69 research outputs found
You shall not pass: Mitigating SQL Injection Attacks on Legacy Web Applications
SQL injection (SQLi) attacks pose a significant threat to the security of web
applications. Existing approaches do not support object-oriented programming
that renders these approaches unable to protect the real-world web apps such as
Wordpress, Joomla, or Drupal against SQLi attacks. We propose a novel hybrid
static-dynamic analysis for PHP web applications that limits each PHP function
for accessing the database. Our tool, SQLBlock, reduces the attack surface of
the vulnerable PHP functions in a web application to a set of query descriptors
that demonstrate the benign functionality of the PHP function. We implement
SQLBlock as a plugin for MySQL and PHP. Our approach does not require any
modification to the web app. W evaluate SQLBlock on 11 SQLi vulnerabilities in
Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, and their plugins. We demonstrate that
SQLBlock successfully prevents all 11 SQLi exploits with negligible performance
overhead (i.e., a maximum of 3% on a heavily-loaded web server)Comment: Accepted in ASIACCS 202
Arylmethylamino steroids as antiparasitic agents
In search of antiparasitic agents, we here identify arylmethylamino steroids as potent compounds and characterize more than 60 derivatives. The lead compound 1o is fast acting and highly active against intraerythrocytic stages of chloroquine-sensitive and resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites (IC50 1–5?nM) as well as against gametocytes. In P. berghei-infected mice, oral administration of 1o drastically reduces parasitaemia and cures the animals. Furthermore, 1o efficiently blocks parasite transmission from mice to mosquitoes. The steroid compounds show low cytotoxicity in mammalian cells and do not induce acute toxicity symptoms in mice. Moreover, 1o has a remarkable activity against the blood-feeding trematode parasite Schistosoma mansoni. The steroid and the hydroxyarylmethylamino moieties are essential for antimalarial activity supporting a chelate-based quinone methide mechanism involving metal or haem bioactivation. This study identifies chemical scaffolds that are rapidly internalized into blood-feeding parasites
Telomere shortening and mitotic dysfunction generate cytogenetic heterogeneity in a subgroup of renal cell carcinomas
Activation of the EGFR/ERK pathway in high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinomas of the salivary glands
All-d-Enantiomer of β-Amyloid Peptide Forms Ion Channels in Lipid Bilayers
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type
of senile
dementia in aging populations. Amyloid β (Aβ)-mediated
dysregulation of ionic homeostasis is the prevailing underlying mechanism
leading to synaptic degeneration and neuronal death. Aβ-dependent
ionic dysregulation most likely occurs either directly via unregulated
ionic transport through the membrane or indirectly via Aβ binding
to cell membrane receptors and subsequent opening of existing ion
channels or transporters. Receptor binding is expected to involve
a high degree of stereospecificity. Here, we investigated whether
an Aβ peptide enantiomer, whose entire sequence consists of d-amino acids, can form ion-conducting channels; these channels
can directly mediate Aβ effects even in the absence of receptor–peptide
interactions. Using complementary approaches of planar lipid bilayer
(PLB) electrophysiological recordings and molecular dynamics (MD)
simulations, we show that the d-Aβ isomer exhibits
ion conductance behavior in the bilayer indistinguishable from that
described earlier for the l-Aβ isomer. The d isomer forms channel-like pores with heterogeneous ionic conductance
similar to the l-Aβ isomer channels, and the d-isomer channel conductance is blocked by Zn2+, a known
blocker of l-Aβ isomer channels. MD simulations further
verify formation of β-barrel-like Aβ channels with d- and l-isomers, illustrating that both d- and l-Aβ barrels can conduct cations. The calculated
values of the single-channel conductance are approximately in the
range of the experimental values. These findings are in agreement
with amyloids forming Ca2+ leaking, unregulated channels
in AD, and suggest that Aβ toxicity is mediated through a receptor-independent,
nonstereoselective mechanism
Stress, ageing and their influence on functional, cellular and molecular aspects of the immune system
The immune response is essential for keeping an organism healthy and for defending it from different types of pathogens. It is a complex system that consists of a large number of components performing different functions. The adequate and controlled interaction between these components is necessary for a robust and strong immune response. There are, however, many factors that interfere with the way the immune response functions. Stress and ageing now consistently appear in the literature as factors that act upon the immune system in the way that is often damaging. This review focuses on the role of stress and ageing in altering the robustness of the immune response first separately, and then simultaneously, discussing the effects that emerge from their interplay. The special focus is on the psychological stress and the impact that it has at different levels, from the whole system to the individual molecules, resulting in consequences for physical health
Age-related macular degeneration associated polymorphism rs10490924 in ARMS2 results in deficiency of a complement activator
Possible functions of 14-3-3- and G-proteins in the regulaation of phospholipases and K<sup>+</sup> channels in plants
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