bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Military spouse and key stakeholder perspectives of effective messaging for US service members on secure storage of personal firearms: a qualitative study
Authors: Baker Justin C , Anestis Michael D , Meza Kayla A , Moceri-Brooks Jayna , Bletz Alex , Friedman Kaitlyn , Ho Rodney A , Bryan AnnaBelle O , Bryan Craig J , Betz Marian E
Published: November 2024

Background

Secure firearm storage is a proposed method for reducing intentional and unintentional firearm injury and death among US military service members. However, little is known about suggested key messengers and optimal message content to promote secure firearm storage practices among at-risk US service members. This qualitative study focused on military spouse and stakeholder perspectives concerning key messengers and message content for the delivery of effective messaging around promoting secure firearm storage practices among US service members.

Methods

Military spouses and stakeholders of military support organisations were recruited at various military installations in the USA and completed either individual or group qualitative interviews via Zoom consisting of open-ended questions on perspectives of effective messaging for secure firearm storage for at-risk service members. Qualitative analysis included comprehensive memoing, regularly scheduled team meetings and triangulation of data with established literature.

Results

56 participants were interviewed between August 2022 and March 2023. Participants identified key messengers for promoting secure firearm storage as peers, chaplains, clinicians or a combination. Perspectives on preferred message content for the promotion of secure firearm storage consisted of focusing on lived experience, personal anecdotes and relatable stories.

Discussion and conclusions

Extant research has focused exclusively on firearm owners’ perspectives of effective messaging for the promotion of secure firearm storage practices. This study highlights the important contributions of military spouses and stakeholder perspectives on who are credible messengers and what is the most effective message content to promote a perspective shift on how firearms are stored among military firearm owners.
State firearm legislation and initiation of gun carrying in the USA
Authors: Dong Beidi , Wilson David B
Published: November 2024

Objective

Early onset of gun carrying correlates with a heightened risk of violent offences and injuries. This research estimates the association between state firearm legislation and first-time handgun carrying in the USA. It further identifies specific policy measures that could be most effective in discouraging the onset of risky gun-carrying activities.

Methods

The study sample included 6194 youth (51% male, 49% female; 48% white, 27% black, 24% Hispanic and 1% other race and ethnicity) drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, with an average age of 14.3 at the first round of data collection. Participants self-reported when they first carried a handgun. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to model the likelihood of gun-carrying initiation over time, using an overarching state gun law environment score as well as proportionate scores for individual policy subcategories as primary predictors. Analyses were completed in 2024.

Results

Approximately 30% of the study sample had initiated handgun carrying by the end of the study period. Individuals in states with a greater number of gun laws were less prone to begin carrying handguns. This association was notably stronger for males and white individuals. Laws that extend the firearm acquisition process and increase purchaser accountability were associated with a greater reduction in the initiation rates than other types of policy measures.

Conclusions

State firearm legislation has the potential to deter the commencement of risky gun-carrying behaviour. It is recommended that states consider implementing, publicising and enforcing these laws to reduce gun-related mortality and morbidity.
Standardising the measurement of e-cigarette tax rates in the USA (2nd edition), 2010–2023
Authors: Cotti Chad , Nesson Erik , Pesko Michael F , Phillips Serena
Published: November 2024

Introduction

30 states enacted e-cigarette taxes by the end of 2023. E-cigarette tax schema in the USA vary, in contrast to cigarette taxes that are standardised as an excise tax amount per pack. Some states use excise taxes on liquid and containers, others wholesale sales taxes and others retail sales taxes. Increasingly, states are taxing open system and closed system products differently. It is therefore difficult to understand the relative magnitudes of these e-cigarette taxes and their size relative to cigarette taxes.

Objective

To update and publish a database of state and local quarterly e-cigarette tax rates from 2010 to 2023, standardised as the rate per millilitre of fluid, for both closed system and open system products.

Methods

Using Universal Product Code-level e-cigarette sales from the NielsenIQ Retail Scanner Data along with e-cigarette product characteristics collected from internet searches and visits to e-cigarette retailers, we develop a method to standardise e-cigarette tax rates as an equivalent average excise tax rate measured per millilitre of fluid.

Results

In 2023, the average American resided in a location with $3.21 in cigarette taxes and $0.49 in closed system e-cigarette taxes (per 0.7 fluid millilitre). Among the 10 states using segmented taxation for closed and open systems, the average open system e-cigarette tax was 85% lower.

Conclusions

The public availability of this updated database of state and local standardised e-cigarette tax rates will improve and expand research on effects of e-cigarette taxes on tobacco and related outcomes.
Measuring safety benefits of a connected cruise control–equipped vehicle in a connected road environment
Authors: Sahnoon Iyad , de Barros Alexandre G. , Kattan Lina
Published: November 2024

This study examines the safety impacts of introducing a connected cruise control–equipped vehicle with a collision warning system using a driving simulator. The collision warning system serves to alert drivers to downstream collisions. Various scenarios were designed, taking into account factors like message content, delivery method, and vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity range. To determine the effects of connected cruise control, surrogate safety indicators, such as speed and time headway variabilities, minimum time to collision, and maximum braking, were examined. Additionally, the study identified tailgaters, individuals prone to rear-end collisions, using a newly developed rear-end accident risk index. Further, the association of driver characteristics with their car-following behaviour was tested using ANOVA. The findings revealed that in the connected environment, safety metrics exhibited reduced mean values compared to the non-connected environment. The risk index effectively detected tailgating behaviour when specific thresholds were applied. Moreover, interesting findings were observed in the ANOVA analysis.
The principle of concentration compactness in 𝒟1,p
Authors: Guo Xinxin , Zhong Yansheng
Published: November 2024

In this paper, we consider the concentration-compactness principle in [Formula: see text], which is applied to treat the problems associated with the determination of extremal functions in functional inequalities. A more precise equality of [Formula: see text] is obtained under the conditions, that, [Formula: see text] (as stated in Theorem 3.1). It is an improvement of the limit inequality “[Formula: see text]” originally proposed by [P. L. Lions, The concentration-compactness principle in the calculus of variations. The limit case, part 1, Rev. Mat. Iberoam. 1(1) (1985) 145–201] and [D. Smets, A concentration-compactness lemma with applications to singular eigenvalue problems, J. Funct. Anal. 167(2) (1999) 463–480]. Moreover, we establish that the additional term [Formula: see text] may only possess the “oscillation”, excluding the “concentration” and “translation to infinity”. Consequently, due to Brézis–Lieb Lemma, we reach [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text] belongs to some regular space (e.g. [Formula: see text]). This follows the solvability of the minimization problem (2.2).
Spectra of Λ and Σ baryons under screened potential
Authors: Menapara Chandni , Rai Ajay Kumar
Published: November 2024

The light, strange baryons have been studied through various approaches and attempted to be looked for rigorously in experiments. The screened potential has been applied to heavy baryon sector as well as meson systems in earlier works. Here, this paper attempts to compare the results for linear and screened potential for light strange baryons. Also, the Regge trajectories depict the linear nature.
PHENIX results on identified hadron production in small and large collision systems
Authors: Larionova D. , Berdnikov A. , Berdnikov Ya. , Kotov D. , Mitrankov Iu. , Mitrankova M. , Bannikov E. ,   for the PHENIX Collaboration
Published: November 2024

Identified charged hadron ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], p and [Formula: see text]) nuclear modification factors and ratios of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] measured by the PHENIX experiment in p[Formula: see text]Al, 3He[Formula: see text]Au, Cu+Au collisions at [Formula: see text] = 200[Formula: see text]GeV and in U+U collisions at [Formula: see text] = 193 GeV are presented. The interpretation of experimental results has been carried out by comparison to theoretical predictions involving recombination and fragmentation models, implemented in the string melting version of AMPT package and in PYTHIA/ANGANTYR package, respectively. It is shown that in low [Formula: see text] range ([Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]GeV/c) fragmentation processes seem to dominate over recombination processes in collisions, characterized by small numbers of participant nucleons ([Formula: see text]). The contribution of recombination processes increases with increase of [Formula: see text] values and becomes dominant in collisions with [Formula: see text] which correspond to central collisions of large systems (Cu+Au and U+U).
Higgs boson mass corrections in the μνSSM with explicit CP violation
Authors: Ma Jiao , Zhou Yang , Zheng Xiao-Yu , Zhang Hai-Bin , Liu Chang-Xin , Feng Tai-Fu
Published: November 2024

Compared to the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), [Formula: see text] from [Formula: see text] Supersymmetric Standard Model ([Formula: see text]SSM) introduces three singlet right-handed neutrino superfields, which lead to the mixing of the Higgs doublets with the sneutrinos. This mixing affects the Standard Model (SM)-like Higgs boson mass. In this work, we separately give the mixing of the CP-even and CP-odd neutral scalar mass matrices with the explicit CP violation, and analyze how the phases impact the SM-like Higgs boson mass and the signal strengths. At the same time, we give the radiative corrections for the Higgs boson mass with effective potential methods.
Note on 𝒩=8 supersymmetric mechanics with dynamical and semi-dynamical multiplets
Authors: Khastyan Erik , Krivonos Sergey , Nersessian Armen
Published: November 2024

We give a Hamiltonian formulation of the new model of [Formula: see text] supersymmetric mechanics recently proposed by S. Fedoruk and E. Ivanov 1 and show that it possesses the dynamical [Formula: see text] superconformal symmetry [Formula: see text]. The bosonic part of the Hamiltonian is just a free particle on eight-dimensional cone embedded in nine-dimensional pseudo-Euclidean space, while the fermionic part can be interpreted as a spin–orbit interaction term.
Two-dimensional (0,2) theories and resolved An singularities
Authors: Gao Yizhuo , Tatar Radu
Published: November 2024

In this paper, we study (0,2) two-dimensional theories in type IIB configurations with D5 branes wrapping blow-up [Formula: see text] cycles of deformed resolutions for [Formula: see text] singularities or in T-dual IIA configurations with suspended D4 branes. We consider deformations of four-dimensional [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] theories with general superpotentials for the adjoint and bifundamental fields together with fundamental flavors and reduce to two dimensions on a two-torus in the presence of magnetic fluxes and FI terms.
Particle production and density fluctuations of nonclassical inflaton in coherent squeezed vacuum state of flat FRW universe
Authors: Gangal Dhwani , Yadav Sudhava , Venkataratnam K. K.
Published: November 2024

In this paper, we study nonclassical inflaton, which is minimally coupled to the semi-classical gravity in FRW universe in Coherent Squeezed Vacuum State (CSVS). We have determined the Oscillatory phase of inflaton, power-law expansion, scale factor, density fluctuations, quantum fluctuations and particle production for CSVS. We have obtained an estimated leading solution of scale factor in CSVS and found it proportional to [Formula: see text] and showing similar diversification as demonstrated by Semi-classical Einstein Equation (SCEE) of gravity in matter dominated universe. We have also studied the validity of SCEE in CSVS. We have computed validity of uncertainty relation for FRW Universe by determining the quantum fluctuation for CSVS. Our results show that Quantum fluctuations don’t depend on coherent parameter [Formula: see text] as the uncertainty relation doesn’t effect by the displacement of [Formula: see text] in phase space. We have also studied the production of particles in CSVS for oscillating massive inflaton in flat FRW universe.
Dynamic Game Analysis of a Green Closed-Loop Supply Chain with Different Online Platform Operation Models
Authors: Zhang Cheng , Ye Xunan , Wang Xinping
Published: November 2024

The issues of global climate warming and waste product recycling are increasingly severe, highlighting the need for solutions in closed-loop supply chain green innovation and the choice of recycling and sales modes on online platforms. This paper considers the dynamic impact of green innovation and advertising investment on goodwill, using a dynamic game model to explore equilibrium solutions under different modes. Numerical simulations analyze the optimal goodwill trajectory and the impact of commission rates on profits. The motivation of this paper is to provide decision-making support for the selection of closed-loop supply chain business operation modes, to reveal the relationship between green innovation and changes in goodwill, and thus to promote sustainable green closed-loop development. The study finds that the goodwill evolution paths in four decision modes initially decline and then stabilize. As sales commission rates increase, system profits in agency selling and platform agency recycling model (Model AP) and the agency selling and commissioned recycling model (Model AC) gradually decrease. As recycling commission rates rise, profits in model AP and reselling and platform agency recycling model (Model RP) gradually decrease. Under mode AC, manufacturers and network platforms achieve a “Pareto improvement”.
Einstein metrics on homogeneous spaces H × H/ΔK
Authors: Lauret Jorge , Will Cynthia
Published: November 2024

Given any compact homogeneous space [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] simple, we consider the new space [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] denotes diagonal embedding, and study the existence, classification and stability of [Formula: see text]-invariant Einstein metrics on [Formula: see text], as a first step into the largely unexplored case of homogeneous spaces of compact non-simple Lie groups. We find unstable Einstein metrics on [Formula: see text] for most spaces [Formula: see text] such that their standard metric is Einstein (e.g., isotropy irreducible) and the Killing form of [Formula: see text] is a multiple of the Killing form of [Formula: see text] (e.g., [Formula: see text] simple), a class which contains [Formula: see text] families and [Formula: see text] individual examples. A complete classification is obtained in the case when [Formula: see text] is an irreducible symmetric space and [Formula: see text] is simple. We also study the behavior of the scalar curvature function on the space of all normal metrics on [Formula: see text] (none of which is Einstein), obtaining that the standard metric is a global minimum.
ADM mass, area and capacity in asymptotically flat 3-manifolds with nonnegative scalar curvature
Authors: Oronzio Francesca
Published: November 2024

We show an improvement of Bray sharp mass–capacity inequality and Bray–Miao sharp upper bound of the capacity of the boundary in terms of its area, for three-dimensional, complete, one-ended asymptotically flat manifolds with compact, connected boundary and with nonnegative scalar curvature, under appropriate assumptions on the topology and on the mean curvature of the boundary. Our arguments relies on two monotonicity formulas holding along level sets of a suitable harmonic potential, associated to the boundary of the manifold. This work is an expansion of the results contained in the Ph.D. thesis [F. Oronzio, ADM mass and linear potential theory, Ph.D. thesis, Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II (2022)] of the author.
From Euclidean field theory to hyperkähler Floer theory via regularized polysymplectic geometry
Authors: Brilleslijper Ronen , Fabert Oliver
Published: November 2024

Hamiltonian Floer theory plays an important role for finding periodic solutions of Hamilton’s equation, which can be seen as a generalization of Newton’s equation. Generalizing Newton’s equation to Laplace’s equation with nonlinearity, we show, building on the work of Ginzburg and Hein, that this role is taken over by the hyperkähler Floer theory of Hohloch, Noetzel, and Salamon. Apart from establishing [Formula: see text]-bounds in order to be able to deal with noncompact hyperkähler manifolds, the core ingredient is a regularization scheme for the polysymplectic formalism due to Bridges, which allows us to link Euclidean field theory with hyperkähler Floer theory. As a concrete result, we prove a cuplength estimate.
Generalized Inverted Pendulum Model for Pedestrian-Induced Lateral Vibration of Footbridge
Authors: Jia Buyu , Chen Zhaozhe , Chen Yangwen , Yu Xiaolin
Published: November 2024

Since the occurrence of pedestrian-induced large lateral vibration of the London Millennium Bridge in 2000, scholars have realized the complexity of pedestrian-induced lateral vibrations. Despite extensive research spanning over two decades, the underlying mechanisms between pedestrians and footbridges remain incompletely understood. Currently, there are two main popular models for explaining the pedestrian-induced lateral vibration of the footbridge: the synchronization lock-in model and the self-excited force model. Among existing studies, the inverted pendulum model (IPM) essentially belongs to the self-excited force model, has gradually gained recognition. This model assumes that pedestrians maintain a constant step frequency and suggests that footbridge lateral vibration divergence can occur through pedestrian-bridge interaction without synchronization. Although the IPM theoretically elucidates the mechanism by which pedestrian-bridge interaction leads to self-excited forces, it still has its shortcomings: it overestimates the critical number of pedestrians required for triggering vibration divergence of the footbridge. The underlying cause of this problem stems from the inverted pendulum model’s inherent limitation as a single-mechanism framework, which fails to consider the adjustments of pedestrian’s step frequency and instead solely relies on the adjustments of pedestrian’s step width. Consequently, this results in an underestimation of the virtual equivalent damping coefficient that is in phase with the vibration velocity of the footbridge. This study proposes a generalized-inverted pendulum model (G-IPM), in which the pedestrian walking phase evolution is effectively combined with the IPM, thereby the adjustments of pedestrian’s step frequency and step width can be considered simultaneously. Compared to the single-mechanism-based IPM, the numerical simulation results indicate that the proposed dual-mechanism-based G-IPM requires fewer pedestrians to trigger the bridge vibration divergence, which is closer to the actual results. Additionally, parameter analysis reveals that varying pedestrian characteristic parameters exert different impacts on the vibration response of bridge. The proposed model pioneers the use of a dual-mechanism-based model, which is of significant theoretical importance in revealing the underlying mechanism of pedestrian-induced lateral vibrations of the footbridge.
Effects of Orifices on the Damage Characteristics of an Arch Dam Subjected to Underwater Contact Explosion
Authors: Zhao Xiaohua , Tian Junyan , Yuan Han , Wang Gaohui , Lu Wenbo
Published: November 2024

Orifices designed into an arch dam for flood discharge significantly reduce the ability of the dam to resist an explosion, especially when an explosive charge is detonated close to an orifice, and the dam may suffer considerable damage in consequence. We created a fully coupled model to represent the dynamic interactions between reservoir water, explosive, arch dam and abutments. Shock wave propagation and damage initiation and propagation were compared between arch dams with and without orifices. The effects of orifices on damage modes and the spatial distribution of damage were investigated. Damage characteristics of the top and middle orifices subjected to explosive loads were also analyzed. Results showed that the top and middle orifices designed into an arch dam have an important effect on the impact resistance of arch dams, especially when an explosive is detonated at an orifice inlet. At a certain mass of explosive, complete failure of the dam wall at the adjacent sluice piers of the top orifices can occur, and penetration failure may also occur at the middle orifice.
Reliability-Based Optimization of a Novel Bumper System Considering Low-Speed Crashworthiness and Pedestrian Protection
Authors: Wang Weiwei , He Yi , Zhang Tianci , Xu Xiaomei , Zhang Wenhao
Published: November 2024

In the event of a vehicle collision, the front bumper is the first point of contact with an obstacle, effectively absorbing the energy. Comprehensively considering both low-speed collision and pedestrian protection performance, this paper introduces a novel bumper system featuring variable-section curved foam and an E-shaped section beam. Moreover, the low-speed collision and lower legform collision models are developed, and a sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify critical parameters. Finally, a reliability-based optimization is conducted to determine the optimal structural configurations that enhance the bumper system’s performance and reliability. The results show that the reliability-based optimization significantly improves both pedestrian protection and crashworthiness, achieving a reliability level exceeding 95%.
Flexural Wave Bandgap Characteristics Analysis of Periodic Double-Span Beam Based on Spectral Geometry Method: A Unified Formulation
Authors: Tang Yang , Du Yuan , Li Haichao , Gao Cong , Pang Fuzhen
Published: November 2024

The bandgap characteristics of periodic double-span beams are analyzed using spectral geometry methods in this paper. The displacement function of the beam structure is represented in a unified form, supplemented by sine series in addition to Fourier cosine series to avoid discontinuities in displacement at the boundary positions. The introduction of artificial spring technology satisfies the strong coupling connection conditions between beams. Combining it with Bloch’s theorem allows the separation of boundary conditions and displacement functions, ensuring the convergence and accuracy of the method. The energy functional of the double-span beam under periodic boundary conditions is established. The bandgap characteristics of the double-span beam can be obtained using the Rayleigh–Ritz method. The bandgap characteristics calculated based on the proposed method are in good agreement with those obtained from the transfer matrix method, and the bandgap frequency range matches well with the vibration attenuation range obtained from the test results. The effectiveness of forced vibration analysis for finite periodic double-span beams is also validated through the finite element method. Additionally, the influence of material properties, geometric parameters and lattice constants on the bandgap characteristics of periodic double-span beams is presented, providing insights into the mechanisms for tuning bandgap characteristics.
Stress Wave Characteristics and Damage Analysis of the Helicopter Tail Drive Shaft with the High-Speed Projectile Impact
Authors: Wu Qizhou , Shen Yiping , Wang Songlai , Li Jian , Chen Anhua , Peng Yanfeng
Published: November 2024

The tail drive shaft is easily hit by the ground antiaircraft machine gun in low-altitude helicopter combat, resulting in projectile penetration damage and directly jeopardizing the helicopter’s safety during flight. The projectile penetration damage will cause elastic–plastic deformation and failure damage to the tail drive shaft, and excite high-frequency stress waves suitable for projectile impact monitoring. To examine the effects of different impact parameters on the stress wave characteristics and damage from the tail drive shaft during projectile impact, the LS-DYNA is used to establish a dynamic model of projectile impact on the tail drive shaft. The passive monitoring experiment of projectile impact on the tail drive shaft is carried out based on the PZT piezoelectric sensor. It is concluded that both methods can obtain reliable stress wave signals and damage conditions through the comparison of experimental and simulation results. Then, the wavelet transform and short-time Fourier transform three-dimensional time–frequency are used to select the best frequency band for extracting the stress wave eigenvalues, along with the statistics and analysis of the stress wave characteristic values and damage degree under different impact parameters. The results show that the impact stress waveforms and high-frequency components are significantly different with the change in projectile impact parameters. There are significant differences among different impact parameters on the first trough amplitude, the two peak time intervals, the kurtosis factor, and the bullet hole damage generation laws. The functional relationship between the projectile impact parameters and the characteristic parameters of the stress wave, as well as the damage degree, are established. The research conclusion can provide theoretical reference and data support for projectile impact monitoring and damage assessment of the helicopter tail drive shaft.
Hidden fault diagnosis method of digital twin system for crane
Authors: Qi Zhang , Hui-Hui Zhang , Xing-Wang Shen , Jin-Song Bao , Dan Zhang , Sen Wang
Published: November 2024

The traditional fault diagnosis approach for cranes often results in unclear control status, protracted fault location times, prolonged equipment downtime, and other related challenges. To address these issues, this paper proposes embedding the stacked denoising auto-encoder, multi-class support vector machine, and fuzzy Bayesian network (SDAE-MCSVM-FBN (SMF)) hidden cascade fault diagnosis method into a digital twin model of the crane. The approach utilizes the digital twin to monitor the crane’s state and identify virtual environment faults to make decisions to reduce the direct operation of complex equipment and enhance operational efficiency. This paper first constructs a digital twin model of the crane to describe its composition and interaction behavior within the system. Next, it solves the hidden cascade faults in cranes using the SMF method. Finally, this approach develops a prototype system for a digital twin of cranes with an example in a large steel mill used for verification and analysis purposes. Experimental results demonstrate that compared with traditional manual inspection methods, this paper’s proposed hidden cascade fault method reduces repair time by 24.5%–32.8% while decreasing downtime by 20.5%–32.4%. The outcome highlights the effectiveness of our diagnostic approach and demonstrates digital twin technology can minimize frequent maintenance requirements by personnel while protecting crane service life overall.
A data mining technique for detecting emergent behaviors in agent-based simulations
Authors: Boukehila Ali
Published: November 2024

The use of statistical techniques has become crucial for detecting and studying emergent behaviors in complex systems. Emergent behavior in complex systems often involves subtle or small changes in system dynamics or patterns. Statistical techniques are sensitive to small effects and can help detect and quantify them. Systems that show emergent behaviors usually involve multiple variables and data sources. Statistical techniques can integrate and analyze data from these diverse sources, allowing the identification of emergent patterns that may be scattered across different data sets. Therefore, this paper proposes the use of principal component analysis (PCA) for visualizing and detecting emergence. PCA is a mature and powerful unsupervised learning algorithm that allows the reduction and visualization of large datasets. The dataset set is obtained from simulations in NetLogo, and interaction metrics are used to represent the data. PCA was able to detect throughout the analysis emergence. In 90% of scenarios, PCA showed clear detection of emergent behavior in the system, the study also gives future directions for this work.
Electrical Properties and EPR Analyses of Mn-Doped 67PMN-33PT Piezoceramics
Authors: Ling Ziqiong , Dong Yizhou , Yang Weiwei , Man Zhenyong , Zheng Liaoying , Park Chul-Hong , Kassiba Abdelhadi , Li Guorong
Published: November 2024

We conducted a study on Mn doping in 67Pb (Mg[Formula: see text]Nb[Formula: see text])O3-33PbTiO3(67PMN-33PT), which is a ferroelectric material exhibiting a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). The samples were doped with MnO2 at mass ratios ranging from 0.5 to 5.0[Formula: see text]wt.% and subsequently sintered at temperatures ranging from 1200 to [Formula: see text]C. Experimental analysis of electrical properties was performed within the temperature range of [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]C. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) testing was conducted on these samples to investigate Mn solubility in PMN-PT ceramics and their existence in different valence states. The results indicate that at a doping ratio of 0.5[Formula: see text]wt.% and sintering temperature of 1220–1240∘C, Mn ions achieved a homogeneous dispersion within the crystal lattice, leading to the enhanced electromechanical [Formula: see text] factor (510) and the reduced dielectric loss tan [Formula: see text] to minimum (0.30%) compared to the no doping Mn, however, as the Mn ions dopant content increase higher than 1.0[Formula: see text]wt.% and sintering temperatures 1200–1260∘, the unexpected results have been observed that both [Formula: see text] and tan [Formula: see text] are enhanced to about 1200, 0.87 up to 1.5[Formula: see text]wt.% MnO2, and then, [Formula: see text] decreases to 510, but tan [Formula: see text] increases to 3.78% for 5 wt.% MnO2. The machinal [Formula: see text] and dielectric loss can be understood by the (Mn-Vo) defect dipoles in lattice, domain wall and grain-bounary, together with the increasing of the MnO2, Mn2O3 or their mixed phase of Mn3O4 in the grain boundary.
Simultaneous enhancement of energy storage and luminescent performances in Sr2−xSmxAg0.2Na0.8Nb5−xZrxO15 multifunctional ceramics
Authors: Wang Yan , Li Suwan , Tong Yihan , Feng Zhiwei , Chao Xiaolian , Yang Zupei , Liang Pengfei , Lu Jiangbo , Wei Lingling
Published: November 2024

Rare earth-doped ferroelectric (FE) ceramics have attracted much attention due to their great potential application for novel multifunctional optical-electro devices. This study successfully devised and fabricated tungsten bronze Sr[Formula: see text]SmxAg[Formula: see text] Na[Formula: see text]Nb[Formula: see text]ZrxO[Formula: see text] ceramics, demonstrating exceptional energy storage and luminescent properties suitable for multifunctional capacitors. Effects of co-doping Sm[Formula: see text] and Zr[Formula: see text] in A and B sites on the phases structure, FE, energy storage and photoluminescence properties of Sr[Formula: see text]SmxAg[Formula: see text]Na[Formula: see text]Nb[Formula: see text]ZrxO[Formula: see text] ceramics were systematically investigated. Through employing various collaborative optimization strategies, encompassing the refinement of ceramic grains, the induction of nanodomain generation and the incorporation of large bandgap components, enhancement of breakdown strength and regulation of constructing relaxor FEs were achieved. Encouragingly, the high-performance multifunctional materials with remarkable recoverable energy storage metrics ([Formula: see text] 3.72[Formula: see text]J/cm3, [Formula: see text] 82.7%), brilliant red-orange light emission and distinguished frequency and temperature stabilities within specific ranges were obtained in Sr[Formula: see text]Sm[Formula: see text]Ag[Formula: see text]Na[Formula: see text]Nb[Formula: see text]Zr[Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text] ceramics. Besides, the multifunctional ceramics demonstrated a high-power density (68.1[Formula: see text]MW/cm[Formula: see text], a substantial current density (908.1[Formula: see text]A/cm[Formula: see text] and a fast discharge time (51[Formula: see text]ns) at 190[Formula: see text]kV/cm. These findings suggest that the designed Sr[Formula: see text]SmxAg[Formula: see text]Na[Formula: see text]Nb[Formula: see text]ZrxO[Formula: see text] ceramics hold promise as candidate materials for dielectric capacitors.
A new approach to compute Riemann–Liouville and Caputo fractional derivatives for a product of two functions
Authors: AlAhmad Rami , Al-Jararha Mohammadkheer , El-Jammal Walid
Published: November 2024

This paper aims to contribute to and broaden the current understanding of fractional calculus and its uses in science. In general, determining the fractional derivative of a product of two functions is an obstacle. In this paper, we overcome this issue for Caputo and Riemann–Liouville fractional derivatives. Specifically, we provide explicit formulas for the derivatives of a product of two functions of order [Formula: see text] for these fractional derivatives. We also provided a few examples to help clarify and bolster our calculations.
Understanding Information Disclosure from Secure Computation Output: A Comprehensive Study of Average Salary Computation
Authors: Baccarini Alessandro , Blanton Marina , Zou Shaofeng
Published: November 2024

Secure multi-party computation has seen substantial performance improvements in recent years and is being increasingly used in commercial products. While a significant amount of work was dedicated to improving its efficiency under standard security models, the threat models do not account for information leakage from the output of secure function evaluation. Quantifying information disclosure about private inputs from observing the function outcome is the subject of this work. Motivated by the City of Boston gender pay gap studies, in this work, we focus on the computation of the average of salaries and quantify information disclosure about private inputs of one or more participants (the target) to an adversary via information-theoretic techniques. We study a number of distributions including log-normal, which is typically used for modeling salaries. We consequently evaluate information disclosure after repeated evaluation of the average function on overlapping inputs, as was done in the Boston gender pay study that ran multiple times, and provide recommendations for using the sum and average functions in secure computation applications. Our goal is to develop mechanisms that lower information disclosure about participants’ inputs to a desired level and provide guidelines for setting up real-world secure evaluation of this function.
Causal Discovery from Temporal Data: An Overview and New Perspectives
Authors: Gong Chang , Zhang Chuzhe , Yao Di , Bi Jingping , Li Wenbin , Xu YongJun
Published: November 2024

Temporal data, representing chronological observations of complex systems, has always been a typical data structure that can be widely generated by many domains, such as industry, finance, healthcare, and climatology. Analyzing the underlying structures, i.e., the causal relations, could be extremely valuable for various applications. Recently, causal discovery from temporal data has been considered as an interesting yet critical task and attracted much research attention. According to the nature and structure of temporal data, existing causal discovery works can be divided into two highly correlated categories i.e., multivariate time series causal discovery, and event sequence causal discovery. However, most previous surveys are only focused on the multivariate time series causal discovery but ignore the second category. In this article, we specify the similarity between the two categories and provide an overview of existing solutions. Furthermore, we provide public datasets, evaluation metrics, and new perspectives for temporal data causal discovery.
An Automated Vulnerability Detection Framework for Smart Contracts
Authors: Mi Feng , Zhao Chen , Wang Zhuoyi , Halim Sadaf MD , Li Xiaodi , Wu Zhouxiang , Khan Latifur , Thuraisingham Bhavani
Published: November 2024

With the increase of the adoption of blockchain technology in providing decentralized solutions to various problems, smart contracts have become more popular to the point that billions of US Dollars are currently exchanged every day through such technology. Meanwhile, various vulnerabilities in smart contracts have been exploited by attackers to steal cryptocurrencies worth millions of dollars. The automatic detection of smart contract vulnerabilities therefore is an essential research problem. Existing solutions to this problem particularly rely on human experts to define features or different rules to detect vulnerabilities. However, this often causes many vulnerabilities to be ignored, and they are inefficient in detecting new vulnerabilities. In this study, to overcome such challenges, we propose a framework to automatically detect vulnerabilities in smart contracts on the blockchain. More specifically, first, we utilize novel feature vector generation techniques from bytecode of smart contract as source code is rarely publicly available. These feature vectors are then analyzed using our innovative metric learning-based deep neural networks (DNNs) to produce detection results. The framework’s predictions are further refined through a voting mechanism to achieve consensus. We conduct comprehensive experiments on large-scale benchmarks, and the quantitative results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach.
SIMTAM: Generation Diversity Test Programs for FPGA Simulation Tools Testing Via Timing Area Mutation
Authors: Xu Zhihao , Guo Shikai , Li Xiaochen , Wang Zun , Jiang He
Published: November 2024

Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) timing simulation is essential in electronic circuit design, allowing for the verification of timing characteristics like delays and clock frequencies. However, bugs in timing simulation tools can lead to inaccurate results, potentially causing designers to miss critical issues in chip performance. Traditional testing methods often fall short in thoroughly assessing these tools, as current FPGA testing primarily focuses on synthesis and behavioral simulation, neglecting timing aspects. To address this issue, we propose SIMTAM for testing timing simulation tools. Specifically, SIMTAM consists of three components: equivalent delay region construction, diversity program segment generation, and differential testing. Given a seed circuit design file written by hardware description language such as Verilog, the delay region construction component randomly identifies delay structures for inertial delay in the design file to construct equivalent delay sleep regions. In the sleep region, the simulator skips the signal pulse whose width is less than the specified delay, thus ensuring the equivalence of the variations. The diversity program segment generation component combines Verilog expressions using generation operators and injects them into the sleep region to generate diverse design files. The differential testing component compares the seed and variant design files to find compilation inconsistency issues. In 5 months, SIMTAM reported 16 bugs to developers in two popular timing simulation tools, Iverilog and Vivado, 10 of which are confirmed.
Identification of Long Non‐Coding RNA as Potential Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
Authors: Yihua Zhu , Chenjian Peng , Lining Wang , Shujun Jiang , Haomiao Yang , Kaixuan Zhang , Fenglei Dai , Yong Ma , Xudong Chu , Chunlei Zhang , Haitao Sun
Published: November 2024

Objective: To explore the feasibility and clinical application value of differentially expressed lncRNA in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) as a potential biomarker for postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP).

Methods: In this study, a case‐control trial was conducted to collect a total of 10 samples of PBMC from PMOP and postmenopausal‐without‐osteoporosis (n‐PMOP) patients. RNA sequencing was performed to profile lncRNA and mRNA expression, identifying differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and mRNAs (DEmRNAs) based on the criteria of fold change (FC) ≥ 2 and p value < 0.05; GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were carried out for differentially expressed genes (DEGs); 10 DElncRNAs and 20 DEmRNAs were selected for lncRNA–mRNA correlation analysis and Circos plot to screen out the lncRNAs that could be used as potential biomarkers. Then, ROC curve analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic value of DElncRNAs as clinical potential diagnostic markers for PMOP. Afterward, 20 PMOP and 20 n‐PMOP patients were reincluded and quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR) was performed to externally validate the screening of lncRNAs.

Result: (1) Compared with n‐PMOP, there were 1978 DElncRNAs and 1024 DEmRNAs in PMOP patients. (2) Bioinformatics technology was used to analyze the DEGs, and the GO analysis showed that the activities of the gene products were mainly related to the protein binding, membrane, plasma membrane, and extracellular region. The results of KEGG enrichment analysis showed that it was mainly enriched in PI3K‐Akt signaling pathway, metabolic pathways, and pathways in cancer and focal adhesion. (3) The correlation network and Circos plot further indicated the implication of DElncRNA expression profiles in PMOP via interactions with DEmRNAs. Among them, lncRNA RAB37, lncRNA BEGAIN, and lncRNA ZNF529 had the highest number of nodes, totaling 19, possibly potential diagnostic markers for PMOP. (4) The diagnostic efficacy of the screened lncRNAs was analyzed by ROC curve. The results showed an the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.960 for lncRNA RAB37, 1.000 for lncRNA ZNF529, 1.000 for lncRNA BEGAIN. (5) The qPCR results showed that lncRNA RAB37, lncRNA ZNF529, and lncRNA BEGAIN were all significantly correlated with the occurrence of PMOP (p < 0.05). However, the significant difference of lncRNA ZNF529 was superior to that of other lncRNAs.

Conclusion: The lncRNA ZNF529 is significantly overexpressed in PBMC in PMOP, and bioinformatics analysis and validation experiments indicate that it is closely associated with PMOP; thus, it is expected to be a potential diagnostic marker for PMOP.
Diabetic Cardiomyopathy Uncovered: Transcriptomics, NLRP3, and Carvedilol Mechanisms
Authors: Abudoureyimu Alimujiang , Aihaiti Alimu , Abudoujilili Nuliman , Tuergong Mayila , Adili Guzainuer , Maimaiti Maihebubaimu , Mohetaer Dilinuer , Maiamaitishawuti Yimamumaimaiti
Published: November 2024

Background: This study investigates the impact of a high‐sugar environment on H9C2 cardiomyocytes and explores the protective effects of carvedilol in the context of diabetic cardiomyopathy (Dia‐CM). Transcriptomic analysis identified 21,655 differentially expressed genes associated with Dia‐CM, demonstrating significant separation among samples.

Methods: H9C2 cardiomyocytes were cultured in a high‐sugar environment to simulate Dia‐CM conditions. Cell viability, cytokine levels, and protein expression were assessed using CCK‐8 assays, ELISA, and Western blot techniques. Intervention experiments with NLRP3, caspase‐1, and ROS inhibitors were conducted to evaluate their protective effects. The therapeutic potential of carvedilol was assessed by examining its impact on cell viability, cytokine levels, and key biomarkers. An in‐depth analysis of carvedilol’s regulatory effects on ROS and key proteins in H9C2 cells was also conducted.

Results: In vitro, a high‐sugar environment significantly reduced H9C2 cell survival, increased ROS levels, activated inflammatory responses, and upregulated NLRP3, caspase‐1, and GSDMD‐N proteins. Inhibitors of NLRP3, caspase‐1, and ROS ameliorated these effects. Carvedilol treatment improved cell activity, reduced inflammatory cytokine levels, suppressed ROS production, and downregulated NLRP3, pro‐caspase‐1, GSDMD‐N, and p‐NF‐κB proteins. Moderate‐dose carvedilol exhibited optimal intervention effects.

Conclusions: A high‐sugar environment induces cardiomyocyte damage through ROS production and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Inhibitors of NLRP3, caspase‐1, and ROS provide effective protection. Carvedilol significantly mitigates the detrimental effects of a high‐sugar environment on H9C2 cardiomyocytes, potentially through inhibiting the NLRP3‐ASC inflammasome and caspase‐1/GSDMD‐dependent signaling pathway‐mediated pyroptosis. These findings offer insights into Dia‐CM mechanisms and highlight carvedilol as a promising therapeutic intervention.
Protecting the Protectors: Moral Injury, Coping Styles, and Mental Health of UK Police Officers and Staff Investigating Child Sexual Abuse Material
Authors: Conway Paul , Redmond Theresa , Lundrigan Samantha , Davy Deanna , Bailey Simon , Lee Peter
Published: November 2024

Police officers and staff who investigate child sexual abuse material (CSAM) may be at elevated risk for mental health problems, which may be mitigated or exacerbated by institutional and interpersonal factors. The current work examined mental health in a large sample of UK CSAM investigators (N = 661). Results suggest substantially elevated rates of depression and anxiety but not posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Feeling successful and supported powerfully buffered against negative outcomes, whereas moral injury—particularly feelings of institutional betrayal—predicted worse outcomes. Although exposure to CSAM and contact with victims predicted worse outcomes, these effects were much smaller. Regarding coping styles, self‐blame, rumination, catastrophizing, withdrawal, ignoring, and negative religious coping predicted worse outcomes, whereas positive refocusing, seeking distraction, and social support were effective. These results held controlling for demographics. These results suggest that UK CSAM police officers and staff experience elevated depression and anxiety, but institutional and interpersonal support can buffer outcomes.