Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fighting banking botnets by exploiting inherent command and control vulnerabilities

Malware poses a significant threat to commerce and banking systems. Specifically, the Zeus banking botnet is reported to have caused more than 100 million dollars in damages. This type of malware has been around for over ten years, and in 2013 alone was responsible for compromising over one-million computers. The impact of banking botnets (i.e., typically Zeus or its derivatives) can be lessened by exploiting the inherent vulnerabilities of their command and control (C&C). Our approach involves: (1) fuzz testing the C&C to identify vulnerabilities and (2) designing exploits that can be used to make bot-herders less effective in their criminal endeavors. The novelty of our approach is its focus on interrogating the C&C and not the compromised clients; however we do not discourage traditional malware removal and clean-up processes. As a complement to traditional processes, we offer our approach to organizations with the proper authority for an active defense (i.e., offensive measures). We demonstrate the feasibility of this approach by using the leaked Zeus 2.0. 8.9 toolkit that included the C&C web application. The following security flaws exist in the Zeus 2.0. 8.9 C&C web application: (1) no authentication between the zbot (i.e., client-side malware) and the C&C, (2) a lack of proper access control in the web application folders, and (3) simple clear text authentication between C&C and the remote bot-herder. Our results suggest that because of these security flaws, a range of offensive measures are viable against the Zeus C&C, including Buffer-Overflow, Denial-of-Service, and Dictionary or Brute Force Attacks.
Successful administration of a low dose of calcium nadroparin in patients suffering from pulmonary embolism and brain metastases: a report of two cases

Objective. To focus on the optimal management of thromboembolic complication in patients who have undergone chemotherapy with concomitant brain metastases and referred to a Division of Clinical Oncology. Background. Thromboembolic diseases are common events in cancer patients due to clotting activation by tumor cells. On the other hand, brain metastases are common complication of systemic cancers. Postmortem studies show that a quarter of patients dying from cancer have intracranial metastases. Brain metastases and pulmonary embolism are life-threatening conditions because of the risk of fatal endocranic hypertension and severe dyspnea. Calcium nadroparin is a low molecular weight heparin usually administered in patient with venous thromboembolism at a dose level of 180 IU/kg/daily. Case summaries. The authors report the cases of two patients with intracranial metastases and pulmonary embolism-related dyspnea successfully treated with low dose of calcium nadroparin. A patient suffering from metastatic breast cancer and another one with metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer were recently referred to our department because of severe dyspnea occurring during chemotherapy treatment. Both patients had cerebellar intracranial metastases. Massive pulmonary embolisms were shown by means of the computerized tomography. Despite the administration of a lower heparin dose than the usual one, around three-quarters of the calcium nadroparin daily conventional dose, quickly regressed dyspnea. Significant pulmonary embolism regression was revealed with computerized tomography scan within 8 weeks from the beginning of the thromboembolic complications. None of the patients showed any heparin treatment-related complications. Conclusion. The authors conclude that, with regard to cancer patients carrying brain metastases who require anti-coagulant therapy, increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage should be kept in mind. An initial low molecular weight heparin dose reduction could be effective, and safely administered, also in case of pulmonary embolism with severe dyspnea.
Supporting user mobility through cache relocation

Traffic and access delay can be reduced in a mobile network by caching data objects at network nodes near the clients. Traditional caching techniques, however, are unsuitable in this environment because they do not account for the changing location of the users. To deal with this problem, cache relocation techniques can be applied to dynamically relocate data objects so they remain close to the moving clients. Existing relocation techniques rely heavily on path prediction. Unfortunately, the inaccuracy of path prediction can lead to high relocation overhead and poor response time. This paper presents an analytical study of the effects of client mobility on network cache performance. Two new cache relocation techniques are proposed to deal with the issue of poor path prediction and reduce the overhead of existing cache relocation schemes. The first technique, 2PR, compensates for poor path prediction by temporarily moving data objects to a common parent node prior to a handover. Objects are moved to the correct destination once the client's new location has been confirmed. The second technique, ROLP, reduces the traffic overhead associated with cache relocation by ensuring duplicate objects are not relocated and relocation of objects are performed only from the nearest node to the destination. Test results show that 2PR reduces the query delay experienced by mobile clients by 60 to 83% after handovers, while ROLP reduces the overhead of cache relocation by between 33 to 65% compared to existing schemes.
Highly efficient stereocontrolled total synthesis of the polyfunctional carotenoid peridinin.

General Procedure All commercially available reagents were used without further purification. All solvents were used after distillation. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) and diethyl ether were refluxed over and distilled from sodium-benzophenone ketyl. Dichloromethane was refluxed over and distilled from P2O5. Dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were distilled from CaH2 under reduced pressure. Methanol was refluxed over and distilled from Mg(OMe)2. Triethylamine and diisopropylamine were refluxed over and distilled from KOH. Preparative separation was performed by column chromatography on silica gel (FUJI Silysia Ltd., BW-200) or alumina (Sigma-Aldrich Co. Ltd., activated, neutral, Brockmann I, standard grade, ~150 mesh, 58Å). Analytical and preparative HPLC was carried out on a JASCO PU-1580 and UV1570 instrument with UV-VIS detector. IR spectra were recorded on a JASCO FT/IR-8000 MCT5E spectrometer. H NMR and C NMR spectra were recorded on a JEOL α-400 spectrometer and chemical shifts were represented as δ-values relative to the internal standard TMS. Melting point s were uncorrected.
Femorotibial Cartilage Morphology: Reproducibility of Different Metrics and Femoral Regions, and Sensitivity to Change in Disease

This study was designed to characterize the reproducibility and sensitivity to change of magnetic resonance imaging-based cartilage morphology metrics and femoral regions of interest (ROIs), in order to provide preferable outcome measures in longitudinal studies of cartilage morphology. Test-retest acquisitions were obtained at 3 tesla (T) in 33 subjects with and without radiographic signs of osteoarthritis (OA) (reproducibility study) as well as baseline and 2-year follow-up acquisitions in 28 subjects with radiographic signs of advanced OA (sensitivity study). Cartilage was segmented in the tibia and two distinct anatomical femoral ROIs, a ‘long’ ROI extending 60% from the trochlear notch to the posterior end of the condyles, and a ‘short’ ROI extending to the intercondylar bone bridge. Coefficients of variation (reproducibility study) and standardized response means (SRMs, sensitivity study) were obtained for different morphology metrics and anatomical regions. The subchondral bone area of the long ROI was 20% greater and less variable than that of the short ROI; cartilage morphology metrics were generally more reproducible in the long ROI. Normalized cartilage volume (VCtAB) and mean cartilage thickness (over the entire subchondral bone area; ThCtAB.Me) tended to be more reproducible and more sensitive to change (SRM up to –0.62) than cartilage volume (SRM up to –0.44), cartilage thickness over the cartilaginous area (ThCcAB; SRM up to –0.48) or maximum cartilage thickness (ThCtAB; SRM up to –0.35). The long femoral cartilage ROI provided more reproducible measurements than the short one. VCtAB and ThCtAB.Me may be preferable metrics in longitudinal studies of articular cartilage adaptation or OA.
How much CSIT feedback is necessary for the multiuser MISO broadcast channels

This work considers the multiuser multiple-input single-output (MISO) broadcast channel (BC), where a transmitter with M antennas transmits information to K single-antenna users, and where as expected the quality and timeliness of channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) is imperfect. Motivated by the fundamental question of how much feedback is necessary to achieve a certain performance, this work seeks to establish bounds on the tradeoff between degrees-of-freedom (DoF) performance and CSIT feedback quality. Specifically, this work provides a novel DoF region outer bound for the general K-user M × 1 MISO BC with partial current CSIT, which naturally bridges the gap between the case of having no current CSIT (only delayed CSIT, or no CSIT) and the case with full CSIT. The work then characterizes the minimum CSIT feedback that is necessary for any point of the sum DoF, which is optimal for the case with M ≥ K, and the case with M = 2, K = 3.
Stereotype Fit and Golf 1 Running head : REGULATORY FIT FROM STEREOTYPES IN GOLF Stereotype fit effects for golf putting non-experts

Research has connected stereotype threat and regulatory fit by showing improved performance for individuals with negative stereotypes when they focused on minimizing potential losses. In the current study, non-Black participants, who were non-experts at golf putting, were told that a golf-putting task was diagnostic of natural athletic ability (i.e., negative stereotype) or sports intelligence (i.e., positive stereotype). Participants tried to maximize earned points or minimize lost points assigned after every putt, which was calculated based on the distance to a target. We demonstrate better performance for participants experiencing a fit between their global task stereotype and the task goal, and argue that regulatory fit allows for increased attention on the strategies beneficial for task performance. Interestingly, we find that performance of individuals high in working memory capacity suffers greatly when those individuals experience a regulatory mismatch. Word Count: 136
Theoretical Simulations and Quantitative Magnetic Field Measurements for Eddy-Current Testing with an HTS SQUID System

The use of a Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometer for quantitative measurements in eddy-current nondestructive evaluation is presented. The SQUID is used in absolute mode, and the magnetic field measurements are directly compared to theoretical results from both analytical and semi-analytical models. The measurements are taken in an ambient noise environment, and the excitation has the form of a double-rectangle printed-circuit-board coil. The configurations examined involve the coil in air and above aluminum plates with or without defects in the form of notches. Agreement between experimental and theoretical results is very good in all cases, showing that SQUID magnetometers can be used for quantitative magnetic field measurements and that modeling can be readily applied for parametric analysis and optimizations of the measurement configuration including excitation coils' design and frequency selection.
Perceived vocal attractiveness across dialects is similar but not uniform

This study reports on three populations’ ratings of vocal attractiveness for 30 male and 30 female voices producing isolated words. Equal numbers of male and female listeners were recruited from three dialect areas: northern California, western Canada, and Minnesota. Attractiveness ratings across dialects were highly correlated, particularly for female voices. To determine the acoustic features which influenced listener ratings, detailed acoustic analyses of vowel quality and voice quality were conducted. These measures were entered into separate principal component analyses to reduce the dimensionality. Principal components and additional measures of duration and f0 were entered into models to assess which acoustic features predict attractiveness ratings across dialects. The results indicate that despite the highly correlated ratings across dialects, listener populations differed slightly in the phonetic features used to make attractiveness judgments. Listeners from the more similar dialect groups (California and western Canada) used similar acoustic features in their judgments, supporting the hypothesis that vocal attractiveness involves community-specific preferences. These results support a theory of vocal attractiveness which considers community-specific norms in assessing vocal preferences.
Do you remember your sad face? The roles of negative cognitive style and sad mood

We studied the effects of negative cognitive style, sad mood, and facial affect on the self-face advantage in a sample of 66 healthy individuals (mean age 26.5 years, range 19–47 years). The sample was subdivided into four groups according to inferential style and responsivity to sad mood induction. Following a sad mood induction, we examined the effect on working memory of an incidental association between facial affect, facial identity, and head-pose orientation. Overall, head-pose recognition was more accurate for the self-face than for nonself face (self-face advantage, SFA). However, participants high in negative cognitive style who experienced higher levels of sadness displayed a stronger SFA for sad expressions than happy expressions. The remaining participants displayed an opposite bias (a stronger SFA for happy expressions than sad expressions), or no bias. These findings highlight the importance of trait-vulnerability status in the working memory biases related to emotional facial expressions.
Detailed Kinetic Analysis and Identification of the Nucleophile in α-l-Arabinofuranosidase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus T-6, a Family 51 Glycoside Hydrolase*

α-l-Arabinofuranosidases cleave the l-arabinofuranoside side chains of different hemicelluloses and are key enzymes in the complete degradation of the plant cell wall. The α-l-arabinofuranosidase fromGeobacillus stearothermophilus T-6, a family 51 glycoside hydrolase, was subjected to a detailed mechanistic study. Aryl-α-l-arabinofuranosides with various leaving groups were synthesized and used to verify the catalytic mechanism and catalytic residues of the enzyme. The steady-state constants and the resulting Brønsted plots for the E175A mutant are consistent with the role of Glu-175 as the acid-base catalytic residue. The proposed nucleophile residue, Glu-294, was replaced to Ala by a double-base pairs substitution. The resulting E294A mutant, with 4-nitrophenyl α-l-arabinofuranoside as the substrate, exhibited eight orders of magnitude lower activity and a 10-fold higherK m value compared with the wild type enzyme. Sodium azide accelerated by more than 40-fold the rate of the hydrolysis of 2′,4′,6′-trichlorophenyl α-l-arabinofuranoside by the E294A mutant. The glycosyl-azide product formed during this reaction was isolated and characterized as β-l-arabinofuranosyl-azide by 1H NMR,13C NMR, mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared analysis. The anomeric configuration of this product supports the assignment of Glu-294 as the catalytic nucleophile residue of the α-l-arabinofuranosidase T-6 and allows for the first time the unequivocal identification of this residue in glycoside hydrolases family 51.
Dental development of permanent lateral incisor in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this retrospective study was to verify whether the root development of the permanent lateral incisor on the cleft side was delayed, compared with its contralateral tooth in subjects with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate. SETTING Craniofacial Anomalies Rehabilitation Hospital (HRAC)-University of São Paulo-Bauru, Brazil. PATIENTS A sample of 98 panoramic radiographs of HRAC patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate was selected, regardless of sex and race. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Panoramic radiographs were analyzed and the root development stage of the cleft-side permanent lateral incisor was compared with its contralateral tooth. RESULTS Overall, the permanent cleft-side lateral incisor was significantly delayed in root development in relation to the non-left side contralateral tooth (p <.05). However, no significant differences were observed between boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS Root development of the permanent cleft-side lateral incisor was delayed, compared with its contralateral tooth. The cleft itself may play an important role in this delay because the results from boys and girls were very similar.
Detailed analysis of orientation preference map in visual cortex

Mammalian primary visual cortex (V1) contains a functional map of orientation preference. Within the orientation preference map, neurons aggregate in two different local patterns. Neurons with similar orientation preferences gather within orientation domains, whereas neurons with all different orientation preferences converge at the center of pinwheel-like arrangements of orientation domains. The differences in local organization of domains and pinwheels have been the subject of considerable controversy. Here, we focus on the differences in global organizations of domains and pinwheels. We analyzed the spatial distribution of orientation preferences in wide regions around domains and pinwheels in monkey V1. A particular distribution pattern of orientation preferences was found more clearly in the regions around domains than in the regions around pinwheels. This suggests that neuronal responses to large stimuli outside of a neuron's receptive field can vary between domains and pinwheels.
Nonautonomous Solitons: Applications from Nonlinear Optics to BEC and Hydrodynamics

Nonlinear science is believed by many outstanding scientists to be the most deeply important frontier for understanding Nature (Christiansen et al., 2000; Krumhansl, 1991). The interpenetration of main ideas and methods being used in different fields of science and technology has become today one of the decisive factors in the progress of science as a whole. Among the most spectacular examples of such an interchange of ideas and theoretical methods for analysis of various physical phenomena is the problem of solitary wave formation in nonautonomous and inhomogeneous dispersive and nonlinear systems. These models are used in a variety of fields of modern nonlinear science from hydrodynamics and plasma physics to nonlinear optics and matter waves in Bose-Einstein condensates. The purpose of this Chapter is to show the progress that is being made in the field of the exactly integrable nonautonomous and inhomogeneous nonlinear evolution equations possessing the exact soliton solutions. These kinds of solitons in nonlinear nonautonomous systems are well known today as nonautonomous solitons. Most of the problems considered in the present Chapter are motivated by their practical significance, especially the hydrodynamics applications and studies of possible scenarios of generations and controlling of monster (rogue) waves by the action of different nonautonomous and inhomogeneous external conditions. Zabusky and Kruskal (Zabusky & Kruskal, 1965) introduced for the first time the soliton concept to characterize nonlinear solitary waves that do not disperse and preserve their identity during propagation and after a collision. The Greek ending "on" is generally used to describe elementary particles and this word was introduced to emphasize the most remarkable feature of these solitary waves. This means that the energy can propagate in the localized form and that the solitary waves emerge from the interaction completely preserved in form and speed with only a phase shift. Because of these defining features, the classical soliton is being considered as the ideal natural data bit. It should be emphasized that today, the optical soliton in fibers presents a beautiful example in which an abstract mathematical concept has produced a large impact on the real world of high technologies (Agrawal, 2001; Akhmediev, 1997; 2008; Dianov et al., 1989; Hasegawa, 1995; 2003; Taylor, 1992). Solitons arise in any physical system possessing both nonlinearity and dispersion, diffraction or diffusion (in time or/and space). The classical soliton concept was developed for nonlinear and dispersive systems that have been autonomous; namely, time has only played the role of 3
Formalizing a Model to Represent and Visualize Concept Spaces in E-Learning Environments

Zz-structures offer graph-centric views capable of representing contextual interconnections among different information. In this paper we use these structures in order to represent and visualize concept spaces in elearning environments, and we present their formal analytic description in terms of graph theory. In particular, we focus our attention on the formal description of two views (H and I views), and we extend these notions to a numbern > 2 of dimensions. We also apply both this formal description, and the particular properties of zz-structures, to an example in the Web-based education field.
Differential privacy for dynamical sensitive data

We introduce the problem of protecting the privacy of time-varying sensitive data using differential privacy. Contrary to prior work that considers fixed private data, we wish to design a privacy-preserving mechanism that, at each time and given the observations so far, keeps the current state of a dynamical system private. Our work protects dynamical systems from being tracked by an adversary by providing differentially private guarantees. Specifically, we propose a mechanism which adds artificial noise to (i) the input of the system and (ii) the measurements which are then published. In particular, two scenarios are considered: for a scalar dynamical system under ε-differential privacy, we derive a mechanism that, at each time, publishes the most accurate approximation of the current state while preserving privacy. Next, for a general linear system under (e, δ)-differential privacy, we propose a Gaussian-based privacy-preserving mechanism with a quadratic cost.
Low-power time-to-digital and digital-to-time converters for novel implementations of telecommunication building blocks

CMOS time-to-digital and digital-to-time converters (TDCs and DTCs) with sub-ns accuracy are used in receiving and generating angle modulated signals, resulting in fully integrated, low power digital implementations. The TDC used in a digital FM demodulator circuit and the DTC used in a high-precision interpolating frequency synthesizer are presented with measured results. <<ETX>>
Characterizing and Modeling the Structure of Competition Networks

Not similar with the current interest on collaboration networks research, the focus in this paper is competition networks. The topology of a firm competition network has been investigated empirically and theoretically. We have found that four fundamental characteristics emerge simultaneously in the competition network, including hierarchical modularity, positive degree correlation, power-law degree distribution and self-similarity. The theoretical model we proposed can predict these structural patterns successfully. The obtained results are significant for further network analysis of the omnipresent competitive phenomena.