Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SCLib: A Practical and Lightweight Defense against Component Hijacking in Android Applications

Cross-app collaboration via inter-component communication is a fundamental mechanism on Android. Although it brings the benefits such as functionality reuse and data sharing, a threat called component hijacking is also introduced. By hijacking a vulnerable component in victim apps, an attack app can escalate its privilege for operations originally prohibited. Many prior studies have been performed to understand and mitigate this issue, but no defense is being deployed in the wild, largely due to the deployment difficulties and performance concerns. In this paper we present SCLib, a secure component library that performs in-app mandatory access control on behalf of app components. It does not require firmware modification or app repackaging as in previous works. The library-based nature also makes SCLib more accessible to app developers, and enables them produce secure components in the first place over fragmented Android devices. As a proof of concept, we design six mandatory policies and overcome unique implementation challenges to mitigate attacks originated from both system weaknesses and common developer mistakes. Our evaluation using ten high-profile open source apps shows that SCLib can protect their 35 risky components with negligible code footprint (less than 0.3% stub code) and nearly no slowdown to normal intra-app communication. The worst-case performance overhead is only about 5%.
Ultrasonic Estimation and FE Analysis of Elastic Modulus of Kelvin Foam

The elastic modulus of a 3D-printed Kelvin foam plate is investigated by measuring the acoustic wave velocity of 1 MHz ultrasound. An isotropic tetrakaidecahedron foam with 3 mm unit cell is designed and printed layer upon layer to fabricate a Kelvin foam plate of 14 mm thickness with a 3D CAD/printer using ABS plastic. The Kelvin foam plate is completely filled with paraffin wax for impedance matching, so that the acoustic wave may propagate through the porous foam plate. The acoustic wave velocity of the foam plate is measured using the time-of-flight (TOF) method and is used to calculate the elastic modulus of the Kelvin foam plate based on acousto-elasticity. Finite element method (FEM) and micromechanics is applied to the Kelvin foam plate to calculate the theoretical elastic modulus using a non-isotropic tetrakaidecahedron model. The predicted elastic modulus of the Kelvin foam plate from FEM and micromechanics model is similar, which is only 3-4% of the bulk material. The experimental value of the elastic modulus from the ultrasonic method is approximately twice as that of the numerical and theoretical methods because of the flexural deformation of the cell edges neglected in the ultrasonic method.
Joint Resource Allocation and Content Caching in Virtualized Content-Centric Wireless Networks

Efficient content caching plays a crucial role in quality of service enhancement and congestion mitigation of the backhaul and core networks for the fifth-generation (5G) wireless network, which must support a large amount of multimedia and video content. Wireless network virtualization provides a novel paradigm shift in 5G system design which enables to better utilize network resources, rapid development of new services, and reduce the operation cost. Harmonized deployment of a content caching strategy in the virtualized wireless network environment, however, requires a suitable radio resource allocation framework to realize the great benefits of these technologies. In this paper, we study the joint resource allocation and content caching problem which aims to efficiently utilize the radio and content storage resources in the highly congested backhaul scenario. In this design, we minimize the maximum content request rejection rate experienced by users of different mobile virtual network operators in different cells, which results in a mixed-integer non-linear program. We solve this difficult optimization problem by proposing a bisection-search-based algorithm that iteratively optimizes the resource allocation and content caching placement. We further propose a low-complexity heuristic algorithm which achieves moderate performance loss compared to the bisection-search based algorithm. Extensive numerical results confirm the efficacy of our proposed framework which significantly reduces the maximum request outage probability compared with other benchmark algorithms.
The radiometric characteristics of KOMPSAT-3A by using reference radiometric tarps and ground measurement

In this study, we performed the vicarious radiometric calibration of KOMPSAT-3A multispectral bands by using 6S radiative transfer model, radiometric tarps, MFRSR measurements. Furthermore, to prepare the accurate input parameter, we also did experiment work to measure the BRDF of radiometric tarps based on hyperspectral gonioradiometer to compensate the observation geometry difference between satellite and ASD Fieldspec 3. Also, we measured point spread function (PSF) by using the bright star and corrected multispectral bands based on the Wiener filter. For accurate atmospheric constituent effects such as aerosol optical depth, column water, and total ozone, we used MFRSR instrument and estimated related optical depth of each gases. Based on input parameters for 6S radiative transfer model, we simulated top of atmosphere (TOA) radiance by observed by KOMPSAT-3A and matched-up the digital number. Consequently, DN to radiance coefficients was determined based on aforementioned methods and showed reasonable statistics results.
Relocation in car sharing systems with shared stackable vehicles: Modelling challenges and outlook

Car sharing is expected to reduce traffic congestion and pollution in cities while at the same time improving accessibility to public transport. However, the most popular form of car sharing, one-way car sharing, still suffers from the vehicle unbalance problem. Innovative solutions to this issue rely on custom vehicles with stackable capabilities: customers or operators can drive a train of vehicles if necessary, thus efficiently bringing several cars from an area with few requests to an area with many requests. However, how to model a car sharing system with stackable vehicles is an open problem in the related literature. In this paper, we propose a queueing theoretical model to fill this gap, and we use this model to derive an upper-bound on user-based relocation capabilities. We also validate, for the first time in the related literature, legacy queueing theoretical models against a trace of real car sharing data. Finally, we present preliminary results about the impact, on car availability, of simple user-based relocation heuristics with stackable vehicles. Our results indicate that user-based relocation schemes that exploit vehicle stackability can significantly improve car availability at stations.
Observed and Expected Mortality in Cohort Studies

Epidemiologists often compare the observed number of deaths in a cohort with the expected number of deaths, obtained by multiplying person-time accrued in the cohort by mortality rates for a reference population (ideally, a reference that represents the mortality rate in the cohort in the absence of exposure). However, if exposure is hazardous (or salutary), this calculation will not consistently estimate the number of deaths expected in the absence of exposure because exposure will have affected the distribution of person-time observed in the study cohort. While problems with interpretation of this standard calculation of expected counts were discussed more than 2 decades ago, these discussions had little impact on epidemiologic practice. The logic of counterfactuals may help clarify this topic as we revisit these issues. In this paper, we describe a simple way to consistently estimate the expected number of deaths in such settings, and we illustrate the approach using data from a cohort study of mortality among underground miners.
Using Traits to Assess Nontransitivity of Interactions among Coral Species

Simulations and experiments have shown that species coexistence can be maintained via nontransitive competition, of which a simple case is the rock-paper-scissors game. Reef-building corals exemplify high biodiversity competing for a few limiting resources via several mechanisms. Thus, corals represent fertile ground for exploring competition and nontransitivity. This article aimed to test hypotheses about the effects of species-level traits on competitive outcomes, specifically, that more upright growth, larger corallites, smaller ranges, and difference in commonness co-occur with competitive superiority. Further aims were to test whether closely related species show less predictable competitive outcomes and greater nontransitivity and to examine the level of nontransitivity among a large number of species. These goals were addressed by fitting a mixed-effects model to outcomes of 2,322 interspecific interactions. Among species-level traits, corallite width had the greatest impact on outcome, followed by geographical range size, growth form, and the typical commonness of conspecifics in assemblages. These fixed effects had smaller estimated impacts than a random effect associated with species pair, suggesting a primary role for idiosyncratic species-pair or other factors. Closely related species had more variable, less predictable interaction outcomes. Nearly a quarter of three-way species relations were nontransitive. The observed degree of competitive nontransitivity and extent of idiosyncratic species-pair effects together provide an empirical baseline for further investigations of mechanisms of species coexistence.
Human umbilical cord blood-borne fibroblasts contain marrow niche precursors that form a bone/marrow organoid in vivo

ABSTRACT Human umbilical cord blood (CB) has attracted much attention as a reservoir for functional hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and, recently, as a source of blood-borne fibroblasts (CB-BFs). Previously, we demonstrated that bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) and CB-BF pellet cultures make cartilage in vitro. Furthermore, upon in vivo transplantation, BMSC pellets remodelled into miniature bone/marrow organoids. Using this in vivo model, we asked whether CB-BF populations that express characteristics of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche contain precursors that reform the niche. CB ossicles were regularly observed upon transplantation. Compared with BM ossicles, CB ossicles showed a predominance of red marrow over yellow marrow, as demonstrated by histomorphological analyses and the number of hematopoietic cells isolated within ossicles. Marrow cavities from CB and BM ossicles included donor-derived CD146-expressing osteoprogenitors and host-derived mature hematopoietic cells, clonogenic lineage-committed progenitors and HSCs. Furthermore, human CD34+ cells transplanted into ossicle-bearing mice engrafted and maintained human HSCs in the niche. Our data indicate that CB-BFs are able to recapitulate the conditions by which the bone marrow microenvironment is formed and establish complete HSC niches, which are functionally supportive of hematopoietic tissue. Summary: Cord blood-borne fibroblasts, a population of adherent cells derived from human umbilical cord blood, generate a miniature bone/marrow organ when transplanted in vivo into mice.
Seasonal plasticity and sexual dimorphism in the avian song control system: Stereological measurement of neuron density and number

Differences in neuron density and number are associated with seasonal plasticity and sexual dimorphism in the avian song control system. In previous studies, neuron density and number in this system have been quantified primarily through nonstereological approaches in thick tissue sections by using the nucleolus as the unit of count. The reported differences between seasons and sexes may be inaccurate due to biases introduced by neuron splitting during sectioning. We used the unbiased optical disector technique on tissue from three previous studies (two investigations of seasonal plasticity and one investigation of sexual dimorphism in avian song nuclei) to assess seasonal and sex differences in neuron density and number. In two song nuclei, HVc and the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA), the optical disector yielded intergroup differences in neuron density and number that coincided well with the three previous reports.
Abnormal interhemispheric connectivity in male psychopathic offenders.

BACKGROUND Psychopathic offenders inevitably violate interpersonal norms and frequently resort to aggressive and criminal behaviour. The affective and cognitive deficits underlying these behaviours have been linked to abnormalities in functional interhemispheric connectivity. However, direct neurophysiological evidence for dysfunctional connectivity in psychopathic offenders is lacking. METHODS We used transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography to examine interhemispheric connectivity in the dorsolateral and motor cortex in a sample of psychopathic offenders and healthy controls. We also measured intracortical inhibition and facilitation over the left and right motor cortex to investigate the effects of local cortical processes on interhemispheric connectivity. RESULTS We enrolled 17 psychopathic offenders and 14 controls in our study. Global abnormalities in right to left functional connectivity were observed in psychopathic offenders compared with controls. Furthermore, in contrast to controls, psychopathic offenders showed increased intracortical inhibition in the right, but not the left, hemisphere. LIMITATIONS The relatively small sample size limited the sensitivity to show that the abnormalities in interhemispheric connectivity were specifically related to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in psychopathic offenders. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this study provides the first neurophysiological evidence for abnormal interhemispheric connectivity in psychopathic offenders and may further our understanding of the disruptive antisocial behaviour of these offenders.
Modelling Claim Frequency in Vehicle Insurance

The paper is focused on modelling claim frequency and extends the work of Kafkova and Křivankova, 2014 (Kafkova, S., Křivankova, L. 2014. Generalized linear models in vehicle insurance. Acta universitatis agriculturae et silviculturae mendelianae brunensis, 62(2): 383–388). We showed that overdispersion, non-linear systematic component and interacted rating factors should be considered when the claim frequency is modelled. We detected overdispersion in the Poisson model and employed the negative-binomial model to show that considering heterogeneity over insurance policies yields better fit of the model. We also analysed the linear effect of continuous rating factors and their mutual influences. We showed that non-linearity and interactions between rating factors yield the better fit of the model, as well as new findings related to the analysis of claim frequency. All empirical models were estimated on the insurance portfolio of Czech insurance company collected during the years 2004–2008.
On the k-hop partial connectivity in finite wireless multi-hop networks

In this paper, we consider wireless multi-hop networks with a finite number of (ordinary) nodes randomly deployed in a given 2D area, and a finite number of gateways (infrastructure nodes) deterministically placed in the same area. We study the connectivity between the ordinary nodes and the gateways. In real applications, it is often desirable to limit the maximum number of hops between the ordinary nodes and the gateways in order to provide reliable services. On the other hand, requiring every ordinary node to be connected to at least one gateway imposes strong requirement on transmission range/power or the number of gateways. Therefore it is beneficial to allow a small fraction of ordinary nodes to be disconnected from the gateways so that the network is only partially connected. Based on the above two considerations, we propose the concept of k-hop partial connectivity, which is the fraction of ordinary nodes that are connected to at least one gateway in at most k hops. Analytical results are provided characterizing the k-hop partial connectivity. The research provides useful guidelines on the design of wireless multi-hop networks.
TWiCe: Time Window Counter Based Row Refresh to Prevent Row-Hammering

Computer systems using DRAM are exposed to row-hammering attacks, which can flip data in a DRAM row without directly accessing a row but by frequently activating its adjacent ones. There have been a number of proposals to prevent row-hammering, but they either incur large area/performance overhead or provide probabilistic protection. In this paper, we propose a new row-hammering mitigation mechanism named Time Window C ounter based row refresh (TWiCe) which prevents row-hammering by using a small number of counters without performance overhead. We first make a key observation that the number of rows that can cause flipping their adjacent ones (aggressor candidates) is limited by the maximum values of row activation frequency and DRAM cell retention time. TWiCe exploits this limit to reduce the required number of counter entries by counting only actually activated DRAM rows and periodically invalidating the entries that are not activated frequently enough to be an aggressor. We calculate the maximum number of required counter entries per DRAM bank, with which row-hammering prevention is guaranteed. We further improve energy efficiency by adopting a pseudo-associative cache design to TWiCe. Our analysis shows that TWiCe incurs no performance overhead on normal DRAM operations and less than 0.7 percent area and energy overheads over contemporary DRAM devices.
AML suppresses hematopoiesis by releasing exosomes that contain microRNAs targeting c-MYB

Exosomes shed from acute myeloid leukemia cells suppress the expression of a hematopoietic transcription factor in the bone marrow. AML dispatches micromanagers In patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the production of healthy blood cells from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow (a process called hematopoiesis) is suppressed, prompting the need for bone marrow transplants. AML cells shed extracellular vesicles called exosomes that contain molecules that suppress hematopoiesis by reprogramming the stem cell niche. Hornick et al. discovered another way that AML exosomes block this critical process by delivering microRNAs to hematopoietic stem cells. The AML-derived exosomes contained two mature microRNAs that target the mRNA encoding c-MYB, a transcription factor involved in hematopoiesis. Other targets of these AML-derived exosomal microRNAs reveal interconnected networks targeting transcripts that produce proteins that control the cell cycle. The findings suggest that disrupting this mode of intercellular communication might enhance hematopoiesis in AML patients. Exosomes are paracrine regulators of the tumor microenvironment and contain complex cargo. We previously reported that exosomes released from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells can suppress residual hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) function indirectly through stromal reprogramming of niche retention factors. We found that the systemic loss of hematopoietic function is also in part a consequence of AML exosome–directed microRNA (miRNA) trafficking to HSPCs. Exosomes isolated from cultured AML or the plasma from mice bearing AML xenografts exhibited enrichment of miR-150 and miR-155. HSPCs cocultured with either of these exosomes exhibited impaired clonogenicity, through the miR-150– and miR-155–mediated suppression of the translation of transcripts encoding c-MYB, a transcription factor involved in HSPC differentiation and proliferation. To discover additional miRNA targets, we captured miR-155 and its target transcripts by coimmunoprecipitation with an attenuated RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)–trap, followed by high-throughput sequencing. This approach identified known and previously unknown miR-155 target transcripts. Integration of the miR-155 targets with information from the protein interaction database STRING revealed proteins indirectly affected by AML exosome–derived miRNA. Our findings indicate a direct effect of AML exosomes on HSPCs that, through a stroma-independent mechanism, compromises hematopoiesis. Furthermore, combining miRNA target data with protein-protein interaction data may be a broadly applicable strategy to define the effects of exosome-mediated trafficking of regulatory molecules within the tumor microenvironment.
Irrelevance of Microsatellite Instability in the Epidemiology of Sporadic Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Background and Aims Pancreatic cancer risk is increased in Lynch syndrome (LS) patients with mismatch repair gene defects predisposing to colonic and extracolonic cancers with microsatellite instability (MSI). However, the frequency of MSI pancreatic cancers has never been ascertained in consecutive, unselected clinical series, and their contribution to the sporadic and inherited burden of pancreatic cancer remains to be established. Aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of MSI in surgically resected pancreatic cancers in a multicentric, retrospective study, and to assess the occurrence of pancreatic cancer in LS. Methods MS-status was screened by a panel of 5 mononucleotide repeats (Bat26, Bat25, NR-21, NR-24 and NR-27) in 338 consecutive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), resected at two Italian and one German referral centres. The personal history of pancreatic cancer was assessed in an independent set of 58 probands with LS and in 138 first degree relatives who had cancers. Results Only one PDAC (0.3%) showed MSI. This was a medullary type cancer, with hMLH1-deficiency, and no identified germ-line mutation but methylation of hMLH1. Pancreatic cancer occurred in 5 (2.5%) LS patients. Histological sampling was available for 2 cases, revealing PDAC in one case and an ampullary cancer in the other one. Conclusions MSI prevalence is negligible in sporadic, resected PDAC. Differently, the prevalence of pancreatic cancer is 2.5% in LS patients, and cancers other than PDAC may be encountered in this setting. Surveillance for pancreatic cancer should be advised in LS mutation carriers at referral centers.
Multi-object trajectory coupling using online target specific decision making

The color and gradient based sequential state estimation method has proved its applicability in many video based tracking applications. This paper proposes a multi-modal approach applicable to trajectory formation of multiple moving objects with complex random motion structure. The Bayesian framework for tracking is formulated in this paper that incorporate spatio temporal information in selecting significant particles and establishing statistical correlation between prior model of target and its recent observation. It is especially applicable to real time trajectory analysis of situations with miss detection and formation of segmented tracks belonging to same object. The quantitative as well as qualitative performance of the proposed approach is evaluated on various real-world video sequences with challenging environment like random movement between objects and partial occlusion. The proposed approach performs better than other state-of-art method used for multiple moving objects tracking in videos.