Insider Threat Detection on the Windows Operating System using Virtual Machine Introspection

Existing insider threat defensive technologies focus on monitoring network traffic or events generated by activities on a user\u27s workstation. This research develops a methodology for signaling potentially malicious insider behavior using virtual machine introspection (VMI). VMI provides a novel means to detect potential malicious insiders because the introspection tools remain transparent and inaccessible to the guest and are extremely difficult to subvert. This research develops a four step methodology for development and validation of malicious insider threat alerting using VMI. Six core use cases are developed along with eighteen supporting scenarios. A malicious attacker taxonomy is used to decompose each scenario to aid identification of observables for monitoring for potentially malicious actions. The effectiveness of the identified observables is validated through the use of two data sets, one containing simulated normal and malicious insider user behavior and the second from a computer network operations exercise. Compiled Memory Analysis Tool - Virtual (CMAT-V) and Xen hypervisor capabilities are leveraged to perform VMI and insider threat detection. Results of the research show the developed methodology is effective in detecting all defined malicious insider scenarios used in this research on Windows guests

Diabolical survival in Death Valley: recent pupfish colonization, gene flow and genetic assimilation in the smallest species range on earth

One of the most endangered vertebrates, the Devils Hole pupfish Cyprinodon diabolis, survives in a nearly impossible environment: a narrow subterranean fissure in the hottest desert on earth, Death Valley. This species became a conservation icon after a landmark 1976 US Supreme Court case affirming federal groundwater rights to its unique habitat. However, one outstanding question about this species remains unresolved: how long has diabolis persisted in this hellish environment? We used next-generation sequencing of over 13 000 loci to infer the demographic history of pupfishes in Death Valley. Instead of relicts isolated 2–3 Myr ago throughout repeated flooding of the entire region by inland seas as currently believed, we present evidence for frequent gene flow among Death Valley pupfish species and divergence after the most recent flooding 13 kyr ago. We estimate that Devils Hole was colonized by pupfish between 105 and 830 years ago, followed by genetic assimilation of pelvic fin loss and recent gene flow into neighbouring spring systems. Our results provide a new perspective on an iconic endangered species using the latest population genomic methods and support an emerging consensus that timescales for speciation are overestimated in many groups of rapidly evolving species

Lunar basalt chronology, mantle differentiation and implications for determining the age of the Moon

Despite more than 40 years of studying Apollo samples, the age and early evolution of the Moon remain contentious. Following the formation of the Moon in the aftermath of a giant impact, the resulting Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) is predicted to have generated major geochemically distinct silicate reservoirs, including the sources of lunar basalts. Samples of these basalts, therefore, provide a unique opportunity to characterize these reservoirs. However, the precise timing and extent of geochemical fractionation is poorly constrained, not least due to the difficulty in determining accurate ages and initial Pb isotopic compositions of lunar basalts. Application of an in situ ion microprobe approach to Pb isotope analysis has allowed us to obtain precise crystallization ages from six lunar basalts, typically with an uncertainty of about ±10Ma, as well as constrain their initial Pb-isotopic compositions. This has enabled construction of a two-stage model for the Pb-isotopic evolution of lunar silicate reservoirs, which necessitates the prolonged existence of high-μ reservoirs in order to explain the very radiogenic compositions of the samples. Further, once firm constraints on U and Pb partitioning behaviour are established, this model has the potential to help distinguish between conflicting estimates for the age of the Moon. Nonetheless, we are able to constrain the timing of a lunar mantle reservoir differentiation event at 4376±18Ma, which is consistent with that derived from the Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf isotopic systems, and is interpreted as an average estimate of the time at which the high-μ urKREEP reservoir was established and the Ferroan Anorthosite (FAN) suite was formed

Immunoglobulin haplotype frequencies in Anabaptist population samples: Kansas and Nebraska Mennonites and Indiana Amish

This is the published version, also available here: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41465452

The Population Structure of Ten Newfoundland Outports

This is the published version. Copyright 2000 Wayne State University Press.Island populations are most informative in the study of the genetic structure of human aggregates. These populations are often of small size, thus violating the Hardy-Weinberg assumption of infinite size. Some geographically isolated island populations are further subdivided by religion, ethnicity, and socioeconomic factors, reducing their effective sizes and facilitating genetic changes due to stochastic processes. Because of extreme geographic and social isolation, fishing communities or outports of Newfoundland have been investigated for genetic micro-differentiation through the founder effect and genetic drift (Crawford et al. 1995). The purpose of this paper is to examine the population structure of 10 Newfoundland outports using the allelic frequencies derived from 12 red cell antigens. To achieve this goal, first we calculated gene frequencies using maximum-likelihood estimation procedures. Second, we used /{-matrix methods to explore population differentiation. Third, we regressed mean per-locus heterozygosity on genetic distance from the gene frequency centroid to identify the most isolated populations. On the basis of this information, the three outports of Seal Cove, Island Harbor, and Tilting were found to be genetically differentiated from the other small populations. Moreover, religious and geographic subdivisions appear to explain the observed genetic variation

Reducing in-stent restenosis therapeutic manipulation of miRNA in vascular remodeling and inflammation

Background: Drug-eluting stents reduce the incidence of in-stent restenosis, but they result in delayed arterial healing and are associated with a chronic inflammatory response and hypersensitivity reactions. Identifying novel interventions to enhance wound healing and reduce the inflammatory response may improve long-term clinical outcomes. Micro–ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) are noncoding small ribonucleic acids that play a prominent role in the initiation and resolution of inflammation after vascular injury.<p></p> Objectives: This study sought to identify miRNA regulation and function after implantation of bare-metal and drug-eluting stents.<p></p> Methods: Pig, mouse, and in vitro models were used to investigate the role of miRNA in in-stent restenosis.<p></p> Results: We documented a subset of inflammatory miRNAs activated after stenting in pigs, including the miR-21 stem loop miRNAs. Genetic ablation of the miR-21 stem loop attenuated neointimal formation in mice post-stenting. This occurred via enhanced levels of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages coupled with an impaired sensitivity of smooth muscle cells to respond to vascular activation.<p></p> Conclusions: MiR-21 plays a prominent role in promoting vascular inflammation and remodeling after stent injury. MiRNA-mediated modulation of the inflammatory response post-stenting may have therapeutic potential to accelerate wound healing and enhance the clinical efficacy of stenting

Clinical practice guidelines on hemochromatosis: Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver

Hereditary hemochromatosis is the result of pathogenic variants in multiple genes that can result in increased body iron stores with excess iron deposited in various organs, including the liver, pancreas, and heart. The two most important advances in the field over the past 30 years have been the identification of the HFE gene (and the associated p.Cys282Tyr substitution), and the discovery of the hormone hepcidin, which is inappropriately low in this condition and is the pathophysiological basis of the increased iron absorption. The identification of mutations in the HFE gene and subsequent studies have reshaped diagnostic algorithms resulting in a marked reduction in the need for liver biopsy. The discovery of hepcidin has resulted in many studies that have dramatically improved our understanding of iron metabolism with clear potential therapeutic implications. The variable clinical expression of hemochromatosis has puzzled clinicians and scientists, and our understanding of the factors that influence the phenotype has increased over recent years. Nevertheless, increased clinician and patient awareness, early diagnosis, and therapeutic phlebotomy to restore normal life expectancy are still the cornerstones of management. The classic triad of cirrhosis, diabetes, and skin pigmentation is now uncommon, and many patients are diagnosed with minimal or no symptoms

Essential nonlinearities in hearing

Our hearing organ, the cochlea, evidently poises itself at a Hopf bifurcation to maximize tuning and amplification. We show that in this condition several effects are expected to be generic: compression of the dynamic range, infinitely shrap tuning at zero input, and generation of combination tones. These effects are "essentially" nonlinear in that they become more marked the smaller the forcing: there is no audible sound soft enough not to evoke them. All the well-documented nonlinear aspects of hearing therefore appear to be consequences of the same underlying mechanism.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

ROSAT observations of X-ray emission from planetary nebulae

We have searched the entire ROSAT archive for useful observations to study X-ray emission from Galactic planetary nebulae (PNs). The search yields a sample of 63 PNs, which we call the ROSAT PN sample. About 20-25% of this sample show X-ray emission; these include 13 definite detections and three possible detections (at a 2-sigma level). All X-ray sources in these PNs are concentrated near the central stars. Only A 30, BD+30 3639, and NGC 6543 are marginally resolved by the ROSAT instruments. Three types of X-ray spectra are seen in PNs. Type 1 consists of only soft X-ray emission (<0.5 keV), peaks at 0.1-0.2 keV, and can be fitted by blackbody models at temperatures 1-2 10^5 K. Type 2 consists of harder X-ray emission, peaks at >0.5 keV, and can be fitted by thin plasma emission models at temperatures of a few 10^6 K. Type 3 is a composite of a bright Type 1 component and a fainter Type 2 component. Unresolved soft sources with Type 1 spectra or the soft component of Type 3 spectra are most likely photospheric emission from the hot central stars. Absorption cross sections are large for these soft-energy photons; therefore, only large, tenuous, evolved PNs with hot central stars and small absorption column densities have been detected. The origin of hard X-ray emission from PNs is uncertain. PNs with Type 2 spectra are small, dense, young nebulae with relatively cool (<<10^5 K) central stars, while PNs with Type 3 X-ray spectra are large, tenuous, evolved nebulae with hot central stars. The hard X-ray luminosities are also different between these two types of PNs, indicating perhaps different origins of their hard X-ray emission. Future Chandra and XMM observations with high spatial and spectral resolution will help to understand the origin of hard X-ray emission from PNs.Comment: To be published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 21 pages, 7 figures, 5 table

Airborne Prokaryotic, Fungal and Eukaryotic Communities of an Urban Environment in the UK

Bioaerosols often contain human pathogens and allergens affecting public health. However, relatively little attention has been given to bioaerosols compared with non-biological aerosols. In this study, we aimed to identify bioaerosol compositions in Manchester, UK by applying high throughput sequencing methods and to find potential sources. Samples were collected at Manchester Air Quality Super Site at the Firs Environmental Research Station in November 2019 and in February 2020. Total DNA has been extracted and sequenced targeting the 16S rRNA gene of prokaryotes, ITS region of fungal DNA and 18S rRNA gene of eukaryotes. We found marine environment-associated bacteria and archaea were relatively more abundant in the February 2020 samples compared with the November 2019 samples, consistent with the North West marine origin based on wind back-trajectory analysis. In contrast, an OTU belonging to Methylobacterium, which includes many species resistant to heavy metals, was relatively more abundant in November 2019 when there were higher metal concentrations. Fungal taxa that fruit all year were relatively more abundant in the February 2020 samples while autumn fruiting species generally had higher relative abundance in the November 2019 samples. There were higher relative abundances of land plants and algae in the February 2020 samples based on 18S rRNA gene sequencing. One of the OTUs belonging to the coniferous yew genus Taxus was more abundant in the February 2020 samples agreeing with the usual pollen season of yews in the UK which is from mid-January until late April. The result from this study suggests a potential application of bioaerosol profiling for tracing the source of atmospheric particles