A Prevention and a Traction System for Ransomware Attacks

Over the past three years, especially following WannaCry malware, ransomware has become one of the biggest concerns for private businesses, state, and local government agencies. According to Homeland Security statistics, 1.5 million ransomware attacks have occurred per year since 2016. Cybercriminals often use creative methods to inject their malware into the target machines and use sophisticated cryptographic techniques to hold hostage victims' files and programs unless a certain amount of equivalent Bitcoin is paid. The return to the cybercriminals is so high (estimated \$1 billion in 2019) without any cost because of the advanced anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin \cite{Paquet-Clouston2019}. Given this context, this study first discusses the current state of ransomware, detection, and prevention systems. Second, we propose a global ransomware center to better manage our concerted efforts against cybercriminals. The policy implications of the proposed study are discussed in the conclusion section

IMPACT OF RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PHARMACEUTICAL FIRMS: EVEDENCE FROM PAKISTAN

The goal of this study is to investigate the financial performance of listed Pharmaceuticalcompanies in Pakistan impacted by different board characteristics. These board characteristics are discussedthrough two theories: agency theory and resource dependency. The understudy characteristics include research& development, independent board directors, leverage, CEO/Chair duality, board size and audit committee. Thepaper used panel regression analysis on 11 firms from period of 2010 to 2019. It was found that investment inresearch & development and audit committee have significant and positive impact on the performance of firmsas per agency theory. Whereas the characteristics like Independent directors, CEO duality, leverage and boardsize had negative impact on the performance of the firms. The study helps to clarify the Board's performancerelationship and offers academic proof of existing and future governance changes for policy makers in Pakistan.The conclusions add to the literature by presenting fresh and original perspectives into how the existingknowledge of corporate governance and financial performance is applied within a developing context ofPakistan

Analyse et modélisation de l'endommagement dû au couplage thermomécanique des multi-matériaux cylindriques

Un grand nombre de systèmes thermomécaniques industriels se trouve confronté à des régimes transitoires plus ou moins rapides suivant la fréquence de fonctionnement. L'amélioration de leurs performances nécessite l'utilisation de nouvelles structures du type multimatériaux ou barrière thermique. En effet, ces matériaux peuvent être de type multicouche en associant plusieurs couches rangées de façon à améliorer le comportement mécanique et thermique d un système ou alors constitués d un substrat revêtu d une succession de couches minces obtenues par projection thermique par exemple.Dans un système donné, ces matériaux subissent généralement des sollicitations cycliques qui peuvent être d origine thermique et/ou mécanique. Il est donc nécessaire de mieux connaître leur comportement thermomécanique en régimes élastique et plastique. Ainsi, l'étude présentée dans ce travail, limitée ici à des conditions périodiques uniquement d origine thermique, traite de l'évolution de l'endommagement d'un matériau sous une ou plusieurs formes de fatigue thermique.L'origine de la sollicitation imposée provient d'une condition de flux périodique (sous forme d échelon, de triangle ou de sinus) prenant en compte les pertes par convection. Sur le plan mécanique, le matériau est supposé fixe sur l une de ses deux extrémités et libre de se déformer sur l autre. Les contraintes et les déformations mécaniques dans le matériau proviennent essentiellement des différences des coefficients de dilatation thermique et des gradients de température dans le matériau. La nature variable et transitoire du comportement thermique du matériau permet de suivre l évolution de la distribution des contraintes et des déformations au sein du matériau.L étude de son endommagement est menée selon les cas, soit sur des modèles établis directement à partir du comportement thermo élastique soit sur des modèles nécessitant l étude thermo-élastoplastique. Dans les deux cas, comme la plupart des modèles d endommagement (Lemaître et Chaboche) rencontrés dans la littérature ne sont valides que sur des matériaux uniformes et homogènes, une recherche de matériau équivalent du multi-matériau étudié était nécessaire. L équivalence entre le matériau réel et le matériau équivalent repose sur un critère d équivalence thermique. Les modèles étudiés fournissent dans les deux cas, l'évolution de l'endommagement du matériau, en fonction des paramètres géométriques et aussi de la forme des sollicitations thermiques imposées telles que le coefficient d'échange par convection, l amplitude et la période du flux imposé.Une application de ces modèles sur un exemple de moteur à combustion interne est proposée à la fin de ce mémoire. Elle montre une prédiction du nombre de cycles (durée de vie) du cylindre moteur en fonction des conditions de fonctionnement utilisées.A great number of industrial thermo-mechanical systems are facing today transitory regimes with different speeds according to the functioning frequencies. Enhancing their performance imposes the use of new materials of different types; multimaterials is a good example. In fact, these new materials may be constituted of different layers where the layers are associated together in a way to enhance the mechanical and thermal behavior of the system. They may be also constituted of a substrate dressed by a succession of slim layers obtained by thermal projection.In a given system, the constituting materials are generally subject to cyclic thermal or mechanical solicitations. It is very important to know at best their thermomechanical behavior in elastic and plastic regimes. Therefore, the study done during this thesis work, limited here uniquely to periodical solicitations resulting from thermal sources, deals with the evolution of the damage of these materials under multiple forms of thermal fatigue in plastic and elastic functioning regimes.The imposed solicitations are obtained from a periodical thermal source (rectangular, triangular and sinusoidal form). The thermal loss resulting from the convection is also considered. On the mechanical side, the material is considered fixed on one of its extremities and free on the other one (subject to strain). The mechanical stress and strain in the material come essentially from the differences between the coefficients of thermal dilation and the gradient of temperature in the material. The transitory and variable thermal behavior of the material permits to track the evolution and the distribution of the stress and strain in the material.The study of the damage is performed according the given case, either using models directly established from the thermomechanical elastic behavior, or using models that need a thermo-elastoplastic study. In the two cases, and because the majority of damage models (Lemaître and Chaboche) seen in the literature are valid and can be applied only to uniform and homogeneous materials, a research of an equivalent material to the studied multi-material was necessary. The equivalency between the real material and the equivalent one is based mainly on thermal equivalent criteria. The study provides in the two cases the damage evolution in the multimaterial function of the geometric parameters, depending on the form of the imposed thermal solicitations such as the heat transfer coefficient, the amplitude, the period and the shape of the imposed thermal flow.An application of these models to an internal combustion engine is proposed at the end of this thesis. It gives a prediction of the number of cycles (lifetime) of the cylinder of the engine depending on the used functioning conditions.BELFORT-UTBM-SEVENANS (900942101) / SudocSudocFranceF

The Impact of Auditor Integrity to Audit Quality: an Exploratory Studies from the Middle East

Background: The increasing pressure from external parties to improve audit quality and enhance the credibility of financial statements. As corporate financial scandals widely occurred, there are requests for the profession to enhance their quality in the audit. The public continuously talks about the auditor's integrity in performing their tasks, which undisputedly plays a significant role in determining the audit quality.   Purpose: This study aims to re-explore the concept of auditor integrity and understand its impact on audit quality.   Methodology:  Qualitative study approach intended to redescribe auditor integrity from auditors' perspective in the Middle East, particularly in the Sultanate of Oman, using the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). This study chooses six auditors with vast experience and who hold a significant position in the audit firms.   Findings: The study revealed that integrity is the critical determinant of audit quality and relates very much to reputation. In this profession, reputation is crucial, and integrity is the best way to uphold a reputation.   Social and Practical Implications: Reputation is the most valuable asset, and its loss may affect the profession's viability. From the FGD, the auditors are fully aware of the importance of integrity to uphold the profession's reputation and ease transactions with clients and the public

Diversity, distribution and conservation of the terrestrial reptiles of Oman (Sauropsida, Squamata)

All authors: Salvador Carranza , Meritxell Xipell, Pedro Tarroso, Andrew Gardner, Edwin Nicholas Arnold, Michael D. Robinson, Marc Simó-Riudalbas, Raquel Vasconcelos, Philip de Pous, Fèlix Amat, Jiří Šmíd, Roberto Sindaco, Margarita Metallinou †, Johannes Els, Juan Manuel Pleguezuelos, Luis Machado, David Donaire, Gabriel Martínez, Joan Garcia-Porta, Tomáš Mazuch, Thomas Wilms, Jürgen Gebhart, Javier Aznar, Javier Gallego, Bernd-Michael Zwanzig, Daniel Fernández-Guiberteau, Theodore Papenfuss, Saleh Al Saadi, Ali Alghafri, Sultan Khalifa, Hamed Al Farqani, Salim Bait Bilal, Iman Sulaiman Alazri, Aziza Saud Al Adhoobi, Zeyana Salim Al Omairi, Mohammed Al Shariani, Ali Al Kiyumi, Thuraya Al Sariri, Ahmed Said Al Shukaili, Suleiman Nasser Al Akhzami.In the present work, we use an exceptional database including 5,359 records of 101 species of Oman’s terrestrial reptiles together with spatial tools to infer the spatial patterns of species richness and endemicity, to infer the habitat preference of each species and to better define conservation priorities, with especial focus on the effectiveness of the protected areas in preserving this unique arid fauna. Our results indicate that the sampling effort is not only remarkable from a taxonomic point of view, with multiple observations for most species, but also for the spatial coverage achieved. The observations are distributed almost continuously across the two-dimensional climatic space of Oman defined by the mean annual temperature and the total annual precipitation and across the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the multivariate climatic space and are well represented within 17 out of the 20 climatic clusters grouping 10% of the explained climatic variance defined by PC1 and PC2. Species richness is highest in the Hajar and Dhofar Mountains, two of the most biodiverse areas of the Arabian Peninsula, and endemic species richness is greatest in the Jebel Akhdar, the highest part of the Hajar Mountains. Oman’s 22 protected areas cover only 3.91% of the country, including within their limits 63.37% of terrestrial reptiles and 50% of all endemics. Our analyses show that large areas of the climatic space of Oman lie outside protected areas and that seven of the 20 climatic clusters are not protected at all. The results of the gap analysis indicate that most of the species are below the conservation target of 17% or even the less restrictive 12% of their total area within a protected area in order to be considered adequately protected. Therefore, an evaluation of the coverage of the current network of protected areas and the identification of priority protected areas for reptiles using reserve design algorithms are urgently needed. Our study also shows that more than half of the species are still pending of a definitive evaluation by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).This work was funded by grants CGL2012-36970, CGL2015-70390-P from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (cofunded by FEDER) to SC, the project Field study for the conservation of reptiles in Oman, Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, Oman (Ref: 22412027) to SC and grant 2014-SGR-1532 from the Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca del Departament d'Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya to SC. MSR is funded by a FPI grant from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (BES-2013-064248); RV, PT and LM were funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through post-doc grants (SFRH/BPD/79913/2011) to RV, (SFRH/BPD/93473/2013) to PT and PhD grant (SFRH/BD/89820/2012) to LM, financed by Programa Operacional Potencial Humano (POPH) – Quadro de Referência Estrategico Nacional (QREN) from the European Social Fund and Portuguese Ministerio da Educação e Ciência

Obeticholic acid for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: interim analysis from a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial

Background Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common type of chronic liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis. Obeticholic acid, a farnesoid X receptor agonist, has been shown to improve the histological features of NASH. Here we report results from a planned interim analysis of an ongoing, phase 3 study of obeticholic acid for NASH. Methods In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, adult patients with definite NASH,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score of at least 4, and fibrosis stages F2–F3, or F1 with at least oneaccompanying comorbidity, were randomly assigned using an interactive web response system in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive oral placebo, obeticholic acid 10 mg, or obeticholic acid 25 mg daily. Patients were excluded if cirrhosis, other chronic liver disease, elevated alcohol consumption, or confounding conditions were present. The primary endpointsfor the month-18 interim analysis were fibrosis improvement (≥1 stage) with no worsening of NASH, or NASH resolution with no worsening of fibrosis, with the study considered successful if either primary endpoint was met. Primary analyses were done by intention to treat, in patients with fibrosis stage F2–F3 who received at least one dose of treatment and reached, or would have reached, the month 18 visit by the prespecified interim analysis cutoff date. The study also evaluated other histological and biochemical markers of NASH and fibrosis, and safety. This study is ongoing, and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02548351, and EudraCT, 20150-025601-6. Findings Between Dec 9, 2015, and Oct 26, 2018, 1968 patients with stage F1–F3 fibrosis were enrolled and received at least one dose of study treatment; 931 patients with stage F2–F3 fibrosis were included in the primary analysis (311 in the placebo group, 312 in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 308 in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). The fibrosis improvement endpoint was achieved by 37 (12%) patients in the placebo group, 55 (18%) in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group (p=0·045), and 71 (23%) in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group (p=0·0002). The NASH resolution endpoint was not met (25 [8%] patients in the placebo group, 35 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group [p=0·18], and 36 [12%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group [p=0·13]). In the safety population (1968 patients with fibrosis stages F1–F3), the most common adverse event was pruritus (123 [19%] in the placebo group, 183 [28%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 336 [51%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group); incidence was generally mild to moderate in severity. The overall safety profile was similar to that in previous studies, and incidence of serious adverse events was similar across treatment groups (75 [11%] patients in the placebo group, 72 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 93 [14%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). Interpretation Obeticholic acid 25 mg significantly improved fibrosis and key components of NASH disease activity among patients with NASH. The results from this planned interim analysis show clinically significant histological improvement that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. This study is ongoing to assess clinical outcomes

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)