bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the magnetron balancing effect on the ionized flux fraction and deposition rate of sputtered titanium species for the high-power impulse magnetron sputtering pulses of different lengths
Authors: Kapran Anna , Antunes Vinicius G. , Hubička Zdeněk , Ballage Charles , Minea Tiberiu
Published: December 2022

The study is focused on the impact of different magnetic field configurations of a high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) in a nonreactive mode on the film precursors. Ionized flux fraction and total flux deposited onto the substrate were measured with the magnetic quartz crystal microbalance probe placed in front of the target racetrack. Particularly, we investigated the degree of magnetron balancing and the geometry of the magnetic field above the Ti target surface (4 in. diameter), as crucial factors influencing the thin film deposition, for different HiPIMS pulse lengths. Three unbalanced (II type) magnetron configurations have been chosen for this study: two symmetric geometries—with a regular magnetic field (B parallel to the target about 80 and 35 mT) and one asymmetric (highly unbalanced) magnetron configuration with an intermediate magnetic field (B parallel to the target about 48 mT). The HiPIMS was operated keeping constant the peak current at 43 A for C0-E0 and C10-E0 B-field configurations and a lower value, 33 A, when operating in C10-E10 configuration. In addition to the peak current, the pulse frequency was kept constant at 100 Hz but the pulse length (power on-time, Ton) was varied from 50 up to 100 μs. Obviously, the pulse power and the average power continuously increase with the length of the pulse. The results reveal a significant difference in the trends of the deposition rate and ionized flux fraction reaching the substrate with respect to the degree of balancing of the magnetron. It was found that the ionized fraction of metal arriving at the substrate reaches its maximum for the pulse length between Ton ≈ 70–80 μs in both symmetric cases, with strong and weak magnetic fields. The ionized fraction of Ti atoms in the asymmetric configuration increased in all measured range with the pulse length and the growth rate has a smooth increase.
An alternate approach to regulatory analyses of the findings of a 20-airport social survey
Authors: Fidell Sanford , Mestre Vincent , Gjestland Truls , Tabachnick Barbara
Published: December 2022

Miller, Czech, Hellauer, Nicholas, Lohr, Jodts, Broene, Morganstein, Kali, Zhu, Cantor, Hudnall, and Melia [(2021). HMMH Report 308520.004.001] reported the findings of a 20-airport social survey sponsored by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration that had been designed and conducted six years earlier. Their primary analyses yielded FICON (1992) style (national average and airport-specific bivariate logistic regression) functions relating aircraft noise exposure to the prevalence of high annoyance [FICON (1992). “Federal agency review of selected airport noise analysis issues” (Department of Defense, Washington, DC)]. Alternate analyses of these field observations offer pragmatic benefits for regulatory purposes. Community Tolerance Level (CTL) analysis yields a national average exposure-response predictive function that is nearly indistinguishable from that of a bivariate logistic regression function. Since it natively distinguishes dose-related from collective, non-dose influences on annoyance, it also permits a more parsimonious and readily understood account of the association between aircraft noise exposure and annoyance. Within the exposure range of primary contemporary regulatory concern, CTL analysis accounts for as much variance as FICON-style analysis in the association between noise exposure and predicted annoyance; provides a causal basis for regulation; and can be more effectively implemented and defended than a purely correlation-based analysis. In addition, CTL analysis helps to address the substantial disagreement between the findings of the literature and those of national and international technical consensus standards.
Why Is There a Range in Time Returning to Preoperative Activity Habits After Femoroacetabular Impingement Treatment in Recreational Athletes?
Authors: Wirries Nils , Ezechieli Marco , Schwarze Michael , Derksen Alexander , Budde Stefan , Ribas Manuel , Windhagen Henning , Floerkemeier Thilo
Published: December 2022

Context: Professional athletes showed excellent results after hip preserving procedures. However, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the rate of return to activity and the rehabilitation time of recreational athletes. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate factors that were associated with an extended return-to-activity time in nonprofessional athletes. Design: Retrospective, quantitative case–control study. Methods: This study included 47 cases (45 nonprofessional athletes), which were divided according to return-to-activity time (short term: 0.0–7.0 mo vs long term: >7.0 mo). The clinical outcome were evaluated with the modified Harris hip score, the nonarthritic hip score, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, and the University of California, Los Angeles activity score. For statistical analysis between both groups, an unpaired student t test and a paired Wilcoxon test were used. In addition, the sports behavior, intraoperative findings, and surgical procedures were also assessed. Results: After a mean follow-up of 4.3 years (±0.6; 3.4–5.6), the overall postoperative modified Harris hip score was 81.8 points, the nonarthritic hip score was 75.8 points, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index was 36.7 points, and the University of California, Los Angeles activity score was 7.9. Compared with the preoperative results, all scores improved significantly (P < .001). Patients of the short-term return-to-activity group showed a higher preoperative activity diversity and, postoperatively, a higher rate in high-impact sports (P = .024). Conclusions: After mini-open arthrotomy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome treatment, 92.5% of the recreational athletes returned to sports activity. The findings did not detect factors influencing the return-to-activity time. However, a higher preoperative diversity of activities and a shift to high-level impact sport activities might support a shorter rehabilitation.
Limb Dominance Effects on Seated Single-Arm Shot-Put Limb Symmetry Indices Following Shoulder Rehabilitation
Authors: Riemann Bryan L. , Davies George J.
Published: December 2022

Context: Typically, most clinical return to activity guidelines recommend that an injured shoulder achieve a 90% to 100% functional performance test limb symmetry index (LSI); however, as previous research demonstrated a 103% to 111% dominant limb bias in seated single-arm shot-put test (SSASPT) performance, the typical criteria might not be appropriate for interpreting SSASPT LSI. Thus, the current objective was to evaluate SSASP LSI differences between dominant and nondominant involved shoulders and to determine how many patients met the suggested 90% to 100% LSI criteria, as well as the 103% for dominant (89% for nondominant) normative SSASPT threshold reported in the literature, at the time of discharge. Design: Cross-sectional. Methods: Patients with shoulder injury or surgery (n = 78) completed the SSASPT at the time of discharge from rehabilitation and were grouped according to whether the involved shoulder was the dominant (n = 42) or nondominant (n = 32) limb. LSI (involved/uninvolved × 100) was computed from the average of 3 SSASPT trial distances completed with each limb. Results: The LSI for the nondominant involved group (88.9% [12.4%]) was significantly less (confidence intervalDiff, −12.1% to −22.1%) than the dominant involved group (106.0% [9.3%]). While 95.2% of patients in the dominant involved group exhibited LSI > 90%, only 43.8% of patients in the nondominant involved group attained LSI > 90%. Across the entire cohort, the odds of a nondominant involved LSI being below the respective SSASPT normative range were 2.04 (95% confidence interval, 0.80–5.21) times higher than the odds of a dominant involved LSI being below the normative range. Conclusions: Patients with dominant limb involvement exhibited higher LSI than patients with nondominant limb involvement at discharge from rehabilitation. Particularly when the nondominant shoulder is involved, these results suggest that patients with shoulder injury and surgery may require longer rehabilitation to attain higher levels of upper-extremity function.
Structure-Function Covariation of Phycospheric Microorganisms Associated with the Typical Cross-Regional Harmful Macroalgal Bloom
Authors: Qu Tongfei , Zhao Xinyu , Guan Chen , Hou Chengzong , Chen Jun , Zhong Yi , Lin Zhihao , Xu Yu , Tang Xuexi , Wang Ying
Published: December 2022

Harmful macroalgal blooms represented by green tides have become a worldwide marine ecological problem. Unraveling the structure-function variation of phycospheric microorganisms and their ecological correlation with HMBs is challenging. This issue is still unclear in the natural dynamics of HMBs.
Enhanced Transcriptional Strength of HIV-1 Subtype C Minimizes Gene Expression Noise and Confers Stability to the Viral Latent State
Authors: Pal Sreshtha , Jaiswal Vijeta , Nala Narendra , Ranga Udaykumar
Published: December 2022

Over the past two consecutive decades, HIV-1 subtype C (HIV-1C) has been undergoing directional evolution toward augmenting the transcriptional strength of the long terminal repeat (LTR) by adding more copies of the existing transcription factor binding site (TFBS) by sequence duplication. Additionally, the duplicated elements are genetically diverse, suggesting broader-range signal receptivity by variant LTRs.
Three Novel Antisense Overlapping Genes in E. coli O157:H7 EDL933
Authors: Graf Franziska , Zehentner Barbara , Fellner Lea , Scherer Siegfried , Neuhaus Klaus
Published: December 2022

The abundance of long overlapping genes in prokaryotic genomes is likely to be significantly underestimated, since such genes are not allowed in genome annotations. However, ribosome profiling catches mRNA in the moment of being template for protein production.
Supplemental Material: A reevaluation of the tectonic history of the Dashwoods terrane using in situ and isotope-dilution U-Pb geochronology, western Newfoundland
Authors: Hodgin E.B. , al. et
Published: December 2022

Detailed methods, Figures S1 and S2, and Tables S1 and S2
Erratum to: Allele Diversity of the Major Histocompatibility Complex in the Common Hamster (Cricetus cricetus) in Urban and Rural Populations
Authors: Feoktistova N. Y. , Meschersky I. G. , Karmanova T. N. , Gureeva A. V. , Surov A. V.
Published: December 2022

An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359022550015
Effective treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction using a covered stent
Authors: Pekas Devon , Chawda Adya , Desai Nayan
Published: December 2022

A woman in her 60s presented with progressive exertional dyspnoea, exertional chest pressure and exertional dizziness. Echocardiogram identified a 156 mm Hg left ventricular outflow tract gradient with provocation, indicating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular outflow obstruction—confirmed with MRI and angiogram. An alcohol septal ablation was planned but due to communication of the second septal perforator with the right ventricle and a wire-induced mid-left anterior descending artery dissection, alcohol septal ablation was not performed. Instead, a covered stent was placed in the mid-left anterior descending artery covering the origins of the third and fourth septal perforators. The left ventricular outflow tract gradient decreased from 90 to 30 mm Hg with provocation and her symptoms improved. Follow-up showed a left ventricular outflow tract gradient of 35 mm Hg with provocation and decreased symptoms.
Uncommon case of metastatic prostate cancer developing cutaneous metastasis
Authors: Elsharawi Ibrahim , Moss Phillip , Wang Cheng , Wood Lori A
Published: December 2022

We report a case of a man in his early 70s with a known history of prostate adenocarcinoma who presented with an undiagnosed skin lesion on his right lower lateral neck 6 years after his metastatic cancer diagnosis. The painless lesion was pink, lobulated and soft. The differential diagnosis included both primary and metastatic tumours. On resection, the histology and immunohistochemical profile of the lesion were consistent with metastatic prostate cancer. He has been managed with multiple lines of therapy since then due to progressive disease. In the 18 months, since his resection, however, he has had no clinical evidence of recurrent cutaneous metastases.
Genetic diagnosis of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy through mRNA analysis: new splicing events
Authors: Segarra-Casas Alba , Domínguez-González Cristina , Hernández-Laín Aurelio , Sanchez-Calvin Maria Teresa , Camacho Ana , Rivas Eloy , Campo-Barasoain Andrea , Madruga Marcos , Ortez Carlos , Natera-de Benito Daniel , Nascimento Andrés , Codina Anna , Rodriguez Maria Jose , Gallano Pia , Gonzalez-Quereda Lidia
Published: December 2022

Background

Up to 7% of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) or Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) remain genetically undiagnosed after routine genetic testing. These patients are thought to carry deep intronic variants, structural variants or splicing alterations not detected through multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification or exome sequencing.

Methods

RNA was extracted from seven muscle biopsy samples of patients with genetically undiagnosed DMD/BMD after routine genetic diagnosis. RT-PCR of theDMDgene was performed to detect the presence of alternative transcripts. Droplet digital PCR and whole-genome sequencing were also performed in some patients.

Results

We identified an alteration in the mRNA level in all the patients. We detected three pseudoexons inDMDcaused by deep intronic variants, two of them not previously reported. We also identified a chromosomal rearrangement between Xp21.2 and 8p22. Furthermore, we detected three exon skipping events with unclear pathogenicity.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that mRNA analysis of theDMDgene is a valuable tool to reach a precise genetic diagnosis in patients with a clinical and anatomopathological suspicion of dystrophinopathy that remain genetically undiagnosed after routine genetic testing.
Enhancing catalytic activity of V2O5/TiO2 in H2S selective oxidation by modulating oxygen adsorption conditions
Authors: Lee Hyun Soo , Yang Jae Hwan
Published: December 2022

This paper aimed to reveal the effects of chemisorbed oxygen species on selective catalytic oxidation applied for H2S removal. A sequence of thermal treatments were conducted on V2O5/TiO2 samples to prepare catalysts that possess different distributions of oxygen species. Characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy enabled a distinction among three different chemisorbed oxygen species: O–, O22–, and O2–. In addition, the dominance of the O– species, which is a very reactive oxygen species for catalytic oxidation reactions, was observed when the catalyst was exposed to 5% O2/N2 gas at the low temperature of 30 °C. It was also found that the N400A30 with the highest ratio of O– species was superior to others at converting H2S into elemental sulfur over the whole range of temperatures: the best S yield of N400A30 was 85% at 130 °C. These results are promising, as thermal treatments for oxygen adsorption were adopted for the first time to improve the catalytic activity of H2S removal by modulating the proportion of highly reactive O– species.
The effects of the covariant generalized uncertainty principle on quantum mechanics
Authors: Seifi Mohaddeseh , Sefiedgar Akram S.
Published: December 2022

One can use the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) to incorporate the minimum measurable length in quantum gravity. It may be interesting to have a minimal time interval as well as the minimal length in the relativistic version of quantum mechanics in the presence of the gravitational effects. In this paper, we considered a covariant version of the GUP to investigate the effects of both the minimal time and the minimal length. Using the covariant GUP, the energy–momentum dispersion relation was modified. Starting with the modified dispersion relation, the corrections to the wave function were obtained and the problems of the particle in a box and the hydrogen atom were revisited. Considering the minimal time may be an interesting new topic, which is not widely studied before. It may lead to new results that can open a new window into quantum gravity.
Implementation of the entanglement measure in quantum gates language
Authors: Karimi Naser , Yahyavi Marziyeh
Published: December 2022

Entanglement is an important resource for quantum technologies that allow us to go beyond the classical world. Quantum systems can be entangled in various ways. Also, the degree of entanglement between the subsystems of a quantum system can be calculated in different ways. In our recent paper [Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. (2022)], we directly measure the three-tangle of a pure three-qubit quantum state. In this paper, we extend this method to pure N-qubit quantum states (N is any odd number greater than 1) by considering polynomial invariant of degree 4 as a measure of entanglement. In this algorithm, we use quantum gates and output probabilities to calculate polynomial invariant of degree 4. The importance of this method lies in the possibility of experimental implementation of quantum calculations in the language of quantum gates.
An Enhanced Spotted Hyena Optimization Algorithm and its Application to Engineering Design Scenario
Authors: Fan Luna , Li Jie , Liu Jingxin
Published: December 2022

The Spotted Hyena Optimization (SHO) algorithm is inspired by simulating the predatory behavior of spotted hyenas. While the mathematical model of the SHO algorithm is simple and optimal, it is easy to fall into local optimization and causes premature convergence compared to some metaheuristic algorithms. To the end, we propose an enhanced Spotted Hyena Optimization algorithm, a hybrid SHO algorithm using Elite Opposition-Based Learning coupled with the Simplex Method called EOBL-SM-SHO. The EOBL-SM-SHO algorithm combines the characteristics of the simplex method’s geometric transformations (reflection, inside contraction, expansion, and outside contraction) with more practical information on elite opposition-based learning strategy. They can significantly strengthen the SHO algorithm’s search range and augment the hyena population’s diversity. Furthermore, we employ eleven benchmark functions and three engineering design issues to gauge the effectiveness of the EOBL-SM-SHO algorithm. Our extensive experimental results unveil that EOBL-SM-SHO achieves better accuracy and convergence rate than the state-of-the-art algorithms (e.g., Artificial Gorilla Troops Optimizer (GTO), Cuckoo Search (CS), Farmland Fertility Algorithm (FFA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO), Spotted Hyena Optimizer (SHO)).
A Deep Learning Approach to Imputation of Dynamic Pupil Size Data and Prediction of ADHD
Authors: Choi Seongyune , Jang Yeonju , Kim Hyeoncheol
Published: December 2022

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children and adolescents. Traditional diagnosis methods of ADHD focus on observed behavior and reported symptoms, which may lead to a misdiagnosis. Studies have focused on computer-aided systems to improve the objectivity and accuracy of ADHD diagnosis by utilizing psychophysiological data measured from devices such as EEG and MRI. Despite their performance, their low accessibility has prevented their widespread adoption. We propose a novel ADHD prediction method based on the pupil size dynamics measured using eye tracking. Such data typically contain missing values owing to anomalies including blinking or outliers, which negatively impact the classification. We therefore applied an end-to-end deep learning model designed to impute the dynamic pupil size data and predict ADHD simultaneously. We used the recorded dataset of an experiment involving 28 children with ADHD and 22 children as a control group. Each subject conducted an eight-second visuospatial working memory task 160 times. We treated each trial as an independent data sample. The proposed model effectively imputes missing values and outperforms other models in predicting ADHD (AUC of 0.863). Thus, given its high accessibility and low cost, the proposed approach is promising for objective ADHD diagnosis.
Zero-Work Motion of a Suspended Slinky
Authors: Kajiyama Yuji
Published: December 2022

We discuss the gravitational and the elastic potential energy of a Slinky suspended in a U-shape due to its own weight. If one symmetrically moves both ends of the Slinky along a particular parabola, or if one moves one end along a particular circle by fixing the other end, the total potential energy of the Slinky can be constant. External forces exchange these potential energies with each other without doing any net work. We present theoretical discussions and experiments suitable for physics classes in universities.
Citational practices as a site of resistance and radical pedagogy
Authors: Itchuaqiyaq Cana Uluak , Frith Jordan
Published: December 2022

Discursive infrastructures are forms of writing that remain mostly invisible but shape higher-level practices built upon their base. This article argues that citational practices are a form of discursive infrastructure that are bases that shape our work. Most importantly, we argue that the infrastructural base built through citation practices is in a moment of breakdown as increasing amounts of people call for more just citational practices that surface multiply marginalized and underrepresented (MMU) scholar voices. Consequently, this article both theorizes citations as infrastructure while also focusing on a case study of the MMU scholar database to help build a more equitable and socially just disciplinary infrastructure.
"It must be a system thing"
Authors: Comi Dana
Published: December 2022

Drawing on qualitative data collected from program participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), I show how federal government assistance information infrastructure often does not remediate, and instead exacerbates, existent inequalities. I use the example of WIC's Approved Product List (APL) to show how the APL, as a genre that's part of WIC's information infrastructure, contributes to a hyper-standardized benefit redemption process that increases visibility and vulnerability for program participants. This article argues that increased attention to the genres that make up information infrastructures may help to better locate sites of inequity like the APL, and better understand how systemic/structural problems perpetuate infrastructurally.
A theory of infrastructural rhetoric
Authors: Adams Jonathan
Published: December 2022

This article theorizes infrastructures and their components as rhetorical objects for analysis and persuasive use. Though the term infrastructure has been applied broadly to several studies in the social sciences, writing, technical communication, and technology studies, infrastructures have yet to be systematically theorized as an active persuasive consideration for those engaging in communicative practice. This article makes a case for a taxonomic theoretical understanding and conceptualization of infrastructure that may lead to new methodological developments in future research. This theory builds from theories of infrastructures as relational networks of social interaction around objects. The article aims to assist the persuasive endeavors of those engaged in communicative practice in infrastructural settings.
Partial Network Partitioning
Authors: Alkhatib Basil , Udayashankar Sreeharsha , Qunaibi Sara , Alquraan Ahmed , Alfatafta Mohammed , Al-Manasrah Wael , Depoutovitch Alex , Al-Kiswany Samer
Published: December 2022

We present an extensive study focused on partial network partitioning. Partial network partitions disrupt the communication between some but not all nodes in a cluster. First, we conduct a comprehensive study of system failures caused by this fault in 13 popular systems. Our study reveals that the studied failures are catastrophic (e.g., lead to data loss), easily manifest, and are mainly due to design flaws. Our analysis identifies vulnerabilities in core systems mechanisms including scheduling, membership management, and ZooKeeper-based configuration management.

Second, we dissect the design of nine popular systems and identify four principled approaches for tolerating partial partitions. Unfortunately, our analysis shows that implemented fault tolerance techniques are inadequate for modern systems; they either patch a particular mechanism or lead to a complete cluster shutdown, even when alternative network paths exist.

Finally, our findings motivate us to build Nifty, a transparent communication layer that masks partial network partitions. Nifty builds an overlay between nodes to detour packets around partial partitions. Nifty provides an approach for applications to optimize their operation during a partial partition. We demonstrate the benefit of this approach through integrating Nifty with VoltDB, HDFS, and Kafka.
CNNFlow: Memory-driven Data Flow Optimization for Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Nie Qi , Malik Sharad
Published: December 2022

Convolution Neural Networks (CNNs) are widely deployed in computer vision applications. The datasets are large, and the data reuse across different parts is heavily interleaved. Given that memory access (SRAM and especially DRAM) is more expensive in both performance and energy than computation, maximizing data reuse to reduce data movement across the memory hierarchy is critical to improving execution efficiency. This is even more important for the common use case of CNNs on mobile devices where computing/memory resources are limited. We propose CNNFlow, a memory-driven dataflow optimization framework to automatically schedule CNN computation on a given CNN architecture to maximize data reuse at each level of the memory hierarchy. We provide a mathematical calculation for data reuses in terms of parameters including loop ordering, blocking, and memory-bank allocation for tensors in CNN. We then present a series of techniques that help prune the large search space and reduce the cost of the exploration. This provides, for the first time, an
exact
and
practical
search algorithm for optimal solutions to minimize memory access cost for CNN. The efficacy is demonstrated for two widely used CNN algorithms: AlexNet and VGG16 with 5 and 13 convolution layers, respectively. CNNFlow finds the optimal solution for each layer within tens of minutes of compute time. Its solution requires about 20% fewer DRAM accesses and 40%–80% fewer SRAM accesses compared to state-of-the-art algorithms in the literature.
Newly Released Capabilities in the Distributed-Memory SuperLU Sparse Direct Solver
Authors: Li Xiaoye S. , Lin Paul , Liu Yang , Sao Piyush
Published: December 2022

We present the new features available in the recent release of
SuperLU_DIST
, Version 8.1.1.
SuperLU_DIST
is a distributed-memory parallel sparse direct solver. The new features include (1) a 3D communication-avoiding algorithm framework that trades off inter-process communication for selective memory duplication, (2) multi-GPU support for both NVIDIA GPUs and AMD GPUs, and (3) mixed-precision routines that perform single-precision LU factorization and double-precision iterative refinement. Apart from the algorithm improvements, we also modernized the software build system to use CMake and Spack package installation tools to simplify the installation procedure. Throughout the article, we describe in detail the pertinent performance-sensitive parameters associated with each new algorithmic feature, show how they are exposed to the users, and give general guidance of how to set these parameters. We illustrate that the solver’s performance both in time and memory can be greatly improved after systematic tuning of the parameters, depending on the input sparse matrix and underlying hardware.
LGC-ShQ
Authors: Ciko Kristjon , Teymoori Peyman , Welzl Michael
Published: December 2022

We present LGC-ShQ, a new ECN-based congestion control mechanism for datacenters. LGC-ShQ relies on ECN feedback from a Shadow Queue, and it uses ECN not only to decrease the rate, but it also increases the rate in relation to this signal. Real-life tests in a Linux testbed show that LGC-ShQ keeps the real queue at low levels while achieving good link utilization and fairness.
MPEG Column: 133rd MPEG Meeting (virtual/online)
Authors: Timmerer Christian
Published: December 2022

The original blog post can be found at the Bitmovin Techblog and has been modified/updated here to focus on and highlight research aspects.
VQEG Column: New topics
Authors: Katsavounidis Ioannis , Robitza Werner , Puri Rohit , Satti Shahid
Published: December 2022

Welcome to the fourth column on the ACM SIGMM Records from the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG).

During the last VQEG plenary meeting (14-18 Dec. 2020) various interesting discussions arose regarding new topics not addressed up to then by VQEG groups, which led to launching three new sub-projects and a new project related to: 1) clarifying the computation of spatial and temporal information (SI and TI), 2) including video quality metrics as metadata in compressed bitstreams, 3) Quality of Experience (QoE) metrics for live video streaming applications, and 4) providing guidelines on implementing objective video quality metrics to the video compression community.

The following sections provide more details about these new activities and try to encourage interested readers to follow and get involved in any of them by subscribing to the corresponding reflectors.
Multimedia Retrieval and Analysis with Cottontail DB
Authors: Gasser Ralph , Rossetto Luca , Heller Silvan , Schuldt Heiko
Published: December 2022

Analysis and retrieval of media collections get more and more challenging the larger the collections become. Keeping everything in the main memory becomes less feasible, and more and more time and effort have to be spent to deal with the data management. However, traditional relational databases do not support primitives often used in multimedia workloads, such as the nearest-neighbour search on vectors. In this column, we introduce Cottontail DB, an open-source database management system for multimedia features. Cottontail DB supports traditional relational database operations and text retrieval based on Lucene and, most importantly, efficient vector-space retrieval operations for large datasets. Cottontail DB is the new data storage system powering the vitrivr multimedia retrieval stack, which was also previously featured in the SIGMM Records [7]. Just like the other components of vitrivr, Cottontail DB is released under the permissive MIT license. It is written in Kotlin, runs on all major operating systems, and comes with a flexible and easy-to-use gRPC API, which makes it usable in many applications, independent of the programming languages used. Cottontail DB's clean and modular architecture enables the easy extension of its functionalities and also makes it useful in an educational context. In the following, we will give a brief introduction on how Cottontail DB works, what we are using it for, and, most importantly, how it can help you manage your data. To learn more about Cottontail DB, including performance evaluations, we kindly refer readers to our Open Source Software Track Contribution at ACM MM 2020 [1], where Cottontail DB was honored with that year's Best Open Source Award.
Encouraging more Diverse Scientific Collaborations with the ConfFlow application
Authors: Hung Hayley , Gedik Ekin
Published: December 2022

ConfFlow is an application to encourage people with similar or complementary research interests to find each other at conferences. How scientific collaborations are initiated, how people meet and how an intention is developed to work together is an open question. The aim of this follow-up initiative to ConfLab: Meet the Chairs! held at ACM MM 2019 (conflab.ewi.tudelft.nl) is to help people in the multimedia community to connect with potential collaborators.
MPEG Column: 134th MPEG Meeting (virtual/online)
Authors: Timmerer Christian
Published: December 2022

The original blog post can be found at the Bitmovin Techblog and has been modified/updated here to focus on and highlight research aspects.
VQEG Column: VQEG Meeting Jun. 2021 (virtual/online)
Authors: Gutiérrez Jesús , Brunnström Kjell
Published: December 2022

Welcome to the fifth column on the ACM SIGMM Records from the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG).

The last VQEG plenary meeting took place online from 7 to 11 June 2021. As the previous meeting celebrated in December 2020, it was organized online (this time by Kingston University) with multiple sessions spread over five days, allowing remote participation of people from 22 different countries of America, Asia, and Europe. More than 100 participants registered to the meeting and they could attend the 40 presentations and several discussions that took place in all working groups.

This column provides an overview of the recently completed VQEG plenary meeting, while all the information, minutes and files (including the presented slides) from the meeting are available online in the VQEG meeting website.
11th Ada Developer Room at FOSDEM 2022
Authors: Craeynest Dirk
Published: December 2022

FOSDEM is a huge open source event organized each year in Brussels, Belgium. Among others, it features dozens of tracks on specific topics: the Developer Rooms. This year, for the 11th time, there was a track about the Ada programming language and related technologies. A brief overview of the full-day "Ada DevRoom" program is given, followed by reports of most presentations by their respective authors.
SweetAda
Authors: Galeotti Gabriele
Published: December 2022

This article tries to describe what is SweetAda, how it was developed, its uses, and its possible future routes.
Overview of Ada GUI
Authors: Carter Jeffrey R.
Published: December 2022

This is a summary of the presentation of the same title made in the Ada devroom at FOSDEM 2022. Traditional GUIs require registering callbacks and then giving up the program's thread of control to the GUI. This results in an unnatural programming style that runs counter to the way people typically learn to read programs. Ada GUI uses an alternative approach suited to a concurrent language.
Resilience-Aware Mixed-Criticality DAG Scheduling on Multi-cores for Autonomous Systems
Authors: Zou Jie , Dai Xiaotian , McDermid John A.
Published: December 2022

Fully- and semi-autonomous systems are complex and safety-critical with strict timing and resource constraints, and have a deep processing pipeline with strong dependencies between different functions. Furthermore, tasks with different criticalities share the same hardware, and the scheduling strategy has to guarantee high criticality tasks' execution irrespective of interference from low criticality tasks whilst respecting the precedence constraints among tasks. Most static scheduling work considering task dependencies does not take into account the survivability of low criticality tasks, instead assuming that all low criticality tasks should be suspended or discarded after a mode change. Consequently, the schedules for high and low modes are different, so that more effort is needed to check the safety of schedules during mode change and with a potential increase in the migration cost as tasks may be executed on a different core after a mode change. This work proposes a novel mixed-criticality DAG-based multi-core static scheduling method considering low criticality tasks' survivability and precedence constraints between tasks with different criticalities. This produces a consistent schedule for different system modes enabling task-level mode change and improving the resilience of the system. Furthermore, the utilisation of computational resources is also improved by avoiding discarding low tasks.
Compiler Support for an AI-oriented SIMD Extension of a Space Processor
Authors: Solé Marc , Kosmidis Leonidas
Published: December 2022

In this on going research paper, we present our work on the compiler support for an AI-oriented SIMD Extension, called SPARROW. The SPARROW hardware design has been developed during a recently defended, awardwinning Master Thesis and is targeting Cobham Gaisler's space processors Leon3 and NOEL-V. We present the compiler support we have included in two compiler toolchains, gcc and llvm as well as a SIMD intrinsics library for easy programmability. Compiler modifications are kept to minimum in order to enable incremental qualification of the toolchains. We present our experience working with the two compilers and performance results for the two compilers on top an FPGA implementation of the target space processor.
Space Compression Algorithms Acceleration on Embedded Multi-core and GPU Platforms
Authors: Jover-Alvarez Alvaro , Rodriguez Ivan , Kosmidis Leonidas , Steenari David
Published: December 2022

Future space missions will require increased on-board computing power to process and compress massive amounts of data. Consequently, embedded multi-core and GPU platforms are considered, which have been shown beneficial for data processing. However, the acceleration of data compression - an inherently sequential task - has not been explored. In this on-going research paper, we parallelize two space compression standards on both CPUs and GPUs using two candidate embedded GPU platforms for space showing that despite the challenging nature of CCSDS algorithms, their parallelization is possible and can provide significant performance benefits.
The Book Review Column
Authors: Green Frederic
Published: December 2022

Sadly, I never had a chance to really get to know Juris Hartmanis. However, at the time that I was still wondering what avenues to pursue in computer science, his work was one of my principal motivations. His talks, several of which I remember attending back in the 1980s, were crystal clear, entertaining, and inspiring. As much as he will be missed, he lives on through his legacy, as manifested in his work as well as his many eminent students.
Differential regulation of sympathetic neural burst frequency and amplitude throughout normal pregnancy: a longitudinal study
Authors: D’Souza Andrew W. , Hissen Sarah L. , Okada Yoshiyuki , Jarvis Sara S. , Washio Takuro , Akins John D. , Nelson David B. , Fu Qi
Published: December 2022

Sympathetic activation is a hallmark of pregnancy. However, longitudinal assessments of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in pregnancy are scarce and have primarily focused on burst occurrence (frequency) at rest, despite burst strength (amplitude) representing distinct characteristics of sympathetic outflow. Thus, we assessed MSNA burst amplitude distributions in healthy women to determine the impact of normal pregnancy on neural discharge patterns in response to orthostatic stress. Twenty-six women were studied longitudinally during pre-, early- (4–8 wk of gestation), and late (32–36 wk) pregnancy, as well as postpartum (6–10 wk after delivery). MSNA, blood pressure (BP), and heart rate (HR) were measured in the supine posture and during graded head-up tilt (30° and 60° HUT). Mean and median MSNA burst amplitudes were used to characterize burst amplitude distribution. In late pregnancy, women demonstrated smaller increases in HR ( P < 0.001) during 60° HUT and larger increases in systolic BP ( P = 0.043) throughout orthostasis, compared with prepregnancy. The increase in MSNA burst frequency during late- relative to prepregnancy (Late: Δ14[10] vs. Pre: Δ21[9] bursts/min; P = 0.001) was smaller during 60° HUT, whereas increases in burst incidence were smaller in late- relative to prepregnancy throughout orthostasis ( P = 0.009). Nonetheless, median burst amplitude was smaller throughout orthostasis in late compared with prepregnancy ( P = 0.038). Thus, while supine MSNA burst frequency was greater in late pregnancy, increases in burst frequency and strength during orthostasis were attenuated. These smaller, orthostatically induced MSNA increases may reflect natural adaptions of pregnancy serving to prevent sympathetic hyper-reactivity that is common in pathological states.
Changes in Liver and Splenic Stiffness after Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy in Chronic Hepatitis C: A Single-Centre, Prospective, Observational Study
Authors: Sugio Ryo , Sawai Yoshiyuki , Fukuda Kazuto , Igura Takumi , Kogita Sachiyo , Ichihi Masahiro , Seki Yasushi , Fujita Norihiko , Oshita Masahide , Imai Yasuharu
Published: December 2022

Background. Liver and spleen stiffness measured by shear-wave elastography have been demonstrated to correlate well with liver fibrosis and hepatic venous pressure gradient, respectively. Aim. To investigate the long-term effect of direct-acting antivirals (DAA) on liver and splenic stiffness in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods. We conducted a single-centre prospective observational study including 129 chronic hepatitis C patients who achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) with DAA treatment. Liver and spleen stiffness were measured by point shear-wave elastography at pretreatment, end of treatment (EOT), and 48 and 96 weeks after EOT (SVR48 and SVR96, respectively). Results. Liver stiffness measurements (LSM) continued to decline to SVR96, whereas there was no change in spleen stiffness measurements (SSM). Stratified analysis at the SSM 3.2 m/s, which was estimated as the cut-off value of clinically significant portal hypertension, showed that SSM did not change in the low SSM group (SSM <3.2 m/s, n =81), whereas in the high SSM group (SSM ≥3.2 m/s, n =48), the SSM decreased significantly between pretreatment and EOT but did not change thereafter. Moreover, multivariate analysis of risk factors for the SSM remaining in the range of SSM ≥3.2 m/s at SVR96 in the high SSM group revealed that LSM ≥1.93 m/s was a significant factor (p =0.019). Conclusion. These results suggest that DAA treatment of chronic hepatitis C patients may improve liver fibrosis in the long term and some patients with advanced liver fibrosis may not expect an improvement of portal hypertension even if an SVR is achieved.
Honokiol Ameliorates DSS-Induced Mouse Colitis by Inhibiting Inflammation and Oxidative Stress and Improving the Intestinal Barrier
Authors: Wang Lu , Wang Junping
Published: December 2022

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a multifactor intestinal disease with increased morbidity. Recently, pleiotropic drugs with exact biosafety have been urgently needed. Honokiol (HKL) is the major bioactive component of traditional Chinese medicine “Houpu,” with almost no toxic effects and approved anti-inflammation, antioxidant, antispasmodic, etc. effects. This study examined the therapeutic effect of HKL in dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-) induced experimental colitis. In vivo, C57BL/6 mice received 3% DSS for seven days to generate UC, and HKL was pretreated for five days and given during the whole DSS-induced period. In vitro, RAW264.7 macrophages were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammation, and mouse colon epithelial cells (MCEC) were treated with HKL or pretreated with HKL and then stimulated with LPS-induced macrophage supernate to investigate the barrier enhancement roles. HKL significantly ameliorated disease activity index (DAI), colon length, and histopathological scores in DSS-induced colitis. The inflammatory mediators of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) were decreased, and the tight conjunction proteins were increased in the HKL-treated group both in vivo and in vitro. Above all, HKL can relieve experimental UC through anti-inflammation, antioxidant, and epithelial barrier enhancement roles. These effects were associated with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65, sirtuin3 (SIRT3)/adenosine 5

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-monophosphate- (AMP-) activated protein kinase (AMPK), and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO1) signaling pathways. In conclusion, after further clinical studies, HKL may be a promising drug for UC.
Models for Predicting Response to Immunotherapy and Prognosis in Patients with Gastric Cancer: DNA Damage Response Genes
Authors: Dong Rui , Chen Shuran , Lu Fei , Zheng Ni , Peng Guisen , Li Yan , Yang Pan , Wen Hexin , Qiu Quanwei , Wang Yitong , Wu Huazhang , Liu Mulin
Published: December 2022

Objective. DNA damage response (DDR) is a complex system that maintains genetic integrity and the stable replication and transmission of genetic material. m6A modifies DDR‐related gene expression and affects the balance of DNA damage response in tumor cells. In this study, a risk model based on m6A‐modified DDR‐related gene was established to evaluate its role in patients with gastric cancer. Methods. We downloaded 639 DNA damage response genes from the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) database and constructed risk score models using typed differential genes. We used Kaplan‐Meier curves and risk curves to verify the clinical relevance of the model, which was then validated with the univariate and multifactorial Cox analysis, ROC, C‐index, and nomogram, and finally this model was used to evaluate the correlation of the risk score model with immune microenvironment, microsatellite instability (MSI), tumor mutational burden (TMB), and immune checkpoints. Results. In this study, 337 samples in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were used as training set to construct a DDR‐related gene model, and GSE84437 was used as external data set for verification. We found that the prognosis and immunotherapy effect of gastric cancer patients in the low‐risk group were significantly better than those in the high‐risk group. Conclusion. We screened eight DDR‐related genes (ZBTB7A, POLQ, CHEK1, NPDC1, RAMP1, AXIN2, SFRP2, and APOD) to establish a risk model, which can predict the prognosis of gastric cancer patients and guide the clinical implementation of immunotherapy.