Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RansomShield: A Visualization Approach to Defending Mobile Systems Against Ransomware

The unprecedented growth in mobile systems has transformed the way we approach everyday computing. Unfortunately, the emergence of a sophisticated type of malware known as ransomware poses a great threat to consumers of this technology. Traditional research on mobile malware detection has focused on approaches that rely on analyzing bytecode for uncovering malicious apps. However, cybercriminals can bypass such methods by embedding malware directly in native machine code, making traditional methods inadequate. Another challenge that detection solutions face is scalability. The sheer number of malware variants released every year makes it difficult for solutions to efficiently scale their coverage. To address these concerns, this work presents RansomShield, an energy-efficient solution that leverages CNNs to detect ransomware. We evaluate CNN architectures that have been known to perform well on computer vision tasks and examine their suitability for ransomware detection. We show that systematically converting native instructions from Android apps into images using space-filling curve visualization techniques enable CNNs to reliably detect ransomware with high accuracy. We characterize the robustness of this approach across ARM and x86 architectures and demonstrate the effectiveness of this solution across heterogeneous platforms including smartphones and chromebooks. We evaluate the suitability of different models for mobile systems by comparing their energy demands using different platforms. In addition, we present a CNN introspection framework that determines the important features that are needed for ransomware detection. Finally, we evaluate the robustness of this solution against adversarial machine learning (AML) attacks using state-of-the-art Android malware dataset.
Trireme: Exploration of Hierarchical Multi-level Parallelism for Hardware Acceleration

The design of heterogeneous systems that include domain specific accelerators is a challenging and time-consuming process. While taking into account area constraints, designers must decide which parts of an application to accelerate in hardware and which to leave in software. Moreover, applications in domains such as Extended Reality (XR) offer opportunities for various forms of parallel execution, including loop level, task level, and pipeline parallelism. To assist the design process and expose every possible level of parallelism, we present Trireme, a fully automated tool-chain that explores multiple levels of parallelism and produces domain-specific accelerator designs and configurations that maximize performance, given an area budget. FPGA SoCs were used as target platforms, and Catapult HLS [7] was used to synthesize RTL using a commercial 12 nm FinFET technology. Experiments on demanding benchmarks from the XR domain revealed a speedup of up to 20×, as well as a speedup of up to 37× for smaller applications, compared to software-only implementations.
Direct compression hemostasis using a balloon dilator for bleeding after esophageal stent placement

The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy guidelines recommend the placement of self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) for palliation of malignant dysphagia over other treatments [1]. Although esophageal stenting enables maintenance of oral intake and improved quality of life, it carries the risk of lifethreatening adverse events such as bleeding [2, 3]. Herein, we report a case in which hemostasis was achieved using an endoscopic balloon dilator for massive bleeding after esophageal SEMS placement. An 80-year-old man presented with dysphagia caused by advanced esophageal cancer of the middle thoracic esophagus. He did not desire active treatment such as surgery or chemoradiotherapy; he instead underwent placement of a fully covered SEMS (Niti-S Stent 18×80mm; Taewoong Medical, Seoul, Korea) (▶Fig. 1). Dysphagia was alleviated and oral dietary intake improved after SEMS placement. Massive hematemesis occurred 4 months after SEMS placement. Urgent endoscopy revealed massive bleeding with coagulum in the esophagus. We diagnosed bleeding from the SEMS placement site and removed the SEMS by pulling back the proximal lasso using grasping forceps. Following SEMS removal, securement of the visual field and identification of the bleeding point were difficult because of massive bleeding (▶Fig. 2). Therefore, we attempted to perform hemostasis by direct compression using an endoscopic balloon dilator (EZDilate, 18–20mm; Olympus Medical, Tokyo, Japan) (▶Video 1). The balloon dilator was inflated to a pressure of 3 atm, and 3–5 minutes of direct compression hemostasis was repeated until hemostasis was confirmed (▶Fig. 3). Complete hemostasis was achieved after three sessions of direct compression hemostasis (▶Fig. 4). Endoscopy performed 2 days after hemostasis confirmed the absence of bleeding or perforation at the tumor site. No rebleeding occurred after hemostasis.
Expert Systems With Applications

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has dramatically altered the state of the global economy, and the stock market has become more volatile and even fallen sharply as a result of its negative impact, heightening investors’ apprehension regarding the correlation between unexpected events and stock market volatility. Additionally, internal and external characteristics coexist in the stock market. Existing research has struggled to extract more effective stock market features during the COVID-19 outbreak using a single time-series neural network model. This paper presents a framework for multitasking learning-based stock market forecasting (COVID-19-MLSF), which can extract the internal and external features of the stock market and their relationships effectively during COVID-19.The innovation comprises three components: designing a new market sentiment index (NMSI) and COVID-19 index to represent the external characteristics of the stock market during the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, it introduces a multi-task learning framework to extract global and local features of the stock market. Moreover, a temporal convolutional neural network with a multi-scale attention mechanism is designed (MA-TCN) alongside a Multi-View Convolutional-Bidirectional Recurrent Neural Network with Temporal Attention (MVCNN-BiLSTM-Att), adjusting the model to account for the changing status of COVID-19 and its impact on the stock market. Experiments indicate that our model achieves superior performance both in terms of predicting the accuracy of the China CSI 300 Index during the COVID-19 period and in terms of sing market trading.
Spectrum of a passive scalar in stretched grid turbulence at low Reynolds numbers

Approximately homogeneous isotropic turbulence is obtained by stretching a wind-tunnel grid flow with a 1.36:1 contraction. The flow is mildly heated so that temperature serves as a passive scalar. For three different grids, the dissipation rates and spectra of velocity and temperature fluctuations are obtained from simultaneous hot-wire and cold-wire measurements. The dissipation rates follow a power-law decay. Comparison with an unstretched grid flow shows that the contraction improves the isotropy and reduces the effect of grid shape on the decay exponents. At low Reynolds numbers, there is a significant scaling range for the temperature spectrum but not for the velocity spectrum. With stretching, the temperature spectrum shows a wider scaling range, and that the scaling range exponent is closer to 5/3. The scaling exponent for the temperature spectrum (mθ) is represented by a power-law function of Reynolds number, and it approaches 5/3 faster than that for the velocity spectrum (mu). Results show that the ratio between the velocity and temperature scaling range exponents, (5/3+mu)/mθ, is about 1.98.
Hypernatural Piedmont prairies: a screening process for optimum placement

ABSTRACT:Limited information is available on the optimum placement of designed plant communities that reference the historic Piedmont prairies of southeastern North America. Characterized as “a hybrid of horticulture and ecology,” a designed plant communities approach looks to naturally occurring plant associations for both aesthetic inspiration and guidance on ideal environmental conditions and plant composition. Designed plant communities are not intended to be facsimiles of native plant communities and are not ecological restorations. Through semi-novel plant combinations and plant selection aimed at creating vibrant multi-season bloom events for continual visual interest, these hypernatural plantings emphasize public enjoyment. Through the incorporation of the plants’ natural tendencies, however, designed plant communities can also provide ease of maintenance in tough environments and various ecological benefits. This study was conducted to identify optimum locations for the installation of hypernatural Piedmont prairie plantings in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. Using ArcMap, the authors employed an exclusion and screening process based on the environmental factors identified in literature related to the restoration of natural Piedmont prairies, in addition to logistics related to their implementation within Athens-Clarke County (with appropriate locations limited to public or institutional properties). Appropriate variables were selected and combined to map candidate sites. The process identified 128 ha (318 ac) for hypernatural Piedmont prairie conversion in the county. Suitable locations range from dense urban areas to outlying rural parcels and included power line easements, open parklands, and roadsides. The process was designed to be easily replicated for other Piedmont locations where hypernatural Piedmont prairie plantings are desired.
DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF COMPACT BALANCED ANTIPODAL VIVALDI ANTENNA

In this paper, the conformal finite-difference time-domain (CFDTD) method using PSO optimization is applied to design a compact directive balanced antipodal Vivaldi antenna for ultrawideband (UWB) applications. This paper demonstrates miniaturized antipodal Vivaldi antenna (32 × 35 × 1.6mm3), having low-cross polarization levels and reasonable gain from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz. The antenna peak gain is 5.25 dBi in the specified band. The simulated and experimental results of return loss, far field patterns and gain are presented.
Design and study of 0.85-µm wavelength-based MMI optical power splitter

This paper presented a silica-based 1×8 optical power splitter at 0. 85μm designed with Multi Mode Interference (MMI). The waveguide material is Si-based SiO2 doped with Ge and deposited by PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) method. The refractive index of glass substrate is 1.458, and the index difference is 0.75%. The input and output waveguides are optimized considering the characteristics of VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers). The core pitch on this chip is chosen as 250μm to take the fiber connections into account, and the typical cladding diameter of optical fibers as 125µm. The critical parameters in the fabrication of the MMI power splitter are the multimode section width and length. In general the key performance specifications of the optical power splitter are insertion loss and uniformity. We use a Finite Difference Beam Propagation Method (FDBPM) to simulate accurately the evolution of the fundamental mode power of the input guide incoming to the device, and analyze the relationships of various parameters in detail. The bend output waveguides are sin-bend styles. Compared with the commercial optical power splitter, the simulation results accord with the requirement of our design, containing compact size, low loss, stable splitting ratio, low crosstalk, large optical bandwidth, and good fabrication tolerances. The insertion loss and the uniformity of pilot study are 9.07dB and 0.02dB respectively.
Comparative embryology of Delphinapterus leucas (beluga whale), Balaena mysticetus (bowhead whale), and Stenella attenuata (pan‐tropical spotted dolphin) (Cetacea: Mammalia)

Embryogenesis of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) is best known in Stenella attenuata, the pan‐tropical spotted dolphin, based on a remarkably complete and well‐studied prenatal ontogenetic series. Our study expands understanding of cetacean embryology by adding two additional cetacean taxa: the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas, Odontoceti), and the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus, Mysticeti). We identify key features that characterize these taxa at specific stages and highlight heterochrony between the odontocetes and mysticetes. The toothed whales are more similar in developmental timing to each other than either is to Balaena. The two odontocete taxa, Stenella and Delphinapterus, share similar developmental trajectories while early Balaena specimens differ from the odontocetes. This developmental variation proves challenging to ascribe to the existing Carnegie staging system. Most notably, flippers, hindlimbs, and flukes all provide morphological traits for characterization within the Carnegie staging system. A presomitic Delphinapterus embryo is also described. This study applies the Carnegie staging system to two more cetacean taxa and forms a framework for future research on cetacean developmental genetics and the modeling of fetal growth.
Oxidative stress drives mutagenesis through transcription-coupled repair in bacteria

In bacteria, mutations lead to the evolution of antibiotic resistance, which is one the main public health problems of the 21st century. Therefore, determining which cellular processes most frequently contribute to mutagenesis, especially in cells that have not been exposed to exogenous DNA damage, is critical. Here, we show that endogenous oxidative stress is a key driver of mutagenesis and the subsequent development of antibiotic resistance. This is the case for all classes of antibiotics tested and across highly divergent species, including patient-derived strains. We show that the transcription-coupled repair pathway, which uses the nucleotide excision repair proteins (TC-NER), is responsible for endogenous oxidative stress-dependent mutagenesis and subsequent evolution. This strongly suggests that a majority of mutations arise through transcription-associated processes rather than the replication fork. In addition to determining that the NER proteins play a critical role in mutagenesis and evolution, we also identify the DNA polymerases responsible for this process. Our data strongly suggest that cooperation between three different mutagenic DNA polymerases, likely at the last step of TC-NER, is responsible for mutagenesis and evolution. Overall, our work identifies that a highly conserved pathway drives mutagenesis due to endogenous oxidative stress, which has broad implications for all diseases of evolution, including antibiotic resistance development.
Sampling strategies and integrated reconstruction for reducing distortion and boundary slice aliasing in high‐resolution 3D diffusion MRI

Purpose To develop a new method for high-fidelity, high-resolution 3D multi-slab diffusion MRI with minimal distortion and boundary slice aliasing. Methods Our method modifies 3D multi-slab imaging to integrate blip-reversed acquisitions for distortion correction and oversampling in the slice direction (kz) for reducing boundary slice aliasing. Our aim is to achieve robust acceleration to keep the scan time the same as conventional 3D multi-slab acquisitions, in which data are acquired with a single direction of blip traversal and without kz-oversampling. We employ a two-stage reconstruction. In the first stage, the blip-up/down images are respectively reconstructed and analyzed to produce a field map for each diffusion direction. In the second stage, the blip-reversed data and the field map are incorporated into a joint reconstruction to produce images that are corrected for distortion and boundary slice aliasing. Results We conducted experiments at 7T in six healthy subjects. Stage 1 reconstruction produces images from highly under-sampled data (R=7.2) with sufficient quality to provide accurate field map estimation. Stage 2 joint reconstruction substantially reduces distortion artifacts with comparable quality to fully-sampled blip-reversed results (2.4× scan time). Whole-brain in-vivo results acquired at 1.05mm isotropic resolution demonstrate improved anatomical fidelity compared to conventional 3D multi-slab imaging. Data demonstrate good reliability and reproducibility of the proposed method over multiple subjects. Conclusion The proposed acquisition and reconstruction framework provide major reductions in distortion and boundary slice aliasing for 3D multi-slab diffusion MRI without increasing the scan time. This method has the potential to provide high-quality, high-resolution diffusion MRI.
Heterogeneity of novel APOER2 isoforms specific to Alzheimer’s disease impact cellular and synaptic states

Apolipoprotein receptor 2 (APOER2) is an alternatively spliced transmembrane receptor that binds the neuroprotective ligand Reelin and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) related risk factor, APOE. Splicing of single exons in mouse Apoer2 regulates neuronal function and synaptic plasticity. However, the splicing landscape and function of human APOER2 isoforms in physiological and AD conditions remains unclear. Here, we identified over 200 unique human APOER2 isoforms in the parietal cortex and hippocampus with 151 isoforms common between the two brain regions. In addition, we identified region- and AD-specific APOER2 isoforms suggesting APOER2 splicing is spatially regulated and altered in AD. We tested whether the AD-specific APOER2 transcripts have distinct functional properties, and demonstrated AD-specific APOER2 variants have altered cell surface expression, APOE-mediated receptor processing and synaptic changes which could contribute to neuronal dysfunction associated with AD pathogenesis.
A novel regulatory mechanism of actin cytoskeleton dynamics through a neural microexon in DAAM1 is important for proper memory formation

Actin cytoskeleton dynamics is crucial for neurogenesis and neuronal function. Precise quantitative and qualitative regulation of actin polymerization is achieved by multiple actin-binding proteins, among which formins are particularly versatile. Here, we investigate how neuronal-specific splicing expands formin’s functional diversity in the brain. We uncovered a highly conserved microexon in DAAM1, whose inclusion extends the linker region of the FH2 domain, and leads to remarkable changes in actin polymerization rates and structure. Microexon deletion causes neuritogenesis defects and increased calcium influx in in vitro differentiated neurons, and mice carrying this deletion exhibit deficient memory formation. These memory defects were associated with higher activity of DAAM1’s interactor RhoA, increased ARC protein levels, postsynaptic deficiencies, fewer dendritic spines and impaired long-term potentiation. In summary, precise post-transcriptional regulation of DAAM1’s FH2 domain is a novel mechanism for modulating actin dynamics in neurons, and is essential for proper brain function.
Functional membrane microdomains and the hydroxamate siderophore transporter ATPase FhuC govern Isd-dependent heme acquisition in Staphylococcus aureus

Sufficient access to transition metals such as iron is essential for bacterial proliferation and their active limitation within host tissues effectively restricts infection. To overcome iron limitation, the invasive pathogen Staphylococcus aureus uses the iron-regulated surface determinant (Isd) system to acquire hemoglobin-derived heme. While heme transport over the cell wall is well understood, its transport over the membrane is hardly investigated. In this study, we show the heme-specific permease IsdF to be energized by the general ATPase FhuC. Additionally, we show that IsdF needs appropriate location within the membrane for functionality. The membrane of S. aureus possesses special compartments (functional membrane microdomains – FMMs) to organize membrane complexes. We show IsdF to be associated with FMMs, to directly interact with the FMM scaffolding protein flotillin A (FloA) and to co-localize with the latter on intact bacterial cells. Additionally, Isd-dependent bacterial growth required FMMs and FloA. Our study shows that Isd-dependent heme acquisition requires a highly structured cell envelope to allow coordinated transport over the cell wall and membrane and it gives the first example of a bacterial nutrient acquisition system that depends on FMMs.
Molecular identification of ALDH1A1 and SIRT2 in the astrocytic putrescine-to-GABA metabolic pathway

GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS. In astrocytes, GABA is synthesized by degradation of putrescine by monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), a process which is known to mediate tonic inhibition of neuronal excitability. This astrocytic tonic GABA and related enzymes are also reported to be involved in memory impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease, and therefore are potential therapeutic targets to rescue memory in AD patients. However, the enzymes downstream of MAO-B in this pathway have not been elucidated yet. To fill this gap in knowledge, we performed transcriptomic and literature database analysis and identified Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family, member A1 (ALDH1A1) and a histone deacetylase enzyme Sirtuin2 (SIRT2) as plausible candidate enzymes in primary cultured astrocytes. Immunostaining, metabolite analyses, and sniffer patch clamp performed in the presence or absence of suitable inhibitors, or with genetic ablation of the candidate enzymes recapitulated their participation in GABA production. We propose ALDH1A1 and SIRT2 as potential therapeutic targets against Alzheimer’s Disease.
Managing system configuration through constraint propagation in function and value analyses of product families

This paper deals with the possibility of using constraint propagation in function and value analyses. It proposes a method to automatically generate a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) from the functional structure (function or component hierarchy) of a product. The proposed method, by itself, has the advantage of assisting designers in selecting a compatible (technical) and preferable (economical) configuration of subsystems. To this end, an extension to the Functional Analysis System Technique (FAST) model, called Constraint FAST (CFAST), is introduced, enabling functional relations to support diversity within product families. This paper shows how a CFAST diagram can be translated into a formal model and a set of arithmetic constraints. The resulting CSP is eventually solved with a constraint programming library. The process, from conception to completion, is illustrated with the design of a thermo-electric food cooler and heater.
Coded aperture imaging with multiple measurements

In coded aperture imaging, only aperture arrays consisting of (0, 1) elements are physically realizable. If multiple coded images are obtained with different aperture masks and the resulting detector images are suitably combined, a larger variety of aperture arrays, such as multilevel, complex-valued, vector-valued, or complementary arrays becomes applicable. We present a general theory of coded aperture imaging with multiple measurements. An image reconstruction scheme from the coded images is described that results in a maximum signal-to-noise ratio. Also, the design of sets of aperture arrays is addressed and explicitly solved for several important cases. It is shown how known classes of correlation arrays can be beneficially applied to coded aperture imaging.