Prompt-Enhanced Software Vulnerability Detection Using ChatGPT

With the increase in software vulnerabilities that cause significant economic and social losses, automatic vulnerability detection has become essential in software development and maintenance. Recently, large language models (LLMs) like GPT have received considerable attention due to their stunning intelligence, and some studies consider using ChatGPT for vulnerability detection. However, they do not fully consider the characteristics of LLMs, since their designed questions to ChatGPT are simple without a specific prompt design tailored for vulnerability detection. This paper launches a study on the performance of software vulnerability detection using ChatGPT with different prompt designs. Firstly, we complement previous work by applying various improvements to the basic prompt. Moreover, we incorporate structural and sequential auxiliary information to improve the prompt design. Besides, we leverage ChatGPT's ability of memorizing multi-round dialogue to design suitable prompts for vulnerability detection. We conduct extensive experiments on two vulnerability datasets to demonstrate the effectiveness of prompt-enhanced vulnerability detection using ChatGPT. We also analyze the merit and demerit of using ChatGPT for vulnerability detection.Comment: 13 Pages, 4 figure

An Empirical Study on the Influencing Factor and Adjustment Speed of Working Capital: Analysis Based on Dynamic Panel Data with System GMM Estimation

【中文摘要】本文采用系统广义矩估计（generalized method of moments，GMM) 的方法，从公司特征、公司治理和宏观环境三个方面出发检验了上市公司营运资金的影响因素，探讨了我国上市公司营运资金调整速度的区域特征，分析了上市公司营运资金调整方向的趋势。研究发现：①公司自身特征、公司治理水平和宏观环境是上市公司营运资金管理策略选择的重要影响因素；②我国上市公司营运资金调整速度存在显著的区域差异，东部地区上市公司的营运资金调整速度显著快于中西部地区上市公司；③47.557%的上市公司营运资金呈现正向调整趋势，39.986%的上市公司营运资金呈现逆向调整趋势，部分上市公司的营运资金调整背离了最优营运资金水平。 【Abstract】This paper employs the system GMM estimation method to investigate factors that determine listed companies' working capital using variables for firm characteristics，corporate governance， and macro-economic environment. The study also explores regional characteristics of working capital adjustment speed for listed companies as well as analyzes the adjustment direction of the working capital.The study provides three findings. First，firm characteristics，corporate governance，and macro-economic environments are important determinants of listed companies' choice of working capital management strategies. Second，listed companies’ working capital adjustment speeds haves significant regional disparity. The working capital adjustment speed of the listed companies in Eastern region is significantly faster than that of those in Central and Western regions. Lastly，the working capitals of 47.557% of listed companies exhibit a positive adjustment trend， and those of 39.986% of listed companies experience an inverse adjustment trend， suggesting that the adjustments in working capitals for some listed companies make working capital deviate from its optimal level.国家自然基金项目“外部治理环境、利益相关者声誉与上市公司盈余管理”（71172136)、教育部高等学校博士学科点专项科研基金“管理者行为特征对公司财务政策的影响机理及其经济后果研究”（20120041110048

Profiling of circulating serum exosomal microRNAs in elderly patients with infectious stress hyperglycaemia

Abstract Background Early diagnosis of hospitalized elderly patients with infectious stress hyperglycaemia (ISH) is clinically important, especially under the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, as without timely prevention and effective treatment, it is likely to deteriorate into septic shock, thus worsening patient survival and complications. Moreover, cumulative studies have showed that patients with COVID‐19 are reported to have a greater prevalence of hyperglycaemia. However, the underlying mechanism remained unknown. Aim and method Systematic screening of specific biomarkers of serum exosome‐derived microRNAs (sE‐miRNAs) from ISH patient has not yet been reported. In this study, sE‐miRNAs were derived from 10 elderly patients with ISH and 5 control patients with disease‐match without hyperglycaemia (non‐ISH). RNA sequencing identified that a total number of 49 sE‐miRNAs with differential expression between ISH and control group. Of which, top 22 miRNAs ranked by sensitivity × specificity were chosen for further research. Moreover, 7 out of 22 miRNAs that related to glucose metabolism or immune disorder were picked up for further validation in an independent cohort consisting of 52 participants (31 ISH and 21 non‐ISH). Result A validation analysis revealed that three miRNAs (hsa‐miR‐21‐5p, hsa‐miR‐335‐5p and hsa‐miR‐28‐3p) were statistically up‐regulated in exosomes from ISH patients. In the validation cohort and discovery cohort, the AUC of three individual miRNAs ranged from 0.73 to 0.88. A logistic model combining three miRNAs achieved an AUC of 0.96. Besides, sE‐miRNAs‐based signatures effectively characterized patients' poor clinical outcome. Survival curve analysis showed that hsa‐miR‐335‐5p, hsa‐miR‐28‐3p but not hsa‐miR‐21‐5p, were significantly closely related to mortality, and the combination of these three miRNAs could also predict patients outcome (p < .05). Conclusion This study depicted the circulating exosomal miRNAs change in ISH patient, which could be used as a promising biomarker to detect ISH at an early stage and predict patients clinical outcome

The expression of dominant negative TCF7L2 in pancreatic beta cells during the embryonic stage causes impaired glucose homeostasis

Objective: Disruption of TCF7L2 in mouse pancreatic β-cells has generated different outcomes in several investigations. Here we aim to clarify role of β-cell TCF7L2 and Wnt signaling using a functional-knockdown approach. Methods: Adenovirus-mediated dominant negative TCF7L2 (TCF7L2DN) expression was conducted in Ins-1 cells. The fusion gene in which TCF7L2DN expression is driven by PTRE3G was utilized to generate the transgenic mouse line TCF7L2DNTet. The double transgenic line was created by mating TCF7L2DNTet with Ins2-rtTA, designated as βTCFDN. β-cell specific TCF7L2DN expression was induced in βTCFDN by doxycycline feeding. Results: TCF7L2DN expression in Ins-1 cells reduced GSIS, cell proliferation and expression of a battery of genes including incretin receptors and β-cell transcription factors. Inducing TCF7L2DN expression in βTCFDN during adulthood or immediately after weaning generated no or very modest metabolic defect, while its expression during embryonic development by doxycycline feeding in pregnant mothers resulted in significant glucose intolerance associated with altered β-cell gene expression and reduced β-cell mass. Conclusions: Our observations support a cell autonomous role for TCF7L2 in pancreatic β-cells suggested by most, though not all, investigations. βTCFDN is a novel model for further exploring the role of TCF7L2 in β-cell genesis and metabolic homeostasis

MicroRNA-101a Inhibits Cardiac Fibrosis Induced by Hypoxia via Targeting TGFβRI on Cardiac Fibroblasts

Background/Aims: Hypoxia is a basic pathological challenge that is associated with numerous cardiovascular disorders including aberrant cardiac remodeling. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in mediating cardiac fibroblast (CF) function and cardiac fibrosis. Recent data suggested that microRNA-101a (miR-101a) exerted anti-fibrotic effects in post-infarct cardiac remodeling and improved cardiac function. This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between hypoxia, miR-101a and TGF-β signaling pathway in CFs. Methods and Results: Two weeks following coronary artery occlusion in rats, the expression levels of both TGFβ1 and TGFβRI were increased, but the expression of miR-101a was decreased at the site of the infarct and along its border. Cultured rat neonatal CFs treated with hypoxia were characterized by the up-regulation of TGFβ1 and TGFβRI and the down-regulation of miR-101a. Delivery of miR-101a mimics significantly suppressed the expression of TGFβRI and p-Smad 3, CF differentiation and collagen content of CFs. These anti-fibrotic effects were abrogated by co-transfection with AMO-miR-101a, an antisense inhibitor of miR-101a. The repression of TGFβRI, a target of miR-101a, was validated by luciferase reporter assays targeting the 3'UTR of TGFβRI. Additionally, we found that overexpression of miR-101a reversed the improved migration ability of CFs and further reduced CF proliferation caused by hypoxia. Conclusion: Our study illustrates that miR-101a exerts anti-fibrotic effects by targeting TGFβRI, suggesting that miR-101a plays a multi-faceted role in modulating TGF-β signaling pathway and cardiac fibrosis

Nucleic Acid-Targeting Pathways Promote Inflammation in Obesity-Related Insulin Resistance

Obesity-related inflammation of metabolic tissues, including visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and liver, are key factors in the development of insulin resistance (IR), though many of the contributing mechanisms remain unclear. We show that nucleic-acid-targeting pathways downstream of extracellular trap (ET) formation, unmethylated CpG DNA, or ribonucleic acids drive inflammation in IR. High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice show increased release of ETs in VAT, decreased systemic clearance of ETs, and increased autoantibodies against conserved nuclear antigens. In HFD-fed mice, this excess of nucleic acids and related protein antigens worsens metabolic parameters through a number of mechanisms, including activation of VAT macrophages and expansion of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) in the liver. Consistently, HFD-fed mice lacking critical responders of nucleic acid pathways, Toll-like receptors (TLR)7 and TLR9, show reduced metabolic inflammation and improved glucose homeostasis. Treatment of HFD-fed mice with inhibitors of ET formation or a TLR7/9 antagonist improves metabolic disease. These findings reveal a pathogenic role for nucleic acid targeting as a driver of metabolic inflammation in IR