PhishTackle—a web services architecture for anti-phishing

Phishing is web based criminal activity of making innocent online users to reveal sensitive information into fake web sites. Such fake web sites lead to fraudulent charges against individuals and corporations. Phishers have a lot of methods to design and host phished web pages, so in reality there cannot be a single solution that can help us combat phishing. As technology advances, the phishing techniques being used are also getting advanced and hence it demands the anti-phishing techniques also to be upgraded and the new techniques are to be included along with the existing methods. But most of the anti-phishing techniques today do not satisfy these criteria. In this paper, we propose service oriented three-layer architecture model for detecting and identifying phishing web sites as it overcomes the shortcomings of existing anti-phishing solutions. This model enables us to separate the user interface layer from the anti-phishing components layer. This is done through web service middleware layer, which provides us with the freedom of building our own anti-phishing components layer in an efficient and flexible way, independent of other layers. Anti-phishing components layer provides a set of reusable components to convert webpage into feature vectors using finest heuristic methods and external repositories of information. The feature vectors act as an input to trained support vector machine classifier to generate phishing label which determines whether a webpage is legitimate or a phishing page. This when experimented, displayed the significance and importance of three-layered architecture model along with combination of heuristics in detection of phishing webpage. This results in high accuracy of 99 % with less than 1 % of false positive rate.     

Templating photodimerization of stilbazoles with water-soluble calixarenes.

Water soluble six and eight membered calixarenes template the dimerization of trans-stilbazoles. In the absence of calixarenes at the concentrations employed stilbazoles mainly isomerize to the coresponding cis isomers. Calixarenes help to localize the olefins and orient them in a specific geometry to yield anti-head-tail dimers. Electrostatic interaction between the sulfonate anion and the pyridinium ion of the olefin and hydrophobic interaction between the olefin and the host cavity are believed to be responsible for the observed selectivity. (1)H NMR spectra provide evidence for complexation but do not suggest the exact structure of the host-guest complex.     

Evaluation of antioxidant and neuroprotective effect of Hippophae rhamnoides (L.) on oxidative stress induced cytotoxicity in human neural cell line IMR32

Aim and objectiveHippophae rhamnoides is an edible, nutrient rich plant found in the northern regions of India. It belongs to the family Elaeagnaceae and is well known for its traditional pharmacological activities. The present study was aimed to investigate the antioxidant and neuroprotective activities of H. rhamnoides.MethodologyThe hydroalcoholic extract of H. rhamnoides was evaluated for free radical scavenging activity using DPPH, hydroxyl radical scavenging and ferric thiocyanate assays. In vitro neuroprotective activity was assessed on human neuroblastoma cell line-IMR32 against hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) induced cytotoxicity. The neuroprotective effect was determined by measuring the cell viability through tetrazolium dye MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) reducing assay and propidium iodide (PI) staining. Also the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity was assessed using dichloro-dihydro-fluorescein diacetate (DCFDA) assay by flowcytometer.ResultsThe results of the study demonstrated that H. rhamnoides extract possesses potential free radical scavenging activity. The IC₅₀ value for DPPH and OH radical scavenging assay was 70.92 μg/ml and 0.463 mg/ml, also the extract was also found to have considerable level of lipid peroxidation activity. The neuroprotective effect of H. rhamnoides was confirmed by its cell viability enhancing capacity against hydrogen peroxide induced cell cytotoxicity. The extract acted on IMR32 cells in a dose dependent manner as observed through PI and MTT assays. The percentage intracellular ROS activity was reduced by 60–70% in treated cells compared to H₂O₂ control.ConclusionThus the outcome of the study suggests that H. rhamnoides acts as a neuroprotectant against oxidative stress induced neurodegeneration.     

Structure and function of the spermathecal complex in the phlebotomine sandflyPhlebotomus papatasi Scopoli (Diptera: Psychodidae): II. Post-copulatory histophysiological changes during the gonotrophic cycle

The spermathecal complex ofPhlebotomus papatasi Scopoli (Diptera: Psychodidae) undergoes histological and physiological changes during its gonotropic cycle. The present histochemical study revealed a mucopolysaccharide secretory mass in the spermathecae of the newly emerged sandfly. Sperm competition occurs when two or more males compete to fertilize an ovum in the female reproductive tract. In this study, spermatophores of two or more competing males were deposited at the base of the spermathecal ducts, which originate from the female bursa copulatrix. This suggests that females play a role in sperm displacement, which is defined as any situation in which the last male to mate with a female fertilizes maximum number her eggs. A blood meal ingested by the female for ovary development and egg laying stimulates the release of sperm from the spermatophore. The spermatozoa then migrate to the lumen of the spermatheca. The ultrastructure of spermatozoa comprises a head with double-layered acrosomal perforatorium, an elongate nucleus, and the axoneme with a 9 + 9 + 0 flagellar pattern. This axomene differs from the aflagellate axoneme of other Psychodinae. Morphological changes, such as the casting off of the acrosomal membrane, and histological changes in the spermatophore are also described. Mating plugs that have been described previously in sandflies appear to be artefacts. Females ofP. papatasi may be inseminated more than once during each gonotrophic cycle, and additional inseminations may be necessary for each cycle. The relationships between the volumes of the sperm and the spermatheca were calculated to determine sperm utilization and fecundity ofP. papatasi. As the females ofP. papatasi mate polyandrously, the anatomical and physiological complexity of the spermathecal complex may be related to post-copulatory sexual selection.     

Dissolution studies on tablets of ibuprofen using chitosan.

An attempt has been made to study the release retardant behaviour of chitosan in ibuprofen tablets. Three different ibuprofen tablets were prepared by using 1,3 and 5% chitosan paste. In vitro evaluations were carried out by using dissolution testing apparatus U.S.P (XXI). The dissolution pattern indicated the role of chitosan in sustained release. Bioavailability studies in male beagle dogs clearly showed the sustained nature of release from chitosan based ibuprofen tablet as compared to conventional ibuprofen marketed formulation. Potential use of chitosan as a new matrix forming material for sustained release preparation has been examined. Chitosan, a natural polysaccharide, has structural characteristics similar to glycosamino glycons. Chitosan has been shown to be non-toxic and biodegradable. It is inexpensive and has been explored in the present investigation as a release retarding agent in ibuprofen tablets.     

Effect of alum on nitrification during simultaneous phosphorous removal in anoxic/oxic reactor

Phosphorus and nitrogen are the important eutrophication nutrients. They are removed in the anoxic/oxic reactor through simultaneous precipitation and biological nitrogen removal. The effect of alum a commonly used simultaneous precipitant on biological nitrification and denitrification are investigated in the present study. Simultaneous removal of phosphorus was carried out using the coagulant alum Al₂(SO₄)₃·14H₂O at 2.2 mol ratio. Before the start of simultaneous precipitation the nitrification rate of the A/O reactor was found to be 0.05 g N-NH₄ ⁺/g VSS/d. It starts to decrease with increase in coagulant dosage. The nitrification rate for alum dosage 97.13 mg/L was 0.38 g N- NH₄ ⁺/g VSS/d. There was no accumulation of nitrate in anoxic tank. The nitrogen removal efficiency of the reactor was affected and it fell from 88 to 78%. There was a slight decrease in effluent COD from 16∼20 mg/L to 8∼12 mg/L after the introduction of simultaneous precipitation into the reactor. The usage of alum as a simultaneous precipitant in the anoxic/oxic reactor was limited due to its inhibition on nitrification. Alum did not have any affect over denitrification process.     

Recombinant Membrane-targeted Form of CD59 Inhibits the Growth of Choroidal Neovascular Complex in Mice

This study was designed to explore the effect of recombinant, membrane-targeted CD59 (rCD59-APT542) on the growth and size of fully developed neovascular complex using the murine model of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV). CNV was induced by laser photocoagulation in C57BL/6 mice using an argon laser, and the animals received rCD59-APT542 via intravitreal (ivt) route. Western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, and total complement hemolytic assay demonstrated that exogenously administered rCD59-APT542 was incorporated as well as retained in RPE and choroid and was functionally active in vivo. Single ivt injection during the growth of the CNV (i.e. at day 3 post-laser) resulted in ∼79% inhibition of the further growth of neovascular complex. The size of the CNV complex was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by the administration of rCD59-APT542 after the CNV complex has fully developed (i.e. at day 7 post-laser). Treatment with rCD59-APT542 blocked the formation of membrane attack complex (MAC), increased apoptosis and decreased cell proliferation in the neovascular complex. On the basis of results presented here we conclude that recombinant membrane targeted CD59 inhibited the growth of the CNV complex and reduced the size of fully developed CNV in the laser-induced mouse model. We propose that a combination of two mechanisms: increased apoptosis and decreased cell proliferation, both resulting from local inhibition of MAC, may be responsible for inhibition of CNV by rCD59-APT542.