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Cyber attacks have become more sophisticated and frequent over the years. Detecting the components operated during a cyber attack and relating them to a specific threat actor is one of the main challenges facing cyber security systems. Reliable detection of malicious components and identification of the threat actor is imperative to mitigate security issues by Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts. The Domain Name System (DNS) plays a significant role in most cyber attacks observed nowadays in that domains act as a Command and Control (C&C) in coordinated bot network attacks or impersonate legitimate websites in phishing attacks. Thus, DNS analysis has become a popular tool for malicious domain identification. In this collaborative research associating Ben-Gurion University and IBM, we develop a novel algorithm to detect malicious domains and relate them to a specific malware campaign in a large-scale real-data DNS traffic environment, dubbed Identification of Malicious Domain Campaigns (IMDoC) algorithm. Its novelty resides in developing a framework that combines the existence of communicating files for the observed domains and their DNS request patterns in a real production environment. The analysis was conducted on real data from Quad9 (9.9.9.9) DNS recursive resolvers combined with malicious communicating files extracted from VirusTotal, and confirms the strong performance of the algorithm on a real large-scale data production environment.

Aim To compare differences in the disinfection efficacy of calcium hydroxide (CH) and chlorhexidine gluconate (CHD) dressings in pulp revitalization (PR) of traumatized immature necrotic teeth; to investigate the microflora in successful/failed PR and whether bacterial persistence influences the outcomes of PR.Methods Microbiological assessment of the average bacterial load (CFU/sample) and bacterial diversity (taxa/sample) was performed on 41 teeth at three timepoints (S2-before, S3-after debridement and S5- after root canal dressing).Results The primary microflora was more diverse in successful cases than in failed. Decreases in CFU/sample and taxa/sample occurred S2 - S3, though new increases occurred at S5 in the CHD subgroup (successful and failed) and CFU/sample in the CH subgroup (failed). At S5, the successful cases showed more bacterial decreases. No specific species was associated with the outcomes with no statistical differences between the disinfection efficacy.Conclusions There were no statistical differences in CH and CHD efficacy. At S5, microflora persisted in both successful and failed outcomes, but the abundance and diversity increased significantly only in the failed cases. The successful outcomes presented higher diversity and higher decreases of the primary microflora at S5 than the failed outcomes. The abundance and diversity increased significantly at S5 only in failed cases.

Abstract A major premise of ecological neutral theory is that population size is inversely related to extinction risk. This idea is central to modern biodiversity conservation efforts, which often rely on abundance metrics to partially determine species extinction risk. However, limited empirical studies have tested whether extinction is indeed more probable for species with low abundances. Here we use the fossil record of Neogene radiolaria to test the relationship between relative abundance and longevity (time from first to last occurrence). Our dataset includes abundance histories for 189 polycystine radiolarian species from the Southern Ocean, and 101 species from the tropical Pacific. Using linear regression analyses, we show that neither maximum nor average relative abundance are significant predictors of longevity in either oceanographic region. This suggests that neutral theory fails to explain the plankton ecological-evolutionary dynamics we observe. Extrinsic factors are likely more important than neutral dynamics in controlling radiolarian extinction.

The adult hippocampal neurogenesis plays a vital role in the function of the central nervous system (CNS), including memory consolidation, cognitive flexibility, emotional function, and social behavior. The deficiency of adult neural stem cells (aNSCs) in maintaining the quiescence and entering cell cycle, self-renewal and differentiation capacity is detrimental to the functional integrity of neurons and cognition of the adult brain. Histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and histone deacetylase (HDAC) have been shown to modulate brain functionality and are important for embryonic neurogenesis via regulation of gene transcription. We showed previously that Trrap, an adapter for several HAT complexes, is required for Sp1 transcriptional control of the microtubule dynamics in neuronal cells. Here, we find that Trrap deletion compromises self-renewal and differentiation of aNSCs in mice and in cultures. We find that the acetylation status of lysine residues K16, K19, K703 and K639 all fail to overcome Trrap-deficiency-incurred instability of Sp1, indicating a scaffold role of Trrap. Interestingly, the deacetylation of Sp1 at K639 and K703 greatly increases Sp1 binding to the promoter of target genes, which antagonizes Trrap binding, and thereby elevates Sp1 activity. However, only deacetylated K639 is refractory to Trrap deficiency and corrects the differentiation defects of Trrap-deleted aNSCs. We demonstrate that the acetylation pattern at K639 by HATs dictates the role of Sp1 in the regulation of adult neurogenesis.

Measurement(s) Abundance • age estimate • paleocoordinate Technology Type(s) digital curation Sample Characteristic - Organism Foraminifera Sample Characteristic - Environment deep marine sediment Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14655564

Fuzzy systems are widely used in most fields of science and engineering, mainly because the models they produce are robust, accurate, easy to evaluate and capture real-world uncertainty better than do the classical alternatives. We propose a new methodology for structure and parameter tuning of Takagi–Sugeno–Kang fuzzy models using several optimization techniques. The output parameters are determined analytically, by finding the minimum of the root-mean-square error (RMSE) for a properly defined error function. The membership functions are simplified by considering symmetry and equispacing, to reduce the optimization problem of finding their parameters, and allow it to be carried out using the numerical method of gradient descent. Both algorithms are fast enough to finally implement a strategy based on the hill climbing approach to finding the optimal structure (number and type of membership functions) of the fuzzy system. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is shown by comparing its performance, using four case studies found in current relevant works, to the popular adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), and to other recently published strategies based on evolutionary fuzzy models. In terms of the RMSE, performance was at least 28% better in all case studies.

The condition of the roads where cars circulate is of the utmost importance to ensure that each autonomous or manual car can complete its journey satisfactorily. The existence of potholes, speed bumps, and other irregularities in the pavement can cause car wear and fatal traffic accidents. Therefore, detecting and characterizing these anomalies helps reduce the risk of accidents and damage to the vehicle. However, street images are naturally multivariate, with redundant and substantial information, as well as significantly contaminated measurement noise, making the detection of street anomalies more challenging. In this work, an automatic color image analysis using a deep neural network for the detection of potholes on the road using images taken by a ZED camera is proposed. A lightweight architecture was designed to speed up training and usage. This consists of seven properly connected and synchronized layers. All the pixels of the original image are used without resizing. The classic stride and pooling operations were used to obtain as much information as possible. A database was built using a ZED camera seated on the front of a car. The routes where the photographs were taken are located in the city of Celaya in Guanajuato, Mexico. Seven hundred and fourteen images were manually tagged, several of which contain bumps and potholes. The system was trained with 70% of the database and validated with the remaining 30%. In addition, we propose a database that discriminates between potholes and speed bumps. A precision of 98.13% using 37 convolution filters in a 3 × 3 window was obtained, which improves upon recent state-of-the-art work.

High-latitude records show large diversity losses of marine plankton, such as radiolarians, with historical climate change. Here, Trubovitz et al. present a low-latitude record spanning the last 10 million years, finding that many high-latitude radiolarians did not shift equatorward but instead went extinct.

Brain homeostasis is regulated by the viability and functionality of neurons. HAT (histone acetyltransferase) and HDAC (histone deacetylase) inhibitors have been applied to treat neurological deficits in humans; yet, the epigenetic regulation in neurodegeneration remains elusive. Mutations of HAT cofactor TRRAP (transformation/transcription domain-associated protein) cause human neuropathies, including psychosis, intellectual disability, autism, and epilepsy, with unknown mechanism. Here we show that Trrap deletion in Purkinje neurons results in neurodegeneration of old mice. Integrated transcriptomics, epigenomics, and proteomics reveal that TRRAP via SP1 conducts a conserved transcriptomic program. TRRAP is required for SP1 binding at the promoter proximity of target genes, especially microtubule dynamics. The ectopic expression of Stathmin3/4 ameliorates defects of TRRAP-deficient neurons, indicating that the microtubule dynamics is particularly vulnerable to the action of SP1 activity. This study unravels a network linking three well-known, but up-to-date unconnected, signaling pathways, namely TRRAP, HAT, and SP1 with microtubule dynamics, in neuroprotection.

The incorporation of high precision vehicle positioning systems has been demanded by the autonomous electric vehicle (AEV) industry. For this reason, research on visual odometry (VO) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce positioning errors automatically has become essential in this field. In this work, a new method to reduce the error in the absolute location of AEV using fuzzy logic (FL) is presented. The cooperative data fusion of GPS, odometer, and stereo camera signals is then performed to improve the estimation of AEV localization. Although the most important challenge of this work focuses on the reduction in the odometry error in the vehicle, the defiance of synchrony and the information fusion of sources of different nature is solved. This research is integrated by three phases: data acquisition, data fusion, and statistical evaluation. The first one is data acquisition by using an odometer, a GPS, and a ZED camera in AVE’s trajectories. The second one is the data analysis and fuzzy fusion design using the MatLab 2019® fuzzy logic toolbox. The last is the statistical evaluation of the positioning error of the different sensors. According to the obtained results, the proposed model with the lowest error is that which uses all sensors as input (stereo camera, odometer, and GPS). It can be highlighted that the best proposed model manages to reduce the positioning mean absolute error (MAE) up to 25% with respect to the state of the art.

In a fire, the polymer combustion occurs when gaseous fuels react with oxygen. The heating of a material could force the release of gaseous fuels during thermal decomposition and pyrolysis. The rate of pyrolysis to define the gaseous fuels is usually interpreted by means of the Arrhenius expression and a reaction model expression, which are characterized by an activation energy, a pre-exponential factor, and a reaction order value. Many methods are available for determining kinetic parameters from thermogravimetric experimental data. However, the most challenging issue is achieving an adequate balance between accuracy and simplicity. This work proposes a direct method for determining the kinetic parameters with only a thermogravimetric experiment at a single heating rate. The method was validated with six polymers, and the results were compared with those from similar procedures, such as the Lyon method and generalized direct method. The results achieved using the simpler approach of the proposed method show a high level of accuracy.

Invisalign has improved periodontal health in comparison to traditional metal wire braces. Due to a growing interest in attaining better teeth esthetics, there are more adults seeking Invisalign treatment. Ten percent carbamide peroxide (CP) breaks down to 6.5% urea and 3.5% hydrogen peroxide, which elevates oral pH, removes stains, and diminishes caries by inhibiting plaque formation. The aim of this study is to investigate whether 10% CP use during Invisalign treatment can enhance tooth shade esthetics while decreasing plaque levels and improving gingival health indices. Twenty-eight patients at Western University dental center undergoing Invisalign were assigned to two groups where the experimental group applied daily bleaching material (10% CP, Ultradent Inc., South Jordan, UT, USA), while the control group did not for 4 weeks. Tooth shade, plaque index (PI), and gingival index (GI) were assessed at baseline and in 2-week intervals for 6 weeks. Results showed that 10% CP had significant change in tooth shade over the 2- and 4-weeks periods (p < 0.05) and significantly reduced plaque and gingival indices (p < 0.05), with minimal to no relapse after 2 weeks post-op. Thus, applying CP at 10% may be a useful application during Invisalign treatment in improving teeth shade and overall gingival health.

Among the most intriguing mysteries in the evolutionary biology of photosynthetic organisms are the genesis and consequences of the dramatic increase in the mitochondrial and nuclear genome sizes, together with the concomitant evolution of the three genetic compartments, particularly during the transition from water to land. To clarify the evolutionary trends in the mitochondrial genome of Archaeplastida, we analyzed the sequences from 37 complete genomes. Therefore, we utilized mitochondrial, plastidial and nuclear ribosomal DNA molecular markers on 100 species of Streptophyta for each subunit. Hierarchical models of sequence evolution were fitted to test the heterogeneity in the base composition. The best resulting phylogenies were used for reconstructing the ancestral Guanine-Cytosine (GC) content and equilibrium GC frequency (GC*) using non-homogeneous and non-stationary models fitted with a maximum likelihood approach. The mitochondrial genome length was strongly related to repetitive sequences across Archaeplastida evolution; however, the length seemed not to be linked to the other studied variables, as different lineages showed diverse evolutionary patterns. In contrast, Streptophyta exhibited a powerful positive relationship between the GC content, non-coding DNA, and repetitive sequences, while the evolution of Chlorophyta reflected a strong positive linear relationship between the genome length and the number of genes.

The Micropaleontological Reference Centers (MRCs)comprise large microfossil slide collections prepared from core samples obtained through the Deep Sea Drilling Project(DSDP) and Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). The MRCs have been maintained for three decades, largely as a volunteer effort by a global network of curators at more than a dozen institutions (Fig.1, Table 1). They were originallyintended to provide a permanent micropaleontological archive for the DSDP; however, as their geographic and stratigraphic coverage has increased they have become increasingly valuable for research and teaching. This article describes the MRCs and their current usage, identifi es the need to maintain and improve the accuracy of the microfossil taxonomy upon which most DSDP and ODP geochronologyis based, and cites the potential for the future use of the MRCs by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP).

Marine planktonic diatoms export carbon to the deep ocean, playing a key role in the global carbon cycle. Although commonly thought to have diversified over the Cenozoic as global oceans cooled, only two conflicting quantitative reconstructions exist, both from the Neptune deep-sea microfossil occurrences database. Total diversity shows Cenozoic increase but is sample size biased; conventional subsampling shows little net change. We calculate diversity from a separately compiled new diatom species range catalog, and recalculate Neptune subsampled-in-bin diversity using new methods to correct for increasing Cenozoic geographic endemism and decreasing Cenozoic evenness. We find coherent, substantial Cenozoic diversification in both datasets. Many living cold water species, including species important for export productivity, originate only in the latest Miocene or younger. We make a first quantitative comparison of diatom diversity to the global Cenozoic benthic ∂(18)O (climate) and carbon cycle records (∂(13)C, and 20-0 Ma pCO2). Warmer climates are strongly correlated with lower diatom diversity (raw: rho = .92, p.9, detrended r>.6, all p

INTRODUCTION: Brucellosis, a neglected debilitating zoonosis, is a recognized occupational hazard with a high prevalence in developing countries. Transmission to humans can occur through contact with infected animals or animal products. Brucellosis presents with fever. In Nigeria, there is a possibility of missed diagnoses by physicians leading to a long debilitating illness. We conducted a study to determine the seroprevalence and factors associated with Human Brucellosis (HB) among abattoir-workers in Abuja, Nigeria. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study and selected abattoir-workers using stratified random sampling. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics and exposure-factors. We tested the workers' serum-samples using Rose-Bengal (RBPT) and ELISA tests. A worker with HB was one whose serum tested positive to RBPT or ELISA. We tested differences in proportions between workers with HB and those without HB using odds-ratio and xrays tests. RESULTS: Of 224 workers, 172 (76.8%) were male and mean age was 30 + 9.0 years. Of 224 sera collected, 54 were positive giving a seroprevalence of 24.1%. Of these, 32 (59.3%) were butchers, and 11 (20.4%) were meat-sellers. Slaughtering animals while having open-wounds (Odds-ratio [OR]=2.15, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=1.15-4.04); occupational-exposure of 5years (OR=2.30, CI=1.11-4.78) and eating raw meat (OR=2.75, CI=1.21-6.26) were significantly associated with HB. Multivariate analyses showed that occupational-exposure of 5years (Adjusted OR (AOR) =2.45, CI=1.15 . 5.30) and eating raw-meat (AOR=2.64, CI=1.14 - 6.14) remained significantly associated with HB. CONCLUSION: Seroprevalence of HB among abattoir-workers in Abuja was high. Factors associated with HB were occupational-exposure of >5years and eating raw-meat. Abattoir-workers should be discouraged from eating raw-meat and educated on adherence to safe animal-product handling practices.

Completely sequenced plastomes provide a valuable source of information about the duplication, loss, and transfer events of chloroplast genes and phylogenetic data for resolving relationships among major groups of plants. Moreover, they can also be useful for exploiting chloroplast genetic engineering technology. Ericales account for approximately six per cent of eudicot diversity with 11,545 species from which only three complete plastome sequences are currently available. With the aim of increasing the number of ericalean complete plastome sequences, and to open new perspectives in understanding Mediterranean plant adaptations, a genomic study on the basis of the complete chloroplast genome sequencing of Arbutus unedo and an updated phylogenomic analysis of Asteridae was implemented. The chloroplast genome of A. unedo shows extensive rearrangements but a medium size (150,897 nt) in comparison to most of angiosperms. A number of remarkable distinct features characterize the plastome of A. unedo: five-fold dismissing of the SSC region in relation to most angiosperms; complete loss or pseudogenization of a number of essential genes; duplication of the ndhH-D operon and its location within the two IRs; presence of large tandem repeats located near highly re-arranged regions and pseudogenes. All these features outline the primary evolutionary split between Ericaceae and other ericalean families. The newly sequenced plastome of A. unedo with the available asterid sequences allowed the resolution of some uncertainties in previous phylogenies of Asteridae.