Hyphal growth of phagocytosed fusarium oxysporum causes cell lysis and death of murine macrophages

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

HyBIS: Windows Guest Protection through Advanced Memory Introspection

Effectively protecting the Windows OS is a challenging task, since most implementation details are not publicly known. Windows has always been the main target of malwares that have exploited numerous bugs and vulnerabilities. Recent trusted boot and additional integrity checks have rendered the Windows OS less vulnerable to kernel-level rootkits. Nevertheless, guest Windows Virtual Machines are becoming an increasingly interesting attack target. In this work we introduce and analyze a novel Hypervisor-Based Introspection System (HyBIS) we developed for protecting Windows OSes from malware and rootkits. The HyBIS architecture is motivated and detailed, while targeted experimental results show its effectiveness. Comparison with related work highlights main HyBIS advantages such as: effective semantic introspection, support for 64-bit architectures and for latest Windows (8.x and 10), advanced malware disabling capabilities. We believe the research effort reported here will pave the way to further advances in the security of Windows OSes

Infectious agents in atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases through oxidative stress

Accumulating evidence demonstrates that vascular oxidative stress is a critical feature of atherosclerotic process, potentially triggered by several infectious agents that are considered as risk co-factors for the atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). C. pneumoniae has been shown to upregulate multiple enzymatic systems capable of producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as NADPH oxidase (NOX) and cyclooxygenase in vascular endothelial cells, NOX and cytochrome c oxidase in macrophages as well as nitric oxide synthase and lipoxygenase in platelets contributing to both early and late stages of atherosclerosis. P. gingivalis seems to be markedly involved in the atherosclerotic process as compared to A. actinomycetemcomitans contributing to LDL oxidation and foam cell formation. Particularly interesting is the evidence describing the NLRP3 inflammasome activation as a new molecular mechanism underlying P. gingivalis-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Amongst viral agents, immunodeficiency virus-1 and hepatitis C virus seem to have a major role in promoting ROS production, contributing, hence, to the early stages of atherosclerosis including endothelial dysfunction and LDL oxidation. In conclusion, oxidative mechanisms activated by several infectious agents during the atherosclerotic process underlying CVDs are very complex and not well-known, remaining, thus, an attractive target for future research

On the semiclassical treatment of Hawking radiation

In the context of the semiclassical treatment of Hawking radiation we prove the universality of the reduced canonical momentum for the system of a massive shell self gravitating in a spherical gravitational field within the Painlev\'e family of gauges. We show that one can construct modes which are regular on the horizon both by considering as hamiltonian the exterior boundary term and by using as hamiltonian the interior boundary term. The late time expansion is given in both approaches and their time Fourier expansion computed to reproduce the self reaction correction to the Hawking spectrum.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, Corrected typo

Maintenance deep transcranial magnetic stimulation sessions are associated with reduced depressive relapses in patients with unipolar or bipolar depression

Introduction: Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) is a new form of TMS allowing safe stimulation of deep brain regions. The objective of this preliminary study was to assess the role of dTMS maintenance sessions in protecting patients with bipolar disorder (BD) or recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) from developing depressive or manic relapses in a 12-month follow-up period. Methods: Twenty-four drug-resistant patients with a current depressive episode and a diagnosis of MDD or BD have been enrolled in the study. All the participants underwent daily dTMS sessions for 4 weeks. One group (maintenance - M group) received additional maintenance dTMS sessions weekly or twice a week. Results: After the first dTMS cycle, a significant reduction of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores was observed in all participants. Subsequently, the HDRS mean scores did not significantly change over time in the M group, while it significantly increased in the non-M-group after 6 and 12 months. Discussion: This study confirms previous evidence of a positive therapeutic effect of dTMS on depressive symptoms and suggests that, after recovery from acute episodes, maintenance dTMS sessions may be helpful in maintaining euthymia in a 12-month follow-up period

Functional changes in the primary somatosensory cortex in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS): A systematic review

The brain plays a key role in CRPS. A widely-studied brain region in pain research is the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), a somatotopic map of our body’s surface which functionally reorganises in pain [1]. Changes in the S1 representation of the CRPS-affected body part have contributed to new CRPS treatments, e.g. graded motor imagery. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine whether CRPS is associated with: a) a change in the size of the S1 representation of the affected body part; b) altered S1 activity, in terms of activation levels and latency of responses

Notes on the bryophyte flora and vegetation of the central and south-western Balkans.

Puglisi, M., Campisi, P., laku.i., D., surina, B., Di Pietro, R., Privitera, M. Notes on the bryophyte flora and vegetation of the central and south-western Balkans. Lazaroa 34: 107-116 (2013). A study on the bryophyte flora and vegetation was carried out in the mountains at the boundary between Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. The study area included Maja and jezerces massif (Prokletije mts., sE Dinaric Alps) and Mt korab (Šar-Pindos Range) in Macedonia. several records for the bryological flora of Macedonia and Albania are reported. In particular Scapania cuspiduligera and Distichium inclinatum are new records for the Albanian flora. In addition some bryophytic and bryo-chormophytic associations belonging to the phytosociological classes Ctenidietea mollusci and Montio fontanae-Cardaminetea amarae are reported too. © 2013. Universidad Complutense de Madrid