bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Complex(ity) Landscape of Checking Infinite Descent
Authors: Cohen Liron , Jabarin Adham , Popescu Andrei , Rowe Reuben N. S.
Published: January 2024

Cyclic proof systems, in which induction is managed implicitly, are a promising approach to automatic
verification. The soundness of cyclic proof graphs is ensured by checking them against a trace-based Infinite Descent property. Although the problem of checking Infinite Descent is known to be PSPACE-complete, this leaves much room for variation in practice. Indeed, a number of different approaches are employed across the various cyclic proof systems described in the literature. In this paper, we study criteria for Infinite Descent in an abstract, logic-independent setting. We look at criteria based on Büchi automata encodings and relational abstractions, and determine their parameterized time complexities in terms of natural dimensions of cyclic proofs: the numbers of vertices of the proof-tree graphs, and the vertex width—an upper bound on the number of components (e.g., formulas) of a sequent that can be simultaneously tracked for descent. We identify novel algorithms that improve upon the parameterised complexity of the existing algorithms. We implement the studied criteria and compare their performance on various benchmarks.
Monotonicity and the Precision of Program Analysis
Authors: Campion Marco , Dalla Preda Mila , Giacobazzi Roberto , Urban Caterina
Published: January 2024

It is widely known that the precision of a program analyzer is closely related to intensional program properties,
namely, properties concerning how the program is written.
This explains, for instance, the interest in code obfuscation techniques, namely, tools
explicitly designed to degrade the results of program analysis by operating syntactic program transformations.
Less is known about a possible relation between what the program extensionally computes,
namely, its input-output relation, and the precision of a program analyzer.
In this paper we explore this potential connection in an effort to isolate program fragments
that can be precisely analyzed by abstract interpretation, namely,
programs for which there exists a complete abstract interpretation.
In the field of static inference of numeric invariants, this happens for programs,
or parts of programs, that manifest a monotone (either non-decreasing or non-increasing) behavior.
We first formalize the notion of program monotonicity with respect to a given input and a set of numerical variables of interest.
A sound proof system is then introduced with judgments specifying whether a
program is monotone relatively to a set of variables and a set of inputs.
The interest in monotonicity is justified because we prove that the family
of monotone programs admits a complete abstract interpretation over
a specific class of non-trivial numerical abstractions and inputs.
This class includes all non-relational abstract domains that refine interval analysis
(i.e., at least as precise as the intervals abstraction) and that satisfy a topological convexity hypothesis.
Algebraic Effects Meet Hoare Logic in Cubical Agda
Authors: Kidney Donnacha Oisín , Yang Zhixuan , Wu Nicolas
Published: January 2024

This paper presents a novel formalisation of algebraic effects with equations in Cubical Agda. Unlike previous work in the literature that employed
setoids
to deal with equations, the library presented here uses quotient types to faithfully encode the type of terms quotiented by laws. Apart from tools for equational reasoning, the library also provides an
effect-generic Hoare logic
for algebraic effects, which enables reasoning about effectful programs in terms of their pre- and post- conditions. A particularly novel aspect is that equational reasoning and Hoare-style reasoning are related by an elimination principle of Hoare logic.
API-Driven Program Synthesis for Testing Static Typing Implementations
Authors: Sotiropoulos Thodoris , Chaliasos Stefanos , Su Zhendong
Published: January 2024

We introduce a novel approach for testing static typing implementations based on the concept of API-driven program synthesis. The idea is to synthesize type-intensive but small and well-typed programs by leveraging and combining application programming interfaces (APIs) derived from existing software libraries. Our primary insight is backed up by real-world evidence: a significant number of compiler typing bugs are caused by small test cases that employ APIs from the standard library of the language under test. This is attributed to the inherent complexity of the majority of these APIs, which often exercise a wide range of sophisticated type-related features. The main contribution of our approach is the ability to produce small client programs with increased feature coverage, without bearing the burden of generating the corresponding well-formed API definitions from scratch. To validate diverse aspects of static typing procedures (i.e., soundness, precision of type inference), we also enrich our API-driven approach with fault-injection and semantics-preserving modes, along with their corresponding test oracles.

We evaluate our implemented tool, Thalia on testing the static typing implementations of the compilers for three popular languages, namely, Scala, Kotlin, and Groovy. Thalia has uncovered 84 typing bugs (77 confirmed and 22 fixed), most of which are triggered by test cases featuring APIs that rely on parametric polymorphism, overloading, and higher-order functions. Our comparison with state-of-the-art shows that Thalia yields test programs with distinct characteristics, offering additional and complementary benefits.
SimuQ: A Framework for Programming Quantum Hamiltonian Simulation with Analog Compilation
Authors: Peng Yuxiang , Young Jacob , Liu Pengyu , Wu Xiaodi
Published: January 2024

Quantum Hamiltonian simulation, which simulates the evolution of quantum systems and probes quantum phenomena, is one of the most promising applications of quantum computing. Recent experimental results suggest that Hamiltonian-oriented analog quantum simulation would be advantageous over circuit-oriented digital quantum simulation in the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) machine era. However, programming analog quantum simulators is much more challenging due to the lack of a unified interface between hardware and software. In this paper, we design and implement SimuQ, the first framework for quantum Hamiltonian simulation that supports Hamiltonian programming and pulse-level compilation to heterogeneous analog quantum simulators. Specifically, in SimuQ, front-end users specify the target quantum system with Hamiltonian Modeling Language, and the Hamiltonian-level programmability of analog quantum simulators is specified through a new abstraction called the abstract analog instruction set (AAIS) and programmed in AAIS Specification Language by hardware providers. Through a solver-based compilation, SimuQ generates executable pulse schedules for real devices to simulate the evolution of desired quantum systems, which is demonstrated on superconducting (IBM), neutral-atom (QuEra), and trapped-ion (IonQ) quantum devices. Moreover, we demonstrate the advantages of exposing the Hamiltonian-level programmability of devices with native operations or interaction-based gates and establish a small benchmark of quantum simulation to evaluate SimuQ's compiler with the above analog quantum simulators.
Flan: An Expressive and Efficient Datalog Compiler for Program Analysis
Authors: Abeysinghe Supun , Xhebraj Anxhelo , Rompf Tiark
Published: January 2024

Datalog has gained prominence in program analysis due to its expressiveness and ease of use. Its generic fixpoint resolution algorithm over relational domains simplifies the expression of many complex analyses. The performance and scalability issues of early Datalog approaches have been addressed by tools such as Soufflé through specialized code generation. Still, while pure Datalog is expressive enough to support a wide range of analyses, there is a growing need for extensions to accommodate increasingly complex analyses. This has led to the development of various extensions, such as Flix, Datafun, and Formulog, which enhance Datalog with features like arbitrary lattices and SMT constraints.

Most of these extensions recognize the need for full interoperability between Datalog and a full-fledged programming language, a functionality that high-performance systems like Soufflé lack. Specifically, in most cases, they construct languages from scratch with first-class Datalog support, allowing greater flexibility. However, this flexibility often comes at the cost of performance due to the conflicting requirements of prioritizing modularity and abstraction over efficiency. Consequently, achieving both flexibility and compilation to highly-performant specialized code poses a significant challenge.

In this work, we reconcile the competing demands of expressiveness and performance with Flan, a Datalog compiler fully embedded in Scala that leverages multi-stage programming to generate specialized code for enhanced performance. Our approach combines the flexibility of Flix with Soufflé’s performance, offering seamless integration with the host language that enables the addition of powerful extensions while generating specialized code for the entire computation. Flan’s simple operator interface allows the addition of an extensive set of features, including arbitrary aggregates, user-defined functions, and lattices, with multiple execution strategies such as binary and multi-way joins, supported by different indexing structures like specialized trees and hash tables, with minimal effort. We evaluate our system on a variety of benchmarks and compare it to established Datalog engines. Our results demonstrate competitive performance and speedups in the range of 1.4× to 12.5× compared to state-of-the-art systems for workloads of practical importance.
Type-Based Gradual Typing Performance Optimization
Authors: Campora John Peter , Khan Mohammad Wahiduzzaman , Chen Sheng
Published: January 2024

Gradual typing has emerged as a popular design point in programming languages, attracting significant interests from both academia and industry. Programmers in gradually typed languages are free to utilize static and dynamic typing as needed. To make such languages sound, runtime checks mediate the boundary of typed and untyped code. Unfortunately, such checks can incur significant runtime overhead on programs that heavily mix static and dynamic typing. To combat this overhead without necessitating changes to the underlying implementations of languages, we present discriminative typing. Discriminative typing works by optimistically inferring types for functions and implementing an optimized version of the function based on this type. To preserve safety it also implements an un-optimized version of the function based purely on the provided annotations. With two versions of each function in hand, discriminative typing translates programs so that the optimized functions are called as frequently as possible while also preserving program behaviors.

We have implemented discriminative typing in Reticulated Python and have evaluated its performance
compared to guarded Reticulated Python. Our results show that discriminative typing improves the performance across 95% of tested programs, when compared to Reticulated, and achieves more than 4× speedup in more than 56% of these programs. We also compare its performance against a previous optimization approach and find that discriminative typing improved performance across 93% of tested programs, with 30% of these programs receiving speedups between 4 to 25 times. Finally, our evaluation shows that discriminative typing remarkably reduces the overhead of gradual typing on many mixed type configurations of programs.

In addition, we have implemented discriminative typing in Grift and evaluated its performance. Our
evaluation demonstrations that DT significantly improves performance of Grift
Parametric Subtyping for Structural Parametric Polymorphism
Authors: DeYoung Henry , Mordido Andreia , Pfenning Frank , Das Ankush
Published: January 2024

We study the interaction of structural subtyping with parametric polymorphism and recursively defined type constructors. Although structural subtyping is undecidable in this setting, we describe a notion of parametricity for type constructors and then exploit it to define
parametric subtyping
, a conceptually simple, decidable, and expressive fragment of structural subtyping that strictly generalizes
rigid subtyping
. We present and prove correct an effective saturation-based decision procedure for parametric subtyping, demonstrating its applicability using a variety of examples. We also provide an implementation of this decision procedure as an artifact.
Inference of Robust Reachability Constraints
Authors: Sellami Yanis , Girol Guillaume , Recoules Frédéric , Couroussé Damien , Bardin Sébastien
Published: January 2024

Characterization of bugs and attack vectors is in many practical scenarios as important as their finding.
Recently, Girol et. al. have introduced the concept of robust reachability, which ensures a perfect reproducibility of the reported violations by distinguishing inputs that are under the control of the attacker (controlled inputs) from those that are not (uncontrolled inputs), and proposed first automated analysis for it.
While it is a step toward distinguishing severe bugs from benign ones, it fails for example to describe violations that are mostly reproducible,
i.e., when triggering conditions are likely to happen, meaning that they happen for all uncontrolled inputs but a few corner cases.
To address this issue, we propose to leverage theory-agnostic abduction techniques to generate constraints on the uncontrolled program inputs
that ensure that a target property is robustly satisfied.
Our proposal comes with an extension of robust reachability that is generic on the type of trace property and on the technology used to verify the properties.
We show that our approach is complete w.r.t its inference language, and we additionally discuss strategies for the efficient exploration of the inference space.
We demonstrate the feasibility of the method and its practical ability to refine the notion of robust reachability with an implementation that uses robust reachability oracles to generate constraints on standard benchmarks from software verification and security analysis.
We illustrate the use of our implementation to a vulnerability characterization problem in the context of fault injection attacks.
Our method overcomes a major limitation of the initial proposal of robust reachability,
without complicating its definition.
From a practical view, this is a step toward new verification tools that are able to characterize program violations through high-level feedback.
Revolutionizing Healthcare: NLP, Deep Learning, and WSN Solutions for Managing the COVID-19 Crisis
Authors: P. Ajay , B. Nagaraj , Kumar R. Arun
Published: January 2024

The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 catalyzed a global socio-economic upheaval, compelling nations to embrace digital technologies as a means of countering economic downturns and ensuring efficient communication systems. This paper delves into the role of Natural Language Processing (NLP) in harnessing wireless connectivity during the pandemic. The examination assesses how wireless networks have affected various facets of crisis management, including virus tracking, optimizing healthcare, facilitating remote education, and enabling unified communications. Additionally, the article underscores the importance of digital inclusion in mitigating disease outbreaks and reconnecting marginalized communities. To address these challenges, a Dual CNN-based BERT model is proposed. BERT model is used to extract the text features, the internal layers of BERT excel at capturing intricate contextual details concerning words and phrases, rendering them highly valuable as features for a wide array of text analysis tasks. The significance of dual CNN is capturing the unique capability to seamlessly integrate both character-level and word-level information. This fusion of insights from different levels of textual analysis proves especially valuable in handling text data that is noisy, complex, or presents challenges related to misspellings and domain-specific terminology. The proposed model is evaluated using the simulated WSN-based text data for crisis management.
The RESET Technique for Multiserver-Job Analysis
Authors: Grosof Isaac
Published: January 2024

Multiserver queueing theory emphasizes one-server-per-job models, such as the M/G/k. Such models were popular for decades in the study of computing systems. However, oneserver- per-job models no longer reflect the behavior of many modern computing systems.
Zephyr: A Cost-Effective, Zero-Knowledge Light Client for Enhanced Blockchain Interoperability
Authors: He Xiangan
Published: January 2024

Blockchains are siloed by nature. A longtime limitation of blockchain technology is that individual cryptocurrencies are bound to their own chains. Users and applications need to transfer arbitrary data and funds across blockchains. At its peak in 2021, cross-chain bridges custody over 20B in various cryptocurrencies, serving users' needs to engage in DeFi, gaming, etc. Plagued by a lack of ability to do so in a decentralized way, applications force its users to rely on centralized exchanges to achieve cross-blockchain interoperability. User flow thus becomes significantly more complicated, and developers are prevented from defining and building applications that are uniquely enabled by on-chain bridges. Furthermore due to hacks of over 2B, a loss of faith in natively on-chain solutions force users to look to off-chain solutions like Coinbase.
Adaptivity, Structure, and Objectives in Sequential Decision-Making
Authors: Sinclair Sean R.
Published: January 2024

Sequential decision-making algorithms are ubiquitous in the design and optimization of large-scale systems due to their practical impact. The typical algorithmic paradigm ignores the sequential notion of these problems: use a historical dataset to predict future uncertainty and solve the resulting offline planning problem.
Information Freshness for Monitoring and Control over Wireless Networks
Authors: Tripathi Vishrant
Published: January 2024

Brief Biography: Vishrant Tripathi obtained his PhD from the EECS department at MIT, working with Prof. Modiano at the Lab for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS). He is currently working on building efficient data center networks at Google. His research interests primarily lie in the optimization of resources in resource constrained networked systems. The main applications of his work are in multi-agent robotics, federated learning, edge computing, cloud infrastructure, and monitoring for IoT. More recently, he has also been working on software defined networking and next-generation wireless networks. In 2022, he won the Best Paper Runner Up Award at ACM MobiHoc.
Learning-enabled Networked Systems
Authors: Zuo Jinhang
Published: January 2024

Brief Biography: Jinhang Zuo is a joint postdoc at UMass Amherst and Caltech. He received his Ph.D. in ECE from CMU in 2022. His main research interests include online learning, resource allocation, and networked systems. He is the recipient of the CDS Postdoctoral Fellowship from UMass Amherst, SIGMETRICS 2022 Best Poster Award, AAAI-20 Student Scholarship, and Carnegie Institute of Technology Dean's Fellowship.
Analysis of Melting Dynamics and Parametric Optimization in Encapsulated Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage
Authors: Sharif Safwan , Walvekar Rashmi , Khalid Mohammad , Vaka Mahesh , Mubarak Nabisab Mujawar
Published: January 2024

Phase change materials (PCMs) effectively store thermal energy via latent heat absorption/release during solid-liquid phase transitions. Salt hydrates and paraffin waxes melting within 30 °C–75 °C are suited for low-temperature applications. However, inherent challenges include poor thermal conductivity and material leakage needing encapsulation. Here, we employ computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to systematically elucidate design parameters optimizing the performance of encapsulated PCM thermal energy storage (TES) systems. Spherical capsules containing paraffin wax or salt hydrate PCMs were modeled under varied encapsulation radii (16–58 mm) and shell thicknesses (18–72 mm) using stainless steel. Increasing radius exponentially extended melting times due to declining surface area-to-volume ratios, indicating smaller subdivided capsules accelerate heat transfer. An optimum 54–55 mm thickness maximized efficiency before reductions from lessened surface effects. Salt hydrate doubled the volumetric storage density to 9.032 $/kWh versus paraffin, highlighting the importance of suitable PCM selection. Through elucidating size, containment and material impacts, these CFD analyses provide valuable insights guiding encapsulated TES system optimization for sustainable thermal management applications.
Chitosan and Ferrite Nanoparticles Modified Zeolite (ZSM‐5) as Adsorbent for the Removal of Acid Red Dye from Water
Authors: Alzahrani Hanan K. , Katowah Dina F.
Published: January 2024

The present study involved the synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites (NCs) consisting of MgFe2O4‐chitosan‐ZSM‐5 zeolite (MgF‐Cs‐Ze), NiFe2O4‐chitosan‐ZSM‐5 zeolite (NiF‐Cs‐Ze), and MgFe2O4@ NiFe2O4‐chitosan‐ZSM‐5 zeolite (MgF@NiF‐Cs‐Ze). These NCs were investigated for their potential application as effective adsorbents in various environmental contexts. In order to investigate the composition and physical properties of the NCs, XRD, FT‐IR, SEM‐EDX, and TEM techniques were utilized. The present study is aimed at evaluating acid red (AR) dye adsorption behavior from aqueous solutions onto MgF‐CS‐Ze and NiF‐CS‐Ze NCs under different experimental circumstances. The study revealed that the NCs MgF‐CS‐Ze and NiF‐CS‐Ze exhibited maximum capacity for adsorption of 55.55 mg g-1 and 41.66 mg g-1, respectively, in that regard when tested with AR dye. These findings underscore the significant adsorption capabilities of these NCs. Examining the adsorption kinetics revealed that AR dye adsorption process followed the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model. Resulting from thermodynamic studies, it was discovered that the adsorption of AR dye onto MgF‐CS‐Ze and NiF‐CS‐Ze NC process was an exothermic and spontaneous.
Quadratus Lumborum Block versus Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block for Acetabular Fracture Surgery by Stoppa Method: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Noninferiority Trial
Authors: Mirkheshti Alireza , Hashemian Morteza , Abtahi Dariush , Shayegh Sara , Manafi-Rasi Alireza , Sayadi Shahram , Memary Elham , Karami Nazli , Rostamian Baharak , Shakeri Alireza
Published: January 2024

Background. Acetabular fracture surgeries are frequently accompanied by protracted and severe perioperative pain, and there is no consensus on optimal pain relief management. Aim. This study aimed at comparing the analgesic efficacy of fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) and quadratus lumborum block (QLB) in patients with acetabular fractures undergoing surgery using the Stoppa method. Methods. In this double-blind, randomized, noninferiority clinical trial, adult patients undergoing spinal anesthesia for acetabular fracture surgery, in Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran (IRCT20191114045435N1), were randomly divided into two groups: FICB (n = 22) and QLB (n = 24). The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain intensity at different times for all participants. In addition, the dose of fentanyl required to induce the patient to sit for spinal anesthesia and the pain intensity were evaluated. Moreover, the duration of analgesia and the total amount of morphine consumed in the first 24 h following surgery were evaluated, analyzed, and compared between the two study groups. Results. FICB and QLB demonstrated effective comparative postoperative analgesic profiles following acetabular fracture surgery; however, no significant differences in VAS values were observed between the two groups during the study. FICB experienced reduced cumulative fentanyl consumption during spinal anesthetic placement, whereas QLB had a significantly lower total morphine demand in the initial postoperative 24 h period. Conclusion. The lateral QLB and FICB can be introduced as effective routes for analgesia in acetabular fracture surgery using the Stoppa method. Clinical Trial Registration. The study was prospectively registered in the clinical trials registry system, on 2021-02-17, with registration number: IRCT20191114045435N1.
Problem Involving the Riemann–Liouville Derivative and Implicit Variable-Order Nonlinear Fractional Differential Equations
Authors: Bouazza Zoubida , Souid Mohammed Said , Günerhan Hatıra , Shokri Ali
Published: January 2024

The problem of boundary values for implicit differential equations with nonlinear fractions involving the variable order and the Riemann–Liouville derivative is examined in this article along with its existence and stability. Specifically, the locally solvability, which is equivalent to the existence of solutions, is related to the symmetry of a transformation of a nonlinear equations system. To demonstrate the reliability of the found results, we design an example.
Boosting LiMn2O4 Diffusion Coefficients and Stability via Fe/Mg Doping and MWCNT Synergistically Modulating Microstructure
Authors: Ross Natasha , Willenberg Shane , Juqu Thando , Carleschi Emanuela , Doyle Bryan P.
Published: January 2024

The dissolution of manganese and its deposition on the anode surface cause poor cycling stability in lithium-ion batteries. To alleviate these issues, this study probes the electrochemical activity of highly crystalline and cation-adjusted lithium manganese oxide (LMO) carbon spinel composite obtained via a modified sol-gel synthesis procedure. The pristine LMO cathode was functionalized with a Fe and Mg alloy and fused with purified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to form a catalytically stabilized LiMn1.98Fe0.01Mg0.01O4/MWCNT (LMO-FeMg/MWCNT) framework. High-resolution SEM analysis showed well-dispersed particles in the nanometer size range. The electrochemical characteristics of the novel composite materials yielded favourable electrochemical results with diffusion coefficients of 1.91 × 10−9 cm2·s−1 and 5.83 × 10−10 cm2·s−1 for LMO-FeMg and LMO-FeMg/MWCNT, respectively. This improvement was supported by impedance studies which showed a considerable Rct reduction of 0.27 Ω and 0.71 Ω. The cation stabilized system outperformed the pristine LMO material with specific capacities around 145 mAh·g−1, due to an enhancement in electrochemical activity and structural stability.
Clinical Features and Biomarkers for Early Prediction of Refractory Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia in Children
Authors: Chen Qin , Hu Tingting , Wu Ling , Chen Lumin
Published: January 2024

Summary of Background Data.With the increasing incidence and mortality of refractory mycoplasma pneumonia (RMPP), the early diagnosis and treatment of RMPP have attracted more and more attention and have become a major concern in pediatrics. Objective. The study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of children with RMPP and to explore the biomarkers for the early prediction of RMPP, thus providing references for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of RMPP in children. Methods. Baseline clinical characteristics, clinical symptoms, physical examination, chest imaging, and laboratory indicators between children with RMPP and general refractory mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (GMPP) were compared. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent risk factors for RMPP. ROC curves were adopted to analyze the predictive values of biomarkers. Results. The RMPP group had more severe clinical symptoms and manifestations on imaging (including pleural effusion, pulmonary consolidation, and pulmonary atelectasis), a higher incidence of extrapulmonary complications, and a longer duration of hospital stays. Results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that serum D-dimer (OR = 8.169, P<0.001), C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR = 1.146, P<0.001), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (OR = 1.025, P<0.001) levels were independent risk factors for RMPP. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) in RMPP prediction was 0.841, 0.870, and 0.893 for serum levels of D-dimer, CRP, and LDH, respectively (P<0.001), with a cutoff value of 1.47 ng/ml, 39.34 mg/L, and 379 IU/L, respectively. Conclusions. Serum D-dimer, CRP, and LDH levels were related to the severity of mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children and had potential as biomarkers for the early prediction of RMPP, suggesting great applicative values for the early diagnosis and timely intervention of children with RMPP in clinical practice.
Design of PMSM Dual-Loop Control Systems Integrating LADRC and PI Controllers via an Improved PSO Algorithm
Authors: Song Baoye , Wang Ruoyu , Xu Lin
Published: January 2024

This paper is concerned with the design of a dual-loop control system for permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). An improved linear extended state observer (LESO) with excellent estimation capability is employed to develop an improved linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC) suitable for PMSM speed regulation, achieving outstanding disturbance suppression in PMSM speed control. The use of an internal model control scheme to initialize the parameters of the proportional-integral- (PI-) based current controller simplifies the search space of the control system parameter optimization. An improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is applied to optimize the controller parameters, thereby enhancing the overall system performance. Finally, through a series of simulations and experiments, we validate that our proposed controller exhibits superior performance compared to some other control methods.
Supplementary Table S2 from Landscape of Clinical Resistance Mechanisms to FGFR Inhibitors in FGFR2-Altered Cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Wu Qibiao , Ellis Haley , Siravegna Giulia , Michel Alexa G. , Norden Bryanna L. , Fece de la Cruz Ferran , Balasooriya Eranga Roshan , Zhen Yuanli , Silveira Vanessa S. , Che Jianwe , Corcoran Ryan B. , Bardeesy Nabeel
Published: January 2024

Supplementary Table S2. Representativeness of study.
Data from Analysis of Tumor Microenvironment Changes after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy with or without Bevacizumab in Advanced Ovarian Cancer (GEICO-89T/MINOVA Study)
Authors: Tavira Beatriz , Iscar Teresa , Manso Luis , Santaballa Ana , Gil-Martin Marta , García García Yolanda , Romeo Margarita , Iglesias Maria , de Juan Ferré Ana , Barretina-Ginesta María Pilar , Manzano Aranzazu , Gaba Lydia , Rubio María Jesús , de Andrea Carlos E. , González-Martín Antonio
Published: January 2024

AbstractPurpose:
The aim of our study was to elucidate the impact of bevacizumab added to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on the tumor immune microenvironment and correlate the changes with the clinical outcome of the patients.
Experimental Design:
IHC and multiplex immunofluorescence for lymphoid and myeloid lineage markers were performed in matched tumor samples from 23 patients with ovarian cancer enrolled in GEICO 1205/NOVA clinical study before NACT and at the time of interval cytoreductive surgery.
Results:
Our results showed that the addition of bevacizumab to NACT plays a role mainly on lymphoid populations at the stromal compartment, detecting a significant decrease of CD4+ T cells, an increase of CD8+ T cells, and an upregulation in effector/regulatory cell ratio (CD8+/CD4+FOXP3+). None of the changes observed were detected in the intra-epithelial site in any arm (NACT or NACT-bevacizumab). No differences were found in myeloid lineage (macrophage-like). The percentage of Treg populations and effector/regulatory cell ratio in the stroma were the only two variables significantly associated with progression-free survival (PFS).
Conclusions:
The addition of bevacizumab to NACT did not have an impact on PFS in the GEICO 1205 study. However, at the cellular level, changes in CD4+, CD8+ lymphocyte populations, and CD8+/CD4+FOXP3 ratio have been detected only at the stromal site. On the basis of our results, we hypothesize about the existence of mechanisms of resistance that could prevent the trafficking of T-effector cells into the epithelial component of the tumor as a potential explanation for the lack of efficacy of ICI in the first-line treatment of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

See related commentary by Soberanis Pina and Oza, p. 12
Atypical and Typical Presentation of Erythema Nodosum: Clinical Differences in Treatment and Outcome
Authors: Meienberger Nina , Maul Julia-Tatjana , Fröhlich Fabienne , Maul Lara Valeska , Kündig Thomas , Nordmann Thierry , Anzengruber Florian
Published: January 2024

Introduction: Erythema nodosum (EN) is the most common form of panniculitis that predominantly affects the shins. While EN in atypical sites has been described by many authors, there are currently only case studies published on this topic. This study aimed to evaluate clinical differences between patients suffering from EN on the shins, compared to patients with EN in atypical locations. Methods: We analyzed 105 patients in a retrospective, single-center study at a university hospital in Switzerland. Typical EN was defined as lesions, found only on the lower legs, while atypical EN as lesions on the upper legs, trunk, arms, or face, only or in addition to lesions on the lower legs. The patients were assessed for age, gender, dermatologic history, time until first medical consultation, time to diagnosis, and time until remission. Further, etiology, symptoms, and applied therapies were investigated. Findings were then compared between the typical and atypical EN cohorts. Results: Overall, we included 70 patients (37.99 ± 15.67 [3–81] years) with EN solely on the shins and 35 patients (41.27 ± 16.85 [9–76] years) with EN on other locations. Interestingly, time until diagnosis was significantly shorter in atypical EN (p = 0.034, 1.14 ± 4.68 vs. 0.46 ± 1.14 months). Time to remission was similar in both groups (3.61 ± 2.73 vs. 3.05 ± 2.86 months, respectively). Sarcoidosis was the only etiologic factor significantly more frequent in atypical EN compared to typical EN (23% vs. 9%, p = 0.042). Besides that, solely subtle differences were seen regarding etiology, gender, age at onset, course of the disease, and symptoms. Conclusions: Our study suggests that only minor alterations between both study populations exist. Significant differences were found in time to diagnosis (shorter for atypical EN), as well as in sarcoidosis as an etiologic factor (more frequent in atypical EN). While adalimumab was only prescribed in atypical EN cases, prognosis seems to be similar for typical and atypical EN (similar time to remission, similar amount of reoccurring cases). Due to the limited sample size, however, our study population may have been too small to detect the relevant differences, and bigger studies may be needed.
Late Presentation of Pseudophakic Macula Edema from Oral Kinase Inhibitors: A Case Series and Literature Review
Authors: Raj Christolyn , Levitz Lewis
Published: January 2024

Introduction: Two cases of late presentation (>5 years) of bilateral pseudophakic macula edema related to oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors are described. These cases are the first of their type in the published literature. A review of ocular inflammatory complications of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the current literature is explored. Case Presentation: Case 1 is an 83-year-old female who has been stable on ibrutinib (Imbruvica®) for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She presented with bilateral blurred vision from severe cystoid macula edema, 7 years following routine cataract surgery. She was treated with intravitreal steroids with complete resolution without relapse. Case 2 is a 76-year-old female who was on therapy for polycythemia vera with ruxolitinib (Jakafi®). She presented with bilateral blurred vision from mild cystoid macula edema, 6 years following routine cataract surgery. She responded well to topical steroids without relapse. In both cases, oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor agents were presumed to be the underlying cause and were ceased. Over the last 5 years, there have been increasing reports in the literature of the inflammatory effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on the retina, uvea, and optic nerve. Conclusion: Late presentation of pseudophakic macula edema following routine cataract surgery is rare. Such presentations should prompt investigation of chronic use of systemic medications, especially oral kinase inhibitors. Patients who must remain on these agents require ongoing ophthalmologic assessment in view of their long-term inflammatory side effects.
Kidney Injury by Unilateral Ureteral Obstruction in Mice Lacks Sex Differences
Authors: Goorani Samaneh , Khan Abdul Hye , Mishra Abhishek , El-Meanawy Ashraf , Imig John D.
Published: January 2024

Introduction: Renal fibrosis is a critical event in the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and it is considered the final common pathway for all types of CKD. The prevalence of CKD is higher in females; however, males have a greater prevalence of end-stage renal disease. In addition, low birth weight and low nephron number are associated with increased risk for CKD. This study examined the development and severity of unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO)-induced renal fibrosis in male and female wild-type (ROP +/+) and mutant (ROP Os/+) mice, a mouse model of low nephron number. Methods: Male and female ROP +/+ and ROP Os/+ mice were subjected to UUO, and kidney tissue was collected at the end of the 10-day experimental period. Kidney histological analysis and mRNA expression determined renal fibrosis, tubular injury, collagen deposition, extracellular matrix proteins, and immune cell infiltration. Results: Male and female UUO mice demonstrated marked renal injury, kidney fibrosis, and renal extracellular matrix production. Renal fibrosis and α-smooth muscle actin were increased to a similar degree in ROP +/+ and ROP Os/+ mice with UUO of either sex. There were also no sex differences in renal tubular cast formation or renal infiltration of macrophage in ROP +/+ and ROP Os/+ UUO mice. Interestingly, renal fibrosis and α-smooth muscle actin were 1.5–3-fold greater in UUO-ROP +/+ compared to UUO-ROP Os/+ mice. Renal inflammation phenotypes following UUO were also 30–45% greater in ROP +/+ compared to ROP Os/+ mice. Likewise, expression of extracellular matrix and renal fibrotic genes was greater in UUO-ROP +/+ mice compared to UUO-ROP Os/+ mice. In contrast to these findings, ROP Os/+ mice with UUO demonstrated glomerular hypertrophy with 50% greater glomerular tuft area compared to ROP +/+ with UUO. Glomerular hypertrophy was not sex-dependent in any of the genotypes of ROP mice. These findings provide evidence that low nephron number contributes to UUO-induced glomerular hypertrophy in ROP Os/+ mice but does not enhance renal fibrosis, inflammation, and renal tubular injury. Conclusion: Taken together, we demonstrate that low nephron number contributes to enhanced glomerular hypertrophy but not kidney fibrosis and tubular injury. We also demonstrate that none of the changes caused by UUO was affected by sex in any of the ROP mice genotypes.
Prognostic Factors in Children with Acute Kidney Injury Requiring Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy
Authors: Ding Jhao-Jhuang , Hsia Shao-Hsuan , Jaing Tang-Her , Huang Jing-Long , Lin Jainn-Jim , Chen Shih-Hsiang , Lin Shih-Hua , Tseng Min-Hua
Published: January 2024

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate prognostic factors and outcomes in a single-center PICU cohort that received continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). Methods: This retrospective study analyzed clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and outcomes. Ninety-day mortality and advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) (eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2) were defined as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Results: Seventy-five patients were enrolled, all of whom received CRRT for indications including acute kidney injury with complicated refractory metabolic acidosis, electrolyte derangement, and existed or impending fluid overload. The 90-day mortality and advanced CKD were 53% and 29%, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that only underlying bone marrow transplantation (BMT) (HR 4.58; 95% CI: 2.04–10.27) and a high pSOFA score (HR 1.12; 95% CI: 1.01–1.23) were independent risk factors for 90-day mortality. Among survivors, ten developed advanced CKD on the 90th day, and this group had a higher serum fibrinogen level (OR 1.01; 95% CI: 1.01–1.03) at the start of CRRT. Conclusion: In critically ill children with AKI requiring CRRT, post-BMT and high pSOFA scores are independent risk factors for 90-day mortality. Additionally, a high serum fibrinogen level at the initiation of CRRT is associated with the development of advanced CKD.
Development and Effect of a Coordinated Community Health Worker Intervention Model for the Stroke Survivors in Kerala, South India
Authors: Sylaja P.N. , Babu Veena , Sivasambath S. , Zechariah Feba , Gireeshan Sivalekshmi , Ganesan Geethu , Soman Biju , Singh Gurpreet , Panniyamakal Jeemon , Gopal Bipin
Published: January 2024

Introduction: Structured models for secondary prevention of stroke in community settings are scarce. We aimed to develop and evaluate a model for improving medication adherence and enhanced risk factor monitoring. Methods: We developed a multimodal coordinated community health worker (CHW) intervention (C-CHW-I) model for stroke survivors. Following training, all patients received a minimum of three CHW home visits, and once in 3-month telephone call and health education for 6 months by CHWs. Seven blocks from 16 blocks of the study area were randomised to additionally receive an SMS alert for 6 months to reinforce CHW involvement. The primary outcomes were medication adherence and risk factor monitoring, and the secondary outcome was risk factor control. Results: The mean age of the study population was 64 ± 12 years, 765 (85%) had ischaemic stroke. In the overall study cohort receiving the CHW intervention, mean medication adherence significantly improved from 3.56 (0.88) at baseline to 3.78 (0.61) at 6 months; p < 0.001. Overall risk factor monitoring improved from 42.7% to 49.7%, and mean (standard deviation) systolic blood pressure (SBP) significantly reduced from 138 (21) mm Hg to 132 (15) mm Hg at 6 months; p < 0.001. In patients additionally receiving SMS-based intervention, a statistically significant improvement in medication adherence was seen at 3 months (3.76 + 0.64 vs. 3.61 + 0.81; p = 0.008); however, no difference persisted at 6 months. The proportion of smokers and alcohol users reduced in both groups with a trend to greater reduction in the intervention group (smokers: 5.9% vs. 2.8% [p = 0.446] and alcohol users: 1.6% vs. 1.4% [p = 0.474]). At 6 months, the SBP did not differ (SBP 132.1 (16.2) in the SMS group vs. 133.2 (15.8) mm Hg in the control group, p = 0.409). Conclusion: Our model improved medication adherence and risk factor monitoring of stroke survivors in community settings, and this can reduce stroke burden in the community.
Helpful to Live Healthier? Intermittent Hypoxic/Ischemic Training Benefits Vascular Homeostasis and Lipid Metabolism with Activating SIRT1 Pathways in Overweight/Obese Individuals
Authors: Jiao Xueqiao , Liu Moqi , Li Rui , Li Jialu , Wang Lu , Niu Guowei , Wang Liming , Ji Xunming , Lv Chunmei , Guo Xiuhai
Published: January 2024

Introduction: The present study aimed to investigate whether and how normobaric intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) or remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) plus normoxic training (RNT) has a synergistic protective effect on lipid metabolism and vascular function compared with normoxic training (NT) in overweight or obese adults. Methods: A total of 37 overweight or obese adults (36.03 ± 10.48 years) were randomly assigned to 3 groups: NT group (exercise intervention in normoxia), IHT group (exercise intervention in normobaric hypoxic chamber), and RNT group (exercise intervention in normoxia + RIPC twice daily). All participants carried out the same 1-h exercise intervention for a total of 4 weeks, 5 days per week. Physical fitness parameters were evaluated at pre- and postexercise intervention. Results: After training, all three groups had a significantly decreased body mass index (p < 0.05). The IHT group had reduced body fat percentage, visceral fat mass (p < 0.05), blood pressure (p < 0.01), left ankle-brachial index (ABI), maximal heart rate (HRmax) (p < 0.05), expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) (p < 0.01) and increased expression of SIRT1 (p < 0.05), VEGF (p < 0.01). The RNT group had lowered waist-to-hip ratio, visceral fat mass, blood pressure (p < 0.05), and HRmax (p < 0.01). Conclusion: IHT could effectively reduce visceral fat mass and improve vascular elasticity in overweight or obese individuals than pure NT with the activation of SIRT1-related pathways. And RNT also produced similar benefits on body composition and vascular function, which were weaker than those of IHT but stronger than NT. Given the convenience and economy of RNT, both intermittent hypoxic and ischemic training have the potential to be successful health promotion strategies for the overweight/obese population.
Intravenous Thrombolysis in Patients 90 Years or Older with Moderate to Severe Acute Ischemic Stroke Increases Ambulation at Discharge and Is Safe: A Prospective Cohort Study from a Single Center in Santiago, Chile
Authors: González Pablo E. , Lavados Pablo M. , Aguirre André I. , Brunser Alejandro M. , Olavarría Verónica V.
Published: January 2024

Introduction: The World Health Organization predicts that the global population aged 60 years and older will double by 2050, leading to a significant rise in the public health impact of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Existing stroke guidelines do not specify an upper age limit for the administration of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), although some suggest a relative exclusion criterion in patients aged ≥80 in the 3–4.5-h window. Many physicians avoid treating these patients with IVT, argumenting high risk and little benefit. Our aim was to investigate the efficacy and safety of IVT treatment in patients with non-minor AIS aged ≥90, admitted to our institution. The primary efficacy endpoint was the ability to walk at discharge (mRS 0–3), and the primary safety endpoints were death and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhagic transformation (sIHT) at discharge. Methods: Patients with AIS aged ≥90 admitted to our center from January 2003 to December 2022 were included. They were selected if had an NIHSS ≥5, were previously ambulatory (prestroke mRS score 3 or less), and arrived within 6 h from symptom onset. Those treated or not with IVT were compared with univariate analysis. Results: The mean age was 93.2 (2.4) years, and 51 (73.9%) were female. The admission mRS and NIHSS were 1 (IQR 0–2) and 14 (IQR 7–22), respectively. Thrombolyzed patients had a shorter time from symptom onset to door and lower glycemia on admission. IVT was associated with a higher proportion of patients achieving mRS 0–3 at discharge (p = 0.03) and at 90 days (p = 0.04). There were no differences between groups in the risk of death (p = 0.55) or sIHT (p = 0.38). Conclusion: In this small sample, ambulatory patients aged ≥90 with moderate or severe AIS treated with IVT had increased odds of being able to walk independently at discharge than those not treated, without safety concerns.