SoK: A Unified Data Model for Smart Contract Vulnerability Taxonomies

Modern blockchains support the execution of application-level code in the form of smart contracts, allowing developers to devise complex Distributed Applications (DApps). Smart contracts are typically written in high-level languages, such as Solidity, and after deployment on the blockchain, their code is executed in a distributed way in response to transactions or calls from other smart contracts. As a common piece of software, smart contracts are susceptible to vulnerabilities, posing security threats to DApps and their users. The community has already made many different proposals involving taxonomies related to smart contract vulnerabilities. In this paper, we try to systematize such proposals, evaluating their common traits and main discrepancies. A major limitation emerging from our analysis is the lack of a proper formalization of such taxonomies, making hard their adoption within, e.g., tools and disfavoring their improvement over time as a community-driven effort. We thus introduce a novel data model that clearly defines the key entities and relationships relevant to smart contract vulnerabilities. We then show how our data model and its preliminary instantiation can effectively support several valuable use cases, such as interactive exploration of the taxonomy, integration with security frameworks for effective tool orchestration, and statistical analysis for performing longitudinal studies

Neonatal effects of the administration of meperidine and promethazine to the mother in labor. Double blind study

Peer Reviewe

Management of lymphoma survivor patients in Italy: an evaluation by Fondazione Italiana Linfomi

Several outpatient models for the follow-up of cancer survivors have been developed worldwide. A multidisciplinary approach is often necessary to guarantee the best monitoring of long-term toxicities. Guidelines also indicate a close education on healthy lifestyles. In this context, we have analyzed the Italian follow-up modalities of lymphoma survivors, with the aim to have a starting line to hypothesize and plan the best model for Italian hematology centers

Sex Influence on Fenestrated and Branched Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair: Outcomes From a National Multicenter Registry

Introduction: Women are generally underrepresented in trials focusing on aortic aneurysm. Nevertheless, sex-related differences have recently emerged from several studies and registries. The aim of this research was to assess whether sex-related anatomical disparities existed in fenestrated and branched aortic repair candidates and whether these discrepancies could influence endovascular repair outcomes. Methods: Data from all consecutive patients treated during the 2008–2019 period within the Italian Multicenter fenestrated or branched endovascular aortic repair (F/BEVAR) Registry were included in the present study. Propensity matching was performed using a logistic regression model adjusted for demographic data and comorbidities to obtain comparable male and female samples. The selection model led to a final study population of 176 patients (88 women and 88 men) among the total initial cohort of 596. Study endpoints were technical and clinical success, overall survival, aneurysm-related death, and reintervention rates evaluated at 30 days and during follow-up. Results: Twenty-eight patients (15.9%) received urgent/emergent repair. In most of the cases (71.6%), women received treatment for extensive thoracoabdominal pathology (Crawford type I, II, or III aneurysm rather than type IV or juxta-pararenal) versus 46.6% of men (p=0.001). Female patients presented with more challenging iliac accesses with at least one side considered hostile in 27.3% of the cases (vs 13.6% in male patients, p=0.039). Finally, women had significantly smaller visceral vessels. Women had significantly worse operative outcomes, with an 86.2% technical success rate versus 96.6% in the male population (p=0.016). No differences were recorded in terms of 30-day reinterventions between men and women. The 5-year estimate of freedom from late reintervention, according to Kaplan-Meier analysis, was 85.6% in men versus 81.6% in women (p=ns). No aneurysm-related death was recorded during follow-up (median observational time, 23 months [interquartile range, 7–45 months]). Conclusion: Women presented a significantly higher incidence of thoracoabdominal aneurysms, smaller visceral vessels, and more complex iliofemoral accesses, resulting in a significantly lower technical success after F/BEVAR. Further studies assessing sex-related differences are needed to properly determine the impact on outcomes and stratify procedural risks. Clinical Impact: Women are generally underrepresented in trials focusing on aortic aneurysms. Aiming to assess whether sex may affect outcomes after a complex endovascular aortic repair, a propensity score selection was applied to a total population of 596 patients receiving F/BEVAR aortic repair with the Cook platform, matching each treated female patient with a corresponding male patient. Women presented more frequently a thoracoabdominal aneurysm extent, smaller visceral vessels, and complex iliofemoral accesses, resulting in significantly worse operative outcomes, with an 86.2% technical success versus 96.6% (p=0.016). No differences were recorded in terms of short-term and mid-term reinterventions. According to these results, careful and critical assessment should be posed in case of female patients receiving complex aortic repair, especially regarding preoperative anatomical evaluation and clinical selection with appropriate surgical risk stratification

Risk of acute and serious liver injury associated to nimesulide and other NSAIDs: data from drug-induced liver injury case-control study in Italy

Aim: Drug-induced liver injury is one of the most serious adverse drug reactions and the most frequent reason for restriction of indications or withdrawal of drugs. Some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were withdrawn from the market because of serious hepatotoxicity. We estimated the risk of acute and serious liver injury associated with the use of nimesulide and other NSAIDs, with a prevalence of use greater than or equal to 5%. Methods: This is a multicentre case–control study carried out in nine Italian hospitals from October 2010 to January 2014. Cases were adults, with a diagnosis of acute liver injury. Controls presented acute clinical disorders not related to chronic conditions, not involving the liver. Adjusted odds ratio (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated initially with a bivariate and then multivariate analysis. Results: We included 179 cases matched to 1770 controls. Adjusted OR for acute serious liver injury associated with all NSAIDs was 1.69, 95% CI 1.21–2.37. Thirty cases were exposed to nimesulide (adjusted OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.28–3.47); the risk increased according to the length of exposure (OR > 30 days: 12.55, 95% CI 1.73–90.88) and to higher doses (OR 10.69, 95% CI 4.02–28.44). Risk of hepatotoxicity was increased also for ibuprofen, used both at recommended dosages (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.13–3.26) and at higher doses (OR 3.73, 95% CI 1.11–12.46) and for ketoprofen ≥ 150 mg (OR 4.65, 95% CI 1.33–10.00). Conclusion: Among all NSAIDs, nimesulide is associated with the higher risk, ibuprofen and high doses of ketoprofen are also associated with a modestly increased risk of hepatotoxicity

Molecular Landscape and Association with Crohn Disease of Poorly Cohesive Carcinomas of the Nonampullary Small Bowel

Objectives: Poorly cohesive carcinomas (PCCs) are neoplasms defined by a predominantly dyshesive growth pattern with single cell or cord-like stromal infiltration. The -distinctive clinicopathologic and prognostic features of small bowel PCCs (SB-PCCs) in comparison with conventional-type small intestinal adenocarcinomas have only recently been characterized. However, as SB-PCCs' genetic profile is still unknown, we aimed to analyze the molecular landscape of SB-PCCs. Methods: A next-generation sequencing analysis through Trusight Oncology 500 on a series of 15 nonampullary SB-PCCs was performed. Results: The most frequently found gene alterations were TP53 (53%) and RHOA (13%) mutations and KRAS amplification (13%), whereas KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA mutations were not identified. Most SB-PCCs (80%) were associated with Crohn disease, including both RHOA-mutated SB-PCCs, which featured a non-SRC-type histology, and showed a peculiar appendiceal-type, low-grade goblet cell adenocarcinoma (GCA)-like component. Rarely, SB-PCCs showed high microsatellite instability, mutations in IDH1 and ERBB2 genes, or FGFR2 amplification (one case each), which are established or promising therapeutic targets in such aggressive cancers. Conclusions: SB-PCCs may harbor RHOA mutations, which are reminiscent of the diffuse subtype of gastric cancers or appendiceal GCAs, while KRAS and PIK3CA mutations, commonly involved in colorectal and small bowel adenocarcinomas, are not typical of such cancers

Hospital admissions for hypertensive crisis in the Emergency Departments: a large multicenter Italian study

Epidemiological data on the impact of hypertensive crises (emergencies and urgencies) on referral to the Emergency Departments (EDs) are lacking, in spite of the evidence that they may be life-threatening conditions. We performed a multicenter study to identify all patients aged 18 years and over who were admitted to 10 Italian EDs during 2009 for hypertensive crises (systolic blood pressure ≥220 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥120 mmHg). We classified patients as affected by either hypertensive emergencies or hypertensive urgencies depending on the presence or the absence of progressive target organ damage, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was then performed to assess variables independently associated with hypertensive emergencies with respect to hypertensive urgencies. Of 333,407 patients admitted to the EDs over the one-year period, 1,546 had hypertensive crises (4.6/1,000, 95% CI 4.4-4.9), and 23% of them had unknown hypertension. Hypertensive emergencies (n = 391, 25.3% of hypertensive crises) were acute pulmonary edema (30.9%), stroke (22.0%,), myocardial infarction (17.9%), acute aortic dissection (7.9%), acute renal failure (5.9%) and hypertensive encephalopathy (4.9%). Men had higher frequency than women of unknown hypertension (27.9% vs 18.5%, p<0.001). Even among known hypertensive patients, a larger proportion of men than women reported not taking anti-hypertensive drug (12.6% among men and 9.4% among women (p<0.001). Compared to women of similar age, men had higher likelihood of having hypertensive emergencies than urgencies (OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.06-1.70), independently of presenting symptoms, creatinine, smoking habit and known hypertension. This study shows that hypertensive crises involved almost 5 out of 1,000 patients-year admitted to EDs. Sex differences in frequencies of unknown hypertension, compliance to treatment and risk of hypertensive emergencies might have implications for public health programs

Performance of ALICE pixel prototypes in high energy beams

The two innermost layers of the ALICE inner tracking system are instrumented with silicon pixel detectors. Single chip assembly prototypes of the ALICE pixels have been tested in high energy particle beams at the CERN SPS. Detection efficiency and spatial precision have been studied as a function of the threshold and the track incidence angle. The experimental method, data analysis and main results are presented.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, contribution to PIX2005 Workshop, Bonn (Germany), 5-8 September 200

P352 A propensity score-matched, real-world comparison of ustekinumab vs vedolizumab as a second-line treatment for Crohn's disease. The Cross Pennine study II

Abstract Background The best choice of biological agents after failure to an anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α agent in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) is yet to be defined. Real-world data dealing with this issue are still emerging. Methods This is a multicentre retrospective study including eight UK hospitals (August 2014-April 2020). We retrospectively collected data of patients treated with ustekinumab. Clinical response and remission at 14 and 52 weeks evaluated through Physician Global Assessment (PGA) and adverse events were recorded. Predictors of clinical response were examined, and a propensity score-matched analysis with a cohort of patients treated with vedolizumab was performed. Results Overall, 282 patients (mean age 40±15, F:M ratio 1.7:1) treated with ustekinumab were included. Clinical response or remission was reached by 200/282 patients (70.9%) at 14 weeks, and by 162/259 patients (62.5%) at 52 weeks. The most common reason for discontinuation was either primary failure or loss of response, followed by the occurrence of adverse events and by the need for surgery. The rate of non-adherence was rather low (1.4%). Current smoking (OR 2.48, 95% CI 1.13-5.44; p=0.02), baseline PGA (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.55-3.69, p&lt;0.001), and use of steroids (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.26-4.65, p=0.008) were associated with 52-week treatment failure. Overall, 74 adverse events occurred, of which 26 were labelled as serious (8.3 per 100 person-year). After exclusion of patients without anti-TNFα exposure prior to starting ustekinumab or vedolizumab and exclusion of patients previously exposed to vedolizumab or ustekinumab, we analysed 275/282 patients (97.5%) from the ustekinumab cohort and 118/135 patients (87.4%) from the vedolizumab cohort. Propensity score analysis revealed that at 14 weeks, patients treated with ustekinumab were 38% (95% CI 25-50%; p&lt;0.001) more likely to achieve a clinical remission, while at 52 weeks, the difference of 9% (95% CI -15-33%; p=0.462) was not significant. Conclusion Ustekinumab was effective and well tolerated in this real-world cohort. While ustekinumab proved more effective at 14-week follow-up, we found no statistically significant differences in outcomes at 52 weeks

Beam Test Performance and Simulation of Prototypes for the ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector

The silicon pixel detector (SPD) of the ALICE experiment in preparation at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is designed to provide the precise vertex reconstruction needed for measuring heavy flavor production in heavy ion collisions at very high energies and high multiplicity. The SPD forms the innermost part of the Inner Tracking System (ITS) which also includes silicon drift and silicon strip detectors. Single assembly prototypes of the ALICE SPD have been tested at the CERN SPS using high energy proton/pion beams in 2002 and 2003. We report on the experimental determination of the spatial precision. We also report on the first combined beam test with prototypes of the other ITS silicon detector technologies at the CERN SPS in November 2004. The issue of SPD simulation is briefly discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, prepared for proceedings of 7th International Position Sensitive Detectors Conference, Liverpool, Sept. 200