State of Web3 security : analysis of vulnerabilities in bug bounty reports

Mestrado em Cibersegurança na Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do CasteloWeb3 has its basis in blockchain and smart contract technologies, supporting secure, distributed, and decentralized applications. Nonetheless, Web3 is still in the process of evolution, and, as with any other software-based product, software bugs, security flaws, and other vulnerabilities are expected to appear. This thesis analyzes the severity of security vulnerabilities in Web3 based on publicly available bug reports. Furthermore, an evaluation of several vulnerability detection tools in smart contracts is carried out. Finally, a plugin is developed that allows integration with a smart contract testing tool. Through this analysis, it is possible to obtain a comprehensive view of the evolution and trends related to the number of reports presented, growth by platform, severity classification, and amounts paid for discovering and reporting vulnerabilities. The plugin developed as part of this study provides an additional tool to improve the security and reliability of Web3-based applications.A Web3 tem como base a tecnologias blockchain e os contratos inteligentes, suportando aplicações seguras, distribuídas e descentralizadas. No entanto, o Web3 ainda está em processo de evolução e, tal como acontece com qualquer outro produto baseado em software, é expectável bugs de software, falhas de segurança e outras vulnerabilidades. Esta tese analisa a severidade das vulnerabilidades de segurança na Web3 com base em relatórios de bugs disponíveis publicamente. Para além disso, é realizada uma avaliação de diversas ferramentas de detecção de vulnerabilidades em contratos inteligentes. Por fim, é desenvolvido um plugin que permite a integração com uma ferramenta de teste de contratos inteligentes. Através desta análise é possível obter uma visão abrangente da evolução e tendências relacionadas ao número de relatórios apresentados, crescimento por plataforma, classificação o de severidade e valores pagos por descoberta e submissão de vulnerabilidades. O plugin desenvolvido como parte deste estudo fornece uma ferramenta adicional para melhorar a segurança e confiabilidade de aplicações baseadas em Web3

Research of the internet of things business models in Portugal

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementThe Internet of Things is a concept that is revolutionizing how “things” and people are interconnected nowadays. The impact it is going to create in the economy and the society is going to be immense and it will change the manner in which we do our personal and corporative daily tasks. This concept was created several years in the past when the first communication machine-to-machine was achieved and with time, the technology has been evolving to what we know as the “Internet of Things”. It is based on networks among sensors, things and people. As the IoT is so diverse, there is not a specific architecture, but several. Depends on the objective of the clients or developers, what do they want to improve or achieve by developing or implementing this technology. The main objectives are making processes as efficient as possible and gather data about several parameters such as, temperature, traffic, speed, product usage, health, machine functioning, among several others. This type of information and technology is very important for entities as it helps them positioning in the market, improve their strategy, differentiate from the competition, create more value, impact for the clients and in the decision making process. For the citizens, the IoT will help them to interact better with public services and increase their life quality, for instance. This dissertation attempts to understand what the IoT is, its architectures and the advantages and disadvantages that exist throughout its implementation. It was also investigated the impact the Internet of Things has in entities, its business models and the entities business models as well in order to understand if they remain the same or go through some changes after introducing these technologies in the entity, and the overall market and economic impact. The method used to obtain these results is based in interviews conducted to several enterprises with experience and direct contact with the IoT

Understanding the barriers and facilitators of Students´ Individual Performance

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceAs societies develop, higher education plays an increasingly important role in promoting lifelong learning opportunities. Despite this, everyone involved in higher education faces new challenges due to the constantly changing global environment. Therefore, it has never been more important to identify the factors that are essential to students' academic success. An online questionnaire with 164 responses was used to empirically validate a conceptual model that was developed. The PLS-SEM approach was used to analyse the results, and findings suggest that students from various backgrounds still exhibit differences and gaps in their academic performance. Additionally, we can illustrate that when properly implemented, adjusted and updated learning techniques combined with practical classes are an effective tool to help students to achieve better outcomes. Academic achievement will be hampered, however, if a school lacks adequate funding and the top management and other education stakeholders do not share the same values. Finally, we can conclude that the school's facilities can contribute to improving student motivation and engagement and consequently positively impact the student performance

The acute effect of maximal exercise on central and peripheral arterial stiffness indices and hemodynamics in children and adults

Xavier Melo is supported by a research grant from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Ministry of Education and Science of Portugal (grant: SFRH/ BD/ 70515/ 2010). Nuno M. Pimenta is cofinanced by national funds through the Programa Operacional do Alentejo 2007-2013 (ALENT-07-0262- FEDER-001883)This study compared the effects of a bout of maximal running exercise on arterial stiffness in children and adults. Right carotid blood pressure and artery stiffness indices measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), compliance and distensibility coefficients, stiffness index α and β (echo-tracking), contralateral carotid blood pressure, and upper and lower limb and central/aortic PWV (applanation tonometry) were taken at rest and 10 min after a bout of maximal treadmill running in 34 children (7.38 ± 0.38 years) and 45 young adults (25.22 ± 0.91 years) having similar aerobic potential. Two-by-two repeated measures analysis of variance and analysis of covariance were used to detect differences with exercise between groups. Carotid pulse pressure (PP; η(2) = 0.394) increased more in adults after exercise (p < 0.05). Compliance (η(2) = 0.385) decreased in particular in adults and in those with high changes in distending pressure, similarly to stiffness index α and β. Carotid PWV increased more in adults and was related to local changes in PP but not mean arterial pressure (MAP). Stiffness in the lower limbs decreased (η(2) = 0.115) but apparently only in those with small MAP changes (η(2) = 0.111). No significant exercise or group interaction effects were found when variables were adjusted to height. An acute bout of maximal exercise can alter arterial stiffness and hemodynamics in the carotid artery and within the active muscle beds. Arterial stiffness and hemodynamic response to metabolic demands during exercise in children simply reflect their smaller body size and may not indicate a particular physiological difference compared with adults.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Avaliação do uso de artigos do espanhol como empréstimo linguístico do português expressos por estudantes universitários de nível inicial

IX Congresso Brasileiro de Hispanistas realizado nos dias 22 a 25 agosto 2016A importância de estudar as relações das línguas devese ao fato de que se pode observar, nos diversos falares que permeiam o contexto social as diversidades das línguas espanhola e portuguesa, que têm sido objeto de estudo, sob a perspectiva da sociolinguística, com variações que visa a traçar um perfil linguístico da comunidade, a partir de restrições estruturais e sociais correlacionado a uma determinada variável (LLEWELLYNWILLIAMS, 2011; MORENO, 1998). O presente estudo analisou as variações no uso dos artigos da língua espanhola por estudantes universitários brasileiros. Pretendeuse verificar e identificar o uso, frequência e natureza dos artigos falados em espanhol como empréstimo do português como L1. Foram escolhidos oito alunos aleatoriamente que concluirão o primeiro período do Curso Superior em Língua Espanhola da Universidade de Pernambuco, Brasil. Foram gravadas as entrevistas, de aproximadamente 20 minutos e um guia de perguntas (dez) foi realizada. A maior parte da entrevista foi guiada, porém houve momentos em que a conversação foi espontânea. Os resultados demonstram que na 27,5% das perguntas que foram dirigidas houve erros no emprego dos artigos em espanhol como empréstimo da língua portuguesa. As perguntas 4 e 10 foram as que mais ocorrem erros. A maioria dos erros correspondeu ao uso de artigos em português (a, as, no, um) e combinação de preposição com artigo (pelo). Ocorreu também o emprego dos artigos "lo" e "la" em espanhol. Concluise que houve erros no emprego dos artigos da língua espanhola numa proporção aparentemente significativa, caracterizado por empréstimos linguísticos do portuguêsUNILA­-UNIOEST

Next stop of Greenwich Consulting in Africa

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThe subject of this project is the Internationalization of Greenwich Consulting and the intrinsic Strategic plan. The author analyse the most appealing African countries and chose the one with the best results according with the company requirements. An extensive study is done to this appealing country in order to better understand the market, the opportunities, risks, and the most important aspects of the country. The major conclusion was that the company should choose Nigeria and the best way to enter is initiating a partnership with a local consulting company with deeper local knowledge, which can be seen as a competitive advantage

Analysis of Digoxin and Metildigoxin in Whole Blood Using Solid-Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A simple and rapid UPLC/MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the analysis of digoxin and metildigoxin in whole blood. Samples were prepared by SPE extraction with Oasis HLB columns. Separation was achieved with an ACQUITY UPLC HSS T3 column (2.1 × 100; 1.8 μm), at 35°C. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile (70%) and ammonium formate 5 mM (30%). Total run time was 1.5 min operating at isocratic mode with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Mass spectrometry detection was performed by positive mode electrospray, on the ammonium adducts with two transitions for each analyte and one for the IS (d3-digoxin). The method proved to be specific and linear over the range (0.3–10) ng/mL. This technique also showed high sensitivity with a 0.09 ng/mL LOD and a 0.28 ng/mL LOQ, for both substances. Percentage recovery ranged from 83 to 100% for digoxin and from 62 to 94% for metildigoxin. The intra- and interday precision CV were ≤10%

Development of Oral Vaccines Against Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States and Europe. If left untreated, it can lead to permanent damage to the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. In some cases, patients that receive the recommended antibiotic therapy develop a debilitating health condition associated with substantial health care costs. Despite current preventive measures, the incidence and the geographic distribution of Lyme Disease continues to increase. Recent estimates from CDC suggest that the true number of cases of Lyme Disease in the US is approximately 300,000 per year. Yet, there is currently no vaccine available for human use, and thus novel strategies to diminish the risk of human exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi are of utmost importance. In an effort to address this need, we developed and tested an array of oral vaccine candidates based on recombinant E. coli that express B. burgdorferi’s OspC type K, OspB, BBK32, and Ixodes scapularis Salp15 and Salp25. Only oral immunization with live E. coli expressing OspC K induced systemic immune responses characterized by high levels of OspC K-specific IgG antibodies in sera as well as IgA antibodies in mucosal secretions, obtained from C3H-HeN mice. Vaccine efficacy studies demonstrated that OspC K-vaccinated mice were not protected from infection when challenge was performed via the natural route of disease transmission using ticks infected with multiple strains of B. burgdorferi, as assessed by the presence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi coupled with positive cultures and f B. burgdorferi is transmitted via ticks harboring also other types of OspCs. Our positive q-PCR results from bladder, heart and ear. Most importantly, we have shown that antibodies specific to OspC type K do not protect mice from infection when the homologous type of B. burgdorferi is transmitted via ticks harboring also other types of OspCs. Our findings are both critical and relevant, and should be considered in future studies involving the design and development of OspC-based vaccines against Lyme Disease