bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanism and application of nonessential amino acid deprivation associated with tumor therapy
Authors: Nong Shiqi , Qian Yuran , Zhang Tingyue , Zhou Xueyan , Wei Yuhao , Yin Xiaomeng , Ma Xuelei
Published: August 2022

Metabolic reprogramming manifested as glycolysis is considered a character of metabolic activity in tumor cells. Glucose used in glycolysis is the major energy source to support the growth and development of tumor cells, contributing to the high glycolytic flux production for the accumulation of cell mass. Of note, beside high consumption of glucose, the glutamine of nonessential amino acids (NEAAs) could be used as a carbon and nitrogen source. However, glucose and glutamine alone are still not enough to serve as the nutritional source for tumors. Other NEAAs are also important, such as serine, asparagine, and arginine. Related studies have confirmed in cells and animal models that either increase or decrease of NEAAs can limit the growth of tumor cells. Therefore, NEAAs deprivation diet has attracted more attention in recent years and it has been gradually applied in clinical practice for further research. In this review, the possible mechanism and potential applications of NEAAs in diet deprivation therapy are summarized, which may provide a direction for the future application in cancer treatment.
New progress in tumor treatment based on nanoparticles combined with irreversible electroporation
Authors: Xu Lei , Xie Liting , Fang ChengYu , Lou WenJing , Jiang Tianan
Published: August 2022

Nanoknife is a new tumor ablation technology. It forms nano permanent perforation on tumor cells by releasing high‐voltage pulses, destroying the intracellular balance and making cells apoptosis rapidly. So nano knife is also known as irreversible electroporation (IRE). IRE ablation technology and nanoparticles (NPs) have unique advantages in tumor treatment. Relevant studies have confirmed that NPs can enhance the effect of IRE ablation, expand the ablation boundary and reduce the threshold intensity of tumor cell perforation. Moreover, IRE combined with the drug‐loaded NPs can synergize tumor immunotherapy. Thus, the combination of NPs and IRE has broad research prospects. This paper reviews the mechanism of tumor treatment with NPs combined with IRE and discusses the future challenges and opportunities of combining these two technologies.
Utilizing partial flexibility to improve emergency department flow: Theory and implementation
Authors: Chan Carri W. , Sarhangian Vahid , Talwai Prem , Gogia Kriti
Published: August 2022

Emergency departments (EDs) typically have multiple areas where patients of different acuity levels receive treatments. In practice, different areas often operate with fixed nurse staffing levels. When there are substantial imbalances in congestion among different areas, it could be beneficial to deviate from the original assignment and reassign nurses. However, reassignments typically are only feasible at the beginning of 8–12‐h shifts, providing partial flexibility in adjusting staffing levels. In this work, we propose a stochastic queueing network model of patient flow in the ED and study an associated fluid control problem to guide the reassignment decision for two types of nursing staff. We propose a heuristic solution approach and investigate its performance both analytically and using simulation. Analytical results and simulation experiments suggest a significant reduction of waiting times in parameter regimes relevant to the ED setting. We further implement the staffing approach at a large ED. This pilot study highlights several challenges of implementing operational interventions in the ED, including the difficulty of establishing a clean statistical environment in such setting. Despite these challenges, we find that guiding reassignment decisions using our approach is associated with significant improvements to patient flow including a reduction in average total ED length‐of‐stay of 1.7 h.
Contextual factors influencing parents' assessments of family‐centred care in the paediatric emergency department: A qualitative study
Authors: Rosenthal Jennifer L. , Perez Susan L. , Young Heather M.
Published: August 2022

Aim

To identify the contextual factors influencing parents' assessments of the family‐centredness of care received during a paediatric emergency department visit.

Design

A qualitative cross‐sectional case study.

Methods

We interviewed parents who were at their child's bedside during an emergency department encounter. We independently coded the first 3 transcripts and met to discuss the coding structure and to refine existing codes, add new codes and develop tentative categories. We repeated this process for every 3–5 transcripts until thematic saturation was reached.

Results

We conducted 16 interviews and identified 2 themes: (1) Not all parents expected physicians to provide family‐centred care in the emergency department and (2) feeling overwhelmed and powerless influenced parents' perceptions of family‐centred care. Poor family‐centred care worsened parents' sense of powerlessness and reinforced parents' low expectations from physicians. Similarly, low expectations and powerlessness exacerbated poor family‐centred care. Interventions are needed to break this cycle and improve family‐centredness of care.
Adrenomedullin2 stimulates progression of thyroid cancer in mice and humans under nutrient excess conditions
Authors: Kim Jung Tae , Lim Mi Ae , Lee Seong Eun , Kim Hyun Jung , Koh Hyun Yong , Lee Jeong Ho , Jun Sang Mi , Kim Jin Man , Kim Kun Ho , Shin Hyo Shik , Cho Sun Wook , Kim Koon Soon , Shong Minho , Koo Bon Seok , Kang Yea Eun
Published: August 2022

Thyroid cancer is associated with genetic alterations, e.g. BRAFV600E, which may cause carcinomatous changes in hormone‐secreting epithelial cells. Epidemiological studies have shown that overnutrition is related to the development and progression of cancer. In this study, we attempted to identify the cell nonautonomous factor responsible for the progression of BRAFV600E thyroid cancer under overnutrition conditions. We developed a mouse model for inducible thyrocyte‐specific activation of BRAFV600E, which showed features similar to those of human papillary thyroid cancer. LSL‐BrafV600E;TgCreERT2 showed thyroid tumour development in the entire thyroid, and the tumour showed more abnormal cellular features with mitochondrial abnormalities in mice fed a high‐fat diet (HFD). Transcriptomics revealed that adrenomedullin2 (Adm2) was increased in LSL‐BrafV600E;TgCreERT2 mice fed HFD. ADM2 was upregulated on the addition of a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor or palmitic acid with integrated stress response (ISR) in cancer cells. ADM2 stimulated protein kinase A and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase in vitro. The knockdown of ADM2 suppressed the proliferation and migration of thyroid cancer cells. We searched The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype‐Tissue Expression databases and found that increased ADM2 expression was associated with ISR and poor overall survival. Consistently, upregulated ADM2 expression in tumour cells and circulating ADM2 molecules were associated with aggressive clinicopathological parameters, including body mass index, in thyroid cancer patients. Collectively, we identified that ADM2 is released from cancer cells under mitochondrial stress resulting from overnutrition and acts as a secretory factor determining the progressive properties of thyroid cancer. © 2022 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Evidence‐based surgical guidelines for treating children with Wilms tumor in low‐resource settings
Authors: Abdelhafeez Abdelhafeez H. , Reljic Tea , Kumar Ambuj , Banu Tahmina , Cox Sharon , Davidoff Andrew M. , Elgendy Ahmed , Ghandour Khalil , Gerstle J. Ted , Karpelowsky Jonathan , Kaste Sue C. , Kechiche Nahla , Esiashvili Natia , Nasir Abdulrasheed , Ngongola Amon , Marollano Jin , Moreno Amabelle A. , Muzira Arlene , Parkes Jeannette , Saldaña Lily J. , Shalkow Jaime , Vujanić Gordan M. , Velasquez Thelma , Lakhoo Kokila , Mukkada Sheena , Abib Simone
Published: August 2022

Background

Survival of Wilms tumor (WT) is > 90% in high‐resource settings but < 30% in low‐resource settings. Adapting a standardized surgical approach to WT is challenging in low‐resource settings, but a local control strategy is crucial to improving outcomes.

Objective

Provide resource‐sensitive recommendations for the surgical management of WT.

Methods

We performed a systematic review of PubMed and EMBASE through July 7, 2020, and used the GRADE approach to assess evidence and recommendations.

Recommendations

Initiation of treatment should be expedited, and surgery should be done in a high‐volume setting. Cross‐sectional imaging should be done to optimize preoperative planning. For patients with typical clinical features of WT, biopsy should not be done before chemotherapy, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy should precede surgical resection. Also, resection should include a large transperitoneal laparotomy, adequate lymph node sampling, and documentation of staging findings. For WT with tumor thrombus in the inferior vena cava, neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be given before en bloc resection of the tumor and thrombus and evaluation for viable tumor thrombus. For those with bilateral WT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be given for 6–12 weeks. Neither routine use of complex hilar control techniques during nephron‐sparing surgery nor nephron‐sparing resection for unilateral WT with a normal contralateral kidney is recommended. When indicated, postoperative radiotherapy should be administered within 14 days of surgery. Post‐chemotherapy pulmonary oligometastasis should be resected when feasible, if local protocols allow omission of whole‐lung irradiation in patients with nonanaplastic histology stage IV WT with pulmonary metastasis without evidence of extrapulmonary metastasis.

Conclusion

We provide evidence‐based recommendations for the surgical management of WT, considering the benefits/risks associated with limited‐resource settings.
Electrospinning strategy for the preparation of nano‐porous fibers as modifier for inducing the network structure and enhancing mechanical properties of SBS‐modified asphalt
Authors: Zhu Zhaorong , Liu Yu , Muhammad Yaseen , Pei Ruinan , Li Yingyun , Li Jing
Published: August 2022

Electrospinning is used to control the interface structure of macro‐polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers, and nano‐porous fibers (E‐PAN) which possess enhanced adhesion and interface effects. Herein, E‐PAN was prepared via electrospinning and was in turn incorporated into styrene‐butadiene‐styrene (SBS) asphalt to prepare PAN modified asphalt. The effect of E‐PAN addition on the performance of modified asphalt was explored. Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and AFM tests confirmed that E‐PAN exhibited a highly rough nano‐porous skeleton without any prominent structural damage during the preparation process. The three major indexes, dynamic shearing rheometer, MSCR, rotational viscosity, and thermogravimetric analysis tests results showed that E‐PAN modified asphalt exhibited excellent viscoelasticity, anti‐rutting and anti‐fatigue properties and thermal stability (THRI of 192.7°C). FT‐IR test of the four components of modified asphalt confirmed that E‐PAN chemically crosslinked with the saturates and aromatics in the base asphalt and SBS, which resulted in a uniform and well‐developed network structure. In addition, Brauner‐Emmett‐Teller and fluorescence microscopy results confirmed that E‐PAN got fully swollen in a behavior similar to that of SBS in the base asphalt, and hence helped SBS to form an excellent network structure in asphalt. E‐PAN played the important role of stress buffer, mutual entanglement, and good thermal insulation inside the asphalt.
Tensile and shear behavior of plain weave fabric carbon fiber reinforced polymer at elevated temperatures
Authors: Barile Claudia , Paramsamy Kannan Vimalathithan , Del Core Lucia , Casavola Caterina
Published: August 2022

Plain weave fabric carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) Composites are tested at four different temperature conditions: room temperature, 82°C, 100°C, and 120°C. The variation in their tensile and in‐shear properties are studied. The tensile properties seemingly increased when the specimens are tested close to their curing temperature but reduced up to 7.88% with respect to the room temperature conditions, when they are tested close to their glass transition temperature. The in‐plane shear strength and the shear modulus decreased significantly, due to the fiber‐matrix interaction, at higher temperature. The specimens tested close to the glass transition temperature lost their properties up to 44.36% in in‐plane shear strength and 29.26% in shear modulus, with respect to their properties at room temperature. These reductions are predicted by four predictive models and are compared with the experimental data. For predicting the tensile strength at elevated temperature, it is suggested to use modified Gibson or Nadjai model and for the in‐plane shear strength, Hawileh model.
Time‐varying, ray tracing irradiance simulation approach for photovoltaic systems in complex scenarios with decoupled geometry, optical properties and illumination conditions
Authors: Andres Calcabrini , Ruben Cardose , David Gribnau , Pavel Babal , Patrizio Manganiello , Miro Zeman , Olindo Isabella
Published: August 2022

The accurate computation of the irradiance incident on the surface of photovoltaic modules is crucial for the simulation of the energy yield of a photovoltaic system. Depending on the geometrical complexity of the surroundings, different approaches are commonly employed to calculate the irradiance on the photovoltaic system. In this article, we introduce a backward ray tracing simulation approach to calculate the irradiance on photovoltaic systems in geometrically complex scenarios. We explain how the repetition of time‐consuming simulation steps can be avoided with the proposed approach by storing a selection of the results from the most computationally expensive parts of the problem, and we show that the irradiance calculated with the proposed approach is in good agreement with the results of Radiance, a well‐established irradiance simulation tool. Furthermore, we present an experimental validation carried out using a pyranometer and a reference cell over a period of 6 months in a complex scenario, which shows errors lower than 5% in the calculation of the daily irradiation. Finally, we compare high‐resolution spectral simulations with measurements taken with a spectroradiometer under different sky conditions. The proposed approach is particularly well‐suited for the simulation of bifacial and tandem photovoltaic modules in complex urban environments, for it enables the efficient simulation of high‐resolution spectral irradiance in scenarios with time‐varying reflectance properties.
Jet morphology analysis of microwave‐generated plasma for microfabrication of optics
Authors: Dong Yuqing , Zhang Jiacheng , Zhang Peng , Tian Hengxi , Yu Deping
Published: August 2022

The jet morphology of the fluorine‐containing plasma is important for the accuracy and efficiency of nondestructive optical fabrication. This paper investigated changes in the jet size and active radicals of microwave plasma. Results show that little addition of CF4 and O2 in Ar could promote the ionization process, but excessive addition of them would inhibit the production of active radicals and limit the jet size. Both optimizing the proportion of CF4 and O2 and the applied power can greatly improve the jet morphology. The regulation principle of the plasma jet morphology was interpreted as the balance between the ionization resistance of the working gas and the applied power, which ensures a high etch rate and process resolution.
Berries as a case study for crop wild relative conservation, use, and public engagement in Canada
Authors: Migicovsky Zoë , Amyotte Beatrice , Ulrich Jens , Smith Tyler W. , Turner Nancy J. , Pico Joana , Ciotir Claudia , Sharifi Mehdi , Meldrum Gennifer , Stormes Ben , Moreau Tara
Published: August 2022

Societal impact statement

Plant biodiversity is fundamental to the future of food security and agriculture. Berries are the most economically important fruit crops in Canada. Within this article, we explore the nutritional, cultural, and botanical importance of berries, including crop wild relatives (plant species that are closely related to domesticated crops) and plants that are significant to Indigenous Peoples. Using berries as a case study, we explore opportunities for the conservation, use, and public engagement of crop wild relatives. Our objective is to lay the groundwork for future collaborative efforts across these diverse plants.

Conservation of plant biodiversity, in particular crop wild relatives including those tended and cultivated by Indigenous Peoples, is critical to food security and agriculture. Building on the 2019 road map for crop wild relatives, we examine berries as a case study for crop wild relative conservation, use, and public engagement. We focus on berries due not only to their economic, cultural, and nutritional importance but also because they are consumed fresh, providing a unique opportunity for individuals and communities to connect with plants. We outline health benefits, geographic distribution, and species at risk for Canadian berries. We describe practices, strategies, and approaches used by Indigenous Peoples to steward berries and emphasize the importance of traditional knowledge. We highlight opportunities for in situ and ex situ berry conservation and use of berries in plant breeding and Indigenous foodways. Our aim is to lay the groundwork for future collaborative efforts in these areas and to showcase berries as a useful case study for conservation of food plant biodiversity and public engagement.
External validation of the Predicting Asthma Risk in Children tool in a clinical cohort
Authors: Berger Daria O. , Pedersen Eva S. L. , Mallet Maria C. , de Jong Carmen C. M. , Usemann Jakob , Regamey Nicolas , Spycher Ben D. , Ardura‐Garcia Cristina , Kuehni Claudia E. ,   The SPAC Study Team
Published: August 2022

Introduction

The Predicting Asthma Risk in Children (PARC) tool uses questionnaire‐based respiratory symptoms collected from preschool children to predict asthma risk 5 years later. The tool was developed and validated in population cohorts but not validated using a clinical cohort. We aimed to externally validate the PARC tool in a pediatric pulmonology clinic setting.

Methods

The Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort (SPAC) is a prospective cohort of children seen in pediatric pulmonology clinics across Switzerland. We included children aged 1–6 years with cough or wheeze at baseline who completed the 2‐year follow‐up questionnaire. The outcome was defined as current wheeze plus use of asthma medication. We assessed performance using: sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV) and positive predictive value (PPV), area under the curve (AUC), scaled Brier's score, and Nagelkerke's R2 scores. We compared performance in SPAC to that in the original population, the Leicester Respiratory Cohort (LRC).

Results

Among 346 children included, 125 (36%) reported the outcome after 2 years. At a PARC score of 4: sensitivity was higher (95% vs. 79%), specificity lower (14% vs. 57%), and NPV and PPV comparable (0.84 vs. 0.87 and 0.37 vs. 0.42) in SPAC versus LRC. AUC (0.71 vs. 0.78), R2 (0.18 vs. 0.28) and Brier's scores (0.13 vs. 0.22) were lower in SPAC.

Conclusions

The PARC tool shows some clinical utility, particularly for ruling out the development of asthma in young children, but performance limitations highlight the need for new prediction tools to be developed specifically for the clinical setting.
Engineering human JMJD2A tudor domains for an improved understanding of histone peptide recognition
Authors: Parkinson Jonathan , Hard Ryan , Ainsworth Richard , Wang Wei
Published: August 2022

JMJD2A is a histone lysine demethylase which recognizes and demethylates H3K9me3 and H3K36me3 residues and is overexpressed in various cancers. It utilizes a tandem tudor domain to facilitate its own recruitment to histone sites, recognizing various di‐ and tri‐methyl lysine residues with moderate affinity. In this study, we successfully engineered the tudor domain of JMJD2A to specifically bind to H4K20me3 with a 20‐fold increase of affinity and improved selectivity. To reveal the molecular basis, we performed molecular dynamics and free energy decomposition analysis on the human JMJD2A tandem tudor domains bound to H4K20me2, H4K20me3, and H3K23me3 peptides to uncover the residues and conformational changes important for the enhanced binding affinity and selectivity toward H4K20me2/3. These analyses revealed new insights into understanding chromatin reader domains recognizing histone modifications and improving binding affinity and selectivity of these domains. Furthermore, we showed that the tight binding of JMJD2A to H4K20me2/3 is not sufficient to improve the efficiency of CRISPR‐CAS9 mediated homology directed repair (HDR), suggesting a complicated relationship between JMJD2A and the DNA damage response beyond binding affinity toward the H4K20me2/3 mark.
Diffusional and antimicrobial behaviors of some antimicrobial agents in active multilayer plastic films
Authors: Dıblan Sevgin , Kaya Sevim
Published: August 2022

In this study, diffusional and antimicrobial properties of the active‐multilayer plastic films (LDPE/polyamide/LDPE‐2% antimicrobial agent) were assessed. To understand the diffusion of antimicrobials from the active plastic films containing nisin, potassium sorbate, silver substituted zeolite, or chitosan, the active‐multilayer plastic films has been put in different food simulating solutions. The food simulating solutions had various pH (3.0–7.0) and water activity (0.65–0.95) levels and were incubated at various storage temperatures (5–25°C). The release experiments for the combinations of the factors were set according to three factors face‐centered central composite design (CCF) of the response surface methodology (RSM). The diffusion rate constant (D) was calculated using Fick's law approach. The D of nisin and silver substituted zeolite was affected by pH or temperature, while aw is not a significant factor. However, Dps was found to be the highest and depended on all factors (4.45–10.04 × 10−14 cm2/s). Furthermore, no chitosan release was detected from the film matrix. The antimicrobial effectiveness of the films against microorganisms that were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger varied according to the film type, which was verified by a challenge test on the kaşar cheese surface. Moreover, nisin and silver substituted zeolite incorporated films showed great potential to inhibit bacteria, yeast, and molds. All active films, which were studied, had featured tasks for being active food packaging material and diffused in allowance limits.
Distributed generalized Nash equilibrium seeking for noncooperative games with unknown cost functions
Authors: Cai Xin , Xiao Feng , Wei Bo
Published: August 2022

In this article, a distributed nonmodel based generalized Nash equilibrium (GNE) seeking algorithm is proposed for a class of constrained noncooperative games with unknown cost functions. In the game, the strategy of each agent is restricted by both the coupled equality constraint and local inequality constraints. By virtue of the exact penalty method, an auxiliary cost function is constructed with the cost function and the local constraints. The main feature of the proposed algorithm depends on the capability to estimate the gradient information of auxiliary cost functions with only the values of costs. This is obtained by the extremum seeking control (ESC). To deal with the coupled constraints, only the Lagrange multiplier is transmitted among agents with some prior information about the coupled constraints. Moreover, a diminishing dither signal is introduced in the seeking algorithm to remove undesirable steady‐state oscillations occurred in the classical ESC. As a result, the nonlocal convergence of the designed seeking algorithm to the GNE of the game is obtained by the singular perturbation theory, averaging analysis and Lyapunov stability theory. Numerical examples are given to verify the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Beginning with the end in mind: Meaningful and intentional endings to equitable partnerships in science education
Authors: Santos Stephany , Scipio Déana
Published: August 2022

This paper is one of three sequential papers interrogating equity in partnerships (or partnering relationships [PRs]) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. In this piece, we prioritize abundance framing and dignity‐conferring work when engaging in partnerships with and for communities who have been historically marginalized. We propose a framework of seven drivers that define the directions and/or success of PRs: (1) mission, vision, or values; (2) goals or outcomes; (3) practices or processes; (4) power, privilege, or oppression; (5) communities and geography; (6) time and urgency; and (7) partners. This framework can be used to examine PRs at any phase of their existence to ensure equity‐centered and dignity‐conferring processes and outcomes. We discuss case studies that are common or specific challenges or frustrations that occur in nonequity‐centered PRs. We frame these as six vexations: (1) sustainable PRs; (2) dignity‐conferring PRs; (3) repetitive PRs; (4) political PRs; (5) “mission trip” PRs; (6) and deceptive PRs. We address these by using a data feminist lens (a perspective inspired by the book Data Feminism that centers on justice in defining and presenting outcomes), and future dreamings (a perspective that centers on potential ahead) to define our suggestions for designing intentional endings of partnerships.
Mapping and validation of major and stable QTL for flag leaf size from tetraploid wheat
Authors: Wang Jian , Liu Hang , Zhao Conghao , Tang Huaping , Mu Yang , Xu Qiang , Deng Mei , Jiang Qiantao , Chen Guoyue , Qi Pengfei , Wang Jirui , Jiang Yunfeng , Chen Shisheng , Wei Yuming , Zheng Youliang , Lan Xiujin , Ma Jian
Published: August 2022

The flag leaf is an important photosynthetic organ of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Appropriate flag leaf size can effectively increase grain yield. In this study, a tetraploid wheat population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and a genetic map constructed based on a wheat 55K single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array were used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for flag leaf length (FLL), flag leaf width (FLW), flag leaf area (FLA), and the flag leaf length/width ratio (FLR). A novel and major interval flanked by markers AX‐111633224 and AX‐109317229 was identified. This interval includes QTL for FLL (QFll.sau‐AM‐4B.2), for FLW (QFlw.sau‐AM‐4B.4), for FLA (QFla.sau‐AM‐4B), and for FLR (QFlr.sau‐AM‐4B). Based on the genotypes of the closely linked KASP (Kompetitive allele‐specific polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) marker (KASP‐AX‐108756198), QFlw.sau‐AM‐4B.4 and QFla.sau‐AM‐4B were successfully verified in two F3 populations with different genetic backgrounds. Genetic associations between flag leaf‐related traits and other agronomic traits were detected and analyzed. Four genes in this interval were likely involved in the growth and development of the flag leaf size. In conclusion, this study provides clues for excavating genes related to flag leaf size and breeding variety with ideal plant structure.
Timothy William Hopkinson Jones
Authors:   Colleagues and friends, Barlow Alex , Holliman Andy , Millar Michael , van der Burgt Guda
Published: August 2022

Born on a farm, he went on to become a veterinary investigation officer with the ministry and enjoyed being a veterinary detective, a job in which his knowledge and dedication were appreciated and valued.
Assessing the precision of wild boar density estimations
Authors: Guerrasio Tancredi , Brogi Rudy , Marcon Andrea , Apollonio Marco
Published: August 2022

Effective management of wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations has to be based on precise estimates of local densities. The development of an effective and cost‐efficient technique to cope with this need has always represented a challenge for wildlife managers and researchers. Drive counts, hunting bags, and Random Encounter Model (REM) are among the most frequently used techniques, with the latter recently gaining wide recognition. We sought to compare the 3 methods in terms of their suitability for management, precision, and effort required. Moreover, we evaluated the uncertainty of REM results when all sources of error were considered. In our study, the 3 methods were applied to a wild boar population of the Italian Apennines in 2013. We used the delta method to assess the total uncertainty of REM density estimates on the basis of the errors associated to all the parameters involved. Notably, the 3 methods tested showed consistent mean density estimates, though none of them reached fully satisfying levels of precision for management purposes. Since the low precision of REM was mostly due to the high variability of the group‐size parameter, we propose simple technical improvements aimed at reducing the variability of this parameter and, thus, of REM. Although all the methods tested still need to be further developed to be effective for wild boar management, REM seems to be the most promising one in terms of both potential precision and effort required. The limited effort required by REM is particularly relevant in the current wildlife management scenario, where funds are often lacking and the number of hunters acting as volunteers is decreasing.
Even Faster Conflicts and Lazier Reductions for String Solvers
Authors: Nötzli Andres , Reynolds Andrew , Barbosa Haniel , Barrett Clark , Tinelli Cesare
Published: August 2022

In the past decade, satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) solvers have been extended to support the theory of strings and regular expressions. This theory has proven to be useful in a wide range of applications in academia and industry. To accommodate the expressive nature of string constraints used in those applications, string solvers use a multi-layered architecture where extended operators are reduced to a set of core operators. These reductions, however, are often costly to reason about. In this work, we propose new techniques for eagerly discovering conflicts based on equality reasoning and lazily avoiding reductions for certain extended functions based on lightweight reasoning. We present a strategy for integrating and scheduling these techniques in a CDCL$$(T)$$

(
T
)

-based theory solver for strings and regular expressions. We implement the techniques and the strategy in cvc5, a state-of-the-art SMT solver, and show that they lead to a significant performance improvement."Image missing""Image missing"
Reasoning About Data Trees Using CHCs
Authors: Faella Marco , Parlato Gennaro
Published: August 2022

Reasoning about data structures requires powerful logics supporting the combination of structural and data properties. We define a new logic called Mso-D(Monadic Second-Order logic with Data) as an extension of standard Mso on trees with predicates of the desired data logic. We also define a new class of symbolic data tree automata (Sdtas) to deal with data trees using a simple machine. Mso-D and Sdtas are both Turing-powerful, and their high expressiveness is necessary to deal with interesting data structures. We cope with undecidability by encoding Sdta executions as a system of CHCs (Constrained Horn Clauses), and solving the resulting system using off-the-shelf solvers. We also identify a fragment of Mso-D whose satisfiability can be effectively reduced to the emptiness problem for Sdtas. This fragment is very expressive since it allows us to characterize a variety of data trees from the literature, solving certain infinite-state games, etc. We implement this reduction in a prototype tool that combines an Mso decision procedure over trees (Mona) with a CHC engine (Z3), and use this tool to conduct several experiments, demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach across different problem domains.
Hemiola: A DSL and Verification Tools to Guide Design and Proof of Hierarchical Cache-Coherence Protocols
Authors: Choi Joonwon , Chlipala Adam , Arvind
Published: August 2022

Cache-coherence protocols have been one of the greatest challenges in formal verification of hardware, due to their central complication of executing multiple memory-access transactions concurrently within a distributed message-passing system. In this paper, we introduce Hemiola, a framework embedded in Coq that guides the user to design protocols that never experience inconsistent interleavings while handling transactions concurrently. The framework provides a DSL, where any protocol designed in the DSL always satisfies the serializability property, allowing a user to verify the protocol assuming that transactions are executed one-at-a-time. Hemiola also provides a novel invariant proof method, for protocols designed in Hemiola, that only requires considering execution histories without interleaved memory accesses. We used Hemiola to design and prove hierarchical MSI and MESI protocols as case studies. We also demonstrated that the case-study protocols are hardware-synthesizable, by using a compilation/synthesis toolchain targeting FPGAs.
Synthesizing Fair Decision Trees via Iterative Constraint Solving
Authors: Wang Jingbo , Li Yannan , Wang Chao
Published: August 2022

Decision trees are increasingly used to make socially sensitive decisions, where they are expected to be both accurate and fair, but it remains a challenging task to optimize the learning algorithm for fairness in a predictable and explainable fashion. To overcome the challenge, we propose an iterative framework for choosing decision attributes, or features, at each level by formulating feature selection as a series of mixed integer optimization problems. Both fairness and accuracy requirements are encoded as numerical constraints and solved by an off-the-shelf constraint solver. As a result, the trade-off between fairness and accuracy is quantifiable. At a high level, our method can be viewed as a generalization of the entropy-based greedy search techniques such as and , and existing fair learning techniques such as and . Our experimental evaluation on six datasets, for which demographic parity is used as the fairness metric, shows that the method is significantly more effective in reducing bias than other methods while maintaining accuracy. Furthermore, compared to non-iterative constraint solving, our iterative approach is at least 10 times faster.
Sound Automation of Magic Wands
Authors: Dardinier Thibault , Parthasarathy Gaurav , Weeks Noé , Müller Peter , Summers Alexander J.
Published: August 2022

The magic wand$$\mathbin {-\!\!*}$$-∗(also called separating implication) is a separation logic connective commonly used to specify properties of partial data structures, for instance during iterative traversals. Afootprintof a magic wand formula "Equation missing"is a state that, combined with any state in whichAholds, yields a state in whichBholds. The key challenge of proving a magic wand (also calledpackaginga wand) is to find such a footprint. Existing package algorithms either have a high annotation overhead or, as we show in this paper, are unsound.

We present a formal framework that precisely characterises a wide design space of possible package algorithms applicable to a large class of separation logics. We prove in Isabelle/HOL that our formal framework is sound and complete, and use it to develop a novel package algorithm that offers competitive automation and is sound. Moreover, we present a novel, restricted definition of wands and prove in Isabelle/HOL that it is possible to soundly combine fractions of such wands, which is not the case for arbitrary wands. We have implemented our techniques for the Viper language, and demonstrate that they are effective in practice.
Non-topological logarithmic corrections in minimal gauged supergravity
Authors: David Marina , Godet Victor , Liu Zhihan , Pando Zayas Leopoldo A.
Published: August 2022

Abstract

We compute the logarithmic correction to the entropy of asymptotically AdS4 black holes in minimal $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 2 gauged supergravity. We show that for extremal black holes the logarithmic correction computed in the near horizon geometry agrees with the result in the full geometry up to zero mode contributions, thus clarifying where the quantum degrees of freedom lie in AdS spacetimes. In contrast to flat space, we observe that the logarithmic correction for supersymmetric black holes can be non-topological in AdS as it is controlled by additional four-derivative terms other than the Euler density. The available microscopic data and results in 11d supergravity indicate that the full logarithmic correction is topological, which suggests that the topological nature of logarithmic corrections could serve as a diagnosis of whether a low-energy gravity theory admits an ultraviolet completion.
A database of Calabi-Yau orientifolds and the size of D3-tadpoles
Authors: Crinò Chiara , Quevedo Fernando , Schachner Andreas , Valandro Roberto
Published: August 2022

Abstract

The classification of 4D reflexive polytopes by Kreuzer and Skarke allows for a systematic construction of Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces as fine, regular, star triangulations (FRSTs). Until now, the vastness of this geometric landscape remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we construct Calabi-Yau orientifolds from holomorphic reflection involutions of such hypersurfaces with Hodge numbers h1,1≤ 12. In particular, we compute orientifold configurations for all favourable FRSTs for h1,1≤ 7, while randomly sampling triangulations for each pair of Hodge numbers up to h1,1 = 12. We find explicit string compactifications on these orientifolded Calabi-Yaus for which the D3-charge contribution coming from Op-planes grows linearly with the number of complex structure and Kähler moduli. We further consider non-local D7-tadpole cancellation through Whitney branes. We argue that this leads to a significant enhancement of the total D3-tadpole as compared to conventional SO(8) stacks with (4 + 4) D7-branes on top of O7-planes. In particular, before turning-on worldvolume fluxes, we find that the largest D3-tadpole in this class occurs for Calabi-Yau threefolds with $$ \left({h}_{+}^{1,1},{h}_{-}^{1,2}\right) $$

h
+

1
,
1

h
−

1
,
2

= (11, 491) with D3-brane charges |QD3| = 504 for the local D7 case and |QD3| = 6, 664 for the non-local Whitney branes case, which appears to be large enough to cancel tadpoles and allow fluxes to stabilise all complex structure moduli. Our data is publicly available under the following link https://github.com/AndreasSchachner/CY_Orientifold_database.
Analytical evaluation of AdS4 Witten diagrams as flat space multi-loop Feynman integrals
Authors: Heckelbacher Till , Sachs Ivo , Skvortsov Evgeny , Vanhove Pierre
Published: August 2022

Abstract

We describe a systematic approach for the evaluation of Witten diagrams for multi-loop scattering amplitudes of a conformally coupled scalar ϕ4-theory in Euclidean AdS4, by recasting the Witten diagrams as flat space Feynman integrals. We derive closed form expressions for the anomalous dimensions for all double-trace operators up to the second order in the coupling constant. We explain the relation between the flat space unitarity methods and the discontinuities of the short distance expansion on the boundary of Witten diagrams.
NLO QCD corrections to full off-shell production of $$ t\overline{t}Z $$ including leptonic decays
Authors: Bevilacqua Giuseppe , Hartanto Heribertus Bayu , Kraus Manfred , Nasufi Jasmina , Worek Malgorzata
Published: August 2022

Abstract

Motivated by ongoing new physics searches in the top-quark sector at the Large Hadron Collider we report on the calculation of NLO QCD corrections to the Standard Model pp → $$ t\overline{t}Z $$
t

t
¯

Z
+ X process in the tetra-lepton decay channel. This calculation is based on the matrix elements for the $$ {e}^{+}{\nu}_e{\mu}^{-}{\overline{\nu}}_{\mu }b\overline{b}{\tau}^{+}{\tau}^{-} $$

e
+

ν
e

μ
−

ν
¯

μ

b

b
¯

τ
+

τ
−

final state and includes all resonant and non-resonant Feynman diagrams, interferences and off-shell effects of the top quark as well as the W and Z gauge bosons. Also incorporated are photon-induced contributions. As it is customary for such studies, we show theoretical predictions for both fixed and dynamical factorisation and renormalisation scale choices and different PDF sets. Furthermore, we study the main theoretical uncertainties that are associated with neglected higher-order terms in the perturbative expansion and with the parameterisation of the PDF sets. In order to investigate the size of off-shell effects and higher-order corrections in top-quark decays, we perform a second computation for this process, which is based on the narrow-width-approximation where the top quarks, W and Z gauge bosons are kept on-shell. Results are given for the integrated and differential fiducial cross sections for the LHC Run II center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV.
The entanglement wedge of unknown couplings
Authors: Almheiri Ahmed , Lin Henry W.
Published: August 2022

Abstract

The black hole interior is a mysterious region of spacetime where non-perturbative effects are sometimes important. These non-perturbative effects are believed to be highly theory-dependent. We sharpen these statements by considering a setup where the state of the black hole is in a superposition of states corresponding to boundary theories with different couplings, entangled with a reference which keeps track of those couplings. The entanglement wedge of the reference can then be interpreted as the bulk region most sensitive to the values of the couplings. In simple bulk models, e.g., JT gravity + a matter BCFT, the QES formula implies that the reference contains the black hole interior at late times. We also analyze the Renyi-2 entropy tr ρ2 of the reference, which can be viewed as a diagnostic of chaos via the Loschmidt echo. We find explicitly the replica wormhole that diagnoses the island and restores unitarity. Numerical and analytical evidence of these statements in the SYK model is presented. Similar considerations are expected to apply in higher dimensional AdS/CFT, for marginal and even irrelevant couplings.
Complex saddles and Euclidean wormholes in the Lorentzian path integral
Authors: Loges Gregory J. , Shiu Gary , Sudhir Nidhi
Published: August 2022

Abstract

We study complex saddles of the Lorentzian path integral for 4D axion gravity and its dual description in terms of a 3-form flux, which include the Giddings-Strominger Euclidean wormhole. Transition amplitudes are computed using the Lorentzian path integral and with the help of Picard-Lefschetz theory. The number and nature of saddles is shown to qualitatively change in the presence of a bilocal operator that could arise, for example, as a result of considering higher-topology transitions. We also analyze the stability of the Giddings-Strominger wormhole in the 3-form picture, where we find that it represents a perturbatively stable Euclidean saddle of the gravitational path integral. This calls into question the ultimate fate of such solutions in an ultraviolet-complete theory of quantum gravity.
The cost of building a wall for a fermion
Authors: Wan Mokhtar Wan Mohamad Husni , Louko Jorma
Published: August 2022

Abstract

We analyse the energy cost of building or demolishing a wall for a massless Dirac field in (1+1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime and the response of an Unruh-DeWitt particle detector to the generated radiation. For any smoothly-evolving wall, both the field’s energy density and the detector’s response are finite. In the limit of rapid wall creation or demolition, the energy density displays a delta function squared divergence. By contrast, the response of an Unruh-DeWitt detector, evaluated within first-order perturbation theory, diverges only logarithmically in the duration of the wall evolution. The results add to the evidence that a localised matter system may not be as sensitive to the rapid wall creation as the local expectation values of field observables. This disparity has potential interest for quantum information preservation scenarios.
Alpha states demystified — towards microscopic models of AdS2 holography
Authors: Blommaert Andreas , Iliesiu Luca V. , Kruthoff Jorrit
Published: August 2022

Abstract

We continue our study of factorizing theories of dilaton gravity, characterized by a universal bilocal interaction. All such factorizing theories can be shown to have discrete spectra, distinguished only by their local dilaton potentials. We show how such theories can be used to construct all alpha-states in the Hilbert space of baby universes of ordinary JT gravity. Large classes of these theories with different local potentials are found to be non-perturbatively equivalent and have identical discrete spectra. This is a concrete example of how different bulk descriptions can give rise to the same boundary theory. Such equivalences manifest themselves as null states, which have to be quotiented out in order to construct a proper baby universe Hilbert space. Our results also allow us to revisit the mechanism discussed by Coleman, Giddings and Strominger and concretely link ensemble averaging to the appearance or disappearance of spacetime wormholes.

We then investigate JT gravity deformed only by the universal bilocal interaction. In this theory, the only terms that do not cancel in a topological expansion are disks, which capture perturbative fluctuations around a two-dimensional black hole saddle. We find that this theory of black holes has an evenly spaced spectrum, instead of a quantum chaotic one. We present a dual quantum mechanical system with exactly the same discrete spectrum, and propose that this is an example of a new holographic duality between a two-dimensional theory of quantum gravity and a conventional quantum mechanics.
Higgs boson decay to charmonia via c-quark fragmentation
Authors: Han Tao , Leibovich Adam K. , Ma Yang , Tan Xiao-Ze
Published: August 2022

Abstract

We calculate the decay branching fractions of the Higgs boson to J/ψ and ηc via the charm-quark fragmentation mechanism for the color-singlet and color-octet states in the framework of non-relativistic QCD. The decay rates are governed by the charm-quark Yukawa coupling, unlike the decay H → J/ψ + γ, which is dominated by the γ∗-J/ψ mixing. We find that the decay branching fractions can be about 2×10−5 for $$ H\to c\overline{c}+J/\psi $$
H
→
c

c
¯

+
J
/
ψ
, and 6 × 10−5 for $$ H\to c\overline{c}+{\eta}_c $$
H
→
c

c
¯

+

η
c

. We comment on the perspective of searching for the Higgs boson to J/ψ transition at the High-Luminosity LHC for testing the charm-quark Yukawa coupling.
DC conductance and memory in 3D gravity
Authors: Cárdenas Márcela , González Hernán A. , Lara Kristiansen , Pino Miguel
Published: August 2022

Abstract

Transport properties are investigated in the two-dimensional dual dynamics of AdS3 gravity. By providing boundary conditions that deform the ADM lapse and shift functions, we construct a lower dimensional model comprising two copies of chiral boson excitations with anisotropic scaling symmetry. Using bosonization, an electric current is identified. By means of the Kubo formula, we find a DC conductance depending on the level of the theory and the dynamical exponents. The bulk realization of the linear response is related to a type of gravitational memory emerging in the context of near-horizon boundary conditions. The process is adiabatic and represents a permanent spacetime deformation parametrized by anisotropic chiral bosons through a large gauge transformation.