Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Your Sandbox is Blinded: Impact of Decoy Injection to Public Malware Analysis Systems

The use of public Malware Sandbox Analysis Systems (public MSASs) which receive online submissions of possibly malicious files or URLs from an arbitrary user, analyze their behavior by executing or visiting them by a testing environment (i.e., a sandbox), and send analysis reports back to the user, has increased in popularity. Consequently, anti-analysis techniques have also evolved from known technologies like anti-virtualization and anti-debugging to the detection of specific sandboxes by checking their unique characteristics such as a product ID of their OS and a usage of certain Dynamic Link Library (DLL) used in a particular sandbox. In this paper, we point out yet another important characteristic of the sandboxes, namely, their IP addresses. In public MSASs, the sandbox is often connected to the Internetin order to properly observe malware behavior as modern malware communicate with remote hosts in the Internet for various reasons, such as receiving command and control (C&C) messages and files for updates. We explain and demonstrate that the IP address of an Internet-connected sandbox can be easily disclosed by an attacker who submits a decoy sample dedicated to this purpose. The disclosed address can then be shared among attackers, blacklisted, and used against the analysis system, for example, to conceal potential malicious behavior of malware. We call the method Network-based Sandbox Detection by Decoy Injection (NSDI). We conducted case studies with 15 representative existing public MSASs, which were selected from 33 online malware analysis systems with careful screening processes, and confirmed that a hidden behavior of the malware samples was successfully concealed from all of the 15 analysis systems by NSDI. In addition, we found out the risk that a background analysis activity behind these systems can also be revealed by NSDI if the samples are shared among the systems without careful considerations. Moreover, about three months after our first case study it was reported that a real-world NSDI was conducted against several public MSASs.
Early and Late Complications in Patients with Allogeneic Transplantation of Hematopoietic Stem Cell – Case Report

BACKGROUND: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT) is a curative intervention in patients with haematological malignant and non-malignant diseases, immunodeficiency, autoimmune, and other genetic diseases. Early complications are complications that are occurring in the first 100 days, while complications arising after the 100th day of transplantation belong to late complications. CASE REPORT: Forty-nine years old patient with AML treated with allogeneic HSCT from HLA-identical (sister) donor. Ascertained and display of early (acute Graft versus host disease (GvHD) and late complications (chronic GVHD, infections, cataract, secondary malignancy with MS deposits) are made, that emerged after the patient transplantation. CONCLUSION: Rapidly growing population of patients that undergo allogeneic HSCT creates an obligation to educate patients and physicians about observed late complications that occur after this therapy.
Tissue damage thresholds during therapeutic electrical stimulation

Objective. Recent initiatives in bioelectronic modulation of the nervous system by the NIH (SPARC), DARPA (ElectRx, SUBNETS) and the GlaxoSmithKline Bioelectronic Medicines effort are ushering in a new era of therapeutic electrical stimulation. These novel therapies are prompting a re-evaluation of established electrical thresholds for stimulation-induced tissue damage. Approach. In this review, we explore what is known and unknown in published literature regarding tissue damage from electrical stimulation. Main results. For macroelectrodes, the potential for tissue damage is often assessed by comparing the intensity of stimulation, characterized by the charge density and charge per phase of a stimulus pulse, with a damage threshold identified through histological evidence from in vivo experiments as described by the Shannon equation. While the Shannon equation has proved useful in assessing the likely occurrence of tissue damage, the analysis is limited by the experimental parameters of the original studies. Tissue damage is influenced by factors not explicitly incorporated into the Shannon equation, including pulse frequency, duty cycle, current density, and electrode size. Microelectrodes in particular do not follow the charge per phase and charge density co-dependence reflected in the Shannon equation. The relevance of these factors to tissue damage is framed in the context of available reports from modeling and in vivo studies. Significance. It is apparent that emerging applications, especially with microelectrodes, will require clinical charge densities that exceed traditional damage thresholds. Experimental data show that stimulation at higher charge densities can be achieved without causing tissue damage, suggesting that safety parameters for microelectrodes might be distinct from those defined for macroelectrodes. However, these increased charge densities may need to be justified by bench, non-clinical or clinical testing to provide evidence of device safety.
De l'identite des verts. Essai sur la constitution d'un nouvel acteur politique

La these vise a etudier une formation en train de se faire, s'efforcer de definir ce nouvel acteur et de la qualifier au regard de la theorie generale des partis politiques. Deux hypotheses fournissent l'armature intellectuelle et methodologique de ce travail : la nature meme de l'identite des verts les empecherait tout d'abord d'etre pleinement et totalement un parti politique. La demonstration est articulee autour du concept d'identite, ce qui permet d'apprehender les verts de maniere resolument dynamique, a travers les foissonnements de l'orientation des conduites de la gestion des conflits et la production des symboliques politiques. La seconde hypothese concerne le cadre methodologique. Apres avoir souligne les limites d'un certain nombre d'approches classiques, l'auteur choisit de privilegier une perspective ethnologique, mieux a meme de saisir en sa totalite, la construction d'une formation qualifiee in fine de "virtuelle". C'est au double niveau national et local, que vont alors s'etudier les comportements et les representations qui organisent l'experience et le devenir de ce groupe. La these se divise en trois parties repondant chacune aux trois axes reperes pour definir une identite partisane : "etre", "croire" et "agir" : la premiere partie est consacree a une approche relationnelle et micro-sociale de l'incarnation partisane. Il s'agit d'apprecier le mouvement a travers ses moyens humains et materiels effectifs, ses logiques d'implantation entre niveaux regional et national. La region nord-pas-de-calais offre son laboratoire geo-politique a une pause monographique qui permet ainsi la validation de plusieurs hypotheses, confirmant la rapide integration superficielle des verts dans le paysage politique local. La seconde partie porte sur la pensee ecologiste, analysee non pas dans la genealogie de ses grands referents philosophiques, mais en fonction de sa capacite ou non a former un corpus ideologique coherent susceptible d'offrir aux verts leur propre synthese de croyance et de valeur. La congruence des discours est faible et le resultat un peu paradoxale consiste en une idee collective revendiquant les heritages multiples, valorisant les sous-groupes et la mise en prespective des differents apports intellectuels.
Statistical Optimization of Alkaline Protease Production from Penicillium citrinum YL-1 Under Solid-State Fermentation

Proteases from halotolerant and halophilic microorganisms were found in traditional Chinese fish sauce. In this study, 30 fungi were isolated from fermented fish sauce in five growth media based on their morphology. However, only one strain, YL-1, which was identified as Penicillium citrinum by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis, can produce alkaline protease. This study is the first to report that a protease-producing fungus strain was isolated and identified in traditional Chinese fish sauce. Furthermore, the culture conditions of alkaline protease production by P. citrinum YL-1 in solid-state fermentation were optimized by response surface methodology. First, three variables including peptone, initial pH, and moisture content were selected by Plackett–Burman design as the significant variables for alkaline protease production. The Box–Behnken design was then adopted to further investigate the interaction effects between the three variables on alkaline protease production and determine the optimal values of the variables. The maximal production (94.30 U/mL) of alkaline protease by P. citrinum YL-1 took place under the optimal conditions of peptone, initial pH, and moisture content (v/w) of 35.5 g/L, 7.73, and 136%, respectively.
The effect of surface chemistry and nanotopography of titanium nitride (TiN) films on 3T3-L1 fibroblasts.

The cell-material interaction of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts with TiN films was studied in vitro. TiN films were deposited onto glass substrates to thicknesses of 0.2 and 1.0 microm by pulsed dc reactive magnetron sputtering. For comparison TiN films were deposited by closed field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating by Teer Coatings Ltd. (Hartlebury, UK) to result in TiN films with similar surface chemistries but having increased topographical features. TiN films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The cell-material interaction was examined morphologically by monitoring fibroblast attachment and growth and comparing to a control substrate. At early time points increased numbers of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts were found to preferentially attach to TiN films with an increase in the percentage of surface interstitial nitrogen and also with decreased topographical features. At later time points the presence of nanotopography appeared to play a greater role than the effects of surface chemistry and resulted in increased numbers of attached 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. The results show that by changing the deposition route and parameters to produce TiN films, the resultant films can be used to investigate the cellular response to surfaces of differing chemistry and topography.
Software Development Analytics (Dagstuhl Seminar 14261)

This report documents the program and the outcomes of Dagstuhl Seminar 14261 "Software Development Analytics". We briefly summarize the goals and format of the seminar, the results of the break out groups, and a draft of a manifesto for software analytics. The report also includes the abstracts of the talks presented at the seminar.
Gene Level Meta-Analysis of Quantitative Traits by Functional Linear Models

Meta-analysis of genetic data must account for differences among studies including study designs, markers genotyped, and covariates. The effects of genetic variants may differ from population to population, i.e., heterogeneity. Thus, meta-analysis of combining data of multiple studies is difficult. Novel statistical methods for meta-analysis are needed. In this article, functional linear models are developed for meta-analyses that connect genetic data to quantitative traits, adjusting for covariates. The models can be used to analyze rare variants, common variants, or a combination of the two. Both likelihood-ratio test (LRT) and F-distributed statistics are introduced to test association between quantitative traits and multiple variants in one genetic region. Extensive simulations are performed to evaluate empirical type I error rates and power performance of the proposed tests. The proposed LRT and F-distributed statistics control the type I error very well and have higher power than the existing methods of the meta-analysis sequence kernel association test (MetaSKAT). We analyze four blood lipid levels in data from a meta-analysis of eight European studies. The proposed methods detect more significant associations than MetaSKAT and the P-values of the proposed LRT and F-distributed statistics are usually much smaller than those of MetaSKAT. The functional linear models and related test statistics can be useful in whole-genome and whole-exome association studies.
Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy using International Diabetes Foundation and Adult Treatment Panel III criteria: associations with insulin resistance, disturbed body fat compartmentalization, elevated C-reactive protein, and [co

OBJECTIVE Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Definitions exist to identify those "at risk. " Treatment of HIV infection with highly active antiretroviral therapy can induce severe metabolic complications including lipodystrophy, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. The purpose of this study was to report the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in HIV-infected patients and compare insulin resistance and total body, limb, and visceral fat and adipokines in those with and without metabolic syndrome. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was an international cross-sectional study of a well-characterized cohort of 788 HIV-infected adults recruited at 32 centers. Metabolic syndrome prevalence was examined using International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) criteria, relative to body composition (whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and abdominal computed tomography), lipids, glycemic parameters, insulin resistance, leptin, adiponectin, and C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 14% (n = 114; 83 men) by IDF criteria and 18% (n = 139; 118 men) by ATPIII criteria; the concordance was significant but only moderate (kappa = 0.46, P < 0.0001). Many patients (49%) had at least two features of metabolic syndrome but were not classified as having metabolic syndrome as their waist circumferences or waist-to-hip ratios were in the non-metabolic syndrome range. Metabolic syndrome was more common in those currently receiving protease inhibitors (P = 0.04). Type 2 diabetes prevalence was five- to ninefold higher in those with metabolic syndrome. With IDF criteria, subjects with metabolic syndrome showed disturbances in inflammation and adipokines: they had higher CRP (5.5 +/- 7.0 vs. 3.9 +/- 6.0 mg/l, P < 0.003) and leptin (9 +/- 9 vs. 4 +/- 6 ng/ml, P < 0.0001) and lower adiponectin (12 +/- 8 vs. 15 +/- 10 microg/ml, P < 0.0001) levels. By ATPIII criteria, those with metabolic syndrome had higher leptin (6 +/- 8 ng/ml, P = 0.006) and lower adiponectin (15 +/- 10 vs. 18 +/- 8 microg/ml, P < 0.0001) levels. CONCLUSIONS Metabolic syndrome prevalence in HIV-positive adults was lower than that reported for the general population. Metabolic syndrome was associated with a substantially increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes in this specific cohort. Many subjects without metabolic syndrome had at least two metabolic syndrome components (particularly elevated lipid levels) but did not meet waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio cutoff metabolic syndrome criteria in this group with high rates of body fat partitioning disturbances.
Diagnosis of peritonsillar abscess: value of intraoral sonography.

OBJECTIVE Clinical differentiation of peritonsillar abscess from peritonsillar cellulitis can be difficult and often relies on blind needle aspiration of the tonsillar fossa to locate pus. The objective of this study was to establish a noninvasive and reliable sonographic technique for differentiating peritonsillar abscess from peritonsillar cellulitis in equivocal cases and to thereby avoid unnecessary needle aspiration. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The study population included three healthy volunteers and 18 patients with clinically suspected peritonsillar abscess. The tonsils were assessed by using transcutaneous and intraoral sonography. RESULTS The tonsils were visualized on both transcutaneous and intraoral sonograms in all three volunteers and in 16 patients. In one patient, the tonsils were not visualized on transcutaneous imaging; intraoral imaging showed cellulitis. In another patient, the intraoral examination was unsuccessful, whereas transcutaneous sonograms showed normal tonsils. On the basis of findings on transcutaneous sonograms, tonsils were considered normal in seven patients. Subsequent intraoral sonograms showed peritonsillar abscesses in four and peritonsillar cellulitis in two. Intraoral imaging was unsuccessful in one patient. On the basis of findings on transcutaneous sonograms, nine patients were thought to have peritonsillar cellulitis. Subsequent intraoral sonograms confirmed cellulitis in four and showed peritonsillar abscess in five. Transcutaneous sonography showed one peritonsillar abscess that was confirmed by findings on intraoral sonography. Surgical confirmation of sonographic findings was obtained in 12 of 18 patients; nine of 10 peritonsillar abscesses had surgical drainage, and three of seven cases of peritonsillar cellulitis had a dry, blind needle aspiration. CONCLUSION These results show that enlarged tonsils can be visualized with transcutaneous sonography, but intraoral sonography is necessary to adequately define the heterogeneous or cystic nature of a peritonsillar abscess. Intraoral sonography is a useful, simple, and well-tolerated noninvasive technique that can be used to accurately differentiate peritonsillar abscess from peritonsillar cellulitis in clinically equivocal cases. This technique eliminates the need for blind needle aspiration of the tonsillar fossa before surgical drainage. Intraoral sonography also can be used to monitor patients' responses after treatment.
Relationship Between Metabolic Syndrome, Circadian Treatment Time, and Blood Pressure Non-Dipping Profile in Essential Hypertension

There is a strong association between metabolic syndrome (MS) and increased cardiovascular risk. Moreover, elevated nighttime blood pressure (BP) and non-dipping (subjects with <10% decline in the asleep relative to the awake BP mean) have been also linked to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We investigated the relation between MS, circadian time of hypertension treatment, and impaired nighttime BP decline in a cross-sectional study on 3352 (1576 men/1776 women) non-diabetic hypertensive subjects, 53.7 ± 13.1 (mean ± SD) yrs of age. Among them, 2056 were ingesting all their prescribed hypertension medication upon awakening, and 1296 were ingesting at least one of their BP medications at bedtime. BP was measured by ambulatory monitoring for 48 consecutive hours to substantiate reproducibility of the dipping pattern. Physical activity was simultaneously monitored every minute by wrist actigraphy to accurately calculate mean BP when awake and asleep for each subject. MS was present in 52.6% of the subjects. The prevalence of an altered non-dipper BP profile was significantly higher among subjects with MS (52.0% vs. 39.5% in subjects without MS, p < .001). Non-dipping was significantly more prevalent among subjects ingesting all BP-lowering medications upon awakening (56.8%) than among those ingesting at least one of their BP medications at bedtime (29.1%; p < .001). Subjects with MS had significantly higher values of uric acid (6.0 vs. 5.3 mg/dL, p < .001), plasma fibrinogen (331 vs. 315 mg/dL, p < .001), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (14.8 vs. 12.4 mm, p < .001). Non-dipping was significantly associated with the presence of MS and treatment upon awakening in a multiple logistic regression model adjusted by significant confounding factors, including age, creatinine, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and cigarette smoking. This cross-sectional study documents a significant increase of a blunted sleep-time BP decline in treated hypertensive subjects with MS. Even in the presence of MS, treatment at bedtime is significantly associated with lower prevalence of a high-risk non-dipper BP profile. (Author correspondence: rhermida@uvigo.es)
Membrane Blebbing Is Required for Mesenchymal Precursor Migration

Mesenchymal precursors (MPs) present some advantageous features, such as differentiation and migration, which make them promising candidates for cell therapy. A better understanding of MP migration characteristics would aid the development of cell delivery protocols. Traditionally, cell migration is thought to occur only through the formation of lamellipodia. More recently, contractility-driven bleb formation has emerged as an alternative mechanism of motility. Here we report that MPs derived from different tissues present spontaneously dynamic cytoplasmic projections in sub-confluent culture, which appear as a combination of lamellipodia with blebs in the leading edge. Upon initial seeding, however, only bleb structures could be observed. Immunofluorescence revealed the presence of pERM, RhoA and F-actin during the blebbing process. Results from migration assays in the presence of blebbistatin, a myosin II inhibitor, showed that bleb formation correlated with migratory capacity, suggesting a functional role for blebs in migration. Bleb formation might be a useful mechanism to improve cell migration in cellular therapy protocols.
SPECIFIC AND CROSS-OVER EFFECTS OF FOAM ROLLING ON ANKLE DORSIFLEXION RANGE OF MOTION.

BACKGROUND Flexibility is an important physical quality. Self-myofascial release (SMFR) methods such as foam rolling (FR) increase flexibility acutely but how long such increases in range of motion (ROM) last is unclear. Static stretching (SS) also increases flexibility acutely and produces a cross-over effect to contralateral limbs. FR may also produce a cross-over effect to contralateral limbs but this has not yet been identified. PURPOSE To explore the potential cross-over effect of SMFR by investigating the effects of a FR treatment on the ipsilateral limb of 3 bouts of 30 seconds on changes in ipsilateral and contralateral ankle DF ROM and to assess the time-course of those effects up to 20 minutes post-treatment. METHODS A within- and between-subject design was carried out in a convenience sample of 26 subjects, allocated into FR (n=13) and control (CON, n=13) groups. Ankle DF ROM was recorded at baseline with the in-line weight-bearing lunge test for both ipsilateral and contralateral legs and at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes following either a two-minute seated rest (CON) or 3 3 30 seconds of FR of the plantar flexors of the dominant leg (FR). Repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine differences in ankle DF ROM. RESULTS No significant between-group effect was seen following the intervention. However, a significant within-group effect (p<0.05) in the FR group was seen between baseline and all post-treatment time-points (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes). Significant within-group effects (p<0.05) were also seen in the ipsilateral leg between baseline and at all post-treatment time-points, and in the contralateral leg up to 10 minutes post-treatment, indicating the presence of a cross-over effect. CONCLUSIONS FR improves ankle DF ROM for at least 20 minutes in the ipsilateral limb and up to 10 minutes in the contralateral limb, indicating that FR produces a cross-over effect into the contralateral limb. The mechanism producing these cross-over effects is unclear but may involve increased stretch tolerance, as observed following SS. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE 2c.