bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On fault-tolerant metric dimension of supramolecular networks
Authors: Siddiqui Hafiz Muhammad Afzal , Mazhar Khadija , Siddiqui Muhammad Kamran , Nadeem Muhammad Faisal
Published: January 2024

The idea of a fault-tolerant metric dimension can be used in chemistry to examine a molecule’s structural resistance to the failure of particular atoms or chemical bonds. This is especially important when creating molecules for specific uses, like drug candidates, as they may be exposed to biological systems or the environment, which could cause certain atoms or bonds to change or break. One such is the dialkyltin complex, which has two alkyl groups joined to a tin atom. The nitrogen atom of an N-salicylidene-L-valine molecule is coupled to the alkyl groups in the dialkyltin complex-1 of N-salicylidene-L-valine, making it a useful catalyst for numerous processes in organic synthesis. The purpose of this study is to identify the fault-tolerant metric dimension of the chain in N-salicylidene-L-valine dialkyltin complex-3.
Do Economic Policy Uncertainty, Climate Policy Uncertainty, and Financial Globalization Uncertainty Co-Move with Oil Market Fear? A Frequency Domain Analysis
Authors: Farouq Ibrahim , Sulong Zunaidah
Published: January 2024

Using a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag and frequency domain analysis, this paper examines the impact of various uncertainty indicators on oil market fear (OMF) in Nigeria, from 1997M1–2020M3. The results show that economic policy uncertainty (EPU), climate policy uncertainty (CPU), and financial globalization uncertainty (FGU) have perverse effects on the OMF. We observed that a bi-directional causal relationship between EPU and the OMF exists temporarily. A unidirectional causal effect exists from CPU to OMF. We further show a bi-directional causal relationship between OMF and FGU. Policy recommendations are discussed accordingly.
Microstructure of Nd:YAG transparent dielectric ceramics with ultra-high-quality factor
Authors: Li Xiao , Yin Jun , Yu Shengquan , Zhang Xi , Lai Yuanming
Published: January 2024

In this work, solid-state reaction method and a two-step sintering procedure were successfully used to prepare neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) transparent dielectric ceramics. The effects of the microstructure and crystal structure of the ceramics on the microwave dielectric properties were investigated. Samples after vacuum sintered at 1600–1750∘C and further hot isostatic pressing (HIP) at 1700∘C had a pure YAG phase. The cell volume increased slightly after further HIP treatment compared to the vacuum-sintered ceramics. Combined with the disordered arrangement of the atoms in the HRTEM image, the lattice expansion could be explained by the entrance of larger ions into the YAG lattice. Moreover, the sintering drive provided by HIP could effectively eliminate the porosity in ceramics, increase the average grain size, and narrow the grain boundaries, which was conducive to the improvement of transmittance and quality factor (Qf) value. Finally, the sample that was vacuum sintered at 1700∘C and then exposed to HIP had outstanding microwave dielectric characteristics: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]GHz and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]ppm/∘C.
Optimization of IOTA Tangle Cumulative Weight Calculation Using Depth-First and Iterative Deepening Search Algorithms
Authors: Ferenczi Andras , Bădică Costin
Published: January 2024

The IOTA Tangle, a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)-based distributed ledger, is popular for its scalability and suitability for IoT applications, offering fee-less transactions. A critical component of IOTA’s architecture is the Cumulative Weight Calculation (CWC), essential for its tip selection mechanism. This paper introduces an optimization of the IOTA Reference Implementation (IRI) CWC process originally implemented using Breadth-First Search (BFS) by employing Depth-First Search (DFS) and Iterative Deepening Search (IDS) algorithms. We present a comparative analysis of these methods, demonstrating that DFS and IDS provide significant improvements in computational efficiency, particularly beneficial for IoT devices with limited processing capabilities. Our findings are substantiated through a series of experiments on a Tangle snapshot, highlighting the enhanced performance and reduced resource utilization of the proposed methods. This study contributes to the ongoing development of DAG-based distributed ledgers, offering insights into more efficient algorithmic solutions for large-scale, decentralized networks.
Assessment of Mars Analog Habitation Plans Using Network Analysis Methodologies
Authors: Dede Gökhan
Published: January 2024

Space institutions place humans in analog environments that closely match the target environment, such as the Moon or Mars, to study space habitation. Seven Mars analog missions consisting of habitation units with published designs were selected for analysis using graph data science methodologies to provide insight into how their designers solved the challenge of living in an isolated, constrained, and distant environment. Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Label Propagation Approach (LPA) are utilized to examine the relationships between adjacent functional areas of habitations. The paper presents the final documentation that will be used as a design framework to generate layouts for a habitation project.
Constraining reducing conditions in the Prague Basin during the late Silurian Lau/Kozlowskii extinction event
Authors: Allman Lindsi J. , Bowman Chelsie N. , Frýda Jiří , Kozik Nevin P. , Owens Jeremy D. , Young Seth A.
Published: January 2024

The Silurian was marked by repeated extinctions, carbon cycle volatility and significant intervals of climatic change. The most notable of these events were the Ludfordian Lau/Kozlowskii extinction and the associated Mid-Ludfordian Lau C isotope excursion, both of which have been linked to a period of global cooling and expanded reducing conditions in the global ocean. We present new data that characterize the marine palaeoredox conditions of the Prague Basin, a peri-Gondwanan terrane. We use I/Ca ratios to assess the local redox conditions in a shallow water carbonate succession and Fe speciation and redox-sensitive trace element concentrations to assess the local redox conditions of a deeper water sequence. Consistently low I/Ca values in the shallow water section suggest either persistent local low-oxygen conditions or possibly diagenetic overprinting. Fe speciation data suggest that the bottom water redox conditions in the deeper shelf setting were consistently anoxic with possible intermittent euxinia. Concentrations of redox-sensitive trace elements consistently higher than upper continental crust values also indicate persistent reducing conditions in the deeper part of the basin. These local redox proxy data from the Prague Basin, including trends in new pyrite S isotope (

δ

34
S
pyr
) data, are consistent with previous findings of the expansion of anoxic and/or euxinic oceanic conditions. These data, derived from a mid-palaeolatitude marine setting, fill an important gap in our current global dataset for this interval of the late Silurian.

Supplementary material:
All the geochemical data reported and discussed herein are available in the Supplemental Data Tables at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7008107

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Chemical Evolution of the Mid-Paleozoic Earth System and Biotic Response collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/chemical-evolution-of-the-mid-paleozoic-earth-system
Internal and Observational Parametricity for Cubical Agda
Authors: Van Muylder Antoine , Nuyts Andreas , Devriese Dominique
Published: January 2024

Two approaches exist to incorporate parametricity into proof assistants based on dependent type theory. On the one hand, parametricity translations conveniently compute parametricity statements and their proofs solely based on individual well-typed polymorphic programs. But they do not offer internal parametricity: formal proofs that any polymorphic program of a certain type satisfies its parametricity statement. On the other hand, internally parametric type theories augment plain type theory with additional primitives out of which internal parametricity can be derived. But those type theories lack mature proof assistant implementations and deriving parametricity in them involves low-level intractable proofs. In this paper, we contribute Agda --bridges: the first practical internally parametric proof assistant. We provide the first mechanized proofs of crucial theorems for internal parametricity, like the relativity theorem. We identify a high-level sufficient condition for proving internal parametricity which we call the structure relatedness principle (SRP) by analogy with the structure identity principle (SIP) of HoTT/UF. We state and prove a general parametricity theorem for types that satisfy the SRP. Our parametricity theorem lets us obtain one-liner proofs of standard internal free theorems. We observe that the SRP is harder to prove than the SIP and provide in Agda --bridges a shallowly embedded type theory to compose types that satisfy the SRP. This type theory is an observational type theory of logical relations and our parametricity theorem ought to be one of its inference rules.
Enriched Presheaf Model of Quantum FPC
Authors: Tsukada Takeshi , Asada Kazuyuki
Published: January 2024

Selinger gave a superoperator model of a first-order quantum programming language and proved that it is fully definable and hence fully abstract. This paper proposes an extension of the superoperator model to higher-order programs based on modules over superoperators or, equivalently, enriched presheaves over the category of superoperators. The enriched presheaf category can be easily proved to be a model of intuitionistic linear logic with cofree exponential, from which one can cave out a model of classical linear logic by a kind of bi-orthogonality construction. Although the structures of an enriched presheaf category are usually rather complex, a morphism in the classical model can be expressed simply as a matrix of completely positive maps. The model inherits many desirable properties from the superoperator model. A conceptually interesting property is that our model has only a state whose “total probability” is bounded by 1, i.e. ‍does not have a state where true and false each occur with probability 2/3. Another convenient property inherited from the superoperator model is a ωCPO-enrichment. Remarkably, our model has a sufficient structure to interpret arbitrary recursive types by the standard domain theoretic technique. We introduce
Quantum FPC
, a quantum λ-calculus with recursive types, and prove that our model is a fully abstract model of Quantum FPC.
Polymorphic Reachability Types: Tracking Freshness, Aliasing, and Separation in Higher-Order Generic Programs
Authors: Wei Guannan , Bračevac Oliver , Jia Songlin , Bao Yuyan , Rompf Tiark
Published: January 2024

Fueled by the success of Rust, many programming languages are adding substructural features to their type systems. The promise of tracking properties such as lifetimes and sharing is tremendous, not just for low-level memory management, but also for controlling higher-level resources and capabilities. But so are the difficulties in adapting successful techniques from Rust to higher-level languages, where they need to interact with other advanced features, especially various flavors of functional and type-level abstraction. What would it take to bring full-fidelity reasoning about lifetimes and sharing to mainstream languages? Reachability types are a recent proposal that has shown promise in scaling to higher-order but monomorphic settings, tracking aliasing and separation on top of a substrate inspired by separation logic. However, naive extensions on top of the prior reachability type system λ
*
with type polymorphism and/or precise reachability polymorphism are unsound, making λ
*
unsuitable for adoption in real languages. Combining reachability and type polymorphism that is precise, sound, and parametric remains an open challenge.

This paper presents a rethinking of the design of reachability tracking and proposes new polymorphic reachability type systems. We introduce a new freshness qualifier to indicate variables whose reachability sets may grow during evaluation steps. The new system tracks variables reachable in a single step and computes transitive closures only when necessary, thus preserving chains of reachability over known variables that can be refined using substitution. These ideas yield the simply-typed λ
✦
-calculus with precise lightweight, i.e., quantifier-free, reachability polymorphism, and the
F
<:
✦
-calculus with bounded parametric polymorphism over types and reachability qualifiers, paving the way for making true tracking of lifetimes and sharing practical for mainstream languages. We prove type soundness and the preservation of separation property in Coq. We discuss various applications (e.g., safe capability programming), possible effect system extensions, and compare our system with Scala’s capture types.
Nominal Recursors as Epi-Recursors
Authors: Popescu Andrei
Published: January 2024

We study nominal recursors from the literature on syntax with bindings and compare them with respect to expressiveness. The term "nominal" refers to the fact that these recursors operate on a syntax representation where the names of bound variables appear explicitly, as in nominal logic. We argue that nominal recursors can be viewed as epi-recursors, a concept that captures abstractly the distinction between the constructors on which one actually recurses, and other operators and properties that further underpin recursion. We develop an abstract framework for comparing epi-recursors and instantiate it to the existing nominal recursors, and also to several recursors obtained from them by cross-pollination. The resulted expressiveness hierarchies depend on how strictly we perform this comparison, and bring insight into the relative merits of different axiomatizations of syntax. We also apply our methodology to produce an expressiveness hierarchy of nominal corecursors, which are principles for defining functions targeting infinitary non-well-founded terms (which underlie lambda-calculus semantics concepts such as Böhm trees). Our results are validated with the Isabelle/HOL theorem prover.
A Core Calculus for Documents: Or, Lambda: The Ultimate Document
Authors: Crichton Will , Krishnamurthi Shriram
Published: January 2024

Passive documents and active programs now widely comingle. Document languages include Turing-complete programming elements, and programming languages include sophisticated document notations. However, there are no formal foundations that model these languages. This matters because the interaction between document and program can be subtle and error-prone. In this paper we describe several such problems, then taxonomize and formalize document languages as levels of a document calculus. We employ the calculus as a foundation for implementing complex features such as reactivity, as well as for proving theorems about the boundary of content and computation. We intend for the document calculus to provide a theoretical basis for new document languages, and to assist designers in cleaning up the unsavory corners of existing languages.
Automatic Parallelism Management
Authors: Westrick Sam , Fluet Matthew , Rainey Mike , Acar Umut A.
Published: January 2024

On any modern computer architecture today, parallelism comes with a modest cost,
born from the creation and management of threads or tasks. Today, programmers
battle this cost by manually optimizing/tuning their codes to minimize the cost
of parallelism without harming its benefit, performance. This is a difficult
battle: programmers must reason about architectural constant factors hidden
behind layers of software abstractions, including thread schedulers and memory
managers, and their impact on performance, also at scale. In languages that
support higher-order functions, the battle hardens: higher order functions can
make it difficult, if not impossible, to reason about the cost and benefits of
parallelism.

Motivated by these challenges and the numerous advantages of high-level
languages, we believe that it has become essential to manage parallelism
automatically so as to minimize its cost and maximize its benefit. This is a
challenging problem, even when considered on a case-by-case,
application-specific basis. But if a solution were possible, then it could
combine the many correctness benefits of high-level languages with performance
by managing parallelism without the programmer effort needed to ensure
performance. This paper proposes techniques for such automatic management of
parallelism by combining static (compilation) and run-time techniques.
Specifically, we consider the Parallel ML language with task parallelism, and
describe a compiler pipeline that embeds "potential parallelism" directly into
the call-stack and avoids the cost of task creation by default. We then pair
this compilation pipeline with a run-time system that dynamically converts
potential parallelism into actual parallel tasks. Together, the compiler and
run-time system guarantee that the cost of parallelism remains low without
losing its benefit. We prove that our techniques have no asymptotic impact on
the work and span of parallel programs and thus preserve their asymptotic
properties. We implement the proposed techniques by extending the MPL compiler
for Parallel ML and show that it can eliminate the burden of manual optimization
while delivering good practical performance.
Quantum Bisimilarity via Barbs and Contexts: Curbing the Power of Non-deterministic Observers
Authors: Ceragioli Lorenzo , Gadducci Fabio , Lomurno Giuseppe , Tedeschi Gabriele
Published: January 2024

Past years have seen the development of a few proposals for quantum extensions of process calculi. The rationale is clear: with the development of quantum communication protocols, there is a need to abstract and focus on the basic features of quantum concurrent systems, like CCS and CSP have done
for their classical counterparts. So far, though, no accepted standard has emerged, neither for the syntax nor for the behavioural semantics. Indeed, the various proposals do not agree on what should be the observational properties of quantum values, and as a matter of fact, the soundness of such properties has never been validated against the prescriptions of quantum theory.

To this aim, we introduce a new calculus, Linear Quantum CCS (lqCCS), and investigate the features of behavioural equivalences based on barbs and contexts. Our calculus can be thought of as an asynchronous, linear version of qCCS, which is in turn based on value-passing CCS. The combination of linearity and asynchronous communication fits well with the properties of quantum systems (e.g. the no-cloning theorem), since it ensures that each qubit is sent exactly once, precisely specifying which qubits of a process interact with the context.

We exploit contexts to examine how bisimilarities relate to quantum theory. We show that the observational power of general contexts is incompatible with quantum theory: roughly, they can perform non-deterministic moves depending on quantum values without measuring (hence perturbing) them.

Therefore, we refine the operational semantics in order to prevent contexts from performing unfeasible non-deterministic choices. This induces a coarser bisimilarity that better fits the quantum setting: (i) it lifts the indistinguishability of quantum states to the distributions of processes and, despite the additional constraints, (ii) it preserves the expressiveness of non-deterministic choices based on classical information. To the best of our knowledge, our semantics is the first one that satisfies the two properties above.
Thunks and Debits in Separation Logic with Time Credits
Authors: Pottier François , Guéneau Armaël , Jourdan Jacques-Henri , Mével Glen
Published: January 2024

A thunk is a mutable data structure that offers a simple memoization service:
it stores either a suspended computation or the result of this computation.
Okasaki [1999] presents many data structures that exploit thunks to achieve
good amortized time complexity. He analyzes their complexity by associating a
debit with every thunk. A debit can be paid off in several increments; a thunk
whose debit has been fully paid off can be forced. Quite strikingly, a debit is
associated also with future thunks, which do not yet exist in memory. Some of
the debit of a faraway future thunk can be transferred to a nearer future
thunk. We present a complete machine-checked reconstruction of Okasaki's
reasoning rules in Iris
$
, a rich separation logic with time credits. We
demonstrate the applicability of the rules by verifying a few operations on
streams as well as several of Okasaki's data structures, namely the
physicist's queue, implicit queues, and the banker's queue.
Decision and Complexity of Dolev-Yao Hyperproperties
Authors: Rakotonirina Itsaka , Barthe Gilles , Schneidewind Clara
Published: January 2024

The formal analysis of cryptographic protocols traditionally focuses on trace and equivalence properties, for which decision procedures in the symbolic (or Dolev-Yao, or DY) model are known. However, many relevant security properties are expressed as DY hyperproperties that involve quantifications over both execution paths and attacker computations (which are constrained by the attacker's knowledge in the underlying model of computation). DY hyperproperties generalise hyperproperties, for which many decision procedures exist, to the setting of DY models. Unfortunately, the subtle interactions between both forms of quantifications have been an obstacle to lifting decision procedures from hyperproperties to DY hyperproperties.

The central contribution of the paper is the first procedure for deciding DY hyperproperties, in the usual setting where the number of protocol sessions is bounded and where the equational theory modelling cryptography is subterm-convergent. We prove that our decision procedure can decide the validity of any hyperproperty in which quantifications over messages are guarded and quantifications over attacker computations are limited to expressing the attacker's knowledge. We also establish the complexity of the decision problem for several important fragments of the hyperlogic. Further, we illustrate the techniques and scope of our contributions through examples of related hyperproperties.
VST-A: A Foundationally Sound Annotation Verifier
Authors: Zhou Litao , Qin Jianxing , Wang Qinshi , Appel Andrew W. , Cao Qinxiang
Published: January 2024

Program verifiers for imperative languages such as C may be annotation-based, in which assertions and invariants are put into source files and then checked, or tactic-based, where proof scripts separate from programs are interactively developed in a proof assistant such as Coq. Annotation verifiers have been more automated and convenient, but some interactive verifiers have richer assertion languages and formal proofs of soundness. We present VST-A, an annotation verifier that uses the rich assertion language of VST, leverages the formal soundness proof of VST, but allows users to describe functional correctness proofs intuitively by inserting assertions.

VST-A analyzes control flow graphs, decomposes every C function into control flow paths between assertions, and reduces program verification problems into corresponding straightline Hoare triples. Compared to existing foundational program verification tools like VST and Iris, in VST-A such decompositions and reductions can nonstructural, which makes VST-A more flexible to use.

VST-A's decomposition and reduction is defined in Coq, proved sound in Coq, and computed call-by-value in Coq. The soundness proof for reduction is totally logical, independent of the complicated semantic model (and soundness proof) of
VST's Hoare triple. Because of the rich assertion language, not all reduced proof goals can be automatically checked, but the system allows users to prove residual proof goals using the full power of the Coq proof assistant.
Securing Verified IO Programs Against Unverified Code in F*
Authors: Andrici Cezar-Constantin , Ciobâcă Ștefan , Hriţcu Cătălin , Martínez Guido , Rivas Exequiel , Tanter Éric , Winterhalter Théo
Published: January 2024

We introduce SCIO*, a formally secure compilation framework for statically verified programs performing input-output (IO). The source language is an F* subset in which a verified program interacts with its IO-performing context via a higher-order interface that includes refinement types as well as pre- and post-conditions about past IO events. The target language is a smaller F* subset in which the compiled program is linked with an adversarial context that has an interface without refinement types, pre-conditions, or concrete post-conditions. To bridge this interface gap and make compilation and linking secure we propose a formally verified combination of higher-order contracts and reference monitoring for recording and controlling IO operations. Compilation uses contracts to convert the logical assumptions the program makes about the context into dynamic checks on each context-program boundary crossing. These boundary checks can depend on information about past IO events stored in the state of the monitor. But these checks cannot stop the adversarial target context before it performs dangerous IO operations. Therefore linking in SCIO* additionally forces the context to perform all IO actions via a secure IO library, which uses reference monitoring to dynamically enforce an access control policy before each IO operation. We prove in F* that SCIO* soundly enforces a global trace property for the compiled verified program linked with the untrusted context. Moreover, we prove in F* that SCIO* satisfies by construction Robust Relational Hyperproperty Preservation, a very strong secure compilation criterion. Finally, we illustrate SCIO* at work on a simple web server example.
Higher Order Bayesian Networks, Exactly
Authors: Faggian Claudia , Pautasso Daniele , Vanoni Gabriele
Published: January 2024

Bayesian networks are graphical first-order probabilistic models that allow for a compact representation of large probability distributions, and for efficient inference, both exact and approximate. We introduce a higher-order programming language, in the idealized form of a lambda-calculus, which we prove sound and complete w.r.t. Bayesian networks: each Bayesian network can be encoded as a term, and conversely each (possibly higher-order and recursive) program of ground type compiles into a Bayesian network.
The language allows for the specification of recursive probability models and hierarchical structures. Moreover, we provide a compositional and cost-aware semantics which is based on factors, the standard mathematical tool used in Bayesian inference. Our results rely on advanced techniques rooted into linear logic, intersection types, rewriting theory, and Girard's geometry of interaction, which are here combined in a novel way.
Reachability in Continuous Pushdown VASS
Authors: Balasubramanian A. R. , Majumdar Rupak , Thinniyam Ramanathan S. , Zetzsche Georg
Published: January 2024

Pushdown Vector Addition Systems with States (PVASS) consist of finitely many control states, a pushdown stack, and a set of counters that can be incremented and decremented, but not tested for zero. Whether the reachability problem is decidable for PVASS is a long-standing open problem.

We consider
continuous PVASS
, which are PVASS with a continuous semantics. This means, the counter values are rational numbers and whenever a vector is added to the current counter values, this vector is first scaled with an arbitrarily chosen rational factor between zero and one.

We show that reachability in continuous PVASS is NEXPTIME-complete. Our result is unusually robust: Reachability can be decided in NEXPTIME even if all numbers are specified in binary. On the other hand, NEXPTIME-hardness already holds for coverability, in fixed dimension, for bounded stack, and even if all numbers are specified in unary.
Spatial/Temporal Locality-Based Load-sharing in Speculative Discrete Event Simulation on Multi-core Machines
Authors: Montesano Federica , Marotta Romolo , Quaglia Francesco
Published: January 2024

Shared-memory multi-processor/multi-core machines have become a reference for many application contexts. In particular, the recent literature on speculative parallel discrete event simulation has reshuffled the architectural organization of simulation systems in order to deeply exploit the main features of this type of machine. A core aspect dealt with has been the full sharing of the workload at the level of individual simulation events, which enables keeping the rollback incidence minimal. However, making each worker thread continuously switch its execution between events destined to different simulation objects does not favor locality. This problem appears even more evident in the case of Non-Uniform-Memory-Access (NUMA) machines, in which memory accesses generating a cache miss to be served by a far NUMA node give rise to both higher latency and higher traffic at the level of the NUMA interconnection. In this article, we propose a workload-sharing algorithm in which the worker threads can have short-term binding with specific simulation objects to favor spatial locality. The new bindings—carried out when a thread decides to switch its execution to other simulation objects—are based on both (a) the timeline according to which the object states have passed through the caching hierarchy and (b) the (dynamic) placement of objects within the NUMA architecture. At the same time, our solution still enables the worker threads to focus their activities on the events to be processed whose timestamps are closer to the simulation commit horizon—hence, we exploit temporal locality along virtual time and keep the rollback incidence minimal. In our design, we exploit lock-free constructs to support scalable thread synchronization while accessing the shared event pool. Furthermore, we exploit a multi-view approach of the event pool content, which additionally favors local accesses to the parts of the event pool that are currently relevant for the thread activity. Our solution has been released as an integration within the USE (Ultimate-Share-Everything) open-source speculative simulation platform available to the community. Furthermore, in this article we report the results of an experimental study that shows the effectiveness of our proposal.
Engineering NiO Thin Film Properties using Ag9+ Ion Irradiation at Various Fluences
Authors: Karishma  , Tripathi Neeti , Tripathi Ambuj , Pandey Ratnesh Kumar , Bhushan Vishal , Sharma Vikas
Published: January 2024

The impact of the Ag9+ ion irradiation on the characteristics of nickel oxide (NiO) films with several ion fluences including 1 × 1012, 1 × 1013 and 1 × 1014 ions cm−2 has been studied. These films were deposited over fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate via spin coating technique. After that, structural, optical, vibrational, and electrical characteristics of all films were investigated employing different techniques. The change in the structure due to Ag9+ ion has been studied by GIXRD technique. A slight improvement in crystalline nature of NiO thin film was observed at 1 × 1012 ions cm−2 ion fluence that can be understood via thermal spike model. A decrement in value of transmission has been observed in the case of all thin films with ion fluence of Ag9+ ion. In addition, it was also observed that samples exposed to Ag9+ ions resulted in reduced intensity of the 1LO and 2LO modes in Raman spectrum. The reduced intensity of the Raman modes indicates the increment in the lattice defects. Further, AFM analysis showed that increment in the ion fluences of incident Ag9+ on NiO thin films led to an enhancement in surface roughness. Moreover, the Hall effect measurements were also carried out to examine the electrical characteristics of NiO films. From this measurement, it was observed that the conductivity of NiO varies along with the Ag9+ ions fluence, and it appears that the variation in resistivity follows the change in band gap.
Ketone bodies in cell physiology and cancer
Authors: Giuliani Giacomo , Longo Valter D.
Published: January 2024

Ketogenic diets (KDs), fasting, or prolonged physical activity elevate serum ketone bodies (KBs) levels, providing an alternative fuel source for the brain and other organs. However, KBs play pleiotropic roles that go beyond their role in energy production. KBs can act as signaling metabolites, influence gene expression, proteins’ posttranslational modifications (PTMs), inflammation, and oxidative stress. Here, we explore the impact of KBs on mammalian cell physiology, including aging and tissue regeneration. We also concentrate on KBs and cancer, given the extensive evidence that dietary approaches inducing ketosis, including fasting-mimicking diets (FMDs) and KDs, can prevent cancer and affect tumor progression.
Beyond host defense and tissue injury: the emerging role of neutrophils in tissue repair
Authors: Rizo-Téllez Salma A. , Filep János G.
Published: January 2024

Neutrophils, the most abundant immune cells in human blood, play a fundamental role in host defense against invading pathogens and tissue injury. Neutrophils carry potentially lethal weaponry to the affected site. Inadvertent and perpetual neutrophil activation could lead to nonresolving inflammation and tissue damage, a unifying mechanism of many common diseases. The prevailing view emphasizes the dichotomy of their function, host defense versus tissue damage. However, tissue injury may also persist during neutropenia, which is associated with disease severity and poor outcome. Numerous studies highlight neutrophil phenotypic heterogeneity and functional versatility, indicating that neutrophils play more complex roles than previously thought. Emerging evidence indicates that neutrophils actively orchestrate resolution of inflammation and tissue repair and facilitate return to homeostasis. Thus, neutrophils mobilize multiple mechanisms to limit the inflammatory reaction, assure debris removal, matrix remodeling, cytokine scavenging, macrophage reprogramming, and angiogenesis. In this review, we will summarize the homeostatic and tissue-reparative functions and mechanisms of neutrophils across organs. We will also discuss how the healing power of neutrophils might be harnessed to develop novel resolution and repair-promoting therapies while maintaining their defense functions.
High-throughput methylome analysis reveals differential methylation for early and late onset preeclampsia for mothers and their children
Authors: Layman Cora E. , Ward Samantha , Davis Brett A. , Nevonen Kimberly A. , Okhovat Mariam , Rincon Monica , Valent Amy , Carbone Lucia , Thornburg Kent L.
Published: January 2024

Preeclampsia is a life-threatening hypertensive disorder, affecting 2%–5% of pregnancies, that remains poorly understood. This study analyzed DNA methylation from buccal swabs from mothers who experienced early and late-stage preeclampsia and those with uncomplicated pregnancies, along with their children. Differentially methylated regions were found near and within genes crucial for placental function, embryonic development, and inflammation. Many of these genes are expressed in preeclampsia-related tissues, offering hope for future biomarker development for this condition.
Anesthetic Management and Neuromonitoring in a Patient with Very Long-Chain Acyl-Coenzyme A Dehydrogenase Deficiency Undergoing Scoliosis Surgery: A Case Report and Review of Literature
Authors: Tanaka Anna , Cai Tim , Platten Michael , Tollinche Luis E. , DeJoy Samuel J.
Published: January 2024

Patients with very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCADD) are prone to hypoglycemia and clinical decompensation when metabolic demands of the body are not met. We present a pediatric patient with VLCADD who underwent a posterior spinal fusion for scoliosis requiring intraoperative neurophysiology monitoring. Challenges included minimization of perioperative metabolic stressors and careful selection of anesthetic agents since propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) was contraindicated due to its high fatty acid content. This case is unique due to the sequential use of inhaled anesthetics after TIVA to allow for a rapid wakeup and immediate postoperative physical exam. Additionally, intraoperative neuromonitoring in the setting of VLCADD has not been reported in the literature. With communication among anesthesia, surgery, and neuromonitoring teams before and during the operation, the patient successfully underwent a major surgery without complications. This trial is registered with NCT03808077.
Performance Parameters of Paralarvae and Postparalarvae Rearing of Patagonian Red Octopus, Enteroctopus megalocyathus, under Experimental Conditions
Authors: Uriarte Iker , Hernández María , Peñailillo Fernanda , Montero Nicole , Gutiérrez Ranferi , Araya Varinia , Espinoza Viviana , Hernández Jorge , Enríquez Ricardo , Farías Ana , Rosas Carlos
Published: January 2024

Patagonian red octopus, Enteroctopus megalocyathus, an interesting species for Chilean aquaculture diversification, requires the improving of their experimental technology to obtain early juveniles. The first objective of the study was to enhance aspects of feeding and temperature management in broodstock, egg incubation, paralarvae rearing, and early juveniles’ growth. The results indicated that female weight decreases up to 46.0 ± 8.6% during the egg incubation. Test of 8, 14, and 18°C during egg incubation shows that at 18°C embryos do not survive. Paralarvae reared under four diet treatments: (1) unfed, (2) enriched Artemia (Nannochloropsis sp.), (3) copepod (Acartia spp.), and (4) juvenile crabs (Petrolisthes spp.) showed survival quadruplication when they fed copepods and crabs instead of Artemia. Juveniles reared at 11, 13, and 15°C improved feed conversion and protein efficiency ratios at 15°C. The second objective was to analyze batches of paralarvae and early juveniles of two different periods to obtain their performance indicators and to compare them between productive periods. The results of growth rates, the relative weight condition coefficient, and morphometric relationships are discussed in the context of paralarvae culture from 1 to 90 days after hatching (DAH) and early juveniles from 1 to 135 days postsettlement (DPS).
Copula‐Based Probabilistic Hazard Assessment Model for Debris Flow Considering the Uncertainties of Multiple Influencing Factors
Authors: Tian Mi , Shen Yuan , Fan Long , Sheng Xiao-Tao
Published: January 2024

This paper proposes a probabilistic hazard assessment model for debris flows considering the uncertainties of multiple influencing factors based on copula approaches. Fifty‐nine rainfall‐induced debris flows occurred between 2001 and 2009 in Taiwan are taken as an illustrative example to validate the proposed approaches. A copula‐based probabilistic model is developed to model the joint probability distribution of debris‐flow volume V and its influencing factors (e.g., rainfall intensity, RI and landslide area, AL). The developed model is then used to make probabilistic prediction of debris‐flow volume for a specific hazard level, and compared with the empirical approaches. The proposed probabilistic model is also used to develop the exceedance probability charts of quantities for a specific debris‐flow basin. Results show that the developed V–RI–AL probabilistic model can provide reasonable estimates of debris‐flow volume in Taiwan for a specific probability level of 0.94, and show better predictive performance than the empirical relationships by using an independent debris‐flow dataset in Taiwan for validation. The developed multivariate joint probabilistic model can also provide the exceedance probability of debris flows through considering the uncertainties of debris flow and its influencing factors, providing a preliminary reference for hazard assessment of the debris flows.
The Influence of Artificial Intelligence Technology on the Management of Livestock Farms
Authors: Melak Awoke , Aseged Tesfalem , Shitaw Takele
Published: January 2024

This review was conducted to demonstrate how artificial intelligence (AI) has affected livestock farming. Livestock is essential for maintaining ecological integrity and providing food security. In this review, the history of artificial intelligence (AI), its impact on current and future livestock farming, and its drawbacks have been highlighted. The term “artificial intelligence,” was first coined by John McCarthy in 1956, and currently, the technology is widely applied in the management of many livestock farms like poultry, dairy, and pigs. Although it has been studied for decades and widely applied, AI is still one of the least understood subfields. Artificial intelligence provides farmers with unrivalled support, enabling them to minimize resource use, improve the sustainability of their feeding patterns, and increase farm productivity in general, especially when it comes to reducing the carbon footprint. AI is a blessing for boosting efficiency and productivity while also lowering the possibility of human error. Producers can use artificial intelligence to simulate human decision-making and provide interpretations and solutions for the data gathered by sensors and other hardware technologies. Through AI tools, it is possible to easily trace animal activities and locations and collect data about behaviors, habitats, and health conditions. Animal identification, animal welfare monitoring, sex determination, vaccine delivery, and pasture evaluation are some areas where AI has been widely applied so far. Drones, robots, and blockchains are some forms of automation that have been widely used in dairy farms. However, the expense of development, which needs more infrastructure on the farm, and the potential for automation to replace them are the limitations of the technology.
3D Kinematics of Male and Female Soccer Players for a Variety of Game-Specific Skills
Authors: Loud Danyon , Grimshaw Paul , Kelso Richard
Published: January 2024

Soccer is played by a variety of individuals with varying abilities. The complicated lower limb movements involved within the game often lead to knee and ankle injuries, with anterior cruciate ligament injuries being the most severe with regard to rehabilitation time and ongoing health risks. This research explores the biomechanical kinematics of male and female soccer players on synthetic grass to determine whether trends in lower limb biomechanics over a variety of movements could explain injury risk. Both male and female players (n = 10) aged between 19 and 24 years performed running-based and stationary-start movements. Biomechanical measurements at the hip, knee, and ankle were recorded. Observations showed that specific differences in joint angles were largely dependent on the movements performed; however, for male players, on average, across all movements, 84.6% and 72.6% of the variation in joint angles could be explained by internal/external rotation at the hip and knee, respectively. For female players, internal/external knee rotation, as well as hip abduction and adduction, accounted for 83.6% and 80.2% of the variation in joint angles, respectively, across all the tested movements. This highlights the importance of hip mechanics and knee alignment for players when performing a variety of movements.
Table S6 from Risk Factors Associated with Durable Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma Treated with Anti-BCMA CAR T-cell Therapy
Authors: Zhang Mingming , Zhou Linghui , Zhao Houli , Zhang Yanlei , Wei Guoqing , Hong Ruimin , Wu Wenjun , Xu Huijun , Wang Linqin , Ni Fang , Cui Jiazhen , Peng Shuixiu , Huang Chih-Hua , Chang Alex H. , Hu Yongxian , Huang He
Published: January 2024

Supplementary table S6 Univariate analysis for OS for MM patients with ant-BCMA CAR-T therapy.
Table S4 from Risk Factors Associated with Durable Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma Treated with Anti-BCMA CAR T-cell Therapy
Authors: Zhang Mingming , Zhou Linghui , Zhao Houli , Zhang Yanlei , Wei Guoqing , Hong Ruimin , Wu Wenjun , Xu Huijun , Wang Linqin , Ni Fang , Cui Jiazhen , Peng Shuixiu , Huang Chih-Hua , Chang Alex H. , Hu Yongxian , Huang He
Published: January 2024

Supplementary table S4 Univariate analysis for PFS for MM patients with ant-BCMA CAR-T therapy.
Table S2 from Risk Factors Associated with Durable Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma Treated with Anti-BCMA CAR T-cell Therapy
Authors: Zhang Mingming , Zhou Linghui , Zhao Houli , Zhang Yanlei , Wei Guoqing , Hong Ruimin , Wu Wenjun , Xu Huijun , Wang Linqin , Ni Fang , Cui Jiazhen , Peng Shuixiu , Huang Chih-Hua , Chang Alex H. , Hu Yongxian , Huang He
Published: January 2024

Supplementary table S2 characteristics of CAR-T products
Table S1 from Risk Factors Associated with Durable Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma Treated with Anti-BCMA CAR T-cell Therapy
Authors: Zhang Mingming , Zhou Linghui , Zhao Houli , Zhang Yanlei , Wei Guoqing , Hong Ruimin , Wu Wenjun , Xu Huijun , Wang Linqin , Ni Fang , Cui Jiazhen , Peng Shuixiu , Huang Chih-Hua , Chang Alex H. , Hu Yongxian , Huang He
Published: January 2024

Supplementary table S1 patient characteristics in detail
Figure S1 from Risk Factors Associated with Durable Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma Treated with Anti-BCMA CAR T-cell Therapy
Authors: Zhang Mingming , Zhou Linghui , Zhao Houli , Zhang Yanlei , Wei Guoqing , Hong Ruimin , Wu Wenjun , Xu Huijun , Wang Linqin , Ni Fang , Cui Jiazhen , Peng Shuixiu , Huang Chih-Hua , Chang Alex H. , Hu Yongxian , Huang He
Published: January 2024

Supplementary figure S1 The schematic diagram of BCMA-directed CAR construct.
Facts and Hopes on Chimeric Cytokine Agents for Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Ren Zhenhua , Zhang Xuhao , Fu Yang-Xin
Published: January 2024

Cytokines are key mediators of immune responses that can modulate the antitumor activity of immune cells. Cytokines have been explored as a promising cancer immunotherapy. However, there are several challenges to cytokine therapy, especially a lack of tumor targeting, resulting in high toxicity and limited efficacy. To overcome these limitations, novel approaches have been developed to engineer cytokines with improved properties, such as chimeric cytokines. Chimeric cytokines are fusion proteins that combine different cytokine domains or link cytokines to antibodies (immunocytokines) or other molecules that can target specific receptors or cells. Chimeric cytokines can enhance the selectivity and stability of cytokines, leading to reduced toxicity and improved efficacy. In this review, we focus on two promising cytokines, IL2 and IL15, and summarize the current advances and challenges of chimeric cytokine design and application for cancer immunotherapy. Most of the current approaches focus on increasing the potency of cytokines, but another important goal is to reduce toxicity. Cytokine engineering is promising for cancer immunotherapy as it can enhance tumor targeting while minimizing adverse effects.