Self-Protection Mechanisms for Web Applications - A Case Study

Self-protection mechanisms aim to improve security of software systems at runtime. They are able to automatically prevent and/or react to security threats by observing the state of a system and its execution environment, by reasoning on the observed state, and by applying enhanced security strategies appropriate for the current threat. Self-protection mechanisms complement traditional security solutions which are mostly static and focus on the boundaries of a system, missing in this way the overall picture of a system's security. This paper presents several self-protection mechanisms which have been developed in the context of a case study concerning a home banking system. Essentially, the mechanisms described in this paper aim to improve the security of the system in the following two scenarios: users' login and bank operations. Furthermore, the proposed self-protection mechanisms are presented through the taxonomy proposed in (Yuan, 2014)

Psoriasis at the time of COVID-19: results of an Italian survey on patients and caregivers

Methods: A multiple-choice survey, addressing the first and the second waves of COVID-19 pandemic, was administered to psoriatic patients and their caregivers, to evaluate demographics, clinical data, patient's perception and psychological impact with respect to the assistance received. Patient's engagement was evaluated through Social Media interactions (reach and engagement of Facebook and Instagram about the website "La pelle conta", lapellaconta.it). Results: Preliminary results of the survey spanned in the time period from 30/9/2020 to 11/3/2021. Out of 852 patients, 83% were women. Seventy-three percent of patients declared that living with the disease worsened during the pandemic, with the onset or exacerbation of anxiety, stress, sense of helplessness, sadness and distress. A worsening in the assistance from the healthcare system was reported by 54% of the psoriatic patients. Two hundred fifteen caregivers took part to the survey and 84% were women. During the pandemic, a worsening in the symptoms of the patients was noted by 69% of the caregivers, and they also experienced sense of helplessness, anxiety, stress, sadness and distress themselves. Conclusions: Although both the patients and the caregivers registered a worsening of symptoms and of quality of assistance and an increase of anxiety during the pandemic, in most of the cases the patients and their families were able to face difficulties, improving their relationship. The caregivers are central for patient assistance but they cannot be left alone

Validación argentina de la serie 19 del Sistema Internacional de Imágenes Afectivas (IAPS)

The  aim  of this  study was to report the Argentinian  norms of set 19 of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) developed by Lang (Lang,  Bradley,  &  Cuthbert,  1997)  in  order  to  contribute  to  the  instrument’s cross-cultural  validation.  Participants  were  125  students  from  Universidad Nacional  de  San  Luis  (San  Luis  National  University)  (67%  women  and  33% men)  who  assessed  the  images  in  the  emotional dimensions  of  valence, arousal  and  dominance  through  the  Self-Assessment  Manikin  (SAM).  The results  showed  a  distribution  of  the  pictures  within  the affective  space  in  a boomerang  form,  which  is  similar  to  the  American  sample  (Lang,  Bradley,  & Cuthbert,  2008).  No  differences  in  the  emotional dimensions  of  valence  and arousal  were  identified,  but  they  were  found  in  dominance,  regarding  to  the data obtained by  Lang, Bradley and Cuthbert (2008). This study confirms that the  International  Affective  Picture  System  (IAPS)  induces  similar  affective states  in  different  populations  and  its  affective  stimulus  are  understood similarly by Argentinian and American subjects.El objetivo de  este trabajo fue proporcionar los datos normativos argentinos de la serie 19 del Sistema Internacional de Imágenes Afectivas (IAPS) de Lang (Lang,  Bradley, & Cuthbert, 1997) a fin de contribuir con su validación transcultural. Los participantes fueron 125 estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional de San Luis (67% mujeres y 33% varones) que evaluaron las imágenes en las dimensiones emocionales de valencia, activación y dominancia en el Maniquí de Autorreporte (Self-Assessment Manikin-SAM). Los resultados muestran una  distribución de las imágenes en el espacio afectivo en forma de boomerang similar a lo encontrado en Estados Unidos (Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert,  2008). No se identificaron diferencias en las dimensiones emocionales de valencia y activación, pero sí en dominancia, respecto a los datos obtenidos por Lang, Bradley y Cuthbert (2008). Esta investigación confirma que el Sistema Internacional de Imágenes Afectivas (IAPS) induce estados afectivos similares en diferentes poblaciones y que sus estímulos afectivos son entendidos de manera similar entre argentinos y estadounidenses

Towards a Bio-Inspired Real-Time Neuromorphic Cerebellum

From Frontiers via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2020-10-29, collection 2021, accepted 2021-03-24, epub 2021-05-31Publication status: PublishedThis work presents the first simulation of a large-scale, bio-physically constrained cerebellum model performed on neuromorphic hardware. A model containing 97,000 neurons and 4.2 million synapses is simulated on the SpiNNaker neuromorphic system. Results are validated against a baseline simulation of the same model executed with NEST, a popular spiking neural network simulator using generic computational resources and double precision floating point arithmetic. Individual cell and network-level spiking activity is validated in terms of average spike rates, relative lead or lag of spike times, and membrane potential dynamics of individual neurons, and SpiNNaker is shown to produce results in agreement with NEST. Once validated, the model is used to investigate how to accelerate the simulation speed of the network on the SpiNNaker system, with the future goal of creating a real-time neuromorphic cerebellum. Through detailed communication profiling, peak network activity is identified as one of the main challenges for simulation speed-up. Propagation of spiking activity through the network is measured, and will inform the future development of accelerated execution strategies for cerebellum models on neuromorphic hardware. The large ratio of granule cells to other cell types in the model results in high levels of activity converging onto few cells, with those cells having relatively larger time costs associated with the processing of communication. Organizing cells on SpiNNaker in accordance with their spatial position is shown to reduce the peak communication load by 41%. It is hoped that these insights, together with alternative parallelization strategies, will pave the way for real-time execution of large-scale, bio-physically constrained cerebellum models on SpiNNaker. This in turn will enable exploration of cerebellum-inspired controllers for neurorobotic applications, and execution of extended duration simulations over timescales that would currently be prohibitive using conventional computational platforms

APOLLO 11 Project, Consortium in Advanced Lung Cancer Patients Treated With Innovative Therapies: Integration of Real-World Data and Translational Research

Introduction: Despite several therapeutic efforts, lung cancer remains a highly lethal disease. Novel therapeutic approaches encompass immune-checkpoint inhibitors, targeted therapeutics and antibody-drug conjugates, with different results. Several studies have been aimed at identifying biomarkers able to predict benefit from these therapies and create a prediction model of response, despite this there is a lack of information to help clinicians in the choice of therapy for lung cancer patients with advanced disease. This is primarily due to the complexity of lung cancer biology, where a single or few biomarkers are not sufficient to provide enough predictive capability to explain biologic differences; other reasons include the paucity of data collected by single studies performed in heterogeneous unmatched cohorts and the methodology of analysis. In fact, classical statistical methods are unable to analyze and integrate the magnitude of information from multiple biological and clinical sources (eg, genomics, transcriptomics, and radiomics). Methods and objectives: APOLLO11 is an Italian multicentre, observational study involving patients with a diagnosis of advanced lung cancer (NSCLC and SCLC) treated with innovative therapies. Retrospective and prospective collection of multiomic data, such as tissue- (eg, for genomic, transcriptomic analysis) and blood-based biologic material (eg, ctDNA, PBMC), in addition to clinical and radiological data (eg, for radiomic analysis) will be collected. The overall aim of the project is to build a consortium integrating different datasets and a virtual biobank from participating Italian lung cancer centers. To face with the large amount of data provided, AI and ML techniques will be applied will be applied to manage this large dataset in an effort to build an R-Model, integrating retrospective and prospective population-based data. The ultimate goal is to create a tool able to help physicians and patients to make treatment decisions. Conclusion: APOLLO11 aims to propose a breakthrough approach in lung cancer research, replacing the old, monocentric viewpoint towards a multicomprehensive, multiomic, multicenter model. Multicenter cancer datasets incorporating common virtual biobank and new methodologic approaches including artificial intelligence, machine learning up to deep learning is the road to the future in oncology launched by this project

Clinical Features, Cardiovascular Risk Profile, and Therapeutic Trajectories of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Candidate for Oral Semaglutide Therapy in the Italian Specialist Care

Introduction: This study aimed to address therapeutic inertia in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) by investigating the potential of early treatment with oral semaglutide. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2021 and April 2022 among specialists treating individuals with T2D. A scientific committee designed a data collection form covering demographics, cardiovascular risk, glucose control metrics, ongoing therapies, and physician judgments on treatment appropriateness. Participants completed anonymous patient questionnaires reflecting routine clinical encounters. The preferred therapeutic regimen for each patient was also identified. Results: The analysis was conducted on 4449 patients initiating oral semaglutide. The population had a relatively short disease duration (42%  60% of patients, and more often than sitagliptin or empagliflozin. Conclusion: The study supports the potential of early implementation of oral semaglutide as a strategy to overcome therapeutic inertia and enhance T2D management