Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DroidSieve: Fast and Accurate Classification of Obfuscated Android Malware

With more than two million applications, Android marketplaces require automatic and scalable methods to efficiently vet apps for the absence of malicious threats. Recent techniques have successfully relied on the extraction of lightweight syntactic features suitable for machine learning classification, but despite their promising results, the very nature of such features suggest they would unlikely--on their own--be suitable for detecting obfuscated Android malware. To address this challenge, we propose DroidSieve, an Android malware classifier based on static analysis that is fast, accurate, and resilient to obfuscation. For a given app, DroidSieve first decides whether the app is malicious and, if so, classifies it as belonging to a family of related malware. DroidSieve exploits obfuscation-invariant features and artifacts introduced by obfuscation mechanisms used in malware. At the same time, these purely static features are designed for processing at scale and can be extracted quickly. For malware detection, we achieve up to 99.82% accuracy with zero false positives; for family identification of obfuscated malware, we achieve 99.26% accuracy at a fraction of the computational cost of state-of-the-art techniques.
Bad to the Bone: On In Vitro and Ex Vivo Microbial Biofilm Ability to Directly Destroy Colonized Bone Surfaces without Participation of Host Immunity or Osteoclastogenesis

Bone infections are a significant public health burden associated with morbidity and mortality in patients. Microbial biofilm pathogens are the causative agents in chronic osteomyelitis. Research on the pathogenesis of osteomyelitis has focused on indirect bone destruction by host immune cells and cytokines secondary to microbial insult. Direct bone resorption by biofilm pathogens has not yet been seriously considered. In this study, common osteomyelitis pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and Streptococcus mutans) were grown as biofilms in multiple in vitro and ex vivo experiments to analyze quantitative and qualitative aspects of bone destruction during infection. Pathogens were grown as single or mixed species biofilms on the following substrates: hydroxyapatite, rat jawbone, or polystyrene wells, and in various media. Biofilm growth was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and pH levels were monitored over time. Histomorphologic and quantitative effects of biofilms on tested substrates were analyzed by microcomputed tomography and quantitative cultures. All tested biofilms demonstrated significant damage to bone. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that all strains formed mature biofilms within 7 days on all substrate surfaces regardless of media. Experimental conditions impacted pH levels, although this had no impact on biofilm growth or bone destruction. Presence of biofilm led to bone dissolution with a decrease of total volume by 20.17±2.93% upon microcomputed tomography analysis, which was statistically significant as compared to controls (p <0.05, ANOVA). Quantitative cultures indicated that media and substrate did not impact biofilm formation (Kruskall-Wallis test, post-hoc Dunne’s test; p <0.05). Overall, these results indicate that biofilms associated with osteomyelitis have the ability to directly resorb bone. These findings should lead to a more complete understanding of the etiopathogenesis of osteomyelitis, where direct bone resorption by biofilm is considered in addition to the well-known osteoclastic and host cell destruction of bone.
Predictors of gait speed and its change over three years in community-dwelling older people

We aimed to assess whether and how changes in brain volume and increases in white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume over three years predict gait speed and its change independently of demographics, vascular risk factors and physical status. We analyzed 443 individuals from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, at mean age 73 and 76 years. Gait speed at age 76 was predicted by age, grip strength and body mass index at mean age 73, three-year brain volume decrease and WMH volume increase, explaining 26.1% of variance. Decline in gait speed to age 76 was predicted by the same five variables explaining 40.9% of variance. In both analyses, grip strength and body mass index explained the most variance. A clinically significant decline in gait speed (≥ 0.1 m/s per year) occurred in 24.4%. These individuals had more structural brain changes. Brain volume and WMH changes were independent predictors of gait dysfunction and its three-year change, but the impact of malleable physical factors such as grip strength or body mass index was greater.
THE LESSER ROLE OF STARBURSTS IN STAR FORMATION AT z = 2

Two main modes of star formation are know to control the growth of galaxies: a relatively steady one in disk-like galaxies, defining a tight star formation rate (SFR)–stellar mass sequence, and a starburst mode in outliers to such a sequence which is generally interpreted as driven by merging. Such starburst galaxies are rare but have much higher SFRs, and it is of interest to establish the relative importance of these two modes. PACS/Herschel observations over the whole COSMOS and GOODS-South fields, in conjunction with previous optical/near-IR data, have allowed us to accurately quantify for the first time the relative contribution of the two modes to the global SFR density in the redshift interval 1.5 < z < 2.5, i.e., at the cosmic peak of the star formation activity. The logarithmic distributions of galaxy SFRs at fixed stellar mass are well described by Gaussians, with starburst galaxies representing only a relatively minor deviation that becomes apparent for SFRs more than four times higher than on the main sequence. Such starburst galaxies represent only 2% of mass-selected star-forming galaxies and account for only 10% of the cosmic SFR density at z ∼ 2. Only when limited to SFR > 1000 M☉ yr−1, off-sequence sources significantly contribute to the SFR density (46% ± 20%). We conclude that merger-driven starbursts play a relatively minor role in the formation of stars in galaxies, whereas they may represent a critical phase toward the quenching of star formation and morphological transformation in galaxies.
Rates and risk factors for unfavorable outcomes 6 weeks after trichiasis surgery.

PURPOSE Several studies of trichiasis recurrence suggest an association between surgical factors and long-term recurrence, yet data on short-term risk factors are limited. This study was conducted to evaluate risk factors for early trichiasis recurrence and other unfavorable short-term outcomes. METHODS Trichiasis patients presenting for surgery were evaluated for presence of active trachoma and signs of cicatricial outcomes of trachoma, including number of trichiatic lashes, epilation, and entropion. Surgical factors recorded included incision length, surgery duration, and the surgeon performing the operation. Participants were followed up for 6 weeks after surgery and evaluated for eyelid closure defect and trichiasis recurrence; in addition, in two thirds of the patients, eyelid contour abnormality and granuloma formation were evaluated. RESULTS First-time trichiasis surgery was performed on 2615 eyelids. Of these, 2601 eyelids without surgical failure were followed up 6 weeks after surgery. Of the eyelids treated, 2.3% had recurrent trichiasis and 1.3% had an eyelid closure defect. Data on eyelid contour abnormalities and granuloma formation were recorded for 1881 eyes, with rates of 1.2% and 10.5%, respectively. Associated risk factors differed by outcome. Surgeon was predictive of eyelid closure defect and granuloma formation. Eyelids with short incisions were nearly four times more likely to have recurrent trichiasis (95% confidence interval, 1.7-9.3). Baseline trichiasis severity was predictive of eyelid contour abnormalities and recurrent trichiasis. Epilation was associated with granuloma formation, but was protective against eyelid closure defect. CONCLUSIONS Surgical factors are important predictors of unfavorable outcomes in the weeks immediately after surgery. Although the overall rate of serious uncorrectable unfavorable outcomes was very low, the high rate of granuloma formation, which can be treated by removal, highlights the need for follow-up of patients after trichiasis surgery. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00347776.).
Cathodal Neuromodulation of Dominant Temporoparietal Cortex With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Tinnitus: A Case Series

There is scant literature on the effectiveness of using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as an intervention modality for managing tinnitus. The current case series reflects the use of tDCS as an effective intervention for tinnitus while inhibiting the dominant temporoparietal cortex and simultaneous stimulating the non-dominant dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Marital Biography, Social Security Receipt, and Poverty

Increasingly, older adults are unmarried, which could mean a larger share is at risk of economic disadvantage. Using data from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study, we chart the diverse range of marital biographies, capturing marital sequences and timing, of adults who are age eligible for Social Security and examine three indicators of economic well-being: Social Security receipt, Social Security benefit levels, and poverty status. Partnereds are disproportionately likely to receive Social Security and they enjoy relatively high Social Security benefits and very low poverty levels. Among singles, economic well-being varies by marital biography and gender. Gray divorced and never-married women face considerable economic insecurity. Their Social Security benefits are relatively low, and their poverty rates are quite high (over 25%), indicating Social Security alone is not sufficient to prevent these women from falling into poverty. By comparison, gray widoweds are the most advantaged singles.
Estimating the pathways through which maternal education affects stunting: evidence from an urban cohort in South Africa

Abstract Objective To estimate the determinants of stunting using rich data from a birth cohort study from urban South Africa and to examine the various mechanisms, both proximate and distal, through which maternal education affects stunting. Design Multivariate regression analysis using birth cohort data, where the outcome variable was stunting at age 2 years, and multiple mediator analysis to identify pathways from maternal education to stunting. Setting South Africa’s largest metropolitan area, Soweto-Johannesburg. Subjects Participants of Birth to Twenty Plus, a longitudinal cohort study of children born in 1990 (n 691). Results In multivariate analysis, the birth weight Z-score (−0·084; P<0·001; 95 % CI −0·11, −0·06), the mother’s openness towards modern health care, captured by a vaccination score (−0·05; P=0·04; 95 % CI −0·10, −0·00), and a better-quality care environment (−0·015; P=0·04; 95 % CI −0·03, −0·00) were found to be negatively associated with stunting. Having experienced symptoms of illness related to ears and eyes increased the risk of stunting (0·038; P=0·01; 95 % CI 0·01, 0·07). Results of the mediation analysis showed that maternal education had an indirect effect on stunting largely through socio-economic status and the antenatal environment (measured by the birth weight Z-score). Conclusions Overall, many of the factors that were protective against stunting in the final analysis, whether they operated through maternal education or not, were related to the mother’s contribution to the child’s life. This reinforces the idea that to minimise stunting, enhanced antenatal and postnatal services to better support and empower mothers may be important.
Association Between Spirituality and Depression in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

Purpose The purpose of the study was to examine the association between spirituality and depression among patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods This study included 201 adult participants with diabetes from an indigent clinic of an academic medical center. Participants completed validated surveys on spirituality and depression. The Daily Spiritual Experience (DSE) Scale measured a person’s perception of the transcendent (God, the divine) in daily life. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression scale assessed depression. Linear regression analyses examined the association of spirituality as the predictor with depression as the outcome, adjusted for confounding variables. Results Greater spirituality was reported among females, non-Hispanic blacks, those with lower educational levels, and those with lower income. The unadjusted regression model showed greater spirituality was associated with less depression. This association was mildly diminished but still significant in the final adjusted model. Depression scores also increased (greater depression risk) with females and those who were unemployed but decreased with older age and non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity. Conclusions Treatment of depression symptoms may be facilitated by incorporating the spiritual values and beliefs of patients with diabetes. Therefore, faith-based diabetes education is likely to improve self-care behaviors and glycemic control.
Micromechanical modelling of polyethylene

The increasing use of polyethylene in diverse applications motivates the need for understanding how its molecular properties relate to the overall behaviour of the material. Although microstructure and mechanical properties of polymers have been the subject of several studies, the irreversible microstructural rearrangements occurring at large deformations are not completely understood. The purpose of this thesis is to describe how the concepts of Continuum Damage Mechanics can be applied to modelling of polyethylene materials under different loading conditions. The first part of the thesis consists of the theoretical formulation and numerical implementation of a three-dimensional micromechanical model for crystalline polyethylene. Based on the theory of shear slip on crystallographic planes, the proposed model is expressed in the framework of viscoplasticity coupled with degradation at large deformations. Earlier models aid in the interpretation of the mechanical behaviour of crystalline polyethylene under different loading conditions; however, they cannot predict the microstructural damage caused by deformation. The model, originally due to Parks and Ahzi (1990), was further developed in the light of the concept of Continuum Damage Mechanics to consider the original microstructure, the particular irreversible rearrangements, and the deformation mechanisms. Damage mechanics has been a matter of intensive research by many authors, yet it has not been introduced to the micromodelling of semicrystalline polymeric materials such as polyethylene. Regarding the material representation, the microstructure is simplified as an aggregate of randomly oriented and perfectly bonded crystals. To simulate large deformations, the new constitutive model attempts to take into account existence of intracrystalline microcracks. The second part of the work presents the theoretical formulation and numerical implementation of a three-dimensional constitutive model for the mechanical behaviour of semicrystalline polyethylene. The model proposed herein attempts to describe the
Hyperbaric Oxygen Pretreatment Improves Cognition and Reduces Hippocampal Damage Via p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in a Rat Model

Purpose To investigate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) pretreatment on cognitive decline and neuronal damage in an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) rat model. Materials and Methods Rats were divided into three groups: normal saline (NS), AD, and HBO+AD. In the AD group, amyloid β peptide (Aβ)1-40 was injected into the hippocampal CA1 region of the brain. NS rats received NS injection. In the HBO+AD group, rats received 5 days of daily HBO therapy following Aβ1-40 injection. Learning and memory capabilities were examined using the Morris water maze task. Neuronal damage and astrocyte activation were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Dendritic spine density was determined by Golgi-Cox staining. Tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-10 production was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Neuron apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling. Protein expression was examined by western blotting. Results Learning and memory dysfunction was ameliorated in the HBO+AD group, as shown by significantly lower swimming distances and escape latency, compared to the AD group. Lower rates of neuronal damage, astrocyte activation, dendritic spine loss, and hippocampal neuron apoptosis were seen in the HBO+AD than in the AD group. A lower rate of hippocampal p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation was observed in the HBO+AD than in the AD group. Conclusion HBO pretreatment improves cognition and reduces hippocampal damage via p38 MAPK in AD rats.
Patient and public involvement: how much do we spend and what are the benefits?

Patient and public involvement (PPI) is seen as a way of helping to shape health policy and ensure a patient‐focused health‐care system. While evidence indicates that PPI can improve health‐care decision making, it also consumes monetary and non‐monetary resources. Given the financial climate, it is important to start thinking about the costs and benefits of PPI and how to evaluate it in economic terms.
Association of STAT6 gene variants with food allergy diagnosed by double‐blind placebo‐controlled food challenges

This study describes the role of two STAT6 gene variants in food allergy using data of patients and their parents who underwent double‐blind placebo‐controlled food challenges (DBPCFCs). After quality control, 369 trios were analysed including 262 children (71.0%) with food allergy. Associations were tested by the Family based association test. The A alleles of both SNPs were associated with food allergy (P = .036 and P = .013 for rs324015 and rs1059513, respectively). Furthermore, these A alleles were associated with peanut allergy, higher sIgE levels to both peanut and cow's milk, more severe symptoms and higher eliciting doses during peanut and cow's milk DBPCFCs (all P < .05). In silico analysis indicates that the identified risk variants increase STAT6 expression which stimulates the differentiation of CD4 + T cells to the Th2 subset. In conclusion, STAT6 variants may be involved in the pathophysiology of food allergy and their role seems to be independent of the allergenic food.
Acute Febrile Encephalopathy in Children: A Prospective Study of Clinical Features, Etiology, Mortality, and Risk Factors from Western India

ABSTRACT Introduction: Acute febrile encephalopathy (AFE) in children is a medical emergency and could be a manifestation of many systemic and central nervous system pathologies. The clinical features of AFE are nonspecific and etiological spectrum variable depending on the studied population. Materials and Methods: A prospective, observational study was carried out including children aged between 1 month and 12 years with AFE admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care hospital in Western India. The primary objective was to assess the clinical presentation and etiology of AFE while the secondary objectives were to correlate the clinical and etiological findings and to determine the risk factors associated with mortality. Results: Out of the ninety children with AFE included in this study, male:female ratio was 1.2:1; most of them were aged between 1 and 5 years and came with a history of <7 days (82.2%). All of them had altered sensorium, about 2/3rd had seizures and 47.8% having a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) <8. Etiology remained elusive in about 40% of the cases, and viral infections were the most common among the ones with an identifiable cause. A variety of morbidity (shock, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, respiratory failure, etc.) and high mortality (40%) was observed with risk factors associated with mortality being GCS <8, the presence of raised intracranial pressure, shock, and respiratory failure. Conclusion: AFE, though a rare diagnosis in children, is associated with significant morbidity and high mortality in a developing country like India.
Is markedness a confused concept?

ABSTRACT It is well known that, across languages, certain phonological features are more frequent than others. But whether these facts reflect abstract universal markedness constraints or functional pressures (auditory and articulatory difficulties and lexical frequency) is unknown. Romani, Galuzzi, Guariglia, and Goslin (2017) report that the putative markedness of phonological features captures their order of acquisition and their propensity to elicit errors in patients with an apraxia of speech (but not in phonological aphasia). The authors believe these results challenge the existence of abstract markedness constraints. They also raise some concerns about the explanatory utility of the markedness hypothesis. This commentary demonstrates that markedness is not inherently vague or vacuous nor is it falsified by Romani et al.’s empirical findings. As such, these results leave wide open the possibility that some phonological markedness constraints are abstract.
W*-superrigidity for Bernoulli actions of property (T) groups

We consider group measure space II$_1$ factors $M=L^{\infty}(X)\rtimes\Gamma$ arising from Bernoulli actions of ICC property (T) groups $\Gamma$ (more generally, of groups $\Gamma$ containing an infinite normal subgroup with relative property (T)) and prove a rigidity result for *--homomorphisms $\theta:M\to M\bar{\otimes}M$. We deduce that the action $\Gamma\curvearrowright X$ is W$^*$--superrigid. This means that if $\Lambda\curvearrowright Y$ is {\bf any other} free, ergodic, measure preserving action such that the factors $M=L^{\infty}(X)\rtimes\Gamma$ and $L^{\infty}(Y)\rtimes\Lambda$ are isomorphic, then the actions $\Gamma\curvearrowright X$ and $\Lambda\curvearrowright Y$ must be conjugate. Moreover, we show that if $p\in M\setminus\{1\}$ is a projection, then $pMp$ does not admit a group measure space decomposition nor a group von Neumann algebra decomposition (the latter under the additional assumption that $\Gamma$ is torsion free). We also prove a rigidity result for *--homomorphisms $\theta:M\to M$, this time for $\Gamma$ in a larger class of groups than above, now including products of non--amenable groups. For certain groups $\Gamma$, e.g. $\Gamma=\Bbb F_2\times\Bbb F_2$, we deduce that $M$ does not embed in $pMp$, for any projection $p\in M\setminus\{1\}$, and obtain a description of the endomorphism semigroup of $M$.
In the blink of an eye: investigating latency perception during stylus interaction

While pen computing has become increasingly more popular, device responsiveness, or latency, still plagues such interaction. Although there have been advances in digitizer technology over the last few years, commercial end-to-end latencies are unfortunately similar to those found with touchscreens, i.e., 65 - 120 milliseconds. We report on a prototype stylus-enabled device, the High Performance Stylus System (HPSS), designed to display latencies as low as one millisecond while users ink or perform dragging tasks. To understand the role of latency while inking with a stylus, psychophysical just-noticeable difference experiments were conducted using the HPSS. While participants performed dragging and scribbling tasks, very low levels of latency could be discriminated, i.e., ~1 versus 2 milliseconds while dragging and ~7 versus 40 milliseconds while scribbling. The HPSS and our experimentation have provided further motivation for the implementation of latency saving measures in pen-based hardware and software systems.