A Machine Learning-based DSS for mid and long-term company crisis prediction

In the field of detection and prediction of company defaults and bankruptcy, significant effort has been devoted to evaluating financial ratios as predictors using statistical models and machine learning techniques. This problem becomes crucially important when financial decision-makers are provided with predictions on which to act, based on the output of prediction models. However, research has shown that such predictors are sufficiently accurate in the short-term, with the focus mainly directed towards large and medium-large companies. In contrast, in this paper, we focus on mid- and long-term bankruptcy prediction (up to 60 months) targeting small and/or medium enterprises. The key contribution of this study is a substantial improvement of the prediction accuracy in the short-term (12 months) using machine learning techniques, compared to the state-of-the-art, while also making accurate mid- and long-term predictions (measure of the area under the ROC curve of 0.88 with a 60 month prediction horizon). Extensive computational tests on the entire set of companies in Italy highlight the efficiency and accuracy of the developed method, as well as demonstrating the possibility of using it as a tool for the development of strategies and policies for entire economic systems. Considering the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we show how our method can be used as a viable tool for large-scale policy-making

A novel hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on modified electrode with hemoglobin and zinc oxide nanoparticles

In this study, direct electron transfer between immobilized hemoglobin (Hb) and zinc oxide nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode was studied. Direct electrochemical response of Hb on the modified electrode can be achieved and a couple of well-defined and nearly reversible cyclic voltammetric peaks of Hb can be observed in a phosphate solution. The Hb immobilized on the Modified electrode with Zno Nps displayed a pair of redox peaks in 0.1 M pH 7.0 PBS with a formal potential of + (292 ± 2) mV (vs. SCE). Hb adsorbed on the modified electrode surface shows a good activity for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The reduction peak currents were proportional linearly to the concentration of hydrogen peroxide. The Hb/ Zno Nps/ CPE had good repeatability and stability for the determination of H2O2

Toward A More Efficient Gröbner-based Algebraic Cryptanalysis

In this paper, we propose a new method to launch a more efficient algebraic cryptanalysis. Algebraic cryptanalysis aims at finding the secret key of a cipher by solving a collection of polynomial equations that describe the internal structure of the cipher, while chosen correlated plaintexts, as what appear in higher order differential cryptanalysis and its derivatives such as cube attack or integral cryptanalysis, forces many linear relation between intermediate state bits in the cipher. In this paper, we take these polynomial relations into account, so it become possible to simplify the equation system arising from algebraic cryptanalysis, and consequently solve the polynomial system more efficiently. We take advantage of Universal Proning technique to provide an efficient method to recover such linear polynomials. Another important parameter in algebraic cryptanalysis of ciphers is to effectively describe the cipher. We employ FWBW representation of S-boxes together with Universal Proning to help provide a more powerful algebraic cryptanalysis based on Gröbner-basis computation. We show our method is more efficient than doing algebraic cryptanalysis with MQ representation, and also than employing MQ together with Universal Proning. To show the effectiveness of our approach, we applied it for the cryptanalysis of several light weight block ciphers. A by-product of employing this approach is that we have achieved such an efficiency to algebraic cryptanalyse 12-round LBlock, 6-round MIBS, 7-round PRESENT and 9-round SKINNY light-weight block ciphers, so far

Algebraic Attack Efficiency versus S-box Representation

Algebraic analysis of block ciphers aims at finding the secret key by solving a collection of polynomial equations that describe the internal structure of a cipher for chosen observations of plaintext/ciphertext pairs. Although algebraic attacks are addressed for cryptanalysis of block and stream ciphers, there is a lack of understanding of the impact of algebraic representation of the cipher on efficiency of solving the resulting collection of equations. The work investigates different S-box representations and their effect on complexity of algebraic attacks. In particular, we observe that a S-box representation defined in the work as \textit{Forward-Backward} (FWBW) leads to a collection of equations that can be solved efficiently. We show that the $SR(10,2,1,4)$ cipher can be broken using standard algebra software \textsc{Singular} and FGb. This is the best result achieved so far. The effect of description of S-boxes for some light-weight block ciphers is investigated. A by-product of this result is that we have achieved some improvements on the algebraic cryptanalysis of LBlock, PRESENT and MIBS light-weight block ciphers. Our study and experiments confirms a counter-intuitive conclusion that algebraic attacks work best for the FWBW S-box representation. This contradicts a common belief that algebraic attacks are more efficient for quadratic S-box representation

Boldine Supplementation Regulates Mitochondrial Function and Oxidative Stress in a Rat Model of Hepatotoxicity

Background: The xenobiotics-induced liver injury is a clinical complication. Hence, finding new hepatoprotective strategies has clinical value. Oxidative stress and its subsequent complications are major mechanisms involved in xenobiotics-induced hepatotoxicity. Boldine is one of the most potent antioxidant molecules widely investigated for its protective properties in different experimental models. In the current study, the hepatoprotective properties of boldine and its potential mechanisms of hepatoprotection have been investigated. Methods: Rats received thioacetamide (TAA; 200 mg/kg, i.p) as a model of acute liver injury. Boldine (5, 10, 1nd 20 mg/kg; 24 hours intervals; oral) was administered as the hepatoprotective agent. Results: Liver injury was evident in TAA-treated animals (48 hours after TAA exposure) as a severe increase in serum level of liver injury biomarkers and histopathological alterations. Moreover, markers of oxidative stress were increased in liver tissue of TAA-treated rats. Assessment of mitochondrial indices of functionality revealed a significant decrease in mitochondrial dehydrogenases activity, the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial swelling and depletion of ATP content. It was found that boldine supplementation mitigated liver tissue markers of oxidative stress and improved mitochondrial indices of functionality in TAA-treated animals. Conclusion: The hepatoprotective properties of boldine might primarily rely on antioxidant and mitochondria protecting effects of this alkaloid

Effects of curcumin supplementation on vitamin D levels in women with premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled study

Background Vitamin D has an established role in female reproduction. There is also evidence for an association between vitamin D levels and menstrual problems such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and dysmenorrhea. Curcumin, is a bioactive polyphenol constituent of turmeric, that can potentially interact with vitamin D receptors and its molecular targets. This study evaluated the effects of curcumin on vitamin D levels in young women with PMS and dysmenorrhea. Methods In this randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial, women with PMS and dysmenorrhea were divided randomly into experimental and control groups to receive one capsule (500 mg of curcuminoid+ 5 mg piperine, or placebo) daily, from approximately 7 days before until 3 days after menstruation for three consecutive menstrual cycles. Serum vitamin D levels, renal function, and liver enzymes were also measured before and after intervention. Results A total of 76 subjects (38 in each group) were recruited into the trial. Curcumin significantly increased the median (IQR) serum levels of vitamin D [from 12.8 ng/ml (7.0–24.6) to 16.2 ng/ml (6.4–28.8); P = 0.045], compared with placebo [from 18.6 ng/ml (2.2–26.8) to 21.3 ng/ml (5.2–27.1); P = 0.17]. Serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase and direct bilirubin were reduced by the end of trial in the curcumin group (p  0.05). Finally, no significant differences in levels of fasting blood glucose were detected between curcumin and placebo groups. Conclusion Curcumin supplementation in women with PMS and dysmenorrhea led to a significant improvement of vitamin D, liver function enzyme test, but did not affect blood glucose. Trial registration The trial was registered on Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials registry (Trial ID: IRCT20191112045424N1 on 23 January 2020; available at https://www.irct.ir)

A Light in the Dark Web: Linking Dark Web aliases to real internet identities

Most users have several Internet names. On Facebook or LinkedIn, for example, people usually appear with the real one. On other standard websites, like forums, people often use aliases to protect their real identities with respect to the other users, with no real privacy against the web site and the authorities. Aliases in the Dark Web are different: users expect strong identity protection. In this paper, we show that using both “open” aliases (aliases used in the standard Web) and Dark Web aliases can be dangerous per se. Indeed, we develop tools to link Dark Web to open aliases. For the first time, we perform a massive scale experiment on real scenarios. First between two Dark Web forums, then between the Dark Web forums and the standard forums. Due to a large number of possible pairs, we first reduce the search space cutting down the number of potential matches to a small set of candidates, and then on the selection of the correct alias among these candidates. We show that our methodology has excellent precision, from 87% to 94%, and recall around 80%

α-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone Triggers Melanogenesis Via Activation of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Pathway in B16F10 Mouse Melanoma Cells

Melanin is a group of natural pigments that determines the human skin color and provides fundamental protection against the harmful impacts of physical and chemical stimuli. The aim of this study was to establish the regulatory role of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) induced melanogenesis. In the present study, following knockdown of AhR, murine B16F10 cells were treated with α-MSH (200 nM) and tyrosinase activities, cellular melanin content, mRNA levels of several important genes involved in melanogenesis including AhR, CTNNB1, TYR2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) were measured as endpoints. Exposure to α-MSH led to elevated expression of AhR, CTNNB1, MITF, and TYR in accordance with increased tyrosinase enzyme activity as well as a significant rise in the total melanin content. Our results suggest that AhR plays a regulatory role in α-MSH-stimulated melanogenesis. © The Author(s) 2021