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Previous studies have demonstrated that privacy issues in mobile apps often stem from the integration of third-party libraries (TPLs). To shed light on factors that contribute to these issues, we investigate the privacy-related configuration choices available to and made by Android app developers who incorporate the Facebook Android SDK and Facebook Audience Network SDK in their apps. We compile these Facebook SDKs' privacy-related settings and their defaults. Employing a multi-method approach that integrates static and dynamic analysis, we analyze more than 6,000 popular apps to determine whether the apps incorporate Facebook SDKs and, if so, whether and how developers modify settings. Finally, we assess how these settings align with the privacy practices that developers disclose in the apps’ privacy labels and policies. We observe widespread inconsistencies between practices and disclosures in popular apps. These inconsistencies often stem from privacy settings, including a substantial number of cases in which apps retain default settings over alternatives that offer greater privacy. We observe fewer possible compliance issues in potentially child-directed apps, but issues persist even in these apps. We discuss remediation strategies that SDK and TPL providers could employ to help developers, particularly developers with fewer resources who rely heavily on SDKs. Our recommendations include aligning default privacy settings with data minimization principles and other conservative practices and making privacy-related SDK information both easier to find and harder to miss. 

Abstract The amphibian chytrid fungusBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis(Bd) is a cosmopolitan pathogen with numerous distinct lineages. The global panzootic lineage (Bd-GPL) is the most widespread and virulent lineage and is responsible for many recorded amphibian declines. Mapping the extent ofBd-GPL and other more established lineages is important for predicting disease dynamics in amphibian communities. Ecuador is the most biodiverse country per unit area for amphibian taxa and, thus, a priority for studies on genotypic diversity ofBd. In this study, we tested skin swab samples collected from 464 individual amphibians across coastal, Andean montane, and Amazonian forests, for the presence of twoBdlineages known to be present in South America: the globally-distributedBd-GPL and the Brazilian-endemicBd-Asia2/Brazil lineage. By using a discriminatory qPCR SNP assay, we found widespread prevalence ofBd-GPL in Ecuador in diverse host taxa. Genotyping efficiency was 36% in this study, meaning that one in every three swabs that tested positive forBdin infection assays were successfully genotyped. Through this study, we provide further support for the presence of a singleBdlineage in this neotropical biodiversity hotspot. 

Abstract The number and dynamic nature of web sites and mobile applications present regulators and app store operators with significant challenges when it comes to enforcing compliance with applicable privacy and data protection laws. Over the past several years, people have turned to Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to automate privacy compliance analysis (e.g., comparing statements in privacy policies with analysis of the code and behavior of mobile apps) and to answer people’s privacy questions. Traditionally, these NLP techniques have relied on labor-intensive and potentially error-prone manual annotation processes to build the corpora necessary to train them. This article explores and evaluates the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) as an alternative for effectively and efficiently identifying and categorizing a variety of data practice disclosures found in the text of privacy policies. Specifically, we report on the performance of ChatGPT and Llama 2, two particularly popular LLM-based tools. This includes engineering prompts and evaluating different configurations of these LLM techniques. Evaluation of the resulting techniques on well-known corpora of privacy policy annotations yields an F1 score exceeding 93%. This score is higher than scores reported earlier in the literature on these benchmarks. This performance is obtained at minimal marginal cost (excluding the cost required to train the foundational models themselves). These results, which are consistent with those reported in other domains, suggest that LLMs offer a particularly promising approach to automated privacy policy analysis at scale. 

In an era marked by ubiquitous reliance on mobile applications for nearly every need, the opacity of apps’ behavior poses significant threats to their users’ privacy. Although major data protection regulations require apps to disclose their data practices transparently, previous studies have pointed out difficulties in doing so. To further delve into this issue, this article describes an automated method to capture data-sharing practices in Android apps and assess their proper disclosure according to the EU General Data Protection Regulation. We applied the method to 9,000 random Android apps, unveiling an uncomfortable reality: over 80% of Android applications that transfer personal data off device potentially fail to meet GDPR transparency requirements. We further investigate the role of third-party libraries, shedding light on the source of this problem and pointing towards measures to address it. 

With increased interest in forest restoration comes an urgent need to provide accurate, scalable, and cost‐effective monitoring tools. The ubiquity of smartphones has led to a surge in monitoring apps. We reviewed and assessed monitoring apps found through web searches and conversations with practitioners. We identified 42 apps that (1) automatically monitor indicators or (2) facilitate data entry. We selected the five most promising from the first category, based on their relevance, availability, stability, and user support. We compared them to traditional field techniques in a well‐studied restoration project in Costa Rica. We received further feedback from 15 collaborator organizations that evaluated these in their corresponding field restoration sites. Diameter measurements correlated well with traditional tape‐based measurements (R² = 0.86–0.89). Canopy openness and ground cover showed weaker correlations to densiometer and quadrat cover measurements (R² = 0.42–0.51). Apps did not improve labor efficiency but do preclude the purchase of specialized field equipment. The apps reviewed here need further development and validation to support monitoring adequately, especially in the tropics. Estimates of development and maintenance costs, as well as statistics on user uptake, are required for cost‐effective development. We recommend a coordinated effort to develop dedicated restoration monitoring apps that can speed up and standardize the collection of indicators and provide evidence on restoration outcomes alongside a centralized repository of this information. 

Abstract Specifically selected to leverage the unique ultraviolet capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Hubble Ultraviolet Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards (ULLYSES) is a Director’s Discretionary program of approximately 1000 orbits—the largest ever executed—that produced a UV spectroscopic library of O and B stars in nearby low-metallicity galaxies and accreting low-mass stars in the Milky Way. Observations from ULLYSES combined with archival spectra uniformly sample the fundamental astrophysical parameter space for each mass regime, including spectral type, luminosity class, and metallicity for massive stars, and the mass, age, and disk accretion rate for low-mass stars. The ULLYSES spectral library of massive stars will be critical to characterize how massive stars evolve at different metallicities; to advance our understanding of the production of ionizing photons, and thus of galaxy evolution and the re-ionization of the Universe; and to provide the templates necessary for the synthesis of integrated stellar populations. The massive-star spectra are also transforming our understanding of the interstellar and circumgalactic media of low-metallicity galaxies. On the low-mass end, UV spectra of T Tauri stars contain a plethora of diagnostics of accretion, winds, and the warm disk surface. These diagnostics are crucial for evaluating disk evolution and provide important input to assess atmospheric escape of planets and to interpret powerful probes of disk chemistry, as observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array and the James Webb Space Telescope. In this paper, we motivate the design of the program, describe the observing strategy and target selection, and present initial results. 

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia and is listed as the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Recent findings have linked AD to the aggregation of amyloid beta peptides (Aβ), a proteolytic fragment of 39–43 amino acid residues derived from the amyloid precursor protein. AD has no cure; thus, new therapies to stop the progression of this deadly disease are constantly being searched for. In recent years, chaperone-based medications from medicinal plants have gained significant interest as an anti-AD therapy. Chaperones are responsible for maintaining the three-dimensional shape of proteins and play an important role against neurotoxicity induced by the aggregation of misfolded proteins. Therefore, we hypothesized that proteins extracted from the seeds of Artocarpus camansi Blanco (A. camansi) and Amaranthus dubius Mart. ex Thell (A. dubius) could possess chaperone activity and consequently may exhibit a protective effect against Aβ1–40-induced cytotoxicity. To test this hypothesis, the chaperone activity of these protein extracts was measured using the enzymatic reaction of citrate synthase (CS) under stress conditions. Then, their ability to inhibit the aggregation of Aβ1–40 using a thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence assay and DLS measurements was determined. Finally, the neuroprotective effect against Aβ1–40 in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells was evaluated. Our results demonstrated that A. camansi and A. dubius protein extracts exhibited chaperone activity and inhibited Aβ1–40 fibril formation, with A. dubius showing the highest chaperone activity and inhibition at the concentration assessed. Additionally, both protein extracts showed neuroprotective effects against Aβ1–40-induced toxicity. Overall, our data demonstrated that the plant-based proteins studied in this research work can effectively overcome one of the most important characteristics of AD. 

Harmful algal blooms are increasing globally and pose serious health concerns releasing cyanotoxins. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR), one of the most frequently produced cyanotoxins, has recently been detected in aerosols generated by the normal motions of affected bodies of water. MC-LR aerosol exposure has been linked to a pro-inflammatory influence on the airways of mice; however, little is understood about the underlying mechanism or the potential consequences. This study aimed to investigate the pro-inflammatory effects of aerosolized MC-LR on murine airways. C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were exposed to MC-LR aerosols, as these strains are predisposed to type 1/type 17 and type 2 immune responses, respectively. Exposure to MC-LR induced granulocytic inflammation in C57BL/6 but not BALB/c mice, as observed by increased expression of cytokines MIP-1α, CXCL1, CCL2, and GM-CSF compared with their respective vehicle controls. Furthermore, the upregulation of interleukins IL-17A and IL-12 is consistent with Th1- and Th17-driven type 1/type 17 inflammation. Histological analysis confirmed inflammation in the C57BL/6 lungs, with elevated neutrophils and macrophages in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and increased pro-inflammatory and pro-resolving oxidized lipids. In contrast, BALB/c mice showed no significant airway inflammation. These results highlight the ability of aerosolized MC-LR to trigger harmful airway inflammation, requiring further research, particularly into populations with predispositions to type 1/type 17 inflammation. 

Astronomers have found more than a dozen planets transiting stars that are 10–40 million years old1, but younger transiting planets have remained elusive. The lack of such discoveries may be because planets have not fully formed at this age or because our view is blocked by the protoplanetary disk. However, we now know that many outer disks are warped or broken2; provided the inner disk is depleted, transiting planets may thus be visible. Here we report observations of the transiting planet IRAS 04125+2902 b orbiting a 3-million-year-old, 0.7-solar-mass, pre-main-sequence star in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. The host star harbours a nearly face-on (30 degrees inclination) transitional disk3 and a wide binary companion. The planet has a period of 8.83 days, a radius of 10.7 Earth radii (0.96 Jupiter radii) and a 95%-confidence upper limit on its mass of 90 Earth masses (0.3 Jupiter masses) from radial-velocity measurements, making it a possible precursor of the super-Earths and sub-Neptunes frequently found around main-sequence stars. The rotational broadening of the star and the orbit of the wide (4 arcseconds, 635 astronomical units) companion are both consistent with edge-on orientations. Thus, all components of the system are consistent with alignment except the outer disk; the origin of this misalignment is unclear. 

Abstract We present the discovery of TOI 762 A b and TIC 46432937 b, two giant planets transiting M-dwarf stars. Transits of both systems were first detected from observations by the NASA TESS mission, and the transiting objects are confirmed as planets through high-precision radial velocity observations carried out with Very Large Telescope/ESPRESSO. TOI 762 A b is a warm sub-Saturn with a mass of 0.251 ± 0.042M_J, a radius of 0.744 ± 0.017R_J, and an orbital period of 3.4717 days. It transits a mid-M-dwarf star with a mass of 0.442 ± 0.025M_☉and a radius of 0.4250 ± 0.0091R_☉. The star TOI 762 A has a resolved binary star companion, TOI 762 B, that is separated from TOI 762 A by 3.″2 (∼319 au) and has an estimated mass of 0.227 ± 0.010M_☉. The planet TIC 46432937 b is a warm super-Jupiter with a mass of 3.20 ± 0.11M_Jand radius of 1.188 ± 0.030R_J. The planet’s orbital period isP= 1.4404 days, and it undergoes grazing transits of its early M-dwarf host star, which has a mass of 0.563 ± 0.029M_☉and a radius of 0.5299 ± 0.0091R_☉. TIC 46432937 b is one of the highest-mass planets found to date transiting an M-dwarf star. TIC 46432937 b is also a promising target for atmospheric observations, having the highest transmission spectroscopy metric or emission spectroscopy metric value of any known warm super-Jupiter (mass greater than 3.0M_J, equilibrium temperature below 1000 K).