flag Observatory is one of the components that contributed to a large extent, to the success of the project’s goals. It is a real-time security and privacy threat monitoring platform whose aim is to collect, archive, analyze and present security and privacy-related information to the broader public as well as experts. Although the platform relies on crowdsourcing information gathering strategies and interacts with several other components installed on users’ devices or remote servers and databases, in this paper, we focus on the observatory platform referring only cursorily to other components such as the mobile phone add-on.

Investigating the specific domains of the cognitive attentional syndrome that predict posttraumatic stress symptoms: The moderating effect of attentional control

The metacognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggests that persistent use of the maladaptive self-regulation strategies that comprise the cognitive attentional syndrome (CAS) increases the likelihood of developing PTSD symptoms following trauma exposure. The metacognitive model also suggests that flexible regulation of attention might be protective against developing maladaptive outcomes that are associated with the CAS. The aims of this study were to (1) examine associations between all seven domains of the CAS and PTSD symptoms using a recently developed, multidimensional measure of the CAS, and (2) examine the moderating effect of self-reported attentional control on associations between the CAS and PTSD symptoms. Participants were trauma-exposed community adults (N = 237) who completed a battery of self-report measures. Results from linear regression analyses showed that worry, substance use, and internal threat monitoring accounted for unique variance in PTSD symptoms when all seven CAS domains were entered into the same model. Moderation analyses showed that attentional control dampened the effect of the CAS, specifically external threat monitoring, on PTSD symptoms. Study results support attentional control as a protective factor against the maladaptive effects of the CAS on PTSD symptoms.

Done but not dusted: Reflections on the first global reptile assessment and priorities for the second

The IUCN recently coordinated the first assessment of extinction risk of the world's reptile species. This monumental undertaking allows, for the first time, an examination of threats and prioritization of conservation effort, not just for reptiles, but for land vertebrates as a whole. Reptiles are now the largest class of land vertebrates in terms of species numbers. The dynamic nature of reptile taxonomy, the 18 years it took for the Global Reptile Assessment to be completed, the poor state of knowledge for many species – especially of squamates – and the evolving nature of threats, however, all highlight the need for continued monitoring of reptile species and threats. Here we review the status of reptile conservation assessments, and identify the challenges facing the next reptile assessments. We then recommend potential avenues that could facilitate efficient, accurate and timely future assessments.