Taxonomic insights into ethereum smart contracts by linking application categories to security vulnerabilities.

The expansion of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain has created a diverse ecosystem of decentralized applications. This growth, however, poses challenges in classifying and securing these contracts. Existing research often separately addresses either classification or vulnerability detection, without a comprehensive analysis of how contract types are related to security risks.

Software engineering education in the era of conversational AI: current trends and future directions.

The developments in conversational AI raised urgent questions about the future direction of many aspects of society, including computing education. The first reactions to the fast-paced evolution of conversational agents were varied: Some announced "the end of programming," while others considered this "premature obituary of programming." Some adopted a defensive approach to detecting the use of conversational AI and avoiding an increase in plagiarism, while others questioned, "So what if ChatGPT wrote it?" Nevertheless, questions arise about whether computing education in its current form will still be relevant and fit for purpose in the era of conversational AI.

Smart contracts software metrics: A first study.

Smart contracts (SC) are software programs that reside and run over a blockchain. The code can be written in different languages with the common purpose of implementing various kinds of transactions onto the hosting blockchain. They are ruled by the blockchain infrastructure with the intent to automatically implement the typical conditions of traditional contracts.

Could Blockchain Help With COVID-19 Crisis?

The novel coronavirus that causes the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread all over the world at an unprecedented rate. With growing recognition of the distributed nature of health services, the technology of blockchain has recently reached the impetus of the healthcare domain. This article provides: 1) a panoramic overview of existing solutions and scenarios incorporating blockchain to combat COVID-19 in the healthcare domain along with their benefits and challenges; as well as 2) a framework that will facilitate new research activities on this subject.

Fatty acid profile and cholesterol content of beef at retail of Piemontese, Limousin and Friesian breeds.

Samples of longissimus thoracis muscle of young bulls belonging to Piemontese (n=10), Limousin (n=11) and Friesian (n=10) breeds were analysed in order to study the chemical composition, fatty acids and cholesterol content of beef purchased at retail. The breeds and their differences in intramuscular fat content strongly influenced the fatty acids profile. The Piemontese animals displayed the lowest intramuscular fat and SFA content, while Friesian animals showed the highest intramuscular fat, SFA and MUFA content.

Lipomatous muscular 'dystrophy' of Piedmontese cattle.

Lipomatous myopathy is a degenerative muscle pathology characterized by the substitution of muscle cells with adipose tissue, sporadically reported in cattle, pigs, and rarely in sheep, horses and dogs. This study investigated the pathology of this myopathy in 40 muscle samples collected from regularly slaughtered Piedmontese cattle living in Piedmont region (Italy). None of the animals showed clinical signs of muscular disease.

V-AKT murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog/mammalian target of rapamycin activation induces a module of metabolic changes contributing to growth in insulin-induced hepatocarcinogenesis.

Unlabelled: Mounting epidemiological evidence supports a role for insulin-signaling deregulation and diabetes mellitus in human hepatocarcinogenesis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. To study the oncogenic effect of chronically elevated insulin on hepatocytes in the presence of mild hyperglycemia, we developed a model of pancreatic islet transplantation into the liver.

AKT (v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1) and N-Ras (neuroblastoma ras viral oncogene homolog) coactivation in the mouse liver promotes rapid carcinogenesis by way of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1), FOXM1 (forkhead box M1)/SKP2, and c-Myc pathways.

Unlabelled: Activation of v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog (AKT) and Ras pathways is often implicated in carcinogenesis. However, the oncogenic cooperation between these two cascades in relationship to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development remains undetermined. To investigate this issue, we generated a mouse model characterized by combined overexpression of activated forms of AKT and neuroblastoma Ras viral oncogene homolog (N-Ras) protooncogenes in the liver by way of hydrodynamic gene transfer.

Increased lipogenesis, induced by AKT-mTORC1-RPS6 signaling, promotes development of human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: De novo lipogenesis is believed to be involved in oncogenesis. We investigated the role of aberrant lipid biosynthesis in the pathogenesis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: We evaluated expression of enzymes that regulate lipogenesis in human normal liver tissues and HCC and surrounding, nontumor, liver tissues from patients using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and biochemical assays.

Infrared focal plane array with a built-in stationary Fourier-transform spectrometer: basic concepts.

A novel configuration of stationary Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer is presented. Contrary to classic configurations, the interferometer is directly integrated in the focal plane array (FPA) during its process of fabrication. A first, to the best of our knowledge, demonstration of the spectrometric function has been achieved departing from a well-known structure of an HgCdTe photodetector.

Relationship between beef consumer tenderness perception and Warner-Bratzler shear force.

The aim of this study was to determine consumer ability to discern different levels of beef tenderness established by Warner-Bratzler shear (WBs). A panel of 220 people evaluated 60 samples of longissimus thoracis using a 5-point intensity scale (1: very tough; 5: very tender). Samples differed for commercial category, breed of animals and ageing length of meat.

Single-scan extraction of two-dimensional parameters of infrared focal plane arrays utilizing a Fourier-transform spectrometer.

We present what is believed to be a novel experimental method to measure the technological parameters (spectral response and quantum yield) of an infrared focal plane array. This method makes original use of a Fourier transform spectrometer, which allows us to simultaneously extract the spectral performances of all pixels from one single set of measurements. The methodology used and the principle of the experimental setup are detailed.

Polymorphism of the GHR gene in cattle and relationships with meat production and quality.

Growth hormone (GH) exerts its effects on growth and metabolism by interacting with a specific receptor (GHR) on the surface of the target cells. Therefore, GHR has been suggested as candidate gene for traits related to meat production in cattle. The aim of the study was to analyse the polymorphism at position 257 in exon 10 of the GHR gene and investigate relationships with 14 in vivo traits and four meat characteristics in Piemontese animals.

Effect of castration on meat quality in Piemontese cattle.

The effect of early (5 month) or late castration (13 month) on meat quality of hypertrophied Piemontese cattle was investigated. Twenty four animals, equally divided into three groups (early castrated, EC; late castrated, LC; intact males, IM) were reared under the same experimental conditions and slaughtered at the same age. Twenty four hours after slaughter the pH was measured on the longissimus thoracis of the right side.

The use of principal component analysis (PCA) to characterize beef.

Principal component analysis was performed to study the relationships between chemical, physical and sensory variables (n=18) measured on longissimus thoracis et lumborum of 79 young bulls from the following ethnic groups: hypertrophied Piemontese, normal Piemontese, Friesian, crossbred hypertrophied Piemontese×Friesian, Belgian Blue and White. The first three PCs explained about 63% of total variability. Sensory characteristics, protein content, shear force and cooking losses resulted the most effective variables for the PC1, while hydroxyproline and ether extract content, as well as hue and lightness were useful to define the PC2.

Two reading techniques of the filter paper press method for measuring meat water-holding capacity.

Two systems of measuring the areas obtained from the filter paper press method (Grau & Hamm) on meat (beef) were compared: by planimeter (method A) and by optical-electronic system (Video Image Analyzer; method B). Data obtained by three operators, measuring 15 samples twice, were utilized to estimate the 'precision' of the two methods. The general mean area of ring zone resulting from method A was 6·69 cm(2).