Direct recruitment and activation of caspase-9 by Apaf-1 through the homophilic CARD/CARD (Caspase Recruitment Domain) interaction is critical for the activation of caspases downstream of mitochondrial damage in apoptosis. Here we report the solution structure of the Apaf-1 CARD domain and its surface of interaction with caspase-9 CARD. Apaf-1 CARD consists of six tightly packed amphipathic alp...

Existing magnetic cards adopt plain text to store confidential information, thus being vulnerable to an untrusted credit card reader or a skimming device. To tackle the problem, researchers have proposed many solutions such as integrated circuit card (IC card) and mobile wallets applications [6, 9, 12, 20, 21]; however, none of them can support existing magnetic card readers thereby facing sign...

Globally, species extinctions are driven by multiple interacting factors including altered fire regimes and introduced predators. In flammable ecosystems, there is great potential to use for animal conservation, however most fire-based conservation strategies do not explicitly consider factors. this study, we sought understand the interrelationships between endangered heath mouse Pseudomys shor...

In this thesis we propose a design for a ubiquitous and interoperable device based on the smart card architecture to meet the challenges of privacy, trust, and security for traditional and emerging technologies like personal computers, smart phones and tablets. Such a device is referred a User Centric Tamper-Resistant Device (UCTD). To support the smart card architecture for the UCTD initiative...

Smart card Web server provides a modern interface between smart cards and the external world. It is of paramount importance that this new software component does not jeopardize the security of the smart card. This paper presents a formal model of the smart card Web server specification and the proof of its security properties. The formalization enables a thoughtful analysis of the specification...