bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
FDM process parameter selection by hybrid MCDM approach for flexural and compression strength maximization
Authors: Begic-Hajdarevic D. , Klancnik S. , Muhamedagic K. , Cekic, A. , Cohodar Husic M. , Ficko M. , Gusel L.
Published: May 2024

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is one of the mostly used additive technologies, due to its ability to produce complex parts with good mechanical properties. The selection of FDM process parameters is crucial to achieve good mechanical properties of the manufactured parts. Therefore, in this paper, a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach based on Preference Selection Index (PSI) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is proposed for the selection of optimal process parameters in FDM printing of polylactic acid (PLA) parts. Printing temperature, layer thickness and raster angle were considered as input process parameters. In order to prove the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid PSI – TOPSIS method, the obtained results were compared with the results obtained with different MCDM methods. The obtained best option of process parameters was confirmed by other MCDM methods. The optimal combination of process parameters to achieve the maximal flexural strength, maximal flexural modulus and maximal compressive strength is selected using the hybrid PSI-TOPSIS method. The results show that the hybrid PSI-TOPSIS approach could be used for optimisation process parameters for any machining process.
LightDiC: A Simple Yet Effective Approach for Large-Scale Digraph Representation Learning
Authors: Li Xunkai , Liao Meihao , Wu Zhengyu , Su Daohan , Zhang Wentao , Li Rong-Hua , Wang Guoren
Published: May 2024

Most existing graph neural networks (GNNs) are limited to undirected graphs, whose restricted scope of the captured relational information hinders their expressive capabilities and deployment. Compared with undirected graphs, directed graphs (digraphs) fit the demand for modeling more complex topological systems by capturing more intricate relationships between nodes. While some directed GNNs have been introduced, their inspiration mainly comes from deep learning architectures, which lead to redundant complexity and computation, making them inapplicable to large-scale databases. To address these issues, we propose LightDiC, a scalable variant of the digraph convolution based on the magnetic Laplacian. Since topology-related computations are conducted solely during offline pre-processing, LightDiC achieves exceptional scalability, enabling downstream predictions to be trained separately without incurring recursive computational costs. Theoretical analysis shows that LightDiC achieves message passing based on the complex field, which corresponds to the proximal gradient descent process of the Dirichlet energy optimization function from the perspective of digraph signal denoising, ensuring its expressiveness. Experimental results demonstrate that LightDiC performs comparably well or even outperforms other SOTA methods in various downstream tasks, with fewer learnable parameters and higher efficiency.
Efficient Regular Simple Path Queries under Transitive Restricted Expressions
Authors: Liang Qi , Ouyang Dian , Zhang Fan , Yang Jianye , Lin Xuemin , Tian Zhihong
Published: May 2024

There are two fundamental problems in regular simple path queries (RSPQs). One is the reachability problem which asks whether there exists a simple path between the source and the target vertex matching the given regular expression, and the other is the enumeration problem which aims to find all the matched simple paths. As an important computing component of graph databases, RSPQs are supported in many graph database query languages such as PGQL and openCypher. However, answering RSPQs is known to be NP-hard, making it challenging to design scalable solutions to support a wide range of expressions. In this paper, we first introduce the class of
transitive restricted expression
, which covers more than 99% of real-world queries. Then, we propose an efficient algorithm framework to support both reachability and enumeration problems under transitive restricted expression constraints. To boost the performance, we develop novel techniques for reachability detection, the search of candidate vertices, and the reduction of redundant path computation. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our exact method can achieve comparable efficiency to the state-of-the-art approximate approach, and outperforms the state-of-the-art exact methods by up to 2 orders of magnitude.
Optimizing Video Selection LIMIT Queries with Commonsense Knowledge
Authors: He Wenjia , Sabek Ibrahim , Lou Yuze , Cafarella Michael
Published: May 2024

Video is becoming a major part of contemporary data collection. It is increasingly important to process video selection queries --- selecting videos that contain target objects. Advances in neural networks allow us to detect the objects in an image, and thereby offer query systems to examine the content of the video. Unfortunately, neural network-based approaches have long inference times. Processing this type of query through a standard scan would be time-consuming and would involve applying complex detectors to numerous irrelevant videos. It is tempting to try to improve query times by computing an index in advance. But unfortunately, many frames will never be beneficial for any query. Time spent processing them, whether at index time or at query time, is simply wasted computation.

We propose a novel index mechanism to optimize video selection queries with
commonsense knowledge.
Commonsense knowledge consists of fundamental information about the world, such as the fact that a tennis racket is a tool designed for hitting a tennis ball. To save computation, an inexpensive but lossy index can be intentionally created, but this may result in missed target objects and suboptimal query time performance. Our mechanism addresses this issue by constructing probabilistic models from commonsense knowledge to patch the lossy index and then prioritizing predicate-related videos at query time. This method can achieve significant performance improvements comparable to those of a full index while keeping the construction costs of a lossy index. We describe our prototype system, Paine, plus experiments on two video corpora. We show our best optimization method can process up to 97.79% fewer videos compared to baselines. Even the model constructed without any video content can yield a 75.39% improvement over baselines.
Navigating Cultural Landscapes: Textual Insights into English–Arabic–English Translation
Authors: Asiri Eisa , Qassem Mutahar , Sahari Yousef
Published: May 2024

Culture, a multifaceted concept, embodies the diverse aspects of human life, differing markedly across communities. Each community is distinguished by unique characteristics that collectively define its cultural identity. This diversity presents translators with considerable challenges, particularly when it comes to translating cultural references (CRs). An adequate translation requires an in-depth comprehension of the source culture’s nuances to accurately represent them within the target culture. It also necessitates not only a linguistic translation but also a cultural transposition, where the essence of one culture is thoughtfully conveyed to another, preserving its original meaning and context. The current research therefore aimed to investigate the various factors that present cultural barriers in terms of the translation of CRs from English to Arabic and vice versa. To achieve this, it employed an integrated approach made up of hermeneutics, translation equivalence, textual analysis, and functionality, allowing analysis of all aspects of the text. The findings demonstrate the importance of thorough text analysis that encompasses both intratextual and extratextual elements, alongside interpretation of the text within its primary context. It was also noted that CRs in English and Arabic pose challenges for translators in terms of both comprehension and production: such challenges include the existence of forms that may not readily enable translators to deduce meanings and difficulties in conveying English concepts accurately into Arabic. To overcome these hurdles, the study thus recommends the adoption of an integrated approach to culture-based texts to ensure that the internal and external features of the source text are captured in the target text.
Enhancing Social Skills Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Evaluation of the “Power of Camp Inclusion” Program
Authors: Dolyka Aikaterini , Evaggelinou Christina , Mouratidou Katerina , Koidou Irini , Efthymiou Efthymia , Nikolaou Eleni , Katsarou Dimitra
Published: May 2024

This study investigates the effectiveness of the “Power of Camp Inclusion” program in enhancing social skills among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in an integrated educational environment of a camp. Caregivers, who received pedagogical training on disability issues, evaluated the program. The study involved 22 individuals with ASD, aged 7–25 years (mean age: 14.82), and 22 companions, aged 20–56 years (mean age: 25.27). Caregivers received in vivo training on social skills to support their role in the program. The Autism Social Skills Profile (ASSP) was used to assess social skills, including Social Reciprocity, Social Participation, and Harmful Social Behaviors, as well as the overall index of social skills. In addition to ASSP, all participants underwent semi-structured interviews. Statistical analysis examined demographic data, internal consistency of variables, their correlation, and t-test analyses of a sample and paired observations. The results indicated that the implementation of the “Power of Camp Inclusion” program had positive effects on the development of social reciprocity, social participation, overall index of social skills, and reduction of harmful social behaviors among children with ASD. The findings of this study highlight the importance of educational programs that support the development of social skills for children with ASD and emphasize the need for such programs to be integrated into modern educational policies.
Thermal, morphological, and structural characterization of starch-based bio-polymers for melt spinnability
Authors: Temesgen Selamu , Rennert Mirko , Tesfaye Tamrat , Großmann Lucas , Kuehnert Ines , Smolka Norbert , Nase Michael
Published: May 2024

The demand for sustainable textiles has increased research on bio-based biopolymers. Fiber spinning from starch biopolymer and its blends was widely attempted using electro-spinning; however, it is less attempted using melt spinning which is an industrially feasible method. In this study, native tapioca starch is converted into thermoplastic starch (TPS), blended with polylactic acid (PLA), and is attempted for melt spinnability in its neat and blended form TPS/PLA (70/30) with the intention of checking the possibility of melt spinning. The results from characterization of the prepared biopolymers show that thermal analysis of neat TPS does not reveal clear thermal transitions, glass transition (T
g), and melting (T
m), in the second heating curve, rather it influenced crystallization behavior of PLA as seen from differential scanning calorimetry result and degradation temperature (T
d) was found to be in the range of 296–352°C from thermogravimetric analysis showing that addition of PLA improved thermal stability of TPS. Morphology analysis with AFM images revealed the presence of granular starch in neat TPS and phase separation in TPS/PLA blends with finer phase distribution in the presence of additives. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy result shows the interaction between starch, glycerol, and PLA showing the effect of thermoplasticization of starch which brings rupture or weakening of the strong glycosidic bonds in between starch molecules and interaction between TPS and PLA as it can be seen from peak shift and peak intensity. The melt spinning trials show the possibility of melt spinning TPS-based biopolymers into fibers even with higher content of TPS as well as neat TPS giving an insight and motivation for more research engagement. The melt-spun fibers were found to have a diameter in the range of 160.0–117.0 μm. However, additional experiments and investigations are required to improve the mechanical and other properties of the fibers.
A semiotics of the otherwise: space, temporality and politics in Rana Bishara’s Roadmap
for
Elimination
Authors: Milani Tommaso M.
Published: May 2024

This article presents an analysis of Rana Bishara’s installation Roadmap
for
Elimination, which is semiotically and materially interesting due to the skillful combination of language, maps of Palestine, and other key symbolic elements of Palestinian resistance such as cactus leaves. The article illustrates how, in the artwork, space and time fold into each other for political purposes in such a way that the European colonial past is visually overlaid with the present Israeli occupation, and the vision of a different future. Ultimately, the argument mounted in the article is that the installation is a defiant act of linguistic citizenship through which Bishara engendered a momentary space of otherwise. The spatio-temporal elements in the artwork, in turn, activate a plethora of emotions that affectively interpellate a European viewer into complex discursive positions of implicated subject vis-à-vis the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. On a theoretical level, the article seeks to demonstrate how Povinelli’s notion of spaces of otherwise, coupled with Stroud’s linguistic citizenship, can be relevant to sociolinguistics and the sociology of language, giving us a conceptual apparatus for better understanding the nexus of agency, space and time. On a more empirical level, the article also seeks to bring more precision to the spatio-temporal dimensions of both Stroud’s and Povinelli’s work.
Classical music recommendation algorithm on art market audience expansion under deep learning
Authors: Li Chunhai , Zuo Xiaohui
Published: May 2024

The purpose of the study is to help users know about their favorite music and expand art market audiences. First, the personalized recommendation data of classical music are obtained based on the deep learning recommendation algorithm technology, artificial intelligence, and music playback software of users. Second, a systematic experiment is conducted on the improved recommendation algorithm, and a classical music dataset is established and used for model training and user testing. Then, the network model of the classical music recommendation algorithm is constructed through the typical convolutional neural network model, and the optimal parameters suitable for the model are found. The experimental results show that the optimal value of the dimension in the hidden layer is 192, and 24,000 training rounds can converge to the global optimum when the learning rate is 0.001. The personalized recommendation is provided for target users by calculating the similarity between user preference and potential features of classical music, relieving the auditory fatigue of art market audiences, improving user experience, and expanding the art market audience through the classical music recommendation system.
Review of: Polinsky, Maria (ed.). 2021. Oxford handbook of the languages of the Caucasus
Authors: Wier Thomas R.
Published: May 2024

This paper presents a general review of the Oxford Handbook of the Languages of the Caucasus. It summarizes over four dozen different typological rarities found in Caucasian languages, and examines what explanations have been given for their presence, and what roles phylogeny, contact and human geography play in their appearance in these languages.
Theoretical considerations on linguistic innovation through new combinations in African youth language practices, exemplified in Yanké and Langila (DR Congo)
Authors: Kunzmann Janika
Published: May 2024

In youth language practice, diverse creative linguistic strategies are applied to derive a language variant distinct from what is perceived as the norm. Since linguistic innovation is of primary interest for the study of “deviant” speech varieties, this paper discusses whether the structural similarities and differences observed between African youth languages can be addressed by determining the linguistic strategies employed by speakers in order to innovate. Defining innovation as a new combination of existing material, I identify two higher-level types of practices that I propose lead to linguistic innovation: (i) combining two or more resources from different languages in the speaker’s linguistic repertoire, and (ii) using a linguistic strategy with a part of the speaker’s linguistic repertoire. To illustrate these two types, reference is made to the Lingala-based youth language practices Yanké and Langila. Although both types of strategy may occur simultaneously, I argue that Yanké speakers rely more on combining different languages from their repertoire, whereas Langila speakers more heavily rely on applying creative language games to their repertoire. The question is raised as to whether the structural differences between the two youth language practices can be accounted for by determining the type of innovation practices employed by the speakers.
Potential seed dispersal of cumbaru (Dipteryx alata) by fruit-eating bats (Artibeus sp.) in a Brazilian urban context
Authors: Goebel L.G. Araujo , Rodrigues Longo Gabriela , Souza da Silva Jackeline Mylena , Ribeiro Thalita , Fernando da Silva Lara Luiz , Dos Santos-Filho Manoel , Bogoni Juliano A.
Published: May 2024

The rapid increase of urbanization across the tropics has transformed natural landscapes into intensely modified environments, challenging native species to thrive in human-dominated spaces. Frugivorous bats perform vital ecological roles in urban landscapes, preventing the further decline of seed dispersal dynamics. The “cumbaru” tree Dipteryx alata – a large native species widely distributed throughout Cerrado savannahs of South America – serves as an important food resource for wildlife. In this study, we documented and quantified the cumbaru potential dispersal performed by Artibeus sp. in an urban area located in the limits between Cerrado and Pantanal (Cáceres municipality, Mato Grosso, Brazil). Our results revealed that, during 21 nights of observation, individuals of Artibeus sp. transported 27 fruits at a distance of approximately 35 m. Our observations on the dynamics of seed dispersal by bats in an urban context provide preliminary, but important, insights for management actions to ensure the maintaining of species interactions and biodiversity conservation across human-dominated landscapes.
Organophosphonic acid catalyzed dehydrogenative coupling of hydrosilanes with alcohols under solvent-free conditions
Authors: Han Zhengang , Chai Miaomiao , Bai Yunfeng , Huang Wei , Chen Peng
Published: May 2024

There is a strong need for exploring the new preparation methods for silyl ethers due to their great potential in synthetic chemistry and materials. At present, the catalytic dehydrogenative coupling of silane and alcohol has been proven to be an attractive way to prepare silyl ethers. In this work, we used a non-metallic and inexpensive phenyl phosphonic acid as a catalyst, which can directly generate corresponding silyl ethers from alcohols and silanes in high yields under relatively mild conditions such as metal-free, no solvents, demonstrating its enormous application potentials.
Methodologies for the prediction of future aircraft noise level
Authors: Xie Jinlong , Zhu Lei , Lee Hsiao Mun , Lee Heow Pueh
Published: May 2024

This study proposed a method to predict the future aircraft noise level of the international airport by taking Baiyun International Airport (BIA) as an example. BIA was selected to be studied because it is an important international aviation hub in China. The third phase expansion project of BIA is currently in progress, which is the largest airport expansion project in China. The method included the analysis of current operation of the airport, prediction of future operation scenario and operation of the airport, and predicted future population around the airport. Based on the predicted information, this study used CadnaA software to construct and analyze the noise maps of BIA during summer and winter in 2030. The major advancement of this study compared to that of previous research is that this study predicted the noise levels of the airport during summer and winter separately based on the wind direction of airport location, while other research did not take wind direction into consideration. It is found that operation Scenario 1 produces lower noise pollution level in the future compared to Scenario 2 based on the noise exposure results. It is worth mentioning that in 2030 during winter, when the noise level is greater than 70 dB, the noise-exposed area and population of BIA increase by 71.88 and 146.87% (Scenario 1), respectively, compared to current data, which is more serious compared to the growth rate during summer.
Sorption behavior of low specific activity 99Mo on Ti- and Zr-xerogels as an alternative to fission-based 99Mo/99mTc generators
Authors: Moreno-Gil Nancy , Badillo-Almaraz Verónica E. , Velazquez-Peña Guadalupe C. , Camacho-López Miguel A. , Issac-Olivé Keila
Published: May 2024

In order to contribute to the sufficient supply of clinical 99mTc(VII), the sorption behavior of neutron-produced 99Mo(VI) was investigated on synthetized single and binary Ti and Zr xerogels treated at different temperatures, under normal operating conditions. Materials were prepared by the sol–gel method and characterized by several techniques. Sorption batch systems were performed using 99Mo radiotracer to determine the metallic affinity as a function of pH, and a methodology was developed in order to obtain the maximum capacities by surface saturation, where the Ti-388, TiZr-388 (3:1) and Zr-388 samples showed the most noteworthy sorption behaviors (33.1 ± 0.34 mg/g at pH ∼ 6.0, 31.7 ± 0.27 mg/g at pH ∼ 6.5, and 23.5 ± 0.61 mg/g at pH ∼ 6.8, respectively). The molybdenum-99 sorption behavior was also studied by fitting to the Freundlich and Langmuir models, and all xerogels could be described as heterogeneous materials with favorable 99Mo sorption properties. Finally, preliminary studies of clinical-scale 99Mo/99mTc generators were performed, the results revealed the next maximum 99mTc elution yield order Ti-388 (89.6 %) > TiZr-388 (3:1) (86.7 %) > Zr-388 (77.7 %).
Ciprus: A földrajzi tér és a nagyhatalmak fogságában
Authors: Ádám Balogh
Published: May 2024

Könyvismertetésem Kacziba Péter, a PTE Politikatudományi és Nemzetközi Tanulmányok Tanszék tudományos munkatársának A ciprusi konfliktus geostratégiai összetevői című 2023-ban a L’Harmattan – PTE ÁOK ITD kiadásában megjelent monográfiáját mutatja be. A mű újdonsága szemléletmódjában rejlik, mely a geostratégia elméletébe ágyazva mutatja be a sziget megosztottságának okait és az újraegyesítés nehézségeit.
The Fourth Invasion: Decolonizing Histories, Extractivism, and Maya Resistance in Guatemala
Authors: Batz Giovanni
Published: May 2024

Based on more than a decade of ethnographic research, The Fourth Invasion examines an Ixil Maya community’s movement against the construction of one of the largest hydroelectric plants in Guatemala. The arrival of the Palo Viejo hydroelectric plant (built by the Italian corporation Enel Green Power) to the municipality of Cotzal highlighted the ongoing violence inflicted on Ixils by outsiders and the Guatemalan state. Locals referred to the building of the hydroelectric plant as the “fourth invasion” for its similarity to preceding invasions: Spanish colonization, the creation of the plantation economy, and the state-led genocide during the Guatemalan armed conflict. Through a historical account of cyclical waves of invasions and resistance in Cotzal during the four invasions, Giovanni Batz argues that extractivist industries are a continuation of a colonial logic of extraction based on the displacement of Indigenous Peoples and the destruction of their territories and values that has existed since Spanish arrival in 1524.
Comportamiento y Racionalidad en la Realidad Social
Authors: Aquistapace Mónica Inés
Published: May 2024

The representation of social reality in accounting is complex and problematic. It issubjective aspects that depend on the observer and objective aspects.
The purpose of this paper is to describe subjective aspects, such as thebehavior and rationality, which are part of the social reality represented by accounting, especially the subcategory “institutional social reality” in the terms of John Searle's theory, making a conceptual description of Searle's proposal; to be applied in accounting theory.
It is concluded that the institutional social reality is constructed not only from an external reality, but also includes categories of epistemologically subjective facts that are also represented in accounting. They are all part of an institutional, ontologically subjective construction of social reality, always. Therefore, a broad and integrating accounting theory of formal and social aspects of accounting allows a proper adjustment between the two planes.
Isolated Epididymal Tuberculosis: A Challenging Diagnosis
Authors: Bakkali Issaoui Zakaria , Kharbach Youssef , Khallouk Abdelhak
Published: May 2024

There is an increasing number of cases of isolated genital tuberculosis. However, it remains challenging to diagnose this condition. The clinical manifestation is often nonspecific. There are no specific and sensitive noninvasive investigations to help confirm its diagnosis. We report the case of a young patient who presented at the Urology Clinic with chronic left scrotal swelling. We initially considered the diagnosis of either epididymal-testicular tuberculosis or left testicular tumor. An epididymal biopsy was taken. The histology report of the biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of epididymal tuberculosis.
Nusikaltusių moterų istorijos: sudėtingi keliai kalėjimo link
Authors: Gaičevskytė-Savickė Rimantė
Published: May 2024

Life-course criminology endeavors to comprehend the intricate interplay between individual traits, societal surroundings, and life occurrences that shape patterns of criminal behavior. Within this framework, the concept of life trajectories leading to criminality has emerged, underscoring the importance of scrutinizing women‘s narratives. This entails examining their childhood experiences, and adult challenges, and identifying circumstances that foster recidivism. The present publication unveils condensed accounts of female inmates at Panevėžys (Lithuania) women‘s prison, categorized into four trajectories: the typical woman or random offender, the victimized woman, the chronic offender, and the woman belonging to a marginalized cohort.
SYNTHESIS OF TYPICAL DIGITAL ASTATIC REGULATORS OF INDUSTRIAL ELECTRIC DRIVES
Authors:   Institute of Electrodynamics National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Beresteiskyi Ave., 56, Kyiv, 03057, Ukraine, Shurub Yu.V. , Dudnyk A.O. ,   National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Heroyiv Oborony st., 15, Kyiv, 03041, Ukraine, Rudenskyi A.A. ,   National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Heroyiv Oborony st., 15, Kyiv, 03041, Ukraine
Published: May 2024

The paper is devoted to the clarification and generalization of the analytical methodology for the synthesis of typical digital astatic regulators of industrial electric drives, which can be presented in the form of discrete transfer functions in the Z-transformation, according to the given speed quality factor, and the development of recommendations for determining the setting parameters of such regulators. It is proposed to determine the coefficient of the integral component according to the given speed quality factor, and determine the other setting parameters in such a way as to compensate for two (for PID-regulators) or one (for PI-regulators) poles of the discrete transfer function of the control object. The ranges of speed quality factor values for a number of electric drives that are optimal in terms of dynamic performance indexes have been determined. It has been proven that to increase the speed in systems with PI controllers, it is necessary to compensate for the larger of the two poles. References 10, figures 5.
Actividad tripanocida de cinco plantas latinoamericanas
Authors: Torres-Barajas Ana Lucía , Salas-Baéz Karla Daniela , Chávez-Gómez Rosa Isela , Carrasco-Esparza Norma Adela , Muñoz-Ortega Martín Humberto , Sánchez-García Eduardo , Hernández-Marín David Alejandro
Published: May 2024

Introducción: La enfermedad de Chagas es causada por un parásito hemoflagelado llamado Trypanosoma cruzi, distribuido principalmente en América Latina. Países como México se ven afectados por este parásito, y se estima que un millón de personas padecen la enfermedad. Actualmente, el tratamiento se centra en el benznidazol y el nifurtimox, que, cuando se aplican en la fase aguda, son efectivos, pero no en la fase crónica y son de difícil acceso. Por lo tanto, se buscan alternativas que puedan proporcionar nuevos tratamientos; una opción son las plantas, ya que producen metabolitos secundarios con diversas actividades biológicas, incluida la actividad antiparasitaria. Objetivo: Evaluar el potencial tripanocida de extractos metanólicos recolectados en algunos estados mexicanos de diversas plantas latinoamericanas. Métodos: Las cinco especies de plantas estudiadas fueron obtenidas en México de los estados de Jalisco, Aguascalientes y Nuevo León; las muestras fueron secadas y se obtuvieron los extractos metanólicos. Se utilizaron dos cepas de T. cruzi para evaluar su actividad tripanocida; la cepa Ninoa y una cepa silvestre obtenida en Calvillo, Aguascalientes. Se evaluaron las concentraciones de los extractos de 1 000 a 10 ppm utilizando un método de microdilución. Resultados: Los extractos mostraron una concentración inhibitoria entre 1 418.74 ± 6 ppm y 14.1 ± 5 ppm; el extracto que presentó la mejor actividad fue la hoja de Arctostaphylos pungens (pinguica). Conclusiones: A. pungens es una planta utilizada en la medicina tradicional mexicana, y este estudio ha demostrado que es una fuente de compuestos contra T. cruzi. Estudios futuros podrían determinar su toxicidad y citotoxicidad para ser aplicados como un posible tratamiento para la enfermedad de Chagas.
Fluctuations of an omega-type killed process in discrete time
Authors: Şimşek Meral , Ramsden Lewis , Papaioannou Apostolos D.
Published: May 2024

The theory of the so-called ${\mathcal{W}_{q}}$ and ${\mathcal{Z}_{q}}$ scale functions is developped for the fluctuations of right-continuous discrete time and space killed random walks. Explicit expressions are derived for the resolvents and two-sided exit problem when killing depends on the present level of the process. Similar results in the reflected case are also considered. All the expressions are given in terms of new generalisations of the scale functions, which are obtained using arguments different from the continuous case (spectrally negative Lévy processes). Hence, the connections between the two cases are spelled out. For a specific form of the killing function, the probability of bankruptcy is obtained for the model known as omega model in the actuarial literature.
Reflections and Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity
Authors: Salinas Jr., Ph.D. Cristobal , Biscoe Belinda P.
Published: May 2024

Welcome to the Spring 2024 Special Issue of the Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity (JCSCORE). This Special Issue celebrates the 10th Anniversary of JCSCORE and features the scholarship of scholars, practitioners, and activists with connections to or relationships with Hawai’i.
Genuine Security for Whom?: Militourism and Violence Against the Feminine in Hawaiʻi and Asia and the Pacific
Authors: Critobal Nik , Ikehara Sam , Lasconia ʻIhilani , Kaʻōpua-Canonigo Hina
Published: May 2024

Assaults on ʻāina (land; that which feeds) are assaults on wāhine (women). Violence toward wāhine ʻōiwi (Native Hawaiian women/feminine people) and the ʻāina is discussed through the context of the Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women, Girls, Māhū (MMNHWGM) movement and its relation to militourism. Militourism is used to draw parallels between the violence experienced by wāhine ʻōiwi in Hawaiʻi and women in the Philippines and across Asia and the Pacific. The concept of “genuine security” is addressed as a step toward sovereignty and reducing violence against wāhine and ʻāina. Reflective solutions to the violent impacts of militourism are offered through the frame of radical healing.
Regulating Criminal Unaccountability - From Concepts to Defensible Legal Standards
Authors: Gröning Linda
Published: May 2024

Modern criminal law is based on the premise that individuals possess the ability to take the responsibility to act in permissible ways and in accordance with the norms communicated by the penal code, and thus can be held accountable for their acts.  There are, however, exceptions when this presumption is overridden. Young age and immaturity, severe mental disorder and disabilities, and consciousness disorders are across jurisdictions considered candidates to impair these capacities. The key legal doctrine of criminal insanity here concerns a defendant’s lack of capacity for responsible action and provides an excuse from criminal responsibility. In current criminal justice systems, this doctrine has been linked to concepts about mental disorder. The specific legal criteria vary across countries, but the reasons and justifications for this variation have not been sufficiently discussed. This article takes as a starting point that the law must transform concepts into concrete and applicable legal rules and standards. Thus, any system’s definitions and judgements about who is criminally unaccountable, must rely on proxies such as ‘mental disorder’. From this starting point, this paper discusses the transformation from concepts to possible alternatives of legal rules, with special attention to mental disorder as an excuse from criminal accountability and punishment.
Exact Multi-objective Path Finding with Negative Weights
Authors: Ahmadi Saman , Sturtevant Nathan R. , Harabor Daniel , Jalili Mahdi
Published: May 2024

The point-to-point Multi-objective Shortest Path (MOSP) problem is a classic yet challenging task that involves finding all Pareto-optimal paths between two points in a graph with multiple edge costs. Recent studies have shown that employing A* search can lead to state-of-the-art performance in solving MOSP instances with non-negative costs. This paper proposes a novel A*-based multi-objective search framework that not only handles graphs with negative costs and even negative cycles but also incorporates multiple speed-up techniques to enhance the efficiency of exhaustive search with A*. Through extensive experiments, our algorithm demonstrates remarkable success in solving difficult MOSP instances, outperforming leading solutions by several factors.
Planning and Acting While the Clock Ticks
Authors: Coles Andrew , Karpas Erez , Lavrinenko Andrey , Ruml Wheeler , Shimony Solomon Eyal , Shperberg Shahaf
Published: May 2024

Standard temporal planning assumes that planning takes place offline, and then execution starts at time 0. Recently, situated temporal planning was introduced, where planning starts at time 0, and execution occurs after planning terminates. Situated temporal planning reflects a more realistic scenario where time passes during planning. However, in situated temporal planning a complete plan must be generated before any action is executed. In some problems with time pressure, timing is too tight to complete planning before the first action must be executed. For example, an autonomous car that has a truck backing towards it should probably move out of the way now, and plan how to get to its destination later. In this paper, we propose a new problem setting: concurrent planning and execution, in which actions can be dispatched (executed) before planning terminates. Unlike previous work on planning and execution, we must handle wall clock deadlines that affect action applicability and goal achievement (as in situated planning) while also supporting dispatching actions before a complete plan has been found. We extend previous work on metareasoning for situated temporal planning to develop an algorithm for this new setting. Our empirical evaluation shows that when there is strong time pressure, our approach outperforms situated temporal planning.
A Real-Time Rescheduling Algorithm for Multi-robot Plan Execution
Authors: Feng Ying , Paul Adittyo , Chen Zhe , Li Jiaoyang
Published: May 2024

One area of research in multi-agent path finding is to determine how replanning can be efficiently achieved in the case of agents being delayed during execution. One option is to reschedule the passing order of agents, i.e., the sequence in which agents visit the same location. In response, we propose Switchable-Edge Search (SES), an A*-style algorithm designed to find optimal passing orders. We prove the optimality of SES and evaluate its efficiency via simulations. The best variant of SES takes less than 1 second for small- and medium-sized problems and runs up to 4 times faster than baselines for large-sized problems.
Towards Feasible Higher-Dimensional Potential Heuristics
Authors: Fišer Daniel , Steinmetz Marcel
Published: May 2024

Potential heuristics assign numerical values
(potentials) to state features, where each feature is a conjunction of
facts. It was previously shown that the informativeness of potential
heuristics can be significantly improved
by considering complex features,
but computing potentials over all pairs of facts
is already too costly in practice.
In this paper, we investigate whether using just a few high-dimensional
features instead of all conjunctions up to a dimension n can result in
improved heuristics while keeping the computational cost at bay. We focus on (a)
establishing a framework for studying this kind of potential heuristics, and
(b) whether it is reasonable to expect improvement with just a few
conjunctions. For (a), we propose two compilations that encode each
conjunction explicitly as a new fact so that we can compute
potentials over conjunctions in the original task as one-dimensional
potentials in the compilation.
Regarding (b), we provide evidence that informativeness of potential
heuristics can be significantly increased with a small set of conjunctions,
and these improvements have positive impact on the number of solved tasks.
JaxPlan and GurobiPlan: Optimization Baselines for Replanning in Discrete and Mixed Discrete-Continuous Probabilistic Domains
Authors: Gimelfarb Michael , Taitler Ayal , Sanner Scott
Published: May 2024

Replanning methods that determinize a stochastic planning problem and replan at each action step have long been known to provide strong baseline (and even competition winning) solutions to discrete probabilistic planning problems. Recent work has explored the extension of replanning methods to the case of mixed discrete-continuous probabilistic domains by leveraging MILP compilations of the RDDL specification language. Other recent advances in probabilistic planning have explored the compilation of structured mixed discrete-continuous RDDL domains into a determinized computation graph that also lends itself to replanning via so-called planning by backpropagation methods. However, to date, there has not been any comprehensive comparison of these recent optimization-based replanning methodologies to the state-of-the-art winner of the discrete probabilistic IPC 2011 and 2014 and runner-up in 2018 (PROST) and the winner of the mixed discrete-continuous probabilistic IPC 2023 (DiSProd). In this paper, we describe JaxPlan, which makes several extensive upgrades to planning by backpropagation and its compact tensorized compilation from RDDL to a JAX computation graph that uses discrete relaxations and a sample average approximation. We also provide the first detailed overview of a compilation of the RDDL language specification to Gurobi's Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) solver that we term GurobiPlan. We provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of JaxPlan and GurobiPlan with competition winning planners on 19 domains and a total of 155 instances to assess their performance across (a) different domains, (b) different instance sizes, and (c) different time budgets. We also release all code to reproduce the results along with the open-source planners we describe in this work.
Unifying and Certifying Top-Quality Planning
Authors: Katz Michael , Lee Junkyu , Sohrabi Shirin
Published: May 2024

The growing utilization of planning tools in practical scenarios has sparked an interest in generating multiple high-quality plans. Consequently, a range of computational problems under the general umbrella of top-quality planning were introduced over a short time period, each with its own definition.
In this work, we show that the existing definitions can be unified into one, based on a dominance relation. The different computational problems, therefore, simply correspond to different dominance relations.
Given the unified definition, we can now certify the top-quality of the solutions, leveraging existing certification of unsolvability and optimality. We show that task transformations found in the existing literature can be employed for the efficient certification of various top-quality planning problems and propose a novel transformation to efficiently certify loopless top-quality planning.
On the Prospects of Incorporating Large Language Models (LLMs) in Automated Planning and Scheduling (APS)
Authors: Pallagani Vishal , Muppasani Bharath Chandra , Roy Kaushik , Fabiano Francesco , Loreggia Andrea , Murugesan Keerthiram , Srivastava Biplav , Rossi Francesca , Horesh Lior , Sheth Amit
Published: May 2024

Automated Planning and Scheduling is among the growing areas in Artificial Intelligence (AI) where mention of LLMs has gained popularity. Based on a comprehensive review of 126 papers, this paper investigates eight categories based on the unique applications of LLMs in addressing various aspects of planning problems: language translation, plan generation, model construction, multi-agent planning, interactive planning, heuristics optimization, tool integration, and brain-inspired planning. For each category, we articulate the issues considered and existing gaps. A critical insight resulting from our review is that the true potential of LLMs unfolds when they are integrated with traditional symbolic planners, pointing towards a promising neuro-symbolic approach. This approach effectively combines the generative aspects of LLMs with the precision of classical planning methods. By synthesizing insights from existing literature, we underline the potential of this integration to address complex planning challenges. Our goal is to encourage the ICAPS community to recognize the complementary strengths of LLMs and symbolic planners, advocating for a direction in automated planning that leverages these synergistic capabilities to develop more advanced and intelligent planning systems. We aim to keep the categorization of papers updated on https://ai4society.github.io/LLM-Planning-Viz/, a collaborative resource that allows researchers to contribute and add new literature to the categorization.
Transition Landmarks from Abstraction Cuts
Authors: Pommerening Florian , Büchner Clemens , Keller Thomas
Published: May 2024

We introduce transition-counting constraints as a principled tool to formalize constraints that must hold in every solution of a transition system. We then show how to obtain transition landmark constraints from abstraction cuts. Transition landmarks dominate operator landmarks in theory but require solving a linear program that is prohibitively large in practice. We compare different constraints that project away transition-counting variables and then further relax the constraint. For one important special case, we provide a lossless projection. We finally discuss efficient data structures to derive cuts from abstractions and store them in a way that avoids repeated computation in every state. We compare the resulting heuristics both theoretically and on benchmarks from the international planning competition.
Multi-Robot Connected Fermat Spiral Coverage
Authors: Tang Jingtao , Ma Hang
Published: May 2024

We introduce Multi-Robot Connected Fermat Spiral (MCFS), a novel algorithmic framework for Multi-Robot Coverage Path Planning (MCPP) that adapts Coverage Fermat Spiral (CFS) from the computer graphics community to multi-robot coordination for the first time. MCFS uniquely enables the orchestration of multiple robots to generate coverage paths that contour around arbitrarily shaped obstacles, a feature notably lacking in traditional methods. Our framework not only enhances area coverage and optimizes task performance, particularly in terms of makespan, for workspaces rich in irregular obstacles but also addresses the challenges of path continuity and curvature critical for non-holonomic robots by generating smooth paths without decomposing the workspace. MCFS solves MCPP by constructing a graph of isolines and transforming MCPP into a combinatorial optimization problem, aiming to minimize the makespan while covering all vertices. Our contributions include developing a unified CFS version for scalable and adaptable MCPP, extending it to MCPP with novel optimization techniques for cost reduction and path continuity and smoothness, and demonstrating through extensive experiments that MCFS outperforms existing MCPP methods in makespan, path curvature, coverage ratio, and overlapping ratio. Our research marks a significant step in MCPP, showcasing the fusion of computer graphics and automated planning principles to advance the capabilities of multi-robot systems in complex environments. Our code is publicly available at https://github.com/reso1/MCFS.
Efficient Approximate Search for Multi-Objective Multi-Agent Path Finding
Authors: Wang Fangji , Zhang Han , Koenig Sven , Li Jiaoyang
Published: May 2024

The Multi-Objective Multi-Agent Path Finding (MO-MAPF) problem is the problem of computing collision-free paths for a team of agents while minimizing multiple cost metrics. Most existing MO-MAPF algorithms aim to compute the Pareto frontier. However, the Pareto frontier can be time-consuming to compute. Our first main contribution is BB-MO-CBS-pex, an approximate MO-MAPF algorithm that computes an approximate frontier for a user-specific approximation factor. BB-MO-CBS-pex builds upon BB-MO-CBS, a state-of-the-art MO-MAPF algorithm, and leverages A*pex, a state-of-the-art single-agent multi-objective search algorithm, to speed up different parts of BB-MO-CBS. We also provide two speed-up techniques for BB-MO-CBS-pex. Our second main contribution is BB-MO-CBS-k, which builds upon BB-MO-CBS-pex and computes up to k solutions for a user-provided k-value. BB-MO-CBS-k is useful when it is unclear how to determine an appropriate approximation factor. Our experimental results show that both BB-MO-CBS-pex and BB-MO-CBS-k solved significantly more instances than BB-MO-CBS for different approximation factors and k-values, respectively. Additionally, we compare BB-MO-CBS-pex with an approximate baseline algorithm derived from BB-MO-CBS and show that BB-MO-CBS-pex achieved speed-ups up to two orders of magnitude.