Detecting Web Vulnerabilities in an Intermediate Language by Resorting to Machine Learning Techniques

Tese de mestrado, Ciência de Dados, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2020The number of vulnerabilities has grown exponentially over the last years, with SQL Injection being especially troublesome for web applications. In parallel, novel research has shown the potential of Machine Learning to find vulnerabilities, which can aid experts to reduce the search space or even classify programs on its own. Previous work, however, rarely includes SQL Injection or considers popular serverside languages for web application development like PHP. In our work, we construct a Deep Learning model capable of classifying PHP excerpts as vulnerable (or not) to SQL Injection. We use an intermediate language to represent the excerpts and interpret them as text, resorting to well-studied Natural Language Processing techniques. This work can help back-end programmers discover SQL Injection in an early stage of the project, avoiding attacks that would eventually cost a lot to repair their damage. We also investigate which information should be fed to the model. Hence, we built four datasets (the Opcode Dataset, the Opcode+Operand Dataset, the Slice Dataset, and the Simplified Slice Dataset) from the bytecode dataset that represent each PHP excerpt differently. This approach is a simpler alternative to complex data structures previously used to represent code’s control flow. For each of those datasets, we performed several experiments to evaluate alternative configurations for the model. For all datasets, we managed to find a setting that leads to a score, on average, above 60% for the accuracy, precision, and recall

Nestle's dynamic forecasting process: anticipating risks and opportunities

Nestlé’s Dynamic Forecasting Process: Anticipating Risks and Opportunities This Work Project discusses the Nestlé’s Dynamic Forecasting Process, implemented within the organization as a way of reengineering its performance management concept and processes, so as to make it more flexible and capable to react to volatile business conditions. When stressing the importance of demand planning to reallocate resources and enhance performance, Nescafé Dolce Gusto comes as way of seeking improvements on this forecasts’ accuracy and it is thus, by providing a more accurate model on its capsules’ sales, as well as recommending adequate implementations that positively contribute to the referred Planning Process, that value is brought to the Projec

A new species of Hexacladia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) and new record of Hexacladia smithii Ashmead as parasitoids of Dichelops furcatus (Fabricius) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) in Argentina

Pentatomid adults of the species Dichelops furcatus (F.), collected on stubble of soybean, Glycine max (Linnaeus) Merril, in Santa Fe province of Argentina, were found parasitized by two encyrtid wasp species (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). One of the encyrtids is described as Hexacladia dichelopsis Torréns & Fidalgo, sp. n., from both sexes, and the other species H. smithii Ashmead, is recorded for the first time from D. furcatus in Argentina. Both species are gregarious endoparasitoids which carry out the whole development (larval and pupal) in their living hosts; they emerge as imagoes, by cutting their way out through the dorsal wall of the abdomen. Including the newly described H. dichelopsis, seven species of the genus are recorded from South America, and an identification key to separate them is presented. Copyright Javier Torréns et al.Fil: Torrens, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Fidalgo, Alberto Antonio P.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Celina Ana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Punschke, Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentin

Concepções, práticas e reflexão de futuros professores do 1º ciclo do ensino básico sobre o ensino da Matemática

O presente artigo relata um estudo sobre as concepções e práticas de ensino daMatemática relativamente a aspectos do currículo desta disciplina — tarefas, materiais e comunicação na sala de aula — por parte de dois futuros professores do 1º ciclo do ensino básico, durante a sua prática pedagógica. A problemática do estudo baseia-se nas orientações curriculares para o ensino da Matemática e sublinha também o papel que a reflexão tem na formação inicial do professor. A metodologia segue uma abordagem qualitativa e interpretativa, recorrendo a dois estudos de caso. A recolha de dados baseou-se em entrevistas, observação e análise documental. Verificou-se que as concepções dos formandos relativamente às finalidades do ensino da Matemática como o desenvolvimento da capacidade de resolução de problemas e do raciocínio, adquiridas em resultado de experiências ao longo do curso, reflectem-se nas suas práticas. Ambos propõem aos alunos tarefas matemáticas não rotineiras, desafiantes e orientadas para a exploração e descoberta. No entanto, no que respeita às interacções comunicativas, existem divergências entre o que mais valorizam em teoria e o que fazem na prática. Um dos formandos mostra uma posição mais favorável do que o outro em relação ao uso das novas tecnologias (assunto que é bastante trabalhado em várias disciplinas do curso), mas nem um nem outro as usam na sua prática. Além disso, ambos valorizam o uso de materiais manipuláveis, mas também não os usaram nas suas práticas. Finalmente, os formandos realizam diferentes formas de reflexão, em sintonia com as diferentes abordagens das suas instituições de formação, mas em ambos os casos ficam por analisar questões fundamentais da sua prática pedagógica.This paper reports a study about conceptions and practices in mathematics teaching concerning curriculum issues — tasks, materials and communication in the classroom — from two pre-service teachers of the first cycle of basic education, during student teaching. The problematics of the study is based in the current curriculum orientations for mathematics teaching and also underlines the role of reflection in pre-service teacher education. The methodology is qualitative and interpretative, using two case studies. Data collection was based in interviews, observation and analysis of documents. The study found that the conceptions of pre-service teachers regarding the aims of mathematics teaching such as the development of problem solving and reasoning abilities, acquired from their experiences through the course, are reflected in their practices. Both propose to pupils nonroutine and challenging mathematical tasks, oriented towards exploration and discovery. However, concerning communicative interactions, there are differences between what they most value in theory and what they do in practice. One of the pre-service teachers shows a more favourable stance regarding new information technology (a topic that is quite present in several of the course disciplines) than the other, but neither of them uses it in practice. Furthermore, both value the use of manipulative materials but do not use them in practice. Finally, the pre-service teachers undertook several forms of reflection, attuned with the different approaches of their teacher education institutions, but in both cases they did not analyse essential issues of their teaching practice

Novel affinity pairs "tag-receptor" for the purification of fusion proteins

Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - SFRH/BD/48804/2008 and the project PTDC/BI/65383/2006 assigned to Prof. Cecíla Roque and also to Associate Laboratory REQUIMTE (Pest-C/EQB/LA0006/2011

Microbial contribution to biofuels production

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia Química e BioquímicaBiomass can be converted into biofuels by two different ways: thermochemical or biochemical. Both processes produce waste streams that can be valorised in order to increase the sustainability of the biofuels production process. Recent research on polyhydroxyalkanoates(PHA) production has focused on developing cost-effective processes using low cost substrates combined with mixed microbial cultures (MMC). The intent of this thesis was to study and characterise MMC able to produce PHA using the by-products resulting from the biofuels production. Bio-oil resulting from the fast-pyrolysis of chicken beds was used as substrate to select cultures under feast/famine conditions with a good PHA storage response. Several operational conditions were investigated and optimized. A copolymer composed by hydroxybutyrate and hydroxyvalerate monomers (70%:30%) was obtained. The impact of the bio-oil matrix on PHA production was also investigated suggesting that some compound may inhibit or interfere with the ability of the enriched culture to accumulate PHA. For further maximization of polymer accumulation two strategies for bio-oil upgrade were performed, anaerobic fermentation and vacuum distillation. The increased of volatile fatty acids on the fermented bio-oil led to an increase on the production yield compared to the ones obtain with pure bio-oil (0.63 and 0.31Cmmol HA/Cmmol S, respectively). In another system, MMC selected with crude glycerol from biodiesel production as feedstock had the ability to simultaneously store PHA and glycogen. Although the methanol fraction present in the crude was also consumed, glycerol was the only carbon source that contributed for the biopolymers production. During PHA accumulating assay a content of 47% cell dry weight was achieved. The dynamics of the microbial community of both PHA production systems was assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, fluorescent in situ hybridization and sequencing. Both systems had a high microbial diversity with a predominance of Betaproteobacteria class and Amaricoccus genus in the bio-oil and crude glycerol system, respectivel

Análises clínicas associadas a anemia

Relatório de estágio de licenciatura, Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias da Universidade do Algarve, 2007/2008A anemia é uma doença causada pela diminuição de hemoglobina no organismo . A hemoglobina é uma proteína localizada dentro dos glóbulos vermelhos, que possui o ferro responsável por levar o oxigénio aos tecidos. Existem vários tipos de anemia, causados por uma enorme variedade de factores. À diminuição da hemoglobina estão acopladas características morfológicas dos glóbulos vermelhos que ajudam a distinguir os vários tipos de anemia. Outras características celulares para além destas, bem como dados bioquímicos, auxiliam a divisão de cada tipo de anemia nos seus subtipos Neste trabalho procedeu-se à quantificação automática de parâmetros hematológicos e bioquimicos em 99 pacientes (59 mulheres e 40 homens), com idade média de 57± 25 anos e fez-se o diagnóstico dos tipos e subtipos de anemia presentes nesta população.. A média da concentração de hemoglobina destes pacientes, teve um valor mais baixo nos homens do que nas mulheres representando anemias maioritariamente leves nas mulheres e moderadas nos homens. A população é essencialmente caracterizada por anemia microcitica-hipocrómica. Neste grupo verificou-se que a maioria da população era portadora de uma concentração de ferro e de ferritina diminuídas, sugerindo que a maioria dos pacientes deste grupo sofram de anemia ferropénica. No grupo de anemias normocitico-normocrómicas foi mais abundante a anemia ferropénica nas mulheres e as anemias de doenças crónicas nos homens. As anemias macrociticas foram bastante raras. A população é então maioritariamente composta por anemias ferropénicas (49,5% dos pacientes), onde se obteve concentrações de ferro e ferritina mais baixos, 19,79 ± 7,64 µg/dl e 6,75 ± 3,48 µg/dl respectivamente, talassémias em 16,2% dos pacientes e doenças crónicas (12,1% dos pacientes), onde a ferritina apresentou valores mais elevados ( 413,14 ± 218,99 µg/dl).Anemia is a disease caused by the decrease of hemoglobin in the body. Hemoglobin is a protein inside the red blood cells, which has the iron responsible for bringing oxygen to tissues. There are several types of anemia, caused by a variety factors With the decrease of haemoglobin are coupled morphological characteristics of red blood cells that help distinguish the various types of anemia. Other features in addition to these cellular and biochemical data, helping the division of each type of anemia in their subtypes. In this work, proceeded to the automatic quantification of biochemical and haematological parameters in 99 patients (59 women and 40 men) with an average age of 57 ± 25 years and gave up the diagnosis of type and subtypes of anemia in these population. The average concentration of haemoglobin in these patients had a lower worth in men than in women, representing mostly mild anemia in women and moderate in men. The population is mainly characterized by microcitic-hipochromic anemia. In this group found that the majority of population was carrying an iron and ferritin decreased, suggesting that the majority of this group of patients suffering from ferropenic anemia. In the group normocitic-normochromic, ferropenic anemia was the most abundant in women and chronic disease anemia in men. The macrocitic anemia were very rare. The population is now mostly composed of ferropenic anemia (49,5% of patients), which presented concentrations of iron and ferritin lowest, 19,79 ± 7,64 µg/dl and 6,75 ± 3,48 µg/dl respectively, thalassemias in 16,2% of patients and chronic diseases (12,1% of patients), which has the highest ferritin (413,14 ± 218,99 µg/dl)

Diversitat religiosa i escola: nous models d’ordenació acadèmica per a la cohesió social a Catalunya en la formació dels mestres de religió

RESUM: La diversitat religiosa a la societat catalana actual és un fet evident i palès, que alhora exigeix una adequada resposta educativa. L’actual legislació vigent recull, tanmateix, diversos itineraris curriculars de formació religiosa confessional al si de les nostres escoles. No obstant això, aquests itineraris s’acompleixen en molt diversos graus, entre d’altres motius perquè la formació universitària de mestres i professors en matèria religiosa és molt diferent depenent d’on s’ha produït aquesta formació. Aquest article mostra aquesta complexa realitat i compara entre si els diversos itineraris formatius en matèria d’ERE que ofereixen les institucions d’ensenyament superior, destacant-ne els que aporten millors expectatives de formació, segons les exigències derivades de la diversitat religiosa actual a la nostra societat.PARAULES CLAU: diversitat religiosa, educació religiosa, formació superior, currículum universitariSchool and religious diversity: new models of academic organization for social cohesion in Catalonia in religion teachers trainingABSTRACT: The religious diversity in the Catalan society is an evident fact that requires an equal educational response. The current legislation does permit curriculums to teach various religions in our schools. Nevertheless, these itineraries are satisfied to various degrees. Among the reasons why they are satisfied on various degrees is due to the university’s training of religious teachers and the university. The following article illustrates the complexity of this reality and compares the training programs in the area of ERE offered by institutions of higher education while highlighting those that provide higher expectations for training teachers in order to meet the diverse religious demands in our society.KEYWORDS: Religious diversity, religious education, higher education, university curriculu

Von Willebrand Disease: be or not to be, that is the question

Poster presented at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2015 Congress, 20-25 June 2015, Toronto