Analysis of Forensic Artifacts in Database Memory using Support Vector Machine

Memory analysis allows forensic investigators to establish a more complete timeline of system activity using a snapshot of main memory (i.e., RAM). Investigators may rely on such analysis to detect malicious activity and understand the scope of what data was exfiltrated. This is of particular interest in the presence of incomplete or untrusted logs, where a privileged user (or an attacker with such capabilities) can altogether bypass or disable logging. In such instances, a forensic investigator can still rely on the fact that data must ultimately be processed in memory, regardless of the information that is recorded in audit logs. In this work, we propose methods to reverse-engineer query activity from a database management system (DBMS) process snapshot. Since DBMSes are used to manage and store an organization’s most sensitive data, they are of particular concern for data exfiltration. A DBMS processes queries using a series of operations, such as index sort, file sort, or joins, which produce their own set of distinct forensic artifacts in memory. Our methods use these artifacts to make conclusions about recent query activity even in the presence of untrusted or incomplete logs. Our methods use a supervised learning based model using support vector machines (SVM) to approximate recently executed queries given these memory artifacts. We extract feature vectors from the byte frequencies in a special area of the DBMS process called the sort area fragment, and use SVM to predict the type of the query operation under supervised learning. We demonstrate the capabilities and the accuracy of our methods for two representative DBMSes, PostgreSQL and MySQL. Experimental results show that, our model achieved an accuracy of 92% and 90% on MySQL and PostgreSQL datasets, respectively

Vascular cells derived from Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) inducible pluripotent stem cells

To study the vulnerability of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS)

How Sensitive is the CMB to a Single Lens?

We study the imprints of a single lens, that breaks statistical isotropy, on the CMB and calculate the signal to noise ratio (S/N) for its detection. We emphasize the role of non-Gaussianities induced by LCDM weak lensing in this calculation and show that typically the S/N is much smaller than expected. In particular we find that the hypothesis that a void (texture) is responsible for the WMAP cold spot can barely (cannot) be tested via weak lensing of the CMB.Comment: Accepted for publication in JCAP, 24 pages, 5 figure

Reasoning with comparative moral judgements: an argument for Moral Bayesianism

The paper discusses the notion of reasoning with comparative moral judgements (i.e judgements of the form “act a is morally superior to act b”) from the point of view of several meta-ethical positions. Using a simple formal result, it is argued that only a version of moral cognitivism that is committed to the claim that moral beliefs come in degrees can give a normatively plausible account of such reasoning. Some implications of accepting such a version of moral cognitivism are discussed

Colon cancer associated transcript-1 (CCAT1) expression in adenocarcinoma of the stomach

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to have functional roles in cancer biology and are dys-regulated in many tumors. Colon Cancer Associated Transcript -1 (CCAT1) is a lncRNA, previously shown to be significantly up-regulated in colon cancer. The aim of this study is to determine expression levels of CCAT1 in gastric carcinoma (GC). Methods: Tissue samples were obtained from patients undergoing resection for gastric carcinoma (n=19). For each patient, tumor tissue and normal appearing gastric mucosa were taken. Normal gastric tissues obtained from morbidly obese patients, undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy served as normal controls (n=19). A human gastric carcinoma cell line (AGS) served as positive control. RNA was extracted from all tissue samples and CCAT1 expression was analyzed using quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: Low expression of CCAT1 was identified in normal gastric mucosa samples obtained from morbidly obese patients [mean Relative Quantity (RQ) = 1.95±0.4]. AGS human gastric carcinoma cell line showed an elevated level of CCAT1 expression (RQ=8.02). Expression levels of CCAT1 were approximately 10.8 fold higher in GC samples than in samples taken from the negative control group (RQ=21.1±5 vs. RQ=1.95±0.4, respectively, p<0.001). Interestingly, CCAT1 expression was significantly overexpressed in adjacent normal tissues when compared to the negative control group (RQ = 15.25±2 vs. RQ=1.95±0.4, respectively, p<0.001). Tissues obtained from recurrent GC cases showed the highest expression levels (RQ = 88.8±31; p<0.001). Expression levels increased with tumor stage (T4- 36.4±15, T3- 16.1±6, T2- 4.7±1), however this did not reach statistical significance (p=0.2). There was no difference in CCAT1 expression between intestinal and diffuse type GC (RQ=22.4±7 vs. 22.4±16, respectively, p=0.9). Within the normal gastric tissue samples, no significant difference in CCAT1 expression was observed in helicobacter pylori negative and positive patients (RQ= 2.4±0.9 vs. 0.93±0.2, respectively, p=0.13). Conclusion: CCAT1 is up-regulated in gastric cancer, and may serve as a potential bio-marker for early detection and surveillance. © Ivyspring International Publisher

The Large N Harmonic Oscillator as a String Theory

We propose a duality between the large-N gauged harmonic oscillator and a novel string theory in two dimensions.Comment: 31 pages, 2 figures; v2: fixed typo

Type Three Secretion System-Dependent Microvascular Thrombosis and Ischemic Enteritis in Human Gut Xenografts Infected with Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is a leading cause of severe intestinal disease and infant mortality in developing countries. Virulence is mediated by a type three secretion system (T3SS), causing the hallmark attaching and effacing (AE) lesions and actin-rich pedestal formation beneath the infecting bacteria on the apical surface of enterocytes. EPEC is a human-specific pathogen whose pathogenesis cannot be studied in animal models. We therefore established an EPEC infection model in human gut xenografts in SCID mice and used it to study the role of T3SS in the pathogenesis of the disease. Following EPEC O127: H6 strain E2348/69 infection, T3SS-dependent AE lesions and pedestals were demonstrated in all infected xenografts. We report here the development of T3SS-dependent intestinal thrombotic microangiopathy (iTMA) and ischemic enteritis in similar to 50% of infected human gut xenografts. Using species-specific CD31 immunostaining, we showed that iTMA was limited to the larger human-mouse chimeric blood vessels, which are located between the muscularis mucosa and circular muscular layer of the human gut. These blood vessels were massively invaded by bacteria, which adhered to and formed pedestals on endothelial cells and aggregated with mouse neutrophils in the lumen. We conclude that endothelial infection, iTMA, and ischemic enteritis might be central mechanisms underlying severe EPEC-mediated disease

Supergravity and The Large N Limit of Theories With Sixteen Supercharges

We consider field theories with sixteen supersymmetries, which includes U(N) Yang-Mills theories in various dimensions, and argue that their large N limit is related to certain supergravity solutions. We study this by considering a system of D-branes in string theory and then taking a limit where the brane worldvolume theory decouples from gravity. At the same time we study the corresponding D-brane supergravity solution and argue that we can trust it in certain regions where the curvature (and the effective string coupling, where appropriate) are small. The supergravity solutions typically have several weakly coupled regions and interpolate between different limits of string-M-theory.Comment: 24 pages, latex. v2: reference added, v3: typos correcte

The synthesis of hydroxyapatite from artificially grown Red Sea hydrozoan coral for antimicrobacterial drug delivery system applications

The hydrozoan Millepora dichotoma (MD) is a typical Red Sea species containing a porous skeleton in the form of aragonite crystalline calcium carbonate. Due to environmental considerations, the artificial production of coralline species under controlled conditions is pertinent and underway. Artificially grown MD was used as a raw material for the production of calcium phosphate, mainly hydroxyapatite bioceramics, to be used in the drug delivery systems as a drug carrier or in the tissue engineering such as bone graft. DTA-TGA, XRD, FT-IR, Raman, and SEM analysis were carried out to analyze both unconverted and converted artificial corals. Hydrothermally converted coral fine powders were loaded with gentamicin (Gm) antibiotic, and the drug-loaded particles were analyzed by SEM. Unconverted coral was mainly aragonite, while hydrothermally treated coral was completely converted to hydroxyapatite. Hydrothermally treated coral was showing agglomerated nodules up to 1-μm size consisting of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite platelets in the size range of less than 100 nm. The general macropore size of the coral was found to be appropriate for osteoid growth, which is 100 to 600 μm range. These artificially grown corals can be easily produced and used for bone growth and repair and other biomedical applications