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Crohn's Disease: Case Western Reserve Researchers Identify Links Between Inflammatory Disease Genes
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine identified a novel link between ITCH, a gene known to regulate inflammation in the body and NOD2, a gene which causes the majority of genetic Crohn"s Disease diagnoses. ITCH, when malfunctioning, causes widespread inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, gastritis, uncontrolled skin inflammation, and pulmonary pneumonitis. Derek Abbott, M.D., Ph.D., and his team of researchers found that ITCH also influences NOD2-induced inflammation. These findings, published in the August 11th issue of Current Biology, suggest a common pathophysiology exists between multiple inflammatory diseases. The unexpected finding of the interaction between these genes offers the possibility of a new drug target, which would be effective in treating Crohn"s disease - a chronic disorder causing inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

Analysis Of Edoxaban Phase II Data Provides Insight Into Reduced Bleeding Events Seen In Once-Daily Dosing
A sub-analysis of a Phase IIb multinational study(1) with edoxaban(2) - an investigational oral Factor Xa inhibitor - provides insights into why patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) receiving edoxaban once daily (QD) experienced fewer bleeding events than patients given edoxaban twice a day (BID). The analysis finds that bleeding associated with edoxaban is most closely correlated with minimum concentration levels of the drug in the blood, and that these trough levels may best predict bleeding events, rather than total exposure or maximum concentration levels.
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Serious Concerns Over Methods Used To Allocate Scarce Healthcare Res
Two papers published on bmj.com today raise serious concerns over the methods used to put a value on the benefits of different treatments in order to set healthcare priorities.
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NIST, DOD, Intelligence Agencies Join Forces To Secure US Cyber Infrastructure

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in partnership with the Department of Defense (DOD), the Intelligence Community (IC), and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS), has released the first installment of a three-year effort to build a unified information security framework for the entire federal government. Historically, information systems at civilian agencies have operated under different security controls than military and intelligence information systems. This installment is titled NIST Special Publication 800-53, Revision 3, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations. "The common security control catalog is a critical step that effectively marshals our res," says Ron Ross, NIST project leader for the joint task force. "It also focuses our security initiatives to operate effectively in the face of changing threats and vulnerabilities. The unified framework standardizes the information security process that will also produce significant cost savings through standardized risk management policies, procedures, technologies, tools and techniques." This publication is a revised version of the security control catalog that was previously published in response to the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002. This special publication contains the catalog of security controls and technical guidelines that federal agencies use to protect their information and technology infrastructure. When complete, the unified framework will result in the defense, intelligence and civil communities using a common strategy to protect critical federal information systems and associated infrastructure. This ongoing effort is consistent with President Obama"s call for "integrating all cybersecurity policies for the government" in his May 29 speech on securing the U.S. cybersecurity infrastructure. The revised security control catalog in SP 800-53 provides the most state-of-the-practice set of safeguards and countermeasures for information systems ever developed. The updated security controls - many addressing advanced cyber threats - were developed by a joint task force that included NIST, DOD, the IC and the CNSS with specific information from databases of known cyber attacks and threat information. Additional updates to key NIST publications that will serve the entire federal government are under way. These will include the newly revised SP 800-37, which will transform the current certification and accreditation process into a near real-time risk management process that focuses on monitoring the security state of federal information systems, and SP 800-39, which is an enterprise-wide risk management guideline that will expand the risk management process. NIST Special Publication 800-53, Revision 3, is open for public comment through July 1, 2009. The document is available online at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsDrafts.html#800-53_Rev3. Evelyn Brown National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)


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