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SymGPT: auditing smart contracts via combining symbolic execution with large language models
Get PDFTo govern smart contracts running on Ethereum, multiple Ethereum Request for Comment (ERC) standards have been developed, each defining a set of rules governing contract behavior. Violating these rules can cause serious security issues and financial losses, signifying the importance of verifying ERC compliance. Today’s practices of such verification include manual audits, expert-developed program-analysis tools, and large language models (LLMs), all of which remain ineffective at detecting ERC rule violations. This paper introduces SymGPT, a tool that combines LLMs with symbolic execution to automatically verify smart contracts’ compliance with ERC rules. We begin by empirically analyzing 132 ERC rules from three major ERC standards, examining their content, security implications, and natural language descriptions. Based on this study, SymGPT instructs an LLM to translate ERC rules into a domain-specific language, synthesizes constraints from the translated rules to model potential rule violations, and performs symbolic execution for violation detection. Our evaluation shows that SymGPT identifies 5,783 ERC rule violations in 4,000 real- world contracts, including 1,375 violations with clear attack paths for financial theft. Furthermore, SymGPT outperforms six automated techniques and a security-expert auditing service, underscoring its superiority over current smart contract analysis methods
Time for change in implementation research and practice
Get PDFBackground: We argue implementation research pays insufficient attention to time. We were prompted by learning gained from the Harnessing Innovation in Global Health for Quality Care (HIGH-Q) programme to explore implementation through time as an analytical lens. Time directly underpins how individuals, teams, and organisations adopt and sustain new practices, yet existing frameworks primarily reference it indirectly. We propose that considering time as a multi-dimensional construct is relevant to the science of implementation in complex systems and to promoting its thoughtful practice. Arguments: HIGH-Q research involved coordinated ethnographic, quantitative and interventional studies of workforce enhancements in hospitals already benefiting from long-term neonatal technology and quality improvement support. Findings made it clear how time scarcity constrains improvement and use of new technologies in low-resource environments. New clinical technologies such as continuous positive airway pressure require time of users directly and indirectly linked to new cognitive and coordination work. Tasks compete for scarce time resulting in prioritisation, while time is needed for skill development, reflection, and team adaptation. Conceptually we suggest the following: (1) time functions as a finite and negotiable resource that must be deliberately allocated to new practices, without creating temporal space, change efforts risk displacing existing essential work; (2) “hidden time” is required for reflection, collaboration, management and internalisation of new routines—activities rarely acknowledged in project planning; (3) time is an expression of value, reflecting what actors prioritise and the moral or organisational meaning attached to the allocation of effort; (4) healthcare work is governed by temporal structures—shifts, schedules, and social norms—that may hinder flexibility and adaptation; (5) maintaining “time in reserve” supports resilience and psychological recovery in stressful environments, yet interventions may erode this capacity; and (6) implementers’ own time investments are frequently omitted when characterising interventions, despite being crucial for sustainability. Conclusions: Viewing implementation through the prism of time exposes hidden constraints and misalignments between expectations, timelines and real-world conditions. Time in its multiple manifestations should be explicitly examined alongside theories of change and implementation frameworks to help understand why interventions in complex systems succeed or fail, especially where personnel and resources are already scarce
A case series of Candidozyma auris in Viet Nam
Get PDFCandidozyma auris is an emerging health threat, especially in healthcare settings due to its resistance to several classes of antifungals leading to high mortality. In Viet Nam, the burden of this fungal pathogen is unknown because of little available data. In this report, six cases with C. auris isolation between 2023 and 2024 at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a tertiary referral hospital in northern Viet Nam, are described. Our findings highlight the first report of C. auris in the north of Viet Nam and underscore the importance of prevalence surveys in the future
Spatiotemporal epidemiology and associated risk factors of tuberculosis incidence and mortality in Indonesia 2017–2022: a nationwide space-time hierarchical analysis
Get PDFBackground: Indonesia is the second-highest contributor to global tuberculosis (TB) cases, accounting for 10% of the total. While previous studies have explored TB patterns in specific regions, a comprehensive nationwide analysis at a fine spatial scale is lacking. This study investigated spatiotemporal patterns of TB incidence and mortality, identified geographical hotspots, and examined their association with risk factors to inform public health policy. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed notified TB cases and deaths during treatment from Indonesia’s National Tuberculosis Surveillance System across 514 districts between 2017 and 2022. Spatiotemporal Bayesian hierarchical modeling was employed to identify high-risk areas and assess associations with potential risk factors. The best-fitting model was determined by evaluating various spatial and temporal random effect structures and likelihood assumptions. Results: TB incidence fluctuated with a trough during the COVID-19 pandemic and an overall increase, while mortality increased over time. Incidence hotspots clustered in urbanized areas, while mortality hotspots were scattered across the country. The best-fitting model to estimate risk factors for both outcomes was Poisson likelihood. This indicated that TB incidence was spatiotemporally positively linked to better healthcare access (RR: 1.016; 95% CI: 1.007–1.025) and higher municipal human development index (MHDI, RR: 1.062; 95% CI: 1.049–1.075). Mortality was associated with low treatment coverage (RR: 0.610; 95% CI: 0.552–0.674) and success rates (RR: 0.595; 95% CI: 0.491–0.721). Conclusions: Fluctuating TB incidence, hotspots concentrated in urbanized areas with better healthcare access and higher MHDI as well as increasing mortality linked to poor treatment outcomes underscore the need for targeted public health interventions to expand access to care, improve treatment adherence, and address the socioeconomic disparities driving TB mortality
Use of illicit substances and violent behaviour in psychotic disorders: two nationwide case-control studies and meta-analyses
Get PDFBackgroundSubstance use disorder explains most of the excess risk of violent behaviour in psychotic disorders. However, it is unclear to what extent the psychopharmacological properties and subthreshold use of illicit substances are associated with violence.MethodsIndividuals with psychotic disorders were recruited for two nationwide projects: GROUP (N = 871) in the Netherlands and NEDEN (N = 921) in the United Kingdom. Substance use and violent behaviour were assessed with standardized instruments and multiple sources of information. First, we used logistic regression models to estimate the associations of daily and nondaily use with violence for cannabis, stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens in the GROUP and NEDEN samples separately. Adjustments were made for age, sex and educational level. We then combined the results in random-effects meta-analyses.ResultsDaily use, compared with nondaily or no use, and nondaily use increased the pooled odds of violence for all substance categories. The increases were significant for daily use of cannabis (pooled odds ratio [pOR] 1.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-2.0), stimulants (pOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.7-4.5) and depressants (pOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.5) and nondaily use of stimulants (pOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.0) and hallucinogens (pOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.1). Daily use of hallucinogens, which could only be analysed in the NEDEN sample, significantly increased the adjusted odds of violence (adjusted odds ratio 3.3, 95% CI 1.2-9.3). ConclusionsStrategies to prevent violent behaviour in psychotic disorders should target any substance use
No detectable evidence for metabolic costs of long-term memory formation in honeybees, despite increased energy intake
Get PDFThe brain is energetically expensive. Energy availability may, therefore, determine whether costly cognitive processes such as long-term memory can be expressed. However, there is a limited understanding of the metabolic costs associated with long-term memory formation. Here, we explored the potential induced costs of long-term memory formation using honeybees (Apis mellifera) as a model species. We monitored the sucrose intake of bees over the 20-hour period following a classical spaced olfactory conditioning protocol that induced long-term memory formation, relative to a control group that experienced the same reward schedule but no odour pairing. Bees in the experimental treatment drank significantly more sucrose than controls. We then tested whether the increased energy demands of long-term memory formation showed parallel increases in metabolic rate, by measuring carbon dioxide production in groups of bees at four timepoints following conditioning (1-hour, 4-hours, 24-hours and 72-hours). We found no change in metabolic rate between learning and control groups across all time points, suggesting that long-term memory formation does not impact metabolic rate to an extent that is detectable by our group metabolic rate protocol. While our findings point to dietary costs associated with long-term memory formation, any metabolic consequences may operate at a resolution below that detectable in group-level ana
Stigmatising language in research and clinical care for body-focused repetitive behaviours
No full textSomatic and germline genetic testing pathways in haematological malignancies: Best practice consensus guidelines from the 2025 national meeting organised by UK Cancer Genetics Group ( UKCGG ), CanGene ‐ CanVar and the NHS England Haematological Oncology Working Group
Get PDFSummary: Genomic technologies including next‐generation sequencing (NGS) and arrays for cytogenetic anomalies are now standard of care in England for the diagnostic evaluation of patients with suspected haematological malignancies. Challenges remain in the management of potential germline findings as a result of NGS panels and copy number variant analyses in haemato‐oncology pathways. The first national consensus meeting in April 2022 organised by the UK Cancer Genetics Group (UKCGGG), in collaboration with the CanGene‐CanVar research programme and the NHS England haemato‐oncology working group led to published best practice recommendations on laboratory and clinical pathways where there was potential to identify germline predisposition to haematological malignancies. On 3 and 4 April 2025, a second national meeting was held to address further challenges in these pathways and review updates in the national landscape subsequent to the 2022 recommendations. The meeting specifically focussed on TP53, DDX41, myeloproliferative neoplasm driver genes, non‐single nucleotide variation and identification of gene carriers for addition to the National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Register (NICPR) through the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS). Using the format of a pre‐workshop survey followed by structured discussion and in‐meeting polling, high‐level consensus was achieved for UK best practice across these areas
GA-NIFS: interstellar medium properties and tidal interactions in the evolved massive merging system B14-65666 at z = 7.152
Get PDFWe present JWST/NIRSpec IFU observations of the galaxy system B14-65666, as part of the GA-NIFS survey. Line and continuum emission in this massive system () is resolved into two strong cores surrounded by diffuse emission, as seen in recent JWST/NIRCam imaging. Our data set contains detections of [O ii], [Ne iii], Balmer lines, [O iii], He i, and weak [O iii]. Each spectrum is fit with a model that consistently incorporates interstellar medium conditions (i.e. electron temperature, , electron density, , and colour excess, ). The resulting line fluxes are used to constrain the gas-phase metallicity ( solar) and H-based star formation rate for each region. Common line ratio diagrams (O32–R23, R3–R2, Ne3O2–R23) reveal that each line-emitting region lies at the intersection of low- and high-redshift galaxies, suggesting low ionization and higher metallicity compared to the predominantly lower-mass galaxies studied with the JWST/NIRSpec IFU so far at . Spaxel-by-spaxel fits reveal evidence for both narrow (FWHM km s) and broad (FWHM km s) line emission, the latter of which likely represents tidal interaction or outflows. Comparison to ALMA [C ii]158m and [O iii]88 m data shows a similar velocity structure, and we explore optical-far infrared diagnostics. The two core galaxies both lie on the mass-metallicity relation at , but show contrasting properties (e.g. , ), suggesting distinct evolutionary pathways. Combining the NIRSpec IFU and ALMA data sets, our analysis opens new windows into the merging system B14-65666
Epigenetic control of microglial developmental milestones from proliferative progenitors to efficient phagocytes
Get PDFEarly immune perturbations increase the risk of brain disorders, yet the mechanisms underlying the functional maturation of microglia, the brain resident immune cells, remain poorly defined. Here, we used mathematical modeling of hippocampus and cerebellum to reconstruct postnatal microglial development. We identified a proliferative-to-quiescent (P/Q) switch around P3/P4 that preceded the acquisition of morphological complexity and efficient phagocytosis and was accompanied by changes in cell-cycle dynamics and metabolic state. This P/Q switch was recapitulated in repopulation contexts in mice and in the fetal human brain. Pharmacological and genetic perturbations of proliferation impaired subsequent morphological complexity and phagocytosis efficiency. Finally, microglial developmental maturation was associated with chromatin remodeling and driven by the epigenetic regulator Ikaros. These findings uncover the milestones of microglial development, revealing a potential period of early vulnerability and establishing an unexpected linkage between proliferation and phagocytosis essential to understanding how these processes are coordinated in neurodegenerative disorders