Vulnerable systems: described

Sandia National Laboratories Common Vulnerabilities in Critical Infrastructure Control Systems described some of the common problems it has identified in the following five categories (Stamp et al. 2003) ... 

The analysis of accidents and disasters in real systems makes it clear that it is not sufficient to consider error and its effects purely from the perspective of individual human failures. Major accidents are almost always the result of multiple errors or combinations of single errors with preexisting vulnerable conditions (Wagenaar et al., 1990). Another perspective from which to define errors is in terms of when in the system life cycle they occur. In the following discussion of the definitions of human error, the initial focus will be from the engineering and the accident analysis perspective. More detailed consideration of the definitions of error will be deferred to later sections in this chapter where the various error models will be described in detail (see Sections 5 and 6). 

System approach interface engineering (SAIE) by means of low-pressure plasma in corrosion protection of metals was first applied on cold-rolled steel (CRS) [1-3]. Unlike aluminum alloys described in the previous chapters, oxides on the surface of steel and iron are less stable than those on aluminum alloys, i.e., iron oxides formed on the surface do not have corrosion protecting capability of iron underneath and hence are more vulnerable for corrosion. On the other hand, the oxides on the surface of steel can be removed by plasma treatment, particularly of (Ar- -H2) plasma. Hence, SAIE could be performed in totally dry processes. The improvement of corrosion protection by means of environmentally benign process was the motivation for the approach. 

If acupuncture, which entails tissue trauma, is performed properly and on the correct acupuncture points, trauma will affect only the skin and the connective tissue below. If, however, acupuncture needles are inserted at the wrong site or penetrate too deeply, other tissues or organs can be affected. Traumatic complications of acupuncture have been reviewed (108). They have been described in relation to the thoracic and abdominal viscera, in the peripheral and central nervous systems, and in blood vessels. Several deaths have been reported from pneumothorax and cardiac tamponade. The anatomical tissues at several acupuncture points are such that needles can injure vulnerable structures. Thus, good knowledge of anatomy is an essential precondition for acupuncturists. 

As described previously, the immune system is a complex, widely distributed and tightly regulated series of overlapping effector functions designed to allow the discrimination between self and nonself. As such, the immune system is characterized by a number of features that make it vulnerable to being targeted by exposure to xenobiotics. Several of these features are briefly highlighted below. 

A second example of modulation of immune responses with bioregulators concerns super-antigens. The immune system is particularly vulnerable to attack by certain super-antigens. Normally, less than 0.01 per cent of B or T lymphocytes respond to a particular antigen. In contrast, a number of super-antigens has been described that can react with a significant proportion of T lymphocytes (between 5-25 per cent).48... 

This paper focuses on the tension between the need to push our civil infrastructure systems to higher levels of efficiency and competitiveness and the need to ensure minimum levels of service, reliability, and security, even under critical conditions. To set the scene, some recent history is given, and infrastructure systems are described in terms of their performance, interdependencies, and vulnerabilities. This is followed by a description of some emerging frameworks that promise to capture these systems of systems and their interdependencies. A case study is presented highlighting the benefits of exploiting interdependencies, and research challenges are identified. 

Following the line advocated by authors like Prescott-Allen (2001), OECD (2003) and Eakin (2006) in the assessment of vulnerability, the hiunan-environment interactions are taken into accoimt. We think that it may not he methodologically correct to mix in the same dimension individual and structural characteristics which influence the levels of social vulnerability. Thus, the social vulnerabdity evaluation is based on a two step analysis, described as criticahty and support capability of the territorial system. 

From the dependability it follows that the critical infrastructure, the system of which play the key role in a society becanse it affects the decision making cycle of public administration and political and social solidarity and support in removing of physical and psychic harms, is very complex, and thus vulnerable. Therefore, in assessment they would be described and characterised three basic properties of critical infrastructure, namely ... 

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