Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Litmus: Towards a Practical Database Management System with Verifiable ACID Properties and Transaction Correctness

Existing secure database management systems (DBMSs) focus on security and privacy of data but overlook semantic properties, such as the correctness and ACID properties of transactions. Enforcing these properties is crucial to the functionality of applications. If these guarantees do not hold, catastrophic losses could result. To address this issue, we present Litmus, a DBMS that can provide verifiable proofs of transaction correctness and semantic properties including atomicity and serializability. Litmus features a co-design of both the database and the cryptographic parts. We evaluate a proof-of-concept prototype of Litmus on the YCSB and TPC-C benchmarks and show that under reasonable cryptographic assumptions it can process more than 15,000 transactions per second (txn/s) verifiably. Our result shows a promising practical direction considering that PayPal runs on average 115 txn/s and VISA 2000-4000 txn/s. The proof is about 30kB per verification batch and verifies with a constant time of 300 seconds. Litmus can extend to verify consistency as well.
A Projection-Free Adaptive Momentum Optimization Algorithm for Mobile Multimedia Computing

In mobile multimedia applications, deep learning has received significant interest. Due to the limited computation and storage resources of mobile devices, however, general training methods are hardly suited for mobile multimedia computing. For this reason, we propose an adaptive momentum training (FWAdaBound) algorithm to reduce computation and storage cost, where the Frank-Wolfe method is employed. Furthermore, we rigorously prove the regret bound in order that O T 3 / 4 can be achieved, where T is a time horizon. Finally, the convergence, cost-reduction, and generalization ability of FWAdaBound are validated through various experiments on public datasets.
Global Big Data Analysis Exploring the Determinants of Application Ratings: Evidence from the Google Play Store

Purpose – This paper empirically investigates the predictors and main determinants of consumers’ ratings of mobile applications in the Google Play Store. Using a linear and nonlinear model comparison to identify the function of users’ review, in determining application rating across countries, this study estimates the direct effects of users’ reviews on the application rating. In addition, extending our modelling into a sentimental analysis, this paper also aims to explore the effects of review polarity and subjectivity on the application rating, followed by an examination of the moderating effect of user reviews on the polarity-rating and subjectivity-rating relationships. Design/methodology – Our empirical model considers nonlinear association as well as linear causality between features and targets. This study employs competing theoretical frameworks – multiple regression, decision-tree and neural network models – to identify the predictors and main determinants of app ratings, using data from the Google Play Store. Using a cross-validation method, our analysis investigates the direct and moderating effects of predictors and main determinants of application ratings in a global app market. Findings – The main findings of this study can be summarized as follows: the number of user’s review is positively associated with the ratings of a given app and it positively moderates the polarity-rating relationship. Applying the review polarity measured by a sentimental analysis to the modelling, it was found that the polarity is not significantly associated with the rating. This result best applies to the function of both positive and negative reviews in playing a word-of-mouth role, as well as serving as a channel for communication, leading to product innovation. Originality/value – Applying a proxy measured by binomial figures, previous studies have predominantly focused on positive and negative sentiment in examining the determinants of app ratings, assuming that they are significantly associated. Given the constraints to measurement of sentiment in current research, this paper employs sentimental analysis to measure the real integer for users’ polarity and subjectivity. This paper also seeks to compare the suitability of three distinct models – linear regression, decision-tree and neural network models. Although a comparison between methodologies has long been considered important to the empirical approach, it has hitherto been underexplored in studies on the app market.
The Use of a Time-Frequency Transform for the Analysis of Electrochemical Noise for Corrosion Estimation

This work shows the results of evaluating the corrosion type and rate (CR) in the 6061-T6 aluminum alloy exposed to ethanol-gasoline blends (E0, E10, E20, E30, E40, E60, E80, and E100) by analyzing electrochemical noise (EN) signals using the Shannon energy (SSE) and the synchrosqueezing transform (SST). The obtained results are compared against the obtained with the statistical method (Location Index, LI). The results obtained with the SSE method showed that the corrosion type in the 6061-T6 aluminum alloy is classified better than using the statistical method. Moreover, the SST results showed that the corrosion rate increased with the increment of the ethanol content in the ethanol-gasoline blends from values in the order of 10 − 4 to 10 − 3 mm/year.
Polysaccharides from Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua Reduce Depression-Like Behavior in Mice by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress-Calpain-1-NLRP3 Signaling Axis

Polysaccharides from Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua (PSP) exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antidepressant effects. Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of the calpain system and the NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome are closely related to the pathogenesis of depression. However, the relationships among those pathways and the protective effects of PSP have not been characterized. In this study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and chronic unpredictable mild stress- (CUMS-) induced depression models were used to evaluate the protective mechanisms of PSP against depression. ROS levels were measured in HT-22 cells using flow cytometry. Brain tissues were collected to determine the levels of oxidation-related indicators and inflammatory cytokines. The protein levels of calpain-1, calpain-2, calpastatin, phosphatase and Tensin Homolog deleted on Chromosome 10 (PTEN), suprachiasmatic nucleus circadian oscillatory protein (SCOP), nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), caspase-1, cleaved-caspase-1, ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1), phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were measured using western blotting or immunofluorescence. In cellular experiments, we showed that PSP attenuated LPS-induced production of ROS in HT-22 cells. In animal experiments, we found that LPS increased the expression of calpain-1, NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, cleaved-caspase-1, Iba1, p-ERK, NF-κB, and GFAP and reduced the expression of calpastatin, PTEN, SCOP, and Nrf2. Administration of PSP reversed these changes. N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) administration also inhibited oxidative stress and activation of the calpain system and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Furthermore, PSP, calpeptin, MCC950 (a selective NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor), and NAC reduced LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine release. We also showed that PSP prevented CUMS-induced changes in the calpain system and the Nrf2 and NLRP3 signaling pathways and reduced depression-like behavior. These results indicate that PSP exerts antidepressant effects through regulation of the oxidative stress-calpain-1-NLRP3 signaling axis.
Results of Resection of Giant Pituitary Adenomas through Endoscopic Endonasal Approach

Background/Objective: A minimally invasive surgical method is in use to create endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery. Because of the intricate dissection of the sellar region, surgical treatment of large pituitary adenomas is challenging. The study focused to determine the frequency of complications after endonasal endoscopic transsphenoidal resection of giant pituitary macroadenomas. Materials and Methods: A descriptive case series study was conducted at the Neurosurgical Department of Lahore General Hospital, Lahore. A total of 70 patients fulfilling the selection criteria were enrolled. Major vascular injury was noted when there is an injury to the internal carotid artery or cavernous sinus. After discharge, patients were followed-up in OPD for 3 months. After 3 months, patients were evaluated for CSF leak and vision. The presence of complications was recorded. During surgery, operative time was noted. Results: Mean age of patients was 55.7 ± 6.5 years. 45.71% of patients were male while the remaining 54.29% of patients were female Total of 41.43% of patients had disease < 2 years, whereas the duration of surgery was ≤ 3 hours in 64.3% of patients. A total 15.71% had complications which included diabetes insipidus (8.57%), infections (5.71%), pituitary dysfunction (4.29%), CSF leak (2.8%) and vascular injury (1.43%). The mortality rate was 1.43%. Conclusion: The complication rate after endonasal endoscopic transsphenoidal resection of giant pituitary macroadenomas was high.
Factors Affecting Adoption and Intensity of Use of Tef-Acacia decurrens-Charcoal Production Agroforestry System in Northwestern Ethiopia

The tef-Acacia decurrens-charcoal production agroforestry system (TACPA system) is a conventionally and uniquely adopted indigenous potential climate-smart agricultural technology (CSAT) in northwest Ethiopia. This study investigates factors determining farmers’ adoption and intensity of use of the TACPA system using a descriptive statistic and a double-hurdle model. A total of 326 farming household heads were selected using multistage random sampling from two purposively chosen provinces. The descriptive statistics showed that 64.42% of the local farmers adopted the TACPA system, and the area covered by the adopter was 0.38 ha. Empirical estimates of the first hurdle revealed that credit, plot ownership, association, primary road distance, asset, farming experience, labor, family size, livestock, tenure, and marginal land influenced the adoption of the TACPA system. On the other hand, estimates of the second hurdle showed that the intensity of use of the TACPA system was determined by age, plot ownership, nativity, primary road distance use, livestock, tenure, secondary road distance, and experience. The complementarity between the adoption of the TACPA system and its intensity of use suggests the necessity of joint socio-economic policies to meet the priority needs of smallholder farmers of the study area and to disseminate the innovation to other parts of Africa with similar environmental conditions.
CEO-CFO Tenure Consistency and Cash Holdings

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether CEO-CFO tenure consistency impacts corporate cash holdings. We find that a company’s cash holdings increase when CEO and CFO have the same tenure. The positive relationship between CEO-CFO tenure consistency and cash holdings is more obvious in companies with CEO duality, a smaller proportion of independent directors, and more serious agency problems. Further evidence shows that CEO-CFO tenure consistency decreases the value of cash holdings.
Comparative Analysis of Canopy Cooling in Wheat under High Temperature and Drought Stress

The size and the weight of wheat grains vary across the length of each spike (Triticum aestivum L.). High temperature and water scarcity often reduce the single grain weight, and this reduction also varies across the spike length. Plants tend to cope with high temperature and drought stress through inherent mechanisms such ascanopy cooling through transpiration, which can contribute to yield stability. The effect of canopy cooling on the average grain weight at different positions in spike is still unknown. In this study, we planned to assess the role of canopy temperature, yield-related traits, and spike shape in final grain weight. For two years (2017–2018 and 2018–2019), fifteen diverse genotypes released for cultivation in different environmental conditions were grown in the field. They were examined for canopy temperature, spikelets spike−1, grain number spike−1, grain yield spike−1, and grain weight of the spike’s basal, median, and distal regions. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was obtained for all pair-wise combinations of traits under different treatments and spike shapes. The results indicated that cooler canopy is correlated to grain weight in normal spike shape at all three positions within the spike irrespective of stress. The advantage of the cooler canopy in improving grain-filling at basal, median, and distal regions was more conspicuous in the high temperature stress conditions compared to non-stressed and drought conditions.
Interest In and Uptake of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP): A Cross-Sectional Study of High-Risk Patients in Western Canada

Rationale Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective, evidence-based HIV prevention strategy. However, its use in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan province of western Canada, is relatively new. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the interest and uptake of PrEP and investigate factors associated with HIV PrEP by high-risk patients. Methods A cross-sectional, self-administered survey of patients attending Saskatoon’s Public Health Services Sexual Health Clinic was conducted from October until December 2018. The primary outcome was the interest in taking PrEP to reduce the risk of HIV infection. This outcome was evaluated for its association with potential correlates, which included: sociodemographic characteristics, HIV risk perception, prior PrEP awareness, and sexual behaviors/lifestyles. Descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analyses were used to pursue our research objectives. Results One hundred forty-one participants were recruited from a sexual health clinic in Saskatoon. The median age (interquartile range) was 26 (22-31) years. The median number of partners (interquartile range) was 3 (2-4) partners. A total of 66.0% of participants were unaware of PrEP, and almost half ( 49.6%) indicated an interest in taking PrEP. Among those disinterested in PrEP, 49.3% perceived minimal HIV risk, 35.2% expressed concern regarding side effects, 28.1% cited the added need for condom use, 23.9% indicated incomplete effectiveness, and 22.5% did not wish to undergo regular bloodwork. Multivariate analysis showed that interested patients were more likely to have been previously aware of PrEP (OR: 2.6, p-value = 0.03), perceived themselves to be vulnerable to HIV (OR: 15.7, p = <0.0001), or were unsure about their risk (OR: 3.9, p = 0.001). Conclusion This study suggests that a lack of knowledge regarding personal HIV risk and PrEP as a preventive option may influence PrEP interest. There lies a need for more health promotion campaigns around the health benefits of PrEP, including literacy efforts on HIV risk, concerns around side effects, and associated blood work with PrEP use.
Spike timing neural network model of conscious visual perception

The aim of the paper is to investigate the influence of thalamo-cortical connectivity on the conscious perception of visual stimuli. We conducted simulation experiments changing the key parameters of our spike timing neural network model of visual perception and decision making that are supposed to be related to conscious perception, namely bottom-up and top-down connections between thalamic relay, including Thalamic reticulate nucleus (TRN) and Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), and primary visual cortex (V1). The model output, that is perceptual based decision in the lateral intrapareital (LIP) area of the brain for left or right saccade generation, was observed. Conclusions about the influence of altered key parameters on the ability of our model to take proper decision were commented in respect to the observed activity in the brain areas responsible for conscious visual perception and decision making.
COVID-19: A Systematic Review of the Transmissibility, Pathogenesis, Entry Factors, and Signature Immune Response

Objectives: The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to a global health calamity unprecedented in the modern world. The disease spread worldwide, and to date, there have been over 230 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including approximately 4.7 million deaths. Mutant variants of the virus have raised concerns about additional pandemic waves and threaten to reverse our progress thus far to limit the spread of the virus. These variants include Alpha, Beta, and Delta (first reported in December 2020 in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and India, respectively) and Gamma (reported in January 2021 in Brazil). In some cases, countries have even reported a rise in daily cases higher than the first wave in March 2020. Given the rapidly evolving nature of COVID-19 and subsequent new findings and updates each day, this review article aims to comprehensively summarize the etiology, pathophysiology, and clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed in accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines to gain insight into the transmissibility, pathogenesis, entry factors, and immune response of COVID-19. Specifically, Pubmed and Google Scholar databases were searched to identify any relevant articles. References within the included articles were reviewed. Published articles related to search criteria from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to March 2022 were included. Results: Viral transmissibility is predominantly affected by the modes of transmission, various mutations on the nucleocapsid protein and endoRNAse, gender, age, and other factors. The pathophysiological mechanism is generally unknown, although the clinical manifestations such as headache, loss of smell and taste, vomiting, diarrhea, multiorgan failure, and dermatological and cardiovascular complications are well documented. The progression of infection depends on the immunopathological response and the innate/adaptive immunity. Conclusion: Our review has summarized the latest knowledge about SARS-CoV2. However, as the pandemic continues to spread across the continents, there is an urgent need for more research on potentially emerging coronaviruses and the development of a universal coronaviruses vaccine to put the pandemic behind us.
Impact of a gender and nutrition behavioral change communication amid the COVID-19 crisis in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone

Social behavior change communication (SBCC) interventions on gender and nutrition are now commonly implemented, but their impact on diet quality and empowerment is rarely assessed rigorously. We estimate the impact of a nutrition and gender SBCC intervention on women’s dietary diversity and empowerment in Myanmar during an especially challenging period—the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention was implemented as a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 30 villages in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone. Our analysis employs data from the baseline survey implemented in February 2020 and a phone survey implemented in February–March 2021 and focuses on women’s dietary diversity and sub-indicators of the project-level women’s empowerment in agriculture index (pro-WEAI). Two indicators of wome n’s empowerment―inputs to productive decisions and access to and decisions over credit―improved, indicating that SBCC interventions can contribute to changing gendered perceptions and behaviors; however, most of the empowerment indicators did not change, indicating that much of gendered norms and beliefs take time to change. Women’s dietary diversity scores were higher by half a food group out of 10 in treatment villages. More women in treatment villages consumed nuts, milk, meat or fish, and Vitamin A–rich foods daily than in control villages. We show that even in the setting of a pandemic, a SBCC intervention can be delivered through a range of tools, including household visits, phone-based coaching, and voice-based training, that are responsive to local and individual resource limitations. Gender messaging can change some gendered perceptions; but it may take more time to change deeply ingrained gender norms. Nutrition messaging can help counter the declines in dietary quality that would be expected from negative shocks to supply chains and incomes.
The Impact of Cardiovascular Risk Factors on the Course of COVID-19

Aim of the study: The aim of our review is to indicate and discuss the impact of cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, lipid profile, hypertension and smoking on the course and mortality of COVID-19 infection. Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is spreading around the world and becoming a major public health crisis. All coronaviruses are known to affect the cardiovascular system. There is a strong correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and severe clinical complications, including death in COVID-19 patients. All the above-mentioned risk factors are widespread and constitute a significant worldwide health problem. Some of them are modifiable and the awareness of their connection with the COVID-19 progress may have a crucial impact on the current and possible upcoming infection. Data collection: We searched for research papers describing the impact of selected cardiovascular risk factors on the course, severity, complications and mortality of COVID-19 infection form PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Using terms, for example: “COVID-19 cardiovascular disease mortality”, “COVID-19 hypertension/diabetes mellitus/obesity/dyslipidemia”, “cardiovascular risk factors COVID-19 mortality” and other related terms listed in each subtitle. The publications were selected according to the time of their publications between January 2020 and December 2021. From the PubMed database we obtain 1552 results. Further studies were sought by manually searching reference lists of the relevant articles. Relevant articles were selected based on their title, abstract or full text. Articles were excluded if they were clearly related to another subject matter or were not published in English. The types of articles are mainly randomized controlled trial and systematic review. An additional criterion used by researchers was co-morbidities and age of patients in study groups. From a review of the publications, 105 of them were selected for this work with all subheadings included. Findings and Results: The intention of this review was to summarize current knowledge about comorbidities and development of COVID-19 infection. We tried to focus on the course and mortality of the abovementioned virus disease in patients with concomitant CV risk factors. Unfortunately, we were unable to assess the quality of data in screened papers and studies we choose because of the heterogenicity of the groups. The conducted studies had different endpoints and included different groups of patients in terms of nationality, age, race and clinical status. We decide to divide the main subjects of the research into separately described subtitles such as obesity, lipid profile, hypertension, diabetes, smoking. We believe that the studies we included and gathered are very interesting and show modern and present-day clinical data and approaches to COVID-19 infection in specific divisions of patients.