BENGALURU, India and LONDON, June 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — SKAN Research Trust, promoted by Indian entrepreneur Mr. Ashok Soota, and UK-based Quadram Institute Bioscience today announced that they will apply the cutting-edge TraDIS-Xpress platform to study the action of traditional medical compounds on bacteria, thereby aiding in the reformulation and development of novel antibacterial regimens.

TraDIS-Xpress is Quadram’s proprietary genetic sequencing platform that is in the forefront of efforts to uncover new antimicrobial agents and develop better prebiotics and probiotics for health promotion. 
The joint study titled the Application of TraDIS-Xpress in Microbiology for Healthy Living will be led by Quadram Principal Investigator, Prof. Mark Webber and SKAN’s Deputy Director, Dr Yogesh Shouche. The project is part of a larger Comprehensive Partnership Agreement between the two organizations that have ongoing international collaborations focused on gut health and developing gut microbial therapies to alleviate ageing and neurological diseases like Parkinsons.
An important aspect of the international collaboration is sharing the latest technologies in the study of the gut microbiome to augment Indian research capabilities. As part of this study, SKAN researchers will be trained on the TraDIS Xpress platform at the Quadram Institute in Norwich Research Park. This will facilitate the generation of data from large Indian cohorts that will aid in the development of India-specific therapies. Such data generation is also expected to hasten the TraDIS-Xpress platform’s development and amplify its applications’ scope.
Prof. Ian Charles, Director of Quadram Institute Bioscience, said, “I’m excited to see the cutting-edge genomic technology and expertise we have here in Quadram supporting our valued partners at the SKAN Research Trust to benefit the health of the people of India, and also further our fundamental understanding of the links between microbes and human wellbeing.”
Mr. Ashok Soota, Chairman & Managing Trustee of SKAN, said, “The research on novel microbial therapies raises our collaboration with QIB to a whole new level. We are grateful to Ian Charles for including SKAN as a partner in this transformational initiative.”
Prof. Mark Webber, Group Leader, Quadram Institute Bioscience, said, “This project highlights the potential of the TraDIS Xpress platform for identifying and understanding the genetic basis behind bacteria’s enormous capacity to adapt for survival. I’m looking forward to helping our colleagues in India deploy it to support their research.”    
Dr. Yogesh Shouche, Deputy Director, SKAN, said, “The three-year project will also study the mechanisms of drug resistance for key pathogens relevant to India and the action of selected food additives used in India on the growth of selected gut microbes.”
About SKAN Research Trust
SKAN is a Bengaluru-based not-for-profit medical research trust that leverages transformational technologies to develop new therapies for ageing and neurological ailments, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes remission and lifestyle related disorders. SKAN applies its expertise in gut microbiome, genomics, stem cells, molecular biology, biomarkers, immunotherapies, nutrition, and alternate therapies to uncover kinder and gentler treatment protocols for ailments. Bioinformatics at SKAN vigorously pursues cutting edge, artificial intelligence, machine learning and other advanced technologies to predict, pre-empt, diagnose, treat, and facilitate remission of medical disorders. The Mission statement of SKAN is “Transform the future of medicine.  Impacting millions of lives”.
Media contact: [email protected]: [email protected]
About Quadram Institute Bioscience
Quadram Institute Bioscience is a UK national science capability, and its mission is to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food and its vision is focused on understanding how food and microbes interact to promote health and prevent disease. Interconnected research themes at the Quadram Institute on the Norwich Research Park, UK, deliver a pipeline of research in plants, microbiology, food, and health: microbes and food safety; the gut microbiome; and food innovation.
About TraDIS-Xpress
TraDIS-Xpress (transposon-directed insertion-site sequencing) is a high-resolution whole-genome assay that identifies which genes are likely to affect bacterial fitness in any given condition. This uses extremely dense, highly saturated mutant libraries to identify fitness differences at base pair resolution.
TraDIS-Xpress improves upon conventional transposon mutagenesis approaches through the use of outward-facing promoters. This allows the investigation of how gene expression, as well as gene deletion, affects bacterial fitness under a given growth condition. Additionally, it allows the investigation of essential genes that cannot be inactivated and therefore cannot be assayed by other approaches.
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New language addition will support inclusive and legally compliant business operations 
LONDON, June 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — From the CIPD Festival of Work tradeshow, IRIS Software Group (IRIS), a global provider of accountancy, edtech, HR and payroll solutions announced the release of a Welsh language version of its widely-used cloud-based software, Staffology HR – adding to its existing language options: British and American English, Italian, Spanish, French and German.

Stephanie Coward, Manging Director of Human Capital Management (HCM) at IRIS said: “With the launch of this new Welsh language feature, Staffology HR continues to support businesses in creating global, inclusive and efficient work environments. IRIS is dedicated to meeting the ever-changing needs of its clients, allowing them to rest easy with ongoing compliance updates to focus on higher-priority tasks: managing and growing their businesses.”
With today’s update, businesses using Staffology HR can easily toggle between seven supported languages. Created in partnership with LinguaSkin, the Welsh language option is now available to more than 1,400 businesses of all sizes.
As hundreds of thousands of UK organisations plan to expand internationally with 87% planning further global growth over the next year – today’s functionality will support compliance with regional legislation and broaden global inclusivity and accessibility, helping HR professionals adhere to the Welsh Language Standards and ensure compliance with the Welsh Language Act. Moreover, it will enable Welsh employees to access the platform in their native or preferred language, anytime and anywhere.
Helen Pugsley, The Welsh Language Commissioner’s Senior HR Officer, said: “Staffology HR is a fantastic system, and we are delighted that IRIS has provided us with software in the Welsh language. We collaborated closely with the team and feel that our feedback has been genuinely valued. Our staff have responded positively to the software, and we would highly recommend it.”
Expanding Partner Ecosystem
IRIS continues to expand its innovative solutions through strategic partnerships, enhancing its comprehensive suite of offerings and progressing in its mission to prioritise interoperability:
Since January 2024, IRIS’ partnership with Circular Benefits provides a comprehensive health and wellbeing package to software users, including health, hospitality and retail discounts, educational resources, reward and recognition options and discounted access to fitness programmes and specialist health consultants.In November 2023, IRIS teamed up with DocuSign to offer a complete electronic signature solution, streamlining HR processes and automating document workflows from onboarding paperwork to confidential employee agreements.IRIS partnered with Eloomi in July 2023, to deliver essential learning and development functionality through its Learning Management System.Further, IRIS’ partnership with Rotageek in October 2022, brings smart workforce management solutions aimed at improving productivity, profitability and employee satisfaction through advanced scheduling tools, such as its AI-driven forecasting engine and Autoscheduler button.These recent collaborations are the latest in IRIS’ ongoing commitment to software interoperability: helping HR teams connect disparate HR software and applications from a singular, all-in-one solution. With connected data exchange and management, IRIS helps HR teams support every stage of the employee lifecycle – from hire to retire.
Today’s Welsh language Staffology option will be available for demonstration at IRIS’ stand (D31) at the CIPD Festival of Work. 
About IRIS Software Group  
IRIS Software Group is a global provider of mission critical software and one of the UK’s largest privately held software companies. IRIS provides software solutions and services for finance, HR and payroll teams, educational organisations, and accountancy firms that takes the pain out of processes and lets professionals focus on the work they love. Through simplifying, automating and providing insights on everyday mission critical tasks for organisations of all shapes and sizes, IRIS ensures customers can look forward with certainty and confidence.
IRIS is the largest third-party online filer with the UK Government. Ninety-three of the top 100 UK accountancy firms use IRIS software. One in six of the UK’s workforce is paid by IRIS payroll offerings, and globally, six million employees receive their payslip via IRIS software every month. More than 850,000 UK employees are managed by IRIS HR solutions. Over 12,000 UK schools and academies use IRIS, with four million parents and guardians using IRIS apps to connect with their children’s school; 300 million messages are delivered between schools and parents each year, and over £15 million transactional payments are processed every month. IRIS is certified as a Great Place to Work® and recognised as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality in 2023. IRIS is also recognised as one of the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing, one of the Best Workplaces in Tech and one of the Best Workplaces for Women. 
To see how IRIS helps organisations get things right first time, every time, visit www.iris.co.uk or follow IRIS Software Group on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
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Free Suricata-based threat detection and hunting platform builds on open-source legacy with powerful new capabilities
INDIANAPOLIS and PARIS, June 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Stamus Networks, a global provider of high-performance network-based threat detection and response systems, today announced the general availability of SELKS™ 10, the latest version of its turnkey Suricata-based network intrusion detection/protection (IDS/IPS), network security monitoring (NSM) and threat hunting system. The new edition, which commemorates SELKS’ 10th anniversary, builds on its open-source legacy with powerful new features that enable organizations to enhance network detection and security monitoring.

Created in 2014 and available for free, SELKS is a suitable production-grade IDS/IPS and NSM solution for small-to-medium sized organizations. Because all the data available in SELKS is generated by the Suricata engine, it is widely used by network security practitioners, researchers, educators, students and hobbyists to explore what is possible with Suricata IDS/IPS/NSM and the network protocol monitoring logs and alerts it produces.
“We originally created SELKS 10 years ago as a tool to showcase the power of Suricata, and it evolved into a complete and truly useful system for smaller organizations that don’t have the extensive budget and resources that enterprises do,” said Peter Manev, co-founder and chief strategy officer, Stamus Networks. “Believing every organization should have the opportunity to secure their business from cyber threats, we chose to invest in SELKS to help those that can’t afford a commercial solution. SELKS 10 is the latest demonstration of our continued commitment to empowering defenders with the resources they need to elevate their network monitoring and threat hunting capabilities.”
Key enhancements in SELKS 10 include:
User interface harmonized with the Stamus Security Platform (SSP) – The SELKS user interface has been updated to incorporate the latest capabilities of SSP, the company’s commercial solution. The simplified user experience delivers consolidated threat detection and hunting and evidence views, which provides rapid insights from millions of network security events.Conditional packet capture – SELKS 10 can now capture packets (PCAP) associated with alerts. Users have access to critical network forensic data that may be used for investigation, training or threat intelligence sharing without dedicating substantial storage resources required for full-time packet capture.Arkime version 5.0 features – SELKS 10 adds the latest capabilities of Arkime bulk search, improved session detail display, unified configurations, unified authentication, JA4 support, additional multi-viewer support and offline PCAP retrieval improvements.PostgreSQL database – SELKS 10 is now using a PostgreSQL database instead of SQLite to fix known issues, augment capabilities, improve scalability and prepare for future evolution.SELKS is maintained by Stamus Labs, the company’s open-source software and threat research team. In addition to its extensive contributions to Suricata itself, the Stamus Labs team has a rich history of open-source involvement, including introducing a set of free newly registered domain threat intelligence feeds optimized for Suricata as well as the Suricata Language Server to help streamline the rule writing process. Additionally, the team has provided a free Suricata ruleset specifically focused on detecting lateral movement in Microsoft Windows environments and published a “Security Analyst’s Guide to Suricata.”
Additional Resources
To learn more about SELKS 10 features, read this blog article.To learn more about the 10 year history of SELKS, read last week’s blog.To download SELKS, visit: https://www.stamus-networks.com/selks.About Stamus Networks:Stamus Networks believes in a world where defenders are heroes, and a future where those they protect remain safe. As organizations face threats from well-funded adversaries, we relentlessly pursue solutions that make the defender’s job easier and more impactful. The global leader in Suricata-based network security solutions, Stamus Networks helps enterprise security teams know more, respond sooner and mitigate their risk with insights gathered from cloud and on-premise network activity. Our Stamus Security Platform combines the best of intrusion detection (IDS), network security monitoring (NSM), and network detection and response (NDR) systems into a single solution that exposes serious and imminent threats to critical assets and empowers rapid response. For more information visit: stamus-networks.com.
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