The Use of Software Design Patterns to Teach Secure Software Design: An Integrated Approach

Part 2: Software Security EducationInternational audienceDuring software development, security is often dealt with as an add-on. This means that security considerations are not necessarily seen as an integral part of the overall solution and might even be left out of a design. For many security problems, the approach towards secure development has recurring elements. Software design patterns are often used to address a commonly occurring problem through a “generic” approach towards this problem. The design pattern provides a conceptual model of a best-practices solution, which in turn is used by developers to create a concrete implementation for their specific problem. Most software design patterns do not include security best-practices as part of the generic solution towards the commonly occurring problem. This paper proposes an extension to the widely used MVC pattern that includes current security principles in order to teach secure software design in an integrated fashion

Chiral symmetry and the axial nucleon to Delta(1232) transition form factors

We study the momentum and the quark mass dependence of the axial nucleon to Delta(1232) transition form factors in the framework of non-relativistic chiral effective field theory to leading-one-loop order. The outcome of our analysis provides a theoretical guidance for chiral extrapolations of lattice QCD results with dynamical fermions.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure

Scatter reduction for grid-less mammography using the convolution-based image post-processing technique

Mammography examinations are highly affected by scattered radiation, as it degrades the quality of the image and complicates the diagnosis process. Anti-scatter grids are currently used in planar mammography examinations as the standard physical scattering reduction technique. This method has been found to be inefficient, as it increases the dose delivered to the patient, does not remove all the scattered radiation and increases the price of the equipment. Alternative scattering reduction methods, based on post-processing algorithms, are being investigated to substitute anti-scatter grids. Methods such as the convolution-based scatter estimation have lately become attractive as they are quicker and more flexible than pure Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. In this study we make use of this specific method, which is based on the premise that the scatter in the system is spatially diffuse, thus it can be approximated by a two-dimensional low-pass convolution filter of the primary image. This algorithm uses the narrow pencil beam method to obtain the scatter kernel used to convolve an image, acquired without anti-scatter grid. The results obtained show an image quality comparable, in the worst case, to the grid image, in terms of uniformity and contrast to noise ratio. Further improvement is expected when using clinically-representative phantoms

Search for a signal on intermediate baryon systems formation in hadron-nuclear and nuclear-nuclear interactions at high energies

We have analyzed the behavior of different characteristics of hadron-nuclear and nuclear-nuclear interactions as a function of centrality to get a signal on the formation of intermediate baryon systems. We observed that the data demonstrate the regime change and saturation. The angular distributions of slow particles exhibit some structure in the above mentioned reactions at low energy. We believe that the structure could be connected with the formation and decay of the percolation cluster. With increasing the mass of colliding nuclei, the structure starts to become weak and almost disappears ultimately. This shows that the number of secondary internuclear interactions increases with increasing the mass of the colliding nuclei. The latter could be a reason of the disintegration of any intermediate formations as well as clusters, which decrease their influence on the angular distribution of the emitted particles.Comment: 2 pages and one figur

Exploring metabolic consequences of CPS1 and CAD dysregulation in hepatocellular carcinoma by network reconstruction

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth commonest cause of cancer-related mortality; it is associated with various genetic alterations, some involved in metabolic reprogramming. This study aimed to explore the potential metabolic impact of Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthase I (CPS1) and carbamoyl phosphate synthetase/aspartate transcarbamoylase/dihydroorotase (CAD) dysregulation through the reconstruction of a network that integrates information from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database, Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) and Human Protein Atlas (HPA). Methods and Results: Existing literature was used to determine the roles of CPS1 and CAD in HCC. CPS1 downregulation is thought to play a role in hepatocarcinogenesis through an increased glutamine availability for de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis, which CAD catalyzes the first three steps for. KEGG, HMDB and HPA were used to reconstruct a network of relevant pathways, demonstrating the relationships between genes and metabolites using the MetaboSignal package in R. The network was filtered to exclude any duplicates, and those greater than three steps away from CPS1 or CAD. Consequently, a network of 18 metabolites, 28 metabolic genes and 1 signaling gene was obtained, which indicated expression profiles and prognostic information of each gene in the network. Conclusion: Information from different databases was collated to form an informative network that integrated different ‘-omics’ approaches, demonstrating the relationships between genetic and metabolic components of urea cycle and the de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway. This study paves the way for further research by acting as a template to investigate the relationships between genes and metabolites, explore their potential roles in various diseases and aid the development of new screening and treatment methods through network reconstruction

COVID-19 spread in a classroom equipped with partition – A CFD approach

In this study, the motion and distribution of droplets containing coronaviruses emitted by coughing of an infected person in front of a classroom (e.g., a teacher) were investigated using CFD. A 3D turbulence model was used to simulate the airflow in the classroom, and a Lagrangian particle trajectory analysis method was used to track the droplets. The numerical model was validated and was used to study the effects of ventilation airflow speeds of 3, 5, and 7 m/s on the dispersion of droplets of different sizes. In particular, the effect of installing transparent barriers in front of the seats on reducing the average droplet concentration was examined. The results showed that using the seat partitions for individuals can prevent the infection to a certain extent. An increase in the ventilation air velocity increased the droplets’ velocities in the airflow direction, simultaneously reducing the trapping time of the droplets by solid barriers. As expected, in the absence of partitions, the closest seats to the infected person had the highest average droplet concentration (3.80 × 10−8 kg/m3 for the case of 3 m/s)

Acquired perforating dermatosis: A clinical and dermatoscopic correlation

Acquired Perforating Dermatosis (APD) is a perforating disease characterized by transepidermal elimination of dermal material [1,2]. This disease usually develops in adulthood. APD has been reported to occur in association with various diseases, but is most commonly associated with dialysis-dependent chronic renal failure (CRF) or diabetes mellitus (DM) [1,2,3,4]. Morton et al found that APD occurs in up to 10% of patients undergoing hemodialysis [5]. Additionally, Saray et al found that sixteen of twenty-two cases with APD were associated with CRF [3]

Using a multi-dimensional approach for catchment scale herbicide pollution assessments

peer-reviewedWorldwide herbicide use in agriculture, whilst safeguarding yields also presents water quality issues. Controlling factors in agricultural catchments include both static and dynamic parameters. The present study investigated the occurrence of herbicides in streams and groundwater in two meso-scale catchments with contrasting flow controls and agricultural landuse (grassland and arable land). Using a multi-dimensional approach, streams were monitored from November 2018 to November 2019 using Chemcatcher® passive sampling devices and groundwater was sampled in 95 private drinking water wells. The concentrations of herbicides were larger in the stream of the Grassland catchment (8.9–472.6 ng L−1) dominated by poorly drained soils than in the Arable catchment (0.9–169.1 ng L−1) dominated by well-drained soils. Incidental losses of herbicides during time of application and low flows in summer caused concentrations of MCPA, Fluroxypyr, Trichlorpyr, Clopyralid and Mecoprop to exceeded the European Union (EU) drinking water standard due to a lack of dilution. Herbicides were present in the stream throughout the year and the total mass load was higher in winter flows, suggesting a persistence of primary chemical residues in soil and sub-surface environments and restricted degradation. Losses of herbicides to the streams were source limited and influenced by hydrological conditions. Herbicides were detected in 38% of surveyed drinking water wells. While most areas had concentrations below the EU drinking water standard some areas with well-drained soils in the Grassland catchment, had concentrations exceeding recommendations. Individual wells had concentrations of Clopyralid (619 ng L−1) and Trichlorpyr (650 ng L−1). Despite the study areas not usually associated with herbicide pollution, and annual mass loads being comparatively low, many herbicides were present in both surface and groundwater, sometimes above the recommendations for drinking water. This whole catchment assessment provides a basis to develop collaborative measures to mitigate pollution of water by herbicides.Horizon 2020 Framework Programm