Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

About: Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is a government organization based out in Salisbury, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Burkholderia pseudomallei & Francisella tularensis. The organization has 926 authors who have published 1242 publications receiving 30091 citations. The organization is also known as: Dstl & [dstl].

STRAM: Measuring the Trustworthiness of Computer-Based Systems

Abstract: Various system metrics have been proposed for measuring the quality of computer-based systems, such as dependability and security metrics for estimating their performance and security characteristics. As computer-based systems grow in complexity with many subsystems or components, measuring their quality in multiple dimensions is a challenging task. In this work, we tackle the problem of measuring the quality of computer-based systems based on the four key attributes of trustworthiness we developed: security, trust, resilience, and agility. In addition to conducting a systematic survey on metrics, measurements, attributes of metrics, and associated ontologies, we propose a system-level trustworthiness metric framework that accommodates four submetrics, called STRAM (Security, Trust, Resilience, and Agility Metrics). The proposed STRAM framework offers a hierarchical ontology structure where each submetric is defined as a sub-ontology. Moreover, this work proposes developing and incorporating metrics describing key assessment tools, including vulnerability assessment, risk assessment, and red teaming, to provide additional evidence in the measurement and quality of trustworthy systems. We further discuss how assessment tools are related to measuring the quality of computer-based systems and the limitations of the state-of-the-art metrics and measurements. Finally, we suggest future research directions for system-level metrics research toward measuring fundamental attributes of the quality of computer-based systems and improving the current metric and measurement methodologies.

Utility of interim ROTEM® values of clot strength, A5 and A10, in predicting final assessment of coagulation status in severely injured battle patients

Abstract: Background Proactive management of trauma-related coagulopathy requires early identification and rapid assessment in order to allow targeted resuscitation This study determined whether early (interim) ROTEM ® (TEM International GmbH, Munich, Germany) values could predict hypocoagulopathy in seriously injured military patients Methods Normal ranges for ROTEM ® values were obtained from 50 volunteers 108 samples were collected during the early phase of clinical management from 48 severe trauma patients The blood was subject to EXTEM analysis and compared to the 95% tolerance limits from the volunteers Coagulopathy (was deemed to be present if EXTEM MCF was below 40mm, which is in the range indicating clinical concern defined by the ROTEM ® Expert Working Group Results The normal range data was broadly similar to ROTEM ® published data Admission samples were available from 31 battlefield casualties, and 39% of these were coagulopathic 51% of the samples from all 48 patients were coagulopathic (EXTEM MCF In addition, statistical comparison of clotting domains between normal volunteers and trauma patients suggests a difference in clot strengths due to a difference in platelet function rather than platelet number (mean 142×10 9 l −1 ) Conclusions The A10 value of ROTEM ® provides an early sensitive and specific assessment of coagulopathy after military trauma and may be of utility in guiding bespoke resuscitation We found some speculative evidence that in major trauma platelet function is particularly affected

Airborne transmission of lyssaviruses.

Abstract: In 2002, a Scottish bat conservationist developed a rabies-like disease and subsequently died. This was caused by infection with European bat lyssavirus 2 (EBLV-2), a virus closely related to Rabies virus (RABV). The source of this infection and the means of transmission have not yet been confirmed. In this study, the hypothesis that lyssaviruses, particularly RABV and the bat variant EBLV-2, might be transmitted via the airborne route was tested. Mice were challenged via direct introduction of lyssavirus into the nasal passages. Two hours after intranasal challenge with a mouse-adapted strain of RABV (Challenge Virus Standard), viral RNA was detectable in the tongue, lungs and stomach. All of the mice challenged by direct intranasal inoculation developed disease signs by 7 days post-infection. Two out of five mice challenged by direct intranasal inoculation of EBLV-2 developed disease between 16 and 19 days post-infection. In addition, a simple apparatus was evaluated in which mice could be exposed experimentally to infectious doses of lyssavirus from an aerosol. Using this approach, mice challenged with RABV, but not those challenged with EBLV-2, were highly susceptible to infection by inhalation. These data support the hypothesis that lyssaviruses, and RABV in particular, can be spread by airborne transmission in a dose-dependent manner. This could present a particular hazard to personnel exposed to aerosols of infectious RABV following accidental release in a laboratory environment.

Template-directed synthesis of multi-component organic cages in water

Abstract: We describe here the discovery of a new class of organic cages assembled from simple tri- and dithiol building blocks using dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC). These water-soluble disulfide-linked architectures containing up to eleven components are only generated upon templation by positively charged polyamine guests of appropriate shape and length such as spermine and spermidine. The overall response of the system as expressed in the pattern of peaks in an HPLC trace provides an unusual tool for the identification of the templating analyte.