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Reassessing feature-based Android malware detection in a contemporary context
No full textWe report the findings of a reimplementation of 18 foundational studies in feature-based machine learning for Android malware detection, published during the period 2013–2023. These studies are reevaluated on a level playing field using a contemporary Android environment and a balanced dataset of 124,000 applications. Our findings show that feature-based approaches can still achieve detection accuracies beyond 98%, despite a considerable increase in the size of the underlying Android feature sets. We observe that features derived through dynamic analysis yield only a small benefit over those derived from static analysis, and that simpler models often out-perform more complex models. We also find that API calls and opcodes are the most productive static features within our evaluation context, network traffic is the most predictive dynamic feature, and that ensemble models provide an efficient means of combining models trained on static and dynamic features. Together, these findings suggest that simple, fast machine learning approaches can still be an effective basis for malware detection, despite the increasing focus on slower, more expensive machine learning models in the literature
The synthesis of antibacterial ZnO nanoparticle incorporated polyethersulfone (PES) membranes through green chemistry
No full textIn conventional fabrication methods of polymer membranes, toxic solvents are widely used that result in significant water pollution, additionally, membrane function can be enhanced by the incorporation of nanoparticles (NP) to impart properties into them such as antimicrobial activity. To identify if a more environmentally friendly solvent can replace toxic solvents whilst enhancing membrane functionally by NPs, N,N-dimethyl lactamide (DML) was employed in the synthesis of polyethersulfone (PES) membranes and its performance was compared with the traditionally used toxic solvent of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). The successful synthesis of PES by DML and NMP with varying concentrations of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) NPs were achieved and were systematically characterized via different techniques to evaluate their structure, morphology, and performance. The results show that the DML-based PES–ZnO membranes exhibit a more uniform pore size distribution and higher porosity than the NMP-based PES membranes. Antibacterial tests further demonstrated that, at the same ZnO NPs concentration, the DML-based PES membrane offers a superior antimicrobial activity, highlighting DML to be a promising green chemical to replace NMP for sustainable synthesis of NP enhanced PES membranes
A Supply-demand Evaluation Framework for Uncovering Age and Gender Inequities in Urban Green Space Cooling- A Case Study of Fuzhou
No full textRapid urbanization and intensified urban heat island effects have increased the need for effective, equitable cooling strategies. Urban green spaces (UGS), as nature-based solutions, provide critical cooling benefits that support thermal comfort and enhance urban resilience. However, disparities in cooling needs and access persist across gender and age, with vulnerable populations often facing unequal access to UGS resources. Despite growing attention to UGS equity, methods for quantifying demographic-specific mismatches between cooling supply and population demand remain underdeveloped. To address this gap, we developed a supply–demand evaluation framework to examine spatial equity and age- and gender-related environmental injustices in UGS cooling benefits in Fuzhou, China. The results show: 1) UGS cooling benefits supply and demand exhibit broadly similar spatial patterns across demographic groups but divergent patterns between the urban center and periphery. 2) Fuzhou’s main urban area faces pronounced supply–demand mismatches, with elderly and female populations more affected by uneven resource distribution. 3) Significant disparities (p < 0.001) exist across age and gender groups, with children and middle-aged adults experiencing greater mismatches, while men face more severe supply deficits. Although UGS spatially favors vulnerable groups, substantial inequities in cooling access remain. Notably, targeted planning and management strategies were proposed for urban and green space systems, tailored to different population groups and types of supply–demand mismatch. This study highlights the urgent need for age- and gender-responsive UGS planning and offers a transferable approach to reduce cooling inequalities, supporting more equitable and climate-resilient urban environments
Five Ways Scotland is Using Tech to Drive Sustainability
No full textDr Luciana Blaha, Assistant Professor with the Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, takes a tour of some innovative AI projects in Scotland that address sustainability and AI
Commercial and Purified Phosphonate Scale Inhibitors in Carbonate Systems: Retention, Release, and Supernatant Reactivity
No full textThis paper describes a study of the interactions of diethylenetriamine penta(methylene phosphonic acid) (DETPMP), one of the most widely used phosphonate scale inhibitors (SIs), with carbonate substrates. Much previous work has appeared on this topic, but here, we present results addressing key gaps identified in earlier studies. The experimental program focused on four main areas: (i) static adsorption/compatibility analysis of DETPMP at both 95 and 21 °C. Static tests revealed that SI retention mechanisms are significantly more active at elevated temperatures compared to 21 °C, where only minimal adsorption was observed. At 21 °C with initial pH0 = 4, calcite dissolution occurs, and Ca2+ may interact with DETPMP, but precipitate formation is minimal. The SI’s concentration primarily governs pH behavior under these conditions. The experimental results presented here provide data to validate computational modeling work reported in a separate study (Kalantari Meybodi et al., Colloids Surf. A Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 2024, 133535). (ii) Precipitation and re-dissolution tests of DETPMP_Ca complexes, which were conducted across a temperature range of 21–95 °C, with a subsequent larger-scale test at 95 °C. For systems with high [Ca2+], the smaller-scale experiments yielded similar masses of precipitate (post-filtration and oven-drying) across all temperatures. The stoichiometries of the DETPMP_Ca complexes formed were determined using two methods: direct analysis of redissolved precipitates in distilled water/HCl and indirect measurement of Δ[Ca] and Δ[DETPMP] from supernatant solutions, both using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The stoichiometric analysis revealed that the excess [Ca2+] and initial pH of 8.5, rather than temperature, governed the reaction, almost achieving maximum complexation (5 ligands) between Ca2+ and DETPMP in solution. The precipitates were characterized using ESEM-EDX and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). ESEM-EDX surface imaging and compositional analysis demonstrated that the complexes had amorphous structures under all temperature conditions, while TGA results showed that the complexes had decreasing water content with increasing preparation temperature. (iii) The purified SIs obtained at 95 °C were used to examine how removing phosphorus-containing impurities affects inhibition and adsorption performance. A series of inhibition efficiency (IE) and static adsorption experiments compared purified and commercial DETPMP. Their effectiveness in preventing BaSO4 precipitation was assessed by measuring Δ[Ba2+] before and after the addition of DETPMP to the brines using ICP analysis. Results demonstrated that purified materials exhibited very similar barium sulfate inhibition efficiency to commercial products, indicating that the impurities did not significantly influence the inhibition process. Comparative adsorption studies revealed higher apparent adsorption values for purified DETPMP, attributed to the impurities in the commercial products being measured as active DETPMP concentrations despite not participating in the adsorption process. It is shown how this can easily be corrected and accounted for in our results. (iv) The supernatant solution from the DETPMP_Ca complexation process was analyzed following initial precipitation. The effectiveness of this supernatant solution was then evaluated for BaSO4 scale inhibition. The results indicated that these residuals showed almost no efficiency in inhibiting BaSO4 formation. Subsequently, precipitation experiments were conducted to further investigate the complexation and precipitation behavior of the supernatant materials, revealing that only small amounts of DETPMP_Ca complexes were actually present; i.e., the relatively high apparent “DETPMP” concentration was mainly (P-containing) impurity and not DETPMP
Explicit Non-Abelian Gerbes with Connections
No full textWe define the notion of adjustment for strict Lie 2-groups and provide the complete cocycle description for non-Abelian gerbes with connections whose structure 2-group is an adjusted 2-group. Most importantly, we depart from the common fake-flat connections and employ adjusted connections. This is an important generalisation that is needed for physical applications especially in the context of supergravity. We give a number of explicit examples; in particular, we lift the spin structure on S4, corresponding to an instanton–anti-instanton pair, to a string structure, a 2-group bundle with connection. We also outline how categorified forms of Bogomolny monopoles known as self-dual strings can be obtained via a Penrose–Ward transform of string bundles over twistor space
Do companies benefit from publishing sustainability-integrated reports? Evidence from the United Arab Emirates
No full textPurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the extent of narrative disclosure in the sustainability-integrated reports of listed companies in the UAE and its effect of firm’ performances. In 2020, The Securities and Commodities Authority issued a circular requiring all public joint stock companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) or the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) to publish a sustainability report as part of their set of Integrated Reports.Design/methodology/approachUsing all publicly available sustainability integrated reports of listed companies in DFM and ADX over the period 2018–2022, we first gather the report’s content by compiling a list of words using a computational linguistic technique that aims to identify specific characteristics of sustainability reports. Then, we use a GLS model to study the effect of the sustainability reporting on firm financial performance and risk.FindingsThe paper findings shows the level of sustainability disclosure of observed firms is noticeable. Besides, sustainability reporting has a significant effect on firm’s operational performance (ROA), financial performance (ROE) and market performance (Tobin’s Q). Nevertheless; it does not affect the financial risk.Research limitations/implicationsOur study makes many contributions to the literature on corporate reporting. First, our analysis complements research that largely focuses on the financial disclosures in corporate reports by examining the sustainability-specific information and providing a full review of sustainability narratives. Second, by examining the effect of sustainability reports on shareholders' wealth, this article contributes to the current knowledge of sustainability reporting.Practical implicationsOur research offers several practical implications to policymakers, management, shareholders in different ways. The outcomes of this study helps policymakers to assess the effect of the Securities and Commodities Authority circular on the extent of sustainability related information disclosed in the integrated-report. It also helps the government to understand the level of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure per sectors. Besides, this research findings give insight to managers to understand the effect of ESG disclosed information in the sustainability integrated report on firm financial and market performances. In addition, the paper findings assure shareholders of the positive impact on sustainability integrated-report on firm performance.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has yet looked at the narratives of sustainability reports in the UAE context taking into account the different important aspects of these reports and its impact on firm performance and risk
Under-representation of ethnic minorities in the buildings sector: A qualitative study
No full textBuildings is a challenging sector to decarbonise, responsible for around one-third of the UK’s energy use, and in dire need to upskill and diversify the workforce. Ethnic minorities remain massively underrepresented in the sector especially at higher levels, in academia and industry, which play a vital role in the development and deployment of energy-efficient technologies to reduce carbon emissions and achieve sustainability goals. The sector requires interventions to harness the talents of all to achieve its carbon reduction target by 2050. The study presented here aims to draw out the needs and preferences of ethnic minority professionals from academia and industry, working in the building sector, for their career progression. Through in-depth interviews, this study highlights the formal and informal support mechanisms available to these individuals and provides actionable insights for organizations and employees to improve work experiences whilst aligning with the 2050 decarbonization target
Comprehensive review of 3D/4D printing of soft materials, methods and applications
No full textThis article extensively reviews the transforming landscape of 3D and 4D printing of soft materials, their printing methods, and their applications in wider engineering and technological sectors. Soft materials are known for their suppleness and plasticity and have a wider scope in rapidly growing additive manufacturing sector. The contents of this article are appropriately designed to provide detailed subject knowledge to young or new researchers and also critically analysing several enabling strategies on manufacturing process, material design and formulation, and multifunctional application for subject experts. This article reviews the high potential 3D/4D printing methods for materials such as extrusion-based printing, inkjet-based printing, stereolithography, selective laser sintering, direct ink writing, vat photopolymerization, and comparison of techniques and compares their scope and limitations by process and materials. Further, the article reviews the printability of emerging soft materials such as elastomers, hydrogels, biopolymers, conductive and flexible materials, and biomimetic materials. The application of 3D/4D printed soft materials in wider engineering sectors are discussed such as biomedical and healthcare applications, soft robotics, sensors, and actuators, wearable devices and smart textiles, food technology, and pharmaceutical products. The later sections describe design considerations, challenges, and limitations of 3D/4D printing of soft materials in terms of geometric complexity, support structures, printing resolution, accuracy, cost, and fabrication time, material compatibility, scalability, and safety issues. The article concludes by summarizing advancements in printing technologies, material innovations and developments and reflecting on future challenges such as integration of 3D/4D printing of soft materials with other technologies and compounds and their regulatory and ethical considerations
Enhanced distribution-free Cucconi schemes based on runs: An application to the surveillance of daily average customer service time
No full textThe measurement of daily average customer service times in a service centre holds paramount importance as it serves as a key metric for assessing service performance and quality. It is essential to ensure that the average service time (AST) aligns with predetermined quality standards. Hence, regular monitoring of service times is vital to uphold and enhance service quality. This study proposes two enhanced distribution-free Cucconi schemes integrated with runs rules (RR), i.e., the 2-of-3 (2/3) RR Cucconi and the synthetic Cucconi schemes. The practical utility of these proposed schemes is illustrated through an application in the surveillance of the daily average customer service time at an Australian service centre. The inherent nonparametric feature of these schemes renders them versatile in a wide range of applications, regardless of the underlying process distribution. In addition, these newly devised schemes possess the capability to surveil both process location and scale parameters simultaneously. Through comprehensive Monte-Carlo simulations, we demonstrate the superior performance of the 2/3 RR Cucconi scheme against four existing schemes, namely the Shewhart-Lepage, 2/3 RR Lepage, synthetic Lepage, and Shewhart-Cucconi schemes. Therefore, the 2/3 RR Cucconi scheme is recommended over all competing schemes considered in this paper due to its excellent performance and ease of use
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