Analisi di malware in ambiente virtualizzato: l’esempio di Cuckoo Sandbox

In questo lavoro di tesi ho analizzato il comportamento di Cuckoo Sandbox, un programma per l'analisi dei malware. Per l'esecuzione dei malware, Cuckoo sfrutta i meccanismi di sandbox e macchine virtuali. Cuckoo permette l'analisi di molteplici tipologie di file, tracciare le chiamate di sistema, effettuare dump di rete e di memoria e possiede diversi tool per la classificazione dei malware. Oltre al funzionamento del software nella tesi sono presenti alcuni capitolo che trattano la sicurezza informatica e i meccanismi che vengono attuati nei sistemi Linux per rendere i sistemi sicuri. Inoltre viene approfondita la virtualizzazione hardware e a livello sistema operativo, con l'esempio di Docker. Infine vengono proposti due esempi di malware analizzati

Scenografie pittoresche: un progetto nel giardino di Caserta

Il progetto si sviluppa attraverso una successione di padiglioni, piccoli elementi , per lo più belvederi ,che portano il visitatore dall’ Ingresso del Giardino Inglese della Reggia di Caserta, fino al progetto conclusivo del teatro all’aperto. Il percorso segue un tracciato sinuoso che, instaura un dialogo con le preesistenze e che va ad armonizzarsi con la natura e con il percorso dell’acqua, elemento generatore del complesso

Morpholine Scaffolds’ Preparation for Foldamers’ Design and Construction

This review highlights the advances in the synthesis of morpholine building blocks useful for artificial oligomers synthesis and peptide foldamers or biopolymers. Both morpholino nucleosides and morpholine derived from amino acids have been considered focusing on the preparation of antisense strands, peptides and bio-based materials.This review highlights the advances in the synthesis of morpholine building blocks useful for artificial foldamers synthesis. Both morpholino nucleosides and morpholine derived from amino acids have been considered focusing on the preparation of antisense strands, peptides and bio-based materials

Catalytic upgrading of clean biogas to synthesis gas

Clean biogas, produced by anaerobic digestion of biomasses or organic wastes, is one of the most promising substitutes for natural gas. After its purification, it can be valorized through different reforming processes that convert CH4 and CO2 into synthesis gas (a mixture of CO and H2). However, these processes have many issues related to the harsh conditions of reaction used, the high carbon formation rate and the remarkable endothermicity of the reforming reactions. In this context, the use of the appropriate catalyst is of paramount importance to avoid deactivation, to deal with heat issues and mild reaction conditions and to attain an exploitable syngas composition. The development of a catalyst with high activity and stability can be achieved using different active phases, catalytic supports, promoters, preparation methods and catalyst configurations. In this paper, a review of the recent findings in biogas reforming is presented. The different elements that compose the catalytic system are systematically reviewed with particular attention on the new findings that allow to obtain catalysts with high activity, stability, and resistance towards carbon formation

Evaluation of the Catalytic Activity of Metal Phosphates and Related Oxides in the Ketonization of Propionic Acid

In recent years, the upgrading of lignocellulose bio-oils from fast-pyrolysis by means of ketonization has emerged as a frontier research domain to produce a new generation of biofuels. Propionic acid (PA) ketonization is extensively investigated as a model reaction over metal oxides, but the activity of other materials, such as metal phosphates, is mostly unknown. Therefore, PA ketonization was preliminarily investigated in the gas phase over both phosphates and oxides of Al, Zr, and La. Their catalytic activity was correlated to the physicochemical properties of the materials characterized by means of XRD, XRF, BET N2 porosimetry, and CO2- and NH3-TPD. Noteworthy, monoclinic ZrO2 proved to be the most promising candidate for the target reaction, leading to a 3-pentanone productivity as high as 5.6 h 121 in the optimized conditions. This value is higher than most of those reported for the same reaction in both the academic and patent literature

A Comparative Safety Assessment of Hydrogen Storage Tanks for Hydrogen-powered Buses

Hydrogen is a promising zero-emission fuel that could play a key role in the transition towards a more sustainable economy. It is regarded as a possible fuel for the future that could replace traditional fossil fuels and reduce the consequent amount of greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast with the undeniable benefits introduced by the use of hydrogen as a fuel, its hazardous properties rise concern from the safety standpoint. A potential loss of integrity of the storage equipment might lead to severe consequences such as fires and explosions. The current investigation aims at quantifying the impact of the outcomes of an unexpected hydrogen release from the storage vessels designed for hydrogen-powered buses. A comparative analysis is carried out considering the different conditions in which hydrogen is currently stored on board: as a high-pressure gas, as a cryogenic liquid or as a cryo-compressed gas. According to the operating conditions, a set of accident scenarios that may follow the release of hydrogen is identified and an event tree analysis is carried out to determine the resulting dangerous phenomena. The impact of such phenomena is assessed in terms of damage distances. The results of the study demonstrate the high hazardousness of cryo-compression and highlight that liquid and compressed hydrogen are the preferable solutions from a safety standpoint

Superacid resin-based heterogeneous catalysts for the selective acylation of 1,2-methylenedioxybenzene

In this work, we firstly report on the use of highly active and selective Aquivion superacid resins as heterogeneous catalysts for the acylation of 1,2-methylenedioxybenzene (MDB) with propionic anhydride (AP). The reaction was investigated and optimized using solvent-free conditions to selectively produce 3,4-methylenedioxypropiophenone (MDP1P), a key intermediate for the manufacture of active ingredients used in insecticide formulations with a volume of production of roughly 3000 t/y. Interestingly, Aquivion-based catalysts allows to work in mild reaction conditions (i. e. 80 °C), obtaining MDP1P yields as high as 44 % after only 1 h of reaction (selectivity 83 %). A detailed study of the AP reactivity demonstrated its tendency to promote oligomerization reactions that, as confirmed by ex-situ and in-situ FT-ATR analyses, caused the deactivation of the catalyst forming surficial carbonaceous residues. In this context, a fast oxidation of the resin surface organic residues using a diluted HNO3 (or H2O2) solution was proven to be an efficient method to regenerate the catalyst, which can be reused for several reaction cycles. The results obtained in preliminary scale-up tests were basically unaffected by the reaction volume (up to 800 mL), paving the way for possible future applications of the process

Investigation of the PI Control Parameters on the Low Temperature Synthesis of 2-octanone

Temperature control is probably the most important factor that influences a chemical reaction yield, in particular when working with strongly exothermic reactions. The oxidation of 2-octanol to 2-octanone is a well-known two phase (liquid-liquid) oxidation reaction, and it suffers of yield loss due to side reactions that lead to further oxidation to a mixture of carboxylic acids. As the reaction is exothermic, controlling the reactor temperature is extremely important for a safe operation. A temperature control naturally induces fluctuations within the system, which can impact the kinetics of the desired reaction. The aim of this work is to investigate the impact of the Proportional-Integral temperature controller parameters on the conversion to 2-octanone. The reaction is carried out in a semi-batch reactor, dosing 2-octanol on a solution of nitric acid. The production of nitrosonium ion is promoted by adding sodium nitrite to the nitric acid. The reaction is carried out with high stirring speed, in order to work under full chemical control regime, avoiding the effect of material diffusion between the two phases. Several simulations were done referring to an Easymax™ 402 Workstation (Mettler Toledo) under an isothermal temperature control mode. Target temperatures were chosen in the -15 - 15 °C range. The proportional parameter was tested in the range of 5-15, and the integral parameter was kept in the range of 60-600 s. Results showed that runaway boundaries are significatively affected by the values of the temperature controller parameters, highlighting how it is fundamental a calorimetric investigation of the process in view of a safe process optimization

Meningitis with cranial polyneuritis and cavernous sinus thrombosis by Borrelia crocidurae: First autochthonous case in Europe

Borrelia crocidurae is endemic in West Africa, where it represents the leading cause of tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF). TBRF typically presents with high fever and systemic symptoms, followed by recurrent episodes. Neurological complications may occur during febrile relapses. B. crocidurae is considered the most neurotropic agent of TBRF and is associated to severe neurological manifestations i.e. meningitis and encephalitis.To date, European cases of B. crocidurae infection have been reported in travelers returning from endemic areas. We report the first autochthonous case in Europe of B. crocidurae infection, presenting as meningitis with cranial polyneuritis and cavernous sinus thrombosis that were not preceded by classic febrile recurrences. Keywords: Borrelia crocidurae, Europe, Autochthonous, Meningitis, Cranial polyneuritis, Cavernous sinus thrombosi

The Combination of Molnupiravir with Nirmatrelvir or GC376 Has a Synergic Role in the Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Replication In Vitro

Introduction: The development of effective vaccines has partially mitigated the trend of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; however, the need for orally administered antiviral drugs persists. This study aims to investigate the activity of molnupiravir in combination with nirmatrelvir or GC376 on SARS-CoV-2 to verify the synergistic effect. Methods: The SARS-CoV-2 strains 20A.EU, BA.1 and BA.2 were used to infect Vero E6 in presence of antiviral compounds alone or in combinations using five two-fold serial dilution of compound concentrations <= EC90. After 48 and 72 h post-infection, viability was performed using MTT reduction assay. Supernatants were collected for plaque-assay titration. All experiments were performed in triplicate, each being repeated at least three times. The synergistic score was calculated using Synergy Finder version 2. Results: All compounds reached micromolar EC90. Molnupiravir and GC376 showed a synergistic activity at 48 h with an HSA score of 19.33 (p < 0.0001) and an additive activity at 72 h with an HSA score of 8.61 (p < 0.0001). Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir showed a synergistic activity both at 48 h and 72 h with an HSA score of 14.2 (p = 0.01) and 13.08 (p < 0.0001), respectively. Conclusion: Molnupiravir associated with one of the two protease-inhibitors nirmatrelvir and GC376 showed good additive-synergic activity in vitro