LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Droidmarking: resilient software watermarking for impeding android application repackaging

Software plagiarism in Android markets (app repackaging) is raising serious concerns about the health of the Android ecosystem. Existing app repackaging detection techniques fall short in detection efficiency and in resilience to circumventing attacks; this allows repackaged apps to be widely propagated and causes extensive damages before being detected. To overcome these difficulties and instantly thwart app repackaging threats, we devise a new dynamic software watermarking technique - Droidmarking - for Android apps that combines the efforts of all stakeholders and achieves the following three goals: (1) copyright ownership assertion for developers, (2) real-time app repackaging detection on user devices, and (3) resilience to evading attacks. Distinct from existing watermarking techniques, the watermarks in Droidmarking are non-stealthy, which means that watermark locations are not intentionally concealed, yet still are impervious to evading attacks. This property effectively enables normal users to recover and verify watermark copyright information without requiring a confidential watermark recognizer. Droidmarking is based on a primitive called self-decrypting code (SDC). Our evaluations show that Droidmarking is a feasible and robust technique to effectively impede app repackaging with relatively small performance overhead.
How to use marginal structural models in randomized trials to estimate the natural direct and indirect effects of therapies mediated by causal intermediates.

BACKGROUND
Although intention-to-treat analysis is a standard approach, additional supplemental analyses are often required to evaluate the biological relationship among interventions, intermediates, and outcomes. Therefore, we need to evaluate whether the effect of an intervention on a particular outcome is mediated by a hypothesized intermediate variable.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the size of the direct effect in the total effect, we applied the marginal structural model to estimate the average natural direct and indirect effects in a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT). Method The average natural direct effect is defined as the difference in the probability of a counterfactual outcome between the experimental and control arms, with the intermediate set to what it would have been, had the intervention been a control treatment. We considered two marginal structural models to estimate the average natural direct and indirect effects introduced by VanderWeele (Epidemiology 2009) and applied them in a large-scale RCT - the Candesartan Antihypertensive Survival Evaluation in Japan (CASE-J trial) - that compared angiotensin receptor blockers and calcium-channel blockers in high-risk hypertensive patients.


RESULTS
There were no strong blood pressure-independent or dependent effects; however, a systolic blood pressure reduction of about 1.9  mmHg suppressed all events. Compared to the blood pressure-independent effects of calcium channel blockers, those of angiotensin receptor blockers contributed positively to cardiovascular and cardiac events, but negatively to cerebrovascular events.


LIMITATIONS
There is a particular condition for estimating the average natural direct effect. It is impossible to check whether this condition is satisfied with the available data.


CONCLUSION
We estimated the average natural direct and indirect effects through the achieved systolic blood pressure in the CASE-J trial. This first application of estimating the average natural effects in an RCT can be useful for obtaining an in-depth understanding of the results and further development of similar interventions.
A distributed beaconless routing protocol for real-time video dissemination in multimedia VANETs

Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) will play an important role in Smart Cities and will support the development of not only safety applications, but also car smart video surveillance services. Recent improvements in multimedia over VANETs allow drivers, passengers, and rescue teams to capture, share, and access on-road multimedia services. Vehicles can cooperate with each other to transmit live flows of traffic accidents or disasters and provide drivers, passengers, and rescue teams rich visual information about a monitored area. Since humans will watch the videos, their distribution must be done by considering the provided Quality of Experience (QoE) even in multi-hop, multi-path, and dynamic environments. This article introduces an application framework to handle this kind of services and a routing protocol, the DBD (Distributed Beaconless Dissemination), that enhances the dissemination of live video flows on multimedia highway VANETs. DBD uses a backbone-based approach to create and maintain persistent and high quality routes during the video delivery in opportunistic Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) scenarios. It also improves the performance of the IEEE 802.11p MAC layer, by solving the Spurious Forwarding (SF) problem, while increasing the packet delivery ratio and reducing the forwarding delay. Performance evaluation results show the benefits of DBD compared to existing works in forwarding videos over VANETs, where main objective and subjective QoE results are measured. Safety and video surveillance car applications are key Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) services for smart city scenarios and have been attracting an important attention from governments, car manufacturers, academia, and society [1]. Nowadays, the distribution of real-time multimedia content over Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) is becoming a reality and allowing drivers/passengers to have new experiences with on-road videos in a smart city [2,3]. According to Cisco, video traffic will represent over 90% of the global IP data in a few years, where thousands of users will produce, share, and consume multimedia services ubiquitously, including in their vehicles. Multimedia VANETs are well-suited for capturing and sharing environmental monitoring, surveillance, traffic accidents, and disaster-based video smart city applications. Live streaming video flows provide users and authorities (e.g., first responder teams and paramedics) with more precise information than simple text messages and allow them to determine a suitable action, while reducing human reaction times [4]. Vehicles can cooperate with each other to disseminate short videos of dangerous situations to visually inform drivers and rescue teams about them both in the city and on a highway. …
Amputation in emergency situations: indications, techniques and Médecins Sans Frontières France’s experience in Haiti

The decision to amputate is always difficult but becomes even harder in emergency situations, which usually present extra complicating factors. These include human factors (related to both the surgeon and the patient); poor or nonexistent medical facilities, especially in war conditions or resource-poor countries; and cultural and religious considerations. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has developed a quick medical and logistical response that relies on surgical protocols adapted to emergency situations, together with complete “kits” of medical equipment, supplies and inflatable facilities. Our response to Haiti’s 2010 earthquake relied on these tools but also highlighted the need to develop more detailed protocols that will help our teams on the ground.
Herlyn-werner-wunderlich syndrome: MRI findings, radiological guide (two cases and literature review), and differential diagnosis

BACKGROUND
Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich (HWW) syndrome is a very rare congenital anomaly of the urogenital tract involving Müllerian ducts and Wolffian structures, and it is characterized by the triad of didelphys uterus, obstructed hemivagina and ipsilateral renal agenesis. It generally occurs at puberty and exhibits non-specific and variable symptoms with acute or pelvic pain shortly following menarche, causing a delay in the diagnosis. Moreover, the diagnosis is complicated by the infrequency of this syndrome, because Müllerian duct anomalies (MDA) are infrequently encountered in a routine clinical setting.


CASES PRESENTATION
two cases of HWW syndrome in adolescents and a differential diagnosis for one case of a different MDA, and the impact of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technology to achieve the correct diagnosis.


CONCLUSIONS
MR imaging is a very suitable diagnostic tool in order to perform the correct diagnosis of HWW syndrome.
Thoracoscopic limited T-3 sympathicotomy for primary hyperhidrosis: prevention for compensatory hyperhidrosis.

OBJECT
Compensatory hyperhidrosis is a major and troublesome complication of thoracoscopic sympathectomy for primary hyperhidrosis. The incidence of compensatory hyperhidrosis has been reported to be as high as 50 to 97% in the patients who underwent sympathetic ganglia resection. In this study the authors evaluate the role of thoracoscopic T-3 sympathicotomy for primary hyperhidrosis and the prevention of compensatory hyperhidrosis.


METHODS
Thoracoscopic T-3 sympathicotomy was performed in 27 patients with either isolated palmar hyperhidrosis (24 cases) or that in combination with axillary hyperhidrosis (three cases) during a 3-year period. In the cases of combined palmar/axillary hyperhidrosis, the T-4 sympathetic ganglion also was coagulated. The mean follow-up period was 19.7 months. Surgery-related results were determined on the basis of complications, compensatory hyperhidrosis, and patient-related satisfaction. In the immediate postoperative period all 24 patients with palmar hyperhidrosis reported complete alleviation of their symptoms. One patient with palmar/axillary hyperhidrosis in whom axillary hyperhidrosis did not completely resolve underwent a repeated T-4 sympathicotomy 1 month after the initial surgery. Another patient suffered mild compensatory hyperhidrosis of the trunk 1 month postoperatively. The long-term satisfaction rate in all 27 patients was high. One patient required placement of a chest tube to treat pneumothorax. Other complications such as Homer syndrome, intercostal neuralgia, gustatory hyperhidrosis, and pulmonary edema were not observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Thoracoscopic limited T-3 sympathicotomy is an effective method to treat primary hyperhidrosis, its rate of compensatory hyperhidrosis is low, and its rate of long-term patient satisfaction is high.
Intelligent 5G: When Cellular Networks Meet Artificial Intelligence

5G cellular networks are assumed to be the key enabler and infrastructure provider in the ICT industry, by offering a variety of services with diverse requirements. The standardization of 5G cellular networks is being expedited, which also implies more of the candidate technologies will be adopted. Therefore, it is worthwhile to provide insight into the candidate techniques as a whole and examine the design philosophy behind them. In this article, we try to highlight one of the most fundamental features among the revolutionary techniques in the 5G era, i.e., there emerges initial intelligence in nearly every important aspect of cellular networks, including radio resource management, mobility management, service provisioning management, and so on. However, faced with ever-increasingly complicated configuration issues and blossoming new service requirements, it is still insufficient for 5G cellular networks if it lacks complete AI functionalities. Hence, we further introduce fundamental concepts in AI and discuss the relationship between AI and the candidate techniques in 5G cellular networks. Specifically, we highlight the opportunities and challenges to exploit AI to achieve intelligent 5G networks, and demonstrate the effectiveness of AI to manage and orchestrate cellular network resources. We envision that AI-empowered 5G cellular networks will make the acclaimed ICT enabler a reality.
Predictive value of low relative lymphocyte count in patients hospitalized for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: insights from the EVEREST trial.

BACKGROUND
Low lymphocyte count has been shown to be an independent prognostic marker in heart failure (HF) in the outpatient setting. Limited data exist regarding whether relative lymphocyte count correlates with postdischarge outcomes in patients hospitalized for HF.


METHODS AND RESULTS
We performed a post hoc analysis of the Efficacy of Vasopressin Antagonism in Heart Failure Outcome Study with Tolvaptan (EVEREST) trial, which randomized 4133 patients hospitalized for worsening HF with an ejection fraction ≤40% within 48 hours of admission to tolvaptan or placebo for a median follow-up of 9.9 months. The primary end points of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality or HF hospitalization were analyzed in patients with available baseline complete blood counts (n=3717). Lymphocyte percentage was analyzed as a continuous variable. Times to events were compared using log-rank tests and multivariable Cox regression models. Patients with low lymphocyte percentage tended to be older and had higher rates of comorbid disease (diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, and renal insufficiency). Low lymphocyte counts were associated with wide QRS duration, high natriuretic peptides, and low ejection fraction, blood pressure, and serum sodium. These patients were less likely to receive evidence-based HF medications. After adjusting for 22 known clinical risk factors, a 10% decrease in lymphocytes was associated with an increased hazard of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.31 [95% CI: 1.14-1.150], P<0.001) and cardiovascular mortality or HF hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio 1.14 [95% CI: 1.04-1.25], P=0.007) in the first 100 days postdischarge. Lymphopenia during hospitalization normalizes in majority of patients in the early postdischarge period.


CONCLUSIONS
Low relative lymphocyte count during hospitalization for HF is an independent predictor of poor outcomes in the early postdischarge period, beyond traditional prognostic indicators.
Evolving phenotype of Marfan's syndrome.

AIM
To examine evolution of the physical characteristics of Marfan's syndrome throughout childhood.


METHODS
40 children were ascertained during the development of a regional register for Marfan's syndrome. Evolution of the clinical characteristics was determined by repeat evaluation of 10 patients with sporadic Marfan's syndrome and 30 with a family history of the condition. DNA marker studies were used to facilitate diagnosis in those with the familial condition.


RESULTS
Musculoskeletal features predominated and evolved throughout childhood. Gene tracking enabled early diagnosis in children with familial Marfan's syndrome.


CONCLUSIONS
These observations may aid the clinical diagnosis of Marfan's syndrome in childhood, especially in those with the sporadic condition. Gene tracking has a role in the early diagnosis of familial Marfan's syndrome, allowing appropriate follow up and preventive care.
In vitro anthelmintic activity of crude extracts of five medicinal plants against egg-hatching and larval development of Haemonchus contortus.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE
Senna occidentalis, Leonotis ocymifolia, Leucas martinicensis, Rumex abyssinicus, and Albizia schimperiana are traditionally used for treatment of various ailments including helminth infection in Ethiopia.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
In vitro egg hatch assay and larval development tests were conducted to determine the possible anthelmintic effects of crude aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of the leaves of Senna occidentalis, aerial parts of Leonotis ocymifolia, Leucas martinicensis, Rumex abyssinicus, and stem bark of Albizia schimperiana on eggs and larvae of Haemonchus contortus.


RESULTS
Both aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of Leucas martinicensis, Leonotis ocymifolia and aqueous extract of Senna occidentalis and Albizia schimperiana induced complete inhibition of egg hatching at concentration less than or equal to 1mg/ml. Aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of all tested medicinal plants have shown statistically significant and dose dependent egg hatching inhibition. Based on ED(50), the most potent extracts were aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of Leucas martinicensis (0.09 mg/ml), aqueous extracts of Rumex abyssinicus (0.11 mg/ml) and Albizia schimperiana (0.11 mg/ml). Most of the tested plant extracts have shown remarkable larval development inhibition. Aqueous extracts of Leonotis ocymifolia, Leucas martinicensis, Albizia schimperiana and Senna occidentalis induced 100, 99.85, 99.31, and 96.36% inhibition of larval development, respectively; while hydro-alcoholic extracts of Albizia schimperiana induced 99.09 inhibition at the highest concentration tested (50mg/ml). Poor inhibition was recorded for hydro-alcoholic extracts of Senna occidentalis (9%) and Leonotis ocymifolia (37%) at 50mg/ml.


CONCLUSIONS
The overall findings of the current study indicated that the evaluated medicinal plants have potential anthelmintic effect and further in vitro and in vivo evaluation is indispensable to make use of these plants.
SOA's Last Mile-Connecting Smartphones to the Service Cloud

Modern Smartphones are the fastest growing computing platforms capable of consuming web services. However, due to their form factor these mobile computing devices face many challenges and constrains when engaging service providers. How to overcome these challenges and how to link smartphones to the service cloud is one of the key issues that will have a major impact on the further growth of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) and software-plus-service (S+S) deployments.This paper focuses on the use of a cloud hosted middleware layer that acts as a personal service bus (PSB). Similar to an ESB the PSB offers a user and device customized view on services of the cloud by enabling protocol transformation, request/response augmentation, message optimization, caching and pre-fetching. The paper also reports on an evaluation of the PSB called Mobile Cloud Computing Middleware (MCCM) with the G1 (HTC).
Hedonic and utilitarian motivations for online retail shopping behavior

Motivations to engage in retail shopping include both utilitarian and hedonic dimensions. Business to consumer e-commerce conducted via the mechanism of web-shopping provides an expanded opportunity for companies to create a cognitively and esthetically rich shopping environment in ways not readily imitable in the nonelectronic shopping world. In this article an attitudinal model is developed and empirically tested integrating constructs from technology acceptance research and constructs derived from models of web behavior. Results of two studies from two distinct categories of the interactive shopping environment support the differential importance of immersive, hedonic aspects of the new media as well as the more traditional utilitarian motivations. In addition, navigation, convenience, and the substitutability of the electronic environment to personally examining products were found to be important predictors of online shopping attitudes. Results are discussed in terms of insights for the creation of the online shopping webmosphere through more effective design of interactive retail shopping environments. © 2001 by New York University. All rights reserved.
The psychological roots of anti-vaccination attitudes: A 24-nation investigation.

OBJECTIVE
Strengthening of antivaccination movements in recent decades has coincided with unprecedented increases in the incidence of some communicable diseases. Many intervention programs work from a deficit model of science communication, presuming that vaccination skeptics lack the ability to access or understand evidence. However, interventions focusing on evidence and the debunking of vaccine-related myths have proven to be either nonproductive or counterproductive. Working from a motivated reasoning perspective, we examine the psychological factors that might motivate people to reject scientific consensus around vaccination. To assist with international generalizability, we examine this question in 24 countries.


METHODS
We sampled 5,323 participants in 24 countries, and measured their antivaccination attitudes. We also measured their belief in conspiracy theories, reactance (the tendency for people to have a low tolerance for impingements on their freedoms), disgust sensitivity toward blood and needles, and individualistic/hierarchical worldviews (i.e., people's beliefs about how much control society should have over individuals, and whether hierarchies are desirable).


RESULTS
In order of magnitude, antivaccination attitudes were highest among those who (a) were high in conspiratorial thinking, (b) were high in reactance, (c) reported high levels of disgust toward blood and needles, and (d) had strong individualistic/hierarchical worldviews. In contrast, demographic variables (including education) accounted for nonsignificant or trivial levels of variance.


CONCLUSIONS
These data help identify the "attitude roots" that may motivate and sustain vaccine skepticism. In so doing, they help shed light on why repetition of evidence can be nonproductive, and suggest communication solutions to that problem. (PsycINFO Database Record
Should hyperbaric oxygen be added to treatment in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss?

At present, there is still no agreement about the therapy of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL). Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) is used in the therapy of ISSHL to increase the partial oxygen pressure and the oxygen concentration in the inner ear and also to improve the blood profile and the microcirculation. In our prospective randomized study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of HBO therapy in the 1st 2 weeks of the onset of ISSHL. Fifty-one hospitalized patients with confirmed ISSHL who had received therapy were grouped randomly into two groups. Twenty-one patients (group I) received steroids, plasma expander dextrans (rheomacrodex), diazepam, pentoxiphylline and salt restriction, and 30 patients (group II) received the same basic treatment with the addition of HBO therapy. Audiological assessments of the patients were performed before and after the treatment. The hearing gains at frequencies of 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 Hz were calculated separately. The level of hearing loss at the five frequencies was assessed in three groups at the first visit: equal or below 60 dB, between 61–80 dB and equal or above 81 dB. The average of the mean hearing gains at the five frequencies of the patients according to the age groups in group II was compared. The mean hearing gains at the five frequencies were compared between the two groups, and statistically significant improvement was detected in all the frequencies except at 2,000 Hz in group II. The mean hearing gains in group II were found to be significantly high in patients with initial hearing levels up to 60 dB in comparison to patients with initial hearing levels below 60 dB. When age groups and mean hearing gains were compared, there was no statistically significant difference in group I. In group II, the mean hearing gains were 39.1±18.3 dB in patients younger than 50 years and 22.7±11.3 dB in patients older than 50 years (P=0.044). In conclusion, the addition of HBO therapy to conventional treatment modalities significantly improves the outcome of ISSHL, especially at the frequencies of 250, 500, 1,000 and 4,000 Hz and in hearing loss of above 61 dB. Furthermore, HBO therapy was found to be more effective in patients younger than 50 years.